#nor is it like an evil barbara

[azaenya]

Barbara picked up: A 1886 Holland & Holland Paradox Shotgun!

She grips the cold metal of the barrel, and blood rushes to her head.

BARBARA NOW HOLDS THE POWER TO TERMINATE LIFE

[thebibliosphere]

I was just playing gotham knights again and noticed some passive dialog regarding Babs having a back brace, which is at least acknowledging that there was damage done, but I'm a little sad for the loss of some really cool disability representation. What are your feelings on her (and on a similar note Batman's) miraculous recovery from paralysis in DC?

I think Gotham Knights handled her disability fairly well, considering this is a universe where magic, nanobots, and puddles of evil green goo that can heal the dead exist. All things considered, it would have been very easy for them to either erase it entirely or just handwave and say, "She worked really hard and got better," as previous iterations of the canon have done.

Because she did work hard and get better, but the hard work is ongoing because they depict her issues as chronic.

She's got a limp (it's the most obvious in her Talon suit with no cape in the way), which means she can't rely on speed or high kicks like the others can (I mean, she can kick, but it's her slowest motion, and until you max out her suit, it's the most liable to get her thrown to the ground), so she falls back on precision and her tech.

Jason punches for maximum pain, Dick moves with dizzying speed, and Tim's gonna sneak up on you and drop you like a rock, but Babs is going for the pressure points with ruthless precision. Not to mention her drones.

The conversation with Tim, realizing she might need help boosting her suit to compensate for her pain/strength issues, is a nice little way of making the player aware that she's got these ongoing problems because, honestly, a casual observer could mistake her back brace for athleisure wear if they didn't recognize the shape of it. It's also a good way of throwing in some exposition about how she's still going to physical rehab and that her PT would like her to "wean off" her back brace, but because her PT doesn't know her actual job as a vigilante, Barbara admits she can't and is essentially finding ways to manage her own care and create her own accommodations. Accommodations which they are all shown to be willing to help with.

It's a nice little touch when superhero narratives tend to revolve around self-sacrifice to the point of self-destruction. Alfred giving Dick into trouble for pushing himself too far and hiding injuries is a nice touch, too, even if it's like trying to bail water on the Titanic with a teacup.

I also like that not only do you see her wheelchair lurking around the Belfry—along with the disability adaptations they put in place, like the ramps, the wheelchair elevator, and the desks that move up and down to wheelchair height—but that she also still uses her chair from time to time.

[ID a screenshot from Gotham Knights showing the Belfry. Light streams in through a giant clockface, showcasing a bank of computer screens. In front of the screen, Barbara Gordon is using her wheelchair as Dick Grayson stands behind her, probably making a bad pun.]

Whether she's using it because she's tired or simply because it's more comfortable than the computer chair is never revealed. Nor is it brought up or commented on. It's just something that's normal for Barbara to do, and I like that. I like that it's normal. It's not a part of herself she's trying to erase. She works with it, not against it.

Is it perfect? No. Do they outright erase her disability like so many of the comics are guilty of? Also, no. I'd argue that, in fact, they kept her disability. They just changed the nature of it.

Barbara now has a dynamic disability, one which fluctuates and requires different management based on her day-to-day (or night) activity. She's in active treatment for it and will be for the rest of her life. Are some of the physical feats she achieves realistic for someone with an injury of her nature? Not really, but again, this is a world where nobody stays dead, and there are zombie assassins coming out of the walls. I'll take the attention to detail and care they put into her story any day over the "Willpower Fixed My Spine" narrative we could have gotten.

As for Bruce getting healed by magic, again, it's Batman. Comic book logic is wibbly-wobbly at the best of times, and realistically speaking, they couldn't leave Batman paralyzed. His whole deal revolves around being stealthy and punching the shit out of people. He wouldn't be Batman anymore, and frankly, I don't trust the comic writers as far as I could throw them to handle that right.

By contrast, the Gotham Knights writers handled Barbara with much more care and nuance than I ever expected. And I'm thankful for that.

---

*I also like that both Dick and Barbara are often shown wearing joint braces. Dick's are especially reminiscent of the way gymnasts and people with hypermobility tape their joints to reduce pain and prevent injuries. It's a nice little touch. They're not invincible. Their bodies hurt. They're just like me but with money and much bigger problems like giant killer robots and zombie assassins.

[but-a-humble-goon]

This is something I see weapons grade bad takes about so I feel like commenting. I think Barbara Gordon was Batgirl, in part, because it was fun. I do think that in addition to wanting to help people, the thrill and the danger of it was a huge part of the appeal of superheroing for her. She's straight up said as much herself plenty of times. Now do try and bear with me for this next bit because some of you seem to struggle; this does not make her a bad nor immature person. I cannot fathom the train of logic required to reach that conclusion. "Oh well you might have saved this bus full of orphans from being blown up by a penguin themed mob boss at great risk to yourself but you also... got a kick out of it while doing so? Oh how evil and selfish of you, I guess?" And more relevantly, it does not fucking mean she deserved what happened to her, jesus christ what is wrong with you all?

[officersnickers]

We see that Marco has been crying, so my guess is because he was heartbroken with the idea that his beloved priest would succumb againts a Demon Lord. And in the case that Lea and Barbara told him the truth about Imuri, then I see him putting the blame on her with the excuse that she "corrupted" Mr Priest and spilling the beans

Okay, this whole answer is going only to scratch the surface of anything, because to be honest, Marco‘s a character I didn‘t think too much about till now, but his appearence in the latest chapter surely will stirr things up. We learned from different people (and even Marco himself) he‘s literally worshipping Mr. Priest, and any sign of weakness or succumbing to the „evil“ side would break something in Marco. He quite literally puts Mr. Priest on a pedastal, without reaching the boy a hand to climb down from it for a while.

Even Daniel and Leah seem to be wary of him, and I can‘t see why they could be wrong. They both know the miracle boy is on the edge of breaking, literally falling apart by the burden of having to save the world every day until his very last one. Considering everything, what Mr. Priest needs is a friend, a loyal partner, who‘s honest to him, but also tries to protect him. He doesn‘t get this from Marco (as far as we could see for now), nor from Imuri and not even Leah and Barbara, sadly.

Now to your question (finally!) - I, too, think these were tears of being heartbroken, disbeliefed beyond reason, and anger. Considering the look on Marco‘s face (in comparrison to Leah, who seems to be more concerned for Mr. Priest‘s well-being), he strikes to me to be hella pissed. There‘s the guy he literally worshipped like a God, just moments after he tried to end the world for good. Succumbing to a demon (even if it was a demon lord, and Mr. Priest arguably weakened) and not resisting, not fighting back the „evil“ of this world. Marco doesn‘t know it yet, but Mr. Priest even wants to run away! Not follow what he thinks he should go through further – being restricted and captured for life – but actually living! Indulging in sin instead of fighting it! Not dying for the greater good! How selfish of this teenage boy!

About Leah and Barbara telling anyone about Imuri – I‘m not too sure they would, yet at least. Daniel seems to know ~something~ anyway, and Miha lives in hiw own bubble, maybe just shrugging ang going on unbothered. I want to be fair to the girls and say they actually seem to like Mr. Priest. View him as their friend – surely, they wouldn‘t want to start an even greater fire by pouring oil in it aka telling the guy who‘s angry as hell as their friend about the demon gal (hanging on Mr. Priest‘s back like a koala lol). For my part, they probably want save him – but not at the cost of ruining the very little life he had so far, loosing him because he once wavered like they did. Yes, he did a mistake, and yes, they can‘t let have Imuri have her way with him. But should Marco instead? I do – hope – not. In the end, it‘s not Imuri‘s fault Mr. Priest fucked up. It‘s their collective one, loading the fate of the world on his shoulders till he couldn‘t bear it anymore. Imuri may try to make the miracle boy fall (in love) – but you can only fall if there‘s no one to hold you upright. And, as we know, no one really ever did for Mr. Priest.

[atopfourthwall]

Thanks for answering the Constantine question, sir. I also had a few thoughts to discuss in regards to the somber ending of "Remembrance of the Daleks." I don't think it would have been a good call to make the ending a triumphant one, given what the Doctor did to defeat his foes. Yes, it was undeniably necessary, but it's something that probably weighed as heavily on him as it did back when he held those wires in his hands. Mourning that it had come to this point. Iunno, maybe it's just me.

Ehhh, comparing it to Genesis seems like a bit of a false equivalence. There, he's about to do something that goes against everything he trained for, everything he has done throughout his life, everything he has scolded others - both casually and angrily - that goes against his very being AS a Time Lord: deliberately changing history to a massively radical degree. And it's all on him to do it. The Time Lords gave him the options and he has reached the moment where he could change history to such a degree - would it make him any better than the Meddling Monk, than the Master, than Barbara with the Aztecs, etc.? In Remembrance, he destroyed a lot of very evil creatures without needing to radically alter time and thankfully kept casualties to a minimum while also returning a terrible weapon to his people so it can't be used by said forces. He's done that many, MANY times before. Sure, I understand some of the somberness given there WERE casualties, but it's still an interesting way to end it given the overall positives. Despite what New Who may have put forth about the Doctor, classic Who shows that while the Doctor does not enjoy killing nor is it his first resort and he certainly has qualms about killing in cold blood, needing to do the deed? "Welp, they left me no other choice. Time to move on!"

[justvora]

Cassandra Cain should be BATMAN.

Art credits: Karahuset

Honestly, I am not going to expand much on this, even though I could do an essay.

Cassandra Cain should be Batman and take his place and role. Not a "she should be in an alternate future?" No. She should be him in the current continuity, and there's nothing that annoys me more than seeing how in hundreds of elseworlds they've made Damian Batman, but Cass has been left stuck in his legacy.

Why? Simply sexism.

Helena Wayne already said it at the time: the bat is a symbol, an indistinct mantle depending on gender or whatever. Batman is a symbolic figure, not a person, but a legionary entity that exists thanks to its myths, thanks to urban legends.

"She could be Batgirl, or Batwoman", no, darling, no. Those are completely unrelated legacies no matter how much they stick to the Batman nexus. They serve a completely different book in which their own story is told, ceasing to be the pages of someone else's book. And Cass is the only one capable of taking the Bat's book to capture her story there and continue that legacy, not being an extension of it, but a central part of it.

Kate Kane (taking into account the post-crisis continuity) was a self-destructive woman who was expelled from the army for having relations with her roommate and who saw in Batman the inspiration to become a vigilante herself, so she took her military knowledge to create her own "symbol", wearing a completely different mantle that, even so, was based on and inspired by the Bat's icon.

Likewise, the Batgirl title was born in a completely different form and, in the future, she would become an assistant to the Bat-family. Barbara Gordon started in a casual, spontaneous and independent way, wanting to "annoy" her father at a party, but everything would take a turn when she would end up acting more like a heroine in a given moment to stop Killer Moth.

Those are mantles that were born detached from that of Batman himself but that, in the end, have intertwined and crossed. The point is that they do not have the same meaning, nor do they represent the same thing within the fight against crime. In the end it's digging into unnecessary technicalities, but the point is that if Cassandra should inherit a mantle it would be the core one, that of the Bat itself to become "The Bat".

Cassandra Cain is the one who has taken the symbol more seriously than anyone else. The one who most adheres to the no-kill rule. The most apt and who has the best attitude for it.

With this I do not detract from characters like Dick, Jason or Tim, as they are building their own legacy and history away from what has been the history of the Bat.

In the past it was said that she lacked other skills to take up the mantle, yet Batman himself claimed that she was best suited to take up his mantle when needed. She could very well team up with her siblings to do the job, or co-exist with another Batman to complement their skills and increase the fear of criminals given the possibility that "Batman is everywhere".

But I actually consider Cassandra to have very good detective skills. Perhaps not as refined, but her past and the fact that she has been a murderer (even if she canonically only took someone's life) gives her the knowledge of how to prevent murders, both by her hand and by the hand of others; that is, she knows what to do not to kill and still reduce those who have done evil; and, likewise, she knows how a murderer will act, which helps her when it comes to solving criminal cases.

The fact that she has stained her hands only once makes her carry a great weight on her. Among so many things, she became Batgirl to redeem herself and give meaning to an empty life, absent of identity (something that did her a lot of psychological damage, which is why Babs wanted her to develop on a social level so that Cass wouldn't be so isolated); and that's why, more than anyone else, she doesn't want a single person to die. She doesn't want to shed blood in vain, and from the beginning she always put herself before bullets by sacrificing herself (although this was something she did in a "death wish" kind of way, something I personally don't buy into because of how stale it comes across, being a trope of the time, but it still demonstrates her calling and sacrifice for heroism).

She takes the rule of killing more seriously than absolutely anyone else.

"Nobody dies tonight."

"Okay, but... She does not have the deductive reasoning. She is not a skilled tactician. She has no skill at mind games on either side of them."

#1 Bruce Wayne: Fugitive storyline. When everyone figured Bruce was a murderer, Cass was one of the few who didn't write Bruce off. She looked at the victim's body and saw the first clue to Bruce's innocence.

#2 Skilled tactician. She studied tapes of the Brotherhood of Evil in action after her prior loss to them. She studied them so much the next time they fought she owned the three members that attacked her.

No mind games you say? Tell it to Deathstroke who she played mind games with owning him twice.

All this not to mention her body language skills, something that not only makes her a superior fighter to anyone, being the first person who could beat Lady Shiva in a completely fair one-on-one, but also a human lie detector as she is able to recognize the truths and secrets that people hide deep inside. This makes her a completely empathetic girl by understanding people's emotions better than anyone else, making her a more tactful girl.

Anyway those are characteristics to fulfill the bare minimum of being Batman, and she goes above and beyond. It's not just that they meet the necessary skills, or that she has the necessary attitude, determination and self-sacrifice, but that she is the best fit. Cassandra is an equal for Bruce, a reflection of his very person in a good way, though there is one thing Cass can still do unlike Bruce at the expense of all the years he carries on his back: Cassandra can change and be a full person. It is her ability to grow, mature and understand life under a full perception, because thanks to an upbringing next to a real family she can understand the world around her to be a self-made person.

She is not driven by revenge, but by justice. She is not hate, but love and hope.

Cassandra is a woman who believes in giving people a second chance, because she believes in redemption, in change.

Likewise, and to conclude, in the current continuity it is confirmed that Cass is not only Bruce Wayne's daughter (this is indirectly implied in her dialogue with Dinah), but that she is "everyone's favorite Batman".

“ Everyone experiences tragedy. Tim. Bruce. You and me. It's not about the city. It's about how you choose to see the world. Everything else is just an excuse. ”

[the-blossica-fan]

Busy today, woah, what even is living

Either way, I was playing 2.2 and to be honest, it's not as bad as I expected. I must have lowered my standards after everyone else had their fair share of insulting it, but to me, it felt like home. I'm not Brazilian however, so that's not what I'm going to talk about.

I want to ramble a little bit about an Nala Hari, Anjo Nala, or better known as Ms. Kimberly. I'm not good at talking about representation or anything, but I kinda wanna talk about 2.0-2.1-2.2

Anjo Nala's character is a difficult one to catch. Back in 2.0, we viewed her as irredeemably evil, a demon that stood in the way of our loved characters, killed a fellow friend and almost killed a fan favorite. Back then, she was pure evil to us.

In 2.1, we view her as weak. She lives trembling, talking about eating, food and hunger, she looks weaker and doesn't possess even the slightest of threat to us, like a completely different character. This naturally surprises us, but then, she turns, and we view her again as evil.

In 2.2, she is redeemed, but we don't really know how or why. She simply tags along, saved Vertin's life and we even learn more about her as we go. Now, that's a thing to talk about after I finish her story. What I mean to say is:

She's been in three patches, is her build up properly made?

Not really.

In 2.0, she's an antagonist. For my taste, a boring one as well. We didn't know much of her back then, but the fact that we didn't fight the building threat but a new one didn't sit me right. I thought her appearance was sudden, but I could push past that.

In 2.1, I was glad to see her again, but without being such a boring antagonist and a more compelling, interesting character. I loved her appearance here, playing with that soft face of hers, the way she spoke and how genuine words and falsity could be hardly discerned in her words. To me, this paper suited her much more, I knew she wasn't that evil anyway.

My problem with her lies on her introduction trailer. Anjo Nala's trailer, Code Name: Kimberly.

For those who haven't played 2.0 and 2.1, the shocking reveal that Anjo Nala is Ms Kimberly is nothing. They didn't have that confusion or mixed feelings from her appearance at the beginning, they just see Anjo, they never met Kimberly.

Her introduction trailer is a mess too. If you didn't know who she was before, then her trailer is slightly confused. Are you supposed to know her? If you saw the 2.1 trailer, you certainly know her, but you don't know her introduction, and her character relies heavily on 2.0 and 2.1 to be endearing.

Without knowing 2.0, how would you know why she appeared? Without knowing 2.1, how would you know why Vertin and Anjo know each other?

2.0 may not be that important, but 2.1 is. Only if we played through that event we know why we're in Sao Paulo. We met Barbara on Tuesday's Motel, she told us about Urd's last connection in Sao Paulo, and we went to Sao Paulo. From 1.9 back in the island to 2.2 in Sao Paulo, there is a missing piece in between filled by 2.1, but 2.1 is an event that isn't obligatory to play.

Those who didn't play it have a big gap between the two.

My problem isn't really with the representation, I'm not Brazilian and it stuck close to my own home so I don't have many problems with it. My problem also doesn't rely on the messy story, I can eat that. My problem relies on the fact that it's not a smooth sailing like chapter 5.

We know from chapter 4 to chapter 5 why we went to the island. We need to find Urd, and we need to know about the mysterious island written in a report, and our first encounter is a flashback on how we got to the island. That connects the dots.

In chapter 8, however, we just appear. There is no introductory scene on why we're here, nor a ride to Sao Paulo, nor are we saying goodbye to Barbara. Nothing. We appear in Sao Paulo and that's it.

And I may be a little picky, this problem doesn't affect me, I'm no new player, but it bothers me a little. There is nothing connecting chapter 7 to chapter 8, just event 2.1, you can't make an event be the knot connecting two entirely different stories if it's not going to be permanent.

I love love LOVE the idea of the main story directly affecting the events like 2.0, but I don't like the idea of events directly affecting the main story. They should be separated unless there is a way to connect them, or else, you create gaps in the main story.

[rgr-pop]

My goal for the year was to watch & log 100 movies. Shorts count, didn't matter whether I had seen them before, but they can only count once for the year. I logged 117!

First & last watched: Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969)--the reason I cared about movies so much this year, just an obvious life-changer for me--and Ken Russell's The Rainbow (1989)--Westlin's suggestion for the perfect round out. Surprised to be surprised by how good it was. Great films! Totally on the program! Questions to this day unanswered! Let's go!

Shorts (everything short of Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story) watched: 16

Favorite shorts: Nuit et Brouillard (Alain Resnais, 1956) (decided this year one of my all-time favorite films); Un Chant d'Amour (Jean Genet, 1950); Fireworks (Kenneth Anger, 1947)

Next year my shorts watching will be more programmatic

Films I watched twice in 2023: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) (another film I realized this year obviously belongs in my top ten--more specifically I decided finally that this is my favorite non-Texas Chain Saw film); Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster, 2023); The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993)

By decade: Before 1900: 0 1900 - 1910: 1 1910 - 1919: 1 1920 - 1929: 1 bro come ON what the FUCK 1930 - 1939: 1 im literally evil 1940 - 1949: 7 1950 - 1959: 3 1960 - 1969: 24 1970 - 1979: 14 1980 - 1989: 16 1990 - 1999: 17 2000 - 2009: 13 2010 - 2019: 9 2020 - 2023: 10

By nation/language roughly: uk/english: 6 us/english: 66 canada/english: 6 france/french: 10 italy/italian: 4 italy/france/french: 1 italy/english: 1 czechoslovakia/czech: 5 palestine/arabic: 3 soviet/russian: 2 russia/russian: 1 austria/german: 1 austria/french: 1 spain/spanish: 1 japan/japanese: 1 poland/yiddish: 1 poland/polish: 1 senegal/wolof: 1 brazil/portuguese: 1 sweden/swedish: 1 eur/farsi: 1 south africa/afrikaans: 1

numbers not adding up there but w/e

By director: Not sure if this is surprising or totally unsurprising, but in spite of my auteurial talk (and all the thematic/completionist plans I like to make), I very rarely watched more than two movies by the same director. I can't decide how I feel about this, nor do I know how to proceed this year given that my goal is to discover who my top five directors might actually be. How do you go about investigating that?

Overwhelmingly the director I watched the most was Adrian Lyne, with five films. I have a few more things to work on but I'm close to done with my shakedown/theory. Neither my favorite director nor favorite guy, I would say I probably 'enjoy' and 'personally get more out of watching' his films more than most. In second place, I watched three Kenneth Anger films--all shorts of course. I watched two films each by the following directors: Ken Russell, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Paul Schrader, Bernardo Bertolucci, Ti West, Todd Haynes, Michael Haneke, Jan Švankmajer (both shorts), and Billy Wilder (one of which being a war department documentary short).

I have mixed feelings about this approach (let me watch man movies if i I want to!) but a quick skim suggests I watched about 15 films directed by women (12%)--lower than expected and probably low for me typically. I always have a romance habit on the backburner so it's never hard for me to watch a lot of movies by women, but obviously my focus on revered directors I never previously wanted to spend time on has had an impact here, meaning I should make an effort with Great women directors in 2024 to keep that in check. I will also say that I specifically recall having a hard time getting my hands on things I wanted to watch by women in a few different cases, including by Great women directors (Barbara Hammer and Akerman), and especially also soviet women directors. There's an overlap here with difficulty accessing short films!

I'm not an active or thoughtful starrer, but these are the films I watched in 2023 that I've given five stars to:

Women in Love (Ken Russell, 1969) (upgraded from four after the year of appreciating it) Mandabi (Ousmane Sembène, 1968) Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996) Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956) Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) (demoted Teorema [1968] to four stars to prevent Salo is A Perfect Film deflation) Un Chant d'Amour (Jean Genet, 1950)

Least favorite films watched in 2023: Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019), Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023), All My Good Countrymen (Vojtěch Jasný, 1968), Zahrada (Jan Švankmajer, 1968), the one streaming true crime doc I watched that I then had to log (will not repeat in 2024)

Loved/treats for me: Barry Lyndon, Crossing Delancey, Unfaithful, The Cremator, The Night Porter, Cabaret, talking to people about Funny Games and realizing I love it more than I think I do

Recommended for the romance girls as a thank you for the good romance you have recommended me: Habibi (Susan Youssef, 2011)

Most incredible movie experience of the year by miles and I can only hope 2024 has something this good to offer: House of 1000 Corpses (Rob Zombie, 2003) anniversary screening my birthweek

The otherwise defining film of 2023 for me: Hostel (Eli Roth, 2005)

Onward! Back to work! On the Terror and Violence line! The Family is out there, comfortable, in relative peace…

[findafight]

know that your Steve/barb s1 au is haunting me it's SO GOOD

it haunts me too i think they could be so good and interesting together as a couple. also. the angst potential is like x10 if barb DOESN'T make it out of the upside down.

like. Nancy in canon blames both herself and Steve for Barb's death, but in this...Nancy went home. She left Barb with Steve and then Barb went missing and died and Steve didn't and is alive. Steve was the one who should have walked Barb to her car (even though she said she was fine) or convinced her to stay the night (despite that not being a reasonable thing on a school night nor did Barb want to) and Steve's the one who invited Barb over... and even though Nancy encouraged Barb to go for it, I think some of her guilt wouldn't be there because of the different situations but a lot of her blaming Steve would be.

And Steve's here, with the only people his age that know about the evil Hawkins underneath them either being a kinda creepy weirdo (Jon) or hates his guts (Nancy), and his almost-kinda-mostly girlfriend is dead and he blames himself too. They weren't together long enough for him to love her, but he thinks he could have. Could feel himself falling hard and fast and now all that potential of could have beens is gone, dead with Barb in the Upside Down. And he has no one to talk to about it.

this bubbles and festers until Nancy accuses him of being bullshit, of not having any right to mourn Barb when he barely knew her, how it was his fault anyway. And he agrees to all of it because he thinks she's right. Barb's parents had talked about her to him, told him about little Barbara and her microscope, and her button collection, and her ballet slippers. He knows things about Barb, not he doesn't know Barb. And that hurts, because he wanted to, he wanted to know her in those weeks before, when they flirted and kissed, and he wanted to know her when all he knew was that she was missing and he was worried, and he wanted to know her when he attended her funeral. But he didn't, and now he never would.

when Robin asks if he's ever been in love on the nasty Starcourt bathroom floor, he says no. but he could have been. was halfway there, but never got the chance to actually fall. That it was his fault anyways.

And isn't that a goddamn shame?

[hederigerenthag]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Some critiques and a theory

So, I finally saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and found it fun, but ultimately disappointing, especially compared to the original. Its potential, however, awakened my inner script doctor, and I have THOUGHTS:

We have to start with some cutting to make room for the themes we want to expand on. Dolores was ultimately a distraction - cut her, or find her something to do. Rory, similarly, was neither interesting nor useful to the core arc of the narrative.

Jeremy: don't make him a murderer from the start. Make him a kid, who died too young, for no good reason. Let him marinate in that, alone, for 20 years until he's desperate enough to steal another kid's life for his own. That's an understandable motive, and it makes him a more compelling character than just a bad guy who does things because evil. Related to this point, I would change the introduction of his parents and the actually-a-ghost reveal entirely. Let the Frasiers live, and when Lydia arrives at the house, we'll finally see them as they are: elderly and withdrawn in decades of deep grief. (Side note: this would also explain why Jeremy's room is just as it was in the late '90's. I don't believe Jane the Real Estate Agent would really have just left all the murder detritus intact while looking for a buyer. I do believe that grieving parents would leave their teenager's room as it was for as long as they could).

What to do with a sympathetic, but still antagonistic Jeremy? The movie, as it exists, introduces in a throw-away line about Adam and Barbara that it is possible to cease haunting and move on. They should have had to trick Jeremy into activating this loophole moving on. Why do I think this is better than dumping him into hellfire? Because the movie as it stands lacks a cohesive theme, and it was so close to landing on one. Together with change 2 (and another change, below), I think it would have had a chance to say something real about grief and healing and moving on with life, which I think it was aiming for, but ultimately lost in the slapstick & spectacle of it all.

The dad (Richard), as it stands, is mostly a nothing character and a deus-ex-machina. He's introduced with one key character trait: a desire to save the world and a penchant for lost causes. When we see him, though, he's just another Afterlife functionary. This feels fundamentally out of character, and when your writing is so thin that each character only has one defining trait - that kind of thing stands out. However, throughout the movie, if you look at the newspapers, they all reference a Caseworker Strike that is never referenced out loud. It would have made much more character sense (and thematic sense, with the above), if Richard had moved on in death and found a new cause... one like organizing the caseworkers and reforming the dysfunctional and corrupt Afterlife. This is the 'and a theory' because I'm convinced that this was actually supposed to be a C plot and was cut. It just makes so much sense.

[irandomblogfulb]

This whole "crwby" shit really is a double edged sword.

Yeah, from the perspective of a capitalist Corp who only cares about lining their pockets, there's a benefit. Fans will support Ruwuby in the name of supporting "Crwby" when crwby is just a subsection of RT. Supporting "crwby" is supporting RT.

"The animation dept brings in 60% of the revenue or more."

Crwby is part of Roosterteeth's animation dept. Rwby is their biggest title. That 60% of their total revenue is very likely coming from Rwby exclusively.

Crwby is a vague enigma. What or who "crwby" is differs from person to person (or Stan to critic). That can work to Roosterteeth's favour as mentioned above but like I said, it's a double edged sword. You can't transfer Rwby's success anywhere else. They tried with Genlock and it flopped. Hard. Roosterteeth doesn't have the star power they once had. And though they cultivated a passionate fan base that will defend them tooth and nail ( in the guise of supporting crwby) those fans only care about rwby. They have dedicated so much of themselves, so much of their money and time into rwby, some new shiny rwby-clone isn't going to garner that same response and dedication.

Crwby is no Hideo Kojima. Tetsuya Nomura can leave Square Enix and do his own shit and people will flock to check it out. When you think of Kingdom Hearts, you think of Tetsuya Nomura. You think Metal Gear Solid, you think Hideo Kojima. You think Ghibli, you think Hayao Miyazaki. Final Fantasy XIIII fans are gonna check out Final Fantasy XVI cause Yoshi-P was director of both those games. The appeal of Final Fantasy XV was that Nomura was the director. Do you see what I'm getting at?

When you of rwby, you think of Monty, but unfortunately, he's no longer here with us to helm the franchise. Realistically, it should be Kerry but the guy is so...bland (?) and uninspired. Miles is more and less distancing himself from the franchise. The next best thing is crwby, an undefined, ever-changing group of people who work on the show.

How is crwby, this enigma supposed to take rwby back from the evil, big bad Roosterteeth? Kerry and Miles, the closest to a figurehead for rwby, and were there for rwby conceptualisation, are burnt out on rwby. Miles relinquished all responsibility he had. Kerry, just, I don't think he wants to be showrunner anymore, nor enjoys the responsibility he has as writer, producer and director.

Rwby fans are not Miles Luna fans. They are not Kerry fans, Eddy fans, Barbara fans etc etc. They got into Rwby because of the initial appeal of the premise, strong art direction, and fight choreography, but they stayed because Rwby ultimately fuels fandom. There is no passion (from higher up), just pandering to the largest demographic.

Tdlr, because I forgot where I was going with this rant; Roosterteeth is fucked because they can't pivot the success of Rwby towards anything else because their fanbase is obessed with Rwby. Miles, Kerry, Barbara and anyone considered part of "crwby" is fucked because the stans only like rwby because their fanfics are treated as canon and the parasocial relationship they have with the team behind the franchise. They need Rwby, not the other way around. They might be kekeing and enjoying the clout for now but eventually the stans (again, who arent their fans and the extent they care about them doesn't go beyond their involvement with rwby. Case and point - Kdin and everyone else part of crwby or not who spoke out against RT ) are gonna get annoying real quick.

[conjuremanj]

Erzulie/ Family Of Loa

Erzulie (sometimes spelled Erzili or Èzili) is a family of loa, or spirits, in Voodoo. She is a great sport for any one to work with. And yes any religion can work with her.

She's the Vodou Lwa (spirit) who represent the essence of love and women. She has many forms, from fierce warrior mother to red-eyed weeping crone, and can be counted among either the Rada or Petwo lwa (spirits or gods).

During the times of slavery, and Petwo lwa were dark and powerful. (Not evil) Erzulie manifests with deep passion, and Her mood can range from the height of joy to the depths of misery.

There are a number of sister forms of Erzulie, and She is sometimes is considered by some to be a triple Goddess.(but is not) (As such She has three husbands–Damballah (is the original force of creation, believed to be the inner voice of God), Agwe (the spirit of the sea), and Ogoun (warrior spirit and iron) Like the Triple Goddess in other religions.

Erzulie Dantor: 👇is a spirit the essence of love not the Voodoo Goddess of love, romance, art, jealousy, passion, & sex. Erzulie Dantor is not the patron loa of lesbian women, nor domestic violence. But is the patron loa of New Orleans. She is deeply caring and dedicated to her children and will stop at nothing to protect them. She is also a guardian and protector of orphans, sick children, and those who have been abused. Erzulie Dantor is a mulatto woman who is often portrayed as the Black Madonna, or the Roman Catholic “Saint Virgin Mary, sometimes Barbara Africana”. She loves knives and is considered the protector of newly consecrated Voodoo priests and priestesses. A common syncretic depiction of Erzulie Dantor is St. Jeanne D’Arc, who is displayed carrying or supporting a sword. Which is pretty cool.

You can see that she holds a baby the baby's name is Anais. Anais is her daughter she is the translator for Ezulie Dantor because she cannot speak only can say one syllable, the sound of her tongue clicking on the roof of her mouth, “ke-ke-ke-ke!”. Story goes during the revolution Manbo Mayinet Priestess call on her and her husband to help against the slave owners. During possession a priestess her tongue was cut out by Haitian Revolutionaries who feared she would betray them. just in case she is captured she won't speak their secrets. She is now a Lwa in the Petwo Nation. But their other stores too about her that you can read.

Rada:

Erzulie Fréda Dahomey: ☝️ the Rada aspect of Erzulie, is the spirit of love, beauty, jewelry, dancing, luxury, and flowers. She wears three wedding rings, one for each husbands. Her symbol is a heart, Her colors are pink, blue, white and gold, and Her favorite is jewelry, perfume, sweet cakes and liqueurs. She is femininity and compassionate. But has a darker side. She is seen as jealous and spoiled and within some vodoun circles is considered to be lazy. When She mounts a person (possessed) She flirts with all the men, and can treats all the women as rivals. In Christian she is the Virgin and Child, because She is the mother of Ti. Common syncretizations include Our Lady of Lourdes because She is usually depicted as light-skinned.

I took this pic of the Ezili altar form a voodoo society in New Orleans.

Erzulie Freda: is the sister of Ezili Dantor, and Her opposite in every way. Where Dantor is a hard working single mother, Freda is a glamor girl. 🙂. She is said to be the most powerful sorceress in the pantheon. Her colors are pink and pale blue, she like pink champagne and roses, frosted cakes, jewelry . Make Shure to keep Her things clean or she will not arrive in the temple.” She is a powerful spirit. To receive her as a guest during rituals, practitioners must treat her with honors due to her status as a fine lady. She loves heady perfumes, jewels, and anything related to beauty and coquetry.

Erzulie Mansur: (Erzulie the Blessed) - Represents maternal love and protects children from harm.

Granne Erzulie (Grandma Erzulie) - Represents the wisdom granted by experience and maturity and grandmotherly kindness and love. She is syncretized with St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary.

Petro:

Erzulie D'en Tort: / Erzulie Dantor (Erzulie of the Wrongs) Protects women and children and deals revenge against those who wrong them.

Erzulie Balianne: (Erzulie the Gagged) - "Silences" (heals or calms) hearts. Keeps secrets or ensures that secrets will not be revealed. Helps people to forget past loves and overcome passionate emotions. Her "horses" tend to speak as if they have a gag in their mouth. She is syncretized with The Immaculate Heart.

Erzulie Mapiangue: (Erzulie the Suckler) Deals with the pain of childbirth and the protection of unborn and newborn babies. Her "horses" tend to get in a fetal position or birthing position and cry tears of pain. Common syncretization is as the Virgin and Infant of Prague, which wear matching red velvet robes and gold crowns.

Erzulie Yeux Rouge or Erzulie Ge-Rouge (Red-Eyed Erzulie) Takes revenge on unfaithful lovers. Her "horses" cry tears of bitter sadness.

Erzulie Toho Aids: the jealous or slighted in love. Her "horses" cry tears of anger.

Others:

EditErzulie La Flambeau (Erzulie of the Torch)

Erzulie Wangol (Erzulie of the Sacred Banner)

Erzulie Shango Pye Nago loa that is a feminine aspect of Shango.

So you see she is represented in different ways not just as a loa in Haitian Vodou and a Orisha but in different forms of voodoo.

[ednav]

I don’t like to talk about politics here. But I see so many posts about the war in Israel/Palestine right now, and I cannot help saying my bit. It’s going to be long (read up until the end, or just skip) and messy and very personal. It’s not meant to be an essay that analyses all aspects of the situation. It comes after one of the worst months of my life—please, be kind. I’ve been on this earth for almost half a century, and it’s been one of the worst months of my life.

[If you prefer not to read at all, just skip. No harm done.]

I have both Muslim and Jewish friends in the Europe and in the US. Some of them wear a hijab, some of them wear a kippah. Every morning I check that they didn’t get beaten up because dividing the world into “good guys” / “bad guys” and releasing your frustration on someone who looks like “the bad guys” is an easy way to feel in control when you’re scared.

And now, the unpopular bit: I have Jewish Israeli friends. Every morning I check they came out alive from the bomb shelter. Hamas is still firing rockets—a lot of rockets—on both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I wait for them tell me if another disfigured body has been identified as a friend whom they thought that had “just” been kidnapped.

One of these friends goes to the peace protests in Tel Aviv, so I have to check that he didn’t get beaten up by the police either.

(Dear US people: identifying Israel with Netanyahu is like assuming all of you are MAGA Republicans. Worse, actually, because Israel is not a two-party system—more like a twenty-party system—and it’s a mess. Decolonise your mind from assuming that every country works like the US.)

Some of my friends are Mizrahi. Their great-grandparents had to find refuge in the relative safety of Israel after being expelled by another country in that region—a place where they cannot go back to. Not-very-fun fact: they’re also dark-skinned enough to get “randomly checked” every time they get on a plane, unless there’s a woman wearing a hijab or a chador on the same flight. It’s not as simple as European or US colonialism.

(Once again: stop making it all about you. The world is more complex than your country. Especially if your country is less than 250 years old and hasn’t had a battle on its soil in more than 130 years.)

I don’t know anyone in Palestine, so I can’t say what it’s like to have friends on that side of the border. I imagine it’s even worse, given that most people there don’t have shelters, nor actual freedom to protest against their government, at least in the Gaza strip.

Anyway: I don’t wish what I’ve been through in the last month on my worse enemy. And I’m just a friend of some people who are not in the worst possible situation. I know that I cannot even begin to know what it must be like for Jewish, Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian people.

And now, let me tell you about a history book that might have saved the world. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

It’s a bit outdated, but it’s still quite good, and the writing is simply brilliant. It’s called The Guns of August, and it’s about the first month of WWI. Just the first month, and how we got there. How stubbornness, pride, rhetoric, and even “rationality”, led to a massacre that did nothing but cause another massacre less than a generation later. It was written by a woman, Barbara Tuchman, in 1962. Later that year, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F Kennedy gave it to read to all the generals in the US Army. The message was simple: escalation leads to disaster. Sometimes you have to compromise, accept losses and even a certain degree of “unfair”, rather than getting into a full-blown war.

Now, I’m not a pacifist. I know that some wars are the lesser evil. I have relatives who fought in the Resistance. They were proud of having risked their lives. They were proud of living in a country with free elections—even if fascists-in-all-but-name could get elected—and at peace. But they were not proud of having killed people whose children grew up as orphans.

I see a lot of people, especially younger people, who want Pure Justice. Bad people must be eliminated, good people must triumph, no excuses.

The thing is—there are no completely good people, nor completely bad people. There are people. Often scared and more traumatised than you can possibly imagine.

There are people who must pay for their crimes. There are people who will, and some who won’t. Just ask anyone who survived a war, or a time of almost-civil-war like the Troubles in the UK/Ireland or the terrorism of the 1970s In Europe—that’s something we’ve all seen. (I say “we” because I’m old enough to remember the 1980s. They sucked, trust me.)

The problem is: the more you lose sight of the common humanity of everyone involved, the more you escalate the tension, the more there will be people who are going to pay for crimes they haven’t committed. And the more I see of this world, the more I believe that if there’s one side it’s just fighting for, it’s theirs.

As I said—it’s messy. And human beings are precious, but fragile. Please, be kind.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

This post is an apology to Tom King.

I recently re-read Riddler: One Bad Day and it's actually a masterpiece!

There's something truly fantastical about how Riddler's intelect is portrayed almost as a mystical power! The scene where Edward mind tricks all the cops into killing each other by laying on the floor and laughing like a maniac is pure art and I'm truly sorry for previously calling it "stupidly edgy", "the moment the comic lost all chance of salvation", "the final proof male power fantasies are a diservice to the entertaiment industry" and "soo dark is actually hilarious".

I also need to compliment the ambiguousness of if Riddler became who he is because of the abuse he endure or if his dad was abusive BECAUSE Edward was always bad is fantastically creepy and necessary. If your narrative does not have victim blaming as one of the possibilities in your moral debate about the inexistence of redemption and the need for violent cops ... I mean heros who kill the villains because evil will never stop nor change what's even the point?

I'm also sorry for my mean coments over Riddler reveling that he was part of Joker's attack against Barbara Gordon. It is actually a really nice nod to the original, specially in the way it reinforces Barbara's place as an useless plot point without agency that only serves to motivate her father. After all why would anyone ever want Babs to actually matter in an event that changed her life forever? Gordon is pissed. That's what matters.

The RIDDLER hating RIDDLES and using them to protect the world from himself by constantly re-living his trauma because actually the trauma was what stopped him from murdering for a long time and does that mean the story is retconing itself to show he was born evil? Is the BEST plot twist. If all future versions of Edward don't hate his gimmick and his own identity and think dorky people who tell riddles are actually stupid and puzzles are dumb than the comic industry will have to live in shame.

Back to talking about the portral of woman! I'm soo happy that the comic took away the voice from Edward's mother presenting her only by what her job as a sex worker represented to the people around her! Such a feminist take! And the snapy Riddler was justified in being mad that his henchmen sleept with his mother because being a sex worker is dirty actually. Gorgeus.

This comic also has the best teacher characther ever. He is so real for ignoring a kid's cry for help, considering their neurodivergent coded anxiety and dificulties are a case of needing to chill and seing all the most obvious sings of abuse ever as "very unchill kid behavior". And the comic is soo right for portraying this man as sympathetic and good and how if Eddie had stoped being a neurodivergent abused kid for a second and just chilled he would have been fine and never became a muderer. It's a life lession. Abused kids should just stop being anxious over the very real possibility of more abuse and neurodivergent people should just chill and everything will be fine. Doing nothing except blaming the crying desperated child for asking help is the right move!

Also Batman should kill. That's just a fact. Jason Tood has been saying it for years now and he is right. All heros should kill actually. Every comic should be exactaly like a Punisher run writen by an alt-right. Yes even the non-superhero ones. Yes even the manga. Yes even Donald Duck ones.

I could write pages and pages about how this is the perfect comic - bar the art style - but I think this is already a suficient apology for my previous misleading critics.

My next post will be a long explanation of why Batgirl vs Riddler: Prelude to the Wedding is actualy the best feminist comic ever written and Tim Seeley is actualy the only person allowed to represent woman in media ever.

[menstits]

agreed. i play a lot of gachas, and genshin is BY FAR the most easy to save primos with. it was the first gacha with a guaranteed pity system(i think hi3 also had it at first but it wasnt as well known internationally), to the point that gachas like fgo had to add their own (wich is still way worse than genshin) of course, its still gacha, and still bad, but games like cr and arknights who get sold as "having a better system" really dont have it, nor do they have a guaranteed pity in the first place.

The other two gachas i was big into before genshin were love live school idol festival and cookie run ovenbreak back in the day, and both of them were WAY more predatory than genshin imo like purely in terms of how the game itself and the gacha worked. Love live was evil because no matter how much you pulled you weren't really guaranteed anything above SR rarity which was insane in retrospect like i legit played that game for like two years without getting a single UR card, while cookie run was like. The sort of game that becomes completely unplayable unless you have the most recently released character because that's how bad the powercreep was. The thing about genshin is that technically you ARE able to get through the entirety of the storyline and exploration using only the characters they give you (traveler, kaeya, lisa, amber, xiangling, noelle, barbara, collei... That's quite a few at this point). Does anyone actually play like that? Pretty much only masochistic gamer youtubers tend to do that but still it IS technically an option for someone who doesn't give a single shit about collecting characters or fighting and mainly cares about exploring. I absolutely would still NOT recommend the game to someone who has a history of gacha addiction or who has a tendency to develop addictions in general because ofc it's inherently a bit evil by virtue of being a gacha but tbh that goes for any gacha on god's green earth

[sparrowsabre7]

Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special: Once and Always Review

I should state right off the bat that my nostalgia for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is incredibly strong. Mainly for Tommy and all things green ranger, but the rest of the crew still hold a special place in my heart. With that in mind I was somewhat trepidatious regarding the announcement of a Netflix special for the 30th, especially when it became clear that actually only two members of the OG 1993 team would be returning, due to: the untimely death of Thuy Trang in 2001, declination to take part from Amy Jo Johnson (though her character still gets an impactful moment at the end) and Jason David Frank (who later also had an untimely passing after filming had concluded), and legal troubles for Austin St. John.

That being said, they actually ended up with the two best options in many regards, Walter Jones and David Yost:

Frank had been supporting and returning to the show for years through numerous special episodes and once as a full time ranger again - indeed many fans (not this one) were slightly tired of the oversaturation of his character

St John had also returned as a ranger during Zeo, a small role in the Turbo movie, for the 10th anniversary, and most recently in Beast Morphers for a special appearance.

Johnson, while never returning as a ranger, also featured in the Turbo movie, as well as a cameo alongside Frank in the 2017 reboot movie.

Meanwhile, although Yost stuck around until Zeo, neither he nor Jones had returned to Power Rangers since their departure, meaning this would be their first return to spandex in over 25 years. In short, it's their time.

In addition all of the second generation MMP rangers appear in either fully suited (Steve Cardenas and Catherine Sutherland - who also returned for the 25th anniversary alongside Frank) or cameo form (Karan Ashley and Johnny Yong Bosch) meaning there's still a whole lot of MMPR rep on show.

As it turns out, this was perhaps the best thing for the special. It allowed the show time to sink its teeth in a little more to Zack and Billy, without over stuffing or stretching the material ( a complaint about the 25th special).

The idea to resurrect Rita Repulsa as Robo Rita is a canny move by the writers, allowing for the nostalgia trip of having the rangers fight their oldest foe, whilst also honouring the canon of later series where Rita was purged of her evil spirit. Said spirit ends up being freed by Billy by accident and inhabits a robot body to take form again. Cue Barbara Goodson's (also returning) throaty smoker's cackle.

So far, so Rangers, however, the decision to have Trini be killed in the opening moments sets a stark contrast from most other Power Rangers media, as does the open use of "kill" and "death" instead of the censor friendly "destroy". The rest of the special doesn't really stray from normal Power Ranger fare but this moment certainly will be a bit of a shock to some.

The other rangers whose actors don't appear do show up in the opening, but are benched fairly early on in classic MMPR fashion: Only depicting them suited up and using soundalikes/archive recordings for their very brief vocals. The writers made the smart decision to not have them speak much at all outside of the odd "hi ya!" and morphing call, which means that it doesn't feel like they are putting words into the mouths of actors that did not wish to be included (as well as helping avoid an uncanny valley situation).

This once again helps to centre the episode on Zack and Billy, their struggles with rangerhood and being surrogate parents to the daughter Trini leaves behind, Minh. Minh's battle with coming to terms with her mother's death and grappling with wanting revenge on Rita forms the centrepiece of the special, anchoring it around this conflict. While on a personal note the lack of green ranger is disappointing, I acknowledge Tommy's over exposure in recent years and the fact that "Once and Always" gets to focus on the original five colours feels earned. It's worth noting here that, in much the same way the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who was more of a celebration of the revived series than the whole 50 year history, so to is "Once and Always" a celebration of MMPR; there are some minor easter egg references to other subsequent series, but if you are expecting cameos from anyone who didn't appear in MMPR, you will be disappointed.

Newcomer Charlie Kersh portrays Minh with an earnest performance that matches the energy of the 90's show. Indeed much of the acting in the episode is very much of that era, over the top lines, slightly wooden delivery, and cheesy dialogue, making the nostalgic viewer feel wonderfully at home. If we'd wanted pathos we wouldn't be watching Power Rangers.

This being said, Yost and Jones, the latter especially, bring a clear sincerity to their roles and clearly have no trouble slipping back into character. Jones delivers some fairly nuanced work considering the subject matter and Yost manages to convey a clear sense of loss and guilt, both for the death of Trini, who sacrificed herself for him, and for accidentally resurrecting Rita.

Sutherland and Cardenas are given less to do, mostly acting as action props, though Sutherland does get a few moments to comment on her marriage to Tommy and being a mother to her son JJ.

The action sequences remain fun and we do get treated to one brief fight with all of the original six rangers and one battle with the use of the power weapons (sadly no use of the power blaster). The finale caps off with a Megazord battle using CGI only slightly less wonky than that which appeared in the original 1995 movie. Once again though, the jankiness only adds to the charm, and while it would have perhaps been better to use a classic suit setup, the cgi manages to perfectly recreate the zord call sequence choreography.

Once the dust has settled we get a classic wind down ending in the juice bar (sadly lacking in an all hands in jump freeze frame) and the episode proper is over, ending a very solid hour of classic Ranger television.

Here's where that Amy Jo Johnson impactful moment comes. The show fades into archive footage of the original six rangers from "Song of Guitardo" where Kimberly, accompanied by Zack, sings "Down the Road", a song written and performed by Amy Jo Johnson herself - originally used as a lament for the loss of the Green Ranger's powers, now a poignant tribute to two departed friends. The camera cuts pointedly to Tommy and Trini, before fading into a tribute card for Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank and I confess the tears started falling for these two talented individuals taken far too soon; the tribute hitting all the harder, if you know that shortly after Jason David Frank's passing, Johnson recorded a heartbreaking nearly 20 minute song session in Frank's memory because he always liked her singing.

In this way "Once and Always" manages to encapsulate everything positive about the Power Rangers franchise: doing your best, fighting for what's right, staying true to your friends and family, as well as serving as a fitting reminder of the power of media and how much a seemingly simple childhood show can mean so much to so many.