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error404vnotfound · 6 months ago

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reading the whole seliriaverse: conclusions

first of all thank you all for coming with me on this journey. i hope you enjoyed my crying and my ranting (oh my god so much ranting)

overall i think i did have fun (good fun and mad fun). it was nice finally getting to read everything, and revisiting books i read when i was a very lost teen

now, onto the long awaited conclusions and a biased review of seliria's legacy (even tho my opinion is of course the correct one)

(im so sorry this is. so long)

first of all. null wtf is seliria. well, it's the nickname two very popular spanish authors, iria g parente and selene m pascual, have

i discovered them back in the good old days, when the only thing they had published was mainly fantasy and their books had at least some substance (i did say this was gonna be a rant)

unsurprisingly for those that have followed this, the first book i read of theirs was sueños de piedra. i instantly loved it. little 13 or so me was SHOCKED at lynne's story and it being something that could be done on books. and of course arthmael was an instant hit for me the clown i love him. i must have reread it four or so times that first year, and it never failed to leave me, at the end, warm and cozy

and then i found out there were more

i remember how excited i was when jaulas de seda was announced and how i read ladrones de libertad twice in the span of two months because i had enjoyed it so much

marabilia truly helped shape me as a person and i do believe it was what teen me needed. now, the message feels VERY heavy handed and the ramblings get old real fast, but it was there for me when i needed it and im glad for that

around this time i also read rojo y oro (mid) and antiheroes (fun but also mid) and, of course, alianzas. which, fun fact, i never actually finished that first time because i was enjoying it so much and i loved the characters so much and they were suffering and i was very scared and a coward

i did get around to read alianzas and the other two eventually. in like, four days (there's a +700 pages book in there btw, i basically breathed this trilogy for four days straight) it might have not touched me as much as sueños did, but it's still up there with my favorite books of all time

by this point, when someone asked who my favorite authors were, i'd answer them, because these stories were (and are) so dear to me

and so we come to the post reinos de cristal era

reinos was... a book. i read it after marathoning the whole of marabilia in preparation for it and my emotions were all over the place. now, with distance, i can say that it's truly a mess of a book (my rants are out there on my blog)

its messiness was a red herring for what was to come

as of 2019 they had: two completed fantasy sagas (good), a greek mythology inspired tragedy (mid), a contemporary superhero standalone (also mid), and the beginning of a steampunk duology (add mental air quotes to steampunk for me in your head, please) (because here is where we can start seeing The Issues)

The Issue being: shitting out two books per year, and fame

they managed well previously, but again, marabilia were mostly a The Vibes books. no one's really there for the plot (and whatever plot there is is, well, the mess of reinos) it's basically a bunch of essays in disguise (nothing wrong with that), and then alianza's and co plots are pretty fantasy hit all the beats of the expected plot (very well executed and fun, mind you) and also more essays in disguise (not as much as marabilia tho)

which brings me to the """"""steampunk"""""""" book.

el orgullo del dragón is a very well crafted book structure and plot wise. we still have the heavy handed essays in there, and the worldbuilding leaves a lot to be desired, but again: vibes. the vibes were there and good

when i first read it i wasn't expecting actual heavy serious plot elements (and there really aren't, it's just basically a glorified set up for la venganza which. we'll talk about later)

but then i tried to reread it to get to the second one when it came out and i just couldn't because it was. so boring. so i let it be

and they kept publishing books. and i kept buying them but not reading them, until august 2023 when i decided i was gonna read them all

in those three years, they had published: a """"sci-fi"""" trilogy/greek myths retelling, finished the steampunk duology, a book about mental health for kids (which i did read when it came out and it was good), a anne of green gables and a wizard of oz modern retellings (well, """""retellings""""""), a romcom, and they republished the first novel they wrote together (pétalos de papel, a romancy? romantacy? as they are called now)

they very clearly shifted from fantasy settings (that were mild to begin with), to even milder sci-fi realted worlds (the steampunk and scifi) (add the quotes in your brain i've gotten tired of writing them), to pure modern settings (with anne, huracan, and soulcial)

after august 2023 and till now they have also published a futuristic romance drama (imperio) and the first book of a fantasy series (that i will call timekeeper)

and now, i've read them. and judged them

first, the steampunk: was pretty solid until the last like 4 chapters of la venganza. the romance(s) were stomachable and the plot was there. and then a time skip happens and the worst scene i've ever read happens too and it toppled over what could have been an slightly above average story (with very little steampunk when it comes to it tbh). it was the reinos effect all over again. the tone shift was too jarring and it just. it didn't make sense. it was a bad resolution and a terrible ending for the painfully slow plot and pages upon pages i had had to swallow to get there. but at least the first book was okay

then, the sci-fi (""""sci-fi"""""): they bit more than they could chew with this one. the first book was a mess. no character work was put in at all (we'll see more of this going forward), there were too many time skips that went over the important parts (read: the characters becoming a team and friends). it focused too much on the romance (of course ._.), and it was painfully boring and way too long. and again, the plot wasn't handled very well. similar issues happened with the third one. again, a too big plot for what i feel they could manage because of The Issue, characters that get along just because with no work put behind beyond interacting with the romantic interest, etc.

the second book, on the other hand. man that was a good read. it gave me hope where so many fails before had robbed me of it. why was it good when its siblings failed? well, because it didn't have an actual plot. i mean, there was a plot, but it was all about two people destroying each other, being silly and horny. it read like a fanfic in a good way, is what im trying to communicate here.

and imperio! it was actually not a bad book. i can't say i was very disappointed because i didn't care that much, but it could have been so much better, man. if they had put some work into it and not just put out a by the book plot. i wanted commitment to the bit but alas, love won and we lost

timekeeper is a weird case. they have had this wip since 2007, and yet the worldbuilding could have used so much more work. there's... so much of it in this but it's terribly executed and as i said on the tier list there's no connective tissue bringing it all together. the characters are the same 2 archetypes they keep writing time and time again. it brings nothing new to the table and what it does execute it does so blandly

then the romantacy. i didn't hate it!!! it was just meh and mid and bland. there was no tension and it was a bit dumb (plot things happened just because, the antagonist was very early disney evil queen coded in a bad way, the relationship was also bland) also they messed up fake dating. my guy how do you mess up fake dating. the point is to have pinning and angst not for them to get together almost immediately. also i was promised the sad and it didn't deliver (because, again, the work for it to be sad hadn't been put in)

and finally, the dreaded contemporaries

from downright unreadable to blandness in its purest form. they read like bad fanfiction and not in a good way. the execution of the romcom plot beats left much to be desired, and im not saying this as a hater of romance (which i am), but as a chronic reader of fanfiction that has read every romcom variation plot (you can make the basic romcom beats compelling if the characters are compelling themselves and if they have chemistry but alas it was not to be found). it was bad. they were bad. and then of course it was all about the romance with 0 character work behind it

and again, i believe the books had potential. at least the ideas were interesting enough. it's not that i disliked these books because it wasn't my cup of tea (which, also) but i can appreciate when a book is well written and interesting and engaging and has been worked on even if it's not my thing, and these weren't it

they were poorly written books

and it's all because of The Issue.

they've gotten too comfortable with shitting out two books per year without really working on them as much as they should. because they can. because they are popular and people will buy whatever they write even if it's bad. (and then of course there's people who liked these books and i truly, truly question it)

and hey, good for them. go get that sweet money.

but it does make me a bit sad, because at one point they were my favorite authors, and their books were what i awaited the most to come out. they were well crafted and the characters had work behind them beyond one character trait and how horny they are for their love interest. the plots had also been chewed through enough and not something that can barely be called a first draft i swear

for this same reason, and seeing as timekeeper #1 wasn't good i don't think i'll keep reading their works, which saddens me, because they were great once and most of their earlier works held up through the reread.

and that's okay. people change as a reader and as writers, and sueños de piedra and alianzas will always have a special place in my heart in spite of everything else they have put out lmao

now, what did we learn?

null my guy stop reading romcoms you wont like them. you tried and you failed (unsurprisingly) just stick to fanfiction

character work is really important to me so i can enjoy a book (why are we shocked)

sometimes a book is so bad it's fun and sometimes it's so bad you consider not reading ever again

publishing houses hit me up i will fix your barely thought about romance plots

my ending for la furía y el laberinto was better than the actual thing

which are mostly things i already knew. so. uh... i did do all of this for nothing i guess. i mean at least i can now say that i've read all their books

anyways. catch me rereading sueños de piedra next year this September for its ten year anniversary (oh damn)

#v reads the seliriaverse #shoutout to everyone that followed this mess #i will however not shut up about the books im (re)reading im sorry everyone

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catty-words · 4 years ago

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on the school dance fallout or, a thorough examination of the boys’ apologies to julie

full disclosure, i used to take serious issue with 1.06 for what it did to julie’s righteous anger in light of the boys letting her down, and my gripes haven’t fully gone away. but i have spent some time thinking on the fallout since my first (several) viewing(s) of the show and i finally noticed some emotionally nuanced storytelling that i needed time to come to appreciate. so, if you’ll indulge me another gif-filled meta post...

everyone knows that a good apology demonstrates an understanding of how you wronged the person you’re apologizing to, otherwise the words i’m sorry end up being fairly empty. and luckily for the boys, julie does a good job of immediately and effectively communicating her hurt feelings:

the first part is directed at luke specifically as her main co-writer, while the rest is about how all three of them let her down. it couldn’t be more clear that the reason she’s so betrayed is that a) they’ve made her feel like julie and the phantoms is less important to them than sunset curve and b) they’ve failed to consider her point of view or empathize with how important the show was to her.

which is why singing sorry a bunch of times, though charming, leaves her unmoved. and it’s why booking another gig actually makes her angrier. a gig the boys have deemed important enough to show up for is not a present or an olive branch to her, it’s a slap in the face. and if the boys had actually been paying attention to what she’d said the night of the dance, they could have anticipated her reaction.

but they clearly haven’t listened, so they haven’t learned how to do better or make things right. which is why this is such an important beat in the scene in the studio:

hounding julie to rejoin the band, even with such nice sentiments as “you’re the best thing that’s happened to us since we became ghosts”, does nothing to address how undervalued julie feels getting stood up because, as she points out above, their ability to do what they love is very limited without her. that makes her a powerful and essential member of the band, but it doesn’t prove that they care about her, julie, the person. and you can see in the reaction shot how the truth of her words lands for all of them.

their remorseful silence gives julie the opportunity to reiterate one of the points she made the night before, and it’s important to note which part of her hurt feelings she chooses to revisit.

the fact that they made the choice to pay more attention to their old music in spite of the music they were creating together is the thing that hurt her feelings the most. and, of course, her open hostility and her imagined reasons for why the boys picked sunset curve over julie and the phantoms (i.e. selfishness) puts luke on the defensive and ends with everyone leaving the scene dissatisfied.

great! okay, so here’s the part that’s bugged in the past (and the present, just. a little less so.) — in their attempt to deescalate the situation, alex and reggie give julie, and the audience, the all-important luke backstory. but like asking julie to rejoin the band with a shinier gig than a school dance flies in the face of actually making amends, so, too, does asking julie to empathize with luke’s emotional journey when the boys failed to take julie’s into account when they hurt her. only this time, it works as an olive branch.

now, i’m not saying that julie’s acting out of character in being sympathetic to luke’s pain, quite the opposite is the case. and i’m also not saying it’s bad that she does find sympathy for his situation — again, i’d argue that the opposite is true. it’s just, at the same time, it’s not a good look to force aside the young woman of color’s hurt in service of the white dude who hurt her feelings in the first place’s tragic backstory. the narrative is asking julie not to be mad at the choices luke made in the past two episodes because he’s really sad, actually.

and sure that’s an ungracious read of the moment, but i stand by the fact that it’s present in the text of the episode all the same, even with a little more nuance than i’m currently giving it credit for.

all that being said, alex and reggie do a bit to win back this highly insensitive maneuver with another stab at an apology.

alex addresses julie’s comment about them knowing “how tough it’s been for her to play” by reiterating that not showing up let her down and they get that that’s a crappy way to feel, while reggie takes a crack at julie’s “our songs were good” by emphasizing that they all love being in a band and making music with her. it’s a slight step up from their sorry in the garage, but not a complete fix because they’re all still sitting with the fact that they need julie to make the most of their music and how that complicates their declarations of loyalty.

the thing that makes this attempt at reconciliation different than those prior, of course, is this line:

the acknowledgement that things haven’t been fixed + the politeness + the implication that they’re willing to put in the time to earn her trust back so long as she lets them makes the apology a good enough one to accept. well, that, and:

one gets the sense that if rose could actually speak to julie in that moment, she’d be reminding her the value of grace. and, of course, we know that this also serves as a reminder to julie that good things are fleeting, loss is around every corner, and holding close what you care about is important. so she does just that by letting go of her (righteous, righteous) anger and reuniting the band.

still, even though alex and reggie have had their chance to make amends, luke doesn’t get the same moment to show he’s actually paid attention to julie’s needs in 1.06. so, naturally, he starts immediately in their first scene together in 1.07.

i mentioned in my exhaustive list for “finally free” that julie picking a sunset curve song for their reunion number is a lovely, understated way for her acknowledge luke’s lost musical legacy, and i have similar feelings about the fact that luke suggests “edge of great” for their follow-up gig. it’s his first step in proving to her that he does care about the music they’ve written together with actions instead of empty apologies and misguided gestures.

by the end of the episode, though, the three of them take a step back (reggie gets points for his being, like, half a step) when they learn that, in addition to letting down julie, one of the consequences of their night chasing revenge is a ticking clock on their existence.

though i understand the urge to protect julie from the alarming news that their power is going out, there’s also a lot of selfishness behind the decision. julie loses them in the end no matter what, but lying to her about it and planning to leave without an explanation shows a disregard for her emotional journey in a similar way standing her up did. in fact, this plan is basically to stand her up for eternity. not cool, guys.

naturally, since it’s luke who’s the one proposing the terrible plan and it’s luke who never officially demonstrated his understanding of how he hurt julie’s feelings by not showing up when it mattered, it’s fitting that he’s suddenly more in tune with his own feelings. and, with that, comes a new awareness of how his and julie’s feelings interact, starting with this moment in 1.08.

you can see his conflict over her declaration. she’s worried without knowing just how much there is to be worried about, and that makes him sad because it’s confirmation of the fact that he’s important to her. that losing him will mean a lot of pain for her. but instead of cluing her in, he makes a conscious choice to continue withholding the information of his imminent departure. and maybe it’s such a weak deflection because he’s already starting to come to terms with how unfair he’s being to her, but even so, he’s not being a good friend when julie is showing up for him in big, unexpected ways he’d never even thought to ask for.

and again, here —

— just after they’ve acknowledged that there’s a something and not a nothing between them, you can see him sober with the thought that she doesn’t know they’re about to lose each other. but it’s still not enough to move him to share. maybe because he prefers that she live with the possibility of that something when he no longer can, maybe because he’s too caught up in his own feelings about how crappy this hand they’ve been dealt by the universe is. but in any case, he keeps tight-lipped.

UNTIL.

it’s seeing her excited about a future their music can’t have that finally pushes him into coming clean. and i love how subtly this demonstrates that he has been paying attention, actually, and he knows that what hurt julie the most was the feeling that their music took a backseat to his past. if he crosses over without telling her the whole, ugly truth about the mistake he made by standing her up, then he crosses over stuck in that mistake. because part of that whole, ugly truth is the beautiful realization that no music is worth making, julie, if we’re not making it with you. and he’s not quite at that particular aspect of his truth yet — he still has to experience the what if of caleb’s club to be able to make the declaration with the conviction he does — but when he finally does tell her that and means it, she’s given the catharsis she’s needed since the dance. because he’s backing up his apology with action (i.e. being willing to literally no longer exist instead of making music with someone else) and providing her with the same consideration she showed him when she rejoined the band because his loss felt more important than her anger. and reaching that level of give and take in their relationship, physically represented in their hug, finally sets them free.

so, yes. even though 1.06 is clunky and a little tasteless at times, i can acknowledge that the story manages to win any missteps back. quite poetically, honestly. all’s forgiven.

#julie and the phantoms #jatpedit #jatp meta #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie peters #alex mercer #gifs by catty #long post #am i disappointed with myself for not being able to include any gifs from 1.09 because i reached the limit already #yes. absolutely.#should i have split this post into two parts to fit it all?#maybe so #will i do anything about it?#obviously not #FATED BANDMATES #melody & words #together my cats can queue anything

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maxwell-grant · 3 years ago

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OK, I know this will probably be painful, and I may be a bad mutual for asking but...would you be willing to identify what, in your opinion are the bottom five worst Shadow adaptations, and give a detailed breakdown of why they were so lousy?

Oh christ, okay. I don't think you're gonna get as much of a detailed breakdown for these compared to some of the others, because I take more issue with adaptations that do have good qualities but also big or deep problems to talk about.

For example, I can't include Garth Ennis's Shadow in this list because the comic has a lot of strong points to it, despite a deeply, deeply detestable take on The Shadow's character, where as the rest of the Dynamite run doesn't reach neither the lows or highs of his run. Likewise, Andy Helfer's run has a couple or a couple dozen moments every issue that make me want to tear something to shreds in frustration, but it's also at many points a really good comic with great art and some occasionally very inspired writing. Really, I'd just be repeating myself talking about what I hate in those.

But, fine, let's list some of the others.

I think I'm just gonna have to get the elephant in the room out of the way here, and address that I won't be including Si Spurrier's 2017 Dynamite mini in this list, and I think at least some of you might be angry it's not Number 1 by default. I'm doing this because I intend to one day really revisit it, think about it and it's reception and what it was trying to do, and talk about it on it's own, now that it's been 5 years and everyone has moved on and we can maybe talk about it without kneejerk hatred driving everyone nuts (your mileage may vary on how warranted it was).

I'm also not going to be talking about James Patterson's new novel, because I haven't read it. It seems to be considered a forgettable potboiler by mainstream critics and a resounding failure by everyone who likes the character whether they've read the book or not, and frankly I don't have it in me to learn what the fuzz was about anytime soon, I got my hands way too full as is.

And I won't be including the Batman x Shadow crossovers here, because again, they do have a lot of virtues that put them far ahead of some of the really worst Shadow media, and I've talked enough about how badly I think they mangled The Shadow, which is really the big problem I have with them (well, that and Tim Sale blatantly copying a Michael Kaluta cover, that was really shitty). I don't really hate them anymore, I just get tired and frustrated thinking about parts of them, I said my piece as is. Really, my frustration over this comic is what inspired me to start writing about The Shadow here, so I guess in a way I do owe it at least that much.

5: Archie Comics's Shadow

I think some of you might be wondering why this isn't ranked higher, but to be honest, I don't actually harbor any hatred towards this. I mean, I have to include it, but I find it kinda silly that some people even today actually care about the existence of this comic enough to hate it.

For fans back then? Oh yeah, obviously, but this dropped to such instantaneous backlash that it never really got to live past 6 issues. Really, everything wrong about it can be understood immediately from the covers, and I've actually read the comic in it's entirety to see if there was anything worth taking. I found only a couple of things of note but, no, this really is just a painfully mediocre superhero comic that happens to have a couple of Shadow names in it. If anything, it gets too much credit.

The actual contents of what it is are never going to justify it's reputation, but the existence of it and the disproportionate response to it is the funniest and most enduring legacy it could ever ask for. This whole comic is The Shadow's version of Spongebob's embarassing Christmas photo.

4: David Liss's The Shadow Now

This is another "The Shadow as an immortal in modern times" comic and I think you may have noticed the pattern with those by now. I may revisit this eventually and I do have some moments from it saved for reference, but overall: It sucks, and it doesn't even suck in a way that lets me talk much about it, it's a diet version of Chaykin's Shadow. If Archie's Shadow is a generic mediocre superhero comic wearing The Shadow's name, this is a generic crime story playing beats from movie. The Shadow is an asshole and not even a grandiose or sinister one, he just feels like a sleazy douche in a costume. The art is a 50/50 coin toss between appropriately moody and "Google images with a filter on them", I don't remember anything about the plot other than Khan had a bomb again and he had a daughter, and there were new versions of the agents and the Harry stand-in turned evil and Lamont shacked up with Margo's descendant which, uh, no. I don't really hate this but I really have nothing nice to say about this comic other than Colton Worley's art is nice sometimes. I can't really muster anything else to say here.

3: Invisible Avenger

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZ...

...uuh, wha-

Yeah, I remember nothing about this one other than it's painfully boring and nothing about it, nothing at all, works in the slightest and I drift off to sleep even now trying to give this a rewatch. To be honest pretty much every other Shadow serial not starred by Victor Jory sucks and I don't really have anything to say about them, this one is just the worst of the lot. I dearly wish there was a good Shadow tv series but, if it was going to be like this pilot? Good riddance.

2: Harlan Ellison's The New York Review of Bird

This isn't really a Shadow story as much as it's a Harlan Ellison story that happens to feature The Shadow, but man am I glad that Ellison's "Dragon Shadows" was canned, because holy shit what a goddamn nightmare Harlan Ellison writing The Shadow for real could have been, going purely by the one time he ever touched the character. New York Review of Bird is a purely farcical parody story that wears real, real thin even before "Uncle Kent" shows up, and we get to see in it what is by far the most detestable and irredeemable take on The Shadow ever put on print, and not even in a critique or deconstructive way or anything that could be remotely worth discussing.

I don't hold any particular affection for Harlan Ellison and his writing (despite liking some of it) and I've come to notice the major red flag that is finding someone who looks up to Harlan Ellison in any capacity as a person, and this story in particular really feels like Ellison aggressively trying to channel his jackass tendencies through every line, just him being nasty because he built a personal brand on being nasty. The only reason this isn't Number One is because it's a very short story that saw zero influence or reputation, and thus it only exists as a brief mention in The Shadow wiki, and a brief mention is all it really calls for.

1: Howard Chaykin's Blood & Judgment

I'm guessing most of you already knew this one was in the top spot before I started writing.

I would actually rather not write a big piece on Blood & Judgment, because I think (or at least I hope) it's influence on The Shadow has waned a lot over the years and I would prefer to draw it the least amount of attention possible, but if I HAVE to talk about this, I guess I'd rather just vomit this out of my circuits now instead of giving it it's own post.

I would prefer to use a less unpleasant image on my blog, but if I'm going to talk about this comic, there's no image to better convey it than this drawing of macho asshole Cranston holding a sexualized mannequin at gunpoint. By leaps and bounds, Blood & Judgment is the most misogynistic Shadow story I've ever read. It's ironic that Chaykin justified the rampant misogyny he gave The Shadow with the idea that this is just a man from the 30s would act like, when he admits in the same breath that he never even touched the stories, and he wrote a story more sexist and demeaning to it's female characters than anything, literally anything, written in the Shadow pulps. It's almost impressive even.

I'll paste some segments from Randy Raynaldo's review

In Flagg, he intended to present his own point of view on American society while keeping his work tongue in cheek and acessible. But this vision dimmed, and Flagg had become a vehicle by which Chaykin could play out fetishes and portray gratuitous and stylish violence.

In The Shadow, stripped of the political and social veneer which was supposed to make Flagg unique, Chaykin's sensibilities and excesses become disturbingly apparent. For all of his liberal posturing, Chaykin's work demonstrates zero difference from the same kind of mentality exploited and made popular by similarly violent popular culture icons like Dirty Harry and Death Wish.

More than half a dozen individuals are indiscriminately and violently murdered in the first issue. Although the victims are characters who played major roles in the myth of The Shadow, we feel little sympathy for them, even for those of us who knew these characters at the outset. Who dies is unimportant, it's how they die that is the fascination.

Chaykin uses sexual decadence as a means by which to establish villains, and undercuts this device by making the protagonists as promiscuous as the villains. For all of Chaykin's seemingly liberal leanings, he demonstrates very little sensitivity in his portrayal of women.

Because everything works on rules of three, this comic also follows the pattern with other works mentioned here, as this isn't Howard Chaykin writing The Shadow: it's The Shadow reimagined as a Howard Chaykin character. He looks and acts exactly like Reuben Flagg and the typical macho protagonist of Chaykin's other works, he's a cynical sleaze with an entirely new origin who half-assedly dons a garb to machine gun people, and I already wrote a separate piece on why the machineguns are kind of emblematic of everything wrong with this take.

I understand that Chaykin has, or used to have, a big following of sorts, and I've tried to wrap my head around this for years, but I genuinely still don't get why Shadow fans stomach this comic unless they happen to be Chaykin fans first and foremost, I really don't. Everything, fucking everything Shadow fans hate about modern depictions of the character can be traced right back to this. The parts that stuck and changed the character for the worse, like him being defined as an immortal, bloodthirsty warmonger who got all his skills and powers from a magic city in Tibet, or Lamont Cranston being a coward who fears and hates the Shadow, or his agents being expendable slaves, stuff that has been ingrained into the mythos through this and the Alec Baldwin movie and other comics, to the point that people now think of it as the norm, that it's the baseline of what The Shadow is, and I hate it, I genuinely fucking hate it,

I hate it so much that it's a big part of the reason why I created this blog and why I want so badly to get to write The Shadow, because I plainly couldn't stand not having ways to tell people that this is all wrong, that this is actively shooting down the character's odds for success, and that they are missing out on something really great, because the well has been tainted with garbage that won't go away and everytime I read the words Shambala in a Shadow comic, even an otherwise good or great one, I get just a wee bit cross.

The only semi-redeeming aspects I can think of for this comic is one or two cool moments, like when The Shadow hijacks a concert using his Devil's Whisper or when he tames dogs with a stare. Just breadcrumbs of "not garbage" amidst an ocean of anything but. I hate that talking about why I hate this comic in-length can almost feel like I'm still enticing people to check it out of curiosity, but if you wanna do that, fine, just know this: The worst part of Blood & Judgment, even if you don't care at all about what it did to The Shadow, is that it's boring.

It is a deeply boring comic. If you like Howard Chaykin to begin with, you'll probably like this okay (although even Chaykin fans told me that this is his weakest work and that even he seems to agree). If you don't, I plain don't see what you could get out of this.

The comic itself is just nothing. It's the comic book equivalent of a pre-schooler trying to get a reaction by swearing. It has nothing whatsoever other than half-assed attempts at shock value. The plot isn't there, the ideas are stale, the dialogue is needlessly oblique and comprised entirely of unfinished sentences, interrupted conversations and one-liners without build-up. The characters are all unlikable and uninteresting stooges with no personality, or joyless cartoons. There's no heart or emotion or logic, and it isn't even funny enough to succeed as just an outrageous exercise in 80s excess. There's nothing in here.

I get "why" it was popular enough at the time, a rising star creator penning a modern revival of an old character based on controversy that pissed off the old fans, it's an old story that still gets repeated today. But manufactured controversy is not a replacement for storytelling and it rarely ever exists to benefit the people who actually want to enjoy the stories, it only benefits those for the crude benefit of those who want to sell you something out of the controversy.

I guess they got their money's worth back then.

------------------------------------------------

Phew, okay, I did it, I finally vomited out a piece on Blood & Judgment and some others, allright, let's put this piece of negativity behind us now.

#replies tag #the shadow #pulp heroes #shadow comics #shadow films #dc comics

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ouyangzizhensdad · 4 years ago

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RE: WWX and his arc being about trauma. I got into the fandom through CQL and the first time I saw it I actually read a lot of his actions post the burning of Lotus Cove as being influenced by his trauma. He's paranoid even before getting thrown into the burial mounds. He seems to be self medicating with alchohol (which WQ kinda calls him out on). He over-reacts to a lot things, which seems to me like a nasty case of emotional dysregulation as a result of PTSD. He avoids all kinds (1/3)

Of reminders of his tramua, his sword being the greatest example but there were other little things. He never gave much of a fuck about propriety but the way he completely igonres it (and the possible social fallout) later speaks to me less about not caring and more about not *having* the emotional capacity to care, much like what happens with depression. Plus, a lot of his behaviour can be read with various shades of being self destructive, and there are just in general a lot of points (2/3)

Where it's made clear that he's in a pretty bad headspace (him crying about being useless in the burial mounds for example), but none of that ever really gets dealt with so all of those issues are still hanging under the surface even if they're not apparent all the time. I mean, this is just my take, but at least imo WWX ticks a lot of the checkboxes for PTSD in the drama and it explains a lot about the way he acts and the bad decisions he makes. Hope this was helpful! (3/3)

I'm only referring to the drama btw, not the novel (which I haven't read yet). My memory is terrible so I'm not sure if I made it clear or not lol. Anyways, have a good day ^^

Hi there,

I am always curious when people who have only engaged with CQL end up engaging with my novel-only meta blog but perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised: if CQL posts end up in the mdzs tag, why not the opposite? I’ve seen some of my novel meta reblogged and tagged with “the untamed” and “CQL” so maybe the answer is already out there, staring at me in the face!

I’ll start by saying that I do not wish to really argue with people’s interpretations of CQL since I consider that MDZS and CQL are very different works because so many changes were made in the process of adapting the novel, and I personally have no interest in analysing CQL except wrt how it can help us better understand the novel (seeing certain elements removed or changed may help us understand why they mattered in the first place or what their use was). So I will speak to the arguments that could be applied to the novel and why *I* don’t think WWX’s arc in the novel is about trauma, and why I don’t think that picking up certain behaviours that can be exhibited by people with PTSD (but not exclusively by people with PTSD) is enough in itself to support the idea that a character’s arc is about trauma/shaped by PTSD. That does not mean that my interpretation is the only acceptable one--I am aware that a lot of people disagree with me on this and see trauma as a central theme/central part of WWX’s arc--and so I expect that a lot of people will disagree with my points (hopefully after they’ve read this post in good faith). And that’s perfectly fine: how likely is it that we can find another person who will agree 100% with our own interpretation of a work of fiction? And having divergent opinions floating around the fandom, or having to develop counter-arguments is a good way to strengthen our own pov if we don’t find ourselves convinced by that other interpretation, so it’s all good.

So first, I’ll address the biggest point of my argument before moving to address more specific points you raise in your ask. For me, WWX’s characterisation is not about trauma but about resilience.

So first, let’s clarify some things. Going through adversity/experiencing a situation that is difficult =/= experiencing trauma. Trauma is a concept referring to a potential response to going through adversity/experiencing something distressing or disturbing. In short, trauma as it is conceptualised and understood is not universal: not only in the sense that is a spatiotemporally specific concept used to make certain experiences intelligible, but as the reaction to difficult events (as well, what is considered to be an experience that falls under that concept is not itself universal and can take many gorms, and the behaviours and thoughts associated with trauma are generally not exclusive to it, ie having certain behaviours/thought processes is not an automatic proof that someone is dealing with trauma/ptsd). So after all this word vomit I want to clarify that my intent is not to suggest that WWX doesn’t go through experiences that are likely to cause trauma, but that to me, what is being portrayed is a different reaction to these events: resilience (if a slightly more “fictional” portrayal of resilience than what it would be presented in psychology/psychiatry).

Resilience refers to how people adapt or recover successfully from adversity/distressing situation/stress. That does not mean that people’s first reaction to adversity/distressing situations will be not defined by negative emotions, of course. For instance, I don’t think WWX’s heightened paranoia/emotional state directly after the fall of LP when he goes to look for JC is an indication of trauma because at this point WWX is still deep in the middle of that moment of adversity: he’s still a fugitive in the middle of a war, in the middle of danger. This also doesn’t mean that people cannot still have some temporary negative reactions to things that happened to them, afterwards: WWX having to pause when JC presents him with Suibian after he returns from Mass Grave Hill is not inherently an indication of trauma as it can be read that his sword a reminder of the difficult sacrifice he made--and the consequences he faced as a result (just because a situation was not traumatic doesn’t mean we enjoy revisiting it).

Why I think that WWX’s arc or characterisation is about resilience rather than trauma is because of many things, but mostly I want to point out two sections of the novel in particular.

First, this characterisation of WWX through JYL that we get relatively early in the novel:

Most memories from back then were already blurred. Yet, Jin Ling’s mother, Jiang Yanli, remembered all of them, and even told him quite a few. She said that, after his father heard of the news that his parents both died in battle, he had always dedicated himself to finding the child that these past friends had left behind. After searching for a while, he finally found the child in Yiling.

The first time they met, Wei Wuxian was kneeling on the ground, eating the fruit peels that somebody tossed on the ground. Yiling’s winter and spring were quite cold, yet the child only wore thin layers. His knees were already tattered, and on his feet were two different shoes that didn’t fit at all. As he was looking down, searching for fruit peels, Jiang Fengmian called him. He still remembered that there was a “Ying” in his name, so he lifted his head. Although his cheeks were both red and chapped from the cold, he still wore a smile.

Jiang Yanli said that he was born with a smiling look. No matter what unfortunate thing happened, he wouldn’t cling on to them; no matter what situation he was in, he would be happy. Although it sounded a bit heartless, it really was not bad.

This refers to a time of his life that is extremely difficult: he lost both his parents suddenly, at a young age, became suddenly homeless with no means to feed himself except to beg, and yet the only trauma he seems to carry from this experience is related to dogs. To me, this is a clear move from MXTX to position WWX as the kind of protagonist who can face a storm and keep his smile on his face. I can imagine that some people take it perhaps as a subversion, as the text telling us that WWX is weathering it all with a smile but underneath it all he is just a bundle of unaddressed trauma. And that’s certainly a possible interpretation, but it’s not mine. In this case I think the text is being straightforward. What we see of WWX also seems to support that: the way WWX just rolls with being brought back from the death, how easily he finds a way to adapt to things, etc.

I also find it meaningful that the novel choses to include in its ultimate chapter this discussion as part of its wrap-up of WWX’s journey and of Wangxian’s relationship.

After they left the shop, Wei Wuxian still sat on Xiao Pingguo while Lan Wangji held the reins in front.Swaying left and right atop the donkey, Wei Wuxian took the flute from his waist and placed it by his lips. The limpid notes flew across the sky like birds. Lan Wangji halted and listened quietly.

It was the song he sang for Wei Wuxian when they were stuck in the Xuanwu cave. It was also the song that Wei Wuxian just so happened to have played at Dafan Mountain, the song that enabled Lan Wangji to confirm his identity.

When he finished, Wei Wuxian winked his left eye towards Lan Wangji.

“How was it? Beautiful, huh?”

Lan Wangji slowly nodded. “For once.”

Wei Wuxian knew that ‘for once’ referred to how his memory was good for once. He could not help but smile.

“Don’t always be so angry about it. It was my fault in the past, alright? Besides, my terrible memory should be accredited to my mom.” Wei Wuxian propped his arm on Xiao Pingguo’s head, spinning Chenqing in his hand. “My mom said you have to remember the things others do for you, not the things you do for others. Only when people don’t hold so much in their hearts would they finally feel free.”

This was one of the only things he remembered about his parents.

Of course, this is not a direct reference to resilience as it is explored in psychology. But to me it speaks to that idea: one of the biggest lesson WWX has kept with him, one of his only memory of--and thus legacy from--his parents, is this idea that we should not hold so much in our hearts. It also reframes his bad memory as being the result of a philosophy, of an approach to life that not just about being grateful/paying your debts to others, but also a form of resilience, in a sense.

As well, I find that a lot of people who go with the trauma interpretation see WWX’s actions and thoughts processes dyring his YLLZ’s days as being the result of his ptsd, where I personally read it as the influence of modao. I am aware as well that some people do not think that modao actually harmed WWX during that period of his life, but I don’t think that LWJ would have been worried if there were not reasons to believe it would:

One against two, Lan Wangji still refused to back off. He gazed at Wei Wuxian, “Wei Ying, for cultivating an evil path you would eventually have to pay. Throughout time, there has not been a single exception.”

Wei Wuxian, “I can pay.”

Seeing how unconcerned he seemed to be, Lan Wangji lowered his voice, “The path would not only damage your body, but your heart as well (此道损身，更损心性。)”

So now, onto the specific points you raised in the ask.

Self-medicating with alcohol: WWX is shown to enjoy and drink large amounts of alcohol before the fall of LP and after most of the events of the novel have unfolded. In the novel, while WQ tries to make WWX stop drinking, it is as likely to believe that it is for his health (now that he doesn’t have a golden core) than it would be because she was worried he was self-medicating. As well, heavy drinking is a very normalized behaviour (although most physicians don’t think it’s a good thing) in a lot of cultures and times, and considering WWX’s higher tolerance and his general demeanor while imbricated, his drinking is not shown to have a negative effect on his ability to live his life. The line between “self-soothing” (normal aspect of being humans dealing with emotions and hardships) and “self-medicating” (pathological) is hard to trace with alcohol consumption. As well, just because people with PTSD may self-medicate with alchohol doesn’t mean all people who self-medicate with alcohol do it because of PTSD.

He's paranoid even before getting thrown into the burial mounds. As I mentioned briefly before, WWX is at the time a fugitive in the middle of a war: he’s still in the middle of those stressful events and his paranoia is not necessarily a maladaptive response since they are still very much fugitives in the middle of a war. Trauma is not really your reaction during but in the aftermath. It would be more telling if WWX were still exhibiting signs of paranoia in situations where he would have no reasons to.

He over-reacts to a lot things, which seems to me like a nasty case of emotional dysregulation as a result of PTSD. I’m not certain at which reactions you are referring to here, but especially considering that some of this might be chalked up to acting choices since this is based on CQL, I probably won’t address this one point too much in relation to the novel. I do want to emphasize though that we’ve seen prior to Sunshot campaign that WWX can be quite impulsive in certain situations (hitting JZX for insulting Shijie, which he does both before and after the events of the Sunshot Campaign). As well, I do think it’s important to remember that he is still in the middle of the war during the Sunshot campaign, and that he is also hiding something pretty important from the people close to him and living a sort of double life, on top of experiencing fatigue/hunger in a way he hasn’t for years due to the loss of his golden core. In short, there are a lot of things going on that can be used to explain what can be seen as “over-reactions” without necessarily going with PTSD.

avoids all kinds reminders of his trauma, his sword being the greatest example but there were other little things. I’ve broached in my previous discussions, but it’s also pertinent to remember his mom’s philosophy: we can also see this as WWX trying to leave in the pass this difficult sacrifice he made in order to move forward.

He never gave much of a fuck about propriety but the way he completely ignores it (and the possible social fallout) later speaks to me less about not caring and more about not *having* the emotional capacity to care, much like what happens with depression. I have to disagree with that interpretation of WWX and WWX’s actions, but again this might just be a case of CQL-only vs novel-only interpretations of the character. One thing WWX thinks about being reborn in a “lunatic’s” body is that he’ll get to have fun, the way he never could when his actions reflected on others. So while at times WWX flaunts propriety, he is aware of how his actions can impact others and show in different situations that he is aware of propriety. His choice to protect the Wen Remnants goes against that, for sure, but it isn’t necessarily a case of not understanding the possible social fallout so much as putting other things (ie his life-debt towards WN and WQ) before propriety, as we can see for example in this exchange.

Jiang Cheng, “I’m the one who fucking wants to give you a thrashing! Yes, they helped us before, but why in the world don’t you understand that right now any remnant of the Wen Sect is a target of criticism! No matter who they are, with a surname of Wen they have committed a most heinous crime! And those who protect the Wen are at risk of being condemned by everyone! All the people loathe the Wen-dogs so badly that the worse they die the better. Whoever protects them is against the entire world. Nobody would speak for them, and nobody would speak for you either!”

“I don’t need anyone to speak for me.”

[...]

Swords unsheathed, the two stared at each other for a while. Neither was willing to take a single step back. A while later, Jiang Cheng spoke, “Wei Wuxian, have you still not realized what the situation at hand is like? Do you really need me to say it out loud? If you insist on protecting them, then I won’t be able to protect you.”

“There’s no need to protect me. Just let go.”

Jiang Cheng’s face twisted.

Wei Wuxian, “Just let go. Tell the world that I defected. From now on, no matter what Wei Wuxian does, it’d have nothing to do with YunmengJiangShi.”

“… All for the Wen Sect…? Wei Wuxian, do you have a savior complex? Is it that you’ll die if you don’t stand up for someone and stir up some trouble?”

Wei Wuxian stayed quiet. A while later, he answered, “So that’s why we should cut ties right now, in case anything I do affects YunmengJiangShi in the future.”

a lot of his behaviour can be read with various shades of being self destructive Which ones, specifically? I’m not trying to be obtuse, but I’m not sure which ones you mean.

he's in a pretty bad headspace (him crying about being useless in the burial mounds for example) It needs to be said that the crying is only in CQL (it was an acting choice by XZ). My memory is playing tricks on me, but I think pre-rebirth we only see him cry after he kills JZX and after JYL’s death? Someone please fact-check me on this.

Since I don’t believe it was MXTX’s intent to make WWX’s characterisation and arc about trauma, I do feel like interpreting the different behaviours as signs of his PTSD might lead us to miss out on other potential interpretations or meanings behind these choices, if we put aside the PTSD angle. It may also lead us to deny the text the possibility to signify something different through these behaviours and signs, especially on a thematic level--to explore something about how events and emotions shape us in a manner that exists outside of modern psychiatric classification.

TLDR (because god this got long): My point is not that WWX is unaffected by the things that happened to him or the things he’s done during this portion of his life: of course he is! Especially as they are happening to him, or when he is still stuck in a very difficult situation. But I don’t think his character and his arc is about trauma but instead about resilience. That, at the end of MDZS, WWX is still the person JYL described: No matter what unfortunate thing happened, he wouldn’t cling on to them.

#wintersrchild #mdzs meta #mdzs #wwx #maybe i should tag this as unpopular opinion? just in case

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troutfishinginmusic · 4 years ago

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Guide: Lesser-known nu metal albums that hold up

Nu metal is a genre that’s easily derided. It was caricatured as over-the-top angst, baggy jeans and casual misogyny. It was one of the biggest genres when I was first discovering music.

There was plenty of bad music, but to say it was all bad would be inaccurate. It was extremely diverse compared to other metal scenes. It also put issues like child abuse to the forefront, showing survivors they were not alone. Nu metal took a genre that was showing signs of wear and reinvented it. While it soon became saturated by faceless bands (as every popularized genre eventually does), it was important.

As the genre regains popularity, there have been plenty of retrospective lists about bands like Slipknot, Deftones and Korn. There have even been lists detailing some of the lesser known bands. The podcast Roach Koach has done a great job reassessing the genre (It was the catalyst for me making this list). In no order, here are seven nu metal albums you might be less familiar with but are worth your time. These all roughly come from the genre’s original era of popularity. I’ve also put together a ranking of more established nu metal records at the end.

I love the first couple of Static-X albums, but Cannibal is truly a high-water mark. It’s catchy, concise and extremely heavy. While it has some more straight-ahead metal flourishes (guitar solos!?!), no one could mistake this for another band. And, if nothing else, Static-X is a definitive nu metal band. Cannibal seems to find Static-X revitalized after kicking out a problematic member. Vocalist Wayne Static (who died in 2014) knows exactly what he wants these songs to do. His barking delivery finds spaces in each of these spartan industrial rippers. It represents all the things I like about the genre.

Oracle represents somewhat of a break from the more straight-ahead nu metal sound of Spit, so it might not exactly fit on this list. But ultimately Kittie is forever tied to the genre (much like Deftones), even if they’ve branched out in other directions. Oracle doubles down on heaviness by incorporating death metal influences. Morgan Lander’s vocals kneecap a lot of her more melodically inclined nu peers. It also shows the band progressing, despite losing guitarist Fallon Bowman. When people dismiss the nu metal as an outlet for white male whining, though sometimes deserved, they overlook great albums like Oracle.

Apex Theory’s only album, Topsy-Turvy, is brimming with creativity. Much like System of a Down, which originally featured lead vocalist Ontronik Khachaturianon on drums, the band channels its Armenian heritage. Yet Apex Theory leans into something more melodic, mathy and possibly emo (in more of the At the Drive-In sense). Every aspect of this album feels so precise and thought out. Khachaturianon’s vocals can leap out like a barrage of stream of consciousness yet can just as easily smooth out. It might’ve been a bit too weird for radio but, in a world where SOAD broke, it certainly could’ve happened.

Apartment 26’s final album might be one of the strangest on this list. It’s apparent that it was made to be more “marketable.” Yet those touches make it even weirder. The production here is very polished, but this is still an album that incorporates swing jazz into metal through programmed horns. It’s that oddness, intentional or not, that benefits Music for the Massive. An added bonus is the great cover of “In Heaven” from David Lynch’s Eraserhead (the band’s name is a reference to the film). Apartment 26 easily surpasses its legacy as Geezer Butler’s son’s band on this album.

Taproot’s debut struck on something deeply vulnerable that the band has carried through on subsequent albums. What is often missing on those other albums, though, is the heaviness found on Gift. The band’s raw talent is on display here, recalling System of a Down’s debut. Like that album, influences peek through but the band sound fully formed and unique. Stephen Richards’ distinct vocals, while not for everyone, bend around every twist and turn of these knotty songs. The band moved away from the genre, but created some of its best work within it. Oh, and bonus points for instigating this.

Orgy’s goth-y, processed guitar crunch was often imitated (Deadsy, etc.) but has never exactly been replicated. Candyass in some ways seems like the obvious choice, but there are some awkward growing pains. And really Vapor Transmission is just as good and possibly better. The hooks are bigger, the band commits to the futuristic themes and vocalist Jay Gordon is at the top of his gender-bending industrial crooning game. Orgy remains notable in this era for poking holes in the genre’s inflated macho exterior at every turn. There’s something so transgressive about the way the band operated in nu metal.

New Killer America’s cover always caught my eye when I was a kid. Album art was and still is a big deal to me. I love how subtly gross this is. At the time it was more affecting than the over-the-top gore common on metal albums. It fits the music. Skrape wallows in heavy post-grunge sludge. As Ulrich Wild did on the Static-X albums, there’s a good balance struck between heaviness and accessibility. Skrape had a mysterious vibe that was missing from similar acts that had a tendency to over-share. Despite some awkward vocals/lyrics that come up, NKA is noteworthy.

Honorable Mention: Coal Chamber-Chamber Music, Powerman 5000-Tonight the Stars Revolt, Nothingface-Violence, Mushroomhead-XX, Sevendust-Animosity

Established Classics Ranking

1. Korn-Korn: This was the album that started the genre. Every element that other bands would copy is here. It also features some of the rawist emotion ever recorded (”Daddy”) and some great singles (”Blind,” “Clown”). Some of the lyrics are definitely dated, but there are few metal albums that are as influence and heavy (well, in terms of subject matter) as this.

2. Deftones-White Pony: This album defied every stereotype the genre had. It seamlessly incorporated trip-hop and post-rock influences without sacrificing any of the heaviness. This is the highpoint for a band that rarely has a misstep.

3. System of a Down-System of a Down: SOAD’s debut is heavy, political and completely left-field. It still sounds like nothing else. All of the band’s records are good to great, yet I love how the death metal influences poke out more on this one. That’s a personal preference I guess, I really could’ve picked any SOAD album.

4. Sepultura-Roots: This album is so unbelievably heavy. It’s such a bummer that Sepultura didn’t make a record with this lineup past this point. It’s political in a way a lot of nu metal wasn’t. It seamlessly incorporates the band’s Brazilin heritage. It up-ends any perception about the genre being light-weight.

5. Slipknot-Iowa: This is really the only album from this era that rivals Roots in terms of heaviness. The band draws from a different well than Sepultura, packing Iowa with horror movie imagery. Much of this was to no doubt channel vocalist Corey Taylor’s troubled childhood. There’s something so frantic and desperate captured on this album, which probably has to do with Ross Robinson producing it (he produced Korn’s debut, as well as a lot of other iconic records).

6. Incubus- S.C.I.E.N.C.E.: Few nu metal records are this legitimately fun. Every part of Incubus is bursting with stoned creativity here. It also channels its influences much better than its peers. Somehow metal riffs and bongos go together here. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. showed a more easygoing side of the genre that still retained all the heaviness.

7. Linkin Park- Meteora: Though Hybrid Theory has a lot of singles, I always preferred this one. I think the band forged a bit more of its identity here. It gets a bit heavier, yet retains all the pop smarts. Definitely worth revisiting if you’ve just re-listened to Hybrid Theory to celebrate its recent anniversary.

NOTE: Yeah, Limp Bizkit is not on this list. The band has some cool songs, but ultimately its albums are pretty scattered. Fred Durst is a lot for me to take. The rest of the band is amazingly talented, especially Wes Borland. If its exclusion is annoying to you, please make your own list.

youtube

#numetal #staticx #korn #kittie #sepultura #taproot #linkinpark #deftones #systemofadown #apartment26

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shefanispeculator · 4 years ago

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I'm slightly disappointed to log onto Zoom and find Gwen Stefani in Los Angeles. I wanted to see the ranch. Stefani spent most of the pandemic in Oklahoma with her fiancé and fellow The Voice coach Blake Shelton, with whom she has recently collaborated on a string of country radio hits, alongside a kitsch Christmas song. For a ska-pop superstar, it's a pivot, but Stefani and Shelton are cute together — picture-perfect in their opposite attraction.

Country Gwen exists, her urban counterpart assures me, but on this particular MacBook she's nowhere to be seen. I'm not sure what crude regional stereotypes I was expecting (Stefani spitting sunflower seeds? Shelton line dancing in the background?) but I get Californian sunshine instead, illuminating a version of Stefani more familiar from my teenage years, when Love. Angel. Music. Baby and its follow-up The Sweet Escape spawned millions of fans, haters and imitators. She's platinum blonde, red lipsticked and wearing a black-and-white outfit that matches the decor. The checkerboard pattern can be traced back to an even earlier era, when Stefani and her No Doubt bandmates were '80s teenagers obsessed with two-tone acts like Madness and The Specials.

Cowboy boots wouldn't fit this picture, and nor would Stefani's glitzy showgirl outfits from The Voice, where she just wrapped another season as a celebrity coach. As she prepares to release her fourth solo record, and enters the fifth decade of an extraordinarily successful music career, Gwen Stefani is re-re-branding as... Gwen Stefani.

Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino, Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Engagement ring: Gwen's own

"But what is that?" Stefani asks with seriousness, as we consider the possibility of some essential, inherent Gwen. "Everyone's interpretation of what I am and how I sing, I mean, that's what this era is about for me."

Said era kicked off late last year, with the music video for "Let Me Reintroduce Myself." It saw Stefani playfully revisit the wardrobes of album cycles past, from the ab-bearing tomboy tank tops of "Hollaback Girl" to the club kid blue hair mascara of '90s No Doubt. Her Harajuku Girls also make a return. The entire visual is a huge flex, not only for the sheer volume of iconic career moments recreated in dutiful detail, but the fact Stefani can still fit into the clothes originally worn during all of them. She looks eerily the same, frighteningly good, ageing in reverse at the same pace as her frequent collaborator Pharrell.

"It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore."

Pop stars are expected to be young forever, in looks but also in their capacity to innovate new trends. Which makes the nostalgic music video a curious choice. Doesn't Stefani know by now that the cardinal rule of pop is to avoid repeating yourself? That even the hottest artists in the world are basically required by law to create completely new eras from scratch every six months in order to appease fans and maintain maximum TikTok-ready relevance?

Of course she does, but that doesn't mean she has to participate. Stefani isn't trying to chase down her contemporaries, despite clearly possessing the physical fitness required. "It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore," she says. "It's a different energy. You know, it's really just about doing it to do it, as opposed to trying to make a statement or make a mark."

Corset: Ronald van der Kemp, Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Engagement ring: Gwen's own

Even the Saweetie remix of her latest single "Slow Clap" happened on a whim, after the younger artist happened to post a video of herself vibing to Stefani's 2004 single "Luxurious" on Instagram Stories. They knocked out the song and accompanying video in a day. Neither seems bothered by the Old Navy meme. "It was just this little video that we did on the fly," Stefani says. "It just happened. It just feels good to put new stuff out there."

Stefani completed a two-year Vegas greatest hits residency in 2019, which gave her a sense of perspective on her own legacy. "You make a new record because that's what is exciting for you," she says. "But people really just want to hear the records after a while that were the backdrop to their lives, a 'Don't Speak' or a 'Just a Girl' or a 'Hollaback Girl,' or whatever it was for them. So, you know, it's hard — you can only be new when you're new, and that's just the truth, and I know that."

She says she was pleasantly surprised that "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" charted at all, and that she only found out it did when Shelton walked into the kitchen to show her the iTunes numbers. "I burst out crying with joy, because it was like, 'Whoa, really?' I think I'd set myself up to be quite realistic about where I'm at."

Stefani, endlessly polite and self-deprecating in conversation, which on her end mostly consists of endearingly earnest run-on monologues, says she still has "tons" of insecurities. I get the impression she has been trying harder to give herself credit lately. She recalls recently hearing Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on the car radio and finding herself in awe of the song's timeless catchiness.

Suit: Balmain, Earrings and choker: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own

"But then I started thinking," she says, in a goofy Cher Horowitz tone. "Like, I have a few of those myself." She talks of this realization as a genuine breakthrough, which is a little worrying for a woman who has sold 40 million records. No shit, she has a "few of those." More of them than Lauper, actually.

More new music is coming along slowly, but I've caught Stefani on a day when the horizon looks closer than usual, and while things haven't quite fallen into place yet, she's feeling more confident that they eventually will. "I'm at the end," she declares. "The idea of going for a session and not being with my kids or the idea of taking time away from Blake doesn't fuel my fire like it did two months ago. I need to decide, wrap it up, put out the project."

Crucially, there's no rush. The album will simply arrive sometime this year, tracklist and title currently undecided.

"You're talking to me at a weird transitional time," Stefani says repeatedly throughout our conversation, which sometimes takes on the cathartic tone of therapy. But having time in the first place is a new feeling.

Bracelet and choker: Dana Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's own, Clothing: Blumarine, Boots: Philipp Plein

NO DOUBT WERE A BAND for nine years before getting on the radio. Enough time for Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal to be in a long term relationship then break up and write a whole hit album about it. All of the Fleetwood Mac drama was resolved pre-fame, which enabled the group to capitalize on the surprise success of Tragic Kingdom singles like "Don't Speak" and "Just a Girl" with a world tour that lasted almost three years. Three more albums followed, and Stefani has reinforced her household name status in every decade since, launching a solo career and multiple fashion lines while never totally cutting the cord from her original musical project.

In other words, record executives have been dictating Stefani's schedule since the mid-'90s. She even sings about it on Love. Angel. Music. Baby opener "What You Waiting For," in which her biological clock ticks like a metronome. Interscope Co-Founder Jimmy Iovine, who discovered No Doubt and continued to work with Stefani on her solo output, was quick to point out that his client's prime childbearing years were also her last opportunity to cross over into pop stardom. And after her first record went number one, it only made sense to lay down some new tracks straight away.

"Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

"I had the baby, the first one, and it was only like eight weeks after I had him, that Jimmy was calling me saying, you've got to go in the studio with Akon," Stefani recalls cheerfully. "Like, Akon wants to work with you. Like, no, I'm nursing my baby. But then I couldn't say no." And then? "We wrote 'Sweet Escape.'" And then? "I went on a world tour." And then? "In the month that I got home from that one hundred and whatever shows it was, I got pregnant with Zuma. So then that was that." (It wasn't. Admittedly: "Then it was like, No Doubt, let's do another record.")

Things are different now: "You can just drop singles and you don't have to put a record out. But if you want to put a record out, you can work on it slowly." But even as she talks of slowing down, speculating that she might not even go on tour after the pandemic ends, in the next sentence Stefani's back to admitting that there's more work to be done, that she wants to write a couple more songs for her new record, "just to make sure."

Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience) Choker: Chanel, Necklaces: Gwen's own, Gloves: Laurel DeWitt, Top: Local Boogeyman

"The creation is the thing that fuels me so much," she says. "Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

Like any good lyricist, she reaches out to her listener, hoping to convey a more universal point. "It's just probably the same for you as a writer," she guesses. "You know, it's the anticipation. You're in it now. You're getting the information. This is what you live for. You're doing the interview and then you're going to write it. And that's going to be the challenge."

GWEN STEFANI WAS PUTTING out diary entry pop when Olivia Rodrigo was still in diapers and Taylor Swift was but a humble Pennsylvania Christmas tree heiress. She struggles to pen lyrics that aren't confessional ("I'm not a creative writer when it comes to like, 'Oh, let's just write a sad song about something that didn't happen to me'"), and occasionally re-traumatizes herself when performing old hits. Return of Saturn deep cut "Dark Blue" triggers "crazy, just horrible" recollections of a past relationship. Even "Don't Speak" felt emotional onstage in Vegas.

But after releasing an excruciating divorce album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, in 2016, Stefani is back to writing happy songs only. She's getting married, after all. She won't be releasing any of her trademark breakup anthems anytime soon. "Girl," she laughs, "I think I've had my fair share."

Bow: Laurel DeWitt, Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Shirt: Vintage Archive, Dress: Erdem, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani and Shelton's relationship has puzzled some fans. Shelton, a country radio phenomenon, never endorsed Trump in the 2016 election, but he did come close. Earlier this year, he was criticized for releasing a song called "Minimum Wage," about finding small joys during periods of economic struggle, at the peak of a recession.

Is Gwen Stefani a Republican now? She's not offended by the question, or really anything I have to ask. She has been famous for so long that she expects and even embraces scrutiny. "If you're going to be a star, that's what you get," she says. "You know what I mean? You get what you get, and you don't get upset, at all."

As for her politics, it's read-between-the-lines."I can see how people would be curious, but I think it's pretty obvious who I am," she says. "I've been around forever. I started my band because we were really influenced by ska, which was a movement that happened in the late '70s, and it was really all about people coming together. The first song I ever wrote was a song called 'Different People,' which was on the Obama playlist, you know, a song about everyone being different and being the same and loving each other. The very first song I wrote."

One of very few multi-racial bands playing stadium shows for hoardes of American teenangers in the 1990s, No Doubt did very literally embody those second-wave ska principles of inclusion. Stefani even wore bindis and saris on stage as a symbol of cultural exchange with Kanal, who is Indian-American, briefly kickstarting a white girl facial jewelry trend that it's safe to say would not fly in 2021.

Rings (left): Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience)

"The Specials and The Selecter and all those groups, and what they were doing in the late '70s was this whole kind of anti-racism, we come together, Black and white ska movement," Stefani elaborates on the band's founding principles. "And we were sort of echoing that in the '80s when we did it, we were like the third generation of ska."

Ska she's always happy to discuss, but Stefani was brought up to keep her electoral preferences personal, and that rule has held for her entire career. "The whole point of voting, is you have this personal space to feel how you feel," she explains. "I use my platform to share my life story and to engage with people and to exchange whatever gift I was giving. I'm not a political science major. I am not that person. Everyone knows that. So why would I even talk about it?"

"I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me."

It never has been. Looking back, it's weird that "Just a Girl" is so integral to Gwen Stefani's brand. She's never written anything else with remotely the same message, and or publicly identified as a feminist. To Stefani, it's just a song about growing up, and "all of a sudden you realize your gender." It wasn't meant as a protest or anthem: in fact, being her breakout hit, she didn't think anyone other than her bandmates and some local fans would ever hear it.

"I don't even know if I knew what feminist at that time was," she says. "I was very sheltered growing up with my family. I wasn't political. I wasn't angry." Even now: "I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me. Stop talking about it and stop trying to bully everybody about it. Just do it. And that's how I feel like I've lived my life."

WHEN STEFANI WAS GROWING up in 1970s Anaheim, her father got a job doing market research for Yamaha, which required frequent business trips to Japan. He'd bring home Sanrio toys, as well as anecdotes about the Tokyo district of Harajuku, where teenagers were dressing like Elvis, and "taking all these American things and making them Japanese." His daughter was entranced. "He would be telling me these things my whole life, like my whole life. I had a deep fascination."

So when No Doubt played Japan in 1996, Stefani describes, "It was a pretty big deal for me." The tour was the first time she'd traveled outside of the United states, save one trip to Italy when she was 21. "I just was inspired," she recalls. "It's a world away. And at that time it was even further, because you couldn't see it on the internet. I don't think a younger generation can even imagine what it's like to not have access to the world."

From then on, Japan became one of Stefani's biggest career motivations, especially when it came to her solo albums. If she could just write more hits, she'd get to tour there again, see the street style, visit the vintage stores. "If you read the actual lyrics [in 'What You Waiting For?'], it talks about being a fan of Japan and how if I do good, I get to go back there," she says.

In the meantime, she decided she'd bring Japan to Los Angeles. "I never got to have dancers with No Doubt. I never got to change costumes. I never got to do all of those fun girl things that I always love to do. So I had this idea that I would have a posse of girls — because I never got to hang with girls — and they would be Japanese, Harajuku girls, because those are the girls that I love. Those are my homies. That's where I would be if I had my dream come true, I could go live there and I could go hang out in Harajuku."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience, Gold Necklaces: Gwen's own, Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino

Dancers Maya Chino ("Love"), Jennifer Kita ("Angel"), Rino Nakasone ("Music") and Mayuko Kitayama ("Baby") would go on to accompany Stefani for her next two album cycles, dancing on stage and in her videos while also making silent, but very well-dressed, awards show appearances. Kita, who'd grown up in LA, visited Japan for the first time on Stefani's tour.

In a 2006 interview with Blender magazine, comedian Margaret Cho compared the Harajuku Girls to a minstrel show. The backlash against them has been consistent ever since. Stefani, to this day, disagrees.

"If we didn't buy and sell and trade our cultures in, we wouldn't have so much beauty, you know?" she says. "We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other. And all these rules are just dividing us more and more."

Hello Kitty merch was harder to come by when she was a kid, but in other ways, life felt easier. "I think that we grew up in a time where we didn't have so many rules. We didn't have to follow a narrative that was being edited for us through social media, we just had so much more freedom."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Dress: GCDS, Shirt: Faith Connexion, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani's penchant for rule breaking has always been apparent in her music as much as her aesthetic. Genre-wise, she's a randomista. The chart success of No Doubt's bouncing ska beats felt like an accidental post-grunge-era glitch in the matrix, and it's insane to this day that one of Stefani's biggest solo hits samples "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, by way of '90s British dancehall duo Louchie Lou & Michie One. That another, "Wind It Up," features earnest Sound of Music yodeling.

"I just make up whatever comes out," Stefani says of her songwriting process. "I don't even know where it comes from. I feel like it just comes from the source. It's not trained, and it's not perfect, it's just real."

She looks back on the Love.Angel.Music.Baby era as unusually experimental and artistically fulfilling. "It was just a really incredible time, and a very creative time. I feel like it was just a really creative project."

STEFANI VIEWS HER CAREER success as mostly a matter of luck. Pop stardom is God-given and mysterious."Because the fact I made it, it doesn't make any sense," she reflects. "It's written in the stars. You know what I'm saying? I'm not the most talented. I'm not the most pretty. I'm not the most smart. None of those things. But I made it, right?"

Clothing: Blumarine, Bracelet and choker: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's Own

Every week on The Voice she watches objectively gifted musicians fail at becoming artists. "I watched people that went through that without seeing their faces, without knowing what color they are. And I chose the ones that pulled my heartstrings. And even though they were so talented, none of them have had careers. It's made me look at myself and even feel even more amazed by the fact that anyone cared or cares."

If all of this is actually so out of her control, then Stefani feels safe stepping back a little bit. "I don't have that fuel in me like I used to, because I already won," she says. And now she has other victories in mind. "Being a good human, a good mother. I want to have a good marriage. I want to be a good wife. I want to win at finding peace. I want to win at finding other hobbies that I'm good at."

But at the same time? "If I'm inspired, I'm going to try to do something with that inspiration." That's the most fun part: whatever else comes after has always been an amazing bonus.

The "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" era, whatever form it may eventually take, isn't a desperate grab at former glory. It's Stefani refusing to evolve for the sake of it. She's poking fun at the whole idea of having to compete with past personas alongside current ones, while acknowledging the fact she's grateful to still be in the game at all.

"You don't know what you're doing," she says, somehow both confident and resigned. "You're a cartoon of yourself at this point, and you don't know what people are thinking. They're wondering, what? Why are you still here? And I'm like, I don't know. They said I could be here. So I'm here!"

Photography: Jamie Nelson Styling: Nicola Formichetti Hair: Sami Knight Makeup: Michael Anthony Nails: Carolyn Orellana Wardrobe director: Marta Del Rio Production: Katrina Kudlick Digitatech: Sean MacGillivray Logo design: Luca Devinu Story: Kat Gillespie

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

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mirkwoodshewolf · 4 years ago

Text

Freddie Mercury lover of life, singer of songs; Queen x reader

*Author’s note*

Alright guys this is it, I have for you all THE chapter that everyone’s been dreading for my Rock Angel series. This will be the last chapter where Freddie is alive. So get out the comfort snacks and tissues ready cause this chapter WILL. GET. SAD. I was planning on saving this update for later but after some debate, I’ve decided to just post it up now.

Warnings: Death, loss of loved one/icon, mourning, ANGST. This is a sad chapter yall.

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queensdivas

@queendeakyy

@platawnic

@geek-and-proud

@labessieisallama

@starswin

@onebigfangirlworld

@klausidiot

@dj-lowkey

@isabella-bby

@5sos-wdw

@bohemiansweede

@naturalswifty89

_____________________________________________________________

The day after Kelly’s birthday, Jack flew back with the rest of the family and took the kids with him while I stayed behind in England to be with the one person who I needed to be with. In fact I even stayed at his place along with Terry and Phoebe.

God he—he looked so frail, so fragile, it’s almost unbelievable that this was the very man just 11 years ago who looked so fit and healthy and who just six years prior wowed the world on stage before 1.5 billion people. But I won’t deny that he still has that same Freddie humor, even when he’s—god I can’t even bother to say it.

It was my turn to take the afternoon shift of watching Freddie before his doctor came in. On the bed with him was Delilah, his faithful cat who hadn’t left his side except when she wanted to be fed or use the litterbox.

I lay there beside Freddie, his faint but raspy breathing was the only thing echoing in the room. My arms were wrapped around him and I heard him softly whisper to me.

“My angel……is that you?”

“Yes Freddie. I’m right beside you.” I was told by Jim that due to the AIDS virus, his vision sometimes goes out, almost making him blind at times.

“My rock angel……my protegee…….go into my drawers and pull out the—manilla folder.” I stroked his head and got up from the bed and did as he told me.

I went over to his drawer that held his large circular mirror and pulled out the only drawer it had and I soon found the folder he was talking about. I went back over to his bedside and I told him.

“I got it Freddie.”

“Open it.” He merely told me. I looked at him slightly confused but I opened it as he kept stroking Delilah’s back and she purred softly.

Inside the folder I found some legal documents inside for copyright approval of some songs. I pulled the papers out and even though I skimmed most of the legal words and actions there were a few song titles that caught my eye. They read as followed:

Somebody to love.

Killer Queen

In the lap of the gods (revisited)

Liar

March of the Black Queen

Ogre Battle

“What is this Freddie? I don’t understand.”

“I talked with Miami, and—I told him he could do with whatever he wants with my music, my legacy, my name. I only told him to never make me boring.” We both softly chuckled. “And darling I know that music will always be covered by someone else. And let’s face it rock and roll is slowly dying with the way pop and hip-hop is growing. I don’t want any of those people to touch one of my songs before you. So we talked it over and legalized right there in black and white are the songs of mine that I want you to cover. And release on your next album.”

I was shocked. These were some of my favorite songs that I’ve told him that I loved hearing live on stage. And the fact he’s gone so far back and chosen the very early Queen songs for me to cover as my own…….I didn’t have the words to say.

“Freddie I—”

“Please say you’ll do it darling. You’re the only one I trust to make a great cover of a Queen song. Promise me you’ll do it.” He reached out and held his hand out for me. I placed his hand against my cheek and leaned against it as his thumb gently stroked my cheek.

“I promise Fred. I promise I’ll make you proud.”

“You already have darling.” I tried to hold in a sniffle and keep my tears at bay but Freddie was smart. “Don’t be so tragic darling.” I choked out a laugh and said to him.

“Can’t blame me. You always knew I was an emotional woman.”

“I’ve seen worse dear.” We both had a soft laugh before Freddie started to cough. Quickly I grabbed his cup of water and held it out but he refused it and continued to close cough as well as tried to breathe normally again. “My sweet rock angel……”

“Yes?”

“Do you—remember the song you sang when we first met you?” I smiled fondly at that memory.

“How could I forget? It’s the song my mum used to sing to me to help me feel better. And now I sing it to my children when they’re unhappy.”

“Will you sing that song for me now? I want to relive that glorious day. The day I heard an angel grace the Earth with her sweet voice. But I want to hear it now that you’ve matured from that little teenage girl you once were.” I smiled and resumed my position once again.

Freddie adjusted himself so that his head rested on my chest right over my heart and I stroked his hair gingerly.

“Just know that this time I don’t have a piano so my voice won’t sound as glamourous.”

“Your voice is glamourous with or without music dear.” He softly exhaled. I took a deep breath in before exhaling out and I softly began to sing ‘Hallelujah’, the very song that I sung the day I first met Queen.

Freddie remained cuddled close to me as I sang to him and continued to stroke his head as his breathing grew softer and softer till he fell into a deep sleep.

I heard footsteps coming up towards the room and soon standing at the doorway was Mary Austin.

“He just fell asleep.” I told her.

“I can take it from here. You can leave now (Y/n).” she told me in almost an urgent matter. Almost like she didn’t even want me there anymore.

I looked down at Freddie and gently kissed the top of his head and as Mary and I walked pass each other, I felt this coldness brush up against me and Mary immediately took my spot holding Freddie in her arms.

I walked down the stairs and saw Jim, Terry, Peter, and dad all downstairs together. Roger must’ve just gotten here and somehow managed to slip pass the paps that were literally camped outside. He came up to me and the two of us immediately embraced each other.

He rubbed my back as I buried my face into his shoulder finally letting the tears slip.

“I’ll go get everyone some tea. (Y/n) would you like some?” Jim said as he stood up.

“She’ll have her usual and I’ll have a coffee if you don’t mind Jim. Bring it to us out on the back deck.” Dad then guided me towards the backyard and the two of us sat down on the wicker couch and looked out to the back garden.

“He’s not going to last much longer.” I said more as a statement than a question. I heard dad take a deep exhale and he said grimly.

“Fraid not love.” His hand rubbed my right shoulder gingerly and comfortingly.

“I can’t believe we’re going to lose him. He was always so strong.”

“Is strong. He’s always strong. He’ll never stop being strong lovie.” He told me as he leaned his head against mine.

After a bit of silence and just sitting there, Jim came out with our tea and coffee and we thanked him for the drinks. I took a sip of my Jasmine tea and that’s when Roger said.

“You know…..my son Rufus saw a picture of you last week and he said ‘nana’.” I smiled softly. “Of course……”

“Roger I know what you’re going to say next but I’ve been meaning to speak my mind about this.” I set my tea down and said as I just stared out into the backyard. “You know that bitch has always hated me. Never once treated me with any respect, nor seen me as anything but a threat to you and her. I’ll be involved with your new son in any way I can but—please for the love of god. Don’t. Mention. Her name. I refuse to have anything to do with her. Even her name is like poison to my tongue. Just like the bitch who raised me after my parents died.”

“Alright. Just—thought I’d break the ice and get your mind off of….well all this. But I respect your decision. Not really the choice of words but…..” I glared at him. “Shutting up now.”

“I don’t even see what you saw in her besides her looks. Dominque at least respected me.” I stood up and walked to the middle of the garden with my teacup in hand. I took a large gulp of it as he said.

“I—I have no excuse.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean!?” he snapped.

“You love your beautiful women. You always have. I’ve seen it countless times Rog. I’m just thankful none of your exes turned out to be a crazy ex. I can’t even imagine what would happen if I, my family or even your own family got hurt because of a crazy ex.” He remained silent. I took another sip of my tea. “I don’t want to fight about this anymore. Not with—him listening in on us. He wouldn’t want that. Not now.”

“Agreed. In fact I’m sorry I even brought it up to begin with.”

“As I said before dad. I don’t point the blame on the child. Rufus, he’s a cute kid. Much like his father probably was when he was born. I just have a problem with the mother. But I won’t show the drama before him. And if she has any love and respect for her son, she’ll do the same thing.”

“You know, I’ve never heard you be so honest and blunt like this in a long time.” I felt his hand gently take mine. I sighed out deeply and solemnly.

“I’ve barely slept the past few days. With Kelly’s party and of course taking care of Freddie. Brother mine won’t return any of my calls, Jack calls to tell me that America is already starting to get the news of Freddie’s ‘rumored AIDS reveal’. And now our family’s starting to hound Jack whether or not the rumors are true. I just……I’m drained dad. Emotionally, physically and mentally, and I don’t know how much more I can take.” My voice began to crack as my walls began to crumble down.

I wanted to cry more tears but they refused to come out. Dad held me in a tight but comforting embrace as he rocked me side to side.

“It’s not easy for me either love. For none of us. You’re not the only one whose feeling drained by all this lovie. Brian, John, Fred’s friends, everyone that knows about this is drained. But the only thing we can do now is—be there for Fred in his last hours. To let him know we love him.”

I sniffled and clung onto his jacket so tightly, my knuckles went white. But dad held me even tighter and snug as the two of us just stood there embracing each other in the garden.

*Nov. 24th, 1991. Sunday morning*

Three days later. I remained at Garden Lodge, calling Jack whenever I could telling him how Freddie was getting worse and worse. I was there when Freddie decided to stop taking the medication he needed to slow down the virus and he just decided to take an oral morphine pill.

I was there when Freddie’s lawyer and him made the official written statement, revealing to the world that Freddie did in fact have AIDS and tested positive for HIV for the past six years.

And I was there when……when he……

I was at the phone trying one last chance to see if I could reach Deacy, just so he could at least say one final goodbye. I get that he’d rather wish to remember Freddie as he was and not as he is now but—if he doesn’t take the chance to say goodbye to Freddie now, he’ll regret it for the rest of his life.

The phone kept ringing until the operator told me that the line had been disconnected.

“Damnit Deacy.” I muttered softly before hanging up the phone. I then picked up the phone to ring Brian up when I heard Jim’s panicked voice cry out.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N) GET UP HERE NOW!!!” I dropped the phone and as quick as I could, I took the stairs two at a time not even caring that I tripped several times. I raced towards the bedroom and found Peter and Jim holding Freddie’s limp body.

“(Y/n) quick go get Dr. Atkinson! Hurry!” I nodded and raced back down to see Dr. Atkinson sitting out in the garden reading over some files.

“Dr. Atkinson!” he looked at me and I choked out. “It’s Fred.” He abandoned the paperwork and he and I quickly raced upstairs.

When we got to the room, Peter then began to explain.

“He—he woke up and—he wanted to uhh….go to the toilet. And-and we were lifting him and…..” Dr. Atkinson went up to Freddie’s body and checked his pulse.

He then leaned in close to Freddie’s face. His eyes were shut and his mouth slightly opened. He was as still as a painting, a photograph even. Then his doctor said the two most horrifying, and graving words that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

“He’s gone.”

My whole world crashed. Jim and I immediately embraced each other as we cried. I could hear Peter sniffling and softly weeping and that’s when Dr. Atkinson adjusted Freddie’s corpse so that he was now lying flat and he covered him up with the bedsheets.

After that……Peter rang Roger up (who was just 300 yards away from arriving at the house) to tell him not to bother coming cause Freddie was gone.

At 7:01am, Freddie Mercury was pronounced dead.

I was now driving down the road towards a house that needed to know of what happened instead of hearing about it on the news. When I arrived at the quaint little house, I rushed to the door and knocked on the door as hard as I could.

I didn’t stop knocking till it opened and there stood Veronica. She looked at my disheveled look and without a word embraced me as I wept into her arms. She brought me inside and sat me down in the living room.

As she put a blanket around me, that’s when I saw Deacy come down the stairs and the minute he saw me, his face went stoic and he froze right there on the spot.

“He’s gone brother mine.”

Deacy’s eyes shifted almost not believing what he had just heard. He then went back upstairs and Ronnie went to stand up to follow him but I stopped her. Wordlessly I took the blanket off my shoulders and followed Deacy up the stairs.

From the hallway towards their bedroom, I could hear the sniffled and muffled cries of my brother mine. I peeked in and saw him pacing around before finally collapsing to the floor, his arms clenched tightly against his chest, his face streaming down tears but he bit his lip trying to hold in his screams of grief and agony.

His whimpers sounded like a heartbroken dog that had just lost their parent forever and it broke my heart to see him fall apart like this.

“Aunt (Y/n), what’s going on?” soon enough coming out of their rooms were Robert, Michael, Laura and Joshua.

“Robert, take your brothers and sister downstairs now.” I told Robert urgently.

“What’s wrong with dad is he okay?” asked Joshua.

“I’ll explain everything later kids but now isn’t the time. Just please go downstairs with your mother and don’t come up here unless she says you all can.” Robert being the adult that he was, guided his younger siblings downstairs leaving their father and I alone.

I slowly opened the door up just a little bit more to allow myself in before closing it behind me. There on the ground Deacy still kept crying and holding his screams in. I sat down at the door and waited for him to calm down because I knew going to him right away wouldn’t be the best thing.

After what felt like hours, he finally calmed down and he just sat there broken, empty, and dazed. I slowly crawled towards him and sat down in front of him.

“This is all my fault.” He croaked out.

“There’s—there’s no fault here Deacy. You weren’t the one who gave Fred AIDS. Nor did you know about it for as long as he did.”

“But you were right. I can no longer say my final goodbyes to him. I hide and refused to see him.”

“Because you wished to remember the way he was, instead of the shell that he was starting to become. And I think he knew that deep down. He loved you Deacy, and he always will.” The two of us went silent for awhile before he choked out.

“I can’t believe Freddie’s gone……I feel so alone.” I scooted closer to him and nuzzled myself into his chest and said to him.

“You’re not going to be alone. I promise. I’ll stay here with you and Ronnie if that’s what it takes.”

“Oh (n/n).” I felt his arms wrap around me. “When did you get so maternal?”

“I learned from the four best guys I know. You all have been there for me in my lowest times, now it’s my turn to be there for you three.” I looked up at him, both our eyes gleaming with leftover tears, “You, Bri and Rog…..we’re all gonna get through this. Freddie was important to all of us. We need to be together now more than ever.”

I leaned my forehead against my brother’s. Our noses gently grazing against one another’s as I nuzzled him like a mother lion would her cub or another pride member. He soon followed suit and the two of us embraced each other and stayed in each other’s arms.

*Jack’s POV*

I had gotten the call from Roger at around 3 in the morning. At first I thought it was just him wanting to stir up drama or call to see how Kelly and the boys were doing, but when he bluntly told me that Freddie was gone, my whole world fell apart.

For the rest of the morning I couldn’t sleep. When everyone else in the family woke up I told them everything and we all cried and mourned at the loss of a beautiful and kind-hearted man.

“This—this feels like…….like a bad dream or something.” I said sitting at the kitchen table. My mom standing over me rubbing my shoulders comfortingly. She leaned down and hugged me from behind as she said to me comfortingly.

“I know. I know. But you know—at least Freddie is no longer in anymore pain. You know.”

“We know how much he meant to you Jack. He meant a lot to us too.” My dad said.

“There’ll never be another man nor artist like him. Never.” Jensen said as he sipped his morning coffee.

“We’ll all miss him.” Said Jared. Mom reached over and stroked Jared’s shoulder. I stood up and snapped out.

“It’s just—it’s not fair! If I had been there! Hell if I met (Y/n) earlier than I did maybe I could’ve…..”

“Jack, Jack sweetie, sweetie honey.” Mom came over to me and embraced me tightly. “There was nothing that you could do. There was nothing that any of us could’ve done.” She separated from me and wiped my tears away.

“I know. It’s……it’s so unfair.” I choked out. I walked back towards my seat as I continued to choke out. “He was such a beautiful man. So full of love and life. Now he’s gone…….” I felt Gen and Dani rub their hands on either my shoulders or back trying to comfort me.

“Morning everybody!” Kelly’s voice rang out. We all quickly wiped away our tears and my daughter came up to me and hopped up in my lap.

“Morning baby girl. How’d you sleep?”

“Great. I had a dream that I was playing alongside uncle Freddie on stage. Can I call him and tell him about it?” at her innocent question, the room grew quiet and depressed again.

“Kelly sweetheart I—don’t……” she looked up at me and she knew immediately that something wasn’t right.

“What is it daddy? Why are you so sad?”

“Sweetie this isn’t easy for me to say but umm……a few hours ago your godfather Roger called me. And he told me that—” I trailed off, swallowing my tears and sobs.

“It’s okay kid.” Jensen said to me. I took a deep breath and finally told her.

“Kelly sweetie, your uncle Freddie died this morning back in London.”

“What?” she snapped.

“It’s just…….the virus he had was getting stronger and stronger and—he lost the fight.”

“No. You’re lying! NO HE’S NOT DEAD!!!” she screamed at me as she quickly ran back up the stairs. I turned to my mom and dad and they gestured for me to go upstairs and talk to her.

I took the steps two at a time before finally reaching Kelly’s room. She lay there on her bed, her head buried into her pillows as I heard her cry (which broke my heart immediately).

“Baby girl.”

“Why did uncle Freddie have to die? It’s not fair!” she wept as I stroked her back.

“I know. Death is never fair. But it’s the way of life.”

“I thought mummy was gonna take care of him! Why didn’t she?!”

“Now you listen here Kelly Michelle Kline. Your mother did everything she could to help your uncle. But—there are just somethings that…..cannot be cured. At least not yet. This is something that the world hasn’t seen yet, so we don’t know how to fight against it. But hopefully in the future we can.”

She sat up and sniffled as she wiped her nose with her sleeve. I wrapped my arm around her and said.

“And your uncle Freddie wouldn’t want you to be sad. He wouldn’t want any of us to be sad. Though he is gone, he’ll always be with us in our hearts and our memories.”

“I wish Jackson and Georgie got to know him a little more.”

“Me too sweetie. But we’ll tell them all about him. And how much, even though a short time, how much Fred adored them.”

“Is—is mummy okay?”

“I don’t know. She’s—she’s hurting just like we all are, and most likely what the whole world is feeling right now. Your uncle meant a lot to millions and billions of people worldwide.”

“I’ll miss him.” She stated sadly as she lowered her head.

“Me too sweetheart, me too. Is there—any more questions you have about what’s happened?”

“No. But—can you hold me daddy?”

“Of course love, c’mere.” I held my arm out to her and she crawled into my lap and clung onto me and I embraced her and rocked her softly, doing all that I could to comfort my baby girl.

Soon enough the whole wide world had gotten the news of Freddie’s death and the final confirmation that he had died of AIDS like so many of the gay community and dozens more from either blood transfusions or infected needles from drugs taken in the past.

Reports came in calling Freddie out for his sexual deeds and that this was karma (the bastards). It was unbelievable that there were people out there tearing at Freddie’s name and saying that him getting AIDS was his fault because of his recklessness and wild antics.

Eventually I got a call from (Y/n) and the two of us talked on the phone for hours on end. She told me that she’d be staying with Deacy and Ronnie till Freddie’s funeral in three days, and she’s invited all of us to come to the funeral.

So we all packed our bags and in three days the whole Kline family took a nonstop flight to London. When we arrived the day before the wedding, as we drove on by, there were tributes out on the streets with flowers as far as they eye can see, all for Freddie Mercury. From people of upper, middle or lower class, celebrities or normal people.

Everyone had paid tribute to the greatest showman the world ever known, and the kindest man some had personally came to know.

Then the day of the funeral arrived.

*Nov. 27th, 1991. My POV*

I pressed down my black dress and adjusted my bracelet that Freddie gifted me for my 20th birthday as well as a moon necklace he bought me in Argentina. I looked at myself in the mirror before sighing softly.

“Baby.” I saw Jack’s reflection in the mirror. “Louis is here with the car. Shall I get the kids inside?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there in a moment.” I told him. He nodded and left the master bedroom. I gripped my necklace in my hand and whispered to the heavens.

“Looks like you’ll finally get to meet my parents after all Fred. I only just wish it was when you died at 102.” I took another deep breath and proceeded down the stairs.

I soon noticed that outside in the backyard was Kelly. She was sitting on the swing set all by herself in her little black dress.

“(Y/n)! (Y/n) I can’t find……how long has she been there?” Jack said.

“Can you tell Louis to wait up for just a few more minutes Jack?”

“Sure babe. I’ll be in the car with the boys if you need me.” He kissed my temple and left me alone to stare out at our daughter.

I walked towards her and I tapped my fingernails to the metal swing stand and she looked up at me and I asked her.

“May I join you?” she nodded and I sat down at the swing beside her. The two of us gently swaying like the branches on a gentle windy day. “You practically ran your father ragged little miss.”

“I wanted to be alone.” She said softly.

“I get it. You really miss him don’t you?”

“I know daddy and grandma said that death was a part of life, and that Freddie is with God and Jesus now, but—why couldn’t he stay here with us?”

“Believe me love if I had that kind of power, he’d be standing right here and probably tickling you till you smiled that sunshine smile of yours.” That made her crack a small smile. “But—the type of illness he had, doctors have never seen anything like it before. And a whole lot of people are dying because of it. But hopefully soon, they’ll get enough samples and study it more to the point that we can cure it so that no one dies of AIDS and HIV again.”

She got off the swings and walked a few feet in front of me and she said.

“I really loved uncle Freddie. I was his little nightingale.” I smiled solemnly.

“And I was his Rock Angel.” I looked down at my bracelet and fingered it. “Taught me everything I knew about being a rockstar. Now when he needs me the most I couldn’t even take care of him.” She came up to me and said as she placed her hands on my nylon knees.

“It wasn’t your fault mummy. Like you said there was no medicine to make him feel better. But you were there for him when he needed you.”

“I know sweetie. It……it still hurts though.” I felt her small hand reach up and touch my chin.

“It’s okay to be sad.” I cracked a smile and looked at her. Those were the exact words I told her when they had first arrived and we had our little talk about sharing our feelings about Freddie’s death.

“Now where have I heard that before?” I teased.

“Mummy?”

“Hmm?”

“Is it—okay to cry before we go?” my heart broke as she made the same heartbroken expression I make whenever I’m about to burst into tears.

“Of course baby.” I picked her up and embraced her tightly and the two of us softly cried in each other’s arms.

Kelly and I then got into the car after our emotional release, and at the address where the funeral was taking place, I could already see mourners piling in. Already I could spot Brian and Anita standing side by side, and I even saw Elton John just starting to come in.

“Thank you Louis.” I thanked him.

“Anytime ma’am. I’ll be right here after the service is over.” I got out of the car with Kelly at my hand. Jack then came out and took the boys out of their car seats and held onto them.

We walked towards the church and the first person we came up to was Elton. The moment he saw us, he softly smiled and said.

“The whole Kline family.” I smiled solemnly and greeted Elton with a hug and kiss.

“I just wish it were on happier occasions.” I told him.

“Same here. How are you holding up darling?”

“Numb, empty. But I should be asking you and the guys that. You all have known him longer than I have. Heck I know about your little nicknames for each other. You’ve lost your Melina.”

“Yes, but she wouldn’t want me to be sad. She’s laugh and call me tragic if she caught me bawling like a baby.” We both chuckled softly.

“That sounds like Fred alright.”

“We’ll talk after the service okay?” I nodded and the two of us hugged and kissed each other once again and he nodded to Jack and waved at the kids before entering inside.

We all took our seats in the same row as the Deacon family. Deacy and I sat side by side and soon the church was completely crowded with people. Then by 10o’clock the funeral began.

The chosen few men came in carrying a light brown casket down the aisle and placed it before all of us.

Right next to it was a proud picture of Freddie during the Magic tour wearing the proud yellow jacket and looking radiant and strong, and around the picture was a large bouquet of yellow daffodils and lilies.

His mother, sister, and Mary spoke their eulogies about Freddie’s life and what he meant to them. After Mary spoke for almost 20 minutes, the pastor stood up and he said into the mic.

“And now, as requested by the deceased party, I would like to invite the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline to come up and sing her song for the departed.”

Yes. I had been told by Kash that Freddie had written to her to let me sing for his funeral. I stood up and walked up the steps and stood before the microphone stand.

“I—I had written this song for another reason. But—now it seems it’ll have to be for this occasion. Freddie Mercury—you always said my voice was of the angels, hopefully they’ll hear me and take you up to paradise.”

I took a few deep breaths to stall my tears. Originally I had this song reserved for Freddie and Jim’s official wedding (and I didn’t care how long I’d have to keep it storage, I was willing to do it) but now it seems it’ll have to be his funeral song. As the piano player began to play the tune, I softly began to sing.

Play video

As I sang the song, memories of first meeting Freddie came flooding back. All the good times we had together back during my internship, to him teaching me how to get over my stage fright, him helping me become the Rock Angel.

Every little memory I had with Freddie came rushing in as I sang with more passion.

*Me*

Wish I could, I could've said goodbye I would've said what I wanted to Maybe even cried for you If I knew it would be the last time I would've broke my heart in two Tryna save a part of you

Don't wanna feel another touch Don't wanna start another fire Don't wanna know another kiss No other name fallin' off my lips Don't wanna give my heart away To another stranger Or let another day begin Won't even let the sunlight in No, I'll never love again I'll never love again, oh, oh, oh, oh

When we first met I never thought that I would fall I never thought that I'd find myself Lying in your arms, mm, mm And I wanna pretend that it's not true Oh, baby, that you're gone 'Cause my world keeps turnin',

And turnin', and turnin' And I'm not movin' on

I don't wanna know this feelin' Unless it's you and me I don't wanna waste a moment, ooh And I don't wanna give somebody else

The better part of me I would rather wait for you, ooh

Don't wanna feel another touch Don't wanna start another fire Don't wanna know another kiss Freddie, you’ll stay on our hearts

Don't wanna give my heart away To another stranger Don't let another day begin Won't let the sunlight in Oh, I'll never love again Love again Oh I’ll Never love again

I'll never love

Again

I won't I won't I swear I can't I wish I could but I just won't I'll never love again I'll never love Again Oooo oo oo oo oo Hmmm

By the end of the song, tears glistened in my eyes but none came down my face because I knew he wouldn’t want that. The whole church applauded and I walked down the steps back to my seat.

As the pastor led a prayer, I felt Jack’s arm wrap around me and he leaned his head against mine while rubbing my arm comfortingly.

A couple hours later, after some more eulogies were spoke from Brian and Roger and other close friends of Freddie, it was time to bury the casket. The men who brought it in, all came back up and resumed their positions and carried it back out and put it back in the car.

Only the close friends and family were allowed at this point to come to the burial of the casket. So it included me and Jack (we had his parents take the kids back to their hotel), Roger, Deacy, Brian and Anita, Jim, Mary, Freddie’s family, Elton, David, Peter, and Miami.

We all stood around as the casket was being lowered down into the Earth. I leaned up against Jack trying to draw in as much strength as I could and soon a couple of men began to bury the casket.

I then knew that it was now real. Freddie Mercury was officially gone from this earth. The Lover of life, and Singer of songs was dead.

Nothing would be the same after today. Lives would be forever changed. And the world just got a bit more darker without the large sunray that was Freddie Mercury.

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Masters of the Universe: Revelation Shows Kevin Smith’s Classic Inspiration

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Masters of the Universe will once again have the power, this time on the platform of Netflix, which has unveiled a new animated series shaped under the creative auspices of geek royalty in showrunner/executive producer Kevin Smith. Consequently, the latest iteration of the Mattel Toy property, which dominated pop culture during the 1980s, is carrying classic-inspired sensibilities, as the new show’s first images clearly prove. It’s a retro direction—in stark contrast to other revivals of the property—that Smith confirms was no accident.

Two years after it was announced, Netflix animated revival Masters of the Universe: Revelation has officially revealed a first array of preview images (seen just below), with a release date set for July. Said images (mostly) check off a “who’s who” lineup culled from the franchise’s famously deep well of characters. However, the aesthetics appear to be an artful amalgamation of the 1982-launched property’s early era—notably Filmation’s 1983-1985 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, which remains its most famous version—and Mike Young Productions’ 2002-2004 contemporary reinvention of the same name, the latter of which stylistically leaned into the technology aspect of the property’s traditional medieval-meets-sci-fi motif.

“Narratively, our show is set up as the next episode in the legacy ‘80s animated series,” explains Smith in a statement. “This is a continuation of that story. We’re playing with the original mythology and characters, and revisiting and digging deeper into some of the unresolved storylines. Visually, we also made the conscious decision to lean into the Masters of the Universe line of toys for inspiration as well.”

Netflix

Smith certainly chose the right property from which to draw inspiration from toys, and, naturally, Mattel already has an impressive-looking 7” scale Masters of the Universe: Revelation action figure line ready to hit toy shelves (complementing its current retro-styled “Origins” line,) upon the show’s release. The classic-minded, toy-friendly visuals create a formula that could make the series into a worthy revival; a notion compounded by the star-studded voice cast the series has put together. Indeed, the presence of characters such as “the most powerful man in the universe” himself, He-Man (voiced by Chris Wood), and his blue-skinned, bone-faced, fists-shaking rival, Skeletor (Mark Hamill) are a given, but the show’s list of iconic-in-their-own-right supporting players makes it worthy of attention even from those uninitiated with the franchise or who still choose to see it through the satirically flamboyant lens of the Prince Adam “What’s Going On?” meme.

Mattel

Revelation’s list of toy-destined characters consist of Evil-Lyn (Lena Headey), Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Man-At-Arms (Liam Cunningham), Roboto (Justin Long), Trap Jaw and King Randor (both voiced by Diedrich Bader), Queen Marlena (Alicia Silverstone), Moss Man (Allen Oppenheimer, the original voice of Skeletor), Sorceress (Susan Eisenberg), Orko (Griffin Newman), Cringer (Stephen Root), Mer-Man (Kevin Conroy), Tri-Klops (Henry Rollins), Beast Man (Kevin Michael Richardson), Scare Glow (Tony Todd) and Stinkor (Jason Mewes, you know, since it’s a Kevin Smith joint). Additionally, the series will introduce some newcomers like Priestess (Cree Summer) and Andra (Tiffany Smith), the latter of whom seems to be inspired by an obscure character from the 1980s-era Masters of the Universe comic book series published by Marvel under its kid-friendly Star Comics label (which simultaneously published a title for its currently movie-bound rival franchise, ThunderCats).

“I watched all of the TV series growing up, it was everywhere in the ‘80s,” continues Smith. “These characters started off as toys and ended up becoming part of the global pop culture fabric. So much of this show has been possible because of the love and affection for this world at every level of production and the fandom surrounding this franchise. A big reason we got such top tier voice talent is because people genuinely want to be a part of this world. So many of us were touched by these stories and these characters early in our lives and were so happy to come back to Eternia.”

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Cast Revealed

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

The Masters of The Universe Movie and Its Wonderful Worldbuilding

By Mike Cecchini

Indeed, Masters of the Universe may have initially been conceived as a hybrid boy’s toys franchise that drew upon ideas from Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian and Jack Kirby’s Fourth World comic titles, but its amenability to world-building remains its bread and butter. Even in the initial, eventually-apocryphal versions of the mythology showcased in the earliest mini-comics included with the figures, the setting of Eternia was simultaneously savage, mystical and technologically wondrous; an idea that would be maintained across every iteration (even the cult classic 1987 live-action film flop,) throughout the ensuing decades. “Even if you’ve never watched a single episode of the show or don’t know this universe at all, you can jump right into the story,” lauds Smith. “It’s a really classic, universal action-adventure epic about growth, discovery, magic, and power. This series explores destiny in a fresh way. There’s a lot of reconciling with secrets, betrayal, trust, acceptance, love, and ultimately, loss.”

Of course, Masters of the Universe: Revelation won’t be the only recent representation of the Mattel IP in the pop culture panorama, seeing as Netflix ran five seasons of an animated revival for He-Man’s estranged spun-off sister, She-Ra and the Princess of Power, from 2018-2020. However, the continuity of that hyper-stylized series, which garnered a new generation of fans, is unlikely to be carried over here (although Revelation might eventually introduce a new She-Ra). Additionally, in 2019, Sony Pictures was deep into long-gestating plans for a new live-action Masters of the Universe movie from directors Aaron Nee and Adam Nee, based on a screenplay started by David S. Goyer, with Noah Centineo cast as He-Man. However, like many projects during the eventual pandemic, its lofty plans are currently derailed, and Centineo reportedly exited the picture this past April. Thusly, at least for now, Revelation will be the primary flier of the franchise flag.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Masters of the Universe: Revelation is scheduled to premiere the five-episode first part of its inaugural season on Friday, July 23.

The post Masters of the Universe: Revelation Shows Kevin Smith’s Classic Inspiration appeared first on Den of Geek.

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breadknight-likes-things · 4 years ago

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Bread’s Game Journal 11/08/20: The PS2, Best Console Ever Made? It’s More Likely Than You Think!

It wasn’t until 2001 that I actually played a PS2, and a little less than a year later that I would get one for myself, but neither of these events are things that happen anymore. Not getting consoles of course, you can just go buy a console whenever you want. It’s the two ways that I achieved both the initial playing of the PS2 and acquiring one for myself that has vanished into the social ether. One for an unfortunate reality of changing times, and another because of the powerful curse it put upon me. Getting a little ahead of myself with the curse there, but let's start with how I first played the second Playstation console. The store is Capitola Video, the owner is Ken, an exceedingly nice Vietnamese immigrant who clearly loved movies, and the PS2 is the store rental unit. It seems insane to think of now, but local video stores used to just....rent out consoles! Ken even included a store memory card, that believe it or not I actually now own, and treasure! That rental unit is where I first played Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, an all time favorite game (And also something else I made sure to buy when that store unfortunately went out business about a year ago now), and by extension, where I was introduced to a new conception of the grand adventures that video games could be.

Now, that being said, I bet if you tally up the amount of times we actually rented that store PS2 it would probably only be three or four, but each one meant a lot to me. So when it came time to get my own PS2, that’s when I was irrevocably cursed. Bless my mom’s heart, she knew I liked video games, and when one of her co-workers asked around at the school she worked for if someone wanted to buy her son’s Playstation 2, she had the great idea to take her up on the ridiculous $80 offer (The PS2 was still $300 new at the time, I don’t know if the low price was intentional, but I often think about the ridiculous deal we got). What I didn’t know until much later, is she was selling the PS2 as a punishment for something the son had done...and I took that kids PS2 away from him without even knowing or caring. I swear I see the ghost of that kids passion for video games out of the corner of my eye every now and then.....

But hey! What a console! I wrote that post title in a half joking manner based on how many people decisively claim that the PS2 is the best console of all time, but really? They aren’t all that far off! The game library for PS2 had everything! You could get action games, racing games, RPGs, excellent platformers, and even first person shooters, which had begun to come into their own on consoles around the time (The PS2 never did have the elusive “Halo Killer”, but it did have quite a few great FPS games when you know where to look).

I have vivid memories of Killzone being hyped up as the “Halo Killer” and recall that when I actually played it, I found is esoteric and nowhere near as effortlessly fun as Halo, those claims were always wild!

Notably, unlike the consoles of today, the PS2 felt like it was largely defined by new IP. If you really dig into it, a lot of the games on PS2 that were from older established franchises ended up pushing a lot of said franchises over a bridge too far. I don’t mean to say all of them were bad (Tony Hawk, for example, only got better, and Final Fantasy’s PS2 entries are widely beloved), just that in my time, it was the original titles that really stick out to me in defining that era. It really felt like a time of experimentation for a lot of the big companies, where that same experimentation is really only the field of indies now. It’s genuinely insane to me to think that, in general, the 6th gen of consoles only lasted about 5 years. So many great experiences, and indeed, industry defining games, came out during then. Whether those be radical reinventions of established formulas like Resident Evil 4, noteworthy consistency like Tony Hawk, or even an explosion of JRPG’s that earlier consoles could only dream of. The PS2 was an incredible era for video games! It molded and shaped most of my game tastes up to the games I still play now! I revisit PS2 games on an almost constant basis, for nostalgia sometimes, and other times simply because the games themselves are still incredible. I didn’t even get to the fact that the PS2 was the first ever DVD player I ever owned, which was another huge boon to this console that I didn’t even go into here!

A strange fact I recall was “The Matrix” on DVD being a significant driver of PS2 sales in the early years of both that console and format, it was good timing! (And of course, a great movie!)

Because I can’t think of a very good way to sell just how much the PS2 meant to me in an ending for this post, I’m going to tell you a silly fact instead: I used to watch the trailers and developer diaries for scary games on Official Playstation Magazine demo discs, but I was genuinely scared to think of what might happen if I ever actually played one of them myself....Siren still haunts me to this day!

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dumb-american · 5 years ago

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The Rebuild of Final Fantasy VII: Your Expectations Will (Not) Be Met

I apologize for the stupid title and I promise I’m going to talk about the Final Fantasy VII Remake, but I have to get this out of the way first. Sometime in the mid 2000s, acclaimed artist and director Hideaki Anno announced that he was going to remake his beloved anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion the way it should have been the first time, free from technical and budgetary restraints. Evangelion had a notoriously strange ending when the original anime aired, consisting of character talking over still images, abstract art, and simple animations. It was highly polarizing and controversial. Anno, for his part, received death threats and the headquarters of the studio that produced the anime was vandalized. Soon after the initial uproar Anno would direct The End of Evangelion, a retelling of the final two episodes of the anime, and that seemed to mostly satisfy the fanbase. Looking back now, The End of Evangelion wasn’t “fixing” something that was “broken,” no, it was a premonition: a vision of things to come. Why remake the ending when you can just remake the whole damn thing?

The mid 2000s also saw the birth of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII: a sub-series of projects expanding the universe and world of the video game that had “quite possibly the greatest game ever made” proudly printed on the back of its CD case. The Compilation consisted of three games, all on different platforms, and a film. First was Advent Children, a sequel to Final Fantasy VII, where three dudes that look like discarded Sephiroth concept art all have anime fights with our beloved protagonists, culminating in a ridiculous gravity defying sword fight between Cloud and Sephiroth. Before Crisis and Crisis Core are prequels that expand the story of the Turks and Zack Fair, respectively. Then there’s Dirge of Cerberus, an action shooter staring secret party member and former Turk Vincent. Were these projects good? I’d say they were largely forgettable. Crisis Core stood out as the obvious best of the bunch and I think may be worth revisiting.

As a business model, the practice pioneered by the Compilation would continue on and eventually brings us FFXIII (and sequels), FF Versus XIII (which would later become FFXV), and FF Agito XIII (which would later become FF Type-0). If that’s all incredibly confusing to you, I’m sorry, I promise I will begin talking about the Final Fantasy VII Remake soon. Suffice it to say, both Final Fantasy VII and Neon Genesis Evangelion have a certain gravity. They punch above their weight. They are both regarded as absolute classics, flaws and all. And yet, in both cases, the people responsible for their creation decided that their first at bat wasn’t good enough and it was time to recreate them as they were meant to be all along. I think this way of thinking about art is flawed, limitations are as much a part of the creative process as vision and intent. Yet, we find ourselves in a world with a remake of Final Fantasy VII, so I guess we should talk about it.

From this point forward, there’s going to be major spoilers for every Final Fantasy VII related media. So, be warned.

So, is the Final Fantasy VII Remake any good? To me, that’s the least interesting question, but we can get into it. FFVIIR is audacious, that’s for sure. Where Anno condenses and remixes a 26 episode anime series into four feature length films, the FFVIIR team expands an around 5 hour prologue chapter into a 30+ hour entire game. Naturally, there will be some growing pains. The worst example of this is the sewers. The game forces you to slog through an awful sewer level twice, fighting the same boss each time. This expanded sewer level is based on a part of the original game that was only two screens and was never revisited.

Besides the walk from point A to point B, watch a cutscene, fight a boss, repeat that you’d expect from a JRPG, there’s also three chapters where the player can explore and do sidequests. The sidequests are mostly filler, but a select few do accomplish the goal of fleshing out some of the minor characters. You spend way more time with the Avalanche crew, for example. Out of them, only Jesse has something approaching a complete personality or character arc that matters. The main playable cast is practically unchanged which was a bit surprising to me. I figured Square-Enix would tone down Barret’s characterization as Mr. T with a gun for an arm, but they decided, maybe correctly, that Barret is an immutable part of the Final Fantasy VII experience. Also, it’s practically unforgivable that Red XIII was not playable in the remake considering how much time you spend with him. I don’t understand that decision in the slightest.

The game’s general systems and mechanics, materia, combat, weapon upgrades, etc. are all engaging and fun and not much else really needs to be said about it. I found it to be great blend of action/strategy. Materia really was the peak of JPRG creativity in the original FFVII and its recreation here is just as good. The novelty of seeing weird monsters like the Hell House and the “Swordipede” (called the Corvette in the original) make appearances as full on boss fights with mechanics is just weaponized nostalgia. In general, the remake has far more hits than misses, but those misses, like the sewers and some of the tedious sidequests, are big misses. It is a flawed game, but a good one. If I were to pick a favorite part of the game, I’d have to pick updated Train Graveyard section which takes lore from the original game and creates a mini-storyline out of it.

If that was all, however, then honestly writing about Final Fantasy VII Remake wouldn’t be worth my time or yours. The game’s ambition goes way further than just reimagining Midgar as a living, real city. There’s a joke in the JRPG community about the genre that goes something like this: at the start of the game, you kill rats in the sewer and by the end you’re killing God. Well, when all is said and done, the Final Fantasy VII Remake essentially does just that. Narratively, the entire final act of the game is a gigantic mess, but if you know anything about me then you know I’d much rather a work of fiction blast off into orbit and get a little wild than be safe and boring.

In the original games, the Lifestream is a physical substance that contains spirits and memories of every living being. Hence, when a person dies, they “return to the planet”. It flows beneath the surface of the planet like blood flows in a living person’s veins and can gather to heal “wounds” in the planet. In the original game, the antagonist, Sephiroth, seeks to deeply wound the planet with Meteor and then collect all the “spirit energy” the planet musters to heal the wound. The remake builds on this concept by introducing shadowy, hooded beings called Whispers. The Whispers are a physical manifestation of the concept of destiny and they can be found when someone seeks to change their fate, correcting course to the pre-destined outcome. Whispers appear at multiple points throughout the game’s storyline both impeding and aiding the party. The ending focuses heavily on them and the idea that fate and destiny can be changed. We receive visions throughout the game which some will recognize as major story beats and images from the original game. After dealing with Shinra and rescuing Aerith, the game immediately switches over to this battle against destiny and fate that you’re either going to love or hate. The transition is abrupt and jarring. While Cloud has shown flashes of supernatural physical abilities throughout the game, suddenly he has gone full Advent Children mode and is flying around cleaving 15 ton sections of steel in half with his sword. The party previously took on giant mutated monsters, elite soldiers, and horrific science experiments, but now the gloves are off and they’re squaring up against an impossibly huge manifestation of the Planet’s will. Keep in mind, in the narrative of the original FFVII, the Midgar section was rougly 10%, if that, of the game’s full storyline. This is, frankly, insane, but I’d be lying if I didn’t love it.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake, with its goofy JRPG concluding chapter, is forcing the player to participate in the original game’s un-making. We see premonitions of an orb of materia falling to the ground, we see an older Red XIII gallop across the plains, we see a SOLDIER with black hair and Cloud’s Buster Sword make his final stand, we see Cloud waist deep in water holding something or someone. We all know what these images represent, they’ve been part of imaginations for decades. But the Final Fantasy VII Remake allows us (or forces us, depending on perspective, I guess) to kill fate, kill God, and set aside all we thought we knew about how the game would play out post-Midgar. The most obvious effect of our actions is the reveal that Zack survived his final stand against Shinra and instead of leaving Cloud his sword and legacy, helped him get to Midgar safely. I have my doubts and my worries about the future of this series. I’m not sure when the next part of the game will be released or what form it will come in, but I can’t believe I’m as excited as I am to see it.

Of course, part of me wishes they’d just left well enough alone. Remakes are generally complete wastes of time and effort. Not all, but most. Maybe I’m, to borrow a term from pro wrestling lingo, a complete mark here and I just love JRPGs and Final Fantasy VII so much that I’ll countenance close to anything bearing its name. I’ve tried my best to be as critical and fair as possible to the game and I hope that if you’re on the fence and reading this I’ve maybe helped you decide if it’s for you or not. I think the Final Fantasy VII Remake is worth your time if you’re looking for a good, meaty JRPG. It’s not perfect and it’s final act is insane, but that just makes me love it more.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like for Zack, Cloud, and Aerith to face Sephiroth in the Planet’s core? I know 15 year old me did. And he may get his wish.

#final fantasy #ffvii #ffvii remake #review #jrpg

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ewoodx · 5 years ago

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ETHAN WOOD SEASON 2 !!

[GREGG SULKIN , MALE , HE/HIS ] do you hear [PHENOMENAL BY EMINEM ] coming from the beach ? oh, that has to be [ ETHAN WOOD] . they are a [ TWENTY TWO ] year old [PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYER ] from the outer banks, and they’ve been living there for [TWENTY TWO YEARS ] . they were chosen to be on the show because they are a [ KOOK] , but really , I heard it’s because they can be [ ILL TEMPERED & DEMANDING ] . if you get to know them though , they’re pretty [PROTECTIVE & ENERGETIC] . they might become a quick audience favorite due to their [ SIGNATURE SMIRK, PRETTY BOY CHARM & RIPPLING PECTORALS]

Hello lovelies! I’m Ally && this is the updated bio for Ethan Wood, your favorite arrogant, frat star with a hot temper && a secret heart of gold..I promise ;) Shoot me a message if you’re interested in plotting.

STATS;

Full name; Ethan Alexander Wood

Age; 22

School; UNC

Birthday; August 19th

Height; 5’11 but he’ll tell you he’s 6ft

Parents; Olivier and Daphne Wood

Siblings; two brothers: Julian (older) & Damian (younger)

Occupation; Striker for Inter Miami CF

Location; the eight, OBX and Miami during the soccer season

Sign; Leo

(+) ; protective & energetic.

(-) ; ill-tempered & demanding

Sexuality; heterosexual

Pogue or Kook; Kook

Character Inspiration; zach siler (she’s all that) chuck bass (gossip girl), mickey milkovich (shameless), damon salvatore (vampire diaries) tim riggins (friday night lights) asher adams (all american) billy hope (southpaw) joe kingman (the game plan) maui (moana)

EARLY YEARS;

Ethan Wood was born and raised to do one thing and one thing only: play soccer. Being the middle child of legendary University of North Carolina starting forward Olivier Wood and renowned athleisure wear designer Daphne Wood, there was only one path for this budding young soccer prodigy. And it was to follow in daddy’s footsteps donning the prestigious Carolina blue and white of his father’s alma mater.

His childhood was pleasant, raised on his family’s estate in the coveted Eight and filled with family getaways and father/son trips to UNC/Wake Forest rivalry matches. Matches that he hoped to one day play in. Young Ethan was a natural talent and he picked up the game rather quickly, spending every free moment practicing in the yard or scribbling down strategies. He wanted nothing more than to make his father proud and carry on his legacy.

HIGH SCHOOL;

Ethan was sent to one of the finest private schools on the island that money could buy. Of course, he wasn’t there for his grades and what he lacked in brains, his skills on the field made up for. He made varsity soccer his freshman year and then went on to become captain during his senior year, reveling in all the perks that came with being a star athlete: parties, hookups, popularity. As Ethan’s athletic abilities along with his ego continued to grow, so did his competitive edge, arrogance, and hot temper which is known for getting him into trouble on and off the pitch. He’s no stranger to an alcohol induced bawl and struggles to keep his temper under control.

COLLEGE;

It’s no secret that in the OBX money talks and Mr. Wood had deep pockets. A library donation and a legacy later, Ethan finally realized his dream and secured a spot on his beloved UNC soccer team. His temper being the reason for the trouble in the first place. It didn’t take long for him to become the frat star worthy of his reputation. Sure, he had to overcome those pesky freshman years, team hazing, and locker room banter, even spending the half a season on the bench for his hot headed temper. Nonetheless, he managed to make a name for himself even if slightly tarnished.

SEASON ONE;

Fresh off his college graduation, Ethan returned to the Outer Banks with his sights set on playing professional soccer in the upcoming season. Before entering the real world in the fall, he joined the show for one last hurrah and boy did he get what he signed up for. The summer was filled with all sorts of shenanigans, parties, booze, and hook-ups.

Ethan rounded out the first season of OBX rather unscathed, save for a secret hook-up and an unlikely friendship that he formed with a pogue. He gained some notoriety from the show and it was a perfect launch for his new life in the public eye.

POST SEASON ONE

Ethan started footy training in the fall after the reality show ended, and he currently plays for Inter Miami CF, a team owned by David Beckham himself. He took up residence in Miami for the soccer season (come visit him !! or come to one of his matches) and traveled the country with his team becoming the soccer star he always wanted to be. His rookie season was one for the books, and if you thought his ego couldn’t get any bigger, check again.

In his off time, Ethan maintained his growing popularity by making appearances at all the Miami hot spots and keeping up a rather impressive social media presence, constantly posting his fitness routines and workouts in addition to his nights out. This earned him a reputation off the pitch, and his name managed to find its way into the local papers and magazines. He did his best to keep in touch with his friends from the show despite his busy schedule, and even visited the OBX whenever he could.

With his first professional soccer season in the books, Ethan couldn’t resist returning to the reality show for another summer, much to his PR team’s dismay who are working to clean up with reputation, not add to it.

POGUES VS KOOKS

Ethan got into his fair share of Pogues vs Kooks scuffles back in high school. Nights filled with stupid boyish banter, booze, and blows. He likes to think he’s above all the rivalry now— playing pro ball and all— but sometimes he still struggles to truly let go of the past and be the bigger person. He’s an athlete though and though, and rivalries are all just a part of the game.

WANTED CONNECTIONS;

the rival; To say Ethan is competitive is the understatement of the century and he and this person have a rivalry for the ages. The two don’t like each other and this person never fails to get under Ethan’s skin. It could have even started back in school and carried over to now. Perhaps the reason Ethan had some trouble getting into UNC for soccer? Bonus points if they have to put all their differences aside and work together at some point for a common goal. [OPEN]

the hook-ups; Ethan really isn’t the type to stick around after a hook-up and is usually out before the sun comes up, never wanting to get attached. If anyone wants to give him a much deserved slap upside the head, let me know! [OPEN]

let’s make ‘em jealous; There’s no denying that Ethan and this person have chemistry. They are super flirty and all over each other, but in reality it’s all a rouse. They aren’t really into one another and are merely using each other to stir up some drama, cause a scene, and make the ones that really do catch their eyes jealous. [OPEN]

the real bros; for those looking for a second muse, Ethan has two brothers xD. Julian and Damian (names can totally change!) He has one older brother who rejected the athlete/UNC/kook life leaving Ethan with the pressure to fill daddy’s soccer boots. They had a fall out and their relationship is shaky at best. Ethan also has a baby bro who he is definitely closer with. They get on rather typically through harmless banter and school boy shenanigans. He also has an innate protectiveness over him because he is older. [OPEN]

the tutor; Ethan isn’t the brightest bulb and only maintained good enough grades to stay on the soccer team. Though he was never the easiest student, Ethan has a great deal of respect for this person and appreciates all the work they put into him. Not to mention, is their BIGGEST hype-man if he ever runs into them outside his coursework. [CLOSED]

the workout partner; being a professional athlete means that Ethan is very into keeping in shape, even when he’s hungover. This could go two ways:1.) These two bonded over their love of the gym and they push each other to bring out the most of one another. It could even be a bit of rivalry, too! 2.) Ethan took this person under their wing (a trainer of sorts) and is helping them work out and keep healthy during the show. [CLOSED]

the almost maybe; Ethan isn’t really into the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, a big supporter of the motto: no strings, just sex. But this one girl somehow managed to wiggle her way into his GASP, heart. To say it scares the shit out of Ethan is more than just an understatement and even though sparks flew Ethan isn’t sure he’s ready to give up his soccer star lifestyle for her just yet. This could be a new relationship that manifests on the show or one from the past that he is forced to revisit now that they are sharing a summer house together. [CLOSED]

the role model; Ethan didn’t really have many positive role models to look up to growing up, mainly just his father and his toxic masculinity. This person helps Ethan balance all that out and helps him deal with all those pesky emotions he was taught to keep suppressed inside in order to “be a man.” This person also keeps him in check and isn’t afraid to give him a much needed smack to the upside of the head when necessary [CLOSED]

Totally open to anything !! && would love to get Ethan into some more drama this season xD Basically building him up, so I can take him down. Whoops!

Shoot me a message if you’re interested in plotting.

#outer.intro #s2.outer.intro #s2

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endlessnightarts · 5 years ago

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(I wrote this after Ragnarok came out, then decided I didn’t want to start some shit, so it got stuck in my queue for awhile, now I feel like yeah I should just post it bc I found myself blacklisting tags relating to Thor 4?)

Remember when T'Challa confronted his father for the things he’d learned T’Chaka had done? When T’Challa got to see his father’s failings and react, to become better for having processed those betrayals?

Thor doesn’t really get to do that in Ragnarok and it’s such a glaring fault I’m never going to be over it. Thor’s characterization gets hamstrung and he steps backward from things he was starting to figure out in The Fucking Dark World.

For all that Ragnarok is about the evils of imperialism and Odin having this blood-soaked history of conquest - It still allows Odin a respectful death scene and brushes past so many of the things he’s done to all his children. We’re asked to accept that a simple “I love you, my sons” is enough to make up for everything he’s done to Thor and Loki. Those boys are complete wrecks, and this movie really should have been Thor finally admitting Odin did BAD SHIT. Thor never even seems to realize that Odin fucked him up, and god forbid we acknowledge that Odin fucked up Loki as bad as he did. And hell we’re asked to accept this reconciliation literally as Odin is admitting he fucked up his first kid even worse than the boys and isn’t very sorry about it.

The Dark World explicitly set up Odin against Thor. Because Thor had come home off of his time on Earth and the things he’d learned there. Returning to Asgard and finding it felt different to a changed version of himself Thor started to see that Odin was more violent and ruthless than he realized, and Thor wasn’t ok with that anymore.

The whole ‘I’d rather be a good man than a great king” thing needed to be revisited, because the only model of kinghood Thor knows is Odin’s. And he didn’t realize how fucked up that was until TDW, which is theoretically escalated in Ragnarok. In the first movie Thor thinks that Odin is wise and making hard choices that Thor is uncomfortable with and doesn’t think he can do, and he thinks that's a character flaw on his part. That he’s not good enough somehow and still has much to learn.

TDW had Thor starting to really see that Odin has major flaws and disagreeing with him to the point of committing treason to protect Asgard.

Ragnarok should have been the movie where Thor really disconnected being king from being Odin - and in a way he does when he steps up to lead the refugees instead of handing it off again. But the transition is made without ever confronting Odin about it. Or even getting across that he’s made that disconnect and taken Odin off the pedestal he’s been on Thor’s entire life.

It's a step backwards. Thor argues with Odin in The Dark World and even questions his need for Odin’s approval. He learns to really define himself more and not just trust that Odin knows best.

And the thing about the final scene in The Dark World is that we really, really need to revisit the implications after Thor finds out Loki was impersonating Odin at the time. Because that movie had this very clear antagonistic thing between them where Thor was chafing under Odin’s rule, learning to see Odin as not infallible and Odin pushing back very harshly - violently even - when Thor disobeyed him. Without that extra scene at the end, Thor and Odin’s relationship would have been ending on a very low note, perhaps ruined for good. But from Thor’s perspective he returns home to find Odin having reconsidered and sort of come around to accepting that Thor isn’t blindly obeying him anymore. Tacitly approving of Thor’s decision to act in defiance of Odin to protect Asgard, and even giving him permission to delay his kingship indefinitely. Now, to Thor, that seems like a major repair/redefining of their relationship as less parent/child blind obeying to a more equal relationship of respect with Thor being seen as a mature adult who doesn’t always agree. Ragnarok never touches on the fact that literally the only time we see Odin being that compassionate and compromising with Thor is when ITS LOKI.

And when Thor finds that out there isn’t any moment where he realizes that his relationship with Odin might still be in the phase it was in the middle of The Dark World - where Odin was controlling and overbearing and cruel (not to mention the fact that Loki as Odin could have had Thor tried for treason and thrown in the dungeon but instead gave him permission to just fuck off to a different realm and while that does still help Loki keep power it's definitely a lot less shitty than something he would have done circa his Avengers era headspace and I think that’s some growth on Loki’s part even if he’s being selfish because oh yeah that’s what Chaotic Neutral kind of means) But we’re never going to talk about that again I guess. Odin was a good dad and Loki is just a spoiled rich kid with no real problems apparently.

Ragnarok condemns Asgard’s history of bloody conquest, and uses the whole Sins of the Father thing but also refuses to really condemn Odin - the mastermind behind all of it. There’s lip service to it, Hela calls out Odin for conquering the other realms and turning on her and lying to everyone, but Odin himself? He gets a peaceful, respectful death scene where he isn’t held to any account even as he’s dropping more shit on his sons laps to deal with.

And the worst is that final vision Thor has, where he kneels before his wise father and practically begs Odin to explain the answer to him. It’s annoying. Thor deserved a scene like T’Challa gets in Black Panther - he needed to confront Odin and be able to state that Odin was wrong. That Thor is a better man than Odin and he became that despite the way he was raised. That he’s going to be a better king than Odin because he’s learned to not just emulate Odin’s style of rule.

That would have been a real three movie arc for Thor. Not this ‘I’m not strong enough, father, tell me how to fix this’

Thor isn’t made to come back and reexamine his relationship with Odin.

Instead, Thor treats Odin in their final scene like he always has. With reverence, with respect, desperate for his advice and approval. It’s like he’s absorbed nothing that he’s learned. No ‘I’ve had to fight my siblings and its because of the lies you told.', No 'You were wrong and I don’t want or need your approval.'

What is the movie telling me Thor learned here? They destroy Asgard, yes, but that’s all set up in a way that’s more about stopping the active threat of Hela destroying everything than about Thor really realizing he can’t continue Odin’s legacy. Thor gets to push so much of this onto Hela rather than confronting Odin about it and its a shame. And because Hela’s characterization is so thin it’s easy for Thor to focus on her rather than spend time re-contextualizing everything about Odin. Hela is the physical representation of Odin’s past evils and yet somehow Thor treats them entirely differently.

It’s just...I dunno, man. I wanted Thor to grow on his own by the end of this movie, not need a pat on the back from Odin before he could level up?

#Thor #Hela #Odin #Loki #look I don't hate Ragnarok #and I don't like The Dark World as much as this makes it sound like #but yeah #STUFF AND THINGS #ABOUT MOVIES #none of this is even touching on Infinity War and Endgame #IF and Endgame?#Dont Know Her #mcu #comic book junk

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years ago

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Secret Wars 2099 #1-5 Thoughts...kinda

As I have no memories, nor apparently any records, of covering this story when it originally released I figured I’d do it as part of my re-reading project.

So the first things I should make clear is that I DID read these issues cover to cover...but in the trade. So if the recap pages of the original issues did something wonky I don’t know about that. Also I’m not covering these issue by issue. There are a few reasons for that.

For starters that’d be more time consuming and whilst I’m never going to make this deadline I’m trying to blast through Spidey 2099 volume 3 as early into the upcoming 2099 event as possible. My pie in the sky plan was to get it done before ASM #833 but that’s not happening now because shit got in my way. Secondly I’ve already read these issues as they were coming out and so I wanted to make the experience more novel for myself and see how they held up as one big story not a set of individual ones.

Due to this I’m likely not going to get into the nitty gritty of this story as I would issue to issue, pulling out ‘this one panel was weird’ and so forth. I’m going to try and discuss the story as an overview.

And from that perspective this was very enjoyable but does have you scratching your head when trying to reconcile it within continuity. On that fro there are three ways to view it.

a) Within classic 2099 continuity

b) Within the then current 2099 continuity off the heels of Spidey 2099 volume 2

c) And within the continuity that’s yet to come. Maybe I even mentioned that in the posts I did for Spidey 2099 volume 3, I don’t remember and don’t want to spoil myself by checking. I DO remember Roberta/Captain America returns which makes continuity confusing

In fact continuity from all 3 POVs is confusing. I think the best thing to do is to treat this as kind of like the RYV Secret Wars continuity. That is to say it’s not about the ACTUAL versions of the characters you’ve come to know and when we next see the new characters introduced here those will be alternate versions of these guys.

In a sense this is a kind of conceptual part of PAD’s over all story. It exists so you know that there are/could be versions of these characters and concepts ‘out there’ and they could show back up in his main story. Similarly the All-New X-Factor issue that hinted at this series did so more conceptually. The idea being a big corporation who own their own superhero team. This series doesn’t directly pick up those plot threads but it’s conceptually similar, maybe even the intention is that Miguel got the idea for his Avengers from that story.

I don’t know though because this Miguel is drastically different to the one we’ve been following from Superior onwards. Now I’m not familiar with the 90s 2099 stuff much but IIRC Miguel does become the head of Alchemax and his father Tyler Stone is wheelchair bound so is this supposed to be diverging off that? I dunno.

Enough about continuity though, taking this story in isolation as I said it’s enjoyable. There isn’t much wrong with it beyond one notable thing and a few nitpicks.

Nitpicks would be stuff like how the ending feels kind of weird. It bookends the start of the story but I just feel outright showing us something that we already knew (that Black Widow 2099 acts like a literal black widow and kills her lovers) just wasn’t a fitting end for this story. It’s not that it is gross so much as it just feels odd and out of place. Like there was a more fitting coda for this story than following the minor exploits of a minor character amidst this story.

The more notable problem is a plot one. This isn’t a deal breaker but I just don’t really understand the relevance of Mordo 2099’s business card being in the Specialist’s pocket. It’s the instigator for most of the plot and yet the Specialist didn’t seem to have anything to do with Mordo. Was it just a coincidence? Was it planted there to throw the Avengers off Tyler Stone’s trail? It’s never explained. I suppose it could be a coincidence but then that’s rather lazy writing beneath PAD’s usual talents.

Beyond that the story is fun but fairly simple.

Essentially this boils down to the Avengers and Defenders meet, fight, interact a bit more, fight some more (with some Avengers siding with the Defenders) and then they team up to beat a bigger threat.

Not much else goes on, but that’s not a bad thing.

This story didn’t need to be Kraven’s Last Hunt or Watchmen.

It was just a fun superhero action story, which frankly is usually all that Avengers or Defenders stories ever amount to. Substance is a rarity for ether team, you want that check out the F4 or X-men.

What this series excels at is filling in some blanks from the original 2099 universe line, revisiting some old characters from it, introducing some new versions of old faces (like Silver Surfer and Hercules) and just giving you enough for each character for there to be some fun interactions. Maybe that’s all a bit basic but fun is fun.

We never had an Avengers nor Defenders 2099 back when the line exists, at least not as far as I know. And the idea that classic characters like Hercules, Valkyrie and the Surfer would still be around makes a lot of sense. The 2099 reimaginings of older characters are also quite fun. Black Widow literally being a woman who eats her lovers was obvious and yet novel. Hawkeye being a hawk/human hybrid was something different from the 616 version. Hercules being a standing for Thor was a brilliant balance of something new yet familiar. Iron Man and Vision 2099 were novel twists on the classic characters. The characters bounced off each other nicely (especially Hercules and Sub-Mariner) and there were some fun match ups.

The stand out (possibly because PAD had plans for her) though is Roberta Mendez, a.k.a. Captain America 2099. If anyone was the main character in this it was her. She was the most out and out heroic and a worthy heir to Steve’s legacy.

In recent years there has been much, shall we say, ‘heated debate’ regarding female characters, poc characters, female body depictions in comics and legacy characters.

Roberta has oddly been left unmentioned in this discussion which is strange as she ticks all the above boxes and yet is also one of the best examples of how to do such characters.

She is not stereotypically sexy, and the story points out the ‘wrongness’ of that. But it places it in the mouth of a minor character who is bad, and beyond that doesn’t dwell on the topic. I think this is smart because it acknowledges potential backlash but also doesn’t become self-indulgent in calling it out. I think that’s part of the umbridge a lot of people feel. The lack of subtlety and the frankly obnoxious degree to which a lot of modern comics attempt to call out bad actors or problematic views. PAD demonstrates the right way to handle this rather than Jason Aaron’s tactics in his Jane Foster Thor run for instance.

More importantly Roberta isn’t built up as heroic or better than her peers or anyone else through unearned tactics. This isn’t Riri Williams or Rey from Star Wars who’s acclaim in story is rather handed to them. She is a corporate stooge and a tool (one who’s literally activated and deactivated), but one with a conscience. And that conscience lets her fight back and make the right choices, but she isn’t a true blue enemy of ‘the system’. She’s morally and ethically compromised as Captain America and entirely clueless and vulnerable as Roberta. But she still saves people, she still helps people, she still has a moral code and she still believes in Steve Rogers’ values. She is a capable combatant and yet far from invincible.

In short...she’s a flawed super hero. It’s a feat of balanced writing that is worth of applause on PAD’s part as I count myself a fan of Roberta a lot actually.

The second most interesting character in this is Miguel.

Miguel’s portrayal here is interesting in general because it’s a departure from what you would expect having read volume 2 or possibly 2099 in general. He is absolutely the head of a big bad corporation. And he uses people. He is willing to enforce his corporate authority unethically. He is NOT a good person. In volume 2 you could describe him as anti-hero lite. He was more violent and clearly more willing to take life than Peter Parker but he wasn’t the Punisher or Wolverine. He was on the side of the angels but wasn’t one of them basically. Here though he’s definitely not on the side of the angels...but he’s also not on the side of the demons either. Rather he occupies this interesting spot in the middle as his Alchemax Avengers are doing good things and he does let the Defenders go at the end of everything. And yet he does safeguard Alchemax’s safety and legacy and manipulates Roberta.

This is another feat of writing as Miguel can’t be easily put into a box marked good nor bad or even anti-hero.

As for the art, I feel it’s a step down from what Sliney was doing in Spidey 2099 volume 2 but it’s still good, it gets the job done and the reinventions of older heroes works.

All in all if you have the time and cash, and aren’t expecting anything mind blowing I’d recommend checking this out.

#Marvel 2099 #Secret Wars 2099 #Secret Wars 2015 #Spider-Man 2099 #Peter David #Miguel O'Hara #roberta mendez #Captain America 2099 #Avengers 2099 #Defenders 2099

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internationalspacehobo · 6 years ago

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okay i was gonna do this yesterday but here’s a list of the non-pre-revisionist (post-revisionist? revised?) MTG novels

==Artifacts==

The Artifacts novels revolve around Urza, one of the most emblematic characters from the entire Magic setting. There’s older novels but this is where the story as we know it today really started. Even if you only got into mtg as recently as Dominaria, some of those elements appeared here for the first time. Jhoira, Karn, and Teferi are all introduced here.

In terms of the game; these novels vaguely correspond to about a dozen sets: Antiquities, the Dark, Fallen Empires, Mirage, Weatherlight, Visions, Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus, Urza’s Saga, Urza’s Legacy, and Urza’s Destiny.

The Brother's War (1998)

Planeswalker (1998)

Time Stream (1999)

Bloodlines (1999)

==Ice Age==

What happens when you blow up the world with a magic nuke? You get millenia of frost covering your entire planet. If you’re curious about who that apparently ancient wizard that Jhoira talked to during Dominaria was, or how Jaya Ballard might have been when she was Chandra’s age, this is the cycle you’re looking for.

The Gathering Dark (1999)

The Eternal Ice (2000)

The Shattered Alliance (2000)

The resolution to this block was released six years later, for the small set Coldsnap (the one I started playing with!). I’ve archived it as best as I could [here].

==Masquerade==

These books revolve (mostly) around Gerrard Capashen (the result of Urza’s generations-long eugenics project), and the crew of the Weatherlight (notice how much of this stuff shows up in Dominaria?).

It also marks the start of magic getting one story per non-core set! Which they kept up all the way until Lorwyn / Shadowmoor*; almost always naming the novels after the set they correspond to (with some exceptions).

Rath and Storm (1998) (Not technically part of the cycle anymore, but was originally the first book of the story. Wizards just like to shift shit around)

Mercadian Masques (1999)

Nemesis (2000)

Prophecy (2000)

*aside from Legends, which has always done its own thing

==Invasion==

Invasion closes up the Weatherlight storyline, with the Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria.

The Thran (1999) is not part of any of the cycles (published originally as a prequel to the invasion cycle, then later re-published as the last bit of the artifacts cycle), since it takes place thousands of years before the very beginning of the story.

Invasion (2000)

Planeshift (2001)

Apocalypse (2001)

==Odyssey==

The Urza / Weatherlight saga is over! 21 sets, 15 novels, 7 years, and a shit ton of cards later, we get to discover a whole buncha new characters. Not gonna lie, I have never read up on the story of professional Beefy Boy Kamahl. I know it sets up the Cabal (eh? eh? sound familiar?) and the Mirari, and gets a couple shout outs in cards in Dominaria, but I’m lost beyond that.

Odyssey (2000)

Chainer's Torment (2001)

Judgement (2001)

==Onslaught==

The continuation of the Odyssey cycle! Kamahl does some stuff, his sister fuses with an angel and I think someone else as well and becomes an almost god? Or something? Magic got wild for a while, I’m not gonna lie.

Onslaught (2002)

Legions (2003)

Scourge (2003)

==Legends==

Hey how about some unrelated characters? We all love legendary cards right? Do you like furries? If you answered “uh... i guess?” to all of these then boy is the first Legends cycle for you!

Johan (2001)

Jedit (2001)

Hazezon (2002)

Man, sure seems like nothing relevant to the modern story has happened in a while, huh? We got to follow good ole’ Jedit Ojannen do his thing for a bit. Man, and that was only the first half. The second one probably isn’t any better, huh? Apparently the bad guy is named “Nicol Bolas”? Who came up with THAT name, huh? Doesn’t sound like an intimidating and long running villain, if I’m gonna be honest. I doubt we’ll see him again.

Assassin's Blade (2002)

Emperor's Fist (2003)

Champion's Trial (2003)

==Mirrodin==

*notices your new focus on exploring worlds beyond dominaria* OwO what’s this?

The Mirrodin block marks the beginning of the Modern format, and a new focus on exploring new worlds instead of just tangientially mentioning them in relation to Dominaria! It still continues with the publishing format of one book per non-core set but we finally get to what I think attracts most people to the lore: the exploration of other worlds, with their own stories, characters, and even fundamental laws of physics.

The Mirrodin set revolves around the completely metallic plane of Argentum, created by our old buddy Karn (you might remember him from the very beginning; or the Dominaria storyline, if you’re working your way backwards), and what wild shit happens there during his absence.

The Moons of Mirrodin (2003)

The Darksteel Eye (2004)

The Fifth Dawn (2004)

==Kamigawa==

What an incredible setting, and what a let down of mechanics. Kamigawa is actually formed of two worlds: the material world and the world of spirits (or kami, as they’re called here). When a spirit is kidnapped by the humans, O-Kagachi, lord of all things, declares a war to take back That Which Was Taken.

Kamigawa was (until the Dominaria set) the only set that had legendary creatures at uncommon! They came up with a bunch of wild stuff, like ”arcane” spells, which are a sort of proto-tribal mechanic, and cards you could flip around to become different cards. This was before I started playing so I couldn’t tell you how it played at the time; but apparently it was a commercial failure. Here’s hoping we get to revisit it someday (maybe with Tamiyo?).

Outlaw: Champions of Kamigawa (2004)

Heretic: Betrayers of Kamigawa (2005)

Guardian: Saviors of Kamigawa (2005)

==Ravnica==

The original introduction of the most popular plane in the history of magic: the gathering!! If you’re even vaguely interested in the story of the game you know what Ravnica is; so I’ll just leave it at: Cop Mystery Drama Set on Ravnica. Also: the Guildpact, when it was an all encompassing legal-magic-spell, and not a skinny nerd in a blue cloak.

Ravnica: City of Guilds (2005)

Guildpact (2006)

Dissension (2006)

==Time Spiral==

After 3 years of planeswalking, covering 3 blocks of 3 sets each, we finally make it back to Dominaria (the plane)! Modern Horizons before Modern Horizons; Dominaria (the set) before Dominaria (the set). Glimpses of the past, an alternative reality where everything is just slightly shifted, and visions of what the future might hold.

Time Spiral (2006)

Planar Chaos (2007)

Future Sight (2007)

==Lorwyn / Shadowmoor==

Fairy tales, a self contained story that doesn’t require any previous knowledge of the lore, and also isn’t required reading to understand any of the later stuff. What more do you want?

Llorwyn (2007)

Morningtide (2008)

Shadowmoor (2008)

Eventide (2008)

#long post #mtg story

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