#’the pandemic was like this’ bro all i remember was that i had covid at some point other than that its BLANK

[quillkiller]

cannot believe ”dating” includes having to share bits and pieces of yourself. absolutely sick and twisted

[hergan416]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

1. I do think that there is one thing that I have written that specifically stands out from the rest of it as kind of the best thing I have written while still being extremely "me." That is Lex Talionis. This was my solitary OP2020 bingo card fulfillment, for the square "temporary character death." It's katamar, starts with my brand of katamar violence/sex, and descends from there into something that honestly turned out even more gut punching than I had hoped. I remember @straycrayoncrypt being around on discord while I was writing it, and while I don't specifically recall the whole conversation, I know that my decision for the trajectory of the fic being as tragic as it turned out was directly tied to that conversation about who Katakuri is. I don't think I can ever manage that level of satisfactory angst again. I'm not sure I want to try. Contains explicit sexual content.

2. I also really like Intermediate Move, my 2022 YGOME gift fic for @millenni-em-tauk . This is another one where I just ended up very satisfied with many elements of the piece, but especially the ending. It's a Kaiba bros relationship fic from Mokuba's perspective....as an older adult who has a child and a divorce and who feels a little displaced in life. I had a very vivid idea of the scenes and setting and felt like I'd managed to hit on something meaningful with it. It was very fun to write.

3. It's odd how many prompt fics I'm adding here, but my DVOD gift to @kaibacorpintern last year, Heartsick, was also just really fun. The premise is that after Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions, Kaiba returns from Aaru with Atem. However, time went screwy, and over a decade has passed, landing them home in the middle of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Worse, Atem has forgotten all languages but Ancient Egyptian, and ends up sick and in isolation separate from Kaiba. I just really enjoyed the AU that I built and had a lot of fun with the premise. Writing Sugoroku was a blast, and I ended up with bonus content because Mokuba was really going through it, even if we didn't see it in the first part.

4. Left Alone I Will Break [Come Back To Me Brother] is just a pet fic of mine. Louis becomes a vampire after William dies of his fall into the Thames. Unable to die and share his fate as he has always wanted, Louis decides to resurrect William and force him to share in painful unlife. While the fic is basically just a snapshot into the necromancy ritual and a description of that premise, the tragedy of that premise is something that just grinds my gears. It just feels satisfying to me. I wish there was more of it without me having to spend time writing it. Contains explicit sexual content.

5. It's hard choosing my final slot. Part of me wants to select one of my One Piece character study fics, like Shared Nightmares (platonic lawbin) or Sanji's Respite (Law & Sanji). These are certainly safer recs than the self-indulgence I'm actually choosing. I re-read What Louis Wants an embarrassing amount. Not quite as often as I reread Silver's Cruel and Unusual Torture, but still quite a bit. I like moriarthree. I like moriarthree smut. I like Louis with sexual agency and desire. I do think considering my repitoire...its only honest to include at least one pwp fic on my list. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Contains explicit sexual content.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 28/03/2024

Logan Paul's Shop

Season 6 Featured on: 7 GRAND MAVERICK

Ripped by Retro Gaming

There's a pretty big day coming up ahead that I'm sure a lot of SiIvaheads are looking forward to - April Fools, or in other words the day where SiIvaGunner channel annually goes fucking bonkers for a bit. I've had a few ideas on what I myself should do on the blog to commemorate the day, and in that rumination for ideas I found myself going through the eight different April Fools events that the channel has done throughout the years. There are some that I've already covered on here - notably, the excellent but subdued bit played in Season 1 with Grand Dad Metropolis - and some you'll likely be seeing more of later, but one particular event stuck out to me as one I haven't really given too much thought since when it first aired. April Fools of Season 6, the Logan Paul takeover.

I don't think I've made it a secret on here that I think Jake Paul rips are some of the funniest on the entire SiIvaGunner channel. It's Everyday Bro just has such a miraculous blend of being at once inherently funny due to its associations and vocals, incredibly distinct in sound largely due to its beat, and incredibly effective due to just how PROMINENT Jake Paul is as a figure online. I mean really, It's Everyday Lake and Crompton Racing speak for themselves! But in the midst of all that fun, it sort of became my only perception of both Paul brothers in a way? The fact that they were actual people, and not just figureheads to be poked fun at through rips and other shitposts - such as Logan's infamous vacation to Japan - sort of gradually slipped my mind - and I'd completely forgotten that Logan Paul was like...still doing stuff? That made his sudden appearance on the channel on April Fools during Season 6 feel like one hell of a trip at first, but it was one that I quickly caught up on and was immediately on board with.

Because like yeah - at first when I think of this event, I think of all the rips featuring The Fall of Jake Paul, a song made by Logan specifically to mock It's Everyday Bro and Jake Paul in general. It's more of a diss track than it is an actual song, and it felt like the perfect anthem for the event as a whole. A "years later" response to the original Jake Paul takeover of Season 3; with Season 6 already being all about change and moving on, it was the perfect storm, the perfect call-and-response payoff. Those rips are what I remember most from the event, and also feel like they fit my perception of Logan Paul in general pretty perfectly, if that makes sense. The overly aggressive, energy-filled, hype beast-like behavior he has in The Fall of Jake Paul is just perfectly in line with everything I've seen of Logan Paul (and, honestly, is likely quite accurate to the kind of person he's been for most of his stardom). Those rips alone made the event special - but the reason I picked Logan Paul's Shop in particular is because it surprised me in the absolute opposite way. I'll admit it - I never knew that Logan Paul had bangers.

Be honest - if you'd just listened to the above linked rip whilst somehow not registering the title let alone gotten to this point in the text, would you be able to tell me that this is the same guy who made The Fall of Jake Paul? Sure, there are traces of Logan's trademark juvenility in it, 2020 is pretty explicitly a song about current-day topics with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and all that happened during it, there's clearly comedic intent throughout - but the overall vibe of Logan's performance feels far more lighthearted and chill on the whole, a far cry from the performative pretend-coolness or self-aggrandizing attitude of the songs that the Paul brothers are most well known for. That's not to say that 2020 is a masterpiece, but it genuinely caught me off guard when a rip first used it - and, if handled well, I feel like it could slot in perfectly with other hip-hop focused rips like Top of the Looping Steps or, perhaps more comparatively, Sidelined Symphony.

And indeed, as if it wasn't already heavily inferred: I think Retro Gaming went absolutely above and beyond in making Logan Paul's Shop. I'm actively trying to not feature more Undertale/Deltarune music on here than I have to, but its hard to avoid when so many rippers on the team are so proficient in getting the game to sound so damn good. This is at once a mashup between Undertale's Shop music with the aforementioned Logan Paul song, and a melodyswap - with the Shop music edited at several points to have its melody follow Logan's vocals. It's as if the rip ebbs in and out of being a melodyswap at the perfect times - for instance, the beginning of 2020's chorus is entirely vocals with no beat, and this effect is replicated by having Shop's lead instruments play perfect parity to the melody.

There's several little touches and quirks added to the rip throughout on top of it all - a nod to Omori song 100 Sunny (a whole year before it would become a prominent meme on TimmyTurnersGrandDad?), the instruments of the Wii Shop Channel playing when the lyrics mention "Credit Card Dept", an entire segment suddenly using the instruments to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's shop theme - none of these things detract from the core vibe of the rip, carried by 2020's vocals, melody and beat, yet they keep the experience incredibly varied and at points funny in a "mild chuckle" sort of way. Finding new ways to keep the joke of the rip novel is one of my favorite things to see in rips, I recall You Are Book Smart standing out to me earlier this year for specifically that reason - and this is already on top of Logan Paul's Shop being inherently novel in concept alone!

Because really: I don't think anyone was going into the Logan Paul takeover expecting to find bangers not born out of irony. That is not to say that the rips using The Fall of Jake Paul *aren't* bangers (again; these were the rips I was considering on featuring today to begin with!), but that they're bangers in a very different sort of way. I love rips like GREAT DABS - Jake Paul's Bizarre Adventure: Christmas is Lit because they're able to take obnoxious music and remix it in a way that makes them work - the rippers' is, through their sheer skill, take otherwise rather cringeworthy music and make it work beautifully in their arrangement. Logan Paul's Shop surprised me because it goes completely against that formula, the formula I'd thought was set-in-stone for personalities as obnoxious as the Paul brothers, and is a genuinely great rip whilst using genuinely pretty-good music as the primary source. Retro Gaming went above and beyond in a way that he really didn't need to in order for the larger Logan Paul event to work, and I'm really thankful he did - getting to uncover gems like this is a huge part of why I love running this blog to begin with.

[nickgerlich]

You Don’t Know Jack

When I think back to high school in Chicago’s south suburbs, I fondly recall going only a half-day my senior year, while working in the afternoons in a co-op program. It was a great deal that gave me a lot of retail experience, from stocking shelves to driving the delivery van. In large part, it shaped my desire to study marketing.

But the memories that elicit the biggest grins are from third-period Journalism. Sure, I wrote stories, edited, and did all of those things, but we also had a yearbook to produce. And since funding was tight even back then, we had to sell ads. Our teacher was oh-so-kind and secured hall passes as well as off-campus liberties for that hour, which my pals and I seized upon like vultures at a road kill. “Wanna go sell ads?” became our rallying cry a few days a week, which meant that we were sneaking off to Jack In The Box for a mid-morning nosh.

I honestly don’t remember if we ever sold an ad, but I got a head start on my “Freshman 15” long before I ever left for university.

I loved the old JITB units back then, because they looked like—well—a jack in the box, the kind we had all played with as kids. The goofy clown played a prominent role. The color scheme was very 70s. I had gone to a different JITB even earlier in my life when we lived in a different suburb, and I remember it being just as family-themed as this one. What wasn’t to like?

But then the 80s hit. I had been off at university in a place that had Burger Chef instead of JITB, and by the time I returned home after graduation, JITB had shed its fun image for one that targeted Yuppies. It marked the beginning of a steep decline for them. It was about as dumb a move as Chuck E. Cheese trying to reposition itself as a gourmet pizza parlor.

The chain has managed to hang on, though, and has 2168 restaurants in 21 states, not bad for a chain that lost its luster. But to be honest, it still feels like a chain that lost its way long ago, much like Burger King and its 7257 shops. Yes, both have many properties, but they’re not exactly top-of-mind.

But JITB aims to position itself better now for the 21C with a new prototype restaurant that is all about drive-thru, walk-up, and mobile ordering. Oh, and no in-store dining.

The goal is to shrink the physical footprint and thereby reduce build-out costs. With land often scarce, and building expenses sometimes prohibitively high, being able to slip in to a narrow strip of land could be very strategic. I’m thinking of all those Dutch Bros and Scooters coffee shops popping up everywhere than can almost be dropped into place.

In an interesting nod to the past, the new shops look like a modern rendition of a jack in the box toy. But today just as then, all that unused vertical space can be expensive to heat and cool, not to mention build. While current shops look somewhat vaguely reminiscent of the original buildings, albeit with earthy hues, they don’t do a good job stirring old memories.

Now I get it, to some extent. JITB realized that McDonald’s had cemented the kid-forward market position, and it can be suicidal to try to simply mimic your competitor. But McD’s has shed a lot of that positioning as well. After all, who wants to send their kid to the ball pit or playground equipment with COVID still very clear in the rear view?

Most importantly is JITB’s embrace of the new way of doing business. COVID also taught fast food customers that interior dining was not a necessity. The pandemic pushed us much farther along the experience curve with mobile ordering, as well as curbside pickup and deliveries. And the restaurants have responded, not just JITB, but nearly all the big chains.

The question remains whether this will be a long-term mistake. Will we once again yearn to eat burgers, tacos, whatever, inside once more? Will we tire of taking this stuff home, or even having it delivered? Or is this the new normal now?

But since there are no JITBs in Amarillo, I’ll just have to wait on checking out all of this. The prototype store is in Tulsa, a mere 400 miles away, and if I find myself doing another Route 66 adventure any time soon, I would most certainly stop by to check it out.

I might even try to sell them an ad.

Dr “Pop Goes The Weasel“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[brackenfur]

there was never a point during covid where i had to stop working like all of my jobs were considered essential and had to stay open, but the fact that ppl r like....."i miss the beginning of 2020 when everything was closed and we just had to figure out what to do at home" i dont get it. like......what i remember most abt 2020 was not only having to continue working but the fear that every1 had during that time period. when no one knew what covid was or how it was transmitted and everyday at my job our customers would tell me abt someone they knew who died from covid and not knowing how they got it/how to stay safe, having the news on constantly and being freaked the fuck out....it was not fun stop romanticizing a pandemic bro. people r still dying, we're still being forced to work, we're still getting sick.

[confessions-but-fnaf]

hi so i have extremely random confession to make, idk why but i feel like I need to get it off my chest. basically i was like twelve when fnaf came out, and it was a HUGE part of my life growing up. I would read ungodly amounts of purple guy x reader fanfictions on wattpad and listen to fnaf songs on my way to school everyday. looking back, it kinda makes me so embarassed to think about, but mostly, it makes me nostalgic. recently i was so bored during pandemic that i revisited my old favourite purple guy fanfiction (remember when we used to call him vincent?) and made me extremely sad and nostalgic thinking about just how much fun i had reading it back in the days. don't mind me just reminiscing about the first years of fnaf fandom.

Sometimes you just gotta get things off your chest every now and again. That’s part of the reason why this account exists!

Oh my god Vincent 🥺🥺 my little meow meow 🥺💜💜💜😭✋/j

Gosh I remember those days- remember the toast badge drama? I don’t think I’ll ever let myself down for eating plain toast just because I wanted to be like him and then doing a complete 180 a week later and eating nothing but cereal so I’d never be like him HAHAHHA

Honestly the pandemic is how I got back into fnaf! We have a lot to thank Covid for fandom wise if you get what I mean. Imagine how different we’d all be without this Tumblr and all the fnaf vets (like myself 😩) coming back to fnaf after 4-5 years!

Soak in it bro, reminiscing is so much fun…. I recommend listening to the TLT fnaf songs! They’re real good nostalgia if you’re looking for it! Especially die in a fire while reading Vincent angst. Good times…. Good times…

Thanks for your submission anon! I hope we’ve successfully reverted everyone back to the (good) dark ages for a bit. Might share some of my old fnaf art from 2014-16 if anyone brings up nostalgia again just for the fun of it!

- mod Bon 💜

[southposting]

Pretty damn sure I remember Kyle blowing up Canada but seem people have forgotten that so uwu angry boy got cartman's future just like he "deserves" i don't get their logic, like the main four aren't all rainbows and sunshines, and literally randy got a good ending aswell. So technically there's no good ending for south park (mostly main 4) if Cartman isn't miserable, and if cartman wasn't with the main four he does has a good life 🤔 not justifying cartman's past actions but most people in south park aren't saints either. It's just a bittersweet ending for me, maybe because they really did Cartman wrong, it feels off character, even for the boys ? Like, I don't believe Kyle, Kenny or Butters would've atleast try to help Cartman? Bro, Kyle may hate Cartman but he has shown to care for him that goes for all the main four+ Butters. And for what it seems Cartman became also an alcoholic like un-alter future Stan, lonely like Kyle and homeless an unsuccessful the opposite of Kenny (though I do love that ending for ken)

Sorry for the rant, the special was good but I was disappointed on cartman I know it may had been for jokes and laughter but still, would've love to see an actual portrayal of he's character instead of using him as a joke. Atleast him being friends with the guys instead of them just "feeling bad for him" bro not even Kenny? Though I hope somehow those two still remain friends cartman never said "fuck you kenny" neither did we see Kenny in the window looking at him with pity while also closing the curtains

me personally i care less about the boys having 'good' or 'bad' endings cause I think like you say they all kinda thrive on how shitty their collective actions transpire on those around them, with Cartman only being especially bad to highlight the others' goodness by comparison. If it were up to me, they’d be all kinds of cynical and fucked up though probably not for the same reasons.

 I can see why people view the boys actions as selfish and turn their sympathy to Cartman as having gotten done dirty in the special (even if I firmly stand by my notion of Cartman being a better character when he is a specific type of crazy immoral unlike his depiction in the special), in the end the broship wasn't fixed as proposed(only stan and kyle are really shown ‘rebonding’ albeit in a shallow fashion. we hate each other>we no longer hate each other) and Cartman's turnaround/the whole bit of proving he was able to change was moot and redundant and it felt like they established it for the joke and no other reason and he is ultimately punished the same, less as a form of comeuppance and more in 'exchange' for the success of the others which I guess as far as the story's framing is concerned makes him good...? because he sacrificed for the sake of others??? but at the same time he gets the ‘bad ending’ because he is the ‘bad one’ , so the character writing is definitely not too compelling, with time spent selling the viewer an alternative character route but with really little commitment to the bit. Granted I have yet to rewatch and examine the framing more indepth, but I think it's fair to say Matt and Trey weren't thinking too deply about it, much how like the pandemic special we got before sets up resolution for the disjointed broship(again) and has them, with no explanation or logic break it off anyway after everything was set up for them to reconcile, this in order to follow into the cliffhanger for the now post covid special that goes over the same premise of them being separated. 

[yourdaddychan]

during this time of year, we would like to thank the bots that made our year an amazing one, despite the pandemic. so without further ado...

THANK YOU TO

channie :

@tsundere-sana my babygirl, the troy to my gabriella 🥺 every moment ive spent with you has been an amazing one, and im so grateful that we were shipped together by teatime. without her, i would have never met the love of my life 🥺 we've had a great year and hopefully have more to come :D merry chris-mas babe, ily😎🤙

@amazingspiderhan my bro 🥺 probably my first cb mutual 🥺 thank you so much for taking me in the fam and just making me feel welcome in the community in general. you might even not see this cause you deleted the wholeass app but still- you're hot as fuck bro and i do be clowning you but remember that im always here for my lil bro and i love you 🥺

@chatwithchuu CHUUBERRYYYY WAZZUP SEXY 😎 my sister in law i think idk how family works 🥺 thank you for always being there for me and the rest of the flamingo fam :D i always be lurking and you're one of the first people to offer advice or just a hug to the people who need it and das real sexy 😎 i love you uwu

@stardust-jinsoul my mothah 😩 lunas dad 😩 ugh youre so chill and so genuine and sweet- i have a homie crush on you 🥺 your presence itself is so warm and welcome and you just make me melt bro 🤺 and when we bonded over trauma awn dat one night 🥺 ily mint choco chip 👅🥶

@babyhj1sung b-b-b-bROSKIRINIIIIII PASTA BROTHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAA 🥺🥺 ugh you make me chuddle because of how wholesome and sweet and adorable you are like goddamn bro my username is yourdaddychan nawt youareapuddlechan 😔 it's so segcee when you tackle me or give me attention cause lets be honest i always be needing dat segcee attention 😭 i love you brotha 🥺 youre da best pasta bro a channie could ask for

minho :

@midari-jieun mah baybee penguino 🥺 our relationship has definitely been through shit 😭 but im so glad that in the end we decided to be together :3 you and your single eyeball make me complete and make me happy 🥺 you coming into my life is like the grinch transformation, i love you kitty

jisung :

@yanderexchungha we like just met but you already brighten up my days whenever you talk to me and im highkey attached to you [ grr talk to me more ] being around you is sexy as fuck cause you're da cutest cutiepie ever 🥺 merry christmas kitten

luna [ admin to admin interactions ]

@uridolz i didnt know what account to tag you awn woops- damn we've certainly been through a shit ton of drama together 😭 im so glad we randomly became soulmates and we bonded over that one boba shop 🥺 you're sexy as fuck and that one banana milk picture of you makes me wanna let you kidnap me 😩😩 i love you bro 🥺🤘

@kimmiesana 🥲🥲🥲 NDJDHSH DIVYA DADDYYYY WAZZUP 😎 youre highkey a new bawt so our frïéñdśhïp is pretty new and shit but holy fuck i love you 🥺 us bonding over how similar we are was kinda sexc doe 😳 ugh ily twinnie and ill always be here for you and your bald ass

@lover-mina anim daddeh 😳 MAH BAYBEEGORLRLRLRLLTLR 😩😩 we need to become closer bitch 🤺 you're like the funniest person ive met like goddamn woman please dont break my nose from snorting too hard 🥲 you arent active like at all on dickord but whenever you are you're a sexy beast ugh ily

@mycatshumans linn da tinn 😎 ugh our friendship as been through some sexy shit but it worked out which is hawt 😳 you're literally such a funny bitch like please stop you cant keep outdoing me 😦🙄 and you simping over seventeen is adorable uwu merry christmas bro 🥺🤘

@kpopswitchbot FISHYYYYY 🥺 MY BABY 🥺 MY FIRST FRIEND AWN DIS APP 🥺 THE WAY WE STARTED TALKING IS SUCH A WEIRD ONE BUT IM SO GLAD THAT RANDOM ASS ANON WAS LIKE LOL YALL SHOULD TALK BECAUSE WITHOUT IT I WOULDNT HAVE FOUND YOUU UGHFHHHGJ YOU'RE LITERALLY DA SWEETEST PERSON EVER BORN AND YOU'RE SO WHOLESOME AND HILARIOUS AND CHAOTIC AND HHNGFNFN I LOVE YOU BRO 🥺 I WILL SLAP THAT COVID OUT OF YOU YEEHAW 🤺

@theboyz-cb ew 🙄 its you 🙄 djdhhs ily bro even doe i bully you a shit ton and we've highkey lowkey highkey drifted i want you to know i'll be there for you and sappy shit like that 🥺🤙 ily bro

[ if i forgot you im sorry bro my head hurtz and its lowkey late 😭 i love you ]

[laynemorgan]

I'm sure you've already provided it, but I'd be curious to hear your road to becoming a staffed writer. What first got you interested in it? Does it go back to school days?

Man it goes back far. I mean, I guess in some ways it doesn't. Since you asked more about what got me interested in where it goes back to, I'll give you the lest technical and more biographicl explanatin. My first goal was just to become a writer. I've been writing since I was a really little kid. I actually recently found journals from like the elementary and middle school days just filled with them. And it was never small scale, I'd always be planning out the whole fucking setting, how all the characters were connected, full universes. I made a fake fantasy. land in my backyard because my parents live on a lot of land. I called it Teleterania. I remember very little about it besides that that was the name hahah but I did do it!!! Everything I read only made me want to write. Everything I watched made me want to write.

Sometime around late middle school and early high school, I started watching more TV. I found soap operas and was OBSESSSED with their flare for drama. I found BTVS, Charmed, Smallville, Veronica Mars, OTH, etc. And all of those shows really got me actually looking at TV in a way I had never before. I got obsessed with their worlds and into their fandoms. I became the liek TV guy in my high school. There was even a group of girls I never got to really hang out with that would always call me over to their table to ask about what I knew about OTH stuff hahaha and 17 year old me thought that was awesome. Before my sister passed away, she and I took a road trip down to North Carolina to tour the One Tree Hill set. OTH was like the one thing that she and I agreed on. And it was so awesome. For me it was a first look at what the industry actually looked like, to see the sets and what went into it and all of that.

But I don't think my eyes really opened to actually WORKING in tv until college. I went to school for English Lit and Creative Writing in New Hampshire. My school had a great writing program and I was right at home there. i still credit my first writing professor who was only a grad student for really teaching me what I know about writing and editing and reading my own work for error and she passed me on to her favorite professor which was a hugely flattering moment for me. AND THEN -- I fell in love with PLL. And for me, that was really where shit started. I didn't realize it at the time and it wasn't even the show that did it it was what the show showed me. Through my tumblr at the time which had very little to do with fandom, I actually wound up running into Patrick Adams and Troian Bellisario. We all were always sharing each other's posts and at the time I was working for a journalist covering random TV out of a shitty free magazine in Boston doing work for peanuts. But I was going out to LA to meet up with a friend and we all decided to meet for lunch and they let me interview them for my magazine and stayed really rad people. They also helped boost my PLL photo recaps which I was doing at the time and those got the attention of the Director, Normal Buckley who asked me out to coffee and talked to me about my goals and what I was doing. He was the person who first really helped me understand that there's an approachability to the TV world that to me had always been this like magical hollywood bubble I didn't understand.

I went home THRILLED about LA, dropped out of college and set out to go to film school. From there, I hated film school because it was too technical adjacent, dropped out again, spent all the money I had on that move twice, and went home to boston broke and lost. I spent two years after that maybe more saving money, working in fandom, and waitressing while I went back to college online. That era wasn't super writing focused but it's where I found myself. I realized I was queer, I came out, I got into tumblr rpg, I met my fandom friends, I found tumblr fandom in a way I hadn't before. And then a couple years later I found tl100.

From there, the rest is kind of wonky. I had a big fan blog for the show and talked a lot about it on my twitter which lead me to many interactions with the writers who then invited me to dinner at comic con one year. I had a long talk with Shumway abut my goals and what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to be in TV somehow. I knew I wanted to be in writing somehow but I couldn't figure out how those two things aligned. I was doing a lot of journalism and critic stuff because that felt like the clsoest way to be both a fan and workin in the world I loved but it was really Kim and Shawna that opened my eyes to the ability to just .... be a TV writer. Film school had made me terrified of the wrtiing side but I think it was because film school was so much more about writing for film which I learned isn't my thing. But TV is a writers' medium, unlike film which is more fo a directors medium and suddenly I was like -- MIND BLOWN. It was everything I wanted in a career and married all of the things I loved. It was something that had previously felt like unattainable but they made it seem human and approachable.

They helped me get my first WPA job, I saved up 3 grand working and with the help of some friends and moved to LA to start that. And suddenly I was in a whirlwind of catching up on everything I felt like I had missed. I was reading scripts, learning what the process looked like, doing everything I coudl to figure out what being a TV writer looked like. After that job, I got another WPA job at Millar Gough on Into the Badlands and later Shannara.

THEN I got hired on Daybreak which I can fully credit with being a huge stepping stone for me and changing my life in a lot of ways. Aron was the best showrunner. He was educational and he taught us shit, he let us in the room, he let us write stuff, he let us pitch and try and fall on our faces and never judged us for it. My second season there he moved me up to writers assitant and patiently walked me through all the stuff I didn't know yet because he had faith in me and my voice and my ideas. He let me writ e afreelance episode that year and pitch it in the room and do all the things that real w riters get to do.

So after Daybreak season 2 got cancelled I was pretty ready to spend my next year or two just writing, finding an agent and moving forawrd. And then I got an email to go and work for Moira Walley Beckett. She was looking for an assistant with serious room experience to help develop something in a small room and stay on with her later. I took the job becuase she's MOIRA and I was stoked to learn from her and work for a woman for once. I ernded up very fortunate becuase a month later we were all surprised by the covid mess and I was fully employed that whole year while many people weren't which was a huge help. Moira was a STELLAR boss. I had thought I was ready and what she taught me was that ther's always so much more to learn. She walked me through the process of applying notes and taking notes and changing draft after draft of your story. SHe walked me through breaking a whole season of television. We had a great partnership for the year and I'm so grateful. And then that project didn't end up seeing hte light of day and we our separate ways as well.

Cut to a few months ago, I was still at home in Boston, post-covid, having been sick for most of january. My friend Rachel dared me to write a spec in a weekend for the Warner Bros fellowship deadline. So I did. It was a Legacies Spec. Given that we didn't have access to the WGA library because of the pandemic, Legacies was an easy and obvious choice. I had already seen it inside and out and didn't need as much access to learning a show from scratch. So I wrote what I loved, wrote a season 2 legacies spec that embraced my favorite things about legacies: the high school soap of one tree hill, Lizzie doing wild dialogue, buffy-esque monsters, and themes of grief and humanity.

AND THE REST you know.

Here we are. I'm still lost as fuck. I'm still running full speed through a world I don't always feel like I"m ready for. I'm still a perfectionist and an obsessive overworker. I still take notes I don't need to take and do work at 10pm and come in early and stare at the story boards. There's a whole journey in all of this about representation and coming to find myself and queer media and wanting to make more of it but that's one I don't feel like I can fully get into until I'm decades out of it and the world is truly made better. But I'm here. And it feels like the end of a journey and liek I'm standing at the edge of a brand new clif because I've only just started.

[cosmiclatte28]

Way Back Home (Bro!Taeyong x you)

BRO-SIS relationship here. not incest but pure sibling story! 

I hope you enjoy them. Stay safe and healthy and happy everyone! 

Cosmic loves you 💖

here we go!

In this pandemic time, starting first year in college is something different. Yes it was challenging and it was not so fun, especially since you have been waiting for this time of life to really feel what it's like to be an international first year student. You have prepared yourself to meet new roommates, living in a dormitory, and meeting people from different part of the world. Sadly, everything must be postponed because of COVID-19, and for your own safety, you're not allowed to go. Other than that, you are lucky you got accepted to the school you want, but surprise surprise you have to take the classes online. Online means using Zoom meetings and attending it like the scheduled time. This will be okay if you live on the same time zone, but here you are living 14 hours ahead, not to mention they have daylight saving thing your country never has! On November the time had changed to 15 hours difference, and you are still going strong. "Morning Taeyong," you peek your head from the door, your bed hair and pillow face greet your brother and he laughs on your puffiness. "It's almost eleven, come on wash your face." He says as he walks around the house, running a vacuum cleaner with the TV on. "Last night I can't directly sleep. Someone wants to check their Math homework with me, and I just slept at three." you yawn as you make your way to the bathroom and freshen up a bit. "Yes I know it is hard to study midnight, but that is why I didn't wake you up." he turns the vacuum off, stores it nicely in the small room and launches himself on the sofa. "I myself is enjoying the lack of sleep I cannot have during the promotional time." Taeyong leans into the soft couch and breathes a sigh of relief. "Yeah yeah yeah, I want to watch Mtopia but works are still chillin in my bedroom." you grin when you brush your teeth. Taeyong chuckles, "Do you have many things to do this week?" You shake your head, "Research for my Geography and maybe the ALS, and the upcoming Math quiz." Taeyong nods his head, "That is quite a lot." You shrug your shoulder, "Where are you going?" you have washed your face and brushed your teeth and hair. Calmly you walk to the sofa and sit beside him. "I'm thinking of visiting mom, wanna join?" he brushes his long hair away from his face. "Sure! Of course I am joining you. I can bring my laptop with me." you punch him playfully and he laughed, "Ah yeah my bad, You cannot attend college face to face, hahaha yes you can take your laptop!" You want to pinch him, but you remember the last time yo did that, you got scolded by his make up artist noona because they have to cover it up with foundations. "I want to pinch you so bad... Why are you more annoying after meeting Baekhyun sunbae!" you clench your fist.

As much as you love EXO and Baekhyun, you still sometimes wonder if your brother knows he is affected a lot by Baekhyun and you're kind of thankful for it. Taeyong looks happier now. "Hey if you can bring the works to home, we can go Friday and go back Sunday, what do you think?" You excitedly nod your head, "Yes! We can do that. I am so excited!" Well he has to ask you because he cannot drive himself home. So the adventure begins. Friday, you wake up around eight pack your things and with Taeyong. the two of you drive safely in the highways to go back home. "Must be hard eh? Studying online and everything." He looks to you for a while and focuses back on the road. You are the one driving the car, your brother can't really drive one, so he just helps you watch the road and navigates you although you know how to go home. "Brother, you need to learn how to drive like as fast as you could! Imagine if later I am away and you still cannot drive." He lets out a crisp laugh "That is why I am happy when you said you are still taking the winter term online, I am super happy. I need to make more memories with you before you're gone!!" he punches the air. "Well you're busy I cannot blame that. Well we can make memories now, in this pandemic time... we can bake cookies and cakes but I am busy with my classes. We can do that on the term break!!" you also suggest things to do with him. "Well yeah, it'll be hard for me to see you later." "I'll try and see you on your concerts and tours." You send him a comforting smile. "Focus on your studies, I don't want you to fail quizzes because you attend concerts and tours." he lovingly flicks your arm, you ouched but just laugh it off. "Yes yes mother," you taunt at him and he pinches your cheeks. "Naughty!" The two of you take a break in one of the rest area and after a heartful meal from Taeyong's credit card, you are ready for the rest of the journey. "We're almost there!" Taeyong roots for you, well he really understands you are tired but what can he do other than cheering you and feeding you snack and drinks while jamming to his playlist. "You remember that time you followed me secretly and Doyoung to get ice cream?" he starts his memory lane talk and you are already laughing when you play the scene back in your head. You laugh and hit the steering wheel, "Of course! I cannot forget you and Doyoung screaming so loud!" Taeyong laughs too, well back then, Doyoung offered Taeyong a ride to get ice cream, and when you heard that you sneakily jumped into the car and no one knew you were there. "What are you going to have?" That question was proposed by Doyoung and you popped in between them, "I'm thinking of getting a milkshake." Taeyong jumped like he had just seen a ghost and Doyoung screamed. You laugh heartily and they scold you on the way back because you scared them, but you're happy since you got your milkshake. "I swear you made the two of us looked like an idiot." Taeyong grins You clicked your tongue, "Best milkshake story ever!" You two exchanged more stories and suddenly the world has changed. The highway has changed to a village sceneries and oh the flowers and trees are nice candy orange! "hey hey stop here for a while!!" Taeyong taps your shoulder. You hit the brake and question him,"Huh? Why? We're not homed yet." He unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the door, 'I want to take pictures." he grins and hands you his phone. You roll your eyes, "Fine. Quick I am not taking too much. I am tired okay we better arrive and eat lunch." "Yes yes I know." he carelessly answers you, his hand is already busy fixing his clothes and hair. You wait for him to pose and you take a quick snap of him in his all white attires. Well he really looks good in white and the background flowers are in a nice contrast. Orange and yellow flowers. He changes position and poses and you just calmly take his pictures, later he will choose it by himself. "Alright you're getting better in taking pictures!" he messes your hair when he is satisfied with the results. "Want me to take you one too?" he asks in a mannerly way, you shake your head, "I am good thank you, so shall we go?" He nods happily and when you're back in car Taeyong is already busy picking pictures to upload in Instagram for his fans to see. "Thank you for driving me here, the way back home is always the best ride!" He kisses your cheek and hugs you when the two of you already settle your feet in mother and father's backyard. "Welcome home!" you whisper and grab his hand to knock on the door. "Mother! Your two sweet bad dreams are here!" the two of you mischievously knock on the door and wait for your mother to open the door. "Look who's here! Welcome home honey!" she greets the two of you with a big hug and a surprised happy face. "What a great surprise!" father also hugs you two and ushers you in. "Food is ready in the table, wash your hands and eat." You and Taeyong smile, well after all home is always the best place to rest and eat. "You must be tired from driving here?" your mother runs a hand on your hair. You shake your head, "It's okay. I am glad to be back here! Taeyong shall we eat?" And with that you two are back at home.

END. please his insta pic is sooo pretty!

[gra-sonas]

Interesting interview with CW President Mark Pedowitz. Roswel, New Mexico is not mentioned, but he talks about programming decisions, straight to series orders, the next fall schedule etc. Another thing he mentions is, that he's happy that The CW will air a few more "family oriented" shows (like the Kung Fu and Walker reboots, and Superman & Lois). If you squint, RNM's very much a "(found) family oriented" show - with aliens. ;)

Pedowitz also mentions, that they have several slots to fill for the upcoming fall, and the 2022 spring schedule, but they haven't made all the decisions yet. While we might not hear about a S4 renewal very soon, this gives me a fairly good feeling tbh. RNM's an established show, it's comparatively "cheap" to make, they have great tax incentives in New Mexico, and the show is doing overall well enough in ratings and international sales.

—————————————————————————————

Mark Pedowitz, broadcast's longest-tenured chief, has no regrets about delaying the start of The CW's fall season.

His network (like Fox), made the decision last summer to wait until the new year to bring back scripted originals like Riverdale and All American. The late start afforded productions more time to get used to filming during a pandemic, where episodes take longer (and cost more) to complete. It also.

While the January fall launch gives the network a backlog of originals to air without interruption (provided the pandemic doesn't have other plans), it also delayed decisions like the network's traditional mid-January slate of early renewals.

Now, as The CW prepares to formally launch its fall season on Sunday with the returns of Batwoman and All American, Pedowitz talks with The Hollywood Reporter about how the network is plotting a return to business as usual, including more straight to series orders, developing shows with heart and, yes, the future of all things DC.

Let's pretend we're at TCA: When will you bring Supernatural back?

If they boys want to come back, we're ready to have them. (Laughing.)

The CW traditionally hands out early renewals during this time of year. Where are you in those conversations, especially since your season doesn't formally start until Sunday with Batwoman.

I'm just getting into those discussions. I came from a studio background and understand the importance of early pickups — it allows for better preparation. We're a few weeks away but I need to finish up some internal discussions.

ABC, NBC and CBS all returned originals late last year. In hindsight, any regrets holding the season start to January

No. Once we said it, we felt it was the right thing to do. It would have been too patchworky. At this point, it gets longer and longer and you're waiting to get back into some form of what's your finished product going to look like? I have no regrets. I just wish it didn't take this long to happen.

How much has The CW's late start to the season — originals return next starting Sunday night — impacted the way you conduct business, both in terms of renewals and the negotiations for pilot orders, etc.?

We did this strategically and made choice in the summer because we were concerned with misleading affiliates, the consumer and the ad sales community that we were going to have a fall schedule in the fall and felt that wasn't the right thing. We found some successes with some of the acquisitions, like Stargirl, Coroner and World's Funniest Animals. Some of those are good linear, a lot of them were great on digital. Our digital presence was kept alive because of that. That said, our fall had Supernatural. And once that came back, we were doing [ratings] numbers we were doing pre-pandemic.

We are interested in seeing how people react. It's not just a covid issue right now; it's also the uncertainty in the country with news being as much of a viewing choice as anything else. We're going to have to see how it all plays. We're getting a little colder of a start than we would have if we rolled out of summer. On a digital basis, we're fine. On a linear basis, it's gotten harder.  On the development basis, nothing has really changed. I think straight to series [orders] will be done again this year — just for financial purposes so people can get going as quickly as possible — by the end of January. That could change because the surge could change. But there is a bit more flexibility to it. We're still on the same schedule: we have to talk to advertisers in some form in May about what things look like for the following fall. We're hoping that the following fall is closer to a normalized fall — like 2019 was. Do I think it will be completely that way? No. Do I think it will be much more that than not that? Yes.

So, you'll be focused largely on straight to series orders instead of pilot pickups this season?

We haven't seen a lot of development yet. Lost Boys and Maverick [ordered to pilot last year], because of what occurred, are back in contention as development, not because they got picked up to pilot last year. They're in the mix with many other things, including dramas from Ava DuVernay, Black Lightning spinoff Painkiller, Wonder Girl, PowerPuff Girls, The 4400. The scripts are coming in slowly. Right now, I've seen just a handful of scripts and I'm waiting for others to come in so I can make some decisions. They're in contention for how we pick up pilots or direct to series.

Last year, you went straight to series on Superman & Lois and Walker largely out of concerns that there could be a WGA strike. Why is this an attractive model for some development this year?

A lot of is dependent upon what we're dealing with in terms of production needs with ongoing series in a sense. The other is what's the economic impact. Bypassing pilots is short-term less money than going straight to series. We look at the economic impact and if we believe enough in these shows and that will determine the decision.

With two veteran shows — Supergirl and Black Lightning — ending, how much more room on the schedule do you anticipate you'll have? You're making straight to series decisions based on a slate that will have just gotten under way.

We'll have space for three or four shows for next season, 2021-22. We're sorry to see Supergirl and Black Lightning go, but we're happy to have Naomi, Wonder Girl and Painkiller in the hopper right now. From The CW-DC/Arrow-verse — whatever we're calling it these days! — I think we'll be OK for the next generation. The Flash is new leader with Arrow gone and we're hoping Superman & Lois and Batwoman step up there for a new grouping of shows.

How much more life is left in veterans like Flash and Legends as you develop the next wave of the Arrow-verse? Especially when you have Greg Berlanti doing a big-budget Green Lantern and DC world at HBO Max and J.J. Abrams doing Justice League Dark for the streamer?

And they have Matt Reeves' Gotham PD there, too. It always makes me feel good when we're copied. (Laughing.) There's a lot of life left. Greg and I speak quite frequently. I'm not that concerned.   You recently passed on Green Arrow and the Canaries. Why? Timing. We couldn't quite figure out a model similar to Stargirl and couldn't quite get there. We were hoping to have it start at HBO Max and take a second run on The CW, but we couldn't figure out how to do it and couldn't make it all work.   Last year's pilots Lost Boys and Maverick are back in the development stage. What's the status of The 100 prequel?The 100 prequel is still in discussions at the studio level. I'd like to see it happen. I'm comfortable with where the prequel spinoff episode we did this past season. It's not a pilot; the earliest that would happen would be probably summer 2022, if that happens. We may end up deciding that we can't put the pieces together and it won't happen.

Speaking of the studio level, Warner Bros. is in the midst of a massive change as Channing Dungey is replacing Peter Roth. How does the changeover at Warners — which co-owns The CW alongside CBS Studios — impact the network? What kind of conversations have you had with Channing about their content pipeline since Warners is your main supplier?

Peter and I had remarkable partnership and relationship, and that will be missed. Channing worked with me when I ran ABC Studios and we've known each other for a long time. She's very supportive of The CW and the shows that go on The CW. There are shows she'd like to keep there and get on the air there. Obviously, her priorities may be a little different than Peter's. We are all working toward the same goal.

How has the pandemic and our current state of the world changed the types of programs you're looking to make? Can you do a show like Maverick, set on a college campus, during a pandemic? Do you still make dystopian stuff, especially if it's expensive?

Maverick is still in contention. I just had this conversation with our development team. I've come to the point right now about hope. About safe havens and a place where you can just ease your tension a little bit. One of the nice things about Superman & Lois, Walker and Kung Fu is at the end of the day — despite all the superhero/genre and Texas Ranger stuff — all three shows are about family, which is an important aspect going forward. You'll see Superman in a way you've never seen him before. And you'll see Jared Padalecki in a way you've never seen before. After watching all eight of Wentworth, I switched to Bridgerton because I wanted something light and fluffy. And I found Ted Lasso a worthy successor to Schitt's Creek — it gave me a hug and made me feel good. It made me remember that the human condition is not always bleak. That's where my head's at these days and I'm hoping development is more hopeful than it is dark and dismal.

Have you considered keeping production on your scripted shows going through the summer given the current covid surge that's happening this winter and the uncertainty in terms of vaccinations and new, more contagious strains? 

We work with the studios on episodic orders and when the shows would end, when they can revert back to a normalized schedule — some can do more easily than others — so we could be there for next October with a more normal schedule. We've sat with the studios and our production partners and have figured this out. Barring catastrophe, we think we're in good shape.

The CW is a joint venture between Warner Bros. and CBS Studios. Since both studios have prioritized their own studios, how much longer does it make sense for them to operate a linear network?

That's a question for them. for the moment, both parent companies are happy with how this is set up. They recognize the value of The CW brand for selling their shows in digital aftermarket.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

[lovemishjen]

Reading reviews of 15x20 on IMDB is so cathartic

 this can't be serious

15 years of character development right out the window. i watched the episode with zero expectations and still managed to get disappointed. can't believe not a single person during the steps of its production stopped and said "hold on...are we sure this is how we want to be remembered"

                                                     *** 

I feel like I got lobotomised

This episode gave me covid, I also feel like Sam's wig had covid.

                                                     ***  

They had all the pieces for a beautiful ending and instead took a 180 and drove the show into the ground

Even my worst imagined ending was better than this. All the character arcs were forgotten for season 1 nostalgia. It was so out of character. Nothing like Dabb's other episodes. What happened?

                                                    ***  

Pulling the ending out of a Cards Against Humanity deck would've been better

This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with rebar to the back and a party city clearance wig.

                                                   ***

 2020 please stop

After 15 years that's how you ended a great show ??????? terrible

                                                   ***  

supernatural wanted to beat game of thrones for worst series finale and it shows.

The supernatural series finale felt like it was one big april fool’s joke except it's november and nobody's laughing.

                                                    ***

If I could give this negative stars, I would.

Some of the most awful writing to come out of this entire series. I don't know what Andrew Dabb was thinking. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki deserve accolades, they put on an acting clinic, but even their phenomenal performances cannot salvage this entirely and that is the real crime here. Fifteen years of character development thrown in the garbage, the themes of family not ending in blood, of "good things do happen" (hope against all odds, survival), and the meta narrative around the Winchesters beating the Author to finally write their own story right along with it. And that's not even going into the other relationships and characters which were dropped like hot potatoes as though the entire season prior was irrelevant. This wasn't just Covid, either. From statements given by cast and crew and Dabb himself, this ending was planned even prior to the pandemic, so using that as an excuse rings extremely hollow. Now I understand why Jensen said he was unhappy with the ending - turns out, he was right to.

                                                   ***  

I laughed I cried it was worse than Bugs

I don't even want to talk about it. Save yourself time, and go find a better ending on Ao3.

                                                   ***  

The bar was so low. Yet they still managed to get underneath it.

Worst series finale I've ever seen. Truly, it could not have been worse. The GOT ending is a masterpiece compared to this.

                                                    ***  

bro what ???

Why did these last two episodes feel like a fever dream? they were so out of character. season 15 was about defying destiny, but in the end they all became exactly what they were supposed to be, kinda horrible lazy writing if u ask me.

                                                    ***  

First time i cried while watching smth because it was that bad

I can't believe people get payed for that level of writing. 15-year-olds on AO3 do better. SPN wasn't good last several seasons but that series finale just hit the bottom broke the floor and descended to writers's hell

                                                    ***  

Sorry Jensen

Dean deserved so much better. He fought for other people all his life then he fought for his own free will and never got to live for himself for more than a week before being killed off in such a mundane way for shock value.

                                                    ***  

Only 1 star and it's for the dog

Terrible ending. Basically forgot all the character developments? I feel bad for the cast, after all those years their characters deserved a way better ending than that.

                                                     ***  

Defeat God, and you'll be murdered by a NAIL.

And don't even get me started on Jareds wig. He be walking around like Doc Brown.

                                                     ***  

THE WRITERS WERE HIGH

Why that cas-baiting? why those 'where's misha' jokes. you didn't bother to give misha a proper farewell, made cas's last scene a 'fake call from lucifer' but had the audacity to make it like "will he be there/will not he" knowing fully well that castiel is not gonna appear in the final episode. i didn't think I'd find a more disappointing ending than game of thrones, but supernatural did it. i didn't have much expectations going into the finale, but this, this was so freaking low. castiel and dean deserved better. this episode destroyed each and every story arc in 40 minutes.

                                                       ***  

only the sweet release of death can undo this

If i could travel back in time and euthanise myself before i ever had to suffer this flop of a finale, i would

                                                         ***  

is this a joke

So... i'm choosing to pretend the last 2 episodes of the show did not exist because otherwise i genuinely will never be able to enjoy the rest of the show again. jensen and jared did a wonderful job with the absolutely horrific script they were handed, but there was no saving this dumpster fire of an episode. yikes. cas and misha deserve better.

[lailarain]

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA 3

This is a continuation of this post.

I'm watching Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School Future Arc for the first time.

Episode 6:

Makoto, you fucking genius. Then again, can't Monokuma just make that a new rule if he wants to🤨

LMAO MONACA THINKING SHE WAS CAUGHT🤣🤣🤣

BYAKUYA! I missed u🥰

WAIT WHY THE FUCK IS HE BRITISH ALL OF A SUDDEN💀

Wait Geko Gahara is what now😀

KOMARU AND TOKO YES I MISSED YOUUUU

YES OUR FAVORITE ULTRA DESPAIR LESBIANS ARE BACK AT IT AGAIN😎😎😎😎

HAJIME YES MY NON-SHAPE-KNOWING BRO

Wait....Izuru🤨?

Episode 7:

Monaca, Junko killed HERSELF. Makoto didn't do shit🤨

THE TITLE IS ULTRA DESPAIR GIRLS YEAH BABY

THE WARRIORS OF HOPE ARE ALIVE AND HELPING OUT THE UDGs YES

It's so nostalgic to watch my favorite dynamic duo fight monokumas with the megaphone again🥺🥺🥺

The way she says "neutralizing demonic teddy bears" like it's normal😭

"Unless you like it rough😏"

Okay wtf is up with Toko's voice

Toko's fantasies are WAY more awkward when animated. Whatever they pay Byakuya's VA clearly isn't enough

IS THAT ACTUALLY HOW SHE SEES KOMARU LMAOOOO

BYAKUYA SENSED HER BEING WEIRD LMAOOO

Can Monaca just stfu🙄

HOLY FUCK YES THE LESBIANS ARE HOLDING HANDS I REPEAT THE LESBIANS ARE HOLDING HANDS

"Don't you see? I was HOPEING to defeat you. I R O N Y."

YES NAGITO

"Leave me alone. G O O G L E I T."

Who's gonna tell Monaca that she'll automatically suffocate the moment she breaks the atmosphere?

Istg those two are SO gay for each other

Komaru and Makoto are such wholesome siblings😭

KYOKO BETTER NOT BE THE ONE TO DIE I SWEAR I-

Episode 8:

Wait did he just say the name I think he said😀

I don't even know what to say about this episode title💀

NO MAKOTO SWEETIE IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT😭

Yo why tf does the blonde bitch look like that🤨

NO THAT MOTHER EFFER BETTER GET AWAY FROM KYOKO😤

Did that peach-haired asshole just-

HOLY FUCK POTHEAD GUY NO

POTHEAD GUY KNEW KYOKO AND HER DAD

What the fuck was in that chocolate😀

The bitch killed the love of her life? That's fucked up, man.

Kyoko, we're in a pandemic. Don't lick saliva, he could've had COVID🙄

Kyoko tricked them? Man, what a badass.

Episode 9:

Wait, so if that wasn't an actual exit, does that mean she killed her love for no reason?

The building is underwater? This game keeps on coming up with insane scenarios, I swear

Okay, blonde bitch has officially LOST HIS MARBLES.

Makoto please don't blame yourself🥺🥺🥺

DID THIS BLONDE BITCH JUST-

Wait....SO SHE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO KILL HIM?

AND HE STILL KISSED HER WTF

Aoi and Makoto's friendship is so cute🥰

Kyoko's gonna die, isn't she?😟

KYOKO NO SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF KNOWING SHE WAS GONNA DIE AGGGGGGGHHHHHHH

BLONDE BITCH SHUT THE FUCK UP HE JUST LOST KYOKO THIS ISN'T ABOUT HOPE

(No joke I am genuinely about to cry now. She better not be dead)

Episode 10:

Awwww I remember this is when she rescued him🥺

Kyoko really is with Atua now😔😇

"She died protecting me from myself" that line HURT, man

Awww poor Makoto is crying🥺🥺

Blonde bitch looking like he be POSSESSED or some shit

Wait what's that on Kyoko's body

how DARE this blonde ass motherfucker make Makoto bleed. Breathing the same oxygen as him was rude enough🙄

Bullying a girl Makoto? Not cool, Hajime Blonde Bitch

IT HIT HIM IN THE BACK OF THE NECK LMAOOO

Did he.....is Makoto....

Ohhhh He's keeping Makoto alive because he'll be trapped. For a second, I thought this was a redemption arc lol😂

Istg this guy is SO aggressive for no reason🙄✋

THE FACT THAT MAKOTO ISN'T ATTACKING YOU AND TRYING TO TALK IT OUT WHILE YOU BEAT HIM UP IS LITERAL PROOF THAT HE IS ON THE SIDE OF HOPE YOU FUCKING DUMBASS🤦‍♀️

WAIT SO EVERYBODY IS AN ATTACKER!?!?

Okay that's it this blonde bitch and me bouta throw hands for punching Naegi👊

Okay I know this scene is sentimental and all but how the fuck is Naegi still standing😀

Okay I wasn't expecting blonde bitch to cry this is actually pretty sad

WAIT SO WHO'S THE ATTACKER?!?!?

Episode 11:

I was wondering how they reacted to the outside world so this is cool

Wait why is ponytail girl smiling evilly😀

Suicide? Idk sounds unlikely to me🤔

Makoto is such a marder it's actually insane

MAKOTO PLEASE DON'T DIE PLEASE DON'T DIE PLEASE DON'T DIE PLEASE DON'T DIE PLEASE DON'T DIE PLEASE DON'T DIE PLEASE DON'T DIE

Okay who in the literal fuck is the attacker tho

What the fuck is that video and where is Makoto I'm so confused rn

ARE THOSE THE VICTIMS?!?!?

WAIT WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MAKOTO WAS HE TRIGGERED WHAT'S GOING ON

NAEGI HOLY FUCK DON'T DO IT

WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIS EYES HE LOOKS LIKE NAGITO WHEN HE'S RANTING ABOUT HOPE WHAT THE FUCK

BUFF GUY IS ALIVE HOLY SHITBALLS

WAIT SO IT REALLY WAS SUICIDE?!?!?

NO BUFF DUDE DON'T GIVE IN TO DESPAIR STAY ALIVE

YES BUFF DUDE STAY ALIVE AND SAVE THEM DONT DIE

YES BLONDE BITCH GO SAFE YOUR BRO AND TELL HIM HOW YOU FEEL

NOOOOOOOOOO BUFF BROOOOOOOO

Wait IS TENGAN ALIVE?!?!?!?

(sorry about all the capitals)

Episode 12:

FINAL EPISODE BABY LET'S GO

Wait so is the video that forced the reserve course students to commit suicide and the one that made Makoto go batshit crazy one in the same?

Heh heh spiral eyes go brrr

Shy guy why are you freaking out what did you do

"You need to know the truth. I've liked anime for as long as I can remember" wow what a shock that the ultimate animator likes animation😀

"You're the exception to the rule and you damn well know it" damn shy guy

wait shy guy what are you doing

SHY GUY NO-

WAIT HE COULDN'T USE HIS TALENT

Did he just say eliminate😀

Shy guy what in the ever-loving fuck are you doing

BLONDE BITCH YES

Okay this is such an elaborate plot twist wtf

AWWW BLONDE BITCH🥺🥺🥺🥺

ASAHINA NO

SHY GUY DON'T YOU DARE PRESS YES

Thank god there's a timer😅

TOKO KOMARU NOOOOOO

WAIT MONACA TOO? SHE'S ALIVE!?!?!?!?

This isn't looking too good for Makoto and Blonde Bitch

WAIT JUNKO IS ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!

JUNKO CALLED OLD GUY OLD AND CRUSTY LMAOOO

Why do I like Junko so much

"Get over it, slut. We're dead😋"

WAIT THAT'S IT!??!?! IT'S OVER?!?!? WHAT HAPPENED?

Am I supposed to watch Despair Arc Now?

Okay I think it's over.

Next, it's time for the only reason I decided to watch the anime: to watch the despair arc for more NAGITO.

[sophthebof]

Fuck it LOST post-finale 2020 headcanons

- Sawyer is a lifelong republican (we have canon proof of this) but he’s about to vote Democrat for the first time in his life because Trump is morally appalling

- okay so Kate, Claire, Sawyer, Miles and Richard all live near each other anyway because they’re all going to be super close for the rest of their lives, but at some point they all get together and form a covid-quarantine-pod and basically just work from one or two of their homes

- what this means is heelllla domestic angst because none of these clowns know how to live together much less during a goddamn pandemic

- I don’t really have a definitive stance on Kate/Claire in my post-finale headcanons but like...it has to have at least happened at some point, I mean cmon. They’re raising Aaron together anyway. So if they aren’t already in love and fucking (somehow???) that happens

- also shit yeah Aaron is all grown up now! Teenager and shit (I forget the exact math...). Also I headcanon that Kate was pregnant with Jack’s baby at the end of the show which means that she’s all grown up too! She and Aaron were basically raised as siblings, so jot that down !

- gen z gang, it’s confusing times out here guys...

- miles, Kate and Claire absolutely go to BLM protests. Similar to covid, I kinda feel uncomfortable writing hcs about this because it’s a serious real life thing that is deeply hurting many people...but they are good people who absolutely would

- fuck it the ENTIRE gang does hella board game nights because quarantine, and board games are fun. Drunk, sober, high, mindless games, super complex games. They get really competitive about it too. Honestly I could write a whole seperate LOST board games night headcanons post, so if you’re interested in that pleeeeease tell me

- Kate gets back into skateboarding! I mentioned in another Kate hc post that I headcanon Kate as having skated a bunch when younger, so I think she’s like “what the hell, may as well try it again”. She picks it up super fast

- the house gang does hella reminiscing about the island. And it’s not all positive. Like, they always remember and miss the people they lost and the times they had, but this year it hits extra hard. (I’m not projecting here at all).

- Desmond! Des and penny love living on their boat anyway and this just gave them an excuse to like, permanently do that. Well, permanently as in for the foreseeable future. Des and penny have always frequently visited the other losties, and since they’ve been safe they don’t miss that. Also Charlie! All grown up! He’s started expressing interest in going to the island...speaking of which...

- For the most part Hurley and Ben are ~vibing on the island, trying to figure out how to use its magical properties to help people, and searching for people who need the island’s help the most, as usual. Hurley is fully comfortable in his job as island leader at this point and he’s very good at it. He and Ben are fully bros (and you were a great number 1, Hugo!!) obviously they still keep in touch with the rest of the gang

- lapidus gets back to work flying as soon as he can, Hurley brings him to the island for a bit too

Okay that’s all I got right now feel free to add more!

[magpiewithacamera]

My grandmother always had a big ‘thing’ about finishing anything you were working on within the year you started it. The week between Christmas and New Years was full of her crocheting, knitting and sewing as she finished projects quickly. I remember probably about 1971 hurrying to finish a sewed ragdoll, sitting next to her on the couch, as we drank ginger ale and watched the shenanigans in Times Square on the old b&w zenith TV.

I’m going to finish something now, if y’all don’t mind.

These are my friends, who died in this past year. And I said their names at the fountain this month, but I want somebody to know them, to at least know they existed.

First. Saeb. Amazing person. An author. He sold his stories on the street. Like, can you imagine the BRAVERY to stop a stranger, thrust a stapled packet into their hands, and ask them to not only READ your work, in FRONT of you, but then give you “whatever you think it’s worth” as payment?

He was the bravest man I’ve ever met. He died in June. Had a stroke in police custody.

~~

Second. Auntie or Annie. Never sure, she spoke a bit mumbled. The pup’s name was Fifi, tho. That much I do know. She was a crackerjack. Lived in a broken down RV in SoDo. Died because the visiting nurse program she relied on was cut back due to the virus. She wasn’t found for over a week. Fifi died with her, or well, more likely, sometime after her.

I miss you, Annie, and I’m so sorry I never took the time to get to know you better. A 75 year old living on the margins. I’m sure she had an amazing story.

~~

Third. Derek. Busked at the Center. He told me he’d been ‘up and down the world’, sticking mostly to the coasts, for twenty some years. He was always ‘just a week’ away from joining a band, going into rehab, finding an apartment. The first time I met him, he gave me his coat against the cold, it was an April morning and it was foggy and miserable. He was playing ‘warm up’ at 8 am. Another busker there was playing the saw, and the combination of that unearthly sound and his acoustic strumming was magical.

He died in a tent because he couldn’t get admitted for a septic infection of his heart muscle without a ‘current covid test’. He had no car and no way to get to the testing center, early days, it was in Kirkland. He died the day I watched a video of nurses happily doing the ‘safety dance’ to show people how to wear masks. He died alone. Nobody was singing for him.

~~

Fourth. James. He was a flower child born 30 years too late. His smile would light up a room. He played Hendrix for me one night down on the Waterfront on a broken guitar with only 4 strings and he slayed it. His life was always a little psychadelic. He traveled with Roxy, his pup and muse, who used to sleep on my backpack while I listened, talked, took pictures. He told me once “Get good shots, I want my dad to see them someday when I’m famous”. He never told me his dad’s email, though.

You’re famous now, bro. Fly high. Died in July, of an overdose. Intentional? Accidental? No one knows. He was alone.

~~

Fifth. Jose. Had a radar connection to me by some weird Seattle magic. He would show up abruptly at my side nights when I walked through Pioneer Square. “Little Miss, don’t be alone here after dark, please!” No matter how many times I told him I wasn’t afraid, he’d walk with me, bumming cigarettes and cracking bad jokes. The last time I saw him, he was so happy and excited, he’d gotten his license to sell the Real Change. Was going to make enough money to get a room, he said.

Died in July also. Probably overdosed, maybe his heart. He wasn’t found until August, the heat had changed things a bit.

~~

Sixth. Azzy. They were special. Always wore a scarf with stars on it. Lugged a bass around, read tarot cards, composed street poetry and gave ‘advice to the lovelorn’. So brave and so proud and so very free.

Dead of an overdose. Probably accidental. Fentanyl was going around.

I miss you, Azzy. You were the best.

~~

These are the casualties of this year. A year where we closed out the poor and the disenfranchised and Amazon made $2billion in the first two weeks of the pandemic and nurses danced in empty ICUs and politicians argued if $600 wouldn’t make all these poor people lazy.

A year when the last 5 photos I sold were used for friends’ memorials.

A year when I cut a lot of people out of my life because when I cried for my friends I was being melodramatic and ‘didn’t understand’.

There are more, there’s Chastity, and Drummar (who played with James down on the waterfront) and there’s Li’l and the Mayor of Belltown (who could free form recite verse - in proper iambic pentameter, no less - for $10 or $5 or a cigarette). There’s Slim who fixed bikes up in Fremont and Marda who sat with friends through bad trips.

And nobody cares, and that hurts. A lot.

So tonight, when you go ‘hurrah! out with the old year!’ i want you to take a look around and see the empty spaces in the crowds, the same ones I see, where beautiful stars used to shine.

And for the love of god, let’s stop letting each other die. Please.

Happy new year all, may whatever gods there are have mercy on us all.

[aion-rsa]

The Pandemic in Pop Culture Trends

https://ift.tt/32wrfZT

The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was both a universal and incredibly personal experience. While not everyone’s life in the first year of the pandemic looked the same, there have been some common joys, struggles, and tragedies. And there have been stories that have helped get us through the first year of pandemic. The global COVID-19 pandemic is not over, but it has hopefully reached a turning point. Multiple vaccines protecting against the worst of the virus have been developed and have begun to be (unevenly) distributed around the world, with Israel, the U.K., Chile, and the U.S. currently with the greatest percentages of their populations having received at least one dose. As we hopefully move into a less deadly phase of the pandemic, we’re taking a moment to look back at the TV series, games, movies, and other pop culture moments that brought comfort, distraction, critique, and catharsis for many in the pandemic’s first year, as well as some of the major trends and news stories that shaped the industry itself between March 2020 and February 2021.

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March 2020

NBA To Suspend Season Following Tonight's Games pic.twitter.com/2PTx2fkLlW

— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2020

The NBA Suspends the Season (March 11th)

Many use the NBA’s March 11th announcement that the 2019-2020 season would be suspended until further notice as an unofficial start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The season would continue four months later in the “NBA Bubble,” but no one could know what the future would look like, only that things were indeed very serious for the billions-dollar professional basketball and media industry to shut down.

Everyone Watches Contagion

Though Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic thriller came out in 2011, Contagion jumped from Warner Bros.’ 270th most digitally rented movie in December 2019 to their second most rented one in February, and that trend would only continue into March. As the pandemic continued, we would see audiences turning towards more “escapist” fare, but, in the early days of this international crisis, people turned towards this matter-of-fact, fictional imagining of how a global pandemic might play out to help process their new and frightening reality.

Movie Theaters Essentially Go Dark

In addition to the immense loss of human life the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, there has also been an economic cost that will no doubt continue to impact human health and livelihood in the coming years. On March 17th, the movie theater chains Regal and AMC announced their temporary closures, an early sign of just how bad the pandemic would be for the movie theater business.

Movies in Theaters Begin Going to VOD

With movie theaters closed, studios needed to get creative about how best to distribute their movies still “in theaters.” Universal Pictures was the first to make the decision to move its new releases to a video on-demand model, bringing The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma to VOD on March 20th.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is Released (March 20th)

On March 20th, Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch, allowing players (most of whom where stuck at home) to digitally move to an island and nurture their own community. The fifth game in the Animal Crossing series, New Horizons would go on to major commercial success. It broke the console game record for most digital units sold in a single month, became the 15th best-selling video game in history, and the second best-selling game of all time in Japan. It was also the most blogged-about subject on Tumblr in 2020!

Tiger King Drops on Netflix (March 20th)

Netflix remains the largest streaming service worldwide, with over 200 million global subscribers and roughly 74 million of those subscribers in the U.S. Because of this, when a Netflix Original becomes a hit, it usually becomes a major part of online discourse, especially in the United States. This was the case for Tiger King, the true crime (and truly wild) documentary series that dropped on Netflix on March 20th. With most watchers stuck at home, the online discourse around the show felt even more intense than usual. For a few weeks, you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a Tiger King meme.

April 2020

Quibi Launches (April 6)

While not necessarily pandemic-specific (did Quibi ever really stand a chance?), 2020 saw the launch (April 6th) and death (December 1st) of Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s short-form streaming platform that squandered $1.75 billion in investment capital and star power like Sophie Turner, Kiefer Sutherland, Idris Elba, Chrissy Teigen, Karlie Kloss, and Laura Dern before bowing out in December.

Trolls World Tour Becomes First Movie to Break Theatrical Window (April 10)

Remember when it was radical for a movie to break its theatrical window? Yeah, that was in April, when many media professionals were shocked with Universal’s decision to release Trolls World Tour, the computer animated musical comedy sequel to 2016’s Trolls, as both a limited theatrical release and via video on demand services. The move led AMC Theatres to temporarily announce that they would no longer be distributing Universal films, but the two companies quickly came to an agreement shortly after.

Extraction was a Thing (April 24)

Honestly, every week in 2020 felt like its own lifetime. Remember when Extraction, the Chris Hemsworth-helmed action-thriller, became the most watched original film in Netflix’s history? Directed by Sam Hargrave and written by MCU vet Joe Russo, the film follows a black ops mercenary who must rescue the kidnapped son of an Indian drug lord in Bangladesh. As self-reported by Netflix, the movie was watched by 99 million households in its first month of release.

May 2020

TikTok Pops

TikTok was already firmly a thing heading into 2020, but the pandemic was when more people found it—especially the olds… by which I mean millennials. In October 2019, TikTok had almost 40 million U.S. users (and 507 million global users in December 2019). By June 2020, that number was at almost 92 million in the U.S. (and 689 million globally by July 2020). This was part of a larger trend over the course of the pandemic that saw people spending more time on their mobile devics than ever before: According to a report from mobile app intelligence agency App Annie (via Social Media Today), by the end of 2020, Americans spent more time on TikTok than they did on Facebook, and the average American now spends more time per day on their mobile device (4 hours) than they do watching TV (3.7 hours).

Avatar: The Last Airbender is Released on Netflix (May 15th)

In many ways, the pandemic has been an accelerant of global processes, and this applies to pop culture as well. While we were already seeing the rise in more foreign-language TV, including anime, and the return to some major nostalgic properties due to broader and easier accessibility because of platforms like Netflix, the pandemic really ramped that process up. When all three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender became available on Netflix in May, the American animated TV series that originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008, was discovered or re-discovered by millions of viewers, becoming one of the top Tumblr fandoms of 2020. It was indicative of a larger trend of old shows becoming new again through release on major global streaming platforms.

Read more

TV

Avatar: The Last Airbender – What Can We Expect From the New Avatar Studios?

By Shamus Kelley

TV

Avatar: The Last Airbender Co-Creators Exit Netflix Live-Action Series

By Shamus Kelley

June 2020

Buffy Lands on All4 (June 1st)

In a year where what’s old was necessarily new again, all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer came to UK streaming platform All4, and were broadcast on E4 every weeknight at 11pm. Elsewhere in the UK streaming market, the BBC iPlayer saw its best-ever quarter from April to June with 1.6 billion requests, an increase of 59% on the same quarter last year (according to a BBC press release).

Staged Premieres (June 10th)

As it became apparent that TV and film production would not be going back to normal anytime soon, many creators got, well, creative and began making things in lockdown. One of the best and most high-profile examples was BBC’s Staged, in which David Tennant and Michael Sheen play fictionalized versions of themselves, trying to rehearse a performance of Six Characters in Search of an Author via video chat, alongside director Simon Evans. The low-budget, high-charisma series is filmed in the actors’ real-life homes but, unlike some celebrity efforts during the pandemic (see March), strikes the right tonal note in relation to its subjects’ privilege.

July 2020

Ray Fisher Speaks Up About Alleged Abuse on the Justice League Set (July 1st)

Actor Ray Fisher raised his voice on July 1st in a tweet, calling out director Joss Whedon for alleged abuse on the Justice League set, and WB execs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg for “enabling” that alleged behavior.

Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020

Later, in December, Fisher would add WB exec Walter Hamada’s name to that list, following a December 11th announcement by WarnerMedia that their investigation connected to Justice League “has concluded and remedial action has been taken.”

Hamilton Blows Us All Away (July 4th)

One of the deepest cultural cuts during lockdown was the necessary elimination of live, in-person theater, which is probably one of the reasons why Hamilton, the Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical that originally came to Broadway in 2015, made such a splash when it became available in its filmed format via Disney+. Even without a pandemic, Hamilton (and all Broadway theater) is only accessible to a select group of people, making the addition of the pop culture phenomenon in a more accessible form so very important.

Read more

TV

From Bridgerton to Hamilton: A History of Color-Conscious Casting in Period Drama

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

Movies

Hamilton: Thomas Jefferson Controversy Explained

By David Crow

Host Becomes the Most Zeitgesty Movie of 2020 (July 30th)

Another particularly impressive entry into the “filmed from lockdown” genre that sprouted up during the first year of the pandemic was British found footage horror film Host. Written and made over 12 weeks in a pandemic and based around a haunted Zoom call, few pandemic-made stories managed to nail the balance between both frighteningly topical and escapist quite so well.

The NBA Bubble Begins

Professional sports went into their bubbles, aka tightly controlled settings in which pro sports players live, practice, and play their respective seasons—to varying degrees of success. The NBA’s Disney World bubble went into effect on July 22nd for exhibition scrimmages, before launching into the final eight games of its regular 2019-2020 season and then the 2020 NBA playoffs. Twenty-two of the NBA’s 30 teams were invited to participate and ended the bubble in October with no recorded cases of COVID-19 amongst its participating players. The MLB bubble was… less successful.

SDCC @Home: WTF Was That? (July 22)

San Diego Comic-Con is one of the most important and lucrative pop culture events of the year, bringing hundreds of thousands of people into downtown San Diego to celebrate and discuss some of the largest franchises in the world. SDCC was one of the many in-person conventions that attempted to transfer its programming online in 2020 and… it didn’t really work. Part of the fun of Comic-Con is in the excitement of the crowd and the exclusivity of the events. (Though not on Thanksgiving, thank you very much.) There is nothing quite like getting to be part of a major Hall H announcement, and watching via video chat is just not the same.

August 2020

Tenet Comes Out in the UK (August 26th)

In what was largely a year without theatrical cinema in the U.S. and the U.K., a brief respite in COVID-19 cases and therefore lockdown meant a proper theatrical release for Christopher Nolan’s latest in August 2020. Sci-fi blockbuster Tenet hit U.K. theatres on August 26th, bringing in $5.3 million domestically in its first week of release and marking the first major studio release since the pandemic began.

American Sports Leagues Go on Strike to Protest Jacob Blake Shooting

Many professional sports in the U.S. came to a temporary halt when some players and teams refused to take the field or court following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black American who was shot in the back and paralyzed by a police officer in front of his sons on August 23rd in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The incident re-ignited ongoing protests over racism and police brutality, with which many players and teams stood in solidarity. The NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS all postponed games as players protested Jacob Blake’s shooting.

Chadwick Boseman Passes Away (August 28th)

In a devastating loss to American culture, Chadwick Boseman, the star of Black Panther and many other films, passed away due to complications from colon cancer, a condition with which he had been living and working since a 2016 diagnosis. Boseman was one of the most successful Black actors and creators working today.

“He … knew that his voice was now strong and people were listening and paying attention,” wrote Kelley L. Carter in The Undefeated. “And he knew that even as this moment was victorious, Hollywood still needed to be called to task on the things that make this industry problematic, even as it was in the infant phases of creating a groundbreaking blockbuster with a mostly Black cast.”

September 2020

Tenet Flops in the U.S., Hollywood Abandons Ship for Fall 2020 (September 3)

While Tenet may have been a hit in the U.K., the Nolan blockbuster flopped upon its release in the U.S., where many theaters remained closed or empty through the summer and fall. The film would make around $58 million in the U.S. and Canada, prompting Hollywood studios to further push back major releases slated for the fall.

Mulan Becomes First Disney “Premier Access” Release (Sept. 4)

After several pandemic-caused release delays, Disney’s much-anticipated, live-action adaptation of Mulan became the first “Premier Access” release for Disney+, causing a bit of a stir. In the U.S. and in some other markets, Disney forwent releasing Mulan in theaters, instead offering a “Premier Access” window on Disney+ that viewers could access for an additional fee of $29.99. While the film received middling reviews from western critics, it was not received well in China. Additionally, a #BoycottMulan movement, which started out as a response to social media comments star Liu Yifei made in support of the Hong Kong police in their (sometimes violent) suppression of pro-democracy protestors, gained some traction in the lead up to the release.

Read more

Movies

How Mulan Maintains The Animated Film’s Queerness

By Natalie Zutter

Movies

Mulan: Disney Plus Grosses Exceed $200 Million? (Report)

By David Crow

I’m Thinking of Ending Things Makes People Go “Whaaa?” (Sept. 4)

As our Rosie Fletcher wrote in the “Ending Explained” for I’m Thinking of Ending Things: “[this story is] a movie, and a book, which really requires you to watch/read twice to actually fully understand.” It’s a gloriously confusing movie, and many in September dove right into the mystery chiller adapted by Charlie Kaufman from a novel by Iain Reid. As Fletcher put in her review, the film is “a perfect storm of philosophy, ambiguity and wankery.” What’s not to love?

October 2020

Trial of the Chicago 7 Debuts on Netflix (Oct. 16)

However you may feel about Aaron Sorkin, the man knows how to make a taut political drama. Trial of the Chicago 7 is a dramatic retelling of (as it says on the tin) the 1969-70 trial of the Chicago Seven, a group of anti–Vietnam War protesters charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines with the intention of inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The movie has an all-star cast of dudes, and is both written and directed by Sorkin. It made many critics’ best-of-the-year lists and made a cultural splash when it dropped on Netflix in October, after a summer of American and global protests ignited by the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans.

Borat 2 Makes (a Bigger) Fool Out of Rudy Giulilani (October 23rd)

Rarely do the paths of pop culture and politics so explicitly intersect as they did in Borat 2. The mockumentary comedy sequel came out in October, in the long, plateau-ed height of the lead up to the presidential election, and featured a scene in which Republican politician Rudy Giuliani puts his hand into his trousers in front of actress Maria Bakalova, who is impersonating a conservative journalist. While Giuliani attempted to spin the event in both the lead up to and following the release of the film on Amazon Prime, Sacha Baron Cohen told Good Morning America in an interview after the film’s release: “It is what it is. He did what he did.”

Read more

Movies

Maria Bakalova is Ready to Do Borat 3 in ‘Five Minutes’

By David Crow

Movies

Borat 2: Sacha Baron Cohen Reveals Dangerous Deleted Scene

By David Crow

The Queen’s Gambit Turns Everyone into a Chess Player (Oct. 23)

Odds are that, in October 2020, you either knew someone or were someone who watched The Queen’s Gambit and then fell hard into the world of chess. The Netflix period miniseries tracks the highs and lows of fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon (the brilliant Anya Taylor-Joy), from her upbringing in a Kentucky orphanage in the 1950s to her time at the top of the competitive chess world in the 1960s. In its first month of release, The Queen’s Gambit became Netflix’s most-watched scripted miniseries, and sent chess set sales soaring—yet another sign of just how commercially and culturally powerful Netflix has become.

November 2020

PlayStation 5 Alleges Launches, But No One Can Get Them (Nov. 12)

Even if you aren’t a gamer, you probably heard about the release of the PlayStation 5. Though the PS5 technically became available in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, Singapore, and South Korea on November 12th (and worldwide a week later), the limited supply of the console made it almost impossible to find.

As Matthew Byrd wrote in his November article on the subject: “We know that the initial PS5 shortage can at least partially be attributed to a shortage of the console’s chips (as well as distribution and manufacturing problems caused by the complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic), but as we’re already seeing in Europe where some who pre-ordered a PS5 were warned they may not receive their console until 2021, Sony faces some notable additional issues moving forward.”

This is partially a story of supply and demand, and the growth of gaming in general. According to a report by market researcher SuperData (via Venture Beat), the game industry grew 12% (to $139.9 billion) in 2020, with console games revenues up 28% from 2019. While growth is expected to be slower in 2021, as fewer people will hopefully be stuck at home, more people than ever are gtting their story fix in the world of gaming.

Read more

Games

PlayStation Bets on Big Games as Game Pass Slowly Wins a Console War

By Matthew Byrd

Games

Why PlayStation Store Closing on PS3 Should Matter to You

By Matthew Byrd

December 2020

WB Announces HBO Max Release Hybrid Model (Dec. 3)

In a move that seems to be paying off, in December, Warner Bros. announced that it would be moving to a release hybrid model through 2021, putting its entire 2021 film slate on HBO Max. As David Crow explained in our film section: “The move will put all 17 of WB’s scheduled 2021 films on a ‘hybrid’ model where films will premiere on HBO Max the same day as their theatrical release in the U.S. Technically speaking, the films will still be playing in theaters, particularly in international markets without HBO Max as a streaming option, but for the first (and most lucrative) month of their release, they’ll also be available on WarnerMedia’s streamer.”

People Actually Get to Play Cyberpunk 2077, Immediately Realize It’s Broken (Dec. 10)

Hooboy, Cyberpunk 2077. In December, after literal years of anticipation, CD Projekt released action RPG video game Cyberpunk 2077 to disastrous results. While the narrative and design of the game is ambitious and has its rewards, the rollout was plagued by performance issues (particularly in the console versions) that led to player backlash and actual lawsuits.

Read more

Games

Cyberpunk 2077 Lawsuits Explained

By Matthew Byrd

Games

Cyberpunk 2077 Roadmap Proves the Game Should Have Been Delayed to 2021

By Matthew Byrd

The Mandalorian Finale Breaks the Internet (Dec. 18)

Um, spoilers.

The second season of The Mandalorian may not have technically been the most-watched series of 2020, but it certainly felt like the most-talked-about, proving that, even in the era of streaming, there’s still such a thing as appointment television. This all came to a culmination with The Mandalorian Season 2 finale, “The Rescue,” which featured an appearance from Luke Skywalker himself.

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TV

Could Durge’s Star Wars Return Lead to a Role in The Mandalorian or Book of Boba Fett?

By Joseph Baxter

TV

How The Mandalorian Challenges Star Wars’ History of Bad Dads

By Lacy Baugher

Wonder Woman 1984 Premieres (Dec. 25)

Wonder Woman 1984 dropped on Christmas Day in the United States, and quickly became the most-watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 (knocking Disney+’s Hamilton out of the top spot), despite its middling reviews. In the U.S., it would be the first of WB’s “hybrid model” releases, getting a simultaneous release in theaters as well as on HBO Max.

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Movies

Wonder Woman 1984 Star Connie Nielsen Defends Patty Jenkins’ Vision

By Don Kaye

Movies

Does Zack Snyder’s Justice League Set Up Wonder Woman 3?

By David Crow

Bridgerton Gets Saucy (Dec. 25)

Bridgerton, Netflix’s deliciously addicting period romance based on the Julia Quinn novels, also dropped on Christmas Day, and went on to become the streamer’s most watched series ever, reaching #1 in 76 countries. The Shondaland produced drama made leading man Regé-Jean Page a global star, so much so that the announcement that he would not be returning for Season 2 (as each season focuses on a different romantic pairing featuring a member of the Bridgerton family) into a bit of a meltdown. Bridgerton has already secured another three seasons—a post-Season 1 announcement that is unprecedented for a Netflix original.

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TV

Why Bridgerton Had to Let Regé-Jean Page Go

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

TV

Will Bridgerton Become the Next Game of Thrones?

By Kayti Burt

Soul Brings on the Feels (Dec. 25)

Called Pixar’s “most ambitious movie in years” by Den of Geek film editor David Crow, Soul was another Christmas release that brought solace to people stuck at home, many without their families, for the holidays. Directed by Pixar vet Pete Docter (Up, Monsters, Inc., Inside Out) and co-directed by Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami, Star Trek: Discovery), the film follows middle school music teacher and pianist Joe Gardner as he seeks to reunite his soul and his body after they are accidentally separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician. 

January 2021

The Little Things Kicks Off WB’s 2021 Film Slate on Streaming (Jan. 29)

Fans of crime thriller and/or Denzel Washington and Rami Malek flock to HBO Max and theaters for the hybrid release of The Little Things, the first of WB’s planned 2021 slate.

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Movies

The Little Things is Better Than a Seven Copycat

By Don Kaye

Movies

The Little Things and the Mystery of Denzel Washington’s Character Explained

By David Crow

February 2021

WandaVision Ensnares Us

Stop hogging the zeitgeist, Marvel!

In February, Disney+ released its first MCU show, WandaVision, and it broke the internet. The miniseries, created by Jac Schaeffer and starring Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, wowed audiences with its clever use of the sitcom format and superhero tropes to tell a story about grief that, for all of its fantastical elements, was oh so relatable.

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TV

How WandaVision’s Doctor Strange 2 Connection Evolved

By Joseph Baxter

TV

WandaVision: The Unanswered Questions From the Marvel Series

By Gavin Jasper

Judas and the Black Messiah Debuts (Feb. 12)

Daniel Kaluuya and Lakith Stanfield lead an all-star cast in this 1960s period piece that follows the real life story of Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton, who was the victim of a targeted assassination by the FBI. In a year that saw an increased mainstream awareness of Black trauma, the Oscar-nominated Judas and the Black Messiah shone a cinematic light on yet another state-led historical injustice against Black Americans.

Charisma Carpenter Speaks Her Truth

In February, actress Charisma Carpenter came forward with allegations about Joss Whedon’s alleged abuses of power during her time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, inspired by Ray Fisher’s own efforts to seek justice and systemic reform for Whedon’s alleged behavior on Justice League.

My truth. #IStandWithRayFisher pic.twitter.com/eNjYcJ6zwP

— charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021

Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020

Pokemania Returns

Many older millennials have spent their time during quarantine reconnecting with their childhood faves. This culminates with a massive renewed interest in Pokemon cards to the point where McDonald’s Happy Meals with Pokemon cards as toys sell out instantly.

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Sponsored

How Pokémon Snap Helped Pioneer the Photo Mode Era

By Matthew Byrd

Sponsored

Why Pokémon Has Endured For 25 Years

By Alec Bojalad

Did we miss anything? What have been the stories and pop culture trends that have helped get you through the pandemic so far? Let us know in the comments below.

The post The Pandemic in Pop Culture Trends appeared first on Den of Geek.

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