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corvuserpens · 2 months ago

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Alright girlies, I just came back from watching The Crow (2024) and

I'm sorry babes, but it's better than Wicked Prayer. Not better than the 1994 original -- but better than Wicked Prayer. This is your obligatory ��🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨🚨 don't say I didn't warn you.

To everyone who recently followed me for Black Sails, we'll get back to that soon, just lemme dump my thoughts on this movie bc The Crow was a game changer for little nine-year-old me back in the good ol' 90's. It's the movie that turned me into a baby bat.

So first things first: the cinematography. Gorgeous. Nice sets, great lighting. Mood always on point. Aesthetics to die for.

Second of all: score. AWESOME. They had Joy Division's Disorder playing while Eric and Shelly were escaping the rehab center and when that first beat started playing, I almost screamed in the mostly empty theater and started tapping along to it. Immediate B- for the movie just for that. But the rest of the music was just as good imo, it slapped so hard that now I have to look it up and play it non-stop. Surprising amount of goth and darkly-inclined music in there, which I was not expecting given the overall appearance of the lead characters.

The story, as I already expressed in a previous post, was generic but at least it had some themes to it that I found interesting. I couldn't really relate to the lifestyle these characters were leading, and honestly, the whole "oh they had a fucked up childhood and it led them into a life of crime/bohemian lifestyle that will be their end", y'know, "live fast, die young," is kinda old for me. I've seen it too many times for it to be edgy anymore. I get this is a reality for many people and I feel or them, obviously. I just don't think it's original anymore. Or maybe it's just not my kind of tea, which is fine. If it is for someone else, more power to them!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Themes. I may not relate to the lifestyle, but I do relate to the whole "loving someone so much you can't imagine yourself living without them" which is what spurs on the whole conflict. From the very beginning, the movie doesn't hesitate to tell us "these two are doomed by the narrative so all the happy times they have won't last." And I will say, FKA Twigs and Bill Skarsgard have insane chemistry. Eric and Shelly's story is very brief and their relationship is only a speck in each of their lifetimes... but they sell the genuine love between them SO well, which lends an extra bit of flavor to the whole tragedy. They only knew each other for such a short amount of time, but the love was there. The connection was there. The threads of a future were just beginning to weave together, and then they were all cut away in the blink of an eye.

In the original movie, the tragedy of Eric Draven and Shelly Webster mirrored James O'Barr's own loss: they had their entire future set up in front of them, all these plans. They were on the eve of their wedding, and then they were brutally murdered. The tragic element in the new movie isn't lessened. It's just different. And I enjoyed that.

One thing I didn't really enjoy was the whole hell premise and the villain who made a bargain with the devil for eternal life in exchange for innocent souls. First of all, that's not how Satan works and this is slander of the highest order. No, I'm not a Satanist, but I respect the guy. Second of all, it's another tired old trope that needs to be put to rest. I find it much more interesting when human characters do evil shit because they act upon their evil impulses, which we all have, NOT because "the devil made them do it." Just... ugh. No, I loved Top Dollar in the 1994 movie because he was some fucked up little dude who lived for mayhem and death and had impeccable taste in Victorian fashion, who happened to dab in the occult along with his half-sister whom he liked to fuck. He was theatrical and extremely Edgy for the time and that's why he's so iconic and memorable. I don't need a villain who sold his soul for eternal life. Let him be evil for evil's sake, you don't need to sell your soul for that, damn. Not to mention Roeg felt flat and uninteresting. The connection to predatory men in high positions of power who prey on the dreams of young women artists was there, but they made it so on-the-nose that it sucked the interest out of it. Eh.

Now. The whole abandoned train station as a liminal space between life and death and the mysterious man who may or may not be an angel (or the skeletal cowboy from the comic book). There's an interesting concept. And the whole using puddles of dirty water, and rivers or other bodies full of liquid (a tub at some point) as a portal to and from that space? Simple, yet effective. Reminds me a little too much of the meme of the girl on the swing who jumps off into a puddle and disappears through it, but regardless. I think Eric jumps to and from there a bit too often and it breaks the mysticism a bit, but whatever.

I did enjoy the fact that Eric doesn't get his full powers immediately after dying, and I DID like the detail that, as long as his love for Shelly remains pure, his body will always heal because, as the Mysterious Man points out, the death/corruption/undoing of love (can't remember his exact words) isn't hate; it's doubt. As the story progresses and Eric finds out Shelly's Big Dark Secret™, his love for her falters, so his body begins to fail. It ties perfectly to the end of act one, when Shelly asks him to promise that when she becomes hard to love, to love her harder.

Which brings me to Shelly's backstory. It wasn't bad. I can understand the whole "your mom pushed you too hard when you showed signs of great artistic potential and it led her to manipulate you, abuse you and expose you to things a young girl shouldn't be exposed to" so she had to escape from her clutches, but the things she saw fucked her up and she turned to drugs and alcohol to cope.

But at this point, when she reveals she has this Big Dark Secret™ that she can't tell Eric about or else he wouldn't love her anymore, we already know that the villain made a bargain with the devil, so he has the ability to reach into the darkest parts of a person's soul and force them to act on it. And that kinda spoils the moment when it's revealed that Shelly killed someone. Because y'know, her soul is Pure and Good and she would never actually kill anyone because if she did, then she'd really deserve going to hell! Just... No. That's not how women work. That's not even how people work! People are imperfect, that's what makes us human. It would have been so much more interesting if Shelly had in fact killed that random girl, like, I dunno, over money, over drugs, over blackmail or something random and stupid that made her act out and then had it haunt her for the rest of her life, I don't fucking know! But no. She killed her because Roeg made her, exempting her from the blame and the consequences instantly. Boring. Let Eric learn all the fucked up things Shelly did and love her anyway. Let her get a little redemption for her bad choices by earning his full, unconditional love because that's all any of us wants, isn't it? To have someone see how rotten we are and say we are enough for them despite it all. Goddamn.

Okay, what else. The comedic timing. The stupid pun when they first meet, the opera music playing over Eric going ballistic in the hall, the fact he got stabbed with his katana in the back, but two minutes later, somehow the katana flipped around so Eric can pull it out of his front?? That was such a 2000's era movie mistake, lmao. Very charming.

No officer Albrecht or Sarah as a human stand-in for Eric's moral compass or to remind him of Shelly or all the other people they loved and who he will have to leave behind when all's said and done? Bad.

For a movie titled The Crow, there was a sad lack of crow influence in the movie. Eric isn't connected to his crow in any way. No more whole "you kill the crow, you kill the man" anymore, which is bullshit. Bill Skarsgard doesn't even get to have a crow perching on his shoulder??? What is this??????????? Big boo. The crow was the central focus of all the other movies bc it was the protagonist's link to the land of the living. It was a constant presence to remind us that, when all the wrong things have been set right, the crow would lead him back to the land of the dead to rest. As it were, in this installment, the crow was a prop and nothing more. If it hadn't been there, the story wouldn't be affected in the slightest. This is where this film fails to be a The Crow movie to me: one of them is still alive by the end when that's not what The Crow as a franchise is about.

The original comic book was an expression of tremendous grief and loss over a loved one, by how untimely and unfair it was. In the end, the protagonist, whomever they may be, dies so that they can be with that person they lost and they can be at peace in whatever comes after life. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty compelling to have Eric learn Shelly is going to hell and offers to trade his soul for hers, and it is okay that in the end, Shelly is brought back to life while Eric remains dead. I mean, the whole bit with the mysterious man being a first responder and telling Shelly that Eric fought hard over her? Heart-wrenching. In a different movie, I would be all about it, but this is supposedly a The Crow movie and it broke the precedent imposed by the previous installments, both in comic book and movie format. So... Yeah, that's a no from me. Themes of grief and loss? Never heard of her.

To wrap this post up 'cause it's getting too long: I liked that the Marion character seemed to have a thing going on with her body-guard or wtv he was? You know, the one who killed Shelly? That was a nice little side detail I noticed. The themes were nicely established, but didn't tie up too well, I think. Too many loose ends or things left unexplored. I was glad we didn't get the schmuck happy ending in which the Universe or Entity or what have you deemed Eric's love for Shelly pure enough that he wouldn't go to hell in her stead and they were both brought back to life and lived happily ever after. But we also didn't get to see Eric getting dragged to hell in the end either, that was a missed opportunity to really let the consequences of his choices sink into the audience and make us all leave the room completely horrified. Would make for a much more impactful credit roll. Or maybe I'm just fucked in the head, idk.

The defeat of the villain felt unsatisfying. Did like the whole "you corrupted her (into killing that girl)" "you can't corrupt what's not in there already" thing, but if at the end of the fight Eric had gotten a little monologue about how "it's not about whether the corruption is in there or not, it's your choices not to act on it that really matters" before shoving Roeg into the jaws of hell, that would have helped matters along, me thinks. Hate that the movie has to hand-hold the audience through making connections between what's said at the beginning of the story and when later the characters mirror it with actions. I get we went through covid and all our memory and attention span got royally scrambled for it, but come on. We're not little kids. Let the setup/payoff ratio stand on its own, I promise people will remember.

All in all, hour and half well spent, I wasn't bored and my eyes had a feast with the visuals. I'll give it a 6/10👍 Would have been better as a stand-alone action flick instead of being advertised as a new The Crow installment (and really, it's trying to be a more faithful adaptation of the comic book? Even Donald fucking Trump couldn't make up a lie this blatant), but I enjoyed myself and that's what matters.

#the crow #the crow 2024 #the crow review #the crow 2024 review #james o'barr #rupert sanders #a Crow's rants #I've been spoiled by Matt Reeves' The Batman that's my problem #HMM imagine if Matt Reeves had directed this movie #no shade to Rupert Sanders but... yes.

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murfpersonalblog · 4 months ago

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IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - Loustat (Spoilers) Pt1: Breakup

Trust me, Lestat wasn't thinking about your stupid suit, Louis. Yes, Carol Cutshall said the gold symbolized Louis as the sun that drew Lestat to him; but the main thing was him pulling that sword-cane on Paul. THAT is what might've changed things: PAUL. Most importantly, the what-if about Paul not having died, and what that might've changed or not (IMO, not much--Lestat would've just kept "hunting" Louis longer, till he found his chance).

At 50? Would Lestat have WANTED Lou? Doubtful. Louis would've been married with kids by then, desperately holding on to what little money he'd've gotten as a failed farmer & pimp (cuz he wouldn't've had the Azalea or Lestat's money); probably in debt just to keep the DPDL estate; even as his mom resented him, and Grace probably wouldn't've been able to marry Levi without a dowry, so who knows how she'd've acted. What SPARK would old!Lou have that would've even made Les interested in him? These questions are MOOT.

"Doomed by the narrative."

I'm still confused about Claudia's diaries, and where they were in 1973--I'm assuming this was just a lie fed by Armand that they were scattered b/t Paris & NOLA.

SKILL ISSUE. Louis ALWAYS has a contingency plan!

I'm so bummed we didn't get the Tower Scene, or get to physically SEE Lestat being tortured by Armand. But oh well, at least we get to see Magnus' Tower, and hear what Magnus told Lestat b4 Les was Turned.

And this is a crazy accurate line, considering Armand said that ordering the humans to say "Banishment" took all of his strength which I KNEW was a freaking lie! XD

You should see them in Dubai when Danwrecks Armand's whole set!

Les calling himself a disappointment--YOU ARE. (Nordic blondes, dirty blondes, and the worst one: a FRENCH blonde.) Chile, no one knows why you do what you do.

That's right, don't let him up for effing oxygen!

EXACTLY.

Lestat was turned on the whole time (who said that!?).

No one cares.

TRUE! That's the most honest thing Armand said all season, wow.

AKASHA NAME DROP, STFU LFG

Marius never told Armand about TWMBK for a reason--hed've spilled the beans quicker than Louis about "Bruce" being Lestat. XD But Lestat's bragging a little too much though--even MARIUS burned with Akasha's blood in him, so.... 🙄 They won't DIE, but it WILL eff them up.

CRAZY important line--strong(er) vampires have to be WILLING to die in the fire for it to stick? Like Lestat said in QotD: he will ALWAYS "fight for life."

That doesn't actually count for much when you've been regularly starving yourself since 1910. 🙄

What a way to go, lbh, these vamps are effing gorgeous.

PETTY BOOTS THE HOUSE DOWN! 😂

Yeah, about that--but FLEX!

Ouch

GO AWF, KING LOUIS! FLEXXXXXXX!

Louis said REPLACEMENTS!!! ALL the Antoine(tte)s and Davids and Quinns and whoever TF that bum was in NOLA--PALE PROXIES! And yes I AM taking that racially, too! The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice! 😜

Water in a sieve; don't worry. It's the PRINCIPLE of the thing--go sit in the corner for 70+ years and keep having "a think!"

YOU would know better than anyone!

Imma save the big reveal and the reunion for Pt2; I think I'm gonna hit the image limit soon.

#loustat #interview with the vampire #iwtv spoilers #iwtv season 2 spoilers #iwtv tvc metas #the hype is real #must see tv #this is so petty and so perfect

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welcometothejianghu · 1 year ago

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I can't actually recommend Psych-Hunter, as it's not, strictly speaking, what you'd call good. It has, however, made us laugh out loud several times, and a lot of the visuals are really clever, and it's got to know what it's doing with how gay it's making those main boys (to say nothing of the police captain and that little cop who totally has a crush on him). It's weird and it's fun, and if you're looking for a thing to watch, you could do a lot worse!

NOTE: The preceding paragraph was written before I watched the last episode.

Look, this show is a hot mess. Let me break it down:

The good: some amazing visuals; excellent costuming (like, even when it's ugly, it's still good?); delightfully batshit worldbuilding decisions; fun short-arc mysteries; hella gay bromance; delicious boy tears; incredibly endearing secondary cast; great Psychonauts-esque plot device; some gorgeous mindscapes done with (mostly) practical effects; did I mention those two boys are real gay for one another?

The bad: little to no narrative cohesion; terribly bad pacing; high body count, especially of ladies; a couple inexplicable heel turns; when the CG is there, it's not great; plenty of unintentional comedy; most overarching mysteries remain completely unsolved.

The ugly: het romance that swings between just plain boring and outright skeevy; absolutely no grasp of the female lead's character; and of course, all the shit it pulls in the last episode.

...But obviously I found the whole mess still pretty compelling despite the flaws, considering I've just written like 1500 words of a Tumblr post that barely anybody else is ever going to read about it! So, uh, maybe that's an endorsement? I can't tell anymore.

Most of those words are beneath the cut, starting with the vaguely spoilery thoughts -- the ones you can read without spoiling yourself for the whole show. I'll mark when the big ones are coming up.

The good and the bad are, I think, somewhat self-explanatory. I want to talk about the ugly a bit, though.

The first two are actually two halves of the same problem. As a character, as she is written, Yuan Muqing sucks. Her entire personality is "whatever we need The Girl to be doing in this scene." She swings from Strong Independent Woman to Damsel In Distress to Spunky Female Police Officer to Spoiled Rich Schoolgirl to Giggling Love Interest with no sense that there should be any consistency between these states. Every detail of her life disappears the second it's not immediately relevant to the plot. She is a selection of two-dimensional objects chosen on a scene-by-scene basis to compliment whatever else is going on around her. I guess you could excuse this by [insert spoilers for the last episode here], but for that to work, the show would have to give off any sense that it understood her characterization was bad in the first place.

Whatever they could have done with the het romance was pretty doomed to fail from the start by having her be so badly written. (There are a few very cute moments they have later on, when they write her like an actual person, but it's too little too late.) She and Jiang Shuo already have little to no actual chemistry together, and the majority of their relationship is artificial overreaction-and-miscommunication conflict. And as though that weren't bad enough, the show keeps making it skeevy by making her so young. She's a high school student who has a very little-girl room, complete with dolls she talks to and petulantly punishes when she has tantrums. Many of her hairstyles and outfits also run young. Nobody gets a canonical age, but she's clearly a teen while both boys seem well into their twenties. The age gap does the relationship no favors.

Worse, the romance largely nukes her relationship to Qin Yiheng. When the show starts, they at least interact with one another, even if it looks like the show's going to get a "girl can't decide which boy she likes!" dynamic going with the main trio. Very quickly, though, she needs to be only The Love Interest for Jiang Shuo, meaning that she barely talks to Qin Yiheng for the whole rest of the show. Even when all three are onscreen together, those two might as well each be invisible to the other. They're not really a triangle -- they're a hinge, and the non-Jiang-Shuo points don't touch.

All that being said, there is such potential in her, and like 95% of that potential comes from the fact that the girl is obviously insane. Beyond even her canonical delusions, That Girl Ain't Right. Everything she does is so much better if you imagine there's a full-on roomba with knives simmering just beneath her bippy, ponytailed surface. She has to be Generalissimo Daddy's good little girl, when deep down she wants to do violence. That's great.

Some of the early promo materials I've seen make mention of how she's supposed to be the muscle of the operation. I wish they'd been far more consistent about that! She should absolutely be the party tank, bounding away from danger with a boy under each arm. All of the "oh no, Muqing got kidnapped/held hostage/threatened!" beats should have been responded to with a shrug.

But of course, it doesn't matter, because...

****MAJOR SPOILERS START HERE****

...it's not real.

Nearly none of it is real. There are two real people in the show, and everyone else is imaginary. Everything Jiang Shuo feels about her is completely one-sided, because she doesn't exist.

I am not categorically opposed to the final plot twist. I actually think, thematically, it makes a fair amount of sense, given how many other dreamscapes and mind-dives we've seen. What I'm opposed to is having it drop in the final episode, when there's no time to deal emotionally with any of it. If you wanted to pull that Inception shit, you should've done it at least halfway through the series. Give poor Jiang Shuo multiple episodes to deal with the truths that a) everyone he loves (minus one person) is a figment of his imagination, b) he is ultimately the one responsible for the horrors he has created, and c) he will have to decide in the end whether to live in the delusion or to destroy it by leaving. Let him wrestle with what he knows vs. what he feels. Give him plenty of time to deal with his guilt about what he's done to Qin'er. That would be delicious. That's not what we got.

Also, you've got to telegraph it, like, at all. As it is, I wondered for a while there whether something weird/bad happened, the real last episode got destroyed, and they had to hastily film an alternate ending. I am all but certain, on reflection, this is not what happened. There are just enough clues planted earlier that, yeah, I'm pretty sure this was the end they meant all along.

Which was such a bad decision. You know all those mysteries you were interested in, the ones driving the plot? Congratulations! You're never going to know! And it's not because the show got canceled or otherwise truncated -- no, it's because the show decided to tell you outright that those mysteries were never meant to be solved. It's a riddle that never had an answer in the first place.

I said at the time that the end feels exactly like an anime that got too far ahead of the manga, ran out of source material, and had to cobble together an ending that wouldn't spoil the manga's eventual logical conclusion. That's not quite what happened, but it's exactly the vibe.

(Not to get too spoilery of other properties here, but yeah, you realize this was the same guy who made Sand Sea, and that actually makes a lot of sense. Speaking of things that ran out the source material...)

My instinct is to tell people not to watch the last episode, to just stop at the end of 35 and make up your own stories about what comes next, but ... you kind of have to see it to believe it. It's worth it for the sheer audacity that would consider this a good ending.

I've seen plenty of people on various sites saying they loved the ending while clamoring in the same breath for a second season. No, friends, you're having the same reaction I did -- you know a twist like that should not be a last-minute drop. It's not a setup for anything; it's what happens when you can't stick the landing, so you throw out a bunch of impressive-sounding nonsense while pretending that was what you'd meant to do all along. A second season wouldn't solve the mysteries, because the show has declared that not only won't they be solved, they weren't even mysteries in the first place. They were fancy shiny meaningless things that made the plot go, and you were stupid for being invested in them.

And by "mysteries" here, I mean the actual things that are being held up as mysterious and in need of a solution, like Liu Zhi's identity and the Yin River treasures and what happened to Papa Qin. I don't mean the things like wtf is going on with Moustache Dad and his weird semi-k*kistan flag -- because those are just fun bits of magical realism worldbuilding. Clearly this is all operating in some urban fantasy next-world-over scenario, where we're in, uhhh, Zhanghai, Zhina. It's real-world enough that we still have the British and the Japanese, but fake enough that whatever was going on with that hypnotism clock and the lake monster skeleton? Totally normal.

I guess that's part of what I find so frustrating, that it made such an interesting world to play around in ... and then took the cop-out "it was all a dream!" explanation. All the trauma and deaths you felt sad about? Irrelevant. All the friends in danger? Who cares! All the stakes you thought mattered? Meaningless. What, you want new stakes to care about? Well, we'd love to, but the last episode's ending. Bye!

Anyway! Frustrating but compelling! I have now burned so many more brain cells on this show than it deserves, and I will probably continue burning more for fanfic purposes. If you made it this far into this nonsense -- both the show and this post -- I salute you.

#psych hunter #house haunters #心宅猎人 #i made this #meta #rec post

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doomedandstoned · 2 years ago

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They Watch Us From The Moon Drop Far-Out Single Ahead of New LP

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

For some time now, I've been starting my mornings with heavy riffs and old comic books from The Golden Age. Tales from the Crypt, Mystical Tales, Mystery Tales, Tales of the Unexpected, and (my most recent find) Strange Tales of the Unusual. There's just something about the simplicity, sincerity, and wisdom of those old anthology stories that puts me in a good mood.

A band suited for the same spirit of adventure is THEY WATCH US FROM THE MOON. Like Clark Kent's humble origins in Kansas farmland, this six-piece wonder hails from Lawrence, KS, founded in 2018.

Their sound, rooted in the Black Sabbath tradition, is tinged with the surprising and otherworldly. For various songs male and female voices unify or sing interchangeably, whilst instruments weave together dreamy doom metal with blues-hued stoner and space rock, making them a veritable chorus of doom.

When we last left They Watch Us From The Moon, they had just released the magical track "Return To Earth". Now, as we continue with our adventures with the spaced-out crew, we find them reaching a new juncture: "MOAB."

"Mother Of All Bastards" was written as a reflection of that in our times. The lyrical imagery paints a very dower picture of a future yet to come and our inability to stop it. Alien abduction, bases on the Moon, and all things Sci-Fi weave through the entire album. As with all science fiction, the story leads into a conversation about what path of destruction humans put themselves on to arrive to the future in such a fantastical way.

It's one of my favorite tracks so far from the They Watch Us From The Moon, beginning with that gorgeous, soulful low-end riff that accompanies earnest angelic harmonies. This six-member powerhouse, now in year 5 as a band, absolutely needs to be seen on stages around the world.

"MOAB" is track three on the upcoming full-length album, 'Cosmic Chronicles: Act 1, The Ascension' (2023), which releases May 12th on New Heavy Sounds (pre-order here). Stick this on a playlist with Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, MWWB, Church of the Cosmic Skull, and Old Blood.

Give ear...

New Heavy Sounds · They Watch Us From The Moon: MOAB

SOME BUZZ

Hailing from Kansas, They Watch Us From The Moon have landed to present their first magnum opus Cosmic Chronicles: Act 1, The Ascension will release via New Heavy Sounds on May 12th, 2023.

TWUFTM are a band that has a concept behind the groove. Sci-fi space opera, a love for Bowie and Queen, brought to the fore visually, in their mashing of comic book narratives and Funkadelic style alter ego’s. TWUFTM is truly an immersive experience on every level. Cosmic Chronicles: Act 1, The Ascension is a space opera for heavy psych doommers and shoegazers alike. This is something new within heavy psychedelics, in fact it’s something new anywhere.

"On The Fields Of The Moon" is like fresh oxygen in bright sunlight - chiming lead guitars and angelic twin vocals (almost like Fleetwood Mac … imagine that) melodies draw you in like gravity itself. Complete with a space-bound chorus and a ripping guitar only 250 seconds into our flight. It sets the tone perfectly. "Space Angel" is literally that. The band's angels Luna and Nova are simply mesmerising, weaving through the heaviest of space-kraut riff grooves.

With "MOAB", the mood is darkening. 'Days of destruction, days of disease' is a warning for our times. The pace has slowed, it’s black and doom laden, yet our vocal angels still give us reason for optimism. And there, fellow travelers, we suggest that you take a moment to take in what you’ve just heard, and imbibe whatever is your drug of choice before tackling the final two ten-minute space flights. "Creeper AD" is a psychedelic trip to lose yourself in. Shifting chord progressions, cool guitar breaks and again, those vocal harmonies, entwined and bewitching. "Return To Earth" does just that, and is pretty much the summation of what we have experienced. An epic, gorgeous space symphony.

Cosmic Chronicles contains five immense tracks chock full of weight and brimming with melody. Clocking in at around 44 minutes, Cosmic Chronicles: Act 1, The Ascension never outstays its welcome. In our opinion, it’s an almost frighteningly impressive, opening offering. Welcome to the (other) world of They Watch It From The Moon. Watch the skies.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

#D&S Debuts #They Watch Us From The Moon #Lawrence #Kansas #doom metal #space rock #New Heavy Sounds #HeavyBest2023 #D&S Reviews #Doomed and Stoned

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existentialmagazine · 1 year ago

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Review: Elkvilla’s new indie-folk journey ‘Better To You’ hums through a softly textured sound and a poignant story

Created by the Australian singer-songwriter and producer Adam Dudek, the solo project Elkvilla sees him burrowed away recording intimate fragile vocals and instruments in his Berlin Studio before carefully mixing them by night. With indie-folk melodies mixed with personal lyrics to tell, Elkvilla seeks to enchant lives across the globe with his hard-hitting tunes. His latest offering ‘Better To You’ marks the second single from his upcoming EP, a gorgeous snippet of the entire project to come.

As you let yourself get whisked up into the dreamy soundscape of ‘Better To You’, Elkvilla leaves you embraced by a sound that’s like a warm hug around your heart, healing parts of yourself you never knew were broken. Resonant acoustic guitar strums soar through the gentle soundscape completely alone, an intimate beginning that sets the tone as one of tenderness right away, opening up a safe space to spill everything kept within. Elkvilla’s soft vocals soon glide beside them, a lower-toned delivery of heartfelt words, intermittently floating into higher nods. Piano keys enrich the pre-chorus with a bright edge, adding a careful depth to the sound while still maintaining a subtlety that flows with ease. The chorus intertwines everything into a patchwork of layered depth, painting an audio that likens to the feel of Monet’s colourful landscapes, transporting you someplace else where serenity is a guarantee. From glowing piano chimes to the guitar’s continued soothing serenade, ‘Better To You’ entangles you within its blanketing of ethereality. Elkvilla’s vocals hauntingly rise into a slightly higher range too, while gentle backing vocals add a heavenly lingering to every word. As things push forward with a lightly built-up sound, ‘Better To You’ only further continues to evolve the longer you listen, never stirring from its picturesque scene but transforming from a singular flower to an entire garden. With an atmosphere that encourages you get lost within it, ‘Better To You’ is a track sure to have a hold on you as soon as you press play, snugly comforting your ears within its grasp.

Lyrically, ‘Better To You’ is a little heart-wrenching at its core, wandering through the unknown abyss of a relationship that’s crumbling to pieces. Yet ‘Better To You’ is not about heartbreak, it’s about perseverance through the pain and finding light once again, continuing to commit to this person regardless of the tumultuous turns things may have taken. As Elkvilla sings ‘through the cracks of this house’ , the song right away establishes the instability within their shared home, the place that should be a comfort for the pair turning into a hazard inevitably doomed to collapse. Continuing ‘that slowly fades away like our love’, there’s a sense of hopelessness intertwined, close to giving up as their spark seems to diminish. Even the chorus hook stings with pain, reeling in the admission that ‘I am the salt in your wound’ , feeling like you cannot be there for your partner without causing more agony. But through all the dark ‘Better To You’ turns things around, singing ‘what we once had could still be possible’ , a determination to push through for a relationship worth saving. Through self-empowerment and companionship, the love within ‘Better To You’ is not lost, a flame kept alight only because the pair never turned their backs. Melancholic but hopeful, ‘Better To You’ is a song that’ll leave you thinking deeper, reminded that nothing in life is black and white.

Check out ‘Better to you’ here to appreciate the soothing tones of Elkvilla’s sound, amidst a narrative of poignant confessions.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

#tatiana

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sicklyscribe · 1 year ago

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okay this is gonna sound like a stupid question but how do you come with a solid plot for fanfic. like i wanna write an originals fic and the way i want the characters to interact and certain scenes are in my head but coming up with overarching conflict that is in line with the plot of originals is hard. like the way they have a big bad villain every season that they battle out, that kind of stuff. anything i can think of just feels shallow and forced? any advice?

You don't HAVE to have any of that if you don't want it! Fic operates in a way that it enhances or side-cars or comes alongside canon, so you can either put your scenes somewhere within a season that has already happened or you can put them in their own conflict-less bubble. I wouldn't call that shallow at all, it's a lovely thing that fanfiction can get away with that other forms of media can't.

If you WANT to build your own type of Originals conflict or your own season, the best way to do that would be to ask yourself what the characters you're focusing on need to confront EMOTIONALLY or PSYCHOLOGICALLY and go from there. Hope Mikaelson exists as a season 1 and series plot because she challenges the idea that Klaus is invulnerable and without the ability/opportunity for compassionate love. Threats to her -- and to Klaus' growing abilities to see beyond his own pain and heartbreak -- make for gorgeous commentary and juicy plot.

The big bads have to get into the true fears or the true loves/true ideals that the characters hold closest and strongest to their hearts. Think of something about Klaus or Elijah or Rebekah or Hope that makes them scared, or vulnerable, or happy, and then build your villain off of that. With characters this old, the threat can either be fully new or centuries old, and you can build that depending on how new or how old the feeling is that you are trying to target.

Example -- Dahlia exists out of a narrative force around the Mikaelsons that says "this is GENERATIONAL this is PASSED ON this is DOOMED" so as Klaus looks forwards to his new generation's, his daughter's future, the family is also made aware of the PAST generational truths that were hidden from them, driving them inevitably forwards. Dahlia's hunger for power, her pain in abandonment, her exceptional skill and her true selfishness all mirror Esther and Klaus and the newly-introduced Freya in ways that drive the story forwards as well as drives the characters into new insight and new development.

#asks #anonymous

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64bitgamer · 2 years ago

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drshojo · 5 years ago

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The World, My Childhood And My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Hello friends!

Its Dr. Shojo coming at you with a post that will be divided into three parts!

Part One: The world as we know it!

The world has changed a lot since we last connected. For starters, TOILET BOUND HANAKO KUN HAS NOT ONLY A PHYSICAL RELEASE BUT A GORGEOUS ANIME! And not only that, but MY NEXT LIFE AS A VILLAINESS: ALL ROUTES LEAD TO DOOM! IS GETTING AN ANIME AS WELL! The last time I wrote about Katerina there wasn’t even an official English translation of that long-ass light-novel-title. And now?

A WHOLE ANIME. A BISEXUAL HAREM AWAITS! I am JAZZED!

Do you think it’s my fault? No matter, I’ll take all the credit. All the manga I talk about are getting anime adaptations. I’LL DO MY DUTY AND TALK ABOUT SOME MORE!

But first. Let us address the Covid-19 shaped elephant in the room

I deeply regret that it took a whole-ass pandemic to get me back to writing. In my defense, I bought an iPad and started drawing like 900 kokichi oumas. I was really busy with that. And then I started reading fanfiction. Then that got me thinking about how fanfiction such an interesting look into how people interpret fandom, use it for wish fulfillment and escapism, and good god is everyone OK cause that bulimia fan fic was super detailed....and I am officially on a tangent. Off track. Ahem.

We are all staying inside a whole lot more which means y’all probably need some reading material and Dr. Shojo has your back! Go read “Horimiya”! It’s amazing! Ahhhh, my work here is done! I'm serious, if you’re here for a Shojo rec, that’s it! There's also like 8 million more Otome Isekais to check out now. It’s like they’re multiplying like rabbits..............

As a Doctor, I must advise you to stay inside and read some manga and practice social distancing. Embrace your inner hikikomori.

Allright? All good? Okay now one final disclaimer:

This post is going to be talking about something a little different than usual and I want to start by giving you some context about who Dr. Shojo is in real life.

Part Two: Dr. Shojo Exposed

You see, when I was little I was obsessed with Japanese media. This doesn't surprise you at all I can tell. Probably because I walk around calling myself Dr. Shojo and shout about manga that you should read.

Anyways, the reason why I was obsessed wasn’t because of the big eyes or the spikey hair or the interesting new culture. It was because it tended to have more character development and overarching plotlines than the media I was used to in Canada. Dexter’s Lab, Magic School Bus, pretty much everything I saw on TV was episodic in nature, so imagine how much my mind was blown when I saw Naruto and Card Captor Sakura, heck, even Pokémon had the Indigo Plateau! Here were kids that were learning more and more each day and got to see enemies become friends and vice versa. They lived and grew older just like me. Except they were cooler than me. And had more interesting lives than me. I gotta tell you, I was so sad when I was 12 and Kero didn’t tell me I had latent magical powers. But there was magic in my life and it was the magic of a complex narrative story. And not only that, it had a sense of movement and had cool costumes. I was hooked immediately.

Also, fun fact, at that age I happened to be a complete and utter tomboy! I loved pretending to fight my friends in the playground and was really worried that puberty would ruin my life because being a girl sounded so CUMBERSOME.

Which leads me up to my confession. Before I became Dr. Shojo, I was in fact......Dr. Shonen.

Bleach? Naruto? One Piece? I've read every single chapter there is.

Hundreds of hours of watching fight sequences. Another fun fact, I only got into shojo because my aunt bought me volume 7 and 8 of Fruits Basket thinking “all mangas like the same right? Kids love comics?” It’s a tribute to how episodic western media was back then that she thought buying volume SEVEN and EIGHT was a REASONABLE PLACE TO START READING.

Now you might also say, Hey! Dr Shojo! Cardcaptors was a shojo! And you are right! but back then the anime was marketed to boys over here in the west and they actualy like, edited out episodes that they thought wouldn't interest boys?! Second fun fact, Once when I was in Grade 3 I was told I was not allowed to join a club under the stairs cause I was a girl and it was BOYS ONLY. The point of the club? To talk about how great Cardcaptors was! I Kid you not!

So anyways, your pall Dr. Shojo loves Shonen manga to this day!

The only reason I made this Dr. Shojo blog specifically about shojo is because, being a tomboy with no female friends, reading shojo manga was the first time I really thought about what it meant to be a girl and fall in love. And y i k e s. Shojo manga, like most media, fails miserably most of the time in displaying real world relationships. Or at least, it doesn't prepare you for how disappointing everything can be. When I had my first kiss, I was thinking about how it didn’t feel at all like how I felt reading Zen and Shirayukis kiss in Akagame No Shirayuki Hime. Those were formative years, and shojo was one of the only places I saw romance being talked about for younger audiences. I liked reading romances where no one had any sexual experiences and were figuring out what love meant to them. But let’s shelve this topic for now.

The point is that gender roles are dumb and if you have an open mind there's a world of stories out there for you. Take this time inside to read something you wouldn’t normally. Critically think about the ways that the worlds you see in stories and how you experience the world differ. What are the messages a story is trying to tell you? And why do you like the stories you do? Reflect on how the stories you tell yourself color your view of the world. Even mindless entertainment leaves an impression on us. Anyways.

Whilst you're doing that, I'm going to absolutely lose my hecking mind over the Shonen Jump series MY HERO ACADEMIA: Vigilantes!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Part Three: I downloaded the one month free trial of the Shonen Jump app and made you read all that, so I can tell you that today Dr. Shojo is going to rant about a spin-off of a shonen manga

THAT’S RIGHT, OF COURSE I READ HERO ACA AND YES I DID PICK UP THE SPIN OFF SERIES. SHONEN JUMP LETS YOU READ ALL THE NEW CHAPTERS FOR FREE ON THEIR APP. KIDS, IF YOU LIKE SHONEN AND YOU’RE PIRATING ON A SCANLATION SITE STILL GET OUT BECAUSE YOU DON’T NEED TO SEE THOSE WEIRD PLASTIC SURGERY AND DENTISTRY ADDS ANY MORE.

SHONEN IS HERE AND ITS LEGAL AND ITS FREE FOR YOU. GET OFF MANGA FOX OR MANGA ROCK OR WHATEVER THE KIDS ARE USING THESE DAYS.

OK, so by this point in the article you have learned two very important things about me: 1) I love Shonen manga and 2) I read a lot of fanfiction.

Specifically, I read an absolutely biblical amount of My Hero Academia fan fiction and let me tell you, A solid chunk of it is vigilante/ Deadpool / criminal with a heart of gold themed.

So when I saw Hero Aca had a spin off, and it was about vigilantes, I was NOT SURPRISED IN THE SLIGHTEST. Ao3 sure is powerful.

Now, if you will permit me a tangent in a post full of tangents—HOLY CRAP, THERE ARE TOO MANY VIGILANTE AUS. I CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF EM. IT’S THE ISEKAI PROBLEM ALL OVER AGAIN. I GET AN EMAIL A FIC HAS UPDATED AND I’M LIKE IS THIS THE FIC WHERE DEKU HAS AN ABUSIVE MOM OR THE ONE WHERE HE HAS SPLIT PERSONALITY DISORDER OR THE ONE WHERE HE’S VIGILANTES WITH HITOSHI. OH WAIT, nvm, it’s the one where deku has a healing quirk.

OH WAIT WHICH OF THE 6 DEKU WITH HEALING QUIRK VIGILATE AU FICS IS THIS ONE?! ARGH WHY DIDN’T I WRITE A DESCRIPTION IN THE BOOKMARK FOR THIS!

My gripes aside, there's a reason why there's such an abundance of vigilante story telling—

Deadpool made like an absolute buttload of money and people love sass and memes.

People have a desire for a story in which they see themselves. Or, how they think of themselves.They like a story about someone who maybe came from nothing. Someone who has less money, maybe someone who is unlucky and had some bad breaks. Someone who never learned they had magic, never got their Hogwarts letter, never saw Kero, someone who never got that God-level quirk from All Might. And if your on Ao3 They want someone who also has seen a lot of memes and kind of wants taco bell and is also questioning their sexuality a bit?

Enter our new hero VIGILANTE DEKU.

But the cannon can't do this, cause hey, Deku is the chosen one. Albeit, chosen by All Might, He’s got his own thing to do. But how can we still cash in on a vigilante story?

And thus enter our New-New hero KOICHI HAIMAWARI—code name Nice Guy and then later The Crawler. True to his relatable roots. He’s just a dude in an hoodie who can go about as fast as a bike.

First off, I love Koichi. He wants to be a hero and fight crime, but most of the time he has to run away because at the end of the day he's just a dude.

He’s cute but not wildly good-looking, A bit of a nerd but not like an extreme okaku. He’s got a part time job and hates violence.

And this is where Koichi really shines—in every day stuff. He helps out wherever he can. Often, that just means listening to people complain and maybe helping his friends out with whatever they’re going through. He’s the kind of guy who smiles, not because he's especially brave, but because he just takes things one at a time and doesn't sweat the past. I think it’s really telling that he missed getting into hero high-school because he skipped the entrance exam to help someone. He’s the kind of person who lets us experience the superpower of human decency and empathy. And you know what? That’s something the world need desperately.

This theme of human decency is really the driving force of Vigilantes—it’s a manga about how the laws are there for a reason but sometimes they unfairly impact the poor and vulnerable. It's about how a lot of criminals are just people who fell into bad social circles or on bad times. People have the capacity for cruelty and violence but that’s never all they are.

Now, speaking of crime, the entirety of Hero Aca falls into some murky water when it comes to its evil doers. Much of the fandom has a huuuuuge problem with how much the franchise is willing to sweep under the rug in the name of redeeming their baddies. RE: people getting mad about forgiving Endeavor’s child abuse, or Bakugo’s suicide baiting. Or Mineta’s blatant sexual harassment.

But this theme is in Vigilantes even more than it ever was in the main series. To start off with, there’s this guy who tries to rape Pop Step early on, and the later he later winds up befriending everybody. It becomes a running gag that each new villain winds up befriending the other villain guys and then they all open a cat café together.

Using jobs as a way to lift people out of lives of crime is great and all but in the story there is no nuance or consequences for past wrong and well.....it feels very weird. It's like Vigilantes plays at having an opinion about moral ambiguity and the complexity of human existence and then just.......lets everyone get along because who has time to get into all that. Make of that what you will but it sits weird for me personally.

Anyway, let's move on and talk about POP STEP our main girl!

I love pop stars and I love vigilantes and a guerrilla performer is defiantly a character I could get behind. And I think they do a good job with Pop. She is actually kind of shy, but has this secret edgy persona she puts on when she performs. She is every girl on tumbler in the early 2000s. I also looooove that they make her not that great a singer. SHE’S GOT PASSION AND CHARISMA and maybe not born talent but like why should that stop you! Talent can be earned through practice and this is a great lesson to show people.

Unfortunately, Pop is also a great example of everything wrong with romance in Shonen.

It’s established early on that Pop loves Koichi because she is the girl he rescued all those years ago and yada yada yikes we’ve heard this one before. Many times before.

Sure, it's fine that they’ve met before, but gosh am I sick of damsels in distress. It's like she can't love him just because she respects what a great guy he is in her life and in the community at large, no no, she just needs to be rescued on top of that. And LOLOLOL isn't it funny he never noticed she was a girl because she was a child with short hair?! Once he realizes she has boobs now they will for sure fall in love! That’s how love works!

She's just with him all the time—nothing romantic ever happens she just gets a little tsundere.

I am never ever going to believe Koichi likes Pop because he spends like sooooo much time with her and they never have like, a moment. The first time he considers her is when Makoto is like, ‘hey I would love to get together with you, but have you thought about if you are crushing on Pop’. (Also this entire plot point is suspect—she's arbitrarily falling for Koichi cause he.......is the protagonist?)

Say what you will about shojo, they give you the emotional conversations, the moments where you think.....ahhh I can see why she is falling for him. They give you context! Shonen likes to just say HERE’S A GIRL YOUR AGE. YOU CAN DATE LATER WHEN THE ADVENTURE IS DONE.

Just when they might get together, Pop suddenly turns evilllllll. The evilllll beeeees made her eeeevilllll (and more sexy).

*Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

Because why on earth would they get together if Koichi didn’t get to rescue Pop one more time?

I’m tired. These troupes are tired. I’m sure you are too. HOWEVER! If your still with me, Let’s move into why I'm really writing this post. Let’s get to the part that got me screaming to my friends, who by the way, don’t even care bout Hero Aca….but listened anyways. May you all find nakama like these my friends.

Anyways,

HOLY FUCK ERASERHEAD’S ENTIRE BACK STORY IS IN THIS AROUND CHAPTER 60 AND IT IS WONDERFUL AND ABSOLUTLY HEARTBREAKING AND IS ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTER BACKSTORIES I HAVE EVER SEEN AND IS THE REASON WHY THIS SERIES IS A MUST-READ FOR MAIN SERIES FANS.

AND BY ALMIGHT.

WHY. IS. IT HERE.

I present to you my late night text messages to my friends

ALSO, AIZAWAS TEACHER IS PRINCE?!?!?!

AHEM, so as you can see, I kinda lost my shit.

And now, I would like to formally defend my claim that DESPITE HOW AMAZING IT WAS, ERASERHEAD’S BACKSTORY HAD NO BUISSNESS BEING IN THE VIGILANTES SPIN-OFF MANGA.

Eraserhead, aka Aizawa Shouta, is a side character who is working with the police on some crime stuff. He is not a main cast member in this spin off. He’s a guest character that fans of the main series will be like OH COOL. GRUMPY CAT MAN LIKES CATS ON HIS OFF HOURS TOO. LOVE THAT FOR HIM.

So, my imagine my absolute surprise when Aizawa runs into Koichi and the following happens:

It starts to rain, so, like in any good manga, this means some great FORCED BONDING TIME

Except no. It doesn't because rather than start talking, Aizawa JUST STARTS REMEMBERING—ABSOLUTLY SILENTLY TO HIS OWN PRIVETE SELF—HIS ENTIRE TRAGIC BACKSTORY.

AND THIS GOES ON FOR CHAPTERS.

THIS GOES ON LONGER THEN ARC ONE IT FEELS LIKE.

I LOVE IT, BUT KOICHI IS ABOUT TO JOIN ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA IN THE DUBIOUS CATEGORY OF “PROTAGONISTS THE SERIES FORGOT ABOUT IN LIEU OF COOLER SIDE CHARACTERS”.

AND LO IT HAS NO BEARING ON THE REST OF THE PLOT, CHARACTERS, OR STORY

What the ever-loving-just WHY?

WHY?

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

SURE, IT’S A COOL TIE-IN.

YES, OF COURSE I LOVED IT. I SHIP ERASER MIC, I DREW THIS FOR HECK’S SAKE:

AND YET I AM ANGRY.

I AM ANGRY BECAUSE MY FRIDAY WAS RUINED BECAUSE VIGILATES SUCKER PUNCHED ME WITH AN AMAZING STORY THAT REALLY WASN’T PLOT RELEVANT AND PROBABLY SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THERE.

IS THIS WHY THEY TOOK LIKE NEXT-TO-NO CARE WITH POPS ARC?!?

I mean its ongoing, so it’s too early to say but—

In conclusion—

Excuse me one more,

AIZAWA WAS TAUGHT BY PRINCE!?!??!?!?!?!? PURPLE RAIN PRINCE!?!??!?!?!? WHAT!??!?!?!

It’s so ABSURD that I HAD TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I HAD TO WRITE PARAGRAPHS TO JUSTIFY YELLING ABOUT THIS ONE THING. WHAT THE ABSOLUTE—

Ahem,

Anyways, I hope you liked this weird rant/personal-story/random-diatribe in three parts.

If you’re reading this, thank you, stay safe, and I’ll be back with more shojo manga next time.

Ciao!

Dr. Shojo

(aka Dr. Shonen)

#my hero academia vigilantes #koichi haimawari #pop step #my hero academia #erasermic #Cardcaptors #Shojo manga #Shonen Manga #Dr Shojo #read Horimiya

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rooneywritesbest · 5 years ago

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Jokes on You: Birds Of Prey Review

Birds Of Prey and The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn feels like a new injection of creativity into a universe of films riddled with a major identity crisis.

The DCEU was once a division and block of movies that were being weaved together to acclimate into a bigger sandbox. However, along the way, the rain of studio interference, and certain fan backlash started to wash out the future of any cohesive foundation.

The discussion of the DCEU is one often plagued with their past, and reception of failure. The feedback split the fabric of viewership between the fans, and critics.

Now with its eighth film out in theaters, and the commercial success of such hits as Aquaman and Shazam being the blueprint going forward.

Birds of Prey follows suit with the census going forward the presence of lower budget solely director based films will be the bread and butter to keep pace in the landscape of shared continuities.

The reason behind the new shift of identity is due to the reception. The film is garnering race reviews and critical acclaim from both branches of the audience. It currently sits at 86% certified fresh on rotten tomatoes.

Hearing the news of positive feedback towards a DC film property. Especially one that felt from its marketing being pitched as a female version of suicide squad is an awesome feeling to have. Due to the honesty, I was scared of this film, but I kept my emotions at bay and went in blind.

An opportunity arose and I had the chance to see Birds Of Prey. When I was driving to the theater the feeling of doubt was still present deep in my mind and another sign that caused my nervous tension to awake was no one was in the theater.

Then it happened the film started, and it was a lot of fun. The story is contained very well, and it’s a blend of Tarantino with the amount of blood, and mutilation of body parts. The action was inspirational of John Wick due to the reshoots being done by JW director Chad Stahelski.

I also forgot to mention that Birds Of Prey is full of heart, and bears resemblance to other films such as Deadpool 1, Guardians Of the Galaxy, and Doom Patrol. The film is a triumph of passion and understanding the love for these characters. Honestly, the way all media should be especially cape flicks at this point.

Moving on the narrative is simplstic but also layered with elements of character spotlights. Many will gripe, and say the “the film sucks or ‘Im done with DC”. My response to that would be everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I always post non-spoiler reviews. So the next portion of this article would be the discussion of the cast and going forward.

First off, Margot Robbie does an amazing portrayal on par with Christopher Reeve Superman. Robbie has officially taken on the role of Quinzel almost like it’s an extension of her personality; Not to mention the growth of Harley was layed out very well in this film. Harley went from being The Joker's "punching bag" to the baddest woman in Gotham.

The jester was finally standing on her two feet and the days of exposition and camera eye candy from Suicide Squad are officially through. It's awesome to chart the timeline of development from one film to another for the longevity of a character unfolding on the silver screen. Hence why Harley's arc in BOP is a prime example of character development.

The supporting cast is very well put together. Jurnee- Smollett Bell plays Black Canary in a new perspective and it feels good to witness a new flavor of creativity on a character that was chained to the small screen on Arrow for the last eight years of cable.

Don’t get me wrong Katie Cassidy, and Juliana Harvaky did an amazing job with the representation of the role of the Canary. It just felt like a breath of air from Bell, and there is no clear favorite because all are worthy of the mantle.

Another highlight was Renee Montoya by Rosie Perez. Perez did well with what she had to play with. Her arc wasn’t too big but at the same it was necessary. Montoya’s story is heavily spoiler-filled.

Huntress was absolutely awesome in this film. Mary- Elizabeth Winstead truly didn't have a lot of screen time, but when she did you could feel the empathy deep down. The tragedy of her past was painted all over her character arc.

The emotion of rage burning away the PTSD in her. I would definitely want a huntress spin-off to further peel back the layers of her troubled arc. Moving on, Winstead did a good job of advancing the plot but also being the grounded element of the fantasy that Harley resides in.

Now for the question, everyone will ask “How is Black Mask”. Black Mask is a character that you can only judge if you see for yourself.

Without diving into dark territory just know one thing Ewan Mcgregor has a lot of fun and is a strong demanding presence absolute scene-stealer.

Another character in this film was the set design and the camera. The presence of the camera is an element of filmmaking that goes unnoticed a lot in these cape films.

However, in Birds Of Prey, that's not the case. The colors are gorgeous and the cinematography gives off alure and spectacle to a Gotham that actually has a vibrant personality hindered by the scum of the criminal underworld.

The one difference between the MCU, and it’s opposition the DCEU. One has a villain problem while another doesn’t and Black Mask in this movie makes that distinction quite clear.

In conclusion Birds Of Prey is a blueprint of finding self-confidence and emancipation fits the narrative well. I'd recommend it DC is definitely branching out with aesthetic absolutely smart choice because they were so fixated on beating marvel and the mouse.

Struggling to find the answer it was right in front of them. The key is by doing these low budget director vision films they can stand on there own.

Remember, Birds Of Prey is a film that will divide many, and push away some. It’s also one that fights the reception with bits of fan-service, funny moments, and an interesting soundtrack. One thing to know is if you want to see something new and not formulaic then give this a check out because if you fall into the latter then the Joke is on you.

If I gave Birds Of Prey a grade a B 8/10 definitely need to see it again

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jtsodergren · 5 years ago

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The Best of 2019

2019, what an exceptional year for movies! A great way to close out the shittiest decade! Here are the 50 best films I saw this year... click on the title to go to the IMDB page, and I’ll try to post a link to where you can see many of them. Also for the first time this year, I’m including MOM WARNINGS! My mom reads this list and sometimes actually watches these movies... so to save her some grief, sadness, or general concern for my psyche, there will be a NOT FOR MOMS!! warning where applicable... here we go!

50. STAR WARS - EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (Amazon)

People really hated this movie... I actually really liked it! Aside from the horses running around on the outside of spaceships (which makes no fucking sense... didn’t Leia get all space frozen exactly one movie ago??), it was a satisfying conclusion to a franchise I guess I don’t really care about as much as other people, so I was into it!

49. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM (Amazon)

Quickly becoming one of the more well produced action franchises of all time. Probably two too many machine gun shootouts in this one for me (I get a little exhausted with gun violence), but the hand-to-hand stuff is brilliant and bloody and badass! Not to mention the deepening of the mythology and Halle Berry and her dogs. It’s a fun time, a welcome addition to the series, and I can’t wait for number 4.

48. QUEEN & SLIM (Amazon)

Billed as the black BONNIE AND CLYDE and from first time feature director Melina Matsoukas, this atmospheric tragedy is gorgeous to look at, delivers a pair of standout lead performances, and proves to have one of the more stressful final 30min of any of the films I saw this year, even if you know the inevitable conclusion is just around the corner.

47. UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (Amazon PRIME)

A wild Los Angeles noir story from the director of IT FOLLOWS. Plays like if David Lynch directed THE BIG LEBOWSKI, a weird, screwball whodunit. It’s a little long, and there are so many loose ends that seem to be thrown in just to fuck with the protagonist (and the audience), but it’s a really fun time and you’ll want to stay to the end to see it all play out. LA looks gorgeous too.

46. KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE (Netflix)

Truly inspiring. Really shows how if you put your mind to something, believe in yourself and that you can make a difference, you can accomplish anything. Regardless of your political leanings, or how you feel about AOC personally, this is well worth your time and it has a great message for young people, especially those young women of color who might not think they can achieve great levels of success. It made me cry the happy tears.

45. LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (Amazon)

Best known for it’s remarkable 59min-3D final take, this hallucinatory journey through memory and dreams is mind-blowing and breathtaking. Hard not to leave this one feeling like you’ve been put though some kind of experiment that you don’t fully understand, but you’ll want to experience again. Highly recommended if you have access to 3D, or simply have some killer edibles and want to be thrown for a loop.

44. CLIMAX (Amazon PRIME)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

Speaking of being under the influence, holy shit is this film nuts! From Gaspar Noe, who if you’re aware of his work, you kind of already know what you’re in store for here. It’s been described as “FAME directed by the Marquis de Sade”... incredible dance sequences and audacious camerawork that slowly but surely devolves into hell. It’s a blast!

43. HAIL SATAN? (Hulu)

A fresh and funny documentary about a group of smartass Satanists exposing the hypocrisy amongst bible-thumping Christians who’d rather stomp their feet and be the loudest in the room than listen to anyone else’s perspective. Frustrating and entertaining in equal parts, this compulsively watchable film makes you want to scream at these Jesus freaks as much as you want to laugh along with the antics of these harmless, intelligent and organized troublemakers. An excellent time well spent.

42. FIRST LOVE (Amazon)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

Director Takashi Miike’s yakuza action-comedy is the most accessible of his films I’ve seen (he’s now made more than 100 movies, which is insane), but that doesn’t mean it’s not a gonzo wild time at the movies. The violence is here in full force, but unlike AUDITION or ICHI THE KILLER, you don’t need a barf bag close by to enjoy it. It’s often hilarious and moves at a breakneck speed. Super fun!

41. THE DEAD DON’T DIE (Amazon PRIME)

Jim Jarmusch’s star-studded, droll zombie-comedy came and went from theaters without much fanfare, but provided me with plenty of laughs. It’s also the second of 3 Adam Driver vehicles to be on this year’s list. Bill Murray and Driver lead the way along with plenty familiar faces in cameos throughout (including the RZA in one of my favorite scene’s of the year). Classic Jarmusch... a meditation on death and mortality in his vintage style.

40. EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE (Netflix)

Dude, Aaron Paul is a legit GREAT actor. Picks up right where the show left off, and I was on the edge of my seat and filled with anxiety just like I was during the best moments of the now classic series. It was good to hang out with my old friends again.

39. DOCTOR SLEEP (Amazon)

A box office flop due to poor promotion and a title people weren’t familiar with, this sequel to THE SHINING is based on the Stephen King book of the same name, which I read, and I can’t recommend it more. Great suspense, and fantastic performances from both Ewan McGregor and (especially) Rebecca Ferguson. It’s a dark and scary film that is a fun trip back to the Overlook Hotel... provided you wish to return there...

38. THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (Amazon PRIME)

About 90min into this beautifully shot film I was ready to lock it in as a possible Top 5 contender. Then the bottom fell out for me the last quarter of the movie and lost my confidence. No bother, it’s still wonderful enough to find a spot on the list and carry my recommendation. Young men and women watching their city change before their eyes, and wondering what the concept of “home” really means is a real challenge facing many people here in the Bay Area. This film does a fantastic job conveying that, for most of the film anyway.

37. THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (Amazon)

A bonafide crown-pleaser of a movie, and another example of the true talent Shia LeBeouf has and is capable of (more on him later). A young man with Down Syndrome escapes his assisted-living facility to track down his wrestling idol the Saltwater Redneck with the help of an outlaw and a social worker. Sweet, funny, and heartfelt... a feel good surprise.

36. A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (Amazon)

I didn’t cry nearly as much as I did during the excellent documentary WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR from last year, but if you’re a Mr. Rogers fan, you’ll still shed a few during this heartwarming film. Tom Hanks does his thing, and even though this movie is guilty of borrowing a little too much from the previous doc, it’s still a great showcase for the truly selfless and beautiful force of nature that Fred Rogers was. Bring tissues anyway.

35. CARMINE STREET GUITARS (In Theaters Now)

A love letter to both New York City and the art, joy, and love that goes into honing and maintaining one’s craft. Meanwhile the looming doom of gentrification hovers over the proceedings, never letting you get fully enrapt in the sweetness that these artists (and their many famous customers) exude when talking about and playing their one-of-a-kind works of art. A stunning and lovely piece for musicians and talentless fans of music alike.

34. HOLIDAY (Amazon)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

A tough, cold film with nary a character to actively root for... until after about an hour of icy behavior comes (no pun intended) a scene so shocking in its graphic and disturbing nature, people left the theater without staying for the final resolution. First time director Isabella Eklof pulls off the bold and audacious maneuver, all while making it seem like she doesn’t care whether you like her characters (or her film) at all. It’s a very fine balancing act, executed to perfection. But be warned... it’s rough.

33. AVENGERS: ENDGAME (Disney+)

What can I say? You saw it. It’s good. A bunch of Supermans fly around and blow shit up. A satisfying end (until the next 20 films).

32. MIDSOMMAR (Amazon Prime)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

A disturbing slow burn of a gothic horror film. Characters do hallucinogens while ritualistic religious murders and tribal mating practices threaten to ruin everyones existence. Florence Pugh is phenomenal (more from her in a minute) in a very trying roll. Doesn’t pack quite the punch of the director’s last film, HEREDITARY, but it’s still well worth the watch. But yeah, it’s disturbing.

31. APOLLO 11 (Hulu)

A fascinating look at the first moon landing from rarely seen archival footage and audio. Seeing it on the IMAX screen was intense and exhilarating, unlike narrative pictures like the severely overrated FIRST MAN. This isn’t my favorite documentary of the year, but it is an absolute lock to win the Academy Award for Best Doc of 2019. It’s a must see, a must experience.

30. HIGH LIFE (Amazon PRIME)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

French auteur Claire Denis’ bizarre, erotic sci-fi mindfuck about isolation and humanity is not for everyone, but is a brilliant take on the genre, and is yet another showcase for Robert Pattinson, who is quietly becoming one of my favorite working actors. Juliette Binoche also is on fire here and has what one critic calls “the single greatest one-person sex scene in the history of cinema.” So it has that going for it.

29. TRIPLE FRONTIER (Netflix)

A fully loaded heist film with no real bad guy, but instead a group of recognizable badasses in a Netflix-released action thrill ride. There’s absolutely no reason this should’ve worked, or even been half as good as it is, but boy is it good! Compulsively watchable, and rewatchable. If this were on Showtime as much as DEN OF THIEVES is I’d have seen it 30 times by now. It’s one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

28. 1917 (Amazon)

An unbelievable visual achievement from cinematographer Roger Deakins and director Sam Mendes. The story isn’t the greatest war story ever told (are there great war stories?), but it’s shot to look like one continuous long take, sustained for 2hrs. It’s really an unbelievable feat, but doesn’t come off as gimmicky or distracting. It’s intense, beautifully staged, and sad. A big screen spectacle.

27. TOY STORY 4 (Amazon)

Woody and the gang are back, and the films continue to keep the dust from collecting. It’s still so much fun to hang out with this group of misfit toys. There was talk that after the incredible TOY STORY 3 this was just a money grab and was labeled unnecessary, but I found it to be a sweet, charming, and nostalgic trip I was glad I took.

26. HONEYLAND (Hulu)

My pick for documentary of the year comes from the mountains of Macedonia, where a woman named Hatidze lives with her dying mother making a living cultivating honey. When a family of shitheads moves into a shanty next door, what seems like a fix for her lonely existence becomes catastrophic as they disregard her teachings and threaten her livelihood. I was an emotional wreck throughout the experience and it goes without saying it’s a must-see. Gorgeous and heartbreaking.

25. LITTLE WOMEN (Amazon)

I have never read the book, nor seen any of the film adaptations, so I went in blind to this lovely film. Director Greta Gerwig follows up the phenomenal LADYBIRD with this Altman-esque rendition of the widely beloved literary classic. I found it exceptional in its execution and performances, including the previously mentioned Florence Pugh, who is a knockout. A wonderful addition to the ever-growing stable of Christmas films I look to enjoy during future Decembers.

24. GREENER GRASS (Hulu)

It’s as if Tim & Eric made BLUE VELVET. Bizarre, outrageous, gross, and a guaranteed future midnight movie favorite. My sides hurt. A satire skewering upper-middle class suburban soccer moms and dads alike. Babies are given away. A boy turns into a dog. Everyone has braces. There’s a creep on the loose. It’s wild and flat-out hilarious literally from start to finish. Almost too many jokes to keep up with. Watch it! Bring weed.

23. RELAXER (Amazon)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

Speaking of gross, this film is disgusting, but in a good way. A satire about lazy consumerism and self-destruction. It’s a short hang, thankfully, but if you can stomach it to the end (remember, it’s nasty) you’ll be rewarded with not only a hilarious dark comedy, but also an unexpected haymaker of sadness you didn’t see coming. It’s a pretty impressive feat, and an overall success. But, yeah, it’s fucking gross.

22. AD ASTRA (Amazon)

APOCALYPSE NOW in space starring Brad Pitt. If you need more information than that, I don’t really know what else to do for you.

21. SLUT IN A GOOD WAY (Amazon PRIME)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

A black-and-white raunchy French arthouse teen comedy that gives a middle finger to the double standard set by the equally raunchy teen-boys-will-be-boys genre. It’s so much fun, and honest, and the actors are such natural talents you forget the subject matter is at times shocking (only because of said double standard) and just go with it. I think it’s just wonderful. Seek it out!

20. US (HBO)

Jordan Peele’s excellent follow-up to GET OUT. Doppelganger home invasion terror with a killer twist. To describe more would be to risk giving something away. I’ll just say that Lupita Nyong’o is my pick to win her second Oscar, this time as Best Actress, here in a dual role. She’s incredible. If you haven’t seen it, try to go in blind, you’ll be rewarded.

19. THE FAREWELL (Amazon PRIME)

A heartfelt homecoming film about family, culture, and how the things we don’t say can be just as strong of a show of love as the things we do say. It’s sweet, tender, and bursting with personal flare and emotions from director Lulu Wang. Awkwafina also curbs her more manic and loud tendencies as a performer for more quiet, thoughtful, and somber choices. She’s phenomenal.

18. KNIVES OUT (Amazon)

A clever ensemble whodunit that’s just as funny and smart as it is mysterious. Everyone across the board delivers as the assorted motley crew. The film rewards repeat viewings and Daniel Craig knocks it out of the park, stealing every scene he’s in, reminding us all what a fantastic actor he can be when he’s not sipping the Vespers.

17. BOOKSMART (Hulu)

The female SUPERBAD is the elevator pitch, but this coming-of-age gem is really unlike any other example in the genre. They’re privileged, uber-smart, and have never partied. Yet they have the same neuroses as any other teen scared to death of what to do next or how to be normal. It’s also fucking hilarious. You wanna hang out with these girls and at the same time bury your head under the covers because you feel their pure terror/embarrassment. It’s a blast.

16. THE MUSTANG (Amazon)

Starring Matthias Schoenaerts, one of the finest actor’s working today, this understated and emotional drama about rehabilitation and redemption floored me upon first viewing. It is a gorgeous film. You’ve probably seen stories similar to this before, but rarely is one told with such compelling conviction. A borderline masterpiece.

15. HONEY BOY (Amazon PRIME)

Remember a few years back we had the McConaissance, where everything Matthew McConaughey did was solid gold after years of middling bullshit? I’m calling it right now: Shia LaBeouf is about to have the same thing. He wrote the script and plays a version of his own father in a brutal version of his own fucked up childhood as an up-and-coming child actor. It’s heartbreaking and absolutely riveting. I’m hoping he gets an Oscar nod, but regardless I implore you to seek this film out, he’s incredible.

14. MONOS (Hulu)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

A bizarre, bewildering, chaotic, and unsettling film. Some of the most beautiful photography I saw on the big screen this year, yet some of the most surreal and disturbing imagery as well. It’s a militarized, Latin American LORD OF THE FLIES with commentary on tribal behavior and violence. It can be a tough sit, but boy is it beautiful.

13. DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Netflix)

What a wonderful, welcome surprise! Eddie Murphy in an awards caliber performance as Rudy Ray Moore, the multi-hyphenate performer who created the alter ego Dolemite, spawning a film franchise and many legendary comedy albums. It’s obviously hilarious, and a great behind-the-scenes biopic, but also shockingly sweet and heartfelt, even between all the cuss words. I even teared up a couple times. The 3rd best thing Netflix released this year (more on that in a minute).

12. JOKER (Amazon)

You already saw this.

11. THE IRISHMAN (Netflix)

It’s far too long. It could’ve done with being cut as a three part miniseries or special. There’s about 45min worth of scenes that are quintessential DVD bonus features (I’m looking at you Action Bronson), but goddamn if it’s not Scorsese doing his Scorsese thing. It’s a gangster film, but it’s also a meditation on aging and death. Pesci is incredible and Pacino steals the show. Sure, the de-aging thing is distracting, the curb stomping scene is embarrassing. But still, I mean... IT’S MARTIN SCORSESE!

10. PAIN AND GLORY (Amazon)

Pedro Almodovar’s most personal work to date, a tale about making art and the loneliness of love. If you are unfamiliar with his work, this is a great jumping off point. His movies can be challenging and dark, but this film has such joy and hope amongst the heartache. The final reveal, while not earth shattering on paper, is nonetheless so moving it left the screening I attended without a dry eye in the place. It is his best film yet.

9. THE LIGHTHOUSE (Amazon)

From the director of THE WITCH comes another type of gothic horror, this time with the legendary Willem Dafoe and the (already mentioned) brilliant Robert Pattinson marooned on a lighthouse rock alone to drive each other completely insane. It’s hallucinatory, violent, disorienting, and flat-out brilliant. If it weren’t for another guy we’ll get to in a minute, Dafoe would be a lock for Best Supporting Actor here. It’s a slightly challenging film, with the period style mariner dialogue, but it’s just as funny as it is terrifying.

8. JOJO RABBIT (Amazon)

A beautiful, touching, funny, crowd-pleasing comedy about a little Nazi whose imaginary friend is Hitler. Yep, your read that correctly. There are about a million reasons this should absolutely not work. Yet, it’s one of the best theater going experiences I had this year. A must see... ESPECIALLY with Mom!

7. MARRIAGE STORY (Netflix)

The best written and acted film of the year, and the third Adam Driver vehicle to appear here. Sad but honest. Touching but brutal. It’s awkward and a bit of a bummer, but there’s such great work being done here, in front of and behind the camera. Noah Baumbach is a force of nature, and has yet to make a film I was even iffy about. He’s the real deal and this might be his masterpiece.

6. WAVES (Amazon)

Speaking of auteurs, Trey Edward Shults is now 3/3 on features after the brilliant KRISHA and IT COMES AT NIGHT. Here he follows a middle-class black family, led by a domineering father, through a tragic moment in all of their lives. The first half deals with the son’s story, then abruptly switches to the daughter’s life post said event. It shouldn’t work, yet somehow manages to be one of the most emotionally affecting pieces of art I saw this year. The camera never stops moving, constantly swirling and whirling and you can’t help to be sucked up into it. It’s a beautiful tragedy.

5. LONG SHOT (HBO)

The biggest and most pleasant surprise of the year. An opposites-attract rom-com with more brains, bite, social commentary, and laughs than it has any right to have. Easily the most fun you’ll have with (almost) the whole family... there’s a lot of cum jokes. But don’t let the vulgarity dissuade you! It’s a total riot with just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the saltiness. I love love love this movie.

4. THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE (Hulu)

What starts as a strange, dark comedy morphs into a FIGHT CLUB-esque thriller with allusions to disturbingly toxic masculinity and an offbeat take on what it takes to “be a man.” It is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and expertly made, while really having something to say, and it says it in a way I’ve never really seen before. It’s not surprising this didn’t get more attention, the characters are truly difficult to relate to, let alone root for, but as far as originality goes, you’d be hard pressed to find anything this year much better than this.

3. UNCUT GEMS (Amazon)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

The cinematic equivalent of being locked in the brain of a lunatic having a cocaine-fueled anxiety attack. If that sounds like fun (AND IT IS!!!) then this is the film for you! Oh, and Adam Sandler is going to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. For real. It’s a chaotic, stress-filled masterpiece.

2. ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD (Amazon)

My favorite filmmaker’s 2nd best film. A personal story about the love of film during the late 60s, a time of dirty hippies and Charles Manson, as well as the passing of the torch from old Hollywood to the “golden age” of cinema. It’s a fairytale of sorts, with Tarantino’s trademark flare for spontaneous violence and mining multiple genres to make his most mature work since PULP FICTION. I’ve been rewarded with new takeaways upon each subsequent viewing, and my love and appreciation for it only grows and grows. Brad Pitt is a lock for Best Supporting Actor, he’s magnificent. It was always going to be my #1 with a bullet no matter what, because it’s just that great...

1. PARASITE (Amazon)

...but then Bong Joon-ho, the master of new Korean cinema unleashed PARASITE. Not only is it the best film of 2019, it’s one of the best films I have ever seen. Like EVER ever. He is in such astonishing control of his craft it’s hard not to sit back and marvel and the sheer skill on display. You can be laughing one moment and then recoiling in horror during the same breath. He’s using multiple genre tropes, incredible set design, pitch perfect acting/writing, and such exquisite planning you can’t possibly know what’s in store for you from one scene to the next. It is an absolute masterpiece and if it doesn’t sweep every category it’s nominated for at this year’s Oscars, it’ll be a travesty. If you have even a passing interest in film as an art form, the power it can wield, and the messages it can convey, you owe it to yourself to see this film. It’s perfect.

Well, there it is. Thanks for reading any part of this. Now go see PARASITE. I love you.

#movies #top50 #2019 #movies of 2019

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eddycurrents · 5 years ago

Photo

For the week of 5 May 2019

Quick Bits:

Age of Conan: Bêlit #3 throws a few road bumps in the way of Bêlit’s plans as the Kushites renege of their deal and her drunken “Captain” continues being a jerk. I’m really liking this exploration of Bêlit’s early days from Tini Howard, Kate Niemczyk, Scott Hanna, Jason Keith, and Travis Lanham.

| Published by Marvel

Archie #704 throws some roadblocks in the way of Archie and Sabrina’s relationship through the form of a “Bachelor”-like charity programme set up by Cheryl. I love the even more stylized pastel colour palette from Matt Herms.

| Published by Archie Comics

Batman & The Outsiders #1 is an entertaining debut from Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini, Clayton Cowles. I’ve not read the arc in Detective Comics that feeds into this, but this first issue provides enough information for new readers now to be lost and gives good incentive to check out what’s come before. Great art from Soy and Gandini, with an interesting look inside a team and a compelling start to a mystery about the last survivor from a metahuman generating factory.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #4 concludes the QE2 aliens caper. Love the art from Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, and Sheelagh D.

| Published by Dynamite

Bronze Age Boogie #2 continues the strangest Doom Patrol story as the Martian invasion angle has taken hold in the future and a motley crew of heroes bands together to try to stop them. Stuart Moore, Alberto Ponticelli, Giulia Brusco, and Rob Steen are playing with some interesting cross-media influences to tell a highly entertaining tale. It’s rounded out with the usual goodies in the form of prose, letters, and what’s probably my favourite of the back-up strips so far, Major Ursa, from Tyrone Finch, Mauricet, Lee Loughridge, and Rob Steen.

| Published by Ahoy

Conan the Barbarian #6 sees Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Matthew Wilson, and Travis Lanham tell a story of Conan’s frustrations as a mercenary in the skirmishes between Turan and Stygia. People constantly underestimating Conan is always a fun story.

| Published by Marvel

Deadly Class #38 sees Marcus and Maria return to King’s Dominion. It’s kind of messed up seeing the new status quo, but at the same time the tension that Rick Remender, Wes Craig, Jordan Boyd, and Rus Wooton build here between to old Legacy kids and Marcus & Maria feels like it’s going to explode, suggesting something even worse for the characters is coming soon. It’s very captivating.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Detective Comics #1003 reveals the identity of the Arkham Knight. It’s not really anyone you could have possibly guessed, but an interesting addition to Batman’s rogues gallery. Also the cult surrounding the Arkham Knight is certifiably insane. Gorgeous artwork again from Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, and Nathan Fairbairn.

| Published by Marvel

The Empty Man #7 goes full Clive Barker as we get an explanation for what the Empty Man really is and how he continues to manifest himself upon reality. I know I keep saying it, but the body horror brought about in the art from Jesús Hervás and Niko Guardia just can’t be stressed enough. Every issue they seem to outdo themselves with creepy and intriguing designs.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Eve Stranger #1 looks to be another winner for Black Crown. This first issue sets up the titular character as a secret agent who seems to need to reboot her memory every week. Why, exactly, is left unknown, but that’s part of the fun. David Barnett, Philip Bond, Eva de la Cruz, and Jane Heir do a wonderful job here with the action and intrigue. Also it’s great to see Bond doing more espionage tinged action, his art always looks so great telling these kinds of stories.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Excellence #1 is a thoroughly excellent debut from Brandon Thomas, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, and Deron Bennett. The world and character building in this first issue is impeccable and the art from Randolph and Lopez will just blow you away. Incredible development of a magic-based society and the class structure therein.

| Published by Image / Skybound

The Flash #70 begins “Year One” promising new insight and occurrences during Barry’s origin story. Given that the last time this happened his mother was murdered, changing the timeline and resulting down the line in Barry trying to fix it with Flashpoint, anything’s possible. The real draw, though, is the stunning artwork from Howard Porter and Hi-Fi. Porter is really giving this his all and it shines through wonderfully.

| Published by DC Comics

Hawkman #12 brings Bryan Hitch’s tenure on the series to an end with the conclusion to “Cataclysm”. This is an excellent, action-packed final confrontation between the legion of Hawkmen and the Deathbringers, setting up a whole Hawkman for possibly the first time and hints as to worse things waiting on the horizon.

| Published by DC Comics

Infinite Dark #6 amplifies the terror and chaos as the dead-ish things exposed to the void start spreading fear and panic throughout the station. Ryan Cady, Andrea Mutti, K. Michael Russell, and Troy Peteri ratchet up the horror here.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Invaders #5 raises more questions after we thought some things were coming into focus in the previous issue, as Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Butch Guice, Alex Guimarães, and Travis Lanham continue “War Ghosts”. The tension here on the brink of all out war between the US and Atlantis is incredible, and there are more interesting twists that suggest something far more sinister occurring.

| Published by Marvel

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens #2 features a gorgeous adaptation of the story of Chinese mother goddess, Nuwa, by Chan Chau with letters by Jim Campbell. The artwork is amazingly beautiful supporting a very sweet tale.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / Archaia

Justice League Odyssey #9 opens up an interesting thread that Starfire, Cyborg, and Azrael may be unduly under the influence of Darkseid. Dan Abnett is setting up some simmering conflict between Jessica Cruz and the rest of the team here, along with quite a few occult catchphrases thrown in to help amplify the mood.

| Published by DC Comics

Lodger #5 is the end to this excellent crime drama from the Laphams and it is all kinds of messed up. We learn what really happened to Ricky’s family and...yeah. This has been a strange, at times disturbing, ride and they stuck the landing.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Murder Falcon #8 is the epic conclusion to this series as Jake and Murf take on Magnum Khaos. Between this series and Extremity, Daniel Warren Johnson has proven himself time and again as a master storyteller and it shines through with the heartrending end to this story. This one goes up to eleven.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Red Sonja & Vampirella Meet Betty & Veronica #1 is an interesting mash-up of the three properties from Amy Chu, Maria Sanapo, Vinicius Andrade, and Taylor Esposito. Some nice fish out of water humour as Sonja and Vampirella acclimate to Riverdale.

| Published by Dynamite

Savage Sword of Conan #5 concludes “The Cult of Koga Thun” from Gerry Duggan, Ron Garney, Richard Isanove, and Travis Lanham. Some interesting twists in this finale of what has been a highly entertaining adventure.

| Published by Marvel

She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #2 sees Martín Morazzo cut loose again with some of the designs and presentation for Luna’s dreams and schizophrenic episodes.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Boba Fett #1 features some incredibly rich artwork from Marc Laming and Neeraj Menon. Great detail throughout this story spotlighting Boba Fett’s cold, silent amorality.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #32 begins “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon” as Aphra and her young protege steal the titular MacGuffin. There’s some interesting flashbacks to Aphra’s youth and it’s great to see Caspar Wijngaard doing more Star Wars art, even if just the flashbacks.

| Published by Marvel

These Savage Shores #4 is a sumptuous feast. Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vittorio Astone, and Aditya Bidikar are elevating the artform of comics which each subsequent issue. The epistolary narrative, the horror and mythological themes, the plays upon the nine-panel grid, the shadowy character designs, the lush and spooky colours, the overlap with historical events, the unique approach and detail in each character’s missive...just one of these elements would result in an entertaining tale, this comic mixes all of them into a superlative package. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re not reading this series.

| Published by Vault

The Unstoppable Wasp #7 throws Nadia a birthday party, wherein she learns of her relations to what seems like half of the Marvel universe. Also, issues a death threat to Tony Stark. It’s cute, from Jeremy Whitley, Alti Firmansyah, Espen Grundetjern, and Joe Caramagna.

| Published by Marvel

War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1 sets up the conflict in the Pacific with Sindr while introducing a swath of new international characters to the Marvel universe. Also, Amadeus Cho continues to be a massive idiot, even at his shrunken size. Great art from Gang Hyuk Lim and Federico Blee.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Twins #4 sets up the twins with a pair of dates, allowing for some hilarious misadventures. Also, Polly seems to have a weird obsession with testicular cancer. Mark Russell, Stephen Byrne, and Dave Sharpe continue the fun, even though this one kind of takes us away from all ages material.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Wyrd #3 opens up the messy can of worms of Wyrd’s past further as a figure out of the past he can’t remember emerges for a “meet”. Great tone and atmosphere for this story from Curt Pires, Antonio Fuso, Stefano Simeone, and Micah Myers.

| Published by Dark Horse

X-Force #7 begins “The Counterfeit King” from Ed Brisson, Dylan Burnett, Damian Couceiro, Jesus Aburtov, and Joe Caramagna as past and present threaten to collide. Some nice character development for the team as they wait for Deathlok to do his thing.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Accell #20, Age of X-Man: Apocalypse & The X-Tracts #3, Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command #3, Betty & Veronica #5, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #10, By Night #11, Captain America #10, Captain Marvel #5, Catwoman #11, Curse Words #21, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6, Gunning for Hits #5, Hack/Slash vs. Chaos #5, Hit Girl: Season Two #4, House of Whispers #9, Ice Cream Man #12, James Bond: Origin #9, The Last Space Race #4, The Long Con #9, Marvels Annotated #3, Oberon #4, Ronin Island #3, Section Zero #2, Shadow Roads #7, Six Days, Spider-Man/Deadpool #50, Star Wars Adventures #21, Supergirl #30, Symbiote Spider-Man #2, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #44, Unnatural #9, Vindication #4, War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #2, Wasted Space #9, Waves, Wonder Woman #70

Recommended Collections: Accell - Volume 4: Slipstream Dream, Beyonders - Volume 1, Blackbird - Volume 1, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor - Volume 1, The Freeze - Volume 1, Justice League - Volume 2: Graveyard of the Gods, Pearl - Volume 1, Quantum & Woody! - Volume 2: Separation Anxiety, Red Sonja/Tarzan, Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider - Volume 1: Spider-Geddon, Star Wars: Age of Republic - Villains, Thor by Jason Aaron: Complete Collection - Volume 1, The Woods: Yearbook Edition - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy feels like a frappuccino.

#This Week in Comics

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catflowerqueen · 6 years ago

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Weaving Threads, Part One

Okay, that... took a lot longer than I thought it would, and I didn’t even really get to the part I was planning to get to. Hm... Ah, well, I can write the continuation for it later.

You can consider this a sort of “fix-it” for the Homestuck Epilogues, if you wish to do so, though that isn’t exactly my intention here. I actually enjoyed the epilogues, despite how sad and disheartening they were at some points, and consider this to be my way of allaying those feelings, if only a little, while simultaneously weaving them into a larger narrative I have been in the planning stages of for... I guess at least two years, at this point? Perhaps even longer. Maybe even since the Omegapause... which is a rather scary thought.

I can’t actually promise a swift continuation to this, as I have other obligations as well, both in my writing and my life in general, but I am hopeful that I will at least be able to get this small story done and out soon.

Oh, and if you’re confused by what’s going on and who’s POV this is, that’s intentional.

Feel free to leave questions in my inbox, though, again, no guarantees on swift responses.

The clouds obscure the moon behind you as you alight silently upon the ground, still on your toes, before slowly settling your feet fully on the grass. You take a moment to appreciate the fact that your godtiered state allows for the use of your wings to be optional when it comes to flying, as it has enabled your journey here to be silent and your presence unnoticed. While you would normally be disappointed by the lack of the dramatic flair that swiftly pulling in your gorgeous wings as you landed would have afforded you, right now you are too busy relishing the air of mystery that surrounds you. Unlike some people you know, you actually have class and can enjoy the subtleties and challenge of remaining unnoticed and not receiving immediate credit for or acknowledgement of your actions.

Especially when the payoff will include the eventual realization of the hand you had to play in events, and the slow, delicious, dawning horror that the people involved were completely at your mercy; you could have done so much more, so much worse, and there is not a single thing they could have done about it had you chosen that course of action.

There are reasons people often fear you the most out of your little group, despite your general passivity.

But you digress.

After the customary moment of marveling the atmosphere, both the physical and the metaphorical, you creep quietly towards the camp your prey has made. You would be surprised at the young godlings’ foolishness in committing the classic mistake of falling so hard into revelry and smug assurances that their future plans are foolproof, despite the many, many, times their past plans had gone so pear-shaped by the end if not for the fact that you, unfortunately, are acquainted with their future selves and the circles of stupidity they don’t even try to pull themselves out of most of the time. Instead, they actively try to pull others into them. And those attempts end up succeeding a lot of the time, and then infecting those poor, unlucky, drawn-in souls with a propensity for creating stupidity circles of their own and then repeating the exact same thing over. And over. And over. And they already caught your “family” in it long before you were hatched, and mildly infected you as well. Unfortunately.

But tonight, as you kneel down behind the young Seer and place your hand upon her forehead—careful not to wake her, or scratch her with your claws—you get the chance to actually give someone a little push to break those circles and form newer, better ones. But not ones that are any less stupid, seeing as you, to reiterate the point made above, about stupidity drawing others towards itself and then repeating ad infinitum, are currently smack dab in the middle of a stupidity parade at this very moment. And the fact that it is a stupidity parade is an immutable fact, that you are stating for the record. But, to your chagrin, it does not mean that actions necessary for the continuation of the alpha timeline are not taking place here. Also to your chagrin, you cannot deny that you are, at least a teeny bit, enjoying the thrill that comes with knowledge that you and your powers are the only ones who can set events onto their proper course, nor can you deny your enjoyment of the challenge that comes with doing so discreetly, with none the wiser until things come to their full fruition.

You may not be a time player, but you love seeing time loops stabilize and fall into place while paradoxes resolve themselves. You consider these things one of the marks of a well-crafted narrative, at least for certain genres, and there is practically nothing you love more than well-crafted narratives.

Even ones which would lead to your non-existence, you acknowledge, as you let your powers flow into the Seer’s mind, opening hers and allowing you to see the fragments of an offshoot timeline that you’ve now forced her to witness and then subconsciously analyze with her own powers. You watch as her face crumples and she whines a little in obvious emotional discomfort, and you lament that those timelines can never become alpha. Such despair… how seamlessly they fed into each other… how well they showed the subtleties and character of those involved… but, alas, it was never meant to be.

As you remove first your hand from the sleeping Seer’s head, then yourself from her vicinity, and finally your feet from the ground, you ponder yet again over the recurring notion that your habit of mourning over the non-happenings of events and timelines which would result in your being Doomed and/or dead and/or non-existent all while acknowledging the fact that you do actually like being alive so that you can have the chance to mourn them is a large part of the reason that most people you are vaguely aware of consider you to be—pardon the vulgarity—completely shithive maggots.

Well, that and the way that you can easily quantify most of your doomed selves’ “losses” as landslide victories for a multitude of reasons beyond their necessity to lose in order to preserve and further the alpha timeline, and that you can do it in such a way that no one ever perceives such quantifications as indicative of you being a sore loser. Which you really are not: you genuinely and truly believe that most, if not all, of those so-called “losses” were in reality victories, and you can use logic to prove exactly why you are correct in thinking so.

But all that is beside the point. What was done tonight is done; with any luck, it will be enough to set things on their proper course. And as you alight once more upon the ground after having finally found your transportation once more and given her a pat on the head to get her to stop pretending to be asleep before retrieving a fish from your sylladex to give her incentive to to actually bring you back to the correct time and place you left, you can’t help but smile deviously in anticipation for when your actions and the reasoning behind them are finally revealed to everyone else. You look forward to leaving their frantic messages with no response, and their questions forever unanswered.

…Or at least unanswered by you, since you are sure that your sister or “niece” or someone will eventually take pity on them and explain. Or get annoyed by their badgering and explain. It’s always a toss-up between the two when it comes to dealing with the consequences of your actions, really, since heaven knows you’re never going to deal with them.

>Rose Lalonde: Wake up

#homestuck #fanfiction #homestuck epilogues #spoilers #stars not constellations #weaving threads

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cummunication · 5 years ago

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What being ugly has taught me

It’s no secret life is easier for attractive people. Studies show being beautiful helps with forming new relationships and making more money. But if like me, you didn’t win the genetic lottery, don’t think you’re doomed to a life of misery. While this may be true, I’ve learned a lot from being unattractive as it has forced me to work on my personality. This way, when people do actually like me, I know it’s not (only) for my looks. I’ve paid extra attention to learning to communicate, be funny and have empathy. Even so, I know how hard it can be when you hate what you see in the mirror; especially when you see others who got lucky with looks getting more attention, love and adoration just because they’re pretty. Whether you are ugly or gorgeous, know you have something to bring to the table, even if it’s not long, luscious hair or big, blue eyes. It starts with an awareness that you will never be America’s next top model and learning to accept that. But just because someone is a Victoria’s Secret model, doesn’t mean they have more worth than you. “You will be defined by what you have the nerve to aim at being. In doing so, you will challenge and question what smart is. You will not be generic, or predictable. Attractive is only what we define it to be. Don’t pigeonhole yourself so quickly. Live the life you want to live – even if you didn’t win the genetic lottery.” This reminds me of my old friend, Ryan. Ryan was my best friend in middle school & high school and was stereotypically attractive (big eyes, long hair and thin). I was jealous of her and guys would come up to me asking for her number. When I liked someone and they met Ryan, they could careless about me. It’s not just the fact I envied her, but it confused me because she was an absolute bitch so I couldn’t understand why they liked her so much. They would all befriend me but want to date her. It hurt a lot because I knew they liked my personality but liked Ryan’s looks more. She was vain, superficial, dumb as a log, a gossip and just plain mean. This is why I eventually ended up telling her I couldn’t be around her anymore, because she was so two faced. This experience taught my teenage self that even if you’re nice, if you’re not hot, you mean nothing. Nowadays, I’ve learned my appearance doesn’t define me and if a guy doesn’t give me the time of day, he’s shallow and not worth my time. I’m ugly, and I know it. In case you think I’m kidding, let me make something perfectly clear: I’m not an idiot, my vision is fine. I know my thighs are too big, my face undefined, & almost every part of me could use some work. Physical beauty is a kind of social currency I cannot redeem. This makes things harder, and not just in love and relationships. I’ve had to work harder with the opposite sex because I don’t come in a pretty package. I’ve had people explain to me how I can improve my skin and diets I should try. I’m not the only one to experience this. Attractive waiters earn more tips. “Beautiful people get more job interviews, get promoted more quickly and make more money than their unattractive counterparts. They’re even seen as more “morally upright.” Studies have even shown a bias in juries when the defendant is attractive. This is why the ad campaigns that tell everyone they’re beautiful are so dangerous. They link beauty with worthiness and kindness, doing nothing for the people thrust into the world knowing that simply isn’t true.” Something I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that looks don’t last forever but your soul does. Your skin and body will change throughout the years, your hair color and length will vary, there will be times in my life where my skin is breaking out and my body is gaining weight. Underneath and through it all, I am still the same person. Our exterior shell which we call our body, is ever changing, temporary and impermanent. It is our spirit that we take with us when we transition and our body stays behind. We should teach people, especially women, that their beauty doesn’t define them. We need to teach them that their worth comes from much more than their appearance. We need to stop shopping the narrative that everyone is beautiful (or could be, if they did x, y, z). We need to lift women up to be competitive workers, voracious learners and empathetic people. I might not be beautiful, but that’s only one good quality among many. I am a good and loyal friend. I am not mean to people on the Internet. I have good things about myself that people have to work to see. Getting through my appearance is just an extra wrapping that people need to get through to the present that is me. A callous, ignorant attitude can make even the sexiest person disgusting while a sweet, good heart can make someone beautiful. When we die, people don’t remember our double d’s or crystal, clear skin. It’s how we treated others and made people feel about themselves which stays with a person. A big booty can get us only so far; but kindness, compassion and intelligence are, (at-least to me), the qualities that make us truly beautiful.

#truebeauty #true beauty #beautiful #innerbeauty #inner beauty

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storytellingape · 6 years ago

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mad about you

1521 words; clydeland

After Morgan, Stensland’s life sort of falls apart. ‘Sort of’ is actually putting it mildly. What happens is nothing short of catastrophic. First, he’s fired from his temp job at the furniture store. Then, after failing to pay the rent for the fourth month in a row, his landlord kicks him out. The worst part of it all is that he winds up through no fault of his own in Boone County, Wes Virginia: broke, friendless, and with no clear recollection of how he’d wound up there.

When Stensland tries to recall what might have led him to travel halfway across the country to what can only be described as ostensibly the middle of nowhere, what comes to mind is only a grey haze: flashes of memories too vague to whittle together into a concrete narrative. Liquor had been involved, naturally. As had been tears.

For a month he lives off Doritos and tins of Campbell’s mushroom soup before finding gainful employment at an innocuous little bar called Duck Tape where the job description remains largely unclear and his list of tasks ranges anywhere from entering a list of rolling expenses into a spreadsheet to mopping up vomit from the grimy bathroom floor.

Mostly he just stands around watching his boss, Clyde, serve drinks at the bar one-handed. He’d lost his hand during a tour in Iraq and now wears a prosthetic arm though by no means does that make him any less adept at making cocktails or driving stick shift or punching people in the face when they’re being a dick.

By all accounts, Stensland has no business working at the bar but for some reason Clyde keeps him around even if he can’t mix drinks to save his life and has the tendency to hog the jukebox whenever his favourite song comes on. Stensland can even barely hold his liquor: two shots and he’ll spiral into a bout of self-loathing, four and he’ll start taking off his clothes. It’s become a bit of a problem with Clyde having to wrangle Stensland off the pool table and lock him in the backroom until he promises to at least put his pants back on.

Then there’s the problem of Clyde himself which vacillates between horribly annoying to downright embarrassing. He’s got most of the qualities Stensland enjoys in a person: nice without being too nice, a good ear for stories, with a handsome face that rakes in tips. And he has an accent - jesus - so that when he forms words slowly and very carefully with his mouth, Stensland’s spine sings just a little. In short, Clyde is a good guy and Stensland could date him if he weren’t dead inside and doomed to a life of heartbreak — would have, maybe, in another life; they would have the cutest children.

Duck Tape is just like any other small town bar: dim and cosy, with pool tables and an old jukebox, a counter top that’s never not sticky and a bathroom that hasn’t seen better days since 1987. The profits come and go and so do the number of customers though Stensland has learned over time to remember names and faces, telling apart first timers from the crush of usual patrons, haggard guys clad in denim from head to toe often with the gait of the road-weary. Usually they’ll be trickling in late from work and seating themselves in their favourite corners.

Clyde makes strong drinks, has a generous pour, and he never forgets a face. He’s a good listener, smiling at all the right intervals, offering a drink on the house whenever the situation calls for it.

The first month, Stensland keeps dropping things and ends up almost breaking the ice machine. The second, and he’s close to having a breakdown, his arms aching all the time from lugging boxes of this and that to the store room. By the third, he’s still somehow employed but no less frazzled when Clyde has him working behind the bar, handing him bottles and refilling drinks. But he gets used to it, eventually, and gets better at deflecting wayward hands flitting in the general direction of his arse, falling into a rhythm of waking up late in the afternoon to choke down two coffees and work a twelve, sometimes fourteen hour shift.

Often, he gets home at seven in the morning, full of breakfast/dinner courtesy of Clyde. Clyde drops him off because he’s got a car, and because, he claims, it’s not out of the way at all, even though he lives in an opposite direction altogether; they listen to Motown on the radio with the windows pulled down, the wind making hell of their hair, and drive through sleepy roads still empty of traffic, sometimes talking, sometimes not.

He can get used to this, Stensland thinks as he tips face-first into bed after barreling straight through the front door, too tired to change out of his clothes. He listens to the soothing rumble of Clyde’s car driving off, kicking off his shoes and shimmying under the covers; then he’s asleep within seconds.

Stensland doesn’t have a lot of friends in Boone County; his entire social life revolves around Clyde and his family: there’s Mellie, his sister, gorgeous just like him, and tall, and Jim, who comes around the bar for free drinks sometimes bringing his precocious five year old daughter along.

On Sundays, when the bar is closed, Stensland sleeps in and wakes only to piss, shower, and eat because he’s hungry. Sometimes if he’s lucky, Clyde invites him to family barbecues, the location of which changes from time to time depending on whose turn it is to host it. This time it’s Clyde’s, and Stensland shows up bringing nachos, only because he’d feel like an interloper otherwise. Clyde’s house is small, but charming, a bungalow with a shingled roof and wrap-around porch, an actual white picket fence. There’s a bouncy castle set up in the lawn for the kids, and Stensland can already see Clyde slaving away at the grill even from a distance away, taking intermittent sips from a beer bottle and waving away bees. He’s wearing an apron over his clothes. He shouldn’t look good wearing it. But frankly, the man can wear a blanket and still look good, so the sight of him makes Stensland feel a bit faint though no more than usual.

“Hey,” Stensland says as he approaches, dodging a wayward kid on his way to the bouncy castle.

Clyde offers him a small smile. Stensland dies just a little. “I was lookin’ everywhere for you. I thought you were gonna flake on me.”

“Me?” Stensland laughs. “Never.” He sets the bag of Nachos on the table next to the array of other foodstuff: bowls of corn chips, some dip, plenty of coleslaw, a mountain of cornbread. “Need help with the grill?” he offers.

Clyde raises his good hand. “Nope, I got this. Now you just sit there and look pretty and enjoy yourself because you’re my guest and not working today. All right?”

Stensland flushes at being called pretty. Clyde doesn’t mean it of course; it’s just an expression. Still, it makes him oddly shy, and he bounces back on forth on his heels before confessing, “I don’t know anybody here.”

Clyde doesn’t look up from flipping a beef patty. “You can sit here then, if you’d like. Keep me company. I don’t know anybody neither. It’s mostly Jim’s friends from high school.”

“What about your friends?” Stensland asks.

Clyde just shrugs one shoulder, like that answers it. “There’s beer in the cooler.” He points to it with a spatula, and Stensland lets out a triumphant noise when he pops the lid off a Corona. It tastes like shit, but at least it’s free.

Free keeps him from going hungry. Stensland barely has any savings. He’s subletting a room/apartment in someone’s backyard, a square featureless building that had formerly been storage space, with terrible insulation and only one window looking out into a grey fence. The landlord sometimes forgets to unlatch the side-gate, resulting in Stensland having to climb inelegantly over the railing more times than not, with Clyde watching from the car and offering to help, giving him a boost that sometimes results in Stensland kicking him in the nose or straddling his face. Stensland’s whole living situation is shit, but it’s the only one Stensland can currently afford. He has a roof over his head, a mattress and an electric kettle. He can’t really complain.

#clydeland #kylux adjacent #stensland #clyde logan #my fic

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