#gathering swans

[trashbatchar]

toxic eye, gouge my toxic eye

Did a quick sketchy painting last night of my batsona as the cover of Choir Boy’s “Gathering Swans” album, which I've listened to a LOT of over the past couple years. So sad I had to miss them playing live this week bc I was recovering from COVID T.T

[queer-flesh-simulacrum]

Tim Avery's masksona really branched out musically after I Love You Baby

[thewhizzyhead]

how genderbending the warriors (2024) is done not for the sole sake of "bad-assery"

okay here we go feminist ramble time for our newest chick on the block: warriors. now i'll be honest, prior to listening to the album, when i first heard that the warriors main girls were originally dudes in the movie and the novel, i thought that the decision for the genderbending, in lmm's perspective, were from the following: 1.) girl power move in like a very basic meaning of the word "bad-ass" 2.) simply a twist on a cult movie about big gang bros loved by the film bros, and 3.) a way to have the schuyler sisters back together gjfkdfldf

but when i read more about warriors and its development and how lmm took inspiration from the gamergate controversies of 2014-2015 aka among the peak of gamerbro misogyny campaigns, that's when i realized that Oh Shit Is Serious - because adapting a story about a group being framed and targeted and harassed for something they are accused of doing without any substantial proof other than a man screaming "THE WARRIORS SHOT CYYYYRUUS" with 21st century misogyny campaigns in mind makes the theme of fighting back a lot more complicated and a lot more resonant, going beyond just marketing a cast you can call "badass"

take the hurricanes' quiet girls, for example. the hurricanes (concept album version) is the only gang that lets the warriors off the hook and with a stern warning: quiet girls don't make it home. here, the hurricanes berate the warriors for not saying shit or attempting to defend themselves from accusations they know well aren't true. THIS MESSAGE IN PARTICULAR is what stays and influences ajax, fox, and swan til the very end of their stories.

literally one song after this does ajax show how easily she resonated with the hurricanes' lesson by finally sticking with her gut and actually choosing to fight back against both the baseball furies AND against the sleazy undercover cop. the latter encounter is one of the instances that really solidifies the recontextualization of the story because in the OG movie, ajax (a dude) WAS the sleazy fuck up harassing a woman in a park - and now with the literal character switch, ajax goes from being just a rebellious gangbro dude bro into someone whose want to fight is warranted. such a want to fight is seen in fox seeing as fox is the first to comment on the quiet girls scene and that, in the concept album, she is the one that instigates the rumble against the police in union square - saying that she is sick of being afraid of them and their 'fuckin powder blue' colors (also notice how she is the only warrior that really does say fuck the cops i think that's cool BUT I'LL TALK ABOUT FOX MORE NEXT TIME)

to a less obvious extent, swan also gets the receiving end of this recurring theme - by the album's finale, the usually violence-averse caution-first interim leader becomes a lot fiercer in protecting her crew. but perhaps among what i consider to be the biggest recontextualized change in the feminist sense is MERCY and her motivations to join the warriors in the first place. according to the wiki, her attraction to swan and the warriors and um seeing the orphans as wimps is what led her to switch sides BUT IN THE CONCEPT ALBUM, mercy's motivation to become a warrior is deepened, rooted in admiration rather than attraction - wanting to be like those women who hold their head up high. and again, we see this in Sick of Runnin' when she takes part in the rumble, finding her bravery within their ranks as they fight back. here, mercy becomes less of a swan tagalong and more of someone that wants what the warriors have: pride.

of course now that i type this out i realize that warriors is not based solely on the feminist rhetoric as with their theme of hope amidst adversity, the story is more intersectional and rooted in community struggle and wanting for more than that. but nonetheless, i genuinely believe that the twt filmbros arguments on why the genders should not have been changed in the first place just for "woke" points is kinda like,,,very shortsighted because not only does the narrative of women narrowly escaping unwarranted accusations actually fucking fit, but the act of learning to fight back amidst all odds - be it that of disbelieving, predatory men or the power of oppressive pigs - stays resonant for women yesterday, today, and the days to come.

ultimately, warriors (2024) is not solely a tale of female badassery - rather, it is a tale of the need for such "female badassery" in the face of past and present realities, which is why it somehow fucking worked.

[endlesslytired]

bonus!!!

@shipsarebeautiful did a pull on my account for Robin and GOT ME AN E2 IN ONE PULL.

and while THAT song was on!

I made a playlist for our group pulling for fun and that was added for a joke.

THEN THAT HAPPENED.

vin I hope you win every 50/50 ever. sorry I initially cursed you for jinxing Bronya on me. enjoy Clara and your own Robin!

[thegamingcatmom]

Far, far, far down the line of The Sisters x You...

The Denalis and the Cullens huddled together in a room with their petsies hoomans (You & Bella) just happily existing:

Carlisle: 😊 "Ah...wonderful, isn't it? The whole family together."

Everyone except Rosalie & Irina: 😊*nods in agreement*

Rosalie & Irina: 😐 *silently wish to be anywhere else*

Alice: 😁👏 "Oh! I've been meaning to ask: How did all of you come to...be? Like this? I wanna know everything!"

The Denalis: 😳 *experience flashbacks of kidnapping you and keeping you with them against your will*

Edward, reading their minds: 🥲 *struggles to remain calm and composed*

Bella, slightly concerned: 👀 *looks at Edward who looks like he´s dying*

Bella, mouthing in a totally not subtle way: 'You okay?'

Edward: 💀 *continues to look like he´s dying*

Kate: 😇 "Well, fun story actually. Tanya?"

Tanya, on the outside: "😅"

Tanya, on the inside: "🤬🔪"

Tanya: 😅👀 "W-Well, fun story indeed. Carmen?"

The Cullens: 🙂 *patiently wait for an answer, gazes switching back and forth like they´re watching a tennis match*

Carmen: 🙈😶‍🌫️ *dies inside*

Irina: "🙄🤦‍♀️" (girl´s done)

Kate: "😁"

Eleazar: "🤷‍♂️" (he´s the most innocent of em all tbf)

Tanya, finally remembering she´s the coven leader: "Well, you see, it is quite a fun story actually-"

You, getting fed up with your weird ass family: "They abducted me."

The Cullens (except Edward), thinking it´s a joke: "😅😉"

You, being deadass: "😐"

...

The Cullens: "🤨😳😰😱❓❓❓"

The Denalis, at the Cullens: "😅"

The Denalis, at you: "❓💀❓"

Esme & Carlisle: *share a look*

Esme, turning to you, most concerned: "A-Abducted?"

You, in good spirits: 😊 "Yup. Plucked me like a ripe berry."

The Cullens: "😱"

The Denalis, who can´t deal: "🫠"

You, completely oblivious to the collective mental breakdown: 🤨 "...Is everyone alright?"

Everyone: "👁️👄👁️"

BONUS:

Bella leading you out of the room while Edward distracts everyone:

Bella: 👉🗒️👉👁️👁️🫵 *hands you a note, signs you to read it*

You: "🤨"

Bella (forcefully): "...👉🗒️👉👁️👁️🫵🫵🫵"

You: 🙄👁️👁️🗒️ *starts to read it because you´re about to lose it*

The note: "BLINK ONCE IF YOU NEED RESCUING"

You: "🤨❓"

Bella, waiting with bated breath: "👁️👁️"

You: *blinks once because it´s a fucking necessity*

Bella: *internal screaming*

OR:

Your very first family gathering doesn´t quite go as planned...

[googlyeyesonmagiccards]

Illustrated by Serena Malyon

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Salvation Swan (Showcase Ver) by Serena Malyon

[adventuretimebandshirt]

Eat feet

[mtgfantokens]

MtG Token: 2/2 blue Bird 1-4

Magic: the Gathering has been around for 30 years. There are 27,000 unique cards and growing. And a lot of them create tokens. While the official tokens are great, I have a need to celebrate the artwork of our (mtg) ancestors. Let's celebrate older artwork with a new coat of paint.

Token: 2/2 blue Bird creature token with flying

Swan Song is the key card that makes 2/2 birds

The key blue bird is Storm Crow from Portal by Una Fricker

Zephyr Falcon from Legends by Heather Hudson

Dream Thrush from Invasion by D. J. Cleland-Hura

and we break the color by using Birds of Paradise from Alpha by Mark Poole

The literal and graphical information presented on this site about Magic: The Gathering, including card images and mana symbols, is copyright Wizards of the Coast, LLC.

[laianely]

My OTP's history can definitely be traced back by my mugs 😅

[megapwnus]

So I finished watching the Season 1 newest release of Earthspark episodes (March 2023) and I’m going to make a more detailed post in the future but my opinion in a nutshell: incredibly meh… everything I loved about the initial release was almost completely stripped away… very confusing and jarring and disappointing

[rottengurlz]

My top 2 artists are paramore and twice i live for the girls and only the girls

[battleram-skirmisher-fr]

Wait, it's 40 black swans for the vista? I thought it was 20! D=

Man, I'm only half way there. =/

[husband-steve-cortez]

Noah isn't pure soldier coded. As much as I love his hand-to-hand combat proficiency, it has to be with glowing blue fists or feet that can hit really hard situationally. And also Noah has to be able to make force fields. Preferably holding out his hands knees buckling under the strain but holding his ground protecting his crew from whatever.

[jennyfromtheinternet]

Trying to describe someone who was at the magic the gathering event like

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 7/5

We hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Batman: 5 Scary Stories For A Dark Knight HC - Matthew Cody & Jeannette Arroyo

Batman is back with five more ghostly adventures filled with thrills and chills in this all-new illustrated collection of spooky tales from the dark corners of Gotham City! Gotham City, the home of Batman, is filled with long shadows, sinister characters, and mysterious goings on. This hardcover illustrated chapter book is a collection of scary short stories featuring some of Batman's strangest adventures that end with wild twist and turns-some funny, some spooky, and some maddeningly frightening! 

A Boy Named Rose TP -  Gaelle Geniller

Paris. The 1920s. Rose is a boy and, like all the girls he's spent time with since he was born, he wants to dance at "Le Jardin", the cabaret managed by his mother. As Rose blossoms into a 19 year old young man, he discovers love and tries to find his place in a society that's not ready to welcome true love between two men with open arms.

Created and beautifully drawn by Gaelle Geniller, A BOY NAMED ROSE is going to make you fall in love with this story, set in Art Deco Paris and where a young man discovers who he really is in a place filled with entertainme nt and drama. What is Rose's place in the world? Is he just a boy? Is he a girl inside? Rose just wants to be accepted for who he really is and live, love and dance as free as he can be. A beautiful LGBTQIA+ tale from a time where loving differently was a challenge, A BOY NAMED ROSE will move you, in all its subtleness and tenderness.

All Against All TP -  Alex Paknadel & Caspar Wijngaard

In the distant future, a race of disembodied alien conquerors called the Operators moves from world to world, harvesting promising species for their most impressive physical traits. Their quest for ever-more-effective host bodies leads them to a forgotten research station, where animal specimens from a dead Earth, along with a small human boy named Helpless, have been collected and preserved in a savage artificial jungle environment. But as the Operators descend on the research station in search of an apex predator to harvest, they'll find more than they bargained for when they learn that Helpless is anything but!

Ancient Enemies: The Greater Good #1 -  Dan DiDio, Jim Calafiore & Danilo Beyrouth

Out of the pages ANCIENT ENEMIES, learn the origin of THE GREATER GOOD, as Morrigan strikes an uneasy pact with the leader of the Zaiyan Race pushing humanity closer to choosing sides in the alien struggle.  Only a mystery from Morrigan's past can undue everything she's planned.  

Doctor Who: Doom’s Day #1 (of 2) -  Jodie Houser, Roberta Ingranata & Pasquale Qualano

24 HOURS TO FIND THE DOCTOR! DOOM! This lonely assassin from the 51st Century is hunting for her survival, and there's only one person who can save her: the Doctor. Using her vortex manipulator, she'll do anything to find the tempestuous time traveler, including cavorting with the maleficent Missy. Every hour a new adventure, every hour closer to death...

Gore GN -  Verity Holloway & Ivo De Jager

Beryl Gore is a lonely orphan living and working at the Palace Theater in London. Night after night, the company performs tales of guts and glory to an audience of drunken louts while young Beryl cranks the artificial wave machine, entranced by the drama. The plays color Beryl's otherwise humdrum life amongst the slaughterhouses and cobbled alleys of the city. In her attic room, she pens her own melodrama, a bloody yarn of pirates and damsels where goodness is always rewarded. When Beryl shyly shows her work to Mister Perry, the Theater Manager, he shoos the child away. As Beryl enters adulthood, the theater ages with her, becoming shabbier and emptier with each passing season. As theater-goers turn to fresh spectacles elsewhere, Beryl realizes her theatrical world is in trouble. If the Palace is to be saved, it will need a bold new playwright.

Gun Honey: Heatseeker #1 (of 4) - Charles Ardai, Ace Continuado & Artgerm

IF THE HEAT IS ON, DAHLIA RACERS CAN HELP YOU DISAPPEAR - FOR A PRICE. Marked for death by a U.S. intelligence agency, Gun Honey Joanna Tan turns to Dahlia Racers to help her pull a vanishing act. But the killer hot on her trail, beautiful sociopath Sarah Claride, will leave bodies strewn from New York to Las Vegas to Tijuana, Mexico, if it means cornering Dahlia - and breaking her...

Henshin Vol 1 GN -  Bon Idle

Becoming a superhero isn't easy! Alex must balance becoming a superhero tasked with defeating Kaiju, making it as a journalism student, and navigating life as a gay man in modern Europe. Nine years after a mysterious ecological disaster, journalism students Alex and Rosalia investigate the strange company that rebuilt their city and turned it into a vision of the future-that is, until Alex's world is turned upside down by a chance encounter with a gigantic monster from another world, a Kaiju, and the mysterious masked hero fighting it! Inheriting the masked hero's power, Alex must now take on these powerful Kaiju when he transforms into the hero Blaze. Alex never imagined his cozy college life becoming deadly, but that's just what happens as his battles uncover an unholy connection between his city, the most powerful company in Europe, and the Kaiju. Can he uncover the secret before it's too late?

Like A Butterfly GN Vol 1 -  Suu Morishita

After Kawasumi rescues her from an unwelcome admirer, Suiren finds herself captivated by him. However, Suiren is too shy to speak to anyone, much less this reserved karate boy. What's more, Suiren isn't the only one interested in Kawasumi. Will a class trip offer the opportunity to reveal her feelings before it's too late?

Magic The Gathering: Soul & Stone HC -  Seanan McGuire, Kath Lobo & Jung-Geun Yoon

In this deluxe hardcover collection, experience two standalone tales each spotlighting a beloved Magic: The Gathering character. First, delve into Ajani Goldmane's past adventures and uncover stunning surprises, including what happened when the steadfast, valiant protector faced threats beyond his capabilities! Meanwhile, Nahiri has protected her home plane of Zendikar for centuries, her ruthlessness and power kept in check by a strong sense of justice. But a new challenge awaits that may change the way the Multiverse perceives her...

Night Of The Ghoul TP -  Scott Snyder & Francesco Francavilla

A dazzling work of horror, intercutting between the present-day narrative and the story of a lost horror film.

Filmmaker T.F. Merrit has spent decades confined in a retirement facility, which he claims is ran by the Order of the Fly, a cult organization from his very own movie. And as the night goes on, Forest Inmann and his son Orson find themselves falling deeper into his cinematic nightmare.

Pathfinder: Wake The Dead #1 -  Fred Van Lente, Eman Casallos & Steve Ellis

New creative team! New party of Iconics! New lands of Golarion to explore! The tantalizing prospect of a rendezvous with a Geb defector in possession of priceless secrets from that undead nation brings a diverse group of adventurers to the Nexian metropolis of Ecanus. When they find themselves cornered by the city's remorseless Deathsealers, can the Iconics band together for survivalescape a city full of hostile wizards alive?

Featuring playable character stats for Seelah, the iconic paladin, and new character options for inhabitants of the magical military city of Ecanus; officially sanctioned by the Pathfinder Society!

Pink Lemonade TP  -  Nick Cagnetti & Don Simpson 

Mysterious past! Colorful costume! Altruistic outlook! Zippy motorcycle! And one very overactive imagination! Meet PINK LEMONADE-the new hero on the scene! She dreams of doing big things, but ultimately, she'll settle for just helping where she can. But when Pink Lemonade accidentally crashes into the set of the next Rex Radical blockbuster, she'll take an unexpected leap into the spotlight...and will soon find herself confronted by a series of increasingly threatening doppelgängers, extraterrestrial fanboys, and nefarious corporate machinations.

Swan Songs #1 -  W. Maxwell Prince & Martin Simmonds

SWAN SONGS comprises stories about endings...The End of the World. The End of a Marriage. The End of a Sentence. The End of the End of the World!  (Which I suppose one might consider the BEGINNING of a new world...) And along for the terminal ride are some of comics' best and brightest artists! The first apocalyptic issue, "The End of the World," is drawn by none other than THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH's MARTIN SIMMONDS.  Future artists for future endings include CASPAR WIJNGAARD (HOME SICK PILOTS), and FILIPE ANDRADE (The Many Deaths of Leila Star), with more to be announced. All things come to a close; these are the SWAN SONGS.

The Pink Elephant #1 (of 3) - E&E Plissken & Benson Chin

From the writers of Heavy Metal Drummer, The Purple Oblivion, and The Firstborns comes this 80s slasher, lysergic, weird, indie, lynch-esque story. A group of teens on a road trip meet a creepy old woman at a gas station. A brief back and forth conversation with her leads to a night of acid trips, teen hijinks, and a giant killer with an elephant head. Things are about to get weird.

Untold Tales Of I Hate Fairyland #1 (of 5) -  Skottie Young, Dean Rankine, Aaron Conley & Mike Del Mundo

A five-issue anthology series featuring Untold Tales based on Eisner Award-winning writer  SKOTTIE YOUNG's bestselling comic, I HATE FAIRYLAND, with stories written and drawn by a stellar lineup of creators. BULLY WARS co-creators SKOTTIE YOUNG and AARON CONLEY pit Gert against an uncouth barbarian in "Bruud the Brutal." And in "Don't Trust the P.I.G. in Apartment 23," by DEAN RANKINE (Simpsons Comics, Invader Zim), Gert finds herself at the wrong end of a classic fairy tale.

UTOWN GN -  Caroline Breault

Utown is the story of a seedy neighborhood that a cast of misfits call home. Samuel is a twenty-four-year-old self-described aspiring artist (but mostly a video store clerk) who's doing his best to avoid adulthood. When gentrification shows up at his doorstep, he must face the fact that the town he grew up in is no longer his safe haven-and that he's not ready to leave just yet. With no money and few options, it's time for him to step up and prove his worth as a serious artist or keep on repeating old, toxic behaviors.

Weird Work #1 (of 4) - Jordan Thomas & Shaky Kane   The hard-boiled noir of LA Confidential mixes with the bright, alien-filled worlds of Futurama in this crime epic. Following months of gang shootings, Detective Ovra Sawce is paired with a new partner on a triple homicide. But what were a billionaire's assistant, a hood-turned-cult leader and Sawce's former partner doing in that warehouse?

Whatcha snagging this week, Fantom Fam?