#three cheers for sweet revenge comic project

[carladelavaquita]

SINCE THE LAST ILUSTRATION WAS A SUCCESS it motivated me to finish quick this one, this is my design for the Lover and her starless eyes... I'm happy that I began to sketch the comic pages yippiie

[mikeywayarchive]

Mikey Way: “I was borderline terrified a lot of the time My Chemical Romance was active. I was learning the bass in front of 20,000 people every night!”

By Gregory Adams ( Bass Player ) published June 9th 2023

The reunited emo kings’ low-end ranger reveals why he swapped out his signature Fender Mustang for a sparkling new signature Jazz Bass, learning bass in arenas, and how he overcame insecurity about his chops

Full interview under cut:

My Chemical Romance’s reunion has seen bassist Mikey Way thrumming through the high pomp punk of The Black Parade and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge favorites with a familiar rhythmic fortitude, but keen-eyed band obsessives have probably noticed the musician is no longer sporting the snazzy, silver-flake Squier Mustang signature model Fender built for him back in 2012. 

The good news is that’s because, as Fender have just formally announced, Way has a brand-new – but just as glammy – Jazz Bass out now. There’s a good reason why Way’s made the switch: the Jazz Bass is his first love.

Though he started out on guitar, Way got the hang of a four-string in the mid ‘90s while playing a loaned-out Jazz Bass in his pre-My Chemical Romance project, Ray Gun Jones. He upgraded to a silver-finish Jazz of his own by the time MCR started touring in the early ‘00s, but a trailer mishap led to that instrument getting smashed to pieces on a highway.

Way tells Guitar World that he eventually became obsessed with the short-scale sturdiness of a Mustang bass guitar as My Chemical Romance were writing their 2010 full-length, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, after fooling around with a model Duff McKagan had left at North Hollywood’s Mates Rehearsal Studio. By 2012, Way had his Squier model in stores.

It was during the downtime after My Chemical Romance went on hiatus in 2013, though, that the stubbiness of his Mustang became a little hard to handle.

“I stayed away from playing bass for a little while, which is natural – I was just decompressing,” Way explains. “Then, sometime in 2014, I picked up the bass again, to get my chops back, [but] I noticed that the Mustang felt strange to me.” 

After reaching out to the folks at Fender, Way got a grip on his playing by stretching out on the longer-necked Jazzes they sent him. Way’s take on the Jazz Bass is outfitted with ’70s-style single-coil pickups, and a thinline “C”-shaped maple neck the bassist says is super-speedy.

The finish is silver, of course, but Way also wanted an aesthetically inkier black pickguard. The headstock, likewise, pops with its matching gloss-black finish.

Speaking with Guitar World, Way gets into the glam and grunge gods who inspired his love of a good sparkle coat, overcoming performance anxiety, and why a steady attack wins the bass race every time.

What were some of the musts when it came to designing this latest signature?

“I’ve been obsessed with the sparkle finish as far back as I can remember. Growing up in the ‘90s, the silver-flake [finish] was big in alternative music. Chris Cornell had the Gretsch Silver Jet, [Daniel Johns] from Silverchair had one – [with] the imagery the Smashing Pumpkins used, they liked sparkles.

“Ace Frehley, of course, was big into flake finishes, and as a kid, you love the larger-than-life, comic book world of Kiss. [And there’s] David Bowie – the glam rock stuff. That flake finish makes me think of so many different things, but that’s why I love it so much.

“I remember being younger and going into stores and seeing a flake finish and being like, 'Oh my god, that’s an expensive [looking guitar] – I can’t afford that, let alone play it.' It was almost intimidating.”

One aesthetic difference between your Mustang model and this Jazz is that you didn’t throw a racing stripe on this one.

“I thought about bringing it back and keeping the continuity. Maybe somewhere down the line we’ll throw a racing stripe on this. The thing with [seeing a] racing stripe was always like, 'This player is a badass!'”

Is there a psychology behind removing the racing stripe, then?

“The psychology behind it is that I forgot about it. When My Chemical Romance was talking about doing reunion shows [in 2019], I’d contacted Michael Schulz from Fender and was like, 'Is it OK if I make a new bass for this [next] era of My Chemical Romance?' I wanted to take my past and bring it to the future – taking my Mustang and melding it with the Jazz Basses that I loved so much. 

“I tried to have my cake and eat it, too. I wanted the thinner neck, and I wanted the silver-flake, but I wanted it on a Jazz Bass. They knocked it out of the park immediately.”

Getting back to how you used to admire those silver-flake guitars in the shops, you actually started out as a guitarist, right?

“So, the story goes that my brother [My Chemical Romance vocalist Gerard Way] had a Sears acoustic guitar when he was 10 years old. We would take a shoelace and make a strap, and we would stand on the couch pretending we were in Iron Maiden. And then it got real around ’93-’94, which lines up with the rise of alternative music. You started to see people that looked exactly like you, and they were playing guitar. They were playing Fender Strats! 

“My brother got a Mexican Stratocaster, Lake Placid Blue. I found it not too long ago, and Michael from Fender hot-rodded it. That’s how I cut my teeth – that Mexican Stratocaster [was] my first foray into really trying to learn how to play guitar. I would watch bootlegs of concerts, and watch [guitarists’] hands and fingers – Thom Yorke, Billy Corgan, Noel Gallagher, Jonny Greenwood. I would watch what they were doing. It all started from that.

“Bass came out of necessity, twice. Me and my brother had a band called Ray Gun Jones, I guess in ’95-’96. It was kind of Weezer-ish, or us doing a surf-punk thing [with] a little bit of pre-mid-west emo. At the time we were really into Weezer, Jawbreaker, Promise Ring, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Sunny Day Real Estate. 

“[Ray Gun Jones] needed a bass player, so my brother was like 'Hey, do you want to play bass for my band?' I was already a huge fan – I’d always tag along to practices. The ex-bass player let me borrow their bass. We had 4-5 songs, and I got the rudimentary from that. In that era, everyone was like, 'I want to be a guitar hero,' but I realized I had a natural knack for [bass]. I picked it up right away. 

“Then, with My Chemical Romance, it was the same thing. My brother was like, 'We need a bass player,' and I was like, 'Well, this is familiar' [laughs]. 'Here’s the demo; learn these songs.' They weren’t terribly difficult.”

Was that bass you had borrowed a Fender Jazz?

“Yup, I’ve only ever played Fender. I’ve tried tons of other basses from other companies, but it always feels alien to me.”

You mentioned studying the playing of Thom Yorke or Billy Corgan through those bootleg vids. Were there any bassists that you treated similarly, to understand the mechanics of bass?

“Matt Sharp from Weezer. I tried to ape him in the beginning, but my attack sounds vaguely reminiscent of a Smashing Pumpkins recording. I would learn Siamese Dream and Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and the Blue Album [the band’s 1994 self-titled debut] by Weezer. Those were the three albums that I put the most time into learning. That’s in my DNA.”

How about from a hyper-local perspective. If My Chemical Romance started out playing New Jersey basements and VFW halls, where there any bassists from that scene that inspired you, or that you appreciated?

“Yes! We shared a rehearsal space with this band called Pencey Prep – that was [MCR guitarist] Frank Iero’s original band. John McGuire was their bassist, and he let me borrow his equipment all the time. He taught me fundamentals, and gave me pointers – he taught me a whole heck of a lot. 

“I always respected Tim Payne from Thursday, I loved his attack and stage presence. And when I’d watch Gabe Saporta from Midtown, I thought 'This dude is the coolest guy in the room.' He’s got this calm, cool, and collected [presence] that you can’t fake or learn. And then Eben D’amico from Saves the Day – brilliant! 

“I would try to learn Saves the Day basslines. They were pretty complex [compared to] what most bands were doing in that scene. Most bands in the post-hardcore scene had simplistic basslines, but Saves the Day did not.

“There’s also Ray Toro, the guitar player of My Chemical Romance. Not only is he truly gifted at guitar, but he’s truly gifted at bass and drums – Ray can do everything. He was instrumental, early on, with showing me the ropes. Ray gave me lessons when I was a novice. I can’t thank him enough for that.”

What kind of pointers was he giving you?

“He showed me proper fretting, or [how to maintain] a steady attack. I got a really great compliment from our front-of-house guy, Jay Rigby. He told me that I’m one of the very few bass players that he doesn’t have to go in and tweak the volume [for]. 'You’re steady, throughout.' I think that’s something that Ray Toro instilled in me: the consistency of attack. 

“It’s funny thinking about it, but I was such a novice going into My Chemical Romance that I would bring myself into an anxiety-ridden state of, 'Oh my god, we have a show tonight; I have to start practicing right now.' I would be practicing four to five hours before we played – I’d play the set [in the green room], and then I’d play it again. Other bands would be like, 'What are you doing?' I was so neurotic at that point, because there were so many people around me that were beyond gifted. 

“I got pushed into the deep end; you’ve got no choice but to figure it out. Ray and Frank are so gifted that I had to keep up. I didn’t want to ever do the music a disservice.

“That brings me back to the simplicity of the early My Chem basslines. The first album [2002’s I Brought You Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love] was me learning the bass, and somehow [producer] John Naclerio recorded me and said, 'You did a great job,' which I did not expect. 

“I thought I was going to go in there and they were going to have to do some studio magic, or someone would come in and play [my] part. I thought of the worst-case scenario, but I went in and did it. I played the bass seriously [enough] by that point.”

What are you generally looking for in a My Chemical Romance bassline? 

“What makes it for me is if I do a fill, I’ll only do it once. If you listen to [the band's 2022 comeback single] The Foundations of Decay, any fill on there I only do one time. What’s interesting about The Foundations of Decay is that it’s very loose and run-and-gun. We went in and punched things in for timing, which everyone in the world does, but the meat of that is first-or-second take. Which brings me to someone else who was very instrumental to my bass playing: Doug McKean.

“He’s no longer with us, unfortunately, but he was our engineer from The Black Parade [until his passing in 2022]. He was always a huge cheerleader for me – he instilled confidence in me. He was always good at getting a killer performance out of me.”

What are some of the biggest My Chemical Romance bass moments for you?

“I’ll say that fill in on Foundations. No-one saw that coming.”

There’s a YouTube video out there of someone playing their favorite Mikey Way basslines, some while using your signature Squier Mustang, but one standout in particular is The Black Parade’s The Sharpest Lives.

“What’s funny is Sharpest Lives has a bass solo, and I was terrified of it. I had performance anxiety [through] the 12 years before we broke up – I don’t have it anymore. Somehow when the band got back together, a switch in my brain [got] flipped. [But] while My Chem was active, I was borderline terrified a lot of the time.

“I’m playing with people far above my skill level, I’m playing [on bills] with bands where their bass players are way better than me, [and] our shows were getting massive. We were playing arenas! So not only are you learning the bass, but you’re learning the bass in front of 20,000 people every night. It made me tweak a little, but I think it shaped me into what I became.

“That solo gave me anxiety. It was when we were playing the biggest venues of our career, and it would break for the solo [Way starts singing his ascending bass lick]. I practiced it relentlessly, then it [became] second nature. Later on, it [became my favorite part of the show.”

You’re already playing the Jazz signature in your live show, yeah?

“It’s what I use for the live show. Basically, Fender built [it] for the reunion, and then we made a couple tweaks for when we release it.”

Was there a learning curve at all towards transferring My Chemical Romance songs you’d written on a Mustang onto the Jazz?

“There was Planetary (GO!), a song off Danger Days. I’d guess you’d say the whole thing is a disco beat. It’s dance-y – [Mikey starts singing an octave-popping bassline], I do that for the entirety of the song. I was very happy that I only had to do that on a Mustang, initially [because of the shorter scale]. But going back to what I said, [after] I took a little break, [I] went back to a Jazz Bass. 

“I missed the room, or the way my hand went up and down the neck. I wanted to go back to that, so I jumped back in and felt right at home again.”

How many Jazzes are you bringing on the road?

“I bring two basses out, [but] I stopped even switching [during the set]. This is a testament to Fender craftsmanship – that thing stays in tune. It’s got the four-saddle bridge, and it stays in tune so well. I’m a little neurotic so I’ll tune every few songs, but if I went five to six songs you probably wouldn’t even notice.”

What does it mean to you to now have a fully-formed Fender signature model – as opposed to the Squier – and with the body shape you began your career with?

“It’s really a dream come true. It’s funny, in 2002-3 we started touring across the country. I had a Mexican Jazz Bass, but [the band] were like, 'You have to use something with better electronics; better wood. Step it up!' So, I went into the Guitar Center on Route 46 in New Jersey, and at the time Fender had released a special Guitar Center edition that was silver-flake. 

“It always bugged me that the pickguard was white – it threw me off, aesthetically, and I was like, 'I’m going to change that pickguard one day.' So, I got that, and I was using that for a while. 

“We were out with [Boston emo quartet] Piebald – it was one of our first cross-country tours ever – and one night someone forgot to close the trailer door. We’re driving on the highway, and half the contents spilled out – unfortunately, my bass was a casualty of that.

“But Frank Iero, and his heart of gold, jumped out on the highway in the middle of the night and tried to recover [the bass]. He was like, 'Maybe we can fix it!' I’ll never forget him doing that. He got a chunk of it – it’s in one of our storage units.”

For more information on the Limited Edition Mikey Way Jazz Bass, head to Fender.com.

[teal-gerard]

what are all the basic things you feel that every mcr fan should know? i just got into them not too long ago (i knoww ok i’m sorry i’m so late) but i love their music and i want to learn more about their band and their albums and everything!!!! and not sure where to start? thank you!! ive been kind of afraid to ask bc i feel like some ppl are prone to being gatekeepy but i literally just love this band and want to immerse myself in it

okay first of all, no need to apologize!! I didn't get into my chem until the year before they broke up and I certainly didn't know anything about them. it took years, so don't feel bad for asking because we were almost all there once!!

as for things you need to know, my chemical romance started in 2001 when gerard quit his job at cartoon network to create the band. the event that led to this was 9/11 when gerard saw the twin towers fall and realized he wanted to do more with his life. if you want to learn more about this I highly suggest This interview.

In 2002 the band recorded there first album "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" in a basement in New Jersey with the help of Thursday frontman Geoff Rickley. here is a behind the scenes video of that (one of my personal favs) that shows the making of the album! This is when Frank Iero joined the band as a rhythm guitarist.

The second album, "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" was released in 2004 at Vintage Vinyl Records (here's a video of that) and it was the album that really put them on the map. They began to get more TV interviews and appearances ( iconic Thanksgiving interview , taste of chaos interview , mtv backstage pass , and the iconic bert mccracken and gerard interview ) If you want to know more about this time for them i Highly recommend watching Life On The Murder Scene it gives so much good context on who each of the members is and how the band started!

in 2006 the band released "The Black Parade" after staying at the haunted Paramour Mansion in California to write the album. There isn't much on this time besides a few interviews of them talking about the creepy things that happened x , x and when you listen to the song Sleep on the album, you can hear a voice recording that Gerard made while staying in the hotel. The band premiered the song "Welcome to the Black Parade" at the 2006 VMAs and promptly went on a 2 year world tour, until the black parade died (The Black Parade Is Dead!) in 2008. The Madison Square Garden show was supposed the last show they were going to do, according to Gerard x (warning:emotional) but they ended up sticking around for a few more years...

I feel like I can't continue this without mentioning Projekt Revolution which happened in 2007. It was a tour headed by Linkin Park with a lot of other supporting acts. This show is where a lot of Drama happened, aka Gerard getting married backstage, the infamous Kiss, and the infamous Fight...Some say it all happened because Gerards brother and bassist of the band Mikey was gone for mental health reasons (which were exacerbated in the paramour mansion) but whos to say... 🤷

The band took a hiatus after the Madison Square Garden show so Gerard could be with his family (he had become a dad in 2009) and relax a bit. This is when Frank Iero started some of his own projects, or at least joined in on others. He was the frontman for the band Leathermouth and he and his friend James Dewees has started making songs for a band they made called Death Spells. (leathermouth live at vintage vinyl 2009)

In 2009 the band had gotten back in the studio after a few years of not worrying about my chem and they created "Conventional Weapons" an album they would finish just to scrap when they felt like it wasn't going the way they were expecting

here is an interview gerard did before the album was scrapped

The last album My Chemical Romance made and released was "Danger Days:The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" and was paired with a comic Gerard wrote called "The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" where each member of the band had their own identity that was separate from the actual band member themselves. They are named after the guns so Gerard is Party Poison, Frank is Fun Ghoul, Ray is Jet Star and Mikey is Kobra Kid. There is sooo much lore in this era, so if you want to know more I highly suggest watching the music videos in order to at least lightly understand the story. first is na na na and second is Sing . here is a video of them discussing the concept x and here is a behind the scenes video of Na Na Na x

okay so that is all the albums and the most important moments I can think of! now we are at the 2013 break up.. a fateful day where millions were let down but there are many reasons why the band had to end when it did. here is Gerards iconic letter announcing the end x (again, warning:emotional) and franks letter x😢

I will set the scene for you, it is Halloween 2019 and we are all just going about our days, wishing Frank a happy birthday (yes, his birthday is on halloween) when all of a sudden

this shows up on twitter, and the chaos that ensued was just....So Much Fun! we were just in disbelief that they were actually coming back. So many people had accepted that it was never happening, and then it just...did!! the return show was livestreamed so everyone who couldn't be there physically could be there in spirit, and let me just say that it was such a fun night just knowing they were back together!

also, the night before the show arrived the band showed up to give blankets to fans who were waiting outside all night for the show the next morning !

anyways, since then we have been waiting for the shows to be able to go on and luckily its coming up soon! I think I said the basics but this is so long now that I'm just going to link a few more of my favorite videos. I hope this was helpful!

the p*rn interview , Gerard interview , mcr 2003 , pre production , playing wttbp with Brian May , live at maxwells , venganza , reading 2006 (when they were bottled) , road habits

[sendmyresignation]

You Got Blood On Your Money

Question: how do you make honest art? Is this not the eternal conflict as a creator- how to stay genuine to yourself and your art without tripping into the pitfalls that lay within fame or money or popular culture? Every creator must grapple with the fight between being seen and being sold. But very few artists struggle with this quite as visibly as My Chemical Romance has. From the inception of this band, which has always been more art project than musical endeavor, its members have tried desperately to convey a bone-deep sincerity fundamental to their work. From their very first song, the band proclaims itself as a savior to a generation that had been stripped of their will in the face of unimaginable horror. At the same time, there exists within their music a commitment to storytelling, a desire to fill the empty space in rock music with narrative and macabre and emotion that had been absent. Both of these elements manifest themselves into a band that very seriously considered it their mission to save people’s lives, as well as to create deeply meaningful art. But how do you save as many people as possible without being corrupted by the spotlight? And how do maintain genuine storytelling as you get further and further from the basement shows you got your started in?

These are questions that permeate their music at every turn, something that haunted each album and made itself known in each new project. And while there are many ways to dissect this particular struggle in their discography, nowhere is it more apparent than in the dispute between Thank You For the Venom and its reimagined successor- Tomorrow’s Money. These songs are noticeably similar in their structure as well as lyricism and imagery but instead of the latter building off of the other, they are inverses of each other. And they speak to My Chem’s long battle with becoming a legendary band in the midst of also attempting to keep their identities as artists and outsiders. And in analyzing their differences, it becomes reflective of the band’s main career-long conflict between the commodification of their art and the need to create something larger than themselves. And the question remains, were they successful?

Before we answer that, let's talk about Thank You for the Venom. To begin, it's important to note that Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is an interesting part of My Chemical Romance’s discography because ultimately, it is unconcerned with legacy, but instead is centered on the immediacy of loss and the reactionary pursuit of revenge. In a record overwhelmed with death and grief, there is very little mention of the afterlife for either the living or the dead- characters are murdered but there is very little textual violence. Characters come back to life but there is minimal discussion of how they died or where exactly they were in death. However, that does not mean Revenge is not devoid of mythologizing- it just happens to be about immediate intention rather than a long-term commitment. It is because of this reckless drive forward almost to spite the odds that allows for Venom to exist as the band's declaration- it is their call to arms. Specifically, the track is a pronouncement of My Chemical Romance as renegades fighting against the fake, safe bands writing hits for money instead of survival or purpose: they “won’t front the scene” if you paid them, after all, but are instead running from their enemies. And not only are they an oppositional force, but they are pariahs, targets- something you can try to kill but will fail at. More specifically, in “If this is what you want the fire at will” there is an element of martyrdom, the idea that they are not just a necessary part of the very structure of society but also there is the implication that killing them is to concede to their influence and a necessary part of their lifecycle. Once you get big enough to become a target, you inevitably will be shot down- that is the final step of a great and honest band’s success. This also feeds into the album's wider ideas surrounding revenge as a concept as the greatest revenge is finding success in the aspects of yourself and, by extension, the things you create that other people thought were worthless (I don't think it's a coincidence so much of this album is steeped in comic book imagery and art and mixing punk and metal and theater when those are things the band would get shit on for enjoying). At the same time, this theme exists as the foundation necessary to create an anthem of survival- revenge is the fuel that keeps the protagonist, as well as the band, in motion. Look at the specifics of their thesis- “Just the way the doctor made me” and “You’ll never make me leave” are both reconciliations with the self in spite of the prevailing narrative against them. That connects to the way this song is a statement of a savior and a martyr twofold- “Give me all your hopeless hearts and make me ill” as a representation of the band taking on the pain of others to keep them both alive. All told, in Venom there is perseverance in the face of a large, unimaginable adversary. It is a threat directed at your enemies. It’s living as free and ugly and completely yourself as you can until they shoot you down in a hail of bullets. And then even that end is itself a victory.

Here, at its core, Venom is really the singular instance in the entire album where the band reconciles with an image. And the image the band creates for themselves is as outcasts in opposition to the "scene" and as a revenge plot, proving to their audience the value of authenticity and survival and rubbing it in the faces of those who doubted them. These themes about what My Chemical Romance is and what their goals are is something they wrestle with for the rest of their career- how do you say lives, reach an audience, and remain a fighting force against the societal norm when you exceed your mission and become part of the fabric of popular culture? But that is for later, at this moment, Revenge imagines no future. Only this desperate battlecry.

By contrast, Tomorrow’s Money is dealing with the aftermath. Functioning as a cynical reimagining of Venom, the song is structurally, thematically, and even lyrically reminiscent of Venom to an uncanny degree. First and foremost, the songs are structured the same- a slow build-up into a whispered intro, a multi-part chorus, the exact same chorus-verse layout, and a strikingly similar solo. Looking at the two Toro solos more closely, they both feature more building up as well as tremolos, triples, darker tones, and what sounds like a slide progression just ripping through both of them. Tomorrow’s Money is mimicking Venom pretty clearly here- either as a direct reference or because Venom is so reminiscent of the condensed MCR sound that they’re ripping off to make their point. And looking deeper at the themes present in Money specifically, just like Revenge, there is a clear lack of legacy- “we got no heroes ‘cause our heroes are dead” calling back to the very real disillusionment of Disenchanted that’s placed specifically in a song about becoming part of the machine, being heroes themselves, to nod to the fact that the very mission of the band is dead as well.

Simply put, Money tackles similar issues as Venom about fame and audience and creating art while using much of the same language and metaphors to completely invert the claims found in the “original”. To start with, both songs use the verbage “bleeding” to associate with a kind of suffering for your art that was an aspect of their previous band ideology. Namely, it’s the idea that the audience makes the band ill through the “hopeless hearts” as much as the “poison” does. The “what’s life like bleeding on the floor” of Venom is paired with “you’ll never make me leave” is a statement of defiance and survival against the odds while still bearing the burden of other’s pain. Money, on the other hand, explicitly says they “stopped bleeding three years ago” as a rejection of this leftover martyrdom prevalent in Revenge especially.  But it also refers to their newfound luxury of comfort, they have a way to stitch themselves together that they didn’t have before. These implications transition directly into the ideas surrounding health, vitality and living- specifically surrounding both doctors and infection. Speaking of the former, Money has an interesting lines in “If we crash this time, we’ve got machines to keep us alive” and "me and my surgeons and my street-walking friends" because they speak to both becoming a part of the “industry” by mentioning mechanization but also specifically evokes the living dead. In the MCR canon, the idea of the undead (both vampires and zombies) are antagonistic forces that represent the outside world, specifically fake people or the music industry. And zombies, in general, are already rife with allegorical connections to consumerism, like how Dawn of the Dead, a known mcr influence, is directly about materialistic culture. Vampires, subconsciously or not, are often representatives of exuberant wealth as well as beauty and desire. They’re also blood-suckers and leeches that someone in this narrative has fallen in love with, as if colluding with the enemy and allowing them to literally drain them and their life force. Thus, in describing themselves as essentially undead (when they crash, they’re revived) as well as directly collaborating with the undead, they are connecting themselves to the very forces they’ve been fighting. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this association is how they specifically relate it to survival, the only way of staying alive is to accept them, to allow themselves to be hooked up to the machines that make them undead in the first place. Almost as if you make it far enough not to tear yourself apart, you’ll eventually assimilate into and become part of the industry. 

This idea of unavoidable assimilation is compounded with the multiple references to viruses- “You're loaded up with the fame. You’re dressed up like a virus” then being reemphasised with “We’re gonna give it for free. Hook up the veins to the antibodies, got it with the disease, we’re gonna give it to you”. Both these lines condemn fame but also implicates themselves as part of the contagion that is celebritidom at the same time it depicts this process as unavoidable. Not only that, they’re the ones spreading it at the same time they condemn it. This duality, possibly even exaggerated hypocrisy is buried deep into the foundation of Money. Even the ending line, as angry and inflammatory as it is- still names them as complicit as the "I’ll see you in hell" implies that they're going to hell too. Looking even deeper, there are multiple references to the dilution of their message:  “Choke down the words with no meaning” and “The words get lost when we all look the same'' both representing meaninglessness in the lyrics while “the microphone’s got a tapwire” is reminiscent of wiretapping or even the surveillance company Tapewire, suggesting their words are under scrutiny, they are being monitored and that could be one of the reasons for meaningless words. All of these lyrics reference, with subtly or, in the case of the last one, very obviously about the sellibility and how rigid the label of “emo” is and how they couldn't escape it - they may not have gotten paid to front the scene, but they sure did inadvertently lead a cause. And being put in that position was clearly very stifling, striping them of their artistry. Even looking at the response to Black Parade, it's clear that popular culture at large did not appreciate the record for its genuine message but for the moment in time it represented or the aesthetics it called back too. In many ways it was taken at face value- “words with no meaning” or just another dark, death obsessed emo record. What Tomorrow's money is is a rejection of the glorification of suffering and nativity of Venom in the face of becoming pop culture icons but it's also, in a way, reconciling with a perception of failure and loss of creative control that will haunt My Chem for the rest of their years.

Ultimately Tomorrow's Money is representative of the band's response to the gradual shift of My Chemical Romance, as an entity, away from martyrs to an accepted part of the music industry and culture. How do you reconcile with that? In this moment, in a post-Black Parade era, they try taking everything down with them- becoming a whistle blower to their truth. But perhaps most importantly, this conflict lays the foundation for Danger Days as both critique of industry’s commodification of art, as well as the reutilization of the obsession with legacy and death in their next project -no longer can they let the machines revive them, they have to get out of the city, yell incendiary graffiti at the top of their lungs, and explode in brilliant colors. It was time to return to calls to arms. It was time to return to the power of not just of death but of living on long after it, the album the act of becoming folk heroes for a new generation. And while the bright lights didn't last forever, by scrapping Conventional Weapons and starting over in the name of artistic integrity they truly created a legacy of material unrivaled in its sincerity, reach, and cultural significance. 

As we know, the story didn’t end there. The final chapter used to be closed, and ending with "I choose defeat I walk away and leave this place the same today" as the conclusion of their career. This was not the explosion Gerard wrote about, not the doomsday device but a quiet goodbye, a silent curtain call. It's another round of disillusionment finally fully-realized. And yet, the Reunion seems to be a direct contradiction to their farewell- in some way they did come back because they were needed, because their absence was a gaping hole in music at large which suggests they did change things, that they do have a noticeable effect on the world they inhabit. Looking at A Summoning for even a moment, the picture illustrated to the viewer is that they are an otherworldly power. That they are an entity that you plead for the return of, the hero and the savior on clear display. And regardless of how you feel about the postponement, you can never talk away that fact- some force bodily brought them back in their narrative, that it was human interference that started the resurrection. And that it was primarily through art, especially that video, that they declared their forced-to-be unfulfilled intentions. I've always liked to believe that we've cycled back around, that the cynicism of Conventional Weapons and then later Fake Your Death has had its moment but now it's time to return to that world of rebellion in this era of the desert- the reinhabiting of reckless living and creation. Again, we must ask: what does it mean to make art for the masses? I don’t think we’ll ever truly find the right answer, but I think My Chemical Romance have always tried their best to solve the equation.

[callmeblake]

Kerrang Issue #1761

Magazine Release Date: February 20th, 2019

Issue Label: February 23rd, 2019

Photo Credit:  Jen Rosenstein

Illustrations: Brian Ewing

Partial Transcription (from pressreader.com) below:

Kerrang! (UK)

20 Feb 2019

words: emily carter illustrations: brian ewing

“MAKING MUSIC IS MORE FUN THESE DAYS…”

BREAKS HIS SILENCE

Since he was a kid, GERARD WAY has sought solitude in the world of graphic novels – first as a reader, and later, with the weight of the rock world on his shoulders, as a creator. But now, he explains exclusively to Kerrang!, working on the Netflix adaptation of his THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY series helped him reconnect with his love for making music, too…

Gerard Way keeps track of his personal goals using what he calls “the grown-up list”. One at a time, the 41-year-old will tick off these life objectives by means of self-care – a concept he’ll admit he hasn’t kept on top of lately.

“On the grown-up list are all these things that I have to do to start participating in life again,” he explains in a gentle, endearing New Jersey accent, dissecting a mysteriously methodical approach to his return to the public eye – though, it has to be said, still sounding very much like a big kid at heart.

For the past “two, three” years, Gerard feels as though he hasn’t been looking after himself while under the strain of his demanding career as a comic-book writer. And while his workload certainly isn’t slowing down any time soon – if anything, it’s on the increase with the reintroduction of music now, too – he is at least making his own positive changes little by little, “piece by piece”.

“Enough time goes by and you’re tired of feeling tired, and tired of feeling unhealthy, and tired of doing unhealthy things to yourself,” he admits. “I hit a point where I was like, ‘Enough’s enough. I gotta move my body and find a doctor.’ I hadn’t had a physical in I can’t remember how long. It was just time, you know?”

Undertaking this new journey, Gerard first started off by giving up smoking. He afforded himself just two weeks to ditch the cigarettes, before moving on to the next task. “You can’t do it all at once,” he explains thoughtfully. “I quit smoking before doing anything else – like change diet or going to see a doctor. I just take these things in steps. Even if I did have all the time in the world to attack the grown-up list, you have to take any major life change slowly and gradually.”

Had Gerard felt so inclined as to keep a similar grown-up list for professional targets when he first emerged as My Chemical Romance’s awe-inspiring leader in 2001, its trajectory would have accelerated significantly. Darting into the spotlight in 2004 with their astounding second record Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, the frontman quickly became uncomfortable with the intrusive – and borderline paralysing – nature of their fame. It’s no wonder that, between 2006’s triple-platinum The Black Parade, and the festival-headlining status that came with fourth and final studio album Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, Gerard recently labelled the group’s journey as “uncontrollable”. The band’s explosion was just as dramatic as their eventual breakup almost six years ago, and it took Gerard just over a year to then return into view. An excellent Britpop-inflected solo LP, Hesitant Alien, followed in September 2014, and even landed at spot number four in Kerrang!’s top 50 records of that year. No grown-up list – no matter how fool-proof – could accurately record or predict those kind of whirlwind peaks and troughs.

In his life as a comic-book writer, though, Gerard’s accomplishments have kept up a steadier, but no less impressive, incline. As a graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts and a former intern at Cartoon Network, his imagination and visual creativity was harnessed long before his audio talents came to light. While his comic-book debut in 1993, On Raven’s Wings, was cancelled after just two issues, Gerard’s near 100 (and counting) writing credits have just about surpassed his contributions in music; he even ran his own imprint under the legendary DC Comics banner for two years, Young Animal. And while its status is currently listed as ‘inactive’, Gerard has emphasised that it’s “not the end” of that venture. Now, his prominence as a fullyfledged award-winning comic-book writer is a marvel (no, not that kind).

“The thing about doing comics is nobody asks you about your personal life, they don’t ask you about the drugs you used to take, they don’t ask you if you’re breaking up,” he told Kerrang! while still with My Chemical Romance in 2010, openly battling with the allure of a life buried in books. “They talk about the work. I wish people would talk about the work in music. In music, people want to know what makes you tick – in comics, people don’t care.”

Given the appeal of a more serene existence, it’s clear Gerard’s current primary occupation perfectly suits him. Just as he helped change the face of rock 15 years ago, however, he’s beginning to make similar strides in comics. Once again, he’s got the big guns knocking on his artistic doorstep.

“If anybody ever asks me for advice about being creative, it’s always just to make the things you want to see,” he shrugs, either oblivious to his skills or just strikingly modest. “Make something that doesn’t exist, that you wish existed – that you wanna read, or see, or listen to. That’s the one thing that I’ve applied to everything I’ve done: all the art I’ve made and the music I’ve made.”

Following this surprisingly simple mantra, Gerard now has a tremendous feat on his hands: his apocalyptic comic-book series, The Umbrella Academy, has snowballed into a 10-episode live-action show of the same name, and hit Netflix last Friday. By now, you’ll probably have already watched the lot. For the programme’s main brain, though, while he may have spent release day just ticking off another box on the grown-up list (“I had a physical that day with a doctor, so…”), this marks the beginning of his “participation” in life again. Gerard Way is back.

Gerard Way is obsessed with comics. Across the span of our interview with the author-turned-musicianturned-author again, he says the word “comic” no fewer than 28 times – each utterance more passionate than the last. Yet it wasn’t until 2008, while still active with My Chemical Romance, that he began to feel the effects of his written works’ potential. And not just in the field of comics, either; he was suddenly struck with the realisation that he could make this his full-time work instead. When he and illustrator Gabriel Bá – a man Gerard credits constantly and with great

“I’VE ALWAYS AIMED TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST, THAT I WISH EXISTED” GERARD WAY

respect when discussing the project – were awarded a prestigious Eisner Award for The Umbrella Academy’s first mini-series, it shook him to the core.

“It was scary at the time,” he mentioned in a Kerrang! cover feature at a later date, “because it was another thing that said to me, ‘Hey, you could go and do this. You won’t have a huge career, but you could make a living. There was a part of me thinking, ‘I don’t have to be a singer anymore.’”

Just days after receiving their Eisner, Gerard and Gabriel’s graphic novel was optioned by Universal Pictures. Plans for a potential movie were in development “for quite a while”, until it eventually fizzled out and came back to Umbrella Academy’s publisher, Dark Horse Comics. Then, the idea for a TV show was conceived – and Gerard was instantly sold. Not that it was ever something he’d ever considered when first penning his comics all those years prior.

“You know, I tend to be a visual thinker,” he begins. “When I was first starting out, I was told to embrace the medium of comics: just make a great comic. I think that that’s a common mistake that people make – they see a comic as a film, and they’ll just present it as a film. And there’s a lot of things you can do in comics, and it would almost short-change that. You need to embrace what a comic can do, and then you’ll make a really fantastic one. If you’re just trying to present it as a film, it doesn’t work as well, in my opinion. I still follow that advice to this day.”

Gerard loved the idea of giving his painstaking and deeply intricate world a new long-form narrative, and a way of going deeper into the story’s characters (all of whom are either a reflection of people he knows, or himself). Before taking various meetings – including with Netflix – both he and Gabriel sat down with Universal Cable Productions executive vice president of development, Dawn Olmstead, and discussed their aims.

“My goal was to give those guys the material to make a really great show,” Gerard explains. “That way, if they made a show and it’s successful, they always have material to go back to. That’s always been my goal: to tell a really good story that I have control over.”

Nine years later after its original plans fell through, it was eventually settled that Netflix would be the way to go. Joining forces with a company that had both “the highest production value” and that was also “artist-friendly” made the most sense to all involved. “We knew they would let the show be what it needed to be,” Gerard nods.

By this point, the series’ creator had slipped away from the limelight to create a 20-page blueprint for show-runner Steve Blackman. The Umbrella Academy thus far has three volumes – Apocalypse Suite, Dallas and Hotel Oblivion – but Gerard will eventually complete the story through eight graphic novels in total, many of which are still to be finished (“I have it all planned out, and I’ve just got to kind of write it now…”). In advance of the show’s development stages, though, he needed to let his new colleagues know the whole plot.

“There were talks early on about how much of my involvement there would be – if I wanted to be a co-show-runner, if I wanted to write scripts,” remembers Gerard. “And I really put the emphasis on making the source material and making the comics, so I had to let go of certain things. I weighed in on a lot of them, but ultimately it was Steve’s call to make. I liked letting go, though, because it allowed me to keep moving forward in the ways that I wanted to, which is with the comics or anything else I want to do.”

Working with Netflix became a daily job. From set pieces to wardrobe choices, both Gerard and Gabriel would give extensive notes in the 18 months it took to produce The Umbrella Academy, ensuring a happy climate was reached between their individual artistic palettes. It’s not a giant leap to compare the birth of Gerard’s latest project to My Chemical Romance’s studio swansong, Danger Days. While still in the throes of The Black Parade’s overwhelming success, the frontman had moved to LA from New Jersey in 2008 and was focused on comics – not just The Umbrella Academy, but also a bold, bright new sci-fi spectacular: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, a story of the aftermath of a battle against a tyrannical corporation. Having written and subsequently scrapped The Black Parade’s original follow-up, the frontman was then struck with inspiration on a family retreat in the wilderness, wracking his brains with what to do next.

“I had an epiphany, I had a vision,” he told Kerrang! back in October 2010, of how this new comic informed what would become My Chem’s fourth full-length. “I was writing all these crazy lyrics and they were fearless and fucking reckless. I had this vision in my head, and everything I had been working on in the comic – the masks, the laser guns, the cars, everything – started to swirl around in my head.”

So how does the creation of a comicinspired album measure up against bringing The Umbrella Academy to life on TV?

“You know, they’re both intense and stressful in their own ways,” Gerard smiles. “But one of the things I’ve learned as I get older is that being in the studio and making music isn’t nearly as stressful – it’s a lot more fun these days. Having said that, although things are a little more high-stakes on a film set, we had a lot of fun with that, too.”

Early last year, The Umbrella Academy’s primary architects headed to Toronto to oversee the first week of filming. They were there to “answer any questions and give a little direction”. Though their focus was undeniably on creating the best comic-to-screen transition

“AS I GET OLDER, MAKING MUSIC ISN’T NEARLY AS STRESSFUL – IT’S A LOT MORE FUN THESE DAYS” GERARD WAY

“I DON’T LIKE TO DWELL ON THINGS. I LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD” GERARD WAY

possible, Gerard also remembers the weather; it was snowing, a sight he hadn’t seen since touring Hesitant Alien three and a half years prior. Once more, his two worlds briefly reacquainted themselves.

While in Canada, he and Gabriel reviewed “dailies”. “It hit a point where it was like, ‘Alright, this train is going, they know what they’re doing,’ and I could divert my attention back to the comic,” Gerard says. “Then I was able to work on it remotely – most of the work from my end was done through email or phone conversations, so I could be anywhere in the world and I was still able to watch the footage on my laptop, or whatever computer I was at.”

Once that week was over, Gerard kept a distant watchful eye over filming, which carried on until July. Elsewhere, his time was split between writing more comics, drinking copious amounts of coffee, collecting vintage T-shirts and miniature painted figures, and watching his wife of 11 years, Lindsey – bassist of Mindless Self Indulgence – feed birds and squirrels at their family home.

Rather ironically, his days weren’t spent watching a great deal of television. Even now, he’ll partake in an episode or two of a binge-worthy programme if Lindsey wants him to check it out – but he’ll never consume the lot in one go. “I think that makes my opinion on what we’re making with Umbrella Academy, in a way, even more valid,” he suggests, “because I don’t watch all this stuff. I read a lot of books.”

Most exciting of all, though, is that almost every Friday, Gerard Way began to create music again.

Around 54 minutes into The Umbrella Academy’s fifth episode, there’s a mind-bending shoot-out featuring, among others, Mary J. Blige. While the action unfolds, a familiar voice quietly hits the eardrums. ‘ Imagine me and you, I do / I think about you day and night, it’s only right…’ croons Gerard Way alongside former My Chemical Romance bandmate and guitarist extraordinaire Ray Toro, in a cover of The Turtles’ hit Happy Together – both rich in personality, but also similarly honouring the original. It’s not the first time Gerard and Ray have teamed up in such a manner: last month, they unveiled another joint effort in the form of Hazy Shade Of Winter, originally by Simon & Garfunkel, for The Umbrella Academy’s official trailer. But this is arguably Gerard’s most epic comics-meets-music crossover yet.

Steve Blackman, says Gerard, “thought it would be really nice for the fans – both for fans of my work as a musician, and my work as a comic writer. He thought it would be really cool, and I thought it would be cool, too. It would be silly to not do a song for the show! We ended up doing a couple, which was really great. And I’m sure there will be more in the future.”

The music Gerard made each week last year wasn’t just for The Umbrella Academy – it was also for himself. Possibly over-ambitiously, the musician hoped to release these new sounds once a month, though his workload soon put paid to that. He does, however, now boast “quite the collection of demos”.

“Right now it’s just a stand-alone thing,” Gerard says, “but I think at some point – maybe for a vinyl or something – it would be nice to collect all these songs, just as a body of work for something that I did. With all the work and the show coming, it has been harder to try and do a song a month. And I knew that that would kind of happen back when I first mentioned the goal of trying to do that, just because of all the extra work that was coming. But we’re still making music every week.”

Gerard has enjoyed the process of juggling his own music and songs for Netflix enormously. His recent solo tracks – Baby You’re A Haunted House, Getting Down The Germs and a touching Christmas number featuring Lydia Night of The Regrettes called Dasher – have deliberately not been “overthought”, though music for The Umbrella Academy can be a little more laborious.

“It’s a bit more work, because it’s for something cinematic,” he explains. “It’s not that it has to reach a higher level, it’s just that it’s a different level. The solo stuff is just kind of up to me, and what I want that to convey, or what nature it has. Whereas with the show, everybody has to really be blown away by it. So maybe, in a way, it’s more a little bit of what Ray [Toro] and I and the guys in My Chem used to do; we apply a little bit more of that to what we do in these cover songs for Umbrella Academy.”

Is it a strange feeling to revisit that kind of creative process?

“It makes it really fresh and exciting,” Gerard grins. “It’s actually really nice to go back and do something like you once did it, because you have more experience and wisdom and knowledge. As you get older you bring all these things the way you used to do. It’s refreshing at times – especially if you’re doing a bunch of experimental things. It’s refreshing to go back to your core, and your roots, of what you used to do, and apply your new knowledge to that.”

Gerard Way’s musical future for now, then, will remain both blissfully free and totally spontaneous – a far-cry from his MCR days. But he couldn’t be happier about it.

“I like to move forward a lot,” he enthuses. “I don’t like to dwell on things very much. I don’t usually like to revisit them, either. I like to keep moving forward and putting out new things. I like to try new things and experiment.” Gerard repeats himself once more. “I really like doing that.” K!

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH NOW ON NETFLIX

[music2liveby]

DAY 144: I’m Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance

Album: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge Release: June 8th, 2004 Genre: Alternative

Nothing says mid 2000′s more than emotional turmoil and goth culture. Weren’t we all angsty teens desperate for our perspective to be heard at one point? This motif seemed to dominate the music industry during the turn of the millennium, building off of the rage induced by the grit of the 90′s and opening up personally to talk about the way we feel. I hate using the term, but being ‘emo’ or ‘scene’ during this period of time was the in thing. It was cool to talk about your feelings of depression and polarize with others who felt the same way! There just seems to be so much negativity behind the word ‘emo’. Although they were poster children of this movement, frontman of My Chemical Romance Gerard Way despised the phrase much more than I do, especially when it came to the description of the music they produced. My Chemical Romance were not always destined to be heroes to goth kids everywhere; their origins lie rooted within post-hardcore punk and borderline metal tendencies on their debut I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. My Chemical Romance might not have even existed had it not been for the tragic events of the September 11th attacks, which struck Gerard Way in such a way that he was influenced to start a band in order to express himself. Though this experience was not a central concept of an album, it was the initial stepping stone that led Gerard on his musical journey that would take him from nothing all the way to the top. My Chemical Romance’s debut was much less filtered and produced due to a smaller label, but their later signing with Reprise Records prepared them for a breakout of epic proportions. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was my first experience with My Chemical Romance, exposing me to the lifestyle of black-laden, make-up wearing youth. The album deals heavily with themes of loss and death, weaving in and out between conceptualization and stand-alone greatness. Its first single I’m Not Okay (I Promise) lacks sentimental tone but makes up for it in its lyricism. Transcending traditional love lost songs, Gerard Way explained of the entirety of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, “Lyrically we wanted to take the music to a place that it hadn’t been in a long time, which was to tell stories and use kind of these sweeping metaphors instead of just, ‘You broke my heart.’” I’m Not Okay in this case is somewhat of a self-help anthem, which deals with the struggle of defining ‘okay’ and what it means to be so, not just specifically due to heartbreak. It echoes elements of punk music with an upbeat tempo and Gerard’s howling vocals during the verses, but still has all of the fixins that My Chemical Romance is beloved for. It’s such a shame that the band decided to call it quits in 2013, but its members have kept busy with their own personal projects, most prominently Gerard Way as the author of the critically acclaimed comic book series The Umbrella Academy which has just received an adaptation on Netflix. I was surprised to hear the name Gerard Way again after so long, but it’s great nonetheless to see him back in the spotlight!

[heavens-tiny-daggers]

Now’s a good a time as any to explain just what Gerard Way and My Chemical Romance mean to me. 

The thing is, when I was in high school, I didn’t have anyone to tell me that my depression and my anxiety and my mental illness was okay. I didn’t have someone there to tell me what was going on in my brain was normal. I remember having to find out about my OCD through a research project for science class. I remember how alone that felt, and going to therapy and feeling like an absolute failure of a broken human being. I didn’t understand what was happening to me, or how I could feel so empty, even with all the friends I had in a school full of teachers and subjects I loved. I didn’t think that was something I could ever admit out loud to people in my life, that I was getting help for my depression.

At the time, it was still pretty popular to watch music videos on MTV after school, and that was pretty much what my brother and I did almost nonstop. I have a vague sense of knowing of My Chemical Romance to be familiar with I’m Not Okay (I Promise), and thinking the dudes in the music video were a bunch of edgy weirdos (which you know... was most punk bands at the time). I’d listened to Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge on and off for a while, but it wasn’t really my thing. But then I remember the Welcome to the Black Parade music video dropped and I was like “who on Earth are these clean-cut eyeliner clad, marching band goth boys???” and was absolutely shocked it was the same band.

But what was more important, they weren’t doing what everyone else was doing. They weren’t singing about sex or romance, or any of that. They were singing about loss, and grief, and feeling alone. All of these things I thought I had to suffer through on my own because people didn’t talk about their feelings. Here were these five guys singing about life and the fact that sometimes it’s not okay and all we can do is struggle through it as best we can. 

Gerard Way’s always come from a very raw, very real place. He started My Chemical Romance as a call to do something worthwhile with his life. He wanted to give his life meaning. He was coming from a dark place where he’d very nearly killed himself twice. The band’s brand became This Band Saved My Life, I Hope It Can Save Yours Too. G struggled through so much depression and anxiety, and addiction to get to where he is today, and he fought through it. If there’s anything I’ve learned from Gerard Way over the years, it’s that he fights for everything with so much integrity. And over all that, he’s learned to gage when something is too much for him, and when he needs to back off for his own mental health. 

He’s taught me so much about being both an artist and a person who works at herself, and her craft. Most of all, by being so authentically himself by creating this dark, edgy band, by releasing such a theatrical, gothic masterpiece in The Black Parade, it gave me permission to be the artist I always wanted to be. That was my cue to be that weird, dark writer who fearlessly wrote about death and got bold with her content. I’m still learning from G every single day and it still makes me want to be a better writer.

I’m not going to talk about the devastation I felt when the band broke up, because honestly, after 6 years, and seeing the guys, but Gerard especially, back out there in the world, doing what they love, and thriving at it, it feels like a coming home of sorts. I get to have this reminder of where I came from, with my humble emo roots, and that dark, ambitious girl who wrote every day, fueled by The Black Parade. I get to still be that girl, only now she’s a lot less afraid, because she knows herself, and she owns herself, and I owe a great deal of that to a band I fell in love with, and who saw me through the scariest years of my life. They saw me through it until they knew I was okay, and then they said goodnight. And now it feels like they’re back again, because they knew I needed a little push in the right direction, up out of my writer’s block, to remember how fierce of an artist I could be. They may not be together anymore, but their legacy lives on in their solo work, in Umbrella Academy, in G’s comics, and in every single emo writer out there, who carry on creating because one day, they heard a song and let inspiration take hold of their hearts.

Gerard said it himself, MCR is an idea, and it’s still alive in all of us. I feel that more this year than ever before, and I’m going to honour it, by putting my head down and creating even more. 

[lilyloumustdie-blog]

My Chemical Romance

Yes, I’m an emo piece of crap, and a Tumblr fanatic. No, I just started this Tumblr because it’s a class project. I never plan on using this for anything else other than for the sake of my grades.

I might as well use this to my advantage though. Here’s my favorite band, and honest opinions I have about them. I’ll try not to seem biased just because I’m head over heels for this band.

My Chemical Romance is an amazing band. Definitely the greatest in this century so far. Not a single album was a let down to me, and so far, I haven’t heard of any disappointment about any of their albums or compilations. I take that as a good sign, but I’m open to criticism.

Albums:

“I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love”

It’s an interesting concept. A bunch of dysfunctional romances portrayed by this one man and one woman (no names given). I think it’s a little messy though. It’s all over the place, the arrangements seem a tad bit mashed-up, as if they didn’t know what they were doing. Which at the time they didn’t. But the raw vocals and the thought-provoking and darkly poetic lyrics make everything so much better. Sometimes the lyrics don’t make much sense to me, but looking them up helps in comprehending. Originally, my favorite song off of this album was Demolition Lovers. It’s definitely the strongest song, but I think it’s gone have to go up against Our Lady of Sorrows and Early Sunsets Over Monroeville. 

“Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge”

WHAT’S THE WORST THING I CAN SAAAAYYY-about this album? It’s so great, I love how the tempo switches in “I Never Told You What I Do For A Living”. "’m Not Okay (I Promise)” had started a new wave of rock and roll. “You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison” will definitely get you excited to jump around and scream at the top of your lungs. “The Ghost of You” definitely like a ghost, there are lyrics that really just haunt your very soul, along with Way’s vocals. The opening and closing riff for “Thank You For The Venom” is the catchiest riff ever. It’s very Iron Maiden-like. The whole album has styles derived from bands like Iron Maiden, Misfits, Motorhead, Nirvana, with Smashing Pumpkins being the most notable. The concept of this album was to continue the storyline created in their first album. As the band had stated “The story of a man, a woman, and the corpses of a thousand evil men.” The final song seems to be the one that relates to the story most. I’m not sure I can say anything bad about this album because honestly, I haven’t seen any flaws. I can say though that it is a matter of opinion and I’m sure lots of people dislike this album because of how I guess “hardcore” and “punk” it is.

“The Black Parade”

Undoubtedly MCR’s greatest album. it doesn’t have to be your favorite, but you have to accept that it is considered to be one of the greatest albums of the century. Hell, the lead single and their biggest hit “Welcome To The Black Parade” was voted on MTV as the best music video of all time, beating the likes of Lady Gaga and other famous musicians. This album was era-defining, and it brought the band to the mainstream. Hits like “Teenagers” became an anthem to several people and gave them the opportunity to do a world tour. A successful one at that. “Sleep” was the song where Gerard had put his vocals to the test, and it’s honestly, the best of his vocals. “Famous Last Words” being my favorite song by the band (probably because it was the song that started it all for me) had definitely proven to have several meanings. Whichever meaning Gerard intended, still hard-hitting. This is even my go-to song on guitar. This album was a rock opera album, and is loved by many. I think you should check this album out if you haven’t yet, there is no other album like it. 

“Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys”

Ahhh, the final glory days of MCR. Their last album, and certainly their most controversial one. If in their past two albums they were a concern because the media thought they were encouraging suicide and mental health, this album was thought to have encouraged rebellion and chaos. Apparently, songs like “SING” and “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” were about rebelling and fighting against the law. Sure, the concept of the album is about that but for other reasons. The album is simply about becoming your own person, and believing in what you believe in. And one of the final tracks in this album “The Kids From Yesterday” really goes to show that this is their last album, and that they really meant for this to be the end of an era. Fans haven’t seemed to have fully accepted their departure yet, and neither have I, honestly. But I think this was a good bottle cap to the band’s legacy. “Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back” is personally my favorite from the album. The guitar riffs here have yet to have failed in making me feel powerful and unstoppable. This album is definitely very pop-sounding, but they still manage to keep all the elements of rock and roll. Still a great album nonetheless. The story here is much more complex, but you can purchase the comic Gerard Way wrote, published under Dark Horse also called “Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys”, it’s the continuation of the storyline made in “SING” and “Na Na Na”. 

“Conventional Weapons” Not exactly an album, but I decided to combine all #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 together. These were actually scrap songs, they were supposed to go on Danger Days but failed to make the cut. Great songs, really. All of them being very hooky and rock, but there are songs here that get stale very easily. I think Conventional Weapons #4 was very weak and the songs were easy to get bored by. Not just that but “The World Is Ugly” is at first, a heartfelt track but after a while it just gets cheesy and very, like I said about #4, boring. “The Light Behind Your Eyes” is probably their most emotional song they ever wrote during their last few years, also kind of like a goodbye message from the band to the fans. “Surrender The Night” and “Burn Bright” have probably one of the strongest lyrics in the entire album. “Boy Division” is a song that I feel was made more for fun and dance. The breakdown reminds me of the demo featured in the single for I’m Not Okay (I Promise) and Life On The Murder Scene called “Bury Me In Black”. Still a great album, but undoubtedly their weakest.

Okay, don’t kill me.

[echelonlab-blog]

Author Interview -- fyeahproudglambert

Your URL: fyeahproudglambert.tumblr.com Your name: Catarina, but everyone calls me Kate Link to your Masterlist: fyeahproudglambert.tumblr.com/fanfiction

What was your first experience with 30 Seconds to Mars? Oh wow, that was so long ago that I can’t really remember. I was always on the music channels so that’s probably how I first listened to them. I do remember my first concert like it was yesterday. I met a very special person at that show.

Your Favorite Mars song? I can’t just pick one. xD Night of The Hunter, Remedy, Stranger In a Strange Land, Budha for Mary.

Has anything ever happened to you solely because of being a 30STM fan? Yes. I’ve met the most wonderful people because of that and I’m so so grateful for that.

What is your favorite thing about the fandom? Your least favorite? I love how supportive everyone is. Least favorite would have to be trolls...

Is there any advice you would give to someone who is new to the fandom? Welcome, sugar! Buckle up, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. <3

How long have you been writing? Ever since I can remember. I’ve always loved getting my thoughts down.

Why did you start writing? (Either in general or for Mars specifically) To me, writing is therapy and an escape from well, I guess you could say, life. I put a lot of life experience into my stories.

Do you write for other fandoms? If so, which ones? Yes. Andy Black, Ronnie Radke. Used to write for MCR, Cradle of Filth and Adam Lambert way back.

Do you share everything you write? If not, is there a reason why? I share most of it. I do have an original book written but needs improvement before I can share.

Have you written things that aren't fanfic? If so, could you tell us about those works? Yes. Basically weird vampire archangel stuff. xD

Of all your works, which is your favorite and why? Hmm, I don’t think I can pick. I love writing so much.

Is there one that was particularly difficult to write? Why? Yes. Budha for Mary because of well, its theme.

What is the ideal writing environment for you? At your desk? Quiet? Music? Ideally, all I have to have is a computer. I prefer quiet or background noise (thanks to @lolainblue for passing the link rainycafe.com). ;)

What type of fanfic are you most comfortable writing (drama, fluff, angst, drabbles, series, etc.) Fluff, angst and drabbles.

What is your favorite fanfic trope? Either friends turning to lovers or angry friends turning to lovers. xD

Is there any trope or subject that you won't write? I can’t really think of one. Never say never.

Are there any special tools that you use when creating or writing your story? I google a lot of words. English isn’t my native language so most of the time I wonder if the word really exists or if I made it up. xD

Do you write your story in order or do you jump around and then string it together at the end? Depends. I mostly write my stories in order unless I have a very clear picture of the future in my head.

Do you outline, or do a great deal of prep work or do you 'fly by the seat of your pants'? Definitely “fly by the seat of my pants”. WING IT! xD

How do you usually get your inspiration? Could be anything. A sentence, a picture. Right now, I’ve been doing morning walks with music blasting and I’ve been getting lots of ideas like that.

Do you have ideas on the drawing board or in progress currently that you haven't shared yet? Oh yes, but they’re a secret. You’ll find out soon enough. Not Jared’s #soon. xD

If you have an unpublished work in progress, please pick two to three sentences and share them without context.

“I know. I feel it too.”

I couldn’t look away from her eyes, something clicking into place.

I didn’t want to leave yet, I wasn’t ready to.

Do you like requests? Would you like more or less of them? I don’t really get them much often and I’m terrified I won’t be able to write them.

Is there an upcoming project from you that you are excited about? Why, and what can you share about it? #secrets

The best piece of writing advice you've ever received? Just write.

The worst piece of writing advice you've ever received? Writing is easy. HAH!

What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting to write fanfic? Write what you know and write what you want. It’s your reality, your rules.

Three (stories, series, scenes, etc) written by others that you really like or that inspire you? Oh gosh, I have several. @lolainblue Fangs and Fairytales and also ROGER is the best character ever. The latest chapter of @thepromiseofanend Closer to the Edge brought tears to my eyes. So freaking amazing. My boo, @hazeleyedleto with her perfect Bright Lights. And everything @darklydeliciousdesires writes. <3

Are any of your characters closer to being “you” than others? Any reason in particular? All my characters have a little bit of me in them.

Are any of your characters based on someone you know? Yep.

Are any of your plots based on something that happened to you? Yes.

Favorite font for writing? Eh, as long as it’s not comic sans. xD

Do you have a 'day job'? If so, what? Yes, Web Designer.

Do you consider yourself a reader outside of fanfic? Yep. I love reading.

Your favorite book? The Perfume by Patrick Süskind.

Your favorite things to do when you're not writing? Watching TV Shows or Movies.

The strangest thing you've ever eaten? Does sushi count?

Two truths and a lie? I love sushi. I hate when people I don’t know stand too close to me. I hate cheesecake.

Five albums you'd want if stranded on a desert island? American Satan Soundtrack, My Chemical Romance – Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, Panic at the Disco – Death of a Bachelor, Thirty Seconds to Mars – This is War and Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind.

Something surprising about you? I love horror games and League of Legends. I actively watch Esports, mostly LCS.

Favorite food to enjoy while watching Netflix? Air popped popcorn.

Favorite way to spend a Saturday night? Watching a movie with my girl.

Blankets Tucked or Untucked? Tucked, can’t let those monsters get my feetsies.

Do you have any pets? Would you like to tell us about them? Yes, I have a kitty. His name is Bart and he’s a hellraiser.

Musicals, yes or no? If yes, what movie/show would you like to see made into a musical? Yes. Harry Potter?! xD

Tell us a joke. Me! That’s it. xD

Are there any particular battles or struggles in your life you'd like to tell us about? Hmm, well, not really.

Anything you'd like to add? Love you guys. ❤

[geraltcirilla]

Exploring Karen’s Past

In this post I’m going to be going over things we know about Karen from details dropped in Daredevil canon, looking at what cast have said about her past, and her comic origins to hypothesize where the show might be going with her.

This will be under a cut because it gets quite long.

All the things we know about Karen so far in the MCU canon:

She was from a small town of Fagan Corners, Vermont that had around 400 people. (2x05)

Her parents are Penelope and Paxton Page.

She was on the basketball team in high school. (1x07)

Her brother Kevin Page died in a motor vehicle accident at the age of sixteen. According to the news article: At about 1:40 pm, Kevin Page was driving his car. While heading east on Vermont Route 12 from the hill Road exit ramp off Interstate 89 Page veered off the roadway into a chain-linked fence. The responding medical services sent his body to Windler Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival. It took some time before the state police was able to resolve the investigation of the incident. The article was titled “Mystery Accident Causes Teen Fatality”. (2x09)

Karen says her brother wasn’t good and tying ties so she used to do it for him. When asked what he was like by Matt she said "Uh, he's sweet. He's a good brother.” (2x04)

When Wesley asks her if she loves New York she replies “I haven’t been here long enough.” (1x11)

She appears to have no friends or relationships outside of Matt and Foggy. She does not appear to be in contact with her family.

"Do you really think this is the first time I've shot someone?" Karen to Wesley (1x11)

When discussing her past with Ben and the information he uncovered on her: "Stories like this are built on sources, Miss Page. Credible sources. I did some digging into your, uh past activities.” (1x04) / "And who'll believe me when they start digging? When they find what you found when you were looking into me." (1x12) / “Look, Ben didn't care, and I don't, either." (2x09) / “Although, you know, why you'd wanna see good in the man who pulls the trigger is beyond me.” (2x10)

Things cast have said regarding Karen’s past:

Deborah Ann Woll noted that Page's backstory would be different than the one from the comics. source

"There’s something that happened in Karen’s past — we allude to it, Ben alludes to it — and when she grabs the gun she says, “You think this is the first time I’ve ever shot somebody?” That's a secret from her past that she doesn’t want anyone to know. The fact that she shot him once, you can explain that as self-defense; but then she pretty much unloaded the gun into him. That crosses a bit of a line. The last thing she would want is for those two to be horrified by what she’s done." -- Steven Deknight, showrunner of Daredevil season 1. source

Karen’s story in the comics:

Her family was well-off.

She graduated with a 3.8 GPA from the University of Vermont.

Her father became the super villain Death’s Head, who fought Daredevil and ultimately died saving Karen’s life.

She begins making pornographic movies while hooked on heroine.

She is ultimately killed by Bullseye.

MCU vs Comics

Karen does not have a brother in the comics.

In high school Karen was on the cheer squad in the comics but the basketball team in the MCU.

Where in the MCU she has a dark past, in the comics she has an innocent past but a grim and ultimately tragic future.

In both the MCU and comics Karen’s relationship with Matt dissolves after he reveals his identity as Daredevil.

In MCU Karen leaves Nelson & Murdock to become a journalist, in the comics she leaves Nelson & Murdock to become a film actress.

In the comics: Karen grabbed Bullseye's gun and threatened to kill him, but Bullseye was not scared because he knew his gun was not loaded. / In Marvel’s Daredevil: Karen grabbed Wesley’s gun, who claimed he wouldn’t have left a loaded gun on the table within arms reach of Karen She shoots him and it turns out the gun was loaded, and he dies.

Things the MCU has not confirmed yet:

The age difference between Karen and her brother Kevin.

When Karen moved to New York from Vermont.

Breakdown

Although it was confirmed Karen’s story will be different in the show versus in the comics, we can assume writers will take inspiration from the comics and borrow some ideas. Throughout Daredevil, Defenders and Punisher we have seen that the writers don’t ignore the comics, they simply take inspiration and let the character grow from there. So I don’t think it’s wise to entirely disregard the comics in our own theories. We can use them as a starting point and go from there.

For example, we can assume Karen and Wilson Fisk will have a confrontation in Daredevil season 3. If Wilson finds out Karen killed Wesley he’ll likely want revenge, and might hire Bullseye to kill her. The show won’t actually kill her like the comics do but I can see them psyching us out to think she was going to die and severely injuring her in the process. In this way they are both faithful to the comics but have created their own unique story, which is really what the MCU is all about.

We can use the same logic and apply it to her past. Take a little bit of the comics, use the knowledge we have from the show, add a bit of reasoning and you can piece together what might have happened.

A common theory I’ve seen is that Karen killed her brother, whether intentionally or unintentionally, from what she had told Wesley about shooting a man and what we know about Kevin being dead. This is unlikely as her brother died in a car accident. But that doesn’t mean Karen hasn’t shot someone before. The wrong thing to do is assume every time Karen discusses her past, she is talking about the same singular traumatic event. I believe multiple things happened to Karen and her brother’s death was the instigation of it all.

Hypothesis of Karen’s timeline

We can start by assuming Karen had a normal happy childhood with her upper class wealthy family (starting where the comics did). She was close with her brother, close enough to tie his ties for him. (We can assume they were close in age due to this, but more on that later.) She was on the high school basketball team and she was a “mean three-point shooter”. Then her brother dies in a MVA at the age of 16. This is the beginning of Karen’s downward spiral.

The circumstances surrounding the death of described as “mysterious” in the news article. At the time the article was written the death was still unsolved, which is strange considering it was a single car crash into a chain-link fence, what’s there to be confused about? How is that so hard to piece together? Ultimately the police were probably puzzled as to how the car crashed in the first place if no one else was involved. Car accidents usually involve two people unless the one person is altered level of consciousness from drugs or alcohol and simply drove themself into a wall. But we can assume Kevin’s blood work was clean because if this was the case the death would not be mysterious, the investigation would not have taken so long to wrap up, and the title of the article would be “Intoxicated Teen in Tragic Accident”.

Everything surrounding Kevin’s death is strange but we can assume Karen had nothing to do with it. A) She’s only a teenager herself at the time, B) The news article does not mention a sister or another person involved in the crach, and C) Karen is presumably incredibly close with her brother, so close that to this day he is still a sore subject for her (despite several years having gone by since then). She cries when she sees his news article and lies to Matt that he is alive by using present-tense when describing him. But if Kevin’s death was strange and Karen wasn’t involved, who was and what happened?

This is where I introduce Karen’s father, who we know nothing about in the show: Paxton Page. In the comics he is the villain Death’s Head. Brief run-down: He was a scientist who created the cobalt bomb, refused to sell it to the US government, was branded a traitor, continued to work on it in secret, went insane because of the radiation, developed superpowers and fought Daredevil, and died saving Karen from a molten cobalt spill. Remember, to figure out what the MCU’s truth is you take what the comics give you and you adjust it to the universe of Daredevil. So let’s assume in Daredevil Paxton is still a villain, just not insane and super-powered from radiation. A villain more suited for the “real world” of the MCU. Paxton would be evil in the Fisk or Wesley sort of sense: manipulative, self-serving, megalomaniac. And let’s say he is a scientist and is working on weapons for the government (or a private contractor) (which is why he is wealthy). He’s evil not because because he can project fireballs, but because he doesn’t care who his weapons hurt as long as he is paid. If Karen’s father is a villain or shady we can probably connect Kevin’s death to him. Either Paxton was directly responsible for Kevin’s death because Kevin found out what his father was doing and was going to rat on him, or the government/private contractor Paxton was working for killed him as revenge for Paxton not sharing his “new weapon” with them (the cobalt bomb, or in the show something different.)

Moving on. So what happens to Karen after Kevin’s death? I believe Karen took Kevin’s death harder than anyone in her family because of the tiny hints we are given throughout seasons 1 and 2 of Daredevil to how close they were. (She said she tied his ties for him as kids and she is still raw over his death years later as she A) weeps at seeing the news article of his death and B) inadvertently lies to Matt that he is still alive by describing him as “sweet” and a “good brother” in present-tense.) When siblings are close it’s usually because they are close in age, so I think it’s fair to assume Karen and Kevin are either Fraternal or Irish twins. 

This is where I go back and reference Karen’s darkest history in the comics: the heroine addiction and pornography. I think the writers will dabble with this a bit, but not to the extremes of the comics. Karen’s downward spiral in the comics comes after she moves to LA to pursue a career in acting, which happens in her future. Like I said before in the show, the darkest part of Karen’s life happened in the past. If acting wasn’t the instigation it was no doubt the death of her brother. This especially makes sense because the brother didn’t even exist in the comics, so he was invented specifically for the show and specifically to be a key piece of Karen’s dark and mysterious past.

So her brother dies, right? And she’s devastated, her whole world is over, and she is just 16 herself. What happens when 16 year olds think their life is over? They act out. Drugs, drinking, partying, etc. (We know Karen can hold her liquor from Daredevil.) She’s probably going to try and escape from her realty through drugs, but not something hard like heroine from the comics. Something a teenager could get at a party like ecstasy or other pills. (Once again taking an idea from the comics and watering it down with a spin that would fit in the current verse the writers are working in.) And what happens when a teenage girl is getting fucked up at a party without anyone looking after her? Boys are going to try and prey on her. It would be so easy for teenage Karen to find herself in a situation where someone is trying to hurt her or rape her because she is vulnerable. But we all know Karen will do whatever it takes to protect herself. Cue her shooting some fuckboy to death after he tries to attack her. This is her killing a person in her past without making her a murderer (which would be inconsistent with her characterization).

Ben and Karen had discussed twice in season one how her past made her an unreliable witness to Fisk’s crimes. So it’s something you can easily find doing a background check but nothing so illegal it would get her into trouble. Just hurt her reputation. But it’s also something neither Ben nor Ellison care about, so likely something they can sympathize with. I think a rich little party girl drunk as shit killing someone in self defense as right about fits that narrative, doesn’t it? Hell, add in Karen having been suicidal at the time (Ingredients: just lost an immediate family member + only a child + probably a drug and alcohol problem = recipe for suicidal ideation) or even attempting suicide and all her credibility as a witness goes out the window. It’s not right or fair but it’s how the world treats depressed people--they aren’t trustworthy or reliable. And you can bet your ass Fisk would’ve spun the hell out of this story if she took a swing at him on her own.

This is not necessarily saying that’s exactly what happened and why she shot someone, but I’m pretty confident her brother’s death and the possible shooting are not related and are in fact two separate incidences. I’m also pretty sure whoever Karen shot, it was done in self defense.

So if all of this stuff had happened to Karen (hypohetically) it would make sense why she would leave Vermont and move to New York to reinvent herself. She’s running away from her past.

Conclusion

That’s about all that I got at the moment. I just wanted to introduce some ideas I thought people could mull over that they hadn’t been thinking about before when it comes to Karen. 

Her father is a villain in the comics.

Her “killing” someone in her past is a different incident than her brother’s death.

That multiple events could have happened to her in succession rather than one single event.

Her brother’s death is the instigation to the chain of events that has her leave Vermont and cut off ties with her parents.

[moonshotsandstarsocks]

I Can Make You a Man

When you’re thirsty for revenge, but also thirsty for that D

A story inspired by @mozg-art and their wonderful Rocky Horror Picture Show Roadrat comic! You can see it here 

Small warning, there are some descriptions of blood and gore in this, so just be mindful if that’s not your thing. And as always, let me know what you think!

The good doctor wasn’t used to entertaining guests. Engrossed day in and day out in his work there was hardly such a time for the luxury of company, so most usually he simply chattered to his robots whenever the urge for conversation struck him.

Fixing loose wiring, adding on new weaponry, Junkenstein would talk at his precious machines as if they had a will of their own and could understand him. A one sided banter that would last for hours and only ended when the doctor got pulled away to work on something else.

Rarely the imagined conversations took a turn for the worst. Days where Junkenstein would return from the village and the voices he often imagined would turn cruel and mocking, echoing the disgusted sentiment the king shared. Ceaseless, they would rattle around in his brain and mix together into a deafening static until Junkenstein felt like his brilliant brain would melt away into nothing.

Maddened by it all he knew that there was only one way to get them to stop: by throwing them carelessly into a pile out in his courtyard and letting his rip-tire loose on the whole lot of them. The Zomnics were in need of upgrades anyway, scrapping them was helping him skip the annoying intricacies of adding on new patches. And whatever parts of his mood that wasn’t improved by the raining robotic body parts was cheered up by the bottles of chemicals he would toss into the fires to create different colors. The green flames brought on by the boric acid were his favorite.

So maybe Dr. Junkenstein wasn’t used to guests. Maybe. But it was hardly a bad thing because it brought him to his greatest project yet: the creation of life. It was all very under lock and key, the last thing the doctor needed was another angry hoard of villagers at his castle doors once again. Their screams of fear grew stale after the first two or three times he sicked his Zomnics at them.

That’s why, on a cloudy night with only the full moon to illuminate the land below, Doctor Junkenstein was surprised to see two uninvited guests in his lab. Two guests not from anywhere on Earth. They were ethereal, but not in any way that angels were.

The witch had a commanding presence both in the way she held herself and the sheer aura emanating off of her. A beautiful face couldn’t hide the evil in her eyes no matter how blue they could be. The staff gripped tight in her hand was radiating a pulsing yellow light at the top, and with the tome strapped to her hip it made Junkrat’s fingers itch to take them both and learn her secrets. Surely he could put them to better use than her.

But perhaps he wasn’t the first to think so, because the thing next to her could only be described as some type of underworld bodyguard. Leather on top of leather with a popped collar, his orange and black scheme matched the witch’s and covered him head to toe. The only exception was his head

The witch had a subtle malice to her, but her bodyguard was the exact opposite. Residing above his shoulders (with no connection by a neck) was a round pumpkin with a cruel face jaggedly cut out to replace its head. The markings stretched and shrunk with the same elasticity of skin, and when his head moved it revealed nothing but the same ominous yellow light glowing from within his body.

Oh, they were just practically begging the doctor to cut them open and see what they’re made of. However, when they explained themselves and their desire to see his creation, Junkenstein was ecstatic and quickly forgot his plans of dissection.

“Well he’s not a creation per say.” Junkenstein said, making a noncommittal, back and forth gesture with his hand. “Creation implies makin’ somethin’ from nothin’. It’s a creation in the sense that I had to draw up the schematics, write the equations for the right amount of transfusions, shit like that. But everythin’ else is organic and recycled from fresh graves, so it’s less of an artistic creation and more a scientific invention. Though I would like to say my design is nothin’ short of artistic gen-”

“You’re getting off topic, doctor.” The witch’s voice dripped with annoyance, betraying the impassive expression she had on her face. The pumpkin, however, was more expressive than she was, openly scowling at Junkenstein.

The two supernatural entities watched Dr. Junkenstein pace about his lab, his back now turned to them as he walked over to a large slab with a mass on top obscured by a large blanket. In his hurry to get there the doctor’s uneven gait became over exaggerated and made him look like he was bobbing up and down while walking on a flat surface.

Undeterred, the doctor laughed before replying to the witch. “Of course, of course. Trust me, I’m jus’ as excited to get to the main event. So,” He rounded the table, facing the witch and her servant. “Shall I show you my latest obsession?”

Before either could answer the doctor took hold of the blanket and with a flourish it flew off the table to reveal the body underneath.

Had the witch been mortal, it might have taken her breath away.

Laying on the table was not any man, but a monstrosity. Death had stained the skin a sickly green, different areas being different shades because the creature was so large in mass that it needed the skin of multiple bodies simply to cover it all. Gaps between the stitches To add to the inhuman nature of the thing, it appeared that the doctor had taken the liberty of adding a mask made of pigskin complete with a snout to obscure the monster’s face.

Slowly, the witch approached it to get a closer look. Her eyes were drawn first to the conducting rods sticking out in various places on the creature’s body. The shoulders, feet, even the large screws that had been drilled into its jawbone were a testament to the doctor’s initial dabbling in electric shocks to try and reanimate the bastardized corpse. The Witch of the Wilds had laughed at his primitive efforts from afar, but now up close she could fully appreciate how far the doctor had come.

Being so close also allowed her to view some of the... aesthetic choices the doctor made with his design. The clothes were custom made, they had to be, and while the stitching was good it was more on the gothic side with the leather jacket and spikes. That wasn’t even mentioning the ‘D3AD’ belt buckle or the ‘TERROR’ tattooed poorly across the monster’s large gut. It seemed that her servant took notice of it as well, his clawed finger gently scraping along the word.

Though his eyes were only empty sockets of a carved pumpkin, the way the light shifted within it indicated that he was looking at Junkenstein.  “A little tacky, don’t you think?” He asked.

With a loud gasp, Junkenstein threw himself on top of his creation defensively, swatting her servant’s hand away. “”Fuck off! I didn’t make him for you!”

“Then what did you make it for, doctor?” The Witch of the Wilds asked, stifling a giggle over the petty squabble between the two.

“Well,” Junkenstein stood up, letting his hands drag slowly along the creature’s stomach as he did so. “He’ll have a great many purposes I assure you. Now of course there’s the more obvious.”

Eyes gleaming behind his goggles, Junkenstein was looking down yet a thousand miles away as his vision came to him. He could picture it all as clearly as he could the very first time he put his plans into motion for making his monster. “What he might lack in brains, he will more than make up for in brawn. An’ he’s gonna use all that brawn to go straight down to the village an’ slaughter everythin’ in his wake ‘til he’s right at the doors of the castle. Oh they’ll all scream, probably beg like the fuckin’ cowards they’ve always been. But he won’t listen, an’ the last moments of their insignificant lives will be used to finally appreciate my genius!”

The lab fell away, the dark stone and lights melting and morphing into the streets of the town. Dr. Junkenstein could see through the eyes of his monster as it tore its way through the crowds. Strong hands extending outward from a behemoth body, strong enough to lift the townsfolk by their heads with just one hand and able to crack their skulls open like eggs just as easy. Blood and entrails painting the cobblestone streets red. The people could try and fight back, but without the help of the Zomnics they took for granted they stood no chance.

Of course there would be weaklings within them, the lambs among the sheep, who would try to run or hide. A twisted mind ever moving, the doctor tweaked his imagination to accommodate the problem. Where rippling muscles could not reach, a gun could. It would need to be large for his monster, something to slow down its prey for the eventual slaughter. Not enough to outright kill, but something to make them suffer. To bleed and cripple, prolonging the inevitable. Or perhaps he could fashion something simpler for his dimwitted creation; something to draw them in close. Maybe he could make both.

God, he was practically salivating at the imagined carnage. For a moment his words trailed off at his tongue, savoring their taste rather than expunging them from his mind. They tasted like copper, the bitterness of ale, and the decadent sweetness of revenge. Junkenstein licked his lips as he finally continued. “An’ then when the lord comes out from hidin’ he’ll get to admire my monster’s good work jus’ long enough before his head gets ripped off an’ I get to drop a big one right down his throat.”

Junkenstein’s entire body shook with his manic laughter, throwing his head back in unrestrained glee. In his lab, the laughter bounced off the cold stone walls until his cackle reverberated enough to ring in his ears.

The two beings shared looks with one another. Doctor Junkenstein’s bloodlust was something to admire, certainly outside the normal threshold of most mortals. It was what had drawn them to him in the first place; extreme intellect mixed with a chaotic and unstable personality. Unpredictable on his own, but with the right tools easily manipulated.

The Witch of the Wilds had been watching mankind for centuries, reveling in their tiny squabbles and even adding to the chaos when she saw fit, but her frivolous tendencies were backed with restraint that came from a woman destined to watch the world slowly pass by until time itself disintegrated to ash at her feet. She was smart, careful, and when it was time to give away her gifts she didn’t like to leave any uncertainty or loose ends.

Arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow the witch asked, “What are you planning to do once it’s all over? Once you’ve had your destruction.”

Idle hands now found themselves on the monster’s chest, gloved fingers brushing through the course hair that laid on top of it. Upon hearing the witch’s question Junkenstein’s face nearly split in half with a large grin.

“Well, strength in itself is all find an’ dandy. Keeps ya from gettin’ the sand kicked in your face. But there’s something about a deltoid, and a bicep.” Junkenstein fell prone against his creation again, eyes and hands following along to the according muscle as he spoke. They paused on its body as his eyes tilted down.

“A uh,” He paused himself to giggle, unable to bite back the grin even as his crooked teeth sunk into his bottom lip. “And a tricep. It just makes me wanna shake!” He wiggled his body to the point of indecency, but the creature under him barely shifted. “Makes me wanna laugh right at the lord’s ass-hair covered face!”

“That’s… fine.” The witch replied slowly, unable to think of the right words as she caught on to the doctor’s intentions. Her servant had as well, his posture rigid next to her and his arms crossed tight over his chest. He was wise to stay silent.

Raising her hand aloft to the sky, the witch rose from the ground. Her wings ignited and expanded out, holding her effortlessly in place as she called upon her magic in her native tongue, a language lost to time and incomprehensible to those who didn’t already know it. Light enveloped her until it focused itself into a beacon on her hand, manifesting a crystal.

Jaw going slack, Junkenstein slipped off of his monster to witness the magic before him. It had an otherwordly pull on him, beckoning him closer. The light didn’t even seem natural, resplendent and powerful. Smaller circles of light twirled aimlessly within the beam for a few moments until, like a swarm of fireflies, the all floated up together and conglomerated into a singular bright mass. In a flash, light became a glowing green crystal hovering above the witch’s palm. Junkenstein’s fingers itched to touch it. It looked like it would burn.

Lowering herself to the ground with grace, her feet barely made a sound as they reconnected to the floor. Not a hair out of place or a breath too strained, she held out the crystal to Dr. Junkenstein.

“Behold, good doctor.” She said, the crystal’s green light reflecting against her devilish eyes “I offer that which you seek. The Spark of Life. I will give this to you, and you may use it to finish your work. I want only one thing in return. A day will come when I will call on you for a favor.”

“And no matter what it is,” Her servant was well versed in her deals, and his intimidation often helped seal the pact. “You will honor it.”

The crystal held no discernable weight. If not for the tangible feeling of it in his hands, the doctor would not have known it was there at all. Set deep within the center was a light trapped inside, beating rhythmically. A heartbeat. The choice was simple.

Tearing his eyes away, he cast them upon his monster. No more sleepless nights would he have, futile in his attempts to see his creation breathe and walk. Now, it was all literally within his grasp.

“Jus’ ya wait, baby.” He murmured. The pulse in his hands quickened, matching the beat in his own chest. “I’m gonna make ya a man.”

[acadjonne]

ALL MCR ASKS

ALL MCR ASKS COMING RIGHT UPI Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love: What’s something you love that you feel is under appreciated?Marianas Trench, probably. They deserve the world but they’re not too well known outside of Canada. I’m doing my part to spread the word, though, and have already converted a few of my friends into Trenchers, ehehe.Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge: Would you kill someone who is evil to bring someone you love back to life? I wanna say no, but like, Maybe??? It depends who I’d be bringing back to life. If it were my grandmother, Hélène, probably I’d do it. For grand-mère Elizabeth, too.Welcome to The Black Parade: What is your attitude towards death?Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit. With a lot of fear and a burning desire to run away.Danger Days; The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys: What does art mean to you?Art powers the fucking world, fren, no two ways about it. Without music I can’t function, without art nothing is worth looking at, without writing all these questions and answers don’t exist. (This is fake deep lol)Gerard: What are your best creative talents?I would put the title of my best creative talent as my writing. It’s one of my favourite passtimes and I’m pretty okay at it, if I do say so myself. Some people cough cough Hannah cough have also been trying to convince me that I can sing?? for some reason???Ray: Do you ever feel forgotten about? (as in, like, straight up being left at gas stations forgotten about).I was once left my Asshat McFuck at a Frenchy’s thrift store for over an hour, he only returned once the store worker finally called my aunt after I’d been panicking for about forty minutes. I still contend he went to get high, he claimed to be going to change a headlight but it was still busted when he came back and he was gone a hell of a lot longer than the ten minutes he claimed.Sometimes I also feel like my friends forget I exist, though.Frank: What are you passionate about?I’m very passionate about music, I devote a large portion of my time listening to it, and I’m trying to learn how to music myself, so. Also reading. And writing. And interacting with my frens.Mikey: Are you introverted or extroverted? Or a combo of both?I’m a bit of both. If I’m with my friends, I’ll be laughing and screaming and conversing. If I’m surrounded by strangers or acquaintances, I will basically be so quiet you’d assume I’d sunk into the wall. I once had to speak to a teacher via post-it just to ask if I could go pee…I’m Not Okay: What is/was your high school friend group like?Loud, swears a lot, constantly playing Super Smash Bros. on WiiU during lunch and spares. Also very gay, we only have One Straight Friend.Blood: What do you want to be for Halloween this year?My cousin Marcel promised he’d help me make my costume for Halloween, I’m probably gonna be Wiccan from Young Avengers! Gay chaos magic, for the win!Headfirst for Halos: What is your favorite song?I have too many favourite songs, but I can contribute five: Shake Tramp by Marianas Trench, Hallelujah by Panic! At The Disco, The Pros And Cons Of Breathing by Fall Out Boy, Teenagers by My Chemical Romance, and Ode To Sleep by Twenty One Pilots.Na Na Na: Who would you want to protect most?My little cousins, Molly Elizabeth and Jack. They’re my favourite cousins, and even though I haven’t seen them in two years, I have a bunch of pictures of them that my aunt sends me or that their mom posts on Facebook. Someday, I’m going to go visit them during a school break. I’d give my lives for them if I had to, tbh.Give Em Hell, Kid: Who makes you fearless?I’ve never been fearless, but the various members of my five favourite bands definitely make me wanna do things I wouldn’t have imagined doing way back when. One of the most influencial on me is probably Pete Wentz, though.Mama: Is anyone in your family in the armed forces?Both of my grandfathers are war veterans, and at least two of my uncles were in the Air Force as well. I think I also currently have at least one cousin serving?Early Sunsets Over Monroeville: What’s your favorite vampire movie?I don't really watch movies that have vampires in them. Sing: Who is the most misunderstood villain?I never really understood Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Who was he really? Why kill Eddie's brother? Why admit it? Just why?I Never Told You What I Do For A Living: What was your first job?Never had a job before lolDead!: Who is someone you dislike?My 10th grade French teacher. What a bitch. Honey This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough for The Two of Us: Do you like taking selfies?Ish? My face is disproportionate and one of my cheeks is fatter than the other, it sucks. I'll take selfies with my friends if they want to, though.Party Poison: What’s your dream URL?acadjonne.tumblr.comOh wait. Thank You For The Venom: What’s your attitude towards drugs?They're not really my thing?? Some of them are really bad but it's none of my business, I'm not gonna crucify you for trying a weed lolSharpest Lives: What was your first MCR song?Na Na Na, since it's on Guitar Hero Live. I first heard of them because of the Everything Wrong With Helena video, though.Skylines and Turnstiles: What was a big event that changed your life?My grandmother Hélène's death. It upended my views on life and religion and changed not just my way of living, but the entire family's.Zero Percent: Have you read the Danger Days comics? If so, what did you think of them?I have a copy of True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, but I haven't read it yet. “It’s my fuckin’ face”: Whats your body image like?I have a bit of a belly and thighs the size of Texas and stretch marks on my thighs and hips and scars from ingrown hairs and that's okay. I've lived and earned those.Life on The Murder Scene: What would your biography be called?Acadjonne does life.Solo projects: What is something you always wanted to do, but never have? I've always wanted to learn to play piano, but was never able to due to availability and transportation reasons. I might be getting a keyboard soon though, so with an 80+ song synthesia playlist and a lot of pure stubbornness, I might learn yet!Thanks for asking me these, fren! Sorry it took so long, I wanted to make sure to give you the best answers possible. Have a good day at school!

[nova-writes]

10 Albums That Made A Lasting Impression During Your Teenage Years

I lived my Teen years (13-19) right in the middle of the Aughts, 2002 through 2008. That was an interesting time for music. Emo revival was just starting and Hardcore bands of the 90′s were starting to figure out what came next for them. I’m sure pop music was doing interesting things, but I was adamantly opposed to pop music as teenage, so there won’t be much of that.

The only Rule™ for this list (because lists need rules), is to use only one Album per Artist/Band. I will also try to go chronologically, but if you’re playing along at home, you make your list however you want. The “Chronogality” (that’s a world, don’t look it up) might get a bit skewed because, as I previously mentioned, I tended to shy away from popular music, so some of the albums didn’t come out during this time frame, it’s just when I discovered them.

On with the list!

2002

Gorillaz - S/T (2001)

Okay, so right out the gate I’m cheating. The brainchild of musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett came out just before I was a teen in 2001. But the virtual band consisting of 2-D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle illustrated by Hewlett was one of the first bands I discovered for myself. And I didn’t discover it until it had been out for a while.

Largely to do with their interactive flash animated website and bizarre music videos, their music and artistic style largely influenced my own art and led me to discover Tank Girl, Hewletts comic book series.

You might be thinking “Didn’t they say they didn’t listen to pop music? Their first pick is a pop group, what’s going on here?” To which I remind you I said there wouldn’t be much of that, not none at all. This was also “Phase 1″ of the Gorillaz master plan, entitled Celebrity Take Down, so that resonated with me. Also, the Gorillaz may enjoy some commercial success, but at this point they were still largely an indie group, collaborating with Hip Hop artists, producers, and indie rappers (Kid Koala, Dan the Automator, and Del the Funky Homosapien respectively). Also, revisiting this album later on led me to discover Del’s other project Deltron 3030.

2003

AFI - Sing the Sorrow (2003)

2003 was the year I discovered the color black, and I’ve never worn another color since (exaggeration, but not by much). This is also when I started to struggle with depression and other feelings and the goth-punk songs written by singer Davey Havok, bassist Hunter Burgan, guitarist Jade Puget, and drummer Adam Carson spoke to my early teen angst.

My introduction to AFI came from seeing the video for Girls Not Grey on the music channel Fuse (formally Much Music). I then probably pirated the music, because it was the 00′s, but I did also eventually buy a copy of the Album. This was also the first commercially successful for harcore-group-turned-goth band AFireInside.

AFI was the group that bonded my first real best friend and I together. We were both obsessed with the album, and we were determined to start a band (which we did and it was terrible). Together we worked our way through their back catalog and eventually discovered punk and hardcore music.

Minor Threat - Out of Step (1983)

After listening to Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes by AFI and learning of the existence of Hardcore music, it wasn’t long before I discovered the “Big Three” of 80′s hardcore punk music: Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat.

The icon art of Raymond Pettibon for Black Flag is still something that influences my art and Bad Brains influences many of my favorite bands and I appreciate them much more today, but Minor Threat’s anger is something that really resonated with me at the time. They definitely shaped the sound of the next band I was in, which was only a little better of an attempt than my first band.

Strangely enough, the Straight Edge mentality that is extremely prevalent throughout Minor Threats music never really took hold on me, but their other messages were clear to me, we’re outsiders and we’re taking a stand for what we believe in.

2004

My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004)

After my band broke up, I got pretty sick of the monotony of 80’s hardcore music (get over it, it’s boring). I was still pretty goth, even if I was a hardcore kid, so the second album by MCR was the perfect pop-punk answer to my jaded hardcore sensibilities, with Gerard Way’s long black hair and makeup, guitarist Frank Iero & bassist Mikey Way’s emo-hair, and lead guitarist Ray Toro & drummer Matt Pelissier’s heavy riffs and fast tempo playing.

Three Cheers remains one of my favorite guilty pleasure albums. I got made fun of a lot by my hardcore friends and ex-bandmates for liking them, but my lifelong friend Nyk and I would drive around (with my newly acquired license) and sing along to “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” at the top of our lungs. Sorry about outing you, Nyk.

The Blood Brothers - Crimes (2004)

After cleansing my hardcore pallet with emo music, I discovered The Blood Brothers seminal album Crimes. It was a perfect mix of the hardcore music I had started my teens with and the more theatrical emo music. Jordan Blilie’s soulful crooning and shrill scream and Johnny Whitney, whose voice has been described as “a child being tortured”, battle over lead vocal duties with Cody Votolato, Mark Gajadhar, and Morgan Henderson rounding out the instrumentalists (they all play multiple instruments), The Blood Brothers are a force to be reckoned with.

I didn’t know hardcore music could sound like this. I learned people called it “post-hardcore” usually lower case like that. The Blood Brothers and the label they were on, Three One G, led me to many other bands that I loved.

I’m pretty proud to say that between 2004 and 2007 when they broke up, I never missed a show when they came to town. Their live performances were extremely energetic. You could feel the electricity in the air.

2005

Modern Life Is War - My Love, My Way (2003)

In 2005 MLIW released the album Witness, which is a fantastic album and I contemplated putting it on here instead, but in anticipation of the new album coming out I listened My Love fairly constantly. My hardcore friends were already fans of Modern Life, but it wasn’t until 2005 that I discovered them.

It’s hard to say how important My Love, My Way is to me without sounding cliche, but this album honestly saved my life. I had been struggling with my depression and Jeff Eaton told me it’s okay, I am too, but we’ll get through this. I’ll let the lyrics speak for themselves.

“We’ve been to the edge and we know what it’s like to want to die, and that’s something we won’t glorify. We’ll leave those miserable times behind. How far can I go? I’m rising from the depths of my own hell. I don’t need another tragic tale, I need the strength to walk the other way. I found conviction in my ever changing mind. I grew up tied down and bleeding on the inside, but I know I was a victim of my own device, and I want to live to see a brand new life.”

Modern Life Is War is another band that I went to every show I could. Even driving to Marshalltown, Iowa to see their Farewell Show. Their breakup didn’t last long as they got back together in 2013 to release another album and play more shows. They are still going strong now.

2006

Tegan and Sara - So Jealous (2006)

Sisters Sara and Tegan Quinn playing heartfelt indie songs about break-ups is exactly what I needed in 2006 when my first serious partner dumped me. Even listening to it now as I write this, it’s bringing up memories of feeling heartbroken and that every song is specifically about you.

Where do you go with your broken heart in tow? How do you know when to let go? Where does the good go??

Everyone who has experienced love and a hard break-up should listen to this album. Do that and tell me it’s not perfect.

Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

2006-2007 was my senior year of high school, and I was lucky enough to have a pretty incredible art program at my school. I had teachers who were actually working artists and forced us as students to create better and better art. They treated us like artists and it was the first time I felt like an adult was giving me any respect.

My studio art teacher was a huge fan of Modest Mouse and would play their music during class. This was the golden age of the iPod, so I soon had Good News For People Who Love Bad News and The Moon & Antarctica and listened to it even while not in class. It was also one of the first Vinyl albums I ever bought.

Twangy guitars playing over Isaac Brock’s strange voice singing about the concept of being an asshole and that everyone has the capability of fucking you over. What’s not to love? And the deeply critical song “A Different City” about the escapism of moving away and the terrifying reality of failing. A great song to listen to when you’re making your plans to move out on your own for the first time.

2007

Against Me! - Searching For A Former Clarity (2005)

After graduating high school with limited interest in attending college, my parents bought me a laptop as incentive to apply. I did and went for about one semester before dropping out, but now I had my own computer, so that was a pretty good trade off.

I ended up putting three AM! Albums and one Mischief Brew album on my computer and I listened to them constantly. I didn’t have internet access at my house during 2007 so that was the only music I had. Against Me! became my favorite band. Laura Jane Grace’s take on punk-rock and anarchy shaped my worldview.

I didn’t realize then why Laura’s music was so important to me beyond the anarchist politics until years later in 2012 when she came out as a transgender woman. In 2007 I was starting to understand where so much of my depression was coming from. So listening to Against Me! songs about dealing with the same issues and feeling was a great feeling of commiseration.

Looking back now, the songs only make more sense. Even if I didn’t know it at the time Against Me! was speaking to me about deeply personal issues, even if subconsciously.

2008

the Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride (2008)

The album that introduced me to the Mountain Goats! I’m really not that cool, so I don’t really know about awesome people like John Darnielle and how he’s been writing music since I was 5. But I heared the song Heretic Pride on the indie radio station and instantly fell in love with them.

Heretic Pride is not my favorite Mountain Goats album (that would be Tallahassee) but it’s the first one I heard at 19 years old and their literary songs have made me strive to make my own writing better.

It’s also the album that I tried to show to my future partner (we started dating in 2009) to try and impress her. She, of course, was a fan already because she’s much cooler than I am. She then proceeded to show me the extensive discography of the Mountain Goats (15 albums) and the rest of the Modest Mouse catalog just for good measure.

Well, there’s my 10 Albums. There are a few more I would like to add if I could pick more than ten. Like Dumby by Portishead, De-Loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta, and Pass The Flask by The Bled all squished in there somewhere. But I won’t cheat and have a list of 13 albums. That would be wrong...

[recentanimenews]

Crunchyroll Favorites 2018 Part Three: EVERYTHING ELSE!

 This is it--the final installment of CRUNCHYROLL FAVORITES 2018! In our first feature, we talked about our favorite anime and manga of the past year, and yesterday we shared our favorite video games. Today, we wrap up with one of my favorite parts of CR Favorites: "EVERYTHING ELSE!"

  Instead of posting individual articles for everybody's favorite movies, books, music, TV shows, sports moments, life moments, and so on and so forth, we just pile them all here into the "Everything Else" installment and share what's important to us that isn't related to anime, manga, or video games.

  Just like before, the rules are simple: only stuff that came out in 2018, or continuing works that had a major milestone last year. You're gonna get to see a lot of different lists from different people--let's get started!

  Nate Ming

The Night Comes for Us- Timo Tjahjanto brings most of the gang from The Raid and its sequel back for this absolute onslaught of perfectly-choreographed action that refuses to let up--or look away. This one's for the hardest of hardcore action fans, and absolutely not for the squeamish.

Mandy- Nicolas Cage teams up with the stylish and totally gonzo Panos Cosmatos for a trippy, violent ride that starts as a horror story and ends up as a wild action/revenge flick. A friend of mine pointed out that Mandy is the closest we'll probably ever get to a live-action Berserk, and y'know what? He's right.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse- It's rare when, while watching a movie, I don't want it to end. It's almost as rare when it wraps up and I immediately want to watch it again. Into the Spider-Verse has it all: pure emotion, an outstanding soundtrack, action that's like greased lightning, and characters I want to spend even more time with. More like this, please.

Fighting in the Age of Loneliness- Jon Bois--already known for his insightful, fun breakdowns of sports minutiae--teams up with Felix Biederman for a deep dive into the stories that make the history of mixed martial arts. Even people who aren't MMA-heads will dig this--check it out and learn why people fighting in a cage for money is so compelling.

Amanda Nunes vs Cris Cyborg- And speaking of that, in just 51 seconds Amanda "Lioness" Nunes took down the undefeated Cris Cyborg, trading shots until Cyborg caught a huge overhand right and dropped. What a showdown--women's MMA has always been great, but now is the time of legends.

Honorable Mentions: Braven, Creed II, Hereditary

Nicole Mejias

A more stable life- 2017 and 2018 have been very trying years of my life, and I’m glad I made it through in one piece. Depression is something I’m still battling with, but it’s something I’m thankfully more in control of these days. I’m very grateful for my close friends who helped me when I felt I was lost; without them I wouldn’t be here. Thank you! Let’s conquer our goals in 2019!

CEO x NJPW show- I talked about this show briefly in my CEO 2018 report, but my goodness, it was quite the mind blowing show! I never expected NJPW to make it out to Florida of all places, and I certainly didn’t expect the world of fighting games and wrestling to come together in beautiful harmony! It’s a show I’ll remember for a very long time.

Crunchyroll Expo 2018 experience- It was my first time going to this event, and I was very impressed by pretty much everything the convention had to offer! Add in the bonus of meeting up with colleagues face-to-face for the first time and network with amazing folks, and it was an event that I was very happy to be a part of. I’ll be back again this year!

Working for Crunchyroll- The biggest highlight of 2018 was when I got the chance to work here, which was something I didn’t think would happen. Started as a video script writer, then moved on to becoming a features writer and editor! This job has helped me out in so many countless ways, and I’m really blessed to be here and that I’m working with such an awesome group of people!

Daniel Dockery

Beginning My Crunchyroll Writer Journey- Writing about anime for a lot of websites usually requires some handholding (“Hey kids. Have you heard of anime? Before I begin my actual article, here’s a half page about what anime actually is.”) Luckily, Crunchyroll came along and has let me geek out about One Piece for six months. God bless them.

Creed II- After his awesome performances in Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Day of Reckoning, it was only a matter of time before Dolph Lundgren became the heart of a major blockbuster.

Deadwood Movie Hype- It’s finally happening. The Deadwood movie that’s been talked about since 2006 is going to be in front of me in 2019. I don’t want to say that the power of my dreams made this happen, but I will. You can thank me all now.

Shrimp Tacos- Have y’all had these? They’re great!

Peter Fobian

Shonen Jump- I promise I’m not getting paid to tell you that Shonen Jump made history in 2018. They made the most popular comics magazine in the world FREE. They’re selling access to one of the largest collections of comics in the world at a pittance. This is the best deal in the history of comics, hands down. I’m only one month in and have already burned through over 20 volumes of manga. I’m actually going to catch up to One Piece. This is unreal.

Annihilation- I almost missed this movie since they did very little way in the promotion, and man am I glad I saw it in theaters. An awesome sci-fi horror film with a great premise, great cast, some fantastic effects, and a legendary ending. Even if you were underwhelmed by the majority of the film, those last 15 minutes aren’t going to leave your head anytime soon.

Wanikani- Various life circumstances have made it hard for me to continue in-class Japanese studies so I started up Wanikani in January at the recommendation of a friend. It’s the easiest to keep up with language studying app I’ve managed to main pretty consistent all year, finishing off 2018 with a 2000 written word vocabulary is pretty good, I think. I really want to hit max level...

Ricky Soberano

All of the wine I’ve drank- Cheers to speaking about the difference between organic, kosher, vegan, and orange wines. Biggest cheers to figuring out my preferred wine region (Piedmont) and enjoying every Barbera and Barolo I had the privilege of consuming.

The streetwear collabs that mattered- Thank you, universe, for finally getting it. The same people that love manga and anime can also love fashion and finally have a means to show it off to the world. This is why the Primitive x DBZ drop popped off. This is what made the Uniqlo x Shonen Jump collection so important. I can’t wait to see even more in 2019.

Crazy Rich Asians breaking the world- Everything was riding on this film to do well. The future of Hollywood’s treatment towards Asian casts, writing, and films hung in the balance and it slayed the box office. The phenomenon surrounding it was as electric as the film itself.

Japanese Breakfast’s article on H-Mart- My uncle had passed away a few weeks before one of my favorite singers published her first article for The New Yorker. It’s a beautiful testament to coming to terms with identity as an Asian-American, mourning, and food.  

Everything that Childish Gambino has blessed us with this year- This special supernova doesn’t need to go so hard on every project that he works on but he does anyways simply because he can and if you can’t appreciate that then you can enter that black hole over there.

Emily Bushman

Victoria Schwab- One of my favorite authors because she writes fantastic stories, and her new YA book, City of Ghosts, is no exception. It’s like a cross between Stranger Things and the best parts of Scotland, with just a DAB of Harry Potter, and I love everything about it. Her other new novel, Vengeful (sequel to Vicious), also soared high for me with three superior villains who plotted death and destruction, all the way to a satisfying conclusion.

Supernatural- I’m late to the game... but why does it feel good to do something as bad as binge-watching 13 straight seasons over a three month period? To be fair, my friend and I are only on season 9, but we’re getting there. Slowly. Steadily. The checkout lady at our local grocery store approves. And if I’ve learned anything from this, it’s that everyone should have a moose in their life. Get your moose, people. Get your moose.

Haunting of Hill House- The original book by Shirley Jackson (of “The Lottery”) was a favorite of mine, but the Netflix adaptation took it to a whole new level. Love the book, love the show, and love the questions about what it means to be a family, what can happen when a family turns against itself, what it means to be a ghost, either alive or dead, and, most importantly, how the trappings of a perfect life can turn into the ties that bind us down.

Sticky Toffee Pudding- This is a British thing, but I live and die for it and was recently reminded of how much I love it when my best friend begged me to make it for her, gluten free. It’s the perfect gooey sweet sheet cake, with to-die-for caramel toffee sauce. Please try this. This is my favorite recipe, from my favorite queen of internet food blogging, Deb Perelman. You can make it with Cup for Cup, a gluten free flour substitute, and it tastes essentially the same. >> http://bit.ly/2fE1OvW

Strange the Dreamer- Written by Laini Taylor, it’s a YA novel about a boy named Strange, the Dreamer. It’s a weird mix of pseudo-Egyptian Gods, alchemic research, and impossible puzzles that is both fascinating and, well, dream-like. It is unusual, the outlier in a field of run-of-the-mill stories, but it entranced me, and I eagerly await the sequel.

Nick Creamer

The Haunting of Hill House- Ostensibly based on the classic Shirley Jackson novel, Netflix’s Haunting of Hill House abandons the book’s narrative entirely, and instead tells a story about family, forgiveness, and the meaning of home, all filtered through the profoundly haunted titular house. Though the film’s dialogue can get a little clumsy, its evocative cinematography, psychologically scrambled cast, and sharp understanding of horror make it satisfying both for its thrills and its sympathetic emotional core. In a year I’ve spent binging whatever horror anthologies I can find, Hill House has risen to the top.

Offerings- As the follow-up to the staggering concept album White Lighter, Typhoon’s Offerings had some serious shoes to fill. The resulting album absolutely blew me away, with its comparatively stripped-down sound offering a harrowing journey through the steady disintegration of a fraying mind. Lines like “the part of you that I love is still in there, even if it doesn’t know my name” cut to the heart of watching a loved one fade away, and offered understanding in a very tough year. Offerings is a difficult listen, but it’s worth it.

Cooking- After a former housemate gifted me and my roommates a slow cooker last winter, we embarked on a lengthy journey to actually learn how to feed ourselves. After a long and arduous year of training, I am proud to say I can probably avoid incinerating a chicken at this point, and perhaps even prepare a soup. Getting there!

Kara Dennison

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch- I will never stop talking about this, and you can’t stop me. It’s my happy union of Charlie Brooker’s hardcore video game geekdom, my love of choice-based gaming, and my inexplicable desire to disturb myself at every given opportunity. It’s been at least a year since I lifted my hands off a keyboard and walked away because I was so affected. That’s how hard it got me.

Gabutto Burger- A recent trip to visit a friend in Illinois ended up with us at this anime fan-friendly burger place, run by a Japanese family and branded to the gills with mascot characters. It’s as close as I’m going to get (for now) to going to a collab café, plus the food was amazing.

The Night Before Critmas- I wish I had time for the full Critical Role experience, but their one-shots are just right for my schedule. This Christmas-skinned D&D campaign told the flipside of The Nightmare Before Christmas, with dangerously-skilled elves setting out to retrieve Santa from a legally-distinct talking bag of bugs. Their Crash Pandas campaign was no slouch, either.

Crunchyroll Social Media- This year I got to stick a toe in our social media department, running accounts for shows like Magical Girl Ore and How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord. I’ve loved getting to see what the fans enjoy and find more for them between episodes!

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And that's a wrap for Crunchyroll Favorites 2018! Thanks for joining us for this three-parter, and we'll see you next year! If you're in the mood for more CR Favorites, here are the links to past years' features:

Crunchyroll Favorites 2017 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2016 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2015 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2014 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2013 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2012 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll News' Best of 2011 Part One | Part Two

What were your favorite "everything else" parts of 2018? Remember, this is a FAVORITES list, not a BEST-OF list, so there are no wrong answers--sound off in the comments and share your favorites!

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Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. His comic, Shaw City Strikers, launches January 15, 2019.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com