#I could say similar about Be More Chill (book vs musical)

[deathbutwithfuzzyanimals]

Literally insane how Danny Phantom DCU crossover has more fics on AO3 than many smaller fandoms. This makes my best friend very mad when I point it out. It is also hilarious the number of people writing fics for the crossover fandom who have consumed neither source material and just know what they’ve read in fanfic. The people who built this fandom from the ground up really went ‘let’s make an entirely new media that people will consume and build upon and enjoy that has more plot and analysis of Danny Phantom than the actual tv show’. Truly the goncherov of fanfiction. West doesn’t exist. Red Huntress never had a name. There was a single episode about an ‘ice core’ that was never mentioned again and now ghost cores have almost consistent usage. Anyway I just appreciate the beautiful fandom that is to Danny phantom and DC comics what heathers the Musical is to Heathers the movie.

[samwisethewitch]

Tapping Into Your Psychic Senses

Every single person on the planet has psychic abilities, but most people never realize that they’re using them. As Tess Whitehurst says in her book You Are Magical, “There is almost certainly something you assume that everyone can perceive that is actually a perception that is relatively unique to you.”

For example: you may be a gifted artist. Drawing and painting come naturally to you, and you have an intuitive sense of form and color. You probably know people who claim that they “don’t have an artistic bone in their body” or “can’t even draw a stick figure,” but you can’t bring yourself to believe it. Surely, those people are just psyching themselves out, because if art comes so easily to you, everyone must be able to do it to some extent, right?

Psychic abilities are similar. You’ve probably been tapping into at least one psychic sense all your life, but it feels so normal to you that you assume everyone experiences the world this way.

Once you become aware of your innate psychic abilities, you can start to harness them. For this reason, I think it’s a good idea to become familiar with (and comfortable using!) your natural psychic gifts before you try to learn any kind of divination.

Read over the following list of common psychic senses. Does one or more of them sound familiar? Once you recognize which of these you resonate with, focus on strengthening that gift over the next couple of weeks. You’ll be amazed by how easily you’re able to tap into it once you know how!

Clairvoyance: Clear Seeing

Contrary to popular opinion, the word “clairvoyance” does not describe any and all psychic abilities. Someone with clairvoyance receives psychic messages through their sense of sight. They may see these messages with their physical eyes, or see images in their mind’s eye. Seeing auras is an example of clairvoyance in action.

You may be clairvoyant if…

You often see flashes of light, blurred figures, or other visual phenomena that others do not see. [Note: This is NOT the same as visual hallucinations. Clairvoyants typically see things with their mind’s eye, not their physical eyes, and can differentiate between their visions and what is physically in front of them.]

You often experience random mental images that seem to have nothing to do with what’s going on around you.

Your meditations are primarily visual — for example, if you meditate on the element of water, you may see a bubbling fountain in your mind’s eye.

You are a visual learner.

Ways to Strengthen Clairvoyance

Keep a journal of the mental images you receive “out of nowhere.” Do these images mean anything to you? Do individual visions fit into a larger pattern?

Meditate on the energy systems in your body, starting from the feet and working up to the crown of the head. What does your energy look like? Are the colors bright and clear, or more faded and muddy? Does the energy move quickly, or is it slow and sluggish? Are there certain areas of your body where the energy seems to be tied up or stuck? How does its appearance correspond to your life? 

Do research into auras and what the different aura colors mean. Do you always seem to see or think of a certain color when you’re around a certain person? How does that color represent that person’s energy and personality? Write down your findings.

Clairaudience: Clear Hearing

Someone with clairaudience receives psychic messages through their sense of hearing. They may hear messages with their physical ears or “hear” them in their mind. A medium who hears spirits is an example of someone using clairaudience.

You may be clairaudient if…

You sometimes “hear” things in your mind, as if someone else was talking to you from inside your head. [Note: This is NOT the same as “hearing voices” or auditory hallucinations. Clairaudients usually “hear” messages with their mind, not their physical ears, and they can distinguish between psychic messages and physical, “real world” sounds.]

Sometimes, when you listen to music or watch a movie, a specific lyric or line of dialogue seems to jump out at you, as if it were a special message.

Your meditations are primarily auditory — for example, if you meditate on the element of water, you may hear a babbling brook.

You are an auditory learner.

Ways to Strengthen Clairaudience

Keep a journal of the messages you “hear” out of nowhere. Are they consistent, forming a larger pattern? Do they all seem to be “in the same voice,” or coming from the same source? (If so, this could be a deity or spirit guide reaching out to you.)

Do a meditation with the intention of holding a conversation with a helpful spirit guide. (If you are not comfortable working with spirits, you can set the intention of speaking to your inner self.) What does their voice sound like? Is it different from or similar to your own? Do they speak with an accent or have a unique inflection? Write down your thoughts.

Experiment with shufflemancy. This is a modern form of divination where you put a playlist on shuffle and receive a psychic message from the song that plays first. (You can find playlists specifically made for shufflemancy online, or make your own.) How does the song make you feel? Are there certain lyrics that jump out to you? Write down your thoughts.

Clairsentience: Clear Feeling

Someone with clairsentience feels psychic messages, either through their body or through their emotions. They may feel physical sensations, like an upset stomach, or may be very sensitive to emotional energies. Intuitively picking up on someone’s emotions without needing to ask is an example of clairsentience.

You may be clairsentient if…

You often feel physical sensations, like a hot flash or a cold chill, out of nowhere.

You are able to feel other people’s emotions — you can always tell when someone has had a bad day, even if they’re trying to hide it.

You can sense the “vibe” of a room as soon as you walk in. Do certain buildings feel “angry” or “sad” to you? Can you always tell the energy of a party even if you just arrived?

Your meditations primarily focus on tactile sensations — for example, if you meditate on the element of water, you may feel waves lapping at your feet.

Ways to Strengthen Clairsentience

Pay attention to your “gut feelings.” Do you feel a sinking sensation when thinking about something, only for it to go badly later? Do you feel a warm, fuzzy sensation thinking about something, only for it to go really well? Write down your experiences — and be honest. It’s okay if your gut feeling doesn’t always match the outcome.

Do a pathworking meditation (this is just a type of meditation that focuses on taking a mental journey) to a forest, or a beach, or some other location that appeals to you. Try to feel as many tactile sensations as possible, as if you were really there. Feel the grass or sand under your feet, feel the wind in your hair, feel the sun on your skin. Write down your experience.

Practice feeling the energy of a plant or crystal. Reach out and touch the plant/crystal, and try to feel it out. Does it have a calm, stable energy, or is it more bright and zingy? Try feeling a different plant/crystal and see how it feels different. Write down your experience.

Note: Some (but not all) clairsentients are also empaths, people who take on the emotions of others as if they were their own. All empaths are clairsentient, but not all clairsentient people are empaths. You may be an empath if you often find yourself matching the emotions of the people you’re around — you cry when they cry, laugh when they laugh, etc.

Claircognizance: Clear Knowing

Claircognizence is the gift of psychic knowing — people with this ability often “just know” things, even if they should have no way of knowing. They may know what someone is about to say before they say it, or know personal information about someone they just met.

You may be claircognizant if…

You “just know” what’s going on with your friends and family, even if they haven’t told you. For example, you may suddenly feel like you need to call your sister, only to find out after you call that she just broke up with her boyfriend.

You always know who a text is from as soon as your phone dings, or always know what song is going to play next on shuffle.

You often know things about new people as soon as you meet them, only for them to confirm it later. Did you know your friend was a vegetarian before he told you, even though you’d never shared a meal with him?

Your meditations often include “downloads” of information, where you feel like the answer to your question or some other revelation has just been dropped into your brain.

Ways to Strengthen Claircognizance

Every time your phone goes off, try to guess who the message is from. Keep a tally of how often you’re right vs. wrong.

Do a meditation with the intention of receiving the answer to a specific question. Retreat to a place of stillness and focus on your breath until the answer to the question “just comes to you.” Write down your experience.

This is a game I used to play with my sister before I knew what claircognizance was: have a friend show you a picture of someone they know, but whom you have never met before. Focus on the picture, and see if you get any info about the person — are they a jock? Do they like rock music? What’s their personality like? Get your friend to confirm or deny the info you got from the picture, and keep a tally of how often you’re right vs. wrong.

The Other Clairs

There are two other “clair” senses that are less common, so I’m not going to talk about them at length here. Clairalience, or “clear smelling,” refers to receiving psychic messages through smell. (If you smell roses out of nowhere, with no roses in sight, you may be using clairalience.) Clairgustance, or “clear tasting,” refers to receiving psychic messages through taste. (If you taste chocolate out of nowhere, you may be using claigustance.)

In my experience, these psychic senses are less common than the ones listed above. Most people I know who have clairalience or clairgustance seem to use it as a secondary sense, in addition to a primary sense like clairvoyance or clairsentience.

Conclusion

You are probably using at least one of these psychic senses every day, without even knowing it. Most people have two to three “main” psychic senses, but some may regularly and easily use all of them. For example, my primary psychic senses are clairsentience and claircognizance, but I also find myself receiving messages through clairaudience fairly often. It’s rare for me to receive clairvoyant messages, but it has happened.

Once you’ve identified the psychic senses that you naturally lean towards, you can begin to develop and strengthen them.

Resources:

You Are Magical by Tess Whitehurst [Specifically the chapter, “Reading the Signs.”]

The Fat Feminist Witch Podcast, Episode 68: “Clear Knowing”

The Angel Code by Chantel Lysette [Specifically the section on the psychic senses.]

[absolutelyinvinciblebritishgent]

What if the Sound Trio survived and became Leaf ninjas?

Headcanons under the cut (bitch, it’s a lot of headcanons)

~ Chunin Exam Finals/Invasion~

Dosu was shown to be suspicious of Orochimaru because of the whole Sasuke/curse mark thing and seemed like he wasn’t wanting to be a part of Orochimaru’s shit anymore so he’s the one who realizes something is up

Rather than face Gaara he somehow finds out about sand’s allegiance with sound (overhearing Baki and Kabuto on the way to Gaara, eavesdropping on Orochimaru [because, again, sus], etc...) and that’s what pushes him to defect from sound (also how he manages to live)

Dosu, Zaku, and Kin aren’t necessarily close, but in the anime Dosu did sort of say he was gonna get revenge on behalf of Zaku for what happened to his arms so there is a sense of something there (whether it be friendship, camaraderie, or just wanting to stick together to survive... idk) and Dosu tells his teammates what’s up and convinces them that they gotta GTFO

Zaku is a little more difficult to convince because why would Orochimaru do that to him? He saved Zaku from being a street rat, he gave Zaku power

Dosu ain’t having it and is like “if you wish to stay behind then that is your decision, in the end it is better for us to not have to carry any dead weight” (obviously referring to Zaku’s inability to do anything because of his arms)

Dosu then proceeds to tell Zaku how he no longer serves a purpose without his arms and he was nice enough to still want to take Zaku with him, Orochimaru would not be so kind

Zaku is upset because he knows Dosu has a point and they all leave

They (read: Dosu) decide that their best chance of survival is staying in Konoha because, the minute they leave, the sound village/Orochimaru will be gunning for their asses and also they’d be missing-nin, so others would try to kill them too

But what can they do to assure they don’t get imprisoned or killed due to having worked under Orochimaru? Rat out the sound village and give all the information they know/found out about the invasion and sand’s involvement

Third Hokage is a cool dude and also was Orochimaru’s teacher so he knows the kind of power this bitch can have over people which is why he agrees to let the sound trio stay and have them watched by Anbu

Dosu does not participate in the chunin exam finals because witness protection, or something

The invasion still happens because Orochimaru ain’t stupid. His “pawns” are nowhere to be found so it’s likely they’re betraying him, so obviously he makes changes to the plan

Dosu, Kin, and Zaku do not participate in fighting off the invasion because, uh, super strict house arrest orders???

Third Hokage dies and this FREAKS the trio out because a) oh shit Orochimaru actually did it and b) we’re only allowed to be here because of him, so what’s going to happen to us

Council is deciding what to do with them and has them staying hidden/as they were, but what’s more important to them is finding Tsunade and having her take over as Hokage so the trio are just anxiously chilling

Tsunade is Hokage now and she decides to let them stay because they turned their backs on Orochimaru and also she trusts Sarutobi’s judgment on letting them stay initially, but they are still going to be watched by Anbu to be sure

Naruto and co. find out about the trio and they are PISSED because “not only did you try to kill Sasuke, not only are you from the village that attacked us, not only did you work for Orochimaru but you did nothing to defend Konoha during the invasion. If you want to be a part of this village then you should have helped”

Tsunade tells these bitches to simmer down. They were under Anbu house arrest. She’s Hokage and they need to respect her decision. Also Zaku, let’s fix your arms.

~Sasuke Retrieval Arc~

Everyone is immediately on the trio’s ass because “we knew you couldn’t be trusted”

Tsunade has to tell everyone to stfu again

The trio want to go (to prove themselves) and feel they can be of assistance but Tsunade is like Catherine of Aragon because she says there’s no no no no NO WAY. It’s already a dangerous mission, it might be more so for them because Orochimaru is probably after their heads for betraying him and knows all of their skills

Everything about the arc is the same until the point where Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee need help. Instead of the Sand Siblings being the ones to arrive it’s the sound trio

Zaku saves Kiba... mainly because I imagine them being friends once the trio are accepted and I just want this to be the beginning of their friendship. How he saves him idk because I’m not creative when it comes to fights

Kin saves Shikamaru. Again idk how. Zaku’s slicing sounds waves make more sense here because they work similar to Temari’s fan but I want it to be Kin because kunoichi vs. kunoichi, genjutsu vs. genjutsu, and also the idea of Kin saving the guy who beat her in such an embarrassing way does something to me, but also is a sort of redemption? I just want this battle to show off how skilled Kin can be because she was very underutilized and kinda weak in the original story and I love her so much, she deserves to do cool shit. So let her outsmart Tayuya and, in a way, she is outsmarting Shikamaru because he had no more plans to fall back on

Dosu saves Lee. Again, idk how and, again, I think Zaku’s slicing sound waves would be better here because they can keep Kimimaro (a close range fighter) at bay but I guess seeing Dosu and Kimimaro throwing hands would be cool. And then you have that redemption moment with Lee because Dosu kicked his ass in the forest of death and now he’s saving Lee!

After the mission, despite its failure, the trio are accepted as leaf shinobi and are introduced to their new sensei: cue Anko crashing through the window with a big sign introducing herself again

Similarly to the moment when Naruto spoke out and Anko threw a kunai at him, Zaku gives a snide comment and Anko is immediately at his throat, and then she’s like “JK! But don’t say that again you little shit!”

Anko was chosen to lead the trio due to her past with Orochimaru and because of that she can better understand them

~Other Headcanons~

It took the Konoha 12 a while to accept the trio. The first ones to accept them were Kiba, Lee, and Shikamaru (duh) but also Choji and even Naruto. Choji became cool with them when he found out Shikamaru was cool with them because he trusts Shikamaru’s judgment, and despite originally trying to kill his teammate, Naruto accepts them because they came out and helped so that means they’re a-okay in his book. Neji was slightly taken aback but also accepted them pretty quickly. Basically, the retrieval team was like “yeah okay” and vouch for them.

The ones who took the longest to come around were Ino and Sakura because did y’all just forget what happened at the forest of death???

As I said, I imagine Kiba and Zaku being friends. Mainly because I feel they have similar personalities in the sense that they’re both pretty cocky, boisterous, and talk shit. I imagine them kinda being like rivals in the sense of they’re always trying to one up each other

Zaku is still not fond of Shino because of the whole bugs in arms thing so whenever Shino is around Zaku is just like “I hate your teammate” to Kiba

Kin/Shikamaru could potentially replace the Temari/Shikamaru relationship. Both Kin and Temari are very similar in the sense of being an ex-villain, being viewed as scarier/more intense compared to the Konoha girls, being older by a couple years, and they both lost (well, Temari technically won but we all know she lost) to Shikamaru. Because of this the Kin/Shikamaru relationship wouldn’t be all that different to how the Temari/Shikamaru relationship is shown

That being said I love the sand siblings and don’t want them gone and because of how similar I feel Kin and Temari are they become really good friends and Kin enjoys when Temari visits. They both make Shikamaru’s life hell though. Double Trouble™️

Also I said potentially because I like exploring the idea of Kin/Zaku or Kin/Dosu (:

Dosu and Shino actually get along really well (much to the dismay of Zaku). They’re the type of people where they can sit in silence with each other and it’s just chill. And when they have to work together they kinda have flawless teamwork and don’t even need to speak to know what the other plans on doing

Kin and Sakura actually get along now? They’re not best friends by any means but they can be civil and respect each other

Team Kurenai and Team Sand are the teams that the trio get along with the best/most easily tho

Kin cut her hair to her lower back. Cue everyone cracking jokes about Neji and Kin looking the same from behind. Kin stops tying her hair after that

The trio have really well trained ears because back in Otogakure they had to learn to pick up on the subtlest of sounds in order to spy on enemies and communicate at such a low volume that to any normal ear sounds like silence but to them the message is loud and clear

Because of this they’re all amazing singers (Dosu is the best tho because he has the best trained ear. Seriously, being able to tell what someone is writing based on the sounds of their pencil? Skills.) and everyone likes hearing them sing.

That being said, despite being from the land of sound they didn’t actually know any songs because the sound village doesn’t really do music. It was forbidden because no one is allowed joy in the land of sound. Jk. But it did have to do with depriving people of normalcy because Orochimaru was creating an army of followers

This little singing/music tidbit was discovered by Naruto and he took it upon himself to show the trio music. It wasn’t all good music, but it’s music!

Also, despite being the best singer, Dosu doesn’t really do it. Dude doesn’t even hum. He’ll only sing if Kin and Zaku start pestering or if Anko wants him to

The first (and only) time Kin and Zaku saw Dosu cry was shortly after they became leaf shinobi. Anko and Tsunade were telling the team how brave it was for them to leave Orochimaru and sound behind, and Anko especially complimented Dosu on taking him and his team out of that situation. Kin and Zaku had been trying to hold back tears and keep up their tough image but the minute they saw Dosu crying, not trying to wipe away his tears or hide them or anything they lost it

No one talks about their little crying session. It’s a secret

Despite getting his arms fixed by Tsunade, Zaku still has problems with them, especially his right one (I think that’s the one that got blown off) and needs to get them treated consistently. Partly due to the fact they he didn’t give himself all the time to heal after Tsunade fixed him because he went to help the retrieval team and, mainly, because of Orochimaru’s experiments. Like, essentially Zaku’s air tube surgery was actually kind of botched and, for lack of a better term, experimental, and is fucking with the nerves and muscles and chakra in his arms and kinda eating away at them. And the crazy damage he took from getting his arms blown off only fucked everything up more

Eventually Zaku gets a better version of his air tube in his left arm and has to completely replace the right arm with a cool prosthetic that lets him do stronger/cooler jutsus

Kin has combined singing with her genjutsu and has created a sort of mind control jutsu... I may or may not have gotten this idea while listening to Come Little Children and remembering that Sarah Sanderson would control kids with song

The trio think Sasuke is a fUCKING DUMBASS for willingly going with Orochimaru. Like, bitch we had to leave that no good asshole for the betterment of our lives and you just waltz out of Konoha and straight into his arms?! What is you doing Uchiha?!

[lavenderbang]

ONF as Demigods!

A/N: Random inspo for this, although I’ve been think about it for a hot minute; I’m also connecting these all to Percy Jackson and the Olympian’s universe, so if you haven’t read the books or at least watched the movies, odds are you won’t know what I’m talking about. Anywho, enjoy!

~~~~~~~

Hyojin

Son of Zeus

Leader of on team vs leader of the gods (sort of)

The power this man holds when he is performing on stage is nothing short of the king of gods

he also has the wrath of Zeus inside when he gets pissed

I honestly just get the vibe that he would be the son of the most powerful god because he’s the most a powerful man

You’re lying if you disagree that he doesn’t just straight up radiate power

J-us/Seungjun

Son of Posideon

So, honestly, this one is more of just a feeling than actual solid reasoning, but let me try and explain the best I can

He is the off (dance/performance) team leader, meaning his body movements are very fluid.... like water...? Ew this is a bad analogy

Honestly idk, but he definitely has big three energy and he’s too chill to be son of hades

I could just see him as Percy Jackson tbh; like always ready to help the new kids, but also very competitive and strong. I think he would fit this role really well

Leader of the camp, I think yes💅

E-tion/Changyoon

Son of Aphrodite

Honestly, just look how pretty he is and tell me he ISN’T the son of the goddess of love and beauty

But seriously, I swear this boy can charmspeak with the way he gets ONF second chances when they play mini games👀

I mean, even if he’s not your bias, he somehow wiggles his way up on you bias list because there is no way you can’t love him

Man’s would love the gossip and just the attention tbh

He just radiates leader of the Aphrodite cabin so hard (not him saying he’s the third fashion leader in My Name Is...)

Wyatt/Jaeyoung

Son of Ares

Okay so hear me out, I know he’s the prettiest princess there ever was, but his stage name literally means “brave” so...

We all know he’s a cutie, but he could also physically kick your ass if he was more violent luckily he’s a sweetie

I also like the idea that everyone at camp is afraid of him and worried about “that deep-voices, big and scary Ares kid” but when you meet him he’s just the nicest, purest guy ever🥺

Idk I just get the vibe that he could CRUSH you in combat, but would rather just be a hype man and crump instead

Imagining Jaeyong in a gladiator outfit is...😳

MK/Minkyun

Son of Apollo

Have you ever seen anyone more sunshine than Minkyun? He literally G L O W S because of how sunny and happy he is!

His voice is also definetly a god of music voice; you can’t deny how great of a vocalist he is and it totally fits with Apollo

He cares a lot about cats creatures, so he’d heal you all the time with just his bright ass smile

He would definetly ask his dad to drive the sun chariot because he’s annoying precious :)

I honestly just think he absolutely embodies everything Apollo stands for idk about you...

U/Yuto

Son of Hermes

This one is a bit hard to explain but I have one main reason for it

Yuto is extreamly playful and I think that most children of Hermes (ahem the twins from PJ) have that sort of youthfulness

Like, couldn’t you imagine him with the winged sneakers just goofing around with the rest of the boys, and teasing them???

I also think he would be very good to the new campers who haven’t been claimed because Yuto is very sweet and considerate •v•

Idk I just get a big Hermes vibe from him👀

Bonus:

Laun/Minseok

Son of Hades

Similar to Wyatt’s case, I think the juxtaposition of his cute exterior to a “dark son of hades” is perfect

Also he gives me a Nico De Angelo vibe, as he’s just a kid who needs to be taken care of (that how he is in the beginning of the series I think)

Honestly, a sweet boy with the power to raise the dead is really a vibe and I am obsessed with the idea

Hades is not on Olympus anymore vs Minseok..... you get the idea

I’m sorry for that last one it’s kinda sad oof

~~~~~~~

A/N: hey, I hope you liked it! Sorry if there is some inaccuracy from the PJO series, as it’s been a while since I read them. I’ve just been thinking about this for a bit and thought I’d share my thoughts. Remember, if you enjoyed this, follow for more content!

[luckycheesefoodie321]

Soooooo... Couples therapy didn’t go well for SamBucky... TFATWS THOUGHTS (long post + spoilers)

Ok. Ok some depth to dude in a suit.

Not a bad guy. But the good guy Erskine always hoped for???

Mmmmmm some parallels between Sam and dude in a suit. Nervous to fill that suit.

“You’re not Captain America”

Aww they referenced his song

“Punch your way out of problems” hmm

Well yknow this is very early Captain America when Erskine gets killed and all Steve could do was be a figurehead of the war and put on shows...so interesting parallels

Bucky finds outtttt and he’s probably gonna deck Sam for giving up the shield

Ahhhhhh I knew it. Boi believed in what Steve believed. And seeing the shield being touted by some other guy gotta hurt.

Wait. But how did Bucky know Sam was gonna be there. Is he even allowed on this base??? Who gave him access???

Bucky my love you can’t help but latch onto the only friend you have huh? Wanna protect the dude that Steve believed could take up the mantle.

Instant chemistry on screen I adore this.

Dear god the sexual tension

Awwww “DONT call me Buck. Only Steve can call me Buck” WHATS THE BET BY THE END HES CALLING HIM BUCK OR THERES A CALL BACK WHERE SAM CALLS HIM BUCK AND BUCKY SAYS STILL CANT CALL ME THAT

Ahahahhahha what happened to the cool guy who caught Caps shield??

Cant even jump out of plane with no parachute. No wonder you didn’t get chosen to be Captain America XD (I kid. Don’t come for me)

Yknow what glad they showed them putting in those ear pieces. Every time they do that, the nonsense of every single Avengers movie and Civil War gets whittled down a little bit more

Sam we need a brooding non blinking dude or else who else will be your comedy prop

That was a flirty smile. Stop flirting Sam you’re on a mission.

Also love that Bucky is kinda caught up in saying all the cheesy sort of “casual” mission banter lines

Wait is that his new hero name orrrr? Bc he’s trying not to be the Winter Soldier anymore..

Their ongoing banter is really refreshing when before in other MCU movies (and this is very back to classics) there was time for maybe one quirky line mid action and the rest is just serious on a mission mode unless Tony was around

Bucky running oh my god I forgot

We had the whole running scene in Civil War too XD

Oop she’s not a hostage

Bucky has to love redwing in future right? (Sike they kill Redwing)

Oooh Sam got the hero music playing!!!

I was wrong. Dude in a suit got CAPS MUSIC????

Oh damn roll through the grass guys take it easy XD

I’m sorry subtitler what are you doing. “Captain America”???

Ok but that tracking shot of them just walking and bantering is great

This is a fun shot oh my god

BIG THREE

Baby there is a bit of difference to Steve jumping on a grenade pre-serum no protective gear of any kind using HIMSELF as a shield and expecting to blow up but hoping to save everyone else in the process... vs you knowing you can get out of it unscathed despite intentions being similar

Not a bad guy but not the “good man” just yet. But hey am appreciating his character depth.

Wow love that they’ve pointed out Bucky’s staring XD

But also this guy was raised up by the government. Steve was the embodiment of freedom.

“Battlestar??? Fuck yo nickname!” Hahahahaha

Oof John really just said they were his wingmen huh

Sam was right tho. I can get behind what dude in a suit is going for but he just has to end it poorly

So Super Soldiers came back as a plot point after the tease that was Civil War huh?

Wait wait so Sharon is still an enemy of state???

Nice. (I don’t remember what this was for)

Wow. And now we see the reality. Bucky, albeit pardoned, was considered a war criminal.

But they still think Sam is the aggressor in a situation where, I think, he would be justifiably upset. A hero, a black hero, was erased from the history books, effectively.

Racial profiling doesn’t stop. They see colour first and person second. And it was only after they realised who Sam was that they apologised. Actually even worse, it took Bucky reminding him to realise who they were.

How goddamn messed up.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmn ok dude in a suit you are overstepping boundaries here.

Bucky definitely needs the therapy, and while I would like him to have more freedom, it should not be on your authority????

Oooh tell em Doctor Raynor.

COUPLES THERAPY TIME

Ooooooh gazing hell yeah time to fall in love lads

Hahahhahahah their legs oh my god

Bucky’s “ha I won” look

Awww no Bucky really believed in Sam because it meant hope for him too I cant

I was rooting for this guy but he is getting on my nerves SNATCH THAT SHIELD OFFA HIS BACK

Yo but I feel bad for the Flag Smashers a lil? Their cause isn’t bad. Their target is governments, corruption etc. but idk we’ll see how things play out.

Jfc Zeno chill out. This music tf.

SHUT THE FUCK UP HOE THATS IT

—-

So we finally have some Falcon and The Winter Soldier bonding action, we love to see it.

Clearly they’re not best of pals, nor do they have Steve as their mediator... gotta navigate their relationship together, and once they nab a bad guy together for the first time, they’ll have better bond and it’ll be nice.

That said, gotta appreciate Bucky was actually more honest with Sam present. So that was some progress.

I am still neutral about Dude in a Suit... he’s not Captain America but idk if he’s earned me calling him just John and he’s not the USAgent yet?? Is that his name??

I can see where his motivations are coming from but he is really buying into this government mandated position that was only possible because Sam gave up the shield, when we’ve looked at him by himself wanting to live up to expectations... but dude is just coming off as a leech??? And I do hope he has a moment where he realises that, despite being the perfect soldier, there is someone who is more of a “good man” that Steve was, that Erskine wanted to take on the power...

And yknow the meeting with Isaiah does set up the very real concept that POC figures of significance are forced to remain in the shadows, or are straight up erased by a white-dominant society that wants to present a specific type of person as a hero for the masses to look up to...

Which is why I found the convo with that kid calling Sam “Black Falcon” interesting. The dad, who told the kid to call him that, might’ve wanted that distinction. In a society that continues to vilify and destroy their “racial minorities”, having a black hero like Falcon (and Black Panther and War Marchine) is important... and that idea leads into Sam’s outrage about Isaiah being unknown for so long... (as a non-American, non-black but POC woman, these are just some thoughts I have)

But yeah. Behind this very MCU veneer, we have some real character-led drama coming through and I’m all for it!

[gotarcher94]

The Witcher

So I’ve watched the first season of the Witcher on Netflix and all I can say is holy motherfucking shit. That was a good season. 

I wanted to jot down a few things that I liked about the season, bearing in mind that I haven’t yet read the books and have only played the Witcher 2 and 3. I will be using spoilers so consider this a spoiler warning.

(Also this will be a long post)

OK? OK

Henry Cavill

When Henry was announced I gotta admit I had some doubts over the casting. Not because I don’t rate him as an actor but I just couldn't picture him as Geralt. My personal pick was Zach McGowan, known for playing Charles Vane in Black Sails. He had the gruff voice, he looked like the game version of Geralt, and he even had similar hair. Just dye it white and he was good. 

But having seen the show... I recant every syllable of my foolishness.  

Henry Cavill is perfect as Geralt. He perfectly embodies the White Wolf. From his sarcastic sense of humour, to the subtle emotion on his face to the conflict he has while making the decisions he does. Absolutely perfect casting.

Anya Chalotra

Speaking of perfect casting, Anya is an incredible Yennefer of Vengerberg. Like Henry she perfectly embodies Yennefer. Anya plays the evolution of Yen superbly, from her beaten down and almost broken early days to the immensely powerful and confident sorceress she becomes later, she performs both absolutely perfectly.

And to all those who say that Anya is wrong to play Yennefer because she doesn’t “look like her”.... I cannot say shut the hell up loud enough. She was incredible and deserves all the accolades that should be sent her way.

Freya Allan

And rounding out the three main characters, the show is three for three in terms of perfect casting. I loved her independent and driven nature, continuing to keep going on despite all the trouble going her way despite only been about 11 or 12 (i think, not 100%). Her strong bond with both Queen Calanthe and Mousesack is evident, despite the relative lack of screentime devoted to it. I can’t wait to see how both the character and actress evolves over the (hopefully) seasons to come.

Geralt and Ciri

I loved the “the girl in the woods will be with you always” transition in the first episode, that eventually came full circle in the finale with the two finally meeting (with the run and hug scene!). Having seen their bond fully established in the games (I know they aren’t canon) I cant wait to see it develop on screen

Queen Calanthe

Is a badass. End of story. Ruling a kingdom, fighting at the front of every battle, effectively flipping off destiny and law of Surprise and being an incredible role model for Ciri. Absolute awesome character and Jodhi May did such an incredible job playing her.

Yennefer’s backstory

As a game only fan in terms of knowing much about the characters when I went into this season, my knowledge of Yen’s backstory was pretty much nonexistent, as I can’t remember it even being mentioned in the two games I played (of which Yen was only physically present for one). However, the show delved deep into it, and I’m glad they did. It simultaneously made us empathise fully with Yennefer but also established the basis for her desire to grow stronger and be in control of her own destiny and future, and why she was then so frustrated being in the mire of courtly intrigue, not able to grow higher.

The Yennefer and Tissaia dynamic

One of the most unexpected but welcome events of the show was the dynamic that they two shared. It was not the typical mentor and apprentice relationship and I appreciated the change from the norm. From Tissaia’s initial attempts to bring Yennefer to heel before eventually being the one to tell Yennefer to unleash her chaos during the battle at Sodden was great. 

The striga episode

I mean..... just wow. As soon as they mentioned Temeria I had a feeling that it would be the striga, as it was one of the few things that I knew about from the books. And holy shit they did not disappoint. From the investigation aspect, to the fight scene, to the music. It was incredible episode and one that I cannot wait to get back to when I re-watch the series

Battle of Sodden

The main focus of the incredible finale. I had heard of the Battle of Sodden during the games but to see it was something else. A great battle scene combined great fights, solid battle plans and incredibly cool magical skills. And also,during the night scenes, you could actually see what the fuck was happening. See GoT! It isn't hard!!

Vilgevortz

As soon as his name was revealed in the episode, I’m not gonna lie but i may have gone full fanboy. I know a little from what was mentioned in the books and have read a little from other sources about his story in the books and was immensely excited when he showed up. And I cannot wait to see his story unfold on the show and see him interact more with Yennefer and meet Geralt and Ciri.

Jaskier

From what I know, calling him Jaskier (his original name in the Polish stories) instead of the English name of Dandelion was one of the problems people had with the show. And I have to ask... does it really matter? He still acts like him, talks like him, annoys Geralt like him. He is the same character, the showrunners are just honouring his roots. 

And he brought some comic relief to the series in just the right ways, especially in the djinn and dragon hunt episodes. Joey Batey was great.

Music and Cinematography 

Both of them were absolutely fantastic. Every episode looked and sounded phenomenal. I’ve been listening to a few tracks from the soundtrack that have made it onto YouTube on repeat for a while, most notably “Toss a Coin to your Witcher”. However, one track that I really liked but haven't been able to find is the battle theme from the striga fight. If anyone could send me a link to it, I would be incredibly grateful

Fight choreography 

All of the fights this season were absolutely fantastic. Both the human fights and the monster battles. Geralt and Duny vs the Cintrian soldiers, Vilgevortz vs Cahir and (my personal favourites) Geralt vs Renfri and her gang from episode 1. All of them superb and I couldn't have asked for more from the fight scenes. 

Magic

I really like the magic system they set up in this series. Not only is it incredibly diverse (with the finale alone showing us Vilgevortz constantly creating swords, Triss making poison mushrooms grow beneath the feet of the army and Coral wiping out a whole section of the Nilgaardian army) but I really like the idea that it isn't just them tapping into a great power, that there can be a great cost to performing these spells. Not something that a lot of fantasy series do.

Cahir

He was a great antagonist throughout the season and again I know little in specifics about him but I know that he is important to Ciri’s story, so I am looking forward to seeing that develop further.

Geralt and Visenna

I loved the scene of the two of them in the finale, even if it proved to only be a dream/hallucination. The “How do you like my eyes?” line legit gave me chills. Incredible acting by Henry there

Geralt and Yennefer (Yenneralt?, I think certain parts of the fandom have settled upon)

Now, as a game only fan prior to this, my exposure to the relationship between the two of them was limited, as the games only touched upon it in the Witcher 3. Before then it was told that Geralt and Yennefer had an epic love but it was very much tell and don’t show, as Yennefer didn't appear in person until the Witcher 3 and by then CDPR had developed the Geralt and Triss romance story in the Witcher 2. And I’m not gonna lie, I was fully into their romance during my playthroughs. Not that I didn't like Yennefer but I just didn't have the same basis into their bond that the book fans did. 

After Season 1, however, I am fully onto the Geralt and Yennefer ship, having seen it develop as it did.

Methinks it may be time for another playthrough, as well as buying the books.

Things I’m looking forward to seeing on the show in the future 

1. Yennefer and Ciri meeting

2. Seeing Geralt and Ciri bonding more, with some time together at Kaer Morhen

3. Thanedd Island (eventually)

4. Zoltan! 

5. Regis!

6. Vesemir!

[thevisafly]

Post-Covid Travel Guide | Surviving a Long-Haul Flight | Tips and Tricks!

Covid-19 has taken a massive toll on the travel industry. It has undoubtedly put a damper on everyone’s travel plans in 2020. However, with encouraging news about development of Covid-19 vaccines and start of human trials of the same, international travel may soon resume 🙂 We’ve seen many people lose out on their summer vacation plans because of this, but not for long! A long-haul flight can be pretty tiresome sometimes. If you don’t know what ‘long-haul flights’ are, they’re basically any flight longer than 7 hours. Usually this category involves international flights, however, some domestic flights in large countries can come under this umbrella. Why are long-haul flights so bad, you ask? Well – the constant sitting, lack of WiFi and limited area for movement  could contribute to this attitude. But don’t worry about all these pain points – we’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll go through 9 super-important tips for your first long-haul flight! Some of these may come off as a no-brainer, but those are the ones we tend to overlook and forget first. With this list, you’ll end up a long-haul flight expert. So, let’s jump right in to some tips for your next long haul flight in post-covid times.

Wear Comfortable Clothes Well, this comes as no surprise – comfort over style is good for all kinds of flights. However, it’s especially important for long-hauls. Always remember to dress in loose clothing, made out of a breathable material like cotton. You need to be able to move around, be free and as unrestricted as possible. Often, people might opt for one-pieces (like dresses), but we advise against that decision. Flight air conditioners are quite unpredictable, and are (more often than not) on the too-cold side of the spectrum. Dresses mean that your legs are exposed to all that cool air, allowing them to get stiff and maybe even cause an injury if exposed for long enough. Jumpsuits may be an option, but a good sleeved tee and jeans/track pants should do the trick. And always carry layers! The best way to protect against the chill is to layer up. Jackets are imperative, especially if you plan on getting cozy and catching some z’s. If you feel too hot, you can always just unwrap yourself by a layer, and you’re good to go.

Good Seats Are SO Important Trust us, you really don’t want to get caught with a non-reclining end-of-flight seat for 10-11 hours in a row. Reserving a seat beforehand (especially on a long flight) is worth the trouble, and even more so if your flight is at night. You can even come early to the airport and reserve a seat then, if you are not able to do so online. Leg room is one of those commodities that one can never have too much of, so this is something to consider when choosing seats. The seats near the emergency exits have the most leg room, however, in case the unlikely case that the aircraft has to land on water , be ready to snap out of that slumber and activate the emergency exits! Some people prefer aisle seats, and some prefer windows. But no-one – and I repeat, NO-ONE likes that crammed middle seat with no elbow space and no privacy. This is probably something to keep in mind as well. If you’re the kind of person who loves to enjoy the view on an airplane, window seats are for you. Alternatively, you might value your bathroom breaks more than this – aisle seats are best in this case, as you don’t have to keep excusing yourself every time you get up. The middle seat is okay if you’re travelling in a group or with family. Stretching and moving around is also a good idea on long-hauls, as your body tends to stiffen up. Back muscles can take a toll with all that sitting, so make sure whichever seat you’re in, you can get out of easily! We recommend some good ‘chair yoga’ – you might find that your seated arrangement doesn’t deter the will for some good asanas!

Food = Life, Especially On A Long-Haul! Everyone loves food. And most people eat a snack at least once in the span of 4 hours. Imagine doubling that time, but only getting a packet of salted nuts as compensation? ‘Hangry’ is probably the best way to describe it. Carry your own food – but remember to not stock too many liquids or liquid-like foods (eg. curries). This might not even be allowed on the flight, and you’ll have to dispose of it before you begin eating itself. It’s also important to think about what kind of food you’ll be eating. If you are spending the next 10 hours sitting (as compared to working out, playing or even walking around), you’ll have to change your diet a bit. To suit this new seated marathon, make sure to go light on your meals. Heavy meals include higher-energy foods, which you won’t burn on the flight. It will keep you awake, and may not allow you to rest well enough before landing. Sometimes, we may not have a choice, as meals are pre-planned and we have to eat what’s available to us. In this case, remember to bring your own food, and maybe some fennel seeds as well. They’re known to aid in digestion, and also act as a mouth freshener – killing two birds with one stone!

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate! Hydration goes without saying. Drinking water is something you’d need to do even on ground, but it’s even more important when you’re 30,000 feet above sea level. Mouths are more likely to get parched, and you can’t even carry  more than 500ml to quench that thirst! However, here’s a tip – carrying your water bottle is still a good idea, even if half-filled. Ask the air staff for a refill, instead of using the paper cup method which they give you. You’ll get more water in that way, and you don’t have to keep bugging them for water either! International long-haul flight services include drinks. These may include alcohol, or be restricted to teas and juices. Either way, it’s a better idea to stick to good old water for the most part. This is because it has the highest water content out of all (belaboring the obvious), and has the least sugar content out of all options. This means you’re less likely to get a sugar rush, or even a general sugar high and its inevitable low that comes right after. Although, if you are a nervous flyer, the alcohol option might be a good temporary choice, as it acts as a sedative. However, it does dehydrate, so beware. If you want some variety, teas like green tea are good for hydration instead.

BYOE – Bring Your Own Entertainment Some long-haul flights have in-flight entertainment. This includes a back-of-the-seat screen – with movies, songs, and sometimes even games. But it might not be the best idea. Why? Because if you’ve gone on some before, they tend to have similar movies in stock. The music is not terribly updated, but if you are ok with having any old song play to pass the time, then you’re in luck. Many streaming services like YouTube and Netflix offer download options – and our advice is to make the most out of them. They offer a more personalised approach, as what you’re downloading is what you truly want to watch. Offline music is great too, and you don’t even need a streaming service for this – just a few gigabytes of phone storage. It’s more likely to keep your attention, and even help you learn some cool new stuff, who knows? And entertainment doesn’t only have to be digital. If your carry-on space permits, a good read is all you need. Reading lights are installed on all airplanes, so your flight was literally made for this! We don’t recommend card games or games with many moving pieces, though, as these might get lost on the plane… Only to be found by the cleaning lady, a lone, isolated Monopoly chip in the oasis of fluorescent floor strips.

Can You Have A Mini-Bath Here? The quick answer to this is, yes. You can. And honestly, you should. Carrying good travel hygiene products are very necessary, especially on a 7+ hour journey across the globe. Wet wipes, deodorant, cotton pads, sanitizer and even a toothbrush and paste are some essentials on our list. Why, you ask? Well, sitting for so long has its risks. You may be sweating, you may be sitting next to some folks with strong body odour, or you may just not want to inconvenience anyone with your bodily situation. Often, airplane food doesn’t suit us, and neither does being in the same place for hours on end. Freshening up makes you feel not only physically better, but mentally relieves us of some stress even if for a minute. And a flight shouldn’t have to get in the way of your skincare routine, now does it? Speaking of which, it’s advisable to go as bare-faced as you can. Makeup is not a good idea for long flights, as it tends to cake up and smudge. For both men and women, moisturizing is a must, as the AC tends to dry out skin – even under a warm jacket. Toilet tactics may also be a good area of expertise to know about. The best time to use the loo is right after the seatbelt sign is switched off after takeoff, or in the middle of the flight. The end is absolutely the worst, as you risk catching the toilet in a mess, or not catching it at all (due to seatbelt signs). Make sure you carry ample amounts of toilet spray and/or sanitizer with you just in case. And just like that, we’ve come to the end of our article on tips and tricks for a long-haul flight. We hope you enjoyed reading all the spunky tips we had to offer. If you’d like to book your visa, travel insurance or SIM cards before flying out, remember to contact Visa2Fly! We’re always here to help 🙂 If you enjoyed this blog, know that there’s more where this came from! Our articles on Hostels vs. Hotels, and the coolest skiing destinations are live on our blog page! Happy travelling~~

[aspiestvmusings]

ZEP ANALYSIS 2

MUSIC AS A NARRATIVE 

WHAT THE HEART SONGS HAVE REVEALED/TOLD US:

We start the show with Zoey’s MRI & the song that plays as it all begins is REM’s: "It's the End of the World as We Know It" from the Awesome MRI Remix. The lyrics are: “That's great, it starts with an earthquake..."...and this is where we learn that the lyrics of the songs playing are part of the storyline...they tell us what is happening or going to happen... cause as the song plays...there’s an earthquake 

Max has never really, truly, been in love before = "I've never felt this way" 1x01 "I think I love you" 

Max did not plan to tell Zoey about his feelings for her (and he didn't...til the flash mob)  "I just decided to myself I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it and did not go and shout it when you walked into the room" - 1x01 "I think I love you" 

Max likes/appreciates all the little things that no one else really sees or knows about her = "I'm a sucker for all the subliminal things no one knows about you " = 1x02 "Sucker"

Max & Zoey know basically everything about each other, because they've been best friends for 5 years & they've talked about...everything  = "'Cause I know you and you know everything about me" = 1x02 "Sucker" 

Max finds Zoey physically attractive/hot = "I'm feeling heat in December when you're 'round me" = 1x02 "Sucker" 

Zoey finds Max physically attractive/hot & she's falling/fallen in love with him - "I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted I fell right through the cracks" = 1x08  "I'm Yours" 

Zoey loves Max... as a friend, but also romantically. She has love for him in her heart.  And knows he has love in his heart for her. = "Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love" = 1x08 "I'm Yours" 

Simon has considered taking the same route his dad did 6+months ago. The man is not just grieving, he's depressed. = "The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had" = 1x01/1x10 "Mad World"

Zoey acknoweldges that she's witnessed Simon's "sadness" - she's seen him crying & being sad & alone & realizes he needs help (from her) = "Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'. Feelin' all alone without a friend you know you feel like dyin’ " = 1x08 "IWYTWM"

BACK TO THE BEGINNING... 

Remember how it all started? With Zoey's MRI in Pilot...going all wrong...because of an eathquake. She went to check on her health because she had concerns..because of her fathers condition. We saw her "take the test". But... we never heard how it ended. Did the earthquake interfere with the results & she'd have to get another MRI to find out the results? Did she get the results, but never mentioned them? 

After the MRI we see her talking to her mom, but it's never mentioned how the test went. The results...or lack of them...is never mentioned... until episode 11. Instead...after the experience she's "going crazy" - hearing everyone sing their inner feelings. But not once does she mention the MRI in any other context than it being the result she got her superpower. And we've only heard her mention it to her family, Mo & Max, no one else even knows she got an MRI. 

A lot of things in the series are hinting at Zoey having the same disease as her dad has. And the singing might be her first, early, strange "symptom". Because she has the same condition is probably why she hears people singing, too. Even the ASL storyline supports it. Not to mention some other scenes & lines from songs in the show. Like her mom/family singing "We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place" in 1x11. And since we know that the lyrics of the heart songs tell the truth and are part of the narrative/story, then they have a real meaning. 

A stranger at the caskett room sings during Maggie's song: "Now my girl you're so young and pretty, and one thing I know is true: You'll be dead before your time is due, I know" & later Maggie sings the same lines, and then the camera moves to Zoey...witnessing the song, and it doesn' really feel like it's cause we see it all from her POV..but cause the line is a "clue" for her...

CHIRP vs ZOEY-ALITY PARALLELS

Invading privacy. How come no-one has mentioned this? Especially Max. We've seen him be concerned about "mind reading", and then they're all working on "mind reading code"

I do think that all this was done intentionally & they chose to use a piece of technology that is similar to Zoeys ability...to make a point..in the future. And I've found it quite interesting that no-one has...yet (by the end of episode 11) questioned how ethical the tech is, or how it could invade peoples privacy. 

If they'd had a character mention it, I would've expected it to be Max. I mean... in episode 1x01 when Zoey asks him what he thinks about te ability to read other peoples minds, he says that he'd get his feelings hurt a lot..more. And he has voiced concern about Zoey being able to "read his mind"...several times. His main concern has been that she can read his mind/see into his heart (via heart songs...while he can't see into hers...). And he was also very uncomfortable when he found out that everyone could "read him" (that everyone knew he has had a crush on Zoey...forever). He's the one character whose expressed most concern about people knowing his secret feelings & thoughts. Hence I have been surprised he hasn't commented on CHIRP yet (until ep 11). 

Though anyone on the team might bring it up..at one point. And another good possibility is Simon. Because since he's still in the dark about her superpower, that would be one way to take it back to the beginning. Cause as we remember from the PIlot, he was "impressed" by Zoey's ability to "read his mind"..only he thought that that must mean they have a "natural" connection, so when he finds out she had help (from her superpower...which is basically like getting help from a CHIRP technology), he's gonna have a whole new look on their connection and everything. And he's most likely gonna be "betrayed" and "disappointed", because he’ll realize that their connection wasn't actually real, and she "cheated in the game".

And CHIRP is most definitely a "plot device". The parallels to/with Zoey's abilities are just...too obvious. 

ZOEY & MAX: CHARACTER STORIES 

My question before the Finale: Will we learn something about Max and/or Zoey...in the last episode that changes things? That changes how we see...certain things & our perception of them? That changes the meaning of some things from past episodes? A kind of a surprise "reveal" (twist)? Will the show go there? I would not put it past them... honestly.  

There are bits & pieces of lines/dialogue (certain scenes) both in past episodes & in the Finale promo that kinda hint at a possible twist like that. 

ETA: Nope, none of that was in the s1 finale, really. There were enough plot threads that needed to be tied up... so not much room for new big ones...yet. 

PARALLELS 

Zoey & Max as new Team Managers #twoofakind

In 1x02 when Zoey gives her first introductory speech as the new Team Manager on the 4th Floor, she prepares flash cards for the speech..with the first one being her name (Hi, Im Zoey). In 1x10 when Max becomes the new Team Manager on the 6th Floor, he prepares flash cards for his speech..with the first one being his name (Hi, I'm Max).

In 1x02 Zoey makes an awkard joke at the beginning of her speech "Please don’t say anything stupid" (one of her notes to herself). In 1x10 Max makes awkard joke at the beginning of his speech (Please hold your applause til the end" (one of his notes to himself)

In 1x02 Zoey tells Joan that she prepared for the new job by reading multiple books & listening to several popular podcasts on how to be an effective leader. In 1x10 Max tells his new team that he prepared for the new job by reading about a 7-step leadership program..online.... 

...TO NAME A FEW...

TEAM MAX 

Translating Max's behaviour: 

If we pay attention to what Max says, then they have informed us via his lines what it is that he's not okay with. And it's not what some seem to think - that Zoey dosn't love him back/return his feelings & won't want to start dating now. It's not that he chose to take the 6th Floor job as a "punishment" cause she didn't plead him to stay and tell him he loves him. It's not that he was mad at her & in his anger sang "Bye Bye Bye". It's not that he was unnecessarily cold & rude towards her...after 1x08..when he moved to 6th Floor... only because what some fans think ...that he's an example of "good guy trope"

What Max has an issue with is Zoey changing & changing their friendship. It's that she's dishonest with him, her best friend. It's that he doesn't like that she can read his mind...both because he prefers to keep his private thoughts & feelings private, and because he doesn't want to "push" her with a sudden heart song...which he now knows he could do unintentionally. Before she got her power, he could just keep his feelings towards her a secret & not push her, but now he has to watch himself...and avoid feeling feels around her. Because he knows she can hear his deep feelings. 

He's not comfortable with her knowing how he feels about her (1x07/1x08). He's not comcortable with everyone knowing how he feels about her (1x11). 

After 1x08 he knows the details of her secret power. And...interestingly... he does not sing any love songs to her anymore...for a while. The tone of the songs changes. We only ever hear him since twice after he learns her secret. First a "duet" of the song "Here I go again" in 1x10 as he moves to the 6th floor, and second is "Bye Bye Bye" in 1x11. He doesn't really mind her hearing the song in 1x10...as it's just what decribing what he's doing. And then there's the karaoke bar, where his inner song & outer song don't really match. He might sing "Bye Bye Bye" as a response to Zoey asking her to stop Leif singing that sad song, but you can see that he's not really feeling it. 

This is supported by his comment to Leif that he's not (sure he's) over Zoey. And by his "mood" and the way he "secretly" glances over at leaving Zoey. Which means that in her presence he's trying to  disguise his real feelings.... so that she would not be able to read his real thoughts. He migth sing a song to her that makes her think he's mad at her & moved on, but we, the viewers, are let in on the truth, cause his real feelings shine through during the scene. Yes he's heartbroken and a bit "mad at her", but he really let's those feels shine on this moment..to "fool her". And this is confirmed at the end of the episode, when all it takes for him to stop pretending to be upset with her is for her to take the first step. And re-confirmed in the Finale, when we see that he can make himself think & feel...what he wants her to hear...

Yes, of course he was ALSO heartbroken & a bit disappointed, because he had hoped she would return his feeling...now, but that's what he hoped, not expected/demanded to be the only option. He even said it several times - he needed some sort of response, some sort of answer from her. And though a part of his decision to keep his distance was cause he felt hurt and heartbroken (she did brake his heart a bit...cause from his POV he chose the other man... cause it was not as she said - she can't choose cause she's got so much on her plate cause of her dad & her superpower...so it's understandable he was a bit sad) most of his post-superpower-reveal behaviour was fueled by her unclarity & her dishonesty. She'd promised him honesty & truth, and she revealed the truth...via her heart song, but then she tried to claim the truth is not the truth (not say that perhaps there are more possibilities than his interpretation of the song, but claiming it’s not at all what the song meant, when they both know what the song meant.) That's what upset him. 

And that’s why he needed to put some distance between them. And again, they’ve explained his motivation & reasons via dialogue in other scenes. And... interestingly enough...what started as him trying to experience things outside their tiny two-person-bubble-world ended up becoming so much more. When he started the season with no desire to climb the career ladder or get out of the “best friend zone” then by the end of the season things had changed... and he actually liked the opportunity he got via his promotion, and he even learned he’s good at it (even Leif complimented his leadership skills). And the distance did both them good...as we all predicted... cause they really needed to grow individually & figure things out...separately... before there could ever be a possibility of them as a duo.

I've touched this in my past posts. And will again in future posts. 

[musicbizgradstud]

week ONE - kinda (you’ll see what i mean)

Wowzers. We are really out here. I would content that this is the end of the first week. I got to meet my classmates, take one class, do an assload of reading and meet my first classmate IRL. And I’ve done some thinking about what the hell this program is about. Some of which has been really nice and wholesome, and some of which leaves me with a lot of question marks. 

=]

Okay just took a hit from my blunt lets goooo. 

It’s 2020 and I’m a college student. My school luckily has been fairly communicative about the “expectations.” So pretty early on in the summer we knew that we were going to be online. That this was going to be a virtual exchanges. Now I’ll admit that I had a fair share of blind optimism of it all going to be “fine” and it all going to “work out great.” Without giving too much thought to what any of that would really feel like or mean. So as people were asking me what it’s like or how I was feeling about it, I found that question complicated because I Was figuring what i wanted my answer to be, but i didn’t know if I was going to like it. (I guess i wanted to like my answer which wasn’t the question. ah well.)

I met with a second year student to buy some books from them (side not buy the 2nd edition of winogradskys book, trust me). They were a little older, did a career pivot and entered the program. The previous career was not related to music at all. They had an internship turned job, a research gig, and managing “a few” artists. ONE YEAR. HALF OF IT IN A PANDEMIC. now i don’t know the steps, pace or how it went down. I just feel compelled to say that a lot happened and as I see this person next I’ll comment that I just am flabbergasted that they accomplished so much. Was the info they got from classes that helpful? Did they have a rich friend? Did the profs turn it out? I have some thoughts. 

**so classes did a lot to simulate thought, provide examples, and share information. So for this particular student, they emphasized the extra-circular aspect as what was important. The classes provided them tons of the nuts and bolts. Contracts, parts of the business, publishing, rights mgmt. There were lots of shows. (This is what i see as the kicker) Going to shows is where you could see people participating in their projects. Meet/see their friends who are in their orbit. Get an idea of how the world turns in a few different scenes. Through that, since you’re more or less an adult, you can make those kind of contacts faster. People just generally seem more interested in what you do, and trying to find tethers or connections b/t them and you. Sometimes it turns into a coffee. Or a biz meeting. But at the shows, people are chill. people are down to chat with randos. As a music business student, you can totally market your skills as a manger. You basically see the world of music and the ways it makes money. Great managers want to make money. So as a graduate educating/ed strapping young manager, you have a leg above other young strapping managers. And for the internship, depending on the program, I can actually see lots of companies wanting to keep people around for more than a semester if the work they do is good. It might not be full-time or dream paychecks, but it gets your resume started and due to inertia, you may be able to stick around. it is also, as a side note, helpful in terms of creating a center of gravity. 

CENTER OF GRAVITY: When I worked in coffee, after about a year and a half, I had built my center. I worked for a certain company full-time so i spend lots of hours there. People who worked for other companies in the same industry would come through. The ones I was friendly with I would take more care to say hi and hear about how they’re doing. On my days off, I would visit them at their jobs, and even at the later stages, I would be interacting with them On a professional2professional basis. As my company grew and our “scene” grew, as I would be building my week to week schedule all things felt in sync. Going out was an easy thing to arrange, getting people together was simple to arrange because everyone’s life rhymed. All ended work at a certain point. All started basically around the same time. All encountered similar day to day #1 world probz. There were also natural breaks where when i needed to get away to visit a friend or different group, i could break the rhyme and rejoin it almost effortlessly. So in regards to music. Once that rhyme gets established, your work breeds interaction with local people/places/activities/cultural moments/movements etc. Then you take those common understandings to others who work, and your play becomes an extension of your work, but in a meaningful way (you choose who you’re cool with to chill). You figure out what is the “go-to” hangout, you are socialized enough to be comfortable making choices that suit your needs. Not feeling overly worried about what a decision might mean or if it’ll negatively effect you. Life becomes similar. Then as my world felt more established, it even felt easier to meet other people. They saw my life and its patterns and I could glimpse and see theirs.

What is fascinating right now is that I am getting used to a completely different style. I don’t understand it. I don’t know where I fit. I don’t even know if there is a fit right now. 

 We finally when they hosted orientation for all 30 of us last Monday. The moment where I would meet the next “cohort” of professionals entering the music industry. It was an hour long zoom call with 30+ participants. 30 of us students and four or so faculty/staff members. It was hectic and gnarly to say the least. So many new faces, marred with expectations of what I thought they were going to be like meeting the reality. Lots of working people. I think what is pretty evident is that with the exception of three or so students, of those working in music right now, everyone is loaded with the side hustles. Being a “project manager/marketer/label mgmt/etc. Etc.” To some of those people I’m just amazed that they feel they have enough time to dedicate to full-time school. We did a little ice breaker where we did names, where were calling from, undergrad degree, “fun fact” (I h8 fun facts. Like what the fuck). I didn’t take notes, but I saw the whirl of information, people and backgrounds from all over the place. There were no two similar people. It was actually pretty beautiful. The power that this cohort can have on sheer experience alone is pretty fab.

///

First class was hilarious because we all reintroduced ourselves (kind of for the prof), but in a big way for all of us. We got to see faces, hear names and context. So no hate here. The prof had sent out  three questions to keep in mind. These questions lead me to do additional research outside of the assigned readings. So i had a jumbled pil;e of thoughts assembled and the prof started a question as a line of thinking. Difficult to track where the conversation was going, I saw classmates pipe in, sharing experiences, thoughts, real-world examples. I was just fit to be tied. I had so many thoughts. I didn’t voice a single one because i dind’t know how to use the technology to my advantage. (Next time i’ll use the chat to pipe in an additional thought, but if i have an urgent or concept changing idea i’ll raise my hand. 

The debate was 1st amendment protections vs. copyright. Copyright is a limited length monopoly over a creative work. 1st amendment rights guarantees an individual the right to express themselves w/o worry of damnation. But what if what you want to express is a copyrighted material? Well. There are a few things that the law sets up to give temporary lapse to that limited monopoly. Sadly, systematically those lapses in the law, have generally benefited white creators/performers and left behind style-defining black and colored creators. The law not benefitted them as a Jim Crow feeling law. But as a problem with how the law was interpreted and acted on by companies in the scene. How they used the law to make a profit. To give an example. Little Richard is often considered the father of rock and roll. The ways in which he influenced later generations is unparalleled. Set up an industry that is making millions of millions of dollars. Talk about cultural relevance right? You would think someone (or their estate) that has their style and influence in so many places would be sitting pretty. Well. The law only guarantees you to so much. If you were a songwriter, you are compensated for a number of rights. Public performance/mechanicals etc. These rates are set by the government. You can calculate pretty easily where your payout is. But it is ONLY for a few streams.Right now the rates are pretty low, they’ve been set low for a long time.So lets say you are lucky and you are Also the recording artist.well cool! You get another pot of royalty money from the exploitation of your recording which contains your vocal flair, aesthetic energy. It’s great. Those rates are also set, but in a private negotiations. So your rate could be pretty high. Oh you also get lump sums of money against advance so there is cash flow™️. The other advantage is that if you aren’t the songwriter, you can benefit almost seemingly MORE than the writer because you have streams that are attached to you because you offered a “performacne” of it and that is what sticks with audiences. So sadly songs written, stylished and performed by little Richard originally can be re-purposed, re-recorded basically copying and the songwriter is obliged to allow you to do this. In fact publishing companies really can’t give an F. They get additional mechanical royalties but it just *FEELS* wrong. You can copy a Black artists style, voice and dance moves for the profit of your creative pursuit and only compensate them in a monetary way that for the record is *incredibly* low for the sheer amount of value that is being copied? 

That’s the delimemma that i want to paint this week. there are a number of these things that just feel wrong, but due to the protections that the law provides, it is perfectly legal and oftentime encouraged by capitalism to do. So the behavior becomes justified and left alone. 

So value. Where does it come from? How is it recognized in this moment? Who is it taking from? How are they apart of this chain? Do they know or communicate with who they’re coping? The “recorded-music-part” of the music industries future will have to answer these questions. Is it fair? How could it change? Makes me want to work in rights management to really understand how these decisions are getting maid. So maybe a publisher, that new org that is going to disperse mechanicals really really interests me. So maybe I’ll work for them :) 

Alright That’s all for now. Looking to meet more peopleIRL. People have their head in the game. Everyone who I’ve met does have their head in the game, but I can’t wait to meet more. Talk soon. 

[vanchlo]

The Assistant / Chapter Twenty Two, “Don’t Let Me Go”

Hi!!!! Wow, long time no see. Somehow the writing bug bit me again and I finished up this chapter. I hope to post some another one for you guys soon, but (as you know) unfortunately I don’t know. Life has just been so busy the last few years and writing hasn’t been interesting to me or it’s just dropped as a priority. There are no words for how sorry I am to leave you guys hanging with this story.... I hope I can keep posting chapters for you guys, even if it’s off and on. I hope that some of you are still around and will see this chapter, and that you’ll like it. I’d love to hear what you think :) 

“Y-you did all of this?” I ask, pointing at the food, the streamers hanging from the ceiling, my favorite music falling from the speakers, my favorite foods donning the tables in the corner, and so on and so forth.

“Who d’ya think did it?” he laughs, giving me a fake glare. I barely have time to laugh with him when people start clinking their solo cups with plastic spoons and shouting “speech, speech, speech” over and over with their eyes on Harry.

I find myself chanting along with them as his cheeks fill with the color of roses. “Alright, alright, calm down ya crazy lot,” he shouts, dimples drilling into his cheeks as he uses his arms to tell them to quiet down. “I didn’ really prepare a speech, but fine, I guess you lot will get one. Fuck, where do I even start?” he titters, and so does everybody else at his choice of words.

Harry thumbs at his bottom lip as he stares off into the distance before his eyes float over to me and glue themselves there. “Becky, or as I like to fondly call her, Becks, I dunno where to even begin with you, love . . Never have I had a personal assistant like you. There’s never been one like you, Becks. Yer one of a kind and nobody could ever replace you.”

Briiiiiiing!

“Styles and Lawson, this is Rebecca,” I chime, finding it hard to hold in a sigh as I play the fake cheerful card. And boy do I try to believe it, too.

"Hi yes, I’m calling about . . . ,” the shrill voice belonging to an old granny spills into my ears. I grudgingly reply and transfer them to the right department that they should have called in the first place. Sigh.

My fingers return to the keyboard of my laptop and glide across the keys. I pick up where I left off from the middle of the sentence. The sentence I was interrupted in the middle of.

“I need copies o’ these,” a voice rasps, before I hear a definite clud. I look up to find a pair of tired green eyes belonging to Harry. They disappear in a flash when he turns his back, walking away without another word. With a huff, I reach over to grab the small stack of law books and documents, post-its spanning the color of the rainbow sticking out to mark pages.

+

Beep.

I tap my finger along the screen, first entering Harry’s code. Welcome, Harry, it reads. I press OK and ignore the many options, and instead select Copy. After selecting what I need, I tap the green button and wait for the whirring of the printer.

Ten minutes and many copies later, I plant the last post it on a stack of copies of Chapter 10 from Law’s Empire. After rearranging the stacks in alternating directions in one big stack, I settle the hefty pile in my arms before turning around.

I nearly lose it when I turn around. Harry stands mere inches in front of me, floating into the room unannounced like a ghost. And in my fright, my arms do a weird thing out of my control. In staggering slow motion, dozens upon dozens of papers jump into the air.

Suddenly, my vision speeds up to the present. I groan loudly at the mess of papers lying on our feet all over the floor.

“‘m sorry, didn’ mean t’ scare ya, love,” Harry comments softly. He falls to his knees as he gathers a handful of paper. “Here, lemme help you.”

“I’m fine, I got it,” I reply, grabbing a piece of paper with an orange post-it. “Did you need something?”

“What?”

“Well, you were standing two inches away from my face when I turned around. It kind of implies that you need something,” I say, starting to recognize some similar papers. I begin to make stacks of the familiar pages.

Law’s Empire. A History of British Law. Pages from a file on somebody named  Harrows.

The reason is fleeting me, but I look up briefly to find his head bent down as he gathers papers together in a uniform stack. The pause rouses him and he looks up too. I tear my eyes away after only a few seconds of eye contact. A chilling silence fills the space between us, often interrupted by the sound of shuffling paper and the almost quiet ticking of the clock.

Maybe minutes later, my five stacks are growing higher along with his. I start to see the tile floor that I had forgotten was there.

“I wanted t’ talk t’ you.”

“Of course,” I almost retort in a mutter, setting aside a copy of page 489 from The Infamous Case.

A syllable falls from his lips, but it stops there and I try to ignore it.

The stack for Dallow vs. Emprise Inc. has nearly doubled in size by the time he speaks again.

“Why can’ we talk ‘bout what happened?”

“Because, Harry, there’s nothing for us to talk about,” I answer, picking up copies from the Harrows stack and clinking them against my thighs to straighten them out.

“Becks,” he almost pleads by the sound of it, and it catches my attention. I’m coming to hate that name, with how much it’s been battered and abused.

“It’s over, Harry, just drop it. Please.”

“No, I don’ wanna drop it, Becks. ‘s not over.”

After sorting through a good two dozen papers I pick up another, leaving only a handful or so left. Thank God, then maybe I can get out of here.

“Yes, it is, Harry. Stop it.”

“Why?” he retorts through gritted teeth.

He pushes his stacks into the middle.

“Because it was over the second you didn’t try to give me the benefit of the doubt,” I say curtly, staring down at his messy stacks that I combine with mine. Throwing caution out the window, I put them all into one stack that I hug to my chest as I get to my feet.

Finally, I meet his eyes as our shoes squeak against the tiles. He stands between me and my way out. A synonym to sadness tugs at his eyes. His red rose lips pout out of the corner of my eye.

The door clicks behind me with a definite thud as I make my escape.

I have to push away my disappointment when I don’t hear the clud of his footsteps coming after me.

+

It pains me to wrap my fingers around that handle. I feel a pang seeing his desk and all of his familiar furniture and books. It hurts, even more, to look at his leather couch and see where we sat at each end on late nights. Boxes of takeaway and empty beer bottles would sit on the carpet nearby. Our laughs floating around the room and filling the empty cracks in the walls. And the empty parts of my heart. Maybe even his.

My feet hardly budge from his doorway. I drag them across the room and over to his desk. My eyes land on the scattered mess atop it. Papers. Empty mugs. Forgotten pens. Hastily written notes. I juggle the stack of papers back and forth, trying to find an empty space for them where they won’t get lost. My eyes catch the dark wooden frame beside his phone. His dimpled cheeks and sparkling eyes smile at me from a picture. Next to the excited smile and fake blonde head of hair called his girlfriend. Amber.

“I coulda taken those,” a voice speaks from behind me. I jump at the sound of his voice. Once again, it’s as if he floated into the room without a squeak.

Gulp.

I pick a spot and drop the papers there. Turning around, her perfect smile and perfect face stare at me out of the corner of my vision. Touching my hair nervously, I find him standing in his doorway looking lost. Nervous. A question sits on his face. The way he looks at me is as if he wishes for me to answer it. I look down quickly as thoughts storm through my brain. I strive for the calm after the storm, and I know the only way that’ll happen.  

I lift my head, and it finally feels clear for a moment. I meet his eyes and nervously lock gazes.

“Consider this my two week’s notice. I’ll help you find a replacement for me. I’ll train them in and I’ll finish up what I’m doing, but then I’m gone,” I announce suddenly. I wish for my voice to sound balanced and confident, but I’m almost sure it’s the polar opposite.

His eyebrows raise as if controlled by a puppeteer, and his jaw drops nearly in sync. No words fall from his mouth, but I see question after question blossoming behind his big eyes.

The storm behind mine rages and howls as I walk past him. Now it’s my turn to float away like a ghost. If only I could turn invisible, too. And maybe haunt a person or two, like a certain somebody’s girlfriend.

+

The rest of the week drags on slowly. Rain plagues the city and puddles litter the sidewalks everywhere I go. I count the days until I can leave and call this time in my life a stupid mistake of the past. But the days can’t go fast enough, and with the incessant rain, they only seem to go by slower. The jumbled mess in my head only grows worse, too. The dread. The slight excitement. The relief. The confliction. The sadness. The feeling of being lost. The wondering of what the hell I’ll do next.

Another storm rumbles overhead amidst the beeps and whirring of the elevator. Finally, the red number reaches 17 and the silver doors part. I’m bombarded by the sounds of the seventeenth floor. Chatter. Typing. Phones ringing. It’s not long before it blends into the background, just like any other day.

One week down, one left to go. My Monday is slow and I’m quickly reminded of my restless sleep from the night before.

Caffeine is my saving grace throughout the day that seems like it’ll never end. First, the copier won’t work. Then I get an earful from some stranger on the phone. Next, I realized I forgot my lunch at home. To top it all off, Harry is in a disastrous mood. This last one is by far the worst as if the others weren’t bad enough.

“Wha’s this I hear ‘bout you hangin’ up on people?” a voice rasps from behind me. The four numbers unique to me show on the screen of the kiosk before I hit enter.

“I’m on my lunch break, I’m not working right now,” I reply, walking away and towards the fridge with the hopes I’ll find something forgiving there.

“I don’ care if yer on yer lunch break, or if yer off for tha day. I wann’ talk t’ you,” Harry retorts. I resist rolling my eyes at his remark as my eyes search the shelves of the fridge. The barren shelves.

“Then what do you want?” I huff, turning to face him as the refrigerator door closes with a soft thud.

“First, yer hangin’ up on people, then sumbody called t’ tell me that ya messed up their appointment with me, and lastly I still haven’ gotten tha copies I asked for at nine this morning?” he continues, holding out his ringed fingers and using them to count. He holds up three of his fingers and waves them in the air. As if I don’t know how to count, too. “What, are ya tryin’ to make yer last two weeks hell for tha both of us?”

“No.”

“Well, it sure fookin’ seems like it. What, have ya just given up halfway in? Ya still got anotha week left ya know, a week that still requires you t’ do yer job. And train yer replacement in, but ya seemed t’ forget that part haven’t ya, considerin’ ya’ve still failed t’ find one?” Harry goes on, poking at the ticking time bomb inside of my chest. The anger pumping through my veins goes a little quicker with every word that falls from his lips.

“Fuck off,” I tell him, pronouncing every syllable clearly and slowly.

His green eyes expand in a second flat and instantly regret fills me with a sick feeling. But then the anger returns and my heart starts racing.

“Excuse me? What makes ya think ya can talk t’ me like that? ‘m still yer boss, don’ bloody forget that,” Harry says, his voice rising as he wags a finger at me. Annoyance and anger knits his eyebrows together.

Fear surges into my veins and suddenly I’m tired. My stomach growls, yelling at me to feed it so it won’t be empty anymore. But I couldn’t find five minutes this morning to order something, and I’ve had enough of the rain that the last thing I want to do is step back into it before I absolutely have to.

“Please, just stop. I’m sorry, okay?” I sigh, my voice threatening to break on the last syllable. Suddenly, his features soften and the real Harry peaks out at me from the cracks.

“Becks, I’m sorry, too. I know ‘s not an excuse, but ‘ve been having a hard time lately. ‘s been so hard t’ try and find a replacement tha’s even half as good as you. I jus’ wish we could talk ‘bout this more, and that you could stay. Please, Becks, ‘ll do anything,” Harry says quietly. His voice leaks of pleading and honesty - two things I haven’t seen in a long time.

My shoulders threaten to fall with a loose shrug, but I stop them before they can. I gulp past the knot in my throat and force myself not to give in. A flicker of movement behind him catches my eye, and I look over briefly to see what it was. The door opens and in walks Asher with two brown paper bags clutched in his hands and a question painting his face.

“No, Harry. My mind is made up, I’m leaving. I spoke with somebody who sounds like they’d be a good fit - she’s coming in tomorrow,” I say softly, defeat tugging at the corners of my voice but the edge sticks. And so does my decision.

I walk away after the last word hits the air before he can say anything else. The smell of greasy fish and chips tempts my taste buds as I near Asher.

He flashes me a small smile before whispering, “are you okay?” as he turns to follow me out the door. I nod ‘yes’ and take the bag he holds out towards me.

“You’re a lifesaver.”

A microwavable cup of oatmeal. Picking titles off Harry’s bookshelves and making copies at his request, over and over. Then putting them back where they were, in alphabetical order by title. Picking up his newest dry cleaning. Taking care of his shopping lists. The next mornings consisted of this. Oh, and ordering take away because guess who was too busy again to make herself lunch?

“Hello, is anybody home in there?” somebody says. I jump a few inches off of my seat and jerk my head up to see who’s talking to me. Harry. With his large hands resting on the edge of my desk. Wrinkling papers and pushing things around. “You okay, love? You look a little down, and tired, and-.”

“Okay, I get it. I don’t look the best. Noted,” I reply, looking away from him and to my computer.

“I-I didn’ mean it that way . . Really, are you sure yer okay, Becks? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is fine, thanks.”

“Okay, if you insist,” he replies. He finally lifts his hands from my desk and makes it look like he’s going to leave. But he doesn’t. He continues to stand there and look at me, awkwardly.

“Um, can I help you with something?” I ask him, holding my hand out before I rest my chin in my palm.

It takes him a short moment to collect his thoughts. But then after looking around mindlessly his eyes return to me. “Ya know if ya need a letter of recommendation or something, I’d be glad t’ write one for ya. Unless ya’ve already found a job and ‘m saying this kind late . . I mean if yer looking for another personal assistant job which whoever that’s for they’re tha luckiest in tha world,” Harry goes on. He talks like he’s never going to stop, but I wouldn’t put it past him. “Have ya already found a new job?”

“No, I uh haven’t. But I’m working on it,” I reply. I awkwardly meet his eyes that gently look back into mine. An unwelcome thought creeps in through a crack in my reserve, and there I am feeling the weight of its words.

If only things could always be easy like this and he could be easy like this then I wouldn’t be looking for another job. But they’re not.

“Good. ‘m sure you’ll find something great, whatever it is ya choose. Anybody will be lucky t’ have you,” he rambles on quietly. The tension in the air grows and I suddenly wish this conversation was over minutes ago. “Ya wouldn’ ever go and work for Tomlinson or the bloody Scotts-.”

“No no, of course not. I’d never do that to you,” I reply quickly. A quick smile flashes across his face and a blush pinches his cheeks.

“Yeah yeah, I know. I didn’ want it t’ seem like I thought you would, but-.”

“I know, Harry. It’s ok,” I tell him softly. Now it’s my turn to smile, or the best I can try.

“Y-you’ll be ok?” Harry says slowly, thumbing at his bottom lip. The question catches me off guard, and I look away from the feeling in his eyes. I can’t handle it. This is already hard enough, and the two weeks isn’t even up.

I clear my throat and pull my head back up to look at him. I nod at his question and his head moves a little too. He bites at his bottom lip and turns his eyes away.

“You have an appointment later with Judge O’Connell at 3, and then the new prospect, Amelia Jones, should be here in fifteen to interview,” I say quickly so as to avoid any more sappy talk. But I quickly regret it, because knowing Harry it’ll be another few days until another moment like this.

And I only have six left, counting today. Six days to figure everything out, and to let him go. As if I could do that.

+

“So. . ,” he rasps as the hum of the heating fills my ears after the previously incessant chatter.

“What?” I ask softly, tearing my gaze from the wall to Harry’s inquisitive eyes that search for mine.

“What did ya think of her?” he continues, speaking with his expressive eyebrows that climb up his forehead. The pen in his hand ventures out towards me in question before it returns to its stay between his teeth.

“She was good, probably the best one yet,” I admit hesitantly, looking down at my clipboard holding an interview sheet similar to the one in his lap. She checked nearly all of the boxes, and the one’s she missed were miniscule. Insignificant. She’s damn near perfect. I hate it.

“She was better than good, she was bloody great,” he nearly sings with a giddy smile, and I find it tugging at my heart. I shouldn’t feel resentment and jealousy when I’m the one choosing to leave, but this whole situation is wrong and nontraditional so what’s one more thing then? “I think ‘ll hire her. What d’ya think?”

“Go ahead, you’re the boss,” I reply, standing from my chair and stretching my arms above my head. Images of her flame-like curls pop into my head along with her piercing jade eyes and beautiful laugh that put a spark in Harry’s eyes.

“Becks,” Harry begins as I shake my head with the hopes the motion will break up the unpleasant thoughts enough to make them turn into dust and blow away. And maybe to get him to stop calling me that, too. If only it were that easy. “I want yer opinion. If ya don’ think she’s good enuff, tell me.”

“She’s great, Harry, she’s more than good enough. She said so herself that she’s willing to learn and has some similar job experience. I’ll give her a call and tell her she can start training tomorrow,” I respond, turning my head to meet his eyes briefly before I head for the door and out of this painful moment.

“Ya know, you can still change yer mind . . ,” he blurts, his words rooting me to the spot but persuading me to do the opposite.

“Harry, please don’t. What’s done is done.”

“We can still talk ‘bout this,” he starts, but I don’t let him finish.

“No, we can’t,” I retort, whipping around to meet his eyes begging for mine. “And you know exactly why, Harry. It was your choice, not mine.”

If he said something, I didn’t hear it. I’m passing the threshold and out the door before he has the chance to speak and before I have the chance to. There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t know if I’ll ever know how to.

+

Beep.

The elevator climbs another floor and when I look up I’ve arrived at floor 17, for the last time. My first time being just a few short months ago, although it’s felt far longer. Nothing has really changed besides the newness of the place fading away, and the redhead standing at my desk that’s almost her’s.

I walk to the break room to clock in for the last time. I hear voices spilling out of the cracked door before I even enter.

“I think she’s the longest one he’s kept around,” a man’s voice remarks.

“I’m glad he got rid of her, or whatever happened, ‘cuz this new one’s much better looking. I wouldn’t blame him if he slept with this assistant for real this time, heck maybe I will even,” his friend snickers beside him, their backs to me as they drop sugar cubes into their cups of tea with laughs.

“What, ya mean he didn’t sleep with this one already?” the first bloke asks with a soft laugh. The stirring of their spoons fills the short silences between their gossiping.

“No, he didn’t,” I announce loudly, and I watch one of their teas fall over and begin to coat the counter they stand at. They both face me with a “deer in the headlights” look before moving their feet as fast as they can to leave the scene of the crime.

“Ignore them,” a voice says behind me, and who I find to belong to my nearly only friend here.

“Easier said than done,” I reply, following him to the kiosk to clock in.

“How ya holdin’ up?” Asher asks, looking behind me after he puts his code in.

“I couldn’t even tell ya,” I confess as I punch my number in for one of the last times. I bring my eyes to meet his and I feel my lip wobble when our eyes connect.

He reaches out and wraps an arm around me, pulling me into his side.

“Come on now, don’t start crying because you’ll miss me too much,” he jokes as I nuzzle my head into his chest, my arms winding around his taut middle. I laugh with him as I swipe at a tear on my cheek.

“You’re the only one I’ll miss,” I tell him, looking up to find his eyes that are somewhere up there at the top of his lanky body.

“We both know that’s not true,” he whispers with a flick of his brow. I nod and return my cheek to his chest and give him a squeeze. “Go get ‘em, Tiger,” are the last words I hear from him with a wink and a toothy grin. Oh, Ash, what would I do without you?

“Good morning, Ms. Holte,” somebody says as my fingers leave the handle of the break room door.

“Oh hi, Amelia. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Becky?” I reply casually as I meet the eyes of Amelia Jones.

“Yes yes, of course, I’m sorry uh, Becky,” she says nervously, stumbling over her words and nearly her feet as we walk to my desk.

“It’s okay. How are you this morning? Do you think you’re almost ready to take over for me on Monday?” I ask her with a teasing tone, even though it’s the plain truth and a hard one to swallow.

“I think so, I just hope I can do as good of a job as you, Becky,” she replies with a sugary sweet smile.

I thank her before we start our day with her sitting at the desk and me sitting at the side now because this is how it’s going to be from now. I still can’t get used to it, even if all but a few of my personal effects are now replaced with her own. I gulp before forcing a smile and letting her begin.

“Lookin’ great this morning, ladies,” a familiar raspy voice chirps and I look up to see Harry coasting on by with a wink. I hope Amelia can get over her little crush before Monday because God knows that isn’t going to bode well. I should know.  

+

Mid morning I take a tea break as well as an Amelia break, because God, how can somebody be that happy all of the time? I drop a couple of sugar cubes into my tea and stir the spoon around, hearing its clinking and scraping as another sound interrupts my thoughts.

“Are you actually getting sad about leaving this job finally? I thought this was something you’ve wanted for a long time,” Asher’s sunshine voice mumbles from the doorway as he closes the door behind him.

“Yes and yes,” I reply with a small laugh and return my eyes to my cup of light brown tea.

“Ah, I knew it,” he responds, pointing a finger at me. He stops in front of me and leans against the countertop, looking around and behind him nervously. Asher wrings his hands together and nibbles his lip, things I’ve only seen him do when he has something on his mind.

“God, can’t anybody around here act normally today?” I huff before taking a cautionary sip, but it’s still too hot to drink quite yet. “I swear, Amelia is acting even more weird than usual. She kept having me help her with copies and scans, even though she nailed that the first day here, and then was talking secretively to Harry a lot. Then there’s Harry and Myles acting weird, I mean even Jennings is being nice to me today, and then there’s you acting like you’re being watched by the cops.”

“I am not acting weird!” he protests with a funny look, but I think we both know I don’t believe him for a second.

“Whatever, I’ll find out why soon enough,” I say, taking my cup of tea and leaving the breakroom to continue supervising Amelia even though she’s nailing every part of the job and she hasn’t even officially started. I’m not even gone from this job yet and I’m being shown up by my replacement. Ugh.

+

“Hey, Becky? . . Becky?” a voice speaks, interrupting my daydreaming.

“Uh yeah?” I say, spinning around to find Amelia standing in front of the desk. Now her desk. Her bangs crowd her eyes as she tightens the bow on her waist tying her wrap around violet dress that hugs her in all of the right places. She even has a better body than me, what the fuck.

“I uh t-told the client coming at noon that we’ll go a-and wait for them in the conference room, so um if you’re ready . . ,” she trails off, not knowing what to say next because she can hardly get out a full sentence as it is.

“Uh yeah, sure let’s go,” I say, getting to my feet. “There should be some notepads and pens in there. We’ll just do a preliminary consultation with them to see what kind of representation they would need from Harry, and also if their case would be up his alley,” I explain, and she nods fast as if I’ve already explained this before.

As she leads me away from the desk and down the hallway towards the conference room and the offices, I rack my brain wondering if I’ve already told her this. I’ve done this annoying repeating thing before already, and it’s embarrassing enough when she tells me that she knows because I’ve gone over it already. I don’t want it to happen again, especially in front of a client. I don’t know why I’m worrying about it anyways when it’s my last day here, I mean-

Amelia interrupts my inner monologue when she opens the door to the dark conference room and suddenly the lights turn on as the rest of my senses are bombarded.

“Surprise!” a mix of voices shout at me, freezing me in place. “Happy going away party, Becky!” my coworkers continue as they throw their arms in the air, confetti blowers popping, kazoos kazooing, and party hats atop their heads.

My mouth opens as if to speak, but the words run away from me as my cheeks pinch with a smile. “Oh my- I don’t know what to say. Um, wow thanks, everybody!” I beam with excitement and am suddenly overwhelmed with hugs from everybody and anybody from the firm - people I don’t think I’ve ever seen and others who I didn’t like and who didn’t like me, including “deer in the headlights” guys from this morning.

“I’m sorry, I hated to keep it from you, but I promised,” Asher says, finally coming to my rescue with a drink he shoves into my hand as he wraps me up in a warm hug.

“It’s okay, Ash, I guess I can let you off the hook,” I laugh as I hug him back.

“I’m really gonna miss you, ya know. I don’t know how I’m going to survive this shithole without you,” he continues, giving me a kiss on the head.

“Awww, Ash, don’t make me start crying again.”

“I know, I’m just so good at it,” he giggles with a wobbly voice, and I laugh too.

“Go have something to eat, but not that Jello salad Bitchy Trishie from IT brought. It’s probably poisoned with her spit or something,” he teases, and I smack his arm playfully as he walks away sticking his tongue out at me.

I laugh softly to myself before taking a drink from my cup of fruit punch, looking around at everybody milling around. Eating free food. Hugging one another. Laughing with each other. Talking with people they say they hate. And signing the poster board on the table by the food, writing fake messages to me that I’ll most likely read only once or never. I tsk when I see one of the most gossipy girls signing it, but as I turn my head to look away my vision is blessed with that of something else.

My lips spark with an instant smile that outdoes my surprise of just a few minutes ago. He sees me just a few seconds later, and a smile tugs his lips upwards effortlessly.

“What d’ya think, did I do a good job?” Harry asks as he stops in front of me, holding his arms out and my jaw drops in astonishment.

“Y-you did all of this?” I ask, pointing at the food, the streamers hanging from the ceiling, my favorite music falling from the speakers, my favorite foods donning the tables in the corner, and on and so forth. Okay, so maybe this isn’t so bad.

“Who d’ya think did it?” he laughs, giving me a fake glare. I barely have time to laugh with him when people start clinking their solo cups with plastic spoons - it’s an even more annoying sound than you would think - and shouting “speech, speech, speech” over and over with their eyes on Harry.

I find myself chanting along with them as his cheeks fill with the color of roses. “Alright, alright, calm down ya crazy lot,” he shouts, dimples drilling into his cheeks as he uses his arms to tell them to quiet down. “I didn’ really prepare a speech, but fine, I guess you lot will get one. Fuck, where do I even start?” he titters, and so does everybody else at his choice of words.

Harry thumbs at his bottom lip as he stares off into the distance before his eyes float over to me and glue themselves there. “Becky, or as I like to fondly call her, Becks, I dunno where to even begin with you, love . . Never have I had a personal assistant like you. No offense to you, Amelia darling, but there’s never been one like you, Becks. Yer one of a kind and nobody could ever replace you. Once again, no offense,” Harry continues, occasionally pointing at Amelia laughing and making her blush up, but nonetheless, she waves him away in response. “There aren’t even words that exist to describe you and how amazing you’ve been t’ me and tha firm, and I know because I went to uni and fucking law school so I know a lotta big words,” insert here a throaty laugh of Harry’s echoed by those of the room’s. “Yer a bloody angel with all the shit you put up with from me, from several coffee runs a day, to grocery runs, to dry cleaning runs, to going down to the creepy ass files room and wading through spider webs to find what I needed for my cases. You were my lucky charm, Becks, you were tha reason I won so many cases, ‘cuz if I didn’t have ya there checking me notes or making sure I did it all right, I dunno where Ida been without you. And ‘s safe t’ say I dunno where ‘ll be without you afta t’day, or tha firm for that matter. So thank you, thank you, and thank you a billion for all that ya did in yer short time here and I wish you tha best in tha future. I know yer gonna do bloody amazing things out in the world, I can’ wait t’ hear all ‘bout ‘em. I hope we’ll see you back out there in our li’l law world soon, I know you’d kill it,” Harry says, his voice cracking in places that pull tears from my eyes and down my cheeks. “I don’t care what any o’ these idiots say, ‘cuz nobody’s gonna miss you as much as ‘ll miss you,” he ends with tears threading through his words, jolting his voice to a stop.

The tears welling in his glassy eyes finally topple over and land on his cheeks, just as he steps forward to embrace me in a warm hug. My face goes into his chest and his chin rests atop my head, fitting together perfectly like a puzzle piece as our arms wind around one another. “I meant every word I said, Becks. I hope and pray ya’ll finish up school and fight our fight, cuz I know you’d kill the hell out of it . . If ya do, yer welcome back here, we’d be bloody lucky t’ have ya again. Anytime yer welcome, Becks . . . I really dunno what ‘ll do without ya here, I dunno ‘bout that Amelia . . ‘m so sorry about everything, Becks, you have no idea how sorry I am; it kills me every day,” Harry speaks into my hair, tears strangling his voice every few words. I sniffle against his chest, spilling tears there and he sniffles above me where he too spills them.

“I’m going to miss you more than I’d like to admit,” I confess into the collar of his silky mustard button down. “I won’t miss the midnight texts or 4 coffee runs a day,” I laugh and he does it with me. “Thank you, that all truly means a lot to me, Harry. I wish things didn’t have to end this way either . . but they do,” I finish, pulling away from him and looking him in the teary eyes briefly before severing the pain and wiping away the same from my cheeks.

I wish it didn’t have to be this way, either, but it has to be. But that’s your fault, Harry, not mine.

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 105: Know Your Fusion

“Cuz everybody loves a callback.”

While praising Kindergarten Kid, I talked about the subjectivity of humor, and here we have the downside. This isn’t a bad episode of Steven Universe, but it doesn’t matches my sensibilities, which matters quite a bit when comedy is its major selling point. Meta humor is tricky, and for me, Know Your Fusion pushes just a smidge too hard at that fourth wall.

I’m not against meta humor in principle: going off the discussion of Looney Tunes from Kindergarten Kid, no appraisal of Daffy Duck is complete without Duck Amuck, an uproarious deconstruction of animation. Steven Universe is no stranger to self-commentary, from Crying Breakfast Friends to Peridot’s teen drama fandom to Ronaldo’s whole shtick. Hell, we even have Say Uncle, a non-canon episode with similar energy to Know Your Fusion that I mostly enjoy!

But I’m not into this canon iteration of the joke. I don’t think Sardonyx switching from a theatrical egotist bound to her native dimension to someone who knows she’s in a cartoon feels natural, and I’m not compelled by talk show or game show parodies. I’m thrilled for anyone who does enjoy this type of thing, because it’s not as if the joke is executed poorly, it’s just not the kind of joke that I’m looking for in Steven Universe.

Part of the problem is pacing, which I’m happy to criticize independently from my personal mismatch with the humor: considering Sardonyx’s goal is to find out what makes Smoky Quartz unique, it’s absurd to have them try to recreate the abilities of other fusions. It gives us decent setpieces (and Aivi and Surasshu give us glorious recreations of the music that accompanies Opal, Sugilite, and Alexandrite) but the whole thing feels forced. There isn’t a moment where it isn’t obvious that these scenes aren’t going anywhere, so instead of progressing the plot it’s as if we’re just stalling for the eventual reveal that Smoky’s specialty is humor.

It’s a shame, because the episode starts strong: Steven and Amethyst are adorable rehearsing their reveal, and the presentation itself is amplified by Pearl going full mom mode and Garnet correctly answering that it was Peridot that beat Jasper. The older Gems aren’t quite patronizing, but there’s a sense of bemusement that translates well to Sardonyx’s more extreme attitude, in the same way Steven and Amethyst’s nerves translate to Smoky’s awkwardness. All the pieces are in place, but then the episode takes another eight minutes or so to continue hammering in the point that Sardonyx is a steamroller and Smoky doesn’t feel like they measure up.

None of this is to criticize Natasha Lyonne or Alexia Khadime, two guest stars who carry the bulk of Know Your Fusion by themselves. Lyonne seamlessly shifts from quippy to embarrassed now that Smoky is in a social situation that can’t be solved with yoyo, and Khadime fleshes out Sardonyx’s loud first impression with quiet sass and condescension becoming of such a diva. This is the longest amount of time we’ve spent with "guest fusions” (so not Garnet, who’s a lead, or Stevonnie, who I’d consider recurring), and it’s cool to see all four main Crystal Gems condensed into a duo.

It’s less obvious than Cry for Help, but this is the second Sardonyx episode that acts as a sort of sequel to Coach Steven. We get an aside about whether Nicki Minaj gets paid for archived audio (which is the only fourth wall joke I really loved here) and a Strong in the Real Way reference, but we also get a similar message: that fusion might be great, but it amplifies the bad as well as the good. Sugilite is awesome because she’s Garnet’s power and Amethyst’s vim, but the recklessness of both Gems doubles up as well. Sardonyx also has Garnet’s power, now with Pearl’s precision, but Garnet is a leader, Pearl is a control freak, and both can be insensitive when their minds are set, so Sardonyx is a big scene. And Smoky Quartz, whose existence sprung from Steven and Amethyst commiserating over their status as “the worst Gems,” is now shown to have their own issues with self-esteem. Relationships are important, but they don’t fix all your problems, especially if those problems are shared among all members of the relationship. It’s telling that the resolution comes only after everybody’s back to normal.

I feel that the conclusion takes too long to arrive, but when it does, it’s almost worth the wait: I think it’s clever as hell to wrap up a meta humor episode with a metaphysical action sequence, considering the existence of Sardonyx’s room hinges on an ephemeral being’s existence and every thing falls apart when this person stops being one person and is instead two people (but is actually three people, because one of them is also two people). This is the perfect episode to put this trippy scene, as we go from contemplating the nature of this show to the nature of its characters. It has a similar feel to Steven reaching the roof of the gauntlet construct in The Test, but trades the emotions for hi-jinks befitting the tone of Know Your Fusion.

And while the fourth wall jokes aren’t for me, it’s not the only comedy to be found here. Estelle’s extended shout of delight at Smoky’s arrival is amazing, and my unhealthy appetite for puns was sated by the abundance of wordplay. I don’t hate this episode, I’m just not the right audience. But don’t worry, I’m sure Sardonyx could make a better audience if that bums her out.

(There’s really not much to write about for this one, huh? Sorry for the self-commentary in a review about how I’m not into this episode’s self-commentary. We’ll be back to normal review length when we return to episodes I find more interesting, which is very soon.)

I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?

I wonder if this episode was ever gonna be called Self Study? The actual title is in there, just smaller, but it makes you wonder. I also love that Peridot is by herself while the less fusion-phobic characters are grouped; I’m sure she’s grown past this phase by now, but again, everybody loves a callback.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Episodes like this are why my “Enh” rating exists. But as a reminder, because this is the first episode that hasn’t at least made “Like ‘em” since Gem Drill, this is a personal list, not what I think the definitive ranking should be.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[booksplaysmoviesandmore]

March of the Falsettos (OOBC) vs Falsettos (Revival)

I have recently been getting extremely invested in listening to the Off Broadway recording of March of the Falsettos. Since I was introduced to Falsettos through the revival, I cannot help but compare the two works, so I thought I would do some comparison of the lyrics (and maybe instrumental and acting choices) today.

I will either be giving the two different forms of lyrics or lyrics that were taken out/added in for the revival. I will then analyze them and give my personal opinion on which I like most!

This will just be barely grazing the differences between the two shows, so I highly suggest you listen to both soundtracks if you want to see all the changes William Finn made which made the revival what it is today (many changes were first implemented in the OBC, but not all, so I’m doing first draft vs most recent).

“Slavery, slavery” (Revival)

This was added into the revival to give Trina a presence in the opening number. Trina is purposely pushed to the side and mistreated by a narrative run by men, this noticeable when the viewer considers that even in the revival, Trina’s actual name does not come up until This Had Better Come To A Stop. The men, however, all get introduced by name in the first number.

I personally like this, as well as the “Five” “Five Jews”, just because I think it adds Trina into the narrative and gives her character recognition, while still making it apparent that she is often mistreated by the men in her life.

“So I make them interact/So I don't go by the book/We all eat as one/Wife, friend, and son/And I sing out as I cook/But I want a tight-knit family/I hope you all enjoy linguine/Talk 'til you hear the dinner bell/Such a dear clientele” (OOBC)

vs

“So it's nineteen seventy-nine/And we don't go by the book/We all eat as one—/Wife, friend, and son—/And I sing out as they cook/I love my tight-knit family/I love the way they cook linguine/Isn't it great? We're all so swell/Such a dear clientele” (Revival)

I think about this one A LOT. I think it’s such an important distinction. People often analyze the revival’s lyrics and notice that Marvin is making them cook while he sings and forces them together. This is a correct analysis, but so different from the original lyrics. In the OOBC, Marvin puts in effort to make them interact and like each other. He is the one cooking, and he is actively trying to please them.

I wish that I could say that I like the revival more because I do truly believe it fits more in line with Marvin’s selfish character, particularly the character set up in the first show In Trousers, but I just am really drawn to the OOBC version. There is something refreshing about Marvin actually trying to please, even if it is still inherently selfish.

“Let's not discuss the weather, let's face the facts/Marvin's wife must relax” (Revival)

This was added in, and I have to say off the bat that I like it, particularly because of the parallel it has later when characters discuss the weather to evade the reality of Whizzer’s death.

“Hate me or need me, just make sure you feed me” (OOBC)

This was taken out for the revival, but I think it really highlights how Marvin pushes the heteronormative position of a housewife on Whizzer. Because of this, I prefer this line to the cut revival, even if it’s just a short jab.

“I met this man today/He wasn't very smart/But he was rich, Marvin/Which, Marvin/Do you prefer I lust for—/Brains or money?” (Revival)

vs

“I met this man today/He (Trina) was very very smart (Whizzer) wasn't very smart/But he was rich, Marvin/Which, Marvin/Do you prefer I lust for—/Brains or money?” (OOBC)

In the original text, Trina says that the man she met was very very smart, making it obvious that she is referring to Mendel and his impressive profession as a psychiatrist. I love the original line compared to the revival because it shows that Trina found someone who is definitively better than Marvin, both rich and smart. Whizzer’s line stays the same, presumably another man he is sleeping with since he is not faithful to Marvin at this point. The line may have been changed to make Whizzer and Trina parallel each other more, or to jokingly jab at Mendel, but I can’t say that makes me like it more than the original.

Trina and Whizzer’s Duet at 5:40 in My Father's A Homo/Everyone Tells Jason To See A Psychiatrist/This Had Better Come To A Stop (OOBC)

I cannot write all of it down, and there is no typed out version of the lyrics online, so I highly suggest listening to it. It’s beautiful, and it parallels Trina and Whizzer perfectly. It shows how they both deal with Marvin and his mistreatment of them. I wish this was kept in because I think Trina and Whizzer’s relationship is so integral to the story of Falsettos.

“He's like a baby who's denied” (OOBC/Revival)

These are the same lyrics, but in March of the Falsettos Alison Fraser sings “denied” extremely high, to show her hitting her breaking point. Stephanie J. Block doesn’t do this, and I can’t help but wish she did. The high note is so chilling and wonderful to hear. Alison Fraser sings up significantly higher than everyone else for the rest of the song, and it’s amazing.

I’m Breaking Down (Revival)

This song isn’t in March of the Falsettos, which is a tragedy. However, this is because the song was originally in In Trousers and was later transferred into Falsettos when In Trousers was the one show of The Marvin Trilogy not included in Falsettos. Obviously I prefer the revival here.

“If not I got some rope right here, and Trina will be hanging from a chandelier” (OOBC)

I find this line to be extremely interesting. It is the second time Trina mentions suicide in March of the Falsettos. I find this interesting because she originally dies at the end of In Trousers from suicide, before William Finn wrote March of the Falsettos. Although I do think this line is important to understanding the history of The Marvin Trilogy, I do not prefer it to the shorter version in the revival.

Please Come To My House (OOBC)

This song is much longer in the OOBC, which I can’t say I prefer to the revival. It comes off as unnecessarily lengthy, even if very fun to listen to because of the chaotic energy it has compared to the revival.

Trina's Song (OOBC/Revival)

Again, I highly suggest listening to both songs when given the chance. They’re so different, but at the end of the day, the revival is simply more empowering and meaningful for me. The OOBC comes off as Trina talking more about romantic relationships, while the revival talks about what it is like for her to struggle in a world dominated by men. Also, the line in the OOBC “then fire the maid” is changed to “and hire a maid” in the revival, which asserts her coming out of the stereotypical housewife role Marvin forced her into. Additionally, the revival splits the song in two with March of the Falsettos in the middle, which I find is more effective in portraying March of the Falsettos as a song that takes place in Trina’s head.

“And money” x10 (OOBC)

The Chess Game escalates in both men yelling “and money” to each other in the OOBC. I personally just find this more appealing because of the intensity the two portray, letting their emotions get ahold of them in an analytical game like chess. Also, this line repeated puts a spotlight on Whizzer’s mistreatment of Marvin for once. Whizzer acts like he only likes Marvin for his (sex and) money, and this hurts Marvin, who actually wants a relationship (although an unhealthily possessive one at that). Whizzer constantly pushes the idea of them having a serious relationship to the side, and he uses it here to bait Marvin and upset him, while Marvin throws it back at Whizzer.

Marvin Hits Trina (OOBC)

Just. Listen to the OOBC of this song. The instrumental is fantastic, and I definitely prefer it to the revival. Additionally, Michael Rupert is just so much angrier than Christian Borle, and I prefer the former actor’s acting choice in this song (even though I think both performances are wonderful and well thought out in their own right).

It’s my favorite song in the OOBC. Just listen to it, please.

CONCLUSION

Both the OOBC and revival are fantastic, and the lyrics, music, and acting choices made in each are justifiable in their own ways. I know William Finn would probably prefer the revival, since he made the changes for a reason, but the OOBC has so many gems in it that I cannot believe where changed.

Do I prefer the OOBC to the revival? I cannot say, in all honestly. I think they are too different, even if similar in most the literal senses.

I was originally going to do this for both March of the Falsettos AND Falsettoland, but this post got too long + there are less changes in the latter. Regardless, please go listen to both recordings of the OOBC. If you get anything out of this, let it be that you have to listen to the OOBC.

As always, feel free to comment, discuss, or disagree in the notes!

[teenage-rockstar-splendors]

be more chill: book vs musical

today i finished the amazing book be more chill by ned vizzini, and i'd like to share some of the most notable similarities and differences between the book and musical. 1. in the book, one of jeremy's most prominent loser-isms is what he calls “humiliation sheets”, which are used to document public embarrassment, and other things that show what a loser he truly is. they make no appearance in the musical at all. 2. in the book, the squip is only a voice in jeremy’s head, and doesn’t take a physical form. for obvious reasons, it’s easier to give the squip a physical form for the musical. 3. in the book, michael is much more of a ladies’ man, and is the one who ditches jeremy at the party—not the other way around. book michael is also notably less friendly and kind that musical michael. 4. this one is more for laughs than anything else, but i thought i’d share it anyway because it has interesting properties to it. in the book, jeremy says that michael wears his headphones not to listen to music, but because “he likes how they feel on his head”, which i found very interesting, because in the musical they make michael out to be a music buff, whereas in the book, he doesn’t seem to be any more interested in music than anybody else. 5. in the book, alcohol and drugs seemingly corrupt the squip instead of momentarily shutting it off. the squip says to jeremy, “you’re going to want to turn me off first. if you don’t, i might start instructing you to kill people.” (or something along the lines of that). 6. in the book, madeline is never once mentioned. this isn’t really a big deal, but i just found it interesting. jenna rolan talks a lot about “elizabeth”, who madeline could be based on. 7. there are a lot of other characters in the book who are never mentioned in the show. to name a few: anne, katrina, samantha, nicole (a girl michael gets together with), jason, erik, mark, etc. 8. in the musical, the halloween party takes place at jake dillinger’s house. in the book, the party takes place at jason finderman’s house. jake still ends up in the hospital, but it isn’t apparent what happened to him. rich is known to be in the icu with terrible burns after setting fire to the house. to be continued :)

[cloudtgfreewritingblog]

My Opinion of Pewdiepie vs T-Series

Who hasn’t heard about it? The “battle for subscribers” to be the top subscribed channel on YouTube... it is a very popular subject. I’ve actually known about the subject because... I’ve occasionally spotted people in the comments section for many YouTube videos promoting either channel. And of course videos would occasionally appear in either the recommended or trending tabs related to those topics. So I had a relative idea that there was a battle going on for many months, but I never understood the context of the battle. Honestly, I hadn’t really paid any attention until like a month ago, and I did not want to get actively engaged in the highlights of the story until like 2-3 weeks ago. It wasn’t important to me back then. But it is now, that’s why I’m going to talk about what I’ve learned, and how my opinion has formed.

So before my awareness of the existence of the “battle”, I only knew the existence of Pewdiepie. I had originally subscribed to his channel back in 2014, mostly because I watched and liked his gaming collaborations with other YouTubers. I liked watching gaming videos with collabs, and after seeing his history of videos it made sense to watch him. As his channel transitioned to less gaming, I lost interest so I stopped subscribing to him. Not sure when that was, but it was probably around 2016... Probably. Idk. I don’t have a history book of every moment of my life, so I lack that information, but I know I unsubscribed. After that point, I almost never watched any video of his other than the occasional 2-3 in a year that would be very relevant to me. And I was aware that journalists were trying to frame him as a bad person, either being greedy or racist, based on who he was and the content on his channel... or occasionally based on what other people did.

So anyways, once the “battle” was being promoted, I didn’t initially notice it occurring. Sure, I might’ve seen comments on YouTube mentioning Pewdiepie vs. T-Series, but I kinda ignored them. Or rather, dismissed them. I didn’t really understand the meaning nor the context of the battle. And it wasn’t really that relevant to me. I also had absolutely no idea who or what T-Series was. To me, I just assumed it was another gaming channel. It’s kind of laughable that was what I thought it was. So... who is T-Series?

Obviously, Pewdiepie’s competition. Okay, bad joke aside, it turns out T-Series is actually an Indian music channel (not to be mistaken for Native American). In India, it’s known as a big music corporation. From my understanding of what I’ve read, India has been starting to transition to the online world, and the number of people with mobile phones has grown rapidly over the past several years. T-Series has been working with YouTube/Google, and so it isn’t surprising that its consistent rise in subscribers correlates with the amount of people in India being exposed to the online world. I do wonder if T-Series is just focused on being the top youtube channel that does music videos, or if it is interested in doing content that is more culturally globalized. Just as a side note, I know that it made a deal with Amazon back in 2016 to do some movie production, so I know that music isn’t its only service, but it is its primary service... at least as far as I’m aware.

Anyways, let’s get into the controversy. Yes, there is controversy, and there’s only a small amount because T-Series has not reached headlines over a span of years as Pewdiepie has. No surprise about that....

Anyways...

T-Series is a corporation whose goal must be to profit... because a business that cannot make money will lose money... and those who lose money will not survive. So it should not be surprising that I read an article from this past December about a story of T-Series trying to tax evade. In particular, Indian tax officials had come to T-Series because they were not paying taxes. After searching their documents, they learned that T-Series were storing their taxes in other places... like New Delhi... or the U.S..... Basically the purpose was to store them in another place like a tax haven. It was hard to understand the context of the article because I’m not certain on how tax havens work, but I think the article said that they had some employees have registered residences in other places, and used them as a place to store their money. I could be wrong in my understanding of the article that I read, but that’s besides the point. T-Series is acting just like any big, greedy corporation that I know of.

Of course, T-Series seems to have a shady background, but unfortunately the background of this information seems too.... empty... to bring up as relevant points, but I’ll mention it anyways. T-Series started up in the 1980s as a business selling pirated cassettes. Nice. Assuming this is true, that means that this corporation was making money off of the hard work that others created... Is my bias showing yet? Lmao.

Anyways, just putting in a side note that Pewdiepie’s recent video congratulating T-Series for passing him had mentioned that T-Series had sent him a cease and desist letter, basically accusing Pewdiepie of defaming T-Series. It’s a powerful initiative that corporations usually take to stop the actions of critics that have the power to give them negative press. I say powerful, because in the U.S. usually the next step would be some sort of litigation, or some lawful proceeding that would take place in some sort of court. A collaborator of Pewdiepie’s video had said (well I’m paraphrasing here) that the letter itself was just ridiculous, and the wording of the letter made them believe that T-Series doesn’t even know what defamation is. Of course, since at this time we don’t actually know what the letter actually says, there’s no way for us to determine if we can agree or disagree with their assessment.

There’s one more interesting piece of information regarding T-Series: they had removed Pakistani pop artists’ music from their channel. This was a reaction to the standoff of India and Pakistan... which are some military bombing skirmishes between the two countries which started in February. Due to this initiative by T-Series, the pop artists reacted by marching on their streets and telling people to unsubscribe to T-Series and subscribe to Pewdiepie. Ignoring the artists’ reaction, I wonder why T-Series acted the way they did? Now, if there were artists promoting bad music, it would make sense to remove just the music or the particular artist. But all of them? If this was the action of a single person, this would be considered racist and would have blown up. But it hasn’t. After all, this is a corporation. Their objective is to make money. As an Indian company, I’m guessing that they didn’t want to be involved with the politics surrounding the situation, and so they cut off their involvement with Pakistan. I wonder if it was worth the risk on their side...

But I’m more interested in talking about the man that has intrigued me for a long time. Pewdiepie.

Everyone wants to either love or hate Pewdiepie. For those that love him, he’s an entertainer, a gamer, a funny guy, a kind person. For those that hate him, he’s greedy, a racist... And what do I think? Well, honestly I have to separate the audiences to two types of people - the ones who are relaxed, chill, not serious; and then the others who are serious. So yea, the not serious people and the serious people. That’s who I think they are. The not serious people love pewds, and the serious people hate on him. The serious people tend to be goal-driven. These people have brought up controversies about Pewdiepie, and right now my objective is to debunk the theories... at least I’ll try to. I’ll probably fail though lol.

Proceeding onwards...

The first controversy is that Pewdiepie is greedy. Mainstream journalists would argue that he is money-driven. I’m sure that the Pewdiepie that started his YouTube channel, back when he was working at a hot dog stand, was thinking that he was going to get rich making a YouTube channel. Yea, he definitely only wants money, when over the past several years he has donated to several different charities, which the total monetary value accumulates to over a million dollars. I’m SO sure that T-Series has a similar record, despite the fact that there is no record of them ever donating to any sort of charity. The most recent charity that Pewdiepie has done... well hold the phone because I want to get into the next controversy or two before talking about it.

The second controversy is that due to the “battle of subscribers”, loyal fans of Pewdiepie decided to actively promote his channel. Some would do it in legal ways, some in questionable ways but not harmful... but a small number would do it illegally. Pewdiepie condemns these illegal actions. I mean, I definitely would if I was in his position. I would be acting out of self-interest because I wouldn’t want to cause myself more trouble, and I’d rather not cause trouble for someone who enjoys my content. Anyways, the worst happened about a month ago. I don’t want to go into the details, but a mass shooting took place, and the person responsible for it had been promoting the channel leading up to the event. The people who decide to illegally promote the channel are causing themselves trouble, and potentially giving mainstream journalists an excuse to blame Pewdiepie for the actions of others. 

Realistically, Pewdiepie does not have any control over the action of others, especially if he does not directly communicate with them. At most, Pewdiepie could be considered a role model for his subscribers who adore him. So I can definitely believe that his existence will influence those that watch him. But journalists should not take that one single influence as the primary blame for the action of others. If Pewdiepie was truly promoting this bad behavior, wouldn’t we be seeing far more illegal actions on a global scale? Not just a few, not just dozens, but either hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands a day? Obviously not. In my mind, I now personally believe that any attempts to attack Pewdiepie are goal-driven attempts to label him as a bad person.

Which brings me to the final controversy - he’s a racist... or so the mainstream journalists and the haters would say. They have the strongest evidence to push this type of propaganda, so that naturally makes it harder to argue against it. Naturally I’m the type of person who just wants people to get along, and doesn’t want anything to do with hate speech... Therefore, trying to defend Pewdiepie regarding this subject has to be the most annoying thing I’ve ever done. But it will definitely give myself a chance to know how to deal with this sort of subject in the future.

The evidence of the controversy lies within his videos. And just to clarify, the intent of Pewdiepie’s videos is to entertain, or to be funny. That’s the type of channel that he is. It isn’t a channel that people are supposed to take seriously. It should’ve been obvious from all the goofiness and childish screamings that anyone could see from his channel over the years. But anyways, in some of his childish schemes, he occasionally says things or does things that, in a different context, could be considered to be racist or offensive. It doesn’t really help him that he went on fiverr a while back to ask for some childish services. If it was for any context other than providing entertainment for his video, then his actions could definitely have been considered racist. That’s why it is understandable why some people providing services on fiverr did not provide their services, because they believed it would breach the service agreement. That’s not the only time people have labeled him as a racist.

Remember the diss-track video B****-Lasagna? I’m going to be honest, I’ve listened to music 2-3 weeks ago a few times, but I have absolutely no idea what is in the lyrics. However, knowing Pewdiepie, the intent is the same as always: be childishly funny to entertain his audience. It’s obviously not meant to be taken seriously. This didn’t stop haters and journalists from pointing it out. It also didn’t help that his subscribers starting acting like Pewdiepie, and started making jokes that could be seen as racist towards Indians. That’s why Pewdiepie made a bold decision. I’m betting he was worried that his subscribers would end up being divided. Remember how I mentioned that I would talk about another charity? Pewdiepie started a charity that would donate to a service for nine-year olds in India. I don’t really remember the details, but I recommend anyone interested researching the details yourselves. You won’t really find the details from haters or mainstream journalists. 

Pewdiepie obviously is almost never serious, and is acting childish to be funny. I mean, who seriously wants to be serious? There are only a few videos that Pewdiepie tries to be serious, and when he does, he just can’t help but make a few childish jokes here and there. Probably because it’s hard for him to be serious. I think it’s fair to me to assess that for the most part he isn’t a serious person. I also think it’s fair for me to say that he doesn’t care about what happens to himself, but he worries about keeping his subscribers out of trouble when it is significant enough and relates to himself. Honestly, I cannot really find any bad intent from Pewdiepie.

So just getting back to T-Series real quick to summarize their controveries... They had tried to evade taxes to maximize their profits. As a person who despises the current system of economics in general due to my personal moral reasons, I generally consider corporations as bad because they do business with their consumers, but don’t give their fair share of taxes which are partially used to give back to the economy. As a company who started by selling pirated cassettes, I can’t really be surprised that their moral grounds are so low, or maybe they’ve never given this any sort of moral reasoning (this is my bad attempt at giving them a benefit of a doubt). Additionally, they sent that cease and desist letter to Pewdiepie. I don’t think that they’ve gotten any damages from anything Pewdiepie’s done now that I think about it. On the contrary, I think they’ve only gotten more subscribers, more money, more popularity and headlines... So I really don’t think they have a case for defamation. It just sounds like an attempt to make Pewdiepie stop or an attempt for them to get as much money as possible. Finally, they removed the Pakistani pop artists’ music videos from their channel due to the standoff between India and Pakistan. It could be understandable if they were obligated to do it due to politics, but honestly... it just makes no sense. There’s really no context to it. The real problem is that T-Series is just too big of a mystery and its actions are just too shady. There is really no historical context surrounding T-Series (at least outside of India).

As it stands, I support Pewdiepie far more than T-Series, which is why I subscribed to him 2-3 weeks ago... That was right before T-Series struggled over a few days trying to take 1st, before finally getting into first, only for Pewdiepie to release his final diss-track, and as of now pewds is ahead by over 150k. So that makes me feel pretty good about the situation.

Regarding T-Series... I’m going to treat it like any corporation or political entity. If it expects to be treated better than Pewdiepie, then honestly, it needs to express its humanity. I don’t even know what good things they do outside of their regular services. They really need to begin from scratch. Start by expressing its moral grounds, and base its business goals around its sense of morality. Secondly, start being more transparent... about everything. The more transparent, the better. If it’s got a good morality, being transparent would only benefit itself in the eyes of the public... And if it’s got a bad sense of morality... Well we’ll know because it’ll continue being shady and a mystery. I expect people that want to know the truth of T-Series to seriously start investigating everything they can about it. If T-Series is good, it’ll be naturally transparent and it’ll be easy to learn about it and its employees. If it isn’t, they’ll be hiding their secrets and it will require lawful investigations, like in the case of the tax officials, to learn about them. 

So in conclusion, my opinion has been formed. Pewdiepie and T-Series have their controversies, but Pewdiepie’s can at least be reasonably explainable, while T-Series is just too big of a mystery. I’ll give my trust and subscription to the YouTuber that I’ve seen develop over the years, who I’ve seen grown as a person (albeit still regularly acting childish in his videos)... On the other hand, I’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on T-Series. The “battle for subscribers” will be continuing on for some time, and everyone wants to know who will reach 100 million first. Some of my time will be invested in observing this, so... yea..

P.S. Regarding sources, I’m too lazy to mention sources, but wikipedia is a good place to start... Pewdiepie vs T-Series... You’ll probably have to search for Pewdiepie charities somewhere else though, although I didn’t try his wiki page. Anyways, I’ve been working on this for 3 hours, time to rest... G’d day.

[kuragin]

be more chill: book versus musical

i very recently (like, friday night) got my hands on a copy of ned vizzini’s be more chill, a novel i have been meaning to read even before i had heard of the musical due to the fact that i have read another one of his novels, it’s kind of a funny story, but i could never get my hands on a copy of due to the fact that the bookstore never had any. being a diehard of the musical, i decided to do a little review of the book, how it compares to the musical, and why it should not be getting all the hate that it deserves. here we go:

I instinctively knew that the original book version of Be More Chill is a wildly different product than the musical. Also, neither one is better than the other considering that they are two very different things. The novel Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini centres on the struggles of Jeremy Heere, a socially inept high school aged theatre kid who takes a pill called a SQUIP in order to be with the girl of his dreams, the blonde, popular, and frankly hotheaded Christine. The musical Be More Chill by Joe Icons and Joe Tracz deals with a similar situation- Jeremy Heere, an anxiety ridden teenage boy who likes video games, takes a pill called a SQUIP in order to be less sweaty and more cool, and to hopefully go out with his long time crush, a passionate, ADHD Asian theatre kid named Christine.

When I see a lot of people on Tumblr comparing the novel to the book, I feel like they’re forgetting the fact that (a) Ned Vizzini wrote the novel in 2004, and (b) The novel is not a hero vs villain story like the musical, but rather the protagonist vs himself. The musical is about Jeremy vs the SQUIP, with some character development for him thrown in. The book is about Jeremy vs his own anxiety, fears, and self-set limits.

When you get into theatre, it’s hard to stay away from well, the theatrics. Adapting anything to the modern stage can be a challenge, especially a stream-of-consciousness book like Vizzini’s Be More Chill. Instead of having your character's thoughts be portrayed through text, they have to be shown through dialogue. Vizzini’s books are projections of himself, his experiences, and a place of vent. The musical is not Ned Vizzini.

Having the SQUIP be villainous makes for a much better show. Motivations are clear, the setup is easy, and the audience reception is much more well-received. However, if you were to novelize the musical version of Be More Chill, I can guarantee that it would be tacky and not very well recepted. And I think that’s a credit to the Joes of the Musical, who managed to pull off such an insane show. The concept is strange and unusual, but the exposition is wonderful. A ballad like Michael in the Bathroom would have absolutely never been well translated into text, because the entire song is pure, raw, unfiltered emotion coming from Michael, rather than it as experienced through Jeremy’s point of view (which is how the novel is written- Note: the novel features 0 instances of Michael freaking out in a bathroom).

Here’s some things I noticed in the novel that made somewhat of an appearance in the musical:

Novel!Michael mentions that his older brother got a SQUIP, and he went from a failing student to attending Brown University, but because it was a SQUIP 1.0, it also made him go insane. In the musical, (the dialogue just before Michael in the Bathroom) Michael tells Jeremy that he couldn’t find anything about the SQUIP on the internet, but he says that, “Finally, this guy I play Warcraft with told me how his brother went from a straight D student to a freshman at Harvard” which is obviously a reference to his novel!brother.

Michael and Jeremy are much closer friends in the musical. In the book they were friends, but they weren’t die-hard-I-would-put-on-pants-for-you friends. They weren’t as dedicated to each other in the novel, which I think, when you watch the musical, was meant to provide a best-friend-who-saves-the-day type situation, a la Lord of the Rings Samwise Gamgee style. Novel!Jeremy is much more isolated from other characters and social situations than Michael is, which is apt for a novel about the individual vs self. Having Michael and Jeremy be outcasts together makes for a much more interesting climax at the end when they’re on opposite sides of the social hierarchy and pitted against, yet still want to care for each other.

The novel was written in 2004, at a time when Mountain Dew Code Red was readily available. In a modern retelling, having Michael be some hipster ass gamer who buys expired soft drinks for his collection is downright hilarious and a wonderful way to explain why it was hard for Rich to get his hands on some, it further asserts the importance of Michael as a character, and creates even more suspense for a climax (as the soft drink was only available in limited quantities, AKA 1 bottle, and it would be extremely difficult to get more).

(Can you notice that I love Michael Mell? Personal bias, I guess.)

One of the things that surprised me the most was that Jeremy’s mom was in the novel. I just figured that she was also absent in the books, and that it was one of the many other things that Jeremy was struggling with.  Having his mom absent is a strange decision, but I can see only two possible reasons for it: a smaller cast, because there really isn’t a need for a grown adult woman in the play besides his mother, and Jeremy already has a parent (for reference, the actor for Mr. Heere also plays the drama teacher Mr Reyes and other background characters; Mrs Heere would not have had any secondary roles), and for dramatic situation. Having Mr. Heere a depressed father whose wife left him adds another layer to his character, rather than just having obese divorce lawyer who eats peanut butter oreos. Mr Heere is the one who shows up to Michael’s house and motivates him to help Jeremy, even after he had been a jerk to him. It’s much more suited because the musical has different conflicts and requires different resolutions, including those of background character development.

Despite being written in 2004 and now retold, Eminem is still relevant and mentioned in the musical, and canonically dies in both. I think my favourite addition though is when Brooke says “he was super old and mean to women” just after they all find out he dies.

Also Jenna takes much more precedence in the novel, but in the musical she’s reduced down to the “school gossip”. This is done for a reason though, because she is a main catalyst to how Jeremy keeps spreading the SQUIP to the other students of Middleborough. Brook is also a lot less apparent in the book. Overall, I think the female characters in the musical have a lot more personal development and personality than what the novel reduces them to. In defense of Vizzini, however, the novel is written in the POV of Jeremy and that is how he sees the girls, rather than the omniscient point of view that the musical provides. Ie: Christine, who is a much more likable girl in the musical for her dorkiness and self-aware theatre geekiness. 

So overall, the book and the musical versions of Be More Chill are still different things, adapted for different modes of sharing, and for different audiences. One is not better than the other, one is just much more culturally relevant than the other, especially because were in an age where the Teen Musical is increasingly becoming popular and centralized for a pretty specific group of fangirls.

Also jeremy is a furry in the novel ok i said it

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Carnage vs. Lucy

WARNING: The following review contains descriptions and screenshots of extreme blood and gore. Viewer discretion is advised.

So, according to commentary, this matchup was decided by the crew, and not by fan votes. They supposedly had a hard time determining a good Carnage opponent, and this was the best one with the most connections.

This is the Third (technically fourth) Comic Book vs. Manga/Anime fight since Captain Marvel vs. Android 18, and both Goku vs. Superman episodes.

Carnage′s Preview.

Carnage’s Origin Story is gone over, and the hosts comment about it. We know how this works by now. Cletus was a bad kid, and he really needed to be put into a higher-security prison to make his actual imprisonment effective.

(What’s with murderous psychopaths and having teddy bears?- First Bane, now Cletus. It’s getting weird).

So, Cletus’ Symbiote is given their own stat sheet, and is given a quick rundown.

(I’m going to guess that the 360 perception doesn’t really count if the thing he’s trying to attack is invisible to his own eyes).

(Sorry about the poor quality of the screenshot. I was in a bit of a rush to get this done since… Uh, blood. This episode features a lot of blood).

And apparently, Carnage traded his sound weakness to a weakness to that Chthonic Magic, so sound isn’t much of a thing that can hurt him anymore. I guess Songbird and Black Bolt ought to watch out for this guy if Carnage ever shows up at their front door.

Kinda of a meek end line, considering that this is Carnage we’re talking about.

Lucy′s Preview.

Seriously. Turn back now. Lucy’s rundown contains a lot of blood and gore. I did my best to not include any gratuitous blood, but it’s still there. If you’re reading this while watching the episode, turn back now if you don’t want to be grossed out.

Only warning indeed.

So, Lucy’s origin includes the stuff on the Dicloni, and how she was captured and why she needed to be captured, and it’s really dark. As an aside, who here thinks that Lucy would be welcomed by the X-Men, on account that she’s got a superpower, and all that?- Well, her less murder-y side, anyways.

(I doubt that healing factor would make a difference).

So, Kaede seems like a nice girl and all, until she was pushed to a breaking point. Yeesh, what is up with these psychopaths and being pushed to a breaking point?

Lucy’s Vectors, much like the Symbiote Cletus wears, is given its own rundown. And it seems like my initial claim that Lucy wouldn’t have any access to fire is incorrect. I am willing to admit my mistake, and acknowledge that I was underinformed for Lucy’s powerset. So with this, I have a feeling that Lucy has an immediate edge.

And given the multiple personalities that she has, it’s likely that she’s… messed up. Poor girl, she’s been through a lot.

(Note to self: Try to see if I can’t get Nyu’s personality out more).

Boomstick’s voice telling her to kill them before they hurt puppies is both adorable and hilarious. Boomstick’s clearly a dog fan. Makes me dread if they ever bring in Iggy from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, considering the little guy uh… dies.

So Lucy’s Vector movement is faster than Venom’s top recorded speed, and since it’s reasonable to scale Carnage to Venom, it’s likely that Carnage isn’t going to move fast enough to dodge all of those Vectors at once. Speaking of Vectors, why not Medusa from Soul Eater?

And Lucy’s feats… Yeah, they blow Carnage’s out of the Klyntar-infested water.

(Blocking SLAM missiles?- That’s badass).

They thankfully go over some weaknesses, so it’s clear that she’s not invincible. Blows to the head, or cutting off one of her horns will nullify her vectors, and she can apparently melt.

Yeah, warning, I’m about to show you guys the screenshot. Because if I have to suffer in seeing it, then so do you!

(I said blood, not gore).

And they even go over her redemption, and how it wasn’t so hopeless after all……… Before cutting away to her just flat-out murdering a bunch of other people in lieu of an end line. The music just makes it really creepy and hilarious at the same time.

The Battle Itself.

Zack, Kervin, Luis, and Jerky are tackling this animation project. Danielle McRae is voicing Lucy, while Christopher Guerreo is voicing Carnage. Brandon Yates is doing the music on this. Kokkinos has sound.

So the story for this one is basically just Nyu waiting for a train, and Carnage killing everyone aboard because he’s Carnage. I guess Lucy took over to protect Nyu.

The music does a really great job at setting the mood, it’s called Chorus of Carnage, and it’s really good and has such a poetic title. I know what I’m listening to on Halloween.

Props to the animators for making Carnage’s sprite work well with Lucy’s invisible Vectors. It feels reminiscent of Jotaro’s fight with Kenshiro before Kenshiro used Toki to sense SP.

And Lucy’s initial and go-to attack don’t really do much against Carnage’s healing factor. So, the battle rages on with Carnage struggling to land a hit on the Diclonius Queen. It takes a while, and a lot of effort, but he lands some cuts on the girl.

So, after Lucy manages to slam Carnage into the train, he starts a taunt. It’s… Pretty dark.

Finishing Blow in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Lucy’s Vectors are just starting to get to the higher frequencies, and, she delivers a pretty damn good one-liner.

“Does it hurt yet?- Don’t worry. I’ll put you out of your misery.”

And props to Carnage for not going out like a bitch. He just says “I hate you.” and then he blows up.

Even the clouds clear as sunlight comes in to brighten the day. One less serial killer to worry about… Until I revive him for story purposes.

Verdict + Explanation.

So, apparently that explosion was certainly enough to kill Carnage. And Boomstick rejoices at the fact that there’s one less dog-killer out there.

And while Carnage could land some cuts, it was primarily through projectiles, as Lucy’s Vectors would just be too much for a melee attack. So, possession was off the table.

But that’s not to say that Carnage was helpless. His healing abilities gave him the durability, but Lucy fighting as a puddle meant that Carnage’s punishment wouldn’t be enough to incapacitate her unless he landed a blow to her horns. Which, given that Lucy is likely aware of this weakness, she would be careful to not let it happen.

In terms of strength, Carnage overpowered several opponents that had massive advantages in that category, but Lucy’s own demonstrated feats of strength overwhelm Carnage’s scaled and demonstrated strength.

Really though, the battle did come down to who could land a fatal blow first. Similar to another Marvel character who fought a non-DC opponent. The overall question is muddled a bit thanks to Carnage’s healing, but it gets less muddled thanks to Lucy’s explosive Vectors that got compared to Nuclear Fusion. And since there’s no evidence to suggest that Carnage could survive such a massive amount of heat, it’s entirely possible that Lucy could totally incinerate Carnage if given the chance.

And given that Carnage isn’t likely to power through Lucy’s Vectors anytime soon (Thanks to the latter’s speed and strength), Lucy had more opportune moments to kill Carnage. It’s even pointed out in a notecard.

Really though, Boomstick’s end line didn’t really have a good Lied-in.

Overall impression.

Really though, I know that October is slated for Battle 100, but I feel that this would have worked better then. Two Psychopathic murderers going at each other with deadly force, and the chilling music makes it all the more eerie. It feels like a slight missed opportunity, and there’s no notecard explaining why Carnage tagging Nova wasn’t mentioned. Perhaps during the podcast, but it would have been nice to have heard or read why it didn’t count in the actual episode.

Aside from that, the music and animation is really good, but it feels like there could have been a tad more effort put into Lucy’s sprite. It felt odd seeing a minimalist looking sprite interacting with a detailed sprite like the one Carnage got. I get that Elfin Lied is a bit obscure, and that there wouldn’t be many good sprites to use, but Lucy looks her best when we get a close-up of her hand-drawn face.

That being said, the explanation is really good, but once Lucy’s explosive Vectors are mentioned, it becomes a foregone conclusion. Lucy just needs to land that once to finish the fight, and we just saw her move her Vector hands into space. She could fight at a distance, and keep Carnge away from her.

7.0/10 The fight’s good, and the music is really awesome, but it’s not exactly an “up in the air” fight. Overall, the moment the Nuclear Fusion hands get mentioned, you know it’s leaning towards Lucy, and that sort of lack of suspense makes it hard to enjoy. It’s not even something like Flash vs. Quicksilver, in which you know who’s going to win, but the setting and reasoning for the fight is unique and interesting. Maybe if Lucy had gotten on the train, and they had fought there, it would have been more unique, but it doesn’t really have a unique edge. And the lighting is weird, which makes it harder to track Carnage. While this might have been the intent, it’s odd that both Symbiote fights involve a lot of dark lighting.

But the result is well-justified, and the parts that can be seen are really great. So, I’d say that the score is fair.

Next Time…

It’s been a while since we last had a Transformer, and it’s about time that we did get one. Though, I won’t really cry if Prime loses. It’s a running gag that he dies a lot at this point.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

The second giant robot fight we’ve had.