#and if I'm not a “true” or “Good enough” star wars fan i'm worried if I draw something I'll end up being like... mocked or something for

[funkytoesart]

I wanna start drawing star wars fanart this summer, i even have an age old star wars fanart blog that i have only posted something like,,, twice to, bc i have this deep unsettled feeling about making sw content bc in college i had a brief moment there where I went from being a huge star wars fan since i first saw the movies as like a baby to being completely apathetic to the whole franchise (bc some douchebag decided to "quiz" me on how good of star wars fan (aka how well i knew trivia from the extended universe/books, of which i'd only read a few) and then publicly mocked me for being a fake fan so I stopped liking star wars after that and have only in recent years slowly started enjoying the franchise again... and On Top of that I have yet to see the last of the sequel trilogy (rise of skywalker) bc it looked so damn bad, plus i hate reylo with a burning passion lmao, but i do feel like not having seen it (and in fact, not having seen Every Star Wars Thing or Read Every Star Wars Thing) means yes, maybe i AM a fake fan and Shouldn't make star wars fanart/content,,,

idk just something I'm kinda struggling with lately

[jasper-rolls]

Media Roundup (February 2024)

a few days late because my job is kicking my ass lately, but i've got another batch of little reviews of stuff i've been checking out. take a look!

Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor (Seasons 19-21)

it only took 20 years but this show is truly getting good i think. you can start to see where the DNA of the reboot comes from, especially how davison's performance would influence tennant's - and what a sendoff he got in the end, some really wild shit happening there. not much more to go now

Faraway Downs

a lot more digestible than the movie it was edited from, and makes me ponder if it shouldn't have just been this way from the start. the changed ending feels more in line with the rest of baz's ouvre, given his penchant for tragic deaths - but i'm not sure it's a better ending for this in particular. otherwise, everything from the movie applies, good and bad

Checkmate - Malorie Blackman

a strong conclusion to this first trilogy, about healing from the scars of your past and focusing on the ones who are here now. some elements feel all too real to this day, and it's heartbreaking. believe in something better

Puella Magi Oriko☆Magica: Extra Story - Magica Quartet, Mura Kuroe

boy i just…do not care about this spinoff

Iron Man 3

james bond by way of marvel while grappling with tony's actual damage instead of just libertarian-ing all over the place. disappointing that they did "What If Iron Man But Evil" yet a fucking gain but once i get past my annoyance at that, they do make it kind of work, and tony getting down in the dirt and getting to know actual regular people was really fun. good start, phase 2. try and keep it up please

Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie

this was distinctly pretty okay, definitely far more enjoyable than the nonsense that the live action movies are, and there was some poignancy to it all - gwen and max thinking ben might be dead, ben having similar worries on his end, azmuth's test pushing him to be better than he can be. it may be a bit rote hero's journey stuff, but ben 10 has always been extremely by the numbers - it's no different here. my main gripe is that for being a movie, they really don't push the animation much. this genuinely looks like it could've been split into a 5-6 parter to cap off the last season of the show and there would be no obvious difference, and for all i know it probably is aired this way when the show is in syndication.

The Wolverine

watched the extended edition. man i just zoned the fuck out of this one. some nicely shot action at least but i just didn't have the mental energy to follow the plot and the silver samurai stuff was dummmbbb. very unmemorable

The Mandalorian (Season 3)

the narrative arc must sacrifice all for The Lore. all subservient, all reverent of The Lore. mandalore is back. don't you feel proud? don't you feel serviced? don't you feel clever, for knowing all these things about our brand? we took the narrative arc of our main characters and shot it behind the shed so they could stand around while bo katan, our hidden true protagonist of this season, does all of the actually important stuff, but that's okay, right? you feel good, because you know who bo katan is, and why she's important, and why the darksaber is important, and why its so so sad that moff gideon destroyed this trinket from another series made 15 years ago. look, here's jack black, and lizzo, and christopher lloyd. isn't it fun that they're now part of the Star Wars brand? isn't it great? din and grogu have a house now, all to themselves. that works as an ending, right? this is what you want, right? this is what makes you happy. this is what you crave, fans. The Story is dead. long live The Lore.

Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica the Movie Part III: Rebellion

what if hope doesn't spring eternal?

what if the energy you got from knowing the one you love is looking down and smiling on you wasn't enough? what if you really couldn't live without them? what if you said yes when in your heart of hearts you wanted to scream no, wanted to damn us all and destroy everything because if you have to suffer then the whole world should suffer too?

what if persephone and hades, but make it yuri?

Ben 10 (2016)

honestly really not that bad if you take it for what it is rather than being mad that it's not alien force Like Some People. fun redesigns, some decent comedic writing and mixed additions to the rogue's gallery (extreme pass on breaker 1-9 and nanny nightmare, but xingo, the bugg brothers and tim buktu are fun). don't go in demanding deepness or tight canon or worldbuilding (factors ben 10 as a franchise has never actually been all that good at if we're really being honest) and you can have a fun time

Thor: The Dark World

it should be a crime to misuse christopher eccleston this badly

Mario Kart 7

this must have seemed like a shock to the devs of mkwii but it turns out when you don't entirely fucking explode the player for the crime of existing near first place, the game is actually fun and enjoyable, and i want to play more of it

Star Wars: Visions (Season 2)

not as good as the first season IMO, but still some fantastic and beautiful animation from around the world. the aardman short got me good. i saw you grand day out robot

Nichijou: Original Run (Vol. 1-10)

works just as good in manga format as the anime did, although it doesn't have quite as good an ending. keiichi arawi has an impeccable sense of timing that shines even in manga format, and their ability to take comedy to great extremes in their art is hilarious

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey - The Fate of Atlantis

well that was a load of nonsense. AC's take on greek mythology was admittedly pretty cool to see but it was just a lot of meandering in the end. a surface level tour with some juno teasing at the end which i'm pretty sick of tbh

AD:PIANO VIVACE 2 - Diverse System

pretty good but not stellar. little really stuck out to me as truly awesome, even BlackY's track was kind of a let down. still, nothing actively bad here.

best track: "Flows With Errors"

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

it feels wild that thus far captain america consistently outdoes every other MCU movie. i didn't think i'd be this on board with him when i decided to start catching up. a great spy thriller that managed to contain a ton of engaging plot threads without feeling overstuffed and overlong, and genuinely left me pretty excited for more

Disney Gallery / The Mandalorian (Season 3)

where is any of this for andor. i don't care. i hate this show now

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

there's like, almost a movie here. it starts off pretty good! there's bits and pieces that shine, it feels like it should be better than it is, there's stuff throughout that could absolutely go somewhere exciting and then it just completely fumbles everything. what the fuck

got a longer review on my letterboxd

---

anyway kind of a pingpong month in terms of quality, but the show goes on...

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

you know you know

I think that was the point of bnha 331.

To show how "heroes" more often than not think, and how children think.

I saw your post, the one answering that spongebob one, and you know, I feel like, that's the point.

Forget heroes, most adults, world "leaders" yes i used double quotes what about it is that the problem to solution for them is almost always violence. A threat? Annihilate it. Nuke it. That's it, problem solved.

Which is exactly why izuku says "We" instead of "I".

All might was also the symbol of peace, but he didn't think of saving any of the villains. But Izuku and Ochako did. They do think so.

S&S works the same way most heroes do, take down the villain, kill them.

Which isn't directly her fault! I'm not even her fan, she seems bland character to me, but yk, it isn't directly her fault.

It's how things have been. It's how she's seen heroes. She's seen them do the exact same thing, so she thinks the same way. Yes, it's true that Izuku sees the same thing, but he also sees the hurt behind the threat, the broken child behind the villain. So do Shoto and Ocha.

I think S&S wanting to use nuclear weapons on Tomura explicitly shows the way heroes have worked so long, and a direct testament to the fact that it needs to change.

We need to remember that the narrative is showing us a problem and a solution.

Problem? Violence.

Solution? Communication.

I've said before that bnha reflects our current society and the problems we have.

Like you said, there's a whole generation that goes for the old school way of doing things. They are way more violent, has fallen in a "villains" and "heroes" narrative, think using people to reach a goal is justify, etc.

Then, there's the new generation. There are the kids like Shouto, Deku and Ochako who think "wait, there's a better way of doing this". Kids like Shinsou who are like "I don't have to be a villain just because I have this quirk" and kids that Bakugou, who represent that it's never too late to change, you don't have to be forever lost, you can become a better person.

I see so many people making fun of the "talking no jutsu" and I kinda cringe. Because yes, we need to learn to talk! If we don't communicate, if we only go by how we think things are, there's always going to be a war. Take the internet: everyone is ready to fight and insult, to cancel and erase. There's almost no understanding, no patience.

During the War arc, after finally making Tomura slow down, Endeavor first instinct was to mock him, to make fun of him, to insult him. Meanwhile, Deku ended up the fight by wanting to save the kid, by being worried about him. The only reason why Endeavor became more humble is because Dabi was his son. It had to hit him close for him to understand.

Star and Stripe both are inspired by All Might, but they are very different. They both have gone solo to fight a big villain, and yet the narrative emphasize on how Deku is always trying to save the villains (like Lady Nagant) while Star and Stripe arrived with zero information on the matter already wanting to attack.

This is why the chapter with Ochako taking the megaphone out of Present Mic was so important and why people should be paying more attention.

The old generation failed Japan. Hawks even explains before the War arc that the pro-heroes are not enough, that their arrogance made them weak and that their only salvation are the students, the new generation.

So it's the turn of the youngest to speak. It's their turn to show a different way of being a hero: not wanting to kill and put in jail, but first wanting to save and reform. A world with less jails and more good people is a better world.

The thing that people doesn't understand about bnha, it's that if Tomura died, everything would have been in vain, the plot a failure. It started with All Might thinking "if I can't save this child" when he saw Deku trying to rescue Bakugo. Then it came to Deku thinking "if I can't help Shouto", "If I can't protect Kota", "If I can't save Eri", etc etc etc.

Now, the plot is "If I can save Tomura, this is it. It means I can save anyone". If you can save the big bad and make them a big good, there's nothing stopping you. You have finally reach the top. Because Star and Stripe said it herself, not even All Might could defeat Tomura, nor protect him. If the UA kids save some members of the League of Villains (something Endeavor, Hawks, All Might, Star and Stripe and other pro-heroes failed to do), they'd be the greatest heros on Earth.

So yeah, everything has a reason. These chapters are pretty annoying and boring for me, but they are necessary wkdjnskdndk

[tomholland20]

Chapter 2: A beautiful evening!

Cast:

Peter Parker: Tom Holland.

(Peter's aunt) May Parker: Marisa Tomei.

Y/n: You/ reader

(Y/n’s dad) Tony Stark: Robert Downey, Jr.

(Y/n’s mom) Kathryn Stark: Jennifer Aniston.

(Y/n’s brother) David Stark: Shane Harper.

(Peter's best friend) Ned: Jacob Batalon.

(Peter’s best friend) MJ: Zendeya

Warning: PG-13, bad language, violence, sadness, kissing, etc...

Credit: My best friend Anjali, who helped me with this story!

Before you start reading and you haven’t read this story from the beginning please go and read it from there it will make more sense!

Note: Hey guys, so I wrote this story for Marvel and Tom Holland/Peter Parker fans! I just want to say that this is just a fun story for entertainment purposes. I mixed everything up in this story, their love, action, drama, and more. And as you can see by the cast, I mixed it up. This is a story about Peter Parker and Y/n (your name) story. I hope you like it!! If you want a girl and a Peter Parker version tell me and I will do one........

Summary: You move to a new school where you find yourself falling in love with a guy named Peter Parker and can’t get over him... You and Peter knew each other for 3 years because he had an internship with your dad Tony Stark but you never really talked to him. One day during a scary fire that takes place in the mall. Spider-man (Peter Parker) comes to save you from the deadly fire. Later on in the story, You find out about Peter Parker being spiderman. This story is full of drama, romance, love and more, I hope you enjoy it!!

Chapter 2: A beautiful evening!

After 2 weeks of going to school, you and Peter became close. You also became close to MJ Peter's best friend as she was in the same drama play as you. Peter and Ned both forced you to watch Star Wars, which you really liked. Everything was changing, you were finally smiling genuinely and you were getting over your ex. It was like a new beginning for you. People at school liked you, you were smart, good looking, and nice. You were kind of popular as you’re Tony Stark's son.

“Hey, Y/n!” Peter yelled across from the school hallway

“Hey” you replied. “What happened, are you ok?” You asked, Peter looked tired and he was out of breath.

Peter: "Yeah I'm ok, umm do wanna come over today? I have math homework and I was thinking maybe we can do it together?”

Peter was so timid when he started talking to you, even you were shy when he asked you to come over.

Y/n: Yeah sure... w-what time?

Peter: Is 5 good?

Y/n: yeah! Well, 5 it is then!

Peter: Sure! See you... bye.

Y/n: bye…

5:00pm

It was finally 5 pm and you were ready to go to Peter's house. Happy your dad’s assistant dropped you off at Peters place. “Ok, y/n I want you to take care of yourself and be in your best behavior.” You were a little curious as to why Happy had to say that but you agreed with him and went inside. You were in front of Peter's doorstep, you took a deep breath as if you were going on a date with him. You knock on the door and May (Peter’s aunt) opens the door. “Oh let me guess, you must be Y/n! Peter talks a lot about you." “Hi, Mrs. Parker, yes I’m y/n” you give May a big smile and she offers you to come in. “Do you want anything to drink?”

May: ok then, I’ll call Peter

“Peter y/n is here.” Peter runs out of his room and walks right towards the living room where you were. “Wow, are you ok? you look stressed.” “Yeah, I’m fine don’t worry! Wanna get started with math homework?”

Y/n: sure!

Peter brings you to his room. His room was full of Star Wars DVDs, there was a bed and a tv along with his table. Peter takes out his math homework and starts working. While working you notice a bad cut on his hand that he was trying to hide from you. Your eyes opened wide. “Peter, how did you get that cut,” you say in a tensed way. “It’s nothing I promise.” “do you have a first aid box here?” “Y/n don’t worry.”

Y/n: “tell me!”

Peter: “there is one in my bag”

You quickly run towards where his bag was and open it. You look for the first aid kit and as soon as you find it you hurry towards Peter. Without saying anything you open the first aid kit and taking Peter's hands and you start to clean the cut. “Ouch!!.”

“Sorry! Does it hurt?” You ask looking towards him with a worried face. This was new to you caring so much for someone that you cant even control your emotions in front of them, even though you had had a boyfriend this still felt new and you liked this feeling. “A little..” he replies with a little smile, ‘oof someone needs to tell this guy to stop smiling like that, that damn smile is going to be the death of me’ you thought. You smile back at him and keep cleaning the cut, finishing it with a bandage.

Even though you couldn't see, Peter has been busy trying to contemplate this weird feeling, attachment towards. Weirdly enough he liked how you cared about him, made him smile, made all his days feel fun and he even wanted to tell you something but didn’t. After a while both of you were quiet and were done with the homework. May comes running into the room saying “pizza is here!” she hands out your pizza’s. “Oh I have to leave soon.” “It's ok, stay for pizza at least” Peter requests you. You couldn’t resist it so you stayed for 15 more minutes. You and Peter both sat down and started to watch star wars. “Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get that cut?” Peter stopped chewing on the pizza and looked at you “Uh I was in a rush so I guess my hand cut into something.” He says “You should be more careful next time you know” you tell Peter with a little giggle. You and Peter finish eating and start talking about each other. “Since you moved here I didn’t get to know much about you, so why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?” You look at Peter and smile "sure! Well I was born and raised in New York. Umm do I have to continue I’m really bad at this...” you and Peter share a little giggle again. “You’re really nice Y/n, seriously the way you handled my cut I really appreciate it, so thank you.” “No problem” you answered back blushing.

You get a phone call from Happy informing his waiting for you outside. “Oh Happy is here, I got to go. Thanks for having me over Peter!”

Peter: anytime!

You rush to the door saying bye to May and head out *take that bread and that head then leave!! Oky sorry bye*. You get in the car and Happy drives you home. “So how was your evening?”

“It was so romantic.” “What??” You snap out of your dreamy self and Happy is just surprised. “Oh wait no sorry I didn’t mean to say that, I meant it was good.” “You got me worried there.” You roll your eyes as you are tired of hearing people say things like that homophobic asswipes. When you reach home your brother walks out of the house and looks angry. “Hey, David'' you say when your voice fades away. You walk in and you see your parents tensed.

Y/n: Hey guys!

Kathryn: Hey honey.

Y/n: David just walked out, and he looked really angry.

Tony: don’t worry about him, how was your evening with Peter?

Y/n: it was good, we got to finish all of our homework, we ate pizza and watched star wars.

Tony: sounds like you had fun! Didn’t you...

Before you answer your dad’s question David walks back in again ignoring everyone in the dining room.

Y/n: Ok what’s wrong?

Mom: Sweetie, there's nothing to worry about. I promise you nothing happened. He's just a little moody.

Your dad cracks a joke saying “girlfriend problems” with a laugh, you also laugh since your brother was not the best boyfriend. *like who are kidding he’s so annoying how does his girlfriend even handle him? aight bye* Your mom looks at you and Tony.

Tony: What? it's true...

Kathryn: Don’t worry about any of these things right now. Tomorrow is a big day, there will be a new girl coming to school. She is your Dad’s Friend's daughter. So I want you to show her around the school along with Peter.

“Yeah I can do that” you reply fast as soon as you hear Peter’s name. “Aww honey thank you” she looks at you in a curious way. “You look really into Peter I can see, are you gay for him?” Your dad asks. “NOO” you say really fast. “I just want to make new friends, that's all” your dad looks at you and with his glasses by his nose. “I’m kind of tired so why don’t I go to bed now.” “Sure sweetie, good night!” “Good night mom, good night dad!”

Tony: good night!

You go to bed not being able to forget about your beautiful evening with Peter and you want the night to pass by fast so you can meet Peter again. You were really in love with him *only if that asshole knew jeez like can he just propose to me and get done with this shit? Babe I'm waiting? You here?*.

Note: Hey guys!! Sorry it took us so long to post this chapter. School and all has been stressful so we are sorry to keep you guys waiting. This chapter is soo cute honestly. I hope you liked it. Chapter 3 is on the way maybe we will be done by next Friday and then I will post it! But there is a lot to come in Y/n’s and Peters life. Do you think Peter is in love with you? What is he hiding from you? To find out read the story love in the air!

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

Alright, so if you've been following along with me, Supernatural season 3 starts out on a trio of episodes that are Really Fun, slides into some episodes that are Pretty OK, then takes a real nose dive into Bummersville. Hoo boy guys, I really hope that this season picks up. I mean, it won’t, but I can still dream. 2021 was maybe not the year to start watching this season. Fair warning.

The next three episodes for this season are just, like, real downers. First we get “Fresh Blood,” which, aside from the terrible title, starts out on a high note. Gordon (gross) somehow manages to catch up with Bela (HOW??) and threatens her if she doesn’t hand over the Winchesters. Bela, in all of her class and grace, won’t give them up because she has a high price point and Gordon is really lowballing her here. Just like, yes, ok, please stay forever, you’re amazing and I love you. And what a scene this is! You have two characters, one with a strict moral code (albeit one that allows for violence and winning at all costs) and the other with almost NO moral code, but an allegiance that can be bought with the best price and it’s such a fun back and forth until Gordon pulls out a gun. And then she pulls out her phone and just has Dean on speed dial and that’s maybe my fav part. Bela has run into the Winchesters twice and they maybe legit hate her but she’s very much like, oh yeah, my BFF’s the Winchesters, I love those idiots!

I love that we come back to this moment later in the episode when Bela, like, three days later, is like, Oh! I guess I should warn the Winchesters that some crazy guy is after them! She’s just so casual about it you kind of get the feeling that, even though technically Gordon was threatening her life, she doesn’t view him as A Threat. She gives the Winchesters a heads up just to be like oh yeah, you might want to watch out for this mild inconvenience, and she seems legit shocked when Dean freaks out. There’s this moment that plays across her face like, oh shit, did I...did I fuck up? And it adds a nice bit of depth to her character. She’s seems honestly worried, both for the lives of the Winchesters but also that Dean won’t like her anymore and that is just a charming bit of A C T I N G!

I am gonna miss her SO MUCH when she dies at the end of this season. WHY did we CANCEL HER???

But despite the fun beginning, this episode is about monsters and how people become monsters and how other people are probably the reason. Because our main baddie is a vampire who hunts to...well, listen if we look at the facts that he lays out in his monologue, it’s a little more tragic - he’s trying to replace the daughters that he lost hundreds of years ago, cool motive, still murder. In practice though, he goes around turning hot blonde coeds into vampires and then ?????? Who knows. I’d like to believe that this was a problem with the CW executives or maybe casting/directing and not with the writing, but it’s SPN and you really can’t be sure with anything. The fact is, this is a CW show from the early 2000’s and a lot of their extras are cast to type. And that’s maybe me exhibiting some girl-on-girl crime, but there are other episodes that did a much less blatantly gross job casting their extras/Very Special Guest Stars.

Anyway, the POINT of this guy is that he’s a monster because someone killed his daughter and he’s just been trying to fill that grief hole inside of him for centuries. This is not unlike Gordon, who ALSO has been trying to fill a grief hole that he’s had for decades, except he’s not killing people and resurrecting them as blood suckers, he’s just killing them. And then, when the Vamp decides to turn Gordon it’s a real sweet moment of comeuppance for like, a HOT second and then you’re like, awww dude, ya done f’ed up. That was a bad idea. You’ve made a HUGE mistake.

More importantly, our Vampire In Question finally runs into the Winchesters and get’s to say things like “I was desperate! You ever felt desperate? I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?” and also “I just ... I didn't care anymore. Do you know what it's like when you just don't give a damn? It's like ... it's like being dead already.” and Dean’s v. much like, THIS IS TOO REAL ROY.

Sam may ALSO be feeling Too Real feelings because he is DONE dicking around with Gordon and honestly yes, I like this, this is good Sam development. It’s nice to know that Sam has a breaking point. And I admit I’m of two minds about this moment because 1) I love the idea of Dark!Sam this season and that maybe Sam’s decision to actually kill Gordon is just one step in that process but 2) I ALSO love the idea of Sam Lite finally having a breaking point and Gordon is IT. I don’t know which theory I like more in this scenario, but they are both good theories.

I think as much as this episode wants to draw parallels between the monsters and Dean (thank you artful editors), you can’t look at the “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved,” line and not think of Sam? Cuz he’s got one (1) person left in his life that hasn’t died horribly, so how desperate is he about to get through the end of this season? I’ve definitely been watching this season with eyes on all the ominous Dean foreshadowing, but the Sam foreshadowing is also there, just buried under the heavy weight of a thousand smulders and suicidal levels of denial.

And also, FUCK the tag on this episode! Guys, it is CUTE but it is also HORRIBLE. Dean starts teaching Sam how to fix the Impala and at first it’s all, “Oh! Adorable Brothers Being Brothers!” and I loved it but then I almost immediately hated it because you realize this is about making sure Sam can get along without him once he’s gone and Dean just accepts his own death with such casual ease that it’s just...INFURIATING!

This scene was rude and I HATE IT!

Cut to - “A Very Supernatural Christmas” Special!

Guys, I was so excited when I got to this episode. THIS is Classic Supernatural Shenanigans. Plus, you know a Holiday Special is the ultimate sign that this show has Made It, right? Or it could be a sign that they’re selling out, who knows, but I think we can say that at this point in the series, SPN is established enough to start having fun with their fans. That’s what this says to me. BUT THEN what we get is like...oh boy.

First - like, I’mma beat this horse to death, but what is WRONG with this FAMILY? John Winchester very quickly devolved into the sort of father that forgot about every single holiday and did not ever, even a little bit, make up for it. It’s not a surprise, but it kind of wrecked me seeing a flashback where Baby Dean is just so attached to a father who can’t be bothered to actually care for his children. I know he’s not in this episode because Jeffrey Dean Morgan was tied up in other projects, but the fact that John doesn’t show up at the end to button the flashbacks with a But then he DID show up for Christmas! just makes this plot line that more gutting. And despite Dean’s hero worship of their father, this is maybe the Christmas where Baby Sam stops believing in his own father. The only bright side to this is that it continues to enforce the fact that Bobby should have sued John for custody. Bobby should maybe STILL Sue for custody so that Dean at least would feel like someone wants him for once in his life, damnit.

And then we wrap this episode up with the Best Worst Christmas of all, because we see Sam start to...also?? accept that Dean is about to die? Cuz that’s what this episode is really about - Dean’s Last Christmas. And everything about that makes me ~ u p s e t ~.

So Sam decides to put his curmudgeonly grinchy attitude aside in order to make it a special day for Dean and ugh. UGH. UGHGHGHG. Season three is the worst guys, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize that until right this second now.

So let’s wrap this up with "Malleus Maleficarum", honestly an episode that is mostly forgettable until we get to, like, the last five minutes. Sure, witches and curses and selling your soul, woohoo whatever.

But then we get some real Ruby centric reveals and like, WHAT is happening?? First off, the scene where Ruby and Tammy have a moment is a real Moment. There is some baggage and tension here and it is heavy. And then Tammy drops the mic when she reveals that Ruby used to be human.

THEN, Ruby legit saves their asses by killing Tammy with a fancy magic knife. Ok, Dean does the actual killing, but Ruby brought the fancy magic knife. So between the hot and heavy tension with “Tammy” and her repeated attempts to keep the Winchesters alive, we’re left wondering what IS Ruby’s deal? I personally wonder how much of the show’s mythology the show actually has figured out at this point? Because interviews with Kripke definitely walk the line between “Oh we definitely have this whole thing worked out,” and “yeah, we’re sort of finding things as we go along,” which is maybe why it’s able to last as long as it does. More on that later.

Of course the big kicker is the final scene between Ruby and Dean. Dean is almost on board with Ruby at this point in the season, and much like his scene with the demon in “Sin City”, they share a kind of vulnerable moment together where Ruby admits that, yeah, she was human once and yeah, Hell will destroy you, body and soul, and yeah Dean’s worst fear will probably come true - he will become the thing he hunts, no ifs, ands or buts about it. And Dean knows that Ruby knows that Dean knows that there’s no way to save Dean from his fate, but they both agree that they can’t take Sam’s last ounce of hope away from him because, for both of them, Sam is their hope. Ruby and Dean both see the war happening around them and they know that with Dean gone, Sam’s maybe the last guy holding back the tide to save all humanity.

Which, honestly? Bull shit. Do you know how many hunters are out there? Neither do I, but this season seems to indicate that there are a LOT. We have barely scratched the surface on the hunter community and it’s a damn shame that they are all weirdo loners because there is a war going on. You know what works great in a war? An ARMY. Buncha mentally unstable, martyr-complex ijits who can’t put their differences aside for one damn MINUTE so that maybe, JUST maybe, the could actually defeat the evil they’ve spent their entire lives dedicated to fighting. And if Ruby and Dean wanted to help Sam, what they should probably do is get him plugged in to that community. I do believe that of all they backasswards, self-obsessed, painfully anti-social crazies out there, the Winchesters are THE WORST.

Listen tho, this was like, a solid scene between these two. Just a lot of work goin' into this and it paid off.

Anyway, back to the mythology for a hot second - This sort of loosey-goosey stumbling into your own world building is probably another one of those things that you’ll only really get in a show with this many episodes per season? It’s that room to play and experiment and just make stuff up as you go along. I think the slow drip method of releasing episodes ALSO helps in this scenario because you’re able to see what fans are reacting to in almost-real time. When viewers are binging episodes, I think you're less likely to see what specifically they’re reacting to and more wholistically they’re reacting to. And that’s not to say you won’t see those specific things that they like/love eventually, but by the time you get there, your season’s been produced in its entirety and you’ll have to bear that in mind for (hopefully) next season. But with SPN, they were writing and producing the show at the same time that some of the episodes were airing. That’s why they were able to make decisions on the fly, based on what fans responded to. And definitely by this point in the show, there was a sizeable and vocal fan base that made their feelings VERY well-known. We’re only in season three, but they’ve already had a number of con appearances and a pretty active online presence. That kind of feedback has got to be helpful, from a writing perspective, but it also allows for things like characters getting cut because nobody liked them for some dumb reason. BUT, if you’re fighting to stay on the air for 100 episodes or longer, responding to fan reactions is what’s gonna do it and that’s a fact.

[thenoirblogger]

Trouble Is My Business" Pictures

Front cover

Back cover

Spine

Two Blu-ray disc collection

"Trouble Is My Business" Copy

"Trouble Is My Business" Review (Posted on 06-30-2018)

Jennifer Montemar (Brittney Powell) and Roland Drake (Thomas Konkle)

What a lot of people don't realize is how much energy, creative effort, time and money are required to produce a movie/film. Being a video creator myself, it's a ton of work....but the final results are incredibly rewarding. Producing movies is a natural passion; It's an art; It's a visual form of storytelling, be it true or fictional. Ever wonder why these made-for-web projects are getting all the viewership and praise? Peek through the over-hyped movies marketed every 6 yoctoseconds, and you'll find that there are a chock full of independent, low-budget and under-recognized movies that the film industry *wishes* they made. Ladies and gentlemen of all ages, I present to you this: Trouble Is My Business.

The story is about a detective named Roland Drake, played by Thomas Konkle, whose sexy client Katherine Montemar asks for help in snatching a diamond—the Orlov Diamond—that belonged to her family. Along with detering the corrupt, mob-laden black market, Drake contacts those who may have connections as to where this may lead to while keeping innocent and anonymous. During his journey are a bunch of people intercepting his path trying to get him killed, like corrupt police officer Detective Tate, played by Vernon Wells. The movie overall gives off that classic film noir—the early days when the story and the dark life of gangsterism were the goings-on (still goes on today).

There's a bunch of things that go on in this movie that mentioning some parts are enough to ruin the entire thing. While, yes, movie/TV/video game reviews generally contain spoilers, it is a rare instance that a movie this good challenges us not to spill the beans too much. A mention of one or two things can ruin the next plot, but however, if you've watched enough gangster films, murder mysteries and/or the James Bond series, you'll find that this isn't just another movie in contrast to those titles. It's a story with sudden twists and hairpin turns, it'll drop your jaw. I was in awe at the transition from scene to scene.Roland Drake played by Thomas Konkle

"Well, I can't say no to a lady."

— Roland Drake

This is likely one of the classic lines in this movie—a modest detective reluctantly accepting the meeting with a beautiful woman needing his help. This happened twice to Mr. Drake with two women who happen to be sisters. I won't say anymore beyond that.

"I don't like a man with a sense of humor. I find it almost as unattractive as a woman with one."

— Evelyn Montemar

This made me smirk, but should inform you the kind of people—family—who are incredibly serious protecting prized possessions in the underworld. Gangsters do not have a sense of humor, since their operations involve not saying anything to where CIA or FBI could spot suspicious activity going on.

However, in my world above, women love men with a sense of humor and vice versa. Laughter is the best medicine, and is part of the universal language around the world.

"Just because you read accusations in the newspaper doesn't make them true."

— Jennifer Montemar

I feel this should tie to the skepticism people ought to adopt in the real world. Ever wonder why some news reports are served as "distractions?" Think about that.

Jennifer (Brittney Powell) and her mother Evelyn Montemar (Jordana Capra).

Roland Drake (Thomas Konkle) and Jennifer Montemar (Brittney Powell) in bed.

Bert The Cabble (Paul Hungerford) and police officer Ostrowski (Steve Olson).

Lew MacDonald (David Beeler).

As for the movie, you can tell the budget put into making this. It uses a lot of green screen, but remember, that this isn't focused on special effects compared to, say, space movies or scenes featuring explosions and flying (hello, Transformers, Star Wars and Superman fans). This movie is heavily focused on the story giving homage to the old, black & white movies when technology was so limited, movie producers worried more about the story and the acting. It's not like that today—promoting A-list actors to give low-rated movies some financial leverage. Give me a break....

The story overall is like a roller coaster ride: Once you're in it, buckle up because there'll be some surprising twists and turns. Just don't fall off the ride.

Blu-ray Disc Features review:

There's only two options on the Blu-ray menu: Play Movie and Play Trailer. There's no option for Scene Selections which may bother some Blu-ray fans. Whether you want that option or not, it gives the viewer a requirement to completely watch the film from start to finish, and there should be nothing wrong with that.

Trouble Is My Business Blu-ray menu - Black and White and Color

You may wonder why there are two discs: One for color and one for B&W. Why not put the same on one disc? I figured that they wanted to preserve the video quality putting them in separate discs. Putting two of them in one disc sacrifices the quality of the film which, as you know, will turn off a lot of movie/Blu-ray fans (let's not forget that a Blu-ray holds 25GB of data and a DVD only holds 4GB). The Black & White version of the movie gives that authentic mid-1900s feel, catering to those who dig the classic film library. As for the audio, there is no option on the Blu-ray as it is strictly 5.1 Surround. Majority of movie fans, depending on your audio system, prefer 5.1 audio anyway, but if you have a simple stereo system, it works just as well.

A movie specializing in detecting lives of crime finding truth in-between the lines while extracting secrets from a bunch of sketchy people and a family is what makes this a unique story-telling experience. I really want to talk about the film but, again, it'll spoil too much. It was so good we screened the film twice (perhaps again, after this review).

I want you, the viewer/fan, to enjoy the roller coaster ride this film brings especially when you arrive at the ending. The best way to describe it—I can't believe I'm doing this—I'll quote the bridge and chorus from the hit song "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift:

And he's long gone

When he's next to me

And I realize the blame is on me

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been

So you put me down

— Lyrics from "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift

Enjoy that scene as it will raise eyebrows.

While this movie just released on Blu-ray as recent as this month of June (2018), some of you may have obtained this packaging:

Scanavo Blu-ray case packaging

I've personally never seen this packaging. From all the Blu-rays we own in our SHOWSOTROS! video library collection, this is a huge first. I thought it was an imitation but after doing research, this Blu-ray case is by a company brand Scanavo. I feel these cases are uncommon, but unveiling it on this review, expect studios and networks to invest and do business with them showing up more frequently at your local video and electronics stores. (Yeah, I was scared for a second fearing I got a pirated copy. You'd have to be a serious low life to still produce pirated copies in this modern age.)

It's been a long while, for me at least, to finally watch and enjoy something that grips you from start to finish. Now that we've brought this amazing piece into the spotlight, we'll likely see more of this story-telling style. Because of how much the story stacks up, it's good enough to turn into a TV series (you heard it from us first, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon and many of you TV writers/producers reading this). Actually, you know, turn this movie into a TV series because we'll definitely tune in.

This Blu-ray release is still hot, fresh and new. Grab your copy as we strongly recommend this movie!

Shop for more Blu-rays and DVDs like this at WBShop.com:

Official Shop of Warner Bros

© 2008-2019 written and reviewed personally by Kris Caballero.

"Trouble Is My Business" Ratings

Our Rating:

100% 0%

[dedalvs]

I keep seeing these crazy negative reviews for Bright, and I just wanted to make sure you heard from some fans what they thought. I was incredibly excited for the movie when I first heard about it, before I even knew you were going to be involved. And now that I've seen it, I'm even more happy about it. Bright was a fantastic movie, there were certainly places it could be improved, but the movie was awesome and I can't wait for more in the same universe. Truly fantastic, thanks!

Thank you! I enjoyed it too, and enjoyed working on it. It’s not the best picture of 2017, but it was never intended to be. I think it pretty much hit the mark it was aiming for (maybe not a bullseye, but close to that second ring), and based on what I’ve seen, 8 or 9 out of every 10 people think so too. That’s pretty good!

One of the things that’s really different about Bright vis-à-vis its critical response is so many people have Netflix, so watching Bright costs nothing but time. A movie ticket, on the other hand, costs $18. If something’s getting insanely negative reviews, you may be wary about spending $18 on it. If you can watch that same thing at home for free, though (or for no extra cost), and turn it off twenty minutes in without having wasted anything but twenty minutes…? The average person is more likely to (a) watch it, and (b) not react to it as negatively. That’s not a bad way to experience something.

Part of the absolutely absurd blowback The Last Jedi is getting from a small but vocal corner of the internet is due in large part to expectations and investment. First, the legacy of Star Wars, and the ownership fans feel over it, cause fans to have a certain level of expectation for a Star Wars movie. Certain of those expectations are fine (i.e. we expect a big budget, the kind of sound effects and sets we’re used to seeing, the screen wipes, scrolling text at the beginning, John Williams, etc.), but those are actually fairly easy to meet (every single Star Wars film, including the two recent ones, the originals, and the prequels all look and sound like Star Wars films). The sense of entitlement invested fans have, though, cause them to expect things beyond that, though—and it’s not simply quality. They expect a very specific set of things to happen when it comes to plot. Much of what’s happening with The Last Jedi sounds like “We think this is a bad film!”, but what it actually amounts to is “Some of the specific things I required to happen in this film didn’t happen in this film!” And that’s just silly. Might as well not even make a new film, in that case.

So, the legacy of Star Wars is part of it, but I think the cost factor is not insignificant. If you pay for something, you feel like you should get your money’s worth—that you basically own part of it, and it should work the way you think it should. It’s true of juicers, vacuum cleaners, pots, and lamps—why not art?

Of course, this answers itself (or it should). Art is brought to life by an artist, and lived by the audience. If the audience demands too much of the artist, they may as well be doing it themselves—and they do now (cf. fan fiction. Why don’t all the haters go write some Last Jedi fan fiction—and then see what it’s like to have that received by an audience?). Even so, I think a lot of the demands are lessened when there are fewer expectations. I’ve never had sympathy for those who say, “The trailer looked like X, but the movie was Y, and therefore I hate it.” They may as well have said, “I ate a bad tangerine while I was watching the movie, therefore I hate the movie.” It may be true, but the opinion has absolutely no value beyond the individual—and I mean no value literally (neither positive nor negative). It’s nothing. It can mean nothing to anyone beyond the one who expressed the opinion, and may as well not be stated.

Anyway, trying to get back to the point, we’ve listened to critics in the past because we want to get a good sense of if we’re going to get a good return on investment. Unless you’re wealthy, going to the movie theater is not something to be done lightly anymore. If the risk is low, the outside criticism is less valuable. Like, say my life were different, and I had never seen Labyrinth. It gets a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes—not terrible, but not great. If I see that score, but then see it (a) has David Bowie, (b) is a Jim Henson film, and © is a fantasy film from the 80s, I think there’s a good chance I’ll like it. Would I pay $18-$25 to see it literally once? Maybe not. But if it was on a streaming service I already subscribed to? Yes, sign me up for that! ZERO hesitation. And you know what? I would’ve been rewarded with a movie I value more highly than most movies I have seen in my life. The score would mean (and does mean) absolutely nothing to me.

Let me tell you about another movie I saw in the theater back in 2005. It’s called MirrorMask. I knew nothing about it going in (had heard nothing), but my wife @thisallegra heard it was by Neil Gaiman, and she’s a fan, so we went. We saw it, and I loved it. Great film! I enjoyed it all the way through. It wasn’t perfect, but it was unique enough, visually interesting, and had some good performances—including a starring role by someone whom I would later meet and work with, Stephanie Leonidas. MirrorMask has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 54%. Against a $4 million budget, it earned $867,000 in a limited theatrical release. There were some positive reviews, but there were more negative reviews, and the negative reviews were more negative than the positive reviews were positive, if that makes sense. Almost no one saw it; it wasn’t in theaters for long at all; it made virtually no impact at all on popular culture. Yet I am telling you, if you have a chance to see this film, and you like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal and Neil Gaiman—or any combination thereof—you will like this film. If instead of being made for theaters it had been made for Netflix, it would be a hit. It would find its audience.

And Jebus H. Crispin, don’t get me started on D.E.B.S… (38%? You flippin’ kidding me?!)

Anyway, in short, thank you! I’m glad you like it, but you also need not worry that those who worked on the film are hearing the critics, but not the fans. We definitely are! And in all honesty, I wish some of the films that I absolutely adored in the past that were hammered by the critics and didn’t get a big box office could have gotten the kind of release that Bright did. There’s zero box office, but people are giving it a shot—and while not everyone is loving it, it’s finding its audience. What more could an artist ask for?

[xtruss]

COULD THE SENATE CONVICT DONALD TRUMP? HERE'S WHAT MITCH MCCONNELL WORRIES ABOUT!

BY BILL POWELL , 11/15/19

Convincing 67 Senators to convict Trump will be tough. But Democrats knows a path to victory.

Mitch McConnell has reason to worry—and that means Donald Trump does, too.

To convict President Trump of an impeachable offense, the Democrats have to muster a two-thirds vote in the Senate: at least 20 Republican senators (and probably more like 22 because of expected Democratic defections) would have to break ranks. That math sounds unforgiving, and it's true that the road to 67 votes is a narrow and bumpy one. But the Senate majority leader and the White House fear that if more than a couple of GOP senators say they intend to vote against Trump, there will be something of a traffic jam as Republican senators turn against the president.

For starters, it's no secret that some senators can't stand Trump. Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, famously a "never Trumper," said in September that if it were a private vote, 35 senators would vote to oust the president. Utah Senator Mitt Romney stands out among this group—and for Trump the feeling of disdain is distinctly mutual, never mind that during his transition the then-president-elect actually interviewed the former GOP standard bearer for Secretary of State. Romney recently called Trump's interactions with Ukraine's president "appalling." Trump called Romney "a pompous ass" on Twitter. Though Romney has said he has an open mind and will see where the facts take him, Trump vote-counters already assume his vote is lost.

The White House—and McConnell—have their eyes on two senators in particular: Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. They are no fans of the president. Murkowski famously voted against the bill repealing Obamacare in 2017, thus helping save it and dealing Trump a bitter defeat. Collins, who is up for reelection in what is expected to be a close race next year, has repeatedly criticized Trump. She said he "made a big mistake" asking Beijing to investigate Hunter Biden's business dealings there and called for the president to retract a tweet in which he compared the House impeachment investigation to a "lynching."

McConnell is worried their votes are not safe. In fact, in his role as Trump's sherpa—the calm hand who knows better than anyone how to count his caucus' votes—McConnell counseled the president to call Murkowski and pledge to work with her on an ambitious energy bill that the Alaska senator has been pushing for three years. He also told Trump to knock off the juvenile name-calling of Mitt Romney, which other senators found distasteful.

"[McConnell] has stressed to the president that he thinks he can keep the caucus together, but Trump needs to help," says a Senate source familiar with McConnell's thinking. "He can't just demand loyalty and expect to give nothing back. That's not how this is going to work."

The passionate partisanship that has kept Republicans aligned with Trump until now might work against the president and McConnell. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato notes that "the nationalization of politics—how people feel about the president—is bleeding down the ballot to an extreme degree." In 2016, every state with a Senate race voted for the same party for senator and president—the first time that's happened since 1912, when the era of popular voting for the Senate began. And as Sabato says, "impeachment may be the ultimate nationalizing event" for Senate members.

Will the Senate convict Donald Trump (if the House impeaches him)? Mitch McConnell is worried

To understand the implications, consider the GOP senators up for reelection in purple swing states: first-term Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado, Martha McSally of Arizona and Joni Ernst of Iowa. The first two are in races viewed as toss-ups; in Colorado Trump is deeply underwater and in Arizona only slightly less so. If the nationalization thesis holds, it could be risky for Gardner and McSally to vote to acquit an increasingly unpopular president.

Senator Ernst at this point is a slight favorite to be re-elected in Iowa, but the race will be tricky. Trump's trade war with China has hurt the state's agricultural sector. Ernst also, associates say, has complained about Trump's boorishness: the hush money payments to a porn star, the Billy Bush "locker room talk" video. She publicly has been supportive of Trump but privately isn't much of a fan.

If she defects, it could prompt some others—who are currently saying all the right things to the White House—to consider it, too. Tom Tillis of North Carolina is in a race considered a toss up. Trump won North Carolina in 2016, but is no lock next year.

This is the scenario the Trump White House dreads, and for good reason. The risk is not, at this point, that enough GOP senators will defect to oust him—at least not, again, based on what's currently known about the Ukraine affair. The risk is that even if he's acquitted, he begins to look politically weak in his own party, becoming a drag on down-ballot candidates.

Trump Impeachment Has More Evidence Than Nixon Faced: Watergate Witness

A Senate trial will be open and reasonably fair. It will not look like the president is being railroaded. It will be presided over by John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the president's defense team will be allowed to cross examine hostile witnesses and call their own to testify. If, given that, several GOP senators still end up voting for removal, Trump potentially is a dead man walking. "He won't just look weaker going into the general election, he will be weaker," says a source close to McConnell. "If you get Joni Ernst and Martha McSalley, military veterans both, voting against you, you've got trouble."

Other GOP lawmakers are making their own calculations, driven by the ambivalence—usually expressed only privately—that many Republicans in both the House and Senate feel about Trump. Unlike the president, most are used to operating in traditional ways. The president's crassness, his chaotic White House, the recent sellout of the Kurdish fighters in Syria, the "lunatic" effort to strong arm the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden, as one senior Senate staffer describes it: all serve to make Republicans distinctly uncomfortable.

There's an ideological factor at play as well. The vast majority of GOP-ers in both House and Senate believe in longtime Republican policies like free trade and fiscal sobriety. The Tea Party elected 138 House members in 2010 largely as a protest against what was then viewed as out-of-control spending in Washington. In the Trump era, free trade is dead and no one ever talks about spending. "It's as if they've been lobotomized," says Justin Amash, the Michigan Republican who announced his intention to leave the GOP this summer. "I was a Republican, but not a Trump Republican. There are any number of people up here who feel the same way, they're just not willing to say so publicly."

The reason for that is simple: as politicians, they know how to read polls. And while in several recent polls a slim majority of Americans now believe Trump should be removed from office, his support among Republican voters remains rock solid. In a recent Fox News poll in which 51 percent favored his removal, only 16 percent of Republicans did. Trump's overall approval rating was 86 percent among Republicans.

Apostates within Trump's GOP are not treated kindly. Ask Francis Rooney, a representative from Naples, Fla. Last month he gave a television interview in which he equated Trump's Ukraine scandal with Watergate. "I'm very mindful of the fact that back during Watergate everybody said, 'Oh, it's a witch hunt to get Nixon.' Turns out it wasn't a witch hunt. It was absolutely correct."

The backlash from his district was swift, intense and stoked by a furious White House. Several constituents called his office and said if he wasn't prepared to support the president he should stand down. The reaction stunned Rooney; so much so that the next day, he took the advice and announced that he would not run for re-election next year. The episode, more than anything, showed "that this is not the Republican Party anymore," says political scientist Sabato. "It's the Party of Trump."

McConnell has already spoken directly with the president on "multiple occasions" about the impeachment trial, according to four Capitol Hill and White House sources. At this point, sources familiar with McConnell's thinking say, the majority leader does not disagree with the conventional view of the forthcoming impeachment drama: the country's founders made it difficult to remove a president. Based on his understanding of the facts surrounding the Ukraine affair, in which the president allegedly tried to leverage military aid in return for a Ukrainian investigation into political rival Joe Biden and his son, McConnell believes there is little chance Trump would be convicted in the Senate—particularly if a vote to impeach in the House proceeds strictly along partisan lines, which is expected.

McConnell, White House sources say, has told Trump that privately. He is said to be dismissive, too, of the charges Democrats are likely to bring in the House that the Trump White House obstructed their investigation into the Ukraine matter.

Asked if Trump could be convicted, GOP Senate staffers answer with a standard caveat: "If all we know [about Ukraine-gate] is out there now, and nothing new emerges or happens, then no, he would be acquitted," says one staff member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bottom line, for them, is that the military aid money ultimately flowed to Ukraine, and the government in Kiev never investigated the Bidens. Trump's alleged intervention in the affair ended up being of no consequence, and the idea "that this amounts to an impeachable offense is a joke," as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham puts it.

But with Trump, this source acknowledges, "you never know." After all, it was just one day after Robert Mueller's Congressional testimony about so-called Russian collusion—which buried Democratic dreams of impeaching Trump on that issue—that the phone call between the president and his Ukrainian counterpart took place.

An impeachment is fluid. Things may not proceed precisely as the political pros believe they will. If Trump loses key votes of support in swing states he needs to win the election, how nervous will the party get? Is it possible enough senators get so nervous they go to the White House and ask that Trump resign, rather than have to put lawmakers on record voting for or against him? Might a weak president put the GOP's hold on the Senate at risk next November?

As of now, the president's rock-solid GOP polls make that seem unlikely, and the Trump base would be enraged and very unlikely to vote for Mike Pence, Nikki Haley or anyone else who might gain the nomination in Trump's wake. Trump may survive and even flourish, much as Bill Clinton did after the GOP's misguided impeachment effort in 1998.

But it isn't a lock. Trump's election upended all political norms and expectations; his impeachment trial is likely to do the same.

— Newsweek