#forced diversity for the sake of comedy

[shrimpjuice]

Eighth Year

pjo // hp crossover fic (don't take it too seriously)

Chapter 1 — Poseidon Powers

Percy looked up from the practically decaying map in his grasp, looking tirelessly for the castle Hecate had described to him.

“Percy, are you sure this place even exists?” Annabeth asked skeptically, trudging not far behind him, completely out of breath. “She said it was a huge castle, so we should've seen it by now, right?” 

“I think I see it!” Percy exclaimed, pointing at the ruins in the distance. Annabeth hung her head and sighed, resting her hands on her knees. 

“Percy, that looks like the remains of a castle, there's no way– Wow.” As the pair got closer, the veil shielding the ruins had given way to the view of a majestic castle, though a bit crumbled away, it was definitely a castle. 

“I told you,” Percy said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest. Annabeth took the map from his hand and looked at it. 

“Yep, Hogwarts, school for Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Annabeth read, placing a hand on Percy's shoulder. “But how are we gonna get over–” Percy pushed the water in the moat around the castle to the side, giving him and Annabeth dry land to walk on. “Right.” 

Percy smirked and they walked across the moat, clumsily climbing onto the yellowing grass surrounding the castle. Percy let the water fall back into place and the two ventured into the castle, on their way to look for Hecate's lost artifact. 

As they walked through the halls of the castle, Annabeth spotted a courtyard and the two walked across it, sitting at the empty benches for a rest. Before Percy could sit down though, he collapsed right in front of a bench, hitting his head on the armrest. 

“Oh my gods, Percy!” She exclaimed, dropping to her knees to examine his head. “Percy? Percy wake up what–” 

“Are you guys alright? Is he okay?” A voice came from behind Annabeth, a girl's with a distinct British accent. Annabeth turned to see the curly haired girl with chocolate mocha colored skin approaching them. 

“Does it look like he's okay?” Annabeth exclaimed, her hands flailing wildly. 

The girl shook her head. “I suppose not,” She knelt beside Annabeth and observed the unconscious Percy, who's breathing was rather shallow. “Let's take him to Madame Pomfrey then– our nurse. Then I'll have a lot of questions to ask you.” The girl said calmly, gesturing for Annabeth to stand. 

The two girls hoisted the sleeping Percy’s arms over their shoulders, dragging him down into the halls of Hogwarts.

— 

When they got to the infirmary, Madame Pomfrey came running to the three, instructing the girls to set Percy on the closest cot. Percy flopped onto the mattress like a limp fish, his head hitting the pillow with a soft thump. 

“Is he going to be okay?” Annabeth asked, a deep crease in her brow. 

“What happened to the poor boy?” Pomfrey asked, feeling Percy's forehead. 

“He uh… collapsed.” 

“From what?” The nurse pushed, examining the back of Percy's skull with her hand. “He's got quite the nasty bump here,” She noted, lightly feeling the knot growing on Percy's forehead. 

Annabeth hesitated. She couldn't tell these random people Percy passed out from overusing his Poseidon Powers! That would be too suspicious, how would she even explain that? 

“Overexhaustion, we've been walking all day,” She said, and it wasn't exactly a lie. They had been walking all day, just also traveling by water a lot too. 

“Poor thing,” Madame Pomfrey frowned. “Well, I'll keep an eye on him for you, get back to class you two,” she said to Hermione and Annabeth.

“She's not a student, Madame Pomfrey,” Hermione admitted. “I've never seen them before at least.” 

“Grab the Headmaster then, will you? This is quite worrying, these two showing up all injured,” Pomfrey instructed, guiding Hermione to the exit. Then she whispered in Hermione's ear, ‘They could be Death Eaters, the ones we couldn't find,’.

Hermione nodded, and left the room.

—

Hermione walked in minutes later with Dumbledore. Pomfrey was keeping a close eye on Annabeth, making sure she didn't leave. Though, Dumbledore didn't seem the least bit worried at the prospect of surviving Death Eaters infiltrating Hogwarts.

His eyes lit up when he saw Annabeth and the unconscious Percy, still unmoving.

“Children of Hecate!” He exclaimed, his arms outstretched as he approached Percy's cot. “I suppose she sent you, yes?” He asked Annabeth, gazing into her icy blue orbs. Annabeth nodded, leaning away from the white bearded man. 

“I mean, yeah, we're demigods, but not Hecate's–” Percy interrupted from behind Annabeth. Percy? Percy! 

“You're awake!” Annabeth exclaimed, embracing Percy tightly. “Are you okay? You hit your head really hard.” Percy nodded with a wide grin. 

“Is it bad?” He asked, gesturing to the bump on his forehead. Annabeth's grimace said it all. 

“We'll focus on the specifics later,” Dumbledore interrupted. “But I must know, what has Lady Hecate sent you for?” He said, leaning in, bright eyes gleaming. “Will she be gracing us with her presence perhaps? Oh, we must prepare–”

“No, um, mister…” 

“Dumbledore.” Hermione added. “And if not, what the hell are you doing here?” She inquired, leaning in just as intrigued as her overzealous Headmaster. 

“Well, Hecate sent us to find something for her,” Annabeth started. Dumbledore leaned closer in interest. “Some sort of artifact, and she said the Headmaster would know where it was,” She continued, looking over at Dumbledore, who just looked absolutely giddy with excitement. 

“And?” Dumbledore prodded.

“That's really it.” Annabeth sighed. “She didn't really give us any more clues, but she did say it belonged to her daughter, her name was… Regina? No, Rebecca—” 

“Rowena?” Hermione asked.

“Yes!” Annabeth exclaimed. “Ugh, I knew it wasn't Regina,”

“Would this artifact happen to be some sort of… diadem, maybe?” Dumbledore butted in, straightening in his seat and brushing a hand over his long white beard.

Annabeth sat back in her chair, looking up at the stone ceiling decorated with intricate pictures of dragons and… cats? “I think so,” She said it was some kind of tiara? Don't they mean like the same thing?” 

“Exactly!” Dumbledore exclaimed, standing up enthusiastically. “And she said the Headmaster would know where it is, correct?” Annabeth nodded. “Well I do so happen to be the Headmaster, I think I would be of great help,” He said, adjusting the nightcap looking hat on his head. 

Hermione interjected. “But sir, the diadem, isn't it–”

“Shush shush Granger,” Dumbledore said, putting a spindly finger to the girl's lips. “This is the Lady Hecate we're talking about, and we cannot let her down.” He looked over at Annabeth, eyes twinkling. “Well, how about the two of come to my office for some tea first, then we can go and find your diadem.” 

“Sir,” Hermione insisted. “We both know that the diadem isn't–” 

“Pip pip then,” Dumbledore said without letting Hermione finish her sentence. “Off we go then, off we go.”

the actual fic :

[smukher2]

Article: Advice from Jerry Seinfeld on Why Life Should be Navigated With Humor #DukeUniversity https://today.duke.edu/2024/05/advice-jerry-seinfeld-why-life-should-be-navigated-humor

ArticleSummary: "Jerry Seinfeld delivered the commencement address at Duke University's 2024 graduation ceremony, urging graduates to navigate life with humor and not lose their sense of humor. Duke's 2024 commencement can be relived on the commencement.duke.edu website. Duke Today is a one-stop-shop for news from Duke University, featuring articles written by staff and faculty, edited by Geoffrey Mock of University Communications for the "News" edition, and edited by Leanora Minai of the Office of Communication Services for the "Working@Duke" edition."

Article: #Unfrosted is a 2024 American comedy film directed by #JerrySeinfeld (in his feature directorial debut) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfrosted #Wikipedia

Jerry Seinfeld says ‘the extreme left and P.C. crap’ are hurting TV comedy by #LosAngelesTimes https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-04-30/jerry-seinfeld-pc-crap-hurting-tv-comedy Jerry Seinfeld says the ‘extreme left’ has ruined sitcoms with ‘PC crap’ by #Today https://www.today.com/popculture/news/jerry-seinfeld-comedy-pc-culture-rcna150140

ArticleSummary: "Jerry Seinfeld reflected on the influence of "the extreme left" on TV comedy in a recent interview, citing examples from his own show "Seinfeld" that may not be accepted in today's cancel culture. He expressed concern about the lack of comfort sitcoms like those from past decades and noted that stand-up comics are now the source for edgier comedy. Seinfeld praised younger comedians for pushing boundaries and discussed the challenges faced by networks like HBO in producing comedic content. Despite these concerns, Seinfeld continues to perform stand-up and recently made his directorial debut with the film "Unfrosted," which premieres on #Netflix #Movie."

By #www.smukher2.eu #www.smukher2.com #www.smukher2.co.uk #www.smukher2.org #www.smukher2.net #smukher2 to #Everyone: Jerry Seinfeld thank you for the great Duke University commencement speech. Indeed, I agree with you that humor is a survival skill. When I'm frustrated, my goto solutions are 'Virtue of Work' (eaplained in "The Song Celestial" quote Sir Edwin Arnold) and clean wholesome all age appropriate entertainment (audio, video, text) usually found in 'Old Time Classics' and ofcourse in Jerry Seinfeld, and Jay Leno style of entertainment, so together we can call them 'Quality Classics'. The difference between the 'Classics' and current entertainment offerings is that the latter are extremely violent and lack aesthetic value. This deteoriation fo entertainment is happening due to wokeism that is hurting every type of genre in entertainment be it tv, movies, music, books, or social media. Let me explain.

Quality value "And then there were none" - a fitting quote from the title of Agatha Christie's book, to describe how 'woke trash' is taking over 'classic quality' entertainment. Taking example of, 'Dr. Who' and 'Death in Paradise' which transitioned from being 'classics' to 'woke trash' by forcing lead casting of Ncuti Gatwa and Don Gilet, respectively as a woke attempt at diversity rather than a genuine effort to create engaging content. In its classic version, David Tennant still the best 'DrWho' and Kris Marshall still the best DI in 'DeathInParadise'. Quality entertainment is sacrificed again and again by BBC (UK) PBS (UK) Disney (US) Hollywood et. al. 'telly' TV Movies for the sake of ticking HR category boxes. I refuse to let these misguided decisions taint my viewing experience. Beyond Paradise and Jay Leno's Garage, the occasional documentaries and movies may be the only thing worth watching on BBC (UK) PBS (UK) Disney (US) Hollywood et. al. 'telly' TV Movies right now, while clean wholesome all age appropriate watch classics remain timeless favorites and continue to stand the test of time. Being classics most of these are available for free on #InternetArchive #Dailymotion #Youtube #IMDB #PlutoTV (by #CBS) #TubiTV (by #Fox) #PlexTV #Crackle and more (see references). Here's the list of quality over quantity, of universal appeal over woke agenda, of all age appropriate content over gory violence and sex addiction:

Twilight Zone: 1959-1964

Perry Mason: 1957-1966

Sherlock Holmes: Jeremy Brett 1984-1994

Sherlock Holmes: Ronald Howard 1954-1955

Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone 1939-1946

Death in Paradise: 2011-2022

Dragnet: 1951-1959, 1967-1970

As Time Goes By: 1992-2005

Mind Your Language: 1977-1979

The Goes Wrong Show: 2019-2023

Fawlty Towers: 1975-1979

Yes Minister: 1980-1984

Are You Being Served?: 1972-1985

Star Trek original series: 1966-1969

Alfred Hitchcock Hour: 1962-1965

Mork and Mindy: 1978-1982

Murder, She Wrote: 1984-1996

Fraiser 1993-2004

Seinfeld: 1989-1998

Seinfeld: Standup comedy 1998, and others

Remington Steele: 1982-1987

The Saint: 1962-1969

Tales of Wells Fargo: 1957-1962

Waiting for God: 1990-1994

Upstart Crow: 2016-2018

Saturday Night Live 1975-to pre woke era

A Bit of Fry and Laurie: 1987-1995

Jeeves and Wooster: 1990-1993

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: 2012-2022

Batman: 1966-1968

Johnny Carson Tonight show rerun 1962-1992

Bill Moyers Journal 1972-1981, 2007-2010

Jay Leno Tonight show rerun 1992-__

Jay Leno's Garage: 2015-present

Beyond Paradise: 2022-present

Pingu: 1986-2006

Garfield and Friends: 1988-1994

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: 1983-1985

Tintin: 1991-1992

Justice League: 2001-2004

Thomas and Friends: 1984-to pre woke era

Mickey Mouse - 1928-to pre woke era

Donald Duck - 1934-to pre woke era

Tom and Jerry - 1940to pre woke era

Various Travel/Nature/Science documentaries: Various years especially by Dame Joanna Lumley, Sir David Attenborough, Bear Grylls, Hannah Fry, Rick Stein, Rick Steves, William Shatner, Stephen Fry, Ben Fogel, Steve Irwin.

Honorable mention, Jon Stewart's and Bill Maher's shows/podcasts are great for latest happenings across a wide range of topics, while Jon and Bill use of awesome humor (that makes difficult information explainable) and awesome deductive reasoning (step by step logical thinking example in The daily show they make a statement show the clip and then another statement and its clip, like that they go step by step for any given news). Now, taken together they cover most of the latest happenings across a wide range of topics, and together they report with humor and logic. Albeit, its not always appropriate for all ages. Now, I was looking at Qwant search engine, they have a kids version called "QwantJunior" and the everyone version, similarly it will be great if there was a short kids version to your video/podcast episode that I can incorporate in #fairwissenschaft. Also the Stephen Colbert, Gutfeld and Seth Meyers are great, latter used to do the updates part of SNL.

Aesthetic value Aesthetic value of beauty in nature holds a profound significance, contributing to various aspects of human experience. Now as humans are part of nature, albeit an overpopulating overpolluting part of nature, still humans are part of nature, and just as we appreciate beauty in nature, appreciating beauty in humans is infact a part of appreciating beauty in nature. As Shakespeare nicely explains it in 'Hamlet', "What a piece of worke is a man! How Noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In forme and mouing how expresse and admirable! In Action, how like an Angel in apprehension, how like a God! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals….('man' here means both man and woman, as Hamlet clarifies in end by saying 'man..nor woman').." Beauty aesthetic value plays a crucial role in movies, TV, and sports, contributing significantly beyond just hardwork and talent, infact beauty is part of the talent that requires hardwork to mainatin. Here's how the aesthetic value of beauty impacts these visual industries. Let me explain: 1) Visual Appeal and Immersion: In movies, TV shows, fashion and sports beauty aesthetics enhance the visual appeal and immersive experience for the audience. The intricate makeup techniques, costumes, and set designs contribute to creating vibrant and captivating visuals, enriching the overall storytelling. Example: William Shatner is better for Star Trek than Sonequa Martin Green. 2) Character Portrayal and Narrative Enrichment: The aesthetic choices in portraying characters through makeup, costumes, and hairstyles add depth and authenticity to the narrative. These visual elements help create believable characters and enrich the storytelling experience for the viewers. Example: Jon Stewart is a better for DailyShow Comedy Central, than Trevor Noah. 3) Influence on Viewer Engagement: Beauty aesthetics not only capture attention but also influence viewer engagement. The aesthetic beauty in sports, for example, can enhance the excitement and emotional connection of the spectators with the performance or event. Example: Steffi Graf and Roger Federer better for tennis, than Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal. 4) Fashion and Style Inspiration: The beauty aesthetic in movies, TV, and sports often serves as a source of fashion and style inspiration. Iconic looks and trends set on screen can influence real-world fashion and beauty trends, demonstrating the interconnectedness between visual media and the fashion industry. 5) Cultural Significance and Trends: The portrayal of beauty aesthetics in visual media reflects cultural norms, historical contexts, and societal trends. Example: Jeffrey Hunter and Max Von Sydow better for portraying Jesus Christ than Jonathan Roumie. In summary, aesthetics and beauty are the 'extra goodness of providence' which is mercy of God, so denying beauty is denying God, without beauty it would be impossible to believe in God in this messed up world of evil. As Sherlock Holmes explains in 'The Naval Treaty' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "What a lovely thing a rose is! There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as religion. It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers."

P.S. The #fairwissenschaft will focus on providing Aesthetic and Quality entertainment. Whether it's books, audio, articles or video content, it'll ensure that everything discussed or listed meets quality standards. The #fairwissenschaft is for everyone, offering information that is relevant and necessary without overwhelming. The #fairwissenschaft goal is to prevent people from becoming part of "the anxious generation" by letting you take the time to appreciate life's simple pleasures and "smell the roses. The aim of #fairwissenschaft is to empower individuals to escape the grasp of anxiety and compulsive consumption by being mindful of their viewing habits. Rather than mindlessly indulging in social media and entertainment outlets like TV shows and movies, the goal is to enable individuals to appreciate life's simple joys and savor its moments. The #fairwissenschaft serves as a digital detox, allowing one to engage with content on your terms, out of desire rather than addictive compulsion fostered by mainstream media or social media. As for BBC (UK) and PBS (UK) et. al. 'telly' TV and Hollywood Movies et al you may reevaluate your priorities and focus on creating content that truly captivates and entertains viewers, rather than pandering to woke agenda. The choice is yours, this is my advice take it or leave it.

P.S. I mentioned I am frustrated, so I owe an explanation for my existential crisis "the sickness unto death" quote Soren Kierkegaard. I am now frustrated for not being able to get a job in my choice places in the west. Well its possible my labor of love knowledge work done at leisure as hobby #fairwissenschaft will fetch me enogh money so that I can get golden visa where I will continue #fairwissenschaft work, in which case I will not have to work for anyone, can be my own boss financially independent. I will leave not a penny in India so I can finally fulfill my life long dream to break away from India for good and finally be secure --India like other barbarian pervert violent places South America, China, Africa, Middle East is unsafe for women especially single independent women like me who will not bend to male chauvinism, no security in public place or private place it just sucks. Its not like I'm asking the western civilization to pitty me and take me in like loser scump of humanity refugees or illegal immigrants, I'm asking to go to western civilization based on my proven merit which makes me deserving of living in the western civilization, if I can't sell my proven merit through a job, I will sell my proven merit through fairwissenschaft, 'Either or' quote Kierkegaard, i.e. either way I will get out of this India/Indians making sure these dishonest morons as explified by the Ambanis and Adanis, don't a get even a penny of my honest earnings instead I will use my earnigns to lead a independent free fairwissenschaft driven fulfilling existance in western civilization, most likely in Czech Republic.

P.S. I've discussed about male chauvinism threat to security of women, ealier today, indeed I need the job so that I can be independent of my family stand on my own feet. Just an addendum to that for the male chauvinists and women than support and enable their male chauvinism a) your logic that family structure will make women secure is crap cause the greatest violence against women occurs at home (domestic violence) (see my previous posts on male chauvinists today for references) b) your lies that oh women who don't get married and make babbies at end of life will be alone bla bla, is crap cause men die earlier anyways, and second children put parents in old age home anyways eiher way its same for old women, I'm only here with my mom cause I don't have job, to reiterate "everyone bears their own cross" so the male chauvinism in name of Christianity is hypocrisy it anti-Christ's life teachings c) you suggesting women can't have family and career (have to take break) is crap too because a financially independent woman are better poised to take a stand against the men (see my previous posts on male chauvinists today for references) d) finally, when I said men are lek drones, I did not mean robot drones which are great, but I meant e) I don;t know why but these male chauvinistic males and their enabler women are also the ones that spread unscientific lies, probably because they are pathological liars, like covid vaccine caused heart disease ovary cancer etc, when there can be 80,000 reasons for that because there are 80,000 chemicals of concern in the environment for which we don't know how it effects humans, now not all 80,000 are 'forever chemicals' so one can expect natural processes would clear most out so there would be no disease effects, but that's not happening because of male chauvinistic and their enabler women who overpopulated and exhausted mother nature's ability to recycle these, so again stop blaming anti-vax for your 'karma'. f) I never wanted children, and will never have children by choice, I got rid of the ovary at the first chance, so planet earth's destruction is on you overpopulating male chauvinists and their women enablers, while I can lead an independent life "I'm the master of my fate, I'm the captain of my soul" quote poem Invictus by William Earnest Henley.

References: William Shakespeare, Hamlet https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/919945-what-a-piece-of-work-is-a-man-how-noble The Importance of Hair and Make up in Film and HETV https://looptalent.co.uk/importance-of-hair-and-make-up-in-film-and-hetv/ Aesthetics & Films https://www.filmtheory.org/aesthetics-films/ Aesthetics In Photography – How Aesthetics Affects Mind? https://cameravibes.com/aesthetics-in-photography/ Beauty Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/beauty/ Arthur Conan Doyle, The Naval Treaty - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3251615-the-naval-treaty The best free streaming services in May 2024 https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-free-streaming-services 8 Ways to Listen to Old Time Radio Shows Online for Free https://www.makeuseof.com/listen-old-time-radio-shows-online/ Internet Archive's Free Movies & TV Shows https://www.lifewire.com/internet-movie-archive-1357416 12 Classic TV Shows You Can Watch For Free On YouTube https://uproxx.com/tv/12-tv-shows-you-can-watch-for-free-on-youtube/ Pluto TV’s New Classic TV Channels Have Launched https://cordcuttersnews.com/pluto-tvs-new-classic-tv-channels-have-launched/ Tubi Now Offers 9 Live Classic TV Channels | Cord Cutters News https://cordcuttersnews.com/tubi-now-offers-9-live-classic-tv-channels/ Best Classic TV Shows of All-Time https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/ Browse and filter content with our search engine https://faq.dailymotion.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016543580-Browse-and-filter-content-with-our-search-engine Plex Adds 25 Free Streaming Channels Including Classic TV, Spanish-Language Content, Much More https://thestreamable.com/news/plex-adds-25-free-streaming-channels-including-classic-tv-spanish-language-content-much-more 10 classic films to stream for free on Crackle https://www.techhive.com/article/602252/10-classic-films-to-stream-for-free-on-crackle.html 100 Best Librivox Audiobooks from the Past 5 Years https://www.learnoutloud.com/content/blog/archives/2018/03/100_best_librivox_audiobooks.php Frequently Viewed or Downloaded Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top Internet Archive Open Library free to download or free to borrow books https://openlibrary.org/subjects/accessible_book#ebooks=true McQuail′s Mass Communication Theory by Denis McQuail | Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1007599.McQuail_s_Mass_Communication_Theory Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview by Glenn Grayson Sparks | Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1921582.Media_Effects_Research Why everyone should be data literate | Jordan Morrow | TEDxBoise | TED https://www.ted.com/talks/jordan_morrow_why_everyone_should_be_data_literate Untested chemicals are everywhere | The Guardian | Originally published 2015 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/feb/13/us-senate-toxic-chemicals-law-health-safety Invictus by William Earnest Henley https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus

[spaceshipkat]

How…

How

How

How

Hooooooooooooow is OFMD so DAMN GOOD.

And they really dared to release season 1 without having season 2 filmed and ready in the wings because the KNEW it would be a classic in no time

I KNOWWWWW! i have a distinct memory of texting @ripley-stark when i was on like episode 2 that i wasn't sure what the hype was all about, and now here i am frothing at the mouth over it?????? i'm so glad i kept watching bc as soon as Blackbeard was introduced i started to realize what kind of show ofmd was actually going to be, and now there isn't one episode i don't like (even ep10, though i admit i have only watched it twice bc my shippppppp 😭)

really, though, i think it might have to do with a few things:

1) how queerness is handled in the show. every single episode i had to keep reminding myself that they really were making being queer just another fact of life and that we weren't going to be queerbaited or deal with queer pain simply bc they're queer. it wasn't some pity party for the queers, or a little pat on the back like "okay here's your one (1) queer character, who will die unhappy and alone, aren't you satisfied? stop asking for better rep". yeah there's pain, and yeah the characters don't have their HEA yet, but it's simply following romance tropes rather than picking on the queer characters

2) the show was written with comedy at the forefront of the writers' minds, as David Jenkins has explained he wanted to make a comedy show that was actually funny. and tbh, he really understood that assignment bc the comedy is gold and a far cry from the vapid supposedly funny "banter" that people are force-fed in marvel movies (which aren't funny. i think the last marvel movie i saw and actually laughed during was Thor Ragnarok, and i think that had to do with the director being Taika Waititi)

3) speaking of the writers, they were actually as diverse as the cast of the show, so we got actual inclusivity rather than a bunch of cishet white people trying to write a queer MOC or something. we got queer diversity! actors of color! body diversity! a fucking ENBY for fuck's sake who goes by they/them pronouns aND EVERYONE USES THEM PROPERLY!

4) the actors also understood the assignment. there isn't a single one of the characters i don't like, even the bad guys (i like to joke that we love to hate izzy but i don't actually hate him; he's a good bad guy you can find funny and don't mind when the story spends time on him, which is the fucking point of including a bad guy). each character has their own voice, their own sense of humor, their own personality, their own hobbies, etc etc

5) it's historically accurate in the ways that actually matter but aren't often focused on. i fucking hate when people use "historical accuracy" as their trump card, bc my argument is that the cry of historical accuracy is a coward's defense 99% of the time. i'm all for keeping vocab from time periods present, and getting clothes right, and do actually do that in my own writing, but sometimes it's just really damn nice for someone to see that and shrug over it. and the best part of ofmd is that it actually fucking portrays the time period as diversely as it truly was, and gives queers probably the safest place they could possibly exist as openly queer in that time period--and even then, it doesn't make anyone targeted bc they're queer. we all know history in that time period wasn't good to queer people, so we don't need to be fucking reminded of that

6) the queer found family is alive and well in the show, and i'm sure many queer people who grew up in strict cishet societies/families like Stede did can appreciate and relate to that (lord knows i do)

and as a bonus, it shits on the 18th century brits

i still think the only thing that could make the show better (and if hbo finally gives us a second season i'm sure it'll happen seriously WHAT is taking so long hbo) is if it had more women in it. Mary is great, but she's only in a couple episodes, and her friends are only in one. hopefully we'll get Anne Bonny and Mary Read as the brilliant lesbians they were in season 2. maybe Stede unites with them to go find Blackbeard or something idk

[washipink]

Yu-yu Kondo and Vanguard overDress’s Greatest Flaw

    I love Cardfight!! Vanguard. It means so much to me, more than I have time to articulate here. Which is why it disappoints me so much to have to have this discussion. Let’s take ourselves back to earlier in the year. Why don’t we? Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress is announced to be a real, actual seasonal anime. A seasonal anime with a real, renowned animation studio and character designers. On top of this, the actual card game is about to become the best it has ever been. We are shown new artwork of the story’s main characters week after week to hype us up even more. Then, WSlasher releases a video. “What Bushiroad isn’t Telling About Vanguard Overdress”. This was the beginning of the end.

    In WSlasher’s video, released 3 months before the airing of the first episode, he asserts that Yu-yu will wear girls’ clothes and a wig in Vanguard overDress. He also liberally uses the word Trap, doubling down when confronted about its modern transphobic usage. This alone would worry me as a trans card fighter. The worst possible outcome in my mind was WSlasher’s video being accurate. Despite my fears, I held out hope that Yu-yu would be handled with respect and care, rather than being used for transphobic comedy at his own expense. 

    The first episode of overDress came and went. People loved it. It saw rave reviews from Vanguard Fans and non-Vanguard Fans alike for its gorgeous animation and beautiful soundtrack. I was so happy to see Cardfight!! Vanguard winning and yet… Something bothered me. Yu-yu was forced into clothes, even forced into lacy underwear by his family. It was all very uncomfortable to watch. Add this to the show’s very reductive view of gender. Megumi comments on Yu-yu wearing “boys’ shoes” and a “boys’ backpack”. The show tells us this is a contradiction. The show threatens that the slightest nuance in gender presentation will out Yu-yu as not what he appears. The cherry on top was the fact that Yu-yu wasn’t even the one to tell the others he wasn’t a girl. That was Tomari. If you think about the situation in any realistic context, there was a high chance Tomari Seto outed a transgender teenager against their will while they were far away from home in the middle of the night. She did not know Yu-yu’s side of the story. Yu-yu did not give her permission to say what she said. Tomari seemed to be unaware of the potential consequences of her actions. It hurts to see and quickly establishes Tomari as someone I absolutely would not trust. overDress was off to a rough start for me. I was not allowed to enjoy it as much as my cisgender and/or heterosexual peers. That feeling only got worse as every other episode seemed to add in playful, joking, gay scenes between Yu-yu and the 7-years-older Danji. Before the first episode aired, we were told a core theme of the show would be diversity. Instead, the diversities held by very real people were used as quick jokes. 

    However, overDress was not quite hopeless in this regard. In episode 2, the topic of Yu-yu’s clothes is broached once more. Zakusa says some words to him that borrow from very common gender metaphors. As he sketches butterflies he asks Yu-yu, “Do you think butterflies know how to fly as soon as they leave their cocoons? Perhaps they know that they will one day soar from the moment they are born.” Butterflies change their form and learn to fly, much like a trans person coming into their true self and becoming stronger and happier for it. Lines like this being uttered so early in the show’s run gave me hope. I genuinely had faith that perhaps Yu-yu’s relationship to gender and even to his sisters would be explored. Perhaps Yu-yu would come to realize that the problem wasn’t that they were girls’ clothes. The problem was that they were not clothes he CHOSE. Yu-yu doesn’t even have to straight up be a trans girl to be an inspiration for gender non-conforming teens watching overDress every week. Is this a turn for the better? Is this a major struggle of Yu-yu’s that the show explores? No. No, it is not. Instead, Yu-yu and dresses are brought up together for the sake of throwaway gags. In episode 5, we see Yu-yu don the dress his sisters gave him again so that he can be a ring girl at Danji’s Cardfight Pro Wrestling match. This is complete with the audience fawning over him and Megumi being angry that he receives attention from men that she does not. In episode 7, a member of Team Blackout asks Yu-yu to wear a frilly, pink dress so that he can watch. Tomari buys Yu-yu a little girls’ pretend doctor outfit in the same episode, expecting him to wear it. Tomari is the one who makes the most jokes at Yu-yu’s expense. When combined with her outing Yu-yu, it’s not a good look. 

    Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress’s greatest flaw is not its pacing, its lack of conflict, or any animation errors. The greatest flaw this show has is that a significant portion of its viewerbase is treated as a joke. It is acceptable to make fun of the idea that Danji or Yu-yu could be gay. It is acceptable to call Yu-yu a trap and ridicule him for being “reduced” to wearing dresses. In turn, it is acceptable to turn that mockery on queer cardfighters who want something better. While doing so, the show sprinkles little hints that maybe it does care and maybe it does wish to be kind to us in hopes that we don’t stop watching. Cardfight!! Vanguard means so much to me. It means much more than I could ever articulate here and it’s a shame to see it turn its back on people like me. 

[sn0tcl0wn]

saw an article saying the reason no one is watching hawkeye is because of its "woke agenda" or w/e earlier today and it's been bothering me for hours because not only is that not the reason but the author was trying so hard to go with that reach that they completely missed the real, much jucier, story behind the lack of interest. like no one wanted this show except for the fans of the specific run of hawkeye the show is adapting, that being the fraction run and specifically borrowing cues and aesthetics from david aja's work in those books. the drama comes directly from that because i and many people learned and were disheartened by the fact that aja gets nothing for the direct inspiration the series and marketing took from his work specifically. it would have been fitting homage but it ended up being literal plagiarism and so many people chose to boycott it. this leaves the remainder of marvel and mcu fans to watch it but, as it was in the case of things like wandavision and loki, the only ones who really cared about and would otherwise be watching the series are the specific group of people who read whatever run is being adapted by disney+.

the reason no one is watching hawkeye is because the main demographic for that show were automatically alienated by the mistreatment of a respected artist who's work resonated with many of us so much that many people, including myself, actually wanted them to do what they did visually and take direct inspiration from that specific artist as he ended up being a fan favorite. and they did that but unfortunately they seemed to think people wouldn't notice or care when our faves get shafted by the mouse.

the other, less scandalous reason no one is watching hawkeye is probably because it's a christmas show and i couldn't have been the only one planning to watch it later in the month when the holiday was closer until i heard the news of the boycott.

like not only did they rip off one of the most influential hawkeye artists of recent memory but they also made it christmas themed and released it too soon for most people to get into it. and you know what? i was actually down for the "i'll be home for christmas" angle that allowed us to get to know his family and their dynamic better. i was ready to binge it the week before christmas to help get into the spirit and see one of my favorite books get semi adapted for screen. like this was a show made for what is ultimately a niche pocket in the expansive world of marvel fans and they chose to alienate those fans on top of releasing it weeks before a lot of people would usually be in the mood for a holiday hijinks action comedy.

the reasons no one is watching are pretty easy to pinpoint with a quick search and are very logical reasons for a show to flop and both of those reasons are far more interesting than reading a guy complaining about how clint barton feels like a secondary character (he is, it was essentially always kate's mask donning story with him as her mentor) and how supposedly no one cares about kate as if she wasn't one of the main selling points of the story they're taking heavy inspiration from to begin with.

like i dont mean to sound like a dork elitist but for fucks sake can people PLEASE read comics and be at lease SOMEWHAT aware of what's going on in the industry before bitching about forced diversity and poor characterization in media based on those books ?? like if he read the book he wouldn't have written that article because his complaints were all literally things that were in the fucking comics. i truly do believe that mcu only fans are the least valid form of superhero fan because they don't know shit and yet complain about things that were literally in the goddamn books as if they're inaccurate or ruining the series. like how can people have such wrong and boring opinions on comic related media with a such sense authority? i can't fathom it and it's been rattling around in my head all day because it's like they can't even introduce female characters that were from the comics without it being seen as forced diversity and they think complaining about that shit is more interesting and insightful than an actual discussion about, oh, i don't know, comic books and the way the people who make them get fucked by corporations like disney every goddamn time some new series drops.

i dunno man i think a much more important discussion could be had here but mcu stans don't seem smart enough to even know about it in the first place, let alone have it.

[vandorens-archive]

yes i used the word encomium and what about it

in my time in the writeblr community (which has just passed a year holy—) i’ve discovered, read, and loved many works, and so, since it is writeblr positivity week, i decided to put together a list of some of my most adored works on writeblr! while i wish i could add every single wip i’ve been tagged in, the list would stretch far too long, so i was forced to limit myself to a few. below the cut are some works and their respective authors that you should definitely check out if you haven’t already!

@etheriiums​ — ‘Til Morning

a contemporary new adult novel

a modern peter pan retelling that my peter pan obsessed heart didn’t know needed

the aesthetic?? is so cool?? 

peter pankhurst and his gang of lost boys run the city using the control of the drug dust, ‘ which is said to make people fly’. however, the drug is deadly, and many people have died because of it. this, however, doesn’t affect pan and his lost boy’s position, but wendy darling is determined to take them down, all the while protecting her siblings in light of their parent’s recent death

“  i have tried to be nice; let you get away with a lot of shit for the sake of a quiet life, but i promise you: i will raise hell to keep jody out of your cess-pit of dust. ”

@penkai​ — Imminent

a young adult horror story

about unlikely friendships and things more terrifying that graduating highschool

featuring a diverse cast of lgbtq and poc leads! (that i would die for)

natalia and nicolás cortez decide to host a graduation party/sleepover to celebrate their school leaving. coming along are rusty dean, nicolás boyfriend, dove jones, resident cheerleader and valedictorian, and local social pariah mallory harlow. an ordinary sleepover, right? but who the hell left the door open?

“ i’m mallory harlow, and dear god do i hate high school. ”

@theforgottencoolkid​ — The Sailors Of Time

a young adult contemporary and drama

starring what may possibly be the cutest cast ever

i love this wip with all my heart and trust me, you will too

ricquely theatre stands abandoned ‘on a quiet street in the old part of town, nothing but a sad sight’, until a group of teenagers—calling themselves ‘the sailors of time’ decide to breath some life back into it, and bring it back to its former glory.

“ sing the song of your own soul. find your anchor. and before you know it, you’ll reach your chosen destination.”

@vhanities​ — Darcy, Darcy

a dark academia thriller. you already know i’m swooning

a fairly new wip, but god, is it incredible already

richard vamir just died, and his friends saw the whole thing. they don’t know how, or why, but they suspect it has something to do with darcy, richard’s step sister, who somehow knows everyone’s dirtiest, most shameful secrets

“ richard vamir dies in five minutes but that is not how this story starts. ”

@sorroways​ — Godfallen

a low fantasy wip

one of the first wips i found on writeblr, and still has a place in my heart to this day

has the coolest characters ever, the coolest concept ever, and the coolest aesthetic ever

‟ it’s over, the sky tells him. it’s over it’s over it’s over. and he wants to tell her that he knows, he knows, but all that comes from his lips is a garbled cry, all anger and emotions he doesn’t dare let himself feel let alone name.

under his feet tower sways, steel construction falling apart under dust, glass cracking, snapping, leaving erin on the edge of the building, shoulders pulling up, tense as he waits for the building to crumble underneath him, leave him to his timely death. ”

@halohidings​ — Webs And White Roses

a young adult historical fantasy

as you can tell, i love retellings of my favourite childhood books. this is no exception. seriously, i love how this wip gives a dark twist to an otherwise pleasant story 

inspired by the winchester house and lewis carroll’s alice in wonderland

the main character is annie ‘alice’ pardee winchester, who is bound to the house. it focuses on the symbolism of the alice in wonderland characters as well as the history of the winchester house!

“ you can see the house from acres away. the strange, jutting angles of the roof, the 47 chimneys, the thousands and thousands of tiffany brand window panes. as you get closer, creep past the gilded fences, you’ll notice the oddities. the doors two stories up, leading to nothing. the eccentric patterns. you catch a glimpse of a young woman staring through a spider web. she’s there, and then you doubt you saw her at all. ”

@nmcwriting​ — Goldbone Three

a supernatural horror/mystery

themes such as morality and identity, wow!

i stan all of nikki’s wips but this one? it may just be my fave. is it because nikki wrote it or because it’s about a mysterious town? perhaps…both?

lucky lives in mothmourne, a very suspicious town, where the currency is tall tales and gossip. one of these is the myth of goldbone, a massive skeleton lurking in the forest, whose existence threatens the easy life lucky wants for him and his mother

“ small towns bred gossip. word of mouth was a trusted source, and the people of mothmourne latched onto legend without a forethought. rumours are groomed by each townie, growing in size until they became elated, exaggerated tales. ”

@fartistically​ — Saturn In A Bottle

a young adult superhero comedy

has some of the best characters ever? signing the adoption papers immediately

the writing is witty and wonderful, the perfect combination!

set in honeycomb city, the city’s most popular vigilante approaches theatre actor and son of a highly esteemed policewoman art carrington in search of a sidekick. together, they set out to figure out why the city’s group of superhumans are brushing questionable secrets under the rug, all while art questions whether he knows his new friend at all 

“ you could say that i’ve been paying too much attention to pop culture and conspiracy theories. true, but then again, there is a reason why honeycomb city has superheroes. ” 

@agnodice-writes​ — Knife Summer

a dark fantasy/comedy

two words: found family. ‘nuff said

elle’s writing is so good!! you just can’t stop reading it

seiko amano may or may not have just lost /the mantle of sea king/, and she may or may not be done with life and fate at this point, especially after ‘the chosen one’ decides to show up and take what should have rightfully been hers.  instead of wallowing in the pity of it, however, her partner jaune decides that there’s one thing that would be good for both of them: a road trip

“ ‘you were—you never let people see what you were doing. none of us did. you didn’t get attached. you had this shallow affection for everything and everyone. but you were—you were intrigued. and not just in the clinical detached kind of way.’ ”

@bitterbodies​ — To Wear A Fox

a thriller

positive south asian rep!

red always has this poetic thing going on in their writing that i am absolutely in love with

when twins amara and amir are sent to study in the united states, they meet the foxes, and slowly get wound up in their cunning, sly game.

“ ‘who are you to judge me? you and your brother as misfits, accented miscolored and unneeded,’ he wants to break her now, he does not want to wait for lysander’s second step, in which she would be tired and punished. she was prying too deep and she needed to be blinded. ”

[realakira2023]

Sensitive topic. Please read to the end so you don’t get the wrong idea.

So I was scrolling through YouTube, right? And I got a video recommendation from BuzzFeed talking about girls in comedy. I thought maybe it’d show funny women in the business in comedy, because there ARE some, and I don’t know a lot of them.

However, it was a video about why men think women aren’t funny, why we should stop making jokes that offends women (more specifically them women in the video) and we should give them a chance to show the world that they’re funny.

Before you get the wrong idea and think I’m an ass, I’m a feminist (I think). And some of the stuff they say above is true, that men don’t find women funny sometimes. I truly believe women are under appreciated when it comes to the work force, ESPECIALLY when they work in a field where their life is in danger, like Firefighters, National Guard, EVEN THE FUCKING MARINES!!! SOME STRONGER THAN MEN FOR FUCKS SAKE, AND I APPRECIATE THE FUCK OUT OF THE WOMEN PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM, YOU HAVE NO IDE-

But it becomes an issue when the other side fighting the wrong fight gets involved. The ones that say Men are the cause of all women’s problems. Some hating men in general, and one Australian woman calling herself a boner killer. I’m not kidding.

The women in that video, to me, aren’t funny. Comedy is subjective. Comedy is diverse. It can be wholesome, it can be PG, and it can get VERY offensive. Some people, if you will, have their coffee with a lotta cream and sugar, and some take their coffee black. Dark. I live for dark comedy. Ask my gf, and she’ll tell you I love dark comedy. She likes lighthearted comedy, with a bit of dark stuff here or there. Sometimes it’s on accident, and that’s fine.

But the one thing comedy is, it’s political. We don’t bring politics in comedy. I don’t like the fact that we have to let everyone try. And it’s not just unfunny women, it’s unfunny men too. If no one finds you funny but your small group, keep it to yourself and save the public embarrassment.

Again, I’m not saying women shouldn’t be in comedy, the army, or a firefighter. I don’t care. Just be good at what you do and leave politics out of it.

And that’s on period, boo. (I’m never saying that again.)

Edit: I didn’t proofread before posting that’s on me)

[justnerdingabout]

Real Characters and Cheap Drama

A Review of Sex Education Season 1

Sex Education sounds just like your average teen comedy about teens being horny. And while this isn’t wrong, it does manage to be better than the average. The story follows two students as they start a sex clinic for their peers as a way to make money. It follows a diverse cast as they navigate school, sex, and sexuality. And what I think this show does well is despite featuring many prominent queer characters, it’s not a show about being queer. While their sexuality may be part of their identity, it’s never a character’s single feature and their stories are more complex than just a coming out.

The characters are complex and they all have to navigate the ups and downs of their teen years to varying degrees of success. And sure, sex might be front and center to the comedy, the characters are more than just dicks and vaginas. They each have their own motivations and interactions that go beyond being horny. And this keeps you watching, because you want to see the characters grow.

However, what I’m not particularly a fan of is the drama aspect of the show. Despite being a sucker for mutual pining, I don’t see Otis and Maeve as romantic partners. The emotional closeness they experience doesn’t require romance. While Otis may have a crush on Maeve, he respects her enough not to make it her problem. And Maeve’s romantic feelings for Otis seem forced. Emotional closeness doesn’t require romance and a close friendship is equally valid. 

While drama can definitely be engaging, I don’t like most of the drama of the show. It feels cheap and based on poor communication, misunderstanding, and ignoring boundaries. Maeve and Otis seem to miss each other because they can’t talk about their feelings and instead date others, except it’s mostly them denying their crush, which can only hurt their dates. Eric and Otis have their falling out, mostly Otis’s fault, because Otis leaves Eric out of his adventures with Maeve and needs to prevent someone’s nudes from leaking. Maeve’s brother shows up, but everything he does seems to cross a line with Maeve, which eventually results in Maeve taking the fall for her brother.

tldr; Sex Education does characters and comedy well, but I’m not here for drama for the sake of drama.

[juliethebibliophile]

HEAD OVER HEELS APPRECIATION POST

I got to see the new musical Head Over Heels last night via Broadway Roulette last night and I was so pleasantly surprised? I didn’t really know anything about the show before that point, and when I heard what it was about I thought it would be fun but I didn’t know how much I’d absolutely love it! Now you could say I’m head over heels for Head Over Heels! So I’ve decided to compile a list of things I love about the show-my favorite moments, why I think everyone should love it, general thoughts, etc.

(SPOILERS BELOW-and a long post)

Okay so first of all the entire show was worth my money just for the opening number if nothing else because holy shit

As soon as the curtain started rising and I heard the opening notes to “We Got the Beat” I immediately knew I was about to be living my best life

The concept was so amazingly ridiculous? Arcadia set to the music of the Go-Gos? The Kingdom of Arcadia was gifted by the Gods with their sacred “beat”?

And yet, as ridiculous in an an enjoyable way it was, it was so well done that I enjoyed the story as a story, not just as a comedy

I saw the audience reacting this way as well, and that is an indicator of great storytelling in a show for me: the audience was so engaged

For example, every time Pamela and Mopsa would kiss, confess attraction, etc., the audience would cheer, and it happened at least once for the other couples as well

THE CHOREOGRAPHY

THE CHOREOGRAAAAPHYYYYYYYYYY

SPENCER LIFF HAS MY HEART

THE ENSEMBLE COSTUMES AND HOW THEY WERE ALL MADE OF A FABRIC PRINTED WITH A SHEET-MUSIC PATTERN I WAS IN LOVE

In terms of the scoring, the songs were woven very well into the plot. There was the occasional plot point that felt forced just for the sake of putting the song in(see Mopsa going to Lesbos just to sing “Vacation” and then immediately come back-and even in that case I can’t be mad cause I got to jam to “Vacation”) but for the most part it was done really well especially considering they were working with a pre-existing story

Some of the best examples of that I would say are “Good Girl” and “Our Lips are Sealed”

Also the continued use of “Mad About You” like not only was it done so well but it destroyed my emotions

Speaking of destroying my emotions, let’s talk about “this heartbeat I won’t unremember” because wow

EVERYTHING MOPSA AND PAMELA DID AND SAID

NAMELY WHEN PAMELA SINGS THE REPRISE OF “BEAUTIFUL” EXCEPT IT’S ABOUT MOPSA I DIED

“I’M MAD ABOUT THEM”

That brings me to the fact that there is a canon nonbinary character and that term is used as are they/them pronouns

And I loved how it was handled? Like they joked about it, because it’s a comedy, but the gender itself wasn’t the joke. Like they didn’t make fun of it. They made fun of Basilius being rude about it, and then just utilized the lightheartedness of Dametas singing “I’m mad about them” and even then the joke was more about how “Mad About You” was being sung yet again

And in the end Musidorus/Cleophila is not cis either it’s all so wonderfully diverse

And there was no plotline or jokes about others not accepting Pamela and Mopsa. Everyone was shocked at first, and there was the joke about Dametas not understanding it until the kissed, but no one rejected it. Philoclea and Musidorus/Cleophila accept it right away and celebrate with them, Basilius and Gynecia’s immediate reactions are “I have 3 daughters now” I loved it

On that note it made me so fucking happy that everyone in the musical got a happy ending, and it was just lighthearted

Like there was no edge, or darkness, or anything. Musidorus came back to life, they were able to save Arcadia despite not defeating the prophecies, and even the two broken relationships reconciled.

And in those former two cases, the men who were the reason for the relationships’ ruin fully admitted their mistakes and fully acknowledged the fact that they didn’t deserve or accept forgiveness

To the point where Basilius just started leaving without even asking Gynecia to give him a chance

But both Gynecia and Pythio basically said “you made these mistakes, but you’re trying and willing to learn and change and we love each other and we shouldn’t stop that.”

And through all that, even with a pure, practically drama-free, happy ending, there was this deep message about how love and acceptance and understanding will ultimately be out salvation in the end.

Like with the trend towards edgy and depressing in storytelling lately, in all mediums, it made me so happy to see a classic, fairytale-like “Happily Ever After” for everyone, while still remaining modern and progressive and not promoting any toxic ideas about relationships. It was done so. well.

On that note

“Here lies our theatre troupe, starved for lack of serious message.”

I ABOUT DIED

I GUESS WE’RE NOT EVEN BEING SUBTLE IN THAT DEPARTMENT ANYMORE

JUST @ THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING DIRECTLY NEXT TIME

Every time Mopsa and Pamela harmonized I added ten years to my life; Bonnie Milligan and Taylor Iman Jones are amazing

Also I loved the fact that because it was a Go-Gos musical they had an all female pit? And then the reveal of the pit in the finale? The audience went NUTS

Um in general I love this show with all my heart and soul

And there’s so much to love that I probably forgot a lot of things here

Please feel free to add on and thanks for coming to my TED Talk

[stopandimagineloveforever]

There's nothing like Schitt's Creek—in the real world nor elsewhere on TV. In this fictional town, there's universal tolerance and equality. It's a town where lifelong residents and recent transplants co-exist in near-perfect harmony, and a show viewers have flocked to for comfort.

The show and its fictional setting were designed by father-son creators Eugene Levy and Dan Levy to be a place for everyone. This TV haven has been embraced by legions of fans, picking up numerous awards and nominations along the way. Now in its fifth season, the show is more popular than ever—and it's getting ready to say goodbye.

"I think that was just a happy coincidence," Dan Levy told E! News about the show's heightened popularity coinciding with the upcoming sixth and final season. "It's strange because I think in a way, the commerce of television really affects the creators. I think for us, it's never really been about that. For us, every season, sure it means we're employed for one more year, but really what it means is that we get to continue telling these people's stories."

The series follows the Rose family, father Johnny (Eugene Levy), mother Moira (Catherine O'Hara), son David (Dan Levy) and daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy). When viewers first meet them, they are literally clinging on to the remnants of their once vast video rental fortune. By the close of the show's first scene, they've lost everything except the deed to a small rural town purchased as a joke because of its name. Enter Schitt's Creek.

Forced to relocate to Schitt's Creek and create a new life, the Roses eventually became intertwined with the town. David began a new business and embarked on his first serious—and stable—relationship with his business partner Patrick (Noah Reid), Alexis finished school, started a business herself and also found a loving relationship with Ted (Dustin Milligan), Johnny began working with Stevie (Emily Hampshire) on improving the business of the motel they call home, and Moira got involved in local politics. When they first arrived, the family did their best, but strived to get out of their presumed dire situation. As they spent more time there, Schitt's Creek's overwhelming goodness started to worm its way into the Roses—and viewers along with them.

"I think the audience, the fans of the show, have really come to rely on it as like a safe space in a dark time. And the thought of pushing that past its expiry date [Laughs.] for the sake of just being able to do another season—I care too much about our viewers and about our characters to risk taking them farther than they need to be taken. So, it was always planned that this was going to be the end. And I really had no interest in pushing that any further and potentially compromising a good thing," Levy said.

That good thing, that safe space, includes a diverse supporting cast and LGBTQ representation. Levy's character is pansexual, he has relationships with both men and women, but it's never treated as a "thing." David is not defined by his sexual orientation, that's just who David is. Nobody blinks at his relationship with Patrick. When Patrick serenaded him with an emotional cover of Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" in front of a packed store, no one cared or noticed. It was just a sweet moment of public affection. And in the season five episode "Meet the Parents," written by Levy, Patrick, who had previously never dated a man, struggled with coming out to his mom and dad. He was accidentally outed, and the only reason why his parents got upset was because Patrick was too nervous about how they'd react to come to them and be open. All of this was done by design.

"I sort of feel like as human beings, we learn through experience and what we see. And I'm only going to speak for myself in this capacity, but I don't really take in a lot when I feel like I'm being taught something," Levy said. "I think for me, when it came to the show, I thought, ‘Well, let's not try and make this sort of a lesson show.' I don't want these characters to be, you know, a lesson for people to learn about queerness. I think that the better lesson, what will resonate deeper is just showing people in love. It's really hard to turn away from two people who are falling in love.

"And so, as a result, it was really sort of a mandate from day one that we were never going to paint these characters with a brush that was different than what we were sort of painting our straight characters with," Levy continued. "I think for a long time I was watching nothing but tragedy befall queer characters on television, and the idea of creating a world where, in this particular case two men were falling in love with absolutely no push back, and to be able to depict how much joy that can bring, not just to the characters who are falling in love, but to the community itself who gets to watch it, was important."

Levy said he's received letters from viewers around the world who write to say they've been watching the show with their families and it's had a profound impact.

"Their relatives have been able to understand their lives with a little bit more clarity because they're able to see the minutia of a relationship and not just sort of an after-school special depiction…or stereotype. So, that to me, at the end of the day, it has become one of the most meaningful elements of making this show," he said. "To be able to change a conversation in someone's home just by, you know, writing some comedy, and occasionally the rare emotional, scene is a wonderful thing. And I think just again speaks to how people, when they sit down in front of their televisions, they are their most vulnerable. They're in their homes. They don't have their protective shields up that we put on when we leave the house to just walk down the street. [Laughs.] People are their most vulnerable in front of their television screens. And if you can shine some light and some love into those living rooms, I can't see how that won't help. So that's been our motto, and from what I've read and the feedback, it really seems to have helped people. So, I would love to see more of it."

While Schitt's Creek has turned out to be a safe place for viewers in a fractured world, that's not what Levy and his father initially set out to do.

"I don't think it was that specific, but I do know that we wanted the show to be a family show. We wanted the show to be a show that people could watch with their families, that spoke to people of different age groups. And I think when that's your goal, there are certain sort of universal, not mandates, but just things you need to consider," he said.

Levy looked at the shows about families he loved growing up, like The Beverly Hillbillies, Roseanne, and the Ross and Rachel dynamic on Friends, and saw a common thread in all of these beloved shows. "These stories were all rooted in love. That the conflict, the comedy, any kind of disagreements, ultimately, we're rooted in a place of love and not anything dark," Levy said.

"So that really was our mandate going into this, that this family sort of being put into this, what they considered a terrible situation, will learn that this is going to be quite worthwhile in the end," he said. "And that sometimes the things that you don't think you're going to enjoy will ultimately bring a deeper, richer sense of satisfaction."

Once landing on the story he wanted to tell with the Rose family, Levy said they knew there would be no "major conflict" on Schitt's Creek, aside from the episodic tensions.

"I think from my own experience watching TV, I want to know that at the end of the episode everyone's going to be fine. Unless I'm watching The Americans, and then I don't want to know that at all. But when it comes to comedy…I think I've just been so turned off of really mean comedy. I think there was a chapter for a while where there was sort of this sociopathic, cruelty to comedy and comedic characters on television, where the joke was that you're not supposed to like them in any possible way. And I never understood it and I never liked it, and I never watched it. So, when given the opportunity to sort of create our own thing…It was always sort of—top of the list was that by the end of every episode, let's make sure that our audience knows that everyone's going to be OK."

After five seasons and counting with Schitt's Creek and the Roses, audiences will be more than just "OK."

Schitt's Creek airs Wednesdays, 10 p.m. on Pop and will return for a sixth and final season.

[cinemameta]

Bo Burnham: Comedy with Humanity

In the current social climate where political correctness has taken a front seat role in the fight against discrimination and offensive language, comedians proved to be quick in defending their craft and most have taken much of the blow with rigid resistance.  The controversy lies in the use of historically derogatory terms notably in stand up performances which many have defended as an act of performative satire while others considered it as a mere form of hipster racism.

Bo Burnham, though fairly new to the field of comedy, grew up during the early days of social media boom which afforded him a quick rise to stardom through his many Youtube and Vine sketches. His intimate closeness to the internet gave him the avenue to be accessible to a wide, diverse audience and more importantly, a bird’s eye view of the rapid changing attitudes towards art and entertainment. Such awareness informed him on shaping his brand of metahumor; he sought to incorporate hallmarks of internet humor such as misdirection and theatrical slapstick into his acts as evident by his heavy reliance on employing musical numbers, dramatic sound and light effects in most of his shows. While others were honing their jokes and remained faithful to the conventional format of stand up, Bo was busy perfecting his skills not only as a comedian but also as a showman.

In spite of this, Bo is not one to advocate for sanitized censorship. In his last 2 stand up specials alone, he dropped the word f*ggot multiple times, did a comic routine on the N-word, sung about killing yourself and joked about fucking sluts. Segments like these should make him an easy target for controversy and yet compared to comic veterans like Louis CK and Ricky Gervais’ incessant coopting of racial slurs to their material, outrage over Bo’s was mild if not nonexistent. This could be perhaps unlike CK and Gervais, Bo is greatly aware of the audience’s sensibilities not only of those inside the comedy circle but also of the general public.

Irony has been a term commonly thrown when arguing against political correctness. Many comedians, in attempt to save face, have disputed that the use of the n-word is done ironically and actually doubles as a liberal commentary on race issues. Though this could be the case, irony for the sake of being ironic isn’t enough of an excuse to exploit the oppressive history of slurs for the purpose of entertainment especially when done in a sarcastic tone. When Bo does sing about committing suicide, he doesn’t stop short of letting the grimness hang over everyone’s head, instead he goes out of his way to insert a cautionary statement of suicide being a serious epidemic into his song. Not only is there irony in his suicide joke but there is a palpable urgency to be serious. Bo understands that no matter how nuanced a joke is, sincerity should never be lost in the many carefully constructed layers of irony.

Unlike many of his contemporaries who tend to lean towards postmodern influence or the belief the universal truths such as love, success and happiness should be met with skepticism, Bo’s material are abound with meaning. The way he utilizes misdirection as he hijacks a seemingly mundane joke and turn it into an introspective self-reflection demonstrates a masterful understanding of joke construction. While he tends to preface his material with skeptical undertones, he peppers them with meaningful intentions and almost always prefers a profound punchline over a cynical one. A major takeaway in his shows is the acknowledgment that yes, although virtues such love, as painted by stories of Romeo and Juliet or any other literature of the modernist movement, is too idealistic to be real; love, for what it’s worth, is too important to have no meaning.

Bo’s bravery in delving into topics that attempt to bare his soul to the audience is admirable considering how comedy audience get deathly allergic to sentimentality or anything that doesn’t elicit laughter. Going on stage knowing that your prepared material might receive negative reception is horrifying enough, imagine doing a show with material excerpted straight from your personal diary unveiled for the entertainment of strangers. With this, escapism becomes something of a foreign idea in his comedy. Early on or at one point in his routines, he trades in laughter for silent contemplation by forcing the audience examine the very nature of comedy itself. Why he’s making a joke becomes a bigger question than how he’s setting up the eventual punchline because if there’s one thing to expect from Bo Burnham, it’s that his humor goes deeper than as he makes it out to be.

[kinetic-elaboration]

February 5: Thoughts on The 100 2x03 Reapercussions

I am very tired and I should sleep but instead I’m going to bring my The 100 rewatch project out of hiatus yet again with Episode 2x03: Reapercussions.

I miss Anya so much!!!!! This is mostly my Dichen Lachman obsession showing but also the way she gives Clarke that ‘yeah, whatever’ look when Clarke says she’ll get her out of the cage... your Grounder fave could never.

The show honestly peaked with S2 and after this it should have abandoned all attempts at edginess because nothing will ever be more Pure Nightmare Fuel than the Mount Weather Grounder Cages.

Clarke/Anya: the ship that almost was.

So when Clarke takes Anya out of the prison room, she opens a door that says “End Containment Area” and underneath that it says “U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Mount Weather Containment Protocol.” And people really thought JRoth made this up omg learn some history.

Considering how they left things (Anya literally trying to kill her and all her friends) it’s actually pretty impressively selfless and magnanimous on Clarke’s part to not just rescue her, but immediately and unthinkably rescue her. On the other hand, Anya feels some remorse for leaving her people whereas Clarke’s like ‘here are some clothes [even though those random bandages are holding up pretty well??], let’s get a move on!’ (I know she intended to come back for them and she was being smart and practical but from the pov of, say, Jasper or Monty, this is cold as hell of her.)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: early S2 Clarke is Peak Clarke: smart, sly, practical, brave.

Byrne mentions Earth Skills teacher “Davis” as being part of the search team for Bell et. al. My question: how many Earth Skills teachers did they have lol?

I fucking love this crashed-ship aesthetic omg I forget how much I love it and then I see it again....

“On the Ark, you did anything you wanted, without a second thought about the consequences.” Like mother, like daughter.

I ALSO miss Jasper and Maya. I’m probably like the lone person out there who still remembers them fondly but they were basically perfect because they were sweet but with the potential for a lot of darkness as well, my favorite combination.

WHERE’S MY ART SCHOOL JAYA AU?

So actually fun fact, that isn’t how the art work would have been stored in Mount Weather. They had special containers for the paintings to protect them and like a special cart thing to transport them quickly from their old homes to the bunker I read a book.

No one ever characterizes him this way sufficiently imo but Monty is really quite uptight in a way. Like first: don’t cockblock him man. And second: just chilll. This is probably why he used to smoke weed.

“Trouble? It’s Clarke. Whatever she’s up to, I’m sure she can handle it.” I mean.... he’s not wrong.

Except for the part where she’s covered in dead bodies. But even then...

So I always felt like the main point of the Reapers was as kind of a zombie police force for Mount Weather: to keep the Grounders scared of the Mountain, so they won’t poke around in it too much. Though of course they also collect Grounders, which is helpful, since the Mountain Men can’t walk that far from their home base (and, as stated, they probably want to keep most of that area Grounder-free anyway). But it occurs to me now that a third use of the Reapers is like dead-body collectors? The Mountain dumps the dead bodies out the trap door, and the Reapers take them away and eat them. So gross and efficient all at once. Mount Weather’s motto basically.

Murphy and his creating-a-distraction stones are still one of the funniest jokes this show has ever pulled, though if it were a quicker reveal after “something like that” it would be funnier.

Never mind, Bellamy appearing out of the bush is true underrated comedy gold,

That said, I feel like everything outside of the Mount Weather and Clarke stories here is filler.

Love! That! Ship!

Major Byrne says that Kane is on the verge of losing control of the camp but... I dunno.... everyone seems to be working together pretty well? Maybe if they had diversified the cast a little, not in terms of yet more Grounders but, like, non-leaders of the Ark, that would be more clear????

Okay, well, admittedly, when the Grounder prisoner is brought in they do start a mini-mob, lol. Also one of the delinquent’s fathers is shot, it would be cool if we knew who he was?? ETA: and then he dies and Abby’s like “does he have any family?” lol he just said that his son was one of the 100 so like obviously he does??

The costuming people, like the set people, really are the geniuses of this show. I love Clarke and Anya’s outfits, and Clarke’s hair somehow being both grungy and beautiful like THAT’s the apocalypse style I wanna see.

Also they absolutely 100% would have gotten together in the S2-S3 hiatus if Anya hadn’t been killed off.

“You saved my life because you needed me” IS true but she also did it absolutely without hesitation, even knowing Anya really quite truly hates her, so this speaks either to some foolhardy bravery mixed in with her practical thoughts, or just straight compassion, or both. I guess that sort of is a Clarke thing. She can be a grudge holder (seriously don’t tell me she isn’t: Wells????) but her grudges are NEVER more important than hard-nosed practical problem-solving.

Time for some gratuitous torture. Honestly, I like Season 2, it’s probably my favorite season, but it has some MAJOR filler problems. Like when it’s good it’s THE BEST but then other times it just doesn’t know how to fill 40 minutes so it resorts to pointless diversions (like Bellamy rappelling down the side of a mountain to save a character who is literally never seen again? for some reason?) or just straight out ugly violence for screaming’s sake (Raven’s surgery, Raven’s Grounder torture, Abby’s shocklashing, etc.) Like honestly I can’t even watch this. I’m just gonna browse tumblr until it’s done.

The Arkers really like the concept of “confessing” don’t they?

Like okay I’m not done WHAT IS THE POINT of this? It all but kills the whole Kabby vibe (I still lowkey ship them but sometimes I think...why?), it’s truly painful to watch, and it has no plot purpose AT ALL not even world-building because, lol, we know the writers don’t care to flesh out Camp Jaha in any real way.

Murphy is taking such sad glee out of instigating Finn’s madness/violence. The Luci of The 100 for sure.

This Bellamy story line is boring though I’m sorry. Some of these scenes (the Clarke or Mount Weather ones) I could watch a million times but this is like... kay, I know what happens already. So.

“There are some lines you can’t uncross.” I mean I think this show has actually shown that’s pretty untrue since people get over almost everything pretty fast. There’s always another horrific thing to do and/or experience!

Yeah my bitterness is seeping in.

Anyway when you come into an interrogation knowing what the “right” answer is, you’ll never learn anything, take note, stupid teenager boys + U.S. law enforcement.

Like honestly this Grounder is 500000x smarter than they are. He saves himself and rains gunfire and destruction upon his enemies. (Well, saves himself for a few minutes--but at least he got to cause harm to those he hates!)

“You thought I was the crazy one, huh?” Was Murphy ever crazy, though, or was he just coldly vengeful?

Speaking of coldly vengeful, Byrne could have been a potentially interesting character? Maybe? I’m not really into the type but as I said I want more Arkers wherever I can find them. And Kane needs real opposition. I have sympathy for him to a degree, but I also think he ultimately weakens rather than strengthens himself.

I love when Monty calls bullshit on stuff. “I can’t see Clarke? Try and fucking stop me, bitches.”

Jasper has such a big heart. Truly the emotional core of this friendship.

I like how Kane speaks as if his “diplomatic mission” of adults is so vastly different than Bellamy and Finn just going off on their own I mean, Byrne is little better than Finn? They’re both easily frustrated and fond of torture? It’s just that Byrne understands a chain of command--barely--that’s literally it.

How does it make literally any sense at all to shocklash a person one hour and make her the Chancellor the next? Like you’ve just encouraged the populace to think of her as nothing special, not above the embarrassing public application of extreme pain--but yes by all means expect them to fall into line behind her leadership. I mean I guess this sort of works if she was already somehow beloved (I guess I’m supposed to just believe that?) and now more sympathy has been generated for her--but such sympathy would seem to come at the expense of Kane. It would seem to be the opposite of what he, or really Byrne, was going for with that disgusting display. But whatever memory is a fiction I guess.

And they have this swelling-music romantic eye-fuck goodbye like??? He was just beating you!! JUST NOW!

What I’m getting out of Murphy advocating for killing the Grounder: first, he has a clear, cold, practicality not unlike Clarke, and two, he still thinks of the delinquents as his friends--how sweet. Two days ago he was killing them, holding them hostage, and stealing their ammo before a huge battle but still. Bygones.

This is not a great ep. for Bellamy leadership lol.

Finn executes a man, while wearing Clarke’s watch, in the place they had sex. Seems...symbolic?? IDK it’s late lol.

I miss Nyko a lot but also now that I’ve seen (part of) Slasher I’m not entirely sure I can ever see Ty Olsson in the same light.

Wouldn’t it be funny if they were literal brothers? Because I always assumed this was metaphorical but...was it? WAS IT?

Weird note to end on, I know. If patterns hold, it’ll be another 2-3 months before I do this again but I’ll try to be a little more on the ball about it.

[abitterlifethroughcinema]

The Wrap, Part II: Return of the Curse of the Creature’s Ghost!

Film Reviews from the 51st Annual Sitges Fantasy/Horror Film Festival

by

Lucas A Cavazos

It would be of utmost denial to oneself to not take part in the occasional puff of marijuana and/or odd glass or two of red wine whilst shuffling about Sitges during this type of festival. I tell you, in this gayest of cities (and yes, I mean that in both senses of the word), nothing says loving like soaking up sun and guts while having the right side of your brain open. To quote Henry Miller…”The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” 

And it is in that vein, I present to you the latest film starring Nicolas Cage, Mandy ###-1/2…Could it be that Nicolas Cage might actually have something interesting to offer now that he’s well past 50 and ready to go beyond simple nut job roles and wannabe-buff, action hits and flops? Last year, this festival premiered the currently in-run and VOD film called Mom and Dad with Selma Blair, and if that was a thing of fun and delight, which is was, this film is much more darkly mirrored and rife with psychedelic imagery, and it must be discussed. To note, it does contain ye olde, ubiquitous screaming-whilst-having-a-psychotic-fit Cage scene, doubt ye not! Set in turn of the decade 80s, Red (Cage) and Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) have removed themselves from the majority of society and live a life of slight isolation, that is until one day, Mandy is abducted by some occult-like sect with grave intentions. Linus Roach (Priest) plays Jeremiah Sands, a man who can call forth demons and demonic creatures, and when psychedelia meets rancour, flames go up and and as they do, someone in them, as well. This is where the film turns into a contemplative narrative tale on revenge and turmoil, highlighted by a tinge of hallucinogens and wasp venom, and I cannot begin to tell you how eerily creepy it is to see Linus Roach after so many years in a role like this that sends chills down your spine in ways that create sheer panic and disgust. Watching Cage take revenge is a joy and wonder, and it should be noted that the film won two of the Sitges 51st Official Selection Awards for Best Director, which went to Panos Cosmatos and Best Actress going to Andrea Riseborough, who also comes up a bit later down below. A piece of rogue psychedelic modern art on celluloid if ever there was one, tinges of Wes Craven, Heavy Metal cartoon imagery and sleep paralysis demons make this Nic Cage vehicle one of the best things he has done in simply years.

Making my way over to The Retiro in the heart of bustling Sitges to screen the noir-like film The Dark ###, I realised that I was late and upon arrival, I was quickly ushered upstairs and had to make do with a single chair propped up next to an upstairs balustrade. The Dark is an eerie piece that preys on the power of the unknown to scare the viewer into wanting to know more about its strange characters…and then the film reveals those secrets in flashback. Despite its title, there is very little in relation to darkness other than the tone of the film and its narrative of teen spirit gone horribly awry. In a former entry, I spoke of how a screened premiere entitled Zoo had encroached upon fresh zombie territory, and until recently as just over a decade ago, zombie cinema was a mostly contained affair, and reserved to a select grouping of films annually. That all changed with the mid-noughties and this latest entry into its subject matter baits us with unexplained tidbits, starting when a one Josef Hofer (Karl Markovics), described as armed and dangerous, makes his way to a rather haunting locale, where death finds him in the form of Mina, perma-resident of this cursed abode in Devil’s Den, a forestal area with a history of hauntings and Mina is that person/monster haunting those very woods. But then she discovers Alex, a blind and also-scarred teen who had been Hofer’s captive, and together the two make off for a disturbing adventure, which borders on heartfelt while also sadistic. If anything, this piece certainly toys with emotions and good cinema ought to do just that.

The Sitges Fantasy/Horror Film Fest is divided into many distinct sections, such as the main Official Selections, Noves Visions,which promotes newer filmmakers and diverse subject matter, Melies Feature and Short Film sections, Asian Focus, Animated Fare, The Orbita promoting mixed big budget and indie fare, Fanastic Discovery Features promoting obscure (and often deeper) cinema, the B and Z-grade fare of the Midnight X-Treme selections, as well as, the Critics Jury Selection. All of that to say that there is nary a specific genre within the fantasy film/horror movie genres that is NOT touched on by this film festival. Winner of the Orbita Award for Best Picture went to the US studio outfit entitled American Animals ###-1/2 and what an astounding effort it provides its audience into a peek at the rather modern mindset of the ageing millennial. Telling a 2004 real-life story by British director Bart Layton, he of the haunting 2012 film The Imposter, this 2018 effort documents how four white youths from good, hardworking families failed to fully realise a masterminded effort to steal one of, if not, the world’s most valuable book. The multi-volume Audubon Society’s Birds of America, not to mention Darwin’s first edition copy of On the Origin of Species were just two of the books to be included in a heist that Transylvania University students Spencer Reinhard and Warren Lipka (played to perfection by Barry Keoghan and Evan Peters) foolishly decided to rob from the special collections library department. To say that the subject matter is mid-level at best might be a tad harsh but only just so; that said, the way Layton maps out the mental state of these middle-to-upper middle class boys should give all of us a hint as to where these boys, and millions like them, are coming from. The plan of a heist is bred with the idea that their spoiled lives have hindered their true creative identities, and so to tell the story, the director secured interviews with the actual perpetrators and spliced that with top grade talent re-enacting the actual events. The film cannot be heralded as a thing of wonder, as it truly details the dumbest snafu of a heist ever on American soil. But what it succeeds in showing is that insecurity, lack of identity, and seeds of doubt are rife amongst today’s young adults, and if we are not fomenting stronger individuals as siblings, educators, parents, et al…we will continue to create these spoiled races of highly non-autonomous individuals. Give them some tough love, for goodness sake. Worthy of a view for any parent or educator.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…Lars Von Trier, he of the Dogme 95 cinema movement and so many odd, jarring and sometimes good celluloid pieces…see Celebration and this film as examples please…he of the “understanding Hitler, I’m a Nazi” joke he pulled a few years back at Cannes, which then had him banned for half a decade, premiered his latest work last week at Sitges. It a doozy of a film that garnered some decent attention and a European and Spanish distributor, for sure. It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen Matt Dillon on the big screen, and the brief time with Uma Thurman at the film’s beginning is a dark scene of beauty…and then not. Here’s the thing, as always we are dealing with the tortured mindset of a Scandinavian director who seethes out his demons onto celluloid, but that alone does not make it exceptional art, although I truly believe he thinks it is. In turn, I truly believe that von Trier is quite likely a mitigated sociopath. That said, while there is a bit of reverential awe to his masterful ways of movie manipulation, it is his use of dark comedy that sets this film apart from other recent fare he has brought us. Matt Dillon plays the titular character and while amusing at first, he soon grows languidly repetitive and chauvinistic, and while there are scenes of comedic brilliance, such as an OCD-related clean up job that leads to an incident with a policeman or the bang-down job he does trying to dispose of bodies in a freezer, it is impossible for this student and teacher of history to not associate the fact that we are watching a man, a DANISH man no less (do your research as to why I emphasise that, chirren) play out his darker inner recesses for our viewing interest, but it surely makes me aware that we are also likely dealing with his pathos. That’s what really makes The House That Jack Built ###-1/2 really scary.

Lastly this entry, Nancy ###-1/2 brings up the actress Andrea Riseborough again, and I would like to note that often at awards season and ceremonies, actors get rewarded for an individual work, which often plays testament to all the other work they’ve done in their field that year. As Riseborough won Best Actress at this year’s Sitges Fantasy/Horror Film Fest, I believe this piece was much more deserved than the aforementioned Mandy for that award. I also find it compelling that she as an actress chose to make two, back-to-back films about tortured women with their names as the movie titles. Nancy is a quasi-failed career woman tending to her mum who suffers from some neural disorder and who is unintentionally suffocating her daughter with complaints and stress…but when mum dies suddenly, what is Nancy to do but discover that she was likely abducted years earlier and soon begins to associate herself with a long lost child case never resolved that might fit her theory about herself, however strained it is. What ensues is a emotional tour de force involving the parents of the long missing child, played to award-level precision by J. Cameron Smith as Ellen and Steve Buscemi as her hubby Leo. When Nancy sets up an appointment to meet with them, they take a shining to her at once and while awaiting DNA results, take her in to stay with them, including with her cat to which Leo is allergic. As scenes go by, even though this might be more in order in an indie film fest rather than here at Sitges, you also understand that the fantastical elements lie in the mind of the titular woman, as well as, in director Christina Chloe’s softly brutal touch. A film meant for those who understand healing and suspension of (dis)belief, Nancy gives Andrea Riseborough a chance at becoming a celebrated actress to emulate.

[elizas-writing]

The Heathers: A Case of Forced Diversity and Bad Adaptation

TW/CW: Mentions of suicide

I usually hate the criticism of a piece of media “forcing diversity” whenever it presents a cast of mostly marginalized people as there is often never any validity on the problem of seeing women, people of color, LGBT+ folks, etc in film. Whether it’s rebooting Ghostbusters, continuing Star Wars, or casting Hermione Granger as a black woman, audiences (mainly white men) will complain that Hollywood is just catering to the SJWs or come up with any excuse as to why a story wouldn’t work with marginalized people in comparison to every white cisgender male protagonist on the market. That being said, unfortunately, I came across something that falls into forced diversity where it does not make sense to have marginalized people play certain roles: The 2018 Heathers television series reboot.

Based on the 1988 film of the same name, Heathers follows a young Veronica Sawyer (originally played by Winona Ryder) who’s grown tired of being in clique of vapid, vain girls who all happen to be named Heather. She gains the romantic interest of a new student named JD (originally played by Christian Slater), and in their twisted love and the accidental death of Heather Chandler, they begin staging suicides of their popular classmates as revenge, sending Veronica in a whirlwind of emotional confusion and guilt.

In the original film, the Heathers, as seen above, are the stereotype of popular high school girls with incredible fashion sense and conventional attractiveness from their skinny figures to two of the three girls being white blondes. For the 2018 television reboot, Heather Chandler is fat and gay, Heather Duke is genderfluid, Heather McNamara is a black girl, and Veronica Sawyer is the conventionally attractive, skinny blonde girl.

Not only are we throwing in the good old “kill your gays” trope and villainizing LGBT+ people under the veil of “representation,” but the recent trailer passes off a high school where the would-be marginalized students are at the top.

I know things are slowly getting better for LGBT+ kids in schools, and the fact some of my friends had support among their peers is a freaking miracle. However, I cannot say the same for most throughout the rest of the United States or the world for that matter as the bullying and suicide rates for LGBT+ teens are still way too high. It’s one thing to have them as the popular kids without any opposition, but it’s another to try to force in a black comedic narrative about teenage suicide on a group which already faces such an issue.

A major part of Heathers was that the conventionally attractive popular kids killed off were getting flashy tributes even though most everyone hated them and their suicides were staged. Meanwhile someone like Martha Dunstock who actually had incredibly low self-esteem is mocked at in her failed suicide attempt because she’s a fat girl whom they presume is trying to copy the popular kids and gain attention. As JD puts it, “The only place where Heathers and Marthas get along is in Heaven.” And from what I can gather, this TV show wants to pass off that the otherwise marginalized students seem to automatically have no problems because of their popularity and their identities are somehow a fad to guarantee status which pushes a conventionally attractive white girl to murder?? I’m sorry, what the fuck am I watching?

Not only does the logic not add up, but it presents a larger problem of adapting Heathers: it only works in its original context and setting of the late 1980s. Filmmakers could get away with a lot more back then, and trying to do a black comedy about teenage suicide set circa 2018 can rub sensitivities all the wrong way, especially considering tragic events like the Columbine shooting would emerge in the following years. This was something that the musical adaptation, released on Off-Broadway in 2014, knew to be careful about.

One of the major deviations between the film and the musical is the introduction of JD which best explains the trickiness in adapting it to a 21st century setting. He’s still a bad boy with a soft spot, and maybe Veronica can fix him if she loves him enough only to realize he’ll never change. In the musical, his confrontation with Kurt and Ram ends with a beat down and segways into a song of Veronica’s initial attraction. Whereas in the film... he starts shooting blanks in the middle of the cafeteria and is only suspended for a couple days. Gee, I can only imagine why they had to change that for a post-Columbine, post-Sandy Hook theater going public.

And because it’s musical theater, this adaptation lures you into a world of more over-the-top spectacle than the film while still keeping the characters’ physical appearances and the underlying dark tones masked in song and dance numbers. It’s lighter, theatrical tone is another joke on the theatricality on how society views teenage suicide and whose problems are more validated.

Paramount’s Heathers TV show is a rare case of diversity for the sake of diversity without any thought on how the cast would drastically change the story. It could have made Veronica gay and/or a girl of color, or perhaps change JD’s race, gender and/or sexuality, which would give them extra vendetta against the Heathers, Ram, Kurt, etc. But with the popular kids being represented by marginalized people, it just creates a story of unnecessary violence and ups some of Veronica’s first world problems by a million. Don’t marginalized kids face enough shit as is, and now you have the nerve to trivialize why some of them commit suicide? Talk about your grand representation backfiring hard when you can’t even respect a potential target audience.

We’re only now slowly getting good representation of LGBT+ people in media where they’re not jokes, background or killed off. And this adaptation is one huge step back and a display of a studio which didn’t seem to care on the original story’s content and message or how to portray that in a 21st century, post-Columbine world. It misses the whole point in Heathers by villainizing the same people it meant to speak out for, and set itself dead on arrival.

[beyblader-observations]

Reasons to watch Bakuten Shoot Beyblade (updated)

I want to take some time to recommend one of my favorite anime to everyone: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade! Most people don’t know it’s an anime, or even more than a toy franchise. Yes, it did start as a toy, but there is more to it than that. This is a wonderful anime, and I believe more people will like it if they give it a shot. Main Characters: 1. Tyson Granger/ Takao Kinomiya
Tyson is your typical, lovable main character. As with most shounen heroes, he wants to be the best. In his case, he wants to be the best Beyblader. He is excessively confident, energetic, charismatic, and cares deeply for his friends. He can be annoying and rude, but that just adds to his boyish charm. 2. Kai Hiwatari
Kai is the character who any fan of this show loves and hates at the same time. He’s an immensely powerful Beyblader who hates the world and everyone in it. Striving for perfection, he will crush anyone in his way to achieve it. He’s a multi-faceted character on the border between good and evil. 3. Max Tate / Max Mizuhara
Max is the adorable little puppy-like member of the group. Incredibly bubbly and optimistic, he’s the one you can always trust to cheer up his friends. He loves tackle-hugging everyone. 4. Ray Kon / Rei Kon
Ray is the cool and collected member or of the group. He comes from a Chinese clan of cat-people, so many aspects of his personality resemble a feline. He is the most polite, charming member of the group. Cultural Diversity If you think the four characters I just named are the only important ones, you are mistaken! There are 100s of important characters in this series (in addition to a bunch of unimportant characters)! They all have their own unique personalities and significance to the plot! One thing I love about this large array of characters is their cultural differences. As the main characters travel to Beyblade tournaments, they meet characters from all over the world! They fight teams from all different countries. As they travel to tournament sites, we get little glimpses of life in these countries! Even the main four were raised in different countries. Japan, USA, China, and Russia. Relationships
As if the characters weren’t great enough on their own, their connections with each other make them all the more lovable! The characters share strong bonds. Everyone has a unique way of interacting with one another due to their personality, upbringing, or personal opinion towards the other characters. 
As a shounen sports manga, teamwork is very important. Watching these characters work together is inspiring and admirable. Emotions 
The gamut of different emotions can be surprising. At first glance it just seems like kids playing a game, but there is more than that. In their world, Beyblading is the most popular sport. While watching this show, we see the “athlete’s” lives as they go through obstacles to win these competitions. The story is portrayed dramatically in a way that can take you from laughter to tears. Variety in animation style One fun fact about Beyblade is that if you don’t like the art style of one series, you might like the next. The original Beyblade series is separated into 3 parts: Beyblade, Beyblade V Force, and Beyblade G Revolution. Each of these have very different animation and artistic styles.
 Comedy This anime is hilarious! They throw in jokes and slang all the time. The Canadian dub makes it great because they even add characters that didn’t exist in the Japanese version just to make it more funny and entertaining to a Western audience! It’s even funny when it isn’t necessarily supposed to be… Action Of course, this show has action! It’s not your typical man to man fighting. It’s with spinning tops. But it’s portrayed in a way to make you feel like the Beyblader is in the battle. In some cases, this is actually true. This can get violent. The Beyblades get hurt often. They have living beasts inside them, and when they get damaged it hurts these spirits! But the frightening part is when the Beyblader actually gets injured during battle! Some Beybladers go to extreme measures to win, creating really dangerous Beyblades! They aren’t afraid to slice up their opponent with their blades! Some characters die or nearly die in the process. 
Dark Side This anime can get surprisingly dark. There are underground organizations torturing children and turning them into Beyblade killing machines! If the child soldiers don’t obey their orders, they are taken away and locked in dungeons! Children are experimented on to the point that they are almost no longer human, all for the sake of dominating the world through conquering the sport of Beyblading! And this is all just in the first season! Backstories Each character has their own unique backstory, which makes them feel very real. They've all had very different experiences that shaped who they are, why they Beybattle, and how they interact with others. Their roots and upbringings are all so diverse. The one thing that bonds all of these different characters together is their common interest in Beyblading. Like real people, some of them have led pretty carefree lives, while others have past trauma that really took a toll on them. Despite being a generally light hearted show, the characters' pasts can get rather depressing. A lot of the characters’ pasts involve either death of or separation from a parental figure. In the case of some characters, it involves being trapped in one of the Beyblade dungeons mentioned above. Some characters suffer from abandonment issues, loneliness, and a fear of loss or rejection. Also, the characters' stories leave room for interpretation and headcanons. Dynamic characters There is so much to these characters! They're very dimensional to the point that they feel like real people. Once you think you know a character, you'll learn something new about them that makes you view them in an entirely different light. The characters change drastically from the beginning to the end of the story. Characters who were thought to be bad guys were really just misguided. Characters switch sides at the flip of a dime, so it's hard to tell who is going to be an enemy and who will be a friend. The characters were so well thought out that I ended up loving all the characters that I hated in the beginning. With so many great characters, you are bound to find someone you can relate to. Romance If you look for romance in an anime as I often do, you won’t be disappointed. Although most isn't explicitly stated, there is certainly room for shipping in this series. The strong relationships lend well for imagining more. There is at least one canonical couple. The others are mostly up to interpretation. Often a character will say or do something that points to a possible romantic interest in another character. The vagueness of the relationships make it fun to try to figure out who likes who. A lot of characters have strong bonds that could be viewed in many different ways. Mythology The Beyblades are not spinning tops. They contain living spirits of ancient beasts! These beasts are from real Asian mythology going back centuries and were not made up specifically for this show. The four main Bitbeasts are Dragoon, Dranzer, Driger, and Draciel. These are a dragon, Phoenix, white tiger, and turtle-chimera. These creatures are from ancient mythology, symbolizing the four cardinal directions. More information here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Symbols_(China) Other characters have beasts that are based on mythology from other parts of the world, for instance Greek mythology and medieval European mythology. There are a lot of supernatural events in this series. So don't be surprised if a Beyblade blasts the roof off of a stadium or if someone is transported to another dimension. There's also sci-fi stuff like robots and androids. Music The music in this anime is amazing! Both the English and Japanese soundtracks are great! I listen to them again and again! If the less than perfect animation ever gets too rough on your eyes, or if you don’t feel like watching the Beyblades spinning during a battle, I encourage you to close your eyes and listen to the music. The dub’s 90s rock music is so fun and catchy! And the Japanese songs are very pretty! The music is made specifically for the anime, with Beyblade-related lyrics! Motivational After speaking to other fans of Beyblade, I have to emphasize that this series is extremely motivational and inspirational. The characters have to push through so many struggles to follow their dreams to become great Beybladers. Perseverance is a big theme of the series. It emphasizes the importance of sticking to your beliefs and aspirations and never giving up. Seeing the characters get pushed down so many times to see them get back up and fight with even more confidence is really encouraging. The story emphasizes to have confidence in your own ability. A lot of advice from the series can be taken out of context to be applicable to real life. It shows that you can find friends in unlikely places, and that friends can help you overcome the toughest of times. Strength in this series comes not from physical ability, but from the heart. The Beybladers learn over and over that if they have the right mindset and believe in themselves, they can accomplish their goals. Another theme is that it's possible to change for the better. Throughout the series, Tyson/Takao helps people find the good in their own hearts. The characters who were going down the wrong path learn that they can change if they just believe in their own abilities. After talking to many Beyblade fans, I've learned that this series changes lives to the point that people wouldn't be who they are today if it wasn't for Beyblade. Refreshing So if for no other reason, I encourage you to watch this show simply because it’s a nice breathe of fresh air. It’s different from most other anime out there these days. If you want something with a lot of depth that leaves you with a cheerful and uplifting feeling, this anime is highly recommended.

[amuerion]

Meihem SFW Valentine’s Day Headcanons Incoming!

Hello to everyone out there! 

Final uni exams and presentations will be over for me in a few days. So, I thought I take a little break from studying and join in the fun of sharing Valentine’s Day headcanons about Meihem – and friends - to give this tag some love!

For compactness’ sake, you will find them all beneath the “read more” link!

Basis: Overwatch Joined Forces AU

Mei never believed that she would get very excited about Valentine’s Day at some point in her life. That changed as soon as Junkrat’s enthusiasm for it rubbed off on her. He loves the idea of a day dedicated to being especially thankful for how far the two of them have come with their relationship - not to mention that he and Mei come up with countless nice surprises for the other people who enrich their lives, with or without a special someone.

Nowadays, Mei’s Valentine’s Day usually starts with being woken up by Junkrat in the morning over the communicator. He rings her up, in order to just quickly tell her something he adores about her and hangs up again - only to repeat that around every full hour with another fact, until the two finally meet in person.

Flowers have been removed from future Valentine’s Day plans for Mei, at least until further changes of mind. There was tohubohu enough, when Junkrat surprised her with an HQ meeting hall that was neatly decorated with the most vibrantly-coloured flowers - only to find out that he stole these all by himself from the King’s Row Garden Festival Plaza, beaming with pride.

Mei has made it a habit of hers to already prepare Valentine’s Day cards at least a month in advance. Not only for Junkrat, but as a thank you for everybody on the team. She loves drawing things on it that the recipient likes, decorating it and even writing small verses of motivational poetry. She doesn’t consider her skills for making these to be all that fantastic. Junkrat certainly knows that he will keep all of them safe in a fire-proof box, though. He can’t stop himself from dancing whenever he gets a new one. He is amazed by how great Mei handles animals in her drawings and the frilled neck lizard with his frill of fireworks is by far his favourite.

Junkrat however is happy to know that he can gift Mei with something that makes her just as excited. She loves the lucky charms and trinkets he makes for her, because she can use them for absolutely everything. Junkrat made her a little mail penguin that keeps all of her to-do notes in order in his beak and bag, a snowman to hang from her car keys and a little fluffy yeti that hangs from the zipper of her bag. Mei likes to play around with it and how warm it gets in her hands, whenever she is nervous before important job meetings.

Mei on the other hand loves to surprise Junkrat with gifts that ensure a feel-good time. She loves to surprise him with bath bombs and let specialists help her to choose ingredients that would make a nice mix and remind him of places and events they learned to love together - much to his excitement of seeing the “brewing of a witch’s potion” unfold. Mei even got into sewing and made a pillow cover with bomber rats. She filled it herself and left little pockets inside the cover to fill with sweet herb bags that encourage a soothing sleep with their smell. 

Another reason why Junkrat settled on these smaller gifts is because he has a rather unusual style of wrapping presents. He doesn’t know how Mei does it with those perfect edges and cute figurines folded out of paper. He certainly cannot make it look any less like an UFO traveller creature of those alien conspirancy movies they sometimes watch together...and on their very first Valentine’s Day, he got Mei’s gift wrapped just in time for her to walk in...and realize that he was so focused on getting it right that one of his hands got stuck in it.

They love to make ice cream and slushies together with the help of Mei’s drone Snowball. A lot of experiments with countless fruits are done and perfected with chocolate sauce and sprinkles in heart shape. Often they even share the delicious results with the team.

Speaking of fruit, Junkrat gets incredibly excited whenever Mei lets him add flambéed fruit to the ice cream as a larger dessert. As usual, through many trials and errors, with Snowball to the rescue in the HQ roof garden, he has become exceptionally good at it.

Sometimes Mei and Junkrat also lend Mercy a hand at baking her legendary guardian angel buns on Valentine’s Day. They come in cupid shape that Mercy takes care of, Mei decorates them with raisins, while Junkrat powers them up with lots of strawberry jam. Then, the doctor is on her way to gift anyone who could use a sweet treat in transparent, ribboned bags. No payment required. A warm smile will do. 

No, not even on Valentine’s Day Mei and Junkrat stop it with the puns. What is worse however is the fact that they expand the puntests also with pickup line contests: Who manages to come up withe the most cringe-worthy ones until the day is done wins. As soon as things like “Damn it, seem ta have lost me phone number...Can Oi borrow yours, by any chance?” and “You hear that? The airport lady just told me to not leave my valuables unattended...Guess it is my duty to not take my eyes off you ever again now.” are uttered from their mouths, their friends know it is time to run for self-protection.

Both of them enjoy to come up with dress up prompts for Valentine’s Day. That can range from serious things, like matching outfits, to downright goofy things, like “The most hideous Christmas sweater you did not dare to show off at the party last year” and “Setting trends with my new bin bag hat”, that confuse everyone else.

Mei loves writing old-fashioned love letters to Junkrat on Valentine’s Day. It helps her to cover absolutely everything that she considered to be outstanding in their prior relationship year and to show gratitude and pride in how much both of them grew together as people until now.

Junkrat loves doing standup comedy shows with his steel trap for Mei on Valentine’s Day. It took some getting used to to this unusual hand puppet, but it’s now one of her favourite things to watch - it just baffles her how Junkrat uses his diversity in vocal range and comes up with good punchlines quickly.

Junkrat can’t help but be very affectionate towards Mei when his love for her overflows. He couldn’t care less who sees it and what they think of it, if there is something she says or does that is too adorable for him to handle, he will lift her up, hug and squeeze her and kiss her until her cheeks glow from all the giggling.

Mei gets him back for that with a smooch-a-thon. When her love overflows and both of them are in the middle of a conversation, she will determine the flow of it by kissing Junkrat after every word she utters. Junkrat has never forced himself to make a discussion about where to go for dinner as lengthy as possible and with a respectful consideration of any munching palace in reach - until that happened. 

As for Valentine’s dates, one of Junkrat’s favourite things to do is to drive way out into nature with Mei. They go hiking and camping together, while Mei gets to tell him a lot of fascinating things about their surroundings. Junkrat’s highlight however is to enjoy a nice view on the landscape cuddled into Mei, after a delicious and satisfying barbecue for such a long trip.

Sometimes, when they stay the night in nature, Mei and Junkrat team up to make a movie night for themselves. As Mei gets to attach a huge fabric to use as a screen from the HQ attic to the trees with the help of her ice walls, Junkrat gets an old projector he found in the same place to work. There is something magical about seeing Olivia Rai in action, surrounded by the cries of owls and the crackling camp fire together in a large sleeping bag.

If the weather does not want to assist them, though, they take it easy or find a way to make fond memories with their friends indoors. There is nothing like enjoying a hot chocolate together and sinking deep into adventures of the past, turning the night into day at the arcade with D. Va and Lúcio, or visiting the sanctuary and petting café for pigs with Roadhog.

Mei’s favourite place to use for a date experience on Valentine’s Day is the Winter’s End Fair that is hosted every year. The ice rink of the fair is also their training area for Junkrat’s new prosthetic skating leg. Junkrat can’t get enough of the fireworks whenever they stay for dinner on the boats of the lake tour and the most horrifying rollercoasters.

As much as Mei isn’t fond of extreme rides by intuition, Junkrat begged her to give it a shot at least once in her lifetime to find out whether they could still enjoy them together, after all. Half an hour of persistent encouragement talk later, he successfully convinced her to step into a half full “Sombrero”. From the first gentle swinging side to side until the highest circular spins, Mei screamed her lungs out. She was never that happy to have solid ground beneath her feet before, but Junkrat couldn’t stop laughing when he saw how many new customers to the horizon line her reaction had drawn to them, after the ride was over. “If she gets so much out of this, this must be one heck of a rad ride!” they thought, leaving the bucks at the counter. Mei however was certain that this was the first and last time she pirouetted in the sky.

Mei prefers the world’s hugest chair swing and the ferris wheel, but gets an adrenaline rush of her own for becoming extremely competitive at the shooting galleries and prize booths. One cannot deny however that both of them are the most aggressive bumper cars participants far and wide.

They aren’t sure how often they could repeat it, but they once felt dangerous enough to sneak backstage onto the dark boat bridges inside the fair’s Tunnel of Love. The ride itself didn’t thrill them. However, they surprised the couples they heard passing by on their boats in the dark. Mei would sometimes throw little boxes of chocolate onto their laps a the boat stopped before the waterfall. It wasn’t easy to keep their cover, since Junkrat couldn’t help but whistle or throw in a cheeky joke from time to time. They are waiting for the reviews online - once the guests think this is all part of the ride, they’ll have to come back.

Sometimes however, it is even for the better to not split from the team even on this special day. It took a bit of overcoming to suggest it, but Mei and Junkrat really wanted to launch “Appreciation Pigeon Holes” at the HQ. After long thinking, they came to the conclusion that you can indeed also love someone without loving them romantically and they hate how days like these pressure certain people or make them feel left out. They are all in this together, which is why they launched the pigeon holes to be filled with thank you cards and small gifts from one Overwatch member to another for the great teamwork and strong bonds.

This project was a big success, everyone got something out of it and some members even grew fonder of one another. The members who found the most content in their pigeon holes were Winston, Mercy and - by far - Roadhog. The cards literally fell towards him just by looking at the collection. They hid letters, almost entire articles about how the senders were thankful that one could always rely on him, how often his approaches to problems and his calm self had saved them time and time again and how much they wished for him to stay with them for many years to come and feel at home, at least to some extent, in their extraordinary and large crew. There was a lot to say to someone who does mind-blowing things on a weekly basis, but never gives you a chance to talk properly about it - and there is something mind-blowing in so many people wishing you well and making a genuine effort to get to know your person even when you convinced yourself this would not happen again for as long as you live.

Celebratory meals have become quite a nice tradition at the HQ, too. Even when they do not work as heroes on the missionary job, it is always great for Mei, Junkrat and the others to have Emily brought over by Tracer, or experience the halls ten times livelier with Torbjörn’s wife and their kids around. Some stories and feelings fully blossom only in the understanding and experience from couple to couple and so far their shared but rare time has been charming. It is reward enough for preparing the enormous lunch for everyone else together, before everyone is up and away to enjoy their respective bonds.

A small act of kindness and lucky chance that D. Va came up with for Valentine’s Day was to send out “The Swarm”. She worked on little messenger bird postcards with Mei together and with their Oversquad, they were determined to send hundreds of them flying, attached to helium balloons, for as long as their luck would carry them. This way, anyone out there who might needed it could stumble across some uplifting words. Junkrat could only focus and be of help to the noble cause, until he figured out what helium did to his voice by accident. It can be guaranteed that none of the balloons came down faster than the squad passed out from laughing, once Junkrat made use of his self-proclaimed, new found rat voice to still deliver accurate impressions of every single person present.

The biggest Valentine’s Day project Mei and Junkrat were involved in so far was something that Lúcio had set up, though. He and D. Va have been members of the “Heart’s Content Foundation” for quite some time now. Members of said foundations are mainly celebrities, who sometimes are willing to offer their talents and crafts for charity events, in which all earnings go to several groups of disadvantaged people and into donations for groups of people that try to make the world a better place. Lúcio has been a massive help for raising awareness for this by bringing together countless of artists, who wished to work on collaborations with him and even support him on the “Audio Medic Tour”. The massive popularity of the projects allowed for all profit to be split under the collaborators to help their world-improvers of choice little by little. When a Valentine’s Day themed album was considered for the future, Lúcio threw the topic into discussion with Mei and Junkrat. Upon hearing their suggestions on what to spend the earnings on, he immediately supported the idea of working on songs with them. Under pseudonyms both of them were fine with it and this chance of a lifetime was more than intriguing. 

The ambient chillout, yet adventurous tracks, which were inspired by how Mei and Junkrat see one another individually, are treasured by them forever and also by many fans. Mei decided to donate her earnings to a team of revolutionary inventors that were in search of funds to give their ocean-cleaning technology a kickstart. Junkrat’s earnings turned out to be a financial boost to an initiative, whose teams were travelling from town to town by bus to serve free meals, clean drinking-water and showering possibilities to homeless people, whose struggles went unseen by the political authorities.