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pink-bird-30 · 4 years

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Hournite Fic Alert-Downside of Being a Hero

Welp, it happened. I’m sitting here writing an Hournite fic. Why? Because I can. But mostly since I have absolutely no control over my new DC ship

This will be the aftermath of episode 1x10. If you have not watched, DO NOT READ!

Welp, here we go.

Here’s my link to my FF.net: (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13654156/1/Downside-of-being-a-Hero)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!

Summary: Beth wasn't sure what she was feeling in this moment, but it was consuming her entire being. How could they let this happen, why is this happening. Could it have been stopped? But they all knew the answer to that. Hournite Fic. These are the events that take place after the episode: 1x10. Read at your own risk, there are spoilers from this episode.

“Henry!” Yolanda screams as she watched the ceiling cave in on her ex-lover. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. They were to go in, get Courtney’s cosmic staff, and get out. With the exception of Henry going in to get his father back, they had a plan. A real plan this time.

How did everything go so wrong?

Courtney already knew they couldn’t do anything, so she quickly pulls Yolanda away from the gate, but she clings to it with her Wildcat strength.

“No!” She yells at Courtney, “I’m not leaving him! We can’t, w-e-we c-can’t.” Her sobs cutting off her words. Courtney kneels at eye level and pulls her friend into a tight hug. She strokes the curls that fall out beneath her mask before prying her hands from the bars, and helping the girl to stand up.

“We need to leave now, Yolanda. If we don’t, Brainwave has enough time to get the rest of the ISA.”

Sniffling, Yolanda nods in understanding before leaning on Courtney to escape the underground tunnels. Rick moves to walk behind Courtney before he notices the absence of their fourth member.

“Beth? We gotta go!” Rick jogs back over to where Beth stood motionless at the bars. This was the second time she had to watch one of her classmates die. They are all fifteen years old. They’re supposed to have future ahead of them, but they seem to be getting cut by the evil wiles of the ISA.

Beth doesn’t understand the feeling bubbling in her chest. It’s red hot, making her clench her fists, her vision blurring, and her body shaking uncontrollably.

“No.”

Rick tries to turn her around, but she doesn’t seem to care. She pushes off his strong hand and walks closer to where their friend’s body lies.

She takes a shaky breath before closing her eyes. Beth was trying to remember what life was like before all of this. Before their lives came to this.

Your best friends were your parents.

Right.

But how can this be better?

Her thought were interrupted by gloveless hands reaching for her hands. She watches as Rick pulls off her bulky brown gloves and tucks them into his pocket before holding her hands between his. Instantly she feels the bubble in her chest begin to subside, her hands are still shaking between his, but her thoughts are becoming clear.

Henry’s dead…

She glances up at Rick seeing the sadness in his dark brown eyes.

“I know this is tough, but we gotta go. We can deal later.” He runs his thumbs back and forth over her hands one last time before pulling her along the tunnel system and back to The Pit Stop.

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The team goes their separate ways to change before deciding to split up for the night. Courtney took it upon herself to get Yolanda home, leaving Rick and Beth alone.

Rick leans back against Pat’s work station watching Beth clean off her goggles before she places them back into their case.

“Beth?” Rick’s voice startles her, making her jump and drop her goggles case. Rick swears under his breath before pushing off the work table and striding across the room to pick them up.

Handing them back to Beth, she avoids his gaze and quickly tosses them into her backpack. Turning from Rick, Beth hikes the straps of her backpack over her shoulders creating creases in her bright yellow shirt.

“Have a good night!” She tries to say with her usual enthusiasm, but he can see the fake tone behind her words. Beth goes to leave the shop, but Rick steps around her, blocking her from the garage doors.

She looks at his shoulder knowing the look he is giving her. Probably something similar to the look she gave him when he wasn’t thinking straight and wanted to go after Cindy. She tightens her hold on her backpack straps and steps around Rick attempting to head to the garage doors again.

This time Rick doesn’t go after her, but instead dashes for his bag and heads for the door that shuts in his face.

It’s gonna be a long night.

“Beth, wait!” He runs to catch up to her. She managed to get a block away from the shop before Rick catches up to her. He notices that she is heading in the direction of her home.

Rick slows down to walk beside her and places a hand on her shoulder. She stop and glances to her right. “Rick, I’m a o-kay. No need to worry, silly.” She brushes his hand off, ignoring the feeling in the pit of her stomach as their hands graze one another, and continues down the road.

Rick doesn’t buy it, but doesn’t try to push her anymore.

“Don’t cha live the other way?” Beth says, the fake joy in her voice makes him cringe.

“I do.” He shoves his hands into his worn jean pockets. “But who’s to say Cindy hasn’t told her father about us yet.”

Beth contemplates this and nods in understanding, “Buddy system, smart!”

He frowns, “Stop that.”

Beth pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose, “Stop what?”

“That!” he yells and turns her to face him.

Beth shrugs and rolls her eyes and tries to smile but it doesn’t quite meet her eyes, “Rick, I don’t know what you mean.”

He clenches his jaw and feels the heat rising to his face.

Why is she being difficult?

Taking a slow breath, he reaches out and takes Beth’s hand in his before they start to walk down the street again.

Beth feels her heart sputter at the contact and doesn’t realize Rick was steering them down the street to her home. As they walk up the sidewalk, she notices the driveway is empty.

“Where are your parents?”

Beth has to think for a moment before remembering that her mother was working a night shift at the hospital, and her father was traveling for his job at ‘The American Dream’.

Beth frowns as she pulls her hand away from Rick’s to pull her housekeys from her backpack.

“They’re working, pretty normal.” She didn’t notice, but Rick picks up the hint of sadness in her voice. Her chipper façade was finally fading, giving him the opening he’s been trying to get all night since they left the tunnels.

She walks into her house and turns to face him, but before she can turn him away he steps forward, placing a hand on the white front door.

“Beth, can I come in for a minute?” he asks, giving her a soft smile.

She hesitates.

All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry herself to sleep. She wish she knew what it meant to put that uniform on, what it meant to take the responsibility of being a hero, and what it meant to lose not one but two people she knew at such a young age.

But even with these horrible things she wants to cry about, she didn’t want to be alone.

Beth nods, opening the door wider to let him in. They leave their backpacks at the door before she takes his hand again and steers him up the stairs to her bedroom.

But he stops her at the steps and lets go of her hand, “I’m going to check around your house first to make sure there’s no one here.”

Beth gives him a confused look before he turns and takes a quick sweep of the house. A few minutes later he reappears, “All good.”

He walks in front of her before taking her hand again and walks up the stairs.

“Rick, why did you check the house?”

He glances back at her before looking down the hall both ways before she steps next to him on the second floor.

“I’m makin’ sure there’s no ISA members lurking around. You can never be too safe, especially now that-” Rick cuts off.

Beth steps closer to him squeezing his hand for encouragement.

Rick looks down at their joined hands and smirks, “I’m going to check the rooms and I’ll come get you.”

She watches as he checks her parents’ bedroom, the closet at the end of the hall, the spare bedroom, and then finally, he opens the door to her room unknowingly. She walks over to her room, assuming it was safe to do so, and leans against the doorway. She watches as he checks all the windows and in her closet. Looking around for any sign that someone had been in her room.

Over the last few weeks, although they have all been together constantly, Beth had never taken a moment to really look at Rick. She knows he’s handsome and the girls at Blue Valley secretly fawn over him when he passes them, but she never notices the way his hair is always pushed back, away from his face. Or the subtle stubble that graces his pale complexation. But the most surprising is his lean muscular frame. She was surprised when she first saw him in the Hourman suit. It fit him in all the right places compared to his leisure look of loose t-shirts and jeans.

Rick looks up to see her watching him, “It’s safe.”

“What?” she hums.

Rick chuckles before kicking his shoes off and settling on Beth’s bed. She watches as he makes himself comfortable and grabs her laptop from her bedside table.

Beth hesitates before takes her shoes off and places them on her shoe rack against the wall. She’s never been in a situation where a boy was in her bed on her laptop.

I hope I don’t have anything weird on there…

Ignoring her insecurities, she makes herself comfortable on the bed next to Rick.

“Whatcha doing?” Beth leans close to him seeing what he was typing into her laptop. She notices him typing ‘Netflix’ into the web browser and watches as her profile pops up. Beth sees a small smile break out across Rick’s face when he notices she chose the hero icon as her login.

“I thought you were just staying for a minute?”

Rick continues to look through the movies on Netflix before settling on “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”. He lowers the volume on the computer before settling it between his’s and Beth’s legs.

Turning on his side to face her, he reaches out and takes his hand with his.

“Something messed up happened today and you’re acting as if everything is fine.”

Beth looks down at their hand and frowns, “What were you going to say earlier, in the hallway.”

Rick is taken aback by her words, not expecting her to steer the conversation back to him.

He looks away feeling a distinct pull at his heart. He knows the pain Henry must’ve felt in those last few moments before his demise. He felt it every time he thought of his parents, of the night they left him. But he never knew the truth, and with the truth he truly understand what they sacrificed for his safety. For their son.

But that same misplaced anger he’s had for the last few year…he saw it in Beth tonight. It’s the kind of anger that consumes your entire being. In the past, and even tonight, he has let that anger consume him day after day knowing the truth about what really happened to his parents. He let it drive him to take up the mantel as Hourman to avenge their deaths. And the mere thought of that thing responsible for his own parents’ death was within his reach hours ago...well, he was lucky Beth was there to stop him. Her voice breaking through that anger was the moral compass he’s needed. Without it, he could’ve put all their lives in jeopardy.

They could all be dead.

But instead, only Henry was.

Rick pushes the laptop further down on the bed and scoots closer to Beth, “I just…I was gonna say ‘now that they don’t even care about their own children’. I only say this ‘cus Cindy is locked away from the world due to her evil father, and we just saw what Brainwave just did to his own son. And even the confession about his own wife…”

Rick takes a shuddering breath.

“It’s just awful. They won’t think twice about killin’ a bunch of teenagers crusading as these legendary heroes. We’re jokes to them.”

Rick is too lost in his own rambles to notice the silent tears making their way down Beth’s cheeks. She sniffles, catching Rick’s eyes and they grow wide noticing the effect his words were having on her.

Shit, great goin’ man. You made her cry.

Beth takes her glasses off to wipe them on her shirt and brushes her tears away with the back of her hand that wasn’t holding Rick’s. She moves closer to him before taking a deep breath to clear her mind.

“We’ve already lost two classmates this year due to the ISA. And even when we try to do something, something always goes wrong. And I try so hard to be the positive one, but right now,” She angrily wipes the new wave of traitorous tears that sprung free from her brown eyes. “I don’t want to be.”

Rick nods in understanding. It was frustrating knowing they are doing all they can, but it’s not good enough.

“And I’m useless. You, Court, and Yolanda fight back. Tonight, I wasn’t any use. Chuck abandoned me when I needed him most. And I know it’s not his fault, but I’m just so angry.”

“I know what you mean.”

Beth looked at him expectantly, “How?”

Rick let go of her hand to lay on his back. He noticed her ceiling is full of different sized stars. He could tell they were the kind that glowed in the dark, he had the same ones as a kid.

“That anger. You feel if start here in the chest.” He lightly touches his sternum for emphasis. “And then the heat slowly starts to race through your veins, feeling like lava slowly consuming you from the inside out.”

Beth gasps, realizing that is how she felt after Henry was killed by his father.

Rick turns his head to look at her. He’s constantly amazing by her beauty, but he would never admit that. At least not right now, but maybe in the future.

When there’s actually a promise for tomorrow.

“I saw it when you didn’t react to Henry’s death. You’re one of the most compassionate people I’ve met here in Blue Valley, and I was surprised you were...” Rick didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t want to explicitly say she was angry, but that she knew she was upset to the point of not being sad, but mad at what they couldn’t change.

“Void,” She supplies. “I couldn’t feel anything but that anger. But I’ve never felt like that, Rick. It was terrifying.” She looks away from him, pulling her arms close to herself to shield her from the evils that plague her mind.

Rick rolled to his side and laid a comforting hand on her back, slowly moving it up and down her spine. They both felt the air in the room shift when he placed his hand on her back, but they both chose to ignore it.

“I know, but you’ll be okay. This is what happens when life is unfair and takes people away too soon.” He said somberly.

Beth nods in agreement. She’s never lost anyone in her life, and now it seems like people are dying left and right. Life truly can be unfair sometimes.

“Also,” Rick breaks the silence that settled around them. “Maybe we should teach you how to fight. I would feel better knowing you can protect yourself out there. And as we saw tonight, we can’t always rely on Chuck to help you.”

Beth laughs, “Rick have you seen me in gym class? There is an absolute reason why I’m smart. Hand eye coordination does not run through these veins.”

He smiles, seeing his Beth finally coming back to him.

“Alright, maybe Yolanda can teach you a few defensive moves. I just need to know you’re safe out there. Especially with everything getting too serious for my taste.”

Beth smiles feeling the warmth of his words spread through her, “I’ll consider it.”

Rick smiles in return, “That’s all I ask.”

After a moment of silence, they both looked to the movie screen to see the credits rolling up the screen.

“I guess we missed the movie.” Rick said, noticing the space between him and Beth has diminished.

“Yup!” she squeaks, also noticing how close Rick was to her.

Without thought, Rick’s hand on her back trails up her arm, feeling her soft skin beneath his fingertips before cupping the side of her face.

They inched closer to each other, he could feel her breath on his face.

“Beth? Are you up sweetheart? Why is the front door unlocked?” Dr. Chapel’s voice echoes throughout the house.

Rick let out a breathy laugh, “I checked every inch of your house, but neglected to lock the front door. Damn.”

They pull back from one another realizing what was about to happen. Rick sits up looking away, knowing he was blushing. Beth feels her own cheeks flaming as she lays back on her pillow for a moment, gaining her composure, and then sitting up.

“I’ll go distract my mom so you can make a quick getaway.” Beth says with her usual chipper voice, making Rick’s heart sputter knowing she’s going to be okay.

“Yeah, works for me.”

Rick swears under his breath.

Beth looks at him expectantly, “What’s wrong?”

“My backpack, it’s down stairs near the door.”

“Darn, that is an issue. Um…” Beth thinks for a moment and then it came to her. “Right, I’ll go ahead and distract my mom in the kitchen, that should give you enough time to go out through the front door.”

Rick quickly grabs his shoes and puts them back one. “Sounds like a plan.”

They both make their way to her door, but before Beth steps outside the room to get a head start, Rick pulls her against him. Instinctively, she wraps her arms around him in a hug, burying her face in his chest. He tightly holds her knowing that he needed her just as much as she needed him tonight.

Without thought, Rick leans down and presses a kiss to the crown of her head, feeling her curls brush against the side of his cheek.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

She nods her head against his chest, “Yeah, I’ll be okay. Thank you for staying with me.”

Rick pulls back a bit and smiles down at her, seeing that she is already looking right back at him.

“I’ll always be here when you need me.”

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Well, this happened. And it’s about 3AM right now…yeah. I need sleep. Hope you enjoyed this fic!

#Hournite #Beth Chapel #Rick Tyler #Hourman #Dr.Mid-Nite #Stargirl #Dc

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brn1029 · 4 years

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Get those tin foil hats ready to go!

The 10 greatest conspiracy theories in rock

By Emma Johnston

In a world where fake news runs rampant, rock'n'roll is not immune to the lure of the conspiracy theory. These are 10 of the most ludicrous

Conspiracy theories, myths and legends have existed in rock’n’roll for as long as the music has existed, stretching all the way back to bluesman Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exchange for superhuman guitar skills, fame and fortune.

There are those who believe Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison live on, others who think the Illuminati control the world through symbolism in popular culture, and plenty of evangelical types with their own agendas trawling rock and metal songs for secret messages luring the innocent to the dark side.

Let us take a look, then, at rock’n’roll conspiracy theories ranging from the intriguing to the ludicrous, as we try to separate the truth from the codswallop.

Lemmy was in league with the Illuminati

Few men have ever been earthier than Lemmy, but one conspiracy theorist claims that the Motorhead legend didn’t really die in December 2015, instead “ascending into the heavenly realm” after making a “blood sacrifice pact” with the Illuminati.

A “watcher” of the mythical secret society some believe are running the world – despite evidence that is at best flimsy, at worst straight from The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s discarded notebooks – told the Daily Star: “Lemmy signed up for the ultimate pact – he signed his soul to the devil in order to achieve fame and fortune.”

While we can only imagine what the great man would have to say on the matter, there’s one word, in husky, JD-soaked tones, that we can just about make out coming across from the other side: “Bollocks.”

Paul McCartney died in 1966

As you might expect from the most famous band that has ever existed, there are enough crackpot theories about The Beatles to fill the Albert Hall. From John Lennon’s murder being ordered by the US government, who, led by Richard Nixon, suspected him of communism (the FBI actually did have a file on Lennon, but the story is spiced up by the man behind murderlennontruth.com, who apparently believes author Steven King was involved due to, uh, looking a bit like Mark Chapman) to Canadian prog outfit Klaatu being the Fab Four in disguise, there are plenty of tall tales more colourful than a Ringo B-side.

The most enduring, though, is the notion dreamt up by some US radio DJs that Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike. They came to this conclusion having studied the cover of Abbey Road – McCartney’s bare feet on the zebra crossing apparently symbolising death, while others found “evidence” in the album’s opaque lyrics. There were a lot of drugs in the 60s.

Gene Simmons has a cow’s tongue

It’s easy to see why all kinds of far-fetched stories sprung up when Kiss first took off in the 1970s. The fake-blood-spitting, the fire, the demon-superhero personas – middle America clutched its pearls and word spread that these otherworldly weirdos’ moniker stood for Knights In Satan’s Service. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

It was Gene Simmons’ preposterous mouth that got the nation’s less voluminous tongues wagging though. So long and pointy is his appendage, and so often waggled at his audiences (whether they asked for it or not), that eventually the rumour spread around the world’s playgrounds was that he’d had a cow’s tongue grafted onto his own. The bovine baloney is, of course, bullshit, but Simmons has admitted it's one of his favourite Kiss urban myths.

Supertramp predicted 9/11

The Logical Song may be Supertramp’s calling card, but one man in the US stretches common sense to the limit having come to the conclusion that the artwork for their 1979 album Breakfast In America gave prior warning of the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11, 2001.

Look at the album cover – painted from the perspective of a window on a flight into the city – in a mirror, and the ‘u’ and ‘p’ band’s name appears to become a 911 floating above the twin towers, while a logo on the back features a plane flying towards the World Trade Center.

So far, so coincidental, but when our intrepid investigator falls down a rabbit hole of Masonic interference, strained Old Testament connections (“The Great Whore of Babylon – Super Tramp”), and the title Breakfast In America reflecting the fact that the planes crashed early in the morning, things get really tenuous.

It’s fair to say it’s unlikely a British prog-pop band had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks 22 years before they happened. But maybe Al Qaida were really big fans.

Stevie Wonder can see

Stevie Wonder is a genius. That fact is not up for dispute. The soul/jazz/funk/rock/pop legend was born six weeks prematurely in 1950, and the oxygen used in the hospital incubator to stabilise him caused him to go blind shortly afterwards. But his love of front-row seats at basketball games, the evocative imagery in his songs, and the fact that he once effortlessly caught a falling mic stand knocked over by Paul McCartney (who, let us reiterate, did not die in 1966) has caused basement Jessica Fletchers to muse that he’s faking his blindness as part of the act.

Wonder himself, a known prankster, has great fun with his status as one of the world’s most famous vision-impaired musicians. In 1973, he told Rolling Stone: “I’ve flown a plane before. A Cessna or something, from Chicago to New York. Scared the hell out of everybody.”

Dave Grohl invented Andrew W.K.

When Andrew W.K. first broke through in the early 2000s, dressed in white and covered in blood, his mission was serious in its simplicity: the party is everything. He took his message of having a good time, all the time, to levels of political fervour. But rumours of his authenticity have been doing the rounds from the start.

Reviewing WK’s first UK show at The Garage in London, The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis wrote: “One music-biz conspiracy theory currently circulating suggests that Andrew W.K. is an elaborate hoax devised by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.”

As time went on, the theory gained traction – Grohl was believed to be the mysterious Steev Mike credited on the debut album I Get Wet. And as W.K.’s style changed over subsequent records, and his own admission that there were legal arguments over who owns his name, whispers began that he wasn’t even a real person – he was a character, played by several different actors, an attempt to create the ultimate Frankenstein’s frontman.

"I'm not the same guy that you may have seen from the I Get Wet album," W.K. said in 2008. “I don't just mean that in a philosophical or conceptual way, it's not the same person at all. Do I look the same as that person?" The jury is out, but if this is a great white elephant concocted just for the sheer hell of it, we kind of want this one to be true.

Jimi Hendrix was murdered by his manager

An early victim of the 27 club, the death of Jimi Hendrix was depressingly cliched for a man so wildly creative: a bellyful of barbiturates led to him asphyxiating on his own vomit, according to the post-mortem. But in the years following the grim discovery at the Samarkand Hotel in London on 19 September 1970, a different theory was offered by the guitarist’s former roadie, James “Tappy” Wright.

In his book Rock Roadie, Wright claims Hendrix was murdered by his manager, Michael Jeffery, who he says force-fed his charge red wine and pills. The motive? He feared he was about to be fired and was keen to cash in on the star’s life insurance. One thing we do know for certain is Jeffery won’t be able to give his version of events, as he was killed in a plane crash over France in 1973.

The 50th anniversary of Hendrix's tragic passing was "celebrated" with the release of Hendrix and the Spook, a documentary that "explored" his death further and was described by The Guardian as "a cheaply made mix of interviews and dumbshow dramatic recreations by actors scuttling about flimsy sets in gloomy lighting." Sounds good.

Courtney killed Kurt

Courtney Love is no stranger to demonisation from Nirvana fans. When Hole’s second album, the searing, catchy, feminist, witty, aggressive, vulnerable and unflinchingly honest Live Through This was released, days after Kurt Cobain’s death, rumours almost immediately started up that Love’s late husband wrote the songs. That was insulting and sexist enough, but nowhere near as damaging as the conspiracy theory that Love hired a hitman to kill Cobain amid rumours they were about to divorce.

After Cobain’s first attempt to take his own life in Rome, the Nirvana frontman was eventually convinced to go to rehab following an intervention by his wife and friends. He ran away from the facility, and the private investigator hired by Love to find him, Tom Grant, eventually became the source of the idea that Love and the couple’s live-in nanny Michael Dewitt were responsible for Cobain’s death shortly afterwards.

His claims, made in the Soaked In Bleach documentary, include the notion that Cobain had too much heroin in his system to pull the trigger of the shotgun, and that he believed the suicide note was forged.

People close to Cobain (and the Seattle Police Department) have refuted the theory, including Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg: “It’s ridiculous. He killed himself. I saw him the week beforehand, he was depressed. He tried to kill himself six weeks earlier, he’d talked and written about suicide a lot, he was on drugs, he got a gun. Why do people speculate about it? The tragedy of the loss is so great people look for other explanations. I don’t think there’s any truth at all to it."

The CIA wrote The Scorpions’ biggest hit

Previously synonymous with leather, hard rock anthems and some very questionable album artwork, West Germany’s Scorpions scored big with Wind Of Change, a power ballad heralding the oncoming fall of the USSR, the end of the Cold War, and a new sense of hope in the Eastern Bloc.

In a podcast named after the 1990 song, though, Orwell Prize-winning US journalist Patrick Radden Keefe follows rumours from within the intelligence community that the song was actually written by the CIA, as propaganda to hasten the fall of the ailing Soviet Union via popular culture.

“Soviet officials had long been nervous over the free expression that rock stood for, and how it might affect the Soviet youth,” Keefe is quoted as saying. “The CIA saw rock music as a cultural weapon in the cold war. Wind of Change was released a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and became this anthem for the end of communism and reunification of Germany. It had this soft-power message that the intelligence service wanted to promote.”

It's a convincing theory, but one that is disputed by Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine: “I thought it was very amusing and I just cracked up laughing. It’s a very entertaining and really crazy story but like I said, it’s not true at all. Like you American guys would say, it’s fake news."

There are satanic messages in Stairway To Heaven

The great comedian Bill Hicks had something to say about people searching for evidence of devilry in rock’n’roll: “Remember this shit, if you play certain rock albums backwards there'd be satanic messages? Let me tell you something, if you're sitting round your house playing your albums backwards, you are Satan. You needn't look any further. And don't go ruining my stereo to prove a point either.”

The memo didn’t get through to televangelist and stylus ruiner Paul Crouch, who in 1982 attempted to scare the Christian right into believing Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven was stuffed with demonic meaning, and that played backwards it revealed the following message: “Here’s to my sweet Satan/The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan/He will give those with him 666/There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.”

Guitarist Jimmy Page, of course, is no stranger to the esoteric, making no secret of his interest in occultist Aleister Crowley and the attendant magick, and there were even rumours the band made a Faustian pact to achieve fame and fortune. But hiding messa

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dreamycloud1 · 5 years

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So I’m going to slam dunk my feelings on 13 RW season 3 here. I know I’m late. I know it’s controversial as hell. I want to so I’m going to.

Justin Foley deserves everything good in this world and more. I know this has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot at all but I wanted to say it. During the assembly I bawled like a baby for like 15 minutes straight. Adding him as a survivor didn’t progress the plot at all, they honestly could have left that out but they didn’t and I just felt so many things at once that shit hurted. Then Jessica and him talked it out and they mention it a few more times and Justin is soo loved and accepted and did I say loved and he has a family who wants to have him in their lives and wants to help him work toward being the person he wants to be. I’m so proud of him.

Tyler, he was so strong this season. I’m so happy they gave him a chance to share his story. They broke the stigma behind male victims and I’m really glad they addressed it. They also shredded toxic masculinity everywhere this season with Clay, Tyler, Justin, Zack and everyone else.

Calony were so cute this season. Caleb and Tony, just roll with it. Tony spends the whole time rightfully freaking out about his family and Caleb still won’t stop supporting him. Tony finally gets a stable and nontoxic on-screen relationship and good god Caleb is so good for him. Then Caleb meet his parents and they have dinner with the Jensen’s and I just love them both and hope they make it through S4 happy. (Tony’s gonna be in deep shit, just wait for my theory y’all)

I can talk about the other characters but this post is already a long long ramble might as well not make it any longer than needs be, if y’all want to hear my thoughts on a specific character/scene/etc just ask.

Now here’s the deep doo doo. Montgomery Sr la Cruz and Bryce Walker.

I know the story goes: Monty is gay and Hispanic and he was demonized and Bryce is rich and white and praised.

I don’t exactly agree with this narrative. I 100% agree this is the facts but nothing ever makes sense without context. I feel like a lot of people think the context of this situation is the writers wanted to portray Bryce as some redeemable rapist because he’s white and wanted to make Monty unredeemable because he’s Hispanic.

However I’d argue that neither of them were ever meant to be redeemed. The entire season was about Bryce Walker. Honestly up until this point the entire show revolves around Bryce Walker and his direct or indirect actions. I don’t think the writers ever intended Bryce to seem redeemed. We see that with the literal plotline, no one feels remorse for Bryce’s death. Even at the end when we find out that (SPOILER ALERT 🚨) it was Alex all along. Obviously a lot of circumstances lead up to that point but on the end it was Alex who pushed Bryce off that edge. Even Alex’s dad accepts the lie that Ani made. He knows Alex had to be the one to do it or at the very least that he was there. However it’s easiest to blame it on Monty and let it be because both of them did terrible things and I feel like the show reflects the mindset of many people. I doubt most any of us would feel sorry if every rapist turned up dead tomorrow. I know a few will disagree but that’s my take.

As for Monty being gay and Hispanic and being a rapist and a ‘murderer.’ I can not and will not speak to him being Hispanic, I see the terrible connotation in him being a Hispanic man and convicted of rape but otherwise that’s all I’ll say on the matter. However I am gay so I feel like as another gay man I can talk about my feelings on Monty being gay. I don’t think this is a hate crime or homophobia. Honestly I think it’s more diverse. Just because your gay doesn’t mean your exempt from raping someone. I don’t feel they made Monty gay for the express purpose of being homophobic. The same outcome would have come about if his victims had been Courtney or Casey or any self/identified female on the show. It still would have ended with his straight female lover being angry that Ani framed him for murder. I think a lot of people say they want diversity but the second a person with diversity is portrayed in negative light people automatically assume it’s because of their diversity instead of thinking of their diversity as just another part of them.

Monty wasn’t a Gay Man Who Was A Rapist he was a rapist who happened to be gay and his victims were the subject of that. It’s not homophobia it’s just the truth. Gay people are rapist and that can happen and does happen. The writers did a great job with Tony and I don’t think they would become some homophobic assholes just to Monty. That’s just my take on it at least. I think it was so out of proportion and seemed like Bryce was ‘redeemable’ because 1. They had to have some kind of content to actually make a season out of 2. They wanted the viewer to feel conflict. Wether you actually did or not (I didn’t, I think Bryce deserved what he got and rape is irredeemable) that is the basic want of a TV series is to make you think about the message it sends and 3. Because Monty had very little screen time to develop and build on to. We know of Monty what we’ve seen past seasons and that’s about it because this season wasn’t about Monty it was about Bryce. However they only framed Monty in the plot because he was the easiest but out of plot it’s because they needed a basis for season 4 and angry lover who thinks their SO could really actually change (COUGaniCOUGH) is a great idea. The gang has to deal with Winston threatening to go to the cops and also they he cops finding the guns they dumped.

#13 reasons why #13rw #13rw s3 #monty

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industrious-sloth · 3 years

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5. Death of a Cheerleader – Pom Pom Squad This is your perfect lazy summer afternoon album. It is cutting lyricism sung in the calmest of manners, and the underlying tension of a rock ballad without the theatrics. Heavily influenced by the greats, like Courtney Barnett and Soccer Mommy, this album takes me straight back to summer 2017 at a bus stop discovering artists like Lisa Prank, Allison Crutchfield, and Hop Along. At the same time, it could’ve come out in 2003. There’s this dreamy, breathy, beautiful summer girl who wears her cheerleader uniform during vacation, singing about sapphic romance and drunk voicemails. Maybe 1993. Spoiler alert, she does die, but only figuratively. It makes it extra spooky – less camp and more high genre horrorcore, if you will. This album is what Jennifer’s Body should have been, in a perfect world, where it’s more of a hang-out session with a demon than Amanda Seyfried trying to stop Meghan Fox from killing people. This album is Amanda Seyfried helping Meghan Fox and being the supportive friend she should have been. And just like that, an ancient wrong has been corrected.  In Death of a Cheerleader, Pom Pom Squad manages to create the same atmosphere in every uniquely crafted song, each paying homage to a version of punk tradition and the mythical American cheerleader. I, for one, have only ever seen them in movies.  Best Song: Drunk Voicemail is an all-around Masterpiece (take that, Big Thief, sometimes naming a song Masterpiece doesn’t make it a masterpiece) Skip: Sound check?  Best lyrics: Berkeley never gets old – he might be a cliché, but he pointed out a flaw in the human condition that we haven’t been able to fix. “You’re only alive when there’s somebody there”. Also, what a great diss.

#pom pom squad #death of a cheerleader #best of 2021

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womenofcolor15 · 5 years

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You’ve Seen The ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Trailer, Now Meet The Entire Cast!

Now that the final season of the original “Power” series has officially wrapped up, it’s time to meet the cast of the upcoming “Power Book II: Ghost” series. The talented Woody McClain will be joining the cast and several more familiar faces. Find out who else is starring in the “Power” spin-off inside…

After a whole season of wondering WHO SHOT GHOST, now we know!

*SPOILER ALERT* in case you haven’t watched yet:

…It was his own son, Tariq St. Patrick (played by Michael Rainy Jr.)

Ghost got in Tariq's way, so he took him out the game. His mom Tasha St. Patrick (played by Naturi Naughton) tried to stop Tariq before he pulled the trigger, but she was too late.

Tasha came up with a plan to frame her boytoy for Ghost's murder in an effort to protect her son, but it all blew up in her face when he had a confirmed alibi, something he made sure of because he never quite trusted her. Bloop.

The cops swarmed in and locked Tasha up and the next chapter will follow life for everyone, post-Ghost. The sequel will follow Tariq navigating his new life, in which his desire to shed his father’s legacy comes up against the mounting pressure to save his family.

Even in death, Ghost still won. He didn't leave Tasha a dime, he paid one year's worth rent for Tasha's mother, broke Angela Valdez's family off with hella cash, made sure Tommy Egan and his mother were straight, and he left his entire empire (worth millions) to his son - WITH a catch. In his will, he stated that Tariq must graduate from a four-year college with at least a 3.5 GPA before he can touch any of the money and assets left in his name. Damn.

Michael Rainey Jr., Naturi Naughton and Shane Johnson (who plays Cooper Saxe) will be reprising their role in “Power Book II: Ghost” from series creator and showrunner Courtney A. Kemp and executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Additional returning cast from “Power” includes “Tariq’s” dorm-mate, Brayden played by Gianni Paolo (Ma, “The Fosters”), and NYC’s favorite defense attorney Tameika Washington played by Quincy Tyler Bernstine (“Ray Donovan,” “Modern Love”).

As you know, singer/actress Mary J. Blige and rapper/actor Method Man were previously announced to join the spin-off series. Mary's character Monet is a very successful woman/mother in Queens who runs her business “with an iron fist." It seems she will become the female version of Ghost.

Method Man's character Davis Maclean is an ambitious and savvy attorney who is attracted to the NYC underworld run by Mary's character. He may find himself entrapped by some secrets from his past.

So, who else is joining the cast? Several familiar faces.

New to the cast is Woody McClain (“The Bobby Brown Story,” “The New Edition Story”) as Cane Tejada, Daniel Bellomy (The Real MVP: The Wanda Durrant Story) as Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Cross, Paige Hurd (“The Oval,” “Hawaii Five-O”) as Lauren, Melanie Liburd (“This is Us,” “Gypsy”) as Caridad ‘Carrie’ Milgram, Justin McManus (“Star”) as Jabari Reynolds,” Lovell Adams-Gray (“Coroner,” “Slasher”) as Dru Tejada, and LaToya Tonedeo (“The Oath”) as Diana Tejada.

There are actually FOUR "Power" spin-offs in total coming down the pipeline. Here's the breakdown of the other three spin-offs:

Here’s the break down:

“POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN” – the prequel story that takes viewers back to the ‘90s and the early years of iconic “Power” character Kanan Stark (played by 50 Cent).

“POWER BOOK IV: INFLUENCE” which follows Rashad Tate (played by Larenz Tate) in his ruthless pursuit of political power.

“POWER BOOK V: FORCE” in which fans will ride along with Tommy Egan (played by Joseph Sikora) after he cuts ties and puts New York in his rearview mirror for good.

In case you missed, check out the trailer for "Power Book II: Ghost" when you click HERE.

The first spin-off series is set to premiere this summer on STARZ.

Photos: Eugene Powers/Ron Adir/lev radin/Shutterstock.com

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/02/10/you%E2%80%99ve-seen-the-%E2%80%98power-book-ii-ghost%E2%80%99-trailer-now-meet-the-entire-cast

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comic-movieheroesranked · 7 years

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Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2009) Part One

It’s rough coming right after a fantastic year of movies (2008) but 2009 did pretty well for itself. Terminator Salvation is our only sequel and we also get an X-Men spinoff with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Kids favorite shows come out with Astro Boy, Dragonball: Evolution, and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, and we got a couple of thrillers with Whiteout and Surrogates. We also get the debut of the controversial Watchmen! Let’s get started with numbers #84-61!

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ALL HIGHLIGHTED MOVIES ABOVE*

Cameo Appreciation: The Minutemen (Watchmen)

The Minutemen consisted of Dollar Bill, Mothman, The Silhouette, Hooded Justice, and Captain Metropolis. They mainly appear in flashbacks as they all somehow die one by one. Dollar Bill dies after his cape gets caught on a revolving door, allowing the robbers to take aim and shoot. Captain Metropolis dies in a car accident, which was thought to be suicide. The Silhouette, who looked so damn fierce, was murdered in a homophobic hate crime with her lover. Hooded Justice's death isn't explained but we do see him stop The Comedian from raping Sally Jupiter. Mothman doesn't die but he ends up going crazy and is thrown into a psychiatric ward.

Cameo Appreciation: Professor X, Toad, Wind Dancer, Quicksilver, and Banshee (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

There were a lot of familiar faces among the mutants kidnapped by William Stryker. Those mutants were Toad, Wind Dancer, Quicksilver, and Banshee. When they escape with the help of Wolverine, Kayla, Emma, and Scott, they end up running into Professor X! With his jet ready, the professor rescues the group and takes them away to his school.

Cameo Appreciation: Sarah Connor (Terminator Salvation)

Even though she's not technically seen, Sarah Connor's voice is in the tapes she recorded for her son, John, to help him in the future. With her guidance, he's able to learn about his father, Kyle, who will eventually go to the past to help keep her safe.

84. Hollis Mason/Nite Owl (Watchmen)

"You were a better Nite Owl than I ever was, Danny boy."

One of the few Minutemen that's still alive, Hollis Mason was the original Nite Owl and is also one of the two heroes to reveal their identity to the public. He came out with a book about his life as a vigilante but after the hype of it died down he ends up opening an auto shop where he enjoys drinking occasionally with Dan.

83. The Hard Master (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"We need to invite him in and show him the path."

The Hard Master was the man who taught Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes everything they know. I kind of got a little favoritism coming from him when it came to Snake Eyes and it appeared that so did Storm Shadow, who kills him. Or so we think! At the end of the film Storm Shadow admits he didn't kill their master. So if he didn't, who did?!

82. Jared Canter (Surrogates)

"I'm not in the mood for opera."

Jared's murder started the entire film but it wasn't even him that was supposed to die in the first place. He had borrowed his father's surrogate, who was the actual target. His death is the first human murder in several years and starts Lionel Canter's quest for revenge.

81. Daniel DeCobray/The Baron (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"What a mysterious wife you are!"

The Baron got straight up PLAYED! The Baroness only marries him so Cobra can keep an eye on him and his work in the science field and is constantly leaving him, which makes him wonder where she goes all the time. When she reveals her true intentions, she forces him to weaponize the nanobite warheads before she tricks Storm Shadow into killing him.

80. Mr. Squeegee and Mr. Squirt (Astro Boy)

"I love happy endings!"

These two robots are designed to clean windows (One squirts the water, while the other wipes) in Metro City and are present when Astro discovers he's actually a robot. The two scenes they're in are for comedic relief and they show up at the end to celebrate Astro's victory over President Stone.

79. Travis and Heather Hudson (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"We all got a choice, Son."

Travis and Heather start the ridiculous trend of everyone who is nice to Logan, will end up getting killed. After he shows up to their barn naked, the Hudson's cloth him, feed him, and give him advice on forgiveness and revenge. Their thanks? They get gunned down.

78. Courtney A. Krieger/Cover Girl (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"Their capabilities are beyond anything we've ever encountered."

Cover Girl was a supermodel before she found her true calling in the G.I. Joe department. She's mostly seen as Hawk's assitant, bringing him papers to sign as well as inform him of missions when he needs it. She's technically the only Joe with a revealed identity who dies, getting murdered by Zartan when Cobra invades the Joe facility.

77. Rubin, Mooney, and Weiss (Whiteout)

"Mooney said not to trust that guy."

Rubin, Mooney, and Weiss are the biologists that discover the lost Russian plane and are at the root of this whole murder investigation. It all starts when Weiss's body is found and later Carrie figures out that he was hit with an ax then thrown off a plane after injuring himself. When the investigation starts, Mooney calls Carrie and explains he'll tell her everything at the Russian base he's at. Of course when Carrie shows up he's lying in his own blood. Finally we have Rubin who actually manages to tell Carrie everything about his team finding the plane except for who was the guy killing them! He takes off because he gets spooked by Doc (who ends up working with Haden, the killer) and ends up getting his neck snapped by Haden when he tries to escape.

76. Moloch (Watchmen)

"I have cancer."

A villain in his time, Moloch is an old man who's given up on the crime life now that he's dying of cancer. He gets paid a visit by his drunk archnemesis, The Comedian, and ends up getting murdered by Adrian so the other could frame Rorschach.

75. Orrin (Astro Boy)

"I feel so nervous!"

Orrin is the nanny robot who works in Dr. Tenma's home and takes care of Toby before he's killed. Even though it's very clear that him and other robots have their own personalities, he's constantly belittled by Tenma for trying to enjoy things like playing with paper planes with Astro. It isn't until the end of the movie that Tenma finally treats Orrin a little nicer, even if Orrin still gets freaked out by the change of attitude.

74. Dr. Serena Kogan (Terminator Salvation)

"You're about to do an incredible thing."

Dying of cancer, Dr. Kogan is the one smart enough to come up with a plan to create a human/machine hybrid. She ends up getting Marcus to volunteer after he's sentenced to death. When he arrives at Skynet Headquarters in the future, the machine uses Serena's identity to talk to him.

73. Richard Nixon (Watchmen)

"We can't let these fuckers think we're weak!"

In this altered timeline, Richard Nixon is able to be re-elected for three more additional terms as well as take on Vietnam as a state. After he disbands the Watchmen, he focuses his attention on Russia and the threat of the nuclear war. After the most populated cities are destroyed, Nixon agrees to work with the other world leaders and untie in peace.

72. Miles Strickland (Surrogates)

"I couldn't tell you his name even if my life depended on it."

The dispensable hitman. Miles is a dread, a human who doesn't use surrogates, and is hired to use the new technology that kills a host through their surrogate on Lionel Canter. He's able to avoid police but ends up killed by his own people in The Prophet's community. It later makes sense as to why he died, seeing as The Prophet was actually a surrogate belonging to the man he tried to kill in the first place.

71. Bradley (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"I always thought it would be Wade to come knocking on my door."

A mutant on Stryker's Special Ops team with the ability to control technology. Since he never participated in the killings of innocent citizens, I think Bradley also didn't agree with it but didn't have the courage to quit like Logan did. When he retires, he joins a circus but it isn't long before Victor shows up and takes him out.

70. Toby Tenma (Astro Boy)

"Up and onward."

Toby's death was so sad. He was such a bright kid and even if he had a crushing curiosity that eventually caused his downfall, a lot of his death could be blamed on his father's company as well as President Stone's arrogance. How did no one, human or robot, not notice the kid was in the room? With their technology so advanced they don't have scanners that alert every time someone enters? His death leaves his father in a huge depression which eventually leads to him creating Astro.

69. Zartan (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"This is going to be the achievement of a lifetime."

Zartan works for Cobra with a neat skill of blending in with his disguise. He's pretty decent, managing to sneak up on Hawk and Cover Girl and escaping the facility unharmed before he even gets his upgrade from The Doctor. After going through the procedure, Zartan can now physically alter his body to change into whoever he pleases. Who's his first target? None other that the President of the United States. Zartan kills him in secret before returning to the oval office, the U.S. government completely unaware about his true identity.

68. Janey Slater (Watchmen)

"I stuck by you and this is how you repay me!?"

The guys in this movie were pretty douche-y in this film and Dr. Manhattan was no exception when it came to his ex-girlfriend Janey. She was with him before his terrible accident and she stayed with him after. At first I thought he left her because she refused to be with him in his 'dying' moments, but he admits to leaving her because she's not as attractive as Laurie, which is just SO fucked up. It's also believed Jon gave her cancer, which she's dying from, but it was actually Adrian in his twisted plan to heal the world.

67. Barnes (Terminator Salvation)

"I didn't catch that last part."

Barnes is John Connor's right hand man in the resistance and is loyal to him with every decision he makes. With his brother dying early on in the film, his hatred for the machines makes things difficult when Blair tries to rescue Marcus. However once John deems Marcus ok, so does Barnes and he continues his job in the war against the machines.

66. ZOG (Astro Boy)

"I'm old school."

ZOG was one of the first robots ever created and was abandoned on the Surface World when he stopped working. More than fifty years later he gets revived by Astro using his blue core energy and ends up getting an entire makeover by the surface kids. When Hamegg proves to be a jerk, ZOG saves Astro and nearly kills Hamegg but Astro stops him. ZOG saves the day one last time when he uses the same blue core energy to revive Astro back to life.

65. Laird James McCullen XXIV/Destro (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"I've finally taken my place in the long line of McCullens."

Destro comes from a long line of weapon dealers who happens to be very power hungry. To have the world's leaders on their knees, he tricks the U.S. military to fund his work on the nanobite warheads then steals them back once they're finished. This starts an all out war with the G.I. Joe's. He successfully manages to bring down the Eiffel Tower in Paris but ends up burning most of his face off when he goes against Duke in his jealous rage over Ana. The Doctor saves him and uses the nanobite technology to harden his face, turning him to Destro soon after. And even after that, he gets arrested by the Joe's and is taken to a high guarded prison.

64. General Ashdown (Terminator Salvation)

"This is war, Connor. Leadership has its costs."

Many people in the resistance believe John Connor is the key to ending the war, General Ashdown isn't one of them. In fact, he flat out tells John that he believes he's actually a fake prophet. Since he's a leader of the resistance, you can see how this has them butt heads, especially when it comes to destroying Skynet Headquarters. At first they're on the same page but when John discovers there are human prisoners, including his future father, he tries to stop Ashdown, who believes casualties are necessary. In the end it's Ashdown and his leader that end up being casualties when they accidentally gives themselves up, allowing Skynet to blow them up.

63. Scott Summers/Cyclops and Emma Silverfox (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"I can do this!"

It's our first time seeing a young Scott Summers and an Emma who isn't Emma Frost that can harden her skin to diamond. They're both kidnapped by Victor to be experimented by Stryker for Deadpool, Scott's optic blasts eventually making the cut. When Wolverine frees them, they take off with the other young mutants, Emma using her diamond skin to block students and Scott blasting away the shooters. Eventually they run into Professor X who takes them with him to his school of mutants.

62. Lord Piccolo (Dragonball: Evolution)

"With this Dragon Ball, I take my vengeance upon the Earth."

Once again we have a villain that was absolutely BORING!!! Nearly every time Piccolo was on the screen I got bored and there was a least one scene that my eyes got heavy and threatened to glaze over. For someone who was trapped for a thousand years, he was very calm once he was free. He spends the whole movie collecting the Dragon Balls only to be stopped pretty easily in the end.

61. Big Figure (Watchmen)

"While everyone's distracted, we thought we'd bring you a little housewarming gift."

Many criminals were put in jail because of Rorschach and Big Figure was one of them. When Rorschach is thrown in the same jail, Big Figure wastes no time in trying to kill him with his goons. His plan fails horribly, and he ends up getting killed by Rorschach by the end of it. They don't show what happens, only that there's a lot of blood and toilet water so the rest is really up to the imagination.

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deltoras · 7 years

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Rae-Today at 9:53 PM

So I just finished watching the Count of Monte Cristo anime

And like

I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS FUNIMATION

Bladesong-Today at 9:53 PM

LOL

Rae-Today at 9:53 PM

Have you seen it?

Bladesong-Today at 9:53 PM

no I have not O:

Rae-Today at 9:54 PM

Do you plan on seeing it?

Bladesong-Today at 9:54 PM

talk to me about it O: I wanna know what's up

Rae-Today at 9:54 PM

Coo

Everyone's gay

Just a little bit

Some of them more than others

None of the girls though

THIS ANIME

PROUDLY FEATURES

MALE HOMOSEXUALITY

TRANSEXUAL

AND THAT'S PRETTY NEAT RIGHT

THE TRANS ISN'T USED AS A BUTT OF A TON OF JOKES SO THAT'S COOL

Anyways

So it's super good

Many plot twists

Fucking mind blowing

Bladesong-Today at 9:55 PM

sEE NOW YOU GOT ME INTERESTED

Rae-Today at 9:56 PM

QUESTIONABLE FEELINGS OF SHIPPING THE COUNT WITH ALBERT

WHOSE AGE WAS UNCERTAIN UNTIL THE LAST 4 EPISODES

AND WHEN WE FIND OUT HE'S 16 I'M LIKE "LOLNO"

Affairs out the ass

Every single person has had an affair at least once

Albert's BFF is gay for him

SPOILER ALERT

I said that too late sorry

Anyways

So this banker doesn't like touching his wife more than once every decade

So he pays this politician who's an absolute womanizer to do it for him

And he's like "coo coo" so he does it lots

And the wife is coo with it because the guy is young and hot and a ginge

REPRESENT

anyways

And then eventually the ginger is like "Naw man I don't wanna fuck yo wife" and fucks off somewhere

Last scene he was in he was like

In a library

So I assumed he was there for the next 8 episodes

Oh but he poked his head out once for a wedding that didn't happen

AND OH BOY

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THAT WEDDING

So this guy gets hauled out of jail by the count to fuck up the banker's famiy

And he's all too willing to do that

And he does just that

By like

Fucking the wife

Just once though

Rae-Today at 10:00 PM

and like

their daughter was engaged (forcibly) to the general's son

(But then they fell in love anyways? So it was cool)

But then the general and banker aren't cool with each other anymore

And the banker starts to lose all of his money

100% of it

All

Bladesong-Today at 10:01 PM

omg see this is some interesting shit and now I'm interested to watchu its ur fault lmfao

Rae-Today at 10:01 PM

And he hurriedly gets his daughter to marry the count's jail bird that fucked his wife (but he doesn't know any of that shit, he thinks he's an aristocrat)

I CAN RUIN IT FOR YOU SO YOU WON'T?

BECAUSE I AM JUST 2 STEPS AWAY FROM A MIND-BLOWING FACTALOID

Bladesong-Today at 10:01 PM

GIMME MORE

Rae-Today at 10:02 PM

Kay so the guy is gonna marry the banker's daughter (who isn't chill with that plan) and it's after the marriage is announced that the guy is like "I'M GONNA GO FUCK MY SOON TO BE MOM IN LAW"

And so he goes and like

Calls her mommy

LOL

And she's like "Call me Candice" or whatever her name is

And he's like "Uh *boobgrab*” and then it fades out

Bladesong-Today at 10:03 PM

JKYGKJHKJNKJN

Rae-Today at 10:03 PM

SO WEDDING DAY YAY

AND THE GENERAL'S SON IS LIKE "NO I LOVE HER" AND DRESSES UP IN A MAID OUTFIT AND RUNS AWAY WITH HER

Bladesong-Today at 10:03 PM

LMFAO

Rae-Today at 10:03 PM

And then buttfuck mcgee gets arrested because

He frauded on a ton of shit

And was a larson

And murdered

LOL

So come trial time

BUT WAIT IT'S NOT HIS TRIAL

IT'S THE TRIAL OF A VERY WELL-RESPECTED PROSECUTOR

HE'S BEING TRIED FOR TRYING TO MURDER HIS WIFE AND KILLING HIS SERVANT

Which he totally didn't do but he's getting dinged for it

And he's playing it cool, being his own advocate like a badass

And then As a character witness

They bring it buttfuck mcgee

And he's like "MY CHILDHOOD WAS AWFUL"And the prostitutor guy is like "so?" and buttfuck says "YOU MY DADDY! YOU HAD AN AFFAIR WITH THE BANKER'S WIFE AND SHE GAVE BIRTH TO ME AND THEN YOU PUT ME IN A COFFIN AND BURIED ME ALIVE"

AND THE BANKER'S WIFE IS THERE ALL SCANDELOUS

AND SHE'S ABOUT TO SAY SOMETHING BUT THE GUY GIVES HER A LOOK AND SUDDENLY SHE REMEMBERS HE WAS BALLS DEEP IN HER PUSS THE OTHER NIGHT SO SHE CLAMS UP

Bladesong-Today at 10:06 PM

ODJDDKJKJ

Rae-Today at 10:07 PM

And then the prostitot and the insest boy have like

A heart to heart

And they hug it out

And then insestuous stabs prosticute

with a needle from his hair

That's poisoned

Bladesong-Today at 10:08 PM

wHOA

Rae-Today at 10:08 PM

So anyways

Fast forward 2 episodes

General's son and the count are like

Battling morals (heads up, son is losing)

He's trying to convince the count to give up his revenge spree (although he's SO LATE LMFAO JUST SO LATE EVERYONE ELSE IS SCREWED EXCEPT HIM)

And the count is like "Nah dawg I'm not the count anymore I'm this demon that has been heavily referenced throughout the entire show but now I'm fully manifested inside him."

And the general's son is like "I KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY WANT" and like

Hugs it out

But then he goes "Sike Imma kiss you" and kisses him

And the count is just

Bladesong-Today at 10:10 PM

HBJHFFD

Rae-Today at 10:11 PM

So repulsed by the pedophilia moment

that he starts to fucking die

Bladesong-Today at 10:11 PM

UHUIHUYYTRDED

Rae-Today at 10:11 PM

AND AS HE'S DYING

HE'S LIKE "COURTNEY! COURTNEY GET ME MY SWORD! I'M GONNA STAB HIM. HE GOTTA DIE"

and the general's son is like "I PROMISEI'LL LIVE ON

AND BE STRONG

AND I'LL HONOUR YOU

BECAUSE YOU'RE MY BFF"

Meanwhile, homedawg who was totally gay for the general's son FUCKING DIED FOR HIM BY DUELLING THE COUNT IN HIS PLACE BECAUSE HE KNEW THE COUNT WAS GONNA KILL HOME SLICE BUT HE WAS LIKE "I CAN'T LIVE LIFE WITHOUT YOU SO I'D RATHER DIE FOR YOU" AND HE NEVER EVEN GOT AN ACTUAL HUG EVER

THEN THIS ASSHOLE

GOES AND KISSES DEMON FACE

AND KILLS HIM

Bladesong-Today at 10:13 PM

UGTFYCRDR

Rae-Today at 10:13 PM

But yeah that's about it

Oh yeah

There's a scene where the count whispers shit in this one lady's ear after talking to her about poison flowers

And then the next scene is her fucking finger banging herself to thoughts of it

And then

The count gives this guy like

Bladesong-Today at 10:14 PM

FINGJSND

Rae-Today at 10:14 PM

29837429849872349872934 dollars of gold

in a spaceship

Bladesong-Today at 10:15 PM

A SPACESHIP

Rae-Today at 10:15 PM

and as he's floating away in space because he can't pilot ithe gets naked

and rolls in the gold

Bladesong-Today at 10:15 PM

what the FUCK

Rae-Today at 10:15 PM

LGuy straight up is grinding the gold bars between his legs too as he's kissing some other ones and I'm like "okay guy"

I mean

Same

But just

Priorities, man

Bladesong-Today at 10:16 PM

IS HE SCROOGE MCDUCK

Rae-Today at 10:16 PM

Probs

He's a ginger too but I like to think he dyes his hair

But yeah 10/10 would watch again

#COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO ANIME SPOILERS BELOW THE READ MORE #This is my recounting the anime's events #I glaze over a few things #but yeah #that anime fucked my skull holes

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devils-gatemedia · 6 years

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Spoiler alert! Haken are awesome. They certainly were tonight (and every other time I’ve seen them live). Of course, I can’t make such an assertive and argumentative statement without the ability to back it up factually, so here goes: Haken are awesome. Fact!

Hot from their South American dates culminating in their Cruise To The Edge stint in the Gulf of Mexico, Haken (say it like Kevin Bacon) visit the cooler climes of Glasgow tonight for their show at St. Luke’s – a relatively attractive graded structure with its backdrop of stained glass windows and original pipe organ (not used tonight). There’s something profound about a building once used for religious activities now used for a different kind of religion – prog!

Tonight’s congregation comprise of elders of prog and worshippers of metal alike all apparently eager to witness Haken’s sermon of soaring melodies and searing riffage. It’s also pleasing to see a good compliment of younger fans there, ensuring the gospel according to Haken is being spread from generation to generation. This is unsurprising however, since their music spans the gamut of rock/metal, from Periphery-style djent chugging to gentler passages more synonymous with the old guard of progressive rock.

Their 2016 album ‘Affinity’ shifted gears quite considerably to a more aggressive, edgy style. These elements have always been present in their earlier work, but not to such a degree. Their latest offering, ‘Vector’, again moves in this direction, although still maintaining the foundations of their open-minded style, infused with complex arrangements and quirky moments. These are features that may cause some apprehension in the predominantly metal side of the fan base, but conversely, there are those not entirely at ease with Haken’s definite swing to a chunkier sound.

Tonight however, the audience is gathered together for an evening of great music provided by Haken and their support acts, Vola and Bent Knee. I’d never actually heard either support band before, although I was aware of the online chatter regarding Bent Knee, so I was curious to hear what they were offering.

They entered the stage to a cacophony of keyboard noise and a surprisingly reserved murmur from the audience. I’m not sure many knew what to expect from them. Bent Knee first appears as an odd assemblage of characters which probably matches their style of music, which I can only describe as avant-garde. A breath of fresh prog air perhaps as they launch headfirst into their startlingly raucous set. The music is comprised of twists and turns, time signature changes and bizarre vocals, which I couldn’t actually make out most of the time due to them being awash with effects and processing.

The stage at St. Luke’s is not large by any means, and accommodating a group of six members and their equipment in front of Haken’s gear was an exercise in shoe-horning. Poor rhythm guitarist and sound designer Vince Welch must have drawn the short straw, and was stuck somewhat awkwardly at the back of the stage. The lack of space didn’t seem to bother the band however, as was evident by the amount of fun they were having, with Levin leaping about in his designated spot and the smiles on everyone’s faces, which is always great to see. It’s fair to say they were enjoying themselves and the Scottish reaction.

There were elements of traditional prog definitely, but not as we know it, Jim. This transcended prog, entering a seemingly new dimension of experimentation and slightly unsettling guitar chord structures, shifts in tempos and tone but balanced by lush melodies and washes of keyboards. The musicianship is first class however (both vocalist Courtney Swain and guitarist Ben Levin attended Berklee College of Music) and despite sections of ostensibly random note selections and discordance, it was also amazingly tight and together. By the end of their set, the audience were won over, as the applause and cheers clearly indicated.

The downside to touring as support is that once your part of the show is finished your job isn’t done yet. The band dons their roadie hat and starts the task of dismantling their equipment to clear the stage for the next band in full view of the crowd.

And the next band on this bill is the Danish/Swedish Vola. Playing as a three-piece tonight (and most of the current tour apparently) the lack of keyboardist Martin Werner didn’t seem to distract from the mass and volume of their music. (Backing tracks have their uses!) Kicking off with ‘Starburn’, with its beautifully melodic intro before smashing into a metallic riff underpinned by syncopated rhythm patterns, as is prevalent in many if the harder-edged prog bands these days. Singer/guitarist Asker Mygind has a great voice that can more than handle the smattering of screams throughout the set.

Playing songs from their two albums, 2017’s ‘Inmazes’ and last year’s ‘Applause Of A Distant Crowd’, they next launch into ‘Smartfriend’, continuing with the rhythmic syncopation right through their 40 minute slot. Describing their music would again be a tricky endeavour; combining progressive rock and 70’s infused rock intertwined with more modern industrial themes and contemporary metal grunt. I gave up trying to follow the time signatures and instead just wallowed in the mostly excellent tunes.

Vola had a good number of fans in the audience and did not disappoint them. Ending with the stonking ‘Stray The Skies’ they confirmed their status as one of the more exciting new prog bands around.

After a short break while the road crew set the stage up for tonight’s headliners, the lights dim to a slightly manic and digital rendition of the William Tell Overture. This mania fits with the theme of Haken’s latest offering, ‘Vector’, a dive into the world of psychosis and human experimentation.

The short instrumental album opener, ‘Clear’, fills our ears and gets the crowd cheering, ready for what is to follow. The organ pipes at the back of the stage absolutely compliment the organ playing in this tune almost as if it was part of the stage show. As the band members appear on stage to rapturous applause, they head straight into the next track ‘The Good Doctor’. The 80’s synth drum sounds so prevalent on ‘Affinity’ are also heard in this song. Somewhat amusingly, it works. And why not?

It’s during ‘Puzzle Box’ that you really get a sense of how incredible these musicians are. Drummer, Ray Hearne and bassist Connor Green lock together effortlessly in the stuttering rhythmic passages, while guitarists Charles Griffiths and Richard Henshall trade riffs and solos on their 7 and 8 string axes. As with most of the songs from ‘Vector’, there is almost a sense of stifling complexity, and one can’t help feeling it’s just a matter of time before somebody screws up and brings the whole thing to a grinding halt. But it doesn’t. Instead, we are treated to an exercise in virtual perfection.

They take a trip back to their 2014 album ‘The Mountain’ for the lengthy ‘Falling Back To Earth’, before launching into a doozy of an instrumental, ‘Nil By Mouth’. This wouldn’t seem out of place on a Periphery album with its jarring chunky groove and intricate rhythms.

Singer, Ross Jennings returns to the stage for ‘1985’ from ‘Affinity’, complete with 80’s specs that light up. He throws a couple of extra pairs into the audience so the lucky recipients can share in the fun. This throwback of 40 years is done so well, complete with the aforementioned synth drums and guitar solo sounding like it’s from a Mike Post TV show theme tune.

The twelve and a half minute, Dream Theater flavoured ‘Veil’ follows, displaying again a faultless performance. We are treated to an unleashed Diego Tejeida, who comes forward sporting a very black metal looking keytar, complete with little skulls all over it. Diego is having a whale of a time during the show, engaging with the crowd almost as much as Jennings.

Surprisingly, to me anyway, Haken play through Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’, and do an excellent job of making it sound like one of their own tracks. After performing ‘The Architect’, they leave the stage for the obligatory tension building gap before the encore. They return minutes later for the grand finale of ‘Crystallised’ from the ‘Restoration’ EP before calling it a night.

This was a skilful and faultless presentation of progressive music of the highest technical order. The fact Haken made it look so easy and so much fun is why they are cementing themselves as one of the most prominent prog metal bands in the genre. Their move toward a heavier sound has now initiated mosh pits and crowd-surfing, neither of which I expected at a Haken show. Sadly, my glasses came a cropper during an overhead surfer assault. I eventually found them so twisted you needed a head shaped like a corkscrew to wear them! As twisted as Haken’s music is, and despite the mathematically precise complexity of the instrumentation, they still manage to write great (and listenable) songs. The audience left St. Luke’s fully satisfied tonight, and probably already thinking about the next Haken UK tour.

Review: Tony Hodges

Images: Lara Vischi

Live Review: Haken – St Luke’s, Glasgow Spoiler alert! Haken are awesome. They certainly were tonight (and every other time I’ve seen them live).

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