creativejellybean

[creativejellybean]

Just a thought I may regret releasing into the void:

When I was younger (like, younger than 10 years old), I basically only listened to songs sung in English, read books written in English, and watched movies recorded in English. (Of course there were exceptions, but they were exceptions.) I spoke Spanish at the level we were taught in elementary school, but that was it.

When this is your life, there are two assumptions you can reasonably make: 1) that every other little child in every other country is primarily consuming media sung/written/recorded in their native language, like you are, and is not really listening to music/books/movies produced in other languages; or 2) the country you grew up in has an somewhat oversized influence on global popular culture. As a child, I made assumption 1. I think this is reasonable.

I remember being confused why Taylor Swift started her 1989 tour in Japan. I remember being surprised that she had enough fans there to fill a stadium. None of my friends were listening to Japanese pop stars, so I assumed that Japanese children were not listening to American pop stars. (Note: this was way before J-pop and K-pop took off.) I remember being surprised when I was watching a livestream of a sporting event (say, the Olympics) happening in a non-English-speaking country, and there are playing 2000's American pop songs in the background of the stadium, because most people I knew did not listen to pop music from other countries, so why would they listen to our pop music?

Of course, as I spend more time on the internet, I understand more how much our pop culture gets around the world. However, I think the piece of the picture that some people miss is this: while this is changing now, a lot of Americans did not grow up in a country that consumed a lot of pop culture from other countries. We mostly consumed our own. So, it is perhaps not necessarily immediately obvious to us that our country is the outlier. From inside, it is not immediately obvious that we export so much culture.

I don't know what exactly I am trying to get at with this, but after travelling abroad for the first time and still hearing a ton of American pop music, it is something I think about.

[creativejellybean]

This is how I feel listening to audio dramas while I'm eating lunch. I'll just be eating in a crowded cafe and suddenly chuckle at something someone said. I definitely look a little crazy.

The great thing about audio drama is that it gives you a little secret. There you are in the supermarket, buying a green bell pepper, and in your ear somebody is just tearing your heart out.

[creativejellybean]

I know it's been a while, but I can also confirm that this is true. Both tricks are easy to learn and super cool!

By the way, for determining time until sunset, 1 finger is 15 minutes :)

Top gif: Moana

Bottom gif: Moana 2

[creativejellybean]

The finale of Agatha All Along is definitely one of my favorite finales for a Marvel show so far. Some of the finales of other shows have felt like they had to shoehorn in certain plot points for the continuity of the universe, but this one felt so perfect. I loved the twists, I loved the ending, I loved the characters. The ghost reveal at the end? Peak. In my opinion, it makes perfect sense with her character and the set-up before, while allowing for the open-endedness necessary for an extended universe.

[creativejellybean]

It annoys me how often I see the moon drawn incorrectly, so for all the artists and astronomers out there, this is what the phases of the moon look like:

Notice how they are not all crescent shaped. Some are nearly circular, particularly when we are close to a full moon.

Now, this is what an eclipse looks like:

Notice how these are all crescent shapes. When we are close to the uneclipsed sun, it is a circle with a small notch cut out.

Now, notice that both of these images are labelled as moon phases:

However, only the one on the right is accurate. The one on the left is an eclipse.

I wish this was a rare mistake, but the state of New York got it wrong on their new vanity license plates:

Notice, the bottom is technically an eclipse. However, you can tell that is not the intention because traditionally, when drawing an eclipse, you will put totality in the center, not the uneclipsed sun.

So, if you are an artist drawing the moon phases, please take a look at a reference photo! Make sure you are not accidentally drawing an eclipse, and are in fact drawing the moon!

[creativejellybean]

I just realized that The Marvels is one of the few times that we see a hero half-wearing their suit, particularly for female heros. And we see that underneath her suit, she is just wearing a tank top. I just think that considering how many questions female actors get about what they are wearing under their super suits, it is so nice to see it emphasized that they just wear something normal.

[creativejellybean]

**SPOILERS FOR HAPPIEST SEASON

I see a lot of people comment on how it feels like Abby and Riley should have ended up together, and though I agree, they really have amazing chemistry, I feel like this movie was made for the Harpers in the world, not the Abbys. This movie feels like it was directed at the people in Harper's situation, which makes the current ending make sense. If it were more directed towards the people with Abby's situation, her ending up with Riley would make more sense.

[creativejellybean]

I just want to say, the technobabble in The Marvels is actually decently sensible, which, as a physics student, is something I very much appreciate.

[creativejellybean]

Watchability of Marvel Movies/Shows Assuming You've Never Seen One

In other words, how confused will you be? I feel like with how big it's getting, this might be helpful.

I am fully ignoring end credit scenes (almost all of them would drop the ratings, and that felt silly). The rating is the watchability of the Marvel project assuming you have never seen another Marvel project in your life, and know nothing. (Aka, the names Tony Stark, Thanos and SHIELD mean absolutely nothing to you.)

Iron Man - 10/10, need I elaborate?

The Incredible Hulk - 10/10

Iron Man 2 - 6/10, very much a sequel to Iron Man

Thor - 9/10, references SHIELD, and Agent Colson

Captain America: The First Avenger - 10/10, happens before all the other movies

The Avengers - 7/10, mainly because it’s assumed you know who characters are

Iron Man 3 - 6/10, very much a response to The Avengers

Thor: The Dark World - 6/10, you need to know all the characters from Thor

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 6/10, it’s assumed you know characters

Guardians of the Galaxy - 10/10, we’re in the middle of space

Avengers: Age of Ultron - 5/10, you need to know the characters

Ant-Man - 9/10, references to the Avengers

Captain America: Civil War - 5/10, you need to know the characters and their personalities

Doctor Strange - 10/10, no references to other films

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - 6/10, a sequel to GOTG

Spider-Man: Homecoming - 7/10, you’d be confused as to why there is a relationship between Peter and Tony

Thor: Ragnarok - 7/10, surprisingly independent from previous films plot-wise

Black Panther - 9/10, assumed that you know about Civil War, but not immediately necessary

Avengers: Infinity War - 5/10, I did it, but good luck without a crash course on the characters

Ant-Man and the Wasp - 6/10, a sequel to Ant-Man

Captain Marvel - 9/10, some of my siblings did it, the only missing thread is Fury and Colson

Avengers: Endgame - 4/10, would not recommend watching this first

Spider-Man: Far From Home - 5/10, you very much need the previous events

WandaVision - 6/10, they do hint at previous events, but not enough to fill you in

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - 6/10, very much built on previous dynamics

Loki - 7/10, they do fill a lot in during the first episode, but you’d still be missing a bit

Black Widow - 8/10, enough passing references to notice, but not enough to confuse

Hawkeye - 6/10, references a lot of Hawkeyes past without explaining

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - 9/10, because of the Iron Man 2 reference

Eternals - 9/10, reference Endgame in passing, otherwise, unconnected

Spider-Man: No Way Home - 7/10, mostly because Peter’s relationships are established

Moon Knight - 10/10, completely independent from previous projects

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 5/10, need a good amount of background

Ms. Marvel - 8/10, mostly because Kamala’s entire personality is based on the Avengers

Thor: Love and Thunder - 7/10, would understand all but the first ten minutes or so

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - 7/10, lots of references, but plot makes sense without them

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - 5/10, very much a sequel to Black Panther and Endgame

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - 5/10, really need to know who characters are, no exposition given

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - 7/10, most of the history you need to understand is given

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 - 7/10, references to previous GOTG movies and endgame

[creativejellybean]

Reblogging again because now they are all here!

We are the Pride Knights, and this is our battle cry No enemy can shake us, as hard as they can try There’s a fire in our eyes that no hatred can kill A passion in our hearts that’s as strong as our will To our fellow queers who fight their battles on their own We promise to fight with you, you are never alone To our fellow queers who have fallen with the pain We thank you for your courage, your fight is not in vain We are defenders of the right to be proud of who you are To love who you love and to accept every scar We are your knights, protectors of our pride Together we stand, together we ride

LIMITED EDITION: The Pride Knights Playing Cards are now officially available for pre-order in our store until June 30, 2023!

prideknights.com ⚔️🌈

[creativejellybean]

Stay tuned! The Pride Knights playing cards deck will go live in June, 2023 and consists of 56 unique cards, with the jacks, queens, and kings featuring knights, each repping a different pride flag! ⚔️ 🌈

[creativejellybean]

Feels appropriate.

[creativejellybean]

Happy 8 years to my comic, How to be a Werewolf! Hell yeah! Thanks for following me and supporting me for so long!

[creativejellybean]

Welcome!

Inn Between is a fiction podcast! Also known as an audio drama! It’s a fantasy adventure between the adventures about five people who are varying degrees of terrible becoming:

Friends

Found family

Marginally-to-largely less terrible

Besties with a building.

Is Inn Between like the Magnus Archives or Wolf 359?

Insofar as it’s a full cast audio drama with no narrator, yes! In terms of subject matter or themes, not even a little!

I love D&D, Crit Role, and other ttrpg things, will I like Inn Between?

Friend, I made this show specifically for you!

Hey there are episodes missing! Stuff happens in the previously-on bit that doesn’t happen in the show!

Au contraire mon ami, the show only takes place in the confines of the inn—all the interstitial adventuring is subtext.

Do characters KISS

Nah, we’re more interested in found family and friendship than romance. Shipping is welcome (including queer-platonic headcanoning) but such things are not the point.

Where can I listen?

Anywhere you get your podcasts!