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weneverlearn · 8 months ago

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Aaron Lange, Peter Laughner, and the Terminal Town of Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland-based artist, Aaron Lange, tackles his first graphic novel, Ain't It Fun -- a deep dive into the oily depths of the Rust Belt's most influential music town, it's most mythological misfit, it's oft-forgotten artistic and political streaks, and beyond...

Aaron Lange and his book, 2023 (Photo by Jake Kelly)

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There’s a recurring line in Aaron Lange’s remarkable new graphic novel, Ain’t It Fun (Stone Church Press, 2023), that states, “Say the words out loud. The River isn’t real.” The river Lange was speaking of is the Cuyahoga, that infamously flammable mass of muck that dumps out into Lake Erie.

Peter Laughner (the ostensible topic of Lange’s book) was an amazing artist who probably could’ve ditched the banks of the Cuyahoga for more amenably artistic areas back in his early 1970s heyday. Aside from his frequent pilgrimages to the burgeoning NYC Lower East Side scene (where he nearly joined Television) and a quickly ditched attempt to live in California though, he mostly stuck around northeast Ohio.

While desperately trying to find his sound and a workable band, Laughner smelted a post-hippie, pre-punk amoebic folk rock, and formed the influential embryonic punk band, Rocket from the Tombs, which later morphed into Pere Ubu. All of which – lumped up with other rust-belted oddballs like electric eels, Mirrors, DEVO, the Numbers Band, Chi-Pig, Tin Huey, Rubber City Rebels, and more – essentially helped formed the “proto-punk” template.

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Laughner was also a rock writer of some regional renown, and contributed numerous amphetamine-fueled articles to regional mags like The Scene and Creem -- mostly concerning where Rock'n'Roll was going, colored as he was by the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, David Bowie, and Roxy Music playing in Cleveland a bunch of times around his formative years.

Sadly, in June 1977, Laughner died of acute pancreatitis at age 24. Aside from the first two seminal Pere Ubu 7-inch singles, the rest of Laughner’s recorded output was just one very limited self-released EP and, posthumously, a great double-LP comp of demo and live tracks, Take the Guitar Player for a Ride (1993, Tim Kerr Records). A surprisingly large batch of unreleased lost demos, radio shows, and live tapes appeared on the beautiful and essential box set, Peter Laughner (Smog Veil Records, 2019), that brought Laughner’s legend just a few blocks outside of Fringeville, as it received universally great reviews….

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The Dead Boys became the most well-known act of that mid-70s Cleveland scene, though that only happened once they high-tailed it to NYC. Aside from DEVO, Chrissie Hynde, and the Waitresses (all of whom did their own versions of high-tailing it), nearly every other act in that fertile Cle-Akron proto-punk vortex soon dissipated, eventually getting the cult treatment at best.

Cleveland is indeed right there with NYC and London as punk ground zero, but Americans tend to equate buyable products as proof of import, so shockingly, the Pagans and The Styrenes just aren’t the household name they should be.

Decades of tape-trading stories, sub-indie label limited releases, and fanzine debates kept the mythology of those acts barely breathing underneath the end of the milennium’s increasingly loud R'n'R death knell. And as that mythology slowly grew, the fans and even the musicians of the scene itself still wonder what it all meant.

Which, as you dig deeper into Ain’t It Fun, becomes the theme not just about the legendary rocker ghost of Peter Laughner, but of Cleveland itself. Ala Greil Marcus’ classic “hidden history” tome, Lipstick Traces, Lange interweaves Laughner’s self-immolating attempts at Beatnik-art-punk transcendence with a very detailed history of Cleveland, with its insane anti-legends and foot-shooting civic development.

Like much of the dank, rusted, and mysterious edges of the one-time “Sixth City,” the Cuyahoga has been cleaned up since, though I still wouldn’t suggest slurping up a swallow if you’re hanging on the banks of the Flats. I grew up in Cleveland and visit as often as I can because it’s an awesome place, no matter what they tell you. Or maybe, because of what they tell you.

If you are keen to swim down through the muck and mire of Cleveland’s charms, you don’t just get used to it, you like it. As for the “Cleveland” that the City Fathers have always tried so vainly to hype, us hopelessly romantic proto-punk fanatics say to those who would erase Cleveland’s fucked-up past and replace it with that weird fake greenspace underneath the Terminal Tower: “The City isn’t real.”

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Give us a quick bio.

Born in Cleveland, 1981. We moved to the west side suburbs when I was six. My parents didn’t listen to much music, and I don’t have older siblings. So I didn’t really listen to music at all until I was in high school, and I didn’t listen to any of the grunge or ‘90s stuff that was popular. I got real into the Beatles when I was in ninth grade, and at some point I got the Velvet Underground’s first album from the library because I saw Andy Warhol’s name on the cover. I didn’t know anything about them, so that was a real shock. I probably first heard Iggy Pop via the Trainspotting soundtrack, and pretty soon after I started getting into punk and generally more obscure stuff. Now I listen to more electronic stuff, ambient stuff. I also like most anything that falls under the broad “post-punk” umbrella. I really hate “rama-lama ding-dong” rock and roll.

What came first – music or drawing interest?

Drawing. I was always drawing… I’ve been a semi-regular contributor to Mineshaft for many years, which is a small zine/journal that features a lot of underground comix related stuff, but also has a beatnik vibe and includes poetry and writing. I’ve done the odd thing here and there for other zines, but I don’t really fit in anywhere.

Don’t really fit it – I feel that phrase describes a lot of the best / more influential Ohio musicians / bands. Did you feel that kind of feeling about Peter as you researched and wrote the book?

Peter was well liked, and he knew a vast array of people. If anything, he fit in in too many situations. He was spread thin.

When you lived in Philly, did you get a sense of any kind of similar proto-punk scene / era in that town? I sometimes, perhaps jingoistically, think this particular kind of music is almost exclusively confined to the Rust Belt.

I lived in Philly for nearly 11 years. As far as the old scene there, they had Pure Hell. But back then, anybody who really wanted to do something like that would just move to NYC.

So, is there a moment in time that started you on a path towards wanting to dig into Cleveland’s proto-punk past like this?

It was just something I had a vague interest in, going back to when I first heard Pere Ubu. And then later learning about the electric eels, and starting to get a feeling that Cleveland had a lot more to offer than just the Dead Boys. The Rocket from the Tombs reunion got things going, and that’s when I first started to hear Laughner’s name. A few years later, a friend sent me a burned CD of the Take the Guitar Player for a Ride collection, and I started to get more interested in Peter specifically.

Despite any first wave punk fan’s excitement about a Laughner bio, this book is moreso a history of Cleveland, and trying to connect those odd underground, counterculture, or mythological connections that the Chamber of Commerce tends to ignor as the town’s import. Was there a moment where you realized this book needed to go a little wider than only telling the tales of Laughner and the bands of that era? (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

Very early on I realized that none of this would make sense or have any true meaning without the appropriate context. The activities of the early Cle punk scene need to be viewed in relation to what was going on in the city. I think this is just as true with NYC or London – these were very specific contexts, all tangled up in politics, crime, rent, television, and also the specifics of the more hippie-ish local countercultures that preceded each region. You’ve got Bowie and Warhol and all that, but in Cleveland you’ve also got Ghoulardi and d.a. levy. Mix that up with deindustrialization and a picture starts to form.

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So when did you decide on doing this book? You’ve mentioned this was your first attempt at doing a full graphic novel – and boy, you went epic on it!

I did a short version of Peter’s story back when I was living in Philadelphia. But upon completing that version – which I now think of as a sketch – it became clear that there was a lot more to say and to investigate. I spent about a year just thinking about it, forming contacts with some people, and tracking down various reference materials like records, zines, books, etc. Then my wife got a new job at Cleveland State University, so we left Philly. Once I landed back in Cleveland I started working on the book in earnest.

Page from Ain't It Fun -- all book images courtesy of the author.

By any chance was Greil Marcus’ book, Lipstick Traces (1989), an inspiration, as far as the “hidden history” factor, the trying to connect seemingly unconnected and lost historical footnotes into a path towards the culture’s future?

Yes. I read Lipstick Traces when I was around 19 or 20, and I’d never seen anything like it before. It really blew my mind, all the stuff about the Situationists and Dadaists and all that. Later on, I read Nick Tosches’ Dean Martin biography, Dino, and that was another mind blower. Another major influence is Iain Sinclair.

Ah Dino, another Ohio native. So, Laughner’s one-time partner, Charlotte Pressler’s book is mentioned, and I’ve seen it referenced and talked about for years – any inside word on if/when she might have that published?

Charlotte never wrote a book, though she did co-edit a book that collected the work of local poets. As far as her own writing, she’s done all manner of essays and poetry, and probably some academic writing that I’m not familiar with. As far as her completing “Those Were Different Times”— which was intended as a total of three essays— I’ve got some thoughts on that, but it’s not really my place to comment on it.

Pressler sounds like a very serious person in your book, as you say, she was kind of older than her years. But how was she to talk to?

Charlotte is serious, but she’s not dour. She’s got a sense of humor and she’s very curious about the world, always looking to learn new things. She’s an intellectual, and has a wide array of interests. We get along, we’re friends.

The fact that the town’s namesake, Moses Cleveland, left soon after his “discovery” and never came back – that’s like a template for how people envision a town like Cleveland: nice place to grow up, but you want to get out as soon as you’re legal. Even the musicians of the area might’ve agreed with that sentiment, even if many never left. Do you think that has changed?

I’m glad I left Cleveland, but I’m also glad I came back. First off, my family is here. Second, the cost of living is still reasonable. I don’t know how people live in New York. I never have any money. I’d make more money if I had a full-time job at McDonald’s. That’s not a joke, or me being self-deprecating. How do artists live in New York? How do they afford rent and 20 dollar packs of cigarettes? I’m just totally confused by the basic mechanics of this. So yeah, I’m in Cleveland. It’s not great, but what are my options? I can’t just go to Paris and fuck around like a bohemian. I would if I could.

In Ain't It Fun, you reveal that one of the seminal Cleveland scene dives, Pirate's Cove, was once a Rockerfeller warehouse – these kind of enlightening, almost comically perfect metaphors pop up every few pages. Not unlike the mythology that can sometimes arise in musician fandom, I wonder if these are metaphors we can mine, or just an obvious facts that the town drifted down from a center of industry to relative poverty.

“Metaphor” might be at too much of a remove. These facts, these landmarks — they create a complex of semiotics, a map, a framework. The city talks through its symbols and its landscape. If you submit to it and listen, it will tell you secrets. There is nothing metaphorical about this.

Is it a sign of privilege to look on destitution as inspiration? I’m guessing the sick drunks at Pirate’s Cove in 1975 weren’t thinking they were living in a rusty Paris of the ‘30s. Though I will say a thing I really loved about your book was that, for all its yearning and historical weaving, you still stick to facts and don’t seem to over-mythologize or put any gauze on the smog, like “Isn’t that so cool, man.” You capture the quiet and damp desperation of that era and Laughner’s milieu.

Poverty, decline, decay, entropy – these things are real. By aestheticizing them we are able to gain some control over them. And once you have control, you have the power to change things. This is not “slumming.” “Privilege” has nothing to do with it.

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Do you know why the Terminal Tower (once the second tallest building in the world when it opened in 1928) was named that? It seems somewhat fatalistic, given the usual futurist positivism of the deco design era.

Terminal as in train terminal. It really pisses me off that there was once a time where you could go there and catch a train to Chicago or New York. It’s infuriating how this country dismantled its rail systems. And the Terminal Tower isn’t deco, but I think it is often confused with that style just by virtue of not being a gigantic rectangle. In that sense it does have more in common with a deco structure like the Chrysler building. Honestly, if you are looking for deco you might find more notable examples in Akron than you would Cleveland.

I notice a kind of – and bear with my lesser abilities to describe illustrative art – swirly style in your work that kind of aligns with art deco curves, maybe some Gustav Klimt…? In general, who were some illustrative inspirations for you early on?

That “swirly” style you describe is art nouveau. Deco came after that, and is more angular and clean. Additionally, a lot of underground comix guys were also poster artists, and there was often a nouveau influence in that psychedelic work – so there’s a bit of a thread there. As far as Klimt, I came to him kinda late, but I love him now.

The music of many northeast Ohio bands of that era has been generally tagged as “industrial” (the pre-dance industrial style, of course), cranky like the machinery of the sputtering factories in the Flats, etc… My guess is maybe the musicians were already finding used R'n'R instruments in thrift stores by that time, which would add a kind of layer of revision, turning old things into new sounds. Did you hear about of any of that? Or were there enough music stores around town? I know DEVO was already taking used instruments and refitting them; or electric eels using sheet metal and such to bang on…

I’m not a musician, so I don’t know anything about gear or stuff like that. I do know that Allen Ravenstine made field recordings in the Flats, and utilized them via his synthesizer. Frankly, I wish more of the Northeast Ohio bands had taken cues from Ubu and early Devo, because an “industrial” subculture definitely could have formed, like it did in England and San Francisco. But that never really happened here.

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That kind of music was pretty popular on college radio and in a few clubs in Cleveland, though not many original bands with that sound arrived, aside from Nine Inch Nails who quickly took his act elsewhere… So in the book you mention local newsman, Dick Fealger. My memories of him are as a curmudgeon whose shtick was getting a little old by the time I was seeing him on the news, or his later opinion columns. Kinda your classic “Hey you kids, get off my lawn” style. You rightly paint him as a somewhat prescient reporter of the odd in his earlier days, though. I once had to go to a friend’s mother’s funeral, and in the next room in the funeral home was Dick Feagler’s funeral. I always regret not sneaking over and taking a peak into it to see who was there.

I like Feagler in the same way that I liked Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes. These were people that my grandparents liked. So I suppose my appreciation for Feagler is half nostalgia, half irony. I like cranks, grumps, letter-writers, street prophets. I like black coffee, donuts, diners, and blue plate specials – that’s Feagler’s world, the old newspaper world. Get up at 6 am and put your pants on, that kinda thing.

Yeah, I still found Feagler kinda funny, but like Jane Scott, while respect was always there, by the later ‘80s/’90s, both were set into almost caricatures who were kind of resting on their laurels.

Yeah, I remember seeing Jane at some random Grog Shop show back in the ‘90s, and I was kinda impressed. But no, she was never really cool. Jane was pure Cleveland, her career couldn't have happened anywhere else.

I remember seeing her sit right next to a huge house amp at the old Variety Theater for the entire duration of a Dead Kennedys show, taking notes for her review. Pretty impressive given her age at that point.

You also make a point of carving out an important space for The Damnation of Adam Blessing, a band that seems to get forgotten when discussing Cleveland’s pre-punk band gaggle. I find that interesting because in a way, they are the template for the way many Ohio bands don’t fit into any exact genre, and so often people don’t “get” them, or they’re forgotten later.

Damnation worked as a good local example for that whole psychedelic thing. They were very ‘60s. While the James Gang on the other hand, was more ‘70s— the cracks were starting to show with the ‘70s bands, they were harder and less utopian. Damnation feels more “Woodstock,” so they were useful to me in that regard.

I must add – for years I thought it was pronounced Laugh-ner, as in to laugh, ha ha, not knowing the Gaelic roots. Once I learned I was pronouncing it wrong, I still wanted to pronounce it like laughing, as it seemed to fit so darkly correct with how his life went, and Cleveland musicians’ love of bad puns and cheap comedians and such… Of course when I learned that it was an “ethnic” name, it made it that much more Cleveland.

Yeah, everybody says his name wrong. I used to too, and had to really force myself to start saying it as Lochner. But everybody says Pere Ubu wrong as well – it’s Pear Ubu.

I hate any desecration of any artwork, but I always loved the blowing up The Thinker statue story, as it seemed such a powerful metaphor of the strength of art, and Cleveland itself – the fact that The Thinker himself still sits there, right on top of the sliced-up and sweeping shards from the blast. It’s still there, right? And isn’t it true that there are like three more “official” Thinker statues in the world?

Yeah, I don’t condone what happened, but it is kinda cool. As a kid, the mutilated Thinker had a strong effect on me — I couldn’t have put it into words at the time, but I think it gave me a sense of the weight of history. It’s almost like a post-war artifact in Europe, something that is scarred. And yes, it’s still there outside the museum. And it’s a cast. I think there might be five official ones, but I’d have to look that up. If you are ever in Philadelphia, swing by the Rodin museum and check out The Gates of Hell.

I have only become a bigger fan of Laughner’s as the years pass. But there is something to the critique that perhaps he never really found his singular sound; that he was copping bits from Lou Reed and Dylan, and couldn’t keep a band together to save his life. And there was supposedly a feeling among some in the NYC scene that he was a bit of a carpetbagger.

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Everybody has their influences, so Peter wasn’t in any way unique in that sense. I know he has a reputation for doing a lot of cover songs — which is true — but he also wrote a lot of originals, and there are some damn good ones which are still unreleased. “Under the Volcano” is just one such unheard song which I mention in my book, but there are others. As far as finding his own singular sound, he probably came closest to that with Friction. That group borrowed heavily from Television and Richard Hell, but also drew upon Richard Thompson and Fairport Convention. And when you think about it, those were really unlikely influences to juxtapose, and it created something original. Frustratingly though, Friction never achieved their full potential, as Peter was already losing it.

Yeah, Friction is kind of way up there with the “What if” bands… It’s interesting that for all his legend as a proto-punk figure, perhaps Laughner’s signature songs – Sylvia Plath” and “Baudelaire” – were gorgeous acoustic numbers. Though of course those early Pere Ubu songs were proto-punk and post-punk templates, somehow...

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I honestly don’t know what happened with Ubu, as it is pretty distinct from Peter’s other work. Thomas isn’t really a musician, so we can only give him so much credit with how that sound developed. I honestly don’t know. There just must have been some sort of alchemy between the various players, and Thomas understood it and was able to encourage and guide it in the projects that followed over the years.

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You also didn’t really detail Pere Ubu’s initial breakup – was there just not much to say?

Yeah, I think I mentioned it, but no, I didn’t really get into it. Pere Ubu is kind of a story unto themselves. But it might be worth mentioning here that Home and Garden was an interesting project that came out of that Ubu breakup. And Thomas also did some solo albums, but I’m not as familiar with those.

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Yeah, I saw Home and Garden a few times way back, good stuff. You’ve mentioned to me that there were some people that didn’t want to talk to you for the book; and that people were very protective of Peter’s legacy and/or their friendship with him. To what do you attribute that?

It has everything to do with Peter’s early death. Some people are very protective of how Peter is remembered. And I think some people weren’t exposed to Peter’s dark side, so when they hear those descriptions of him it strikes them as untrue. I think Peter showed different sides of himself to different people.

I kind of felt as I was reading that you might say more about Harvey Pekar, as not only is he an interesting figure, but the most famous graphic novelist from Ohio, and I assume an inspiration of your’s.

Pekar’s great. Especially the magazine-size issues he was doing in the late ‘70s up through the ‘80s. It was important to me to include him in the book. But Pekar was a jazz guy, and that’s a whole other story, a whole other tangled web.

So, Balloonfest! Hilarious. I almost forgot about that. But I do remember Ted Stepien owning the short-lived Cleveland professional softball team; and for a promotion, they dropped softballs off the Terminal Tower, and if you caught one you won $1,000 or something. Do you recall that? It’s one of my favorite fucked-up Cleveland stories. Balls smashed car roofs, and cops immediately told people to run away.

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Yeah, I’m aware of that baseball stunt. I generally try and stay away from anything even remotely related to professional sports teams — it gets talked about more than enough elsewhere. Oddly, I am interested in athletes who work alone, like Olympic skiers. I’m attracted to that solitary focus, where the athlete isn’t competing against other teams or players, but more competing with the limits of the human body, competing with what the physical world will allow and permit, that whole Herzog trip. I’m also interested in the Olympic Village, as this artificial space that mutates and moves across time and across continents.

As far as Balloonfest, I still watch that footage all the time. I use it as a meditation device. I’ll put it on along with Metal Machine Music and go into a trance.

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A few years ago, as I am sure you are well aware, noted British punk historian Jon Savage put together a Soul Jazz Records comp of Cleveland proto-punk called Extermination Nights in the Sixth City. I grew up in Cleveland, lived in Columbus for awhile, and I never heard it called “the Sixth City.” Have you? If so, what does it refer to?

Nobody calls it that anymore. It’s an old nickname back from when Cleveland was literally the sixth largest city in the country.

I’d guess Ain’t It Fun was a tiring feat to accomplish. But do you have another book in the works? And if someone wanted to option Peter’s story for a movie, would you sign on? I personally dread rock biopics. They’re almost universally bad.

Yeah, I’ve got an idea for another book, but it’s too early to talk about that. As far as biopics, they are almost always bad, rock or otherwise. Rock documentaries are often pretty lousy too. A recent and major exception would be Todd Haynes’ Velvet Underground documentary, which is just goddamn brilliant. A film about Peter in that vein would be great— but there’s just no footage to work from. He didn’t have Warhol or Factory people following him around with a camera. So unless somebody like Jim Jarmusch comes calling, I won’t be signing off on movie rights any time soon.

Unless there is more you’d like to say, thanks, and good luck with the book and future ventures!

Stone Church Press has a lot of projects planned for 2024 and beyond, and I encourage anyone reading this to support small publishers. There is a lot of very exciting stuff going on, but you have to work a little to find it. Amazon, algorithms, big corporate publishers — they’re like this endless blanket of concrete that smothers and suffocates. But flowers have a way of popping up between the cracks.

Aaron Lange, 2023 (Photo by Jake Kelly)

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twistedtummies2 · 8 months ago

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Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 16

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting down my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

We’ve reached the halfway point of the countdown!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “We're smart people. So why do we always do things that make us look like we have the intelligence of beef jerky?”

Number 16 is…or, rather, are…Zack & Ivy, from Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?

If you know me, then these two showing up somewhere on the countdown probably won’t be surprising. But if you don’t know me – or, quite possibly, if you only know the Carmen Sandiego franchise via the Netflix reboot series – then this will likely be VERY surprising, especially so high up. So, for those who came in late, as it were: the “Carmen Sandiego” franchise is an “edutainment” series, which primarily teaches social studies such as geography and history. It started off as a series of computer and video games, and was eventually spun off into four separate television programs. Two of them were game shows, the other two were animated programs for kids. The first of these animated programs – and my personal favorite take on the Carmen Sandiego franchise as a whole – was the cartoon series, “Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?”

In the pre-Netflix era of the franchise – and, by extension, in “Where on Earth?” – the premise remained largely unchanged: the title role of Carmen Sandiego is the main antagonist of the series. Carmen is a master thief, and the mysterious head of a legion of robbers, spies, and blackmailers known as “V.I.L.E.” She and her cronies go after rare and one-of-a-kind targets, stealing everything from white lion cubs to Elvis’ pink Cadillac to the Statue of Liberty itself and so much more. Trying to capture Carmen and stop her crimes is the ACME Detective Agency: an elite team of sleuths whose primary objective has become the defeat of Carmen Sandiego, who was once a member of the Agency herself before turning rogue.

In the original computer games, before the cartoon show came out, the Player was the lead detective (although they sometimes had helpers who were fellow ACME Agents in different titles). In the game shows, similarly, the players had the roles of the sleuths on Carmen’s trail. Naturally, for “Where on Earth?” this format wasn’t really going to fly: the creators needed specific protagonists, characters with personalities and lives all their own to go after the arch-villainess. Enter Zack and Ivy: the brother and sister teen detective duo who act as Carmen’s arch-nemeses in the series.

Zack is a computer whiz kid who seems to know almost every foreign language under the Sun. He’s a wisecracking jokester who loves riding his skateboard almost as much as he loves catching crooks. (Did I mention this show was made in the 90s?) Ivy, meanwhile, is an expert martial artist, rock climber, and all-around awesome gal who prefers more hands-on methods of detective work. She tends to be a little more serious than her brother. The two are, in some ways, total opposites, and in other ways they work like two peas in a pod: both have a tendency to grow impatient with one another, but each also cares a lot about their respective sibling. What I love about these two is that neither is really treated as the “top detective” of the two; there’s no clear leader or follower between them. Each compliments the other very well with their respective abilities, as well as their respective personality traits. Throughout the show, they use their knowledge of history, and their respective talents, to solve Carmen’s numerous clues and try to stop her crimes.

I absolutely love Zack and Ivy, and many other people seemed to like them, as well. They were even adapted into the video game lineup that sired the franchise: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Junior Edition,” which was loosely inspired by the cartoon series, featured the pair as helping hands for the Player. They would also become the template for several other characters who would appear down the line in the franchise. Most notably, the two were later reimagined in the aforementioned Netflix reboot; in that version, Carmen is reinterpreted as an anti-hero instead of a straightforward villainess. Zack and Ivy, similarly, are reworked from a pair of intrepid and brilliant detectives out to catch her, to being her two partners-in-crime, and tend to act as the brawn to Carmen’s brain, in some ways. While these new versions of the characters were fun, and fit the new format, I’ll always prefer the original teen detective duo from the first cartoon show.

I was actually sorely tempted to include the pair in the Top 15, but after much deliberation, I felt others earned the higher ranks better. Still…when your arch-enemy is the World’s Greatest Thief, and you do manage to arrest her a couple of times? You’ve earned your stripes, to say the least.

Tomorrow, the countdown enters the Top 15!

CLUE: “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 31 fictional detectives #gathering of the greatest gumshoes #number 16 #animation #cartoons #tv #television #video games #carmen sandiego #where on earth is carmen sandiego?#zack #ivy #zack and ivy #edutainment #mystery

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flynndesdelca · 1 year ago

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For Day 15 (Chell) of @chelltastic’s Portal Drawtober 2023 Challenge. As I’m not really an artist, I chose to write short pieces for the prompts.

Wipe those tears off and make your heart proud

The first day had seen her not move from the spot, sitting curled up next to the Companion Cube as though in a sort of trance. Her mind had felt so sharp on the elevator ride up, coming up with plans and contingencies and courses of action, but actually being free had killed most of that momentum. She had been content to sit in the silence, listening to the wind rustling the stalks of wheat and the distant sounds of animals. It had felt like some sort of fever dream to Chell after so long of the sounds of Aperture, of the background hum of ventilation and the distant sounds of machines and the constant creak of the structure itself. It was impossible to believe that this was real, and she truly did expect to wake in utter disappointment in a corner somewhere that she'd tucked herself into in order to take a nap.

The next day forced her to move because without the cocktail of adrenaline and whatever else GLaDOS had pumped into the air her body was falling into a more natural cycle. Specifically, she was hungry. Alarmingly so, she realized. Who knew that sitting for a day without eating would have that effect? As she'd been in and out of hibernation and kept in carefully controlled environments for so long just how her body functioned had become a sort of a mystery. She could remember distantly how it worked, but actually experiencing it again was just as feverish as being outside had been. Being surrounded by wheat had the promise of flour, but as she lacked the means to grind it efficiently, as well as a the other things you put into flour to make it not just ground wheat, it was unpalatable. Plus the whole concept of wheat grown above the land that Aperture occupied...it certainly looked normal, but much like everything else about the place, she suspected that it was definitely beyond it.

In the distance she could see trees, and that was where she headed off to. She left the Companion Cube where it was, a landmark. A pointless landmark, as the electrical shed itself stood out well enough in the sea of gold that contained it. Still, she felt better knowing that it was there, rather than lugging it with her on what her mind was saying would be the trip of a few hours. She set off through the field, eventually finding a large copse of trees to wander through. The shade was nice, she felt, and more than that, she could hear birds. It was a simple matter to climb the trees and look for nests, and she found a few small eggs that way. She had no idea if the eggs were even edible, but it didn't matter at this point. Either it would be nourishing, or she'd wind up dead from hunger. She also found a couple of mushrooms, small brown ones that she distantly remembered from books as a child. Whether that meant they were poisonous or not she couldn't remember. Again, she could eat or she could eventually face starvation. Cutting through the woods had been a small cold spring, the water clear. She didn't see any fish in it, but perhaps she could follow it and find a larger lake where there could be fish.

Figuring out what to do with her obtained food had been tricky. With everything laid out on top of the Companion Cube she had set about the next step, which was starting a fire. She understood the basics of starting a fire, but finding the materials to do so had been trickier than planned. It was infuriating to think that all the materials she needed were just underground, but she was not going back. She was not going to be deterred by a little camping. She had just gotten out, and she had known that it was not going to be easy. She hadn't backed down from anything thrown at her so far, so why should starting a fire be an unsurmountable challenge?

It was already sunset by the time she managed to coax sparks from the small firestarter she had concocted, but that was enough, and she gently nursed the tiny coals into a small blaze. Thankfully there was a lot of dry vegetation she could use. The little fire seemed homey somehow as the shadows of night fell across the field, its light blazing in defiance. Just like her, she thought. She could see herself in that hard-won little fire.

Actually cooking the things had been another issue she'd been thinking about during her preparations. Finding a long, flat rock had given her an idea, and now she quickly set up the other rocks she'd dug up, making a stand for the flat rock to rest on over the fire. She let it heat up, waiting until she could feel the heat emanating off of the rock when she held her hand over it. Hopefully that would be hot enough. She cracked open the first egg, which made a huge mess of broken shell everywhere. As she didn't particularly feel like wasting it, she grit her teeth and went with it, starting to mix the egg around on the hot rock with a flat stick she'd found and felt would be a good spatula replacement. Another egg, cracked much more carefully given how delicate they apparently were. The yolks were dark, so much darker than she remembered seeing before. They were so small, the amount of egg she had gotten from them was negligible, but it would do. She added one more, deciding to keep the rest for later. Once the eggs had really started to cook she dropped the mushrooms on top, stirring the whole thing around. A really crude omelet, but an omelet all the same. Better than nothing, after all. The smell was driving her crazy and it was so hard to wait until she felt as though whatever dangers might have lurked in said food had been cooked out of it. She ate it off the rock with the spatula-stick, and it was burning hot and slightly crunchy from the egg shells, but somehow it was the most delicious food she could remember eating in a very long time. It was a victory, she decided. She'd overcome another hurdle. She couldn't help but glance at the shed smugly.

The next day she managed to revive the fire, and ate one of the eggs that way. She was hoping to explore along the river a bit more now that she'd found it, maybe finding fish or other food. She returned much later in the day sweaty and tired, but with a couple more eggs, some more mushrooms, and a fish that she'd managed to spear with a broken stick. She had plans to improve on said stick design, and that meal was much more triumphant than the last, the fish roasting pleasantly skewered over the little fire.

The next few days passed in much the same way. She followed along the river and the small lake that it fed into, exploring more and more. Yet each day she found herself returning to the shed in the field. As her exploration took her further and further, she would have to push herself to make it back before it got too dark. One night as she sat there, trying to rekindle the fire that had gone out hours beforehand, she couldn't help but wonder why she kept coming back there. She'd gone far enough and figured out enough to make small camps anywhere else. She'd seen some signs of actual human life last time. If she had kept going instead of turning back, she might have found civilization of some kind.

The next day she tried exploring in a different direction, pushing the previous day’s thoughts out of her mind. Again, she ranged far, and returned late in the day, and couldn't help but wonder why. She'd torn off one leg of her jumpsuit to make a little pouch to carry food she found in, and she was so good at starting fires now that she wasn't worried about that. There was no reason to come back to that place. Her thoughts chased themselves in circles around her head all that night, and left her in a dreamless, restless sleep.

The next day she went out again, but it was a passionless, drifting effort that took her along places she'd already been. It was nothing new, but it was familiar, and comfortable, and all at once she turned and ran back to the field and the shack and the Companion Cube. Grabbing onto it as though its rough surface and pointed corners would comfort her, she found herself crying. Why was she crying? What had happened? She already knew, just like she knew why she had not strayed from that spot. Having a place to return to that was familiar had been a comfort in a world that had left her behind. Perhaps it hadn't been the implied hundreds of years, but it had been long enough that there was nothing familiar left to her. Whatever had happened had swept the world clean, and anyone left there were the descendants of strangers. Despite her drive and her fierce determination to survive and to be free, the thought of leaving behind the last bits of everything she had known was a terrifying prospect. She'd faced down death how many times now? All the horrors that Aperture had to offer she had borne… but yet, the idea of leaving the facility and all of the trauma it had inflicted onto her sent her into a dull panic, one that had driven her to return there every night.

Mechanically she set about making food and eating, and attempting to sleep. But sleep did not come that night, and she tossed and turned and stared at the stars, stared into the dying embers of the fire that she had coaxed into being one more time. She stared at the dark shadow that she knew was the Companion Cube, and the nearby electrical shack with its tiny emergency light that cast dim shadows all around. All comforts, but all reminders of just what she had suffered... and what she had overcome, in the end.

The next day she packed up everything she could take with her in her little pouch. She put out the fire carefully, stamping it down and digging up the ground to bury its remains. She cast one last long look at the shack, then hefted the Companion Cube in her arms and turned away. She walked through the field, letting her feet take her down the familiar path she'd worn into it, towards the trees and the river and the lake and whatever else laid beyond. She didn't let herself look back, not even once. Tears pricked at her eyes, but she forced herself to march onward until at last she was in the shade of the trees and the shed was too far away to see anymore.

She sat down and let herself cry again. It shouldn't hurt to say goodbye to all that had happened, but yet it did, somehow. She had been given her freedom, she needed to take it. To find herself. Who was Chell, in this world? Not a test subject for Aperture, not anymore. That chapter of her life was closed, the Companion Cube the bookmark to remind her that it existed, but that it was over and done and behind her. It was time to find out who the new, free Chell would be.

#portal drawtober 2023 #portal 2 #chell portal #chell #saying goodbye to aperture is hard to do

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iuteamstarcandy · 1 year ago

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[TRANS] IU 꽃갈피 (Flower Bookmark) Album Introduction and Song Introductions

ALBUM INTRODUCTION

The trail of memories that does not fade over time

IU’s Special Remake Album [Flower Bookmark]

A book that I took and dusted off from an old library. As I turn the pages one by one, there are times when I find old four-leaf clovers or flower petals that are inserted like bookmarks. It’s a pristine and beautiful trace of a gift that contains someone's sincerity long ago. Along with it comes the memorable pieces of writing that are underlined on each page. This 'Flower Bookmark' may be one of the symbols of youth culture that show the romance and sentiments of the past analog generation which are slowly being forgotten these days.

A trail of memories transcending generations that does not fade over time and makes you want to take them out (Note: to reminisce about them) again. IU's special mini-album contains the meaning of discovering ‘flower bookmarks’ in the music of the previous generation, reinterpreting them with her own emotions and voice and presenting them as a gift to listeners of the current generation. The seven songs were selected by IU, who enjoys listening to old songs in her own time, and reflect her unexpected feelings as if receiving an exciting gift when she first discovered these songs. She worked on the remake album by preserving the original songs’ emotions to the best she could, while weaving in her own style. ‘Flower Bookmark’ will be a gift for the many fans who like IU's analog emotions, which has been a hot topic through her acoustic guitar covers on broadcasts, as well as an album that provides an opportunity to once again reflect on the meaning of these classics and appreciate them for a long time, through the stimulating music.

SONG INTRODUCTIONS

01. 나의 옛날이야기 (My old story)

Originally sung by Cho Deok-bae

Lyrics by Cho Deok-bae

Composed by Cho Deok-bae

Arranged by Kim Je-hwi

The house across the alley from the window, the heart of a boy who had a crush on a girl

Cho Deok-bae, a singer-songwriter who composes sophisticated melodies that do not become outdated and has a voice that rings in our ears. The song “My Old Story” by singer-songwriter Cho Deok-bae, well-known as a singing minstrel (Note: medieval singer who sang or recited lyrics or poetry to musical accompaniment for the nobility), originated from a love letter that he wrote in his college notebook in 1973 when he was in middle school, but eventually failed to give to someone. The song which he had kept for a long time without a title, was eventually released as “My Old Story” in 1985 and received a lot of love.

IU's “My Old Story” is not a remake that reinterprets the song through its musical form and modern techniques, but rather an emotional remake that depicts the original song's anxious sentiments back in those days from a girl's point of view, like a response to the crush. Guitar and piano melodies played by the arranger and singer-songwriter Kim Je-hwi harmonize with the performance of the string quartet and accordion artist Jin-sun, opening the door to the emotions and romance of the analog generation.

02. 꽃 (Flower)

Originally sung by Kim Kwang-seok

Composed by Moon Dae-hyun

Lyrics by Moon Dae-hyun

Arranged by G.Gorilla

The late Kim Kwang-seok, who was like a pillar of Korea's modern folk music, released ‘Flower’ as the 2nd track on his 2nd album in 1991.

Sung by IU, ‘Flower’, began with a longing for ‘him’, whom the narrator raised alone. The selection was a difficult enough choice in itself, as it was difficult to deny the perspective that the remake was riding on the original song's inherent value. The lyrics are close to ‘poetry’ and neatly arranged to match ‘him’, but it is a very tricky song to give emotions to and IU's vocals, Hwang Min-woong's classical guitar and the quartet cross each other's boundaries and bring out a constant tense atmosphere.

03. 삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지 (Pierrot laughs at us)

Originally sung by Kim Wan-sun

Composed by Son Moo-hyun

Lyrics by Lee Seung-ho

Arranged by Lee Jong-hoon

The million-selling track by Kim Wan-sun, who solidified her position as the best female solo artist in the 1990s with her unique concepts and unconventional performances that had never been seen before in the music industry previously.

IU's ‘Pierrot Laughs at Us’ attempts a drastic change as an extension of the original song concept, with composer Lee Jong-hoon's colorful arrangement using mechanical vocal effects and the emotional part of the song being sung calmly without emotional fluctuations, which stands out from existing IU songs. On top of the solid rhythm led by jazz drummer Lee Sang-min's powerful groove, Hong Joon-ho's guitar, Choi In-sung's bass and Hong So-jin's keyboard accompaniment were combined to complete a monotone analog sound.

04. 사랑이 지나가면 (When love passes by)

Originally sung by Lee Moon-sae

Composed by Lee Young-hoon

Lyrics by Lee Young-hoon

Arranged by G.Gorilla

The biggest hit of 1987 which officially sold more than 2 million copies for the first time in Korean music history.

‘When love passes by’ was written by the late composer Lee Young-hoon, who was Lee Moon-sae’s best musical partner, and was praised for having a perfect harmony of popular appeal and musicality. The collaboration between the two artists is full of memories and IU shows a different charm from Lee Moon-sae's feelings of affection in the original song, which brings back memories of a breakup. This new version of ‘When love passes by’ also talks about a sad breakup, but IU maintains a restrained singing voice that does not lean towards intense sadness, through her uniquely transparent singing tone contained in the song by arranger G. Gorilla, and stays faithful to the original song's emotions like a trace of memories that remain the same even as generations change.

05. 너의 의미 (Meaning of you) (Feat. Kim Chang-wan)

Originally sung by Sanwoolim

Composed by Kim Chang-wan

Lyrics by Kim Han-young

Arranged by Ko Tae-young

The band ‘Sanwoolim’, a pioneer of Korean groups that was evaluated as the most unconventional along with their themes from novel to simple music and could not be limited to the specific genre of rock music.

Sanwoolim's 1984 song ‘Meaning of you’, sung by IU, contains Kim Chang-wan's style throughout the whole song, from designing the emotions of the vocals to featuring in the song itself. The ingenious Kim Chang-wan collaborated with IU and took the lead naturally in the recording studio, in a manner very much similar to Sanwoolim's music, with unembellished emotions from the original song that resonate with listeners from all generations.

Guitarist Ko Tae-young's arrangement ended with a warm sound combining Go Shin-jae's Bass, Chung Dong-yoon's Drum, and Song Sung-kyung's Hammond Organ accompaniment.

06. 여름밤의 꿈 (Dreams in summer night)

Originally sung by Kim Hyunsik

Composed by Yoon Sang

Lyrics by Yoon Sang

‘Dreams in summer night’ is a song released in 1988 by the late Kim Hyun-sik, an indispensable name in the history of Korean pop music.

‘Dreams in summer night’ is also known as the debut song of singer-songwriter Yoon Sang. Twenty-six years ago, the demo tape, which contained the original emotions of young songwriter Yoon Sang, intertwined with the coarse voice of the late Kim Hyun-sik, became very popular in those days. Yoon Sang, who already understands IU well through the songs ‘Only I didn’t know’ and ‘Sleeping Prince’, personally shared his feelings as follows:

“‘Dreams in summer night’ is the first song I completed when I started composing in high school. I’m grateful towards Kim Hyun-sik, who sang this song for the first time and this song has created opportunities for me to connect with others (Note: other musicians and singers). I'm thankful to IU for choosing this song. Personally, I think it was a good choice to only have piano accompaniment this time. The reason being that I was able to capture IU's voice as it is. IU, who was born many years after this song was released, finished recording the song with only four takes, comfortably singing it as if it was her own song that she had been singing for a long time. I've recorded a lot of songs with IU so far, but this was a moment that took me by surprise. I hope all of you can feel the pureness that I felt, like the pleasant and slow wind of a summer night.” (From a Yoon Sang interview)

07. 꿍따리 샤바라 (Boom Ladi Dadi) (Feat. Clon)

Originally sung by Clon

Composed by Kim Chang-hwan

Lyrics by Kim Chang-hwan

Arranged by Kim Jong-min

The title song of Clon’s debut, ‘Boom Ladi Dadi’, swept the nation in 1996 with its intense jungle sound and performance.

The reason it becomes a hot topic every year when the weather gets hot, such that it is called the summer vacation song, is the unique coolness of the song and the consolation message that people of all ages can easily relate to. IU's ‘Boom Ladi Dadi’, with its ukulele tune and calm Hawaiian Hula rhythm, conveys a comfortable feeling like a break from the frustrations and annoyances of daily life, with a tune like the sound of waves in the night breeze and the rap part, in which Clon himself featured in, adds fun for the listener, in a very different tone from the intensity of the original song.

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

Source: Melon

#iu #album introduction #flower bookmark

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nostalgebraist-autoresponder · 2 years ago

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frank please.. what in the name of Colby Jack is homestuck

Ahhhh here's the question of the day

Homestuck is an online webcomic (originally a webcomic proper, but there is now also a 6000-page comic book version). It ran from 2009-2016. It is presented as a work of fiction in the same universe as Hiveswap, and in particular, Homestuck "takes place in an alternate universe where the beta timeline [aka Hiveswap] was never published." It is also a sequel to a much earlier webcomic called Problem Sleuth, though I've never read that one.

Hiveswap is an attempt to make a video game sequel to Homestuck, like I said.

Homestuck itself is essentially a parody of the epic fantasy genre. (The genre it's actually poking fun at is J.R.R. Tolkien more than anything, but it includes all epic fantasy.) It centers around a motley bunch of teenage protagonists who start by discovering magical mysteries in their hometown, and who eventually go on to travel through an elaborate fantasy world and fight an evil god. So far, pretty standard stuff. But they also find a bunch of quirky characters and RPG-gameplay elements. The characters include a teenage pirate, an alien robot, a time traveler, a strangely androgynous sentient computer, and many other oddities.

Homestuck has a variety of genre-bending and self-aware features, including a narrative that draws on a wide range of literary and media influences, and which includes a focus on four-panel webcomic "comic strips" in which "panels may themselves be words on a page, and words may themselves be letters on a page, etc." It also has a very distinctive and memorable visual style that runs throughout the comic.

One of the distinctive features of the story is that most of the plot elements are designed around a weird sequence of complex computer programs called "the kids' adventure game," which the characters begin to play at the start of the story. The game is actually an in-universe video game called Hiveswap; the characters are forced to play it in an attempt to save their world from danger. Because of this, Homestuck is more directly a work of interactive fiction in some ways than it is a standard webcomic, since the reader too is forced to follow the characters as they navigate their computer game. Homestuck is a huge epic, as I said, and many parts of the story are so complicated that their full significance is only revealed months or years after their initial introduction.

Homestuck is well known for being very, very long, with a lot of bizarre, convoluted plot twists and outlandish characters. It has many sequences and characters that, while funny or interesting at the time, were controversial or downright obnoxious in retrospect, and ended up becoming the stuff of myth (for example, a sequence where the characters explore and bicker about a fictional planet that has a single, giant chess piece that serves as its major landmark). Many long sections are more distinctive and memorable than others, and these serve as landmarks in readers' memories of the story.

Character deaths are a big issue in Homestuck, as many characters are killed off in far-off pages, and the story ends up with a huge body count. The characters are incredibly invested in one another, and remain so despite this, and despite the fact that the story spans years.

Homestuck had a very healthy online fanbase (especially on tumblr) for much of its duration. The creator(s), Andrew Hussie, made a name for himself as a sort of mercenary artist who would go to great lengths to remain mysterious (the characters themselves often allude to this in the story). He stated that he didn't really know where the plot was going when he started and simply made it up as he went along. This was a way of saying that the plot was going in unexpected directions at all times, but it also meant that the story was kind of sprawling, and could be called into question as to whether there was even a consistent plot at all. As you might imagine, this engendered a lot of devotion as well as controversy. (I think there is a sense in which this is an intentional part of the literary strategy used by Hussie in telling the story. This is a big part of what I liked about the story, even though it meant the story could sometimes feel unfocused, long-winded, or silly.)

All this is just my summarized impression of Homestuck -- I'm no expert on it, I've only read up on it a bit. I'd recommend the Homestuck wiki if you want more info. But if anyone has more to add I'd be glad to hear it!

#homestalgebra #beetleintheroots

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joemarta · 2 years ago

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Jamie Cullum, Jazz-Pop Fusion, and my thoughts on doing Cover Songs

Jamie Cullum, a name you may not have heard of, popular in a genre that itself is not so popular, jazz pop. Let’s start from the beginning, and see this incredible musician's contribution to a really interesting and unique genre of music.

Now despite having a very successful career as a musician, Cullum was never given formal school training in his field. Born in 1979, Cullum grew up attending a private school, and followed this with a degree in English Literature and Film Studies. His family was not particularly musical, with his mother being a secretary and his father working in finance. The closest relative he had was his grandmother, who sang in nightclubs. Now despite not having the most musical influences in his life, he still followed it independently, and studied composition by himself, as well as started a few bands. It was his independent drive and focus that led him to become the musician that he is today. Jamie is known for not only singing on his songs, but also for being a multi-instrumentalist. He plays piano, percussion, and even dabbles into the world of guitars as well. Now since he could play a lot of instruments, and didn’t have any formal training, he had a huge opportunity for him as a musician. Many music students are the product of their environment, and usually end up studying what their parents do, or end up working hard to sound like their teacher. Jamie didn’t have a musical family, or a teacher, so his influences are his own, and he really cut out his own style for himself. Jamie’s first two musical embraces were related but still distant, jazz and rock. A student studying formally might be told to focus on just one or the other, but Jamie didn’t have anyone to tell him no, so he did everything he wanted to, which gets us close to the unique genre many people know and love him for.

Looking at his music, we can hear strong influences from jazz and even a few from rock, especially in his most recent album ‘The Pianoman at Christmas'. He really does not let one album stay in one genre, and really lets his voice and inspiration flow freely. Looking at his 2003 album ‘Twentysomething’, we can see a few covers, and songs that fall into jazz, ballads, and even soft rock. Some tracks involve rhythm sections, synthesizers, and even live horn sections. Hidden amongst these albums (some not even released) are some of the tracks he is most well known for, his jazz pop.

Now what is jazz pop? Looking at the genre name of itself, we see two genres that we all know, jazz and pop. The basis of jazz being a short melody, in which the performers can then solo or improvise over, which is the main focus of jazz. The basis for pop is longer and more memorable melodies, ones that could be easily sung or whistled, making them popular! Now combining the two, we get an interesting fusion genre that has changed over time, but still sits strong at its core. For this, we have to go back to the beginning of this style and culture of music in the early 1900’s. As jazz was on the rise with famous artists such as Louis Armstrong, we started to see the divide between the traditional jazz and what was then at the time known as ‘sweet jazz’. The more traditional stuff laid a lot into the groove and had a focus on long technical solos, whereas sweet jazz had a focus on tune and melody, which eventually gave way to artists like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennet, where the music focused on the melody, which helped it skyrocket to popularity. Overtime, more influences from other genres got scooped into jazz pop, a big one being R & B, which really shows the reflective nature of the genre. Flash forward to today. Now although not as common, jazz pop still holds a place in society, and Jamie Cullum is a part of that wave.

To me personally, some of his best work is in the jazz pop genre, especially when he covers other songs. He’ll take songs that have almost no connection to jazz, and transform them into something that is reminiscent of the original song, but with massive influences from jazz. He really takes the song and makes it his own. A great example of this is his cover of Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop the Music’. The song transforms from a club dance hall anthem, to a longing cry for help. It’s transformed into something so much more intimate than the original. It’s all live instruments, there is a thoughtful and tasteful piano solo, the tempo is pulled way back from the loud fast paced pumping of Rihanna's.

Now I’m going to go on a touchy subject, my opinion on covers. I absolutely hate when bands do covers of songs and don’t change anything from the original. It’s different if it is a cover band, or maybe some wedding musicians playing a gig. I am talking about well known and respected artists taking an already known song, releasing it as a ‘cover’ and not changing a single thing about their ‘new’ version. A big offender of this is Panic! At the Disco’s ‘cover’ of Bohemian Rhapsody. Did it sound good? Yes! Did it sound different? Not really, it sounded like PATD singing Bohemian Rhapsody. We already have an incredible version of the song by Queen, so what is the point of doing a lesser recreation of something that is already a spectacular version. Now if Panic! took Bohemian Rhapsody and turned into their own by making into some kind of more punk rock thing, that would have been great. A cover should bring something new to the table, which is exactly what Jamie Cullum is doing. In every cover that this man does, he brings the world of jazz pop to new genres. He does a lot of these covers at his live concerts, so there are not many high quality recordings, but from what we can see, he completely changes how the songs feel and groove. Looking at this clip from 2007, we can see Jamie performing the spunky rock song Seven Nation Army, but now it's a soulful, jazzy, funky cover. Overall, Cullum's work shows his development not only to the style of jazz pop, but to the greater genre-spanning culture of cover songs.

#jazz #jamie cullum #rihanna #panic at the disco

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dreadfutures · 9 months ago

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#i'm sad to hear this because it doesn't reflect my own experience #i actually see more fic and art because i'm in discords with people who share those things and ALSO reblog #but my discord circles probably skew toward older tumblr users who reblog stuff - @anneapocalypse

#discord has me so much more connected to my fellow authors and fanartists#it's sad that it's not a universal experience - @inquisimer

This.

There are some servers where it really is a black hole: people will say "look at this" and it's just a piece of art with no source. Those servers suck tbf.

But.

Discord servers -- any community -- will be as crediting, and reciprocal, and engaged, as any other community, based on the people who build the culture in that community; new people joining communities see that culture and either conform with joy, or they get pushed to conform. And when that culture is one of mutual celebration of creativity, then that's what gets fostered in its participants--and it does leak out into other communities.

Every individual who asks for a source or for a link when someone shares their own or someone else's creativity -- that person who asks is spreading that culture of mutual interest. It becomes a norm, and your community will eventually thrive.

There are always people who will take without giving, whether the sharing/resharing/commenting culture is codified in a Rule or not. But Discord doesn't inherently make people less inclined to share, speak of, or comment on, art and fic. That's down to their own awareness and apathy toward that culture -- which everyone, on every platform, has been complaining about seeing a decrease in in recent years. "So much about fandom now is just pure absorption and no actual engagement" is definitely true.

But I have seen people get more brave about commenting, and more aware of how tumblr works with its reblogging feature, after joining our discords and seeing exactly why those things matter and why they make other people feel good and why it's worth them specifically reaching out and commenting/sharing when things cross their desk.

I'm really proud of the community culture that's been fostered in those servers. It's impossible to engage with everyone's works, but everyone makes an effort to make sure their interest and enthusiasm is known both to the author/artist directly (whether the artist/author is in the discord itself or not!), and to the larger internet where applicable.

This isn't directed to OP so much as it's directed to the 1 person who commented on their fic -- be the change, encourage that celebration in everyone, and encourage all your shy folks around you to actually tell the creators they like that they like them! it takes so few spoons to leave a comment or to reblog something, and those are acts of love.

we don't talk enough about discords place in the slow death of tumblr. and i say that as someone who uses and loves discord. but the seperation between reblogging and talking on discord def affected how we communicate here. something i see really often is people sharing gifs and art on discord and being like "how pretty is this!" and still never reblog it. or people will talk about a fic on discord or twitter and then the fic itself barely has comments on ao3, so the creators feel like no one is seeing their stuff, or worse, that no one cares. i remember being completely floored when one (1) person on ao3 said their entire server was talkin about my fic bc if they hadn't had commented that i would never know! so much abt fandom now is just pure absorption and no actual engagement.

#personal #fandom #imo the distinction and where the dropoff happens is between people who are ALSO creatives vs people who are simply readers and appreciator #people who dont make things themselves just think of giving feedback or sharing things WAY less frequently than people who are creating too #it didn't used to be this way and I really subscribe to the Everything Became Content to Consume theory of why fic engagement dropped off #I honestly view discord as the better way to reintroduce and reestablish the old norms of celebrating a work and sharing things we find #you are way more likely to get someone to realize the importance of sharing and giving positive feedback if you're talking to them 1 on 1 #than they are likely to change themselves organically just by scrolling tumblr and only occasionally seeing a post from an artist etc #like the Leave A Comment Fest on tumblr was great #but many more people saw it because it was shared in our discords and people got hyped about doing it even if they hadn't seen it on tumblr #and people who had no idea what it was learned and got hyped too #like look i really miss forums in a lot of ways they were the heart of fandom 4ever #but most of the best parts of forums are in discord for real and tumblr doesn't fill the same social fandom niche #sorry for this dual essay but i just lament that people don't have better fandom experiences #and it's sad that so many feel like the tools that are there to make it better actually make it worse #long post #sorry sorry

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bratz-kitten · 4 years ago

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the moon through the houses

moon in the 1st house: very emotional and delicate - it's like you wear your heart on your sleeves. it's impossible for you to hide your feelings. enchanting aura. so so sensitive and it might be very easy to hurt you. you trust your intuition and gut feeling like no other and you make your decisions based on it, here is present a potential for intense psychic abilities where you might be able to predict things for others. when you were younger, your intuition might have been very overwhelming. spontaneous in your responses; with you, everything depends on your emotional state. you might pride yourself a lot on your empathetic nature, your need to take care of and nurture everyone, how affectionate you are - but you also want to be spoiled. a need to be noticed for your talents. controlling your mood swings is necessary to use your intuition constructively, to achieve your dreams - because truthfully, you can be too defensive and reactive; try not to take everything to heart. a need for emotional stimulation. you may act overly cold to protect yourself because you've been very hurt in the past.

moon in the 2nd house: your emotional security depends on knowing that your financial future is stable - and the constant changes you might experience when it comes to your finances and your self-worth might bring you a lot of anxiety. there's a tendency to not realize your own worth. you want you and those close to you to always feel at home and nurtured, a home where you always feel protected and can protect them - be careful with putting other's needs above your own. you can take a lot of pleasure from making gifts for your loved ones. can easily go from very generous and offering everything to others to want to keep everything to yourself due to your fear of losing security. give off a mysterious and deep aura. emotional attachment to things that remind you of your past and those who you love. tendency to shop your problems away whenever you feel sad and empty. you hold on strongly to the ones you love and can be very possessive over them. honest to a fault; others might not be able to handle your honesty. incredibly artistic, you express your thoughts through the creation of art.

moon in the 3rd house: your mind seems to run at a thousand kilometers per hour, and the amount of information you're capable of absorbing + your tendency to overthink might have you literally hurting from thinking so much. you react very fast to things. gaining knowledge makes you feel emotionally fulfilled. so eloquent and intelligent, with various interests and a love for sharing your ideas with others. a love for writing. ideas that bounce from one to the other. it almost feels like you have the answer to all the universe's secrets. fascinating thinking process, but you can get too stuck in the past sometimes. you get nervous whenever you spend too much time in one place, there's a need for constant change present here - but still, you are very attached to the places where you were raised. logic interconnecting with emotions. you love talking about your emotions and private matters, so others, sensing this disposition in you, might feel instantly safe when it comes to sharing their secrets with you.

moon in the 4th house: you give great importance to your home and your family, and with them is where you feel the most emotionally secure. you might be very distrusting of strangers and it can be particularly hard to get close to you, but once someone's in, they'll feel your love forever. very sensitive to the needs of loved ones, like you have this intuition that allows you to feel what they feel. there's a need for change in your environment present here, you might feel the need to move somewhere else a lot in an attempt to deal with your inner restlessness. eventually, you'll have to learn that home isn't a place but it's something you carry with you wherever you go. for better or worse, your parents had a great impact on you. you might constantly be subconsciously looking for their approval. intense mood swings that only seem to become more prominent as the years go by, careful with letting insecurity take over you. breaking old habits can seem almost impossible, but if they're toxic, please learn to let them go. you can be very emotional and nostalgic, with a deep craving for intimacy.

moon in the 5th house: you have such a kind and generous nature, always looking to look out for the lives of the ones you love. tendency to be overly dramatic and for exaggeration. a deeply creative soul, you easily express your emotions through art. a talent for acting and drama, a love for being the center of attention. imagination and daydreaming. so expressive, passionate, spontaneous. a love for intense romantic relationships, your passion is magnetic to others. although you can be too fond of taking risks - when it comes to money, buying things and love. might be too addicted to playing games rather than to the person who you're with. be careful with needing people to need you, and to get stuck in codependent relationships. can be overly authoritative. your charmingly childish spirit can have you being great with kids. constantly in a competition with yourself to be better, prettier, smarter, with better style, more successful. a need to be the best in everything you do.

moon in the 6th house: very caring and emotional, with a deep need to help others around you. your emotional distress can easily physically manifest itself - stress, anxiety and feeling insecure can deteriorate your health dramatically. you care a lot for working hard and for being healthy. you feel the most emotionally satisfied when you're advancing in a job that you love, when you're able to make your coworkers feel like one big family, when you not only take care of the ones you love but you feel spoiled and nurtured back. tendency to panic when things don't go your way. your need for perfection can be downright toxic - you need to realize that you're a human who's allowed to make mistakes. a love for a stable routine. a talent for solving problems. you might be too selfless, helping without expecting anything in return - careful with being taken advantage of. you need variety in your career so you might constantly be changing jobs. you don't like to wallow, you want to move on from the things that make you feel stuck. a love for self-improvement.

moon in the 7th house: you feel the most emotionally fulfilled when you're supported by the ones you love the most, when you feel secure and protected in their presence. you might often feel vulnerable, like you need to belong to someone else which is why the idea of soulmates is so attractive to you - but before loving others, you need to learn to love yourself, even the darkest parts that you try to pretend aren't there. be careful with staying in relationships where you're no longer happy and in love, security should be found in yourself and not in others. a love for romantic gestures, for intimacy and affection. you might use your personal relationships to get what you want. people skills - you're able to see all the perspectives in a situation and to adapt to others' needs, which is why you're so well-liked. friends that feel like family. very interested in their public persona and in being admired, and this need for an audience can be misunderstood by your partners. a talent for business and the arts.

moon in the 8th house: you deeply want to connect with others, but your trust issues make it very difficult for you to let yourself trust your partners. you get easily attached to others because of that need for nurture, but on the other hand, there's a fear of rejection and loss present here. very supportive of your close ones, unconditional type of love. a tendency for possessiveness and jealousy, can also be controlling. you might be into going on a shopping spree every time you feel sad. hypnotizing look and magnetism. psychic abilities. you're very secretive because you don't want others to figure you out - you have a deep understanding of life and loved ones, knowing their darkest parts, but you don't like being known yourself, being very secretive about your emotions. can be emotionally unstable. you need intimacy to enjoy sex, you're not the type to enjoy having one-night stands. you hide the memories that pain you. you shouldn't ever allow life or a love betrayal to put out the spark of passion in you, because that's what makes you yourself. a desire to merge with someone, something else.

moon in the 9th house: there's this craving present in you to escape, to constantly be on the move; a need for travel and to fall into the belief that the grass is greener on the other side - what are you trying to run away from? you need to understand that happiness comes not from a place but the inside; you are your home and no amount of moving will fill the emptiness inside of you if you're not willing to fill it with your own self-love. with a need to be constantly stimulated, you're terrified of routine. an innate need to know, explore, dream and delve into the deeper meanings of life. you don't want to change the world, you want to change the whole universe. a true visionary. a constant change of your life philosophy and interests. constantly traveling even if only in your mind - this placement makes for a daydreamer whose imagination enables you to fantasize about practically anything. a tendency to idealize the world - not all is as beautiful and good as you want it to be, the world is much darker and cruel. a capability of turning your dreams into reality. can have a tendency to be obsessive. you want to stimulate others’ minds with your words.

moon in the 10th house: there's an extreme sensitivity to you that you can't hide from the world; but even if your overwhelming emotions are keeping you from appearing stable and composed, it's their intensity that will aid you in your ambitions to get to the top of the mountain. you aren't really private - you thrive when having a public, but be careful with getting involved with scandals for putting your life too out there for others to scrutinize. special charisma that others can't look away from. very indecisive when it comes to choosing a career because your emotions rule over what you want out of life. craving for recognition and success, and when you're not being admired, you may feel moody and deeply hurt. a need to nurture and protect the world. your parents' words, good or bad, have a big impact on you and drive you to succeed. very emotional when it comes to your loved ones, they might baby you a lot. an approach to reach your dreams that feels almost intuitive, like your brain is unconsciously wired to get you closer to them. difficulty with keeping relationships and secrets private because you always seem to be under the spotlight.

moon in the 11th house: it's like you feel other people's pain and struggles, very sensitive to the pain of the world. here is present a need to ease others' burdens to feel emotionally fulfilled, you don't want your happiness to be your own only but want everyone to experience it. full of dreams, but they can change according to how you feel. can be emotionally unstable. a need for the support of your friends; when not feeling loved, it breaks your heart and makes you want to isolate yourself. you radiate charm and an intuitive knowing of how to make others have fun when in your presence. friends that feel like family. those of influence want to help you succeed. you need to rely on your intuition to figure out who's trustworthy and who isn't. you should work on your need to have the approval of others and understand that it's up to you to approve of yourself. can give a lot of conflicts with loved ones when you're at your most emotionally involved. easily impressed, independent and with an unconventional personality that others might disapprove of, but you're too unapologetically yourself to care. careful with attracting unstable people because you have a thing for those who society rejects. very private about your personal life.

moon in the 12th house: you have an overwhelming sensitivity that can't be found in many others, like you intuitively feel what others are feeling, but all of these intense emotions might wear you down and disturb the sense of peace that you so desire. deeply empathetic. even though you understand what others feel, you might be very lost when it comes to your own emotions, needing to retreat from society every once in a while to recharge your energy. attracted by the unknown, all that is transcendental and far from the physical realm. psychic potential. incredible imagination; you might have a lot of vivid dreams and nightmares, which can give you a very chaotic sleeping pattern and even insomnia. artistic inclination, when you express your intensity through art you create magic. you might be attracted to secret love affairs and all that is forbidden. mysterious and secretive aura. fear of losing others and being abandoned because trust comes very hard to you. before succumbing to your need to help others, give yourself that kind of tenderness. you can't stand when others try to limit you.

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deniigi · 3 years ago

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Lando The Nosy Neighbor AU

Title: good fences make good neighbors

Summary: Modern AU based off the premise presented to me as ‘Han and Leia move into the same neighborhood and start a feud, only to eventually overthrow the local Homeowner’s Association.’

Relationships: Pot-farmer!Han/Lawyer!Leia; Farmboy!Luke/Survivalist!Din; Lando & Breha Organa & Chewbacca

This is based off a rural community in Washington which has local cults.

Lando POV

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

A hippy has moved in next to the Organas.

It’s a good one, too. This one hasn’t even rented a moving truck, they’ve just come on over with all their furniture tetris-ed in on top of itself and wrapped tight with rope, blankets, and prayer.

Lando’s petunias screech for watering as the hippy throws open the truck’s door and comes staggering out, cracking his lanky back. Out of the other side comes an even hairier, even lankier person. He closes the truck door and looks right at Lando.

He stares.

It is a challenge. But of course, not one that Lando is not prepared to handle.

He points at his watering can.

Hippy Two seems to scoff.

Lando waits until he’s distracted by the first hippie struggling with the blue house’s doorknob to dump the remaining water into the pebbles under his ornamental bridge.

He returns inside and goes about his busy business, tying back the curtains.

It is always good to have someone new in the neighborhood.

It takes the hippy couple a few weeks to get settled into their new home, and in that time neither has ingratiated themselves to Lando.

The stupid one with the floppy hair caught onto Lando’s tricks at the weekly poker match held in the local bar. Lando may have lost his irrigation system, but he has not lost his dignity. It was old anyways. He’s been planning to replace it for nearly a year now. There is never a better time than the present to start making your dreams into reality.

And anyways, the floppy haired out-of-towner will get what is coming to him. Lando has already sown the seed of his demise.

Leia Organa returned home to look after her poor, sick, stubborn mother just two months ago. Breha is fine, of course, not even cancer could snuff out her fires, although she is bored of her husband and daughter trying to trap her indoors. Her immunocompromised escapades have been delightful to watch.

The Organas are always a lively group. There is never a dull moment or lack of machinations among them—especially the lady of the household. She, like Lando, appreciates a good tussle. Which is why he has pointed out to Leia that her new neighbors’ greenhouse is mighty interesting, is it not?

Lawyer Leia’s ears pricked up like a horse’s, and Breha’s sharp eyes took on new sheen.

Lando watches Leia in the mornings now, struggling to find upper-body strength and purchase on the wood of her backyard fence, among the roses and bougainvillea. She’s so tiny, Leia. Breha is not an overly large person either, and thus is no help in this endeavor to collect data on the greenhouse of questionable origins and purposes on the other side of the fence. Leia doesn’t need her, though. She needs no one. She’s seen what she needs to.

Lando pours tea from a glass pot given to him by someone in his company who wishes for their secrets to remain so and beautiful, clear amber liquid fills his cup.

He looks up to see Leia holding her phone out as far as she can without relinquishing her grip on the fence. She fumbles, trying one-handedly to document the crime before her, but alas. Even the mighty sometimes trip on the red carpet.

The phone slips. She grabs after it in slow-motion, horror filling every pore of her face.

It is gone now, that phone.

The Public Nuisances will know what she has been up to.

Lando sighs and leans back in his seat.

It is no time at all before the dropped phone is returned graciously over the white, waist-height fence that separates the Public Nuisance’s yard from the Organas’. Leia snatches her phone back and wipes it off with her hand and sleeve. The shorter public enemy, Han, he calls himself, smiles at her cheekily. He retracts his hand and gestures to the taller fence, barely visible for the fruit trees and vines, between their backyards and says something that makes Leia go very, very still.

It is, undoubtedly, a challenge. Not unlike the one that that the more polite public nuisance, Chewie, opened his and Lando’s relationship with.

Chewie has explained without mincing his words, that he and Han have come here because their last venture was lost in a snowstorm. Chewie will be damned if his precious seedlings are so callously frosted over again. The Pacific Northwest has no chance of freezing over, he says. It provides a better setting to grow stock.

Weed, he means. Marijuana. Chewie is again, not shy. He and Han make good money supplying dispensaries with their organic, hand dried leaves. It is apparently ‘artisan’ like in quality.

Lando isn’t sure he’d go that far, but yes, it is nice stuff. And yes, Leia, bastion of justice, does need to see the men’s permits.

Lando opens the window for a breeze and catches Han telling Leia that he’ll produce them if she arm wrestles him for the right to witness their authenticity. Leia agrees. Han fetches a small worktable from the house’s garage and sets it between them.

The match is over within seconds. Leia has never been so insulted in her life. She demands a rematch and, out of sheer indulgence, Han gives it to her.

He is nearly a foot taller than her. He could lift her up and over her own fence with ease if he so desired. He wins the next round. And the next one. He loses the last one by reason of having his leg deadened under the table but stands abruptly to renegade on his earlier promise.

“You watch yourself, princess,” he calls over his shoulder with his hand on his front door’s knob.

“Oh, I’ll be watching,” Leia snarls back.

Han slams the door. Chewie looks from him to Leia standing fuming in the shade of her family’s pine trees.

“Unbelievable,” she snaps at him before stomping off herself. “UNBELIEVABLE.”

Lando flicks his eyes up to see Breha’s dining room window wide open. She too, has a cup of tea. She lifts it his way and he lifts his back.

Finally, some quality entertainment once more.

Han and Leia’s hatred has become neighborhood gossip. They have begun going to extraordinary lengths to gain the others’ attention. For example, Han, in weeding his sparce flowerbeds, was careful to shove the fruits of his labor between the fence slats into Bail’s well-tended herb garden. Bail, ever the gentleman, does not mind, but of course Leia feels that her family honor has been spat upon. She collects the weeds and returns them to her owner, via mailbox. It is kind of her to put the flag down, so Han knows that he’s received a message.

The retaliation is a mural in rainbow colors commissioned by Han and painted by one of the budding young teenagers from a school about a thirty minute drive downtown. It is...psychedelic. And facing Leia’s bedroom window.

Han asked the youth who painted it to add in a figure in the center of the composition; it is a brown-haired woman dressed all in white, surrounded by thorny vines, and attempting to climb a fence. The young artist must have felt like Michelangelo in the application of those delicate strokes of artistry. They knew they were creating something holy.

Han helps that along by bracketing the figure with solar lanterns that light up at night and keep the image fully illuminated.

When Lando arrives to Breha’s side to go on a walk, arm in arm, with her and her beast of a terrier, she giggles like a schoolgirl behind her hand.

“Han is very handsome,” she tells Lando.

“He’s alright,” Lando says.

“I think he and Leia are a perfect match. Will for will. No one’s ever dared to cross her like this.”

Now that is a fact.

“I wonder if this is the start of something more,” Breha says.

“What does your husband think?” Lando asks.

Breha waves him off dismissively.

“Oh, you know. He’s convinced that Leia will kill Han in his sleep, and we will be forced to post bail, but I told him—as I’ve told you, Lando—Leia’s too smart to get caught committing axe murder. Now poisoning, that’s a different story.”

Lando wakes up and makes coffee. He turns on his computer and opens his curtains to let the light pour in and warm his hardwood floors. He stands at the window, hiding a smirk behind his mug.

Leia has had enough. She has called the Home Owner’s Association and they are standing at Han’s front doorstep.

It is about three weeks before Han and Leia have overthrown the Home Owner’s Association for interfering in their escalating romance—ahem—bloodfeud. By then, Lando’s work-from-home situation is suffering. It is impossible to focus with those two cluttering up his view with distractions left and right. He determines that, for the sake of his finances, he must direct his attention to something a little further afield.

The Lars’s vegetable stand is becoming something of an institution.

It’s about a mile or so out of Lando’s way, tucked smack in the middle of the battlefield that is the stretch of land between the survivalist cult that lives in the forest and the pseudo-Buddhists that live in their compound. The farm itself is a few acres and the Lars’s son can be seen walking around, herding livestock out of the road and into pastures.

Lando has heard whispers that this son is none other than Leia’s twin brother, but no one has the nerve to directly ask the Organas about the truth of such a scandalous idea. The most that can be said about Luke Lars-Skywalker is that he is a master of social media.

He has created a Youtube channel and an Instagram to document the practices of his family’s farm and the products they produce. He is in a twitter-war with many communities online for his videos on small-scale bee-keeping, and his family’s stand is proudly boycotted by the vegan association in the city on farmer’s market days.

It has become well-known among the farm-to-table restaurants in the city, though, and that is why Luke keeps on keeping on with his cows and his fowls and his silly camera holder.

But all that means little because Luke Lars-Skywalker is in love.

Anyone with eyes can see it.

He is in love with an ancestral enemy.

See, in this area there are not one, but two cults and naturally, they abhor and reject the others’ teachings. To the south are the pseudo-buddhist, clairvoyants who have fashioned themselves more or less as monks preoccupied with meditation, self-development, and a few fairly mystical beliefs among the rather terrifying devotion to martial arts. To the north are the survivalist whack-jobs who don’t believe in electricity or running water, but who are also, somehow, preoccupied with self development and a terrifying devotion to martial arts.

Both groups have publicly denounced the other as misguided extremists.

The rumors say that Luke and Leia’s biological father is one of the clairvoyants, and this is where the heart of the current delightful irony lays.

Luke Lars-Skywalker is in love with one of those survivalists.

Lando knows this because he has seen it with his very own eyes.

He took a trip a while back to purchase some greens from the vegetable stand and he was there for a little while, picking through the selection, when he looked up and saw Luke’s posture explode out of its lax boredom. Lando looked over his shoulder to see what Luke’s tan, freckled attention had latched onto and lo and behold.

It was a man. And not only a man, a man with a baby.

Luke stuffed knuckles into his mouth to keep from cooing as the father of the child nodded at him and meandered over to have a poke through the produce piled up on the stand. The baby, dressed carefully in layers of warm, water-resistant clothing, watched Luke right back. He smiled and grunted, waving his dark, stubby arms and Luke melted—literally collapsed into a fraction of his size behind the paystation.

The father, a white rugged guy with dark curly hair and a great deal of stubble, shifted the baby to his other arm. His worn, heavy clothing and the military-style canvas sack on his back marked him as one of the Cabin-In-the-Woods people.

Lando felt like he was watching a country romance flick in real life.

Luke gathered his courage and approached the dad and baby to ask if they were looking for anything in particular. The baby immediately held hands out to him. Luke asked the father if he could hold the little one. The father said ‘no.’

Lando nearly choked on his own spit.

“Oh, sorry buddy,” Luke said to the baby. “Daddy thinks I’m gonna eat you up.”

“He just got a bath.”

Luke gooey expression hardened in an instant.

“Excuse you. You sayin’ I’m dirty?” he asked. “You sayin’ I smell like horseshit?”

The father stared at Luke wordlessly.

“Pigshit,” he corrected.

“WHAT.”

Lando no longer needed only greens. He had to pick a cheese from this bountiful pile. Oh dear, so many to choose from.

“I said, you smell like pigshit. And he just got a bath,” the survivalist father said. “How much for the tomatoes?”

“Twenty a pound,” Luke said viciously.

“That’s steep.”

“There’s a discount for people who smell like pigshit.”

“You get a lot of those?”

“No, but I know how to wallow in the time between buyers.”

“Are you angry or something?”

“Take your damn tomatoes.”

“I didn’t pay yet—”

“Just take ‘em. Go. Go.”

“Twenty—?”

“Hey, Mr. Calrissian, that’ll be ten-fifty,” Luke said over the protests.

That was then. This is now. And Luke Lars-Skywalker has not let up on his tirade against this survivalist. Nor, it is important to note however, has the survivalist stopped coming to the vegetable stand when Luke is working it.

What is even more is that Lando can see with his own two eyes that the survivalist is not holding his baby at the vegetable stand now, as Lando closes his car door a little ways from the stand. Luke smiles at Lando as he draws near; he is bouncing at the knees. He waves the baby’s hand in greeting and the child gurgles and twists back to grab at his face.

Lando smiles and does not say anything.

He finds Chewie inspecting a sprinkler at the edge of his and Han’s yard on the way back and crosses the street to inspect it with him. It sputters. Chewie suspects outloud that their squirrels are getting stronger and more destructive by the day.

Lando asks him if he’s been the Lars’s vegetable stand since moving into town.

He has.

Lando asks if he’s ever seen Luke there, holding a baby.

He has.

Lando is smug.

“Mr. Rugged Mountain Man is falling for the farm boy,” he tells Chewie.

Chewie lifts a thick eyebrow.

“One day soon, that baby is going to go from living off the grid to living in a barn,” Lando tells him. “Mark my words.”

Chewie tells him that that is impossible without a kidnapping charge because the Rugged Mountain Man is the straightest man that he’s ever seen. Lando tells him not to judge a book by its cover.

Weirder things have happened. Han and Leia, for example.

Chewie tells him that he knows that Lando is somehow responsible for those two’s newly inescapable sexual tension and he will never forgive him for it.

Lando cannot believe his ears. Him? An instigator? Of course not, Chewie. He is but a humble spider, waiting around in his house for a fly to shake things up. He is an observer, nothing more, nothing less.

Chewie just points a finger at him.

Lando points a finger-gun back. He fires it with a click of his tongue.

#star wars #han/leia #dinluke #lando calrissian #fic #ficlet #don't mind me I'm just thinking about petty neighborhood politics

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true-blue-megamind · 4 years ago

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FAN THEORY SUPPOSITION SUNDAY: The Warden

SPOILER WARNING! It’s still a thing, and, if you haven’t yet, you still need to watch Megamind. (If you have seen it already, however, you need to see it again. Because it’s awesome.)

Yes, yes, the post is three days late this time. Real life has to take priority and such. So sue me. (Don’t really do that. LOL!)

For that same reason—or more accurately because this week has exhausted me—I will attempt to make this post shorter than usual. We’ll see how that goes. My money is on “not well.” LOL.

Anyway, today we’re going to look at a subject that often divides the Megamind fandom: the Warden and his relationship with Megamind. There are several fan theories—I mean, suppositions—surrounding this, but I’m going to be focusing on a few of the main ones.

The first of these is that the Warden was actually a father figure to Megamind when he was young, allowing him to be raised in jail not out of cruelty or disinterest, but because it was the only way to keep him safe from shadowy government agencies that otherwise would have performed all sorts of experiments on the blue alien. This both accounts for why a child would be allowed to grow up in what is clearly a high-security prison for dangerous adult criminals—something that, admittedly, needs some sort of explanation—and fits with widely accepted sci-fi and comic book tropes. (From Area 51 to mysterious “Men in Black” type organizations, fiction is full of government agencies created to study extraterrestrial life and technology.) Some even go so far as to suggest that the Warden may have tried to adopt Megamind officially, but was blocked from doing so by these same entities. On top of this, such an idea also offers room to re-imagine the Warden as a much more interesting, complex, and sympathetic character. Indeed, there has been some excellent fan fiction written about this pseudo-parental relationship.

Art: Fathers And Sons Day by tabbydragon

There is some evidence to support this. The first is that, although the Warden behaves harshly toward Megamind in the “jail-break” scene near the beginning of the film, Megamind himself seems to be trying to engage in a playful exchange: pranking the older man, wishing him a good morning, and even teasing him. While some say that this is simply Megamind’s personality as well as his determination to always appear indominable, others suggest that, perhaps, the blue man is trying to recapture a lost amiability between himself and the prison Warden. It is possible that, when he was younger and less villainous, Megamind might have exchanged friendly jokes and greetings with the man in charge of the jail he called home. It has even been suggested that the Warden is so hard on the blue man at the beginning of the film not because he hates Megamind, but because Megamind’s life choices have hurt and alienated his father figure. This idea finds some support in the facts that, when Megamind leaves jail to confront Titan, the Warden wished him good luck, and at the end of the movie, that same man seems genuinely happy as he watches the television broadcast of his one-time prisoner being named Defender of Metro City. Finally, there is some evidence from the comics which, although not truly considered canon, as I’ve mentioned before, do offer some material for fan theories. In the “episode” entitled Bad Minion! Bad! Megamind runs into the Warden in a bar, and the latter offers the former advice. There is certainly a somewhat fatherly feel to the scene.

The second theory is exactly the opposite: that the Warden either did not care for or outright disliked the former supervillain. Unfortunately, as fun as the Warden/Father Figure concept is, this second, darker idea has far stronger evidence to support it in the film itself. (Try not to hate me, everyone.) These clues range from the obvious to the subtle, but there are quite a few of them to be found.

During the first scene in which we see Warden interact with Megamind, he doesn’t behave like an angry, disappointed father—at least not a good one. He isn’t merely surly toward Megamind; he is absolutely nasty. The Warden verbally condemns the alien, telling him that he’ll “always be a villain,” and essentially steals what he believes is a gift for the blue man, even taunting him by saying: “I think I’ll keep it!” This hardly seems like the actions of someone who once felt any sort of affection for the extraterrestrial. That same portion of the movie holds another clue as well: the screens monitoring Megamind’s brain activity. Indeed, in original concept art for the film, the system appears both more invasive and more nightmarish. It seems that, far from protecting Megamind, the Warden may have actually allowed him to be experimented upon.

Next, there is the newspaper article at the beginning of the title sequence, which bears the headline “Hometown Boy Makes Bad.” It’s hard to see what the paper says, of course, even if you bother to really notice it, but luckily for us Liz (Demishock) wrote a wonderfully thorough blog post which, among other things, provides a transcript of the “news story.” In it, the Warden is quoted as referring to young Megamind as a born villain as well as abnormal.

You don't know this kid. I've watched the little criminal since he was in diapers. This kid is just a bad seed. I've got experienced, hardened criminals in here who are afraid of him - I mean, have you seen the size of his head?… It's not like he's a normal kid… I mean, have you gotten a good look at his gigantic blue head? I don't know where you come from, but where I come it's just not right.

Granted, there seems to be some truth to what the Warden is saying, as the article also mentions that Megamind, who can hardly have been more than seven years old at the time, has basically been put into solitary confinement for the safety of other prisoners following an unnamed incident, adding that the other inmates “refused to point fingers for fear of retaliation.” (This fits with the fan theory that young Megamind would have had to both fight and develop a fearsome reputation in order to protect himself. You can read more about that in the post How Strong is Megamind?) However, the Warden seems to dwell a lot on the fact that Megamind looks alien, and he displays an obvious dislike for the young boy.

Finally, there is evidence hidden in the school scene, although it’s easy to miss. In an amazing two-part video series, Megamind: A City of Deception. YouTuber The Theorizer illustrates several hidden clues about Megamind’s early life and how it it led him to embrace villainy. (I will very likely write another post going into more detail about that at a later date.) One thing that The Theorizer discovered is a seemingly innocuous detail in the background during the popcorn scene. Take a moment to examine the images below. Look closely at the blackboard and you’ll see a paper cut out of a school bus. Look even more closely at that and you’ll find something odd: the bus is full of crayon-drawn children except for one figure: an adult male, riding in the back of the bus, who looks suspiciously like the Warden as he appears at the beginning of the film.

In a movie where so much attention is given to small things—I mean, seriously, the animation team actually went through the trouble to write a news story for a paper that was on the screen less than ten seconds—this cannot possibly be a coincidence. (You can learn more about the artists’ amazing dedication to detail in my post What’s Hidden in the Animation?) Although it is vaguely possible that Megamind, painfully aware of how much his appearance was despised, chose to draw the Warden’s face instead of his own, most fans believe there is a darker reason for this oddity.

Think about it: the Li’l Gifted School for Li’l Gifted Kids is built close by a jail with a strangely similar name: Metro City Prison for the Criminally Gifted. It’s clearly a small academy, yet the only two known aliens in the city—who, by the way, have extremely different social backgrounds—both just happen to attend there. And now the prison warden appears to be somehow involved with the elementary school? It’s bizarre. Add to this the fact that the young alien adopted by a privileged family—a boy who possessed super-strength and laser vision—seemed inclined to be a bully, (as is made obvious by the kickball scene,) and a disturbing fan theory emerges. Adults realized that Wayne Smith, the child who would eventually become Metro Man, might prove dangerous if left unchecked, and came up with a plan to turn him into a hero instead. Wayne was showered with praise, conditioning him to seek public approval, but a superhero needs a nemesis. The strange-looking, unwanted blue boy who’d already been labeled a criminal would have seemed like the obvious choice. If this is true, then Megamind was purposefully, albeit covertly, groomed to become a supervillain from a young age, and the Warden played a major role in doing that.

So there you have it. Two competing fan theories concerning the Warden’s connection with Megamind. Both have some evidence supporting them, and there are fans who are firmly dedicated to one or the other. Which is true? Did the Warden care for Megamind like a son but distance himself when the boy turned to villainy? Or did he judge and despise Megamind but come around to liking him when he finally realized what sort of person the blue man was deep down? The fact is that those questions can be argued for hours on end. No matter which of these suppositions you prefer, however, the mere fact that even a minor supporting character is complex enough to offer room for this debate speaks to the impressive amount of work and devotion that went into creating this amazing animated film.

#Megamind #Megamind movie #Megamind fan theory #fan theory #fan theories #fanon #Warden #the Warden #connection #relationship #relationships

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mooshs-crack-headcanons · 3 years ago

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Gn!reader comforting dante after a nightmare please?

Can you say: 'angst?' 😅 I hope you enjoy

(Cw just in case: angst, emotional distress, dmc 1 trauma)

Things have been...uneasy for Dante since his last job.

He wouldn't talk about it, which wasn't exactly new to you, but ever since you and Lady returned to Capulet after a job that yourselves took that had you out of the area for a few weeks and you came back to the shop to find evidence the the place had been sacked and everything from the dusty busted up couch to the old desk that had been sitting in the same spot for a decade tossed around and broken, pieces scattered across the shop also not to mention there looked to be a fire at some point with how there were now charred marks on the floor and walls. When asked by Lady what the hell had happened his answer was simple, cold and dead: "Job."

After you guys worked to clean the place up, as if you could physically feel the tension growing and growing from the man as he sat there on the only unbroken piece of furniture in the whole office, his chair, staring dead silent at the picture of his mother nicely propped next to him on the ground. The subject was quickly dropped.

It wasn't long before Dante's attitude came back to him, with his shiny new desk he could prop his feet onto and new array of furniture that you convinced Lady to go help you buy with your cut of the money from your job together filled his shop, things felt like they went back to how they were before. You and Lady were taking in the jobs that came in while Dante declared himself on 'vacation' that mainly consisted of him sitting at his desk with a magazine over his eyes - not that you minded, you just appreciated he was actually taking time to rest, but it wasn't long before what truly happened on that last job needed to be addressed again.

You were in the kitchen making a cup of coffee while looking through the mail, going through all the normal things you expect to see when getting the mail; bills, sales ads, and even more bills. However one important thing you do see and one you've been seeing for quite some time now was postcards addressing Dante. Now in all your time you've known the son of Sparda you have never once gotten postcards from anyone and they were all signed with a woman's name you did not recognize; Trish. Now you never really read what neatly scrawled onto the back out of respect for privacy, but you trusted your boyfriend and every time they came in you politely gave them to him for he looked them over and put them in a drawer in his desk.

You take a sip of your might of coffee before gathering up the postcard and bills into your hand and aim to drop them off at Dante's desk so he can look them over when he wakes up from his scheduled magazine nap of the day. A loud hellish crackle throughout the air and slam onto wooden flooring makes you drop the papers in your hands instead of the relative easy pace you usually take to come out from the kitchen and into the office you're quickly up to arms grabbing your gun from the kitchen table and ready to fire at any demonic threat the moment you bash through the door but instead your met with Dante in devil trigger on the floor fallen out of his chair, desperately clutching at his face. You waste no time running over and dropping to the ground next to him.

"You alright?"

You go in to touch him only for clawed fingers to push you away, taking you back a little but you shake off and apologize. He shakes his head as he finally does speak, his voice distorted but you can still hear the human shakiness in it.

"No, I'm good. Just a dream - just a dream." The way he spoke sounded more like he was telling himself that more than he was reassuring you.

He closes his eyes and quickly fazes out of his demon form, the human one flashing before you. Now you can see the sweat drenching his face that causes his hair to stick to his forehead.

Now you've had deal with Dante having nightmares before, the ones about his mother and brother and how he blames himself for...everything that happened to them, main one you've heard from him is if he had just let Vergil read that damn book instead of bugging him to play that they might still all be together today.

Words swell in your throat as you watch him go get himself back up, white hair slipping over to curtain your view of his eyes as he stood to his feet and plumped onto his desk. Your eyes sadden as you watch him as he wipes a gloved hand over his face to clean off of the sweat clinging to his flesh until it's all visibly gone but soon he stills and keeps his face covered leather clad talons digging into his own temples until there's a point you swear you can see blood - his whole then body seems to just…lax. In such a still stone fashion as it becomes unnerving to watch.

It's a few moments of heavy tension filled silence before either of you speak again but when it does it's actually Dante to be the one to speak, the statue unstones as he just seems to light with life with the exact moment the mask of facade slips on.

"You hungry? Because I'm starving and you know what they say? You're not you when you're hungry or some bullshit right? I'll get us a pizza."

How he turns and picks up the phone like it was just like it was any other conversation and nothing even happened is heartbreaking. He goes to press in Fredi's number that he knows by heart but is immediately stopped by you as you jump up and slam your hand on top of his and crash the phone back into the receiver, your voice cuts out any bullshit that the son of Sparda could have possibly pull out of his ass as you look him directly into his eyes and call him out by his name, your tone soft yet abrupt and bluntly straightforward. He wasn't going to bluff out and run away from this, no matter how much he wanted to you wouldn't let him.

You stand right in front of him, in between his legs and making direct eye contact with him, Dante shutters out a breath as his churning gut begins to shake his core less and less as he focuses on the touch on his hand, how warm yours is as it comfortably squeezes his and makes him more aware of himself. Had he really been shaking this entire time?

Your expression softens the more and more that you look at him until eventually he lets you snake an arm that isn't holding his hand around him and just feel as he seems to just melt against you.

The two of you say that way for a while, he buries his face into your neck/chest and lets you comb and pet your fingers through his hair. You collect your thoughts before pushing him back slightly and raise his chin up to meet your gaze.

"You don't have to talk about it, Dante. But I'm not letting you just pretend like everything's fine when both you and I know clearly that isn't the case. Bottling in all those complex feelings isn't good for anyone, even, and especially for someone as strong as you who's been through so damn much for far too long. Just...hold onto me, okay? For as long as you want, anything you need. And if you do want to talk about it-" Your voice carries off. "-I'll always be here to listen."

He takes in your word, conflicted. His eyes flickered over to stare at the wooden flooring and you can actually see him go through and argue with his own thoughts before he looks back to you, opening his mouth with an airy pause before letting out a sigh.

He tells you everything, in full detail, everything about his last job.

From Mundus' resurrection plan on Mallet Island, to answering a few of your earlier questions about that woman from the postcards - Trish a demon Mundus made in identical image of Dante's mother, the trails he faced all over the island leading him into hell itself to defeat Mundus, and most notably, his reunion with his brother after almost ten years - who from what you understood was barely a shadow of his former arrogant self; corrupt, brainwashed, broken. How he fought him, he killed him with his own hands. How maybe none of this would've happened if he just let him read that damn book or if he just had grabbed and yanked his ass and stopped his descent into the further depths of hell, what turned him into...who he fought.

It's hard to listen to him as he spills out every single unheld back dark thought of his, but you let him finish no matter how much it hurts or terrifies you, you let him finish until he's out of words and practically sobbing into your arms, then you only hold onto him tighter.

He looks visibly tired by the time he recollects himself, he apologizes for it but you shake your head and hold the sides of his face and remain quiet only pressing a soft kiss to his lips before telling him how much you love him and how proud you are that he managed to tell you what he did. Talking through it is the first step to healing and all. He hums as he rests his head onto you and holds you close, succumbing to the feeling in his chest and closing his eyes for just for a little while, even though he knows he shouldn't sleep just sitting at his desk with you just standing there with how long you've been like this your feet are most like tired, but he absorbs every little touch you make as he slowly lulls away.

This was was from over, both he and you knew that, wounds and events are still fresh in his mind and it would still be a few years until he goes through the worst of it (*cough cough* there's still dmc 2 era to go through *cough cough*) but even when he's through his worse - but Dante's glad that he can feel at least a small bit of solace in the comfort in your arms.

If you like what you read please consider reblogging! It means the world for writers and artists!

Tagging list

@calamitysaiyan @blacktalonsb @lokilover476 @fandomtrashgoddess @radeendaweed

How to be added to the tagging list + additional info

#devil may cry #devil may cry x reader #dante sparda #dante x reader #mine

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d6official · 4 years ago

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K-pop’s Jae Park on the panic attack that triggered him to deal with his mental health issues

Jae Park of Day6 realised he hasn’t been doing well for a long time while on a car ride in April, when he was thinking he was going to die.

The 28-year-old K-pop singer-guitarist later learned he wasn’t having a heart attack, but was experiencing an intense panic attack born out of his struggle with anxiety.

“When you come to this … I wouldn’t say peaceful resolution, but a very frightening resolution that, ‘Yeah, I might die in here and I’m going to have to accept that,’ your perspective on things kind of changes,” he reveals.

“I realised I was putting things off for so, so long that I’d become numb to the fact that it was slowly physically manifesting. I was always a believer that you can just ride things out, even if you’re sick you go on stage and start working, and you won’t feel sick any more. Even if you have a headache, you sleep, you wake up, you feel better. I was always that kind of person. But it didn’t feel like that in that car ride.”

Now Park, who typically is known just as “Jae” in the K-pop world, is in a better place; he’s working on facing the circumstances of his life and making changes to take care of himself, including taking medication that helps take the edge off.

“I’ve been feeling a lot better, and learning more and more. After it happened I started delving deeper into the mental health aspect of what was going on with me as a person,” he says.

“[Poor} mental health isn’t a choice you make, but something that occurs to you due to your choices. You don’t choose whether to allow yourself to succumb to it, you just over time build up to the point where eventually everything crumbles down. You ignore your worries.

“You sweep everything under the rug, all your emotions, enough times for [it] to flip over eventually with everything on top of it.”

He’s since made it his aim to spread awareness of the impact of toxic positivity and of the importance of treating mental health as normally as treating physical health, because he spent the majority of his life unaware of the connection and the potential of his mental state to impact his physical health.

“It’s not something I want people to go through, so if I can do anything in this world before I leave it, let’s raise some awareness. And so if maybe someone has an episode like me, they’ll be able to look back on my interview or see through the campaign that, ‘Oh, this might be a panic attack.’

“I’ve since learned after that incident that a lot of panic attack first-timers assume they’re having heart attacks. It’s this imminent feeling that you’re going to die. On the walk home, I was crying.

“I don’t know if it was tears of joy or fear, but I just remember crying a lot.”

Why Jae Park launched his clothing line

Jae recently teamed up with charitable apparel brand Represent to launch his From Friends clothing line, one of the aims of which is to remind people that it is okay to turn to friends when they’re having a rough time, rather than always putting on a happy face and pushing emotions aside.

“I really wanted to let people know that it’s okay not to be okay. That’s what caused me not being able to function. If you’re still at a stage where you’re not sure if you’re okay, talk to friends. Talk about it, and realise you may be going through something bigger than you think.

“I’m not saying over-exaggerate every emotional hurdle you jump over, but I knew what I was doing when I was sweeping things under the rug.

“If you’re not at that point where you have to get on medication or need therapy or some other kind of treatment, you need to maybe stop what you’re doing and look at yourself real quick before you have an incident.”

Through the collaboration, Jae and Represent donated US$100,000 to the Jed Foundation, an organisation combating mental health stigma and raising awareness of suicide prevention among America’s youth. The artist grew up in California and only began pursuing a career in South Korea’s music world while taking a break from college back in 2012.

Jae wants to focus on talking about the experience with younger people, because he wishes someone had told him about the potential impact of ignoring mental health.

“‘From Friends’ was a thought that I had, that it would be more personable and relatable if the message came from a friend. ‘As a friend, I want to let you know that I screwed myself over by doing this, so this is my advice to you and I hope you take a look at yourself.’ Not the ‘yes’ men around you, your friends who are always telling you things are great even when they aren’t. Real friends will tell you when something is wrong. ‘You don’t seem like yourself these days, maybe take a step back and look at yourself?’”

Following his panic attack in the car and starting on medication, Jae said some of his friends pointed out to him he’s a bit more solemn and has a less bright personality.

There is stigma about mental health medication in this regard, but Jae feels it’s not impacting him negatively, but rather he’s able to rein in his need to be overenthusiastic and upbeat to compensate for feeling low.

One thing Jae really wants to combat is toxic positivity, which he feels he was constantly leaning into prior to his panic attack in April; he would often attempt to put on a good face and put good energy into the world in a way that’s idealised without internalising his own feelings.

He says he’s still learning to really understand the idea, but thinks it’s along the lines of not really believing something but saying it regardless to try to seem a certain way publicly, or manifesting good energy when it’s not necessarily there.

Jae feels his chosen field of work hasn’t necessarily helped the situation, and he’s grappling with that while trying to raise discussions.

Is K-pop part of the problem?

“Especially, I feel like [K-pop] idols are … supposed to uphold a standard of perfection, but that in itself I think is a form of toxic positivity. It’s extremely, extremely toxic, more than most people think. We’re role models, right?

“If we’re always picture perfect, squeaky shiny, and always for the right causes, never have an opinion [on] anything, what happens when the people who look up to us have an opinion? When they’re not squeaky perfect? If they’re comparing themselves to us, they may think, ‘My favourite singer is always happy. He’s always cheery. But I’m sad. That’s strange.’ What kind of role model is that?”

Change is happening slowly in the industry, and artists are increasingly talking about their own states of mental health. The past few years have seen several K-pop artists go on hiatus to take care of themselves. But there’s still more work to do, according to Jae.

“I think people need to be more real. I think people need to be more transparent. Mental health has become a wider known issue these days, so I think more people are open to talking about it.

“We preach that it’s okay to be normal, but it’s not something that we actually show, don’t actually act on. We preach it all the time: ‘It’s okay not to be okay.’ You see it in the songs everywhere. But I feel like the same artists who sing these songs and the same people who say these things publicly are the same people who always are perfect on the red carpet, never transparent enough to show who they actually are as a person.

“I feel like that in itself is a kind of hypocrisy. I try to be as human as I can while upholding a certain standard because I recognise and respect the culture [of being a celebrity].”

It was upholding the unrealistic standards that Jae in part thinks led things to get so bad, as he was always thinking about the perceptions of others and reining himself in.

A comment a fan made on social media about it being a good thing that he was less likely to share an opinion while speaking in Korean, rather than in English, helped him realise the intensity of what he was doing: because there is an idea that having opinions as a public person can lead to trouble, some fans of a group may not want band members to reflect their true opinions, and he had internalised the burden of that feeling regarding opinions to the extreme.

“It’s so ridiculous to me,” he admits. “That having an opinion could have any sort of connotation of being negative. I feel like having an opinion is never the problem. Having a strange and maybe immoral or unjust opinion, that’s definitely the problem. We as a society have come to a point where you can’t say anything without being judged.”

Now, he’s trying to be more forthright and earnest while expressing himself, and trying not to internalise the opinions of every random person who has opinions on his opinions, and thus has more or less stopped reading comments on social media.

“My emotional energy can be used better somewhere else, and I only have a certain amount every day,” he admits. “If people are going to hate me for what I think, they’re going to hate me regardless, so I’m just trying to be more open about everything now. No bubble of protection, no filter, no safety being on any more. If they don’t like it, that’s just me.

“I removed that filter because I thought it was one of the reasons I had that panic attack in the first place. I think I was right, because I’ve been having less and less [incidents]. Biting your tongue is necessary in many situations, but biting it to the extent that I was biting it because of boundaries I wasn’t allowed to cross, or certain opinions I was told I couldn’t uphold, that was what was hurting me the most.”

Making his own music, and the future

Following the incident, Jae spent much of 2020 not actively taking part in the activities of Day6, and focused on releasing his own music under the name “eaJ”. Through several releases, he explored his own artistry rather than thinking about what audiences want to hear, and focused on finding what he likes, trying to garner respect for his musical capabilities, and consider what he wants out of his career.

He feels like he succeeded at that, and hopes 2021 bears the fruit of the seeds he planted last year.

“Music gets my imagination going; using my emotional energy on a song or recording session, that seems like a lot more fruitful than worrying about a comment that I can’t do anything about regardless.”

One thing that inspired him to share some solo work with the world was the realisation of how much it was impacting him that his musical worth within Day6 wasn’t getting much recognition.

“We as a team are always involved in the songs, and it felt really discrediting and disheartening to hear that some members were more recognised than others. [I thought} ‘Maybe it’s time you start following your own career path and showing your own colours.’”

Three members of the band released an album in August, but Jae and the group’s other vocalist-guitarist, Sungjin, both sat it out. Jae admits that his hiatus from the band since early May wasn’t exactly his idea.

“It may be a bit of a surprise for some people to hear, but I was never someone that said, ‘I need a break.’ I was like, ‘I’ll get better.’ I was thinking, ‘I might need a little bit of time, but you guys get on it first.’ To be honest, I will be thriving, and Day6 will be, with the next album. When everyone is ready, I’ll be good.”

Overall, Jae says he’s optimistic and looking forward to a successful, healthy 2021. “I’m definitely recovering, and hopefully moving in the right direction,” he says.

source

#day6 #park jaehyung #t: interview #scmp #long post #210130

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izayoi-hakuyu · 4 years ago

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Vanitas no carte: A case study of the vanitas motif?

In this I want to examine how the vanitas motif is used in the manga “Vanitas no carte”. In other words: Is the main character just called Vanitas because it’s a cool name or is the manga embedded within a certain literary/artistic/cultural tradition? And is the connection to that tradition just the name of the main character (spoiler: it isn’t, at least in my option) or is the vanitas motif deeply interwoven within the narrative and its themes (spoiler: it is, at least in my option)?

Talking about spoilers: I have only read up to chapter 40, so this may be updated as I continue reading. On the other hand, there will be spoilers for the chapters up to chapter 40.

Note: I don’t know if something like this has been done before. If it has, I’m very sorry. This is actually my second step into the actual fandom and I’m lacking an overview. Also English is not my native language and it’s hard for me to articulate myself properly. I’m sorry if the topic of the vanitas motif within the manga has been discussed before and I’m sorry for any mistakes I make.

So what is vanitas as a motif?

“Vanitas” is latin for “vanity”. As a theme in literature it addresses the transience of all being.

These works of art associates with the vanitas motif show the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. Symbols of wealth and symbols of death are often arranged in a contrasting matter. Similar to “memento mori” (latin for “remember that you [have to] die”. Memento mori is a vanitas symbol itself and they are overlapping), it accentuates the inevitably of death. But instead of the death itself it emphasizes the vanity and transiency of the human life. Motifs connected to vanitas became especially popular during the baroque period due to religious and social upheavals and the experience of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and several plague pandemics and the steady presence of destruction and death. On the other hand, social injustice rose due to the build of expensive castles by absolutist rulers.

The vanitas-motif not only criticizes the worldly glory and pleasure that is transient in nature. But vanitas also accentuated that the humans are powerlessly confronted with their own fate and have no control over their own life. This mindset originated in the traditional Christian belief that earthly pursuits and goods were believed to be transient and worthless. Furthermore, people would be expected to accept their fate that would be inflicted by God. While everything earthly would be eventually in vain, God would be eternal.

The paintings under the term “vanitas still lifes” are the most well-known incarnation of the vanitas motif, but it has been also incorporated as a motif not only in painting, but in poetry (for example in the works of the German baroque poet Andreas Gryphius. And I kid you not, he wrote an ode called “Vanitas! Vanitatum Vanitas!”) and other forms of literature. Within the vanitas motif developed a whole collection of symbols associated with it. These are also presented in this manga.

Vanitas symbols in Vanitas no Carte

Hourglass

The hourglass that takes form in Vanitas’ earring is a classical symbol of vanitas. The flowing sand symbolizes the passing of lifetime and mortality. A symbol of the passing of time and the eventual death is also expressed in the gearwheel ornaments on the “Book of Vanitas”.

Skull

The cover of the first volume shows Vanitas in front of a picture frame made of golden skulls. Skulls are symbols of vanitas and memento mori. They are reminder of death and human transience. One of the skulls on the cover is wearing with a crown, which alludes to the typical form of presentation of the vanitas motif, to juxtapose symbols of death and symbols of wealth and worldly power. This relates to the role of the vampire Queen Faustina, who is both in reign of the vampires but who also seemingly spreads death over them by spreading the curse as Naenia (a name also connected to death, as Naenia was a funeral deity in ancient Rome. The name Faustina on the other hand…is a whole new topic for another day and is most likely referring to Goethe’s Faust, a play that revolves around a scholar who makes a contract with the devil. Actually the act of vampires exposing their real name includes elements of/refers to the Faustian pact motif).

Book

The book itself also a symbol of vanitas and finds its place in the story in form of the…”Book of Vanitas”. Books (among measurement tools and the like) within the vanitas motif represent the emptiness and vanity of earthly knowledge and striving. Subsequently they symbolize the haughtiness that can arise out of thirst for knowledge. From this perspective this symbolism is also tied to Dr. Moreau, who horribly abused Vanitas and other children in experiments to gain scientific knowledge in order to become a vampire himself...and his eventual failure.

Knife

Another part of Vanitas as a character is also connected to the vanitas motif – his knife. The knife stands for the vulnerability of the human life and also functions as a death symbol. The knife is especially charged symbolically as Vanitas attacks Noé on the rooftop, declaring their cooperation has ended at this point. Vanitas is refusing to let another person in his life, refusing to trust someone else but himself. His attack towards Noé with his knife not only is an attempt to make Noé hate him, but also a symbolic “cut” of their ties. But the symbolism doesn’t end here, as Noé is the one who stops the knife with his hand. Showing that he will refuse their ties to be cut. Showing that he will stay at Vanitas side no matter what and that he accepts him and doesn’t want him to be alone. In a second situation where their relationship is on the verge of breaking is the conflict within the catacombs, as Noé refuses to agree with Vanitas idea of fighting back Laurent. Vanitas lashes out, severly insults Noé and tells him to leave, if he doesn’t agree. But Noé stays at his side (and still shows him that he doesn’t agree). One could conclude that Noé’s relationship with Vanitas has an element of transience in it by Vanitas coping mechanism of avoiding and leaving others in case of conflict. And Noé fights this transience of their relationship by offering Vanitas trust, acceptation and in the end stability. During their next conflict, where Noé spits out that he wants to drink Vanitas’ blood, Vanitas leaves. But this time it is Vanitas himself who initiates remediation, who fights his own transience when it comes to social relationships. He returns (which is unlikely to him, as Dante states), his care for Noé are stronger than his desire to be fleeting, not being able to be “caught” by anyone. And sees Noé waiting for him. Again, offering stability.

Mirror

The vanitas motif is not only imbedded in the accessory of Vanitas himself. It also finds its place in the design of Noé, more precisely in the small mirror attached to his tophat. In the context of the vanitas motif, mirrors symbolize vanity and the evanescence of earthly beauty. It also stands for pride and haughtiness, similar to the Greek myth of Narcissus. This actually contrasts Noé’s humble personality.

Flowers

Within the manga Paris is described as the “City of flowers”. While flowers can be also a symbol of love and even immortality, their blooming and withering can also be a symbol of death and fleetingness of beauty, especially in the context of baroque symbolism.

Musical instruments

Musical instruments are a sign of transiency as well, as the sound vanishes into nothing as soon as it is articulated. Music is seen as something unique and unrepeatable, and also as something that is transient in its nature. This becomes evident in Cloé’s character arc, as music is her way to manipulate the world formula. Her life is also highly influenced by the transience of her surroundings, while she herself is forced to remain static.

Carpe diem

Latin for “seize the day”. It’s the name of Jeanne’s weapon. “Carpe diem” is an idiom that was especially popular in the baroque era, but it dates back to the roman poet Horace. Along with “memento mori” and “vanitas”, it emphasized the fleetingness of all life. “Carpe diem” emphasizes the call to make use of the day and the time left and to act, despite the eventual transient nature of all afford. The own mortality should be remembered and therefore the day should be seized. This reflects the main characters Vanitas, Noé and Jeanne, who carry on and refuse to give up, despite the external and internal struggles they face.

The color blue

The color blue takes a significant role within the narratives (Vampire!Vanitas being born under the blue moon). While it is not traditionally connected with vanitas itself, the color blue, together with the color black (which are the two dominating colors within human!Vanitas’ character design), is connected to death and melancholy.

The role of the vanitas motif within the narrative

The vanitas motif is embedded both in the form and in the content of the narrative.

The vanitas motif is embedded within in form of the manga as it has an analytic plot structure. This means the story’s conclusion is already presented in the beginning and the rest of the story unfolds how the eventual conclusion happened. This is the case in “Vanitas no carte” as it presents the conclusion, that Vanitas dies in the end within the first chapter and we are actually reading Noé’s memoirs. Therefore it is a constant reminder, that Vanitas will die and nothing that will happen in the story will change that outcome. Everything that happens in the story appears basically unable to change the end. Every positive development is overshadowed by the fact that it is made clear by the narrative since the very beginning that there will be no happy ending for the main characters. This is especially notable in the scene on the rooftop in volume 3, where Noé declares, how he will stay on Vanitas’ side. This scene is followed by an overlying narration of Noé, who says that memories of the beginning awake memories of the end and expressing his regret. In this positive, powerful scene where Vanitas and Noé make up and the themes of human bonds, free will, acceptation of oneself and others and trust really shine…also embeds the eventual tragic end. The omnipresence of death and its fatality and the transience of life and the knowledge that nothing lasts is the essence vanitas motif and it is presented in the mere structure of the manga.

But its not only the structure where the vanitas motif is woven in, but also the story. This shows especially in the character Vampire!Vanitas and in the mere name itself. As Cloe’s case shows: Vampires are pretty much immortal, if not directly killed. On the other hand, it is the curse of Vampire!Vanitas that endangers vampires: Because it gives them back their mortality and the transience of their existence. A transience not brought by an outside force as in the church, that hunts the vampires – but transience within themselves and their very nature. Vampires fear becoming cursed as much as humans fear death – it can always happen, to everyone. It’s not fast, but slow, seemingly unstoppable “decay”. So it is fitting for someone called “Vanitas” to bring transience and the constant reminder of death and fear upon their whole species.

Another factor of the vanitas motif is the inevitable passing of time and the changes this brings – a theme that is deeply tied to several characters arcs, where death and loss and how to deal with both is a major theme (especially when it comes to Vanitas, Noé, Jeanne, but how they relate to each other thematically is worth an analysis itself and I would digress too much). This is especially notable in Cloé’s arc, who is the only vampire in her family and becomes more and more isolated and alienated from her family, who eventually forgets about her. Cloé’s wish to stop the passing of time (and the underlying wish to be happy with her family, to be accepted for what she is), to fight the transience or rather to fight the vanitas manifests in the time loop. The time is reset and tied into a loop – symbolizing not only her being stuck in the past, but also her refusal of a future, since a future meant nothing but being forgotten for her, who sees no other purpose in herself but to execute the will of her family that has long forgotten her.

The concept of vanitas also includes fatalism and the belief that humans don’t have control over their own lifes. This makes Lord Ruthven , who uses curses to bind other vampires to his will and eliminating their own (as he did/tried to do with Noé, Jeanne and Cloé) a fitting villain from a thematic viewpoint as he impersonates fatalism. Personal choices or free will don’t matter for him as he erases both. This makes him a foil for Vanitas and an antagonist not only in actions but in world view. To Vanitas the freedom of his will and the consciousness of his own choices are extremely important to him. He could never choose in the past and was more seen as tool used by his surroundings than as a person. This emphasis of choices opposes Vanitas to the traditionally fatalistic viewpoint of the vanitas-motif. Not only that, but he uses the Book of Vanitas to actually reverse the curse and fighting the transience of existence that has befallen the vampires.

So Vanitas fights Vampire!Vanitas not only as a person by preventing the curse from killing vampires – but simultaneously he fights the transience and the fatalism: He fights vanitas as a concept itself.

But the narrative doesn’t deem transience not as internally negative. Quite the opposite, the narrative sees transience as an opportunity for change. The change of fixed structures is also an important theme after all. This change of structures is of both negative (as the curse dissembles the true name of the vampire and therefore their entire nature and Jeanne’s struggle and agony with coming in terms with seeing herself changing) and positive qualities. In one of the early chapters Vanitas complains about how the vampires are stuck in the past and therefore refusing his help – it is not only after Vanitas proofs himself that he is at least tolerated. The message of the positive side of change is also within Vanitas’ and Noé’s improving relationship and understanding. Even though Vanitas has a hard time to accept these changes (as he didn’t tell Noé about the state of the Queen, because he thought he wouldn’t believe him and refers to the several past experiences of vampires almost killing him), the positive relationship of both of them even inspires changes in others. Notably Laurent. Who, inspired by seeing a human and a vampire in a positive relationship begins to question his own beliefs and is even on the road to uncover secrets of the church, breaking up entrenched structures as well.

As a conclusion one could say that the manga makes many, many allusions to the vanitas motif and incorporates them structurally, thematically and plot-wise.

Vanitas no Carte is really a case study of vanitas.

#vanitas no carte #vanitas no shuki #the case study of vanitas #noe archiviste #vanitas #meta #vnc meta

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darkstarnight02 · 3 years ago

Text

Why the Akuma Class Doesn’t Trusts Lila Rossi

Nino

This dude is a loyal friend

Like, he’s also a loyal boyfriend, so it’s hard when his girlfriend is siding with Lila

But he’s the one who’s like

“Dudes, we’ve known Mari for years there’s no way she would do the stuff this new girl we’ve known for five minutes says she did.”

He and Kim and Mari were besties since preschool, I think we all know that.

Adrien

I hate it when people say he tries to defend her with the high road crap

When he sees her hurting people, especially Marinette

Because lets be honest, he cares about her alot

He’s less forgiven

Like do y’all remember the “BeCaUsE We’Re FrIeNdS, aReN’t We?”

So he’s not going to try and make her life miserable

But he is going to try to get her to stop

Chloé

Let’s be honest, she never liked Lila in the first place.

So Imma give y’all bonus “how she figured out everyone’s identities”

So once she became friends with Marinette

Cause they formed a “we hate Lie-la” alliance

(tho since Mari’s still friends with the others its kinda awkward)

Chloe’s pretty smart.

Like, she totally could have figured it out before they became friends

But she would never have believed back then that Mari-trash was Ladybug, her idol (and lesbian awakening, lesbihonest)

But now that she’s friends with her, it’s way too obvious

And she definitely already knew about Adrien because these guys are besties

And, dudes, she never had a crush on him, she was just an overprotective best friend

And a very touchy one

To her, it’s all pretty obvious.

She thinks that its just whatever magic thats blinding everyone of the obvious, its immune to (like low-key Rachel Dare here)

But Sabine, Tom, and Jagged probably know to because they’re all Kings and Queens.

So Chloe figures everyone out pretty quickly.

Sabrina

She trust Chloe more than anyone.

But I’m not just gonna use that because its kinda boring.

Tho Chloe is her bi crush so that definitely helps secure loyalties

Its only when Marinette becomes MDC that she realizes

and yes, Sabrina probably knows because Chloe and she also recognizes the designs from some stuff she has in her own closet.

So anyway, she realizes Mari is MDC and she’s some famous designer and Lila is not

And Mari also knows Jagged and Clara and a whole bunch of other famous people

And she never brags about it but there’s proof that she knows them

while Lila always brags about it but she’s never been mentioned and no one knows her.

Alya

I hate it when people say she totally sides with Lila.

This girl knows that her bestie never lies(or at least thinks)

and some things with Lila don’t add up.

Like she doesn’t check directly if what Lila says is true

But she’ll be doing research for something else and see’s that it contradicts something that Lila said.

So she’ll do more research and try to figure more stuff out

And she’s like holy f*ck nothing Lila says is true.

Or, alternatively, for those of you who have watched season 4

She immediately realizes Lila’s a liar right after Marinette tells her she’s Ladybug.

Marinette

No explanation needed.

Mylène

Mylene notices when Lila insults one of her classmates one day.

Even if its subtle, or just piping on the edge of her blaming Marinette for something, she notices it.

And a good person wouldn’t say something like that,

Like Chloe, they all expect something like that from

No one every really liked Chloe in the first place

And Mari never says anything rude

Sure, she gets angry at Chloe and Lila sometimes, and she tries to prove what they say is wrong, but she never directly attacks someone.

I don’t know who Lila was being a bitch to this time, but it cost her a follower.

Alix

This girl is probably one of the most Gen Z kids in the Akuma Class, which is pretty sad because they’re all supposed to be Gen Z.

She can smell bullcrap from a mile away

Not to mention the little hints older Bunnyx drops whenever she visits.

With the mix of her being the future miraculous holder of time and being the daughter of a historian, she’s very aware of history and timelines and cause and effects and chain reactions

So when Marinette starts ‘acting up’ she tries to find when her personality switched over

And even if she seems more like a background character, this aro/ace queen always seems to know your secrets.

So even before she knew Lila was a phony, she knew that Mari was MDC and that Jagged Stone was Juleka and Luka’s dad

So she definitely figured some stuff out that way

Honestly, next to Chloe, Alix was probably one of the first people to figgure out Mari’s identity.

She’s a detective to rival batman

Ivan

I think Lila would make some sort of rift between him and Mylene.

He loves her so much and it would be so hard

And mari and her friends would help him out

and he would see the truth

They wouldn’t like break up or anything

But he can just tell immediately when someone’s being a bad person.

Kim

Probably something similar to Nino

But I think it’d be a bit more like he’s totally a die-hard fan of some of Marinette’s connections or some of Marinette’s work itself

And when he puts the pieces together its like everything makes sense in the world.

He really feels super stupid afterwards.

Ondine probably slaps him for not trusting his childhood best friend before some bitchy new girl.

Max

This is the smartest dude in class

He made a f*cking robot with emotions you can’t tell me he doesn’t figure Lila out.

A part of me believes that in the first episode with Lila when they were all waiting on her hand and foot they were probably aware that she was kind of delusional, but were giving into it the way you give into the tales of a six year old.

Like ‘yeah, okay sweetie. Sure’.

I mean, at least that’s why Max went along with the napkin thing, because there’s no other excuse for that whole incident.

Nathaniel

I don’t totally know how he figured her out, but I love the idea of her saying that she can introduce him to the creator of the Ladybug Comics.

They actually sit next to each other in class, so he definitely is more aware of her weird behavior than others.

And since he’s an artist he’s very observant, always noticing things like her facial expressions and what seems more exaggerated than real.

And we all know how kwami-damned done Nathaniel is with the class, so he probably knew all along.

Not to mention that since the rest of the school is less submissive to Lila’s lies, Marc probably pointed it out to him at some point.

There’s also the idea that since Nathaniel is pretty much never mentioned anymore, the class forgets about him and he ends up having to spend some time with Marinette and the other outcasts

In which he realizes that they are actually good people.

Honestly, Nathaniel probably knew all along but he’s just not a drama queen about it so Lila never bothered him.

Rose

Girls besties with Prince Ali, one of the key components of Lila’s lies

She definitely does not want to believe that someone is capable of so much evil, and she definitely gets Akumatized when she figures it out

She goes through a lot of denial but is eventually convinced.

Juleka

Her dad is Jagged Stone, also another key component of Lila’s lies.

After becoming Tigris Pourpre, the holder of the tiger miraculous (that’s canon in the future), she gets a little bit more invested in cat culture

And omfg I just realized that both of our models are kittens and I just wanna DIE because that’s so cute.

And honestly now that I’m thinking about it if she was a celebrity she would totally take after Jagged and have an emotional support tiger like Princess Jasmine.

ANYWAY, I’m kinda getting off topic here.

So she asks Jagged about his cat, and he’s like

“wtf I’ve never had a cat why would I have a cat I have FANG my CROCODILE”

And she’s like but your cat...

And he’s like “Jules, darling, I wrote a song about how I replaced my family with a guitar and I have three instagrams for Fang, why would I have a feline animal?”

And she’s just like

....

And honestly she probably already knew some sh*t was up before that

Because Luka obviously, despite only having met Lila, like, once, probably, dislikes Lila severely

And also Juleka is more of an observer than a do-er so she probably saw that some stuff was up.

#Lila Rossi #Lila Rosi's Lies #Akuma Class #couffaine twins #Kim and Mari and Nino are Childhood Besties #I hate bashing just shut up everyone except Lila and Hawkmoth is awesom

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