#if you enjoyed the false and the fair you’ll like this video

[princip1914]

Oh my god how dare this gay Appalachian music video love story come out on this Day of Good Omens truly the world is conspiring to not let me get any work done.

I wrote an essay below but tl;dr grab a box of tissues and watch this video right now and then scream with me about it!

I love this. It’s a little hokey, it’s sweet, it’s a country love ballad that is *so incredibly in keeping with the genre* that my guess is people who don’t like country music and country iconography won’t really like it…and that’s kind of the point.

So much stuff that’s about queer rural identity is made for outside eyes looking in, by outside hands (even in my own writing I worry about this constantly, as someone with family roots in Appalachia but who grew up outside of the region and has lived in a big city for the past 11 years). This video feels like it’s made from the inside for the inside—and, in fact, it is! It was written by Silas House (probably the best known Appalachian writer), all the extras and nature shots are from Kentucky, and the artist is a genuine country artist—not someone dipping a toe in the genre for something different.

The iconography is country—there’s beer, there’s tractors, there are flannel shirts. Of course, this is not the only way to be queer and country, but it’s a way that we don’t see represented nearly enough—these dudes love each other but they also fit into the culture, it doesn’t make them less country to be queer. I also love that the story is not just about homophobia. Homophobia isn’t ignored but it’s not centered, it’s not the point.

Also let’s talk about the ending (sorry there are spoilers here for a 4 min video, watch it then come back to this). The ending—tragic in the way of country love ballad endings everywhere—is somewhat open to interpretation. Frequently in queer love stories set in a certain era AIDS is implied if not stated…this video is very clever because it subverts that expectation while still stating nothing outright. I’ve watched it several times now and I’m convinced that what’s implied is lung disease from the mines. This shifts the story from a message about the inherent risk of being gay to a labor story about the inherent risk of being a *coal miner* that’s in keeping with the politics of OG country music and creates a tragic romance without pathologizing queerness.

[technowoah]

Hello can I request number 50 from the fluff list a dream x reader plz

IT'S YOU [12:56 am]

I HOPE THIS IS CUTE!

I POSTED TOO EARLY IM SORRY BUT IT'S FINISHED NOW

Dream x gen neutral(?)reader blurb

50) I'll love you until you love yourself.

⚠︎ insecurities, slight angst, not proofread, fluffiness, swearing, i didn't proofread 🙄

You and Clay have been together for a year now. Its been a beautiful year together and even better when you two found out that you both lived closer than you two thought. You both loved every second you two were together. It felt like you two were still in the honeymoon phase, but you both had struggles to work through. It was normal.

Today you were at Clay's house, lying in his bed until he was done streaming. You were engrossed in your phone that Clay's yelling became distant to you. You weren't too obsessed with how you looked, you were pretty confident, but everyone has those days where they get insecure.

Comparing yourselves to other streamers wasnt a passtime for you, but it was now. Just looking at how their fans compliment their face shapes and how their eyes look in the lighting. I mean they were beautiful and deserved the praise, but you were nothing like them. You weren't as confident as them, and your mind was currently telling them that they looked better than you too.

Somehere in the depths of your mind you knew that those intrusive thoughts were false, but they kept flooding your mind. You fell deeper into the rabbit hole and ended up looking up celebrities, and more streamers you knew on Instagram. Your eyes were still glued to the screen comparing your body to theirs, you were so into it that you didnt feel the bed sink next to you.

"Hey! Listen to me!" Clay whined as he spooned you from behind, hugging you tightly. He tried to bring your attention to him, so you put your phone down for the time being.

"I require attention. I streamed for 2 hours and I need human interaction." He kissed your cheek as you tried to turn around in his grasp.

You finally tuned around with his arms still around you. Both of your faces were close just enjoying eachothers company in the silence. It was a while for Clay to show you his face, and you felt special since he only showed his face to select friends. You always felt special with him because many would kill to be where you are but he chose you, you chose him.

"What's up?" Clay smiled.

"Nothing~" You sighed trying to push down the past thoughts of insecurities you had.

"Were you watching the stream? You probably could hear me in the other room." Clay laughed as he adjusted how he layed with you.

"I wasn't actually, but I could hear you. I'm surprised you didnt install some soundproof walls or those foam things."

"I'll consider." Dream hummed. You both layed sideways facing eachother as he rubbed his hand up and down your waist.

His hands began to feel uncomfortable on you, like they weren't meant to be there. You began to fall back into your mind if he actually loved how you looked and acted. He can find so many other people with better personalities. You shifted away from his touch, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

You knew it was wrong to think this way, you knew it was unhealthy, it wasn't fair to Clay either. It had to be stopped soon, but you couldn't find the strength to stop it.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Clay asked.

"Only a penny?"

"10,000 for your thoughts?"

"10,000 pennies or dollars?"

"Whichever gets you to talk to me." Clay had this look in his eyes, that you hated. That look made you spill everything on your mind, it made you crumble infront of him, and it was okay.

"Why aren't you letting me touch you?" Clay asked you carefully. "Im not trying to start anything bad, but I just want to know."

You took a big sigh before letting everything out. "Clay, I feel like shit. It's bad right now, have you ever compared yourself to another person? Their personality, their look, just you want to be them, be better. Sometimes I feel inadequate to my friends, I feel like I can look better than I am right now."

You paused for a moment to gather your thoughts. "I feel like you can do better-"

"Okay I draw the line at that. Im sorry I'm listening to you, but that's uttet bullshit." Clay spat out.

Your eyes widened when Clay sat up in the bed. "You are amazing! Dont let anyone else or you say otherwise! I love you because you are you, I dont want anyone else. I need you to believe that, I know you do! You believe that, but at these moments know that you are worth all the love you get. From me and from your fans." Clay pulled you up to sit upright with him.

"I'll love you until you learn to love yourself." Clay kissed you on the nose and brought you into his arms for a long hug, sitting on his lap with your legs on either side of him.

"Thank you love, I just needed to get that off my chest. It's just intrusive thoughts s'all." You said while holding him close.

"I know, but I hate that you think that way sometimes. I wish I could erase all of that." Clay mumbled into your shoulder.

"I know too, but you can't we can only just remind eachother and try to get rid of intrusive thoughts. They'll always be there, but it's how we deal with them."

"Hmm wise words." Clay chuckled.

"I love you, you know that." You said while kissing his cheek.

"I know. I live for you, you know that." Clay said in response to you.

You moved yourself off of his lap and back onto the bed beneath you two. "Now you're trying to one up me?"

Clay laughed. "I always one up you. Like in Minecraft, that's why you'll never be a hunter."

You scoffed and rolled your eyes at him. He continued to tease you about why you'll never be in a manhunt video, but you knew he meant no harm. It feels good to feel loved even when you dont love yourself. Even if its for a minute or an hour, sometimes you need that. It didnt make you feel guilty when you need the reassurance, but times like this dont make you feel guilty.

Its always you and him against the world. And against your mind.

[keity-devil]

@breathlessmorro I said I will do it, I did it. [I have 2 more. But, they are not very good (maybe not yet), I am not sure even with this one.]. But Enjoy!

--

The Closet

--

"Hey, did anyone see Morro?"

Kai had been looking for him for several hours. He told himself at first that maybe he went to get some air, as he usually did when he wanted to be alone, but it was already too long if that was true. He was nowhere in the Monastery, and worries arose.

"No. Why?" Cole answered, stopping the video game.

"Hey!!" Jay yelled at him.

"I can't find it anywhere." He ignored Jay's outraged scream. "And one of my hoodie is gone too. I think Morro took it. ...Again." It didn't bother him, he thought it was cute that Morro had this tick to take his hoodie, especially since Kai's clothes are a little bigger and wider than Morro's body.

"No, sorry buddy. I didn't see him." Jay restarts the game. "Hey! It's not fair." Cole yells at him.

"What you did before wasn't- HA! I won!!"

Kai rolled his eyes and left the room.

'Where can he be? Master Wu didn't see him either. And yet, he is calm about it.'

Kai enters Morro's room again. He hoped he might be back or find something. Kai step slowly inside. Everything seemed in its place. However, there was something. The door to Morro's closet was slightly open. He went to her. When he opened it...

"Morro?!" Kai had found him. In the closet.

"O-oh.. Hey, Kai." Morro said slightly embarrassed. Kai noticed that Morro was wearing his missing hoodie.

"Hey, hey. Are you okay?" It wasn't a good sign. He sat down at his level.

"Yes.. yes. Yes I am. Mhm."

Kai had taken his hands in his. "You are cold."

"Yes? When am I not?" Some of his black hair had fallen out in front of him.

"Yeah.. And what are you doing in the closet?! I've been looking for you all day!"

"Uh... I was, arranging my clothes?"

"Sitting in the closet? No chance."

Morro was silent, looking down. Kai had time to analyze his face, but it was slightly dark, so the chances were small.

"Come out of the closet." He said calmly.

Morro came out, and then he saw.

"You cried. And it looks like you didn't get much sleep. Why?"

"Hm? Oh no, no, no. I didn't... cry." He tried to smile.

"Don't lie to me. It's obvious on your face that it is. What happened?"

Morro stared blankly. "Nothing happened."

"Don't lie to me-" The missing hoodie was thrown in front of his face. "Morro!"

"What?! I gave it back to you!"

"I didn't ask for that. What's wrong with you?! You don't usually throw it at me like that or give it to me voluntarily. Normally I should run after you to get it back or something. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing is bothering me." He told him tightly.

"You're lying, again. You know you can't lie to me. I know your personality."

Morro looked at him, but not in his eyes as he usually did. Morro turned to take his black jacket from the chair by the window, and passed Kai as he left the room. One could hear the footsteps of the Wind Master become a run. Kai was confused, and he was already worried even more.

"What the hell happened?"

He looked around, trying to think what might have bothered Morro to behave like that. This was interrupted by a small strip of loose plastic. He went back to the door, it was Lloyd, who had opened a candy.

"Lloyd!" The blonde stopped walking at the sound of his name.

"Oh, hey Kai." Hee greets him with a smile.

"Hey. You went to the store with Morro last night, didn't you?"

"Yeah?? Why?"

"He's acting weird."

"Weird in the sense that he doesn't know how to use almost any means of technology?"

"No. Not in that weird sense, Lloyd."

"Okay. Explain."

"I found him in the closet today, with my hoodie on. And he threw it in my face! Morro didn't give it to me willingly or threw it in front of me! And on his face it was obvious that he cried and didn't sleep last night. And he didn't look me in the eye either. Did something happen outside yesterday? "

Lloyd was trying to figure out if anything was happening yesterday as he processed what Kai had just told him.

"..Oh..." Lloyd said after a while. One of shock and a wave of sadness in him.

"What?!"

"Uh.. Did you remember a few weeks or days ago those guys who bonded with you two because you're together?"

"Yes. I wanted to set them on fire there."

"Well, we met with them yesterday. And... they kind of bonded to Morro." He took a short break. "Let's just say the words got to him harshly."

"What kind of words?"

"Uh.."

"Lloyd, say it. I want to help him. And he won't tell me anything. You know how stubborn he can be. So please, tell me EVERYTHING that happened."

"Okay. Well..."

~~ - ~~

"Oh, look who's here. The Man of the Dead."

"I think you're kidding.." Morro said angrily.

"Oh, I see you're not with the guy in the red. Did he leave you?"

"Not at all. Now leave." Morro replied, smiling angrily.

"But I just came!" He approach Morro. "And you have nothing to be here. You're dead."

"Hey. Leave." Lloyd said firmly.

The guy ignores the blonde. "Maybe who knows, he lets you be with him just for 'fun'. And in reality, he doesn't want you. I mean seriously, who would want a former ghost who cursed a city and traumatized his best friend, Like a boyfriend? I certainly don't. And I don't think He will. I bet he's still dating that red-haired, hot girl, Skylor. Hm? Don't you think so?"

Morro felt his hands tremble. He didn't know if the jealousy or the harsh words that made him self-esteem in this relationship would slowly evaporate. His heart was pounding. His eyes were still on the guy. He showed no sign of weakness.

"I'm sure he'll leave you with the next mistake you make." With that, they left laughing.

Lloyd looked at Morro. "Hey, don't listen to them. They just want to fill your mind with nonsense. Kai cares about you. He wouldn't use you, hurt you or cheat. You know that."

Morro smiled at Lloyd, a slightly fake one. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Now come on, I promised you a bag of candy."

"Oh yes!!" Lloyd remembered his promise.

However, Morro's mind kept thinking about what was thrown in front of him.

~~ - ~~

Kai looked at Lloyd as if he were a ghost or something.

"WHAT?!"

"Easy! Calm, calm." Lloyd could see the fire burning between Kai's fingers.

"I am CALM."

"You don't... see that much." Kai wanted to leave, but Lloyd took his hand. "Before you make a fool of yourself, especially since you're nervous, calm down and think clearly before you do or say anything, especially to Morro. You two are like two burning matches that ran into gasoline."

Kai took a few deep breaths. "I'm calm. Can I leave now?"

"After drinking water. COLD, water."

"You're kidding- Ok. O K."

Lloyd followed Kai into the kitchen. The blonde looked at him intently. He knew Kai's character a lot, if he didn't calm him down now, a big fire would come out.

"Now I can?" He asked more calmly.

Lloyd smiled briefly. "Yes."

------

Morro was on the roof of the Monastery. The wind was beginning to spin around him. A cold, hard wind that made his hands cold.

'Maybe they're right. I'm a former villain and a ex-ghost! Kai is the good guy here. Eventually everything will end.. No..? Or you'll find someone worthy of you. Maybe he's already found one. Skylor.. Why I am alive?'

Kai had found him quickly this time. He climb carefully on the roof. He could feel the cold wind almost taking his breath away.

"Morro." Kai said his name calmly. "I know what happened last night when you went shopping with Lloyd."

The brunette didn't say a word or move. Kai's footsteps came closer until he reached him. He sit.

"Hey. Everything those guys said is completely false. Clear? I wouldn't leave you, seriously. They don't know you, I do."

Kai had taken his hand in his. It was cold. Kai took the other one as well. He had used his powers to warm them, but the wind was still cold and strong. He knew he wouldn't be able to warm him up like that.

"Calm down. Forget everything they said." Kai told him. He tried to get an answer, but everything seemed to be in vain.

Kai lit a small flame in his hand. Morro looked at her for a few seconds, and a small gust of wind had appeared beside her, causing her to move.

"I'm sorry..." Morro said. "Just.. what they said was true. I shouldn't be here. I was a ghost! What am I looking for a living again?"

"A new chance at life." Kai told him. The flame in his hand grew larger. "That's why. And I won't let you go."

"Pfft- am I caught in the net?"

"Bet you are." Morro leaned his head on Kai's shoulder. The gust of wind had caused the fire to explode, leaving small sparks to disintegrate in the air. Kai's hand reached into his partner's black hair like the void. "Your hair is annoyingly long."  Kai told him.

"Heh.. you know why I let him grow."

"Yeah, yeah I know. To piss me off more." In fact, he really liked Morro's hair, he could do a lot with it.

"Bingo."

The wind, which had previously been cold and harsh, had turned into a pleasant, calm breeze.

"But I don't understand. Why did you hide in the closet?" Kai asked curiously.

"Oh, a little childhood habit. When I was little and Wu left me alone at the Monastery, there were times when I heard strange sounds that scared me. So I hid/sat in the closet until he got home. Heh, it was full of  blankets, so it was soft. I was sleeping there."

Kai said nothing. Now he had another new thing from Morro's life on his list.

"How about you don't try to kill those guys." Morro said suddenly.

"Why not? It's worth it."

"Kai. Cherry Bom, no. Not now."

"But when then? I'm sure we can make a human barbecue beyond the city."

"When they not expected." Morro rose to his feet, stepping forward. He reached the edge of the roof. Kai looked at him a little scared. Morro dropped.

"Morro!" Kai looked down. He expected to see something serious in red, but he had only seen a beginning of laughter.

"You just didn't think- Oh My!!" Morro laughed when he saw his partner's expression. It floated lightly in the air with the help of the wind. He touched the ground behind his feet.

"I'll catch you and mess with you for that!!" Kai jumped off the roof, running after Morro. "I hate you!!"

"I love you just as much!" He yelled at Kai as he picked up speed.

[primortravel]

New Post has been published on https://primortravel.com/the-best-british-columbia-road-trip/

The Best British Columbia Road Trip

We’ve taken our fair share of BC road trips from driving the famous Sea to Sky Highway to exploring the glorious Sunshine Coast. Our latest journey took us east to the interior of British Columbia from Vancouver through Kelowna and Revelstoke and what a beautiful drive it was.

If you live in Canada (or getting ready to cross the border) and are looking to explore your own backyard, a road trip to the BC interior is a must. Why? Well, read on to find out.

Best BC Road Trip

View of Mountains of Revelstoke BC

Big Giveaway with Sandman Hotels

As we made our way through the Okanagan Valley towards the Columbia Mountain range in British Columbia, we enjoyed stays at Sandman and Sutton Place Hotel along the way, all of which are owned and operated by Northland Properties. They made for the perfect base as we explored the wine region of Kelowna, had zany adventures in Revelstoke and relaxed at the waterfront of Kamloops.

2 Nights at a Sandman Hotel of your choice!

We have some good news for you! We’re giving away two nights at any Sandman Hotel in Canada including restaurant gifts cards at one of the Moxies, Denny’s, or the Shark Club depending on the hotel you choose.

It’s easy to enter, just head over to our Instagram post, and follow us @theplanetd and @sandmanhotels. Then tag someone you would like to bring with you! If you tag more than one person, you’ll get an extra bonus entry! (up to 3 extra tags for 3 extra chances). With the borders opening up, it’s a great time to visit Canada.

The BC Road Trip Begins

Watch our video from Vancouver to Kelowna, Revelstoke, and Kamloops here

We landed at Vancouver International Airport on a sunny day where we picked up our rental car. When driving through British Columbia, we usually recommend renting an SUV, but with sunny weather, we didn’t have to worry about snow so we drove in a humble sedan. It may not have been the greatest for back roads, but it was good on gas which is a must with the high cost of fuel in Western Canada.

Vancouver

Our balcony view from Sandman Suites Vancouver – Davie Street

No BC road trip would be complete without spending time in Vancouver. We made our way to Davie Street to stay at the Sandman Suites. With a room on the top floor, we had one of the best views in the entire city. Davie Street is our old haunts from when we lived in Vancouver. Our old apartment was located at Beach and Denman and when standing on our balcony at the Sandman, we were thrilled to see the building still overlooking English Bay.

Our suite at the Sandman Suites Vancouver on Davie Street

With a central location, it was easy to walk around the city exploring all of its top attractions from Stanley Park to False Creek. We took a stroll along the waterfront revisiting all our favourite places in Vancouver for a day before our road trip began. Check out The Sandman Suites Vancouver – Davie Street for rates and availability.

The Grouse Mountain Gondola

After checking out to move on to the BC interior, we hit the road with a half-day stop at Grouse Mountain. It had been years since we’ve been up the Grouse Mountain Gondola. With limited time, we didn’t tackle the Grouse Grind but instead joined a zipline adventure with Mountain Ziplines. This 5 dual-line circuit takes you over old-growth forests, lakes, and valleys and is an adrenaline-pumping good time! Visit Grouse Mountain Zipline to book your own adventure.

Zip Lining into the Abyss

When you are up at Grouse Mountain, make sure to stop to see the resident grizzly bears, Coola and Grinder who were rescued as cubs in 2001. They were found near death and starving on the side of a road (in separate incidents) in the interior BC. After being nursed back to health, Grouse Mountain decided to donate a portion of land to the bears to live out their days in a sanctuary. It is truly an uplifting experience to see them enjoying a swim in the pond. Visit the Grouse Mountain Peak of Vancouver Website for details.

Vancouver to Kelowna

Our balcony view from Sandman Hotel & Suites Kelowna

We finished up early afternoon and had a big drive ahead as we made our way to Kelowna, British Columbia. The four-hour drive is a scenic drive through rolling mountains and valleys. The weather turned a bit during our drive, so we bee-lined it to our hotel in Kelowna.

Full suite with kitchen at Sandman Hotel & Suites Kelowna

The Sandman Hotel & Suites is located a bit out of downtown but has all the amenities you could want with an indoor swimming pool, gym, and two restaurants connected to the hotel. There is a shopping mall and Moxies within walking distance as well. With free parking, it was a great base for exploring the top attractions in Kelowna. Visit their website for rates and availability.

Wine Tours

Kelowna is wine region

Kelowna is in the heart of wine country and one of the top things to do is to hop on the wine trail and explore the many vineyards. This is a superb place to stock up on wine for evening nightcaps at the hotels. 

We also spent an afternoon downtown strolling along its picturesque waterfront and enjoyed finding little gems like the Chinese Garden which is a quiet oasis in the centre of downtown.

Myra Canyon Trestles

Hiking the Trestles of Kelowna

The top attraction in Kelowna though is the Trestles cycling trail. Located about 40 minutes drive from Kelowna, the 24 km trail takes you along the old Kettle Valley Railway. This is an incredibly scenic trail that can be cycled or hiked. We hiked a portion of it and it was worth the drive. With 18 historic trestle bridges and two massive tunnels blasted through the rock, it is really an amazing sight to see. Worth noting is that the drive up to the trailhead is along a gravel road so take care with that car rental.

Kelowna to Revelstoke

Welcome to Revelstoke Mountain Resort – Sutton Place Hotel

After two nights in Kelowna, it was time to move on to the star attraction of our BC road trip, Revelstoke. A popular winter ski destination, Revelstoke has a ton of things to do in the summertime too! We stayed right at the resort at The Sutton Place which is located slopeside. Overlooking the gondola, we set out for three days of adventure.

Sutton Place Hotel Revelstoke Mountain Resort

All rooms have a kitchen regardless of size at Sutton Place Hotel Revelstoke .

The Sutton Place Hotel Revelstoke Mountain Resort is a one-stop destination and you barely need to leave the resort. There is the Rockford Bar and Grill and La Baguette on sight for dining and there are plenty of shops including a liquor store. Plus, with all rooms having full kitchens, you can pack all you need to maximize times on North America’s longest vertical ascent. See their website for rates and availability.

Mountain Biking

Deb Downhill Mountain Biking in Revelstoke

Revelstoke has some awesome downhill mountain biking and you can rent mountain bikes and e-bikes on-site. Right now there are only intermediate and black diamond trails for mountain biking, but by next year they will have the green run open for beginners. Downhill mountain biking is a hoot and with very few uphill climbs, we were left to enjoy the feeling of letting gravity do its work. After learning how to ride the berms we settled into one great ride.

Play All Day Pass

One of the best things you can do at Revelstoke Resort is to purchase the play-all-day pass. This includes two rides on the Pipe Mountain Coaster, access to the Aerial Adventure Park, Axe Throwing, Disc Golf and hiking at the top of the gondola. We had a great time running from one adventure to another. Play All Day Passes start at $69. Check their website for more details.

Apres Adventures

The outdoor spa at The Sutton Place and its year-round heated swimming pool was the perfect ending to a day of adventure and we soaked in the tub soothing our tired muscles.

ATV Tour Revelstoke

I know we said that you never have to leave the resort in Revelstoke, but that’s not to say we recommend staying put the entire time! One of the best adventures we’ve ever had in British Columbia was the ATV adventure with Great Canadian tours. Since we were on a road trip, we had the freedom to drive to their office at the foot of Frisby Ridge at Glacier House Resort.

This ATV Tour was hours of pure adrenaline as we drove up technical trails to high mountain views. This tour seriously offers the best views in all of Revelstoke. What makes it more special is that barely anyone else gets to see these vistas. Since the roads are rugged, the only way to get to the top is by ATV and our guide Josh told us that nobody else really gets out here except for those taking their tour.

It’s a tour that is not for the faint of heart as you go up and down steep inclines and cling to mountain ridges, but it is worth every heart-pounding moment and by the time it ends, you’ll be wanting more. See their website for more adventures.

Before leaving Revelstoke, make sure to check out downtown. We enjoyed a delicious noodle bowl at Craft Beirhause and loved perusing its historic buildings. We then made our way to Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. to pick up some beer for the latter half of our road trip nightcaps at the hotel and were ready to move on to the final leg of our British Columbia Road Trip.

Revelstoke to Kamloops

Slowly making our way back to Kamloops, we had more time to stop at roadside attractions from Revelstoke.

Ghost Town 3 Valley Gap

The first being the old Ghost Town at the 3 Valley Gap. Even if you don’t go inside, this is a lovely stop to take in the views. Stroll through the 25 historic buildings dating back to the gold rush of the 1800s and make sure to stop at the lookouts to view the scene of 3 Valley Lake.

The Last Spike

Another must-stop on this drive is the Last Spike historic site. This was the location of the final spike in the CP rail line in 1885. Located at  Craigellachie near Eagle Pass, this was the ceremonial spike signifying the completion of this trans Canada railway that spanned from coast to coast.

Kamloops

The night was spent in Kamloops British Columbia. Checking into The Sandman Signature Suites located across from the beautiful Kamloops waterfront, we were within walking distance to downtown and the waterfront park. Our room overlooked the river and we had a full kitchen and living room to relax after a long road trip.

There is also a lovely indoor pool and outdoor terrace to bask in the sun. The Sandman Signature Kamloops has a Moxies and Shark Club restaurant onsite and they offer a boxed breakfast to take with you on your road trip. Rates, availability and more information here

We had stopped here in Kamloops once before on our Rocky Mountaineer train journey to take in its beautiful scenery. It is a good town to break up a BC road trip to the interior. One place to note is to get off the highway when approaching Kamloops and take the side road to view the nearby hoodoos. Not quite the hoodoos of Alberta, but it is a scenic drive.

Hope Tunnels

We checked out early from Kamloops because we really wanted to hit the Othello Tunnels in Hope, British Columbia. We never really made it to Hope when we lived in Vancouver, but always wanted to see it as First Blood, the first installment of Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo series, was shot here.

The Othello Tunnels reminded me of the Trestles of Kelowna. It is a series of tunnels and trestle bridges cutting through the mountains following a deep gorge. This was a feat of engineering as the 5 tunnels were blasted and built in 1914. It is just a 3.5 km round trip, but completely worth stopping to see.

Vancouver

And that completes our British Columbia road trip. If you want more time in Vancouver, now is the time to make your way back downtown. If you are ready to fly home, stay at the Sandman Signature Suites airport location where you can enjoy a fantastic steak dinner at Chop Steakhouse. This cool eatery has a chic urban vibe and it’s located on-site with an urban outdoor patio. We had our last meal in BC here and the service was excellent. See the location and menu here

So these are four amazing stops on a road trip to the interior of British Columbia. From the coast of Vancouver to the mountains of Revelstoke, there is so much to do in BC that an 8-day road trip barely scratches the surface, but it sure is a great time! Have you gone on a BC road trip? Where to next?

RSVP Rewards

As you know we love rewards programs and wanted to share some RSVP Rewards information with you. Two of Northland Properties’ most well-known brands, Sandman Hotel Group and The Sutton Place Hotels have joined forces to create a new loyalty program called RSVP Rewards. The program is free to join and members instantly unlock exclusive perks at over 60 Sandman and Sutton Place Hotels across Canada, The U.S., England and Scotland.

From complimentary upgrades and free breakfast to racking up points to pay for your whole trip, there are so many reasons to become an RSVP Rewards member. Not to mention that members save an extra 5% off select rates! Join today to get an instant 1,000 points added to your account – that’s the equivalent of $10 towards a future stay!

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Don’t forget to enter for our chance to win a two-night stay at any Sandman Hotel of your choice. Just head over to our Instagram post, and follow us @theplanetd and @sandmanhotels. Then tag someone you would like to bring with you! If you tag more than one person, you’ll get an extra bonus entry!(up to 3 extra tags for 3 extra chances). With the borders opening up, it’s a great time to visit Canada.

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[girlsbtrs]

Patriarchy and Pop Punk

Written by Theresa Cambe. Graphic by James N Grey

Yes, misogyny exists in almost every genre of music. Rap and country are usually at the forefront of this conversation, however, today we’re going to dive into the misogyny in pop punk. Lets face it, the misogyny is just covered up with layers of nice-guy, sad boy introspection but deserves the criticism just like everyone else. Just because a man holding a guitar gets vulnerable for a second, it doesn’t mean he is exempt from possessing misogynistic tendencies.

Despite the sexism built into this genre, I am more than guilty of partaking in my fair share of pop punk music. I would try to be at every State Champs, Neck Deep, Real Friends, The Story So Far, and every band of the sorts in between, concerts in Southern California between the ages of 14-16. I finger pointed and yelled those angsty lyrics right back at the bands while crowd surfing towards the stage in whatever sweaty venue in LA they happened to be playing at the time. I bought the merch, I hung their posters up in my room, I reblogged their concert pictures on Tumblr, I was about it. And trust me, “No Good” by Knuckle Puck could come on shuffle again and have me passionately screaming the lyrics while driving alone in my car around my god forsaken hometown (but I love my hometown, contrary to the popular sentiment). However now, I am more conscious of its problems.

I think this is the case for many other non-male enjoyers of this music when they also recognize its misogyny. Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying pop punk nor do I think enjoying this music makes you a bad person or inherently anti-feminist. A good portion of the demographic for these bands are women. With this large and important part of the fan base, we should start considering the safety of the environments and attitudes they create.

The attitude of misogyny and objectification is built into the foundation of pop punk. It is apparent in whichever “wave” of pop punk you want to point to. Early Blink 182 and All Time Low music videos had women in them to be silent sexual objects parading around the rock star band. There’s Weezer’s infamous sexist, nerd-rock anthems. “Thank God for Girls” sings “Called upon to employ your testosterone / In a battle for supremacy and access to females glued to the TV”. In a Genius lyric annotation of the song, lead singer of the band, Rivers Cuomo himself wrote “I’m so jealous of the hooker-uppers. Seems like it’s so easy to get laid now. All these good looking athletic guys are getting so much free sex. It kills me. Such a bummer. Such a bummer. To be evaluated by women. To be graded. To be rated. Where do I stand? How big? How strong? How enduring? How energetic? How inventive? So sad that it comes to this. So sad. It IS a competition and I AM being compared”. It is really quite ironic that Cuomo writes this but in the same breath has lyrics “The thing I finally found with these other girls in town / She got hot, and they did not” from the song “The Girl Got Hot” and also “You come like a dog when I ring your bell / I got the money and I got the fame / You got the hots to ride on my plane” from the song “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived”. Then there’s also every song on the album Pinkerton that we don’t have time to get into. Even if this self-deprecating behavior is no surprise from Cuomo, it’s concerning and rooted in some serious hate. If you want to argue that it's all satire, they’re still weird thoughts to have.

I can go on about these recurring lyrical themes. For example, there is The Story So Far’s song “Roam” with the lyrics “I know where you’ve been, you’re ruining men, never again will I let someone in”. And the classic from “Mt Diablo” that sings “Do you look at yourself straight in the eyes and think about who you let between your thighs?”. Then there’s FIDLAR’s song “Whore” which as we can expect from the title, says “Why did you go betray me? / You’re such a whore”. Then there’s the mess of “Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis'' by the band Brand New, which writes “I got desperate desires and unadmirable plans / My tongue will taste of gin and malicious intent / Bring you back to the bar / Get you out of the cold / My sober straight face gets you out of your clothes.” Look into any corner of pop punk and you’ll find these questionable attitudes, but I digress.

These men play the nice guys and aim at making you believe he is the protagonist in every situation. The commonality between all these artists is that they obsess and fantasize over a girl then turn completely sour once rejects them or leaves a relationship. They want a “cool girl” to listen to underground music and really comfort their sad, misunderstood selves but won’t allow them to make a decision outside of his own benefit. Because god forbid these women have their own thoughts and exercise their own actions! Their fantasy is essentially a manic pixie dream girl that doesn’t speak or act out against anything. These men beg to be at the center, and get aggressive when they aren’t.

This is not to be confused with writing a sad song after you got broken up with or hurt by someone in a relationship. This is also not to say that all women are exempt from having toxic behaviors or from being written about. The guise of the patriarchy also harms those it seeks to benefit and therefore enforces rules of masculinity that restricts men from expressing their frustrations and emotions. I believe that writing music about unrequited love or difficult feelings is a healthy way to combat these roles. However, there is a major difference between processing rejection and hating women for rejecting you, which is an area many of these men seem to blur together.

I still have love for these bands and this genre. I can still go to their shows and have the time of my life, easily. But it wasn’t until I got a little older and more realized with my femininity did I revisit these songs and wake up to the fact that it might have not always been in my favor . I was probably too young to notice or care and was distracted by the catchy, yelly tone and how fun it was to jump around to that I never really sat with what some of the lyrics really meant. It was a major factor in my own internalized misogyny back when I was in the throes of it all. I didn’t want to be like those awful girls that these pop punk dudes kept singing about. They were always described in such a terrible way, that all they do is betray and backstab people. They wanted a “cool girl” to understand them and not be like them. So I rejected femininity and disliked other girls as if I’m in this sort of competition for the sad band dude’s attention. I was idolizing these men whose music mainly centered around their disdain for the women they had experiences with so much that it stuck in my brain that I shouldn’t be like them, that I should be appeasing these people I look up to. But I’ve grown to realize that I was only hearing one side of the story. It was a straight white man’s voice constantly, no one else. This one sided narrative created a false perception of reality, one rooted in a sad boy victim complex, that women are the enemy that shouldn’t be trusted because they couldn’t fit the weird male fantasy these dudes possess. Rarely are women represented in this music except through the lens of a man, which as we saw is almost always disdainful or as a character rather than a fully realized and autonomous person. Women are portrayed as commodities to obtain. It alters our perception of reality.

But with most things you love, you want to see them get better. This music has a fond place in my heart and signifies a really fun time in my life where I found my love for music and concerts. But the genre and the spaces it creates has its own set of problems that I want to see improve.

We have to realize that music has a greater impact on culture. The attitudes that create the genre of pop punk affects the audience that consumes it. The one-sided narrative they build implants harmful ideas about relationships and dynamics into their young fans, as it did to me. Regardless if you want to say lyrics are just lyrics and are meant not to be taken so seriously, artists have so much influence on their fans. They are perpetuating the nice guy narrative that men are owed something from women. And sometimes we unfortunately see this point of view reflected in these band member’s actions. The accusations against them for sexual assault, grooming, and manipulation of young girls runs rampant in these spaces and remains to do so. They abuse their positions of power and influence. Using self-pity in songs does not excuse the shitty things you do.

[clairecrive]

“Let’s stay home”| Quarantine AU

As promised here chapter 5. I’ve made it long to apologize about posting it late. Again, I’m sorry. However, I hope you enjoy it. As always if you have any ideas or things you’d like to see happen, let me know! Next chapter, someone will make a cameo, who do you think will be?

Tag list: @deaflikehawkeye, @mollybegger-blog, @of-love-and-of-the-sea, @br0ck-eddie, @fandom--0verdose, @evelynshelby, @shadow-of-wonder, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @sopxhiea, @fuseburner (let me know if you wanna be added)

If you lost a chapter: Masterpost

Chapter 5 - “Concert”

"Oh my god, yes, yes, yes!" Her loud scream of enthusiasm was heard throughout the house alarming its guests.

"What? What's going on?!" Tommy ran out of his room out of concern regarding her screech, thinking the worst.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Came Alfie's annoyed grunt as he got up from the chair he was sitting on with the help of his cane. Being cooped up in the house all day wasn't helping his sciatica at all.

But Emma didn't grace either of them with an answer. Instead, she simply jumped off her bed while calling her friend on Facetime, completely clueless of the worried men that were standing outside her room waiting to know what was going on.

Squirming on her feet, failing at staying still, Emma sported a huge smile on her face while she waited for her friend to connect. Half expecting to see Bane's face popping up on the screen, Alfie thought about leaving, not wanting to repeat the other day's situation but contrary to his expectation, a female face appeared on the screen. Adjusting his position against the door so that he was more comfortable, he now was genuinely curious. It was the first time that Emma talked with a female friend. He had even begun to think that she didn't have any.

"Jen, have you heard?" She excitedly asked her friend that seemed none the wiser.

"Emma, it's literally 8 am here. You're lucky I even answered you."

"Well then, I'm about to make your day ten times better. Check the message I've sent you on Telegram."

"Can't you just tell me?" Jen's tired voice complained

"That's not fun, I'm building the suspense." Emma firmly explained waiting for Jen to do as she said.

"What do you think is going on?" Tommy asked Alfie.

"I've no idea mate. No idea." Alfie simply said, scrolling his shoulders while not removing his eyes from Emma's form.

After a couple of seconds of silence, which saw Emma grinning like a fool and Tommy and Alfie simply standing there like some clueless bodyguards, Jen's squeal brought Emma's smile only to widen while Tommy and Alfie were startled, the former losing his balance while the latter lost his grip on his cane. What the hell...

"Thank all the gods in Olympus, they've blessed us!" Jen's face reappeared on the screen now mirroring Emma's expression.

"I'm so happy Jen, you've got no idea. I really thought they were just going to refund us."

"I told you, you had to be positive about this! You never listen to me, you pessimistic bitch." Jen sassed making Alfie's eyebrows shot up and Tommy's lips to pout.

"Can you, for the love of God, tell us what's going on?" Alfie's voice prevented Emma to respond, making her finally aware of their presence in her room.

"Oh, hello boys." She simply greeted him not understanding their worried stance. When they gave her an allusive look she finally explained with a big smile.

"Harry's concert got rescheduled."

"And that's what got ya screamin like a fucking banshee?" Alfie grumbled

"Other concerts have been simply cancelled and the tickets refunded. This way we still get to see him." Now fully facing them, she elaborated.

"Fucking hell." Alfie simply muttered under his breath leaving the room. She turned to Tommy but her confusion only grew.

"Next time I hear you screaming, you better be dying." He said before leaving as well.

As confused as ever, her face resembled the question mark which made Jen laugh.

"Ugh, men," Emma joked.

"While we're on the subject, how's the living together thing going?" Jen noisily asked wiggling her eyebrows making Emma know that she was here for the tea.

"It's going well actually. So far, at least. They've been surprisingly helpful so I'm not complaining."

"You're stuck with three handsome, mouth-watering men and that's all you're going to tell me?"

"I know they're attractive Jen but nothing is going to happen. We're friends."

"If I were you, I'd walk naked all the time and hide their clothes so that they'd also have to be naked all the time. You'll see how something will happen then." Jen shared her absurd plan topping it with a suggestive wink.

"You're missing Nik, eh?" Emma affirmed more than asked knowing very well that being away from her boyfriend was really taking its toll on Jennifer.

"You've no idea. This is going to be pretty tough, not going to lie. There's only so much we can do on video chat and of course, it's not like the real thing." Her friend complained, making it very clear why she was missing her boyfriend so much. If there was something that Jennifer wasn't, it's certainly being smooth. She's the kind of person that's very upfront about things, whatever they are.

"I can imagine." Was Emma's attempt at being sympathetic. Her relationship with sex was really different, however, she could understand Jen's problem. If she had a boyfriend whom she loved as much as Jen loved Nick, maybe she'd miss the connection that comes with sex too.

"I'm here, terribly horny and suffering for this quarantine and you're standing there surrounded by dicks and you won't take advantage of it!" Jennifer loudly complained, getting cruder and cruder and Emma couldn't help but scrunch her face in horror at her friend's choice of words.

"My god Jen, get a grip on yourself girl," Emma jokingly reprimanded her, " You should have come here when I invited you then."

"Unfortunately for me, I'm awfully loyal and Nick's dick is the only one that I want. But I know that you'd have been delighted by my presence, you don't have to pretend."

"Oh damn, you got me. My life is empty without you." Emma indulged her. It wasn't completely false, she did miss the girl a lot.

"I know, I know. Listen, babe, I've gotta go, Nick's calling me. I'll talk to you later and please, think about what I've told you, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, bye Jen." Emma willingly ignored her last statement and ended the call with a nostalgic smile.

Emma was fully aware of how unconventional most of her relationships were. She never really thought about them that way, it was always people's reaction to them that made her realize how strange to an outsider might look. But to be fair, however unorthodox her relationships may seem, they were all based on mutual respect and honesty. When people asked her if it was true that she and Tommy were just friends, Emma would always be puzzled by their astonishment. Yes, they had been together. So what? Some people work better as friends. And yes, Emma wasn't blind, Tommy was sexy af but while she could admit it without shame she would also be lying if she said that she thought of being with him. Been there, done that. It didn't work so she moved on. As did he, there was an understanding between them.

Alfie was a totally different thing.

They had started off as friends but both of them felt that there was more. That there could be more. And in fact, there was. They tried it out and it was working just fine until her job cut in and ruined everything. She had to leave. And neither of them were too sure of a long-distance relationship. Alfie respected her decision, he knew how important her job was for her, how ambitious she was. But breaking up was inevitable. And so they did.

However, since there really was mutual respect and affection between them, they kept in touch. Sure, it wasn't the same thing and both of them had had different partners in the meantime, but they always found their way back to each other.

So, when it came to them, friends was a reductive word but it was better than to explain their whole relationship to some stranger every time. They would better fit under the heading "it's complicated" but a global pandemic wasn't the right time to deal with this situation and finally label their relationship. Emma knew that that was why she was ignoring Alfie's jealous remarks and Jenn's proposal. Things were already difficult, neither of them needed them to be even more complicated.

Days went on like this then: Tommy and Alfie that would bicker from time to time, always because Alfie would provoke him in some way; Eddie would jump in and either fuel their discussion or would spend his time tormenting Emma. He was surprisingly helpful though. He would go out and go shopping for necessities claiming that it was impossible for him to get infected, he would help her clean up and take care of the house. As long as he lent a hand as he was doing, Emma wouldn't complain about him pestering her. Emma and Bane would still video call every other day to keep in touch but he was unexpectedly evasive when it came to his whereabouts.

Everything was going fine. Emma knew that she was one of those who had it good, that's why she couldn't find it in herself to complain about this whole situation. However, if she could speak freely, she'd have to admit that her mood was progressively getting worse. She tried to keep a routine to keep her busy but the truth was that she was finding it harder and harder to get out of bed and do things, with each passing day.

She still tried though. Because she had taken a commitment with the other guys and had chores to do, but also because of her job. And most importantly she didn't want anyone to know that she was feeling so blue. Emma was one of those people that prefer to deal with their problems by themselves and shy away from any kind of attention when they're going through something.

Up until this day, end of week two in lockdown, she had pulled it through. For whatever reason though, this day had hit her harder than any other. Maybe it was because of the article she was supposed to write. It was about self-love, how important it is and what are the different ways one could take care of themself quarantine edition. The topic wasn't weird perse, Emma wrote frequently about this kind of stuff, it was just that she felt like a scam writing it. How could she write about self-love and ways in which people could make themselves happy, especially in these difficult times, when she was the first one who was miserably failing in doing so?

Yes, it was definitely this the reason for her sulking.

She was lying on her bed facing the ceiling with her head dangling at the end of it trying to find a way around this article that she had to write. Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realize that the door of her room was open and that anyone passing through could see.

"Em?" Tommy's voice anchored her to reality and made her eyes snap open. However, she remained in her weird position, not bothered to lift up nor to answering him.

"What are you doing?" He walked further into the room but didn't get too close to her.

"Thinking." Emma just mumbled, scooping a little further so that her head wasn't hanging anymore. Nodding, Tommy got close to her now, and lied down beside her but facing the other way.

The reason why Emma and Tommy had stayed friends after they had hooked up, was because before that night they had actually hung out a lot. Emma was writing a piece on the tournament he was taking part in, Sparta, and had heard about him and his brother. In order to actually write the article, Emma had to speak with both of them. She didn't expect to get along so well with both of them. Not that Tommy was that much of a talker when they first met. Only a few short answers here and there and the occasional joke. However, Emma knew a little of his backstory and had also the impression that there was more to him than met the eye. He was hurt. Emma had no doubt about that. And just like her, when he was hurt talking to people was the last thing she wanted.

After coming to that realisation, dealing with Tommy became easier. He gradually opened up to her, even if it was only a little, and they got along really well. In some way, they were alike. And once you've found a soul similar to yours you tend to keep it close.

With time Tommy had learnt to read Emma just like she did with him during their first time together and come to the understanding that when Emma closed off like this, she was hurting.

He didn't say anything. He just laid there, next to her. Held her hand letting her know that he was there for her but leaving her the time to open up if she wanted to that is.

"Right, what's goin on in here?" Alfie's voice startled them both but while Tommy rolled his eyes, a little annoyed by his interruption, Emma reluctantly smiled at his antics. Sometimes, she wondered why he was so amusing to her and then realized the warmth and comfort that he brought her along with his annoying ways.

Pushing her head so that she was looking at him upside down, she smiled when she saw him standing there with his hands on his hip like an angry lady.

"Could you please stop pouting and come here and cuddle with us?"

Everyone knew that Emma was an affectionate friend. But for her to be so outspoken about it and asking for affection? It was a red sign and Alfie recognized it. So stop pouting he did and made Tommy scoop so that he could lay on her other side, holding her hand.

Their sweet cuddling session would be short because Eddie would soon be coming back from the grocery store but they all enjoyed while it lasted. Sometimes, Emma realized, the best self-love tip was simply being surrounded by our loved ones.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

In serving big company interests, copyright is in crisis

Copyright rules are made with the needs of the entertainment industry in mind, designed to provide the legal framework for creators, investors, distributors, production houses, and other parts of the industry to navigate their disputes and assert their interests.

A good copyright policy would be one that encouraged diverse forms of expression from diverse creators who were fairly compensated for their role in a profitable industry. But copyright has signally failed to accomplish this end, largely because of the role it plays in the monopolization of the entertainment industry (and, in the digital era, every industry where copyrighted software plays a role). Copyright's primary approach is to give creators monopolies over their works, in the hopes that they can use these as leverage in overmatched battles with corporate interests. But monopolies have a tendency to accumulate, piling up in the vaults of big companies, who use these government-backed exclusive rights to dominate the industry so that anyone hoping to enter it must first surrender their little monopolies to the hoards of the big gatekeepers.

Creators get a raw deal in a concentrated marketplace, selling their work into a buyer's market. Giving them more monopolies – longer copyright terms, copyright over the "feel" of music, copyright over samples – just gives the industry more monopolies to confiscate in one-sided negotiations and add to their arsenals. Expecting more copyright to help artists beat a concentrated industry is like expecting more lunch money to help your kid defeat the bullies who beat him up on the playground every day. No matter how much lunch money you give that kid, all you'll ever do is make the bullies richer.

One of the biggest problems with copyright in the digital era is that we expect people who aren't in the entertainment industry to understand and abide by its rules: it's no more realistic to expect a casual reader to understand and abide by a long, technical copyright license in order to enjoy a novel than it is to expect a parent to understand securities law before they pay their kid's allowance. Copyright law can either be technical and nuanced enough to serve as a rulebook for a vast, complex industry...or it can be simple and intuitive enough for that industry's customers to grasp and follow without years of specialized training. Decades of trying to make copyright into a system for both industrial actors and their audiences has demonstrated that the result is always a system that serves the former while bewildering and confounding the latter.

But even considered as a rulebook for the entertainment industry, copyright is in crisis. A system that is often promoted as protecting the interests of artists has increasingly sidelined creators' interests even as big media companies merge with one another, and with other kinds of companies (like ISPs) to form vertical monopolies that lock up the production, distribution and commercialization of creative work, leaving creators selling their work into a buyer's market locked up by a handful of companies.

2019 was not a good year for competition in the entertainment sector. Mergers like the $71.3B Disney-Fox deal reduced the number of big movie studios from five (already a farcical number) to four (impossibly, even worse). The Hollywood screenwriters have been locked in a record-breaking strike with the talent agencies—there are only three major agencies, all dominated by private equity investors, and the lack of competition means that they increasingly are negotiating deals on behalf of writers in which they agree to accept less money for writers in exchange for large fees for themselves.

On top of that, the big entertainment companies are increasingly diversifying and becoming distribution channels. The Trump administration approved the AT&T/Time-Warner merger just as the Obama administration approved the Universal/Comcast merger a decade earlier. Meanwhile, Disney has launched a streaming service and is pulling the catalogs of all its subsidiaries from rival services. That means that the creators behind those works will no longer receive residual payments from Disney for the licensing fees it receives from the likes of Netflix—instead, their work will stream exclusively on Disney Plus, and Disney will no longer have to pay the creators any more money for the use of their work.

To top it all off, the DOJ is working to end the antitrust rule that bans movie studios from owning movie theater chains, 70 years after it was put in place to end a suite of nakedly anti-competitive tactics that had especially grave consequences for actors and other creative people in the film industry. Right on cue, the already massively concentrated movie theater industry got even more concentrated.

The most visible impact of the steady concentration of the entertainment industry is on big stars: think of Taylor Swift's battle to perform her own music at an awards show where she was being named "Artist of the Decade" shortly after rights to her back catalog were sold to a "tycoon" whom she has a longstanding feud with.

But perhaps the most important impact is on independent creators, those who either cannot or will not join forces with the entertainment giants. These artists, more than any other, depend on a free, fair and open Internet to connect with audiences, promoted and distribute their works and receive payments. The tech sector has undergone market concentration that makes it every bit as troubled as the entertainment industry: as the New Zealand technologist Tom Eastman wrote in 2018, "I'm old enough to remember when the Internet wasn't a group of five websites, each consisting of screenshots of text from the other four."

The monopolization of the online world means that all artists are vulnerable to changes in Big Tech policy, which can see their livings confiscated, their artistic works disappeared, and their online presences erased due to error, caprice, or as collateral damage in other fights. Here, too, independent artists are especially vulnerable: when YouTube's Content ID copyright filter incorrectly blocks a video from a major studio or label, executives at the company can get prompt action from Google -- but when an independent artist is incorrectly labeled a pirate, their only hope of getting their work sprung from content jail is to make a huge public stink and hope it's enough to shame a tech giant into action.

As online platforms become ever-more-central to our employment, family, culture, education, romance and personal lives, the tech giants are increasingly wielding the censor's pen to strike out our words and images and sounds and videos in the name of public safety, copyright enforcement, and a host of other rubrics. Even considering that it's impossible to do a good job of this at massive scale, the tech companies do a particularly bad job.

This is about to get much worse. In March 2019, the European Union passed the most controversial copyright rules in its history by a razor-thin margin of only five votes—and later, ten Members of the European Parliament stated that they were confused and had pressed the wrong button, though the damage had already been done.

One of the most controversial parts of the new European Copyright Directive was Article 17 (formerly Article 13), which will require all online platforms to implement copyright filters similar to Google's Content ID. The Directive does not contain punishments for those who falsely claim copyright over works that don't belong to them (this is a major problem today, with fraudsters using fake copyright claims to threaten the livelihoods of creators in order to extort money from working artists).

Article 17 represents a bonanza for crooks who victimize creators by claiming copyright over their works—without offering any protections for the artists targeted by scammers. Artists who are under the protective wing of big entertainment companies can probably shield themselves from harm, meaning that the heavily concentrated entertainment sector will have even more leverage to use in its dealings with creators.

But that's not all: Article 17 may have snuffed out any possibility of launching a competing platform to discipline the Big Tech firms, at least in Europe. Startups might be able to offer a better product and lure customers to it (especially with the help of Adversarial Interoperability) but they won't be able to afford the massive capital expenditures needed to develop and operate the filters required by Article 17 until they've grown to giant size—something they won't get a chance to do because, without filters, they won't be able to operate at all.

That means that the Big Tech giants will likely get bigger, and, where possible, they will use their control over access to markets and customers to force both independent creators and big media companies to sell on terms that benefit them, at the expense of creators and entertainment companies.

To see what this looks like, just consider Amazon, especially its Audible division, which controls virtually the entire audiobook market. Once a minor sideline for publishing, audiobooks are now a major component of any author's living, generating nearly as much revenue as hardcovers and growing much faster.

Amazon has abused its near-total dominance over the audiobook market to force creators and publishers to consent to its terms, which include an absolute requirement that all audiobooks sold on Audible be wrapped in Amazon's proprietary "Digital Rights Management" code. This code nominally protects Audible products from unauthorized duplication, but this is a mere pretense.

It's pretty straightforward to remove this DRM, but providing tools to do so is a potential felony under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, carrying a penalty of a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine for a first offense (EFF is suing the US government to overturn this law). This means that potential Audible rivals can't offer tools to import Audible purchases to run on their systems or to permit access to all your audiobooks from a single menu.

As Amazon grows in scale and ambition, it can, at its discretion, terminate authors' or publishers' access to the audience it controls (something the company has done before). Audiences that object to this will be left with a difficult choice: abandon the purchases they've made to follow the artists they love to smaller, peripheral platforms, or fragment their expensive audiobook libraries across a confusion of apps and screens. 

Copyright was historically called "the author's monopoly," but increasingly those small-scale monopolies are being expropriated by giant corporations—some tech, some entertainment, some a weird chimera of both—and wielded to corner entire markets or sectors. In 2017, EFF lost a long, bitter fight to ensure that a poorly considered project to add DRM to the standards for Web browsers didn't result in further monopolization of the browser market. Two years later, our worst fears have been realized and it is effectively impossible to launch a competitive browser without permission from Google or Microsoft or Apple (Apple won't answer licensing queries, Microsoft wants $10,000 just to consider a licensing application, and Google has turned down all requests to license for new free/open-source browsers).

Copyright has also become a key weapon in the anticompetitive arsenal wielded against the independent repair sector. More than 20 state-level Right to Repair bills have been killed by industry coalitions who cite a self-serving, incoherent mix of concerns over their copyrights and "cybersecurity" as reasons why you shouldn't be able to get your phone or car fixed in the shop of your choice.

All this is why EFF expanded its competition-related projects in 2019 and will do even more in 2020. We, too, are old enough to remember when the Internet wasn't a group of five websites, each consisting of screenshots of text from the other four. We know that, in 2020, it's foolish to expect tech companies to have their users' back unless there's a meaningful chance those users will go somewhere else (and not just to another division of the same tech company).

(Crossposted from EFF Deeplinks)

https://boingboing.net/2020/01/22/in-serving-big-company-interes.html

[feistypaants-archived]

False Positive [Chapter 6]

Rating: M Words: 2467 Pairing: Kristanna Summary: When things don’t go according to plan and Anna finds herself alone and pregnant, she looks to her sister’s best friend, Kristoff, and almost makes a huge mistake.

[Chapter Index]

Where To Read: [AO3]

Notes: This chapter is definitely ... different. I think it works though lmao... thanks again to @kristanna and @frozenwritingcorner kiss kiss kiss kiss

Enjoy!

Anna felt the weight of her duffle bag digging into her shoulder as she stood on the side of the road, waiting desperately for Hans to show up. He said he’d be there as soon as possible, but it had been almost three hours and she couldn’t stop crying. A few of her neighbors had slowed down to look at her suspiciously, but none had stopped when they saw her red eyes, smeared makeup, and shaking body.

Finally, god finally, his silver BMW coupe pulled up beside the curb, and he rolled down his window to look at her. “Well, look at you, all dolled up.”

She knew he meant it as a joke, so she forced out a laugh, but it stung her to her core. “O-only for you,” she sang, her voice tight, before she threw her duffle into the popped trunk and climbed into the passenger seat. “Thank you.”

He pressed a kiss against her forehead before driving off. “Anytime.”

The rumble of the car lulled her to sleep. 

Until the squealing of tires and the sirens of an ambulance shot her awake, and she was sitting in the hospital with her sister, who was paler than normal and unmoving. Anna turned to face her, trying to figure out why they were back here. They couldn’t be back here… 

“Elsa?” She asked, her voice quiet and meek. Anna looked down at herself, in the same hoodie and jeans she was wearing that night. No, it couldn’t be. She refused to believe it. Panic started rising in her throat. It had been six years. Six. She wasn’t here. “Why are we… Where are… What’s…” None of her sentences would finish, tongue literally tangling behind her teeth. Until she managed to shout just one thing. “Elsa!”

Cold blue eyes darted to her, upset that she would make a scene. “Quiet, Anna.”

Anna felt a shiver race up her spine and pierce her heart. This was wrong, this was all wrong. Elsa would comfort her, right? Elsa wouldn’t treat her like this… Elsa… “Where are mama and papa?”

But her sister’s eyes were unblinking. “I said be quiet, Anna.”

“No!”

Elsa’s face stiffened, froze, and she turned calmly to face the front desk again. “Then leave.”

And the floor fell out from under her. She was falling, reaching up to her sister who wouldn’t even acknowledge her, crying out for someone, anyone, to catch her. To help her. To see that she was there.

Her back slammed against something hard, stars bursting behind her eyes as her head followed suit. It was a struggle to stand. She felt heavy, like something was weighing her down. It wasn’t until she touched the wooden handrail that she noticed she was back at her apartment. But she wasn’t, not quite, and her whole body shook as she looked through the window. Another her stood in the kitchen, hands clenched by her side as she fought back tears.

“I’m eighteen, Elsa. I’m not stupid.”

“You’re a child. And he’s… too old.”

Elsa’s own hands were wrapped around her upper arms as she closed herself off, obviously not open to discussion. 

Anna watched herself throw a tantrum, watched herself slam the plate down on the table as her voice rose, laced with frustration. “This isn’t fair, Elsa! You can’t decide who I date! You’re not mom!”

“If you don’t like it, you can go.”

“Go?”

“You’re eighteen,” her voice was full of venom, mocking. “Leave.”

She moved to wipe her cheeks, tears falling fat and heavy, when a new set of arms wrapped around her shoulders, warm and strong and comforting. 

“I’m here, whatever you need.” 

Anna turned in his embrace and tears of grief morphed into tears of joy, her arms wrapping around his waist as he tucked her under his chin. “You can stay as long as you need, okay? I’m here for you, Anna.”

Her name echoed in his voice and she breathed in his scent, a new sense of safety enveloping her.

Anna.

Anna…

Anna?

“Hey, Anna!”

She woke up with a start, gasping for air as she looked around for the source of the voice, not entirely sure where she was or how she got here… until she found her little snowman plush smushed against her pillows. A sigh of relief escaped her.

“Over here,” he laughed, waving at her from the screen of her computer. “You fell asleep.”

Anna shimmied back up her bed, laying back down in front of the camera. “Sorry. Growing a human is exhausting, apparently.”

Kristoff’s warm honey laugh came through the speakers, and she couldn’t stop the smile that stretched over her lips.

After she had confessed her big mistake, they had spent another few hours talking, making sure everything was out in the open and that they were at a good understanding and a place to move forward. Since then they had video chatted most nights when he got home from work and she was too tired to trek over there, and Anna couldn’t help but admit that talking to him was quickly becoming the best part of her day.

They had grown apart a tiny bit in the last year, but mostly because Hans wasn’t the most fond of Kristoff. He always assumed men just wanted to screw Anna and didn’t particularly like her spending time around other guys. But since he was out of the picture, it was pretty nice to have Kristoff back in this kind of capacity.

“Have you told Elsa yet?” He was folding clothes in front of the webcam, shoving up his too old and too loose glasses in between every shirt. 

“Oh you’ll know when I tell her. The whole city will freeze over because of her disappointed glare. You know the one.”

Kristoff laughed again, nodding.

“Think I can just tell her I’m getting fat?” Anna rubbed at her tummy, wondering how long it would take for everyone else to notice that she had a little person growing inside of her.

“Probably not.” He rubbed at his eye. “I think she���ll figure it out.”

Anna groaned before shoving her face into the pillows. “She’s gonna kill me. Do you remember when I started dating Hans?”

Kristoff looked up, straightening his spine. “... Yeah.”

“Sorry, I literally just was having this dream about it.” She rolled back over to look at him. “She kicked me out for dating Hans. God… she might literally kill me for getting pregnant.”

He stayed silent, and she nodded with pursed lips. “I thought so.”

“... If you need a place to stay, you know where I am.”

Anna frowned, closing her eyes. “I think I need someone else to be the dad.” She froze, before sitting up and leaning closer to the screen. “I’m sorry. I’m… I didn’t mean…” she sighed and dropped her face into her hands as a small smile pulled up one side of his mouth. “God, I can’t believe what an idiot I am.”

“How’s your foot taste.” He laughed to himself before realizing she hadn’t caught on to his joke. “... since it’s in your mouth so much.”

“You’re the worst. I cannot believe I ever had a crush on you.”

She heard him drop something before coughing. “You…” 

Anna couldn’t help but look up at him, her eyebrow cocked with confusion. 

“You had a crush on me?”

His cheeks were pink and Anna smiled, rolling her eyes with a chuckle. “Oh yeah, big time. It started when I was thirteen, and you were sixteen, I think?” She tried to ignore how cute he looked when he moved his glasses up on top of his head, his hair pushed back out of his face. “I was grounded because I failed a test.”

The memory came flooding back to her, vividly, like it had just happened.

“And you… snuck into the kitchen and got me my favorite chocolates - you know,” she gestured, leaning closer to the computer. “The ones my mom kept up on the top shelf of the cabinet so I couldn’t reach?” 

He nodded, and his cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.

“Then you sat with me at the table, and helped me study math until I got it, and gave me a piece of the chocolate as a reward each time I figured something out. It was…” she bit her lip, twirling her hair between her fingers. “It was so sweet. You were just so sweet.” Then she changed her expression and stuck her tongue out, blowing a short raspberry in his direction. “And then I got an A on every other test because I was too embarrassed about you coming anywhere near me ever again.”

Kristoff looked like he had swallowed a frog, his face bright and contorted. 

“... You okay?”

He sucked in a deep breath, before blowing it out with almost incomprehensible words. “I’lldoit.”

“What?”

“The… fake the pregnancy thing?”

“... What?”

Kristoff’s whole face had paled, and he was looking anywhere but at her. “... If you want… to pretend I’m the dad…”

Her breath quickened and she grabbed the sides of the computer to pick it up so she could sit up properly. “... What?”

“Can’t you say anything else?” He choked out, rubbing his hands down his face. “Like… not forever, okay? And not like… pretend dating. That’s… not what this is…” He was clearly doing his best to ignore her dumbstruck face. “And in the end… when Elsa is fine with it… you can do like a … paternity test or something… and just act like it was a big mistake… or… something…”

“You…” Anna was completely speechless. Was he crazy? Was he kidding? Was he… “We don’t… you …. dont…” her breathing was shallow, she was so shocked that she could barely catch her breath. “... What?”

Her stomach was churning. He was saying something else, but Anna couldn’t hear him over the blood rushing in her ears. Had he just agreed to this? Was this real? Was this… no. She was still dreaming. She had to have been! There was just no way…

“So… deal?”

Anna suddenly felt bile rise in her throat and nodded as she scrambled off the bed, through the doorway as quickly as she could.

Kristoff watched her, expression shocked. But he missed the small voice come through his speakers.. “Guess the morning sickness is starting.”

And then he saw Elsa’s head peeking around the corner.

“Morning sickness?”

Ah, shit.

Kristoff slammed his computer shut as quickly as he could and stood, pacing back and forth as Sven watched him irritably from his bed. What did he just do? Did he just agree to — no, suggest that they concoct some crazy plan to appease his best friend? And then accidentally reveal the secret?! 

She could be a bit brash, but she wasn’t so unreasonable that she would abandon her pregnant sister… right? Right! 

She was a good person. Kristoff had known her for almost a decade and when she finally came out a year ago and started being her whole, true self, he noticed a difference in her. She was less angry, slower to make impulsive decisions, more caring and understanding… But god, she still scared the shit out of him. She had dropped out of law school, abandoning all her efforts so that she could focus on her art.

Which he was so, so proud of her for. He wanted her to be true to herself and do whatever made her happy.

But when it came to Hans, Elsa and Anna never, ever wound up on the same page. Which was fair, he was… the worst. But Kristoff knew he and Elsa couldn’t really have any say in what Anna chose to do with her life. And when Elsa kicked her out the first time, Anna had gone to stay with Hans for a while.

And that left Anna easily startled and even more anxious when she made mistakes than before. And Kristoff was not prepared to ever let her be in that situation again.

He swallowed his pride before opening the laptop back up and pressing the call button.

Anna picked up on the second ring, her face red and hands clasping at her stomach. 

“Hang on,” she mumbled, before returning to the screaming match with her sister.

Kristoff wondered why she even answered, but did his best not to interfere. He had seen enough of their fights to know that you just had to sit tight, stay safe, and wait for it to be over. Kind of like a blizzard.

Or a hurricane.

“Well?!” Elsa’s voice was sharp, as if all her zen, I ride magical horses into enchanted forests and paint naked fairies sitting on mushrooms hippy personality receded back into a hidden pocket. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Anna opened her mouth to speak, freezing when Kristoff’s voice came from the computer.

“It’s mine, Elsa. I, uh, did that.”

She turned on him, then, her eyes alight with rage. “You… did that? You and Anna? When!” They both hummed noncommittally as his eyes avoided both of theirs. Elsa threw her hands up with frustration. “It doesn’t matter! What… what are you planning, here? Are you even… together?”

“No!” They both rushed to answer, their eyes meeting before darting quickly apart. Anna took in a deep breath.

“It was just a… get over Hans thing. One time.” 

“And you’re keeping it?”

“Yes.”

Anna was firm and confident, Elsa was rigid with anger, and Kristoff was just doing his best to remain relatively unnoticed.

“Okay…” she took a deep breath and stood up straight again, nodding. “I’m going back to sleep.” Her words were slow and calculated, as if she was trying to calm herself down. “We will continue this discussion,” she said, looking at Anna and then at the computer screen that held Kristoff. “In the morning.”

And then she left and Anna flopped down onto the bed, and Kristoff let out a sigh of relief. 

“Well,” Anna huffed, dropping her hands hard onto the comforter. “That went just about as well as I expected it to.”

“...Yeah…” 

Anna’s breathing slowed, and Kristoff didn’t doubt she was close to dozing off again. “Well… I guess this is happening now…”

“Yup.” Her lips ended the word with a pop.

“I’m sorry.”

Her head snapped over to look at the computer. “Why?” She turned her whole body to face the same way. “It would have gone way worse if she thought it was Hans’.”

Kristoff laughed, feeling a tiny bit of tension ease from his body. “This is a mess.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

Anna nodded, and she smiled up warmly at him. 

“Thank you.”

He almost couldn’t control the absurd laugh that tickled his throat.

“... Anytime.”

[the-starsabove-you]

The Spotlight

Chapter 5- Marie  Author’s Note: Hello! We have another chapter! Feedback is always welcome and also thoughts on characters! We have another character introduced in this chapter and she is quite difficult so yeah! Enjoy!  “So what’s your favorite thing to do in your spare time?” Michelle questioned as she looked forward as her hair-stylist was fixing up her face, she looked real quick at her phone and saw Mat was thinking, they were on facetime, and he nodded “Music.. Dancing to it, singing. My friends like to take me fishing and of course golf. I’m filling in that typical hockey player right now I’m so sorry” He laughed and even her hair-stylist chuckled in amusement before MIchelle smiled “I think that’s awesome! I’m not much of a golf person so if you really take me out golfing you’re gonna have to explain everything” She said and his eyes lit up “I’ll take you mini golfing!” He said and she grinned widely “I actually like that idea!” “We also have ice skating so I’m more excited for that if I’m more honest” Mat admitted as he was walking to practice, it was one of the many road trips he was entering and he wish those road trips weren’t in the way of him and Michelle actually getting to know each other. Michelle looked at him “Your friend Tito left an impression on Emily as well, she hasn’t stopped talking about him and they’ve been texting each other” “Ah, so that’s who he’s been texting the whole day. I was starting to wonder” Mat said and Michelle chuckled and she looked at him “I really wish we were on that first date right now” She muttered and Mat sighed softly but he remained thoughtful “It’s Tuesday, I get back on Saturday and you’ll be back on Sunday. It gives me time to think of how to woo you and come up with the best first date ever” Mat said and Michelle laughed “You can literally cook in your apartment and I’ll love it.. We’ll have a blast either way” She said and Mat grinned, he liked that Michelle was more humble than most girls in the industry. He really liked that she never took advantage of the fame or acted like she was the it girl. “In sad news, I can’t really cook. So it will be someone else’s cooking” Mat said and Michelle nodded “Fair enough” Mat grinned and suddenly there was an incoming phone call and Michelle literally groaned and Mat frowned “What’s wrong?” “My agent is calling.. I know it’s for scolding too so I’ve been expecting this ever since the Barclays accident” Michelle said and Mat frowned “Your agent can’t be that bad” Michelle gave him a look “Oh she’s not bad but very.. Hard to work with at times, I have to call you back” “I’m about to head into the locker room anyways, I’ll text you when I’m done and just text me when you’re done and we can Facetime” “Alright, take care Mat” Michelle smiled before Mat said his farewells and then Michelle sighed and she answered the phone “Hi Marie!” Michelle tried to say cheerfully “Oh no, you do not get cheerful on me young lady.. Do you know what you’ve done?” Marie said on the phone and Michelle flinched but she remained calm “I went to a hockey game?” “Well false.. Number one, I know you don’t watch hockey. Number two, I heard about that group of fans swarming you, with Emily too. You could have been stabbed or shot, you could have snapped at a fan which would have gotten you backlash.. Michelle, I expected you to be more smart” Michelle sighed softly, Marie was hired as her agent when she first became famous. It was her parents that ended up picking Marie as her agent and really her caretaker. Marie was about 50 years old, a smart woman in the industry as well as being known to be very protective of her clients and training them to not be really out there and interact with fans as much, such as signing autographs and stopping generally in the street as much. Marie had tried training Michelle to do all those kind of things but Michelle had said that she had to give back to her fans in some kind of way. But Marie would sigh and her phone calls to Michelle were regular, that’s why Michelle tried to not do anything horrible in public. “So do you want to tell me the reason why you were actually there or is it gonna have to feel like I’m pulling teeth out of you?” Marie questioned “Emily and I were seeing a couple of friends” Michelle began and she could tell Marie was narrowing her eyes “Friends?” Marie muttered and Michelle sighed “A couple of the Islanders” She said and Marie sounded irritated “Are they just only friends?” “Well I’m kinda talking to one of them and he’s very nic-” “Oh no! Michelle Wilson! I’ve heard so much about hockey players and some of the other girls that work with me have dated some and I will tell you Michelle, some of them are dogs” Marie said loudly and Michelle jumped and even her hair stylist flinched a bit of how loud the older woman was. “He’s not bad at all! He’s very nice and really down to earth.” Michelle said and Marie snorted “Please, you’ve just met him. You don’t know his true intentions at all. You’re young, famous and beautiful. You don’t think that he just wants to sleep with you and brag to his teammates that he managed to sleep with one of the most beautiful and famous models in your generation? You don’t hear the Hadid sisters being with hockey players.” “But you don’t hear their agents telling them who not to date” She muttered and she knew Marie heard it as her agent was now angry “Your parents chose me because I take care of my clients well. I make sure they don’t end up unknown years after and that they’re safe and healthy. If you don’t like the way I’m saying or doing things, you can explain to your parents why you need another agent” Michelle sighed and leaned back into her chair as Marie said slowly “I don’t want to hear anything about you and this hockey boy. Anything bad to ruin you, because I’m not his agent I’m yours. I’m telling you, it won’t end well with this boy. You need to focus on your career and being the best you could be. Do you understand?” “Yes Marie” Michelle muttered and Marie sounded happy “Good, I’ll call you tomorrow in your Orlando gig. Check in and make sure you’re doing well. You should call your parents soon.. They should come to New York and have dinner with us” “You’re in New York?” She questioned “Right now to get some stuff from my house. Then I’m off to Paris with one of my clients” She said and Michelle nodded “I’ll let you know when I’m back from Paris, I’ll be emailing a couple of gigs that I’ve accepted for you too, but they’re gonna be two weeks from now. I want you to have a week of rest” “Thanks Marie.. I can’t wait for the next few gigs” Michelle said and Marie chuckled “I can’t wait too, we’ll be in touch” “Bye Marie” She hung up and groaned again, she had wish Marie didn’t see the pictures and videos. She wanted to keep Mat a secret from Marie as she knows that Marie will literally rip Mat to shreds if possible. Michelle was scrolling through her phone and her phone beeped and she saw it was a message from Mat and she saw it was a video and it was someone recording him practicing as he was getting some pucks into the goal. Mat had wrote ‘Thinking of you, can’t wait to see you soon x’

[theindiegamereview]

Meet the developer: "Space Pilgrim” series

We caught up with Noel Clay of Pilgrim Adventures - yes, the very same beloved creator of the famed Space Pilgrim series - to discuss some of his recent games. We also took the opportunity to ask about his upcoming game, The Deadly Facade, which is an exciting departure from his previous works. Read on for more!

  TIGR: Hi Noel! We see you've been really busy, with a couple of new games released in the past year! Tell us more about them.

NC: Sure! A Sceptic's Guide To Magic is a '90s style point-and-click adventure game that follows Lester Chapman, a forensic investigator who discovers a secret underworld of magic and mayhem after becoming involved in a grisly case of ritual murder. A pair of witches named Fi and Val guide him on his journey, and you also get to play as those two characters at different points in the game.

Sceptic's Guide is chiefly inspired by the classic LucasArts games - there's humour, but it also gets quite dark at times. The story takes place in Birmingham, England, near to where I grew up. Most of the locations in the game are based on real-life places, and I had a whole lot of fun trying to recreate them.

The gameplay involves a mixture of traditional puzzle-solving and spell-casting. In order to cast spells, you'll need to gather all the appropriate ingredients as well as correct apparatus, a clue for which is normally given in the form of a riddle. It can be a bit silly and lighthearted, but the game does also delve a fair bit into magical history, mythology and folklore. People who are interested in those things will probably get a kick out of it.

Screenshots from A Sceptic’s Guide To Magic:

The Deed II is a follow-up to The Deed and The Deed: Dynasty, and explores the same basic concept: you need to commit a murder, and then get away with it - usually by planting false evidence to frame someone else, then convince the police of your innocence.

Deed II takes place at a 1930s French brothel, where an Englishman named Kenneth Miller recognises one of the orderlies who had cruelly abused him during his time at a mental asylum. He decides it's time for revenge... but which of the patrons or employees of this establishment should take the blame for his crime?

Although the basic formula of Deed II is the same as its predecessors, there are also a bunch of new features: a new game engine, improved graphics, and an in-game clock. Whereas in the previous games, time would advance as a result of your actions, now it moves forward naturally, and you have one hour of in-game time to commit the murder. The NPCs in the brothel will also move around according to their own individual schedules, which affects a lot of your choices. As always though, there are a whole bunch of different endings and ways that you can approach the game - more than ever before.

Screenshots from The Deed II:

TIGR: Wow, both games sure sound exciting, and I'm sure your fans will be thrilled to try them out if they haven't already done so! And you've got another game coming out very soon right?

NC: Yes! The Deadly Facade, which will hopefully be released later this year, is my first crack at a full-blooded visual novel. In a setting inspired by 1950s' Hollywood, you are an actor about to star in your first major motion picture. Things seem to be going well, until you get tied up in a shocking murder mystery. Can you solve the case while also delivering the performance of a lifetime?

Here are some exclusive images of The Deadly Facade for TIGR:

TIGR: Very interesting! Tell us more...

NC: Deadly should offer something a bit different from the typical visual novel. Among other things, I've been developing a fairly complex relationship system, as I wasn't really interested in the simple like/dislike variable which seems to be quite common among these types of games. Over time, through your actions and conversation choices, every character in the game will develop a sense of your personality and morality. That will ultimately determine how they feel about you.

As for the setting, I'm hoping it will allow people to live out the fantasy of being an up-and-coming Hollywood star in the olden days, while also delivering a sense of the fear and paranoia that was rife during this complicated era.

TIGR: Deadly sounds like it's going to be amazing! It's also made with a different game engine from what you usually use. What motivated this change?

NC: All my previous games have been made with RPG Maker. Although I really enjoy working with that engine, it can be tricky to market RPG Maker games even though they may not resemble the typical fare. So I figured it was time to try something different - in this case the Ren'Py visual novel engine - if only to convince more players to give my games a chance.

TIGR: Well, we at TIGR would happily play another thousand (and more) of your games even if they continue to be made in RPG Maker - it's all about the gameplay and content, right, not the platform?! :) 

But moving on, tell us more about how you craft these fantastic stories of yours. Where does all this imagination and creativity come from, and what are some of your sources of inspiration?

NC: I've always had a lot of creative energy. When I was a kid, I was constantly writing stories and drawing comics. I wasn't making any video games back then yet, but my older brothers John and Edmund were - throughout the '90s they created numerous adventure games for the Amiga from their very bedrooms (The Lost Prince, Starbase 13, Lethal Formula, Epsilon 9, The Experiment).

As an interesting side note, Edmund also developed a program called GRAC (Graphic Adventure Creator) for the Amiga in 1994. It was designed to allow people to create their own adventure games with a minimal amount of programming knowledge. GRAC was probably the first program of its type in the western world. Meanwhile in Tokyo, unknown to my brother, Enterbrain were already creating the early versions of RPG Maker.

I tend to consume a fairly varied diet of media – movies, TV shows, comic books, novels, board games – from a wide range of different genres. Not much of my inspiration actually comes from video games, but rather from these other sources, which I suppose is one way of maintaining some originality!

The universe of Space Pilgrim owes a large debt to Joss Whedon's Firefly. Another of my games, Sentience: The Android's Tale, is a love letter to Philip K Dick, whose writing also inspired elements of the main Space Pilgrim Academy storyline. Ender's Game also played a role there.

TIGR: We are seriously impressed! It certainly sounds like you and your brothers were born to make video games! So do you do everything alone, or do you have a team to help you? Take us through your development process.

NC: I pretty much work alone, although I do often commission work from artists or use commercial art and music assets. This has been the case with all my games except for Sceptic's Guide - for that one, I had some help from a friendly witch when it came to writing the spellbook. I'm currently collaborating with an artist named Llyrel on developing some characters for an upcoming magical fantasy game, which should be my next project after Deadly.

I'd also like to mention my publisher, GrabTheGames, with whom I've been working for nearly five years. They handle a lot of the marketing and promotion so that I can focus on the game development side of things.

These days, I usually start with a tonne of research. The first month or two mostly just consists of reading books and taking notes. For Sentience, I read about AI; for Deed II it was 1930s Paris; for Deadly, it was 1950s Hollywood as well as the biographies of some major stars of the era. I also watched more than 50 movies from that time period, partly for inspiration and partly because I just love movies. After that, my time was split between scripting the game and creating the 3D renders. I tend to only have a loose plan for the story at the beginning, so that things can continue to evolve along the way.

   TIGR: One last question for you before we end - what's something we should know about you?

NC: Tyrkisk peber. It’s awesome.

  We thank Noel for his time and look forward to playing The Deadly Facade when it's released! In the meantime, check out all of Noel's published games on Steam here.

[pathology-studies]

Hi! Can you please share your process on how to study? Or simply, how you study?

Hi Love! 

How I study depends on the subject, but here are my three major categories. If your class/test requires all of them, prioritize them according to whatever your prof / more advanced students say is most important.  

Broad Concepts 

When to use? Long answer tests / debates, connecting ideas. 

Talk to your friends about the key concepts! Explain it to friends in your class (people who can catch your mistakes / misconceptions). 

Mind maps to connect your big concepts! Make what I affectionately call “dating profiles” for them: what are their 3-5 MOST important features? 

Ex. Vaccines: safe, effective (activated B and T cells), and accessible financially/societally. 

Do some extra reading about it – make sure that you have examples of how to use the information and why it’s important. Google that shit, baby. Look at how other people describe it and use it! 

Make up “long answer” questions with your friends and trade them.

Ex. If you were a researcher trying to make a vaccine that was for pathogen X, and it needed to reach places without sufficient, what are three Next Gen vaccine types you could make, and what are their advantages and disadvantages? 

OK, so this question isn’t really fair: it requires connecting broad concepts AND knowing their tiny details! So once you’ve pinpointed what broad concepts you need to understand, move into their nitty gritty details: 

Heavy Memorizing (Detail Oriented)

When to use? Multiple choice, True/False, examples for long answers, straight-up classic memorizing (think history classes or anatomy!), fleshing out your understanding of concepts. 

Oooooh flashcards. Quizlet is OK but hand-made ones stick in my brain better, personally. Run through them, stick any of them that aren’t INSTANT recall back in the “do-over” pile, continue until they are done. THEN, pick them up again every few days until the test to keep it *fresh* 

Make a generic chart with lots of boxes. Print like 15. Fill out as much as you can from memory. Check it, add in info you forgot / correct what you got wrong. Put it away. Fill out a blank one. Repeat until you could do it in your sleep (or do it perfectly 2x in a row lol) It’s really useful for memorizing things that have categories like this: 

DISEASE 1 : host, vector, symptoms, epidemiology, pathogenic factors 

DISEASE 2 : host, vector, symptoms, epidemiology, pathogenic factors 

if you have say, Disease 1-20, and disease 1-5 are in an over arching group, you could mind map it too! 

Mind maps are the ultimate catch-all tbh. I usually do one on paper and then a million on a white board until i can nail it every time! Whoop! 

Ask your friends questions and have them ask you! Me and a friend of mine always study for parasitology by taking our notes and drilling each other with every relevant question we can think of, correcting each other as we go, and then doing it AGAIN (you guessed it) until we can get it perfectly every time, 

You might be like “thats unrealistic for the amount of notes I have!” and you might b right but we did it with over 200 powerpoint slides and both got As so….sometimes weird shit works idk fam.  

pls start studying for tests more than a 5 days out it makes memorizing things….way better…and less stressful…

Procedural (Doing it!)

When to use? Practical/lab tests, math/chemistry. 

DO EVERY PRACTICE PROBLEM PROVIDED. 

If you’ve done all of them and ur still nervous, look up youtube tutorials and pause the video when they give out a problem, get as far as you can, and then watch and see if you got it right. 

go to office hours! you prof / TA might have EVEN MORE practice problems!!

If it’s a lab technique, as you TA if you can practice w them (they might say no!)

Memorize all the steps to a method (works for lab or math/chem) and then easy peasy plug and chug it baby. This can be time consuming and stressful tho: try to break down each step LOGICALLY if you know WHY you’re doing something, you can APPLY it to new problems which is p cool. 

general advice: 

stay hydrated love. Eat!! Your brain is a diva that NEEDS glucose to function. Supply that glucose. 

you can do literally anything but don’t waste time trying to force a certain study technique to work for you. Some things gel w ur brain and some things don’t: find the right balance between lowest effort and best results. 

Work out. It’s good for ur brain to get some blood flowing! This can be walking around, doing some chill yoga poses on ur bedroom floor, whatever. It’s esp helpful to break up study sessions w some stretches / light exercises if you can. Do some wall-pushups or try to hold a plank for a few seconds. release ur physical tension it will help you focus. 

DO NOT fuck w distractions: phones, music, noises, people that distract you, do NOT let them interfere w ur study time. There is other time for that I promise you. If you go hard during study time, it will take you less time to learn the info, and then you can actually ENJOY the other things instead of feeling guilty. 

Notes (personal preferences): I usually listen to lyrical music when I’m doing practical stuff, and non-lyrical for the first bit of memorizing (or when i’m reading) and then switch to all lyrical (if u can remember that shit w hayley kiyoko blasting directly into your brain you’ll remember it when those noisy people walk by your classroom! but use this as a “final test” of sorts if lyrical music is super distracting to you.”

I also always study with a water bottle / tea / whatever to sip on so I don’t get dehydration headaches sneak up on me and gradually make me devolve into a frustrated pile of goo, but that’s just me. 

Let me know if you have other questions about specifics / want clarification or anything like that! Good luck!! You can do it!! 

[lostsummerdayz]

Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Review

“Blue Blur or Blue Devil, this speedy flick is very ‘Omoshiroi~!’ indeed!”

By Nay Holland

The Sonic The Hedgehog movie had quite the hype and history leading up to its eventual release. It was around this time last year that the general audience saw first hand what Sonic would look like on the big screen. Needless to say, they were not happy with the design choice. Several months later, a new design for Sonic was revealed to greater approval. The slated November 2019 release was pushed back to a February 2020 release due to the resulting backlash.

Sonic’s design was just the cherry on top for most skeptics at the time. Fans of the classic Sonic animated series will remember Jaleel White as the iconic voice for Sonic. Many of said fans wanted him to reprise his role for the feature film. Ultimately, that role fell on Ben Schwartz of Parks & Recreation fame.

Throughout the trailers, the absence of many other iconic characters from the universe wasn’t ignored. Many had thought that Jim Carrey’s role of Eggman Dr. Robotnik would be the only bright spot in this film of uncertainty. The reputation of video game movie adaptations in the past also preceded any major hope savvy fans would have as well.

However, with the release of Detective Pikachu, I had newfound hope for Sonic The Hedgehog. Detective Pikachu was a movie with an original yet at-times nonsensical plot fueled by star power. Ryan Renolds played the titular character as well as one would expect, though the supporting cast were passable.

Still, compared to the terrible era of horrific fighting video games to movie adaptations earlier on in the decade, Detective Pikachu was a breath of fresh air. It was a fun movie littered with references that fans of Pokemon will catch, yet it was never over-reliant on them. The movie was able to provide its own form of momentum from start to finish. It wasn’t perfect, but it got the job done.

It may seem like I was giving a mini overview on Detective Pikachu, but the same thoughts can be applied to Sonic The Hedgehog as well. It was a fun movie with an original, yet highly nonsensical, plot. I’ll excuse the plot on the grounds that it’s Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic was never quite known for intricate stories.

I am aware that this game exists, but, this is the exception rather than the rule.

Look who developed the game guys. C’mon.

Whoever was in charge of the script could have watched the entire first season of Sonic X for all I know and based some of their ideas for the film.

My point is, while there is a reason for Sonic to arrive on Planet Earth via his backstory, it’s not the main attraction of the film. The fuel that powers this movie are two dynamics.

The first is the dynamic between Sonic and Tom, the human protagonist of the movie. Remember when I joked about inspiration from Sonic X? The punchline punches itself.

Okay I know I’m not being fair in comparing a kid to a grown police officer but it’s the same energy!

Oh, right. The human sidekick is a police officer from a small town in Montana. Wanna know the name of the town?

Green Hills, Montana! Get it! Green Hill? The introductory zone that will never

Ever

Ever

EVER

Go away in some way shape or form?

I’m not gonna lie I looked it up just to see if such a place exists in Montana. I was sad to discover that was false. Bummer.

Sonic and Tom share most of their screen time together and you have some classic tropes. The “we’re a family!” trope, the “trying to understand someone different than you” trope, and the classic “ROAD TRIP!” trope.

The cliches aren’t bad however. They only seemed to enhance the dynamic that these two characters have with each other. Sonic is filled to the brim and armed to the teeth with pop culture references for centuries. Any reference you can think of is there. 

Several speed puns involving his collection of Flash comics including the movie, Speed, itself? Check. References to The Fast and The Furious? Also check. References to modern gaming such as live streaming and...a certain dance that is honestly dated at this point? Checkmark.

Sonic’s personality is unique to this movie yet key components remain. He’s still very much so impulsive, adventurous, and bold as his other counterparts. One thing I feel the movie does right is his development. He doesn’t know the power of his own strength or his own powers. Sometimes he overestimates his abilities, which leads to trouble for both Sonic and Tom. Other times, he feels out of place and yearning for family. By the end of the movie, however, there are enough seeds planted to promote further growth in the inevitable sequel.

The human protagonist, Tom, was surprisingly as interesting. We’re introduced to his character as a wise-cracking police officer who would fit the role of a cocky protagonist in any other movie. At times he tries to play the straight man to Sonic’s antics, but after a certain part in the movie, he’s not that far from Sonic in terms of impulsiveness.

Marsden, who plays the role of Tom, is no slouch either as he delivers his one-liners, matching the same energy as Sonic. Most importantly, he is able to stand on firm ground with Jim Carrey’s Robotnik. I honestly loved seeing them both on the screen as they tried to show who was the bigger smartass.

Ah! Jim Carrey! The main reason why everyone’s interests were piqued to high levels. This leads into the second dynamic. The man with the master plan! He is the Eggman Doctor.

In trailers and in promotional images, Carrey never looked better. In this movie, it is my honor to say that Carrey looked in rare form. The quirky and zany antics of Dr. Robotnik portrayed by Carrey felt nostalgic, harking back to the days of Liar Liar and The Mask. The hair-triggering jerk reactions, the body language, and the endless amount of quips made Carrey a perfect role for the Egghead. I could literally fill this review with all of his one-liners and dialogue. That’s how subtle yet powerful they were.

Remember when I said that the plot was a tad bit diluted? I’d say that Robotnik’s introduction is where the movie begins to take flight and he’s introduced fairly early. If you look at the movie as an hour and some change of Tom and Jerry style antics, with Robotnik and Sonic respectively, then you’ll get the most mileage out of the film.

Finally I’d like to mention the miscellaneous. The attention to detail to Sonic’s design is amazing, from his fur to his beat-up footwear. The method in which he received his iconic kicks was also adorable.

The special effects were also spot-on. There are two moments in the movie where Sonic is using his speed to get himself out of a disadvantageous situation. In both of these scenes, the rate of speed is exaggerated by a still frame of his surroundings. 

For those familiar with “bullet-time” and “slo mo” effects in video games, these are how the scene plays out. Seeing Sonic manipulate the environment around him only for time to regulate into “normal time” was one of the better touches of the movie from a design standpoint. I honestly wished there were more scenes like that in the movie. 

As mentioned earlier with “Green Hills,” there are several in-universe references as well. I won’t mention them all, but my favorite had to have been the “Hill Top Road” street sign.

This obviously refers to Hill Top Zone from Sonic 2.

There are also references to his moves, from the iconic spin dash, to other niche ones such as his wall kick.

For a ninety-minute movie, Sonic The Hedgehog cuts to the chase, pun intended, with no filler. Post opening credits, every scene in the movie had a purpose for progression. Nothing ever seems to overstay its welcome. 

For a film geared towards the younger audience, it’s enough to keep their attention span with enough content to keep the fans of Sonic in their seats. For the parents of said younger audience, the appearance of Jim Carey in rare form is a treat in itself to see. It’s not a perfect movie, but it is far from the dumpster fire that everyone feared it would be. It is, however, more than good enough to check it out. 

Sonic the Hedgehog is now showing in theaters. This Valentine’s Day weekend, take your Amy Rose out on a movie date and enjoy a fun movie after dinner!

And park your butts in your seats after the credits for a surprise! Don’t leave the theater!

[galentines]

hi here is my insane post with all my feelings about lover. i’m kind of a fair weather taylor fan tbh, but have pretty consistently enjoyed her music since red. i went to the rep tour and honESTLY what a good time. and i am here to tell you that lover fucks, HARD.

this is in lowercase bc its more ranting/raving than anything

first of all TAYLOR SWIFT KNOWS HOW TO DO A BRIDGE RIGHT like i always always think about the out of the woods bridge and there are so many bridges on this album with that vibe and i am iNTO IT ok now song by song

i forgot that you existed - within two notes of this song i knew i was fucked, that beat and melody is SO CATCHY. it makes me want to prance down the street while snapping my fingers. the way the lyrics work with the melody is just YES. this is such a good album opener, it literally got me so excited for the album when most of the already released songs hardly left an impression on me

cruel summer - how was this not the first or second single? THIS COULD HAVE BEEN THE SONG OF THE SUMMER. i don’t think me OR you need to calm down were amazing songs - they were known for their music videos. but cruel summer has that huge dreamy synth chorus that is just PERFECT SONG OF THE SUMMER FODDER. and the bridge! and the lyric I LOVE YOU AINT THAT THE WORST THING YOU EVER HEARD gkserhgkj

lover - this song married old taylor with current taylor so well that it gives me goosebumps. this song is perfect. i would marry this song in a sunny church while surrounded by daisies. i would take care of this song if it got sick - i would bring it soup and tuck it into bed. and then i would FRET ABOUT WHEN IT WOULD GET BETTER. this song makes me do that smile lady gaga does in that one scene of a star is born. also another EXCEPTIONAL BRIDGE. i love love love love this song so much. jfc. 

^ me @ lover

the man - this song is super fun and catchy and it made my mom exclaim “YOU KNOW WHAT SHE’S RIGHT!” 

the archer - when she first released this song i thought it was so damn boring, but i feel like i somehow completely missed that growing beat underneath the lyrics?? and now i’m obsessed with how that swells and gives the feeling that the song is about to explode into this huge production number but then IT DOESNT DO THAT which is so rad. it feels like she is legit experimenting on this album rather than just trying on a new persona, which rep did feel like at times. 

i think he knows - THIS SONG IS SO FUNKY. THE FUNK OF THAT CHORUS!! GOTDAMN. 

miss americana & the heartbreak kid - this is some LORDE SHIT!! the minor key! the high school lyrics! oh we love this. the cheerleader O!K! is so great. this is just a COOL TUNE.

paper rings - this song immediately made me emotional bc it sounds like it could be on red. its like if stay stay stay and holy ground had a baby. it’s so much fun that it makes my heart swell. its pure joy and i say YES.

cornelia street - this song gives me mega 1989 vibes and i dig it. I DIG THIS SONG i said casually in the car

death by a thousand cuts - i would die for this song. i would die for the choral intro. i would die for that guitar during the chorus. and i would MURDER FOR THIS BRIDGE. this bridge fucks so hard. didnt know a bridge could fuck like out of the woods but doctors she did it. GIVE TAYLOR HER WINE BACK YOU MONSTER

london boy - this song is fun, and also its fine

soon you’ll get better - I WASNT READY. I DIDNT KNOW!! I CANT BELIEVE NATALIE MAINES HERSELF DIDNT WRITE THIS. we as a country truly failed the dixie chicks and taylor is here to AGREE. but also this song makes me want to curl up in a ball and never emerge from my bed ever again. i love it.

false god - idk i’m trying but this sounds like a mall song (you know, whatever is faintly in the background when you’re digging through a display at forever 21) and i cant get into the sax but I RESPECT THAT SHE IS TRYING NEW THINGS

you need to calm down - i still hate this 

afterglow - i cant remember a single thing about this song and i’ve listened to it more than once

me - sure

its nice to have a friend - this is the weirdest shit taylor has ever done and im obsessed. i want to wrap this song around me like a blanket. i want to bathe in the trumpet solos. i cannot believe this is a song by taylor swift and dare i say it i am PROUD of her. i love this. i love this HARD. oh my god im gonna listen to it again RIGHT NOW

daylight - when i think back, taylor has always been ON HER GAME with album closers. we love the callback to red. this song makes me go, aw she is happy and thats nice for her! its pretty and a nice ending. 

[kathyprior4200]

Huntara: Warrior of Justice fanfic (in progress)

(1985) (From the Wiki GraySkull page)

Huntara is a member of the Silaxians, a group of skilled hunters, trappers, and warriors dedicated to fighting evil. Huntara was at first convinced by Hordak that She-Ra and the Rebellion were evil by showing her false videos. He sent her to fight and capture She-Ra after his minions had failed to do so. Huntara insisted that she fight She-Ra alone and later lured her into a trap by capturing Glimmer. She then told She-Ra to meet her at the Crimson Waste to fight, leaving a message with Garv the Innkeeper. She-Ra eventually won the long battle, disarming Huntara. Following the Silaxian code of honor, Huntara turned herself over to She-Ra as a slave, but She-Ra told her that she did not keep slaves. Eventually, Huntara realized that Hordak had deceived her. Though Huntara released Glimmer from prison, the three were knocked out and taken to the Fright Zone. While there, Hordak planned to throw her in the dungeon for failing to capture She-Ra. However, Huntara used her smoke bombs to escape and free She-Ra and Glimmer. The group soon fled the fortress. Huntara later boarded her space ship to fly home, saying that the next time they would meet, it would be as friends.

Originally, Huntara was also supposed to be in another episode called "The Silaxian Wars" but it never went into production.

Under a dark golden sky filled with smoke and pollution, a spidery array of metal made up what was known as the Fright Zone. Orange lava colored light glowed through several openings and the structure as a whole resembled a twisted factory of sorts. The bat symbol of the Horde was prominent against circular red light on the structure.

Inside the building, Lord Hordak had finished watching a holographic video of the recent battle on a screen. Beside Hordak in her usual scarlet cloak was the dark sorceress Shadow Weaver. Hordak’s tall metal throne turned around to face his minions, who were standing nervously at attention at the bottom of the stairs.

“Well,” he said, “You’ve all seen the hollowed out pictures of your pitiful attempts at taking She-Ra. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

A hairy gorilla-like minion by the name of Grizzlor stood in the back next to a reptile minion named Leech. Mantenna, a minion with an orange snake-like head with big flappy ears looked utterly terrified. Scorpia, a woman with pinchers for hands, short orange hair, a black outfit and a long scorpion tail, glared at him and he shrunk back in fear. Catra stood a fair distance away in her usual tattered red dress and cat shaped headpiece, her hair long and dark. All of them were wearing uniforms with the red bat symbol of the Horde on them.

Hordak was not pleased.

“What? Not one among you has an excuse?”

Just then, his small blue imp pet laughed. “What a bunch of wimps, huh boss?”

Catra growled with a meow in her voice. “I’d like to turn that imp into a door knocker.”

“I’d be glad to help you,” Scorpia added.

“Silence!” ordered Hordak. “Forged science and magic have turned you into the greatest force squad ever to destroy a planet…”

“The greatest!” Imp added, jumping into the air.

“…and yet, all of you together cannot beat a single woman.”

“Yeah, a single woman!” Imp mimicked, landing his blue fist down like Hordak did.

“You’re all fools!”

“Fools!”

“Dolts!”

“Dolts!”

Hordak didn’t seem to mind that Imp was repeating what he said.

In fact, Hordak praised the troublemaking creature next. “Why can’t you all be more like Imp here? He knows how to get a job done!”

Imp grinned with pride.

Leech and Grizzlor looked on with glares.

“Being more like him?” Leech asked through a series of slurps. “What a depressing thought.”

“Now, where was I?” Hordak asked to himself.

“I believe you were talking about dolts,” Shadow Weaver mentioned.

“Right, dolts!” Hordak exclaimed. “Thanks to your failures, Horde Prime is displeased. And I don’t like it when the ruler of Horde world is displeased. It’s time to bring in someone more competent. That’s why I contact the planet of Silax.”

“Silax?” Shadow Weaver asked in surprise. “That’s not part of the Horde Empire!”

“No,” Hordak replied. “In fact, they don’t really know much about us. But I know about them. Silaxians are the greatest warriors, hunters, and trappers in the universe, and I’ve sent for their very best to handle She-Ra for us.”

“When does this outsider arrive?” Catra asked suspiciously.

“Today. And if she succeeds, you’ll spend the rest of your time here cleaning garbage bins…with very tiny brushes!”

Hordak laughed evilly at the sight of Catra and Scorpia’s looks of horror and disgust.

 Meanwhile at the Rebellion camp, Adora and her friends were relaxing outside by a campfire.

“Ah, it’s been awfully quiet lately,” Bow mentioned, his hair orange and body muscular.

Kowl, an owl-like creature hovered nearby. “Yes. What’s wrong with that? I like things quiet and peaceful.”

Adora walked over, her hair thick and blonde. “So do I. But I get worried when the Horde isn’t trying to make our lives miserable.”

“Well I say let’s enjoy ourselves while we can,” said Kowl.

Adora paused in thought. “Maybe you’re right, Kowl. If the Horde is planning something, we’ll know soon enough.”

  Later on that day, a sleek slender spacecraft landed on a metal pod close to the building in the Fright Zone. Hordak and Shadow Weaver watched the ship land and the top window open.

“Now we will see if what they say about these Silaxians is true,” said Hordak.

A lavender-skinned muscular woman appeared from the silver metallic spaceship, with a long white braid of hair down her back.

“I am Huntara,” said a low gruff voice. The woman removed her black face mask, revealing her lavender face, white hair and mostly bald forehead. Her forehead was wide and militaristic in appearance. Three lines were tattooed over both sides of her face, like tribal symbols. She wore blue armor shoulder pads, a black thick bra and dark undergarments. Gold gauntlets protected her arms. She also wore blue armored boots and a high blue pocketed skirt.

“Which one of you is Hordak?” she asked.

“I am Hordak,” he said. “Welcome to Etheria, Huntara. It is a great honor to…”

“I’m not here for pretty speeches,” Huntara interrupted before leaping from her ship and landing gracefully on the metal ground. “You have asked for help. I am here to give you that help. But first, you must prove to me that this She-Ra is as evil…as you say.”

“She-Ra, evil?” asked Leech.

“I thought we were the evil ones,” Grizzlor added.

“Oooh she’s evil alright,” Hordak lied. “…and I’ve got the proof. If you’ll just allow my troopers to escort you to my throne room, I’ll show it to you.”

“Very well. Let us go,” said Huntara, proceeding to leave by herself.

Shadow Weaver looked at Hordak.  “How can you convince her that She-Ra is as evil as you say?”

Hordak replied. “I’ve had some false hollowed in pictures made. They make She-Ra look totally evil. Huntara will believe them, even if they are all lies.” He laughed evilly.

  In the throne room, the video clips showed a Horde convoy of metal vehicles moving on a path by a green field.

 Hordak lied, “This convoy was carrying medicine to a village beset by plane. She-Ra and her rebels attacked it. She destroyed it completely.”

The screen showed Bow and the others charging forward. Soon, one of the convoy cars flipped over and exploding. She-Ra threw another into the air, causing it to explode on the ground.

“…and without the medicine, all the people of the village grew sick.”

Huntara placed her fingers on her chin in thought. “She is powerful.”

“Yes,” said Hordak. “Now look at this.”

The screen switched to show a village burning and people running for cover. The roofs on the houses were on fire and villagers scattered in every direction. She-Ra appeared with a small smirk.

Hordak lied some more, “This was a town that refused to join She-Ra’s Rebellion. She ordered it burned to the ground.”

“I don’t remember She-Ra doing all that,” Grizzlor pointed out.

“Now here…”

“I have seen enough, Hordak,” Huntara cut in. “I will battle this She-Ra.”

Hordak grinned. “Excellent!”

“But there is a condition.”

“Name it.”

“The battle must be between me and She-Ra alone. None of your hordes men must interfere.”

Hordak was taken aback, “Are you sure? You’ve seen just how strong she is.  

Huntara glared coldly. “She-Ra and me alone. That is the way of the warriors of Silax.”

Hordak reluctantly nodded as Huntara walked away. “If that’s the way you want it. But how will you get She-Ra to accept your challenge?”

“Has she any friends?” she asked.

Hordak stood up. “As a matter of fact she has many.” Then he stuttered, covering up his lie, following her. “Oh of course, they’re all as evil as she is, but she is loyal to them.”

Thus Huntara found out about the members of the Rebellion and one member in particular, Glimmer.

Catra growled again. “I don’t like that woman.”

Scorpia glared back at her. “As much as I hate to agree with you, I agree with you.”

 (Glimmer flies in a yellow butterfly shaped plane. Huntara spies on her through binoculars at her ship.)

Huntara: “At last. The bait I have chosen for my trap leaves her nest. Now to catch her.”

(Huntara chases after her in her silver slender spaceship).

(Glimmer gasps “What?!” as Huntara fires green lasers at her ship)

Glimmer: “I don’t know who that is, but they won’t get me so easily.”

(Glimmer flies around behind Huntara’s ship)

Huntara: “A smart move. But my tail beamers will bring her down.”

(Cockpit screen beeps as it locks onto her target. The back beams fire, making impact with Glimmer’s ship. The ship falls and crashes.)

(Glimmer slowly gets up.) Glimmer: “That was not one of my better landings.”

(Huntara stands over her, looking down.)

Huntara: “Now, all that’s left is to deliver my challenge to She-Ra.”

(Huntara captures Glimmer and holds her in a glass capsule)

 Back at the Rebellion camp, She-Ra makes plans with Bow, pointing to maps.

Bow: “The next Horde tax collector, should come through here.”

Adora: “We’d better start planning.”

Grav the Innkeeper: “Adora! Adora…a woman came into the inn and demanded I bring you this.”

(Adora holds a black device in her hand)

Grav: “Yes, she said it was for She-Ra and if she doesn’t get it, Glimmer will be in great danger.”

She-Ra: “Who was this woman?”

Grav: “I’ve never seen her before but I will tell you this…she made my blood run cold.”

Adora: “Oh thank you Garv. We’ll get this to She-Ra.”

Adora: “I think we’d better take a look at this message.”

Bow: “But if it’s for She-Ra?”

Adora: “If Glimmers in danger, I don’t think She-Ra will object.”

(Adora presses a button, activating the message. Holographic images of Huntara appears)

 Huntara sends a message to She-Ra.

“I am Huntara. Listen well, She-Ra. I have your friend, Glimmer. This device you see is a dimensional transporter. If you do not meet me in battle by the time the sun is at its highest, I will use it to send Glimmer to a place from which she will never return. We will meet at Tomb Rock in the Crimson Waste. You must come alone. If you bring help or fail to come, Glimmer will pay the price. Defeat me and I promise she will go free. Until we cross swords. Farewell, evil one.”

Bow: “Evil one? That’s something coming from the member of the Horde.”

Adora: “She doesn’t look like a member of the Horde. But whether she is or isn’t, we need She-Ra right away.”

 Meanwhile in Scorpia’s lair in the desert…

(Scorpia and Catra argue)

Scorpia: “Hmph! Why should I?”

Catra: “If Huntara beats She-Ra, we’ll all be cleaning garbage bins!”

Scorpia: “You have a point there. Alright, what’s your plan?”

Catra: “We’ll take your Crawler, and watch the battle from hiding. Then we’ll take care of whoever wins.”

Scorpia: “Very well. I don’t like you much, but I’d rather have you as the Force Captain than that arrogant witch Huntara.”

 Adora: “For the honor of Grayskull!”

(Adora transforms into She-Ra)

“I am She-Ra!”

(Spirit transforms into SwiftWind)

  She-Ra: “There’s Tomb Rock. Fly low, and I’ll drop off.”

SwiftWind: “Please be careful.”

She-Ra: “I will be.”

(She-Ra lands safely on the ledge.)

 (She-Ra and Huntara get ready to fight in the desert)

She-Ra: “Huntara, I’m here.”

Huntara: “Welcome, She-Ra. I am Huntara.”

(Huntara stands above on a ledge)

Huntara: “Hordak was right. As evil as you are, you still come to help a friend.”

She-Ra: “Hordak? Listen, I don’t know what he’s told you but…”

Huntara: “Spare me your lies, town burner. Our battle will begin in those hills.”

(She points to the hills to the right)

She-Ra: “Fighting doesn’t solve anything.  If you’ll only tell me why you’re doing this…”

Huntara: “Huh. (scoffs) So you are something of a coward. I should have expected it. But this is one fight you cannot avoid.”

She-Ra: “If you’re so eager to fight, let’s start right here.”

(She-Ra jumps, flips in the air and lands on the ledge, facing Huntara)

Huntara: “You take…opportunity quickly. I good trait for a warrior.”

(Huntara takes out a silver sphere from her pocket and throws it at She-Ra. She-Ra is blinded by the flash grenade and Huntara escapes. She-Ra looks around.)

She-Ra: “She’s gone.”

Huntara: “The hills, She-Ra. I will see you in the hills.”

(Huntara leaps away)

She-Ra: “She’s clever. I can’t let her get too far ahead.”

(She-Ra leaps after her. She flips in mid-air and lands on the sandy ground. Huntara runs off, with She-Ra following.)

 (Catra and Scorpia watch from their scorpion tank)

Scorpia; “It’s started!”

Catra: “Quick, let’s follow them!”

 Huntara: “Come on, She-Ra…just a little farther…”

(She-Ra walks on the ground)

She-Ra: “She’s got to be around here somewhere.”

(Huntara watches from above and pulls out another device from her blue pocket. The device is round and she pushes a button, which jets out spikes)

Huntara: “My exploder star will take out the trap.”

(Huntara throws the device at the rocks. The star explodes against the rock, which soon collapses.

She-Ra: “An avalanche!”

(She-Ra is buried under the rocky rubble)

Huntara: “Can she be trapped so easily? Perhaps I overestimated her strength.”

(Huntara soon looks in surprise as She-Ra flies from the rubble and sits on a rubble arch.)

She-Ra: “What’s the matter, Huntara? Never seen an instant tunnel before?”

Huntara: “You are a worthy opponent. But I am even better.”

She-Ra: “Prove it!”

(Huntara throws a blue bomb, which She-Ra avoids and jumps out of the way. She flips and lands safely on the ledge)

She-Ra: “Phew.”

(She-Ra looks around)

She-Ra: “She’s gone again. But where?”

(She-Ra spots a figure in the distance)

She-Ra: “There she is. And it looks like she’s got another little ambush planned. But this time, I’ll surprise her!”

(She-Ra leaps from the ledge at a standing black hooded figure)

She-Ra: “Ha!...”

(She-Ra holds nothing but a black cloth in her hand)

She-Ra: “Why, nothing but a trick!”

(Cage walls enclose her)

She-Ra: “This cage won’t hold me.”

Huntara: “It will hold you long enough for my sleep gas to affect you.”

(Huntara pulls out another silver sphere)

She-Ra: “Got to move fast!”

(She-Ra thrusts herself against the cage, moving it and herself over to the side. The device explodes in the previous spot. The cage breaks and she is free.)

She-Ra: “That was close. She’s got more tricks than my brother’s friend Orko.”

(Glimmer bangs on the glass)

Glimmer: “Why are you doing this?”

Huntara: “Your leader, She-Ra, is evil, and the way of Silax is dedicated to fighting evil.”

Glimmer: “She-Ra’s not evil. It’s the Horde who’s evil.”

Huntara: “Your lies cannot affect me. I have seen the proof of She-Ra’s foul deeds.”

Glimmer: “Wait! Come back!”

(She-Ra looks at Glimmer and hides behind a pillar of rock)

She-Ra: “There’s Glimmer. But where’s Huntara? I smell a trap.”

(She-Ra walks up to Glimmer)

She-Ra: “Have you free in a minute, Glimmer.”

(Glimmer points above)

Glimmer: “She-Ra! Look out!”

(Huntara leaps down from a ledge)

Huntara: “You’ve come far, evil one. But this is the end.”

(Huntara takes out two glowing green swords)

Huntara: “My stun swords will fail you, and then I’ll deliver you to Hordak.”

(She-Ra ducks from her attacks. She-Ra jumps backward and flips in the air.)

Huntara: “You were lucky that time, She-Ra. But I’m not through yet!”

She-Ra: “Sword to rope!”

(Sword turns into thick white rope. She-Ra tosses the rope at Huntara, which pulls the swords from her hands.)

Huntara: “Impossible!”

(She-Ra throws the rope again, which binds Huntara)

Glimmer: “All right She-Ra! You got her!”

(Huntara pulls another device out, but She-Ra pulls her forward with the rope, the device falling from her hands. He head is downcast in defeat. She-Ra’s rope turns back into the sword.)

She-Ra: “It’s over, Huntara. You’re beaten.”

Huntara: “Never have I been defeated by an evil one. You are a great warrior, She-Ra. By the code of Silax, I am now your slave.”

She-Ra: “The Horde takes slaves. I don’t. As far as I’m concerned, you’re free to go, right after you release Glimmer.”

Huntara: “I don’t understand. You do not seem evil, and yet Hordak said…”

She-Ra: “He lied to you. I told you that, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Huntara: “Can it be? Have I been tricked so easily/”

She-Ra: “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Hordak is a master of lies.”

(Huntara looks apologetic)

Huntara: “I have wronged you, She-Ra and shamed myself. But I swear to you, Hordak will pay for this treachery. Come. Let us free your friend.”

(Glimmer is freed)

Glimmer: “She-Ra, look!”

(Crawler arrives with Catra and Scorpia. The device fires sleeping gas, which knocks out the three of them.)

Scorpia: “My scorpion sting cannon put them all to sleep!”

Catra: “I knew we couldn’t trust that Huntara! Let’s get them back to the Fright Zone, quick!”

At the Fright Zone, Glimmer and She-Ra are held in a golden force, while Huntara talks to Hordak with two robots on either side. Her hands are cuffed together.

Huntara: “You lied to me, Hordak. She-Ra is not evil.”

Hordak: “Foolish woman! Your childish sense of fair play has no place here on Etheria. Take her to the dungeons. We’ll let her rot for a while.” (laughs)

(Huntara pulls out a device and throws it forward. A smoke grenade allows her to escape)

Catra: “She’s gone!”

Hordak: “Nincompoops, bunglers!”

Huntara: “I must free She-Ra and Glimmer.”

(Huntara throws an exploding star at the top of the device, making the orange energy disappear.)

She-Ra: “Hunatra’s done it! Come on, let’s give her a hand.”

Hordak: “Stop them!”

(Robots charge forward, while one holds all three swords. She-Ra kicks a pillar with a “Heeeyah!” which barrels into the oncoming troopers.)

Glimmer: “Excuuuse me, but that belongs to a friend of mine.”

(Glimmer grabs the sword from the robot)

Glimmer: “She-Ra, catch!”

(She-Ra catches her sword)

She-Ra: “Thanks.”

Huntara: “These chains.”

(She-Ra slashes her sword down, breaking the handcuff chain. She takes the cuffs off.)

Huntara: “Just let me get my swords.”

(Hunatra flips and rushes at the frightened robot. The robot flees and Huntara catches her swords)

Hordak: “Get her, you fools!”

Catra: “I’ll get you, Huntara!”

Scorpia: “She’s mine!”

(Huntara jumps out of the way, causing the two villains to crash into each other)

Hordak: “I’ll show you got to stop them!”

(He presses an orange square button, opening a door to reveal more troopers)

Huntara: “It seems like a good time to depart this foul fortress.”

She-Ra: “I couldn’t agree more.”

(The group flees and escapes)

 (Huntara stands in her ship)

She-Ra: “You sure you won’t stay? The Rebellion could use a fighter like you.”

Huntara: “I cannot, She-Ra. I am needed on my own planet. But, I wish you well. Farewell, She-Ra. When we meet again, it will be as friends.”

(Huntara pulls black mask over her face)

She-Ra: “I’ll look forward to it.”

(Both women wave to each other. The covering closes on the ship)

She-Ra: “She’s quite a woman, isn’t she, Swifty?”

SwiftWind: “That she is.” (nuzzles She-Ra.) “But then again, so are you, She-Ra. So are you.”

(Huntara flies away on her spaceship)

(2019)

She Ra is seen shaking Huntara’s hand, which she is not pleased. They are later seen fighting with swords in the desert at night. Huntara is shown holding She-Ra’s sword in her hand. Huntara appears as a de facto leader of the Crimson Waste who reluctantly helps Adora, Bow, and Glimmer on a quest.

[a-toast-to-my-real-friends]

LOVER RANKINGS

Alright, y’all may or may not know, I’m a Taylor Swift fan. Chad Willard posted his Rankings and Reasons for her newest album, Lover, and it inspired me to do the same. So, for the two of you who care about my personal Taylor opinions: here they are.

I haven’t sat with Lover long enough yet to really figure out where I am with it. Speak Now is my peak Taylor Swift album. I love the honesty and vulnerability on all those songs. My emotions oftentimes seem overwhelming, irrational, and illogical, and I feel like a crazy person because I tell myself, “Johnathan, you shouldn’t feel this way, so and so hasn’t done anything wrong, if anybody knew you were THIS upset about THIS situation, they’d all laugh and tell you to relax and calm down and that you were acting crazy.” And oh buddy, if I weren’t acting crazy before, best believe I’d act crazy after.

Speak Now makes me feel like it’s OK to be overwhelmed by my feelings, and Taylor does such a great job of saying exactly how I feel.

So I say all that to say, I’ll probably compare every Taylor album to Speak Now. Does Lover make me feel the same way Speak Now does? Yes and no.

I like Lover a lot. To be fair, I have listened more to the first half than the last, only because by the time I get to  “Death By a Thousand Cuts” I want to go back and listen to “I Forgot that You Existed” again. I’m going to agree with what Chad said that Hannah said: “our enjoyment of her songs oftentimes stems from where our current relationship status is.” I’m so happy that Taylor is in such a healthy, great place emotionally, and that she’s so deeply in love – and the songs she’s made are SO GOOD; but I think I’m having a difficult time enjoying them the way I would if I were in a solid, committed, tried and true relationship. I listen to “I think he knows” and “Paper Rings” and “Lover” and instead of being all glowy and glittery I just feel – sad, I guess. Which maybe explains why I like Speak Now so much, because a lot of those are sad and Overwhelmingly Emotional.

Anyway, TO THE RANKINGS!

18: False God. I just think it’s sonically boring. It’s not fun to sing along to, and the lyrics don’t do enough for me to raise it any higher. I’m gonna give it a little bit longer, maybe it’ll eventually grow on me, but it’s dangerously close to becoming a skip.

17: Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince. I’m going to get dragged for this, but it’s got the same chord progression as “So it Goes” from REPUTATION, and tbh, that one is a skip for me too. Maybe I’m not deep enough or politically educated enough to see all the brilliance behind it, but I’ll give it points for the line “It’s you and me, that’s my whole world,” though.

16: It’s Nice To Have a Friend: Meh. This just seems like a list of unrelated things she’s done with Joe. Again, maybe I’m not deep enough to understand the brilliance, but what is she trying to say? And the song is so repetitive, it doesn’t keep my interest. All this snow, ya know?

15: The Man. It’s a fun song, good beats, fun to sing along to. But as a white male, the content is unrelatable to me. Which is the point, I suppose. The song isn’t meant for me. I appreciate it, for sure, and I think it’s important, but I just don’t feel the way she feels, so it’s just strange to sing along to it. I don’t wonder if I’d get there faster if I was a man, because I am a man.

14: Soon You’ll Get Better. OK, I LOVE this song, to be clear. It’s so sad, so relatable, so pretty to listen to. Hello Dixie Chicks, glad to have you back. I cried the first time I heard it, because I’ve followed along with her mom’s struggle with cancer, and I’ve two really close friends who have lost parents recently to sickness, and the thought of them feeling this way just breaks my heart. The only reason it’s so low on my list is because I like the other songs so much. Here’s where it starts to get difficult for me.

13: London Boy. This one is a lot of fun, it’s fun to sing along to, and I like the fast rappy bridge. Gotta work on getting those lyrics down. I also like the small details about the steps that we all take in relationships, specifically meeting all of his best mates and listening to his stories from uni.

12: ME!. Brendon Urie come through with those vocals. I think I’m a little biased towards this one, just because of the video, and the excitement that always surrounds a new Taylor era. It was the first thing we saw post REPUTATION era, snakes into butterflies, all the bright colors in the video, the peppy catchy chorus. I also strongly relate to “I know that I’m a handful baby…but I promise that nobody’s gonna love you like me.”

11: Daylight. Highly relatable content here. I always say Taylor knows exactly where I am and what I’m going through. Speak Now, I was living in New York, struggling in every aspect, and spent a lot of that era feeling pretty lonely and crazy, broken, losing friends and missing them but not knowing how to say any of that to them. Red was a carry-over. 1989 I had moved to Orlando, was living in the Wolf Den with a bunch of doods that I loved, everything felt neon and electric and exciting. Reputation I had been kicked out of my house and betrayed and felt very snake like, unforgiving, and hard-hearted. And February of this year, I moved into a house I had found, picked amazing people to move in with, and felt in control of my life again. And if you happen to follow Taylor culture, that’s the same month she posted the picture with the seven palm trees to her instagam, which kicked off the whole Lover era. I say all that to say, it was time for me to step into the daylight and let it all go. To be defined by the things that I love, not the things I hate, or haunt me in the middle of the night. I only want to see daylight and think of that that special person, you know?

10: Afterglow. Hello Speak Now. It’s all me, in my head. I’m the one that burned us down, but it’s not what I meant. I don’t want to do this to you, and I don’t want to lose this with you. It’s the perfect example, IMHO, of unconditional love. Here’s all my crazy. Here’s all my insecurities. They’re going to rear their ugly head, will you please love me even with those? Here’s what I need from you in those moments of temporary emotional insanity: Tell me that you're still mine, tell me that we'll be just fine, even when I lose my mind. Tell me that I'm all you want even when I break your heart. And when you do that, I’ll say “I’m sorry that I hurt you.” What a beautiful picture of loving and being loved in return.

9: You Need To Calm Down. I dunno how closely y’all follow my antics on Facebook, but when this video dropped, I casually posted it because I liked the message. As a believer in Christ, I feel the Christian community has done a HORRIFIC job of loving the LBGTQ community, and my simple post BLEW UP, proving my point. Sidebar, I also link the first listen of this song to being in Toy Story Land with Topher, Jessica, and Leslie, huddling around my phone under the giant Christmas lights for our second dive into New Taylor.

8: Paper Rings. Ok now it’s starting to get super hard narrowing it down. We’ve entered my True Jams™ section. The only reason this is at the bottom of my True Jams™ section is because I ain’t in love like this, so where I want to feel like glitter is exploding inside of me, I just feel like dried glue the glitter was meant to stick to. I love how deeply personal it is, I love the specificity, and the song is a BOP. Standout lyrics: “I’m with you even if it makes me blue,” and “I want your complications too, I want your dreary Mondays…”

7: I Think He Knows. A Bop. Fun. Sexy. Coy and flirtatious, while also owning her power. The rappy bits. I’ve never felt a longing for somebody’s body just by the way they hold a cold glass, but boy, does this song make me want to. What specifics, what detail. Also – “I want you, bless my soul.” HONESTLY. BLESS IT LORD.

6: The Archer. Giving me those Speak Now vibes. All my heroes die alone – I jumped from the train, I ride off alone. The LONGING. The wanting to be wanted. Knowing you’re good enough, knowing you have a lot to offer – but also knowing that it’s so much that maybe nobody can handle it all. I’ve got so much to offer, who could ever leave me? I’m too much to handle – god, who could put up with all of it?

5: Cornelia Street. My God can I relate to this. I’m ALWAYS looking for the ending, for someone I love to tell me they’re leaving because being with me is too much. I always prepare for the worst case scenario. And only recently have I started to believe that maybe the worst case won’t always happen? Maybe somebody will stay? But man, my natural impulse, my knee-jerk reaction, will always be to get as far away from any and all memories of the good times. I don’t want to be reminded of the beauty and joy and greatness because it will just keep reminding me that I don’t have it anymore, and there’s nothing I could do to get it back.

4: Death by a Thousand Cuts. Ahhh, yesss, Taylor. Speak to me of being left and of the heartbreak that brings. Also, make it a bop. I constantly find myself looking through the boarded up windows of past relationships, and I see the chandelier still flickering and see all the beautiful moments, though they may have lost the radiance they once had. Saying goodbye is the worst, endings are the worst, new beginnings mean something else ended stale. Also being given up like I was a bad drug – reminds me of a line from “Better Man”: “You pushed my love away like it was some kind of loaded gun.” Pure Taylor and I’m here for it.

3: I Forgot that You Existed. On repeat. Will dance and sing to this endlessly. Also always here for a good snarky twist of the kinfe.

2: Lover. Again, the longing. The vulnerability. Asking the questions that are scary to ask, that people would think you are insane for asking someone. Loving somebody so much that you put everything else aside, and all you want is to ask, “Can I go where you go?” Clingy. Needy. Co-dependent. As brave as it would be to ask a question like that, the fear of being seen as any of these things will keep most from doing it. Which probably hinders more than it helps, because if somebody loves us, truly loves us, we should be able to ask that without any fear of anyone or anything. But I’ll sing it and pretend.

1: Cruel Summer. SO. SINGABLE. I love the chorus. It gets stuck in my head. I love the lyrics. The frailty. A relationship that started as friends with benefits, her saying “it’s cool, no rules,” when secretly she’s falling in love and fears saying it, because she thinks it’d be the worst thing he’s ever heard. Yeah, OK, please stop reading my diary, girl. But the best part is, IMHO, he feels the same way about her, and also has feared speaking up, which is why he’s grinning like a devil, because he’s so happy because he feels the same way. 10/10 cant’ stop listening.

 And there you have it, folks. Time may change my rankings, relationships may change my rankings, but from where I sit, 10 days in, these are my thoughts. If you made it this far, I’d love to know what you think of the album, and your rankings!!! As if I’ll ever pass up a chance to talk about/listen to someone talking about Taylor Swift. Sound off!

[tsdaylightlover]

My Review of Lover

To kind of keep with my post last night in trying to do more original posts and since I got to listen to the album all day at my final day of my internship, I wanted to do a review of Lover by song. Enjoy!

I Forgot You Existed: This is an interesting song to open an album. It’s not a full production like State of Grace or Ready For It, but it’s a good way of saying bye to the past, here’s my future. I love the way she pronounced certain words in this song too, like ‘indifference’ and her laugh. It’s a fun song.

Cruel Summer:  I didn’t know what to expect with this song, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it. The passion in the way she ‘screams’ the bridge elevates the song. I’ve read a post that thinks this is a song about her cheating but I read it more of an apology to the guy, saying that summer wasn’t fair to either of them. Regardless of the subject, this song will be awesome to blare in the car and it’s one of my favorites on the album.

Lover: Honest opinion: I didn’t really care for Lover when I first heard it. It’s a grower and honestly if you can put ‘thee’ in a song and it fit naturally, that’s an amazing songwriter. Still not a favorite but I like the different production and the new ways she’s using her voice. This song will be better for me I think when I’m actually in love.

The Man: What a timely song! She gets a lot of shit for things I’ve seen actors and other male singers are forgiven for. Hell, reading some comments still have the narrative of her having famous boyfriends only to dump them for song materials. I kind of hope this becomes a single for this precise reason. Anyway, I like the song, but again not a favorite.

The Archer: I. Love. This. Song. It’s different and unique but also magical and mysterious. I love the self-reflection in this song while still reaching out to her loved one. There’s doubt while still strength and I just love this song.

I Think He Knows: I have a confession, I kind of forget about this song in listening to the album in full. I like the quick singing in the bridge and the chorus. I think this is a grower and it’ll be another fun one to sing in the car.

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince: It didn’t hit me that this was about the state of the US until she said it, but I can hear it now. I love this song though. The ‘cheerleader’ shouts during the chorus and bridges (she really does love them, doesn’t she?) are awesome and the production is perfect. Just a wonderful song. Another I hope gets the single treatment, I can see this as a fall single. One of my favorites.

Paper Rings: This song is a bop. I love the beat, the lyrics, the idea of paper rings, and falling for someone over time and not immediately. This song is fun and I can’t wait to see it performed live. Another favorite.

Cornelia Street: This song is interesting. I like that her love songs are full of doubt and not full of ‘love lasts forever’. She lays out her fears and vulnerability while still telling him she loves him. I love the instrumentation to this, and I have an image of a 1930s/1940s Taylor walking down a rainy street in London wearing a brown coat and hat singing this song.

Death By A Thousand Cuts: This one is kind of like ‘I Think He Knows’. I kind of forget about this one. I like this one a little better that ‘He Knows’. It’s got a different production and the lyrics are interesting. This is a grower but I’m already liking it more and more.

London Boy: I love how she sings this song, especially the chorus. I love British culture and history in general (and don’t get me started on the accents!). This song is just joyful. This is a song that’s going to grow in popularity on tour, like ‘King’ from reputation.

Soon You’ll Get Better: Thank you, Taylor, for making me cry listening to this. This is just a heartbreaking song and I understand why we will never hear it live. I can also see this being played for someone going through a mental illness like depression and or a rough personal time. Thank you, Taylor for releasing it even though I know it was hard for you and I hope your Mom gets better soon.

False God: Nice horn at the beginning. I like how for an album about love, she adds songs about fears and fights. Love is a rollercoaster and she covers every angle. This song sounds sexy and sensual, the instrumental and the horns create an atmosphere of a sexy love song while the lyrics talk of fights and struggling to reach other during those off times. It’s intimate. I love this song more and more every time I listen to it.

You Need to Calm Down: This song is just awesome. Nothing else to describe it. The perfect slam back to online haters and anti-LGBTQ protestors. And the video was perfect. Just perfect.

Afterglow: Another interesting song. The subject matter wasn’t what I thought it would be, but I love it. I like how she’s taking responsibility for a fight and saying ‘look, I did this and I’m sorry’. That’s rare in media, usually people play the victim and don’t take accountability for their parts in issues and fights. The production in this is fun with the steady drums and beat. I like this song. It’s different.

Me: I love how her first singles never really sound like the rest of the album and yet still match the album. This song is a blast. It introduced me to Brendan Urie (I only knew about Jared Leto as the singer of Panic! At The Disco) and he just fits perfectly with the song. Honestly, the more I hear it the more I love it. It’s a just a fun, pop song, and we need more of these.

It’s Nice To Have A Friend: I needed this song. I don’t have a lot of friends, actually I really have like one outside of my sister, and this song is everything I’ve always wanted. I’m a firm believer that friends are just as important or even more than romantic relationships. Never underestimate the power of a good friend. It’s the little things like in this song. I love this haunting background voices singing ‘Ooooh’ and the instruments are different. This is one of my favorites for very personal reasons.

Daylight: This is my Out of the Woods and State of Grace for this album. I loved this song on the very first album listen and a part of me wished she had named the album this like she intended. It would have been a nice continuation from the darkness and edginess of reputation. I love the lyrics of coming out of the dark and the instrumentation and just everything about this song. My absolute favorite part is the end when she speaks. I can see her performing this song and letting the song and stage fade while those words play and are written across the screen.

So right now, my top 5 favorites are: Daylight, It’s Nice to Have A Friend, The Archer, Paper Rings, Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

(That was hard to chose just five!)

So what’s everyone’s favorites?