#I can't explain it but this outfit is so very 2014

[the-halfling-prince]

"How do we know you're not gonna kill us and take our food and water?"

"I don't want your stuff, I have my own stuff."

[pardonmydelays]

THE CONCERT, OMG.

*To people reading this, Idina Menzel👑 is doing a tour and she came to my city*

I literally don't even know where to begin, Poppy...

Two songs from 'Rent' - "Take Me Or Leave Me" (the crowd lost their goddamn minds lol. She let some of the audience members sing with her.) and "No Day but Today"

HER OUTFIT. It started off as this huge and dramatic gown, and it was stripped down one by one until she had on a simple, almost sheer-like jumpsuit (or I think it was a dress??). Here's the dress: instagram.com/p/C-BkQOwOHcc/?img_index=6! The stripping of each piece was done so quickly yet effortlessly.

A story (humorous or sentimental) was her way of starting the next song. I don't know how to explain it, but the way she just transitioned into each song was done so smoothly. We love a good storyteller.

She talked a little bit about mental health. Just another thing to add on my long list of why I love The Queen™. The way she transitioned into the topic, though, was clever. She first sang an up-tempo jazz song and then proceeded to open up about the topic. I, too, have anxiety, you beautiful human being. I hope Idina is aware of how loved she is by many, because she is. ❤️

The story she told before she sang "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" was great. Omg.. her cover of the song was AMAZING, by the way!! She learned quickly that snowboarding is not for her. 😂 (I tried doing that in 2021 and I found out the hard way that I can't do it either! 😭 So.. cheers to us for trying to be cool.)

Idina went hard on "No One Mourns The Wicked" and I had no idea what to think about it to be honest. This was when she stripped down to her last outfit. We're talking headbanging here.

Look, I'm straight, but seeing Idina Menzel sit in a rather alluring position on the piano AND a couch in a huge tulle gown was not on my bingo card, but there we were. I was totally looking respectfully!

Obviously she sang "Let It Go". The way she transitioned into this song was telling us what was going through her head before going on stage to perform at the Oscars. March 2, 2014. After she said the date, I knew where this was going. I don't recall watching it in 2014, though, so I didn't know about 'Adele Dazeem' until I recently started binge-watching her interviews! They played audio footage of John [Travolta] screwing up her name in his speech, and her reaction was priceless. "[pauses in confusion] ... Wait... what?"

*Hey, that's what Elsa's sister says a lot!*

Obviously the crowd lost their minds, once again, lol. I just happened to be seated next to a mother with three girls, so you can bet those girls were excited.

She sang two songs from her new musical that's going to Broadway next year!

She sang a few songs from her previous musicals, such as "You Learn to Live Without" from If/Then and "The Life of the Party" from The Wild Party.

I need Idina to do more jazz songs, especially with an (I think this is the term) up-tempo.

The finale, oh my God. After she sang "Brave" or a slow, sentimental song (I forgot which one), she said, Goodnight everyone, thank you. and then walked off. Straight face, very monotone. Me: 😯🤨😕 The crowd was cheering while a few people were heading out. 'Is that it????', I wondered. I was confused because there was one specific song she didn't sing... As the audience kept cheering, I thought to myself, 'There is no way in fucking hell she just did that. There is no way in hell she went through a whole concert without singing that song.' I DID NOT DRIVE 45 MINUTES FOR MY QUEEN™ TO NOT SING DE--

Damn, am I am proud of myself for staying. Nobody was leaving, so that's when I realized "Defying Gravity" was the finale song. 😮‍💨🥹🥰 Great acting, Dee, great acting. And GREAT JOB FOR ALMOST GIVING ME A HEART ATTACK!

Overall, this was an incredible concert. I'm honestly still speechless and processing everything, so I'm sure there's more that I will remember later today, but that's all I'll write for now. I didn't get the best, high quality pictures, but I still took some. I am definitely going to New York next year for my birthday to see her new musical! This was a great way to end July.

I hope you have a wonderful time at the The Eras Tour!!!! I can't wait to "hear" about your experience!!!!

AAAHHH! omg i literally have shivers just from reading this, i am so extremely happy for you! sounds like a hell of a show to be honest, oh what i'd give to hear "no day but today" and "defying gravity" live! 🥹

the dress you showed me is actually so beautiful, she looks absolutely stunning. thank you for sharing your experience with me!!! it was such a pleasure to read! i'm so glad you decided to go and made some beautiful memories there, there's nothing better in this life than going to concerts tbh 🫶

here's to many, many more!!!

[weed-ols]

Reviewing Every UKISS Release: By Unpopular Demand ~ Tick Tack + Forever (For KISS Me) + Forbidden Love

So releases from this point onward until around ~2014/15ish are constant and hectic, so I've had to deviate from my original plan a bit. I think grouping the JP singles + KR digital singles in 3s helps keep things a little less...unwieldy, and less constrained by image limits on posts.

Tick Tack - 1st JP Single | 2011.12.14

This was the PV that got accidentally leaked, right? Like they posted the full version of this instead of the short version, and that's why it was so easy to watch it on YouTube or whatever, and it was super easy to get the full audio because of it lol. I think it only took me a day or two to find a 320kbps download of it. Anyway, another pivotal moment of my tween years.

Tick Tack (Audio) | YouTube Music 5.3M | Spotify 1.11M

God that clock sound is so good

Love the entire vocal line stuffed into the first verse

Vocal troika taking the chorus love that for them

Also love stuffing everyone into the second verse

I like that the parallel with the first and third verses where the former is all the vocalists and the latter is all the rappers

SooHoon + Dongho bridge? An odd combo but very much goated

Honestly super impressed at how much this song is a team effort

Obviously Soohyun, Kevin, and Hoon have the most lines since they do the chorus, but Dongho gets a good amount with his little extra rap, and while AJ, Eli, and Kiseop get a couple lines each

And yeah sure it's a couple of lines, but they are attention-grabbing

Always appreciate a good bookend with the clock returning

Love the dramatic music, love the dramatic lyrics, it's such a good follow-up to NEVERLAND, and an insane first JP release

So lyrically, is this a reluctant breakup song? Like is this a toxic relationship that they're ending even though they're still in love?

That's a new breakup theme for them

10/10 "the perfect Japanese debut for a Kpop group doesn't exi-" wrong

Tick Tack (MV) | Short ver. 3.9M | Official upload 733k

Oh buckle in buckaroos I got a legit copy of this on my laptop AND of every JP MV right up until 2016 babyyy

And I can't remember if it was they learnt the choreo in 3 days (while promoting) or if they both learnt it in 3 days while their choreographer was still working on it

Iconic and lol their positions

Kiseop, AJ, and Eli are just kinda comfortably posing

Soohyun on his knees, Dongho chilling on the floor, and Kevin making modern art with his body lol

Also the dramatic grasping hands

Abandoned Warehouse Set #1 with an amazingly large clock

Abandoned Warehouse Set #2 + group sadboy shot

I love the black/white look with red accents super chic, but is Soohyun the only one without white? I mean fair he is the real MC of UKISS

Not Hoon being the only in a full pose

Ew Kiseop don't touch the dust/ash that's dirty

Oh his hair....it's kinda pompadour-esque. I remember thinking it was super cool back in the day, but it's kinda...tragic now lol

Still looks good though, hard for his face card to ever decline

Love the fanning out of this part, it's super cool on stages for such a simple step

Also these grey suits are gorgeous and it's 2011, so of course it's paired with combat boots

Surprised that this dance has only resulted in one instance of ripped pants

Could be more, but Hoon ripping his pants during their Best Of tour promos is peak comedy

This part is also very cool, very fun to look at

I could've sworn they wore gloves during the dance, but I guess not? They're wearing them for the dramatic solo shots though

Dongho with yet again the bowliest bowlcut to ever bowl

Another personal favourite choreo bit

It's a bit difficult to explain, but the force and purpose Soohyun uses when he slides his hand down Kiseop's back is so cool

The way he pops up kills me every time

These are the worst outfits in the video

I hate the white sleeves so much they make them look juvenile

Like I get black sleeves probably wouldn't have worked with this set since they'd get lost in the dark edges of the frame

But a dark colour would've worked, or heck even no sleeves

On the topic of outfits, not much to say about their hair that hasn't been said already

This was filmed during NEVERLAND promos I think, so their hair is fine

Kevin, Soohyun, and AJ have great hairstyles; Hoon, Eli, and Dongho are fine; Kiseop's pompadour is meh, but I really like his hair when they're in the grey suits

The fluffy hair looks really good on him, much better than the sleek look he wore for NEVERLAND

The dance battle is cute, really helps give everyone a bit more spotlight

This part? Seared into my brain

What's falling down from the ceiling? Ashes? Dust? Snow? Asbestos? We may never know

Anyway, no story, just a banger dance and brooding shots in The Box and some abandoned spaces

Oh and this isn't in the MV, obviously, but remember how Hoon and Kiseop nearly knocked each other out while filming this? I don't remember the exact documentary, but it must have been that one they did during NEVERLAND

They were all so enamoured with the giant clock too lol

10/10 still gives an insane dopamine rush

Coincidence | YouTube Music 113k | Spotify N/A

It's so insane that this banger is just a random b-side for a single?

I'm trying to figure out who dominates this song, and while my initial instinct is to say it's a Kevin song, Eli is also a very constant presence? Soohyun and Hoon also have parts that are more memorable. All I can say is that this is definitely not a Kiseop (RIP) song

Love the first and last choruses are SooVin while the others are HoonVin

Soohyun's little "follow me!" is so cute omg

I really like AJ's rap here he always makes it so interesting

The cute little SooSeop verse

Dongho's rap was also nice, like the little break for AJ and AJ+Eli

The little bridge part with SooHoon and Eli+Dongho is really cool

I like the darker sound of this, very fitting to be Tick Tack's b-side

Not entirely sure what the song is about? I think it's about meeting an ex again, hence all the mentions of coincidences and fate?

The colourless world mentions sure make it sound depressing though

Also looking at the lyrics, I thought the song was a lot more complex than it is? It really is just like 5 choruses, 3 post-choruses, a couple of verses and a bridge

I think the constant switching of singers/rappers help make it sound more complex

9.5/10 super catchy. I can't believe I actually forgot about this song until I got back into this hellscape

0330 -Piano & Chorus ver.- | YouTube Music N/A | Spotify N/A

There's no official upload but the fan upload of it is sitting at 16k

I think they did this in their 2012 tour? Anyway, sounds a lot like the Christmas version which I really like

Love the stripped down sound, really turns it from crying in the club to crying in the tub

What can I say, I'm a sucker for them harmonizing in the background

Vocal troika really shines in sounding like kicked puppies in this version

9.25/10 higher than the original version because I love me some pathetic-sounding men (affectionate)

Forever (For KISS Me) - 1st Digital Single | 2011.12.22

I remember this coming out!!! Got home from school and did the good ol' YT video-mp3 converter to get it on my laptop. I remember distinctly loving it, then also never playing it lol. It's got a special place in my heart now though, like special as in it makes me a bit teary lol.

Forever (For KISS Me) | YouTube Music 419k | Spotify 13k

So if I'm remembering correctly, this is a song they reworked to be fanservice. The original singers were an older NH group, I think, like before Paran

Something Eli and AJ always having to do a spoken word opening in their songs from this time is so funny to me

"Parting was so hard 'cause you are my only passion" I always thought that it was "partying was so hard" which was super funny, but I see now that I was wrong

"Come visit here it's our lovely party mansion" that always gets a chortle from me like I love them, I actually wouldn't mind drinking with them, but I do not wanna party with them they're all insane

I think it's cute they all get whole verses to themselves, really gives them all enough time to shine during encores lol

So after the Dongho and Eli raps come my favourite part of the whole song - the sex kitten vocal trio building up to Soohyun

Kiseop > Hoon > Kevin > Soohyun is sooooo good and I love building from Kiseop's soft voice to Soohyun the Powerhouse

Also once again, validates my belief that what Kevin is to Soohyun vocally, is what Kiseop is to Hoon, and is why the four of them can be matched off with each other in any way and still sound good

Honestly, the song is mostly the vocal line, sans AJ. The rap line is just there to act as hype men

Music is cute, super upbeat and poppy, and the lyrics are equally mushy

7.75/10 not something I'd listen to on my own volition, but it's always fun watching lives of this, and I love how much the vocal line is allowed to shine (read: I love how many lines Kiseop gets)

Forbidden Love - 2nd JP Single | 2012.02.29

I remember obsessively watching the short MV on YouTube because now when I listen to the song, I can still pick out exactly where it ended lol. I also remember really wanting the shirts they wore for the single cover because it was so ~*~cool~*~ and lowkey edgy, which is perfect for a wangsty tween.

Forbidden Love (Audio) | YouTube Music 1.2M | Spotify 571k

Another song, another dance beat, and I'm absolutely not complaining lol

I really like Kevin's opening line, love the "...najitte mitari-i-i" bit

Plenty of gratuitous English, a very important staple for them from this point on

Again, the entire vocal line stuffed into the first verse, yeah AJ's not singing, but he was there

Love how Hoon drags out the "...datta kedo~" part right into Soohyun's line, and the slowdown in Soohyun's line to transition to Kiseop, and AJ's rap picks up the pace again into the chorus, super fun to listen to

Even though I know the start of the chorus is "I, my, me, mine", I always forget the "mine" because it's off-beat

And okay, the first chorus always kills me because of Soohyun

The "subete kakete Egaku ai no sign", is so funny to me because I just think about him doing the ahegao face while singing it during the MC break in their anniversary tour

Like his eyes were completely rolled back and the camera, bless their heart, did a great close up

And he did it like 3 times I love him so much

Back to the song, I really like how the second verse starts with Kiseop, and how Eli bridges the gap between him to Soohyun, and they do the same thing as verse 1, this time going from Soohyun > Hoon > Kiseop

HoonVin second chorus, once again, has me begging for more duets with them, they sound insanely sweet

Vocal troika taking the last chorus is soooo good

SooHoon back-to-back high notes? They were feeding us so good

Love the constant "love, love, love" and "you make me feel this love" in the background

Like it's almost too much with the music, but it oddly works?

The song is basically exactly what the title says - a forbidden relationship that's doomed to end, but they're like "no baby I love youuuu"

There's also an implication of class difference? First verse has what google tells me translates to "this relationship began with me overreaching myself/but I finally feel like I'm equal to you"

Could just be that girl is way out of their league, idk

10/10 I go back and forth between whether I prefer Tick Tack over this, but they're both like pure dopamine being injected in to my brain

Forbidden Love (MV) | Short ver. 604k | Official upload 462k

Once again, I was so obsessed with watching the short MV

Yes I did watch the full version but I mostly watched the official short one because I couldn't afford to materially support them

There's a lot happening in this first scene

First, Kiseop, take your damn shoes off that's dirty, but I'm happy you're like kind of the protagonist for the non-dance non-solo shot parts of this

Second, why is there a life preserver on the bed? Is it supposed to symbolize that this forbidden love is a life saver?

Why are the chairs tipped over? Why is there an Arizona 51 sign? Are the sirens like directly outside the window or what? What exactly is that next to the bed?

Aww the little Kevin solo dance

I like the little circular bit they do while snapping to change formation

Soohyun bodying the hell out of this part

*Kevin voice* "Why are you so passionate during this part of the dance? Is there something you need to tell us?"

Or at least something like that god Teattari Shidai was so funny, and Kevin and Soohyun were constantly catfighting at that time

I think his explanation was about timing the body roll to it but idk he's just really good at it

I like this set by the way, a new version of The Box for them

Is...is that a tree? Why is there a tree growing in your apartment?

Ooh AJ was really hot in this era I think this is when he fully entered my crush category

Is he wearing winged liner? Goated love his eyes

Kiseop and AJ always make this part of the dance look so cool

Oh and the preceding part with the little shuffle into this

They just have that je ne sais quoi chill that makes look natural

Man I just love this dance, there's a bunch of shoulder shimmies and like at least 3 pelvic thrusts

Wait my guy why is mattress bare like that

Okay pause for a moment to talk about these costumes

Love the black-red suit combo, love the red laces on the boots

I'm a huge sucker for epaulettes so obviously AJ has my favourite suit

Love the rhinestoned lapels for Kiseop and Kevin

Like the glittery lapels for Soohyun and Dongho

Eli has epaulettes too, but because they're also black, they're practically invisible until the closeup shots

Hoon's suit is fine, just more subtle with glitter on the outside of his lapels

In terms of hair, Kiseop and AJ are on their A-game, love the fluffier hair for them

Soohyun, Hoon, and Eli all look fine, like those are pretty standard looks for them

Dongho still has his bowlcut, and while I don't hate Kevin's hair, I wish it had more texture to it?

The ironed hair with the sideswept bangs just aren't that great on him, especially not with the single-toned hair

WHY IS SOOHYUN SO GOOD AT THIS WHY IS HE SLIGHTLY CUPPING HIS HAND

Also like this set, very cool

These costumes are okay, the white-red is a nice combo, but the clothes themselves are less snazzy and more understated the other set

Most baffling choice is why Dongho has a belted coat on rather than a blazer

Also not a huge fan of the longer jackets Soohyun, Kiseop, and Kevin have on

It's not the worst, and I think I could like them in a different MV, but it's a bit too...floppy with this dance

Hairs are a downgrade from the first set of costumes, except for AJ whose hair is glorious at this time

Like I'm sorry to bring this up again but look at his winged linerrrr

He actually looks like a cat

Oooh slowmo shot during the dance break

They really love this move we'll be seeing this a lot in their JP dances

Well I mean they already did a variation of it in Shut Up!!

Also love this part it's so cool how Kiseop transitions back to the dance, very reminiscent of when he does this in NEVERLAND

I like how the choreo tones down for the double high notes so everyone's focusing on Hoon and Soohyun

Lowkey wish we got a dance version of this I would love a wide shot of this to see every bit of choreo

There's no shot of them in their casual outfits, but they all looked fine, very standard 2012 male idol fashion

So yeah, not really much of a story to this, lots of solo shots and dancing

9.5/10 I think I'd prefer a whole dance vid for this, and I really didn't like the white costumes, and they never answered why were the sirens going off at the apartment set???

Redial | YouTube Music 13k | Spotify N/A

I completely forgot about this song until recently

I do vaguely remember listening to it before, so I think I had it on my first laptop and for whatever reason either forgot to transfer it to my second one, or couldn't find another download of it

Is that...a synth harpsichord? It sounds like the harpsichord setting on electronic keyboards like I swear that's what the one at school sounded like

SooSeop sharing verses? Goated

I thought this song had a lot more Hoon and Kevin, but I guess not?

Vocal troika are kinda tied for lines, even though I think I remember Kevin's more because he does a title drop in the first chorus

Dongho gets a bulk of the raps, but Eli isn't too far behind, nor is AJ

Kiseop gets what amounts to nearly a whole verse, plus he's sharing with Soohyun so that's cool

Ooh just noticed it's a sex kitten trio leading in from the second half of the first verse to the pre-chorus and chorus

It feels like a weirdly paced song

I don't know if it's all the synth sounds and the heavy beat, or if it's the lengthier raps to a slower beat but it feels both oddly long and short at once, even though it's basically the same length as Forbidden Love

Maybe it's the shorter verses compared to the raps and choruses?

Or how the bridge comes out of the second rap chunk without really changing tempo as it goes to the last verse?

Lyrically, it's pining over an ex, very normal UKISS stuff

7.5/10 I do like it and it is in a lot of my playlists, but something about this song just makes me uneasy lol

I wish I had a fun fact for this little time, but unfortunately everything funny I know from 2012 is from after this. Anyway, crazy that this all happened within a year of 0330 and Hoon and AJ joining. Like they honestly fit in so seamlessly it's like they've always been there.

So yeah, we're fully entering what I guess we can call their 'peak' era in terms of popularity (lol, lmao even) and activities, and also approaching when I started being chronically online and had actively blogged about them on this good ol' hellsite. Yes, I did find all of my reblogs and tags from that time and dear lord, 2012-2014 for tweenies-turning-teens is very psyche-damaging in our current year.

[thisismisogynoir]

Who are your favorite black girl characters , animated or live action

Ooh! This is a good one! 

One of my favorite characters is Cinderella in the 1997 adaptation starring Brandy! It's one of my favorite movies(a lot of my favorite movies star Black girls/girls in general!), since when I was younger it gave me a boost of confidence seeing a Black girl as feminine, beautiful, graceful, and most importantly, a princess! Many young girls dream of being princesses too! Princesses aren't only white!

From my favorite book, Natasha from The Sun is Also a Star! She has a unique personality and also defies stereotypes in many ways: she is logical, is very nerdy, she's not a good singer, she's secretly afraid she'll drown(okay, maybe not EVERY stereotype), she has a hard time opening up to people but eventually she does, her favorite color is pink, and SHE'S JAMAICAN!!!! AND THERE IS PATOIS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK! LIKE HELL YEAH!!!!!(that part legitimately made me smile and excitedly show my mom like I was in 1st grade tho!) What's funny is that at first she assumes her Asian boyfriend will know about nerdy stuff, too, but he doesn't know a thing, and she ends up being surprised and explaining this stuff to him. Just a nice way of subverting stereotypes, I guess.

From an anime: S.AM. from Cannon Busters! She's a really cute robot girl who is sweet, girly, and wants to be friends with everyone. However, she also has a hidden dangerous side which comes out whenever someone threatens her and her friends. My one nitpick about her is that she has blonde hair and blue eyes. Can we please stop setting apart Black and brown characters by giving them white phenotypical features, as if those features are more magical, special, and unique(yeah, I know that Melanesians exist, but let's face it, unless it's explicitly stated in the story, we all know that's not what they're thinking of when they write it.)?! Please?! Though at least her hair is poofy and curly. So I still find her adorable.

And of course, how could I forget Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog? Not only does she stick to working on her career, but she gets a handsome prince and gets to get married and wear beautiful dresses, showing that you don't have to choose between a career and romantic pursuits! And her friendship with Charlotte is also sweet, especially considering the time period she lives in! What I like about Tiana is her ambition and hard work, as well as her kindness, helpfulness, and generosity. And I'm so happy to see a non-whitewashed dark-skinned Black female protagonist in media who is portrayed as attractive. Far more than you can expect from most mainstream media.

One movie I was OBSESSED with as a young Black girl was Annie. No, not the original redhead Annie, although I liked her, too. The 2014 Annie. The BLACK Annie, played by Quvenzhané Wallis. You know the one, because there's only one. The movie itself was great, especially with the energeticness and precociousness that Annie embodied, but Annie being Black gave me the representation I needed and deserved! Because of her I wore my twists out for the first time! I even revolved my entire wardrobe around what I thought Annie would wear. And I obsessively and religiously watched that movie on repeat and listened to all of their songs. I was nine, I was crazy.

There's also Cecile Rey from the American Girl book series. I like her because she's outspoken, bold, and confident, and helps Marie-Grace out of her shell. There's one badass scene where she and Marie-Grace swap places in the Mardi-Gras children's balls, which they can get away with due to wearing matching outfits(this is during segregation.). AND THEY GET AWAY WITH IT. I have a doll of her that I bought for Christmas when I was nine. I saved up my own money to buy it. I can't even kid here. I. Wanted. THAT. DOLL!!!!

Ahem. Anyway. There's this book called One Crazy Summer that details the lives of three sisters: Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. Vonetta was always my favorite character for her wild enthusiasm and dramatic...just, EVERYTHING. I also was the most invested in her character development tbh. The books follow Delphine, though, and I started to like her and Fern as well. I wanted the next two books to focus on Vonetta and Fern respectively, but they ended up all focusing on Delphine. But I felt a close relationship to all the characters.

The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond. The main character is half-white but I thought I'd include her anyway since the book is all about her learning about and embracing her Black side, and getting to know some of her Black relatives. She also has a really beautiful name!

Zoe from Dork Diaries. A good friend who, like Chloe, always supported Nikki!

Penny Proud from The Proud Family, who is not only the main character but is my favorite character in the entire show! Super relatable and I loved the episode on slut-shaming.

Now, kids shows:

Iridessa was my favorite fairy in Disney Fairies

Nikki in Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse(and any Black Barbie tbh)

Princess Pea in Super Why!

Sasha in Bratz

Orange Blossom in Strawberry Shortcake

Jackie in Cyberchase!

Black girls in webcomics! My favorite is this obscure webcomic I don't know if a lot of people know called Princess Love-Pon! It's Magical Girl, which is my favorite genre ever! And is about a girl named Lia Sagamore who, due to her pure heart, is gifted the ability to become a cute warrior in petticoats named Princess Love-Pon! It's pretty obvious, really, but it's also a heartwarming story that has love, friendship, and romance, femininity as power, and also a diverse cast, with Lia's main friend group composing of an Afro-Latina best friend and a Japanese girl. Also has interracial relationships!

Another Magical Girl webcomic starring Black girls is Adorned By Chi! It takes place in Nigeria and is about a college student named Adaeze Adichie and her group of friends who fight monsters that are plaguing the planet. All of these girls are Black and there is also a Black guy who is the love interest! Adaeze is sweet, soft, sensitive, and feminine, and is prone to anxiety and crying, something which is not only personally relatable to me, but allows for stereotypes to once again be destroyed!

Undine Wells from Sleepless Domain. She has a nice design, a sweet and endearing personality, and has water powers! Her blue hair and eyes remind me of a character I created for one of my stories who, obviously, is also a Black girl. And not only that, but she's a femme lesbian who gets with her best friend Kokoro. So triple representation of a Black, female, AND gay character!

And Talia from LoliRock! I can't even choose which of the three girls is my favorite because I love them all, but this blog is about Black girls so I'm talking about her. She's a very interesting character with a tragic backstory. I won't spoil it, but despite being serious and cold on the outside, she is romantic and affectionate on the inside, and cares deeply about her friends and loved ones. She is also a good leader due to her dispassionate nature, and is the strategic problem-solver among the group.

Zuri from Hair Love, a short film about a little Black girl learning to love her hair, as her dad learns how to style it. One of the few pieces of Black media I've seen in which the mother is darker-skinned than the father. If you haven't seen it, then stop reading this and go see it now.

Young child me was also obsessed with A.N.T. Farm, starring China Anne McClain, so I'm definitely adding China to the list. I wanted to be a singing and musical prodigy because of her. She was such a talented, funny, and larger-than-life character, she CARRIED the show!

Basically any role Zendaya played(minus Zoey in Zapped!), such as Rocky in Shake it Up! and K.C. in K.C. Undercover.

And I can't believe I brought up a Brandy role and neglected to mention Moesha! Moesha is such an admirable character for her confidence and supportiveness of her friends, not to mention her feminism! It's an old show from the 90s, and yet it feels nostalgic even though I didn't watch it when I was younger, but more recently. Weird.

All the girls on The Bernie Mac Show, but especially Vanessa. I loved her character development and how she went from just being a bratty teenage daughter to a mature young woman.

Aaaaaaaand, that's just about it! I never thought I'd have this much! Please check out these works of media, it would mean everything to me! I know I inevitably forgot some but I'll be sure to follow up if I do! Reblog or reply with your own Black female characters whom you love and remember! Black girls are everything!

[inappropriatestork]

would you mind explaining what happened in F1?? I don't follow it myself but I follow people who do so I'm kinda lost and confused, I did try reading articles about it but i have no idea who anyone is or what the rules are (all I know is car go in circle very fast) so that hasn't really helped.

It's a long story and I'm probably not the best to explain it as I only followed today's race (and the rest except last weekend) on Twitter and didn't actually watch, I have a terrible memory,*and* tbh I'm definitely biased here as I was definitely rooting for one of the major players and loathe the other. But I'll try!

Warning: this is long and there's uh, some a lot of anti-Red Bull sentiment

So this year's two title contenders are (Sir) Lewis Hamilton (7x champion, equaling the all-time record, first and only Black driver) of Mercedes and Max Verstappen (promoted to F1 and then to a big team very young, wildly hyped, obviously talented but shall we say, hot-headed, some race wins but no titles till now) of Red Bull Racing.

This is the first year in a LONG time there's been a real fight for the title. Mercedes have won every year since 2014, and all but one of those was Lewis. 2016 was his former teammate, Nico Rosberg, who was pretty much the last and only driver to really challenge Lewis. Some people claim Lewis's success is just due to the having the best car, and obviously the Merc is very good, but even his own teammates in the same car have never been able to reach his level.

But this year Red Bull have been very strong and Max gave Lewis a real fight and in fact led the championship for the majority of the season if I remember right. There have been some clashes throughout the season, most of which I can't remember.

A few other people and things to know: At RBR, we have team principal Christian Horner. Some fans call him Karen. He likes to complain. Red Bull are always victims, always being discriminated against, and never get away with with anything, according to him. This makes a lot of people dislike him/them because the facts often seem to be pretty much the opposite. Red Bull have claimed all season what poor beleaguered underdogs they are, despite leading the championship for much of it and getting away with quite a bit. Red Bull also are widely disliked, at least on Tumblr, for their overall attitude towards their drivers. They go through drivers like outfits, trash their own rookies who don't immediately succeed or make mistakes in the media, even drop or demote them midseason, they destroy careers and self-esteem, and they act like Max, their top driver, is the second coming while the others are afterthoughts. There's also the fact that Max has used slurs before and is often pretty petulant and unsportsmanlike when facing adversity, and his (ever present) dad Jos is a not very successful ex-driver with domestic violence issues.

I loathed Merc and Lewis and their dominance for a long time. I cheered for Nico Rosberg during that rivalry and the pettiness of his and Lewis's fighting made me very anti-Lewis for a while. He was also kind of a shallow-seeming jet-setting celeb type with some ignorant opinions at times and I resented his winning everything and making F1 boring for *years*. The last year or two though, he really won me over. He's matured a lot, become very outspoken on social justice, started using his platform to really do some good, and has seemingly made a real effort to be a role model, on and off the track. He's had some moments in the past - the bitter rivalry with Nico, a time where he mocked his nephew (I think) for wearing a skirt, but he's clearly made an effort to educate himself and even in this fairly contentious title fight, has kept his cool and been graceful under pressure.

A few years ago I would have killed for *anyone* to challenge Lewis just to break the monotony and seeming pointlessness of one guy/team winning 90% of races. I would have said back then I'd have cheered for anyone who gave him a fight. But between Lewis growing on me and Red Bull being ever more slimy and loathsome, I ended up hoping Lewis won again after all.

Anyway, there's been some clashes and drama this season, most of which I've probably forgotten.

A few weeks ago in Brazil was a big one. Lewis got a grid penalty for a tiny irregularity with his rear wing and ended up starting the race from 10th with Max starting on pole. Lewis came back to win the race despite an incident where Max pushed him wide and off the track when he tried to overtake him. Max got no penalty for this, which made many people angry at race direction.

Last week in Saudi Arabia, on a new and somewhat narrow, tricky (arguably too narrow and unsafe) street circuit, more chaos. Max went in leading the championship by 8 points. A win would have made it very hard for Lewis to catch him.

I tried to summarize the chaos but it got ridiculously long. This recap should give you the general idea even if you don't follow everything. Suffice it to say, we came out of that race with:

a) Lewis and Max tied on points

b) A lot of people mad at Max, some mad at Lewis

c) Almost everyone VERY mad at race direction and the stewards (a panel of former drivers, etc, who make decisions on penalties and such)

Race direction/the stewards came off very poorly - the weird negotiation with Red Bull in the first red flag, where they were "offered an opportunity" rather than any formal investigation or penalty seemed super shady. Their communication later in the race about giving back a place was a shambles. And despite several other incidents involving Max, they only gave him a 10 second penalty, after the race when they knew 10 seconds wouldn't change the result so it seemed very much like they wanted to be seen doing something but not anything meaningful. People pointed out that years ago, Lewis had a win taken away from him for an incident very similar to what Max did and others have gotten more severe penalties for minor things like doing practice starts in the wrong part of the track than Max did for very dangerous driving.

So we came into this weekend tied on points and also with a sort of general feeling that we hoped to avoid drama because race direction getting involved again was not going to be a good look. And well...we were right.

The gist of this race is that late in the race, Lewis was leading (there were some early shenanigans again involving off track adventures where he gained maybe a second advantage and RB were mad but nothing was penalized - here is a full recap). He had older harder (slightly slower, but longer lasting) tires, Max had new soft tires and was hoping to chase him down but Lewis had a 15s lead with 10 laps left and while it's *possible* Max might have caught him, it was probably unlikely, looking less likely as we got down to 4 laps to go.

But we don't know because another driver crashed with 4 laps to go, causing a safety car (everyone has to slow down, no overtaking allowed). This allowed the gap to close up. This obviously was bad luck for Lewis, good luck for Max. But the timing was killer. A 15s lead over 10 laps was a big ask to make up. A much smaller gap with newer, faster tires, almost a sure thing.

The safety car lasted 3 laps. There were 5 lapped cars - ones at the back of the race that the leaders had passed again from behind - between Lewis and Max. Normally under a safety car lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves, getting out from among the leaders and back to the end of the procession. Today, race direction first said lapped cars would *not* be allowed to unlap themselves, then reversed this (I think after some pressure from Red Bull?) - but *only* for the 5 cars between Max and Lewis, a very irregular decision and essentially clearing Max's path.

It was kind of a lose-lose situation in some ways. Ending the race under the safety car meant handing the win to Lewis. Ending the safety car and resuming the race with one lap to go gave the illusion of a final lap showdown, but in reality, basically handed the win to Max, a perception that was enhanced by how they'd helpfully cleared his path for him. Lewis had no chance to hold Max, on newer tires, off and Max easily passed him and won.

The safety car in the last laps was pretty much unavoidable and maybe there was no way it ended in a satisfying way. But race direction's extremely irregular handling of it caused all kinds of questions and controversy. Neither driver was at fault for what happened in the end but it sucked for both of them, though obviously more for the guy who had his title snatched away at the last second. But it meant the title was essentially decided by race direction decisions and a cloud of suspicion and controversy hands over this title thanks to that.

The increasing unhappiness with race direction and Masi all season has reached a boiling point. The popularity of the Drive to Survive series has some people wondering if decisions are being made for spectacle and drama rather than sporting fairness. With the exception of some Max fans, everyone is upset about how today ended up.

Seeing your driver lose in a battle on track can be heartbreaking but it's an outcome you know is a possibility and are prepared for. Seeing your driver lose through a series of bizarre interventions from race direction is *infuriating*. Even seeing your driver win in circumstances like these is surely less satisfying than seeing them win after the drive of their lives, proving their dominance on track.

Meanwhile, Red Bull and Christian have been their usual charming, tactful, gracious selves in victory, saying Max's last lap pass was "a wonderful way to win the championship" and how fortunate it was Latifi crashed and got them that nice safety car and singing the praises of race direction (who they formerly claimed are no good and biased against them) and how they got everything exactly right today.

So overall, a shambolic, controversial, and frustrating end to a season a lot of people considered the most exciting and promising in years.

[knives-out20]

Magnetic Push - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 9

Fandom: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr

Warnings: Swearing, Gay, Spoilers for X-Men: Days Of Future Past,

Notes: Welcome to the 9th part! Only one more to go.

Erik and Karmel, donning the same costumes they wore the day they broke Emma out of her confinement cell all those years ago, made it to the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Erik simply floated his way down, but Karmel shot his vines out of his hands and torso, planting them into the middle of the stadium.

Karmel grunted, catapulting himself into the arena, his vines pulling back into him once he landed by Erik's side. He noted one other person in the stadium; some janitor. Karmel scoffed, walking in the opposite direction with Erik. He glanced down at his costume; it's been a while, but he was thankful it still fit.

This costume, per se, had a green colour scheme like Erik's was red. Karmel's cape hung off of one shoulder as opposed to both of them, and was shorter than Erik's; this way it wouldn't get in the way of his vines. Thorn-like spikes spun around the ankles of his boots, vines crossing over his torso in an 'X' shape. Not because of X-Men, Karmel just thought it looked cool. 

At least, that’s what he’d tell if anyone asked. The real reason was because the ‘X’ resembled Erik’s and his arms around one another when they hugged for the very first time; completely enveloping each other in their upper limbs.

His whole outfit resembled leather armor, all the way up to the dark green shoulder plates, down to the screw-like studs of silver metal on his boots.

It was Erik's idea for metal to be scattered over Karmel's costume, because if Karmel ever fell into danger, Erik could pull him out easily using his own mutation.

The janitor saw them. "Can I help you?" He called.

Karmel rolled his eyes, turning to Erik. "Can he help us?" He joked.

Erik stopped walking. "No, you can't" he answered, messing with the janitor's radio so that only static came out. Erik outstretched his arms, eyes falling closed as he focused on the stadium.

Karmel watched as huge marketing signs fell from their posts, the concrete level of the stadium cracking along.

The bars of lights broke off, crashing into the dozens of coloured seats that surrounded the stadium. It all came tumbling down, thanks to Erik's amazing powers.

“God, you’re ethereal.”

Erik cracked a slight smile as he slowly floated upwards, Karmel growing vines out of his body to follow Erik up into the air. He gestured his hand towards the White House, Karmel using his vines as long, long legs to walk alongside him.

"See the robots?"

"Uh-huh" Erik nodded, fingers curling inwards. Doing so, he activated the Sentinels, each one blasting into the air.

Karmel grinned in delight. "Get 'em, babe" he ordered, shooting vines out from his sides to wrap around the floating stadium, in order to help Erik with the weight of carrying it. Karmel didn't stop pieces of the stadium from falling like debris, crushing the road and cars in its way.

"Don't have to tell me twice, dear" Erik grumbled, balling his hand into a fist. 

Over at the White House, the robots rapid-fired bullets into the police cars, sending all the humans every which way. 

Erik gestured for the Sentinels, which came flying over to Karmel and him, forming a line in front of them. "Ever wanted a robot army?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at Karmel. Erik flashed him a smile.

"Only in my dreams" Karmel giggled. He pulled his vines that carried the stadium back into his body, watching as the stadium came crashing down, perfectly entrapping the White House in a circled barricade. He slowly retracted his other vines back into his body, feet touching the ground at the same time as Erik's.

Erik looked up at the Sentinels he sent over to different points of the stadium, making one stop behind Karmel and him.

Karmel heard a roar, and turned his head in the direction it came from. "You gotta be fucking kidding me- Erik, Hank" he warned.

Erik panned his head over, groaning under his breath. He turned further around, to the robot behind them. "Do what you were made for."

The Sentinel started up again, aiming an arm over at Hank and Logan and immediately firing in their direction. 

Erik closed his eyes, outstretching an arm and slowly scanning the arena. "Where are you?" He whispered, stopping when he picked up something metal from inside the White House. Erik opened his eyes, both hands reaching for the White House. 

"Logan, nine o’clock" Karmel nudged Erik, who looked over.

Erik nodded his head, a block of metal being thrown over at Logan- he dodged it. He repeated this action, Logan's claw tossing it out of the way. A few more times before Karmel rolled his eyes and stepped in.

Logan finally got knocked to the ground from behind, Karmel gesturing his hand up; vines grew from out the ground and looped over Logan's body, restraining him like a straight jacket.

Erik copied Karmel's motions, metal rebars shooting out from the block he had used, and twisting into Logan's body.

Karmel cringed, "nice."

"I know, right?" Erik agreed, turning his hand so that his palm was facing downward. "Now, let's see if the puppy can swim, eh?"

As Logan screamed in pain, Erik lifted him off of the ground.

"So much for being a survivor" Karmel hissed, Erik taking the advantage and unfurling his fist.

This sent Logan flying far, far away, landing in the Potomac River.

Now that Logan had been taken care of, Erik reached his hands out for the White House, once more. He focused on the metal he detected earlier, pulling it out of the ground and busting it out of the front of the House. "A bunker."

"Must've been fuckin’ underground, then" Karmel tilted his head.

The black bunker hit the ground, sliding to a stop in front of Erik and Karmel. Erik inhaled slowly, pulling the door of the bunker clean off. He made a pulling motion, which ripped the front wall of the bunker off, throwing it aside.

Karmel's vines sprouted out from his hand, using them along with Erik's powers to grab the men's guns and pull them away. Together, they made the guns float above their heads, and aimed them all down at the men in the bunker.

Erik slowly turned around, twirling his hands gracefully to make all the cameras face Karmel and him. He looked back at the government officials, who Karmel hadn't taken his eyes off of. "You built these weapons to destroy us. Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts."

"Because we are different" Karmel spat, steely gaze lying on the President. "Humanity has always feared that which is fucking different."

"Well, we are here to tell you, to tell the world-" Erik spun Karmel and himself around to face the multiple cameras, "you are right, to fear us. We are the future! We are the ones who will inherit this earth!"

"And anyone who stands in our way, will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you" Karmel shook his head, vaguely gesturing a hand back at the men in the bunker.

"Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead, I give you a glimpse of the devastation our race can unleash upon yours" Erik explained.

"Let this be a warning to the world," Karmel started back up. "And to our mutants family out there...we say this" he said, placing a fist over his heart. Karmel locked eyes with Erik, nodding.

Erik nodded back at him, the two speaking in perfect unison.

"No more hiding. No more suffering. You have lived in the shadows in shame, and fear, for too long" They both urged.

"Come out!" Karmel called by himself, cupping his mouth with his hands. "Join us. Fight together, in a team of our kind."

"A new tomorrow, that starts today" Erik spoke. Hearing the President's voice, him and Karmel turned back around.

"You want to make a statement?" The President asked, pointing two fingers over at them. "Kill me, fine. But spare everyone else."

Karmel furrowed his eyebrows, hesitant. "I don't trust this" he mumbled.

Erik shrugged, approaching Nixon. "Very heroic, Mr. President" he started. "But you had no intention of sparing any of us. The future of our species begins now" Erik growled, all the floating guns locked and loaded on Nixon.

Karmel gulped, aiming the guns his vines held down, pointed at the President. He looked over, "Erik, robot-"

Erik shot his head to the side, holding up a hand at the approaching robot. Piece by piece, he broke it down until it was nothing but a torso with an arm.

Distracted, he didn't notice the 'President' pull a gun out and aim at it at Erik- but Karmel did.

"Erik!" He yelled, latching onto Erik and pushing him down.

"Karmel-!" Erik called, watching as a bullet entered then exited the side of Karmel's neck, practically grazing it. 

Karmel gasped, falling to one knee, then both of them, holding himself up by one hand as the other held the side of his neck. All of his vines reeled back into his body, dropping the guns.

Erik focused on Karmel’s unconscious body, dropping the guns he previously influenced. "Karmel-? Karmel! Karmel-" he called repeatedly, the other robots under his control shutting off, as well. Erik glared up at Raven (who had shapeshifted into Nixon), kneeling at Karmel's side. "You used to be a better shot- I'm glad it's used to, you-"

"Trust me, I still am" Raven cut him off, running over and knocking Erik out.

Erik fell back, knocked out at Karmel's side.

After Charles' intervention, Raven took Erik's helmet off of him. "They're all yours, Charles" she called, walking away and dropping the helmet.

Erik and Karmel's eyes snapped open, the two of them getting up while under Charles' control. Erik and Karmel outstretched their arms, using their mutations to pull the bars off of Charles, pushing them aside. 

Hank helped Charles up, taking Karmel and Erik out of Charles' influence.

Erik softly furrowed his brow, turning to Karmel. "You-"

"I'm alright" Karmel nodded, gesturing to the vines he quickly used to stitch his wound closed. "It's safe, don't worry."

Erik nodded, pulling Karmel in for a quick hug- one Karmel wasted no time in returning. He pulled away, glad that Karmel was okay. Erik turned to see the government's eyes on them. "If they weren't watching, I'd kiss you right now" he whispered, cupping Karmel’s face.

"Do it later" Karmel purred, smirking slightly.

Erik shakily exhaled, nodding. "I treasure you, Karmel" he mouthed.

"I treasure you too" Karmel mouthed back.

Erik and Karmel turned, watching Hank carry Charles over to them. "If you let them have Karmel and I, we're as good as dead." he noted, dropping his arms at his sides. "You know that."

"I know" Charles replied.

Erik frowned. "Goodbye, old friend."

"Goodbye, Erik" Charles replied, defeated. His head snapped over to Karmel, who was still at Erik's side, for some godforsaken reason.

Karmel stared right back.

"So that's it, then? You're still going with him?" Charles asked, dumbfounded.

Karmel's eyebrows knitted together. He squinted, "what-?"

Erik stepped closer to Karmel.

Charles scoffed, tilting his head. "After all this time, all this destruction- you're still siding with Erik? Endorsing his- his violence, his faulty views? What happened to the Karmel that worked at the peaceful library, huh? Helping anxious teens, reading to little kids? Don't tell me you're going to put your feelings above doing the right thing."

Karmel crossed his arms defensively, blinking his gaze down at the ground in thought. He side-eyed Erik (not in a nasty way, of course; more in a “are you hearing this?” Sort of way), before locking eyes with Charles again. "I'm with Erik because it's what I believe in. I'd still be standing right here even if I didn't feel for him, the way I fuckin' do."

"You should know more than anyone what Erik's capable of, Kar. Look at this, look at JFK, look at him-" Charles pointed right at Erik. "Old friend or not, it's very clear to me what corruption he could cause. Don't...Don't do this, Karmel. Come with Hank, and me. Stay with us" he begged, eyes pleading. "We can help you, just like we always wanted."

Karmel's tongue traced his teeth, turning his head to look at Erik.

Erik stared back at him, jaw clenched.

Karmel took Erik's hand in his own, bringing it up to his lips and softly kissing the knuckles of Erik's glove. He dropped Erik's hand, and made his way over to Charles and Hank.

"Karmel-"

Karmel held up a hand, silencing Erik. He walked towards Charles and Hank, looks of relief washing over their faces.

"Oh, Karmel" Charles praised, smiling happily. "I knew you'd come to your senses."

"Karmel!" Erik repeated, outstretching a hand. This couldn’t really be happening, could it?

Karmel stopped in front of Charles, his expression a blank slate. He turned his palm up to face the sky, and grew a vine out of it. This vine grew out a lush, purple flower. 

Hank arched an eyebrow, looking at it.

Karmel gulped, using his other hand to pluck the flower. He winced softly; the pain of plucking leaves or flowers from his vines was the equivalent of plucking eyebrow hairs. Karmel took Charles' hand, opening it up and placing the flower on it. He looked between Charles and Hank, swiftly turning around and walking back over to Erik.

As he did, Charles' face broke. "Really?! You're going to abandon your second chance at a real family, turn your back on doing the right thing-"

"I am doing the right goddamn thing" Karmel barked, hands tightening into fists.

"No, no you're not! You're doing this because of what, mate? Erik gives you pleasure? Huh? He makes you feel good? Millions of people may die in any bloody plan he mixes up, and you don't care because your brain is too full of what your pants is telling you, to comprehend the crisis we face?" Charles called.

Hank looked damn near betrayed.

Karmel groaned, rolling his eyes. "What the fuck did I just say? I'm doing this because it's what I believe in, Charles" he outstretched his arms. "It's what I've always mostly believed in, from the day my parents died, to the beach in Cuba- where YOU let me go with Erik- and up to where we are, right now. Whatever crisis we fucking face is because of the humans, Charles! After all these years, you're still blind to it?" Karmel scoffed. "Deep devotion to Erik or not, I'm doing what I need to do. I hope you can fucking see that, one day."

Charles grit his teeth. “Your experience of Erik’s attention is so profoundly harmful, yet so irresistible, it undermines you ability to think rationally” he spat, basically saying that Karmel likes Erik so much, it actually makes him stupid.

"Goodbye, Charles" Karmel waved, his face stone-cold. "Beware- it goeth before the fall."

Charles weakly inhaled. "Goodbye, Karmel" he huffed, not saying anything else. From this moment on, he truly knew how much Karmel cares about Erik. He just didn't want to believe that Erik was right, with what he said on the plane; Karmel's morals always fell closer to Erik's, even before he met the man. And Charles couldn't change that. But, in the future, that wouldn’t stop him from continuing to try.

Erik turned to Raven, as did Karmel. He outstretched his arms, slowly floating back up into the sky.

Karmel gave Charles a final glance, slowly growing his vines out from his back and using them as long legs. Now at Erik's level, he walked alongside his lover, glad that they were both free. But for how long? Karmel didn't care, as long as he was with Erik. He doesn't know what he'd be without Erik with him.

Erik floated by Karmel's side silently.

Karmel turned his head to face him now. "Where to, Erik?"

"Away, Karmel" Erik answered blankly. "From each other."

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Not So Secret Service”

Written by: Jake Goldman

Written & Storyboarded by: Kyle Neswald, Benjamin P. Carow

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Not so great service, more like.

According to Cartoon Network US's website, this is the first episode of Season 3. However, it aired in other countries as a Season 2 episode. The confusion only starts here, because there's also Aliver and Never Been Blissed, both of which aired as Season 2 episodes over here and will be Season 3 episodes everywhere else. I am going with the US order, because the show is made in the US, I'm in the US, and I already reviewed both Aliver and Never Been Blissed.

And now, the delayed first review of a Season 3 episode, and it already starts off with some excitement, as the Powerpuff Girls are beating each other up!

In a video game. The Powerpuff Girls are playing what is essentially a robot version of Mortal Kombat. The robots, under the command of a surprisingly bloodthristy Blossom and a not-so-surprisingly bloodthirsty Buttercup, continue to do Fatality moves on each other, the robots apparently reforming themselves after every one.

Buttercup: Prepare for the battle axe! (red one cuts the blue one open)

Blossom: Here comes the organ shredder! (blue one twin-saws the other one in half)

Bubbles: Send them home...in pieces! (red one turns into a bomb and blows up the whole screen)

The joke is that the Powerpuff Girls aren't normally like this.

The Professor decides to be the responsible adult, and tells the girls to stop playing the game because it's too violent for them. He then leaves, deciding that doing anything to prevent these kids from being desensitized, like looking at that little letter on the box that tells you not to give this to your kids, is just too much for him. Blossom is confused by this, but not in a way I would think.

Blossom: Why does the Professor not want us to play it? It's not like it's going to make us violent in real life!

Perish the thought: the video game might inspire the Powerpuff Girls to actually be violent in this reboot! I take that back, I hope they continue playing! As soon as the hotline rings, they learn that Discount Jojo is in the Mayor's office. Apparently all hyped up on those non-age-appropriate robot fighting games, they decide to start the carnage!

They break into the City Hall, and decide to punch first and ask questions later in a psychadelic slideshow beatdown. Before Buttercup can drop the Mayor's desk on him, the Mayor skateboards into the scene, totally not to save a few dollars on walk cycles, to tell Buttercup he called for the Powerpuff Girls to help Jojo.

Buttercup: Help him out of his misery? Okay!

Okay, that's a line from Samurai Jack, but what a missed opportunity. Instead, Buttercup gets to lament that she rarely gets to hit anyone with a desk. It turns out even the characters are sick and tired of the lack of actual fighting in the reboot.

The Mayor explains that, despite being a supervillain, he's still technically a citizen of Townsville, and is therefore eligible for the Townsville's People's Protection Program, or "T Triple-P" for short. Because he's cool with the cool kids, you see?

With an old-timey film, the Mayor explains how it works: if someone is in trouble, a superhero will come to protect him or her. Apparently, superheroes always existed in Townsville, because this is all in Townsville's Constitution, along with a law that states that only real cowboys can dress in a cowboy outfit. My first guess was those Discount Jojo Cowboy jokes from Deb O'Nair was so bad, they needed a constitutional amendment to prevent them from happening again...

...but it's just so Bubbles can decide that now is the time to put on a cowgirl outfit and act like a cowgirl for a decent chunk of the episode, complaining that everything she wants to do is illegal. It's a running gag that is completely forgotten halfway through the episode. It should have been forgotten when it came up, really.

What did Discount Jojo do to need this help?

We go to a flashback, where Discount Jojo has created the ultimate super-weapon: a robot made out of a cardboard box and two giant machine guns that fire lasers. See, that's the difference between TV-Y7-FV and TV-14; this robot can have big machine guns, but as long as it fires lasers instead of bullets, it's A-OK!

The robot learns who is Jojo's worst enemy, and it happens. The screen even shows a reference to the original Powerpuff Girls, the reboot assuming that anyone familiar with that show is still watching it. I wouldn't give that a high probability. The show decides that he needs some motivation to destroy the Powerpuff Girls, even though we didn't need one before. With this Box-Droid, he will win an Evil Award for Best Mad Scientist.

Without it, he will lose to a man we have never heard or even seen before this episode, will not show up after this scene, and we’ll probably never see again. I would tell you his name, but there's no point. He tries to throw something at this picture, and it bounces right back in his face, causing him to call himself his own worst enemy. The robot took it literally, and that's how this situation happened.

The Powerpuff Girls are, of course, not big fans of this. They answer every excuse for them to not take care of Discount Jojo.

They bring up that Discount Jojo admitted that he wanted to murder his would-be saviors, but the Mayor simply doesn't care.

The Powerpuff Girls can't stop the robot, because the robot is apparently a master of disguise, leading to another running gag where the robot dresses up like an ordinary person, rather poorly, and asks around where Discount Jojo is. It's an attempt, to say the least.

How are they going to get Jojo past the Professor? For some reason, they decided to consider that an issue. Well, it gets solved in a very expected way for our good old Sitcom Dad...

They dress him up as a cousin named Johann. The Professor buys it, because the plot wouldn't work otherwise. It's kind of a shame, really; it would have been somewhat interesting to see the Professor live with his former lab assistant, but...

(ding!)

Professor: Ooh, Peach Cobbler!

Said peach cobbler ends up taking him out of the entire episode. I guess they couldn't find anything else for the silly dad character to do. He doesn't even come back to resolve that all important "violent video games" plot; it just barely comes up again right at the end of the episode.

This appears to be the setup of a good episode, and in the original, it was. There was an episode called Child Fearing, where Mojo Jojo ends up being the Powerpuff Girls' babysitter.

This reboot takes it in a different direction, because Discount J, er, Johann is the one that going to be annoying to the girls. Johann decides to take every advantage he can. Stealing a meatloaf patty from Buttercup, and immediately spitting it out because he only wanted the flavor. I swear they stole that joke from somewhere.

He then decides he's tired, and decides to steal the Powerpuff Girls' bed...and Octi, too! He also screams in the middle of his sleep. This seems like something they just added to make him the most annoying person ever, but I could imagine he's dreaming about the times the Powerpuff Girls beat him up to a pulp. If only that was even implied.

The next morning, the Powerpuff Girls are exhausted. Johann makes them some of his famous pancakes! Buttercup wonders if they're poisoned, but she decides to try it anyway. In a surprising twist...

...it was so good, we needed stock footage to show how amazing it was. He also fixes up Octi and cleans the curtains he dirtied up from before, winning Bubbles and Blossom's respect. See kids, let that villain who wants to kil, er, destroy you in your house; sure, he'll dirty up the place, be an awful snorer, and will steal your meatloaf and/or toys, but he'll make good pancakes! What a great lesson.

After Johann shows his positive side, we immediately get a parody of sitcom openings. If it was done in a more superhero way, I can see how it could be clever, but it's just...it's the Powerpuff Girls and Discount Jojo, and there's a bear in one shot. Okay, there is one particular thing that reminds me of Discount Jojo's character: Johann puts on a princess costume! At least it’s not the only joke this time, but still, that’s a bad reminder of how his character used to be in this reboot.

It even ends with an exterior shot of the Powerpuff home with sitcom music, which is how they sometimes open real episodes of the reboot. This could have been the start of a huge parody of sitcoms if this was done near the beginning of the episode. Alas, they wasted all of that time on the useless Bubbles jokes.

Johann immediately decides to leave the room and run away from the house and protection program. The very thought of becoming friends of his worst enemies is sickening to him. Compared to Princess's near face-turn, turning into a friend because he makes good waffles would be a major step down.

He then encounters the robot, who, due to a visit to a library in his stints of trying to blend in with society, found out that "my own worst enemy" is just a figure of speech. After an evil genius-robot hug, Discount Jojo decides to finally destroy those Powerpuff Girls with this strong robot made of cardboard. Surprisingly, the Powerpuff Girls don't do their usual plan of just standing there waiting to get lasered, because there's less than a minute left!

The Powerpuff Girls immediately eye-laser it. In fact, this is one of the same moves done in the video game, in the only real book end that plot had. An aesop about violent video games would seem hypocritical in a show where superheroic girls beat the stuffing out of people; it's kind of funny how violent video games actually helped out in the end!

In response to this, Discount Jojo has two different expressions at the same time. Clearly, an artistic way to show the duality of Discount Jojo’s feelings of the situation...and the fact that the people who animate the show have stopped caring.

Amazingly enough, they then beat up Discount Jojo in another psychedelic slideshow beatdown. They even drop an entire desk on him, much to Buttercup's delight. That is one book end I do not mind. Too bad I had a lot to "mind" about this episode.

Does the title fit?

This is more Witness Protection Program than Secret Service. Also, it apparently is a secret, since they have to keep the Professor from knowing its Discount Jojo. Maybe it's "not-so" because it only seems to be an issue for about 25 seconds of the episode.

How does it stack up?

I could see why Cartoon Network US sat on this one. This episode can't decide what it wants to be. An anti-video game episode, a "silly monkey" episode, a "Jojo being terrible" episode, a "Jojo being good" episode, a sitcom parody, an action-packed episode, and, at best, any of those ideas are excuted poorly, and at worst, not at all. While this isn't the worst Discount Jojo episode, I just couldn't get into this.

Next, the Fashionistas are back!

← Aliver ☆ Worship →

[octannibal-blake]

Halloween party with the gang! Bellamy and Clarke aren't exactly friends, but he/she can't deny she/he looks great in her/his costume this year...

aw thanks for the prompt, kat! lmao this got sooo long and i apologize ahead of time. i’m not sure if this is what you intended but this is where i ended up – i may have watched how i met your mother and the slutty pumpkin episode before this so…i blame that. anyways, i hope it’s enjoyable!

and so, we meet again

2013

It is onHalloween night that Bellamy decides he’s moved in to the worst apartmentcomplex ever. He’s sitting on his couch, perfectly content to write his essayin peace and drink shitty beer. He hates this stupid holiday, always has, andwould rather pretend that it’s just another day. Instead, he hears a knock onhis window and turns around defensively, poised to break the glass bottle overthe intruder’s head. Turns out, it’s just a pirate. Or his neighbor, dressed asa pirate, rather.

“Someone’sjumpy,” Nathan Miller comments, holding his hand (one actual hand, and one fakehook) up in surrender, “Chill, dude.”

He setsthe bottle down on the table with a deep breath, “Do you make it a habit toenter other people’s apartments unannounced?”

Miller shrugs,“Isn’t that kind of the point of sharing a fire escape?”

Bellamyrolls his eyes. He only moved into this apartment over the summer. His sisterjust began her first semester of college at NYU and he has been finishing hisMaster’s degree at Columbia (honestly, thank God both of them are smart becausethey couldn’t just afford this kind of education on their own). They decided torent an apartment in the city, thanks to a heft amount of help from theirgrandparents and working full time at the pub in the basement. The day theymoved in, they met their neighbors. Nathan Miller, the broody full-timemechanic and his boyfriend, Monty. The IT guy. That’s how Miller introducedhim, anyways.

“Let’sgo,” Miller gestures and begins to move back out the window. Bellamy doesn’tfollow. He might like his neighbors, and sure they’ve had a few nights inplaying Mario Kart on the 64, but now he comes in dressed as a pirate and justtells Bellamy to follow him? Sounds sketchy.

“Where?”

Millerstops and turns around dramatically and holds up his hook hand, “Costume party.On the roof. It’s an annual thing. Everybody in the building goes.”

“Nothanks,” he responds.

Tenminutes later he’s on the damn roof, music blaring out of someone’s ownpersonal amp and chatter filling the empty space. It’s a very well put togetherparty and it does seem like everyone in the building is in attendance – heshouldn’t be surprised. It’s a cheap complex close to college campus. Brokecollege students fill most of the rooms and this is very much the kind ofthings college kids would do. Unless you’re Bellamy, because fuck Halloween.

He sipsfrom his drink stoically, rolling his eyes at some of the costumes. Some ofthem are pretty typical – he’s seen multiple Avenger’s costumes. Plenty of sexynurses (which, he is absolutely not opposed to). He isn’t the kind of guy todress up, though. It’s just lucky that he happened to be wearing a t-shirt thatsays “costume” when Miller basically drug him from his apartment.

“Nicecostume,” a voice enters into his dramatic reverie. Next to him, a blondeprincess is filling her cup with the shitty vodka punch. She adjusts her tiaraas it begins to fall off her head and looks up at him with a smirk. She makesno movement to leave, just leans against the table and gives him a solid onceover. Apparently, she does not appreciate his t-shirt and jeans.

“Not intocostume parties?” she asks.

He shrugs,“Not into Halloween.”

This makesher roll her eyes at him, “Wow, you’re one of those people.”

One of thosepeople? He glares at her for a moment, “If one of those people means notwanting to contribute to a stupid holiday, then yeah, I am.”

“What’snot to like! Free candy. An excuse to dress up. Big parties?” the Princessseems to very much into Halloween, her costume speaking volumes. And she soundslike he had been personally attacking her when he said he didn’t like it. He’sentitled to an opinion.

“Overpriced candy, expensive outfits you only wear once, and not to mention some ofthose outfits appropriate multiple cultures and are thinly veiled racism,” hepoints out. He’s put a lot of thought into this over the years. Everythingabout Halloween is annoying and overrated.

“Wow,” shebreathes out, clearly surprised by his passionate answer, “You really have alot of feelings about this.”

“I’m justa realist,” he shrugs again, “This punch is terrible.”

“I canagree with that,” she says before making a show of chugging her own cup, “Butit tastes better the drunker you are.”

He getsanother cup. The Princess makes no show of going away to enjoy the dance flooror the free candy offered. Instead she remains at the drink table with him and somehow,they end up talking about extremely…intense topics. She’s in nursing schooland apparently, hates every minute of it. He tells her about failing his lastexam because he was working too many hours at the bar. It becomes a bitpessimistic at times. She decides to change the subject before he does.

“I knowit’s a mask,” she says after spotting a ridiculous Barack Obama costume, “Butit feels wrong to dress up as the President. Like they’re trying to insulthim.”

“Would yousay the same if someone came dressed as George Bush?” he asks, and not evenbecause he disagrees with her. But mostly because she looks really cute the wayher cheeks are flushed and her hands a flailing around trying to explain ethicsto him.

“I wouldprobably feel differently about that,” she points to the Obama mask wearingoffender, “If it wasn’t a white person.”

He liftshis cup to her, “Touché.”

He decideshe likes this Princess, even if she is a Halloween supporter. She’s got spunk.She’s feisty and she’s making the party somewhat bearable. Yet, somehow, onlyan hour has passed at the drink table before her phone goes off.

“I gottarun,” she says downing the rest of her drink and tossing the cup in the trash,“But thanks for entertaining me. Do you still hate Halloween?”

“That’snot changing,” he responds immediately. She only grins at that.

“Oh, Ithink it will.”

*

2014

He findsthat he really likes his apartment. Miller becomes one of his closest friend, asort of friendship he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Not since Raven Reyesdecided to go be an engineer at some prestigious college on the coast. Heenjoys having Miller around and even Monty has made an effort to includeBellamy in his D&D group. It’s not something he thought he would enjoy butactually, he loves it. Octavia stays pretty busy with school and hasn’t beenhome much, so he’s been forced to occupy his time with other things. Nerdythings, as his sister called them. He doesn’t really care. He feels like he’sfinding a home at this place.

They go tothe rooftop again for Halloween this year and he isn’t forced this time. Millerand Monty go as two video game characters he’s never heard of, which is verythem, and he keeps his costume. Miller rolls his eyes at the familiar oranget-shirt but doesn’t make him change. That’s a true friend. When they arrive,there are a few more people than last year and there seems to be two speakersinstead of one. They’re trying to make it a bit more exciting, according toMonty, but Bellamy thinks it’s just right.

He mightbe down to party, he still hates this holiday and probably will until the dayhe dies. Seriously, what was the fucking point of it? He leaves his friends tograb a drink and though he remembers how disgusting the punch was last year, hestill pours himself a cup. Yep, just as disgusting.

“Niceoutfit,” is how it starts once again. He turns to find the princess once againpouring herself a drink. It takes him a moment to recognize her, she’s got abrown wig twisted on the side of her head. Princess Leia. How original.

“I couldsay the same to you,” he comments with a scoff. She moves next to him, thewhole things feeling very much like a routine between the two of them despitebeing strangers. He hadn’t seen her since last Halloween. He figured she musthave moved on with her life, whatever that may be. Apparently, she just makes appearancesat the Halloween party.

“PrincessLeia is a badass,” she defends, and the spell begins again. He isn’t sure whatit is about her. She has a way of making him feel as though they’re old friendscatching up – she updates him a nursing school and he tells her about finishingundergrad and completing his Master’s. She tells him about wanting to be anartist but being pressured into nursing. He tells her about raising his sister.It’s all pretty fucking ridiculous considering he doesn’t even know her name.

“You wannadance?” she asks during a comfortable silence between them. Normally, he wouldsay no. But he finds himself nodding and following her to the dance floor.

“You a fanof Halloween yet?” she asks as he twirls her around to the sounds of MonsterMash.

“Hell no,”he responds, “You’ll have to try a little harder, Princess.”

She smirksat that, “Did you not get to trick or treat as a kid?”

He dipsher and she giggles, “Not really. Not a great neighborhood for getting candy.Might end up with a bag of meth instead.”

He doesn’tmean to get all serious. He’s just being honest. His mom worked hard to providefor them but they didn’t grow up in a great area. Not the kind of place to hangout and play baseball outside or anything. He’s okay with that. But she giveshim a pitying look and he lets go of her hand.

“I didn’tsay it to make you feel bad for me,” he grumbles defensively, and he’ssurprised when she gives him a soft smile.

“Oh, Idon’t,” she reassures him and he can’t help but feel a bit confused. Shesmiles, “I just think it’s all the more reason for you to give Halloween achance now that you’re older.”

Hechuckles at that, “You’re awfully determined.”

“This ismy favorite holiday.”

“We allhave our flaws,” he responds, and she gives him a playful shove and he grabsher hand. For a moment things are silent and he feels a magnetic pull towardsher. Something about her intrigues him and okay, she’s beautiful with herexpressive blue eyes and soft smile. Just as his lips brush against hers, herphone rings. She jumps back and stares at the screen, something changing in herface. She looks almost…sad.

“I have totake this,” she says apologetically. Before he can question her any further,she disappears.

Shedoesn’t come back.

*

2015

He findshimself choosing to celebrate Halloween, or rather, choosing to celebrate onbehalf of someone else. Gina, his girlfriend, had been adamant about doingsomething fun for the holiday. She likes dressing up and having a good time andhell, he doesn’t want to be the one to stop her. So, rather than go out andspend money he doesn’t have at some bar, he figured the rooftop party would bejust the place.

It’s moreof a spectacle this year. Some of the residents of the complex created acommittee to help spruce it up and when he arrives, it’s a vast difference fromthe past small soirees. There are lights strung up around the roof top, morepatio furniture had been added. There’s a DJ (though it’s just Monty’s friendJasper who also plays D&D on Wednesdays). There also seems to be morepeople, but this has it’s perks. Instead of cheap beer and shitty punch thereis more variety at the drink table. There are bottles and bottles of liquorfollowed by liters of soft drinks. Part of him thinks having a table to mixyour own drinks is an awful idea, but he plans on standing guard at the drinktable, anyway.

“Let’sdance!” Gina pleads with him when they arrive. The music is loud and pop-y andthe dance floor is littered with awful costumes and awkward people. He wouldrather stab out his eyes.

“Mybrother doesn’t dance,” Octavia says from behind them and when he turns around,he’s ready to have an aneurysm. She’s wearing an intricate bathing suit topwith a long, green sequined skirt. She has scales painted on her face. Afucking mermaid.

“When didyou pierce your belly button?” is all he can say, hating the silver piece ofjewelry currently dangling from her navel. She’s an adult, he knows that, butit’s still his baby sister and Jesus, isn’t she cold?!

“Come on,Gina,” Octavia rolls her eyes and pulls his girlfriend to the dance floor. Hestomps his way to the drink table because, yeah, it’s going to be a long night.

He decidesto start off with a Jack and Coke, because the old legends say drinking beerfirst thing is the sure way to get sick. And, okay, he’s tested that theorybefore and it is definitely accurate. He takes his spot next to the drink tableand tries to take a drink, unsuccessfully, when his ears nearly fall of hishead. Stupid costume.

“Niceoutfit,”

He turns automatically to have his suspicionsconfirmed. The Princess stands before him, pouring her drink and grinning athim like an idiot as she takes in his costume. Gina had really insisted ondressing up for this and honestly, he really wants to make her happy becauseshe’s a cool chick and he likes her a lot. So when she suggested they go asbugs bunny and Lola bunny, he wasn’t really against it. He likes Space Jam andit’s a simple costume. So he let her order a pair of bunny ears for him and lethe glue a tail to a pair of his old basketball shorts. He’s a good boyfriend.

He’s aboutto bite out a “thanks” when he notices what she’s wearing. There is no wig. Notiara. Instead her blonde hair is all natural, cut just below the chin and hereffort in a costume minimal this year. His jaw snaps shut when he reads theorange t-shirt she’s wearing. It reads, “Costume”.

“Veryfunny,” he deadpans, and it only causes her to grin in triumph.

“Thanks,”she laughs, “For the inspiration, I mean. I’m someone who hates Halloween.”

“Yeah,” herolls his eyes, “I got that.”

“Youshould be flattered,” she says as though it’s obvious, “I couldn’t have donethis without you.”

“Thanksfor the credit.”

It’sstrange how they fall into an easy conversation after that, like last year theyhadn’t been about to make out on the dance floor and she hadn’t justdisappeared. He had thought about her for weeks after that, tempted to try andfind her one way or the other. But then he met Gina and he pushed all thoughtsof the Princess away from his mind. Until now, as she stands before him in acostume influenced by his dry humor and pessimism. He can’t help but feel alittle flattered, after all.

She askshim about his year and he tells her all the fine details, issues in hisdepartment at school and getting offered to study abroad for a semester. That’ssomething he hadn’t even told Gina but with her, it comes out like it’s no bigdeal. She congratulates him on the opportunity and tells him about her ownexperience – she’s a nurse and got the opportunity to go to the Caribbean tohelp in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Talking to her makes him feel likehe’s talking to a figment of his imagination. It’s easy to get lost and that’s prettydamn scary.

He doesn’teven notice when Gina comes up behind him.

“Bell?”she asks warily, looking between him and the Princess uncomfortably. He givesher a reassuring smile.

“Hey,” heputs an arm around her and she melts into him immediately, “I was just talkingabout you.”

Mostlyabout how scared he is to tell her about being away for three months, butstill. He doesn’t want her to feel neglected or anything. He likes her. A lot.

“You wannaget out of here?” Gina asks leaning into him, her breath hot on his neck. Helooks over her head for a moment to at least say goodbye to the Princess, maybeeven get her name because now she knows a little too much about him. But she’sgone already, having slipped away as Gina rolled into them. He turns hisattention back to his girlfriend and gives her soft kiss.

“Sure.”

*

2016

“I cameall the way here to go to this stupid rooftop party, so you’re going to takeme!”

RavenReyes is a lot of things. A spitfire, for one, ready to kick any and everyone’sass at any given moment. She’s also demanding, something he learned early on intheir friendship to deal with. Except today. Because he’s really not in thefucking mood.

“Go withOctavia,” he mutters under his breath, clicking into the next episode of NewGirl without a second thought. It’s once again his least favorite holiday andhe had a really shitty day at work. It’s his first semester as a teacher at thehigh school and the kids were extra rambunctious today. He’s got one hell of aheadache.

“Bellamy,get your ass up and let’s go,” she yanks the remote from his hand and begins topull on his arms, “You can wear your stupid ironic t-shirt for all I care,we’re going.”

He findshimself on the roof again. It’s been a year of ups and downs for him. Hestudied abroad in Greece, which has to be the highlight because it is probablythe second best experience of his life (the first being when he held his babysister for the first time – he’s a sap and he doesn’t care). He graduated withhis Master’s in history and had just begun his first teaching gig. On thedownside, Octavia moved in with her boyfriend, Lincoln, and he had to paydouble the rent for almost three months before finding a new roommate. His nameis John Murphy and he’s almost positive he’s a sociopath, but a cool sociopathonce you get to know him. Gina also broke up with him about three weeks beforehe left for his trip. Long distance wasn’t really her thing. He doesn’t blameher.

Ravendecided to come visit him for the first time in two years, mostly because sheand her boyfriend just broke up and she needed time away. But also because shemissed him and he had been in a foul mood for the past few months and neededcheering up.

He makeshis way to the drink table and takes up his usual post after introducing Ravento all the regulars. When he introduces her to Luna, his downstairs neighbor,well, it’s all over from there. He doesn’t see Raven again that night. Butthat’s not the part that bothers him. He spends over an hour at the drink tableand she never shows. The princess who copied his costume and who learned hisdeepest secrets before his fucking name. He thought maybe this would become athing. Like maybe she’s supposed to show up and talk him through his crisisevery Halloween. It’s a stupid expectation. Hell, he’s not even positive she’sreal.

Hefinishes four drinks before giving up and going home. Fuck Halloween.

2017

“Pleasewear it!”

He staresat the offending garment like he’s hoping to burn a hole through it,“Absolutely not.”

“You’lllook so hot!”

“Ew,please don’t ever say that again.”

Ravenhuffs at her roommate. He’s being stubborn, he knows that, but she knows how hefeels about costumes and she’s trying to force him to be part of a groupcostume which is just…it’s fucking cheesy.

“Please!”she begs, adjusting her own pink jackets as she pulls her hands together in aplea, “Even Murphy is doing it! Emori!”

She wantshim to dress up as one of the guys from Grease, leather jacket, hair gel, andtight pants. It’s a bit over the top if you ask him. He hates it. He shouldhave known this is how things would go when she moved in – what Raven wants,Raven gets. After last year, she decided to move to New York to be closer toher friends. She’d never admit it, but he also thinks it has something to dowith Luna. The two aren’t official by any means, but they spend a lot of timetogether. Raven says she isn’t into labels, so whatever, but he knows the girlcares about her.

“I don’tremember ever saying I would be a part of this, you just signed me up,” hepoints out. She had brought it to him as soon as he got home from work. She didhappen to catch him a good day, mostly because there were no students at work(it was an in-service day which meant he had a quiet classroom all to hisself).  But going as the cast of Greaseis a sure way of bringing his good mood down.

“We’re alldoing it,” she argues again, “Besides, this is going to be the biggest partyyet! Miller is proposing to Monty!”

He knowsthis. Miller has already been to his apartment to freak out on numerousoccasions. They’ve been dating for almost seven years but only recently hasmarriage been legalized in all fifty states and they feel comfortable enough todo it. He’s happy for them and they honestly make him believe that love doesexist – they’re a good match and he knows how happy Monty makes him.

“I’m notdoing it.”

Thirtyminutes later, he finds himself on the fucking roof again with the leatherjacket slung over his shoulders. Raven can be very persuasive. They’re standingin the group and he realizes how much thought Raven really did put into this.Everyone is here and dressed up – Murphy and Emori, Octavia and Lincoln, Millerand Monty. Hell, even Luna came dressed as a Pink Lady.

“Where thehell is Clarke?” Raven hisses to Luna when she arrives. He has no idea whoClarke is, but Raven has already made more friends in her short time here thanhe has since he moved in. So, no surprises there.

“She’salways late, you know that,” Luna rolls her eyes, “She’ll be here.”

“Yo,Danny,” Raven calls and it takes him a moment to realize she’s talking to him,“Go grab me a beer.”

“I’m sorry,are you incapable?” he snaps and runs a hand through his hair, only for hisfingers to get stuck in the hair gel.

She flipshim the finger and he shuffles over to the table. Not because she told him too,he was already going to come here. He’ll just be nice and grab her a beer whilehe’s over here. Because he’s polite. And definitely not because she told himto. He reaches into the cooler to dig around for his favorite – he’s stickingto beer tonight. He has to teach in the morning.

He feels afamiliar pull and knows she’s there before she speaks.

“Wow,” shesays as he stands up, the buckles of his jacket clanking together, “Niceoutfit.”

He turnsslowly and before he can control it, his jaw opens slightly. It’s the Princess,alright, except she isn’t a princess at all. She’s dressed in a tight blackbody suit, and it’s clinging to every luscious curve of her body, paired with aleather jacket eerily similar to his own. He’s seen Grease enough time torecognize a Sandy when he sees one. He practically chokes on air. He looks overhis head to see the others watching him and Raven is looking extremely smugwhich makes him think she had something to do with this. He has no idea how shecould know, or how she could possibly be involved. But if anybody could figureit out, it’s her.

“I’mLuna’s roommate,” she seems to read his mind and she extends her hand with ahalf-smile, “Clarke Griffin.”

“Youweren’t here last year,” he says stupidly. He should introduce himself.Compliment her outfit because, damn. But all he can think about is that shewasn’t here last year.

She dropsher hand and glances down at her feet sheepishly, “I was working. New nursesalways have to work holidays.”

“Oh,” heresponds and still can’t figure out what to say. She’s been living in thisbuilding the whole time and he never once ran into her? She never tried to findhim despite their almost hook up two three years ago? Holy shit this has beengoing on that long?

“I guessthis is as weird for you as it is for me?” she asks, “I can leave, if you want.I know we’ve kind of been like…weirdly intimate but don’t really know eachother? And, honestly, I gave up when you showed up with a girlfriend but nowyou’re here and Raven said you’re single and you look really hot in thatcostume…”

It’s thisprecise moment that his brain actually decides to function and he laughs,watching as this girl he’s been dancing around for four years on the same dayrambles away about their strange relationship and admittedly having a crush onhim, similar to the way he’s felt about her. She’s been sort of his own littletradition – like every Halloween he goes to the roof to talk to this mysteriousgirl about all the things he was afraid to admit outloud to everyone else. Andshe’s fucking real and standing in front of him in a matching costume because,surpise, she actually knows his friends and lives two floors below him. Whatare the fucking odds.

He’shaving a hard time processing it all and wants to claim insanity when he slidesa hand into her thick curls and surges forward to kiss her. She stiffens and hepulls away, heart pounding in his chest and feeling completely disoriented.

“Shit,that was weird,” he panics, “I’m Bellamy. But you probably already know thatand…God, I’m sorry.”

She laughsthen, sweet and shy as her eyes search his own frantic ones, “No offense,Bellamy, but we’ve been talking for four years. Aren’t you tired?”

Shedoesn’t need to ask twice. He kisses her again and faintly hears the PinkLadies and the T-birds in the background hooting and hollering in theirapproval. It’s bizarre. But Halloween is a bizarre holiday and honestly, hemight not hate it so much after all.

[leoninapelliolovesconchitawurst]

ENGLISH TRANSLATION (Scott Rand)

LT1 Startalk Interview at the Bristol Hotel 25/01/20

with Petra Stumpf

https://www.lt1.at/sendungen/stars_society/ich-bin-ein-sehr-sexueller-mensch/

https://youtu.be/FAw2HtQQhx0

That was back then, Tom Neuwirth alias Conchita Wurst, a diva who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Austria in 2014.

And this is nowadays. Wurst, fetish look and electro pop. With his third album Tom has freed himself. We meet the Upper Austrian in his adoptive home Vienna at the hotel bar in the Bristol next to the Opera. What hasn't changed is that the star is punctual to the minute.

Petra Stumpf: Welcome to LT1 startalk, my guest today - how do I address you Conchita, Tom or Wurst, which do you prefer?

Tom: It's up to you, I use to say at the end of the day it's always Wurst (it's all the same to me). With a certain look I feel more like a woman, whatever that means and in certain looks I am more masculine, whatever that means and at the end of the day I don't care. One cannot generalise, of course for many people their identity is important and how they see themselves. I realize more and more that gender should be completely irrelevant in a society.

P: I was very curious in which look you would turn up today, blond, bald, long hair, short hair, at the moment everything is possible when it comes to you. Does it depend on your current mood or is it calculative if you turn up as a male or female?

T: There are concerts and events where I know I want to wear an evening gown and release my inner Mariah Carey, on other days I have no concept at all and put up what I fancy at the moment. Some things need a certain preparation, when I want to bleach my hair, I can't decide it on the spot and two hours later I'm blond and the story about the bald head was, that I wanted to express - I did't want to express anything with the bald head per se - but I had joined the Opera Ball to advertise the EU elections and when I shaved my head, I hadn't even known yet that I would go to the Opera Ball. In retrospect it had been destiny and was supposed to happen exactly like that and to answer the question, I seldom reflect, sometimes I fancy something but if something else comes up that is more in line, then I change my mind.

P: Your impact on me is that you feel very liberated since this transformation, is that true?

T: I started to reconsider rules I don't even know who made them and to discard them and find out what makes me happy instead of saying: I have to be the president's wife, that's what people expect and what sells, I'm also in the priviliged situation to say, I don't care, I do what I want and feel but during the process I develop and reconsider so many things and I don't know if everyone thinks it's funny, but I always say it's essential to learn how to read and write. It's important for communication, but how needs spelling?

P: Seriously?

T: If I understand what you want to tell me, for example if you write an essay in German full of blooming imagination and there are twists in the story and it's interesting to read, and then you have 5 spelling errors and fail to pass the exam.

P: I agree about that, but it repels me if someone writes to me on Whatsapp and there are 1000 spelling errors. That's awful.

T: It doesn't matter to me, as long as I understand what you mean.

P: Since you say it is Wurst to you, you recorded your new album as Wurst, finest electro pop, it is autobiographic and was a kind of therapy for you, is that true?

T: Yes, the lyrics and music were written by Eva Klampfer, Lylit, an Upper Austrian and it was produced by Albin Janoska, who is the electro guru in this country. In this triad we made this great album. Eva spent many hours with me and learned a lot about me and I often repeat it, I'm not sure if she wanted to know all of it. But when one doesn't write the lyrics oneself, one can only achieve an authentic piece of music when I'm candid and all of these titles are of course metaphors of all the things I experienced and I know what each song is about and considered if I should explain it or write it into the booklet but then I thought, it's nobody's business and I want to keep it to myself and don't want to impose to the audience what to interpret into those songs. I love to make music videos, I can't write songs, but I hear music and see pictures and I can convert that, that's my essential part and I love to do it but with it I already open a world that indicates a certain direction and emotions, but it's too much fun to miss out on it.

P: I have to show the booklet and for example this picture, videos and booklet are very revealing, very erotic with fetish outfits, did it take you a lot of effort, because your parents and your granny see it too.

T: I'm a very sensual person and I'm not shy with my family, they know me so well, they have known me when I still wet my pants. I don't have to pretend what I am and sometimes I think it will not be her favourite topic for my granny in her crochet round but I am what I am and that's the result of their upbringing. My parents have no reason for complaining about my liberalness or that I live my life in the public, I am the person I am because they raised me that way.

P: Did your parents teach you the facts of life or was it your grandmother, sometimes the grandparents do that.

T: Funny that you address this topic. No, it was my aunt, she's awesome and during Christmas one discusses everything. My aunt is responsible or was a good deal involved in my fashion aesthetics. Listen, my aunt took me to the first musical I have ever seen, Rocky Horror Picture Show, imagine I was about - when is one admitted into such a show, I think 12, and I remember my aunt asked me: "Do you know what a virgin is?" and I replied: "My Mum was born in August, so she's a Virgo." and then there was a talk with my mother if she was allowed to explain it to me and she did and then I came into this show as a 12 year old gay boy and was amazed. What, one can do this, this is allowed? And everyone thinks it's awesome, she revealed a whole new world to me and I still remember what she wore, a transparent Woolford body that only covered the breasts in the shape of a lava lamp and Yoko Ono flares with slits at the sides that where overlapping, so when she walked her bare legs were displayed. My aunt is a fashion icon and that's where my liberty comes from, I think nobody was surprised.

P: You don't often come to Upper Austria, where your family is, but on 12th March you will come to the Posthof in Linz because you are on tour with the new songs. This home game in Linz is something special for you?

T: I'm totally looking forward to it. Linz is always special for me. I have a tour, there will be some concerts in Germany, I'll be in Poland and will also be in Austria and Linz is magic, I can't describe it, it's also the audience that likes to experience music and there are people who are not my fans per se, but who are interested in new music. That's so cool, I'm not always that open-minded, I think rock is not my cup of tea, but okay I'm going to listen to it. People in Linz are totally relaxed and I'm looking forward. And it will be different with my live band and it will be awesome.

P: You are a fantastic live performer, I've often seen you and take my hat off to you. Back then in Linz, international fans had come completely dressed in Conchita outfit. How do they deal with the transformation, do they go along with it and come now with short hair?

T: It's exciting you mention this, I love my fans and they are crazy in an affectionate way and travel from everywhere around the world and then sit there and listen to this concert for the 14th time and are still enthusiastic and have fun to ponder, ah there he didn't know the lyrics, he has forgotten them again and that's so cool, because it's simply the truth. Without those fans who come regularly, I wouldn't exist and without them I wouldn't be able to shine in certain situations, because sometimes you come to an event and notice, ah maybe they don't find me that awesome but there are always people present I can rely on and who say I don't care what happens behind my back, I'm here because of you and I celebrate you so much and then it spreads. It's exciting how such a relationship we have after all develops, particularly because of the different look and music and there are many who sighingly say, I want to hear the ballads and I understand that, I also love the ballads, but there's a time for everything.

P:  Variety is that extra something.

T: Absolutely. It's a challenge for me and a whole different vocal field, suddenly it's about voice colours and textures and not how long can I scream this note, and I can hold it for a long time.

P: Will you play none of your ballads on this tour?

T: Not at the moment. I have the occasional concerts with an orchestra, the next ones will be in Sydney and I'm thrilled to go back to Australia after many years, the current situation there is everything else but delightful but I'm very content not to let this orchestra programme die either, because it's so much fun. Also From Vienna With Love I recorded with the symphonic orchestra is a gift for me and then retrieve it a year later and say: I still can do it! That's cool, you know.

P: We are in Vienna today and not in Upper Austria, as you hardly come to us anymore.

T: Don't emphasize it that much, it's like that at the moment, I will come back.

P: On 12th March at the latest he'll be there at the concert. But we are now at the hotel Bristol in Vienna and you also have a special connection to this place.

T: I have a deep attachment to this hotel, one of my all-time favourite photos was taken by Mrs Ziegelböck, who also comes from Upper Austria. There was a fashion photo shoot for Rondo and we are often here and everytime I give interviews we get support from the staff and they provide us with these awesome suites and catering and we are pleased to see each other, there's appreciation and it's such a traditional building, rich in history and I was allowed to work abroad, but when I come back home, I love Austria, I love Vienna so much, in my opinion it's the coolest city in the world.

P: It was ranked the most livably city too. And the most unfriendly one.

T: If you allow to be insulted, I'm above that.

P: I continue with the word rap.

Question: Do you prefer to be man or woman?

T: We already discussed, I don't care.

Question: I can imagine having children one day.

T: That's tough. I've considered how I would raise a child, what values I would convey and what it would mean. But I'm not ready to have children, because I'm so egocentric and have some interhuman deficits. You wanted a short reply. I have no idea.

Question: I like to sleep...

T: For a long period of time and you want something provocative. I sleep in the nude.

Question: What are you not able to do?

T: I'm bad at waiting and I sometimes get bitchy. My friends who work with me know me well enough to know that when I start giving curt replies.

Question: Your favourite place?

T: My apartment, my nest. After a period of travelling a lot, one's own bed is priceless.

Question: I learned most things from...

T: All people I meet. I recognise afterwards when one sits together during the holidays, I have it from you that I always run around half naked.

Question: The inscription on my tombstone should read.

T: I hope I won't have a tombstone. I'll be cremated.

P: But there has also to be a place for the urn. Maybe in someone's cupboard at home.

T: If I want to annoy them I'll write into my will: You have to place me beside your television. I want it to be stagy, get cremated and scatter the ash around.

P: Then one cannot visit you anymore.

T: You don't have to. That's overrated, everyone shall carry me inside their hearts.

P: No grave of honour in Vienna?

T: The dress from the Eurovision inside a showcase is sufficient.

P: Thank you, it was very funny.

T: What a great interview.