#wwf action zone

[bigredsweetiepie]

Just in case anyone wanted a complete history... I have documented over the past few months, in an easy to use format, of all of the TV appearances of Isaac Yankem that I could get my hands on (this does not include dark matches). 🦷🦷🦷

Promos (1995):

June 26 :Jerry visits Isaac's office -(Raw)

July 1 :Jerry visits Isaac's office -(Super Stars aka SS)

July 8: Lawler talks to patients at office (SS)

July 10: I.Y. intro (Raw)

July 15: I.Y. intro ( SS)

July 17: Tooth Extraction Promo (Raw)

July 22: Tooth Extraction Promo (SS)

July 29: Injection promo + Bret Hart Trash Talk 1(SS)

July 31: 1st POV in Chair Promo (Raw)

Aug 5: 1st POV in Chair Promo (SS)

Aug 7: X-Ray promo (Raw)

Aug 8: X-Ray promo + Bret Hart Trash Talk 2 ( SS)

Aug 14: Injection 2 Promo (Raw)

Aug 19: Injection 2 Promo + Bret Hart Trash talk 3 (SS)

Aug 21: Voicemail Promo + Bret Hart Trash talk 4 (Raw)

Aug 25: Review of Promos compilation (SS)

Sept 23: IY “flossing” with rope small vignette (SS) 

Oct 16 : Steel Cage Match Promo (Raw)

Nov 18: The Royals Tag Team Pre-Thanksgiving Promo (SS)

Dec 30: Raw Bowl Promo (SS), (Isaac didn’t compete here, but he was featured in promo) 

Other Promos 1995: 

Aug 5: Bret Hart Smack Talk (Action Zone)

Aug 20: Injection 2 Promo (Action Zone)

October?: German Promo : Bret Hart and IY, “Playing Doctor” (SS)

WWF live event news: Jerry and Isaac trash talk

Wrestling Appearances, L = Lost, W= Win

1995

Aug 27: SummerSlam 1995 Bret Hart (L)

Sept 11: Scott Taylor (Raw-W)

Sept 23: Bob Holly (SS-W)

Oct 2: IY attacks for Bret Hart for Jerry (Raw) 

Oct 7: Tom Torres ( SS-W)

Oct 16: Bret Hart Steel Cage (Raw-L)

Oct 23: Battle Royale (Raw-L)

Nov 6: Bret Hart + Hakushi (Raw, L) 

Nov 11: Dave Dalton (SS-W)

Nov 19:Survivor Series 1995 The Darkside (L)

Dec 16: Ahmed Johnson (SS-L)

1996

Jan 6: Brian Walsh (SS-W)

Jan 15: Undertaker (Raw-L) 

Jan 20: Diesel (SS-L)

Jan 21: Royal Rumble , 27th entry (L) 

Feb 3: Avatar (SS-W)

Feb 26: Jake Roberts (Raw-L)

March 16: Al Walker ( SS-W)

April 1: Marc Mero (Raw-L)

April 29: The Ultimate Warrior (Raw-L)

Please if anyone has any promos I missed ( like the YT links i have above that aren't on Peacock , please LMK!)

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[urethrachr0nicles]

[WWF Action Zone | 12/23/1995]

merry christmas to all who celebrate!

[edgessunflower]

When we were young

Pairing: Raven x Fem reader

Description: Old feelings resurface between you and Raven after meeting again years later

Character idea and pic credits to @romanthereigns

You had decided to finally make the bold choice to join the alliance in their battle against WWF reuniting with old friends and meeting new ones within WWF and WCW. "There she is!" you laugh as Christian pulls you into a hug before joining him and a few of the others at the bar when you feel someone watching you turning around and locking on a pair of eyes that made many memories from five years earlier, you both looked different than the last time you saw each other two years back as you stole glances at each other over the night of occasional drinks leading to you smoking a joint to calm your nerves not expecting to turn around only for Raven to be behind you and grab your arm leading to the two of you arguing back and forth while going back to his motel room feeling tension and a warmth bubbling in you at the unexpected return of feelings you had long forgotten and still had buried within you. "I've never met someone like you" you stare at raven as he gently grabs your chin and kisses you but instead of it being passionate and almost suffocating like many of the kisses you shared before but this one was gentle and soft which brought a new kind of intimacy, your heart quivered at the pleasure taking hold with raven between your legs using his real name Scott as strands of dread laid in between your hands and on your thighs before you were straddled on top of him running your cool hands against his heated skin feeling like you were in a dream seeing chills run through him at your touch lightly trailing your fingers against his pelvis until he leaned up and pressed your lips back together and towered over you with his hands in your hair as he slowly thrusted into you reminding of the few emotional and tender moments you shared together years earlier when the two of you were younger despite it being five years with you at the time being 26 and him being 37. But it seemed that despite the two year absence you had never been away from each other at all as his larger course hands ran over your smooth skin while paused kisses are shared in a tired haze and a sweet act of buried feelings and unconditional love, the next morning you awoke to soft caresses along your face and shoulder before kissing your temple smiling softly at the action before you were wrapped in his arms sharing a warm kiss that sent a flutter to your heart and intimate trust before the two of you were driving to the arena zoning out until he places his hand on your thigh making you smile and intertwine your hand in his for the rest of the ride and the walk from the parking lot to your locker rooms for the night of Smackdown sharing kisses whenever you saw even one ringside after winning your street fight with Victoria and fans were immediately loved whenever the two of you did promos or had matches as a tag team leading to many sweet and even unexpected moments happening on Raw or smackdown from you putting his dreads into a bun to him carrying backstage when you got a concussion everyone always melted at every moment the two of you shared on camera.

[blowflyfag]

the Wrestler: Volume 26, 2009

LEGENDS TITLE FIASCO

It’s Not Too Late For TNA To Do It Right

As Booker T opened his mysterious briefcase on October 8, the Impact Zone crowd was shocked to find out he was unveiling a brand new title, the Legends championship. Booker proclaimed himself the champion, but what does the belt really represent, and what does it mean for the future of TNA?

BY GERRY STRAUSS

FOR SIX YEARS, Total Nonstop Action has cultivated a dirty little secret: It has a split personality.

On one hand, the company that introduced many of us to the likes of A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, and other new-generation dynamos has gone out of its way to promote the youth of the sport. Using the no-restrictions X division as the ultimate showcase for these amazing athletes, fans have enjoyed the chance to watch future superstars build their legacies, one match at a time. 

On the other hand, name value sells, and TNA knows it. So, along with the upstarts, TNA has also made a point of bringing in established veterans. Big-name superstars like Larry Zbyszko, Bob Backlund, and Roddy Piper have graced six-sided ring with their presence, and still-active stars like Sting and Kevin Nash add multi-generational appeal to the active roster. 

But when passionate, hardworking young stars-in-the-making are forced to share the spotlight with demanding, proven veterans, tension is inevitable. But, instead of taking steps to settle this increasingly prevalent issue, TNA made it the focal point of Impact, and created the Legends championship.

Introduced on Impact by Booker T, the Legends title signifies… well, we aren't exactly sure. There was no tournament (or even a match) to crown a champion. Instead, it merely appeared, signifying Booker’s self-proclaimed status as a legend worthy of favor over his younger counterparts.

Certainly, the precedence of creating a new championship out of thin air is there. When Ted DiBiase failed to win the WWF World championship in the ‘80’s, he created his Million-Dollar championship. When Taz was unable to take the ECW heavyweight championship in the ‘90s, the “FTW” title was born.

Why is this different? For one, Booker T has had a distinguished career, but he should not be considered a legend… not yet, anyway. If anything, recent successes alongside his Main Event Mafia partners Sting, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Kurt Angle have proven that it is too early to celebrate his past when he should be living in the now.

Plus, what qualifies someone to contend for this championship? Booker’s first two challengers for the strap were Christian Cage and Eric Young, neither of whom is more than 40 years old. How can anyone take this championship seriously if the only seemingly legitimate contenders are fellow members of the Main Event Mafia?

TNA has already upset many of its fans by de-emphasizing the X division championship. By adding another meaningless strap to the mix, TNA could be in danger of alienating even more fans. 

[Booker T laid claim to the Legends championship, a point that did not sit well with Christian Cage (above). Although Cage himself shouldn’t be considered a legend, he still challenged Booker–unsuccessfully–for the title at Turning Point 2008 (right). 

The Main Event Mafia has taken control of TNA, even to the point that it now has come up with its own championship. Even if Booker T is one day considered a legend, it’s inappropriate that a wrestler still in the prime of his career holds such a title.]

Here’s the good news: If it acts now, TNA has an opportunity to not only fix this mess, but make the Legends title a huge hit. 

Think about it: People love legends. Fans pay big bucks to hobnob with them at autograph signings and meet and greets, and everything from the NBA to the PGA holds events dedicated specifically to them. Older fans want to relive their memories and younger fans are always interested to see first hand just how great these individuals were. The world wants to see these stars do their thing in their element. So why on earth would TNA encourage a war between the veterans and the younger wrestlers? Suddenly, 20-year veterans like Sting are forced to clumsily adapt to an entirely new style of wrestling while the younger talents, like A.J. Styles, must slow down their pace to match their older counterparts. The results can be ugly, and in the end, nobody truly wins… least of all the fans.

[It’s not unheard of for organizations to bring back legends to compete; TNA itself has done it before. In a guest appearance back in 2004, Roddy Piper showed up and taught some of the young stars of TNA that he can still land a punch when need be.]

The solution is simple: Establish a defined roster of legends, and let them compete against each other as they strive to contend for the Legends championship. Since legends are typically designated as such at the twilight of their careers or later, stipulate an age minimum, say 45 years old. In addition, to qualify, wrestlers must have won at least one world championship (singles or tag). These stipulations would, at least for now, eliminate men like Booker T and Kurt Angle. Both are still vital members of the present-day wrestling scene and should not be competing in a division that would be best-suited for wrestlers who are not. 

Want to see your favorites from days gone by return to the ring? This division would be the place to do it. The possibilities are endless. Bring back Terry Funk for one last hurrah. Let Bob Backland have his final shot at glory. Plus, there are always those rumblings of a certain “Nature Boy’s” hankering to jump out of retirement. (One suggestion to TNA: Enforce strict pre-match physicals and have EMTs on hand!)

[Bob Backlund is yet another legend TNA has used in recent years and could bring back to compete in a Legends division. Backlund could show off submission holds like the crossface chicken wing, giving fans a glimpse at the skills that made him a Hall of Fame Wrestler.]

The bottom line is that the Legends championships could be a win-win situation for TNA. Greatness never dies, and having some of the greatest competitors in wrestling history in the mix could be a moneymaker for the company. Let them bring the best out of each other, just like they’ve done throughout their careers. Let them compete in dream matches as they look for one last crack at glory.

Let the more youthful divisions of TNA be like a NASCAR race, while the Legends division can be a parade, allowing the fans a chance to slow down and see exactly why these men have earned the right to call themselves legends in the first place. They don't need to be forced into the main event. Instead, let them be an event unto themselves with their own special place on the card. Instead of giving them this unnecessary war with TNA’s future stars, give them the spotlight they’ve earned.

[muldoonlives]

The Other Bulldog

Many people proclaim The Dynamite Kid as the best wrestler they've seen perform. I'm one of those people. It took years for me to finally learn about his existence through wrestling magazines and websites. Then, I got to see him in action courtesy of DVD collections and Youtube. No memory lane to stroll down considering I was only a year old when he left the WWF. Nostalgia won't allow me to forget the man who was closely linked to Dynamite. It's not just nostalgia. Davey Boy Smith seems to be overlooked these days, and it's sad to me. Another prominent tag-team partner, Owen Hart, was superior as well, but Davey was a great grappler in his own right.

My dad taught me when I was 7 or 8 that wrestling was scripted. Still, these men were so talented at bringing their gimmicks to life. A kid couldn't help but have trouble remembering they were athletes playing a character. The image of The Undertaker or Mankind sitting in a living room with a sleeping baby in their lap just couldn't be projected in my mind. I knew it was possible though. After all, an issue of WWF Magazine I thumbed through featured a similar image except Sycho Sid had a baby in his lap. During the mid to late '90's, Davey Boy Smith stood out to me because he was one of three "normal" wrestlers. The other two were Bret and Owen Hart. They weren't "characters". No flamboyant behavior like Shawn Michaels and Goldust or pulling insane antics like Stone Cold Steve Austin. Davey executed his strongman feats without his face covered by make-up or a mask. If a wrestler looked normal, they at least had to be involved in an outrageous storyline. The only crazy thing Bulldog did was smear Ken Shamrock's face with dog food.

My peers never spoke of Davey Boy Smith. Very few of them liked wrestling before it became a trend around 1998. One friend in my neighborhood had Bulldog's Hasbro action figure stuffed in a crate of toys, but that was it. In addition to lacking a flashy gimmick, Davey Boy was a heel. Kids hate a heel no matter how gifted he is or they at least did in my time. Once during lunch, I stuck my neck out and tried to explain to my friend, T.J., why I liked Shawn Michaels. I told him I liked his wrestling style but not his character. He slowly nodded with a digusted look on his face. Needless to say, I never brought the Bulldog up.

Since I tuned in more for WWF's programming than WCW's, I only caught one of Davey's matches during his 1998 stint. The match seemed so off because the crowd was asleep. I hated it for him. The AOL Trial CDs came to the house, but my dad was the only one who put them to use. In other words, I had no internet and had no idea about Davey's poor health. Once he made his way back to the WWF in late 1999, I was content and it didn't matter whatsoever if he wrestled in jeans. The contentment soon vanished. After The Rock slammed him down on a tray of dog shit, I knew the company wasn't going to do much for Davey's career. Bulldog was still a "normal" wrestler as The Attitude Era was in full swing, but it was pretty fucked up to have him sink that low. I continued to pay him my attention until he disappeared for the last time.

Personally, I don't care about mic skills, but this is usually a critic's burial plot for a wrestler. If he wasn't intoxicated and fumbling his words, Davey was to the point and didn't say much during promos. Davey began training at 12-years-old while most boys that age just sit in front of the television and only dream of being in the ring. It's clear what the man's passion was. He never cared about being a showman and focused on his physical abilities. A sound clip of his used for the "WWF War Zone" video game summed him up best. "My bite is worse than my bark!"

Davey's tag-team partners receive all the glory. If his mat skills were so mediocre, The British Bulldogs and his partnership with Owen Hart would not be praised to this today. It takes both wrestlers to make a tag team shine. In my opinion, Davey was unique for a bulky wrestler who performed power moves because he could be so quick on his feet especially during reversals. It wasn't just bodyslam after bodyslam. You wouldn't see other powerhouses like Lex Luger and The Ultimate Warrior doing cartwheels and somersaults. People say Owen Hart shouldn't be remembered solely for his fatal accident, and he's become a legend. Davey Boy Smith shouldn't be remembered for his substance abuse, and all people do these days is make jokes about it. These bastards don't stop and think about something. Who was alongside Owen Hart during his most successful years? Oh, that's right. Davey Boy Smith.

[zehub]

Les étangs de Brenne, un joyau de biodiversité au coeur des missions du WWF

Dans son dernier rapport, le WWF France alerte sur l'état écologique des eaux douces françaises. Mais l'ONG y présente aussi ses actions pour préserver les zones humides, tout particulièrement en Brenne. Reportage au « pays des mille étangs ».

[tannerdakota]

So this is a first me speaking what is going through my mind here so things I have been interested in and have been playing well lately I have have taken interest in playing the persona dancing games so much I have platinum trophies for all three honestly I didn’t expect I would get them but yet here I am telling you all about it in a post honest it wasn’t that hard just a lot of grinding for things aside That I have been rewatching old wwf/e stuff on YouTube there is a part of me that feels nostalgia when I watch stuff from 2004 and 2003 i also have been watching the stuff from the 90s that era of the wwf/e is how I got my introduction thanks to a game called wwf war zone anyhow besides that I watched final fantasy advent children in full finally it was worth it so worth it the story the action is very good if your a fan of final fantasy I would give it a Watch lastly I finished cyberpunk edgerunners one word pain that is all but that about wraps up this post I just rambled on about what’s on my mind for a bit so if you read this thanks this is my first time doing something like this so I appreciate it

[psyvhs]

Has anyone watch wwf mania and action zone ?

[warcrimesimulator]

Nine endangered wolves were shot in one day in Norway after a court ruled that a controversial hunt could go ahead. Fifty-one wolves were originally due to be slaughtered – a significant proportion of the 80 animals thought to live in Norway. But last month, activists secured a stay of execution when they got an injunction halting the hunt until an appeal over its validity could go ahead. They claimed that allowing hunters to kill wolves in a conservation zone would be against EU nature protection laws. Twenty-five animals, within four packs, are in the “wolf zone”, an area of nature set aside to protect the predators, and these wolves were protected by the appeal. But last Friday, the Norwegian court of appeal reversed the district court’s interim injunction to halt the hunting of the wolf families within the “wolf zone” where the animals are allowed to breed, which makes up 5% of the country’s land. Over the weekend, hunts went out to find these animals, and nine were shot in a single day. Karoline Andaur, the CEO of the WWF in Norway, said: “This is a loss not only for the wolves, but also for biodiversity and rule of law in nature conservation. The wolf is critically endangered in Norway, and we have a national responsibility to take care of it. “Now they are being shot just because they are living in Norwegian nature, even though they live in the wolf zone – an area where the authorities have decided that the wolf should have particularly strong protection.” The Guardian reported in January that conservation groups across Europe were appealing to the EU to take action against wolf population culls in Norway, Sweden and Finland, arguing that the Nordic nations were creating the most hostile environment for wolves in western Europe and flouting laws that protect the species. Last month, Finland suspended licences to kill three packs of wolves, citing EU legislation. Yet Norway’s government welcomed the court of appeal’s decision to lift the cull injunction. A spokesperson said: “I note with satisfaction that the court of appeal upholds us in that the state’s decision of 22 December 2021 to kill wolves belonging to four wolf packs within the wolf zone, is legal.” The Norwegian environment department added that measures to ensure the full quota of wolves is taken may be put in place. Siri Martinsen, who runs the nature group Noah, said: “We are shocked by the ruling. The court does not evaluate the consequences of letting the state cull critically endangered wolves with the main aim of keeping them critically endangered.” Other European countries have introduced anti-wolf policies. Hunters in Sweden have already shot dead most of their annual target of 27 wolves. In Germany, where wolves have appeared in recent years having entered from neighbouring countries, there has been a debate over the predators’ impact on agriculture. In the UK, there are fierce arguments over whether wolves should ever be reintroduced.

[popculturebuffet]

Scotrospective: Scott Pilgrim Vs the World (The Comic)

Hello, Hello, Hello scottaholics! And what a beautiful day it is: After decades lost in the lost woods, at least it had that catchy tune to keep it company, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World: The Game is FINALLY back and performing for you on all platforms!

Even Stadia, the platform most likely to disappear like this game did for a while! Cheap shots at the stadia aside as a huge fan of the franchise as a whole and of this game who played it back on the 360, and had since sold said 360 so I had no way to get it back or ever play the dlc packs. Seriously who didn’t want to play wallace but never got to? Everyone, everyone is the answer. But with those the entirety of what I consider to be the main cast is playable, it has online so you can beat up hipsters, guys in costumes and robots with your friends, it’s a good damn feeling.  And since i’m in a celebratory mood, naturally i’m also feeling like a review. And since it just so happens the next volume up in my look at the comics is Vs the World, seriously I planned this review for this month without thinking to have it come out on the same day as the game until a week or two in, I felt there was no better way to celebrate the biggest day for Scott Pilgrim fans in some time.. and for Brian Lee O Malley as he’ll stop getting twitter asks about it. So with all the exposition taken care of LAST TIME, and the link right there if your curious, we can jump right in. On with the show!

After our opening titles, and yes this comic has opening titles, with Ramona sitting solmely in the rain. 

And Scott caught in the title. The rain shot is real pretty by the way. But yeah once we get past those we’re taken back 7 years ago. Finn found out his father was an asshole, and voiced by Stephen Root so hey you take the good with the bad, Steven just learned the horrifying truth about Gem Monsters, Guardians of the Galaxy saved the MCU and I was trying to find work after college.. wait... sorry sorry that was 7 years ago from THIS year. The comic came out in 2005, though the comic takes place on a sliding timescale where only like 2 years pass so I dunno when this is. Let’s just say 98.  Okay so 1998: Bill Cllinton’s sex scandal breaks, and puts way too much of hte blame on the young intern whose life came to be defined by one stupid mistake she made with a man who was way older and should’ve known better, the tide of the Monday Night War turned in favor of the WWF as Stone Cold Steve Austin became a household name, and it was an utterly standup year for video game relaases with Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, StarCraft, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, WWF: War Zone, Pokemon Stadium, Spyro The Dragon, Pokemon Yellow, WarioLand 2, Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Pokemon: Trading Card Game and Sonic Adventure. It’s like someone took a good chunk of my childhood and squeezed it into one year holy shit, I did not expect this when looking up what came out in 98. 

And while the movie pool wasn't’ quite this amazing, we still had The Wedding Singer, The Big Lebowski, the dude abides, Batman and Mr Freeze: SubZero, The Truman Show, Mulan, the good one not the one made near concetration camps that makes her into a demigod, Saving Private Ryan, Blade, Simon Birch, Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, Rushmore, Bride of Chucky, HalloweenTown, Plesantville, and the Prince of Egypt. And in music Weird Al changed from his first signature look to his second, getting Lasik and growing out his hair. Seirously had no idea that was this year. Good to know. Also Elton John got his knighthood. Super shooters. I could go on with 1998 triva for days but I cannot go on for 8 weeks so let’s get to the point here.. during alllla this  Scott Pilgrim, age 16, was starting St. John’s Catholic School and a couple of guys who were up to no good started making trouble. . by threatning to beat him up for no real reason. A fight insues and we cut to the principal’s office as Scott’s still a minor and not allowed to get into death fights just yet under the people’s freedom of choices and voices act. 

It’s here he meets Lisa Miler, a peppy and sarcastic blonde, who’s intrigued by the fact Scott somehow got beat up after being here just 15 minutes and wants to be friends. Naturally for scott next we see him he’s busy playing video games, and annoyed someone else is around and wondering who this person whose now in his basement is. God no wonder teenage me related to him. So for the next few pages we see their friendship in time lapse: Lisa joins him at lunch, then geninely wonders since Scott’s Untentionally a dick if he hates her.. it’s part of why I think Scott has some form of autisim. And not just because I tend to belivie a character is on the spectrum all the damn time, it’s because of the way he acts: while he is nice and charming at times.. he also clearly has trouble relating to people or realizing how his actions effect them and as seen here in a younger form can often be compeltely distanced from normal social queues, not getting how his actions might be seen until Lisa outright talks to him about it. I mean.. it’s not a huge stretch, and it dosen’t mean he’s nto responsible for his own actions, but it does EXPLAIN a lot of them better: why he just sorta forgets about Knives post-ramona but at the same time still cares enough he dosen’t want to hurt her despite you know, that ship sailing just by having moved on. 

But now the two are friends and his parents, who we meet for the first time and sister inquire about her being his girlfirned.. and by next jumpcut his parents apparently don’t want him hanging out with girls? What exactly the fuck? Also they mention Laurence, Scott’s brother whose missing for most of the books and has no real payoff for not being around. Next cut we get KIM!

Thank you Prissy. And she’s.. not all that different, assuming, correctly that their partner project, how she meets scott will just result in her doing all the work.. which not only is how these things usually went when I was in high school a decade later, but reminds me of the time me and my friends curtis and justin were put on a project and when asked who the alied powers were, guessed “Germany?”.... you can understand my fear. And also Curtis punching him for getting nothing done.. and not hard or brutally mind you just once quick in the gut and with full warning. Ah... the adaquate old days. 

So back to Lisa as, since Scott’s Mom has a guitar.. a fact I.. never honestly thought about. Seriously I never realized her children, since the Bass Scott has for most of the books is Laurence’s, getting into music was probably due to her. Also Lisa makes her case for WHY be a band: the school has a regular event called Lunchapalooza, where everyone goes to and since by teen logic, just being in a band is automiacally cool, she figures they can jump from not QUITE being in any cliques to being super cool. Which honestly yeah... while I didn’t know any bands in high school, the fact one of my friends, ironically named Scott, was a DJ automatically made him pretty damn cool once he got past his awkard phase. I never got past mine but somehow was loved by all except that one douchey kid in our group who mocked me for naming my Luxray kim, assuming it was based on Kim possible and not Kim Pine... though frankly how that’s an insult when Kim Possible was a fucking awesome show and character is beyond me but he was just 17 and also a douchebag, it didn’t have to make since it just had to piss off the easily pissed off kid with aspergers. So Scott poses how they can be a band with just their guitars and Lisa concedes drums WOULD help.. I mean it’s what MADE Shallow Gravy. 

So while Kim wonders if Scott is dating Lisa, because teenagers don’t really get girls and boys can be friends without wanting to be together, though not often as teenage boy brains can be rather stupid and horny... can confrim from personal experince. So it becomes clear Scott has a thing for Kim, and when Scott tries broaching it with Lisa she dosen’t take it well and he backpedals to asking her to be her drummer and plans to monday, proving Scott has somehow not gotten better at reading women, or anyone after 7 years. Can relate. 

So yeah he decides to ask Monday, same day as their presentation.. and thankfully missed the bus as he arrives to find the Benvy Tech boys came in, took everyone out and abducted Kim. Because yeah, just in case you were wondering Scott’s life was always like this.. or was it? Questions for later. So one Canadian Version of River City Ransom later, Scott’s made his way to simon... who, since most of you have probably seen the movie or art of the movie.. looks an AWFUL lot like Gideon. Hrmmm. Simon is naturally the final boss here and wonders if this is the best St. Joels can muster. Scott quips back as only Scott can. 

So cue an unsuprisingly awesome actoin sequence. IT’s part of why I love these color editions: While they already LOOKED thoroughly fantastic the added colors really help the series shonen manga meets old school video game vibe REALLY fucking pop. So Simon pleads mercy which like Scott delivering a good quip.. should’ve really been a red flag to younger me and is foreshadowing for later in case I was too subtle. He then does what any noble hero would do.. kicks simon into the sunset, tells Kim how he feels and asks her to play drums. They then make out. Awwww. 

Lisa suprisingly takes it well as the next montage shows.. granted we’ll learn in Feburary she wasn’t QUITE as over scott as it seemed, but the three, along with a friend of Lisa’s whose name I forgot and who DOSEN’T come back so I’m not going to bother learning, form their own friend group, Scott and Kim get an A, and Scott, Kim and Lisa’s band is dubbed sonic and knuckles, which is an objectively awesome band name. Something the series really does great: Video Game Based Band Names. Crash and the Boys, Sex Bomb-Omb, Clash at the Demonhead... we need more bands like this in the real world dammit. So then they play their big game, the two loose their vrigniity.. and then Kim asks scott “your moving to tornoto?” And.. for now.. that’s that. 

While the framing of that will be VERY important in the last volume, as notice how KIM’S the one who brings it up and it’s not explicitly stated scott actually told her, this flasback is great. While it does contribute to the volume’s drifty pacing, more  on that as we go, it brilliantly sets up a LOT of stuff for later, paticuarlly Lisa who I assumed wouldn’t be back and younger me’s jaw fucking DROPPED when she popped up in Volume 4. Granted i’m spoiling that suprise for you now but odds are most of you reading this have either alreaddy read these or were probably wondering if the girl from the animated short ever had any actual relevance in the books. So yes, yes she does. She’s also the pink haired girl you see pop up in the game in the background, as a nod to O’Malley’s comic strip style which had her and Kim as the leads.  Also yeah for fans of the game or movie or even the comics who were unaware.. this prologue got an animated adaption on adult swim to promote the movie. Naturally Micheal Cera and Allison Pill reprised their roles as Scott and Kim, with Mae Whitman voicing lisa.. and honestly being perfect for the roll, and Jason Schrwartzman voicing Simon naturally. While the animation is slightly limited, it still looks decent and expertly translates O’Malley’s art, while sliming things down slightly where needed to fit a short, and the anmation takes a huge bump for the fight scene which like the comic is short but awesome. While it has no real bearing on the film as Kim’s former relationship with Scott never really comes up or has any impact, as the Film while good was based primarily on volumes 1-3 with small pieces of 4 (paticuarlly the iconic “Lesbians gag”), with Wright working off outlines and drafts of 5 and 6, so the last half hour or so is mostly Wright’s invention. 

Not a bad thing as it’s still awesome and not o’malley’s fault but it means kim dosen’t get to do much, and is a big reason why I want an adaptation on netflix or hbo max. While i’d still want changes both because there’s no sense doing an adaptation if your not going to make some tweaks of your own and because it’d be intresting to update the series to modern day, both in societal conventions and so everyone stops saying the r word. Seirously the most telling sign of the series age is that word showing up quite a bit during the first half of the series. Point is there is merit in doing another remix of the story and doing a longer form one so we can get more of the characters, as well as flesh out ones like Steven, Neil (Who was done WAY better in the movie adaptation thanks to the wonderful Johnny Simmons), and Stacey who got the shaft in the books. Again, not slagging off the movie, it’s really great. Just saying there’s always room for more Scott Pilgrim content and we all know it. 

We’ll get back to the comic proper, and the present day of 2005, after the cut. 

So the story proper opens with Scott dreaming of playing video games... because of course he is with Ramona walking in. and finding it charmingly pathetic but wanting her boyfriend to you know, get out of bed. It’s 11:30.  So with Scott’s ass out of bed, we find Scott, Age 23 idiot with a heart of gold and Wallace, 25 king of all gays, on the bus as they talk it getting warmer and Lucas Lee, movie star and jason lee stand in coming to town to film a movie.. and Scott being Scott gets him confused for Luke WIlson. He’s also seen Bottle Rocket which.. good on him. Seriously while not wes anderson’s best film, those were made long afte this comic was published, it’s still a damn good one.. where was his career at this point... looking it up life aquatic was his most recent films and is still one of my favorites. So yeah he was in a good place career wise. 

Scott proudly talks about having Ramona over in a couple days so she can see his place and meet Wallace. But as explained by Wallace for those of us just tuning in, he already met her last volume. You know during that time Stacey thought she could magically make her date not be attracted to someone else.. and yes even almost a month later not letting that one go. Stacey should know better. Not saying i’ts right Wallace keeps poaching her boyfriends, but she still shoudlnt’ try and force a relationship with a guy or even finish a date with one who makes out with someone else, regardless of gender, mid date. She deserves better. In general not just in this one scenario but we’ll get to that. 

Point is while Scott, as usual, is a bit pissy about this Wallace.. has no time for that and issues an ultimatium

And he’s not bluffing, as he fully intends to tell Ramona the minute she walks in the door if he dosen’t break up with Knives. It really shows Wallace off at his best and why he’s Scott’s closest friend: Kim and Stephen do care about him but Kim both has a LOT of unresolved issues and sexual tension with him and keeps eveyrbody including Scott at arm’s length. And Stephen.. while he will OCASIONALLY call Scott out mostly just enables him, either ignoring his college buddy’s shittier behavior or playing along with it and backing him up when Kim rightfully calls him on being a dickhead. While both love their friend they just aren’t the best at dealing with his shit or getting why he does the things he does good and bad.  Wallace on the other hand geninely likes Scott. He’ll lock him out of the house and tell him to sleep elsewhere so he can bang one out, he’ll not wear pants if he dosen’t have to and he’ll certainly hit on Scott just to get a rise out of him, phrasing.. but he also genuinely cares for the guy’s well being. He lets him sleep in their house basically rent free since scott has no money, buys most of their stuff, and is, as we’ll see in this one, the ONLY one of his friends to take an active part in the fight against the exes, training Scott and researching his opponents when he can get info. He won’t baby Scott as seen here, but he will help him, and he will be the harsh voice of reason his friend needs.  And he did TRY doing a softer approach last time, simply telling scott to break up with his fake high school girlfriend. Scott had every chance to dump Knives during the last third of the first book.. it’s just a combination of both Knives and Ramona being in the same place and Scott getting panicky meant he balked. He NEEDS to be pushed into leaving Knives or he’s not gonna. And he also gets it’s not just Scott being a shifty coward: Scott DOES like Knives.. he just found someone who actually challenges him, intrests him and connects with him on his level, versus someone who worships and adores him like a puppy who just happens to be skilled with knives. The relationship with Knives. was an ego boost, an unequal paring that gave Scott the illusion of moving on from Envy. Ramona is him ACTUALLY moving on and given how badly Envy fucked him up, which comes into play in this book and the next, Wallace recognizes that Scott does need her... but this relationship can’t go anywhere if Scott is seeing someone else, and they both know it. Wallace is just the one who’s willing to do something about it to force scott to do something about it. He’s doing this for Knives too: it’s very clear he cares about the girl, was against this from the start, and knew this was going to end in pain and the faster Scott rips off the Band-Aid the faster she can move on to someone closer to her age and far more equal to her. Scott.. takes this about how you’d expect, even calling Double Standard, as Wallace does sleep around.. and while Wallace will be a homewrecker to Stacey.. otherwise it’s not remotley the same. Wallace does his sleeping around either casually or when he does get a partner, with their consent from what we can tell. He never cheats or anything, he just likes to bone. So yeah Scott doesn’t have a leg to stand on and acts accordingly. 

One of my faviorite gags in the series and one that’s etched in my head for keeps. So with a justified Ultimatium over his head Scott calls knives to hang out. Knives.. shows off that as adorable and trusting as she is.. she’s also kind of creepy and shows up just outside the phone booth he’s calling her from.  So the two go to a record store and Knives tries to get Scott into Clash at the Demonhead, her faviorite band. But since i’ts you know, headlined by Scott’s ex as we’ll find out, he’s not into it. But before that can get awkward.. it gets awkward in another way as Knives invites Scott to dinner at her parents place. Which is an objectively bad idea even before you get into the fact Scott wants a way out and as Volume 4 will show us her dad is both not happy with the idea of her dating a white guy and willing to use a katana to prevent it so he dodged a bullet there. Scott TRIES weasling out of it, but his “I’m too old for you” thing falsls on deaf ears.. and actually explains why she thinks this is normal: her parents are 9 years apart. of course obviously two consenting adults with a decade between them is a mite bit diffrent than 5 years between a teenager whose taking this way too seriously and a grown man whose taking this not seroiusly at all and dosen’t get how effed up this is. But Knives is too naive to get that, and papers over any possible concerns about her parents not wanting her to date a white guy with i’m in love.  Seeing that he has no EASY way out of this, as he shouldn’t, Scott just rips off the band aid and bluntly breaks up with her, saying it’s not going to work out. Knives.. is clealry devistatd. To her this was a serious relationship.. and Scott realized that too late.. and thankfully while he didn’t break up with her in the best way, at all, simply syaing i’ts not going to work out and confirming to her he means it, it’s clear from his face this hurts to do and he knows he’s REALLY hurting her and REALLY shoudlnt’ of dated her to begin with. IT’s why Scott dating a teenager dosen’t make him a morally rephrenisvie monster: because he was genuinely intrested, didn’t use her sexually, and there are tangible consequences for his actions. Knives just dosen’t disappear neatly into the sunset so he can be with ramona. The rest of the series covers her emotoinal recovery from being with Scott, and how she very horribly handles it and that’s why this plotline works at all: she’s not some act one contrivance to be thrown away, sh’es a human being, and more than that a young woman who got hurt REALLY bad and got way too in over her head with someone who just..wasn’t the one fo rher no matter how much she can’t admit that. 

We also get one of my faviorite sets of pages as Scott relfects on things and the sheer devistation on Knives face, which credit to a series that even at this early point loves it’s big bold facial expressions.. her’s being more subded just makes it sting MORE. 

This bit to me is vital to keeping Scott sympathetic and to his character. We see he really does regret what happened, dosen’t know how to process it and genuinely feels awful. As I said instead of some exgerated face that would still hurt him.. her face is quiet, clearly unable to process this and clealry lost and hurt.. and that hurts more than any fuck your or sobs he was probably expecting. Just her clearly not getting WHY he’s doing this or why he hurt her, and he KNOWS why he just knows telling her the truth would hurt her even more. But.. as he thinks.. his thoughts move to something else.. and the WHY of why he did this. 

He did it for Ramona. Wallace was as harsh as he was right: he needed a clean slate to actually give this relationship a shot and the smile comes off less as him being a calous dick whose just happy to move on, I mean he is a little, but more jus tsomeone READY to finally move on. He found the right person, he let the wrong one go if clumsily.. he has a future to look forward to and he can smile about that. 

Granted he’s still his usual unteitonally callous self and his way of telling his friends he and knives broke up is to casually say so and say “dont’ worry you’ll meet my new girlfriend soon.” Their reaction.. is my own. 

Look just because Scott is a nuanced douchebag dosne’t stop him from being a Douchebag. It just means he isn’t intolerable to watch and you actually care about him growing as a human being is all. 

So with that out of the way, it’s date night and Ramona is coming over.. also Scott is considering calling her Ramy which no. I'm genuinely in favor of a pet name that’s just a variant on someone’s name but a bit cute, as it’s just the right level of obnoxious, but no, just no Scott. No.  Ramona enters, meets Wallace again and sits down while Scott tries to shoo him out.. because turnabout is fair play bitch. They also see Ramona’s new hair as she dyes it something new for the first time, in this case a very lovely two tone, the purple from last volume but with a darker purple bellow it. I honestly wish she went for multiple colors in her hair again, but likely didn’t since the book was originally in black and white... which still dosent’ make sense as it would’ve been EASIER that way. Regardless Wallace makes himself scarce proving that he’s more than willing to be equal in terms of one of them spending the ngiht elsewhere. What a guy. 

Ramona finds out a few things about Scott: That his apartment is VERY small, just one room with a bed, a cabinet, a small kitchen and a bathroom, which despite what scott says I REALLY dont’ count as another room. Just common sense. She also learns that he can COOK. Yeah while you’d expect Scott to just get a wad of “I did the ultimatum thing okay now gimme” money and buy dinner but no.. he made the whole thing himself from his own recipe.  And once we cut to them eating on the floor.. turns out yeah he not only can cook but is REALLY good at it. She wishes there was a table which, small as the place is.. fair point. I mean at least get some tv trays. You have chairs. Or at least the easy chair. You can get nice padded folding chairs so you have a second chair guys. I know your poor but come on. Also Scott leanrs bread makes you fat. Good stuff. Also Scott freaks out when , while making out with Ramona in bed later, she mentions his hair’s getting kinda long and could use a cut... which turns out to be a thing for him. He isn’t an ass about it he just panics a bit because he’s partially convinced his last relationship’s nightmarish breakup was because of a bad haircut he got. As we’ll see next week, that’s a no but as someone whose a touch neroutic myself I get blaming a larger issue on something trivial. 

So we then get to the next chapter where it’s KIM’S turn to have a dream.. and the only time we see someone else's dreams. Honestly.. I really would’ve liked if it was a recurring device, even have Ramona pop into other people’s Not used ALL the time but I could easily see it being used with Knives to convey her obsession with Scott and her pain or kim again to help move her plots along or Wallace because I want to know what’s going on in his head. It must be a maze of male gentalia and fine liquor the likes of which has never been seen. It’s scotts funeral as Simon killed him and Scott’s corpse wonders if she dreams about this a lot. 

So we see her get ready and wake up her roomate Sarah whose a bitch. And as we’ll see in one of the backups, so’s the rest of her roommates. So drifting into work. Hollie is a character I really liked... the past tense will be explained later. And the first scene is probably why as her and Kim banter effortlessly, with Kim suggesting maybe she was a happy kid... only to admit quickly no she wasn’t, she was pretty withdrawn and then pretty angsty over someasshole who will be named Scott. “Your a holy terror kim, and i’m glad your on your side”> It’s a short scene but the kind this series excells at: just realistic, fun little exchanges bursting with character. I also GENUINELY wish we got more of this kind of thing, as only Knives really gets these kind of scenes to herself for the most part. There ARE scenes without Scott, but not enough like this that just give us as look into what his friends lives are like during the moments they aren’t putting up with his dumbassery or watching him engage in mortal combat. It’s why i’ve been hoping a spinoff will happen even though it likely won’t SOON. I’m sure O’Malley will return to this world some day, but between Snotgirl and Wicked World, which will come out when it’s ready but should be good.. he’s just really busy. But i’d love to see more of Kim.. or Wallace or Knives. The latter two are a no brainer: Knives is the tritagonist of the books, and it’d be intresting to see what she’d be like 5 years at the book, at the same age and stage in life as Scott. And with Wallace it’s because we really DON’T see his friend circle, life or what goes on with him. We hear him talk about a new boyfriend, who we don’t meet until near the end of the series, though you can see him in stage 3 of hte game if your curious, we see him with some random friends in volume 4, but we really don’t KNOW what hyjinks and lojinks wallace gets up to. He’s pretty isoalted from the rest of the main cast, something I hope an adaptation could fix as while realistic i’td be curious to see what his relationship with Kim or Steven would be like. Just food for thought. 

Point is this was a good scene. But as is typical for Kim’s life just when she has some serenity her ex crashes back in. In this case Scott needs to rent some movies, kim works at a rental store and god teenage me really wanted a clerks style spinoff.. but enough spinoff talk. Scott asks kim to bororw them, of course and explains he’s training for his fight with Lucas.. which Kim reacts to finding out her second best friend is in a series of death matches. 

She has understandable questions such as how the hell doe she know that and is he stalking Lucas and just hoping he’s an ex.. which let’s face it would be a very scott move. But nope Wallace told him, likely learning in an interview he dated Ramona or is coming for scott because he knows everything. We also get one of my faviorite exchanges when Kim wonders why Wallace and Scott are roomates.. a valid question he deflects by saying i’ts a long story. 

Also yeah, as much as casting Micheal Cera backfired for the movie.. that panel there proves there wasn’t another choice at the time. When you want a loveable, somewhat douchey, but also somewhat innocent and oblivious slacker.. who you gonna call. Also before we move on.. Kim.. how are you this suprised. You were there for the fight with Matthew. And Ramona giving out the exposition on why he’s there.. and you even did that whole weird space channel 5 thing no one ever did agian and to this day I will never understand what O’Malley was going for and only know the refrence by hearing that’s what it was. Point is you shouldn’t be this suprised.  Anyways we next cut to Ramona and Stacey, as Ramona enters her workplace, second cup, and they talk and Scott’s spider sense goes off... 

I mean it’s just a bad feeling but still.. weird. WE’ll get back to that later. Scott is in the middle of his training.. and I love the mentor side of Wallace and feel it didn’t get used enough as the series went on. As said before he cares about Scott, so he serves as his Shounen Mentor and a great one: he’s stern and makes Scott work, but he also gets his student and what Scott needs to work. I just wish he’d taught Scott some actual combat, but as we see Wallace’s combat skills boil down to yelling useless info from the sidelines.. I mean he can be useful, we’ll see that next week, it’s just he’s not an action guy. But spirtually he’s the guy scott needs to kick his ass into shape. That being said his “training” consists of watching Lucas’ movies, playing tony hawk and when Scott wants to play more Tony Hawk, having Scott do pushups while Wallace plays Tony Hawk.  Before we turn... there is an elephant in the room I just gotta shoo out: Lucas.. is easily the worst setup of the 6 exes. Patel SEEMINGLY comes out of nowhere but his letter and email hint SOMETHING is coming up, and his flashy dynamic entry intro is damn cool and is what turns the series on it’s head, from an indie comic about a guy getting it together.. to that but with huge shonen dustups with epic visuals. Todd is introduced masterfully here, and is a presence from the start of volume 3 as a result, Roxie gets a slight tease in the free comic book day issue, and her not attacking for two months not only sets up tension but allowed for a red herring.. im’ not only hiding that the fourth ex is a she because anyone whose seen the movie or played the game knows the fourth ex is a woman. The cat’s out of the bag, no sense hiding it. The Kentangis show up pretty early on and Gideon is hinted at and built up, as this towering, mysterious figure, his relationship with Ramona, who he is, why he set up the league, and just how fucking strong he is is all obscured, with his only four apperances simply teasing the big final showdown and giving him that much more mysitque. 

Lucas.. is just sorta intorduced like “Hey I gotta fight this guy”. There’s just.. nothing. Scott’s just gotta fight him because he’s next up and Wallace knows that because plot convience. It’s VERY lackluster given what comes before.. and frankly while I like Lucas, he’s the weakest plot and character wise. HE’s not even really EVIL, just a sellout and is more doing this because he has to I guess, and likely because of stuff we find out in Book 6 but sssssshhhhh. We’ll get more into that when the fight happens but it’s one of the books weakest points. The evil ex.. just feels like an afterthrought again despite there being no reason to. Thankfully this would never happen again as I said, but it dosen’t make this any less frustrating. 

So we cut to Sex Bomb-Omb practice, and after that we get more tease for Clash at Demonhead. And Stephen.. is cool with them and entirely happy one of them made it, while Scott is understandably pisssed off about it and not happy one of his best friends is you know, promoting the band of his ex who broke his heart and as we’ll get more into next time, said rising career is what tore them apart. So yeah Stephen’s a dickhead, and I was wrong last time that he got better. He really.. dosen’t. He gets less CREEPY.. but out of the main 6 characters he’s the weakest: he dosen’t have much of an arc, does some very questionable shit in the second half, and his being around means we have to suffer through Julie. I’ll tear into him more on a case by case basis but for once Scott’s not overreacting. While Kim does nothing she also has no idea just HOW bad things were and Scott won’t tell her. Stephen was there the whole fucking time. He just saw Scott’s rebound with a teenager. He knows he was kind of messed up after this. Dosen’t justfiy knives but still he looses the moral high ground he tries to have at times. 

So while Scott shops a song for Ramona to her, Knives calls Scott’s place clearly setting up another suprise apperance. Wallace.. figures out what sh’es doing quick and simply gives her a stern “You have to go” And to me it’s not him being a dick.. he’s both trying to save her from seeing Scott with Ramona and fucking her up worse... and is looking out for her. She needs to move on and moving up to stalking Scott’s not going to help that. Scott dosen’t WANT her anymore, and while he handled it bad, Wallace gets she needs to see that. Granted he could’ve you know explained it to her and tried talking, but as i’ve said he’s not a perfect person and he was also on a time table to get her out of there in case Scott you know, showed up with his new girlfriend and made things a billion times worse. And the two are indeed headed to his place to watch one of Lucas’ movies, and part of that weak setup is that Ramona.. just has no connection with him. It was high school. Scott also pretends he dosent’ remember his. You are a lying liar sir stop that.  So they watch the film together hanging out, and it’s.. really bad. The good one was rented out. I miss rental stores.. a magical time. I mean i’ts better now, streaming means 80% of movies are avaliable if you have a bunch of services and even if you just have netflix or hulu or hbo max, you still get a pretty decent selection each month. Plus digital rentals are super easy. Do miss redbox though. I mean it’s still there I’m just warry of something that relies so heavily on touching things in a state with a lot of trump morons. You CAN get Covid twice and I don’t wanna. Also we get some dated Dialouge as Scott commenting on Lucas being hot, he is good taste Scott, is given a “good job convincing me your not gay”. He and ramona end up having sex though so .. yay? I dunno. The series has a really weird thing about not getting bisexuals exist and as someone whose bi, and really against bi errasure it bothers me, it bothers me a lot. Though given O’Malley apparently has not only far more queer rep in snotgirl but a bisexual lead, he’s clearly learned so i’m not going to drag him too hard on this. It was the early 2000′s. People were pretty damn stupid about this. Creators have gottten MUCH more important issues much worse. 

So the next morning, Scott gets a call from his well meaning but ditzy mom, and reacts like you’d expect. His parents are in Europe to keep them out of the action and what not. Though apparently according to the last book his mom did read volume 3 at least. Or Wallace told her about the relevant bit. You make the call. 

So i’ts Ramona’s turn to meet Sex Bomb-Omb. The group hang out and discuss Gordon Downie. 

Look I don’t know indie bands. I have no idea who the tragically hip are I just know the name is really hipstery. We also get the recipe for Vegan Shepards Pie. None of them are vegan they just wanted to try it and I.. really want to make this some time. Just to see if it’s any good. But yeah it’s in general a fun casual scene, as Kim reveals she and Scott dated, just to break the tension, and Scott tries out Rammy but quickly backpedals. Just fun slice of life stuff. Oh and Knives is watching them from the window and takes Scott dating someone else as well as you’d expect. 

So she gets some hair bleach to do some highlights and calls her friend Tamara over. We met her last volume as she dragged her along to the show, but it’s here we really get to know what she’s like.. i.e. the sane one in the duo, rightfully pointing out Scott’s not that great. Also Knive’s points out ramona’s “fat”, which is thankfully portrayed as petty sniping as while Ramona does have some curves it’s you know.. not remotely a bad thing and the kind of thing a teenage girl would harp on. Still she’s just in STEPS from this happening. 

But yeah.. it’s clear here Knives has some underlying issues to address and really needs therapy  not to go after her ex’s current girlfriend with knives. I mean it’s in the name but still. Then again volume 4 has her dad going around with a katana or something like it wanting to murder her daughter’s older ex boyfriend he dosen’t realize is ex so it’s clear her whole FAMILY needs some therapy. But this does round her out and show there’s more to her.. a pretty violent and obessive side sure, but it shows she wasn’t just some one dimensional ego boost for scott but a person. One whose just as flawed as the rest of the cast.. but more sympatheic because they’ve all got about 6 or 7 years on her and at this age that’s a lifetime. And while Scott DID set this off by dating her which was objecitvely a bad idea... the rest of this isn’t remotely on him. He handled things BAD.... but all he wanted was for both of them to move on. Knives.. simply can’t admit Scott is not a nice person, was probably two timing her as Tamara points out, which as we know he 100% was, and is not some perfect guy she can’t replace: like Knives.. he’s just a person with faults and she’s too blind to see that. 

So before we can get to the crazy stalker ninja fight, let’s instead get to Scott and Ramona hanging out where we meet Gideon, Ramona’s Cat who i’ll call Cat Gideon, both because I love steven unvierse and because it’s less confusing. This is a pretty slight scene as Ramona admits not a lot happened with Lucas and Scott’s apartment is a hole.. which yeah, yeah it is. Also she DEFINTLY dind’t cheat on him with any cocky pretty boys. Which would come off worse if it wasn’t for the pact Ramona was clearly doing it out of regret and Scott just liked like 50 pages ago about rembering his exes when one of them is his second best friend.. which neither would admit but you know it’s true. Stephen is third where he belongs. 

So next morning it’s fight time, and Scott is glad wallace is going with him. It’s awkard going to fights alone. Which leaves me to wonder if before this comic Scott just.. fought random guys letterkenny style. Like they’d call up, schedule it and then he and one or more of his friends would go beat up a guy. It’s just.. hilarious knowing that this kind of thing is common in canda minus the ki attacks , flash effects, wizards, vegan psycics, ninjas, and roboticists. But damn I now want a scott pilgrimized letterkenny now more than ever. You know you do too don’t deny it. I”d love to see the hard right jay fight but iwth a loud “KO!” when he gets his ass knocked out. Also Casa Loma is a very real, very cool Toronto location, as I never realized as a kid, to the point that the lucas fight was filmed there for the movie. 

So Scott approaches Lucas a bit star struck and upon finding out scott is.. punches him out as seen in the header image and throws him into a tower. When Scott regains conciousness, Kim and Neil have arrived and Lucas calls a time out. And it’s here we get to, while being the weakest of the 7, why I like Lucas.. he’s actually a pretty nice guy. At WORST he sold out. But the two have a pretty nice conversation over ritz and baby carrots, with it turning out, unsuprisingly Ramona did cheat on him with a cocky pretty boy, and while like Ramona he’s clearly moved on, it still hurts a bit and understandably so. He also warns scott while she might seem nice i’ts an act. 

I mean it isn’t ALL an act, but she does have a tedency to put up walls and act pretty badly as we’re slowly finding out.. though given Scott does the exact same it only means.. she’s human. She’s not MUCH higher above him in terms of morality and this is where we get our first peaks into the fact the series isn’t just about Scott’s development but hers. But it’s understandably absent from volumes 1 and 2 since we need to know her first, and this volume is about getting to know her a bit and get a feel for who she is, something I ddin’t really get a grip on as a teen, but do now. We see more of who she is good and bad as the walls go down. She’s more SURFACE LEVEL functional than scott, but beneath it has a lot of the same exact issues.  Lucas and Scott continue to GENUINELY bond, as Scott genuinely thinks the guy is talented and Lucas want’s an Oscar this year.. maybe not for the current film which is a romantic comedy with a teen star but hey, stars have done far worse in their Oscar years. I mean at least he’s not making a comedy about himself in a fat suit domestically abusing himself in a wig while he also plays an asian sterotype. He explains he almost didn’t get into the league but felt too important to ramona’s past.. plus he looks cool. Plus they let Patel in despite barely being in a relationship with her and being kind of a tool so they kinda had to let the handsome affiable movie star in. Scott wonders “wait league” and Lucas is understandably frustrated to find out Patel just sent a letter Scott didn’t read.. and at Matthew let’s be clear. I mean.. Gideon has to have known Scott wouldn’t read that since he’s been in his head. We’ll get to that in part 6. Point is they formed a league, hence why their organized enough to come after him like this and Scott understandably glares at Wallace for you know, having him play tony hawk and watch movies yet missing the fucking obvious clue they were all working together and they were only coming at him one at a time by choice. 

Lucas offers to just.. take a bribe and SAY Scott beat him, Scott calls him a sellout jokingly and Lucas proves that while not AS bad as the rest of the League, he’s still a dick by telling him to kiss ramona’s sweet ass goodbye pilgrim. Okay either he’s seen her since high school or he’s fondly remembering a high schooler’s ass. Neither one is nice to think about. But Scott gets out of his ass beating by pointing out a ramp, real thing too used for the movie, and asking him to skate down it. Lucas says i’ts impossible, and Scott just whistles. So Lucas tries skating the impossible and dies via velocity. Yes really. Scott collects his change and gets a gift, a mytryil skateboard he.. can’t use because he dosen’t have a proficency for it and bemoans not picking it up in 5th grade. Also he didn’t get his autograph. He does get some coins though so neat.   Yeah I mentioend Lucas was the least of the exes and I stand by it: He’s an intresting character, not a GREAT person but clearly a charming and nice enough guy who likely offered the bribe not because he’sd a sell out but because he genuinely liked scott, and is easily the best adjusted of the exes. But obviously a near non existant setup and a really hilarious and unsastifying finish just.. don’t really feel sastsifying. I mean i’t slampshaded, but after all the build up of her having 7 evil exes, the next one is just..filler. Not BAD, but not really anything special and giving Scott a an early pokemon victory, but unlike ash having done nothing to really DESERVE it.  Thankfully both adaptations so far VASTLY improved on this. While Lucas is still affiable in the movie he’s also smarmy, if on better terms with Ramona, saying “he seems nice” after the tower throw and throwing in some stunt doubles. His fight goes from one of the least satisfying and weakst of the series, to easily one of the best of the movie. We’ll talk about that more there but obvious Chris Evans version is far superior, keeping the good traits while giving us an intresting fight.. and still keeping the skateboard death because it’s fucking hilarious and the movie improves on THAT too by having scott give flat wows as he slowly dies. The game likewise keeps teh skateboard death, if shortening it, and the skateboard, and while not changing his apperance does make him a hell of a tough boss. Took three tries and some online grinding to take him out. Still a hell of a fight. Point is while I genuinely like Lucas story wise.. this just dosen’t work for me and is pretty damn weak, even if it gives us some godo character insight we could’ve got that, and a fight and still had the finish we did. 

That being said.. we DO get a fight instead, likely why the Lucas fight was so truncated. Next chapter and that evening or the next day or whatever, we pan over the real life tornto refrence library. It is a VERY nice touch thatt the comic and it’s adpations use either real places in toronto or reasonable subsittues. While not canadian myself I love the place and hope to visit Tornoto some day when the world isn’t a living nightmare and it’s really nice that like New York for Marvel, Brian Lee O malley really makes the city feel integral to the comic, like it’s own character. But Knives is ominously perched above.  At second cup Scott is horrified to find Julie. Seconded. Julie takes the moment to give out to scott about him dating Ramona despite telling him no. Okay... 

Yeah as you can probably guess I don’t like Julie. She’s not a good character. The movie did her better, with the bleeping gag and aubrey plaza’s performance, but in the comic.. she’s just the worst. She sucks bad. If she were an ice cream flavor she’d be pralines and dick. While she’s fine on OCCASION, and actually works in the next volume, outside of that she just gets more unplesant, more unlikeable, more bitchy, more unfathomabbly assholish every. damn. volume. I”ll give out about that a bit then too but I have to put up with her for the entire damn comic. Now her being bitchy to Scott is fair to a point: Scott is a mess, and she’s loyal to Envy in the breakup, and Scott’s own friends drag him on a daily basis.  The problems are that she’s like that to EVERYONE, even Knives who isn’t about to stab her much as i’d like that. She’s unberable to Stephen whose tolerance for her is unfathomable, though the ending bits of volume 6 show maybe he just has terrble taste. She’s just a throughly unplesant, social climbing bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone. And it sticks out badly against the main cast; Scott is very bad with women and relating to people, but is also nice, charming and most of the damage he does is not intetional. Ramona puts up walls to keep others out but is also a responsible adult and often cuts through Scott, and at times others, internal bullshit. Wallace is an alcholic, but still a very responsible, very loveable guy who clearly cares about scott and supports him finacially and emotionally. Kim is VERY emotionally distant, very misntrhopic.. but also a good person who as we see as the series goes, has an inner light to her and often drags on Scott because she’s been putting up with his shit the longest and WANTS him to be better. Knives is an obessive and violent stalker.. who was also deeply hurt by an older man, dosen’t GET that her realtionship with scott was wrong and uneven, and is clearly not emtoinallyr eady for the deep feelings she’s having. And Stephen.. well he’s a talented guitarist but also enables scott and julie. Especially him enabling Julie. 

Point is their all pretty well rounded, llikeable characters with flaws. Julie.. is just an ass. And this scene demonstrates that with flying colors. While Scott does ignore her because he’s too worried about his sister and girlfriend becoming friends, understandably given Stacey knows all his dark secrets, Julie spends two pages giving out and treating scott like some bad guy for persuing Ramona against her orders. And i’m going to break down why.. this dosen’t work.. on any level for her.  1) Ramona is not Julie’s property. She’s a big girl with her own free will. They aren’t even remotely close: Julie met her only barely before Scott, and given the dream thing probably not even that. And you could say Julie is just looking out for her... she dosen’t know Ramona well enough to KNOW if Ramona is still smarting over Gideon. She probably was.. but she readily, once the awkwardness passed, went out with scott and dove right into the relationship. While there’s still some scars as we’ll see.. she CHOOSE to move on and that’s her choice. If she wasn’t ready, she woudl’ve turned him down or broke it off by now realizing it was a mistake.  2) Scott has no reason to listen to her. She hates his ass, somewhat justifably but still, she hates him and has been against him since fucking colllege. She took his exes side in the breakup despite Envy still being partly in the wrong but paints him as some abusive dickhead and not just an insesntive dickhead. To him he’s just some villian she needs to reign in for her cool friend who wants nothing to do with her and grows to justifably hate her over time. Scott and Julie TOLERATE each other. They are not friend,s they do not like each other and never will. They are around each other because of Stephen. That is it. If Kim , Wallace or Stephen had asked, or at least made him wait for kinves. he probablyw ould’ve or at least considered it since while they take the piss out of him, they genuinely care about him and actually have shown they care about something other than themselves! Speaking of which the cou de gras 3) She’s a selifsh bitch: She is NEVER not  in any volume seen as out for anyone but herself, and thus scott has no reason to trust her judgement. She berates Stephen, him and anyone who will listen, is only so loyal to envy because she’s famous, and as I said treats EVERYONE like dogshit.  And given Scott is still a very flawed guy.. it takes a LOT for him to be so right and he runs out screaming when Julie mentions her.

So back at the library, Ramona brought Stacey along because the place is a maze. Scott calls Stephen and calls julie evil.. which given the last two paragrahs. Yeah. She is. She really is. But that goes nowhere as he dosen’t have Stacey’s number. He also thinks Julie was responsible for this which while she’s very much not.. would it REALLY be that suprising that if Julie were there she would’ve introdcued the two and set up their little hangout just to piss scott off? God I’m  so sick of talking about her. 

So the two after dropping off Ramona’s package decide to hang out a bit.. not long as Ramona’s got shit to do, but hey I agree with her logic i’m curious about this palce too. But before they can go up an elevator Ramona spots incoming.. and thus we get the fight of the volume. Though given the next one has two climatctic fights and one or two before that, they easily could’ve had both.. this is still the highlight of the volume.  So Ramona snaps off a railing and before Stacey can give out about that she finds out WHY as Knives attacks with a pair of sais. And O’Malley did his homework as while you’d THINK it was just another dumb white person mistake.. O’Malley is asian, thoughw ether he’s candaian korean or canadian chineses, as his last name is korean but he has a large chinese cast in this very comic that might come from experince, I do not know and if you do know tell me. I’d like to refer to him properly as I don’t LIKE lumping all asian cultures into one basket. But not only that he did his home work, as Sai’s, while popularized in Okinawa Japan, were also used in other countries. I bring this up since I assumed it was just a simple mistake even knowing Brian was mixed-race, and was plesantly suprised to fine that know, I was the moron. And i’m fine with admitting that. 

So we get a damn good fight.. and Knives figures out Scott WAS cheating on her. Granted she assumes so due to seeing Ramona at the refrence Library, before he actually cheated and clearly blames Ramona for it, but still, it fucking hurts. Plus while her attacking Ramona, who initally assumes she’s gideon’s doing, which.. yeah sending a teenage assasian just to mess with her head does sound like him. So while Stacey does complain “ramona you can’t just tear out art objects” to which I say... yeah high, Stacey? NOT THE POINT RIGHT NOW SCOTT’S EX IS TRYING TO KILL HER. SHE’S DEFENDING HERSELF.  So we get one hell of a fight. It not only shows off that Ramona is one hell of a fighter herself, as is knives, but just how immature knives is, resorting to constnat fat jokes and taunts showing just how immature she is.. and unlike volume one where it was endearing and we just saw how sweet she was here it just comes off as mean, bitter, and uncomfortable. But again part of the series biggest charm is the main cast are all well fleshed out and throughly human. She’s doint this because she dosen’t know better and was raised in a house where, again as volume 4 will bear out, finding out her dad is going after scott with a samurai sword just warrants a “dad’s are so weird aren’t they” my point is her frame of refrence is a mite skewed. Plus this is a world where everyone but Stacey just calmly accepts big shonen fights break out, so it’s not that unsuaul to want to settle things with a fight and while i’ve joked about her killing Ramona we genuinely don’t know that was the goal> Could’ve been, easily given murder is peachy in this setting and just leads to a respawn according to O’Malley and would’ve just sent ramona back to her apartment. But I genuinely don’t think she has it in her to do it and while she could’ve planend to, she never would’ve. Plus Ramona easily leads the fight as while Knives uses hit and run tactics and tries make her follow.. Ramona is more annoyed than anything as she has shit to do. Knives only gets one hit in and while i’ts a pretty nasty scratch on the cheek, if thankfully not scarring.. Ramona shrugs it off when she brags about it and easily takes knives down with a potted tree. Knives runs and while she tells herself it’s to fight another day.. its really because her opponent was WAY stronger and way more ready for something like this than she probably planned on. She did defintely want a fight, she just wasn’t prepared to be outmatched so handily. It’s also a nice  parallel to last book’s fight: Like with Scott and Matthew,  while the fight SEEMS pretty even, in reality our hero/heroine was alwasy teh one in control and easily took care of the less experinced and less ready upstart, who likely wasn’t expecting a fair fight much less to loose. 

So Ramona and Stacey wisely get out while Stacey explains Knives is indeed Scott’s ex, though is unaware of the cheating thing. Speaking of Scott he’s playing sonic and knuckles, and in fact kept wallace on the line before just to get advice because of course he did hence why stacey didn’t get through to him, but gets a call... from Envy. 

This is easily the second best sequence in the boook, which was lovingly and wonderfully adapted to film and as a result I cannot read it without hearing Brie Larson’s voice for Envy , a nice mixture of seduction and condescension. It’s CLEARLY painful fo rhim, and we do get some things established as Envy toys with him, that it’s been about a year and that she left him for a cocky pretty boy, familiar.. and while Scott claims to not know what he looks like.. given Todd is clearly on her band cover... it’s not exactly hard to put two and two together. So after some awkard catchup and Scott telling her about ramona against his will, we get to the reason she’s here with Scott understanndbly being supscious and calling her a user.. which while Envy denys.. she ends up admitting to. She’s coming to town as estalbished and her opening act backed out, and since Scott has a band, and one that 2/3 of which she knows, she wants them to open for her.  Scott naturally isn’t too intrested and thinks it’s just pity. The sequence. is masterful, using a watchmen style 9 by 9 panel layout and intercutting scott’s pained reactions and clear lack of comfort with flashes of envy on her side.. never showing her proper, but showing his memories or what he’s seen in magazines. It’s really striking and really sells the sheer discomfort Scott’s going through.  So soon after Wallace gets home.. and finds Scott, drained and miserable on the floor, not even responsive. And this really is the scene that shows me that Wallace cares for the guy and cements that asshole he may be, he loves his buddy. He goes through possible scenarios that fit scott: Food poisoning, finding out Wallace saved over his final fantasy save (though he rules it out as last time that happened he was crying), that ramona dumped him.. before Scott let’s out a pathetic and miserable “Ennnnnvvv”. Wallace , who was at ground zero for that relationship as we’ll find out, realizes this and lets out a little shit, unsure how to help and pissed off at that bitch for once again hurting him like this. As I said it shows how Wallace knows scott in and out and loves him dearly.. and how he knwos about this paticuarly heartbreak better than anyone but Scott and Envy themselves. IT’s just a really tearjerking scene, as we get a sense of WHY scott spiraled into an ego boost of a relationship: His last one REALLY tore him in half, and he’s still not completely healed from the emtional bisection. 

So Scott gets more bad news next chapter as Stacey tells him about the fight and he’s worried he’s going to loose ramona on top of this. I mean he desrves it.. .but it’s clear she’s the best thing to happen to him after a really rough year of denial and poor decisionss and loosing her will likely only make him WORSE. He also breaks the bad news, to him at least to the band about the gig. Stephen, being kind of a dick who while understandbly excited about a big gig fails to see his friend REALLY isn’t happy about this nor remembers you know, that the person offering this tore his heart out indiana jones style and while they should take the gig despite the risks, it’s too big an opportunity not to, he should be fucking senstive about this. Kim however... has a suprising and heartbreaking reactoin to this. Which is spread over a few panels but i’m gonna string into one image for convince sake. 

Just.. DAMN. I honeslty missed this both as a teenager and as an adult when I read through the books last time but holy shit is this a heartbreaking little moment, even more with the development she gets in later books. Keep in mind, over two books so far, Kim.. really hasn’t shown a lot of emtion. The most upset she’s gotten was getting a bit pissed about another a girl drummer. The only other time we’ve seen her sad was at 17 when Scott left. Her only emotions that we could see were angry and surly. But here? She’s genuinely upset and we see her walls break down for the very first time.. and it’s with the clear indication she NEVER really got over Scott. She never got proper closure and while she hasn’t let it so.. it’s been VERY clear she's been grossly uncomfortable with how he just likes to brush off their history, something that very clearly still bothers her and understandably so: 6 years , while a lot of time, still really isn’t long enough to just .. FORGET your first boyfriend , how he made you feel or the fact he took your virginity and you took his. Stuff like that sticks with you.. I’m ony assuming on the virginity thing but my point remains: To Scott it’s SEEMINGLY nothing, when really he’s probably just trying to brush it off because he dosen’t like dealing with things and given how Kim is wrongly assumed she can’t feel pain. I mean to anyone else i’d be a fair assumption and even i’m not convinced if she touched a hot stove she’d burn, but that’s phsysical this is emotional. DIffrent playing fields. Point is Scott’s kind of a dick and not having ANY closure for anything, Kim is still smarting from him leaving as much as Scott is smarting from Envy dumping him.  And it somehow gets MORE painful.... which should’ve been the tagline for Bojack Horseman now I think about it but yeah: her line is what cuts me up the most “I saw her on the cover of Now. She’s pretty”. It’s a little line, it’s easy to see why I missed it .. but the subtext really stings. It’s that despite being VERY pretty, I had a crush on her as a kid and I still do now.. Kim just can’t help but compare herself to someone whose now a glamrous rock star.  Their equally attractive but all Kim can see is ANOTHER person who Scott cared about more than her. Which seems petty but again he just.. abnadoned her. His moving wasn’t his choice but his not telling her as was framed earlier sure as hell was. And then just.. look at the next people he dates: A glamorous rock star (She wasn’t at the time but that’s for next week), a much younger girl who can’t possible challenge him, and an ultra cool american. To her.. it must feel like he just looks right through her to every other person intersted in him and never even consdered her as a person anymore. I mean.. jesus christ that hurts.. and makes me hate Stephen more since you know he dosen’t notice any of this.. though at least unlike with Scott it’s a bit more understandable because Kim’s so unflappable and he’s already ignoring very obvious and transparent emotional pain why shouldn’t this be any diffrent.  So yeah no one’s happy about this, and that ends up including Stephen as he’s so insecure about his band’s talent he’s pretty sure they suck when their probably at least adaquate. 

So while Scott dosen’t say anything, it’s clear he’s at least consdiering the offer as when we next see him he and ramona are heading to Envy’s show. And honestly it’s just a really sweet scene as Ramona asks about envy and the two banter and hold hands. A really nice palletee clensar since hte last few pages were like I was the one lucas socked in the gut. Also she assures him she dosen’t hate him, and asks about how the breakup happened, turning down any offers to hear the good times.  It was new years eve one year ago, and he mentions it was over her leaving to meet some guy named Todd.. and Ramona finds the story familiar but brushes off Scott wondering if her todd and Envy’s todd wer ethe same guy as a douchey joke. When prying about what happened otherwise, Scott admits it was all a blur.. Ramona isn’t ahppy with the answer.. but it’s nto like it’s that unresonable: he was in deep with Envy, and the breakup was damn bad to the point it took a year for him to recover and end up in the relationship he is now and the one before this was clearly a cry for help. It also helps reinfroce just how much Wallace was there for him and probably WHY Wallace hates Envy so much. They probably live together simply because Scott needed a place after college, was in zero condition to get a job or do anything given his zombie like state.. and Wallace just had him move into his bed, platonically and into his place. It’s probably why while Wallace will complain ocasoinally he isn’t that on scott to find a job. He dosen’t need a paying roomate, they do fine just on his sallary and he has a steady, secure job in some sort of calling office, probably working in medical stuff like my mom. He needs his friend to be safe and happy, then he can get on his ass about being functional, as he is in present day. If nothing else this volume made me realize just how good a person Wallace is.  The one thing he CAN remember, to Ramona’s disbelif is a restraunt opening up, the job story he hinted at last volume: basically it was a fancy tex mex place called, and this is one of the best restraunt naems in the history of fiction brace yourself: The Gilded Palace of Flying Burritos. Naturally, as would I as I love tex mex and that name, Scott loved the place, ate there most of the week and like me with some places I liked waited impatietly to get a job. He did and they were even super generous as the food was FREE.  Which is a euphoric feeling I relate to, though I also liked any discounts I got. seriously when I worked at Bagel and Bagel a good chunk of my paycheck was eating there for dirt cheap every shift. I miss that place so much. Like even after I left there I still like a good bagel sandwitch. And it wasn’t covid or anything it was just low staffed and slowly coming apart due to a lack of a solid manager after Crystal, the manager who hired me, transfered to a store closer to her home, which I do not blame her for. 

Point is I get it even if Ramona thinks this is all made up. Anyways at Lee’s Place, based on the real life Leo’s place, everyone’s gussied up: Steven got an awful haircut and Kim... 

But no time to dwell on how great kim’s..everything is.. who DID  Neil bring to the concert? 

While Kim is VERY much enjoying this, everyone else is a bit freaked with Ramona getting assurance her and Scott dated breifly, with Kim quipping her and neil will probably date even breiflyer, and Stephen.. freaking out, wondering if she seduced him, and asking if they should take him out back and kick his ass.. 

Just..... that’s a lot of douche to unpack and this review has been VERY long and suprisingly hard already.. but fuck it, we don’t have much left to go let’s do this. Okay one did she seduce him.. I mean I GUESS, but really let’s be clear here: Neil is a horny, lonely, monosolobic 19 year old who lives with his sister’s college friend and whose life revovles around said guys band. Knives is adorable. She likely barely had to flirt with him to get him to say yes .As someone who was a lonely 19 year old doofus, I guarantee no matter the red flags I probably woudl’ve said yes provided she was 18 instead of 17, despite the abudant red flags such as neil vaugely looking like scott, neil being the one single man within scott’s circle to get her way back in, as Knives hasn’t realized she’s bi yet or given how much she looked up to Kim, she probably WOULD’VE gone for it. As would any sane person, which neither knives nor I entirley are. So she didnt’ so much seduce him as offer him a girlfriend he didn’t have and him being too intrested in having a sweet, caring girl on his arm to see the giant army of adrestian soldiers needed to carry all the red flags this presents. 

And as for “do we need to kick his ass. “ Stephen.. did you kick SCOTT’S ass? No, you fucking abetted him and only stepped in for the good girl thing. You did NOTHING to stop his relationship with knives or tell him he was screwing up or look out for that girl’s well being. This will bite him in the ass even harder in volume 5, but even now it just makes him look REALLY fucking bad that, even if he probably dosen’t mean it, that’s at all on the table. Also.. Neil, unlike scott is doing slightly less wrong. While he is 20 to her 17, three years.. it’s HALF of what Scott and her’s age diffrence is, and far more equal in power structure. It’s still not.. GREAT, but my point is you did NOTHING when Scott did this, for far flimiser and less forgiavble reasons.. but when NEIL, whose been nothing but weirdly loyal to you dates her, you want to kick someone’s ass. I mean yes he’s being stupid: in a clear role reversal of the Scott and Knives situation, it’s obvious just from her expression that KNVIES is the one in control here, and the one using someone to ease her own pain. Granted it’s wrong, if not as wrong as Scott should techincally know better and Knives very clearly dosen’t, as well as get into a show of her faviorite band. Is what she’s doing wrong.. yeah... while she can’t see it again it’s what Scott did just not QUITE as fucked up due to not being AS embalanced. Should neil probably be dating her after scott did ? No. But should you be threatning him and not scott for you know, setting all this in motion? No. Jesus christ you suck Steven. 

Thankfully while Scott presumibly calms Stephen down, Kim spots Hollie and her roomate Joseph, who will be suprisingly important. He’s very gay, very quite, very bearded and is only hear because the bass player is hot and when prodded on it....

Well said. Also I read that with John Heder’s voice fo rsome reason.. don’t know why, his career ended as quickly as it began because he REALLY did not pick his films well. He saw that he was going to be in a film with David Spade and Rob Schinder and didn’t fire his agent for suggesting it. Meanwhile Scott and Ramona run into Sandra and Monique, Scott’s old classmates who just sorta.. show up every so oftne, often backing up Julie because every Alpha Bitch needs a posse. As Boscha has proven once you loose your posse you loose your bitchy powers. They also ask if Scott and Ramona are an item which leads to a fantagious visual gag. 

Also Stephen awkardly talks to the new couple, about how much Knives loves the band, and because why start reading the room now just sorta.. CASUALLY slips in the fact he knows her is because she and scott dated. 

Granted Knives action this book really EARNED her that curveball.. but still, it’s transparently clear she’s both not over Scott and Neil’s a placebo, and that she loves the band... how the fuck did you get through college, much less get two loyalish friends Steve. 

Kim tries to hide when she runs into Sarah whose with.. someon O Malley does not know, literally captioning it “I don’t know htis girl”. Fucking love that gag even if SOMEHOW kim is the roomate they all hate. Despite hte fact as the side story will bare out, her roommates are all pretty obnoxious, so i’ts probably because she’s the only sane person in that group and their VERY lucky kim just dind’t set the place on fire on her way out and let god do what he should’ve a long time ago. Also we meet Lynette, the band’s drummer who smokes “She must be evil” “Still hot though”... both accurate. Also Luke wilson is there.. no really. Just holy shit that’s awesome.  Okay so with all of that out of the way, it’s time for the show. So after a full volume’s build up , and a really cool build up in the page before we finally properly meet clash at the demonhead, and miss envy adams. 

Heck of  a reveal and not the only one as ramona realized what the audience probably already guessed....

Dun dun dun! And since I don’t like leaving a cliffhanger dangling lest I have to... we’ll be getting to this next week.. what you thought i’d say right now or tommorow? This was a lot. But no i’m not leaving you too long. Next week, Evil Ex Crossover! Ramona and Wallace become BFF’s! We learn what the deal with Scott and Envy is! Scott faces the Ken to his Ryu! And Wallace gets a boyfriend. All this and more next week. for now...

Final Thoughts: This one.. was a VERY rough one to review and it ties back to this volume’s biggest problem: it is not paced very well. Like the series as a whole it has a pretty easy going, slice of life pace. The only ones without this kind of easy pacing are 3 and 6, and even 3 has some slice of life bits, their just both more focused due to the events going on. This one... well....

Pretty much. While this one has very important stuff going on, Scott and ramona getting closer, ramona getting more fleshed out, Wallace showing how deep his character is, Kim also getting fleshed out quite a bit, Knives showing off her crazy side, setting up the next volume, the second ex fight.. it’s all just kinda.. jumbled together. It’s not really until the knives fight onward the book takes on some really solid pacing and really gets going.It’s not a BAD book: ther’es some REALLY good character stuff as I dug into.. but the pacing is just really loose and without the Evil Ex fight as an anchor and with ramona and scott just sorta.. getting to know one another, in both biblical and non biblical senses, it dosen’t have either of the series main narrative thrusts. Even the knvies subplot really amoutns to nothing for now, as Ramona dosen’t find out Scott’s a cheater, and only distrusts knives now. That’s about it. It does improve on book one in characterization, with eveyrone being MUCH cleearer in terms of who they are and settling into their iconic selves nicely. Wallace’s more selfless and protective side pops up, Ramona starts to show mroe of her personality good and bad, Scott’s better traits are mixed a bit mor eeven with the douche ones,  Knive’s far more unstable and violet stalker side emerges, and Stephen.. well fuck him, point is things are coming together.. but O’Malley still isn’t quite at peak power yet. Not bad and still worth a read like last time, just a bit uneeven is all. That being said... if you want O’Malley at his peak.. well then come back next week. Until then i’ll be doing my usual buisness of reviewing birds, refrencing simpsons and letterkenny, and putting my eyes back in after kim’s look up there. For now the sun’s setting and i’m out of here. 

[littletroubledgrrrl]

There's this awesome Youtube channel that uploads "WWF Action Zone" episodes/videos from 1996---and some clips from those episodes/videos have Leif Cassidy in them.

I just hope this Youtube channel uploads more videos from "WWF Action Zone" that has Leif Cassidy in them today so I can make and post gifs of him on his birthday.

[darkestwolfx]

Update #6 🦦🧸☘

Before anyone asks, there is no meaning behind these symbols, they’re just there to be eyecatching!

So you’re probably thinking... where has she been? Good question, and I did say I would let you all know before I dashed off again (and I didn’t expect to be at a time like this), but... surprise!

This is my current view and the reason for why I am posting now - times zones are playing havoc once again! Although I must admit I’m a little used to them now.

So this update contains next to no Thunderbirds content because I haven’t been able to make any. And if this is where you usually stop reading because you aren’t interested in my work posts - could you please, make a couple minutes spare to read this one? It’s actually pretty important. For those of you who do wait for my work related posts, then hopefully this will be a useful update for you! So, yes, the TAG Series 3 Re-Reviews had to be put on hold (and will be done at some later point), and the main reason for all of this is because (if you haven’t guessed from the photo) I am not in the UK!

I am on the Island of Borneo, which is in Asia.

How did she get out of the UK you may be asking? So, in short, I was allowed a trip out (but I have to quarantine when I return which I’m currently not sure of a date for) due to very important work reasons. You may remember in my previous update that I explained briefly (and it is staying a brief description for now - sorry to those of you who find curiosity a killer) a major work emergency? Well, my colleague was declared to be in a ‘critical’ state a couple days after that, and as the only member of the team in a country which would allow them a flight, I ended up flying here to take over correspondence between medical and legal teams.

Luckily, although not yet able to return home, my colleague is going to be okay and so we’re semi-lockdowned here (not on a jolly by all means), and we have insurance for issues like this so our medical and flight bills will be covered, but we are unable to catch the poachers responsible for the situation in the first place, which still leaves animals in danger and our insurance doesn’t cover that! Believe it or not the wild doesn’t have CCTV and without rangers, animals are dangerously vulnerable.

This is the first moment I’ve had to update you all as to where I’ve gone (the wifi is pretty poor compared to what we’re used to in the UK) and I’m sorry for just up and leaving, but as you all might have gathered, my work is really important to me (and so are my colleagues). I can’t say this is something I expected, and I’m hearing bits and pieces of news from the UK and I’m honestly not sure where I’d be better off being, but hey, I’m here now, and hopefully at some point I will be able to return to you all.

In the meantime, I’m going to echo my small ask from my previous update. Below are some links - donate if you can please? And if not, maybe read up, learn about the little things you can do, sign petitions, tell others to do the same. When you buy online, and it’s from overseas (especially for jewelry and clothing) check the reputation of the company - you can tell the dodgy ones, and it’s these that are likely to have bought materials such as rhino horns or other animals skins/tusks (an act of illegal poaching). Try to buy products without Palm Oil - I eat many of them and they don’t taste much different, the only problem is they’re more expensive, but if more people start boycotting palm oil, substitutes will become cheaper. It is possible to make a difference by just checking the small things and if you ever want help with anything like that, drop me a message or put a question in my ask box! I’ve been at this nearly seven years now and change is coming. If anyone ever needs any help to find their own ways to contribute that, then that’s what I’m here for!

So, have a little look, even if you just choose to donate for an animal you like or get together as a small group to sponsor an animal, it still makes a difference;

International Anti-Poaching Foundation - https://www.iapf.org/ways-to-give (fights against all kinds of poaching, all over the world, and is constantly petitioning to change laws. If you want to save a lot of animals in Africa and Asia particularly, this is the one for you).

Rainforest Action Network - ACT.RAN.ORG (support Sumatran Tigers for example, which is so important as their relatives, the Balinese and Javan Tigers were both left to become extinct and to lose them too would cause natural chains serious damage).

Regrow Australia - http://RegrowAustralia.co/ (support koala’s who lost their home in the fires, especially many young koala’s who were displaced or lost family). They also sell bracelets - which make beautiful gifts and you know the money is going to an excellent cause!

Save the Rhino - https:www.savetherhino.org/get-involved/donate (a really important one related to this post and a charity that has been fighting for years).

WWF - https://support.wwf.org.uk/donate-to-wwf (supports a wide variety of animals. If you go to their main page you can search exactly by name, e.g. elephant, panda, rhino, and read up on their bios and how your money helps).

Also, it was World Oceans Day on the 8th June! I know it’s hard to get to the shores right now to admire them, but you can still celebrate the fantastic sea life in your area! Also, to bring a little hope to everyone (because we need it out here) that maybe Lockdown has done us some good, this month for the first time in 2 years and in the largest numbers seen since 2008, the Spiny Seahorse was spotted once again in Dorest! Hopefully they too can be saved from extinction. And if you really want to treat yourself, buy some Guylian chocolates - they donate to seahorse protection charities! They may be dearer than Cadbury’s, but they are trying to do something good.

[zackhelsing]

Patient Zero. The source of the zombie virus. Hella evil, must be stopped at all costs!! 🧟‍♂️💀🧟‍♂️💀🧟‍♂️ Watch CASEY JONES IN THE ZOMBIE ZONE on YouTube (link in bio) or IGTV!! 💀 #caseyjones #zombie #cruzmissilefilms #zombies #tmnt #ninjaturtles #halloween #horror #action #comedy #sciencefiction #actionfigures #toys #superhero #comicbooks #mask #movies #velma #scoobydoo #evil #dead #wrestling #wwe #wwf #vintage https://www.instagram.com/p/CH1HwwAgiQe/?igshid=17f168g8iq4rq

[trilliontreesconservation]

Trillion Trees Initiative's Global Greening Foundation and reforestation fund for Biodiversity Conservation Ecosystem Restoration and Healthy Forests

The Trillion Trees Initiative for biodiversity conservation, climate adaption, ecological education, ecosystem restoration, environmental protection, sustainable greening, reforestation and species protection can reduce climate change effects, deforestation, droughts, desertification, land degradation, mass extinction, global warming and pollution worldwide. The world's first and official Trillion Trees Initiative was started in 2017 by Greening Deserts founder Oliver Gediminas Caplikas. Others like the WEF and the White House followed the good example and started also trillion trees initiatives or programs. Many people, international organisations, institutions and even governments have been inspired by the Trillion Trees Initiative and connected projects.

 Greening Deserts principles and the real Trillion Trees Initiative (TTI) agreeing with the sustainable goals and scientific parts of the Trillion Tree Campaign by Plant for the Planet, the One Trillion Trees Initiative by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the Trillion Trees Partnership by TrillionTrees.org, Birdlife and WWF. TTI is not directly related to the mentioned organizations but supports some of the good goals and advises against bad goals or shows good alternatives. Greening Deserts and TTI supporting also other conservation organizations and tree planting actions by good examples and ideas. How everybody can see the others took many of the ideas in their programs or agendas. But there is also criticism of some points in the Trillion Trees Act and other campaigns or initiatives. On the official pages of TrillionTreesInitiative.org you can read about the backgrounds, facts and worldwide opinions of different media outlets, conservation organizations and institutions.

 Together with many innovative developments and sustainable projects the initiative want to plant over 100 Billion Trees and can support other big tree planting actions to reach the trillion trees goal fast and efficient. Project developments like Agrophotovoltaik, Desert Bamboo Africa, Greening Coasts, Greening Drones, Greenhouse Ship, Green Ring Africa, Great Green Wall North Africa, Seeding Balloon, Transparent Solar greenhouses and many other awesome projects, organizations, institutions, partners and sponsors can support. Financial and institutional experts will help to implement good aspects of Climate Finance, Green Finance, Sustainable Investment and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Swiss finance experts and sustainable finance institutions were informed since 2018, many of them liked the idea of a Trillion Trees Foundation and Trillion Trees Fund. Some of them already working on a fund for the Trillion Trees Initiative. It will be a chance for the nations, innovative institutions and organisations to join the future actions and programs of the TTI in different parts of the world. The main focus for the next years is on Europe, Africa and MENA region. The One Trillion Trees Initiative of WEF, the One Trillion Trees Interagency Council and a special Executive Order of the White House in Washington D.C. have already positioned themselves for America and have shown their support by planting a part of the trillion trees in the USA. About more support and solidarity for the other Americas and especially tree planting actions in Africa we all would be happy.

 During the next years we will all see if the United States of America or the president will keep their promises to plant a trillion trees until 2030 worldwide. The U.S. chapter of the One Trillion Trees Initiative announced to plant at least 855 million trees by 2030. Would be great if the most of the trees will be part of national parks or for biodiversity causes and not for monoculture tree plantations. Biodiversity conservation, climate adaption and establishing healthy forests with different trees species are some of the main tasks of Greening Deserts and the Trillion Trees Initiative. The focus is to establish more biodiversity in forests, agroforestry, ecological forestation (EcoForestry), mixed forests and supporting reforestation of damaged ecosystems – focus is also on wilderness, wildlife and ecosystem restoration as whole. Critically endangered and threatened tree species will be saved by breeding or cultivation in the Greening Camps and by all the coming tree planting actions. Of course native and typical trees of each region will be planted also in other right areas, habitats or climate zones the tree species belong typically. For this mammut task we will use the help and experiences of artificial intelligence (AI), plant databases, climate scientists, conservationists, indigenous people or natives, plant and tree experts or scientists like arborists and botanists. Maybe GIS experts, blockchain, cloud, supercomputing, supercomputer programs and scientific organizations or networks can support to find unknown endangered keystone species, the right tree species and places. There are some interesting programs we could imagine to integrate, like of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), WolframAlpha network, Planetary Computer by Microsoft and Wildlife Insights by Google. Landscape architects, land administrations, private landowners, satellite operators and services can also  help to match the right plants and regions for the new trees and forests in future. For the TTI it is also important to integrate each concerned region into the greening process and reforestation actions. For example school classes and students of universities can use the greening camps, planting actions and workshops for environmental education, to establish better connections to nature and to get more environmental awareness. By the way, it is also great for fitness, healthy movement and health in general. Army troops and soldiers can also plant trees as a kind of training and to do something real good for the environment and humanity. The idea to include parts of the army, to fight climate change and global warming by planting trees, was published with Greening Deserts projects Greening Army and Forest Army in 2017 and 2018.

  Key factors: Biodiversity forests, grasslands and landscapes, climate adaption and protection, environmental education and species protection, sustainable greening and real ecological forestry

 People must understand that it is not just about to plant a few tree species. Each tree has typical plants, animals, mushrooms, insects and microorganisms to grow really healthy and to provide a kind of own cosmos or biotope. To know and to establish the most of these connections, relations and key factors is the key for real healthy and natural forests. Just compare the biodiversity, ecosystem services, productivity and soils of a rainforest and a monoculture tree plantation. Because all of these points Greening Deserts and the Trillion Trees Initiative started the Critically Endangered Species Research and Protection Program (CES-RPP), especially to show the importance of keystone species and the biodiversity in agriculture, forestry and urban greening. Of course the waters and life forms of lakes, rivers, seas and oceans are also important in this aspect. Just to mention important issues like the biodiversity in coastal areas, coral reefs and sea grass. Later if all runs good with the research, reforestation and Greening Camps we can also support with innovative developments and projects like Greening Coasts, Greenhouse Ship and Recycling Ship.

 But back to the main issues and topics of this article, the biodiversity, nature conservation, climate improvement, environmental protection and species conservation by establishing real healthy forests, grasslands and other ecosystems who need more or less trees. The official Trillion Trees Initiative (TTI) is really unique in this relation, because the members of the connected projects can cultivate, sow and plant many trees directly with the help of forestation and greening camps, balloons, greening buses or trucks, drones and planes – if seeds need to be covered by soil we will use seed balls. With connected tree experts, databases and networks we will choose the right trees for the right areas or regions where we and our partners will start with bigger tree planting actions.

 A statement and important facts from the official Trillion Trees Initiative website: The TTI do not just support other tree planting organisations. Other trillion trees initiatives write that they planted that trees or want to plant a trillion trees. In fact many of them have not planted any trees themselves and they wont if you take a closer look. In some cases their partners or supporters are big polluters or questionable industries who try to do greenwashing or treewashing. They let others do that work, mostly by cheap workers and volunteers. In general it is ok if others will be supported to plant new trees, but pay them good money if they do important work for biodiversity and environmental protection ! To plant countless monocultures or monotonous tree plantations has nothing to do with ecological forestry, ethical business or fair trade. They do or will do more damages as improvements, especially if too much trees will be planted in ancient grasslands, savannas or wetlands. The main goal should be to stop deforestation, to improve ecosystem restoration and supporting the regeneration of existing natural forests which were affected by fires or pollution. To all that companies and groups out there ! Join our real climate, environmental and species protection initiative if you really want to improve the worldwide climate and environments. Many institutions, organisations and people were informed during the years, especially about the backgrounds and true history of the real Trillion Trees Initiative.

 More than 10,000 of approx 60,000 tree species worldwide are threatened with extinction. On the IUCN Red List over 1,400 tree species are listed as Critically Endangered (CR), in reality it are probably much more. Biodiversity, conservation and reforestation programs should care more about these critically endangered and keystone species. The Trillion Trees Initiative and Greening Camps in concerned regions could recultivate the critically endangered trees species. Each camp will have extra greenhouses and storage rooms for the seeds. Botanical gardens and other biodiversity projects can be connected. During the last years over 20.000 institutions, organisations and personalities were invited to join the official Trillion Trees Initiative and the special species protection program. Many academics, ambassadors, environmentalists, developers, entrepreneurs, ministers, researchers or scientists and students showed interest. Most of them liked the ideas and developments of Greening Deserts and the Trillion Trees Initiative. Even some people of the EU Commission, UN and WHO became inspired by the initiative. It is sad that some conservation and environmental organisations ignored Greening Deserts and the Trillion Trees Initiative, even after several friendly contact requests. We all should act and work together, but the society and world shows that it is not so easy, especially in these times of the crises, egoism, fears, ignorance and misunderstanding.

 We want to be honest and work transparent. The future staff of the initiative will plant a lof of trees and can connect many awesome tree planting projects from around the world. So far as possible only native species will be planted, biodiversity experts and indigenous people will be included. We respect indigenous people who protect approx 80% of the world’s remaining forest biodiversity, including cultural, spiritual, social and environmental values. If Greening Deserts projects and the official Trillion Trees Initiative get enough financial support and can generate good income by the greening and research camps, developments and products, we can share much better our experiences with learning materials, various media, online or offline courses, workshops, etc.. The camps and projects can provide much work, generate a lot of jobs and income for each region. With appropriate funding and constructive support we can accelerate or improve the project developments and team building for each camp, as well as the whole infrastructure. Without money it is not possible to build up any of these camps and with too less support it needs many years more as planned, in this case other tree cultivation and tree planting projects cannot really be supported. We have not that time to wait longer and longer for all that promised support by officials or politicians. The projects need this year finally real active and financial support or it maybe will be too late. If you know the real backgrounds because of the keystone species, accelerating mass extinction and tipping points,.. you understand why we must act now or fast as possible. We must put these important points of species protection on the first place of all ‘green agendas’, whether it is the Green Deal, Greening Act, Trillion Trees Act or UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

 Just imagine all that actions, the attention and financial support in the Corona Crisis would be used to reduce the Climate Crisis. We really would change the world into a better one, prevent new crises, disasters and even new pandemics who are caused by environmental pollution, species extinction and weak environments. Climate adaption, global warming mitigation, ecological education, environmental resilience and species protection is now more important as ever before. Climate protection, nature conservation and environmental protection is also species protection – so it is human protection.

 About the author: Oliver Gediminas Caplikas is the founder and initiator of the Trillion Trees Initiative and connected projects of Greening Deserts. He works since years on biodiversity, conservation, environmental and species protection issues. The developments and projects have big potential to reduce human-made deforestation, desertification, land degradation, climate changes and global warming worldwide.

[barbara-navarro-rainforest-art]

l’art subversionné: Pas de Cartier

La Fondation Cartier présente actuellement l'exposition « La lutte des Yanomami » tandis que les Yanomami luttent actuellement contre l'industrie de l'or qui détruit leur territoire ! Plutôt que de prononcé des discours à l’intérieur pendant le vernissage le 30 Janvier 2019, les représentants de Survival, et je les cite: « Nous luttons pour la survie des peuples autochtones. Nous empêchons les bûcherons, les chercheurs d'or et les compagnies pétrolières de détruire la terre, la vie et l'avenir des peuples autochtones à travers le monde » aurait dû être à l’extérieur de la Fondation Cartier pour protester avec des pancartes telles que « Arrêtez l’éco-blanchiment d'or et de diamants de sang ! » et « Pas de Cartier ! »…

L'exposition précédente chez Cartier était « Nous les Arbres » et je me demande de quels arbres exactement ils faisait référence quand il est nécessaire de déraciner les arbres et d'empoisonner les rivières et le sol afin d'extraire de l'or pour les montres et bijoux Cartier. Aucune de leurs babioles en or de luxe n'est en vente à la fondation, mais Cartier, marchand d'articles d'or de luxe depuis 1847 avec un chiffre d'affaires de 401574600.00 € au 31 mars 2018, a créé sa fondation avec des fonds provenant de la vente d’or et de diamants. Alain-Dominique Perrin est un homme d'affaires français qui a rejoint Cartier en 1969 en tant qu'attaché commercial pour développer les ventes. Il a été président de la société Cartier de 1975 à 1998 et fondateur, en 1984, de la Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain. Au début des années 1980, avec l'arrivée du gouvernement de gauche, Perrin réfléchit à la meilleure manière d'enregistrer sa marque dans cette nouvelle société civile. Il a identifié le «mécénat d'art» comme le meilleur levier pour l'industrie du luxe. En 1984, il fonde la Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, une initiative de mécénat d'entreprise totalement innovante. En 1986, le ministre de la Culture l'a nommé chef de projet pour le mécénat d'entreprise. La loi sur le parrainage des entreprises qui a suivi a été adoptée en juillet 1987. En 1994, la fondation a aménagé à son emplacement actuel dans un bâtiment en verre conçu par l'architecte Jean Nouvel entouré d'un jardin boisé moderne. En 2011, Perrin, a demandé à Jean Nouvel d'élaborer les plans préliminaires d'une nouvelle base sur l'Île Seguin. En 2014, la fondation a abandonné les plans de re-localisation sur l'île et a plutôt chargé Nouvel de travailler à l'agrandissement de ses locaux actuels. Perrin est devenu, en 1999, vice-président du groupe Richemont, holding suisse spécialisée dans le luxe (dont font partie Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels et Piaget). Richemont est aujourd'hui le deuxième groupe de luxe en termes de chiffre d'affaires, derrière LVMH. La marque de luxe française Cartier est le fleuron du groupe Richemont, représentant la moitié de son chiffre d'affaires total et les deux tiers de ses résultats comptables. La Richemont Financial Company est un groupe spécialisé dans l'industrie du luxe, fondé en 1988 par le milliardaire sud-africain Johann Rupert lorsque la famille Rupert a séparé ses avoirs étrangers de ses avoirs sud-africains afin d'éviter les sanctions internationales visant le régime d'apartheid. Le groupe est lancé avec des actions dans Cartier Monde SA et Rothmans International. Dans les années 1990, les activités du groupe se répartissent en deux domaines: Rothmans International pour le tabac et Vendôme Luxury Group pour la mode et le luxe. En 2008, Richemont a pris un virage stratégique et a choisi de se concentrer uniquement sur le luxe. Perrin a pris sa retraite en décembre 2003 mais est resté administrateur de la SCI Financière Richemont et a continué à conseiller le groupe. Ce qui suit est tiré du rapport de Richemont sur la responsabilité sociale des entreprises 2019. « Il montre comment nous respectons nos engagements et décrit comment nous gérons nos impacts sociaux, éthiques et environnementaux. En tant qu'entreprise de produits de luxe responsable, nous cherchons à améliorer la vie à tous les niveaux de la chaîne de valeur du luxe. Parmi les faits saillants de l'année, citons l'élaboration de notre stratégie de RSE transformationnelle, une révision actualisée de l'importance relative et des développements importants au sein du Responsible Jewellery Council. De plus, nos Maisons ont collaboré avec le WWF dans son examen des principales sociétés horlogères et joaillières suisses. »

Il me semble qu'il est important pour Survival, ainsi que pour le WWF, de dénoncer l'industrie aurifère de luxe qui détruit les forêts et des vies indigènes au lieu de collaborer avec eux…

Pour paraphraser Davi Kopenawa: « L'industrie de la joaillerie de luxe est un piège pour le peuple Yanomami. Cartier utilise leur « amitié » pour nous tromper et nous manipuler. Ce qu'ils veulent, c'est extraire notre richesse pour l'envoyer à d'autres pays. La richesse de notre terre Yanomami, ils vont la prendre et l'envoyer en Chine, au Japon, en Allemagne et ailleurs. C’est leur façon de penser. C’est leur préoccupation, gagner de l’argent, gagner de l’argent pour devenir riche. »

Il y avait l’article de Télérama il y a quelques semaines, un Yanomami était en photo de couverture. L'article ne prenait aucun recul sur le fait qu'une fondation « soutienne » un peuple victime d'une activité qui justement enrichit la Maison Cartier !

Cela me rappelle 2011, quand la compagnie pétrolière française Perenco, a parrainé l'expo « Mayas : de l'aube au crépuscule » au musée du quai Branly. Bien sûr, les Mayas n'étaient traité que dans la période classique jusqu'au 10è siècle environ. D'où la question qu'on avait posé sur place à l'entrée du musée mais aussi dans les médias : « un maya mort est-il plus intéressant qu'un maya vivant? » Perenco est même allée jusqu'à financer un « Bataillon vert » formé de militaires guatémaltèques, soit-disant pour protéger l'environnement. En réalité, ce bataillon harcelait et chassait les paysans mayas vivant dans les zones où Perenco implantait ses puits de pétrole. Gregory Lassalle, a réalisé un film documentaire sur le sujet (« Des dérives de l'art aux dérivés du pétrole » (2011) et un film précédent, « Le business de l'or au Guatemala » (2007).

Il y a les liens ci-dessous, dont le 1er par Télérama, qui était peut-être à l'époque plus critique envers le modèle industriel dominant…

https://www.telerama.fr/…/un-mecene-conteste-a-l-expo-maya-…

https://www.nouvelobs.com/…/guatemala-expo-maya-au-quai-bra…