#final impact 1992

[soupy-sez]

FINAL IMPACT (1992) dir. Joseph Merhi, Stephen Smoke

[nba24highlights]

Shaquille O’Neal's Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech! #shaq #hof #halloffame #speech #nba24highlights #NBA24Highlights

Shaquille O’Neal delivers his Speech upon being Enshrined to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2016. This was one of the Greatest HOF Speeches ever given for Basketball. This guy literally thanked everyone from beginning to the end in order, this is the way it's supposed to be done. Congrats Shaq, I watched you and Penny make magic, I watched you and Kobe make magic, and I saw you and Dwyane make Magic, it was a hell of a journey, I'm excited to see where you're future will take you, we'll be talking about Shaq for as long as he's living and beyond Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal was always the biggest kid on the court. From his days as a McDonald’s High School All-America to his backboard-shattering days in the NBA, the man with the endless Rolodex of nicknames and dance moves was known as much for his fun-loving attitude as his basketball ability. A two-time unanimous First Team All-America at LSU and 1992 National Player of the Year, the Orlando Magic made Shaq the number one overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft. Shaq’s impact was immediate, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1993 and later leading the Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals. He would then become a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, where he teamed up with Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson to win three NBA championships in three years. O’Neal was named Finals MVP in each series. Next stop was Miami, where Shaq again earned an NBA title in 2006 and a seventh consecutive spot on the All-NBA First Team. He won Olympic gold in 1996, led the NBA in scoring average twice, and somehow managed to keep his sense of childlike wonder through it all. #nba24highlights #NBA24Highlights

[dear-ao3]

bucket here

I’d just like to note that the instant I sent the ask I started writing in the hopes you would say yes and I like actually squeaked I was so happy when you did and also I’ve been writing nonstop since then so bear with me:

*takes deep breath* Safety restrictions were famously lax in F1 until the 1990s. The deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna within days of each other at the 1994 Imola GP sparked a huge movement for new safety systems, especially barrier changes. As Senna and Ratzenburger both died in accidents related to the fact that the safety barriers at the edges of tracks were just CEMENT WALLS, this was a huge push for many teams, drivers, and tracks. No one wanted the death of more legends on their hands. These accidents also inspired additions like headrests in 1996 and the HANS system (head and neck support), put in place in 2003. HANS can be seen when drivers get out of the car — it’s that space-age looking neck brace/strap on their shoulders and helmet.

Some safety systems that are much less talked about are things like the accelerometer, first used in 2014 and placed in the drivers ear. This measures the forces during impacts, and its location in the ear allows both for less invasive placement and accurate data on head/neck movement for drivers. This then leads to better safety systems capable of being studied, reasoned for, and implemented. The addition in 2016 of a camera that faces the driver also allows for safety teams to see exactly how the driver is affected during crashes, as well as giving fans a fun camera angle (which I can rant about as well, camera angles in F1 are a huge thing for me). 

Rapid fire safety systems (there will be a quiz):

Helmets were first introduced in 1952, but not required until 1977.

Seatbelts/racing harnesses required starting 1972.

Fireproof race suits have been required since 1975.

The safety car didn’t even exist until 1993 (trial runs in 1992, first seen in 1973 Canadian GP)

Pit lane speed limit introduced in 1994. Yes, before this they just ripped through as fast as they could; no, the pit crews didn’t stand any further away.

Wheel tethers introduced in 1999 after an unholy amount of incidents going back to pre-1950 (AKA official F1 start) where the wheels just came off and smacked drivers, marshals, and fans, usually killing them instantly.

The most notable safety system recently is the Halo and VSC (virtual safety car). The halo was put in place in 2018 and will hopefully never leave. It has been the savior of hundreds of lives throughout Formula series, but most well known in Formula 1 were Lewis Hamilton (2021 Monza GP, stopped Max Verstappen's car from becoming a permanent fixture in the side of his head) and Romain Grosjean (2020 Bahrain GP, pushed the crash fencing up away from his head as he hit the barriers), as well as possibly Zhou Guanyu (2022 British GP, flipped upside down and up over tire barriers into catch fencing) and Max Verstappen (2021 British GP, incredibly hard hit into a tire barrier — 51G impact at 160 MPH/257 KPH). 

There had been a number of close calls that brought up the possibility of halos, like Fernando Alonso almost having his head removed from this world at Spa in 2012 on lap one, and an incident between Michael Schumacher and Vitantonio Luizzi at Abu Dhabi in 2010 that left Luizzi’s Force India inches from Schumacher’s face.

Unfortunately, it took the horrific death of Jules Bianchi in 2014 at the Japanese GP and a number of junior driver fatalities for the Halo to be finally seriously considered and implimented. Bianchi’s incident also led to the Virtual Safety car, which was put in place in 2015 to keep accidents like his from happening. I can talk more about his incident as well if you’d like. It’s a masterpiece of administrative fuck ups and terrible oversights.

(Ask me about it and camera angles I dare you)

HELLO BUCKET

this is wonderful thank u thank u

i did know a little about the senna crash (tho not the concrete barriers) (i do know that when it happened they were trying to revive the drivers union which is awful) and the bianchi crash (i looked at that quite extensively for update post) but Yeesh yeah the safety stuff is Terrifying. pls. pls tell me about the camera angles.

[ufonaut]

"a disaster beyond description" - the parallax view on parallax (& coast city's destruction)

i've often talked about the importance of pre-parallax retcon hal jordan, what a radical move his downfall had been for an art medium so uniquely focused on status quo and how much walking that back in post-2005 continuity damaged the character & his development. however, something i've become increasingly interested in lately is the outsider point of view on the magnitude of coast city's destruction and hal's descent into madness -- the reverberations of one of the darkest days in the dcu were far and wide for a good long while there but rarely acknowledged outside of nostalgia pieces nowadays and even more rarely understood as a thoroughly visceral, well-written, well-planned arc that intentionally portrayed the superhero world as largely unsympathetic to the trauma of one of their own but the average civilian as grappling with that loss nearly on the same scale that hal did.

to that effect, i thought i would show a highlights reel of this outsider POV and how much it adds to the weight of the pre-2005 story. while i've accepted some tie-ins to major events (ie zero hour 1994, final night 1996), this will feature titles entirely unrelated to green lantern presented in real life chronological order by publication date in order to showcase the impact that's compelled me so (that's no convergence: green lantern, no legends of the dcu #33-36, etc).

"every office, every home, every school and hospital is atomized. the west coast and its entire ecosystem is instantaneously shattered-- and more than seven million men, women and children that once called the coast city area home-- die."

to set the scene, the explosion that destroys coast city actually appears in superman 1987 #80 (cover date: aug 1993) as part of hank henshaw and mongul's plan.

the destruction had spread as far as santa barbara & the los padres national forest. getting closer to ground zero, hank henshaw also proceeds to resolutely take care of a handful of the sole survivors:

(adventures of superman 1987 #503, cover date: aug 1993)

you all know the reading order here. past the return of superman and the events of emerald twilight, the first outsiders to have gotten the news are the darkstars

whose immediate course of action is to brand hal jordan a criminal (darkstars #23, cover date: aug 1994)

and as zero hour-induced temporal anomalies keep coming up, the darkstars start seriously considering further tampering with time in order to prevent "the creation of a power-mad monster" (darkstars #24, cover date: sept 1994).

it's a sentiment that the majority of hal's justice league colleagues share, as zero hour: crisis in time and the final night both tell us, but a more sympathetic view comes two years later in the spectre 1992 #47 (cover date: nov 1996)

and a more neutral one from waverider in superman: the doomsday wars #2 (cover date: dec 1998)

interestingly enough, more details of the in-universe perception of hal's actions comes from deadman: dead again

where we learn that "sources close to the JLA" have actually issued a press statement naming hal as wholly responsible for the green lantern corps massacre, with no hint that they've been equally forthcoming about the motive behind his actions (deadman: dead again #4, cover date: oct 2001)

the last pre-retcon word goes to superman: day of doom #3 (cover date: jan 2003), a sobering portrayal of the immense horror of coast city's annihilation and subsequently a look into the reality that had made hal snap:

post-retcon, nostalgia pieces like dcu: legacies #8 (feb 2011) and dc retroactive: superman - the 80s (oct 2011) both treat the mad-with-grief version of the story as the truth -- as does the 2015 convergence event --but outside of these few instances, the tour de force of storytelling that is this years-long arc has been cast aside in favor of an unnecessary retcon. as the zero hour: crisis in time 30th anniversary approaches, i'd say it's just the right time to remember that hal (unrepentant hal, power-hungry hal, hell-bent on making everything right hal) had had a perfectly proportional reaction to the tragedy he'd endured, if not outright a justified one.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Christopher McCandless, The Man who Hiked to Death

Born February 12th 1968, in Inglewood, California, Christopher McCandless was immediately plunged into a chaotic family. His sister, Carine McCandless, documented in her book ‘The Wild Truth’ that they shared their home with six half-siblings. Carine also alleged that her parents were abusive, both physically and verbally, toward the McCandless children. She documented how her father was an alcoholic, and their mother often fed off his evil energy, inflicting her own abuse upon them.

The McCandless never stayed in one place for long as Walt McCandless worked for NASA as a rocket scientist, taking him across the U.S. Eventually, the family settled in Virginia long enough for Christopher and Carine to graduate.

Following his graduation from university, Christopher knew he needed to travel. He had spent much of his childhood moving from town to town, state to state, and this had a profound impact on his outlook on life.

He only stayed in one place for a short time, seeing the beauty in exploring the world. In mid-1990, Christopher left Virginia for new pastures and began driving West. He stopped in towns and cities along the way, picking up odd jobs to make ends meet.  By April of 1992, Christopher was itching for another adventure, and that is when he decided to make his way to Alaska, the final frontier of the U.S. 

Incredibly, Christopher managed to hitchhike from Carthage, South Dakota, to Fairbanks, Alaska, a whopping 3,000+ miles through Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon, Canada. Eventually, he arrived, and he began planning his largest expedition yet. He wanted to hike through the Denali National Park. The park covers over 6,000,000 acres in the middle of Alaska. Communities are few and far between, with many Alaskans congregating near large towns and cities.

Despite the harsh weather conditions of Alaska, Christopher McCandless seemed ill-prepared. Fellow hikers and locals recalled seeing Christopher arrive in Fairbanks carrying only a backpack. He also stood out for his ‘Hippie-like’ appearance, choosing to remain unkempt and dirty. April 28th 1992, would mark the last day that Christopher McCandless would ever see the seeds of civilisation. 

That day, Jim Gallien was flagged down by Christopher, who was looking for a ride to the Stampede Trail in the Denali National Park. Gallien later told author Jon Krakauer that he had doubts about the 24-year-old’s survival from the start. When he got into his car, Christopher had minimal clothing and a backpack. Christopher explained that he was carrying a 10 lb bag of rice, a Remmington semi-automatic rifle and a pair of Wellington boots inside his bag.  Gallien was, in fact, so concerned that he offered to drive Christopher to Anchorage so that he could purchase the necessary equipment for him. He knew how harsh and unforgiving the Alaskan landscape could be, and per population, it has an alarmingly high missing persons rate. Throughout their drive, Christopher assured Gallien that he would be fine and had hiked many times before. 

It wasn’t until months later that Gallien learned Christopher’s real name, as when he had picked him up, he had simply given the name ‘Alexander Supertramp’. The only item that Christopher accepted from Gallien was a map. Before leaving, Christopher asked Gallien to snap a picture of him at the Stampede Trail, making this one of the last photographs ever taken of Christopher McCandless.

For two days, Christopher hiked the Alaskan wilderness, soaking in the beauty of the Denali National Park. After a gruelling march, Christopher made it to an abandoned blue and white bus. Whilst the exterior was rusted and hadn’t been loved for some time, Christopher recognised it was the perfect shelter and base camp. He wasted no time setting up his gear and prepping his new home.

The blue and white bus that would become a notorious tourist hotspot was not Christopher’s intended finish line. According to his diary, which was later discovered with his body, Christopher had planned to hike through the park and to the Bering Sea. Christopher remained at the blue and white bus for two months, eagerly journaling every step. Christopher wrote in his diary that he had begun consuming the roots of the Hedysarum Alpinum plant.  Christopher also detailed in his diary how he had trapped and hunted small game and wildlife. He had successfully hunted a moose/caribou with his rifle. However, the meat was rotten by the time he came to consume it. With just 10 lbs of rice and foraged plants, Christopher rapidly began losing weight. 

The lack of food and people was beginning to get to Christopher, who heavily documented his trip via his journal and camera. On July 3rd 1992, Christopher packed up his things, leaving the blue and white bus behind.

With a map in hand, Christopher hoped to reach civilisation once more, but the landscape had changed and he became distressed and returned to the blue and white bus to wait out the days until the river froze over once more. 

On July 14th, he also began to incorporate the seeds of the Hedysarum Alpinum plant into his diet, as was documented in his diary. The meagre diet of plant material and small animals was nowhere near enough to sustain Christopher, who continued to waste away. As he continued to weaken, he lost his energy and ability to forage further afield for plants and fruits. 

Christopher McCandless made his final diary entry on what he noted as ‘Day 107’. The entry simply reads, “Beautiful blue berries.” Author Krakauer noted that days 108 through 112 had / (slashes) but no words, and after Day 113, no more entries were made. Sometime around these final diary entries, Christopher wrote, “I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye, and may God bless all.” It is clear Christopher knew his end was coming, and he had made his final preparations and peace with his fate. 

 It wasn’t until September 6th 1992 that the grizzly truth would be revealed.

That day, hikers in the Denali National Park came across the blue and white rusted van that Christopher had once called home. 

These hikers had the same idea as Christopher and were eager to use the bus as shelter.

When they approached the bus, they found a note taped to the door which read “Attention possible visitors. S.O.S. I need your help; I am injured, near death and too weak to hike out. I am all alone; this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless, August.” 

As they moved through the bus, they saw the familiar outline of a human in a sleeping bag. After reading the note, they hoped that Chris had managed to survive, but all hopes were dashed when the stench of decay overcame them. The hikers took a closer look, and their worst suspicions were confirmed. Christopher McCandless was deceased, his body decaying in a sleeping bag in the back of a rusted-out bus. 

Alaska State Troopers and Denali Park staff were summoned to the bus where Christopher’s body was recovered. His family were notified of the terrible news, and preparations for his body to be returned to Virginia were made.

Christopher’s passing marked a turning point in the culture surrounding hiking and travelling. He had wilted away in the wilderness when a bridge and cabin were within a few miles of his location. 

[4ndj4]

Video games the Dogs would play

(headcanons)

! ! !

Cn – games they could actually "canonically" play (1972-1992)

Mdrn – games they would play in this day and age (1972-2024)

~

Mr. White

Cn: Dune

Or any rts games

I think he'd like Warcraft: Orcs and Humans the most but he didn't even get to see it 😭

Mdrn: Mount and Blade

Ridiculously kind to every npc, has to max out every relation score

I said it a billion times and I'll say it again, he likes history.

Mr. Orange

Cn: Police Quest III

I wonder why-

I guess he'd also like Street fighter, I can imagine him playing with Holdaway (Bison player??)

Mrdn: Far Cry 3

Vaas Montenegro fanboy??

Plays the whole thing in like a week, then tryhards the open world

Shits his pants every time he sees a cassowary or a rabid dog

Mr. Pink

Cn: Civilisation I

Mdrn: Oh uhm, League of Legends (I'm sorry)

I know this bitch spend hours on Civ cursing at Barbarians

Every single npc hates him

Not a hardcore stinky tryhard though...

Refuses to play female characters so people don't think he's a simp

Maybe even World of Tanks

Mr. Blonde

Cn: Wolfenstein or Doom

I mean it has to be fps games...

Shooting stuff makes him happy

Mdrn: Counter strike 1.6

Learned Russian from the players

Hates playing the counter terrorist even though he's probably better at it

Mr. Brown

Cn: Final fantasy III

Nerd.

Probably played I and II like 30 times too

Mdrn: Genshin Impact (I am so sorry)

Eula main??

Is the hardcore stinky tryhard

Maybe even Doki Doki Literature Club, hear me out on this... (he'd like Natsuki the most)

Mr. Blue

Cn: Pong (probably)

Hehe ball go left right

Mdrn: Pong (probably)

[sebastianravkin]

Another Book Recommendation for 2024

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Seems obvious and possibly pointless for the Tumblr audience, but hear me out.

CONTENT WARNING: mention of dark moments in LGBTQ+ history.  If you would like to avoid, skip Point #1.

The below notes reflect a discussion concerning the book Good Omens I had with a group of my undergraduate interns over a couple of lunches last semester.  Given that they all loved the show, I had assumed they had all read the book.  Not all of them had, and for those that did, their knowledge of when the book was originally published and an understanding of its historical context was surprisingly limited.  I thought that others may be interested in these points, and so am sharing them here.  

1) *SKIP TO AVOID CONTENT WARNING* To understand the impact of Good Omens when it was published in 1990 on the LGBTQIA+ community, it helps to understand the cultural environment at the time of its publishing, at least in the United States. 

The book came out towards the end of the height of the AIDS epidemic (1981 - early 90s).  I can not stress enough how terrifying this was for the LGBTQIA+ community to live through.  People were afraid - of dying, of watching loved ones die, of being separated from their loved ones as they died, of being ostracized, of being denied medical help, of being attacked and beaten.  While there was a short fluorescence of nominal acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community during the 1970s, the societal response to the AIDS epidemic was a huge step backwards.  People became cruel(er), whether out of fear or ignorance or opportunity.

Good Omens came quietly onto the scene during this time, providing an alternate universe in which a gay-presenting angel (and his gender-fluid demon friend) could live in a world without the AIDS crisis.  At the same time, this angel did live in fear of his world literally ending, and really would like to have just gotten back to his comfy chair and his Regency silver snuffboxes.  Escapism reading at its best, really.

In addition, the book was published in 1990, so before many of the cultural moments that helped lead to social change but are now taken for granted.  Such as . . . .

-Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in November 1991 (which, by the way, means there was a very short window of time where people were reading Good Omens while he was still alive).

-Sir Elton John came out in 1992

-“Don’t ask, don’t tell” became official policy of the U.S. Military in 1993 (finally repealed in 2011)

-the establishment of LGBTQIA+ centers on college campuses surged in the mid-1990s

-Ellen came out on her show in 1997

-Will and Grace first aired in 1998

-Matthew Shepard was murdered in 1998 (the Federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act bearing his name was not passed until 2007). 

2) The book is queer coded for 1990.  As queer coded as the show is for current times. 

I have heard multiple comments from GenZ students along the lines of ‘there is nothing queer about the book’, and I have read commentary that Neil Gaiman caved to fan pressure in modernizing the script for the show. But I have also heard comments from GenX peers, including one of whom said “it was the gayest book I read in the 90s”. I have highlighted 15 passages in my teaching copy of the book that would have been queer-coded in 1990, 12 of which would go unnoticed today as far as I can tell based on discussions with many of my Millennial and GenZ students. 

It is important to keep in mind that the vocabulary of the 1980s and 90s relating to the LGBTQIA+ community was exceedingly limited; Mr. Gaiman and Sir Pratchett worked within this limited vocabulary, and were working within the stereotypes of the times, to portray Crowley and Aziraphale. And readers are meant to love them. Possibly more importantly, the derogatory comments concerning Aziraphale come from unlikable characters, and so the reader not only ends up feeling defensive of the angel but also does not want to be associated with those who hold negative opinions of him. I can think of few better ways to create social change. 

In terms of the show adaptation, whenever I watch a movie or show based on a book, my first concern is whether or not the adaptation makes me feel the way the book did. I am not an artist, so I do not know how one translates the written to the visual and I do not envy those attempting to do so.  But I do know that successful adaptations are almost never a one-to-one translation. What I can say in this context is that, to me, the show does feel like the book in terms of its themes, its humor, its timely social commentary. So whyever and however Mr. Gaiman updated it, I would argue it was successful. 

3) It is my understanding that Good Omens is the first book written by cisgendered heterosexual males for a general audience that portrays a gay-presenting character and a gender-fluid character as main characters in a positive light that does not end in a tragic way.  This is huge.  This is Captain Kirk and Uhuru’s kiss huge. 

Historically, LGBTQIA+ people rarely get positive representation in mainstream media. Rather, LGBTQIA+ characters in literature were often portrayed as villains in early writing, and are often used as comedic relief in more recent work. When there is a sympathetic main character, their story usually ends in tragedy. While tragic stories are very much a reality for many LGBTQIA+ people, it is incredibly important to also have stories that do not end in heartbreak or death.  And it is also incredibly important for LGBTQIA+ characters to be part of the norm in main stream story telling as this leads to broader social acceptance. Good Omens provided LGBTQIA+ readers with a sense of belonging in the greater world, while ‘normalizing’ the happy existence of LGBTQIA+ people to a broader readership.  This type of representation, presented by heterosexual white cisgendered male authors (at the top of the power structure in 1990) is a key moment in the slow but steady grind leading to social change.

In summary, read the book. Whether you are a fan of the show or not, and regardless of your generation, this book has a lot going for it. Above and beyond its importance to the LGBTQIA+ community, the book includes broader commentary on religion, good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, and identity in general. The menacing humor of Gaiman and the loving satire of Pratchett is a combination that is unequaled. The book is funny, thought-provoking, well-written, and has a lot of great characters above and beyond a particular angel and demon (who are only in about 1/3 of the book).  And as you read it, understand its historical context, and love it for the role it played in getting us to this cultural point in time.

[wearelatinamericanrockers]

El Cuarteto de Nós are a Uruguayan Rock band made in 1980 and still running.

They first started by making most of their albums of being satires of society and dark humor, all through "Alberto wolf" to 2004 "El cuarteto de nos" and went into inactivity, until coming back in 2006 "Raro" and onward to be more experimental and weird.

They've been nominated once in the grammy latino, their most famous songs are "Ya no sé qué hacer conmigo", "Lo malo de ser bueno" and "El Hijo de Hernández". Los Prisioneros was a Chilean Rock band first made in 1979 and became the most influential and impactful 80s band of that decade.

In the beginning, they developed a new wave sound with punk nuances to later approach synth pop in their garage. they became known for their songs full of content and social criticism, which served as inspiration to awaken a generation that was being oppressed by the military dictatorship, who used these songs as a fight against the regime of Augusto Pinochet.

This caused censorship of the band in the main media, until the early 1990s. Despite the veto, they had great unprecedented commercial success, which crossed borders in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Coinciding with the transition to democracy, the first breakup and restructuring of the band occurred: early 1992, when the band broke up.

Their most famous songs are "We Are Sudamerican Rockers" (Despite being banned in its home country), "Tren Al Sur" and "Estreches del Corazón".

Shakira is a Colombian Indie rock musician, she started her career in 1990 at the age of 13.

I decided to give her a chance since shes niche with her small fanbase of 68.......... point 7 million listeners, shes also a furry. <3

Famous songs of her are "Inevitable", "Pies descalzos, Sueños blancos" and "Te aviso, Te anuncio" propaganda below;

[homestuckreplay]

The Fatherly Gent’s Daunting Text of Magical Shaving and Almanac Japery

(page 542-555)

8/27/2009 Wheel Spin: Dramatic Irony Verdict: Dad’s Note Sadly Qualifies

8/28/2009 Wheel Spin: Captchalogue Lore Verdict: Captchalogue Card Within A Captchalogue Card Within A Captchalogue Card

FINALLY we examine the contents of John’s dad’s safe. John sure likes to take his time with these things. We see the contents before the note, but in my mind the note definitely reframes why Dad might have locked these things away – he wants to give these things to John, not hide them from him, but he’s waiting until John is ‘a man.’ He defines this by physical strength instead of age, maturity, or presence of facial hair, but also by curiosity and the prankster’s spirit. Someone else could be physically able to lift the safe, but never think to do so.

Colonel Sassacre’s Book – As p.543 suggests, this is likely the accidental weapon that caused Nanna’s death, and so this object encapsulates the Egbert family values. Clowning and tomfoolery are highly encouraged, but serious, difficult topics don’t get discussed openly, they get locked away, and communication happens indirectly through notes and pie throwing. This is 50% Dad being uncomfortable with emotions in a way typical of cis men who grew up in the 20th century, and 50% Dad wanting John to have a pure, idyllic childhood away from the realities of the world. I would bet 413 boondollars that Dad locked this up after Nanna’s death and bought John his new copy at the same time, so that John could enjoy the lighthearted pranks of the book without it being tainted by death.

The Fatherly Gent’s Shaving Almanac – This is also likely an heirloom that Dad used to read himself. If Colonel Sassacre’s was originally Nanna’s, this may have originally been Grandad’s. Dad is making some assumptions about John with this one. The first is that he’ll want to shave, even though plenty of people have facial hair by choice. The others are that he’ll be a ‘father’ and a ‘gent.’ The idea that John might not want kids, or might not be a man, doesn’t occur to him. Dad’s vision is that John will grow into exactly the same kind of adult that he is, and possibly that Dad’s dad was too. But this book is also Dad admitting that he had to learn and practice his skills somewhere, showing that he’s a regular human instead of the Eternal Dad who came fully formed from the dad factory that John clearly sees him as right now.

Newspaper clippings – OKAY WHAT THE FUCK. Something weird’s going on here. The clearest article is from Monday, April 13 of either 1970, 1992 or 1998, and the ‘downpour of meteors’ could have happened at 4.13am. Hear me out. The mentions of ‘Local Burb’ (Local Sburb?) and the loss of life being brushed off by authorities means that the people behind Sburb aren’t making their first attempt at causing the apocalypse. It’s their most successful attempt by far, but they’ve been practicing for some time, and are rich and powerful enough to pay off the authorities into covering their tracks. Dad is a baker, and a different clipping says ‘Crocker Facility Leveled.’ Dad developed an interest in meteor news after the factory for his favorite baking company was destroyed by one, and that’s why he collects clippings – keeping them in something that might be strong enough to survive a meteor strike. He’s made some progress towards figuring out who or what is behind all this, but hasn’t finished the work. This is why he showed John Deep Impact and Armageddon as a kid, so that John would have meteors on the brain, and be ready to carry on Dad’s investigative work at some point in the future.

02-49-13 – This safe code was definitely chosen for a reason, but it’s not obvious. It contains a 4-13 (with 4+9 equaling 13) but I’m not sure about the 02. If it was a date, February 49, 2013 would be March 21, 2013, which is shortly before John’s 17th birthday. However, my actual theory – based on this safe being for John, and the fact that John’s birthday is in Dad’s Serious Business screen name – is that 02:49:13 is the time of day (to the second) that John was born. Currently imagining Dad gazing down at his baby son for the first time and thinking ‘I gotta get the time, this is gonna be important later.’

In other news, we learn that a blank captchalogue card is 00000000 (answering @tenaciouschronicler's question) while a card holding another card is 11111111. This is a simple binary option of ‘card or no card,’ and we also see the two straight lines of holes that are punched from the 11111111 code. These facts suggest that the captcha codes make sense (unlike a lot of actual captchas) and that both the codes and the hole patterns can be deciphered and manipulated, which is exciting both for what John could accomplish, and for giving fans something to really dig into.

John Egbert would be nothing without Rose Lalonde. He fully launched his PDA – arguably his most important possession right now – into a yawning void of unknowable darkness, all for the sake of captchaloguing a captchalogued captchalogue card, already kind of a silly thing to do. He got fucking lucky with the Sassacre manuever, and did not earn his ‘pesky urchin’ status or his +5 man grit. I question the line ‘From now on it will probably go without saying that you'll nab any grist lying around without making a big fuss over it.’ on p.542 - can this really go without saying? Can we really give John this much credit?

I love this kid so much, but it really feels like he’s speedrunning growing up and using cheats for character development, with his sylladex, his imp combat and his getting into the safe. He’s not actually ready or able to handle any of these things, not even thinking to move away from the giant hole gazing over the abyss before he puts things into his TWO CARD SYLLADEX, but he’s got computers and somewhat more capable people holding his hand. I am thinking again about Rose’s prediction of hackers, and what might happen if John and Rose are cut off from each other in Sburb, and how John might deal with that.

It’s a hard truth that being a kid often sucks because of how little control you have over your life, but being an adult is really hard and takes a lot of practice, and being a teenager often means sitting at this uncomfortable divide. And it’s literally John’s first day.

[codysknife]

happy 35th anniversary, Final Fight!

on November 25, 1989, 35 years ago - Final Fight hit the arcades and nothing's been the same since. here's to another 35 and more!

1989: Final Fight released in arcades, formerly known as "Street Fighter '89"

1990: Final Fight released for SNES

1991: Final Fight released for Commodore Amiga & ZX Spectrum

1992: Final Fight Guy released for SNES (JP)

1993: Mighty Final Fight released for NES, Final Fight 2 released for SNES, Saturday Night Slam Masters released for Arcade, Genesis, SNES

1994: Final Fight Guy released for SNES (NA via rental), Ring of Destruction released

1995: "Medium is the Message" episode airs on the Street Fighter animated series, Final Fight 3 released for SNES, Guy & Sodom released in Street Fighter Alpha 1

1996: Guy's Metro City stage and Rolento's Industrial Stage released with Street Fighter Alpha 2

1997: "Final Fight" episode airs on the Street Fighter animated series, Hugo released with Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, Cody & Jessica cameo in Mall Mayhem stage in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (Arcade)

1998: Cody & his stage released with Street Fighter Alpha 3

1999: Final Fight Revenge released for Sega Saturn (JP), Cody & Jessica cameo in Mall Mayhem stage in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (PlayStation)

2000:

2001: Final Fight One released for GBA, Rolento & Maki released in Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

2002: Rolento & Maki return in the re-release of Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

2003: Haggar & Poison developed in Capcom Fighting All-Stars (unreleased, PS2) to protect Metro City from the "Laughing Sun" threat - originally planned sequel to CvS2

2004: Guy released in Capcom Fighting Evolution/Jam released PS2, Haggar, Jessica & Carlos cameo'd in Alex's ending

2005: Capcom Fighting Evolution/Jam released Xbox, Haggar, Jessica & Carlos cameo'd in Alex's ending, Haggar & Guy cameo appearances in Namco × Capcom

2006: Final Fight Streetwise released for PS2/Xbox

2007:

2008:

2009: Final Fight 2 & 3 re-released on Nintendo's Virtual Console

2010: Cody & Guy alongside Metro City's Skyscraper Under Construction released with Super Street Fighter IV, Final Fight: Dbl Impact released for XBLA/PSN alongside Magic Sword

2011: Mike & "New Metro City" released in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Skyscraper Under Contruction stage featured in Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition gameplay trailer for Nintendo 3DS

2012: Cody & Guy released as (ondisc) DLC in Street Fighter × Tekken for 360/PS3/PC/iOS/Vita

2013: UDON kicks off Street Fighter Classic

2014: Rolento, Poison, Hugo & Metro City's Mad Gear Hideout stage (re)released alongside Ultra Street Fighter IV alongside bonus "Summer" and "Wild" costume theme packs

2015: Halloween Costumes released for roster of Ultra Street Fighter IV, Kotobukiya Bishoujo Poison figure released

2016: In-depth Final Fight Developer's Interview conducted & published

2017: Abigail & Zeku released as DLC in Street Fighter V, Haggar returns in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

2018: Cody released as DLC in Street Fighter V, Final Fight included on Capcom Beat ’Em Up Bundle, The Broken Gear - A Final Fight Fan Film released on YouTube, the legendary "alchemy" tech used in Final Fight is featured in first episode of Hi-Score Girl via Haggar & Guy

2019: Lucia & Poison released as DLC in Street Fighter V, UDON releases Street Fighter: Wrestlepalooza, Metro City's Ring of Justice (CPT 2019) stage released for SFV

2020: Taylor (Cody), Lucifurr (Lucia), Tamer (Poison), Olde Cat (Zeku), & Tireman (Abigail) available in the cat encyclopedia for April Fools fun in Neco Drop: Cat Friends Nation

2021: Neco Drop 2 returns with Lucifurr (Lucia) as a lead story kitty alongside a "Final Fight Make-Believe" story!, Final Fight 30th Anniversary Art Tribute published by petefighter, streetfighterlegacy & gamebasementcrew

2022: Unbox Industries releases Cody, Guy, Haggar & Hugo soft vinyl limited figures

2023: Final Fight available in Battle Hub & obtainable download in, Metro City featured as primary hub (lore & gameplay-wise), in Street Fighter 6, UDON Comics releases SF6 Origins & Street Fighter Masters: Kimberly #1, "Final Fight Gala" battle pass released via SF6

2024: Udon Comics releases Street Fighter vs. Final Fight #1 for Free Comic Book Day, and Final Fight four-part re-telling series, 52 Toys releases Cody, Guy & Hagar poseable figures, PCS Collectibles releases (alpha) Cody & Guy statue for pre-order

[fascinating-yarn]

Reasons New Merrily Fans Should Watch/Listen to the OBC

1. The graduation frame.

If you don't know, there was a different opening and closing sequence for the original production and in my opinion it is significantly more impactful than even the best directed of "Our Time"s. It is what the show was originally about and I think we've lost that along the way.

2. Orchestrations.

I know we were all very excited when Tunick finally won the Tony for this show, but if you're impressed with how he finagled this score around fourteen instruments, wait until you've heard it with the original orchestra of twenty. It is incredible.

3. The original cast.

I know a lot of people are here because of Groff, Radcliffe, and Mendez - and they are incredible! But the original trio of Jim Walton, Lonny Price, and Ann Morrison are very good and there's just so much heart in the performances of all the original cast that comes from the decision to cast young people. It may have been a contributor to the show's failure, but they really put their all into it.

4. The Restaurant Scene

These are getting slowly more and more specific, I guess. This is the scene that originally existed between the opening party and the interview scene, but was merged into the latter with the revisions for Leicester in 1992. Though I love "Franklin Shepard, Inc." and I think given the state of the show cutting the scene was the best decision, I actually think the restaurant scene is more interesting and is a really great introduction to Charley.

5. "Rich and Happy"

This is the song that was rewritten as "That Frank" in 1985. There were good reasons for cutting it but, being Sondheim, it's still a great song. Give it a listen!

[soupy-sez]

FINAL IMPACT (1992) dir. Joseph Merhi, Stephen Smoke

[108garys]

Portraits of Hector, 1992

Yes I felt silly labeling them, still feel like it ties things together nicely lol

So I wanted to get a better feel of how hector is distinct in the beast of little hope au, especially as its an offshoot of the Hector Clarke au and when it comes down to it he had the benefit of a decent childhood that then got derailed by lycanthopy in his teens, so I thought about it and as he grows up obsessed with the local history and would have centred himself around that it would have led to him growing his hair out but as that positive future stopped in it's tracks then I went with a popular look for the era that can contextually be seen as maintaining this moment he could no longer commit to his life goals, like it's trendy and all but you can see how he would have liked to not be trendy and instead be weird and esoteric and to be honest I didn't expect to write so much about hector's perfectly average hairstyle but moving on he's in his late twenties and while he isn't as rough due to the benefit of a gentler early life and not being FBI, I wanted him to look tired and maybe a touch younger than he should despite the fact that he's like 6'3 because the way it's impacted him is just different than it would have been if it was an early childhood thing, that and with him being selectively mute by the 90s I opted for a much more "invisible issues" type of approach where the worst that can be seen is him maybe looking tired

Now onto the damn wolf finally 😅

So as can be seen in the sketch his wolf form, much like Vince's, retains his eyes, unlike Vince his fur is very straight and it would be my intention that it has the same vibe as his hair, like he's got this scary black dog look but really he's just a big puppy that wants to stick with his sister, especially with all the self image issues and feeling responsible for everything bad that has happened to his family despite having no control over how things turned out

@kassiekole22 @tatjana-fantasy @blubary @kindheartedgummybears @ctrvpani @unhingedlesbear @qusok @tinynightmarewoman @eframschweigersskincells @wacem

[ruibaozha]

Li Nezha, Protector of the Queer Youth in Taiwan. Part 1.

Hello Tumblr!

I have been hard at work assembling the first few posts for this blog, but I would like to start with something relatively lighthearted. Our topic for today is modern depictions of Li Nezha, or most specifically, Nezha as a queer icon in Taiwan.

In the interest of maintiaining a somewhat steady flow of posts, the original form of this post has been broken up. The following posts will expand on the points made here and additionally will discuss the impact of Nezha in the Taiwanese Queer Film scene and it's possible influence on Nezha (2019).

This is an unexpected angle, but one I dearly want to share. Please continue under 'keep reading' if this also interests you.

Before reading a handful of discomforting topics arise. There is mention of suicide in relation to the original myth, the concept of filial cannibalism in relation to the original myth, and discussion of the AIDS crisis.

I would first like to state that the cultural differences between Taiwan and Mainland China are not many, in several aspects they are the same - barring current geopolitical factors. Many fled Mainland China during 1949, a great deal settling in Taiwan. Naturally they brought their culture and worshipped deities with them, Nezha among the wide range of gods brought.

In more recent times the widespread popularity of Nezha in Taiwan is fascinating, though he may not have as many statues or dedicated temples, his ability to excite the younger generations is unmatched by the rest of his pantheon. Overall, Nezha ranks seventh most popular when measured by publicly available shrines or temples (1). But if we are to measure popularity based on the amount of statues that exist Nezha is only outnumbered by the earth-deity Tudi Gong (2). Thus it is understandable Nezha himself became a reflection of the interests of the youth, especially if one considers his image to be of someone unafraid to challenge authority and those that oppress you.

The idea of a queer Nezha is a fairly novel thing though. 1971 saw the publishing of 'Nezha in the Investiture of the Gods' or Fengshenbang li de Nezha (封神榜裡的哪吒) by Xi Song which served almost to fill in numerous gaps in his personality as well as add a more psychological aspect to his rebellion against his father. The novel introduces the father as extremely strict, his brothers envious of him, and a mother who loves but cannot understand him; our result is a deeply melancholic Nezha who frequently ponders the meanining of his own life (3).

Any semblance of homosexual tendency is largely absent until the end of the novel which coincides with the killing of Ao Bing in the original Canonization of the Gods. Nezha is bathing in the river here as well, except he sees Ao Bing through the water's surface. Nezha wants to reach through the water and hold him, and the two play together for a while before Nezha accidentally kills Ao Bing (4). Rather than be demanded to repent, the Nezha here punishes himself for the accident.

Many films concerning Nezha to this point focused more on martial arts spectacles rather than his temperament and personality. However 1992 saw the release of the film 'Rebels of the Neon God' by Tsai Mingliang, though not adapted from the Nezha origin story, concerns the problem of self-indulgent youth in modern society. Interestingly the Chinese title Qingshaonian Nezha (青少年哪吒), can be read two ways: Young Nezha or The Youth as Nezha.

His (Nezha's) name is mentioned three times over the course of the film. The first instance is when one of the youthful protagonist's (Xiaokang) mother is explaining to her husband their son is so misbehaved because he is the reincarnation of Nezha. The second is when two of the protagonists (Xiaokang and Ah Ze) enter a dispute, one of their motorbikes defaced with the phrase "Nezha was here". The final time is when these same protagonists are lamenting their poor luck and are instructed to worship Nezha.

Being a gay man himself it isn't surprising that the homoeroticism portrayed by Xiaokang is later elaborated upon in Mingliang's 'Vive l'amour' (1994) where the quiet Xiaokang is attracted hopelessly to the rowdy playboy character of Ah Rong, so much so that Xiaokang kisses Ah Rong without his knowledge. It concludes with Xiaokang and his father participating together in a dubious homoerotic setting together before recognizing each other in 'The River' (1997).

These films were released surrounding Tsai Mingliang's 1995 documentary about how the AIDS crisis was wracking Taiwan, and against the director's wishes, Mingliang focused heavily on the gay men the disease was affecting most in an attempt to dispel the misinformation about the disease itself and the gay men it was affecting. The previously mentioned 'Rebels of the Neon God' (1992) only featured one explicit mention of the AIDS crisis, Xiaokang vandalizes the side of Ah Ze's motorcycle in bright yellow paint "AIDS". This action is arguably an allegory of Xiaokang's repressed homosexual desires towards Ah Ze (5), the use of the HIV virus synonymous with homosexual engagement - despite it being well known in 1990's Taiwan that there were multiple modes of transmission.

Of course other interpretations of this scene exist, but for our purposes today, it is not only Xiaokang's projection of his own desires but a very literal representation of the idea of a 'contagion' - or the circumstances that draw previously unrelated individuals together. The vandalism of the motorcycle may also be seen in this light (6).

Is it worth drawing comparisons in assuming Xiaokang and all of his homoerotic tendencies is meant to be a stand-in for Nezha himself? I think so. The film (Rebels of the Neon God) presents numerous cases that enforce this idea if you are not yet convinced.

As previously mentioned Xiaokang's mother states that he is a reincarnation of Nezha, a conclusion she reached after seeing a fortune-teller and told as much. It is important to state that the original myth features a Nezha slicing his flesh open to return to his mother, and removed his bones to return them to his father. At first glance it appears to be a case of filial cannibalism (a post topic I am drafting) meant to strengthen the bond between parent and child - but the purpose within the myth is to sever that relationship completely. It can be argued this very literal severing helped bring Nezha into the hearts of the youth who were alienated.

Xiaokang's mother explains this to her husband upon arriving home, telling her husband that Nezha was said to hate his father Li Jing more than anything else, briefly mentions his surname to also be Li, and outright blames Nezha for Xiaokang's poor relationship with him. Upon overhearing this, Xiaokang pretends to be posessed by Nezha before his father launches a rice bowl at his head. The ambivalence of Nezha 'returning his flesh' seems to almost mirror the animosity Xiaokang and his father have throughout the film.

Even the English title 'Rebels of the Neon God' can be read as sharing homophonic resemblance to the name Nezha. 'Neon God' can be a rereading of 'Nezha' in that the first character of his name can also be pronounced as '-nai' which becomes an exact homophone for the Chinese term for neon, while the second character '-zha' is a suffix that plainly suggests deification.

To wrap up this post I would like to thank you for joining me on this foray of a more modern take on Nezha's significance, his overwhelming modernity carrying numerous modes of importance depending on where you are looking. He has not shed his origin myth, rather it informs how he is percieved more than ever - his severing of paternal ties no longer a case of an unfilial child but of someone standing up for themselves in the face of oppression. And it is perhaps this that makes him so attractive to both the young and old of Taiwan, all subjected to the terror and violence of the Chinese Communist Party.

Thank you once more, and I hope to see you again in part 2.

Citations:

(1) Li Fengmao, “Cong Nezha taizi dao Zhongtan yuanshuai: zhongyang-sifang siwei xiade hujing xiangzheng,” 41–43.

(2) Tsai Wentin, “Taitzu, the Child God,” 53–55.

(3) Xi Song, “Fengshenbang li de Nezha,” 209. A translated portion of Nezha's monologue here is as follows "Oh, Master, my birth is a mistake with no reason at all. Since my childhood, I have understood that I am reared by an overbearing mother and a father with much too high expectations. They seem to have never cared about my actual existence, but intenselyrestrain me with the correct direction of their thinking."

(4) Xi Song, “Fengshenbang li de Nezha,” 217.

(5) Ji Dawei, "Wo kan gu wo zai: chengzhang dianying yu shenfen rentong," 95-105. Dawei's 1996 examination is as follows. "Perhaps Xiaokang resents the fact that Ah Ze is sleeping with a woman, or perhaps he is cursing Ah Ze as homosexual, and thereby taking the identity he himself dislikes, and displacing it onto the figure of the Other. Xiaokang is not sexually active, and therefore he despises those who are and struggles to reject sex altogether. He is terrified he might become a homosexual, and therefore he first verbally attacks others, and then projects onto them the suspicion of homosexuality."

(6) Carlos Rojas, "Nezha Was Here": Structures of Dis/placement in Tsai Ming-liang's "Rebels of the Neon God", 76.

If timestamps for cinematic moments mentioned through this post are requested, I am happy to provide them.

[roseaesynstylae]

I want to put down all the references in the Worst Generation (excluding the Straw Hats and Blackbeard) and the named members of their crews. I'm getting my information from the wiki and adding my own theories/comments where necessary. Ever since I read JoJo, I love finding references in manga.

Fire Tank Pirates

Capone Bege: His surname is obviously taken from Al Capone (whom he also shares his birthday with) and his given name is based on the English privateer William le Sauvage. Him being stated to cut animals' heads off is a nod to the horse head scene from The Godfather.

Vito: His name seems to be taken from Vito "Don Vito" Genovese, a mobster/crime boss from Al Capone's era, and the first name of Don Corleone from The Godfather.

Gotti: He seems to be named after John Gotti, a mobster who ran the Gambino crime family in the 80s (He was nicknamed 'the Telfon Don' due to him facing three trials and being acquitted every time -- the results were caused by jury tampering and witness intimidation-- before being finally sent to prison in 1992).

Chiffon: She's named after chiffon cake, which she also specializes in making.

Pez: His name is the Spanish word for fish, as well as a nod to the candy brand, keeping with the Charlotte Family naming theme.

Bonney Pirates

Jewelry Bonney: Her name is taken from the 18th-century Anne Bonney, who, like Bonney herself, was a noble turned pirate.

Hawkins Pirates

Basil Hawkins: His surname is taken from 17th-century English pirate Basil Ringosel and his given name from 16th-century pirate/privateer John Hawkins. Hawkins is also the name of the protagonist of the 1883 adventure novel Treasure Island (which had a massive impact on the depiction of pirates in popular culture) by Robert Louis Stevenson, who also wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Visually, his design is based off of Joey Jordison of Slipknot.

Faust: He's named after the legendary character Faust, who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and worldly pleasures. The story was most famously told by 15th-century playwright Christopher Marlowe in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Faust.

On Air Pirates

Scratchman Apoo: His surname seems to be based on the practice of "scratching" records when DJing, tying into his association with music. His first name is taken from the Qing dynasty pirate Chui A-poo.

Kid Pirates

Eustass Kid: He's named after the 13th-century pirate and mercenary Eustace the Monk and the 17th-century Scottish (which Kid would be if he existed in the real world) pirate William Kidd, who was also called "Captain."

Kid's Attacks: I decided this needed its own entry. Punk Gibson (Kid's giant arm) -- Named after the US guitar manufacturer Gibson. Punk Rotten (the giant scrap metal head and arms) -- Named after Johnny Rotten, the name John Lyndon used when he was the frontman of the influential punk band Sex Pistols. Punk Vise (Crushing a target with Punk Rotten's hands) -- As "vice" and "vise" are spelled the same way in katakana, this attack might be named after the British punk rock band Vice Squad. Punk Pistols (a harpoon gun made out of metal pieces that acts like a Gatling gun) -- Named after Sex Pistols. Punk Corna Dio (the giant bull he used to attack Big Mom) -- Corna is Italian for horns, alluding to the sign of the horns in heavy metal, while Dio references Ronnie James Dio, who was very big in that genre; no, I'm not making the obvious joke. Damned Punk (the giant railgun he used to blast Big Mom off Onigashima) -- Probably named after the British punk rock band The Damned. Punk Clash (after magnetizing someone with his Awakened Devil Fruit, they attract very large and pointy metal pieces) -- Named after the British punk band The Clash.

Killer: His laugh alludes to the song 'Psycho Killer' by the New Wave band the Talking Heads, as the chorus is the same ("fa fa fa fa fa"). The song might be the source of his name. His helmet strongly resembles that of Daft Punk member Guy-Manual de Homem-Christo.

Heat: He's likely named after the experimental rock band This Heat.

Wire: He might be named after the English rock band Wire.

Gig: In keeping with the Kid Pirates' music-related theme naming, a gig is slang for a live show.

Dive: She's likely named after stage-diving, a common practice among musicians and their fans.

UK: His name may come from the UK, where many classic punk bands originated from (ie, the Clash, Sex Pistols). Alternately, he might be named after the Sex Pistols' song 'Anarchy in the UK.'

Pomp: He's likely named after pomp rock, more commonly known as arena rock (examples of bands known for arena rock: Styx, Toto, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Boston).

Bubblegum: His name seems to be a reference to bubblegum music (rock and pop in a catchy and upbeat style marketed toward children), which influenced punk rock, new wave, and melodic metal.

Reck: He's named after the bassist of the Japanese punk rock band Friction.

House: She's named after the electronic music subgenre house music.

Boogie: He's probably named after the electronic club music subgenre called boogie.

Mosh: He's likely named after moshing, a rather violent form of dancing. Appropriate for a member of a crew known for their violence.

Hip: She's named after hip-hop.

Papas: He's named after the folk rock group The Mamas & the Papas, the indie rock band Papas Fritas, or both.

Jaguar: He's likely named after the Fender Jaguar electric guitar. Alternately, his name could come from Mick Jagger's last name, as "Jagger" and "Jaguar" are spelled the same way in katakana.

Quincy: Her name likely comes from the producer and musician Quincy Jones, who produced Michael Jackson's albums Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad, and has 80 Grammy Award nominations and 28 Grammys.

Hop: She's named after hip-hop.

Compo: He might be named after an abbreviation of 'musical composition.'

Disc J: His name pretty clearly comes from disc jockey, more commonly known as DJ.

Fallen Monk Pirates

Urouge: He's named after the 16th-century Ottoman Pirate Oruc Reis. He seems to be based off of Grigori Rasputin, who needs no introduction, and/or Ji Gong, a Chinese monk known for having supernatural abilities, behaving bizarrely, and not following Buddhist monastic rules. Interestingly, both these figures have movies (Rasputin the Mad Monk, a 1966 Hammer horror film starring Christopher Lee as the titular character, and the 1993 Hong Kong film The Mad Monk) that might have inspired his epithet.

Drake Pirates

X Drake: Drake is sometimes synonymous with dragon, especially in Middle English; appropriate, given that dinosaur bones likely inspired legends of dragons. His name is also taken from 16th-century pirate and adventurer Francis Drake. Random (but likely not a deliberate reference) fact: He shares his birthday with the singer/rapper Drake.

Heart Pirates

Trafalgar D. Water Law: His surname is taken from Cape Trafalgar in the south of Spain, which was the site of a battle between the British and French/Spanish fleets which famously killed Lord Nelson. His name is taken from 18th-century pirate Edward Low, who was notorious for violently torturing his victims before killing them, which may have inspired Law's own reputation for cruelty.

Bepo: He might be named after Lord Byron's poem 'Beppo.' He's also likely named after bear, polar.

Shachi: His name is the Japanese word for killer whale, which makes his friendship with Penguin (who's named after killer whales' preferred food) kind of funny.

Jean Bart: His name comes from the 16th-century French privateer Jean Bart.

Ikkaku: Her name means 'narwhal' in Japanese.

Uni: His name comes from the Japanese word for sea urchin.

Clione: 'Clione' is the Latin name for sea angels.

Hakugan: His name means 'snow goose' in Japanese.

[sunnydalestudies]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) Whedon's Version

Part 1/3: Changes to the Script and Story

When discussing BtVS, many people often focus solely on the show without considering what the additional media has to offer. There are comics, accompanying novels, and even a prequel film that many people forget about. Indeed, the world’s first introduction to Buffy happened in 1992 with the movie starring Kristen Swanson, and that is where I want to start.

Joss Whedon claims that the character of Buffy Summers had been with him for a long time, but when he sold his script to Sandollar in 1991, he was not pleased with the results. Whether it was Fran Rubel Kuzui as director, the 20th Century Fox executives, the actors changing their lines, or whatever else that made the changes, the original script and the film we can watch now are not quite the same. Here, I will highlight some critical changes that change how we interpret the film.

First, the film made various changes to the script’s dialogue, which impacted jokes, foreshadowing, and misogynistic conversations. Thankfully, in the audience’s first introduction to Buffy, the film preserves Whedon’s dialogue. Buffy’s Valley Girl persona is alive and well, and we see her as the popular, air-headed, hilarious, and beautiful character all fans love. The dialogue in this scene is beautifully Whedon: full of quick-witted and fast-paced jokes and slang. Although I can’t say that I support Whedon in any way, I have to say that dialogue is one of his greatest strengths. That is why it is so disappointing when, shortly after, Buffy makes an unimpressive joke about doing her homework. In the script, Buffy says to Cassandra, “there’s a lot cooler things that you could be doing than your homework,” to which Cassandra asks, “like what,” and Buffy replies, “like my homework.” In the movie, as they are making plans, Buffy instead says, “I don’t know, guys. I really wanna get a head start on my homework,” which her friends laugh at. Despite this being a minute change to the script, it is disappointing to see alterations that waste Whedon’s writing and replace it with a subpar joke.

A more meaningful dialogue change appears when Buffy and her friends first run into Pike and Benny in the movie theatre. After Benny shushes the chatting group of girls, Buffy predicts the plot so he doesn’t have to follow as closely: “everyone gets horribly killed except the blonde girl in the nightie, who finally kills the monster with a machete but it’s not really dead.” It’s a simple plot summary of several popular horror films, but what is telling here is what it says about Buffy and the Buffyverse. Firstly, this explanation loosely foreshadows the rest of the movie by portraying what will happen at the dance: many students are horribly killed except the blonde girl in a white dress, who finally kills Lothos and Amilyn, but Lothos lamely covering his face and Amilyn’s overly dramatic flailing around the basement after Buffy stakes them indicate they might not be dead—although this may be due to the fans of the series expecting them to dust, and he does dust in the script, so it was probably due to the film’s low budget since the dusting effect was surprisingly pricey. Secondly, this knowing explanation displays Buffy’s intelligence. She may not be classically book-smart, but Buffy’s intelligence concerning pop culture and social situations gives her the upper hand throughout the film, show, and comics. This intelligence leads to my third point: Buffy exemplifies many contradictory horror tropes. Whedon founded the character of Buffy on the subversion of the trope of the blonde girl walking into the alley and getting attacked. In his version, the girl is who wins. Alongside this trope, this film also plays with those of the ‘final girl’ and ‘promiscuous blonde girl who gets killed off first.’ Whedon also plays with these tropes in his horror satire film Cabin in the Woods(2012), which is a trope lover’s delight, but he only uses the tropes there rather than subverting them. Only in the Buffyverse do we see the intersection of these two tropes: the promiscuous (and yes, film Buffy is promiscuous) blonde girl evolving into the final girl, becoming the one to outsmart the bad guys, not despite her initial airheadedness, but because of it, using her social skills and catty attitude to save the day. At first glance, this is a simple line, but it holds layers of meaning, and it is too bad that the film omits it.

Before moving on from dialogue, I want to touch on a few instances of misogynistic language and actions in the script and film. In the scene where Buffy kisses her boyfriend in his car by laying across his friend’s lap with her butt in his face, the friend calls the boyfriend a ‘pushover’ for spending time with her and asks to ‘borrow’ Buffy. In the script, the friend calls him ‘pussy-whipped,’ and Buffy remains silent after this comment, but the film changes this term, and Buffy displays more agency as she voices her discontent at this comment. The scene remains uncomfortable and gross, but the changes make it slightly easier to digest. An exchange from the script that the film thankfully omitted appears a little later when Buffy runs into her absentee mother in the kitchen, who asks her, “have you gained a few pounds? maybe it’s that outfit,” before asking what her boyfriend will think about it. This type of exchange is not atypical for the 90s, but I am still glad they decided to take it out. Finally, near the end of the film, a piece of dialogue I believe they should have removed is when Buffy steals a man’s motorcycle after he hits on her, to which he responds by calling her a ‘dyke.’ This homophobia is prevalent in 90s movies—take a look at Bring It On (1999) to see a horrific example—but it is still disappointing to see that Whedon wrote this line, especially considering the empowering lesbian characters he would later write.

As much as these changes to the dialogue can impact our understanding of the film, the plot is also significantly changed, and even the script’s first scene is completely absent from the film. Perhaps the first rule of any form of storytelling is that a successful story shows rather than tells. Yet, the film decides to tell us. Whedon’s script opens with a historical twist on the ‘blonde girl walks into a dark alleyway, gets attacked, wins’ horror genre subversion as a ‘dark ages’ barmaid saves a knight from a vampire before a group of vampires, including Lothos, kills her, and a watcher explains the slayer line to the next chosen one. The film, instead, skips this first scene and delivers the exposition by voiceover, which is not an inherently negative way to contextualize, but the hook—and the entire idea of slayers—is lost in these opening moments. Fans watching the film today are likely familiar with the concept of slayers and how it all works, but this context is bland and forgettable for those who may not be familiar with Whedon's world-building.

The most notable alteration to Whedon’s script appears in Buffy’s first meeting with Lothos and Merrick’s death. If you are a fan of the series, you would know that Merrick’s death greatly impacted Buffy and is a primary reason she claims to be ‘retired’ in the first episode: because she lost him and blames herself for it. Interestingly, Whedon’s version of this scene in the script is more fast-paced and nearly emotionless. In fact, in Whedon’s version, Merrick brings a gun to confront Lothos while Buffy hides in the shadows, and just as Lothos is about to attack Merrick, Merrick shoots himself in the head and dies instantly. The script skims over this formative experience for Buffy while the film depicts a tender moment and explains why Buffy blames herself. In the film, Merrick is the one hiding in the shadows as Lothos hypnotizes Buffy, and as Lothos is about to bite her, Merrick rushes out with a knife, which Lothos quickly turns on Merrick and stabs him in the chest. Buffy then cradles Merrick as he dies, and he tells her, “remember about the music. Listen. When the music stops, the rest is…” before trailing off and passing away. I will feature the use of guns in the Buffyverse and Donald Sutherland’s changes to his dialogue in future posts, but this line is vital to the plot yet absent from the script. In the film, Merrick’s last words allow Buffy to tune out Lothos’ voice and focus on the silence to resist being hypnotized, ultimately allowing her to beat him, but it is entirely absent from the script. I cannot say why the film added this line of dialogue, but I believe the touching final moment that Merrick and Buffy share is an incredible addition that humanizes the characters and solidifies Merrick as an essential influence in Buffy’s life.

There are a lot of differences between the script and the final film, ranging from alterations to dialogue to changes in setting, all the way to reconstructing plot points. The script was Whedon’s making, but ultimately, he lost control over the final project once he sold it; thus, is it his? Is the film canonical? How does it fit with the series? I am glad they made some of these changes while disappointed with others, but in the end, however you feel about this film as part of the Buffyverse, it is an incredibly entertaining piece of 90s media that I would recommend to Buffy fans and non-fans alike.

That’s that for this Sunnydale study session! 

Liz