#eps: [asks about amanda and john]

[purplerakath]

Cobra Kai S6 - Tory and Sam

(But mostly Tory)

Complete 180 on yesterday, let's gush about how good the girls have been so far! Spoilers and such but this is just- yes good.

Talking about Sam First

Sam's growth is a little more subtle, and her utilization this season a little less focused, but she's still good. Nothing thus far is about her, it's all been her and Tory. But that's fine, the two of them being unable to fight each other after calling a truce, both afraid the peace won't last (but not wanting to break the peace) matters.

Both airing out how the other hurt them, and owning their parts matters.

About the only thing missing is Sam should have recognized Tory wasn't okay going into the fight. But all in all they did an excellent job making the pair of them believably awkward at each other.

Okay now for our Queen Cobra

Tory's character has always been shaped by how little life gives her, how much she has to fight for. Making that a core memory of her's, a part of her mother loving her, is really solid context to give before she goes Cobra again.

The episode isn't perfect, largely because it needed more showing that Tory is pushing them away (them, not just Robby) than it showed. That she's so used to the fight, and so used to being alone, she can't ask for help. And putting her on team Cobra means that she's set-up to be opponents of both Sam and Devon in Part 2.

And, personally, I hope that Johnny will get through to her in Part 2 after Danny fucked it up so badly in Part 1. Because it'll also be a measure of self-rescue. If he can save another angry blonde from John Kreese.

The other Problem...

Because these eps are all conflict, no resolution (see my post on Sunday about what I mean) it means nobody could go after Tory in the moment. They all got to be surprised by her being team Cobra. This is due to Amanda, Johnny, Sam, or Robby talking to her would be a resolution of some form. And we don't have time for that.

Ep 5 was about ten minutes longer than every other ep so far and it still cut stuff that they needed. Which says something about how much is going on.

I expect between Sam, Robby, and Johnny we'll get a resolution and a final heel-face turn for Tory. But having Tory sink into the darkside after her mother died is just- very very right for this show.

[lyrker]

Malevolent S1 Music Timestamps

These are timestamps when either “Faroes Song” or “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)” plays

“Reminiscent” is the category made to sort piano pieces that are NOT “Faroes Song”

Ep 1: “The Dark World”

(after credits, very beginning, spotify timestamp -1:44) “You Call It Madness” plays low and then turns up from the radio dial.

Lyrics spoken:

“I can't forget the night I met you

That's all I'm dreaming of

Now you call it madness

But I call it love”

The audio fizzles out quickly and Arthur then awakens for the first time after his merging with John immediately after.

Arthur does not remember anything, John tells him who he is. It is the beginning of them simply calling each other “friend.”

-8:17, “Faroes Song”

John gets Arthur to play the piano to calm down. It’s the first time we hear the piano play, and it brings back some of Arthur’s memory in his panic.

Note the fact that Arthur plays this by memory and cannot see; pure skill

-20:49, “Faroes Song”

Arthur is talking about the strange abandoned house with the symbol on the door, the same on Johns book. Arthur and Peter had called it in, and they received the anonymous tip that the girl they were looking for was found dismembered in a field.

-28:06 “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love) we hear the fizzy static of a radio in the background, as if trying to connect to another station but not quite there yet,

-28:23, “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)” begins to play as John describes the scenery of the bookshop after Arthur asks him to describe everything. Arthur mentions the radio, John says he cannot see it, but somehow knows the song, while Arthur does not recognize it. The song fizzles out after singing “I can't forget the night I met you

That's all I'm dreaming of

Now you call it madness

But I call it love”

The radio continues to fizzle in the background.

-42:53 “Faroes Song”

John asks Arthur about the girl who was dismembered when they were searching the house with the symbol on it. Arthur mentions not pressing for details about the “bizarre” dismembering, and John gets aggravated and asks if he “even tried”.

Ep 2: “The Missing Girl”

-49:20 “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)”

Arthur and John have taken the baby from the laughing grandma, ran from the beast in the woods and have started the car. Upon ignition the radio begins playing the song, and John mentions that they did not leave the radio on. The old woman breaks the window and John yells to hit the gas. They crash, and the song plays until the end while the baby cries.

Lyrics spoken:

“So I am pleading

Please come back to me”

cut as they drive and crash, the song is unheard

“And now you call it madness

But I call it love”

Ep 3, “The Mansion”

None

Ep 4, “The Voices”

-13:35 “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)”

Kellin makes Arthur sing. He sings what he can of the song. He skips the lyric “madness”, trying to skip past it to the next song. Kellin asks why he’s afraid to say madness, asks if it’s because of him, Arthur insists it’s because he forgot.

Ep 5, “The Gift”

-9:04 “Faroes Song”

Arthur awakens from his Coma and John tells him how long it’s been. He explains that he’s been conscious the entire time Arthur has been asleep. Johns has been thinking about the mystery of how they were bound, the fact that he escaped/pulled the Dark World, and thanks Arthur because he feels lucky for being stuck with him. It’s also when John tells Arthur he wants to be called John Doe.

-20:00 “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)”

They are trying to steal a set of keys to break into the records room. Someone is asleep in the break room, a radio playing and the keys on the table. As Arthur creeps closer and grabs the keys the radio suddenly turns to static and begins playing the song, almost waking the sleeping person. They run out and the radio is heard changing back to the original song.

-25:23 “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)”

Arthur opens the bag over Amanda’s head, knuckles brushing her skin as a monstrous roar sounds and the song can be heard in the midst of it. John says he saw the moments leading up to her death. After bickering, the second time they touch her does not sound the song. John then describes the events before she dies.

Ep 6, “The Hill”

-2:08 “Faroes Song”

John is describing the small town and Lake Crawford. It’s very small, better crossed with a bike than a taxi.

-11:20 “Faroes Song”

To pass the time, they go into a music shop. John urges Arthur to play a song on the piano. Arthur says it wouldn’t be very jovial, but John says play what suits your mood. He plays, and a man asks what the piece is called. It takes Arthur a moment to tell him, like he doesn’t know or have a name, before he finally says Faroes Song. It’s the first time we finally know the name of the song.

-35:27 “You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)

They are in a boat they’ve stolen to row to the island on Amanda Cummings map. John mentions that it feels like the time when they were escaping Kellin, but Arthur mentions he’s not bleeding out this time and that it’s better. To pass the time, Arthur begins to sing the song, word for word this time.

Ep 7, “The Island”

None

Ep 8, “The Caves”

-16:59 “Faroes Song”

Very abrupt. John is describing the symbol on this lesser-professionally made book, as if it was hand bound. It looks like a coiled body and two serpentine lines, or “two tentacles.” As Arthur repeats this phrase, the song begins to play and John says that he does not recognize this symbol. This symbol is the one on Amanda’s letter. John talks about how he’s been pleasantly forgetting the Dark World, and doesn’t know if it's because he’s in this world “again” or something else.

-24:36 “Reminiscent” then “Faroes Song”

John reads aloud the letter addressed to “Anna.” It begins with Amanda saying she misses Anna, not knowing if Anna will come find her. The letter says “this letter may go unread for centuries, perhaps it will never be found.” It is after this line that “Faroes Song” begins to play. She speaks about never forgetting that basement, “Antoine’s final plan”, “The Portal” and “Henry’s Sacrifice.”

Antoine was someone Amanda knew, and saw later in an old History book dated at least 100 years before, the lighthouse keeper. There’s also mentions of a girl named “Emily,” and her life being ruined alongside Amanda’s and Anna’s.

Antoine was trying to summon a “dying master from long ago.” Shub-Niggurath, to bring the end of the world. He needed to find those connected by blood to the people who began the ritual 600 years prior, and it failed. The song stops at 26:36 and plays a rising strings tone.

Henry killed the creature Antoine brought in, but The King in Yellow came through after.

-38:26 “Reminiscent” then “Faroes Song”

Arthur is arrested. He talks to John, calls him selfish and tells him it’s his fault, telling him he could’ve done anything. When Arthur says “fuck you, John.” Faroes song begins to play. Arthur seems to be crying as he berates John, how he’s lost everything and has been left with nothing.

John re-enters with a static sound.

Ep 9, “The Boat”

-32:29 “Faroes Song”

Arthur is dying. He is weak. He can’t run. John tells him he’s not alone. Let it come.

In his last moments, Arthur yells out a name.

Faroe.

His daughter.

Ep 10, “The Hotel”

-18:39 “Faroes Song”

John describes the town they’ve found. A lovely looking coastal town and builds up a hill a bit. Everything moves down to the towns square. A tall building stands at the waterfront, likely a hotel. Arthur is excited to actually get a good place to rest.

-27:29 “Faroes Song”

It’s a deeper version of the song, lower notes.

John says that Arthur is hardly the man he first met. Arthur understands that he can’t just run from what’s happening anymore. He must face them. Seek them out, even. Mr.Armitage warned them of this seeking.

Ep 11, “The Sect”

-39:41 “Faroes Song”

John wants to leave and Arthur wants to go to the basement. They both want answers but John does not want them to die. John says “what if we get a book that separates us, what then Arthur ? Where do I go ?” He says this because the paper seems to be seeing then as pawns, and that John doesn’t know who he is. John asks if Arthur ever considered that he would take over the body if given the chance, that his knowledge about everything makes it seem like he was on the wrong side of things.

Arthur says, regardless, John has changed and that he trusts him.

Ep 12, “The End”

-10:49 “Faroes Song”

Kellin describes what the King in Yellow is. God himself, offering pain, despair and madness and despair. He says the King is the one who lets you out. That the god and the devil are one in the same. That the King exists in both the Dreamlands and their world. He learned everything from Mirror Lake in a basement. The King in Yellow is not to be found unless you’re supposed to, only when you truly see yourself framed in gold will you find answers.

John and Arthur don’t understand exactly, but somehow, the Dreamlands feels familiar to them both.

-49:42

It seems to be some version of ”Faroes Song”. It’s not quite right, as if still being composed. A knock sounds at the door, and it is opened. Arthur calls out “Faroe? Hello? Faroe, Darling?”

John's voice enters, saying “why is this the memory you refuse to let go of?” Arthur is scared, and John laughs at him asking who he is, saying he is the King in Yellow, that the body is now his and everything is being erased, but this memory. The King asks why this one, why he can’t let go. Arthur refuses to tell even as the King threatens him, asking why he can’t take control, as the King says he can. Unless he doesn’t actually want to.

John Can't forget the little bit of humanity he saw.

The King says Arthur has stolen a part of him, and it’s lost its way, John's fractured soul entangled.

But the King cannot take over, because John does not want to.

Arthur is now in the Dreamlands, the King playing on his own terms to get his fractured soul back.

[writing-winters]

SGRoA: Vampire Diaries, S01 E21: Isobel

Not this one. The Amanda Grayson-looking one. I’m hype for this episode, y’all. It’s the penultimate of the season, so only one more after this! And frankly, my knowledge of both Grey’s Anatomy and Star Trek is, well, autistic in its breadth and depth. Meaning I can make jokes for daaaaaaayyyyyys. Let’s get started!

Well, we’re off to a bad start. The little “last time on” recap at the beginning ends with Isobel saying hello to Alaric, and then it just… starts the episode with the rest of that conversation. I was like, I don’t remember this from last week? Yeah, because it wasn’t on last week. This is now this week. They gave absolutely zero indication the ep was starting, so why do I feel dumb?

HOKAY, SO. She says it’s good to see him, and he asks where she’s been. She says she has no answers that will satisfy him. She wanted to become a vampire, and he was supposed to mourn her and move on. He asks how could he not search for her? “Because I wasn’t lost, Ric,” she says, sadly, and then changes the subject to Elena. She wants Ric to arrange a meeting for her and Elena, and Ric is pissed to be treated like a messenger. He calls her a “selfish bitch” and leaves.

She follows him out, making no effort to hide her vampire movement. Ric says he’s not going to do anything for her. She takes him by the throat and says that he’s going to tell Elena to meet her, and if he or Elena don’t do what she wants, she’ll start killing townspeople, starting with his history students. She drops him and goes.

Oh, she’s delightful, I like her just fine. I mean, killing innocents is a little gauche, admittedly, but some people are just tacky sometimes. I like Little Debbie cakes and real cigarettes (though I gave up the cancer sticks for good several years ago). We’re all trashy in our own ways.

Elena calls Damon to check on Stefan before she heads out to work on the Miss Mystic Falls float for the Founders’ Day Parade.

They banter a bit: Damon says Stefan is horrible, back to being his boring, stupid, moral self again. They laugh. Damon asks if Uncle John has said anything about his “field trip” with the history teacher, and Elena again confesses to avoiding John. Damon wants to know what he’s up to; Elena says she’ll keep an eye out.

Alaric is going over expectations for the … high school’s? history department’s? history class’s? Founders’ Day float. Tyler is in charge, because Ric’s “seen [his] sketches. They’re good.” Tyler doesn’t want to be involved, and Ric just says he doesn’t really care, pick your team, don’t screw up, and hey, I have to leave to talk to Elena now. Tyler asks Matt if he wants to be on his… float team? but Matt, obviously, says no. Still pissed about your mom being a predator? Yeah, I would be, too, but maybe that’s not Tyler’s fault?

Instead of following Ric, Elena, and Stefan, we go to Caroline’s float team, who are referencing last year’s Miss Mystic Falls float.

It’s exactly what they don’t want to do, apparently, so they’re doing “classic Southern charm” - aka, Gone With The Wind.

Look, I actually love GWTW, but it’s a racist movie. It was a racist book about a racist time in history. I don’t think it should be banned or anything, but I also don’t think it should be a parade float theme? Like, come on, now.

But we’re quickly derailed from float decisions by Caroline asking wtf is going on between Bonnie and Elena. THANK YOU! OMG, Caroline, we’re besties now, okay? Bonnie says it’s nothing, but Caroline says the whole point of float building is friends coming together to make something, but Tyler and Matt hate each other and now Bonnie and Elena are on the outs? No. Bonnie needs to tell her what’s wrong, so she can help fix it.

Bonnie simply says she can’t talk about it. She’s sorry.

We didn’t stay with Alaric, Stefan, and Elena because get this: the writers aren’t going to repeat information we already know.

I mean, they’ve been pretty good about that, especially for a soap opera. I shouldn’t be such a snarky bitch, but then, I do have to be true to myself. Anyway, Damon comes to Alaric’s classroom, and Elena and Stefan have 1000-yard stares on. Damon asks what’s going on, and Alaric fills him in in one line: “I saw Isobel last night.”

Uncle John pulls his modestly-priced compact sedan in front of a mansion. I thought it was one of the kids’ cars, honestly, doesn’t seem like something John would be driving, a little Corolla/Civic/Camry/Whathaveyou. Walks in like he owns the place, though I suspect it’s Isobel’s. Ah, yes - John gets to the bedroom, where Isobel in a nightie is watching a couple dancing. She picked them up in Brooklyn and Amarillo, and apparently has them under compulsion, because John yells at her for treating “real human beings like dolls”.

Isobel says if they’re going to be partners, he has to stop being such a hater.

“We’re in a partnership together because we share a mutual goal. Don’t ever confuse that for acceptance of your lifestyle,” John shoots back. Ah, I see. I hope John dies soon.

She asks if he has the invention, and of course he doesn’t, so she backhands him and says she’s taking over from here. I love it.

Damon asks if John and Isobel are working together. Ric didn’t ask. What about the invention? The tomb? What, exactly, did Ric ask her? Well, nothing, obviously, she just wants to see Elena. Damon tells her she doesn’t have to see Isobel if she doesn’t want to, and Stefan seems surprised that he would be so tender with her. But Elena says she does have to: Isobel threatened to kill people, after all, and Elena thinks she’ll regret it if she doesn’t go, just from a personal standpoint, not from, like, all the bodies at her feet.

Y’all, we’re not even 10 minutes into this episode. Where has all this plot been for 20 episodes?!

They meet at The Grill, where else? Elena’s wearing a little transmitter, and Stefan’s playing pool and listening in. The first thing Isobel says is that Elena looks exactly like Katharine, which is weird, because Elena’s titties are, like, never out. Katharine found Isobel when she first turned - genetic curiosity, apparently, nothing as lovely or human as The Great Family. Isobel says Katharine would be “fascinated” by Elena.

Isobel daywalks because of a pendant. (Why does everyone else do it, VD writers’ room? Huh? Anna? Harper? Frederich?) Elena asks about her father: “a teenage waste of space.” Isobel says she asks a lot of questions, but she’s asked 3, and she asks why Isobel compelled the guy to step into traffic. Because she’s a vampire, duh. Elena says no, she knows other vampires, better vampires, and Isobel asks why Elena went for Stefan instead of Damon - or does she enjoy them both, like Katharine did?

Elena looks way too prudily scandalized by that thought to be even having this conversation. Elena. Honey. If you’re going to run with vampires, you have to give up a lot of American prudishness. I know these vamps seem squeaky-clean and wholesome, but they’re vampires. Come on, now.

Damon and Alaric are waiting outside. Isobel made it clear they weren’t allowed in, and Damon says he’s not going to kill her in a crowded restaurant! Alaric says he’s not going to kill her at all, and Damon’s surprised he still wants to protect her. Ric says she was his wife - was, because “whoever that is in there, she’s cold, detached.” Because she’s a vampire, says Damon, but Ric doesn’t understand it. Damon and Stefan both still have some humanity, why doesn’t Isobel?

Look, I could put an entire other essay in here about why female-presenting vampires are always “cold, detached, inhuman” and male-presenting vampires are always either brooding and “good” or rakish and “evil”, but only insofar as it makes them sort of an anti-hero. I could. I won’t. I’m sure y’all can figure this one out without me, we live in a patriarchy, yadda yadda. Y’all can fill in the screed, have fun!

Damon tells Alaric that they can “turn it off”, meaning their humanity or emotions or whatever they’re calling it this week. Not alexithymia, never that, but whatever “bizarre”, “inhuman” thing they’re attributing to vampirism instead of being a totally normal, if rare, human variation. I love being a creature.

Elena asks why Isobel wanted to see her. She’s curious about Elena, of course, but she wants what Uncle John wants: the invention. She knew Uncle John in school; he had a huge crush on her, was the first one to tell her about vampires. Elena asks why Isobel wanted to be one. Isobel says it’s a long list, and surely Elena has thought about it. Elena, once again, looks scandalized, and I have to go smoke another bowl, oh my god, I did not expect to have to teach Vampire Diaries from a feminist lens today, christ.

Elena is so good and pure, such an upright woman, she’d never consider being a dirty, slutty vampire! Over and over and over, this trope, this goddamn stupid bullshit nonsense. Fuck outta here with this shit. Fuck.

Anyway. Elena says no, she hasn’t considered the reasons, and Isobel says it’s her first lie. Elena will get old; Stefan won’t. Forever isn’t very long when you’re human.

Elena says she doesn’t have the invention and storms off. But Isobel’s riiiiiiiiiiiiight!

I know I’ve ranted about it before, I must have, because this whole thing, this overarching trope of some sort of patriarchal or misogynistic values imposed on vampirism is fucking everywhere. It makes my skin crawl. It’s stupid. It doesn’t make any sense. WHY ARE YOU WITH A VAMPIRE IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE A VAMPIRE. Make it make sense to me.

I know, I know, the women must refuse the icky stand-in for sexual desire. And the men must regret having to sully women with sexual desire? I think? There’s a lot of overlap in the male archetype with addiction in various forms, which I have also complained about at length. It is the 21st century. Can we ever put away Puritanical mores? We just have to keep this stupid shit lying around forever because…? Because our ancestors gave it to us? Fuck them, it’s broken, I’m throwing mine out.

(If you’d like to read about a human woman who is with a vampire because she wants to be a vampire, I have a book for you!)

Psych! Isobel actually grabs Elena before she can complete her walk-off. Isobel knows that Damon has the invention. Elena will get it from him. Simple.

And then Isobel walks off.

Elena starts crying; Bonnie walks up, but then sees Stefan behind her, and nothing is said, because Bonnie is mad for reasons. I mean, we’re not allowed to know them, or anything, but she swears they exist.

Jeremy calls Anna and leaves what sounds like a multiple of messages. Jenna overhears him and asks about Anna, because Jenna likes her. John pops in and also asks about Anna, but Jeremy doesn’t want to talk to him. John complains about nobody wanting to talk to him anymore. Well, don’t be an asshole, John, and people might like you.

Damon is… in an apartment? that he must own, because Isobel shows up as he’s “losing” strip poker with a rando. Oh, it’s Isobel’s house, that was the girl she picked up in Brooklyn. There’s a lot of stalking and aggressive flirting that isn’t flirting.

Katharine wants the device, not Isobel, and Katharine won’t be crossed. Isobel is just a messenger. But bad news: Damon believes in killing messengers. And Isobel went after Elena, which was clearly a mistake. If Katharine wants something from him, she’d better show up herself and let him know.

Bonnie shows up at Elena’s because she feels bad about not comforting Elena at The Grill. They’re friends, and if Elena needs her, Bonnie is here. She’s sorry she couldn’t show that YESTERDAY.

Not exactly the best fit, but I’m just impressed they gave us some sense of time, no matter how nebulous it might be. I was beginning to think it really was just some alternate dimension where time has no meaning.

Elena says she met her birth mom, and then Bonnie hugs her.

Tyler tries to apologize to Matt at float building.

Elena meets Bonnie at school, so I hope this is a different day, but again… [insert ICP here]. Anyway, Bonn has Emily’s grimoire. It’s got all the inventions in it: the compass, rings, and whatever Katharine’s looking for. John Gilbert didn’t invent anything: Emily put magic in all of them to make them work. The device Katharine wants is more than one piece, though Damon only has the one. They read the spell about it: it’s an anti-vampire weapon. Bonnie and Elena seem confused as to why Katharine would want it, but, uhhhhhhhhhhh - vampire? She wants to kill other vampires, obviously.

Elena goes to the float building to find Stefan, but runs into Jeremy looking for Anna instead. She says she hasn’t seen her, and Jeremy says she’s lying, because she always lies to him. He knows that she knows about vampires, and he knows about vampires, so where the fuck is Anna? Elena still hasn’t seen her, but Jeremy stalks off without believing that.

Elena can’t go after him, though, because Isobel shows up. Amazing, how these vamps are literally never wearing sunglasses. I wear sunglasses indoors and at night, but sure, I guess all this magic making them daywalkers could also make them impervious to how bright the motherfucking sun is. (I have three different sets of sunglasses - full strength for most of the time, half strength for rain and cloudy days, and yellow for night, because of those LED lights that no one points properly that fuckin’ blind everyone else on the road.)

Isobel threatens Elena by talking about being more involved in Elena’s life - she points out Bonnie and Caroline and Matt and Jeremy and blah blah blah. Do what I want or I kill the people you love. She demonstrates by injuring Matt a little, and then apparently kidnaps Jeremy? Well, she says she’ll kill him, and Elena whips around and can’t see him anymore, so that’s the inference we’re supposed to make.

Tyler is driving Matt to the hospital, because an ambulance will be 20 minutes and cost $5,000.

Isobel goes home to John. Oh, she did kidnap Jeremy! look at that. John’s pissed. He thinks she won’t kill a kid, but come on, dude. He asks for the “old Isobel”, but that seems a losing proposition. And it is. Her sex lackeys attack John and she takes his invincibility ring.

Bonnie, Stefan, and Elena try to convince Damon to turn the device over. Bonnie says she can remove the original spell, making it useless. John and Isobel won’t know. Damon says no, he’ll rescue Jeremy himself. Stefan points out the problems with that, so Damon turns to questioning Bonnie’s powers. She shows off with a little parlor trick of telekinesis, and they jabber some more, but ultimately, Damon gives up the device.

Locked up at Isobel’s, John shares some exposition with Jeremy. Tells him about the device, that the vamps want it to take vengeance on Mystic Falls. Why would a vampire help John kill vampires? says Jeremy, like human beings aren’t constantly sniping at each other 25/8. (There’s too much to fit in a normal week, we added shit just to fuck with each other more.) John tells Jeremy that’s why his parents were killed: because of all the vampire shit.

And I know, you’re gonna be all, “Cate, why would an immortal being continue such petty rivalries?” and if that’s your question, sweetie, I need you to read some novels. Vampires are nothing but petty. They’re just humans with fangs. You think they’re going to therapy and doing the work?

Final ten minutes!

Bonnie takes the device apart and unspells it, which involves a lot of handwaving and not much else.

Elena meets Isobel to hand it over, but she wants Jeremy first. Isobel says it isn’t a negotiation, but honestly, of course it is. Everything is.

Oh, Jeremy and John are back home. John “hit his head”, and Jenna’s cleaning it up. Hey, when do we bring Jenna in on all this? Don’t we think she should know? Especially after all that Logan ghosting mess, it might be nice for her to know that the town’s overrun with fangs and it’s not her.

Elena says that Isobel never intended to hurt Jeremy. Isobel says she intended to kill him. Elena can’t be looking for redeeming qualities in Isobel; there aren’t any. I beg to differ, but my standards are very different.

Isobel says she knew Damon would give up the device because he’s “in love” with Elena, but I don’t think that’s true. I think the show writers can’t figure out any other reason Damon would feel kindly toward her, but they can be friends. They can be sibling-like. Damon’s kind of her brother-in-law, y’know? I always feel sorry for people who seem to think romantic love is the only reason for kindness or care. Their lives must be very bleak.

Elena thanks Isobel for being a disappointment, so she can remember her real mother perfectly. Isobel warns her that as long as she’s in with the Salvatores, she’s fucked. Katharine was smart enough to get out, but “we all know you aren’t Katharine.” I haven’t seen your titties once!

Isobel leaves, Stefan hugs Elena, Damon looks on in what we’re supposed to interpret as romantic longing, but I hate it, I refuse.

Elena wants to talk to Jeremy about everything, but he’s rightfully pissed about Damon erasing his memories. (“For good”, remember that? when Damon thought he brain damaged Jeremy so much he’d never remember? Ah, good times!)

Jeremy still can’t get hold of Anna.

Isobel says goodbye to Alaric, saying she’s leaving. They fight a little, obviously. She’s a different person, what did he think he’d find, he throws his ring and his vervain at her, daring her to kill him. He doesn’t think she wanted to be a vampire, and she says she did - but she’ll regret it forever.

Anna finally turns up at Jeremy’s to tell him Pearl and Harper are dead.

Stefan threatens Damon about Elena. Yawn. But then at the end, he puts together something I missed: John is Elena’s dad. Isobel dated him when she was 15, she ended up in his brother’s office, she’s still working with him now… Damn, Damon, you’re good. I missed all of that!

Stefan asks him what proof he has, and he says that’s for John, Elena, and Maury Povich to deal with.

Isobel is, apparently, actually leaving. She calls John and tells him that what he’s looking for is on his doorstep (his ring and the device) and that he’d better not screw up. Katharine wants all the raveyard vamps dead, and Isobel is adding two to the list: The Salvatores. Duh. Isobel doesn’t “want this life for her”, meaning Elena. “She’s our daughter, John,” she says, more to inform the audience than to admonish him.

Caroline meets Bonnie at the grill in our literal last minute. She wants Bonnie to tell her what’s going on between her and Elena. Bonnie says she “did something bad”. To Elena. She pretended to do something that she couldn’t really do - that Grams wouldn’t have done, so she didn’t do it. But when Elena finds out….

Friday’s our finale, y’all! Bonnie not disenchanting the device will come up, I hope! As will Elena’s parentage! And I hope Katharine shows up! I do not want to have to hear about this bitch for another 22 episodes, tell you what.

Till Friday!

[silvertown]

In my relisten of Malevolent I discovered that we hear the song “You call it madness (but I call it love)” quite a lot at the beginning of season 1. I remembered only it playing in the beginning of episode 1, the boat ride and later appropriately in episode 18 “The Madness” (nice one, Harlan). But we actually hear it 8 times:

Ep. 1: at the beginning, right before Arthur wakes up, we hear someone tuning the radio, coming across this song. Later in the bookshop it’s there on the radio again and we get this interesting exchange:

Arthur: I hear a radio. Do you hear that? John: Yes. But I can’t see it… I… Arthur: What? What’s wrong? John: That song. Arthur: I don’t recognize it. I don’t think I- John: Quiet! Just let me listen for a second. I… I don’t understand. Arthur: What don’t you understand? I don’t recognize it. John: I do.

Why does John recognize it, when Arthur doesn’t? John here sounds bewildered, confused (in a very human-like way, not like for example when he “remembered” underground city as “home”). Does he remember hearing it on the radio moments before Arthur read from his book? Or is this some kind of premonition, some timey-wimey thing?

At the end of ep. 2 and beginning of ep. 3: on the car radio right before/after the crash. John even comments here: “Wait. We didn’t leave the radio on”.

Ep. 4: Arthur hilariously tries to sing it during the most awkward car ride ever :D

Ep. 5: In the break room, when boys are stealing the keys, music on the radio distorts for a brief moment and “You call it madness” begins to play. Arthur asks wtf was that. Later in the morgue when they first discover their “gift” of seeing the death of a person via touching their corpse. Arthur hears it, distorted, while John sees Amanda’s death.

Ep. 6: They are rowing across the lake to the island with the lighthouse, and Arthur sings again! (during the most romantic boat ride ever! I’m so normal about that one. Arthur, why did you choose this song to sing to your demon headmate? Please never stop being like that, I love you)

I have so many questions. Is it just a great song that thematically fits with the characters? Do I need to be paranoid about it like with the lighter that Arthur keeps finding in his pocket? Is it connected to the King somehow? In ep. 18, when he has Arthur trapped in his illusions – Arthur hears the record play and then skip on the word “madness” again and again. Sure, the King is roaming around in Arthur’s mind, looking for what to torture/confuse him with, but maybe all those times they heard it before signifies moments when the King was spying on them. Will it come back to haunt me? (Most likely).

[ravenswood]

greetings FUCKO maybe talk about what you want to see from amanda and john in the Future?? also, of course, what's your favorite Frollo Freak moment?

my favorite frollo freak moment is when we finally fucking finish reading her godforsaken works and can move ON with our lives,

god tho can i just say like?? everything????? no but okay for real, i’m like. super fucking looking forward to doing actual Team Jigsaw stuff and exploring how amanda’s struggling to keep to john’s terms of what they do because for all that she’s now working to redeem herself in his eyes, deep, deep down she’s not really doing it because she’s come around to his way of thinking? she still doesn’t think people really change, that memory of her confrontation with eric is still with her, but she wants john to see her as worthy again and to prove that she’s willing to do anything for him.

idk it’ll be interesting to write out that struggle i think??

ALSO OH SHIT i really want like........at some point for amanda to find out that john knew about her involvement with jill’s miscarriage because. god is it going to wreck her to know that he’d already forgiven her for it like?? it’s honestly not what she’d expect at all and i’m sure it’ll be Fucking Emotional

apart from that it’s like i told spear -- i’m still at the point where i’m feeling out how i want amanda’s development to go, and i’m sure john will be deeply involved with whatever happens? and also like...mmm i’m not sure exactly how to word this without sounding Weird but i don’t? really want to go the route of ‘amanda vehemently rejects john and jigsaw stuff after her development’ because i don’t think that’s? v true to her character? or honestly respectful to the relationship that they have, fucked up as it is. 

i think even if she does get to a place where she has a healthier outlook and perspective on their relationship she wouldn’t just completely reject him, like....he’s the first person to have ever really shown her love and care? i think there’s always going to be a part of her that loves him and is grateful to him for that, if not for the uh. traumatizing shit he did do to her. i’m not sure exactly what i WOULD want to happen between them buuuut maybe once some more development happens with both of them, the answers will be clearer. and in the meantime, i’m definitely looking forward to the two of them being a Fucked-Up Serial Killer Duo

its a fucking complicated situation but yeah those are my thoughts! i want to write them forever honestly,

[measuringbliss]

So I watched The Suicide Squad last night and the first episode of Peacemaker this morning. Here are my Thoughts.

First of all HARLEY'S ROCKING THE FUCK OUT OF THIS OUTFIT!!!!

Now that I've said it. Onto the rest.

I absolutely loved TSS. I hadn't seen the first, but I did watch Birds of Prey twice in theaters. The James Gunn vibe is definitely there. Too much there, maybe? The old pop songs were vaguely justified in Guardians of the Galaxy since the protagonist is absolutely passionate about them, and it's in the narrative and it kind of became a GotG trademark, you know? They're introduced with Rubberband Man in Infinity War. It's their thing. So it does sound weird for TSS to have so much of them too. I feel like it was part of the contract; the execs wanted James Gunn, not only the man but the full treatment: colors, good comedy and songs. But I feel like now, it's really overdone. Umbrella Academy had that annoying "oh this fight scene is funny because there's a song in the background" thing in one of the first episodes, and then the absolutely ridiculous Run Boy Run scene made me quit the show because even though those moments irritated the hell out of me, they still were the highlight of my viewing experience until then because the rest was just. so. boring.

The lyrics are at least appropriate and not too much on the nose in TSS, so there's that. But it really wasn't necessary.

There were a lot of great ideas. Harley's flowers fight is wonderful, it looks like an ad for perfume you'd see on TV in the 2000s. The anachronistic order is nice. Comedy is mostly good. The opening act is absolutely hilarious and I really love Weasel. I'd already played both seasons of Telltale's Batman so I knew Amanda Waller is an asshole and wow, she was great. She was incredible. Loved her. All the actors are great, actually. John Cena was very surprising, but his scenes after the hard drive is found? Heartbreaking as fuck. Fuck that fight scene was so raw, I gasped. I gasped multiple times throughout the movie, I just wasn't ready.

Mickey Rourke's wig is awful, part of the fun obviously just as Weasel's dubious CGI.

"If I die 'cause I gambled on love... It will be a worthy death." FUCK, that quote is so GOOD. ALSO THE RATS. THEY'RE SO ADORABLE. I WANT TO PET THEM.

If anyone asks, yes of course I shipped Peacemaker and Flag, two guys trying to kill each other? Yes that's the good stuff. Also Taika Waititi was hot. Absolutely nobody is surprised.

I did think the music was overdone in the climax, with the flashback to both Ratcatchers and Harley helping killing Starro. It was... too much. But the moment itself was sweet as hell. Fuck, this movie is great. So many great stuff about it.

OKAY BUT JUST BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO PEACEMAKER EP 1

I feel like the "pop song everywhere in superhero movies" might eventually become even more commonplace and it would make sense, really, because comics are a pop thing too, you know what I'm saying? Pop songs are probably an appropriate soundtrack. Doesn't mean I *like* it, but it does make sense.

OKAY PEACEMAKER EP 1

FIRST. OMG A GAY COUPLE. FUCK YEAH. I love them. I love them so much. I hope they don't die, either of them.

okay now here is where I insert an entire paragraph about my thirst for John Economos. But I'm too lazy so you'll have to imagine it. but. yeah.

anyway DID YOU KNOW I LOVE HUGS? AND I LOVE IT WHEN CHARACTERS HUG EACH OTHER??? well it happens in both the movie and the first episode. loved it.

look. about Robert Patrick. I'm tired of seeing him play terrible guys I don't like. but also you have to admit he has the perfect face for that.

ALSO VIGILANTE IS SUCH A PUPPY. HE'S SUUUUCH A PUPPY. Freddie Stroma, I had you on my radar for HP6 and it's now confirmed: you're a certified snack.

what else, what else... I WAS SO ANNOYED I COULDN'T WATCH THE FOLLOWING EPISODES RIGHT NOW. I'M HOOKED, FOLKS. I'M SO HOOKED IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY.

okay I think I've said most of what I wanted to say. thanks for reading my ridiculous ramblings!

[plaidbooks]

Hi babes - a request that’s kind of specific- (readerxcarisi) this would take place in season 19, episode 8 where Rollins and Carisi are at the shitty motel and they have that moment. So the idea would be that reader is also a detective, maybe newer or something tagging along with them two and reader knows Carisi has a thing for Rollins and reader was with him when they saw the guy leaving Amanda’s room. Reader is there for him after and he realizes maybe he was chasing the wrong girl??

New Girl

A/N: Hey Anon! I had to rewatch this to do some of the dialogue from it (I condensed the first scene so it’s not incredibly long.) but it’s a good idea to rewtach this ep before reading....unless you remember that Heather was the catfisher and stuff. Anyways, this is a little longer cause t’s slower paced. I like the idea of being there for someone without needing to ask. Also yes, I’m taking the chance to flex some sports knowledge, sorry not sorry. Hope you enjoy <3

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Words: 2727

Taglist: @the-baby-bookworm @beccabarba @thatesqcrush @itsjustmyfantasyroom @stardust-fray @permanentlydizzy @infiniteoddball @ben-c-group-therapy @glowingmess @whimsicallymad @lv7867 @storiesofsvu @reading--mermaid @averyhotchner @mrsrafaelbarba @detective-giggles

“They traced the IP address to West Virginia,” Sonny said to Olivia, as they both came into the precinct.

“Good, get a John Doe warrant and send it to the local precinct,” Liv replied.

“Done and done.”

Liv gave him a smirk. “Then fill up your gas tank. Fin, you’re riding shotgun.”

“Oh, hell no; I’m allergic to West Virginia,” Fin said, leaning back in his chair.

Liv sighed. “Okay, Rollins, you’re up.”

“Really?” she whined.

Liv glanced between the two, already looking tired of this crap. “Come on, someone’s gotta translate for him,” she joked, gesturing at Sonny, who rolled his eyes.

“I’ll go,” you perked up. You were still the new kid, so you were jumping at every opportunity to go out in the field. Plus, you had a massive crush on Sonny, and being stuck in a car with him seemed like a good chance to learn more about him.

Liv gave you a relieved smile. “Thank you; at least someone here wants to work. But I’d also like someone with experience; Rollins, you’re going too.”

 ***************

The drive wasn’t awkward…at least, not for Sonny and Amanda. They’ve been partners for years now, chatting up a storm. You sat in the back seat, listening in on their stories, jumping in when appropriate, but otherwise fading into the leather behind you. This wasn’t what you had hoped for when you thought about going to West Virginia with Sonny, but at least you were getting some experience in the field…right?

The arrest was quick, painless. You actually found yourself feeling bad for Heather as you had her arrested in her mother’s home. But then you remembered what happened to Katie, and it solidified your resolve.

When Amanda suggested you three, and Chuck, the local officer, go to The Barrel—the local bar—for information, you’re first thought was that maybe alcohol would help you loosen up around Sonny. But after a few shots and a cocktail, all you saw was how he looked at Amanda, and you cursed yourself for not seeing it sooner. Why would he ever fall for someone like you when he could be with someone like her? And they were already so close; what was the point of trying?

Complaining about a headache, you excused yourself, telling them you’d see them in the morning.

“Want me to walk ya back to your room?” Sonny asked, looking concerned.

Your heart fluttered at the thought, but then you remembered the heart eyes he’d been giving Amanda all evening. “No, I’m fine. Thanks though.” You wandered back to the hotel across the parking lot, wiping the tears from your face, locking yourself in your room.

 ******************

You were in the hotel lobby making yourself coffee when Sonny came in.

“Morning, [y/n],” he said, smiling at you. “Feeling better today?”

You melted at his smile, tears threatening to form again, but you pushed down your feelings. “Uh, yeah, much better. How’d you sleep? Hopefully you and Rollins weren’t up too late.”

“Nah, it was fine. We may have started a bar fight, though,” Sonny grinned at you, and you giggled, trying to picture him fighting anyone. He went about making two coffees and grabbing an assortment of free breakfast foods. He put everything on a tray and you followed him out, heading towards Amanda’s room as he called Liv to give her an update. But you both froze as a man came out of Amanda’s room, both of them chatting for a moment before he left. And Sonny’s face fell as he turned and went towards his SUV instead.

You gave Amanda’s closed door one last look before you went after Sonny. He stopped at his SUV, putting the tray on top so that he could fish his keys out of his pocket. He sniffled and it was only then you realized he was crying.

“Hey, you okay?” you asked tentatively. But you knew the answer—of course you did. Because you had felt your heart shatter last night.

“Fine,” he grunted, opening the driver’s door and sliding in. This was sure to be a fun ride back to New York. Grabbing the tray he had left on the roof of his SUV, you climbed in behind the passenger seat.

You sat in silence for a few awkward moments before you said softly, “I’m so sorry, Sonny. If you ever need to talk, I’m here for you.”

 *****************

The ride back was worse, to say the least. The tension in the air was thick, not to mention, you sat in back with Heather, who seemed to be daydreaming about meeting The Monster. You found yourself watching Sonny, or at least, the half of his face that you could see. He was quiet, subdued; so unlike him, and you realized you hated it. You wanted him to be his laughing, jokey self. You tried asking him questions—and Amanda, so you weren’t too obvious—but he wasn’t all there, his mind somewhere far away. Eventually, you gave up. falling into the silence of the drive.

 *****************

Liv mercifully gave the three of you the rest of the day off after delivering Heather to the precinct. You were just debating what to do for dinner when there was a knock at your door. Curious, you unlocked it, opening it to see Sonny shuffling on his feet on your doorstep.

“Son?” you asked in confusion.

He gave you a nervous smile. “Hey, can I come in?”

“Uh, yeah. ‘Course.” You moved out of the way, letting him enter your brownstone.

You both stood there awkwardly before he asked, “have you had dinner yet? If not, I can maybe whip something up? Or I can order takeout?”

“I haven’t yet, no.” Now thoroughly confused, you shrugged, playing along. “Did you have something in mind? I was thinking of ordering a pizza or something….”

“Pizza sounds great. Here, I’ll order. You like pepperoni, right?”

 ******************

You both idly chatted while waiting for the pizza to arrive, the awkward tension still palpable. Sonny didn’t say why he came over and you didn’t ask. The delivery man showed up soon enough, and Sonny insisted that he pay, so you let him. You found some beers in your fridge, offering one to him, which he gratefully accepted. As you ate, you started talking more, just about where you were before transferring to Manhattan, why you decided to come here of all places. The tension in the air subsided, and slowly, Sonny started talking about himself; his family, his recent accomplishment at Fordham—you had started just after he had passed the bar exam, so you didn’t hear much about it—and how much he loved his job.

“So, now that you passed the bar, are you going to leave us for Barba?” you asked. Sonny cocked an eyebrow, a grin on his face. “Oh my god, that’s not what I meant, and you know it,” you giggled, your cheeks burning.

Sonny chuckled at the implication. “I—I don’t know yet. I really do love my job as a detective. But I always wanted to be a lawyer, ya know? And now I can be. But with Mike passing…it just doesn’t seem like the right time.” He took a sip of his beer. “Hey, maybe with you taking over, I’ll be able to. I’d feel less bad leaving the department behind; they won’t be as short-staffed.”

It hurt to think about Sonny leaving; you were just getting to know him. “I still got a long way to go, though. Liv wouldn’t even let me go with you to West Virginia alone. What was it she said? ‘I need someone experienced’ or some shit.” You rolled your eyes.

“Hey, I was in your shoes before, too. It’ll pass quicker than you can blink.” Sonny spun the bottle in his hands. “Besides, I almost wish it was just us, and that Rollins wasn’t…” he trailed off, his eyes staring at nothing.

You swallowed hard. “You like her, don’t you?”

“Hm? Nah…I mean, she’s my partner, yeah? I have her back, and I know she’s got mine…. We’re close and…yeah, I don’t know.” He looked everywhere but at you, a slight pink tint in his cheeks.

You nodded sympathetically. As much as you wanted him to like you, you just wanted him to be happy. And if she made him happy, then you’d have to live with that. “Being so close with someone for so long, it’s not shocking if feelings…developed. Have you talked to her about it at all?”

He shook his head. “Look, I appreciate you trying to help me with this, but can we stop talking about Rollins? Please?”

“Of course. Sorry…. I got ice cream, if you want some dessert?” you tried.

Sonny sat there for a moment, staring a hole into your floor. “You know what? I think I’m gonna get out of your hair.” He stood, stretching. “Thank you for letting me crash your night for a little bit.”

“You sure? You can stay as long as you need,” you replied, but he was already moving towards your front door, sliding his jacket on.

“Yeah, I’ve taken up enough of your time. See ya at work tomorrow.” And then he gave you that heart-melting smile before he was gone.

 ****************

Whether Fin or Liv could feel the tension in the precinct the next day, you weren’t sure. But Sonny had gone back to his nontalking self, sitting at his desk, working through Heather’s posts. At some point, Amanda invited him to lunch, but he declined. They had a few clipped, whispered words that you didn’t hear, but after she left, Sonny looked upset again.

Standing, you went to the coffee maker, making two cups—one for yourself and one for Sonny. You came back, placing it on his desk, within hands reach. He glanced up at you, and you gave him a soft smile before moving back to your desk, diving in on something to help Barba with his case against Heather.

After another half an hour, Sonny got up, coming over to your desk. “Wanna go grab lunch?”

You looked from him to the mountain of posts and pictures you still had to go through, then back at him. “Please,” you groaned, grabbing your jacket and following him out.

 ****************

For the next two weeks, you and Sonny would get lunch. Or, if it wasn’t possible to take lunch at the same time, you’d bring each other something, switching off each day. You both also seemed to know when the other ran out of coffee, placing a refill on one another’s desk just as you’d finish the last sip. Conversation started to flow easier between you two, and you found that you highly enjoyed just chatting with him. Every now and again, he’d come over to your place, and you’d just talk; mostly about work, sometimes about your families. You still had a crush on him, but you shoved it down, trying to not let it interfere with work, or with your new-found friendship. Though, you noticed with some glee that he no longer looked at Amanda with that sparkle in his eyes.

On Saturday night, Sonny showed up at your doorstep, a 12 pack in one hand, takeout in the other. “Are you not watching the hockey game tonight?” he asked, his Islanders sweater on proudly.

“I, uh, wasn’t planning on it?” you replied, confused. In all your talks, neither of you had mentioned sports, except that Sonny had played basketball as a kid.

“Pffttt. You are now,” he said, pushing into your place. You giggled, following him to your couch. Plopping down next to him, you grabbed a beer while he flipped through the stations until he found the game. He cheers’ed you, then you both took a sip, watching and yelling at the screen. It was hard not to get caught up in the excitement with him, even if you didn’t know all the rules, nor particularly cared about hockey. You just enjoyed spending time with him.

At some point during the first period, Sonny put his arm on the back of the couch, his legs spread. You never understood how someone so lanky could take up so much room, but it made you smile. He just looked so natural, so comfortable on your couch, and you loved it.

“Come on, Lehner! You gotta cover your 5-hole!” Sonny yelled at the screen, groaning as the Islanders let in a goal.

“Uh, explain that to me, please?” you asked, confused.

Sonny sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees, moving closer to you. “Okay, so, ya see how the goalie, Lehner, has his legs so spread? Well, when the Pens shoot, that’s where they aim, ‘cause it’s his weak-spot and they know it. He’s slow to get his glove there and it’s an easy goal.”

“So…the 5-hole is between the legs?” you guessed.

“Exactly; see? You’re a quick learner,” Sonny smiled at you as the game cut to commercial.

You grinned back. “Well, I have a good teacher.”

Sonny’s eyes lit up with an idea. He put his beer down, then turned to face you. “Here, stand.” You cocked an eyebrow at him but obeyed. “Put your arms out and spread your legs…not that far; be comfortable. Okay, so, right here,” –he put his hand to the left side of your face, above your arm— “is the 1-hole. The opposite side here, that’s the 2-hole. Then here,” –he went back to your left side, under your arm this time— “is the 3-hole, and—”

“The opposite is the 4, and between the legs is 5?” you finished.

That lopsided grin was back. “Exactly.” He looked at the screen as the commercials ended. “Ooh, game’s back, here.” Sonny’s hands went to your hips, sending electricity through you. He dragged you back onto the couch next to him, your leg touching his, and his arm around your shoulders. You couldn’t pay attention to the game as your whole body heated, a stupid grin on your face from the closeness. At some point, you relaxed against him, snuggling into his side. If it bothered him, he didn’t say anything. In fact, quite the opposite—when he wasn’t groaning or gesturing at the screen, he had his arm around you, holding you to him.

Once the game was over, Sonny helped you clean up. “Thanks for letting me crash your night again,” he said—the same thing he said every night when he showed up unannounced.

“Anytime,” you replied. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”

“Sober as a fox,” he smiled.

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that even a saying?”

“It is now,” he declared, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Really though; I’m fine. Thank you for worrying.”

You walked him to the door, holding it open for him. Sonny stopped just outside your place, turning back around to look at you. “Text me when you get home, so I know you’re safe,” you said softly.

“Okay, I will…. I, uh, wanted to thank you. Not just for tonight, but for every night…and lunches, and coffees, and just—letting me be me for a little.” He gave you the sweetest smile, and you thought your chest was going to burst.

“Yeah, anytime, Sonny. I want you to feel…safe with me,” you replied.

“I do…I really do.”

You were leaning against your doorframe, and he had one hand on the wall next to it, leaning against it. Slowly, he leaned forward, his face getting closer to yours. Swallowing, and praying you weren’t misinterpreting, you leaned in, too, until your lips met in a soft, chaste kiss. Sonny’s mouth was gentle against yours, his lips smooth, and you stood up on your tiptoes, pressing yourself harder against him, afraid that he’d realize what was happening and that he’d pull away, disgusted. And though he did pull away, his eyes were still closed in bliss, a small smile on his face, one that slowly grew the longer you looked, making your own smile appear.

“You sure you don’t want to stay the night?” you asked, your voice hopeful.

Sonny looked deeply into your eyes, then to your lips, then back to your eyes. “Well, if you insist, maybe I can be persuaded to crash your night a little longer.”

[winterwidow77fanfics]

Falcon & The Winter Soldier | Episode 2.5: Struggle (Part 3)

Chapter link: https://www.wattpad.com/848387334?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_reading&wp_page=reading_part_end&wp_uname=TheWinterWidow77&wp_originator=3gJrnAqM2JiFIt2JqaME8YN88BtBBOHyHBt9d%2F8nNztEjOlYmrUngPlQaq%2FlyITAyZVSPP8LdlLLZJTCLbfjmio4QnrKQctjTsQyJfn3eGF67M07M%2BloTSO%2BGg0EcsF2

S2 Timeline of Events (So Far)

DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ CHAPTERS 1.1-2.5!

Confused about which scene happens before another scene or which scene happens after another?  Then read on.  This is a timeline for scenes in Season 2 of my FATWS series.  Not only does this help me organize my story, but I think it will help you as well.  Not all scenes will be shown here.  They will only be one that are at least the next day after a scene.  If you're ever confused about any part or aspect of my story please feel free to ask.

-May 12, 1986: Sharon is born (Ep. 2.4)

-1991: Johann & Pierce talk (Ep. 2.4)

-2004: Sharon (18) joins SHIELD (Ep. 2.3)

-2013: Nat and Sharon talk (Ep. 2.1)

-2015: Nat and Sam talk (Ep. 2.1)

-Late Nov 2023: Faustus revived Grant Ward (Ep. 2.1)

-Jan 3rd, 2024: Sam, Bucky, & Sharon head off to NJ (Ep. 2.1)

-Jan 4th: The team goes to Avengers HQ ruin site (Ep. 2.1)

-Jan 5th: The team goes to Wakanda (Ep. 2.1)

-Jan 15th: Bucky makes a move on Sharon (Ep. 2.1)

-Jan 16th: Sam has a call with Julio about missions (Ep. 2.1)

-Jan 18th-Mar 10th: the team goes through a slew of missions and rallies (Ep. 2.1)

-April 17th: Bucky & Sharon bang (Ep. 2.2)

-April 18th: Sam and the team decide to help Wanda (Ep. 2.2)

-April 20th: The team flies to Sokovia (Ep. 2.2)

-April 23rd: The team finds Wanda (Ep. 2.2)

-April 24th: Isiah Bradley meets Sam (Ep. 2.2)

-April 25th: Sam announces he won't take any serum on news (Ep. 2.2)

-April 26th: Kate accepted into the team (Ep. 2.2)

-April 30th: The team goes on a mission that goes wrong (Ep. 2.2)

-May 2nd: Faustus & Ward talk (Ep. 2.3)

-Sept: Sharon helps move into Kate's condo (Ep. 2.4)

-Oct 4th: Bucky & Sharon shower together (Ep. 2.3)

-Oct 5th: Faustus gives Ward a perfected serum (Ep. 2.3)

-Oct 19th: Ward steals John's body and kidnaps Sharon (Ep. 2.3)

-Nov 17th: The team watches the news of Faustus' killers and their murders (Ep. 2.3)

-Just after: Harrison & Amanda watch the news about Steve, etc (Ep. 2.4)

-Nov 24th: Steve's funeral (Ep. 2.3)

-Dec 2nd: Bucky argues with Sharon's mom (Ep. 2.4)

-Dec 3rd: Kate mourns Shar; goes with Sam (Ep. 2.4)

-Dec 6th: The Team with Lemar goes to get Sharon & John (Ep. 2.4)

-Dec 13th: Sam calls Lemar (Ep. 2.4)

-Dec 15th: Sharon & John have nightmares (Ep. 2.5)

-Dec 17th: John breaks into lab to steal back his suit and shield (Ep. 2.5)

-Dec 18th: Sam, Kate, Bucky, and Sharon go out and talk (Ep. 2.5)

-Dec 19th: Team goes to Wakanda to talk to Zemo (Ep. 2.5)

-Dec 21st: John joins an underground fight club for money (Ep. 2.5)

-Dec 22nd: Shuri works on Bucky (Ep. 2.5)

-Dec 23rd: Bucky & Sharon go out (Ep. 2.5)

[lesbians-love-samwilson]

Tweet from Marc Faletti (@MarcFaletti)

Marc Faletti (@MarcFaletti) Tweeted:

I asked @kippinsk about the role of the Dora Milaje in Falcon/WS ep 4 and her answer blew me away.

She also has insights into hidden details of John Walker's uniform, Lemar's fate, and so much more on our Charactercast:

https://t.co/EqfpN5FK4O https://t.co/2mPoWdVf6V https://twitter.com/MarcFaletti/status/1381596803615842305?s=20

[littlejeanniebean]

Ep. 4 | Amy's Progress Vlog #4: Plumfield vs Laurence Labs

A/N: Previously in Amy’s world... (Should I have a separate masterlist for this??) Read on Wattpad! ~800 words of Amy x Laurie fluff + quarantine begins (dun dun dun...) Stay safe everyone! 

This amazing AU edit of one of my favourite ships is by @romkole​ :))

- J xx

Amy: So… Aunt Sophie isn't happy. And when Aunt Sophie isn't happy, no one is. Allow me to illustrate.

Cut to "Draw My Life" style.

Amy (V.O.): Theodore Laurence I, the first in his family to go to college only to drop out and develop a highly successful anti-dating app called Code Red. Let's be real, it was bound to happen eventually. Basically, you're on a date, it's not going well, you call someone on the app who meets a criteria you've previously set in order to feel safe with them, and they come pick you up and take you home. Theo sold the app for a cool 2 million to Aunt Sophie's firm, Plumfield, but he didn't stop there. His next venture was a virtual support group app - another huge hit - and again, Plumfield bought it, this time for 4.5 million. 

Amy (V.O.): Next, Theo developed an A.I. therapist. It helps you by generating possible suggestions for how to live a better life, then it recommends you to actual therapists who you get to make appointments with at a reduced sale price. In honour of its release, Theo gave his first public interview and he was asked if he dropped out because he knew Code Red would be big. The answer was a solemn 'no.' He dropped out because his older brother and his brother's wife died in a plane crash and their son - Theodore II, whom you all know as Laurie - needed someone to take custody of him. Their own parents were still in South Africa so Theo I got a job at Best Buy and worked on Code Red by night.

Amy (V.O.): After that interview, he and his latest app were worth almost 10 million and this time, he wouldn't sell. He went so far as to buy back his other apps and since it was all so public, Aunt Sophie's team at Plumfield received a lot of backlash and lost a lot of clients for holding out on the underdog as long as they did. Theo then opened his own start-up accelerator to rival Aunt's and she's been on his ass ever since. 

Amy (back to medium frame, dramatic): And now to present day, Theodore Laurence II and Amanda Marena go head-to-head in the state programming contest individual category -

Laurie (leaps into frame): And tie for first place!

Amy (exuberant): In your face generational family feud!

Laurie: We're going to nationals, baby! Whoo!

Amy (picks up her phone which just pinged with an alert): Or… not.

Laurie (checks his phone, which also pinged): Oh, crap.

Amy: I have to call my mama.

Laurie: I have to call Jo.

Amy: Beth! Come here! Have you seen this? You have no school today!

Beth (stands quietly at the door): I know, I was going to the senior's home to -

Amy: Beth, I don't think that's a good idea. I'm calling Mama to tell her to come home right now -

Meg (comes in): I already did. John got the alert from the university. Everyone's closing down because of COVID-19. And Amy's right, Beth, we don't want to contribute to the spread, even by volunteering.

Amy (concerned): Does John still… have a job?

Meg: Yes, classes are all online.

Amy (groans): Public school sucks! What am I supposed to do now?

Meg: Khan Academy. You too, Bethie, Laurie.

Laurie: Well, I technically already know everything from last year -

Amy: If you did, you would've passed your SATs the first time.

Laurie: Well, you technically can't "fail" the SATs -

Amy: I'm commencing social distancing from you right now.

Laurie pouts.

Beth gives him a warm hug on his way out.

Amy is alone in her room again.

Amy: O-kay. It's begun. Oh! I never actually told you all why Aunt Sophie's been upset, she lost so much in stock options and whatever she was able to earn back she now has to put into slower earning GICs - "the turtle that wins the race" in John-Brooke-speak - and on top of that, all the companies in Plumfield's portfolio tanked. Laurence Labs isn't doing much better. Mr. Laurence is just an easier-going person overall no matter how much money he has.

Amy (sighs): I wanna be rich, you know. I wanna have means. That doesn't mean I'll be the next Aunt Sophie, does it? She kept going on and on when she was over for dinner last night about how she'd have to declare bankruptcy if this kept up or got worse, even though tech is literally the rare, unicorn field where you can work from home indefinitely if you wanted it bad enough. 

Amy (shakes her head at herself): It makes me think that if I want to be content, maybe I could in fact be an artist instead.

Mama (O.C., we hear her shut the front door): I'm home!

Amy (leaps up excitedly): On an indisputably happy note, we'll see a lot more of Mama now! Amy, out!

[rainh2oman]

Jazz Potluck - Episode 01.

Like countless folks around the world, I LOVE music. Pretty much any and all genres. JAZZ however, is the music that seems to bring the most joy in my life. As a creative person, I always need to have music on in the background while I work, (well, all the time really) and jazz has always seemed to catalyze my creativity.

I dig this sentiment from the late writer Anaïs Nin:

>>>"Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body’s breath, and the strings’ wails and moans are echoes of the body’s music. It is the body’s vibrations which ripple from the fingers. And the mystery of the withheld theme, known to jazz musicians alone, is like the mystery of our secret life. We give to others only peripheral improvisations."

This “Jazz Potluck” is something that I’ve been wanting to do for years and years, but I never quite got around to it... (I’ve got enough plates spinning already, not much room for another! Hehe.) Anyway, I’ll be sharing Spotify playlists here as often as I can... containing a rich mix of jazz that I love, and would love for YOU to love! I’m certainly no music critic, and I’ve no intention of “analyzing” the music I share, the way that a professional might. But, I will provide some brief personal notes about the songs in the playlists, and hopefully some jumping off points for further exploration, if you dig what you hear!

So without further ado, here’s the very first edition of my Jazz Potluck... Episode 01! There are 16 songs here, with no particular theme, other than that I DIG ‘em, and they get a lot of rotation in my headphones! Quite an eclectic mix!

Here’s the direct link to the playlist on Spotify - Jazz Potluck, Ep 01.

A preview of the tracks in the playlist, and some brief notes on the songs, below.

“Dirty Blonde” by The Bad Plus

“Giant Steps” by John Coltrane

“Chinoiserie” by Medeski, Martin and Wood

“This I Dig of You” by Hank Mobley

“The Windup” by Julian Lage

“3-in-1 Without The Oil” by Roland Kirk

“Gangsterism on the Rise” by Jason Moran

“II B.S.” by Charles Mingus

“It Might As Well Be Spring” by Brad Mehldau

“Gazzelloni” by Eric Dolphy

“Nu Nu” by Avishai Cohen

“Salmon Jump Suite” by Happy Apple

“Brother Mister” by Christian McBride & Inside Straight

“Tiffakonkae” by Kamasi Washington

“Greasy Granny” by the Charlie Hunter Trio

“Cease the Bombing” by Grant Green

Playlist - EP 01.

01. “Dirty Blonde” by the trio “The Bad Plus.” Starting this thing off with a BANG! From the moment I first heard this song back in 2004, I knew that I had stumbled on a Jazz Trio with something utterly unique in their music. A piano, bass and drum trio that has produced some delightful original material over the years, as well as a bunch of “cover” songs that in some ways, helped make them famous in the Jazz world.

For all of the critical acclaim the band has received over the years, one thing that has always stood out to me is the HUMOR in their music. They are often filed under “Avant Garde” Jazz... but they are really in a sub genre of their own. They play with real heart and soul, but they don’t take themselves too seriously, and they KNOW how to have a good time. When you hear all hell break loose at the 2:44 mark in “Dirty Blonde,” you’ll know that you came to the right party.

02. “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane. What can I say... I listen to this song pretty much EVERY MORNING when I wake up. If not immediately after I open my eyes, certainly by the time I’m making coffee. The fast paced tempo and saxophone wizardry of Coltrane and his crew in this Jazz standard always motivates me to get going.

If you’re not familiar with the song, here is a FANTASTIC video backgrounder on the piece, called “The Most Feared Song In Jazz, Explained.” I highly recommend watching it right before or after listening to the song. VERY enlightening!

03. “Chinoiserie” by the trio “Medeski, Martin and Wood.” What an amazingly funky cover of the Duke Ellington composition! I’ve been a fan of MMW since the early 90′s, and this album is probably my favorite, next to “Shack Man.” Medeski rocking the Hammond B3 Organ, Chris Wood’s bouncing bass, and Billy Martin’s frenetic drumming, make this tune just boogie right along. Be sure and listen to Duke’s original version of the song, to see how it sounds with a much larger band!

04. “This I Dig of You” by Hank Mobley. Uptempo, feel-good tune! (And I love Art Blakey’s drum solo around the 4:50 mark!) This is widely considered to be Mobley’s most popular original composition.

05. “The Windup” by Guitarist and Composer Julian Lage. This tune features his current Trio. I was a latecomer to the music of Julian Lage. I only really started listening to his music in 2019... but I’ve made up for lost time! (I think I have his entire catalogue now!) If you’re not familiar with Lage, he’s a prodigy  and was recognized as such by age 12. Now he’s in his early 30′s, and a career that’s going strong!

06. “3-in-1 Without The Oil” by Roland Kirk. If you’ve heard of Roland Kirk (who later went by Rahsaan Roland Kirk) you’re likely aware that he was famous for playing multiple instruments at once. I always found his crazy, loosy-goosey style to be sort of “optimistic” if that makes sense? Very unconventional, and devil may care! 

And speaking of his talent for playing multiple horns at the same time, here’s a passage from my FAVORITE novel, “Another Roadside Attraction.” Author Tom Robbins seems to really peg Roland Kirk in just one sentence.

>>>They are playing phonograph records, some wild new jazz. Straining my ears just now I heard Amanda ask, “John Paul, is it true that Roland Kirk is the entire Count Basie orchestra in drag?"

07. “Gangsterism on the Rise” by Jason Moran. I love the heavy left hand Moran utilizes on his piano in this tune. (Not unlike Pianist Ethan Inverson from “The Bad Plus” in “Dirty Blonde,” the first track in this playlist.) Boom boom boom! Here’s a quote from a music critic that pegs Moran’s style quite well: >>>“Moran is a spellbinding virtuoso who moves between boogie, avant-funk and Brahms as if he had never heard a good reason not to.”

He’s also a stylish sort of fellow....

08. “II B.S.” by Charles Mingus. I’ll have MUCH more to say about Mingus in future playlists... but I had to include at least one of his compositions in this 1st Episode! He is likely my all time favorite Jazz Composer. (He was an amazing bassist as well, but his compositions are what really knock my socks off.)

09. “It Might As Well Be Spring” by Brad Mehldau. This album was Mehldau’s major label debut, and was the first album of his that I purchased way back in 1995! What an AMAZING debut! I chose to include this cover of "It Might As Well Be Spring” because of it’s unusual and playful time signature. It’s a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein tune from the 1945 musical film “State Fair.” Mehldau does something really surprising with this classic tune, and it was such a breath of fresh air to me when I first heard it!

Here’s a passage I dig, from the great jazz book “Playing Changes,” by veteran Jazz Writer Nate Chinen. He zeroes in on what makes Mehldau’s rendition of the song unique.

>>>Introducing Brad Mehldau opens with a quick spray of staccato: tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap, like someone knocking impatiently at a door. It’s the preface to Mehldau’s arrangement of a show tune, “It Might As Well Be Spring,” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein film musical State Fair. The song had long been a verifiable jazz standard, with dozens of canonical recordings: by singers like Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nina Simone, and by others ranging from the pianist Bill Evans to the trumpeter Clifford Brown.

>>>Mehldau’s version arrived in 1995, precisely half a century after the line “I am starry eyed and vaguely discontented” made its way into the popular lexicon. He and his trio had made a neat structural modification to the tune, tinkering with its pulse in a way that their syncopated prelude set in clear relief. Instead of the even 4/4 cadence known as common time, the track races along in 7/8, creating the impression of a rhythmic hiccup, or a sprint with a hitch in its stride.

>>>Jazz musicians have been dabbling in irregular meters since well before Dave Brubeck’s enormously popular 1959 album Time Out, which made them an exotic selling point. What’s striking about Mehldau’s performance is where he ventures after the opening vamp, phrasing the melody in a cool, flowing cadence even as his partners, the bassist Larry Grenadier and the drummer Jorge Rossy, busy themselves with percolating chatter behind him. In his articulation of the theme, and in a solo full of deft intricacies punctuated with breathlike pauses, Mehldau gives the song a sleek, appealing contour. His performance doesn’t feel herky-jerky or cerebral. It feels natural, even inevitable.

10. “Gazzelloni” by Eric Dolphy. "Out To Lunch” was the first album I ever bought in the “Avant-Garde Jazz” genre. I certainly wouldn't have been ready for this album in my teens or early 20′s, but I’m really happy that I developed a taste for the genre in later years. It’s some of the most expressive Jazz that I’ve ever heard, and I LOVE to have it on when I’m designing something, or working on a painting. Seems to connect the creative synapses in my brain somehow!

11. “Nu Nu” by Israeli Bassist and Composer Avishai Cohen. (Not to be confused with the Jazz Trumpeter of the same name.) This song is the opening track to Cohen’s album “Continuo” and really sets the tone for the rest of the album. I don’t know what time signatures Cohen uses in this tune, but they change up frequently over the course of 5 minutes. He’s a great composer, and a MONSTER on the bass. It’s said that he took up the bass in his early teens, because he was inspired by the legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius. (An inspiration that likely applies to MANY Jazz bassists since the 70′s.)

12. “Salmon Jump Suite” by the trio known as “Happy Apple.” This song is a smash-em crash-em DEMOLITION DERBY.... and I mean that in the most respectful and delightful way! Play it loud, and I think you’ll agree. Badass.

Oh, and the Drummer is Dave King, who’s main gig is as the Drummer for the aforementioned trio “The Bad Plus.” King is one of my favorite drummers, not just in Jazz, but it ALL genres of music. A real monster on the drums!

13. “Brother Mister” by Christian McBride and his band “Inside Straight” from the album “Kind of Brown.” McBride REALLY gets around as a bassist and composer... just scroll through his credits as a sideman on his Wikipedia page! One of the hardest working musicians in ALL of Jazz! His humor and playfulness comes across in both his playing, and his compositions, and "Brother Mister” is a great example of these. “Kind of Brown” is easily my favorite McBride album!

I should also note that McBride’s funny, extrovert personality has turned him into a popular Jazz radio host! You can catch him on Sirius X, NPR and other programs.

14. “Tiffakonkae” by Kamasi Washington. I simply cannot get enough of Kamasi’s music. I find him to be one of THE greatest talents to emerge in Jazz, in it’s entire history. I don’t think that is hyperbole. I was a couple of years late in discovering him, but since the day I heard his first album “The Epic,” he has been on my DAILY listening routine. No kidding.

If you like what you hear in this cut from his 2nd full length album, do yourself a favor and watch/listen to this special on NPR, that will show you some of what I’m talking about. It’s a 2 hour live performance and series of brief interviews with Kamasi and his collaborators, known as “The West Coast Get Down.” It might give you a buzz.

I’ll be featuring Kamasi and company on PLENTY of Jazz Potluck playlists going forward!!!

Here’s Nate Chinen again, from his book “Playing Changes,” talking about Kamasi bursting onto the scene. (Indeed, Chinen opens the first chapter of the book with Kamasi!)

>>>Kamasi Washington stood tall on a lot of big stages during his Year of Ascendance. Swaying in tempo, pushing heavy gusts through his tenor saxophone, he exuded the regal composure of a conquering hero: dauntless, doubtless, ablaze with rugged purpose. His sound on the horn—rangy and intemperate, or clipped and urgent—suggested an almost tactile force, a physical fact. He cut an equally imposing visual presence, in an unkempt Afro, a thick beard, and a dashiki, its patterned fabric loosely draped over his burly frame. And as his band raged around him, the music’s exultant sprawl enacted a ritual of transcendence. It was all rattling and ecstatic, maybe a little mystical. For many who bore witness, it was, brazenly, something to believe in.

15. “Greasy Granny” by the Charlie Hunter Trio. This album was my first introduction to this virtuosic Guitarist, back in 1995. (I seem to be including a number of albums from 1995 in this list... funny coincidence!) Anyway, as you listen to this tune, keep in mind that he is playing bass lines, chords AND melodies, ALL SIMULTANEOUSLY!!! I don’t know how in the hell he does it, but I’ve seen him performing live a few times over the years, and he makes it look effortless!

This song, “Greasy Granny” is as FUN as the name suggests.

16. “Cease the Bombing” by Guitarist Grant Green, from his 1970 album “Carryin’ On.” Figured I’d close out this 1st Episode of the Jazz Potluck with a long and smooth groove. Easy like Sunday morning.........

Stay well, people!

[locke-writes]

So You've Begun To Love Green Day

Alternative Titles: Everyone Knows Green Day Why Is Someone Making an Info Post About Them

Who The Fuck Is Green Day And Why Should I Know Them

Green Day Is Cool But I Don’t Know Shit or

Has Green Day Always Been This Great?

The answer is yes by the way. They have always been great and will always be great.

I preface this by saying that I am by no means a Green Day expert or a Green Day historian (although I could be if anyone wants to hire me), I’m just a Green Day fan who knows a few people who like Green Day and some people who are just learning about Green Day. This post pretty much came because I’m impulsive and a few people said if I’d make it they’d read it so here it is.

This post is going to have a few different parts to it. An overall band bio (where did GD start), band member bios, discography listing plus songs from each album I recommend (links to music videos/individual tracks provided for those without Spotify), a brief where should you start if you wanna start listening to GD (this will be my opinion so any other Green Day fan out there can share their own if they’d like), and other side projects and things the guys have done that’s to be checked out.

Let’s get on with it then.

Tagging: @monsieur–lafayette @ordinaryornate @galaticpanda

Who Is Green Day? AKA Where Did They Come From? Note: This is not a full band biography, I don’t dive deep into where they were in their lives for every album. Links will be provided at the end for where you can find further info.

The history of Green Day is kinda sorta complex. Ok not really but they did start from two separate bands. Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt met at age ten while attending the same middle school. The two quickly became friends and Billie who had been playing guitar for a few years began teaching Mike. These lessons led to the two of them jamming together and in 10th grade forming the band Sweet Children, with another friend on drums. Jumping into the punk scene Mike and Billie found their home at 924 Gilman Street, a punk club if you will. Sweet Children began booking shows however mainly getting the last slot on the bill. In 1987 Mike and Billie would replace their drummer and in turn John Kiffmeyer, (better known and credited on the early albums as Al Sobrante). After the replacement of their drummer Sweet Children began gaining popularity amongst the Gilman crowd. The more attention they received the more they caught the eye of Lawrence ‘Larry’ Livermore, founder of Lookout Records. Larry saw the band play at a house party and was 'instantly captivated’ as he said. Sweet Children were signed to Lookout soon after and began to release EPs, however before the first release Sweet Children became Green Day after attendees of Gilman began writing Green Day on jackets after the band played a song with that title. It was a spontaneous name change but clearly it has worked out. Green Day’s first two EPs (Slappy and 1039 Smoothes) allowed them to go on their first (technically official) tour. It was a small tour but one that would have many significant moments (one of which was a show in which Billie met his future wife, Adrienne). The biggest moment was the announcement from Kiffmeyer that he’d be leaving the band to attend college. This would leave Green Day without a drummer unless a replacement could be found. That replacement was Tré Cool. Tré began drumming at an early age and became a member of Larry Livermore’s band the Lookouts where he was given the nickname Tré (He was born Frank). Billie and Mike had seen Tré play at Gilman many times, and Billie had jammed with Tré on occasion. For one show in November of 1990 Tré would join Mike and Billie for a show and would cement the friendship between the trio. Tré would become a temporary replacement for Kiffmeyer unti 1991 when he became Green Day’s official drummer. This led to more touring, the bands first album Kerplunk, and eventually the major label success that led them to where they are today.

For further information and a more detailed account of what happened during and after check out the following (Band Bio #1, #2 and perhaps grab the book “Nobody Likes You” by Marc Spitz

Band Member Bios Note: This is only for Billie, Mike, and Tré and may not be extremely detailed (I don’t wanna bore you but ask if you wanna know more). Touring Members such as Jason White, Jason Freese, and Jeff Matika are obviously important members of the band but their bios will not be included

Billie Joe Armstrong was born to Andy and Ollie Armstrong on February 17, 1972. He is the youngest child, having 5 older siblings. His father Andy was a jazz musician and truck driver while his mother Ollie worked at a restaurant in town. Billie began singing at a young age, even recording his first record at age 5. His first guitar, “Blue” (a Fernandes Stratocaster), was given to him by his father and he began learning how to play by his father and by teaching himself. Being the youngest Billie was often left to his own accord which often meant getting into trouble but did allow him to meet Mike Dirnt. When Billie was 10, his father died of lung cancer, leaving just his mother to raise him and his siblings. After his father’s death music became a much more important part of Billie’s life leading him to form Sweet Children and eventually drop out of high school to pursue it as a career (which we can agree did in fact work out). Billie does lead vocals and guitar for the band

Mike Dirnt was born Michael Ryan Pritchard on May 4th 1972. Mike’s birth mother was a heroin addict and he was given up for adoption. His adoptive parents raised him until they divorced when Mike was 7. Mike briefly moved in with his father but eventually came to live with his mother and sister. Mike’s home life was fairly rocky and he often spent nights at the Armstrong household while he and Billie were in high school. He officially moved out of his home at age 15, living in his truck for sometime before renting a room at the Armstrong home. While also performing in Sweet Children, Mike supported himself throughout high school by working as a busboy and a cook. After he graduated high school (being the only member of Green Day to do so), he took about a years worth of courses at community college but never continued due to the bands success. Mike does backing vocals and bass for the band.

Tré Cool was born Frank Edwin Wright III on December 9th 1972. Born into a military family Tré moved around quite a bit before his family ended up in California. Discovered by Larry Livermore, Tré began playing drums in The Lookouts when he was twelve and it was there that he earned his nickname. Once Kiffmeyer left Green Day, Tré took his place and soon after joining dropped out of high school to focus on music. He did eventually earn his GED and took classes at community college but again dropped out because of the time he spent with the band. Tré’s family was supportive of his dreams and his father was the one to give the band their first touring van, an old renovated bookmobile. Tré does backing vocals and drums for the band.

Discography and Song Recs (Note song recs will be only for full length studio albums, however the discography includes EPs and Live Albums. Links provided). The recommended songs for the compilation albums will solely be the original tracks

39/Smooth (1990)

Slappy (1990)

Kerplunk (1991): 2,000 Light Years Away, Christie Road, 80, Android, Who Wrote Holden Caulfield, Sweet Children,

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1991, Re-released combination of 39/Smooth & Slappy): At The Library, Don’t Leave Me, Green Day, Going to Pasalacqua, The Judge’s Daughter, 409 In Your Coffee Maker,

Dookie (1994): Longview, Welcome To Paradise, Pulling Teeth, Basket Case, She, When I Come Around, Coming Clean, F.O.D

Insomniac (1995): Geek Stink Breath, 86, Brain Stew, Jaded, Walking Contradiction

Nimrod (1997): Nice Guys Finish Last, Hitchin’ A Ride, The Grouch, Redundant, Scattered, Uptight, King For A Day, Good Riddance

Warning (2000): Warning,  Blood Sex and Booze, Castaway, Misery, Waiting, Minority, Macy’s Day Parade

International Superhits (2001, Compilation Album with previously unreleased tracks): Maria, Poprocks & Coke, J.A.R

Shenanigans (2002, Compilation Album with a new original track): Ha Ha You’re Dead

American Idiot (2004): American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, Give Me Novacaine, Letterbomb, Homecoming, Whatsername

Bullet In A Bible (2005, Live Album)

21st Century Breakdown (2009): 21st Century Breakdown, Christian’s Inferno, Peacemaker, Murder City, The Static Age, American Eulogy

Awesome As Fuck (2011, Live Album)

Uno (2012): Nuclear Family, Carpe Diem, Let Yourself Go, Angel Blue, Oh Love

Dos (2012): Fuck Time, Stray Heart, Amy

Tré (2012): Brutal Love, X-Kid, Sex Drugs and Violence, Amanda, 99 Revolutions, The Forgotten

Demolicious (2014, Previously Unreleased Demo tapes)

Revolution Radio (2016): Bang Bang, Revolution Radio, Still Breathing, Youngblood, Ordinary World

Where should you start?

The easiest place would be American Idiot and then 21st Century Breakdown. From there try out the early stuff with Dookie, and then try the song recs per album.

Side Projects.

Green Day has a lot of side project so in general here’s a few (and yes some are GD under different names). The big one of course is American Idiot the Musical but…

Billie: Pinhead Gunpowder, The Network, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Formerly (and album with Norah Jones, Producing stuff for SWMRS (previously Emily’s Army, The Boo, Matt Grocott & The Shrives, and some acting gigs

Mike: Foxboro Hot Tubs,  The Frustrators, Screeching Weasel, Squirtgun, some acting gigs, restaurant owner

Tré: The Lookouts, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Network, and acting gigs

Any questions or comments can be sent my way through my inbox

[acrushedrosestillwins]

An interesting Study between Mary and pscycopaths According to Amanda’s tweet Mary is a psychopath. Well that would mean her entire story arc is face, every emotion, every feeling, every sentence is pre thought and well mediated for maximum effect.  I did some research and learned a few interesting facts about psychopaths. 1. Psychopaths Can’t Recognize Fear They are unable to recognise the signs and facial expressions of fear in a person’s face. This is due to a malfunction of the amygdala – the part of the brain that control fear response. On a psychopath the outer layer is thinner than normal. The strange thing is that it doesn’t affect or apply to all the other emotions. Because they don’t recognise it, they find it difficult to mimic the emotions themselves. 2. Psychopaths Crave Dopamine Psychopaths are on a certain scale addicted to dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that activates the reward centre of the brain. According to studies a psychopath’s brain produces more dopamine than normal. 3. Psychopaths May Have An Empathy Switch The general consensus that they can’t imagine themselves in other people’s shoes and only uses people as chess pieces is wrong. Studies suggest that in certain cases they can empathize with certain situations. They concluded that they have a “on” and “off” switch. It is mostly on off, although they can switch it if needed, if it suits their needs. Apparently this is when they turn ‘nice’ and ‘sweet’ 4. Psychopaths Receive Harsher Criminal Sentences Usually when a judge is told someone is a psychopath, they on average give a three to five year longer sentence than normal 5. Businesses Are Filled With Psychopaths Oxford researcher Kevin Dutton did made a list of the most likely professions of psychopaths. The list showed that the top four was police officers, lawyers, and surgeons with the number one being CEO’s 6 Internet Trolls Are Psychopaths Several Canadian universities did a survey were they asked a wide variety of web users a set of questions about the time they spend online, do they comment on forums and groups, do they play the villain in games just to torture characters and do they purposes troll certain people and groups just for the fun of it. The result concluded that most of them show characteristics of the “Dark Tetrad” This is what they call the intersections of four unpleasant personality traits – sadism, Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. 7. The Prosocial Psychopath James Fallon is a neuroscientist who calls himself a ‘prosocial psychopath’. This means that although he has the brain of a psychopath, he even have the mission MOA-A gene, also called the ‘warrior gene’ as it is responsible for aggressive behaviour. He admits that he lacks empathy, that he is manipulative and highly competitive but believes his upbringing played a huge part. He was brought up in a loving and caring home. He believes he is a prosocial psychopath, because he acts and behaves within society’s norms. 8. Psychopaths Have A Poor Sense Of Smell Because psychopaths have a lower level of orbital cortices functioning, which not only affects the ability to make long-term plans and keep impulses at check, it also their ability to detect smells. In fact it was proven that the higher they score in psychopath test, the lower their ability to smells was. 9. Presidents And Psychopaths Have A Lot In Common Although none of the presidents tick all the checking boxes of a psychopath; they did displayed a many characteristics, the FD (Fearless Dominance) trait being the strongest. This trait is when you have the lack of fear and unwillingness to back down from dangerous situations. Plus it allows them to charm people. 10. Psychopaths Have Recognizable Speech Patterns They used words like “uh” and “um” more frequently to appear more normal. They would also use “because” and “so that” more than usual as well. They would talk about their crimes mostly in the past tense. Some interesting differences between a psychopath, narcissist and sociopath  So let’s go to Mary A few things stood out for me, 1. The Sign of Three, she manipulated both Sherlock and John about the case and then gave them each the thumbs up. Yeah, another mission accomplished. 2. In His Last Vow, when she gave John the usb, she said “because you won’t love me when you’re finished” the seeds of doubt sown right there and then, it seems innocent enough, but she knew exactly what kind of man John is, so saying that she kept him from reading that. I mean every time he would consider reading it; her words will play in his mind. So he didn’t, she used his character against him. 3. In The Abominable Bride when they were on the plane, Mycroft suggested the MI5 archive, and she was like “Yep, that’s where I’m looking” she immediately undermined his authority and power by saying that and that she would think the security would be a good idea, that sows seeds of doubt about Mycroft to anyone, distancing him even more from them. Let’s not forget that Mycroft had knew exactly who she was from the beginning, since she knew about AGRA all those years ago, they used her on a freelance basis, so yes, she would have access to MI5, Sherlock and John didn’t know that, so what better way to piss off Mycroft than deliberately saying something like. Just another game to her of manipulation. And Mycroft can’t say anything because she insured that both John and Sherlock are on her side. That would put him against them. (Bloody hell I hate her more and more) 4. Later at the cemetery John had enough and says he’s taking her home and she is like “what?” yes it is a funny line, but it comes down to the fact that she nullified John as the man in the relationship, as a dominant figure. She is clearly in control of every step, everything. I bet the pregnancy is another tick in her manipulation check list, what better way to ensure a man’s loyalty by making him a parent, especially a man like John? 5. Oh and then the best part came in The Six Thatchers where she basically stated that she is better than John, what was the line ‘She is a retired super-agent with a terrifying skill-set of course she is better.’ So John and all his skills as a soldier, a good man is nullified once again. She wasn’t a super-agent, she was a freelance assassin. There are loads of them. Saying that in front of John, she broke his already low self-esteem even more, another chunk in his armour, making sure he submits to her and Sherlock. I mean she basically told him compared to her and Sherlock he was a nobody. That is typical psychopath behaviour. She manipulated John, making him more dependable on her. 6. Then she died, oh how heroic of her, what a charm and sacrifice, how sad…. And she tells John being Mary Watson was the only life worth living... oh please. How manipulative can she be, placing that guilt on John? Ensuring that for the rest of his life, he will feel like he failed her, the man who made it his life to take care of people, a soldier and doctor, and he failed his wife, and then telling Sherlock they’re even? What the flying f)**!!! 7. Then comes the video clip, oh how we loved those (God she died in the first ep and we get to see her two more times, plus a hallucination….. if only that was Jim) And what better way to make sure Sherlock gets involved, gets even more broken up and his mental state ripped apart, make John a case. Sherlock loves cases, so give him one. To save John, from what, the destructions and manipulations she did? The she tells him to go to hell. According to Shannon on the little picture, a psychopath goes to great lengths to ruin your life, laugh about it and makes sure the most damage is done, what better way to ruin their friendship and telling him to nearly kill himself. Must give that to her, that’s a great way of killing someone and giving yourself the perfect alibi. And she makes it so heartfelt, so “oh even from death I care so much, I was born for this. Died for this little redemptions arc, oh feel me!” 8. Then comes the hallucination, and John is even haunted by her after her death, by the ‘man she thought he was’ dude she thought you was a puppet on a string. Cut the lines. So yes when Amanda said Mary was a pscycopath we heard, but didn’t listen, or some of us did, she was horrible.

[midnatt-heronweather]

2019

My Year review, for my own reasons, starts from March 7th.

though what I will say about pre then is, it is an honour to be known by the creator (Cassandra Clare) as the first person to ever admit to being a fan of the Starkweather family after asking about them when she and Holly Black came to Manchester in February. And that I owe that little meet for making me properly look at Holly “Folk of air.” series.___________________________________________________________________________________________

Gigs:

I pick 7th of March to start this review because it is the day myself, Heather and Ally went to see Freya Ridings who had the week before had her song “Lost Without you.” played in an important scene on the final half of the final season of Shadowhunters. I didn’t get to meet her this time, so her song card is still in my folder to be signed one day, and I have hope it will.

As seems to be my song recently, I didn’t get to many gigs this year, though a lot of my fave people toured (some even reformed, but that was over in the US)Due to funds we didn’t even to any Whitby this year (any as there are 4 now may I remind the reader)

Don’t ask me why but I went to see John Barrowmans Christmas show in Harrogate. I love the man but.. I’ll stick to the normal stuff.. if you can call anything Barrowpants does as normal.

What I did get to, was see Counterfeit the week before my birthday with Ally, Jaime and co were on top form and so what I needed after a perfectly ghastly couple of weeks leading up.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Conventions:

*Liverpool Comic Con The same weekend at the Frey Ridings gig, gave me more time with my pack on a bad week. But I’m not talking about that here.Anyway, my reason for Liverpool Comic Con this year was the chance to meet Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen, Twilight / Max Lord, Supergirl)I am a after all a Twilight and a Supergirl fan and also S.W.A.T fan (but he left in s1)Peter told me he hadn’t been written out of SG to make way for the LGBT storyline, he’d asked to be left out as the show had to move filming locations and he didn’t want to be so far from his family all the year. I didn’t gloat to the Sanverse lot but it was tempting.

I also got to speak with Paul (Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy) who played Bulk from Bulk and Skull in Power Rangers, thought Jason waved. They are both sweethearts and while, as mad as their on-screen counterparts, not as annoying, I walked past Paul a few times before finally deciding to ranger up and tell him he was the first person I saw on screen and considered a role model for the “bigger” person. He told me an awesome story about another girl who because she was big had been stuck playing him until he’d fronted up to kids making her and she got to play one of the rangers.I saw the duo again at “Wales” in December and Paul remembered me when I said hi.

*Survival 4 - 2019-04-05 to 2019-04-07 -Ren, London: the first Starfury of the year, the convention I’d given an entire show a 3rd look for after finding out Sean was actually inviting the Seelie Queen herself Lola Flanery (Maddie Griffin, The 100), I’m still not sure if she was amazed, saddened or sickened by the fact me and Heather had come to the convention just for her, but it got a few laughs from Sachin Sahel (Eric Jackson, The 100) who seemed to be her escort for the weekend.I dropped to my knees in the proper greeting of the queen that Jade Hassoune (Meliorn) had taught me the year before at the first Pancon, gave her the fanmade cookbook (don’t ask) and.. I like to think we impress her with our Seelie court cosplay despite being rushed by Sean's announcing.

* Last Wales Comic Con in Telford I looked a tit. I left my shoulder piece at ally so ended up looking like some Roman surf.Meeting David Wenham didn’t go to plan in the slightest, he is my fave actor from Lord Of The Rings and yet somehow, telling him that seemed to bore him.

Russell Tovey (George, Being Human/ Ray Terrill, The Flash) was polite, but colder than I’d have expected, especially when he was so animated and nice to everyone else.

While I have Amanda Tapping auto twice from a friend, finally standing beside her (Capt Carter, Stargate / Dr Magnus, Sanctuary) was an honour, especially When she seemed to like Martouf the Symbiote, as I said my Tok’ra costume had gone to hell but her smile made it bearable.

Alexander Ludwig ( Bjorn, Vikings) was wearing a shirt from Descended from Odin, he laughed when I recognised the logo he is so far the nicest OG Vikings cast member I’ve met.

* Starfury Ultimates 4 - 2019-05-17- 2019-05-19/20 - Hilton, Birmingham:

I got to meet the love interest of my favourite Coluan, Nicole Maines (Nia Nall/Dreamer, Superigrl) and the last reason I have to watch Legends in the form of the amazing Amy Louise Pemberton (Gideon), me and Louiza did our first duo cosplay as Jareth and Sarah from The Labyrinth, though I forgot the Goblin King wears Make up, I seemed to do okay as far as the SF peeps thought.

*LFCC:

well, I’ve said all I am going to say about the lies and lack of organisation and care from the stewards. so. The con....I died, visibly, slowly, but with a lot of translating from my long suffering Parbatai Heather I managed to meet, greet and speak with BOTH Greyjoys,First I had to face them for a photo shoot, in a uniform that was smaller than it was supposed to be, I felt daft not only because it was a Starfleet uniform but because I’d dreamed of cosplaying a greyjoy and my size made it if nothing else monetarily impossible, so I threaded my OBO necklace under my collar, totally against Starfleet regs, and stepped, up, Gemma said hello and Alfie went to before seeing the octopus, I wanted the ground to open up till he beamed“its like a Star trek Greyjoy crossover!” you can guess how happy I was he liked it.At the Autograph table Gemma (Yara) revealed she’s actually a Wessie like me. When I told her she was the best actress in all of Gentleman Jack for even attempting the accent and giving her character believability she said “yes..well.. I grew up in Headingley.” to which If I hadn’t already been falling a part I would have gone to pieces, as was I think I croaked my way through “what.. seriously. Someone cool.. from my area?” or something along those lines.Facing her on-screen brother was possibly the most Fan-squee moment I can ever remember having, and that include quiet a few awesome meets in my conlife. We cued, and I suddenly found my breath was short, his PA miming asked me if I’d had a drink I nodded, he then mimed I was breathless because of Alfie and not him and that he’d fight Alfie which got me laughing, I faced Alfie, took as much concentration I could muster, telling him I’d been there since ep 1, loved the Greyjoys through everything, it was amazing, he is so sweet and so shy, more so than when we’d met him a few years ago backstage for that brief moment, thinking on it it did explain a lot, also why he had his dog Ata with him and had randomly walked past us before taking him for a walk, but standing there in front of him its..indescribable.

Also at LFCC were Zachary Quinto ( Kelvin Timeline Spock) who seemed very taken by Alfie's dog Ata, he wouldn’t do LLAP in photoshoots, at first I thought that was because of the way I approached him, I was unable to keep my breath and looked like I’d been crying, but apparently he just doesn’t do it. Lends itself to the old rumour that for the movies he had to glue his fingers to get it right doesn’t it? He was sweet, I can’t really say much else because I didn’t get the time thanks to ‘things’ to spend time talking with him.

The reason for my costume choice was Shazad Latif (by then Commander Ash Tyler, Star Trek Discovery) I’d met him the previous year but had not had the money to get a photograph with him, so that's what I did, he’s a nice lad, and doesn’t mind goofs as I remembered from last year. I saw him again at DST and told him about a scene in a recent show he did where he didn’t realise someone had accidentally mimicked his accent.

*Starfury Highlanders 4 - 2019-08-09 to 2019-08-11 - Hilton, Birmingham:

Met David Berry and finally met the Queen of Hearts Maria Doyle Kennedy.Made a fool of myself. Got told I ask to many questions and saw Sean so drunk he left hie wallet/card on top and cigars on the bar in public.Also this was the convention that determined a new personal rule. I am not doing 3 day cons for any less than 3 interesting guests. Shadowhunters cast being the exception to the rule only if its someone I’ve not met before.I try to keep to the same rule with Day cons but sometimes there's just someone who makes that impossible (Tom Burke back at a Newcastle comic con a few years ago being my go to example)

* Pandemonium con2:

3rd Shadowhunters con I’d attended.I know I shocked Matt (Alec), Luke (johnathan) and Kat (Clary) as the Owl.I’m told Dom (Jace) was shocked to and said the mask was better than the one he’d worn which we all know is just him being kind to broke overweight untalented fan.Luke is a gent, think I wierded him out asking for him to go full Johnathan in the photo, but he seemed to forgive me when I told him me and my friends Carla and Michelle had dreamcast him as Spike in the Buffy revival (and Jade as Willow obv)Chai (Jordan) is always madness, all the time. And didn’t mind getting scolded for spoilering one of his own charectars deaths to a fan (me) who’d only agreed to watch the show because of him and Lola (Seelie Queen) being in it. He took it with good humour and began discussing spoilering and its limits. He was wierded out by me A.L.I.E photoshoot idea, when most people want hugs and high fives and stuff.

my season 2 Seelie didn’t get the reaction from Jade (Meliorn) my s1 did in Milan the previous year, but I think by then he knew I was mad enough to try it, and it wasnt a direct attempt at him (not for lack of trying)He loved the Buffy notebook set and Hufflepuff hat I got him, was even wearing it at closing, though I didn’t get pics as my camera died. Wasnt surprised apparently, that I’m Hufflepuff too. Which most would have taken as a barb but just kept me grinning.I gave him Tomato crisps but he has yet to tell me the answer to the question he asked had asked me when I first found them over here “are they the real thing?”I also brought a little dragon to meet its name sake, I did considering giving him it but I think I overloaded him, he was a flattered by the likeness though, also by the smell? Guessed it was a boy angel knows how because I don’t.

I met Nicola Damude (Maryse) in Milan, but because of stuff and thangs I didn’t get to talk to her for long, so when she got announced it was heaven for me,I gave her a jar of Pontefract cakes from the Castle (still not sure why) and she asked if she could give them to her dad who loves black Liquorice, I was pleased as anything, and she asked me where Pontefract was and I for some reason said“famous for Liquorice, racing and hot pokers.” to which Ally explained and got nick laughing.Ally cosplayed Maryse which had Nic smiling like a chesire cat and her picture where Allys brought out Biromantic heart flag will go into her wall of pride flags which she puts in her window during pride week at home in Canada even when shes away working.

*Destination Star Trek 2019:

I met up with Villiana and Sarah at DST, still surprised Sarah was a Trekkie, but it made the con more interesting, intop obviously of my 5 reasons for attending despite cash flow Shazad Latif (Commander Ash Tyler), Wilson Cruz and Anthony Rapp (Dr Hugh Culber and Lieutenant Paul Stamets), Alan Van Sprang (Commander Leland/Control) and Ethan Peck (Liuetenant Spock)

When I met Wilson Cruz I gave him the picture I’d got last year to sign and told him it was for my friend who was a nurse and couldn’t attend, he said “theirs always next year” adding quickly “if we’re asked.” to which I grinned, I explained how she was a Cardiac nurse and couldn’t rearrange shifts when they (he and Anthony) got announced, how she’d binged both seasons and they were her faves. He was proud to be playing a doctor liked by a nurse.

First photo was with Ethan, I was nervous as hells. Despite the fact it seemed only I remembered the significance of Alice in Wonderland to Spock I went through with my idea, he leant over my shoulder looking interested, I was so happy even after I realised the book was facing to far right for the cover to be readable. Ethan asked about the pic when I went to his table to get his autograph and I said it was awesome,turns out I was so annoyed at myself for the way I held the book, I’d not noticed he was giving the book the Spock eyebrow till I scanned it.I asked him if he’d do me a favour when he went back on the set of Penny Dreadful and told him about Live Dom and Prosper to which he laughed and said he’d only seen Dominic the day before.

While I was cuing for Ethans auto there was a girl behind me talking about asking Shazad who was sat next to him to sign her s31 badge she’d just bought, I’ve had mine since they came out and com badges before that so I turned round and told her it would be impossible to keep in tact, she said it wouldn’t matter just because she’d been up to him to get it signed, and I looked where she’d positioned it and tried to keep myself from saying anything else, someone gave her a pen they thought would last better, a group gathered trying to talk her ionto it, and while they were talking Shazads cue wass empty so I wandered over, got my friend Michelle is auto and talked about Departure where he didn’t know for a few moments in one scene a Canadian playing a Brit hadn’t been able to help mimicking his London accent, he found it funny and couldn’t believe I noticed, I shrugged and said “two of my fave actors in one scene, I notice these things.” I told him where to look and he wrote it down. I then asked if there was any plans to try and get Ash into the section 31 show even as a hologram and he said there was a discussion going on which got me grinning, I turned round and the girls thought I’d told but I shook my head, I wanted none of it. But when I got back in Ethans line she stepped out of and went to ask him, he didn’t look very bothered about where she had it, he just liked the idea.

From day 1 There was no question I was walking out as Section 31 again, but this time, instead of being the only black badge I was one of a sea, I was however the only one to give Alan Van Sprang a 3d print copy of the ship, his ship, the NCIA-93 which he loved, said I’d out done myself (after the rune com I gave him last year) and took another Selfie I’ll never see lol

my friend Ashley took photos of the whole encounter, from Alan thinking I’d given him a box of bubble wrap to the shock on his face, he said getting the ship was 2nd in awesome only to stepping onto the set of the ship itself.We got talking, I asked him about something Nicola had said at pancon, that when he’d had his first and only scene with her he’d called her Marsee instead of Maryse and he said its true and that she’d told him she’d told the story at a con the previous month, I said it was only last week, to which Ash from over my shoulder said that I am and I quote “the number one fan in the UK and universally known in the con community as the biggest fan and a lot of people only knew of Shadowhunters because of me,” apparently that's a consensus as I found out later, and as much as I don’t think its strictly true I was honoured never the less,he wasn’t took keen on my writing, apparently Lisa looked like Lisa am or something? don’t ask.So we were chatting and suddenly I noticed this head bobbing up and down behind him, Wilson Cruz had left his place and was using a chair to do raised push ups because he was bored.I realised that I’d stood chatting to Alan longer than was strictly polite for other fans so I bowed out, Saw him again for photos, where he and Shazad made me very happy

I do feel a bit of dope, I brought my asexual flag for my photo with Wilson and Anthony, but when Anthony asked me what the colours meant my brain went blank, I have to agree to tweet him a link. At least with him and Wilson I know they check twitter lol.

When I went up to get Anthony's auto on the Culmets photo for Ally I told him the same as I’d told Wilson how about Ally binging the show and loving them, how I’d pretty much known who’d she’d go for as faves, how she's a combo of the two and how..well what I said was “Paul rocks.” to which he grinned and said “of course he does.” LOL

* Miracle Day Returns (5) 2019-11-15 to 2019-11-17 - -Ren, London: Seeing the old crowd was perfect for the last Starfury of the year (Destiny never counts)hearing from Gareth on the future potential for music, getting ribbed by Kai, and of course watching the two of them taking the piss out of John is always a riot.Seeing Kai and Eve handing Sean a peition for a 5th Miracle Day was awesome, and we know it will happen.. somewhere down the line

*Wales Comic Con Telford Takeover December: I am not standing on Aidan’s foot in the picture!That I have to be clear on, I am getting fking sick of people joking that I am. He is still laughing from a previous person in the booth and her kid., I would have gone back and asked about reshoots but door were closed and I figured Aidan had left as he was on a schedule.

Colton loved his Pokeball even if I did get them mixed up and have to get him and Adam to swap.Told me Roy end up with his arm back “sort of.” and there's no plans for him to be in the spin off but “its the future, you never know.”

Dean O’Gorman (Bragi, Almighty Johnson's) loved the fact I’d brought the cover of young Herc to be signed, and told me that it was the Pilot which explained why Ian didn’t continue as young Herc (scheduling)

Tyler confirmed he is the Superman in the spin off. I knew it was but just hearing him say it :DTyler and Colton both recognised us, it was awesome!

While I am Ify on the new location due to travel funds and things, generally the convention was awesome as always. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Stuff

TVWith the end of Shadowhunters I have seriously been lacking new shows.I’ve tried different things and nothings stuck.Star Trek Discovery aired at the same time as Shadowhunters and was over nearly at the same time.The In-Between was interesting but isn’t getting a season 2,The Expanse s4 only started last week,Shadowhunters, TVD, Teen Wolf, Grimm, Torchwood, Xena, Bad Girls The Tribe, True Blood, Andromeda, American Horror Story, Merlin, B5, Stargate, its a short list but a special oneso I’ve started rewatches : my go to’s (see above list^) till something sneaks up.

MusicPretty much the same deal.J4de released some awesome songs, but that’s 4 songs, the EP is out ‘later’.but no new band has really grabbed me.

Upside? In November we learned that My Chem have reformed, just gotta wait and see if they record or tour outside the US. _______________________________________________________

Important

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” - C.S. Lewis

As always I have to have to mark those people who have made this year bareable,the good thing is this year there is no need for a piece on those who've also made it unbearable.

you know who you are, and if you don't.. assume i'm talking of you, because likely hood is I am.

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." - J. R. R. Tolkien

And that is.. or was it. Goodbye 2019

[bibliophileiz]

Overdue thoughts on “Jack in the Box”

Notes and stuff

The first scene is weird. Some of the shots are bizarre, I don’t understand what John’s journal is doing on the table and Bobby splitting the random dude’s head with a hatchet doesn’t jive with the tone at all. (Especially since we don’t find out the random dude’s actually a wraith until after the title card.)

-“Mom, you weren’t here long enough.” Amen. (#stillbitteraboutmary) 

- I am glad Bobby’s checking in on Sam, considering they had those issues at the beginning of the season.

- Also, random thought, but I’m so glad Ketch isn’t in this episode. (On the other hand, maybe if he’d shown up at Mary’s memorial, Dean would have killed him, which could have been fun.)

- Bobby doesn’t give Cas a beer. Rude. 

- “An unstoppable monster who don’t know right from wrong needs to be put down, or the closest there is to it. And anyone who doesn’t know that needs to go back to school.” To be fair, that’s how they’ve operated in every other season of this show.

- Bucklemming’s suckage at writing dialogue is always temporarily suspended whenever they need to write a scene where Jack is sitting sadly on a box outside in a back alley. This is also the only scene in this episode where Jack is actually in character.

-  And to absolutely no one’s surprise, the best scene in the episode is the one where Dean is sitting by himself crying in the woods. I’m sure this has nothing to do with the fact that it’s the only scene with no dialogue.

Actually the first part of this episode isn’t bad. I’m feeling less bitter about Bobby on the second watch, can kind of see what the point of having him in this episode is. 

Dumah stuff: On the one hand, I’m wondering if they just couldn’t get Amanda Tapping for this episode. On the other hand, I don’t know that Naomi would have done any of the shitty stuff Dumah does in this ep. (which is fine because I’d rather have Naomi alive for season 15 and not stabbed by Cas) The good plot answer to these musings is that Dumah arranged for Naomi to go in a cell so she could gain control of Heaven and enact her evil plans (see manipulating Jack into making new angels). The bad plot answer would be that neither bucklemming nor any of the angels thought through the ramifications of imprisoning their leader when there are only like 8 angels left, Heaven is falling apart and the Empty has demonstrated a willingness to invade whenever the fuck it feels like it. It also brings up an issue Cas and Jack discussed earlier this season where Cas assured Jack that Naomi takes care of the souls in her charge. Obviously that’s not the case with Dumah (see her threats against John and Mary).

- Possible bad dialogue alert: It’s not exactly clear what Cas is asking Dumah to do in the scene where he first shows up in Heaven and fills her in on what’s going on, and I don’t know if that’s intentional or not?

On the one hand I kind of like Dumah as an evil leader/antagonist of Naomi, but on the other hand her grooming of Jack feels a little reactive. Maybe she just didn’t want to risk trying to get him on her team while he was so close with the Winchesters.

Dumah and Jack stuff:

Dumah’s “Think how happy that would make Sam and Dean” if he saved the world and Heaven is obviously there to demonstrate that Jack just wants to please the Winchesters, but here’s the thing. Losing your soul might make you sociopathic and unsympathetic, but never in this show has it made someone stupid. So why would Jack, who has spent his entire life around Dean “God writes paperback books in his underwear and other blasphemies I say” Winchester, think Sam, Dean and Cas would be happy if he went around turning atheists into salt? They are literally “Team Free Will.” It makes no sense for Jack to think this is what they would want.

- Cas said he was “promised every effort” from Heaven in helping find Jack, but that DEFINITELY wasn’t in the scene. Didn’t Dumah say, “I’ll see what I can do”??? I don’t think Cas is supposed to be lying to the Winchesters here, I think bucklemming are just shitty writers without any editors.

- “Sam and Dean will like that?” “Words can’t begin to express how Sam and Dean will feel.” I’m starting to like Dumah.

To be fair, making more angels is exactly what Dumah’s been wanting since she was first introduced. Her trying to get Jack to make more of them makes a LOT more sense than Jack intentionally killing “bad” people, at least one of whom the Winchesters wouldn’t consider particularly bad.

Church scene:

Oh God. This scene is even weirder than the opening scene with Mary’s memorial. It’s anti-climactic and badly acted and doesn’t have any of the tension and suspense that the really good angel scenes tend to have in this show. The people in the congregation should be freaking out -- they should jump out of their seats, a couple of them should run for the back of the church doors and be locked in so Jack can demonstrate his powers. There should be lightbulbs bursting and doors rattling on their hinges. Surely that would have been cheaper than the stupid pillar of salt scene? Even without all that, the congregation should still actually be reacting to Jack’s glowing eyes or his wings. Instead they’re all sitting there going, “Ooh!” One of them has her hand over her mouth, which is like the epitome of good acting this scene. I’ve seen characters on this show have stronger reactions to Dean’s car. It feels like the director just got a bunch of extras in a room and told them to look surprised and then just went with the first take because he wanted to go eat lunch or something. It feels lazy.

- Does this woman praying remind anyone of, like, a really nervous but happy Chihuahua?

- Her acting is exceptionally bad, all blank-faced, “Who are you?”

- Preacher man is the only person in this episode with any common sense: “It’s not that I don’t believe, I just don’t believe you.” That’s actually how I, as a Christian, approach many people claiming to know God’s will.

I guess the people in the congregation are supposed to be blank-faced once Jack actually starts using his powers on them, but that still doesn’t excuse the beginning of this scene. There’s simply not enough difference in their manners for the audience to realize they’re being affected by angel magic.

Some other notes on this part of the episdoe: 

- Jensen Ackles’ facial expressions and acting in the hospital are really good, because you can tell he’s trying not to show how freaked out he is. I feel like Cas should be more freaked out though.

- Aw, why did you have to show me another worm??

- The scene between Sam and Dean is really drawn-out and badly written, but J2 are doing their best, God love them.

- “If I do it after what happened to Mom, I could lose it. I will lose it.” So would I, probably. (#stillbitterabout ... well, you get the picture.)

- Aramael has a deliciously pleasant voice, and I hope this actor comes back so I can listen to him more.

- “I am going to Heaven.” “That’s what everyone thinks.” L.O.L.

- Dumah cracks me up this scene. *high-pitched voice* “Castiel! Look, I found Jack!” She’s obviously not so secure in either her power over Heaven or her hold over Jack that she’s not still scared of Cas.

- This is the scene where you can see what Cas should have done, and what he doesn’t do, and what the consequences are going to be. Because instead of saying, “Jack, come with me,” which would have resulted in Jack immediately going to him, he asks to talk to Dumah, leaving Jack alone.

- Even with the long take, you can kind of see Cas sag a little after killing Dumah. Poor baby, keeps having to kill his murderous, evil siblings.

That scene (you know the one I’m talking about):

On second watch, it’s not bad, but I feel like it would be a lot better if it were written by Meredith Glynn. I feel like the dialogue is really trying to create tension, but since the dialogue hasn’t, up to this point in the episode, done anything to sell us on any of the emotion that would make this episode tense, it’s really lacking and comes across as overly drawn-out and soap opera-y. I mean, this is the moment where Dean lets his lesser demons control his judgment and lies to the boy he spent episodes trying to save earlier this season. This is the scene where Sam is basically giving up on the kid he loved as a son and who he was determined to raise to use his powers for good.  And they both think they’re doing the right thing here, plus the more Jack talks about his killing Mary as “the accident” and the more it comes across that he can’t understand how badly her death has hurt them, the angrier they get. But I feel like the dialogue doesn’t get this across as well as it could.

- “I make angels.” If that was all you did, this episode would be a lot better.

-  “Jack, we got this.” That line almost works to make this scene as tragic as it needs to be.

Again, the dialogue and the blocking and just the directing of the scene is not really working for me, but damned if Jared and Jensen aren’t giving it everything they can.

The part that sets up the season finale

- So how long is Jack supposed to have been in there? It can’t be that long because when he asks if they’re still there, they’re bolting the door.

- This would be a nightmare long-term though. Can you imagine them walking past that bolted door for days, weeks, hearing Jack call their names, ask if they’re there, if they’ll let him out please, getting more desperate and panicky the longer he’s there?

- Actually, that episode would have been way better than this one.

- “He agreed to it, because deep down, he knows it’s best.” Ooh, Dean, buddy, it’s not that don’t see your side -- heck, I’m kind of on your side -- but you know Jack didn’t get the truth from you and you’re changing the story to alleviate some of your guilt over it.

- I’m actually really upset Jack broke out of the ma’lak box. Way to make yet another of Billie’s predictions not come true, show.

Final thoughts

Overall there was way to much time given over to things that weren’t quite as important and didn’t work as well, which took away from the emotional tension that this episode SHOULD have had.     For example, it doesn’t make much sense for Jack to believe that Sam and Dean would want him to kill people who rebel against Heaven. I mean -- they rebelled against Heaven. And it’s not like Jack doesn’t know their relationship with Heaven and all that it stands for is complicated because one, these people raised him, and two, they’ve said all kinds of things over the episodes to him that demonstrate that relationship, from Dean being resentful toward God about leaving “guys like us to clean up his messes, like Lucifer” to Cas saying, “In Heaven, good is a relative term.” And Jack obviously knows that they wouldn’t want him killing people because they’ve had talks before about when is the right time to kill humans. (Remember Jack saying, “Anyone who would do this is a monster” when they were musing that Noah may have been a regular guy.)      It’s not that I think Jack should have realized it was wrong to kill the first two people he killed -- he’s lost his soul and his ability to empathize -- but he should have realized it was something the Winchesters wouldn’t have wanted, because losing your soul shouldn’t make you stupid. In all the other cases of soulless characters, they’ve been manipulative and pragmatic -- something Jack has ALWAYS been. So why would that change the minute he loses his soul?     It makes a lot more sense for him to take humans and make them angels, though. It’s less like Godstiel from Season 7 (or 6? I can’t remember. The Gamble era is not my thing.) and more like Buddy Boyle in Season 9. It’s still wrong because people are dying, and even though they’re consenting to being turned into angels, like the people Buddy Boyle recruited consented to being possessed by angels, they still don’t really understand what they’re consenting to. But it’s also something soulless Jack can justify because he KNOWS Heaven’s in trouble, so what’s a few human lives for the greater good of protecting Heaven and all the souls in it?     The episode still works if Jack is scooping up churchgoers and taking them to Heaven, killing them. He’s still dangerous in that case. Plus if you have that instead of the pillar of salt, you’ve got more time to really focus on the emotion behind what Cas and the Winchesters are going through.      Also, I don’t think this episode was very well directed? There were some weird shots, the blocking felt awkward and everything seemed to move really slowly. There were some good nuggets of dialogue, but generally everything but the acting from our mains (including Dumah, who I adore!) came across as lazy and uninspired.     I have further thoughts on Jack’s villain arc as a whole that I’ll work out and post tomorrow, plus some thoughts about what Mary’s death means for the end of the show. There’s still a small small chance she could come back tonight, though, so I’ll hold off on that one.

[bhfineart]

Hot or Not? at Sotheby’s on a Chilly Sydney Winter Night

On an evening in Sydney with an arctic chill in the air, Sotheby’s sale of Important Australian Art in Sydney on 28 August 2018 did break a number of Australian auction records. But one still has to wonder about the random nature of selling art in the auction room, which can particularly be observed in a tight sale containing just 67 lots. Perhaps before bidding commences, the audience might be asked to “Hot or Not” the artwork with a thumbs up or down in the Amanda-Keller-style of “The Living Room”.

[caption id="attachment_5149" align="alignleft" width="300"] Del Kathryn Barton, Farewell, 2004[/caption]

The art of Del Kathryn Barton is clearly furnace hot at the moment, so no need to ask for a thumbs up, as paddles were blazing to acquire this first lot in the sale. The monumental large work from 2004, titled Farewell, (Lot 1 ) was an excellent starter with extremely wide estimates of $150,000-350,000, suggesting great possibilities for this painting; it actually settled nonetheless at a very healthy $200,000 hammer price.

The number 2 Australian hot artist of the moment coincidentally, or perhaps not, is Cressida Campell. With an exhibition slated at Simon Lee Gallery in London in 2019, you would think the only way is up price-wise for Campbell’s work. There has been an insatiable appetite to acquire her work in the auction room. The highest hammer price however dates back to April 2015 when Banksias, 2004, sold at $90,000. Perhaps the estimate of $90,000-120,000 for Wheat Fronds and Sky, 2016 (Lot 2 ). was just too bullish for most, as this - nonetheless exceptional - work got the thumbs down from the audience last night.

Not simply hot, but rather parched, Lin Onus’ Frogs, 1988 (Lot 3 ), a painting of a cracked, bone dry landscape is about as poignant an image in today’s drought-stricken Australian climate as you can get. The painting sold to one of Onus’ loyal collectors for $150,000, right on the low estimate.

There was fierce competition in the room for a Gordon Bennett Landscape from 1993 Edge (With Displaced Point of Identification) (Lot 4 ) which sold nicely mid-range of the estimates at $35,000, and similarly a monochrome townscape by Howard Arkley, Tudor House, Fitzroy Gardens, 1987 (Lot 6 ), had numerous bidders to secure this piece of real estate at $42,000, just above the low estimate.

Meanwhile there was a thumbs down for the upside down Woman in a Landscape, 1998 (Lot 7 ) by Juan Davila, which failed to sell on its expectations of $60,000-80,000.

Nicholas Harding’s In the Swell, 2006 (Lot 9 ) suffered no such fate, as this much feted artist’s painting went above its $25,000 high estimate, selling for $28,000.

Clearly, there were a number of bidders who had already assigned a suitable location for Dale Frank’s dreamy but massive 200 x 260 cm Conara Cleveland Epping Forest, also from 2006 (Lot 10 ). On estimates of $30,000-40,000, it also got a massive thumbs up with $55,000 hammer price.

Speaking of dreamy: there was also a massive battle for a classic Clarice Beckett Beaumaris painting (Lot 15 ), which achieved a red hot $46,000 on expectations of $25,000-35,000.

Two equally fabulous works by Grace Cossington Smith brought out the buyers too, with Chair in the Room, 1960 (Lot 16 ) selling for $68,000, well above its $45,000 high estimate, while Fruit in the Window, 1957 (Lot 17 ) with one-time Joseph Brown provenance and estimated at $200,000-250,000, proved to be even more tantalizing, and was only secured at $370,000.

Perhaps someone had turned up the heating, as the excitement continued with Fred Williams’ Orange Hill (1966-67) (Lot 18 ), last sold by Menzies in September 2004 for $275,000 hammer price. It simmered along nicely to a sale price last night of more than three times its previous sale price in 2004 for $900,000 hammer, surely to the delight of the seller.

There was no boil over however for Brett Whiteley’s Harbour (Grey Day), 1978 (Lot 19 ). This magnificent and easy on the eye picture purchased from Australian Galleries almost exactly 40 years ago, and the cover lot of the catalogue, had all the potential for a $2 million plus sale.

Given Opera House was sold by Sotheby’s in May 2007 for $2.4 million IBP on the same estimates of $2 to $3 million, and The Olgas for Ernest Giles, 1985, achieved $2.9 million IBP at Menzies in June 2007 on expectations of $2.25 to $3.25 million, Harbour (Grey Day) looked particularly ripe for re-sale, but did not get the thumbs up on the night. (For what it’s worth, we think it’s hot.)

In fact, further analysing the data of Australian Art Sales Digest reveals that this is only the fifth time in Australian art auction history that estimates at or above $2 to $3 million have been set for an Australian painting. The other two were $3 to $5 million for Sidney Nolan’s First Class Marksman, sold for $5.4 million IBP by Menzies in 2010, and Whiteley’s My Armchair estimated at $3 to $4 million, selling for $3.9 million IBP also at Menzies in 2013.

A number of paintings by for example John Brack, Russell Drysdale, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin have sold above $2 million, but with lower estimates and therefore above expectations.

An interesting Australian record however was set last night for Brett Whiteley for a tapestry titled The Artist’s Studio (Lot 24 ), created by Pinton Frères in Aubusson/France in 1976, and held in a private London collection since 1979. Frenetic bidding ensued on its $100,000-120,000 estimate, shuttling to the Australian tapestry record of $175,000 hammer price.

It was a tale of two bridegrooms from Arthur Boyd’s significant Bride paintings. Drowned Bridegroom (1959) (Lot 20 ) rose up to meet the buyer’s expectations, selling for the low estimate of $1.6 million, and in the process creating a new record price for the artist. The previous record was set also by Sotheby’s in August 2012, when Bride Running Away 1957 sold for $1.4 million hammer price. Meanwhile, Bridegroom in Black Creek, 1960 (Lot 43 ) was left languishing on estimates of $650,000-850,000.

A couple of spectacular recent results for Ralph Balson in the James Fairfax collection at Deutscher + Hackett and from the Michael Hobbs collection at Bonhams have lifted interest in the artist’s abstract compositions. Non-Objective Painting, 1955 (Lot 26 ) at Sotheby’s has added to this trend, which is putting Balson firmly on the “Hot” list. It sold at the high estimate on expectations of $80,000-100,000.

Two Streeton water views painted 30 years apart, San Giovanni a Paolo, 1908 (Lot 29 ), and Hobart, 1938 (Lot 30 ), were treated with much warmth from an appreciative audience. While the Venice picture had estimates of $200,000-300,000, the Tasmanian scene was expected to sell for slightly less, given its lower estimate of $180,000-220,000, perhaps due to its later vintage. However, the inherent charm and grandeur of the Tasmanian vista was enough to see both paintings sell for the exact same hammer price of $220,000.

Another double bill was represented by Rupert Bunny. A Word of Advice (1908) (Lot 31 ), given the large fan in the image, offered us a painting suggesting a somewhat balmy day, and it lead to blistering bidding ending at $290,000 hammer price, on estimates of $250,000-350,000.

Then A Provincial Town in France (1904) (Lot 32 ) depicting a most summery feel and sold at a cooler low estimate of $400,000.

Another European subject, A Lake Scene in Cumberland (Lot 34 ), painted 70 years earlier by John Glover, certainly came in from the cold to hit a scorching $115,000 on its modest $40,000-60,000 suggestion.

Art dealer Bob Lavigne just snook in to capture a new Australian record for Godfrey Miller’s Summer (1955-57) (Lot 42 ), a record that amazingly had been held for 18 years when Trees in Quarry sold in 2000 with Christies as part of the Harold E. Mertz collection for $180,000 hp. Lavigne paid $190,000 hammer price and $231,800 IBP to secure the picture just above the $180,000 low estimate.

Three Albert Tucker paintings were offered at Sotheby’s, including a smallish Intruder with Parrots, 1967 (Lot 59 ), with an equally small estimate of $10,000-15,000. These parrots were clearly of the tropical variety, as a searing $34,000 was achieved for this diminutive work with Kerry Stokes collection provenance.

It was the second time that Charles Blackman’s A Dream of Flowers (Lot 60 ) appeared at auction. In 2010, it sold also at Sotheby’s on $18,000-25,000 for $32,000 hammer price (or $38,400) including buyer’s premium. Yesterday, it was on offer again with $25,000-35,000 estimates, indicating very reasonable seller’s expectations. The dream took flight, and it sold for more than double the low estimate for $53,000.

Second-last but not least, Harold Septimus Power’s Portrait of a Young Woman with Two Spaniels (Lot 66 ), and with a saleroom notice for a different title The Blue Setter, was listed with a $15,000-20,000 estimate. The multitude of bidders set up a blistering pace for this portrait with a sophisticated 1920s English country atmosphere, quite atypical for Power, better known for his horses and plough scenes. After reaching $66,000, a $75,000 return bid followed straight away – however, it was not the expected knock-out blow which came from the $81,000 phone bid, four times the high estimate.

So what would Amanda Keller say of the sale? HOT.

Original article by David Hulme and Brigitte Banziger appeared in Australian Art Sales Digest, 29 August 2018

Sale Referenced: Important Australian Art , Sotheby's, Sydney, 28/08/2018

The post Hot or Not? at Sotheby’s on a Chilly Sydney Winter Night was originally published to: Banziger Hulme Fine Art Valuations