#we have good rep pre Disney

[ice-6caydesqueen]

Boba fett is straight

Luke skywalker is straight

Good day

(The amount of gay lesbian bi characters we have in the eu and swtor is great yet people ignore them)

Official art pre Disney

[lokiinmediasideblog]

1 + 12 :D

The Loki fandom has more schisms than the Catholic church at this point. So I'll give multiple answers for the main schisms (pre-Loki series and including it).

character everyone gets wrong. If it's pre-Loki series and such, I think it's both Thor and Loki. And there's many variations of it. I think any characterization that flattens one into just good and the other as bad misunderstands these morally gray characters. With Loki, he's portrayed as a waifish and bookish boring character that can't fight/kill/or lie which takes the fun out of it and makes him seem rather pathetic and not!Loki complimented with either a sunshine himbo savior Thor or brutish evil Thor. With Thor, he's the precious sunshine cinnamon-roll with a purity of heart contending with Christ with either the waifish Loki, comedically murderously evil Loki, or just plain cruel Loki which makes Thor seem dumb and ridiculously gullible. The former is more popular in Tumblr in general, but casuals interpret it as the latter usually. And the comics pre-reincarnation have a lot of the plain cruel Loki with ridiculously gullible and Gary-Stu-ish Thor.

If we're including the Loki series, I'd say Mobius. I can't recognize him in most fanfics (and as such I don't read much Lokius) because most refuse to engage with the darker cannon aspects of his characterization and try to turn Lokius into Ineffable Husbands 2.0 which have nothing in common apart from some superficial level of edgy gothy man + white-haired desk job dude. This guy had access to every instance of Loki's life. Isn't that creepy? And he's responsible for the capture and pruning of many variants. There should be more fic where he's conflicted about his actions. Granted, I have a fanfic where he's terrible (dark!Mobius) and I specify it on the tags. I think the only time it's not annoying to mischaracterize characters is if the author is aware and warns of it in the tags because they're in a kick.

2. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them. I don't like telling people to like characters. I'll defend them if they get things wrong about them, but it just feels guilt-trippy to me. I know I get annoyed when people get guilt trippy for not caring about the W3 or Sif as much as I care for Loki (who has way more screentime and lines). Pre-Loki series, I think I like Heimdall more than the average Loki fan. I like that he also commits treason against Odin, not just Loki. I think the implications of the All-Sight make him interesting, though he doesn't have that much screentime. I like to portray him as conflicted over his responsibilities, and if I need some Gatekeeper to be an asshole to Loki, I make one up that preceded Heimdall and is responsible for Loki's overall dislike of Gatekeepers and why he learned to hide from the All-sight.

I understand why it happens because seeing everything is rather invasive and we live in a society with increased surveillance every fucking year. But I wish to avoid the "Black character is racist to fantasy race" trope. You can justify Loki learning to hide without pulling that trope, you know? Make up a gatekeeper before Heimdall (I'm not convinced he knew Loki was Jotun and that'd mean he was hired after Loki was adopted). You can make a story. I have plenty of HCs about Loki's distrust of Gatekeepers and that Heimdall was hired after a Noodle incident involving Loki that caused the previous Gatekeeper to quit. It's more interesting than just pure fantasy racism from the start.

If we're including the Loki series:

The character I think was unfairly hated was Sylvie. I say this for the level of vitriol the poor actress received. It's fine not to like Sylvie, but a lot of those posts claiming SdM and Sylvie are single-handedly responsile for "bad rep" when SdM has no influence on the script and it's a DISNEY show (notorious for executive meddling) is unfair and pointing fingers at the wrong direction. FOR THE MCU DISNEY+ SERIES THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE SHOWRUNNERS! THIS IS A VERY BAD PRACTICE AND INDICATIVE THEY'RE JUST CHURNING SHIT OUT!

I'm also of the opinion that the comics have more harmful tropes than the show's "self-cest" (specifically talking about Loki stealing Sif's body and Amora and Lorelei's noncon powers M.O.) but I often see the same people praising one and not the other because they think the comic book designs are more stylish. If the shoe doesn't fit, I'm not talking about you. BTW. Just some people I've seen.

[fandomrelatedshowerthoughts]

Hot take: “too much corporate influence is bad” and “forced indie-ness is bad” can both be true. As some examples of what I mean by forced indie-ness, here’s some things I saw around Tumblr that inspired me to make this (one of these isn’t technically about fandom but I think you get the point in all three)

This person making a metaphor comparing the MCU (and what might have gotten shelved because of it) to McDonalds “taking over” towns and closing diverse mom-and-pop restaurants etc. but with rhetoric that seemed to imply a solution to which the restaurant equivalent would be blowing up all McDonalds locations and the corporate headquarters (employees would be allowed to leave the actual restaurants beforehand, corporate not so lucky) and building a bunch of ethnic restaurants in their place and if a worker from a minority race is out of a job never fear as there is now a restaurant serving their ethnic food near them that they and their family will be forced to be running (along with any other employees of that race that are “overflow” from who’s assigned to other restaurants of that ethnicity in that community who’d have to pretend they are family or friends of the family running) and being forced to not only keep up authenticity but keep the we-are-not-a-fancy-corporation look up in all places where there isn’t something cultural they could put there (mismatched furniture, over-checkout-signage written on a chalkboard etc.)

This Lin-Manuel Miranda stan who made a positive claim/argument/whatever-this-is weirder than any negative ones I’ve seen his haters make about him; that instead of doing things like Disney soundtracks (no mention of his actual stage shows but presumably this guy likes In The Heights and maybe Bring It On but hates Hamilton because that’s what blew him up), Lin-Manuel Miranda should have been some kind of weird YouTuber doing StarKid-esque (but not as a part of them of course) stuff and making parodies and stuff like that and this appearance he apparently did on MBMBAM was “peak Lin-Manuel Miranda” (in terms of the kind of star this person thinks he should be). And this stan’s reasoning for wanting to basically lock his career in an indie box, well, this guy didn’t use the “Tumblr fandom terms” but it was essentially that he’s too “skrunkly scrimblo” to be involved with big corporate media (which apparently applies to Disney but not YouTube).

(the one that’s two points in one because they’re connected) While I see the point of the haters of rainbow capitalism, I think some people kinda take the whole “the first pride was a riot” narrative to too much heart and almost lose the the gay part (other than who’s doing it and jokes about “gay wrath month”) in favor of envisioning metaphorically (but only metaphorically because that’s not literally all the kinds of “killing and violence and killing and violence” they want to commit in the name of the cause) throwing bricks at cops until the streets run red with their blood. The other kinda-connected thing because it’s also a thing that’s against rainbow capitalism technically is this post I saw talking about how “good queer content” can never be found in mainstream media but things like (to paraphrase despite the quotes) “pre-code novels you’d probably never read” “foreign-language movies you’d be too turned off by the language-barrier to watch” “obscure YouTube series made by a friend of a friend” etc. in a tone that suggests if e.g. the YouTube series blew up or the foreign film got an English-language remake that changed nothing script-wise but the obvious cultural-marker stuff but kept the gay romance intact they’d automatically cease to be good queer rep because too many people liked them

[bumpscosity]

Star tours update speculation I’m only posting so I have evidence I thought of it on my own if it shows up on the ride

Opening villains:

It would be cool to have some NON-FORCE USING villains as openers, thrawn is a big one but I feel like tarkan would be fun too

THE EMPEROR WOULD BE SO COOL HE FORCE LIGHTNINGS YOUR SHIP AND-

GREVIOUS OR MAUL

Mixing up the formulas always fun, maybe bad guys are coming to stop you but a hero comes and force pushes the speeder out of there :O

Destinations:

lothal and you get lothcats on your ship and r2 has to get them off also phoenix squad helps you get out of there

second planet space battle destination where you dont immediately leave hyperspace and instead see purgills while you’re jumping and r2 makes you follow them instead so you’re in this big battle and there’s purgills destroying ships and shit

can you tell ive been rewatching rebels

Geonosis/boba fett style space fight but it’s mando trying to kill you instead or maybe he’s helping you idk

pre-empire florum and hondos in his cool ufo actively trying to shoot down your speeder and possibly kill you bc the spy has a dead-or-alive bounty on their head <3

surprised this one hasn’t been done but the droid factory from the prequels would be SO fun

DEATH STAR TRENCH RUN BRING IT BACKKKKKK </3

hear me out on this one but mortis would be so fucking funny considering this ride is like half canon

Battu as both a planet 1 AND planet 2 option both obviously completely different tho

Corellia where you happen to be there while the falcon is there smuggling coaxium for hondo the resistence

Camino, doesn’t even matter when in the timeline however being chased down by clones would be fun

I know the whole joke is that you never make it to endor but how funny would it be if it was a planet 1 option. It’s literally the first place you go however things go so wrong that you go to 2 other planets and NEVER make it back to endor.

I know coruscant is already an option (and I love it) but id LOVE an option for the lower levels, maybe you’re being chased by a bounty hunter like cad bane or fennec or something.

Castilon with the colossus????? I know nobody gives a fuck about resistance but I do <3

Cad bane……

Mandalore, I’m torn because a pre-bombing era where maybe deathwatch is trying to kill you (as they do) would be great but post-bombing is SO pretty with all the crystals. Maybe we can have both if we ask disney nicely. Alternate idea that could also be thrown into either of these you’re in the caves and the mythosaur almost eats you :O

Transmissions:

Ezra my good friend Ezra

Chopper >:) more droid chaos

Hera obviously

Speaking of obvious AHSOKA

I know these holograms are pointing out the resistance/rebel/republic spy but I want hondo to be crammed into as many parts of this ride as possible. He’s buddy-buddy (as buddy-buddy as you can get with hondo) with chewie so maybe that’s something idk

filoni put star tours into a canon piece of media (rebels) so I think it’s only fair star tours returns the favor. plo koon transmission.

captain rex (droid)

captain rex (clone)

galaxys most hated man saw gerrera??? I feel like his transmission would be boring but we need more holograms so bad I can’t keep getting admiral ackbar i love him but I need something else </3

yeager and maybe buckets there too….. resistance needs more rep

Generally more prequel characters would be fun, especially since r2 and 3po know so many of them from tcw

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

top 5 ouat moments? i've only seen a few eps but everything i've heard about the show is wild so i'm curious

jesus christ let's go

first and foremost I would be absolutely refuckingmiss if I didn't talk about Emma and stupid fucking eyeliner Captain Hook absolutely sucking face in the goddamn cursed jungles of Neverland while an absolutely demonic Peter Pan was skittering around abducting children. absolutely insane payoff to that sexual tension. this woman's annoying 12 (???) year old has been abducted by his own shit-eating immortal great-grandfather and she has this absolute mess of a wet one-handed man dragging himself after her in 700 pounds of leather rambling about how he's in love with her because they have the same abandonment issues... and he was right. she truly said fuck it I will climb this particular leather-bound tree don't mind if I do. this might as well happen. most desperate make out ever aired on a network that doesn't allow kissing with tongue. goth kings do not despair there is a jock gf out there for you and if you go on enough stupid little adventures together she WILL want to peg you.

do you guys remember when Belle went off on an adventure by herself for a episode and she had the absolute KICKIEST little leather booty shorts outfit you ever did see? god. a fashion icon. and then she met this flamboyant CGI Lumiere which absolutely no goddamn sense because he wasn't even, like, IN the Beast's castle because the Beast was just Rumplestiltskin and he had a completely different deal but OUAT was only kept alive through the goodwill of terminally unhinged Disney adults so they had to pepper in little movie references no matter how misplaced and inexplicable they were? okay good now that we've layed the groundwork for that one let's talk about this:

when Elsa and the cast of Frozen showed up as major supporting characters for an entire arc in goddamn live action LESS THAN A YEAR after the movie came out. hello??? HELLO??? unhinged. also very funny how the show played exactly as fast and loose with Frozen as they did with all the older Disney fare up to and including introducing Elsa's Evil Ice Aunt Who No One Ever Mentioned Even Though She Has The Same Goddamn Powers Don't Worry About It.

okay sorry I've sat on this long enough but we simply MUST discuss that a not insignificant chunk of Rumpelstiltskin's backstory is that his wife left him for Captain Hook. and then however many decades later (like every fairy tale character in this show was 500 years old because of *magic* and no one talked about it) Captain Hook came back and. god you guys are not going to believe this. he came back, still the exact same age, and he cucked Rumplestiltskin's son (WHOMST HE ALSO MET AS A CHILD) with tremendous success. please see point #1 again. if you need a reminder. this is so funny and I will genuinely never get over it. this show is nothing but convoluted connections between public domain characters but that is by FAR the most insane. Henry better watch his fucking back when he grows up because this patrilineal is evidently cursed with Getting Cucked By Captain Hook Disease. "Makenzie that's crazy what are the odds it would happen a third time" WHAT ARE THE ODDS IT WOULD HAPPEN TWICE. of all the women you could have fallen gobsmackingly stupid in love with. it was your stepson's baby mama. idiot.

the final season finally coughing up some canon gay rep in its death throes but instead of getting a really popular existing ship like Mulan/Sleeping Beauty together or canonizing a beloved Disney character common headcanoned as queer like the aforementioned Elsa they decided to get Little Red Riding Hood together with never-before-seen Dorothy Wizardofoz in a 5 second scene that was disrespectful to Mulan, Aurora, the audience, and Dorothy's book gf Ozma.

and I'm like barely even scratching the surface here. OUAT is insane. a pre-MCU-fame Sebastian Stan is there for a few episodes. Star Wars is canon. there's an alternate universe based on classic horror instead of fairy tales and everything is black and white there. Christian Gray is a pretty significant character in season 1. Rapunzel showed up like three different times and was a a completely different character each time. Maleficent and Zorro had sex. Emma Stone wishes her Cruella had a SLIVER of what Victoria Smurfit was bringing to the role.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

https://youtu.be/NWzBX3OP234

Saw this and thinking of your criticism about Phase 4 of MCU

Hey sorry for the late response and thank you for sharing! Wow, that video was a roller-coaster of "hey I agree with that" and "oh holy no, shut up please" 😂

So first, the things I agree with. I really like this quote:

"There's an over emphasis on representation where instead of it being a strength for this phase it has become a crutch and a shield to any sort of criticism. Representation in phase 4 is being used as a threat, as if minorities have to like something simply based on the fact that their culture, religion, ethnicity or sexual identity is being represented".

We spoke about just that when it came to the Loki series ("a bit of both" is NOT representation), when Victoria Alonso claimed the negative reviews for Eternals only came from bigots, when some fans yell "racist!" or "misogynist!" or "homophobe!" if you dare to criticize a POC, woman or queer character while Marvel and Disney smile at how easily they can get the audience to believe they're progressive.

The toxicity in the MCU fandom is being fueled by Marvel and Disney, through some of their series and movies & in some interviews as well.

It has happened in Phase 4 far more than in previous phases, I'm not sure why the change happened but it sure feels like they want to use the so-called "representation" to make up for the lack of characterization and storybuilding - and if they did a good job with the rep that would be great, but they don't, it's always a line or something so convoluted that it sounds preachy instead of natural (this video has been the first time I've seen Jen and Bruce and wow it's really, really bad).

I also like this quote when she's discussing new characters:

"It feels unearned because until we get to know a person's weaknesses, their struggles, and see them work towards excellence we really don't care if they win"

I feel that way with Sylvie. We were told of her trauma but we never really see her struggling on-screen. They're so focused on showing how perfect she is that they refuse to give us even one weakness, choosing instead to make Loki weak beside her so she can rise above him and show how superior she is.

It's absolute nonsense. We've known these characters for years, why are they introducing new ones whose only purpose is to prove how much better they are than the old ones?

Now, those two are the things I agree with, but the video does take a nasty turn halfway.

Besides the fact that it's too biased in favour of the movies pre Phase 4 (they were not perfect at all, this downward spiral did not start last year, it did a few years before that) & the fact that she claims CW was about safety vs freedom (it wasn't, not even close), I don't think it's fair to take every single movie and show released in Phase 4 and claim they're all the same.

I noticed that the only time they mention Moon Knight is to talk about Layla and say she didn't earn her powers. I personally disagree but that's subjective, the point is: the OP doesn't mention anything about Marc. Why not? Because his characterization is brilliant, the entire plot is about him and he's never shown as weak or lesser than - it doesn't fit the narrative of the video so she doesn't mention it.

Same with WandaVision. Wanda is not framed as a good girl in the end and that scene the OP includes in the video of Monica showing compassion to her does not work and is not intended to work as an absolution, not at all.

That's the problem when you want to make a blanket statement about roughly 15 different movies and series, they're not the same and you can't. Like when she says TFATWS doesn't paint Karli as the villain (I don't know what show she watched but it did, oh Disney made sure of that) or when she says all men in Phase 4 are being talked down or treated as villains when that's not true at all (Loki and Stephen were but they had the same writer).

So yeah, overall I agree with what she says but I think at some point the video does go a little too overboard. Phew, that was long! (My reply is longer than the video! 😜😂)

[quill-and-chalk]

I think Dana’s post and the reaction to it really shows how little most people know about the TV, and TV Cartoon industry. I’m not an expert and this is gonna be a hot take but stay with me.

Dana said that season 3 was basically destined to get cut down since before agony of a witch, which could also mean Disney was planning this cut since before Grom. These two episodes were VITAL for TOH numbers, and without these numbers I gotta admit it probably wasn’t looking like TOH was going to a raging success. Of course we have hind sight and realize that this assumption was wrong but they didn’t have that.

On top of this, Disney approved of its first explicit WLW relationship which, while it’s well overdue, was still a big move for them because it meant that they didn’t care about this show being cut from certain countries. They were willing to lose that money in the first place, so why would they cut the show JUST because it had LGBT themes?

And I’m not saying that TOH having LGBT themes isn’t one of the reasons it got cut, but what I am saying is that from Disney’s perspective they were taking a BIG risk with this show. Disney is a company that is dependent on a “family-friendly” brand, which is one of the reasons why it has taken them sooo long to have a show with LGBT representation. If TOH’s viewership wasn’t astronomical (and remember a lot of the episodes released before they made their decision were pre-Covid so they are judging on episodes ratings before the major shift to streaming) then Disney probably was worried that they were taking this major branding risk by airing a show with demons, witchcraft, and (god forbid) gay people, for nothing.

This branding thing actually explains a lot, like how Amphibia is getting another season even though I’m pretty sure (and don’t quote me on this) it has worse numbers. Amphibia fits more into the Disney brand of bright fantasy than TOH does. Plus Amphibia doesn’t have gay people.

And honestly as a franchise TOH actually has a decent chance of being picked up again as either a spin off series or comic or something else. These are just some things that bring me hope and tell me that Disney hasn’t totally given up on the owl house. Disney broke the, albeit not very strict, 50 episode merch rule with its hot topic shirts and the funko pops that are going to be released. Also getting the notice of brands like Duolingo, who I still can’t believe posted fanart, and streamers like Tommy (I think he was the one that watched it though I might be wrong) is a big deal because this means TOH is a big enough show in the public eye to become even a small part of pop culture. Heck even the fact that a decent amount of TOH tik tok sounds are trending is a good sign.

Point is, we need to stop acting like this is purely because of LGBT rep or because Disney secretly hated the show (If the entire Disney company hated it why would they air it?) I feel like we need to realize that this decision, while stupid, was complex. Continue supporting the show, buy merch, and keep the fan base and online activity around this show active, because who knows what they might decide to do with the show.

This post was long and a mess because I made it in my math class but I hope it made some sense. I’m just tired of the crazy conspiracy theory’s y’all.

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x02 Review

Typecasting was another good ensemble ep (and the last filmed entirely pre-covid). Let’s dig in!

Lot’s of great humour this ep from Mazzara’s morning announcements to him dragging Ricky for being a flake, to Big Red’s office stare, to Carlos not being able to fake interest in Belle during the song

Ashlyn, Kourtney, and Gina’s audition was a lot of fun and was some great character growth for Gina who was so used to going solo and scheming to get her way

As was already leaked weeks ago, Ashlyn got Belle, Ricky is the Beast, and EJ is Gaston. For the most part we saw pretty safe casting choices. Ricky was always gonna get a lead role since he’s the male lead of the show and EJ is typecast in the meat head dumb jock roles like Gaston. A bolder show would have cast EJ as the Beast to flip the script a little but of course EJ had to be Gaston so that Ashlyn could be Belle. They had brief nod to it be sorta weird to have two cousins play unrequited love interests and I don’t expect it to be brought up much again (although let’s be real, a WASPy family like the Caswells definitely had some cousin marriages back in the day to keep the bloodline pure)

Tim’s reasoning for casting Ashlyn as Belle is that she doesn’t fit the image and body type of a Disney princess which is true and certainly by looks alone someone like Lily would typically have been a shoe in for Belle. But having the only white girl in the group being cast as Belle when her only competition was two black girls is pretty typical. It’s true that not many Belle’s look like Ashlyn but none look like Kourtney and Gina. It could be argued that it would be inaccurate to have a non-white Belle in rural 17th century France but it’s not like there were witches wandering around casting spells that turned noblemen and their servants into beasts and furniture in the Ancien Régime. HSMTMTS and Disney in general can sometimes do bold unexpected things that push boundaries and subvert expectations but most of the time they play it safe

The rini scenes were adorable tonight but man they hit different with Sour out now

Ricky rushing to help Big Red was sweet 

Also nice to see Nini supporting Kourtney when their friendship was more one sided in S1

Carlos really is rich if he’s buying 10 000 instagram followers for the drama dept account

Lily does have a lovely voice but she’s a real dick. From the ending scene she’s either transferring to North High or was a spy sent in by Zach Roy to scope out East High, which is really taking this show into Glee territory 

The YAC anthem actually slaps. This isn’t usually a subtle show and they’re not even trying to make it seem like Nini will stay at YAC. It’s a cold, rigid place with none of the warmth or camaraderie of East High . Where Miss Jenn trusts the process the Dean trusts the outcome. It looks from the June ep descriptions that Nini is back sooner rather than later thankfully and I’m curious what role she’ll end up getting in Beauty and the Beast

Looking Ahead:

Well Valentine’s day should be lit. Looks like the income gap between Seb and Carlos will come to the fore. I’m very curious to see if there will be a Seblos kiss this season. There’s no reason not to except Disney’s homophobia. Realistically if Tim can’t get a Seblos kiss approved then it’s very unlikely any other showrunner for less popular Disney shows with lgbtq rep will be able to get any same sex kisses approved

We get Howie’s introduction and there should be some sparks there between him and Kourtney. We also get Big Red wooing Ashlyn and Ricky and Nini’s comedy of errors with their Valentine’s gifts

The promo is making it look like Ricky is the one who got Gina the chocolates left on her porch. I would hope that it’s a misdirection of some sort and that there’s some mystery and drama to this plot. Like Gina thinking it was a gift from Ricky when it was from someone else or vice versa. Hopefully it’s not something lame like Ashlyn leaving it to cheer Gina up. If it’s a romantic gift then there aren’t many options: either Ricky, EJ, Howie, or Jack

Jack doesn’t seem to show up until near the end of the season and is likely only in an ep or two which doesn’t leave much time to do anything and who even knows if he knows who Gina is or where she lives. Howie’s description does say that he gets close with a wildcat or two which would fit Kourtney and Gina but again he likely doesn’t  know Gina yet or where she lives. We know she has tension still with Ricky but that’s pretty shady of Ricky to give another girl a Valentine’s gift when he’s trying to make things work long distance with Nini. There was a hint towards Gina liking EJ in 1x10 and the facetime call between them before S2 also hinted to some feelings there but they haven’t done much of anything with Gina and EJ, or really anything with EJ so far this season. Well I can’t wait to see how things shake out

Until next week wildcats

[roastyoualive-archive]

Meta meme: What was school like when he was younger? Was he bullied? An outcast? Was it hard to control his powers when he was younger as opposed to now?

send me a topic to write a meta about my muse on || ALWAYS Accepting

Well, now, that depends on what you mean by ‘when he was younger’. He was in third grade when his dad got arrested. But, before that, Warren was really a different person. He was never hugely outgoing, was never really an extrovert, but he was definitely- lighter. Not as weighed down by the world.

Happier.

When Warren first went to school, he attended Bayshore Public. It was a small but nice primary school not too far from the Peaces’ house on Pinegrove. He’d made a few friends in Sunny Hills (the daycare/pre-school he went to) who also attended Bayshore, so that helped. Some of them were even in his class! And his teacher was really nice, too. Mrs. Amanda Jenkins, an older woman who had done a lot of travelling in her youth. When she taught geography, she brought in little trinkets and souvenirs from all over the world for the kids to see, and she had ‘community projects’ where she’d get the kids to help with local fundraisers to build a well for a small village overseas. When she got a letter about and photograph of the well from the organisation she was working with, she showed it to the class and used it to show them not only how connected everyone was, but also how little good things can add up to a really big, really important good thing. 

By the end of that first year, Warren already had two best friends at Bayshore. Their names were Grant McGraw and Sam White. Grant and Warren had gone to Sunny Hills together, and had been friends for ‘ages’, as they’d put it (’maybe even forever!’). Sam hadn’t gone to Sunny Hills, but he HAD run up to Warren on the Bayshore playground, tapped his shoulder, and yelled ‘TAG - you’re it!’ before bounding away, and, well- They were little kids. That’s all it took. Grant, Warren, and Sam almost always shared a mat during Listening Time. They’d compete to see who could build the biggest block towers (Grant usually won) and debate over which truck was best (Warren usually voted for the red one, because it had the biggest and shiniest wheels. The other two agreed this was a very valid point) and how many LEGOs it would take to build a real rocket ship like the ones at NASA (Sam thought maybe twenty boxes, but only if it was Star Wars LEGOs). Sometimes, they’d go over to each others’ houses on the weekends. He always had to let Mama and Papa know early if he was going to have friends over. 

See, just like his dad, Warren got his powers very young. (Penny didn’t, and she was oddly grateful she’d had to wait for adolescence.) Baron and Penny knew they could mitigate Warren’s powers when they were around, but also knew they weren’t always going to be right there. So, ever since he’d first shown his powers, they’d drilled into his head that they were a secret. ‘Don’t use your powers in public’ was drilled into his head along with ‘don’t get in the car with strangers’ and ‘don’t run off where we can’t see you’. They’d explained as well that if people knew what he could do, they might have to move to a new house and a new school, and Warren didn’t like that idea, so he kept it under wraps. Every day after school, or after going out with his friends, Baron or Penny (whoever was closest when they got home) would ask him if he kept their secret. Whenever he said yes, he’d get a sticker, a treat, to stay up a bit later, or even a family movie night (Disney movies, usually). To help with this, when they had a moment, Baron would take Warren into the fireproof garage and let him use his powers as much as he wanted - even give him some pointers. He knew how awful it was to keep fire bottled up, and didn’t want that for Warren, so insisted he get some sort of outlet for it. Penny thought it was a great idea, as long as it was safe and supervised. They’d play games, experiment, or just burn as much energy as they could, to help naturally curb Warren’s desire to power up outside of home. So, thankfully, none of Warren’s friends knew, not even Grant and Sam. 

Of course, those two weren’t his only friends - just his best friends. There was also Lacy Chai - his future coworker, and the granddaughter of his future bosses (she helped him get the job). He stuck up for her once when she was being picked on, and that was that. They briefly got teased for ‘dating’, but that didn’t last long. Kids moved on. Mindy Fenter had the best coloured pencils, so everyone wanted to be her friend. She had a crush on Grant, and so let Sam and Warren use her colours too so he’d like her better. Ben Olsen was another Sunny Hills alumnus, and sometimes he and Warren traded snacks. Andy Walker was the funniest kid in class, so everyone liked him, and sometimes he’d play tag and keep-away and four-square with Sam and Warren and Grant. Jessie Sanderson was the best at monkey bars, and a few times she gave the three of them tips on how to do it better and the best ways to climb up to the very top - the part the grown-ups said they weren’t supposed to be on, but never really stopped them from sitting there once they got up. Grant’s older sister, Gina, would make them sandwiches when they were at Grant’s house and she was really nice, and Grant and Gina’s oldest brother Graham would set up games on his N64 and let the three of them play if they promised to be careful, so Warren considered them friends, too. But, not everyone was that nice. There was a bully in their year. His name was Ulysses Harper. He was the tallest in the class, but Warren was almost the same height as him (and ended up being taller, in later years), so for the most part, Ulysses left him alone. Besides, it’s easier to go after solo targets, and the Three Amigos were basically inseparable. (Interesting fact, Ulysses would go on to work as an [unpowered] petty thief for the Battalion, under the command of Saul Springfield, before staying a brief stint in juvie, re-inventing himself as a life coach and motivational speaker, and getting a teaching degree. He returned to Bayshore to teach fifth grade, and was known by all of the kids as one of the nicest teachers in school.)

I like to think that, in a world where Baron wasn’t arrested, it would have continued on like that. The three of them: Side, by side. … By side. They would’ve stayed best friends all throughout elementary school. They’d learn how to skateboard together, be on the same soccer teams over summer, and spend so much time at Livewire Arcade they’d be on a first-name basis with the owner (Vince Upton). They’d have snowball fights in winter and cram like sardines so they could all fit on one lift on the school ski trips (and almost get stuck at least once, almost fall off at least twice). They’d graduate together and be in at least five pictures in the end-of-year slideshow, cheesing it up like the doofuses young kids are supposed to be. They’d all go to Trinity Prep for middle school; Grant was technically outside of school limits, but he begged his parents enough to fill out the paperwork for it, and Gina (who was taking a few years off to help save up for college) agreed to drive him there in the morning, since it was on the way to her job, anyways. The three of them would have a sleepover at Sam’s to celebrate this (he had the biggest basement). Grant and Sam would convince Warren to audition for school plays, and Grant and Warren would convince Sam to go to football try-outs, and Sam and Warren would make sure to actually listen to announcements when Grant became the student council rep. (Another sleepover at Casa de Sam to celebrate this; his parents weren’t surprised anymore when Sam walked in with the other two trailing behind. None of their parents were.) Every Halloween, they’d go out together - coordinated costumes in later years - and pool their candy; Gifts were exchanged every Christmas, cards every Valentines’, and their parents had swapped so many recipes at Thanksgiving that nobody could remember who made what, most years. At one of Grant’s family Christmas parties, a Chipmunks special would come on, and the boys would manage to untie one of the helium balloons and laugh themselves to tears while their parents had wine and talked about whatever boring stuff grown-ups bothered with. Sam and Grant would be disappointed at Warren not going to the same high school as them, but offer a mixture of congratulations and ‘O most learned Lord Warren of Peacefordshire!’ jokes about him going to some fancy ‘private school’, and, of course, they’d agree to hang out over the summer and weekends. Sam and Grant would go to the Lantern to pester him (He’d still work there, just not as often), they’d get together in Warren’s back yard (the biggest of the three) or the park behind Bayshore to play rugby (Sam was best at it, so Grant enlisted Graham - studying to be a gym teacher - for help, and eventually they got enough local kids in to make an unofficial ‘team’), and for a week every summer they’d drive up to Grant’s folks’ cottage to just hang out. It’d be during one of these week-long getaways that Warren would reveal his powers to his friends. They were only upset that he’d waited so long to tell them, and thought it was SO COOL that their best friend was a SUPERHERO, and also, WOW, the fire thing really made your dog’s name make sense (’So THAT’S where ‘Matchstick’ came from! Can’t believe we never figured it out.’ ‘... Yeah, because ‘super powers’ is the obvious conclusion.’). It was also during one of these stays that Sam and Warren would share their first kiss. Grant was a little awkward about being a third wheel, but got over it before that trip was even over. He’d say to Warren, ‘Hey, Sam’s my brother. Don’t hurt him.’ And before Warren could respond turn and say to Sam, ‘Hey, Warren’s my brother. Don’t–’ ‘He’s a superhero, Grantwell, how the hell do I-’ ‘You know what I mean, Sammy!’ and then it’d dissolve into a wrestling match-turned-water fight when the super soakers get brought out. Sam and Warren would take a brief (amicable) break from dating during senior year, but would get together again after only a week or two when they figured they didn’t need to see who else was out there and experimenting wasn’t for them. They’d have a graduation party at Grant’s new place (now HE had the bigger downstairs, Sammy! / That’s dirty, Grantwell / Guys shut UP my mom is RIGHT THERE / Oh sh– Hi, Mrs. P!) and crash on the couch/floor/wherever they felt like. They’d do donuts in the now-vacant parking lot of Livewire when Baron and Penny buy Warren a car as his grad gift and do rock-paper-scissors to decide who got to pick the radio station, next. They’d see every High School Musical movie when it came out without knowing why they enjoyed them so much. Warren would go off to university, as would the others, but they’d stay in contact, and whenever he had time off, he’d be back at Maxville with them. They’d help each other study for tests and surprise the others by driving up to their respective dorms with food (’Pizza delivery!’ ‘This is the weirdest damn pizza I’ve ever seen.’ ‘Shut up, Warhead, I did my best.’ ‘It’s a salad.’ ‘… A pizza’s a kind of salad.’ ‘You’re such a moron. C’mon in.’ ‘Apologize to the pizza first.’). Sam and Grant would buy tickets to Warren’s graduation. (He returned the favour and attended both of theirs, too. They all have three graduation photos on their dressers, each with the three of them in a different school and an only slightly different pose.) When it became legal, Warren and Sam would get married. Nobody would be surprised. Penny would cry, Baron would make a speech that was, quite frankly, much less threatening than people would expect from a former supervillain, Grant would be best man and use all of the vocational skills he learned in middle school to make the best speech he could and pretend he wasn’t getting misty-eyed, just a little drunk. He’d fool nobody. Grant would marry a girl he met at college, Francisca ‘Fran’ Lowell-McGraw, and they’d have two daughters: Ginger (’Ginny’) and Clementine (’Clem’), both of whom would be absolutely spoiled by Uncles Warren and Sam. They’d be walking home from the gym one night when Grant suddenly remembers and lets them know that, hey, guess who’s Clem’s teacher this year? Ulysses! … The one we went to school with– Yes, I’m sure, how many guys named ‘Ulysses’ do you know? And then they’d get in contact with him. He’d apologize for being a jerk when they were kids, they’d tell him dude, that was like, thirty years ago, it’s cool, and they’d all go for drinks at Callahan’s, the bar that had opened in the same spot Livewire used to be. Dr. Warren Peace, practicing psychologist, would get a call to go deal with ‘some problems’ that Grant McGraw, local radio host, and Sam Peace, foreman of a construction crew, would have rehearsed excuses for (’Oh, man. Did the office server shut down AGAIN?’ ‘You really gotta get an IT guy on that, babe.’) before he ducked out to let the vigilante super Hellraiser make an appearance and keep Maxville safe. He’d live a pretty normal life for a super, and he’d be happy. 

But, as we all know, that didn’t happen. Baron didn’t get to retire. Warren’s life was far from normal. And Warren wasn’t happy. 

Baron was arrested just before Warren’s seventh birthday. Literally, the day before. It took a bit of time for it all to sink in. What do you mean, Dad’s not coming home? Dad always comes home! He’s probably just at work, or on another business trip, like the one he went on last year with Uncle Saul, or- Or maybe he’s getting a really BIG present and it’s just taking a while to get here! He’ll be back, Mama. Just you wait. 

And wait Warren did. 

Every day, by the door. He’d bring his snacks there, books, toys, anything to while the hours away. He just had to be there when Dad got home. Didn’t want to miss it. And that started cutting in to after-school hang-outs with his friends. Nah, he can’t go to Sam’s pool party, sorry, guys. It’s okay, though, ‘cause he’s not that good a swimmer, anyway. He doesn’t wanna go to Grant’s tree-house for ghost stories. He doesn’t wanna go play tag. He doesn’t even want to be in school, and it was getting hard to focus when he was there. He just wants his Dad back. So he waits. It was about two weeks before it started to sink in that Baron was Gone. Another week and a half before Warren fully realized it. He didn’t really understand why at the time. Sure, people tried to explain it to him, but it didn’t make sense. They kept telling him dad was a bad person, and that wasn’t true. They were lying. Dad had always been a good dad. A great dad, even. And he always came home. But not this time.

Losing a parent is hard. It’s even worse when you’re young. Warren was a mess of emotions as he struggled with his father’s arrest. Anger, confusion, fear, grief, maybe even some guilt. He didn’t know how to explain or communicate any of this, though. He was seven. And kids can be cruel. When Ulysses smelled blood in the water, he pounced. Boys aren’t supposed to cry, Warren. What are you, some kind of wimp? A sissy? A baby? Why don’t you go crying home to mommy and daddy, huh? … That was the first time Warren got into a fight. It was also the first time Ulysses Harper, age seven, had the fear of God put into him. Nobody had been around to see it. Ulysses had been class bully for two years, now, and had long since learned to make sure the grown-ups were away before picking his victims. So nobody could really explain how those burns got on his shoulders. Most people just assumed that Warren had to have shoved Ulysses into one of the heaters. Penny knew better, of course, and had plenty of time to talk to Warren about it, seeing as he got suspended for a few days. He protested this. It wasn’t his fault! He hadn’t started it, and he hadn’t meant to-! Penny did the best she could to hear him out, but have a serious talk about proper use of powers. Warren was only half-listening. There was too little notice to book a sitter for the days he was out of school, so he spent most of the time sulking behind his mom’s desk while she was at work. Not much to do there except read (which he normally liked, but wasn’t in the mood for), colour (which he couldn’t focus on), or think. He had a lot to think about. He thought about how unfair the punishment was. He thought about how much he was starting to hate school. He thought about how much he missed his dad. … He thought a lot about his dad. Everyone seemed convinced he was a bad person. Warren didn’t think he was bad. In fact, he’d been Warren’s hero. Warren had wanted to be just like him when he grew up. … Did that make him a bad person, too? Penny tried to assure him that it didn’t, but everybody else seemed to think so. He could tell. 

It was obvious, after all, especially at school, when he finally went back. Teachers were a bit more tight-lipped around him. Kids gave him a wider berth. Grant and Sam were unsure of how to handle it. They noticed the change in their friend, of course. They were children, and kids are often much smarter than we tend to give them credit for. But they were only in second grade. They didn’t know words like ‘trauma’ and ‘depression’. Nobody had thought they’d need to. They were only in second grade. They didn’t know why Warren was so upset. They tried to talk to him a few times. Even tried to invite him to play with them. But he didn’t do much talking in return, and even snapped at them, once. (Felt awful for it immediately after, but the damage was done). Parents were less inclined to invite him to their houses after news of the Ulysses incident spread. Though he never got up in Warren’s face again, Ulysses was in fact guilty of contributing to the whispers that circulated the lunch hall. It was these whispers - and the stares - that made Warren not want to eat with the other kids. He’d usually spend lunch hiding in the library or the washrooms. He never let anyone see him cry again. When people started getting louder in their jeers, he’d turn on them until they learned to keep their words hidden away behind his back. He still heard them. Everyone knew what they said about Warren Peace. That kid was trouble. Dangerous. Good-for-nothing. He’d end up in juvie someday, if he was lucky. What a shame. His poor mother. 

The thing about hearing that sort of thing often enough is, eventually, you start to believe it, yourself. So, Warren did. Penny tried to convince him otherwise. She told him she loved him, and not to listen to them, that she was proud of who he was and how strong he was being and that no matter what anybody said, he was a good person. That didn’t stop him from blaming himself when they lost the house. He’d given away their secret, after all. 

Moving around so much didn’t help things, any. The shelters and apartments he and Penny ended up into were usually in less-than-nice areas of town and brought with them a lot of noise and chaos. School became the only ‘peace’ he got. So, even if people tried so socialize with him (they didn’t), he wouldn’t want any part of it. He wanted to have some time to breathe, and read, and sleep during breaks. Even if people wanted to invite him over or hang out after school (they didn’t), he wouldn’t be able to have them at his place, and he didn’t really have the transportation to get around, any more. When he got involved with the school lunch programs, new whispers got thrown in. He was the Poor Kid, now. People started turning their noses up at him. One kid - Jack Osgood, who’d transferred to Bayshore in fifth grade - thought it would be hilarious to knock his lunch tray out of his hands. Warren, who had never said a word to Jack, had hardly even looked at him, but who had been looking forwards to that ham sandwich and Minute Maid (meat and juice are expensive), punched him in the jaw so hard Jack fell into Becky Lowell, and then the lunch room was chaos. Warren got another detention. He didn’t get another lunch. The teachers didn’t care who started it or why. They never did. Warren had learned pretty early that he had to deal with this stuff, himself. Trying to get help from the faculty only ever made things worse. So, he explained what happened to his mom, when she finally showed up, and only really felt bad for disappointing her. Well, and for making Becky spill her fruit punch. No, he hadn’t wanted to get into a fight with Jack. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to be left alone. ... And his sandwich. Of course, teachers didn’t see it, that way. Neither did the other kids. Safe to say, Warren had just ruined his chances of making any friends at Bayshore. At least people did leave him alone, after that. Jack had a bruise for more than a week that reminded people why that was a good idea. Warren didn’t care. They’d be graduating soon, anyways. (Nobody signed his year book. Not even Mr. Richards, the homeroom teacher. Warren threw it in the recycling on the way home.)

When he was twelve, Lacy got him a job at the Paper Lantern. Warren’s still not sure what possessed her to reach out to him. They weren’t exactly friends. She was a bubbly socialite, on the mathlete and cheer squads. He was the guy nobody wanted to be anywhere near, and he couldn’t afford extra-curriculars. In reality, Lacy felt bad for him. She didn’t think he was as bad as people said. She still remembered when he stuck his neck out for her way back in first grade. Sure, she didn’t get what he was going through, but she wanted to help, so she offered him a job. Warren was twelve, and had spent the last five years learning how to best live off food stamps and minimal cash. He’d seen how stressed mom was. ... He felt like a lot of that was his fault. So, of course he took her up on the offer. She made a case to her grandparents, and he was hired as a dishwasher. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and about all he could do at that age. He’d also realized that he’d probably never get into college without a scholarship. They’d never be able to afford it. Not in a million years. And he’d decided long ago what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to be a psychologist, and he wanted to help people. You need a degree for that. So, when Warren wasn’t at school, he was working (Up to forty hours a week, by the time he’s a teenager). When he wasn’t working, he’d be studying. Sometimes, he’d even bring his books to the ‘Lantern, and be reading while he was up to his elbows in soap suds and dirty flatware. The people at the local library knew him well, but, that was about it as far as new relationships. A schedule like that doesn’t leave a lot of time for socializing. 

Warren graduated Bayshore without much fanfare. He moved on to Trinity Prep middle school. ‘Go, Titans’. By this point, Warren was growing his hair out. He was wearing his typical darker colour scheme. Black was easier to keep clean, and didn’t catch soot and smoke stains as easily. Black was also always in ready supply at the second-hand stores. And, as a bonus, it reinforced an image that kept people at bay. Sam went to Trinity, too, but he and Warren hadn’t really spoken in years. (Grant ended up going to Our Lady of Providence, a Catholic middle school. His family wasn’t religious, but, hey, it was closer and had a better computer sciences program, which is what his parents wanted him to go into, so.) In a way, Warren was glad for the new school. Not as many people knew him, here. Not as many people cared. Warren appreciated the isolation. The breathing room. Work was busy. He and his mom still hadn’t found an apartment that stuck (but they were getting close). He didn’t mean to keep setting off the fire alarms. He got better with his powers as the years went by. It was a struggle, though. Yes, Penny was an elemental, too, but she did water and wind (mainly water), not fire. He had to figure a lot of things out for himself. They’d always thought Baron would be the one to teach his son how to control his pyrokinesis, but, of course, he wasn’t around to do that, any more. And the older Warren got, the more he was starting to learn why that was. It was really-- Polarizing for him, if that’s the word I’m looking for. Now, I could write a doctoral thesis on Warren’s feelings about his dad, and how weird it is for him and how it probably would have been better, almost, if Baron had been a horrible father and made Warren hate him from the get-go, but this is about Warren’s school life and (lack of) friends, so I’ll just say it became even more of a touchy subject than before. 

One of the many things Trinity had that Bayshore didn’t was Career Day. 

Warren had been dreading it since it had first been announced. He knew Mom wouldn’t be able to take time off to come in. And, Dad? Warren hadn’t seen him in almost six years. It’d be a damn miracle if he turned up for it. Probably a federal crime, too. So he didn’t bother telling Mom about it. He didn’t want her feeling guilty about it - she had enough to worry about. He managed to slip away when everyone else was filing into class after the first break, and snuck off campus. For the next hour, he wandered idly around the neighbourhood. Nobody tried to stop him. He was always tall for his age and old for his youth, and that - combined with his perpetual scowl - made people pay him no mind. A typical delinquent. Of course he wasn’t in school. Best keep your distance. He returned to school about an hour later, and when the teacher (Josephine LaRose) asked where he was, he shrugged and told her he’d just not been feeling well. As always, the other kids started to talk. Some of them said he’d ditched to smoke, others to sell drugs. And his parents hadn’t shown up! Oh, the rumours that flew, then. In any other setting than a public school, they could’ve been called slander. Nobody ever said anything to his face, though. Gossip had spread from some of the Bayshore alumni, and as gossip tended to do, it had been embellished and enhanced until the other kids were terrified of Warren. They didn’t want to end up drinking their burgers through a straw like Jack Osgood, after all. (Jack, for the record, had never needed to liquefy his food. He was totally fine over at Westwood Middle School, and barely remembered ever meeting Warren Peace.) So Warren only heard whispers in passing. Usually, a glare and a ‘what was that?’ was enough to shut them up. He didn’t really care if they were talking about him. Let them talk. He was used to it. But nobody knew his father like he did (and, given that these kids weren’t in the super community, they didn’t know him at all) and heaven help anyone he caught speaking ill of his mother. She had enough to deal with without some snot-nosed punk speculating about how she earned a living. He didn’t regret scaring those kids, nor did he care about the lectures he got as a result. Leave him alone, leave her alone, and he’d leave them alone. He thought it was fair. Honestly, if it wasn’t for his 4.0 average (which all of the teachers were sure had to be a mistake) making the school’s test scores look good, they probably would have expelled him. It wasn’t even that he got into that many fights - he didn’t, not really. You could count the number of actual physical altercations he got into on one hand and have fingers left over. He was never disruptive in class. Never talked back to the teachers (or really talked at all, if he didn’t have to). Always turned in his homework completed and on time. But- He was a bad kid. Just look at him. He’s Trouble, capital T, and the sooner he got out of that school, the better for everyone else. 

And he did get out. 

He graduated Trinity Prep and skipped the convocation. Went to work, instead. Rent Day was coming up. After a lot of moving around, eventually, a letter would arrive telling him he got into an exclusive high school, but- We’ve all seen how that worked out for him, so, for now, I’ll end this here.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #461

Top Ten Good Things That Actually Happened in 2020

Well, thank God that’s over, am I right?

It feels kinda weird to be sitting here looking back over the wreckage and general weirdness of 2020, a year that pretty much defines the word “anxiety”. I have a lot to be thankful for: none of us died, for a start; we all seemed to avoid The Plague in its entirety for the whole year. We still have a house, we still have food, we always had enough toilet paper, and above all we had each other. It was hard, it was long, it sucked a great deal at times, but there are substantially worse hands to be dealt all things considered.

Anyway, amongst all the crap, there were some good things, too. And I don’t mean the end-year highs of them finding a vaccine, Biden beating Trump, and us narrowly avoiding No Deal by eating a ton of rotten mud instead of actual shit. No, throughout the year, there were actually some things that happened that were genuinely good; great, even.

And so once again, with no further ado, here are my ten favourite things. Like usual, these are, y’know, things that I watched or played or whatever. I don’t go on about my great kids being great, or the fact that I finally finished writing and formatting enough children’s books to start showing them to agents. But my kids were both elected their respective class’s reps to the school council, which is pretty badass. Here you go. Ten good things. Watch them on catch-up, or whatever.

Mega Mando: without a doubt the best “thing” that I saw was the second season of The Mandalorian. Managing to be both an event-of-the-week show (a heist! An infiltration! A siege!) as well as a long-form narrative; feeling distinct and its own thing but tying into so many aspects of Star Wars; full of absolutely excellent scenes and direction and performances; and holy crap what an ending. When you watch a few of these kinds of shared-universe genre shows, this sort of thing is a rarity to the point of my never having seen it before. Seasons that are too long? Filler episodes? Disappointing lore? A “thirteen-hour movie”? Mando swerves all of these things and – notwithstanding my love for The Last Jedi – emerges as possibly the best thing Star Wars has done since at least the classic LucasArts games of the late nineties.

Series SeXy: finally the new consoles came out, and I got an Xbox Series X. It was quite a ride for yours truly: I managed to successfully pre-order one from Microsoft directly; it turned up on the day of release, except it was late in the evening and the kids were around so I couldn’t open it; then, after briefly testing it, I shoved it back in its box till Christmas. Honestly, you wanna talk about anticipation much? It was literally in my house and I still didn’t properly set it up till the evening on Christmas Day. Anyway: it’s great. It just works, y’know? It’s a beautiful boxy delight, with its chunky green holes and its shiny edges. It makes all my games look amazing, it’s so fast and buttery-smooth. It’s like upgrading a PC, but far more successful and expansive an upgrade than I was ever able to do when I was actually upgrading a PC. Anyway, it’s great. It even runs Cyberpunk 2077.

Lockdown Crossing: Animal Crossing: New Horizons arrived at exactly the right time. Lockdown was starting, everything was darkness and fear, people were dying, we needed distractions, and here was a game about being happy and friendly and doing up your house and digging up fossils. It was perfect. It was also a great social game, with my kids loving sending presents to each other, or meeting up with their uncle (who they literally saw only once this year). A great game at just the right time.

The Stream Where it Happens: Mando might have been my TV highlight of the year, but film-wise my favourite new movie was not only not really a movie but was also several years old. Hamilton popped up almost by surprise on Disney+, and it was the first time I’d been able to experience it – and it was just as good as I’d heard. At this point you don’t need me to rhapsodise about the lyricism, performance, staging, and West Wing references; I think you either get it or you don’t, and I got it big time. Weirdly, experiencing it at home made some kind of perfect sense, and it made up for missing out on the big cinematic musicals such as In the Heights and West Side Story.

Fantabulous Harley Quinn: Harley rocked on both the big and the small screen this year. Birds of Prey, or whatever it ended up being called, was actually the last film I saw at the cinema before the Big Shutdown of 2020. It’s not perfect, sure, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun; Margot Robbie is a blast, it’s really funny, and is edgy in just the right way, rather than feeling like it’s trying too hard. I was more sceptical going into the Harley Quinn animated show (starring Penny off The Big Bang Theory, for goodness’ sake!), as “sweary adult Harley Quinn cartoon” is pretty high on my checklist of “things that are trying to be edgy”, but I’m glad I gave it a chance, because it followed a very similar line to the movie. Hilarious, violent, filthy, but also offering a subtle unpeeling of Harley’s psyche and giving her more character development than she gets in most of her comic appearances. It was a great year for Harley. Just wish they’d show the second season of her show.

All This Plus Disney: yeah, I’ve already singled out Mando and Ham (great unmade detective show, there), but I’ve gotta say Disney+ in general has been a huge highlight. From getting all yer Marvels and yer Star Wars in one place, to a wealth of preschool and middle-grade shows for the kids (my youngest mainlined Vampirina this Spring), to being a home for loads of high-quality family films from years gone by (it was the prime destination for many a family movie night), to, well, the future. WandaVision launches in a couple of weeks, followed by dozens of great shows and movies; not just ones about sad superheroes, either – personally I can’t wait for the likes of Chip & Dale. I’ve gotta say, I’ve been really impressed, and once they roll out the sexier, swearier Fox stuff later this year, it’ll only get better.

A Schitt Year: we got into Schitt’s Creek rather late (like many a sitcom – I think we only discovered Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place in the last eighteen months or so), but it’s truly sublime, and it only got better and better as it built towards it joyous climax (ewww, David!). It was a great show about a family of people who were kinda arseholes, but were really very nice underneath it all, and how this town of people who were sorta idiots but kinda nice underneath it all brought out the better natures of everybody. It was, basically, a show about the all-encompassing power of being Nice. I’m so, so happy that it achieved huge success in its final season, winning literally all the Emmys. Hot Schitt.

Top Trek: 2020 was bookended by the two newest incarnations of People Boldly Going, Picard and Discovery. I was super excited to check in with Jean-Luc and pals nearly twenty years since we’d last seen them; although the show wasn’t a Best of Both Worlds-style masterpiece, it presented a believably fractured vision of the Federation, and a sadder, wearier Picard. It got a bit bogged down in Borg stuff, and I wasn’t totally sold on the ending, but I’m very, very eager to spend more time with these characters in future seasons. Discovery, meanwhile, flashed forward, with a season set about 900 years after Picard, and gave us what amounts to the closest Star Trek gets to a dystopia. It took its time settling in, but by crikey it pulled its threads together for a great run of episodes as we gear up to the finale later this week. I’ve very much enjoyed Star Trek on TV this year, and I’m really looking forward to whatever comes next.

Netflickin’ Ass: on the one hand, it was quite nice to see streaming services picking up the slack during the cinema closures, with many films winding up on Prime Video or Netflix or wherever; there were also those “Premium VOD” options, such as Trolls World Tour or Mulan, but I never quite fancied parting with so much cash for a rental (“Only if it’s Black Widow or Wonder Woman,” I said… so, yeah, see you later this month for the latter!). One trend I did notice, however, was Netflix also picking up the slack of “big Hollywood star-driven action movie”. Y’know, the stuff that had Van Damme or Seagal in it in the ‘90s, before everything became franchised (Mission: Impossible could almost fall under this banner, but Cruise became too huge and the series itself eventually was the draw, I’d argue). Anyway, these sorts of films nowadays are low-rent DTV fodder starring slumming former megastars, so fair play to Netflix for resurrecting the genre and giving it a fresh coat of paint and lease of life. Stuff like Extraction and The Old Guard weren’t exactly masterpieces, but they were solidly entertaining with great central performances and some nicely turned-out action. Looking forward to more of the same – bigger, better, and with more people getting killed with rakes!

A Summer of Anticipation: it was a weird year – well, yeah, of course it was, you know, you were there. But one of the things that was weird was that so much was going to happen. I mean, there were loads of things I was looking forward to as the year began; from the MCU and Star Wars shows to big movies, smaller movies, and – of course – new games consoles. And as the year went on, amidst the angsty real-world wait-and-see, there was also a steady drip of news and non-news as we held on to find out which films were pushed back, which were skipping the cinema, and mostly what the games would look like on the new consoles. Barely a week seemed to go by without new rumours, new stories, and new leaked videos or imagery. It was maddening and infuriating but also, weirdly, glorious. This strange ongoing sense of anticipation and wonder, even if quite often the news ended up being disappointing as more and more big hitters slipped to 2021 (everything from Bond to Halo to pretty much the whole MCU). But like an entire year made up of Christmas Eves, it felt for the longest time that anything was possible… just round the corner.

See? It wasn’t all bad. And maybe this year we’ll get to enjoy all the stuff we thought we’d enjoy in 2020! I mean, at the very least, Trump’s gonna be gone… right?

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 1x10 Review

Act 2 was a great finale that capped off a great season though somewhat marred by Disney censorship. Let’s dig in!

Finally Ricky and Nini have found their way back to each other. Sweet callback to Ricky lighting Nini up with his phone as Nini does the same. Breaking Free was great though I had to keep pausing during the EJ to Ricky transition because it was so cringey. Ricky and Nini really do have the best chemistry on the show and it shines through this ep. Joshua did a great job improvising Ricky’’s confession to Nini as did Olivia reacting to it. Tim mentioned in an interview that originally Ricky was supposed to tell Nini that he thinks he kinda you knows in a callback to the premiere but on set he realized that it was too cheesy and decided to let Joshua come up with a confession based on memories of his and Olivia’s real life friendship. That was certainly the steamiest kiss we’ve yet seen on Disney + but it was well earned

 It speaks well of Tim that he recognized that his own writing wasn’t good enough and that he trusted his actors to take charge. It also goes to show how much of a difference it makes having the showrunner actually on set in Salt Lake, whether that was Tim or Disney’s decision. It’s a sharp contrast with Andi Mack where Terri the showrunner was based in LA and only rarely visited set while Michelle Manning was the producer in charge in Salt Lake, a split which I think hurt the show in some ways

That rainbow heart sign from the Mathew-Smith family was lovely. It’s great to see Seb’s family of Utah farmers being so supportive. This also confirms that Seb is out to his family, and since Miss Jenn seemed to greet Carlos’ father near the beginning of the ep it’s likely that Carlos is also out to his family

A historic first for Disney with a Seblos cheek kiss. Though of course while it’s progress it still isn’t equality. It’s not so much the Rini kisses that really drives home the inequality since they’re the main couple and were always going to kiss in the finale but rather it’s the Redlyn kiss. It’s not like Redlyn has gotten any real development nor did their story line really need a kiss so early. They got to kiss simply because they’re straight. That being said, it does once more show that the limits are looser on Disney +, we never would have gotten even a Tyrus cheek kiss on Disney Channel

Unfortunately Disney for the second ep this season released promotional photos of Seblos scenes that were cut from the episode itself. It’s not queerbaiting in the traditional sense but it is baiting the audience as they know that a lot of people are very invested in Seblos and seeing that rep on screen and Disney is willing to use that to draw in viewers while cutting the actual on screen rep down. What’s worse is that if it wasn’t for Disney itself letting us know that these scenes existed we’d never know that Seblos scenes were being cut. And of course, it’s a waste of time and money for the show to film these scenes only for them to be cut. A big complaint with Seblos this season has been their lack of development but that seems to be less on the writers who are in fact giving them more scenes then on Disney which is cutting them down to the bare minimum

It’s all shameless triangulation on Disney’s part, trying to be progressive but not so progressive as to alienate conservatives. It’s not like any homophobes are still watching the show after Seblos got together. So far it seems like the Disney censorship on HSMTMTS is coming mainly in post production like it was in Andi Mack S2 with the cut bash mitzvah scene and the edited look back which is awful but is still better than the much heavier censorship we saw in Andi Mack S3 that was coming in pre-production when things like Cyrus being able to talk about his feelings for TJ and vice versa were just never being written. Hopefully Seb being a main character in S2 means that the censorship lessens at least a bit or at the very least stays in the post production stage

In an interview done early on in the season, Tim talked about sometimes taking giant leaps and some times taking small steps in terms of the representation on the show and know we have a much better sense of what that means in practice. There was the giant leap of Seblos getting together at Homecoming and the small step of them kissing on the cheek. Afaik Tim hasn’t addressed the Seblos cheek kiss which is probably for the best and if he does I hope he has the good grace to not lie to the audience about his ability to have gotten an actual Seblos kiss approved. I do think we’ll eventually see a Seblos kiss though I think the earliest that could happen would be the S2 finale

Very telling that Ashlyn assumes EJ is behind Ricky’s exit and not a good look on EJ’s part to not tell Miss Jenn at least that Ricky left. . Good for him though for playing to lose and giving up the role of Troy to help Nini and Ricky. Confirmation that he paid for Gina’s ticket and we got our first Hell Yeah on the show. I don’t like it but it does seem like that scene was set up for Portwell in S2; at the very least it seems like Gina may have started to feel something for EJ

Pour one out for those poor audience members having to sit through that trainwreck of a second act. You know you’re really in trouble when you have to send your choreographer out there as an understudy

I loved Big Red’s little xylophone during the intermission 

Nice to see Nini and Gina end on a friendly, supportive note. Hopefully that continues next season

Kudos to Olivia and Matt for really selling the high school theatre actors barely keeping it together on stage aspect of the performance. Nini and EJ have so little chemistry that it’s almost hard to remember that they were dating for several months

Mr Darbus’ office set looked great. Nice touch to have Miss Jenn mouthing the lyrics to Wondering off stage

Lynne really sucks. Can’t say I’d miss her if we don’t see her in S2

Will be interesting to see how Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara save their jobs

Realistically I don’t think Nini’s performance was strong enough to earn a spot at YAC; someone like Gina or Seb would have been a much more credible choice imo. Nice touch to have the Dean leave through one door and Ricky the other

Now that the season is done it’s hard to see any traces of whatever more mature direction former showrunner Oliver Goldstick wanted to go in. The whole season seems very coherent and consistent in terms of tone. We did learn from Tim and Olivia that her song All I Want was a re-shoot so maybe it was a replacement for a song or scene that was pushing the envelope more than Tim and Disney wanted

One thing that may or may not be connected is that EJ’s panic attacks from the original character breakdown made no appearance this season and who knows if we’ll ever seen EJ having panic attacks or suffering from anxiety. Disney seemingly had no trouble showing Jonah’s panic attacks on Andi Mack which is doubtless where HSMTMTS took the idea from but it’s also true that Jonah’s anxiety story line was abandoned halfway through S3 and though it’s likely just the result of bad writing it can’t be ruled out that Disney got cold feet over focusing on mental health in both Andi Mack and HSMTMTS

Looking Ahead:

One benefit of this review being so late is that we now know the spring muscial! Beauty and the Beast which seems to suggest that all future musicals will be Disney owned properties

Tim also confirmed that they will still be incorporating songs from HSM 2 and 3 into the show which will certainly help pad out the 16 extra songs they’ll be doing in S2. Having 12 eps will be a big help to the show; 10 eps just wasn’t enough to properly deal with all the characters and plots

HSMTMTS really turned out to be a delight and while I think S2 will be as well there are definitely potential issues ahead that will need to be deftly dealt with. Nini either going away to YAC and then coming back to SLC or just not going to YAC is probably going to be wrapped up in an unsatisfying manner. In all honesty this kind of plot would have worked much better if it had been saved for Nini’s senior year

Whatever plan Ashlyn is cooking up to keep Gina in SLC is also probably going to be poorly done as there’s no reason Gina’s mother would willingly leave her daughter in another state

EJ is either leaving the show after he graduates or they’re going to have to contrive some way to keep him around East High in future seasons

Seb now being a main will be interesting, if nothing else to see what Disney’s limits are. Tim has hinted at their being drama for Seblos in S2 and I hope that it serves to develop them and is not just a means to keep them apart so there can be two gay mains but no gay relationship. As an aside Tim revealed that Joe originally auditioned for EJ which is wild; it’s funny that both Joshua Rush and Joe Serafini auditioned for EJ when neither of them had any realistic chance of being cast

I have no strong feelings on the cast list for Beauty and the Beast though I do think it’s likely that either Kourtney or Gina end up playing Belle as I think having a black girl play Belle is just the type of subversion that would appeal to Tim. Miss Jenn did say that she wanted Kourtney to come speak to her over break and while Gina is a bigger character I’m not sure if Sofia’s singing is quite good enough to carry the lead in the musical while I think Dara’s definitely is 

I’d say it’s very likely EJ ends up either as the beast or as Gaston since he’s in what should be his last semester. And if Gina also gets a big role it would make it easier to play with Portwell in S2. If EJ is the beast I could see Seb getting Gaston in another subversion of expectations. Regardless I think with Seb now being a main and with Joe having one of the strongest voices in the cast that he’ll play an important role

Until next season Wildcats

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff - THE TROOF ABOUT STEVEN UNIVERSE - Part 4

WARNING: When you cartwheel, the weight is mostly from your legs. And if you want to know more, here’s part 3 for a better understanding. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.

Steven Universe is a charming, popular show with a quad-polar fandom, and I’m only here to point out what I say is legitimately wrong with this cartoon. Simple enough? Fair enough. Point number 4:

THE REPRESENTATION:

Representation in media can be easy when the right writers are at the helm to present (not push) a message of acceptance and acknowledgement towards an audience that may or may not feel the same way. It takes different strokes to rule the world, after all. However, when it comes to character in general, there are two factors in characterization that when used correctly can appeal their message of acceptance for their audience. One, visual acknowledgement of the representing characters (POC, LGBT, belief, etc.) in question and two, giving the subjects good quality participation to show that they are just as adept to the world as any other without phoning in the fact that they are this or that. Long story short, make ‘em good characters and the representation can earn the audience’s respect for itself. Steven U lacks this too, and this comes from them often showing us stuff and expecting us to just go with it, with themes that are enough just to get by fans. Hell, they show us as much as a drive by...

Not even a cool one at that, fresh

I’ll say this to start off: Lars Barriga (my neega) was a stagnant and frustrating character to deal with, nobody in Beach City moved him in any way (not even his own supporting parents), and the writers just shotgunned him growth (more than once) after he basically had to cheat death (more than once) to gain a better conscience. It’s like they wanted to call him a lost cause but had to hook him back in some way for the audience to not deem him a lost cause. So with all due respect, does it matter that he’s Filipino or a trans boy when nothing valuable or thoughtful has come from him especially? Those trivial tidbits can mostly come off as add ons or secondary nods, when they should’ve been welcomed knowledge about his character. Want an good example? Look to the comic series Lumberjanes, especially issues 14-17 and 28. SPOILERS, though...

They did this right for characters Jo and Barney (Jo’s the one in the 2nd panel, Barney’s in the first). They already established these two as well defined characters that make mistakes but are willing to get shit done for their friends by any means. The dialogue above is when Barney is thinking about joining the girl oriented scouts even when he’s considered a boy scout, wondering where does he want to belong. Jo gives him reassurance that she herself felt the same and just wants Barney to assert himself with what he wants to be like she did. And when he does later on, he’s accepted without any forced gratification and the writers gracefully accommodate this to not only make him (now “them”) a good addition to the story’s world, but a welcoming new perspective. 

The representation is therefore earned, not just shown off

Now I’d talk further on other characters like Lars, but that would be singing the same beats as my previous piece on world building and would spoil notes on the final 2 parts I’m working on now. Instead, the gems are another reason why the rep-pres-sen-tation in SU is nothing but small fractured penny in the gold mine that is anything else going on, with fusion diminishing the relationship representation of Steven U; however you may see it. Now excuse me... this is the hardest part of my job.

Criticizing love

Garnet is not a good embodiment of Ruby and Sapphire’s love; Ruby and Sapphire is. I would love to see Ruby and Sapphire being together and showing me why they decided to elope, but I can’t because Garnet is a curtain that metaphorically and literally covers said love from having anything more to say than “HELL YEAH WE LOVE EACH OTHER!”. You could say ‘Keystone Motel’ offered some adversity for the two, but knowing Steven U, it didn’t feel like much beyond me knowing they’re getting back together in the end because they love each other and they just go back to being Garnet because she’s the personification of their love and such. 

Status Quo Ante. Ante up, you see?

Fusion is something I have a disdain for now because they’re exchanging two characters’ development of united growth for basically an entirely new/different character, that don’t have much screen time or development anyways (vice versa in Flourite’s case). You could say ‘Know your Fusion’ presented an evolution for Smokey Quartz, among the other known fusions, to being more than a versatile fighter, but not really no. We were already aware that Steven and Amethyst were acknowledged sad sacks before they fused, so what else does this fusion offer differently than in their ability? As for Sardonyx, she hasn’t changed from her first cameo awhile back and her vanity was the only thing that made her stand out in said episode. All in all, fusion doesn’t reflect a relationship, no matter how hard Rebecca Suge Knight is saying otherwise, it reflects an aftermath; one that’s in and out as a firework. This and up ‘til now, the real couples we see are pretty general or under the rug. To show how the most mentioned and presented couple in the series, RubyXSapphire, has continuously got the shaft, I present the one dynamic you’d least expect: A boy and his stuffed toy.

My personally favorite example so far.

Calvin and Hobbes is a series about boy Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes that comes to life through Calvin’s imagination. Reality is like Garnet in this case, where it’s just Calvin having his stuffed animal around to get into zany hijinks like any other kid his age. Then again, the imagination or the living Hobbes is whom is given more of a focus, allowing their dynamic to bloom in a way that wouldn’t be understood if we just saw Calvin just talking to his toy the whole time. It makes their bond feel real and that’s what RubyxSapphire should be, giving them the floor in a way that adds up to Garnet’s eventual debut. “But Monkey Network, what about ‘The Answer'?” The Answer is an episode that, while sweet and good looking, literally danced over much necessary development in favor of only showing us how they eventually stuck to being Garnet forever. Not saying Garnet doesn’t have any character herself, but her integral backstory was/is one of the most beloved and talked about in terms of relationships, yet little has actually been given to us beyond face value and basic understanding and the writers have generally avoid pressing this any further. In a way, that episode diminishes the representation of real queer relationships, bogging it down to early Disney romances like Snow White’s, and practically blindfolds us about what we want to see vs what we should be seeing.

And I already got cute girls not kissing last year. It’s the current flippin’ year

I would talk about all the other canonning “ships” but nothing comes to mind other than the gems are getting along better than before, Mystery Girl is still fine as fuck, Steven and Connie are bound to elope since it’s been presented since the beginning, Lapis and Peridot get along as college roommates, Lapis might still have issues after Malachite happened, Jasper regrets nothing, Topaz sounds cool from the little we got of them, and everything has amounts to having a sob story and/or a recollection of thoughts just to say “Hey, we’re good together”. They implicitly share infatuation and good vibes to each other, but nothing to say their themes of LGBT, relationships, and characterization are groundbreaking. The latter I’ll get to next time. I mean anybody can put effort into writing a genuine romance novel, though it takes more effort to push the romance to challenging means without leaving skeptics at the door, something Sugar has been very casual about and is starting to openly show in the show. That and tears. Because you know what they say, open emotions are better than emotional maturity. Isn’t that right, TV?

Though, a good cry like that never hurts once in a while

Don’t get me wrong. Rebecca Sugarbark is out here doing her darndest as...

CARTOON. NETWORK’S. FIRST. FEMALE. ANIMATED. SERIES. CREATOR!

and when she does themes right, the show provides some good things to think about. But when she muddles them up or casually throws them in, especially when these themes come from the different aspects of what makes a person different yet real, it is unforgivable. And when people of all ages are watching this, thinking with their living ideologies about what could be used to think differently? This makes for a very risky tightrope that can lead to either people taking it appropriately or blindly, good and bad alike. I can only hope that as the show goes on, there are less assumptions and implications from both the show and the audience alike and more assertions and certainty that elements like representation of any kind are brought to a more applied approach than a glanced approach. Something that earns that appeal to a world so open and free.

Yet. As nothing but a simple critic... I can only be so hopeful

[child--psychologist--brisbane]

child psychologist Brisbane

5 things super successful people do before 8 am

Upgrade and shine! Morning time has just become your best friend. Love her or hate her, and taking advantage of the morning hours before work may be the key to a healthy and successful lifestyle. True, early rise is a common feature found in many CEOs and other influential people. Margaret Thatcher was awake every day at 5 am; Frank Lloyd Wright at 4 am. And Robert Eger, Disney CEO wakes up at 4:30, to name a few. I know what you think - you do a better job at night. Not so fast. According to You magazine. Magazine, he found that morning people are more active and more productive. In addition, the health benefits continue for those who live life before work. What successful people do before 8 am may surprise you. Let's explore 5 of the most common things.

What successful people do before 8 am.

Playing sports

I said it once, I'll say it again. Most people who are active daily, are active in the morning. Whether it's a morning yoga session or a trip to the gym, pre-workout gives you a boost of energy for the day and a sense of accomplishment. Anyone can process a pile of papers after 200 reps! Morning exercise also eliminates the possibility of getting rid of heart disease after a long day at work. Even if the bright eye and tail are not dense when you think of a 5 am jog, try waking up early for 15 minutes to get a quick set of bed from pushing or stretching. This will help alert your body and prepare you for your day.

 Map out your day

Increase your potential by setting your schedule for the day, as well as your goals and to-do list. This morning is a good time for this because it is often one of the only quiet times a person spends all day. Early hours promote easier thinking that helps you prioritize your activities. It also allows uninterrupted problem solving when you try to fit everything into your schedule. While scheduling, don't forget your mental health. Plan a 10-minute break after this stressful meeting for a quick stroll around the block or a moment of meditation in your office.

Eat a healthy breakfast

We all know that feeling "rushing out the door with a cup of coffee and a stomach vacuum." You sit at your desk, and you really wonder when you can go out for morning tea. Not good. Take that extra time in the morning to equip your body with the tasks ahead. This will help keep your mind on what is at hand and not on your stomach wastage.

Not only is breakfast good for your physical health, it is also a good time to socialize. Even 5 minutes of talking to your children or wife while eating a quick bowl of cereal can boost your morale before you walk out the door.

Trying to eat healthy? Use your planning time (see 2.) to schedule a small window in the evening to pack some nutritious snacks to work the next day.

Visualization

These days we talk about the nausea of ​​our physical health, but sometimes our mental health is overlooked. Morning is the perfect time to spend some quiet time within your mind meditation or perception. Take a moment to visualize your day in front of you, focusing on the successes you will get. Even just a minute of perception and positive thinking can help improve your mood and your expectations regarding your workload for the day.

Make your day top heavy

We all have one item on our to-do list. Loom all day (or week) until absorbed and carried out after procrastination. Here's an easy tip to relieve stress - do the least desirable task on your list first. Instead of expecting uncomfortable from the first coffee to the lunch break, keep it off the road. Morning is a time when (in general) you are more comfortable and your energy level is high. Therefore, you are more well equipped to handle the most difficult projects. And look at it this way, your day will gradually become easier, and not vice versa. By the time your workday ends, you'll be finished with easier tasjs ​​and heading to your more relaxed free time. Success!

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[svetlanawagner-blog]

The gates opened and we heard cheering as people slowly filed their way in. After passing the gate, everyone headed with urgency towards the back of the park. Since we’re adults at a conference, we opted to power walk and tried to contain ourselves from going on a mad sprint.

Disney characters waved and there were food stations with a sampling of food from each land, but we couldn’t let them distract us.

After blowing through the other lands, the crowd’s pace slowed as we approached the life-sized X-Wing. Moments later, Chewbacca let out a wail as he struggled with the giant cables. We had made it to Batuu.

A big thank you to Disney and IPW for hosting our visit. All opinions are always our own. This post may contain affiliate links, where we receive a small commission on sales of the products that are linked at no additional cost to you. Read our full disclosure for more info. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Local Adventurer possible.

Last Updated: June 5, 2019

The New Disney Star Wars Land - What You Need to Know Before You Go

Let me start off by saying that our experience of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge was not the norm. During the IPW conference, Disney shut down Disneyland park to give the 6000 attendees an exclusive look at the park. We had Main Street U.S.A, Adventureland, Frontierland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge all to ourselves.

Needless to say, the majority of the group rushed to see Star Wars first. We were within the first few hundred in the park and didn’t waste any time getting to Galaxy’s Edge.

Afterwards, we chatted with a bunch of the cast members, locals who frequent the park, and as many Disney reps as possible to gather any info we could to pass along.

when does star wars land open?

These are the important dates to remember.

May 31st, 2019 – Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open to the public. Well… sort of. Between 5/31 and 6/23 you need a reservation to enter the land. No official numbers have been released on how many spots they are allowing each day, but it’s very limited. The exception to the reservation, is if you are staying at a Disney owned hotel. They will provide you with a reservation during your stay.

Jun 24, 2019 – This is when it’s open to everyone else without a reservation. They expect the park to be at full capacity, and entrance to Galaxy’s Edge isn’t guaranteed. If you’re lucky enough to make it in, they are limiting your time to four hours. You’ll be able to queue virtually through their app so you can spend time at the rest of the park.

Entering Star Wars Land at Disneyland

There are three entrances to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. We were all routed towards the West entrance near Critter County. From here, you pass by the entrance of the unopened attraction, get a view of the X-Wing as you enter.

The South and East entrance are close together. The South comes up along the West side of Big Thunder, and takes you the Droid Depot. The East entrance comes from Fantasy Land and brings you to the Milk Stand and First Order Cargo.

No matter what entrance you come through, you’re immediately immersed in the land and all the cast members add to that by always staying in character. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge transports you to the planet of Batuu where you’ll explore the Black Spire Outpost.

More: Disneyland Food Bucket List

Second photo by @marissa.anwar

Where do I start?

There are two main attractions at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The first is the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. The second, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, is not open yet. Besides that, Oga’s Cantina , Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers, and the Droid Depot have a big draw. You can also try blue and green milk at the Milk Stand, or pick up food and goodies at the marketplaces.

The attention to detail is absolutely mind-blowing. So even when you’re walking around, keep your eye out for the little things others might miss.

Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run Star Wars Ride

This is currently the biggest attraction and most memorable experience in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Before entering, you’re met with a full size replica of the Millennium Falcon. The line will take you along the backside of the Falcon and you’ll even get a peek of it from the second floor.

After the first section of the line, you enter a room where Hondo Ohnaka greets you and gives you the run down of why you’re there. The animatronics on Hondo look incredible! Afterwards, you’re put into groups of 6 and wait your turn in the Falcon’s Chess Room. We only waited 10-15 minutes to get up to this point and honestly lost track of time after that because we were geeking out and taking a bunch of photos.

The group you join has three different roles: pilots, gunners, and engineers. When they group you, they hand out the cards at random, but if you know people in your group, you can trade before starting the ride.

Pilots: One controls horizontal movement and the other controls vertical movements

Gunners: Each person controls the Falcon’s guns

Engineer: Fixes the ship and performs other misc tasks

I was a pilot and Esther was a gunner. The pilot is the most involved role since you have to steer the ship and mash buttons as instructed. I was the right pilot controlling the vertical movements and I also got the chance to put the Falcon into light speed. The gunners have buttons on the side that they mash when shooting. Neither of us did the engineer job but it looked similar. The most fun job is the pilot since you have the most to do.

The ride is a simulator ride plus a video game tutorial. Hondo gives you instructions throughout the ride and buttons light up to signal what you’re supposed to do. As a team, your job is to execute the commands as best as you can. Our team didn’t do so well… but we had fun! 

Bright suns! Best ride ever land @Visit_Anaheim pic.twitter.com/IowyA3R61s

— Esther JuLee (@estherjulee) June 3, 2019

Star Wars Cantina (Oga's Cantina)

Oga’s Cantina wasn’t open during our visit. We were able to see the interior, but they weren’t serving drinks, which was such a bummer! On the plus side, we got a chance to see the interior without waiting a couple of hours.

Normally, they have drinks that range from $7 – $42. I’ve seen photos of the drinks, and they truly look out of this world. After talking with one of the locals at the bar, they told us that the wait to get inside has been roughly 2 hours. Once you get in, there’s a 45 minute limit for any of the booths or standing tables. The bar technically doesn’t have a limit, but they’ve been cycling people in and out after about an hour.

We’ll be back to try the drinks later. In the meantime, if you have any photos of your experience, send them our way. Drinks will be the same at both locations. Here’s a sampling of what they have on their menu (how many references do you get?):

Drinks with Alcohol

Bespin Fizz

Bloody Rancor

Dagobah Slug Slinger

Fuzzy Tauntaun

Jedi Mind Trick

Jet Juice

The Outer Rim

Spriran Caf

T-16 Skyhopper

Yub Nub

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Black Spire Brew

Blue Bantha

Carbon Freeze

Cliff Dweller

Hyperdrive Punch It!

Jabba Juice

Moogan Tea

Tarine Tea

More: 39 of the Best Food at Disneyland

Build Your Own Star Wars Droid at Droid Depot OR Lightsaber at Savi's Workshop

There are two main interactive shops at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The first is the Droid Depot, where you can custom build your own droid (R-series or BB-series) starting at $100. The decor in the depot is really cool. There are conveyor belts of droid parts running along the wall and ceiling. The droids that you build will interact with elements in the land and your behavior. You can even purchase additional programming chips and accessories to add abilities to your droid. There are pre-made droids you can purchase too. Even if you decide not to purchase a droid, you can still see the process and watch other people make theirs. There’s also a life size R2D2 that you can take a photo with (and purchase).

Around the corner from the Droid Depot is an unmarked check in station where you can build your own lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop for $200. Under the guise of a scrap shop, you can only enter if you purchase a lightsaber. We didn’t do it and Jacob is still kicking himself for it. Especially since there was no wait, and on regular days, the wait can be 2+ hours. During the experience, you pick one of four options:

Peace Justice (modeled after Jedi from the Republic era)

Power Control (Sith)

Elemental Nature (harnesses the elements)

Defense (shrouded in mystery)

Each builder can bring one guest in with them. The saber comes with a carrying case and 31 inch blade.

Shopping and Food

Beyond those main attractions, there other plenty of other nooks and crannies to explore in Batuu. Even if you don’t plan on buying anything, you should still walk around to see all the different shops.

For food, Oga’s Cantina will be the biggest attraction, but check out these other spots as well:

Kat Saka’s Kettle – sweet and savory snack made with popcorn

Ronto Roasters – grilled sage and roasted pork wraps

Chef Strono “Cookie” Tuggs – exotic dishes (nicer dishes)

Milk Stand – green & blue milk

There are several shops to check out. The hard part is deciding what you want to bring home.

The Market

Resistance Supply – resistance themed items

Creature Stall – exotic creatures (puppets)

Toydarian Toymaker – artisanal toys and games

Black Spire Outfitters – get a robe or other local garb

Jewels of Bith – local goods and trinkets

Black Spire Outpost

Dok-ondar’s Den of Antiquities – collectable items

First Order Cargo – first order themed gear

Download the Play Disney Parks App

We were so excited to get photos and check out the land, that we missed out on using the app at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. After arriving to planet Batuu, the app turns into the Star Wars: Datapad where you get to find easter eggs within the land. You can interact with droids, scan crates, and translate the alien languages seen throughout Batuu. You’ll even collect digital rewards, like ship schematics, star maps, and more. This is something we’ll try next time.

Fun Facts

John Williams created original music for Galaxy’s Edge.

Orlando’s Galaxy’s Edge is exactly the same as Disneyland’s. The only difference is that they face different directions.

Orlando’s location is scheduled to open in August.

We’ve heard rumors that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is supposed to open at both locations in August, although because it’s so technologically advanced, there may be delays.

Essential Tips

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What to Pack for Your Disneyland Visit

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What's Nearby

Anaheim Packing House (2 mi N, 10 min drive, map)

Knott’s Berry Farm (6.8 mi NW, map)

Los Angeles (26.6 mi NW, map)

Best Places to Stay

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, Anaheim (Luxury)

Hyatt House at Anaheim Convention Center (Mid-Range)

Hotel 414, Anaheim (Budget)

More Resources

To Do

To Do

To Do

Have you visited Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge? What did you think? Any other tips we’re missing?

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“Discovery consists not of seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes” – M. Proust

Esther + Jacob

Esther and Jacob are the founders of Local Adventurer, which is one of the top 5 blogs in the US. They believe that adventure can be found both near and far and hope to inspire others to explore locally. They explore a new city in depth every year and currently base themselves in Las Vegas

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[shaydixons]

@idareask i don’t think you’re being rude, i just think you need to put it in context.

in the very beginning of film, pre-Hays code, homosexuality existed on screen for the purpose of humor. gay men in particular existed in order to be mocked. next, homosexuality existed as a villainous characteristic (you can see this in a lot of disney movies). this is usually pretty subtle, but there are also movies such as Cruising which exist in order to tell gay people exactly what people want to do to them. there weren’t shows such as skam in the early days, if you wanted gay representation you had to look for it. gay history in film and television has always been subtle and if you want to learn more about it you should watch The Celluloid Closet!

queercoding has existed since the early days of television and film. if you wanted to see a gay character, you had to look at the subtext, and then you would get movies such as The Children’s Hour, which was explicitly gay but showed the main character agonizing over her sexuality. queer baiting is an actual societally recognized thing, it’s not something that’s just been made up on tumblr.

nowadays, luckily, we have explicitly gay characters in film and tv, even though good representation is few and far between. we have shows such as Skam, which focus on things such as coming to terms with your sexuality and coming out. The reason queer baiting does apply to Skam is that it IS an explicitly gay show, Isak has been planned to be gay since episode 1 (aka the same episode noora is introduced in a way that could be perceived as romantic). many gay people watch the show thinking noora and vilde are lesbians and eva is bi, this isn’t something that’s made up on tumblr, this is actual evidence from the show, for example vilde and eva making out. and it shouldn’t seem farfetched to think that girls on this show are gay considering it’s a show with gay struggles at the forefront.

that’s great that you feel that skam never baited you, but many actual lgbt people were drawn into the show because of its gay rep and recognized characteristics in its female characters that could be perceived as gay, and julie did bait us when she said “no comment” when asked if vilde was gay. she didn’t say no even though she wasn’t planning on making her gay, she had to give us the benefit of the doubt, why? because she knows there are many wlw fans of the show who watch hoping for hints of lesbian vilde? queer baiting absolutely applies to this show, and the many disappointed wlw fans are proof.