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focsle · 3 years

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[ID: screenshot of @kittokatsu saying: I would like to hear about the other coincidences if you wish to share!]

I’m gonna stick these under a readmore I think just cos while Im happy to share I’d prefer that people don’t rebl it!

This is a long game, but over the years I’ve cobbled together a career largely in public history. It’s not a field I expected to be in, it’s not one I have ANY academic background in (I went to art school that had like…Baby High School-Level humanities classes I…REALLY do not have a rigorous academic background at all), but I stumbled into it by being a passionate nerd I guess.

In 2014 I had been a year out of school and was anxiously wallowing through my options as far as what I was doing with my life. But also was working on The Whaling Comic (though a much different iteration than what I’m drawing now). I went to a historic house museum (that has nothing to do with whaling but the time period was right) to get interior reference pictures for said whaling comic. Fell in love with said house. Volunteered there once a week. Even though I was tremendously shy from the ages of 12-22 I suddenly realized that I wasn’t when I was talking to people about history. My relationship with that house later launched my career in working in various historical spaces and at various museums, and that work equipped me with an understanding I didn’t have from my prior educational background about how to find out about plain old everyday people from the past. I learned what resources and records I had access to, how to read them properly, how to navigate federal and state census and cross reference them with ward maps and fire insurance maps to find old addresses in the past when enumerators didn’t initially list them and when the streets and house numbers changed over the decades. I learned what city directories were, how to use those, all this stuff. These are the things I ultimately used to find out about William’s life based off the pieces of personal info in his journal (I knew he was a New Yorker, that’s it. Everything else came from my own research)

While reading his journal I knew, historically, what he was talking about in ways I wouldn’t have prior to my obtaining this background in my city’s history. I knew the developmental history of the specific neighborhood he lived in without needing further background. And the eeriest thing was when I was looking through city directories to see other potential addresses the fam may have lived at, I found his father by chance…running his physician’s practice DIRECTLY across the street from the historic house where I got my start in this all in 2014, and the family lived very nearby to that house. His father was a contemporary of the patriarch of said house. I went to that house cos of whaling reference pictures, fell into public history through it, used what I learned through osmosis in that work to find out about a specific whaler 8 years later, and was led directly back to the beginning of that circle. So that’s what made me feel like I was…meant to find this journal. First coincidence.

So…I write a little blog post about the parts of his journal I found most interesting in December. I leave off a copy of the book he said he wanted to read and didn‘t get the chance to at the family plot. And I think that, with that, I’ve told his story. I’m all done, and that’s as much of a closure as either of us is gonna get.

Then 2 1/2 months later, mid March, I am suddenly seized with the need to transcribe the entire journal. I hadn’t thought I was gonna engage with it like that again but I just…suddenly felt like I needed to, and that I needed to do it soon. So I transcribe the thing in three days. And having spent so much close time with it, when I get to the end I feel like the timing of his death doesn’t make sense to me anymore. His last journal entry is on Feb 17th. The captain says he dies suddenly ‘about April 13’, the ‘about‘ telling me that this is recorded sometime after the fact. The ship goes into port in Talcahuano from Feb 22nd to March 9th. And I just feel like, after reading what he wrote through the whole journal, there is NO way William would have nothing to say in the weeks that followed about being in a port for the first time in 6 months, in a new country and continent, when earlier he was writing journal entries about just like ‘saw a bird today…got rained on today’. Him not writing anything about things that were frankly probably among the most exciting parts of his voyage so far for two whole months seems highly uncharacteristic.

At the back of his journal he had drawn a calendar since the voyage began, and had mapped it out to the beginning of July, 1857. Every single day, regardless of if he wrote a journal entry or not, he consistently made a visual mark over the day as it passed. When those visual marks stop, it’s on March 12th. Which again seems strange for him to suddenly stop marking those days when he didnt miss a single one before. And then when I counted back MY days to when I had this immediate compulsion to transcribe his whole journal and resolved to do it, it was on March 13th. My suspicion that his death happened around that day came AFTER my resolution to transcribe the journal. So that’s the second coincidence that spooked me a bit. There’s no way to say for sure, and my thoughts on his death date are only my thoughts—if I was being less wooey I’d go by the information the captain put down because that’s more concrete. But again it’s a weird intersection of dates.

So now I’m sort of…being very open to anything else that comes my way.

#my bff william

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fandom-imagines-stories · 4 years

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Simple Man

Dean Winchester x Reader

Words: 3351

Summary: It was never what he thought he would have. But now Dean doesn’t want to let go.

Notes: I was going to wait and make this a Thanksgiving special, but I thought today would be more fitting. I can’t believe Supernatural ends tonight! This show has been a part of my life for a while now and it will forever stay in my heart. I had a really really good time writing this one. It might be one of my favorites I’ve written for Dean, if not my top pick. I hope you guys enjoy it and look forward to seeing more. Carry on.

Want more Supernatural? Find it HERE

(P.S. thank you to my beta reader @suckmysupernatural. Love you!)

Oh, take your time, don’t live to fast

Troubles will come and they will pass

He had slept through an alarm he didn’t remember setting. It wasn’t until he heard the creaking of the door that he stirred, reaching under his pillow for his knife. But it wasn’t there. Dean panicked as footsteps crept towards him. They were nothing more than a small pitter-patter on the wood floor, but he still prepared himself for the attack. The small creature leapt on top of him and he rolled over so he was pinning it beneath him. It giggled. It giggled?

“Daddy, Mom said she needs you in the kitchen.”

Dean leaned over to the night stand and turned on the lamp. A little green eyed girl squirmed out from underneath him and skipped out of the room.

“The hell…” Dean muttered. He opened the dresser and sure enough, his clothes sat in the drawers. He put on a T-shirt and slowly walked out of the room. The smell of bacon and coffee coaxed him to the kitchen. He couldn’t believe what he saw.

You were standing over the stove, trying to save the bacon from burning. Dean was just frozen in the doorway. Finally spotting him, you made your way over to him, which was difficult with the little boy clinging to your leg.

“Thank God you’re up. I need you to finish making breakfast.” You lifted the boy into your arms. “Eric’s got a fever and Ellie is going to wake up any second needing to be fed.” You gently laid a hand on Eric’s forehead. “I’ll call the doctor as soon as I get him to lay down. But you know how impossible that is.”

“But I’m not tired.” Eric whined.

“I know, sweetie, but you don’t want to get sicker, do you?” He pouted his lip and shook his head. “Alright, so I need you to go back to bed.” You looked back at Dean. “Can you just finish the bacon? I’ll be back to make their toast.”

Before Dean could speak, you rushed up the stairs. As if on queue, a baby started to cry from somewhere upstairs. Dean just stood in shock. What the hell was going on?

As if by second nature, he walked around the kitchen, grabbing a paper towel to let the bacon drain off the grease. It felt almost natural. He somehow knew where everything was, even though he had never been here. Or had he? His brain was fuzzy with thoughts he couldn't remember. He saw images flash in his mind. Sam graduating from Stanford. His parents celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. You… in a wedding dress.

“Johanna Charlotte Winchester you better be ready for school or your dad’s going to come and get you!” You yelled, coming back into the kitchen, this time a wailing baby in your arms. It wasn’t until now that Dean noticed you were wearing a sheriff’s uniform. You snatched up a piece of bacon and popped it in your mouth. “Thank you.”

You bounced the baby in your arms, trying to calm her down, but she wasn’t having it. The green eyed little girl from early came bounding into the room with her backpack over one shoulder. Ellie continued to bawl.

“Can you hold her? She always stops crying when you hold her.” You handed the squirming child to him and he tried not to panic. You noticed your husband’s awkwardness. “Rough morning?” You snickered. “Here, I’ll make you some coffee.”

As the child in his arms slowly stopped her crying, more memories flooded Dean’s head. You telling him you were pregnant for the first time. Going to the emergency room for the birth of his son. Watching Johanna hold her new baby sister. They all felt like dreams, but then how was this all real?

“I’m feeling a little... off this morning.” He admitted, watching you carefully as if he were waiting for horns to sprout from your forehead. Your face fell.

“Oh god, please don’t tell me you’re sick too.” You put your hand on his forehead. “You’re picking everyone up from the airport today.”

“Everyone?” Dean’s brows furrowed curiously.

“I would go get them, but I’m at the station until five.” You sighed, moving your hand down to caress his cheek. “Besides, you’ve been dying to see your brother since the Fourth of July.”

“Uncle Sam!” Jo exclaimed excitedly.

“Sammy’s coming?” Dean asked. Finally, something familiar. Your face contorted with confusion.

“Of course he’s coming. Jessica and the kids are too. They always help prepare for tomorrow and since your parents will still be out on their cruise, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“Tomorrow...” He spotted the calendar on the wall, but you answered first.

“Thanksgiving.” You stated. Your confusion changed to concern. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want me to stay home?” Jo raised her hand.

“Can I stay home too?”

“Sweetheart, it’s just one more half-day of school before break and then you’ll get to play with your cousins for the rest of the week.” Seeing you start to get stressed, Dean put a hand on your shoulder.

“You go to work. I’m fine.” He assured you. “I’ll hold down the fort and I’ll pick up Sam at- what time again?”

“3:00.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled. “I know you worked extra last week so you could have the garage closed for Thanksgiving, but I think the fumes might have gone to your head.” You grabbed the keys off the counter. “Oh, and I’ll be taking Baby to work since you’ll need the van to fit everyone.” His look of displeasure made you laugh. “I know, I know, but you’ll have to suck it up for today unless you think the four-year-old can babysit.”

You kiss Ellie on the forehead before giving Dean a quick, but passionate kiss on the lips. You held out your hand for your daughter to take.

“Alright, partner, let’s go.”

The two of you leave and Dean looks down at the baby in his arms. Was this really happening?

Boy don’t you worry, you’ll find yourself

Follow your heart and nothing else

If he was trapped by a djinn, he would have remembered fighting it. This was something else. The more time he spent in the house, the more this world felt real and his hunting life felt like dreams. Maybe… maybe this was real.

He remembered everything now. He had met you in a bar on New Years Eve. You hit it off talking about cars and classic rock. He proposed about two years later outside that same bar during the first snow of the season. You always said the first snow was the best one. You got married and a couple months later found out you were pregnant with Jo. Johanna Charlotte Winchester was born on April 3, 2007. She was seven. Three years later, Eric Samuel was born on November 29th. He was four. Lastly, Ellen Sandra was born six months ago tomorrow on May 27, 2014.

Sammy had a family of his own. He married Jessica right out of law school and the two had two boys; Josh, 8, and Michael, 6. Their families stayed close, even though Sam was in California and Dean in Kansas. They were happy.

If this wasn’t real, how could he remember all that?

3:00 rolled around and Eric’s fever had gone down. He called you to make sure it would be okay to take him along to the airport. You told him that as long as he was feeling okay, it should be fine. The doctor said it sounded like the heat in his room was too high. Dean buckled Eric into his carseat and Ellie in her carrier. While Johanna almost looked like a mini-girl version of him, Eric looked like you. His eyes were yours, along with his hair color and his nose. Ellie looked like a fair mix of both.

Jessica was the first one to greet him since Sam was busy carrying the boys’ bags. He hugged her tight and couldn’t stop beaming.

“It’s so good to see you guys.” He smiled and she gave him a sunny grin in return.

“I know Sam’s been eager to see you and the family for a long time. Of course, I’m only here for the food.” She teased and he pulled her into another hug.

“I can’t believe this.” Dean sighed happily. Sam and Jessica. Him and you. One big happy family.

“Do I get a hug, or are just going to hog my wife?” Sam snarked, setting down the bags as Dean nearly tackled him. Sam laughed, struggling to breathe in his brother’s crushing hug. “I missed you too, Dean.”

“Uncle Sam!” Eric cheered, clinging to Sam’s leg.

“Hey buddy.” Sam smiled, lifting his nephew into his arms. Jessica peaked into the baby carrier Dean had set on the bench.

“Look at how big she’s gotten.” She awed. Ellie was asleep, so she spoke quietly. Jess frowned, finally noticing the two brown haired boys fighting over one of their comics. “Josh, stop pushing your brother.” She scolded.

“He took my comic!” The older of the two retorted. Jessica just gave him a stern look and he surrendered.

“Michael, give it back when you’re done reading.” Sam ruffled his youngest son’s hair. Dean knelt down.

“So are you two tough guys too cool to give your uncle a hug, or what?” He pulled his nephews into a warm embrace. “Are you both taller? You’re taller than the last time I saw you.” Dean pat Josh on the back. “You’re gonna be taller than your dad before you know it.”

“You know, you’d see them more if you flew out to California.” Jessica noted. Dean’s eyes widened. She laughed. “I know, I know, you have a thing about flying.”

“I want to go to California!” Eric exclaimed.

“One of these days, we can go on a roadtrip in Baby to Uncle Sam and Aunt Jessica’s, how does that sound?” Dean promised. Eric nodded, excitedly wriggling in Sam’s arms.

Everyone loaded up into the van, Sam sliding into the passenger seat. Dean had to laugh. This was just so crazy. Here they were, driving in a van packed full of children. Their children. He thought of all of the times Sam sat beside him in the impala, the two weary from a hunt. It felt like a different lifetime. Like a different world. It felt less real.

You’ll find a woman and you’ll find love

And don’t forget son, there is someone up above

Four children ran around the backyard, jumping in leaf piles and chasing each other with sticks. Jo seemed to rule the yard, keeping her older cousin at bay with her stubborn persistence. Dean smiled proudly.

“She’s quite the pistol.” Jessica noted with a laugh, jutting her head towards Johanna. She was sitting beside you, bouncing her baby niece in her arms.

“I wonder where she gets that from.” You gave your husband a smirk. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“I love you so much.” He whispered. The tone in his voice made you glance up at him. He was watching you with intensity in his eyes. So much love and yet… there was pain there.

“I love you too.” You laced your fingers with his, your concern evident in your voice. “Dean, are you okay? You’ve been acting a little weird all day.” You spoke quietly so you wouldn’t worry your brother-in-law. Your husband gave your hand a gentle squeeze.

“I’m fine, really. I’m just…” Dean felt an overwhelming wave of emotion and choked back tears. “Really happy.” He lifted your chin up, bringing your lips to his. Everything was perfect, right down to the way your lips fit perfectly against his. He knew, without a doubt, that this was real.

Soon it was time to put the kids to bed. Sam’s boys slept on the pull-out couch in the basement. Eric was exhausted from a day of excitement, as well as his baby sister. Dean was charged with the task of putting a rambunctious Johanna to bed.

“I want to stay up and drink beer like a big kid.” She pouted, making the adults in the room chuckle. Dean crouched down and picked her up.

“Alright, here’s the deal. I promise that when you’re a big kid like me and your mom, then you can stay up and have a drink with us. But until then, you’re gonna be my little deputy right?” He tapped the golden plastic badge that she never took off. Jo grinned from ear to ear and nodded. Humming a Bob Segar tune, he took her upstairs to her room and tucked her into bed.

When he came back down stairs, his brother and the two women were smirking at him.

“What?” You and Jessica exchanged a look and burst out laughing. “Come on, what?”

“That girl has you wrapped around her finger, Dean.” Jessica snickered. You took a sip of your beer.

“Oh, he’s like that with Ellie, too. He dotes on them like you wouldn’t believe. One little pout from Johanna and he melts.” You couldn’t help but beam at your husband. You loved the way he was with the kids.

“I got her in bed, didn’t I?” Dean huffed, taking his seat beside you and resting a hand on your knee. Sam shook his head.

“It’s all in the looks, brother. You may think you’ve one this round, but I saw the look in Jo’s eyes.” Sam gave his brother a sure nod. “She knows where she stands.”

“At least I’ve got Eric,” You sighed teasingly. “He’s a mama's boy, through and through.”

You curled up beside Dean, comfortable in his warmth. He kissed the top of your head.

The hours passed with plenty of laughter and love. Soon, it was getting close to 11:00 and you wanted to get plenty of rest for the busy day tomorrow. Everyone would be helping prepare the massive Thanksgiving meal that the Winchesters made every year. Sam and Jessica said goodnight and headed to the guest room while you and Dean made your way upstairs.

You reached your rooms and Dean’s hands found your waist, his lips trailing up your shoulder to your neck. You leaned back into his embrace, bringing your hand up to tangle your fingers in his golden-brown hair. His hands started to wander and you sighed mournfully.

“Baby, we both have to be up in the morning.” You groaned, breaking away from him. When you turned around, he was pouting, his green eyes big and sad. So that’s where Johanna got it. He was just so impossible to resist, but if you didn’t go to bed now, you’d be exhausted before dinner even started. You draped your arms around his neck. “I’ll tell you what; how about we get a good night’s sleep tonight…” you pulled him close and whispered into his ear, “and I’ll give you something to be really thankful for tomorrow.”

Dean’s eyes widened and his smirk spread into a smile.

“Mrs. Winchester, we have a deal.” He loved the way that sounded coming from his lips. Mrs. Winchester.

You gave him a long and passionate goodnight kiss before changing into your pajamas and climbing into bed.

It must have been around 12:30 when the baby started crying. The baby monitor was on your nightstand, so you were awakened by the sound first. Dean moved to get up, but you stopped him.

“I’ll get her.” You sleepily shuffled out of the bedroom. Reaching the hall, you muttered something that your half-asleep husband only half comprehended. Something about the electricity acting up again.

The crying continued and you didn’t return. Dean yawned, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes and got out of bed. He slowly made his way down the hallway to the nursery. The door was ajar and the lamp had been turned on. You must have gone downstairs to get her a bottle.

Dean picked up his crying daughter, rocking her soothingly in his arms. She wailed and wailed until she heard his voice.

“Alright, sweetheart. It’s alright. Daddy’s got you.” He hushed. After a moment of rocking and soft whispers, Ellie started to settle down. As soon as her cries reduced to the occasional sniff, Dean set her back in her cradle. “That’s it. You’re going to be just fine. I’m not gonna let anything hurt you.”

Smiling down at his beautiful baby girl, Dean felt something on the back of his neck. When he touched it, his hand came away red. He froze, and as if his body went into auto pilot, he turned around. At first he couldn’t scream. He just stared.

Your mouth gaped at him, your eyes filled with terror and pain as the blood spread out from your stomach. Ellie started to cry again.

“No!” Dean screamed. That’s when the fire started.

And that’s when he woke up.

And be a simple kind of man

Oh, be something you love and understand

Dean sat straight up, sweat soaking through his t-shirt, his scream still on his lips. The cool air of the bunker made him shiver. He couldn’t breathe. He heaved and coughed as if the smoke really filled his lungs. A sudden hand on his shoulder made him jump out of the bed and flatten himself against the wall, holding out his fists to fight.

“Dean?” You rose slowly, walking towards him cautiously. “It’s okay. It was just a dream. You’re okay.”

He just stared at you, taking in every feature. You watched his eyes fill with tears and his chin tremble as he tried to speak. Nothing came out, just a strangled sounding cry. Dean fell to his knees and you rushed to hold him. Whatever it was, it wasn’t just a nightmare.

Dean wrapped his arms around your middle and leaned his head against your stomach as you soothingly ran your fingers through his hair. He didn’t make any sound as he cried, but the tears fell endlessly down his face. He was shaking in your arms.

“Dean, honey, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” You whispered. This wasn’t the first time that he’d woken suddenly from a dream, but it had never been like this.

You told him that you were pregnant today. He seemed happy. Shocked, but happy. But now? Whatever was going through his head was breaking him. You sunk down in front of him so you could hold him fully, letting him cry into your shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He finally choked out. “I’m sorry that this is all I can give you. I’m sorry that we don’t have a big house full of kids. That Sam has lost any chance at happiness. That we can never have a normal life.” You pushed back.

“Baby, what are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry that this baby is going to grow up haunted and broken… just like me.” His voice cracked. You put a hand on his cheek.

“Dean…” You pressed your forehead against his, feeling your own tears start to fall. “This baby is going to be loved and wanted and cherished, just like you.” You kissed him gently, reminding him of your adoration of this hero of a man.

Dean held you closer, letting your words sink into his heart. He wanted to believe it. He wanted more than anything to believe it. Even in his beautiful dream, you ended up burned and bloody. Even in his dream, he was broken.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try. He would try like hell to give you a life as close to perfect as he could manage. Maybe that meant hunting together until you went down guns blazing. Maybe that meant settling down, someday, somewhere. He would try.

Baby be a simple kind of man

Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination; @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks Supernatural: @desimarie12; @deandreamernp; @vicmc624; @halesandy; @livshaes; @d-whinchestergirl87; @mrspeacem1nusone

#dean winchester x reader #sam winchester #jessica moore #jensen ackles #supernatural #happy thanksgiving #supernatural imagines #simple man #angst up the waz

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captain-ozone · 3 years

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Fic Writer Review

Thank you for the tag, @flutteringdreams-matw!! I loved reading your review, and I’m stoked to have the opportunity to fill this out myself, too!

1) How many works do you have on AO3? 46. And not all of them have been transferred over from FFN. There’s at least another dozen between multiple fandoms over there, lol.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 656,571. My word.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? When one of your fandoms is DC Comics...Does that count as one or several? LOL. xD

There’s been Merlin, Danny Phantom, Batman (Comics), Young Justice (cartoon), Teen Titans (cartoon), Titans (TV Show), Smallville (TV show), The Justice League (movie), The Flash (Arrowverse TV Show), Miraculous Ladybug, Harry Potter, Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon, Sword Art Online (anime), Blue Exorcist (anime), The Bright Sessions (podcast). Might be missing some.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1. Come Alive (Young Justice) 2. life, if well lived (Batman) 3. On Three (Miraculous Ladybug) 4. a million dreams (Batman) 5. Genesis (Danny Phantom)

@redriotted should be informed that my top two are fics she requested from me via prompts I’m sure neither of us expected I would ever fill. Love you, dear! I credit you for these fics!

5. Which of your fic do you want more attention for? Difficult question for me to answer. I’ve been gifted with lovely feedback on most of my work. I guess if I were to choose one it would be Locking Up the Sun (Batman)? It’s a Fantasy AU. A fantastic exercise in world-building. I had so much fun with it that I’ve been playing with the idea of spinning bits of it into an original work.

6. Do you respond to comments, why or why not? YES. I try to respond to every review and comment I receive. I understand it takes a lot of time and energy for some people, but from the moment I posted my first Merlin fic in 2011, I needed to respond, even if with nothing more than a little thank you. And I’m not about to stop the habit. I met some of my dearest friends responding to reviews. I still meet wonderful people doing so. :) 7. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Uhhhh, I’m not sure? I guess it depends on perspective. Most of my fics end happily, or rather, I am quite heavy-handed on the comfort part of the Hurt/Comfort trope. I do bittersweet more often than I do angst. I wrote a Merlin AU inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray about Uther Pendragon that was pretty angsty? Grief was another one, also in the Merlin fandom. I’m sure there were some in my FFN Merlin oneshot collection Rabbits and Bathroom Breaks that apply, but lord knows I hardly remember half of what I’ve posted in that monster.

8. Do you write crossovers? Once. I wrote a Rise of the Guardians/Frozen crossover with an Elsa/Jack Frost pairing as a gift for a friend. 9. Have you ever received hate on a fic? Oh, of course. Who hasn’t? I’ve been cursed out more than once, too. It always stings, but it’s a matter of stepping back and asking myself: is this constructive? will this make me a better writer? Once you frame the comment/review that way, it’s a bit easier to see that it’s unproductive to linger on it for long. It’s someone’s personal preferences and/or beliefs not aligning with your own. Or someone who can’t quite distance themselves from fiction enough to realize you are not always what you write, nor are you a reflection of the characters/plot you’re writing about.

10. Do you write smut? if so what kind? Rarely, and only as crack or as a joke. Nothing I would ever share in public. RIP Uther Pendragon/Troll fic of circa 2013-2014. I do so wish I’d saved you somewhere safe. 11. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, but I have no idea where they are posted or in what language. Most of the requests came over FFN, so I’m sure they’re available somewhere. In some capacity.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not quite. My friend and I wrote every other line of the aforementioned Uther/Troll fic in a chatroom, if that counts. 13. What’s your all time favorite ship? I’m far more interested in platonic/family relationships in pretty much every fandom I’m in. If I were to choose one? Adam Hayes/Caleb Michaels from The Bright Sessions. Or Barry Allen/Iris West in The Flash.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? *eyes Shift warily*

I KID. I made a promise over half a decade ago, and I intend on keeping it. In all seriousness: A Merlin time-travel fic I started ages upon ages ago. I hardly remember what the point of it was. There is a fun scene I’ve considered posting as a oneshot more than once over the years, though, just because it makes me laugh.

15. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, I think? I love it.

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Imagery/action. Give me a single scene focused on a conversation between two hopeless individuals that need some TLC and let me forget about where they are sitting or if they are sitting at all or if there are things that need describing around them, please and thank you. 17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I’ve done it, in some capacity. I used my knowledge of Latin grammar from old high school classes to try to write spells for Merlin fics. I probably butchered quite a few, lol. I think it’s important to use language as accurately as possible, though, if it were to be used at all. Most of the time I take the lazy man’s route and use dialogue tags and italics, just so I can avoid making ignorant mistakes. As a reader, as long as I have translations in front of me, I’m golden. 18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Merlin. I owe that fandom everything. 19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Come Alive. I don’t know that I have ever had so much fun writing anything in my life. a million dreams (my Flying Grayson time travel tear-jerker) and Not a Bit (my MLB Brothers AU, inspired by the original PV) come in close second. I dig my family feels, obviously. 20. What fic are you most proud of? Shift, my Danny Phantom AU, if only because it’s been seven years since I posted its first chapter. Writing it has felt like pulling teeth at certain points, but it has been with me for a long, long time. Rereading it is like looking at a time lapse of how I’ve developed as a writer, lol. Heart of Gold (Merlin) is another. Before Shift, it was the longest fic I’d ever written, one, and it was my first time really developing an OC/attempting a redemption arc as well. It was far from a perfect fic, but boy did I feel like a queen when I finished it. I’m sure you might’ve done something like this at some point, @cdelphiki, but here you go! @breynekai-tfc, too! And anyone else who sees and wants to share, please do so!

#captainozone #ask game #my writing #fanfic #fic

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kainetestament · 4 years

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Pietro, no Fietro could still possibly be Peter from X-Men Universe… Maybe?

So as revealed in Episode 9 of WandaVision, the identity of Fietro is none other than Ralph Bohner, the husband Agness always mention, and a possible real resident of Westview. WV director Matt Shakman already clarified that the “Bohner” is actually a reference to his 80’s sitcom Growing Pains. But for many fans of Evan Peters, this “Bohner” joke didn’t play well and at the same time, let us breakdown everything that is wrong with this identity of Ralph Bohner and why he’s suspicious despite the claim of WandaVision writers/director that Evan Peters has nothing to do with the mutants or X-Men Universe, after all they always deny everything. They even mentioned that they had no idea that Evan Peters appearance will cause so many theories and everything, which I highly doubt, I mean come on, they made him play QuickSilver in WandaVision when he is QuickSilver himself only of another universe. I don’t dissed ATJ, I love this guy too from his Kickass, Godzilla movie (this is where I first encounter ATJ before his QS role in Avengers), but as a QS, Evan Peters top him, on my opinion at least, he even has his own QS commercials. Also, Evan Peters have more cool QS moments, the Kitchen scene VS the Age of Ultron overall, at least for me, I prefer the kitchen scene and the whiplash part. Anyhow, let us begin:

Note: I edited this post to make this article more easier to read and added additional info.

1. Speculations roaming around that Ralph Bohner could be an aspiring actor because the picture is actually his headshot (which actually looks like his earlier AHS photos). I’m not going to debunk this possibility, but I do not believe it’s a headshot nor he’s an aspiring actor. Although true enough, the image does looks like of Evan Peters early AHS photos (kind of like Tate Langdon) – which is probably a reference to that, who knows.

2. The pile of papers on the side table. It is questionable why would your papers, a bill (a very old bill even - not folded or inside one of those envelopes) and your photos in plain sight where Monica – an outsider can see it? Almost as if you planned it all along and he wanted Monica to see it.

3. Necromancy vs Crystallum Possession. Necromancy is a dark arts of when the person (the Necromancer) can manipulate the dead body of the person, or summoning their spirit. Crystallum Possession however is also part of the dark arts but this time you are using an object (like crystals, gems, stones etc) that is embodied with the user’s spells to manipulate the wearer.

Agatha had told Wanda that what she does is a crystallum possession since necromancy is a no-no due to his brother’s body is on another continent, and since this Pietro died in 2014, it should now be bones, I think the “full of holes” remark is nothing more than a mocking remark, because if it’s not, then Marvel will probably have their own interpretation of Necromancy and Crystallum Possession, and this could probably go darker. And Ralph is wearing a bead necklace that is embedded with Agatha’s power. But is Agatha really in full control of Ralph? Honestly, I don’t think so. Why? Because in Episode 6, Peter said about Wanda’s costume “Worse than the costume mom made us the year we got typhus”, then she reminisced “that year”, and told him “That’s not exactly how I remember it.” because in her universe, she isn’t wearing Halloween costume she thinks is worse and she didn’t deny about them getting typhus, so what are the odds of Agatha/Fietro getting that info if he is not Peter? Also, we don’t know how MARVEL will tell the story multiverse/alternate timelines (the Russo Brothers already claimed that they have their own way of telling this story), but if we are looking for a one generic rule, major life events will occur but will be told uniquely as per their universe, on this case Peter and Wanda did had a typhus, but in Peter’s world, his Wanda and him are probably wearing whatever cosplay outfit their mom made and in Wanda and Pietro are just wearing something simple, or it could be that Peter really just have a weird sense of style.

4. The WATER BILL. Now, this is a real bill, it is not part of Wanda’s illusion, this is Ralph’s actual water bill, because Ralph’s house was under Agatha’s spell, which makes it exempted from Wanda’s spell. Also, if you go frame by frame, you can actually see the word “Water”, “PAST DUE” on the right column part of the bill, before it totally goes out of focus and you can only read the left side part, that also says “YOUR MONTHLY USAGE (1,000 GAL INCREMENTS)”, which further validates it’s a water bill, not a phone bill nor electricity bill as others actually claim. And here is the tricky part, the bill’s date. On the right side under the STATEMENT is the Account Information (using Arial font), it’s a bit hard to make out of it, but it’s actually an old bill. Before it becomes totally blurry, you can read the right part of the bill that says:

STATEMENT

ACCOUNT INFORMATION

ACCOUNT: 09-3476-12

SERVICE ADDRESS: 2804 SHERWOOD DRIVE

BILL DATE: 10/01/2020

DUE DATE: 10/31/2020

If we go back to Infinity War, it takes place in June 2018. So that means that this Ralph Bohner survived the SNAP, but what could happen to him in year 2019-2020? Who knows, I don’t even know if I should care or not.

If we check on the usage chart – which is “not blurred” (it’s also in increments of 12 – 12/24/36/48/60), and I’ll just speculate on the numbers on the meter chart, so don’t take my word for it. Also, I don’t know what Marvel is planning or hinting by showing this insignificant 2020 bill, which also has confusing usage. (I’ll just use term like pcm – per cubic meter, so that it won’t just be plain numbers beside the month).

January - 6 pcm

February – 18 pcm

March – 6 pcm

April – 6 pcm

June – 6 pcm

July – 9 pcm

August – 13 pcm

September – 22 pcm

October – 34 pcm

(November and December have gray shade - similar to the one in month of Jan-May).

Again, I don’t know what’s the significance of not blurring this part of the bill while the right side column is properly blurred. And the confusing part of this bill, is the bill date is of 10/01/2020 – meaning Ralph had received this bill during the first week of October, but why is there already a usage for the full month of October, when usage should be only show up to the month of September? After the Account Information, there’s the

METER INFORMATION (WATER)

USAGE PREVIOUS DATE CURRENT DATE

4 1963 (?) 09/01/20 *- - - -* *- - - -*

The PREVIOUS actually looks like either 1063 or 1963, and oddly enough the first Avengers Comics was published on September 1, 1963, I don’t know if that’s a reference to that, but from my pov, it shouldn’t be because this series is inspired of House of M and a bit touch of West Coast Avengers, which was already reference by the SUV plate number in Episode 7. The CURRENT and DATE are both unreadable, I can only identify _ _ _ 2 in CURRENT and 0_/_ _/20 for the DATE after.

And let’s also not forget that outside the HEX, it is August 2023 and as per Episode 8, inside the HEX is currently year 2013 as shown in the auditorium behind the lighting after it explained how Wanda created Vision. I don’t know if this is a reference to something from the past MCU projects (X-Men even) or future franchise like Falcon and Winter Soldier, who knows, really. I just find it weird why they didn’t blurry the meter chart while the rest are. But why year 2020? Why isn’t this bill thrown out yet? Didn’t Monica notice that billing date of the bill?

5. The man-cave. The staff really transformed Fietro’s man-cave into very, very Peter-like (if he really is not Peter). I will list thing that are present and similar to what Peter of X-Men Universe room have. I’ll reference * (single asterisk) for Days of Future Past, ** (double asterisk) for Apocalypse, and *** (triple asterisk) for both films.

❀ comfortable couch***

❀ guitar***

❀ headphones***

❀ balls*

❀ lots of posters***

❀ bike***

❀ a bar**

❀ shoes on the floor**

❀ different types of drinks (non alcoholic)***

Also, lots of silver/metallic items such as:

❀ silver lamp**

❀ silver TV

❀ silver house ventilation tubes

❀ silver pillowcases (looks gray on other angles)

❀ silver mini fridge

❀ silver microwave oven

❀ silver rack (where TV and speaker stands)

❀ silver wristwatch*

❀ video games*** (both PS & XBox)

and even something that looks like a stolen goods like the Tiki Bar plaque, Tiger head.

This Fietro is basically just missing the goggles, I did my best to look for it (like on those detective games that instructs you to find this and that *lol*), but there’s really none *laugh*. Also, I just noticed the arrangement of his man-cave – single-seat couch** > small side table with a lamp** > 3-seater couch (the Apocalypse has an L-shape couch though) > a middle coffee table**, this arrangement is similar to Peter’s man-cave in Apocalypse which can be slightly seen when his mom came down saying “Just checking on you” (you can watch it at starting point 1:02:55, at least on my copy), you just need to look for proper timing because a few of those shots are out of focus probably due to her obviously looking somewhere reading her lines that are raised besides the camera, which became even more obvious when she did a close up shot when she told him “But trust me, this won’t end well. Nothing does with him.”

Also, in Episode 5, when Peter first made an appearance, the leather jacket he’s wearing is eerily similar to the one he’s wearing in his cameo appearance in Deadpool 2 (we only got the glimpse of the front of the jacket in Deadpool but the front side of his jacket in WandaVision is identical). Though I find it weird too that his hair color switch from silver to light ash blonde.

6. Ralph is the guy under witness protection? I doubt it, although honestly at first I considered maybe he is, but after a few thinking, it doesn’t lead to it, because if he’s in witness protection, and the person who is managing him forgets him because of Wanda, FBI database should still at least have a photo of him to be able to identify him, and Jimmy in episode 7 saw Peter and never commented about him being their missing guy. As we all know, the house is under the name Ralph Bohner, who we can assume survived the SNAP and possibly left that house in September 2020. If he had left the house way back in 2020, why does Agent Woo or FBI rather only checked it now? Also, if Ralph Boner is indeed the guy under witness protection, it is the FBI that pays off their bill, on this case, the Water Bill was past due even if it was an old bill, so I don’t think he is.

7. Does Ralph Boner really exist? This is actually something that I have given some thought. Because if we think of QuickSilver, one of his abilities as per comics is his Quick Intelligence. His mind process a lot of things much faster than an average person. Peter spying on everyone and pretending to be someone else in an unknown world is not surprising, let alone using everything he can take advantage of. It can be that the bill is fake and there is really no Ralph Bohner, or just like what I mentioned in #7, he could’ve possibly left in September 2020 and hasn’t returned yet, and Peter assumes this identity to avoid suspicion.

If we are to assume he really is Peter Maximoff of X-Men Universe (Earth-TRN414) and crossed over to Earth-616, I did consider this could also be the house where he lives as per his universe and just so happens that Ralph Bohner is the current owner of the house in this MCU. Also, Xavier Institute is located in NY and in Days of Future Past, they only drove from NY to his house via rental car, which we can assume that he doesn’t live that far from NY, after all NY and NJ are neighbors.

8. Also this has nothing to do with Ralph/Fietro, but something I noticed, that the outside anomaly or outside of Westview – about the selective amnesia has yet to be answered. It only explained that Wanda is manipulating the people INSIDE, but not the ones outside the HEX. What actually come to mind when I think about it is that it can be a work by a TELEPATH which can be either Charles Xavier or Emma Frost (no Jean Grey? Yes I excluded her). What I am actually thinking is that the person under witness protection is a spy sent by Charles or possibly working with him. He could have implanted false memory to the so called “family and friends”, so when the HEX was established, the strings got cut off hence no one could remember this “missing person” anymore, and Jimmy who has nothing to do with this “missing person” is not affected by the selective amnesia and assumes the responsibility of looking for him. And assuming Charles is the telepath who altered their memories of the people outside of Westview, he probably has done it as a precaution since he couldn’t contact his spy or “missing person” and wouldn’t take the risk of endangering the resident who were happened to be outside the HEX when Wanda establishes it.

These are just some of the things I find that doesn’t make sense with Ralph’s identity. But we’ll just leave it at that. I still really want James McAvoy back as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Magneto, since both Sir Ian McKKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart did mention they’re done with their role. And I feel that it’s too risky to use them since they are in their 80’s now, I don’t know them personally but it gives me some sorts of paranoia *laughs* thinking they might get injured.

#PeterMaximoff #PietroMaximoff #Fietro #RalphBohner #X-Men #Multiverse

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Godzilla Singular Point: The Weird History of Jet Jaguar

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The latest take on Toho’s iconic, building-crushing lizard comes in the form of Godzilla Singular Point, an anime series now available in dubbed form on Netflix. Taking place in the not-too-distant future, this reimagining of the King of Monsters involves a group of human characters becoming aware – through rather bizarre ways – of a coming apocalyptic event. Now the only thing that can save them is a behemoth out to punch monsters and look out for the little guy.

No, not Godzilla. He’s actually the apocalyptic event. No, our hero is none other than Jet Jaguar.

Yes, it’s finally time for Jet Jaguar to get his due.

A concept nearly 50 years old at this point, Jet Jaguar is one of those characters who was initially doomed to fail, but lives on due to nostalgia and the golden notion of, “I realize most people hated that thing from my childhood, but I bet I could make it good!” At best, he was a rad addition to the Godzilla mythos. At worst, he was a dumb idea from a dumb movie. For the most part, he’s remembered as something goofy that gets laughed at, despite having some genuine earnestness.

Jet Jaguar was created from both a fan contest and a corporate game of telephone. Back in 1972, to jump on the bandwagon of tokusatsu giant superhero/robot shows, Toho asked fans to design their own superhero design. The winner was a half-man/half-bird robot with a lengthy neck resembling a stack of rings named Red Alone. The concept was turned into a full-on rubber costume, but they changed the color scheme, which upset the young winner. They later decided to just scrap the whole thing, keep the color scheme, and make their own new design. And so, Jet Jaguar was born.

The superhero made an entire one movie appearance in 1973’s Godzilla vs. Megalon. As the urban legend goes, this was initially intended to be a standalone Jet Jaguar movie that the studio just didn’t have faith in towards the end and they hastily threw in Godzilla and recurring Godzilla villain Gigan. While the claim is dubious and unproven, it certainly is easy to understand where the allegations come from.

Everything about the movie feels rushed. As the last-minute replacement for another Godzilla film that didn’t pan out, filming took several weeks and production was a mere six months. Even the Godzilla costume was whipped up in record time. As for the story, outside of the intro, the preexisting elements (Godzilla and Gigan) aren’t thrown in until about 2/3 into the movie. Up until that point, it feels like a Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon movie with the production team hitting the panic button.

The plot of Godzilla vs. Megalon is that a scientist Goro Ibuki is working on a robot called Jet Jaguar, along with his little brother Rokuro and his best friend Hiroshi. They get wrapped up in a plot involving a group of beings from Atlantis-But-Not-Really, who are annoyed at all the nuclear bomb tests going on in their neck of the woods. They steal Jet Jaguar and use him to guide their insect god Megalon to different cities for the sake of smashing them up and punishing humanity.

Goro and friends get their hands on Jet Jaguar’s controls and use him to lead Godzilla to where Megalon is. Then the Seatopians call some alien friends for a solid and have them send in Gigan. Jet Jaguar is able to break away from all control and becomes fully sentient, as well as revealing the ability to turn into a giant. It becomes a big tag team battle, mostly remembered for Godzilla doing the silliest dropkick you’ve ever seen, followed by a second one for good measure.

The villains escape, Jet Jaguar and Godzilla shake hands, they go their separate ways, and Jet Jaguar reunites with the humans heroes after shrinking back down. He gets his own snazzy theme song to close things out.

In Japan, the movie wasn’t all that successful. As the thirteenth title in the Godzilla series, it brought in the worst returns yet. Between public burnout and the movie’s lack of quality, it just wasn’t grabbing people. That said, it came out at just the right time in the United States. Released in 1976, it came out months before the anticipated King Kong remake. The American movie poster for the movie even bit on the King Kong poster by featuring Godzilla and Megalon duking it out while each standing on a different Twin Tower, even though the movie at no point took place in the States.

A year later, the movie would be cut down into 48 minutes so they could broadcast it on NBC in prime time, across an hour with commercials. The only reason I mention this at all is because it was hosted by John Belushi wearing a Godzilla costume, which is sadly somewhere in the abyss of golden lost media.

Getting back to Jet Jaguar – the topic of this article – I feel the need to bring up Germany’s handling of the movie’s translation. Rather than call him “Jet Jaguar,” they referred to him as “King Kong.” I mean…sure, why not. Even weirder, when the next two movies introduced fellow giant robot MechaGodzilla, Germany once again referred to the robot as “King Kong.” Guys, I know what you’re going for here, but it doesn’t work that way.

Anyway, Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla and Terror of MechaGodzilla followed Godzilla vs. Megalon and closed off the classic Showa Era of Godzilla movies. Not only did Japan need to rest Godzilla as a concept for nearly a decade, but this also meant that whenever Godzilla would come back, it was going to be some kind of reboot or new “only the first movie counts” installment. Jet Jaguar was never high on the list to be brought back, especially since MechaGodzilla completely overshadowed him.

He would at least get a little more exposure in 1991 when Godzilla vs. Megalon was featured in the second season of Mystery Science Theater 3000. While much of the episode is spent making fun of one of the Seatopians for looking like Oscar Wilde, they toss plenty of jokes at Jet Jaguar. Most memorably, they “translate” Jet Jaguar’s ending theme, which notes that his mother never loved him and he looks a lot like Jack Nicholson.

Due to rights issues, Godzilla vs. Megalon is one of the few MST3K episodes that is no longer legally available for viewing. This does make the original MST3K Collection Volume 10 box set (which included Godzilla vs. Megalon as one of the four movies) a collector’s item, as it was later discontinued and rereleased with The Giant Gila Monster taking its spot.

A stranger use of Jet Jaguar comes in the form of Certain Distant Suns’ music video for “Bitter” in 1995. While there’s not much of a narrative outside of the band playing, footage of Godzilla vs. Megalon being shown, and a few shots of guys walking around in Megalon and Jet Jaguar costumes, I really insist you give the video a look due to the ending. It certainly goes in a direction I wasn’t expecting.

In 1997, Jet Jaguar made his next official appearance in another frankly bizarre spectacle. In Japan, a series called Godzilla Island appeared on TV in three-minute increments. While it only lasted a year, there were a whopping 256 episodes, meaning almost 13 hours of footage. If you’ve never heard of Godzilla Island, you might be thinking, “Wow, almost 13 hours of Godzilla stuff? Why isn’t this more well known?”

Well, it probably has a lot to do with the fact that instead of using guys in rubber suits, the kaiju action was done with action figures. Yikes.

Not only did Jet Jaguar show up during these adventures, but they gave him the 90s superhero action figure treatment. Much like how they released as many figures of Batman as possible for different crime-fighting scenarios, Godzilla Island gave us Silver Jet Jaguar, Medical Jet Jaguar, and even Fireman Jet Jaguar. Collect them all!

Movies

Godzilla vs. Kong Writer Talks About Spending 8 Years in the MonsterVerse

By Don Kaye

Movies

Godzilla vs. Kong Director and Writer Talk Future of The MonsterVerse

By Don Kaye

In the early 2000s, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee was released for the GameCube and Xbox under the Atari brand. It was a fighting game featuring various characters from Godzilla lore and though Atari wanted to include Jet Jaguar, Toho refused. Still, at least Megalon was included in the game. There would be two sequels in the form of Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed. FINALLY, Jet Jaguar was playable, because if there’s anything you can count on, it’s scraping the bottom of the barrel when you’re working on multiple installments of a nostalgic who’s who project.

He’d also return in 2014’s Godzilla game for PlayStation 3 and 4. The producer of the game didn’t even plan on putting him in there, but he saw that the programmers already were working on him and just shrugged it off. There was a special trick to summoning Jet Jaguar as a boss character. By ending up in three different Godzilla vs. Jet Jaguar scenarios and winning all three times, you would then unlock a special cutscene of the two shaking hands while a confused military woman would wonder about their history.

Around the mid-2010s, IDW Publishing was all about releasing a bunch of comics with the Godzilla license. Their mainline series was Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth, which went on for 25 issues. Early on, Jet Jaguar appeared out of nowhere during a fight between Godzilla and the team of Gigan and Orga. In human size, Jet Jaguar flew into Orga’s mouth, then expanded into giant size, causing the beast to explode. Especially awesome was that it came with the cliffhanger text, “Next: PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!” a reference to Jet Jaguar’s theme song from the movie.

Jet Jaguar showed up regularly in the series, coming off as Godzilla’s designated driver friend and handler. What I mean is that he seemed to be out to protect Godzilla, but that meant having to keep his violent ally on task (ie. pointing out that Gigan was nearby to stop Godzilla from attacking Jet Jaguar) and throwing punches when the situation absolutely called for it.

This continuity played up Jet Jaguar as more enigmatic than anything, as although he was mechanical, the only human character who knew his origins was killed off before it could be explained. Even one of the invading alien villains saw him on a screen and basically went, “Oh crap. It’s THIS guy!” Regardless, he still came off as a total badass, winning fights against Godzilla, Gigan (the chainsaw-hand version), and Destroyah.

Then again, at one point he needed to be saved by the 1998 American Godzilla, which at least proved as a reminder to the robot hero that there are Toho characters far more hated than him.

Toho started using Jet Jaguar again, albeit in sillier ways. In 2019, as an April Fool’s Day prank, they put up a teaser on YouTube for a Jet Jaguar movie. They also had him appear a few times on Godziban, a Godzilla web series for kids that, once again, used dolls and action figures to tell its stories.

Now Jet Jaguar is a major part of Godzilla Singular Point. To get into specifics on the plot would be like explaining advanced calculus, but to keep on-topic, Jet Jaguar is the creation of Goro Otaki as both a way to ward off monstrous threats and as a company mascot. Considering King Kong’s role in King Kong vs. Godzilla was “kidnapped to be a company mascot,” maybe the Germans were onto something with the rename.

Anyway, this version of Jet Jaguar is more mechanical in appearance instead of having to rely on making him look like a human in a costume. Jet Jaguar is there to protect the heroes from the endless supply of monsters, usually taking some extensive damage. Still, the robot gets rebuilt stronger and stronger and becomes advanced enough to become self-aware and speak in…well, the voice of a teenage girl.

I don’t know, I guess I just figured he’d sound like Astro Guy from King of the Monsters.

There’s a big hard-to-explain twist, but the main thing to know is that Jet Jaguar becomes a full-on badass by the end of the series, turns out to be a huge key to the plot, and has a completely kickass showdown with Godzilla. In a way, Jet Jaguar’s journey in Singular Point is a lot like in real life, going from a lame idea that appealed to kids and gradually being understood as a respected part of the Godzilla mythos. Something initially representative of the worst of the franchise, proven to be something genuinely cool in the right hands.

Now it’s time for America to return the favor. Once again, timing is on Jet Jaguar’s side. The Monsterverse was on its way to the graveyard after the box office intake of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but Godzilla vs. Kong came out at just the right time in the tail end of the pandemic to be a big success and keep the series going a little bit longer. There aren’t too many names in the toybox left to pull out, but at this point, Gigan and Jet Jaguar have to be high on the list.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Make it happen, Hollywood!

Godzilla Singular Point is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Godzilla Singular Point: The Weird History of Jet Jaguar appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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wrestlingisfake · 3 years

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G1 Climax 31 preview

The G1 Climax is an annual heavyweight tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling. It's typically one of the top events in Japanese wrestling, because the biggest stars in the biggest company try to deliver their best performances. The tournament runs from September 18 to October 21.

All 19 shows (!) will stream live and on-demand at njpwworld.com for 999 yen ($9 US) per month. Because of the billing cycle, you have to pay for 2 months to see it all as it happens, or you can wait till October 1 and try to catch up in one month. Watching all 91 tournament matches (!!!) can be kind of grueling (especially if you're trying to keep up with other wrestling at the same time), so it's not for everyone. But there are bound to be some highlights worth going out of your way to check out.

The G1 is a round-robin tournament, with 20 wrestlers separated into two blocks. Each man wrestles everyone else in his block, and the one with the best win-loss record is the block winner. The winner of A Block then meets the winner of B Block in a final match to decide the winner of the tournament. The winner of the G1 Climax receives a trophy and a contract for an IWGP world heavyweight title match at Wrestle Kingdom 16 in January 2022.

Ordinarily the G1 would be meticulously planned out to ensure the most marketable main event at Wrestle Kingdom, so only a handful of guys have any real shot at winning the tournament. However, the pandemic has thrown off a lot of New Japan's plans. Also, since Wrestle Kingdom has expanded to a multi-day event, more and more wrinkles have been added to the traditional "#2 guy wins the G1 to challenge the #1 guy for the belt" formula. So this year's G1 has a lot more potential to surprise us--whether such surprises will be good or bad remains to be seen.

A Block

Shingo Takagi - The reigning IWGP world heavyweight champion. If he wins the tournament, he'll have the right to choose his opponent for Wrestle Kingdom. If there was ever a year to book the champion to win the G1, this might be it. Amid some tumultuous booking this summer, Takagi came from out of nowhere to capture the title, and they've put a lot of effort into making him look worthy of the honor. So it might be cool for him to run through the field, and choose a challenger that couldn't be here, such as Will Ospreay. However, the smart money is on Shingo losing two or three matches to fall short of winning the block and to set up challengers for other shows.

Kota Ibushi - The winner of the last two G1 Climax tournaments, in 2019 and 2020. Few wrestlers have won the G1 three times, and no one has done three in a row. But if anyone can do it, it's Ibushi. He was crushed by losing the world title right after he unified it, and he's clearly in Shingo Takagi's sights (they'll square off on October 3). If he doesn't win the block, I expect him to get very, very close.

Tetsuya Naito - He won the tournament in 2013 and 2017. Naito started 2021 by losing the IWGP heavyweight and IWGP intercontinental titles to Ibushi, who unified them into the current world title. Since then, he's been on the back burner; if he's going to be back on top in 2022, this is where we'll find out. He's the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, and Takagi is a member, so their match on September 26 will be particularly interesting.

Zack Sabre Jr. - One of the IWGP heavyweight tag team champions, Dangerous Tekkers. Sabre's technical wrestling presents a challenge for any opponent in the G1, so he can easily play spoiler, but he's probably going to finish in the middle of the pack. I'm particularly looking forward to Sabre vs. Yano on October 13, because their match in last year's G1 was a fun mix of chain wrestling and dirty tricks.

Tomohiro Ishii - One of the NEVER trios champions. Ishii is never going to win the whole thing but he reliably delivers solid performances throughout the tournament. His matches with Ibushi (September 18), Ibushi (September 23), and Naito (October 9) should all be must-see for hard-hitting, what-the-fuck intensity.

KENTA - He can go, but he relies heavily on stalling and other cheap heel tactics to slow down the action, so it's hard for me to get into his matches these days. I'm sure he'll really cut loose for some of his block matches, but it's hard to guess which ones. My main interest is in seeing him go up against his Bullet Club teammates Yujiro Takahashi (September 23) and Tanga Loa (October 13).

Great-O-Khan - This is his first G1, after doing a run-in last year to help Will Ospreay and form the United Empire faction. O-Khan's got an interesting look, but his in-ring work hasn't been blowing anybody away. This should be the clearest test of his upside--if New Japan thinks he can be a serious headliner, he should pick up at least five wins, and maybe even six or seven. I'm not confident that will happen.

Toru Yano - The KOPW 2021 champion. Ordinarily Yano is the comic relief guy, whose block matches are built around silly spots so that the other participants each a get sort of a night off. However, Yano's recent feud with Chase Owens seems to have reawakened the brawler gimmick he had years ago, so it's not clear which Yano is going to show up for the tournament. Either way, I would expect Yano to pull of some key upsets to throw off everyone's predictions.

Tanga Loa - Loa is making his G1 debut. Since joining New Japan in 2016, he's been almost exclusively a tag team guy. It's not unusual for tag teams to compete in the G1, but Loa and Tama Tonga seemed determined to stay out and focus on the tag division. So his appearance here is a little surprising, and probably indicates that New Japan didn't have a lot of other options. He should do well in the ring, but some guys are going to finish 4-5 or worse, and I think he'll be one of them.

Yujiro Takahashi - Yujiro went 1-8 in last year's tournament, because somebody's gotta lose a lot, and that's his role. He's almost certainly going to to do the Bullet Club bit where either Kenta (September 23) or Loa (October 3) will talk him into laying down for the good of the team, but then he'll refuse at the last second. The most interesting thing about Yuje right now is he's a part of the "House of Torture" subgroup emerging within Bullet Club, but I don't expect that to matter much in his block matches.

B Block

Kazuchika Okada - The winner of the 2012 and 2014 tournament. Okada hasn't held a championship in nearly two years, and that's unlike him. So he's an easy pick to win this block and perhaps win the whole G1. The only problem is that he's got some stiff competition from other favorites like Hiroshi Tanahashi (September 19) and SANADA (October 4). He probably needs to win at least one of those two matches to make it to the finals--if he loses both, I'm not sure a 7-2 run is enough.

Hiroshi Tanahashi - The IWGP United States champion, and the winner of the G1 in 2007, 2014, and 2018. This will be his 20th appearance in the tournament, so he's got the decisive edge in experience. Tana is always going to be presented as a strong contender to win the block. But the only reason to have him win the whole thing would be to do an "aging legend makes one more run at the top" story, and they already did that three years ago. So look for him to have good matches, but don't count on him making it to the finals.

SANADA - He was the runner-up in last year's G1, which was a little baffling because I felt his booking that year was designed to build to a huge victory. He's felt like an afterthought since then. Will New Japan give him a lot of wins to remind everyone he's still a rising force? I'm really not sure.

EVIL - On paper, he's a big deal because he betrayed Los Ingobernables de Japon to win the IWGP heavyweight and intercontinental titles last year. But after Evil lost those belts his stock dropped. New Japan still trots him out like he's a major threat to the top champions, but he just does a bunch of low blows and then loses anyway. I think they'll protect him, because they're going somewhere with this "House of Torture" stuff. But I can't believe he'll win the block, except possibly to troll the audience.

Taichi - One of the IWGP heavyweight tag team champions, Dangerous Tekkers. I was always down on Taichi but he grabbed my attention with his weird kicking contest against Kota Ibushi last year. Since then he's been more fun to watch, although that's mainly been in tag stuff. If he's truly set aside the boring stalling tactics, then his block matches this year could be fun. But he's probably going to wind up right around that 5-4 or 4-5 range.

Jeff Cobb - Cobb should be a big deal, but he's basically the #3 guy in the United Empire (and there are only four guys in the group), and he hasn't had a lot of chances to score big wins. By the time he got to beat Okada a couple of weeks ago, I'd kind of lost interest. This is his big chance to remind everyone he's a beast. It'd be cool as hell if he went to the finals, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

Tama Tonga - This is his first G1 in three years, and before that he always seemed to be over the whole thing, so it's kind of weird to see him back here. Even when he wasn't focused on tag team wrestling, he was always a 4-5 guy, and I don't foresee a big singles push changing that this time.

Hirooki Goto - One of the NEVER trios champions. Goto's career arguably peaked when he was the runner-up to Kenny Omega in the 2016 G1. He should have good matches with everybody in the block, but he's not a game changer, and I don't see him getting to 5-4.

YOSHI-HASHI - One of the NEVER trios champions. Yoshi has always been a loser, to the point that winning the trios title (which has always been kind of a joke) was actually a huge deal for him. Goto, Ishii, and Yoshi have managed to defend the title nine times over 400 days, so it feels like Yoshi is finally on track. But there's a big difference between that and doing well in the G1, against top guys like Okada, Tanahashi, Evil, and Sanada. He could very easily go 2-7 in the block. Just getting to 3-6 would feel like a major milestone, honestly.

Chase Owens - The self-proclaimed "Texas heavyweight champion," for some reason. Owens has been the bottom guy in Bullet Club for years. I don't know if they decided it's time to push him a little, or if they literally had no one else to put in this thing. Not that it matters, since he's in the same "lose a lot" spot as Yujiro. The difference is that Yujiro might win a match to justify putting him in next year's field. Chase might actually go 0-9. So at least it'll be kind of fun wondering when (if) he can post his first win.

#njpw #g1 climax

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theliberaltony · 4 years

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Graphics by Anna Wiederkehr

Over the past few weeks, the national media’s attention has shifted to the protests against police brutality that have arisen across the country following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. That brutality and those protests, however, are nothing new — on-duty police officers have fatally shot about 1,000 Americans every year between 2015 and 2019, and black people are consistently most at risk of being killed by police. This year has been no different so far.

But the media hasn’t paid much attention to protests against police brutality or misconduct over the last few years. These protests, often grouped under the umbrella of the Black Lives Matter movement, featured prominently in national media during and after the 2014 demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri. In recent years, though, they have received much less media attention.

According to our analysis of closed captioning data of cable news broadcasts from the TV News Archive1 as well as headlines of online news articles in Media Cloud’s database,2 the phrase “Black Lives Matter” appeared less than half as frequently on both mediums between 2017 and 2019 as it did from 2014 to 2016.

We also ran queries for cable news snippets and online news headlines containing the words “police,” “black” and either “violence,” “brutality,” “kill,” or “killed” to get a sense of whether these patterns were also present in coverage of the underlying issues the Black Lives Matter movement seeks to address. The query returned similar results, with a large spike in July 2016 — after a black gunman shot and killed five police officers during a peaceful demonstration in Dallas — followed by significantly fewer results until Floyd’s death. (We haven’t run a full analysis of FiveThirtyEight’s coverage, but we certainly covered the recent protests far more than past Black Lives Matter protests during the Trump administration.)

Danielle Kilgo, a professor of journalism, diversity and equality at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, pointed to two stories involving black men shot and killed by police between 2017 and 2019 that didn’t get nearly as much national press: The protests in St. Louis after a white police officer, Jason Stockley, was acquitted of first-degree murder for a 2011 shooting in which he killed 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith, and the protests in Sacramento, California, after the death of Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old killed by police who said they believed he had a gun (the only item later found near Clark was his cellphone).

The protests in St. Louis, for example, shared many of the same elements as those in the past few weeks: there was a video of the incident, the protests lasted for days and turned violent at times, and dozens of people were arrested, including a journalist. “They were huge protests and they were prolonged protests, but they didn’t receive the coverage they needed to expand beyond that,” Kilgo said. She hypothesized that it was in part because the protests came on the heels of the Unite the Right rally that brought white supremacists to Charlottesville, Virginia. The rally drew a lot of media attention and may have shifted the conversation about racism away from Black Lives Matter and towards a discussion about white supremacy, she said. Kilgo also noted that the story of players kneeling during the national anthem at football games was getting a lot of coverage in the national press around the time of the St. Louis protests, especially after the president weighed in.

“The whole news broadcast couldn’t be about racism,” she said, pointing to other stories related to racism, like racist rhetoric coming from the president, that could have drawn the media’s attention away from Black Lives Matter. “I think they were just blinded by other things. There’s lots of shiny objects floating around in our political landscape right now.”

It’s not only important for protest movements to receive media coverage — the focus of the coverage also makes a difference. In order to successfully achieve policy aims, protest movements must walk a fine line. They need to be disruptive enough to capture and hold national attention, but also retain enough public support to pressure politicians into action.

Kilgo’s research suggests that this task may be a particularly tough one for the Black Lives Matter movement because protests about anti-black racism tend to get less legitimizing news coverage. In a review of 777 news articles from 20 different newsrooms in Texas, Kilgo found that press reports were more likely to emphasize the disruption caused by protests and less likely to emphasize legitimate political grievances, compared to reports of protests about other issues like health and immigration. And the coverage of protests against anti-black racism was also more likely to rely on official sources rather than protestors’ perspectives.

I spoke with Drexton Clemons, a 26-year-old stand-up comic in New York City who has been out protesting several times since George Floyd’s death, about what it has been like to watch the coverage and observe the media at the protests. He told me that while media was present throughout the entirety of one protest he attended, he felt the media presence was heavier later on in the day, “as if to capture some of the brutality that the police are doing onto the protesters, as well as the rioting or looting.”

“They’re missing hours and hours and hours of people peacefully protesting,” he said, “but it almost seems as if they don’t care about that particular narrative.”

Kilgo told me media coverage often fails to explore the nuances in interactions between the police and protesters. “This idea of police militarization and police and their actions at protests was really reduced to the idea of ‘clashes’ or the idea that they were arresting someone,” she said of coverage of previous protests. This isn’t the first time journalists have been arrested at Black Lives Matter protests, but now that the police have attacked and arrested multiple journalists, “there is a discussion of protection of the press, a First Amendment right,” something she says was mostly absent from previous coverage. But she also noted that the same amendment that protects the free press also protects the protesters’ rights to peaceably assemble.

So far, it seems that the protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death have, despite the hurdles Kilgo’s study highlighted, managed to retain public support while capturing the media’s attention. A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted from May 28 to June 2 found that when asked to choose, 59 percent of Americans were more concerned about “the actions of police and the death of an African American man,” while only 27 percent reported being more concerned that the protests had turned violent.

But the road to permanent change is long. A recent study from Omar Wasow, suggests that areas that saw violent protests in the 1960s saw an increase in President Richard Nixon’s vote share in the 1968 election. (Nixon ran on a “law and order” platform and waged a “war on drugs” that exacerbated many of the racial inequalities in the criminal justice system that the protesters are working to undo.) It is unclear to what extent the lessons from the 1960s will apply today, but having public support undoubtedly will help activists pressure politicians to implement reforms. And much of that public support may be contingent on how the story of the movement is covered by mainstream press.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Dhrumil Mehta

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davidmann95 · 5 years

Note

This week’s comics?

TOO

MANY

COMICS THIS WEEK

*Deep breath*

Batman/Superman #1: The surprise of the week for me! I was getting this almost grudgingly in the hope Williamson would transcend what I’ve seen as his limitations as a C+ writer inexplicably granted a position far beyond what his work’s merited, given how much I love the characters and because Marquez is AAA+. As it turns out, he did! Nothing spectacular, but this was a really solidly entertaining little start to an adventure, with a vibe as though Loeb’s own Superman/Batman was rocketed into the future and made to interact with Snyder’s current DCU superstructure. As that descriptor might imply your mileage may vary, but I quite dug it.

Justice League #30: Great stuff, the kick-off to I assume the final arc before an event book to close this epic out, but when do the Justice Legion show up that is all I care about in the entire world

Superman #14: I enjoyed it, but I’m definitely more than ready to see what’s next.

Action Comics #1014: An unprecedented Bendis super-two-for-one week! While Superman’s largely been my favorite of the two, today this came out on top.

Justice League Dark #14: This continues to just manage to hold my attention with some delightful flourishes, even though this sort of thing isn’t usually my cup of tea.

Martian Manhunter #8: Something of a return to form - I’d been getting somewhat disappointed with this book (though I’m sure it’ll read better in trade), but this grabbed me again.

Dial H For Hero #6: Good goddamn, just about any other week and this would have taken home the gold. Easily one of DC’s best, and leaving me considering going back through Humphries’ whole career given the possibility that while I’ve discounted him in the past I, in an extremely rare but I suppose not entirely unprecedented case, may have been wrong.

Ice Cream Man #14: I suppose you could call this something of a return to basics here, which is the opposite of a problem because the basics here are horrifying and spectacular.

Marvel Team-Up #5: Losing me quick, though I guess there’s only one issue left.

Captain America #13: This one’s tough to unpack. In terms of keeping my attention and keeping things moving this felt better than the last several issues, and I get what it’s going for, but its characterization of Cap...like I said, I get what it’s going for in reinforcing him as the stiff and trying to break him out of that. I’m the guy who considers MCU Cap one of the only times ever where I distinctly prefer the adaptation to the original, specifically because he feels so much looser and warmer. But there’s stiff in the way he’s traditionally been, and the way this issue portrays him, and I’m not sure I can bridge that gap with how he’s been portrayed over the years. In isolation though, still liked this one.

Absolute Carnage #2: Keeps up the pace! I remain shocked by how much I’m liking this one.

Venom #17: An extension of the above, and again, I like it.

Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1: Surprisingly disposable, tbh.

Spider-Man: Life Story #6: ...is one I’ll discuss when going into the series as a whole sometime soon. But yes, it really is that good, and the best of the week in a walk.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11: A perfectly enjoyable one-off - good to know that while Amazing’s passing me by, Pete’s in good hands even as Zdarsky moves on.

Avengers #23: Man, this book has gotten so much better since that wet thud of a first arc. Not up to snuff against its cousin in Snyder and company’s Justice League, but cut from a similar cloth and if you’re enjoying that absolutely give this run a whirl.

House of X #3: We’re definitely in the part where I think it’s gonna lose a lot of the new converts as the Earth-shaking reveals die down for now while remaining a resolutely Full Hickman take on the X-Men, and I for one am content to wave them goodbye as I ride this glorious train into the sunset.

Thor #16: A delightful ‘end’ - the true upcoming finale in King Thor notwithstanding - to one of the great runs of this decade. All-Father willing whoever follows up on this one plays with the toys Aaron and Del Mundo leave behind here.

Marvel Comics #1000: The big’un. And better, for that matter, than Action or Detective #1000. Not perfect by any means; there’s still a small handful of stinkers here (though the relative hit-to-miss ratio for this sort of project is unbelievably good here, hence the previous comparison), plus the much-publicized issues regarding the altered Captain America essay and the horribly skewed gender representation, PLUS that...THAT character of all characters gets a (second!) page for 2013 rather than Ms. Marvel. But for what this is, that it comes together as coherently as enjoyably as it does is honestly little short of a miracle. The advertised Ewing spine of the thing is of course great, and such a Ewing as HELL take on the concept on every level; that plenty of these don’t even nominally tie into it doesn’t bother me, since that throughline is exploring the background of a world the rest of this puts on display.

To set the record straight (going by years rather than characters/creative teams, since I feel like remaining spoiler-adverse here and it saves space): for me the actively bad ones are 1966,* 1995,** 1996, and 1999, and the notably good ones not by Ewing are 1943, 1944,*** 1949, 1952, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014,**** 2015, 2016, and 2018.

So that’s about 5% bad, and counting Ewing’s contributions (aside from his oddly lackluster single page that isn’t part of his larger story), over half I’d call especially good! And pretty much all the rest of it ranges from decent to quite good, so again, by the standard of these sorts of anniversary anthologies this is basically a minor miracle. Very much looking forward to Ewing continuing his story next month and presumably the incoming 2020 event (a Ewing event comic! So rad!), and also hoping #1001 will correct the grievous Fantastic Four deficiency here.

(Minor SPOILERS for the final notes below)

* This, uh, felt like some real grouchy old man respectability politics business. Would have thought twice before, but given Priest’s recent Vampirella interview, I’m feeling a little more willing to jump straight to ‘this was bad.’

** Oh, Hickman. My boy. How could you? Even given you visibly didn’t give a shit, that was really all you had in the tank? And for the year I was born, no less! Johnny, you wound me.

*** Yeah, I know, believe me I know. But it’s still a good Cap speech - even at this late, largely lamentable stage of Waid’s career, he can crank those out in his sleep.

**** For what it is, i.e. a couple scenes from Apocrypha slapped together and redrawn with a couple DC names swapped out for Marvel names. Shamelessly, admirably lazy on Gaiman’s part.

#Week's Comics #Marvel Comics 1000 #Opinion

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fearlyssa · 6 years

Text

Something to consider

In honor of Karlie’s birthday today here’s something for those who don't believe Taylor could be with Karlie because they chose to only believe Taylor’s own words: a list of the lyrics on Reputation (Taylor’s own words) that reference Karlie vs those that reference Joe. I tried my best to be impartial and include everything on both sides but just a warning it’s SUPER long! So if you don’t feel like reading it or don’t have the time then keep scrolling. But for anyone who’s interested here’s what I came up with (including explanations of the references and links if I have them; feel free to disagree or add any I missed, I tried to think of everything so I realize some may be a bit of a stretch)

Lyrics that point to Karlie:

Ready for it:

1. Younger than my exes (she’s 26 today, younger than most people Taylor has supposedly dated, male or female)

2. No one has to know (they’re closeted)

End Game:

3. We got big reputations (they’re both famous; Joe was relatively unknown until recently)

4. You and me would be a big conversation (they’re both famous and both women who are supposedly dating men so if they were found out - at least right now - it would cause a scandal)

Don't blame me:

5. I would cross the line, I would waste my time, I'd lose my mind

6. For you I would fall from grace, just to touch your face (This applies to the line above as well; her reputation would be ruined if people found out she was lying about her dating life causing her to “fall from grace” but she loves her enough to risk it by continuing to date her secretly)

7. I once was poison ivy but now I’m your Daisy (at first listen this line might sound like nothing more than a Mavel and/or Great Gatsby reference but according to this person they both like Marvel comics and check out how the daisy she drew in the handwritten lyrics in one of the Reputation magazines looks just like the one Karlie posted from their Big Sur trip in 2014. 👀

Delicate:

8. Dark jeans and your Nikes (she models for Adidas now but was doing Nike ads when they met)

9. Never seen that color blue (maybe a stretch but Karlie's eyes are a shade of green that can sometimes look blue so that may be a shade of blue she's never seen before. And I won’t add this to the list because it’s not Karlie-specific but the girls back home line is also not necessarily straight as lesbians and bisexuals, just like guys, date women and ‘back home’ can reference anyone who’s not from exactly where you’re from. They’re from different parts of the country for instance)

So it goes:

10. All eyes on us (they're both famous, have been on stage together three times and used to often be seen together by paps in public - which I do believe was on purpose; this line reminds me of the chorus of This is what you came for too)

11. Lipstick on your face (there's candids of Karlie with lipstick smudged on her face in pictures with Taylor from July 14th 2014 - as well as pictures of Taylor from her 25th birthday - and I believe another day too -, where she’s with Karlie and has on one shade of lipstick but a while has Karlie’s shade of lipstick smudged over hers and vice versa. Note how their lipstick looks in the top two photos from her birthday party compared vs the bottom two)

Gorgous:

12. I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk (the weird way Karlie says important)

13. Your magnetic field being a little too strong (they’re very physically affectionate with each other and often bump shoulders when sitting next to each other as if they literally have magnets in them)

14. I got a boyfriend, he's older than us (she often dates guys older than her and Karlie is younger than them and her. Imo it refers to her bearding with Calvin specifically)

15. You’re so Gorgeous I can’t say anything to your face (At VSFS 2013 where they first met Taylor looks in awe of her like she doesn’t know what to say. She definitely looks like she thinks she’s gorgeous and while the term could refer to anyone, it's usually a female descriptor and she's literally a model for a living who is known for her beauty and has, seemingly on purpose, used the word on IG right around when the song came out. And on an unrelated note I also want to point out that the ‘If you got a girlfriend’ line is not strictly male-oriented so although it’s not specifically Karlie-related it could still apply to a bisexual or lesbian woman)

King of my heart:

16. like trying on clothes (another somewhat female reference and she's a model so she does that for a living so therefore even more often than most people)

17. Move to me like a Motown beat (As mentioned in the caption of their IG post about it she & Karlie listened to Motown while getting ready for the Met Gala in 2014 so it's safe to say they’re both fans of the genre and enjoy listening to it together)

18. American queen (I know they're both American but Karlie has referred to her as an American dream before which you'll notice was the original lyrics when Taylor was writing & recording the song)

19. Your love is a secret I'm hoping, praying, dying to keep (this is pretty obvious but if she’s closeted then her love life is obviously a secret she’d want to keep)

20. Drinking beer out of plastic cups (I know this line is pretty general and she seems to be referring to a different time when she was up on a roof but it should be noted that the only time she’s been seen drinking beer in a plastic cup prior to the album coming out she was with Karlie)

Dress:

21. Our secret moments in a crowded room, they got no idea about me and you (you can see them having private moments at events in candid photos and videos such at award shows, the VSFS and at the 1975 concert. All times when tons of people were around but didn’t seem to notice or care if they were affectionate with each other because everyone knows they’re close and just thinks they’re friends)

22. Golden tattoo (they wore them together at Drake's birthday party last October. And maybe this is reaching but some of them were stars and “gold star” lesbians are those who have never “been with” a man, Idk about Taylor, but Karlie is rumored to be one.)

23. I don't want you like a best friend (they’re known as best friends so that one’s obvious)

24. I’m spilling wine in the bathtub (in the photo of her and Karlie getting ready for the Met Gala in 2014 you can see that Taylor has drunk wine in the bathroom with Karlie before)

25. Everyone thinks that they know us but they know nothing (A common problem when you’re famous because a lot of people know OF you but don’t really KNOW you or your relationships like they might think they do. She also references this in the album prologue but when it comes to Joe, not many people knew of him before he dated her so he doesn’t have a big reputation or people who think they know him) Dancing with our hands tied:

26. I loved you in secret (again sounds like it references being closeted)

27. 25 years old (Karlie’s age up until today and *almost* Taylor’s age when Kissgate happened)

28. People started talking putting us through our paces (again sounds like it refers to Kissate; people didn't talk about her and Joe, only the media did months later when the album was already finished and she says never to believe them anyway. Plus you have to wonder how they already knew of her secret relationship with him even before pictures had come out of them together)

29. I had a bad feeling...but we were dancing, dancing with our hands tied (they were dancing closely/kind of kissing at a 1975 concert in 2014 and someone got a video and pictures that made it into many articles starting Kissgate. You can see in pictures how upset Karlie and their friends looked walking back from the concert that night carrying a very drunk Taylor. Maybe she knew there'd be a shit storm about it the next day but didn't care and did it anyway because she was so drunk. Their hands would then have been tied metaphorically speaking and they would’ve had to do what they had to do which was to keep dating guys publicly and to stop being seen alone together)

30. I loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would decide us (as the world sometimes tries to do with gay relationships, not so much straight ones)

31. So baby can we dance, oh through an avalanche (same points as above ^)

Call it what you want:

32. My baby's fit like a daydream (I know "fit" is English slang but still, Karlie is quite physically fit - she literally ran a marathon like the day after the song came out and in the Vouge Best friends video Taylor mentions her shiny abs)

33. Walking with his head down (I realize she's not a man but being as tall as she is she does do that a lot)

34. So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to (some people say they're friends, others say they're in a romantic relationship, a lot of people think they broke up or are no longer friends and don’t even talk anymore etc.)

New Year's Day:

35. This is maybe a slight stretch but the references to a girl's party and polaroids that she often takes with her friends make me think of women and not really men, and as someone whose been to her house I can vouch that she has a lot of polaroids of her female friends; many of Karlie specifically displayed in her sitting room as well as a photo of them at Big Sur that she keeps in one of her bathrooms but not as many photos of guys who it’s hard to imagine would fit in all that well at a party like that but maybe that’s just me)

lyrics that refer to Joe:

In general:

1. The words he, him & his (and anything else masculine-sounding like the word handsome and king in reference to a current relationship. I guess this is a bunch of references but I didn’t actually count how many times she said he on the album because that would be a lot. lol):

Ready for it:

2. Younger than my exes (some of them anyway; her two most recent ones)

Don't blame me:

3. Toying with them older guys (he's younger than Calvin and Tom as is she however note that she's admitting to using them which seems like more of a reference to a bearding contract unless we're to believe she's admitting to being horrible to her exes)

Delicate:

4. never seen that color blue (his eyes are blue)

5. girls back home (they live in different counties)

So it goes:

6. wear you like a necklace (she has one with his initial on it. I’ve been told it’s a lesbian term as well but I didn’t add it to Karlie’s list as it’s not specific to her)

Gorgeous:

7. I got a boyfriend he's older than us -Sunset & vine (where his movie premiere was last October although we now know the song was written in September and interestingly enough the area is also well-known for it's gay bars)

King of my heart:

8. king of my heart (king is a male term and they have royalty in England)

9. Say you fancy me not fancy stuff (fancy is British slang for liking someone)

10. salute to me I'm your American queen (she’s American and he’s from the UK where they still have royalty)

Dress:

11. flashback when you met me your buzz cut, my hair bleached (if it's in fact true that they met at the Met Gala in 2016 that they both attended then that's a reference to the hairstyles they both had at the time though tbh the timeline doesn't really make sense for that to be true)

Call it what you want:

12. My baby's fit like a daydream (Fit is British slang for attractive and he's also physically fit)

13. Call it what you want (in reference to weather or not the relationship is real)

14. I want to wear his initial on a chain around my neck (because she wears a necklace with a J on it)

So there you go. I'm not saying you have to believe the album is about Karlie or not about Joe but there do appear to be a LOT more references to her so I'll just leave it up to you to decide what you want to believe, I just thought I'd post this to prove that there is in fact evidence to support Kaylor, it's not just a baseless conspiracy theory.

#Taylor Swift #Karlie Kloss #Kaylor #Joe Alwyn #Reputation

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jigensass · 5 years

Text

Here we are (this is very long so TL;DR this blog is getting archived)

It’s been over a week since I’ve taken a hiatus and a few close people know about what has happened. And I have made a decision in response to an insight meditation retreat I took over the course of this weekend.

I’m going to be dropping roleplaying Stephen and possibly roleplaying altogether.

First, after 5 years of this blog, you’re probably wondering why. Well, I woke up.

Yes, I’m a talented writer and I can weave your fantasies into realities. Yes, I enjoy every single person I have written for. You’re not the problem. My writings are the problem that is hurting my lifestyle and it leads to toxic behavior.

Ever since I decided to go into this hiatus and a few days prior, I’ve been peeling back that I am more sensitive than others to certain situations and at sometimes have the ability to as previously stated, weave fantasies into realities and make them feel as real as possible. This can be problematic when I get in too deep. So much as I have in the past without even realizing, begin to dissociate the line and my own reality and the one I made that I have fallen in love with. The two begin to crossover and I don’t even realize I’m doing it until it’s too late. This had led to multiple people getting hurt and I didn’t even know I was doing it. Why has this been happening for so long and I’m noticing it after 26 years? Well, no one kind of stopped me or I didn’t notice because when I was younger I lived in my own little world. And that own little world became the internet and then the internet started converging with the little world and I didn’t know what to do except the one thing I knew best: make up stories and not even realizing it, they became my own little world. It’s how I coped and got away from the actual reality that I lived in (school, work, family, etc).

Now how did Stephen come in? Well, (holy shit I’ve been in the sphere of Doctor Strange for 7.5 (8 years in the Marvel sphere) years now that’s the longest I’ve stuck to anything). There was a game on Facebook where I heard of him and at the time in 2010, there were only comics and the movie from 2006(7?) (I remember actually SEEING the commercial for the movie and asking ‘how is this guy a superhero he’s a doctor’ oh how my 13-year-old self was foolish).

I fell in love with Stephen’s character for one reason: he had all the powers of a god, yet he was still human. It would take me another 5 years to realize where my path was actually headed with this magic man and the actual man named Benedict Cumberbatch.

Along the way, since this blog was created and many rp threads later, there were many times I felt so absorbed into my work that even though I had an external life with friends and people I knew. It became...a problem. It was obvious when I began to piss off my friends in college for trying to gain this...atmosphere of Stephen Strange and then try to be myself.

But I didn’t know who ‘Crystal’ was for...like ever. Only until after this weekend did I find out this answer (stay tuned).

I kept trying different things, nothing felt good. I didn’t feel like a human being unless I was by myself clacking away at a keyboard and being absorbed with the Sorcerer Supreme who I (for the longest time) considered a reflection of who I was or what I wanted to be (at some point Magnus Bane got thrown into the pot in 2014 so that’s just a lovely stew...). It ate at me for years and I wasn’t even aware during points where I became lost that the parasite was there. The parasite was my power to get lost in worlds I created and then believe the world was still there in reality. And it (probably) hurt many real human beings in the process.

And just recently I yanked that parasite off and threw it away. Realizing that seeing Stephen as a reflection is dangerous and will get me pulled into the looking glass if I don’t stop.

So as of today for the sake of my mental health, this blog is being archived.

I’m not saying it was all bad. I wouldn’t be typing this because of roleplaying with one person in particular who, even though my coworkers were slapping me in the face (metaphorically, of course) and concerned for my life during the nine months of suffering I held at my new job, was AT THE TIME, the only person who could get through to me and wake me up. The reason this journey started because of a very deep wound that was still scarring, but this person was the one to be my guide on the path to just finding what I needed to figure out what the heck was going on.

About a month later after this realization, I joined a sangha and began meditation on a weekly basis or when I could. This (and to this day) practice has unearthed a lot of stuff that I’ve buried so deep that it blew my mind how messed up my childhood was. Why I was so...sarcastic...and had to make a joke to every serious detail...and impulsive...and...determined to get out of this hole. Like a certain....doctor

(No joke when I watched Doctor Strange in theatres in 2016 when this line was said I died laughing because of the tone and manner of how it was said was something I would do. I’m a sassy piece of shit IRL)

Back in late 2016/early 2017 right after I watched this movie, I remember wanting to embrace MCU Stephen with open arms. I felt the pain he was feeling, having to give up his mundane life to become the guardian of the Earth, and I wanted to take him down that journey of suffering, of realizing that he chose for the sake of his hands, provided him with....the power of a god yet he was still human (also I was stunned because he was (I BELIEVE right behind T’Challa) the FIRST Marvel main character to actually DIE on camera. As in no pulse, not coming back dead.

But instead I got female OCs wanting to bang and marry him, and the funk kicked itself right out the door. And this is when I got into experimentation. Demons, Mermen...the list goes on.

This is where it became obvious that Stephen was leaning towards men and less towards women and the relationships were slowly becoming....uninteresting. Either for me or the other person. Around this time this was when the shit hit the fan hard and I had a mental breakdown and contemplated suicide (it wasn’t the first time). Yeah, surprise~. The package gets nastier.

At this point, as many of you know, I was diagnosed with Attention Hyperactive Association Disorder (or ADHD) and I began taking medication which helped, but with the meditation beside it, this was where a nasty load of stuff boiled inside including:

Emotional and some Physical Abuse from my Parents

My mother almost killed me once. She nearly snapped my neck.

Emotional Abuse from Teachers and Peers in School

I was given a nickname that I just passively went with and in the end, I hated it. When I tried to change it, people didn’t listen to me.

I gave my opinion about how I did not enjoy Glee on Facebook. I was shunned by nearly every music department student.

Trust Issues that supported the Anxiety because of said Emotional Abuse (and for a point in my life, pretty sure I had Avoidant Personality Disorder)

I’ve been at the same job for over 2 years now and just last Friday I had to balls to tell someone my life was a dumpster fire.

Depression because I couldn’t hold/meet expectations that I had imagined as being next to perfect standards because of past emotional abuse to be under the impression I could meet nothing less (thus over the years I lowered my expectations, yet nothing changed). Sometimes I had suicidal thoughts and the only reason I didn’t do it was because I thought felt good to suffer

In turn, because I was abused emotionally in a certain manner that I thought that it was okay to do so when I couldn’t get a grounding of having things in my control as well because of my conditioning or just try to be noticed. At the time, it was the only way I knew how to put the board in my favor. It was when I did this and my boss wrote me up that I just...became silent. People wondered why I didn’t talk and then when I did, it was (and sometimes still is) in the most passive tone of observation. Over time I did learn this was one of the most unwholesome things I could do and I have still lost my footing in times of despair that I go back to this way of talking because I’m conditioned to beat myself up when something bad happens (and even during this weekend’s retreat those unwholesome thoughts came up).

So sorry for anyone I’ve hurt in the past because of this. I’ve disconnected with many because of my ignorance.

Thus the result of this toxic upbringing and my choice to follow it blindly led to a misunderstanding of relationships to the mundane level (romantic or platonic). Every situation that failed, I tried better. But it only felt worse since till this day every single one has failed, minus one or two, have all ended in some kind of disaster merely due to, what probably was my destructive behavior.

Even now typing this dumpster fire was difficult. Because I have 3 ways of responding

1. I’m a Bot Beep Boop How are you? Good! That’s Good!

2. I have a mask and there’s no one else here behind the ask

3. You sure you want to talk to ME? You sure you find me INTERESTING? You? Find me attractive?! Kay...Just warning you....*reveals the dumpster fire* You can go backward out the entrance door

So...yeah. I’ve never ‘felt’ until recently that my life “mattered”. That I was just...kind of an empty sponge. Day in, day out. Paying off debt for a job that I don’t even do anymore because I’m better at other things, like deduction. And working with data and information.

But anywho....if you’ve made it this far in “My Journey to Find out Who the Heck I Am” Congrats, you made it to this weekend’s insight meditation retreat. Because it was both terrible and uplifting at the same time.

yesterday we meditated for about 8ish hours and I wanted to kill myself (literally) from all the pain in my back. I questioned if I had to go see a chiropractor after it was all said and done. And then something came up that I noticed that I always was aware of.

The teacher kept referencing other teachers before her and near the end of it all when she would keep talking, the references were driving me nuts. Like, she just kept telling us to follow the Buddha like he was some holy person and it clicked: I don’t like organized religion because I’m being told how to do my practice. So when we went outside to walk, it all just kind of clicked when I found a bench off to the side of the business complex (our retreat was at our local sangha and non-residential). I sat on that bench and stared at the fence and the rain and said to myself ‘I am the River’, meaning I should go with the flow and acknowledge and be aware of any ripples made in me.

And that everything that was being instructed on this retreat had been told to me from another source: all of my coworkers who probably have not sat on a cushion in their life.

Today when we the teacher did a talk this morning about ‘self’ and ‘not self’, she, in short, repeated what I said from a quote by Thich Nhat Hanh (monk from Vietnam) about how we are not a river, but an ocean.

And even though the teacher’s story was relatable, it clicked who “Crystal” was and where Stephen stood in Crystal’s life.

Crystal is made up of many individuals parts and is just...Crystal. Stephen is not a reflection, but one of those many parts.

Even though I acknowledge this wisdom, I currently believe I do not (and might not) have the ability to return to my writings because of why I previously explained. It’s not you, it’s the current in the river.

So thank you to everyone who has befriended me along the way and helped me down this path.

Namaste.

*two minutes later* lemme find a Benedict Cumberbatch Buddhism gif to close this story, show me the money Google

youtube

GOD DAMN I-

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#out of the sanctum #well then

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eggoreviews · 6 years

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All MCU Films RANKED

Recently, I kind of got out of the fake fan box when I finally finished watching through the many MCU films I’d missed over the last ten years. And it was clear as I was going along that Marvel has definitely had its weak points, but its strong points made everything worth the watch. So here’s my list of all MCU films up to Infinity War ranked from worst to best! (I know Antman and the wasp came out on saturday but I’m a UK egg so I have to wait til fuckin august to get my insect content so guess I’ll die)

Disclaimer: My opinion will probably, definitely not be yours

19. Iron Man 2 (2010)

As much as I love pretty much all of the main cast, somehow this film falls completely flat for me. First off, as I mentioned in my other Marvel list, Whiplash is kind of just a terrible villain and his motives for doing anything he does during this film is mostly absent. Also, compared to how well structured the first Iron Man film’s narrative felt, the story for this instalment is messy and very difficult to keep track of. Instead of escaping terrorists and fighting a genuinely memorable villain, Tony instead spends this film going to board meetings and expos and for some reason at one point, a race in Monaco? And then he’s in the race? I’m just confused. Point is, they kinda fucked this one up.

18. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Thinking about it, this film isn’t terrible. It’s just a bit eh. At this point, Marvel were only just really finding their feet with these films and it’s notoriously difficult to make a decent Hulk film. So what really lets this film down is the fact that Norton doesn’t stick around and this film probably could’ve benefitted from Mark Ruffalo’s presence, most of the side characters are a little underdeveloped and the villain seems pointless until the last twenty minutes when he turns green and smashes shit. Much like the villain, the plot itself feels kind of slow until that last twenty minutes when shit gets smashed. So yeah, not awful, but doesn’t match up to the rest of them.

17. Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3 is another not-terrible film. It doesn’t have a bad villain, so the whole Mandarin twist isn’t why this is placed so low as I didn’t mind that really. It’s mostly the pacing and the story that messes this one up a little. As I mentioned in my villain list, there’s so many different subplots happening that it’s really difficult to pick up on the majority of what’s happening. For example, you’ve got the weird fire stuff that everyone’s worried about, Rhodey is the Iron Patriot, Killian turns up, there’s a terrorist, oh look this woman that Tony briefly had a thing with and now Tony’s crashed his suit and here’s a random child. There’s just so much they’ve tried to cram in that I got a bit lost watching this one. That said, it definitely isn’t a bad film, just needs a little bit off the top.

16. Thor (2011)

Now we’re getting into the films I really like, so this is where ranking gets a bit more difficult. The thing about Thor is that it’s good. And that’s kind of it. It’s a perfectly good origin story that’s paced really well and offers enough humour and Thor hitting things with his hammer/fists to keep it all interesting. Plus, Loki’s introduction makes this all the more brilliant, as it kind of foreshadows him becoming a bit more evil in future. Well, you only know that if you stayed til the end because it only takes him about the length of some credits to bring himself back to life.

15. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

I know, everyone hates this film and it should be in last place. But I kind of don’t hate it, and I also don’t get why everyone else does. Sure, it relies a bit too much on technobabble and a villain that’s no more compelling than most of the others from phase one, but the film has a genuinely full and interesting plot. Alongside that is the changed dynamic between Thor and Loki after the events of the first Avengers as he struggles to trust him and we see Thor seem to genuinely mature as a character. So in my mind, this film is pretty good.

14. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Here’s another film that garnered a lot of hate. The additions of Scarlet Witch, Vision and (briefly) Quicksilver work very well and they seem to have interesting dynamics with the rest of the team. The final fight is pretty satisfying, the villain feels like a genuine menace, even if his character is a little uneven, sometimes opting to be overly serious android and other times the weird comic relief. In that sense, Ultron’s character does feel a bit odd, but that and the massively unneeded and very weird love plot between Bruce and Natasha (seriously I nearly turned this film off during that bar scene) are the only criticisms I really have of this film. It’s pretty decent.

13. Iron Man (2008)

The one that started it all is very, very good and is also the only Iron Man film I really like. This one has everything a Marvel film needs; humour, a fair amount of explosions and a decent villain. The only reason this didn’t place higher is because, obviously being the first one, it’s a little by-the-numbers. But all that means is that future films took this formula and made it better.

12. The Avengers (2012)

I know this one is normally higher and I still love it, don’t get me wrong. But it’s easy to forget that, at times, the pace of this film is a little bit slow. Like that New York fight at the end will always be amazing, but there’s a good chunk of the film where everyone is just kind of sitting around. Same goes for the first 20 odd minutes too. Overall, great film, but it’s the slightly uneven pace that keeps it from getting higher.

11. Ant-Man (2015)

You could argue that this one is just a less good copy of Iron Man, especially in its very derivative villain. But what puts this film a bit higher for me was the pretty much untouched genre of blending a superhero film with a heist film. That’s a fuckin good idea and I’m very here for it, which is why I’m so mad that we aren’t getting the sequel for another month. The cast in this is brilliant too, especially Evangeline Lilly’s Hope (who I’m very excited to see kick arse in the cool wasp costume tbh)

10. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Cap’s first solo outing makes for one of my favourite MCU origin stories and it’s also one of the most underrated. This film proved that superhero films could work in a period setting and that makes it even cooler. Plus, brilliant villain guest spots from Hugo Weaving and Toby Jones round off the film to make something that feels a lot more than the sum of its parts. Yeah, I enjoyed this one a lot.

9. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

This is the first Marvel film that genuinely felt like it had lasting, important stakes. Seeing the Avengers fall apart with Zemo pulling the strings is fascinating to watch, as for the first time on a grand scale, we see genuine consequences for the actions of the heroes. The introductions of Spider-Man and Black Panther served to make this film much better. My only issue? That weird forced romance with Peggy’s cousin or whatever. That was just strange. Like, come on Cap, your boyfriend with the metal arm is gonna get jealous.

8. Spider-Man Homecoming (2017)

This film did the unthinkable. It made me give a shit about Spider-Man. This isn’t to say that I ever disliked the character or that the other two played him badly, I’ve just never been particularly invested in his character. The pure bean that is Tom Holland changed this and now Spidey is one of my faves. This film knows that, if we’re really rebooting Spidey again, there’s stuff we do and don’t want to see. Uncle Ben dying and Peter being emo about his spider bite? We don’t want to see that again. A perfect blend of a superhero and a teen movie and a genuinely chilling villain from Michael Keaton? We bigly want to see that.

7. Doctor Strange (2016)

While you could say that this borrows a little heavily from Iron Man’s origin story, it’s mostly the amazing visuals and interesting characters that place this one so highly. We see a genuine, if a little fast, journey in Strange’s character from arrogant know-it-all to magic robe guy. Plus, a good villain in Mads Mikkelson makes this one much better, so when the sequel inevitably comes, I think I’ll definitely be seeing it. The only thing this film lacks is a big finale, as everything seems to tie up a little too easily.

6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Almost the best sequel in the MCU, this films builds on the events of Cap’s first outing to deliver a sort of spy thriller. Again, I’m a big fan of the Marvel films that push the boundaries and branch out into different genres and it’s pretty clear that the experimentation in this film worked perfectly. It’s an intense spy film with some genuine emotion as we see Cap try his best to get through to his boyfriend. More like this pls.

5. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

I can’t tell you how much I love the Guardians (Kinda unrelated but Dave Bautista is at a comic con I’m going to in October. Fuck I’m excited for that). They brought a badly needed sense of genuine fun to a franchise that still felt a little bit too serious. With a perfect cast with good chemistry, a cool space setting with brilliant visuals and a narrative that keeps you hooked, the only thing keeping this film from being perfect is a slightly out of place villain.

4. Black Panther (2018)

The rest of this top 5 all come very close to the top spot to the point where it was too difficult to rank them. Cultural significance aside (which is one of the many things that made this film brilliant), this film’s characters and storylines make a point of breaking away from the usual Marvel mould to make one of the best MCU films to date. In a rare feat that not many of these films do, every single side character in this film feels developed and necessary, which is why so many of them slotted so well into Infinity War (except Nakia for some reason. Really hoping she comes back for Avengers 4, unless she’s been Thanos’d I guess)

3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

They pretty much perfected this one. Some people are saying this is a little gloomy, but that’s to be expected when purple Josh Brolin is trying to kill everyone. What stops this one from being too emo is the well-needed presence of the Guardians, but I could legit just gush about this film for ages so we’re moving on.

2. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

This film is miles, miles better than both of the other Thor films and pretty much everything else in the MCU. Taika Waititi does something that most other Marvel films really couldn't manage; it has a terrifying, brilliant villain and yet the whole film still maintains some of the best humour in the MCU. Guest spots from Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Tessa Thompson and the director himself are all equally amazing and help make this film what it is. If we lose Thor in Avengers 4, I’m praying for Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie to take up the mantle.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

As I said, the top 4 were very, very close together, but Guardians 2 only just beats them all for me. It’s a pretty unpopular opinion, but I think this film took everything from the first and only made it better. In this instalment, we see some desperately needed development for each and every character, with the decision to make this film more character driven being one of its best aspects. Almost pitch perfect humour, an amazing villain, my favourite final fight in the whole of the MCU. Yondu’s heart-wrenching death. I swear if we lose any Guardians permanently in Avengers 4, I won’t be happy.

Just as I typed that last sentence, I had another idea for a Marvel list. Might do another one of what I think each surviving character from Infinity War’s role might be in the next one. Ooo.

Go treat urself.

#eggoreviews #films #marvel #mcu #iron man #captain america #infinity war #avengers infinity war #avengers #tony stark #ranked #steve rogers #list

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gimme-choco · 6 years

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Reflections of an Old-Time Weeb

“It’s just a phase,” my mother thought when my Christmas lists started asking for backwards comics in a foreign language.

“It’s just a phase,” I thought to myself when the money from my first full-time job went towards attending cons and buying random crap from Japan.

“It’s just a phase ... right?” I wondered when the number of idol concerts I’d attended began to surpass the number of fingers I had on both hands.

And at some point I realized the phase wasn’t ending anytime soon.

Oh, I’d tried to forcibly stop it. Stopped viewing new anime after 2015 because there were other things I wanted to do with my free time (that was around when I started reading prose novels again). Curbed my spending on J-pop merch because a reality where Ayano Konishi wasn’t in Tokyo Girls’ Style, Riho Sayashi (and later Haruka Kudo) wasn’t in Morning Musume, and Passpo was a decimated shell of its former self, was a reality too painful for me to exist in. And don’t get me started on the reworked lineups for Juice=Juice, Country Girls, and the former S/mileage. Like who are half these people?!!?

And yet there I was, in 2018, at Anime Expo for Japan Kawaii Live.

The idol world sinks its claws into you, and if they get you at the right age and the right frame of mind, it never goes away. Not even when the groups change and girls age out of the system, and you figure you’ll never love the new ones as much as your old favorites.

I think there’s just that fundamental urge, intrinsic to one’s fandom, that keeps sending me to idol shows as long as the lineup is right and the scheduling is workable. (Now here’s a funny thing. If it had been the late 00′s/early 10′s and you’d told me AKB48 was coming I would have been blown out of my mind. But now I look at the guest list and see that it’s a delegation of AKB scrubs—sorry, Team 8, I know you’re all doing your best!—and think about how their best singles were all from 7-9 years ago, and AKB is probably the least important thing I came to see this year. As predicted, they did a buffet platter of mostly well-known singles and left it at that.)

So there I was. Waving lightsticks and screaming my throat out and jumping up and down in time with the choruses when I got hyped. I should be too old for this. I am too old for this. But being at an idol live just awakens deep-seated emotions that don’t come out anywhere else.

Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls was everything I imagined it would be. I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY DID TULIP. The moment that bassline started resounding through the concert hall, I knew it was THAT SONG and I just about lost it. And the stage roaming during Onegai Cinderella! I wasn’t anywhere near close enough to interact, but I knew way down in the front rows, some lucky-ass fan was getting idol eye-contact for the first time in their life. Maybe they got a wave. Being that up-close and seeing your best girl smile at you—I’ve had it happen before, I know what it’s like, it feels like your heart is going to burst and there is no container in the world big enough to hold all the emotion welled up inside you. (Ask me about it sometime. September 2009 and July 2014.)

The bond between performer and audience shows its true spark of magic in moments like that.

Now, the word I’ve been hearing from other fans—talking with friends, and just out in the courtyard after the concert—is that i☆Ris was the surprise of the night. It seems the mood was, “I hadn’t heard much about i☆Ris until AX, but HOLY CRAP THEY’RE GOOD.”

(And me, in my hipster smugness, thinking: “I’ve been listening to iRis for months on Spotify! Where’ve you been?”)

Suffice to say i☆Ris made a lot of new fans that night.

And here is the thing about idol music: yes, it’s super formulaic, a lattice of 4- and 8-bar patterns set to incredibly strict rules, but use those rules well and you will have a hit song every time. It’s what I noticed when they came up on my Spotify recommendations. The flowing melodic lines, the snappy chord progressions, the thrumming beat that makes you want to go lightstick-crazy. Every i☆Ris song is good. And if your producers can write you songs that are consistently good, you will put on live performances that are consistently good.

The adorable MC segments, the constant playing to the crowd, and the final stage bow where they came out wearing In-N-Out hats (because what better way to win over a California crowd than to express your love of In-N-Out)? At that point, that’s just bonus material.

And what can I say about Shoko Nakagawa. She is truly a weeb force of nature. And she looks amazing for being in her early 30′s. I mean, she was last at AX 10 years ago, and it honestly looks like the only “aging” she’s done is her voice being a little throatier and a couple of smile lines showing up around her mouth! I dunno man, I guess loving anime and being an unapologetic weeb (shit, she even uses “otaku” unironically) will keep you perpetually young. That, or Asian beauty product devil magic.

I think at this point you just have to appreciate Shokotan as an elder stateswoman of the genre. There she is, leading an audience sing-along of Cruel Angel’s Thesis, then bringing down the house with Sorairo Days, and it boggles the mind that such a small woman can hold an entire concert hall in her grasp. And then she brings out the other acts at the end of the night and you realize how wondrous, how fortunate the U.S. crowd is to have our own little version of Tokyo Idol Festival.

If you’d told me 10 years ago that we’d be witnessing a concert like this.

(And remember, 10 years ago you had puffed-up “Japanese culture experts” insisting that Morning Musume will never come here because it’s just not a viable market. GUESS WHAT HAPPENED IN 2009 YOU TROLLS. Then again in ‘14 and ‘16.)

Anyway, the point is. If you’d told me 10 years ago. If I had known 10 years ago, just how far down the idol rabbit hole I’d fall. If anyone could have predicted, 10 years ago, how big Anime Expo would get, and how much the English-speaking, Japan-loving subculture would grow into its own organism, and what impossible dreams may come over the course of a decade.

Thank goodness I never outgrew “that phase.”

#long post #anime expo #ax2018 #ax 2018 #personal #my own stuff

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Disney+ UK Star Launch: Complete List of New TV Shows and Films

https://ift.tt/2P7STsN

We came for The Mandalorian, stuck around for WandaVision, and, as we wait for The Falcon and Winter Soldier and Loki to arrive, there’s now a huge pile of new catalogue additions to work through, courtesy of Disney Plus’ Star brand.

Star launched on the Disney Plus streaming service in territories outside of the US (where Disney already has a home for adult drama in Hulu) on the 23rd of February. It’s added over 75 TV shows and 280 feature films here in the UK, including the entirety of Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Glee, Prison Break, Sons of Anarchy and Scrubs as well as cult favourites Firefly, Flashforward, Terriers and more. There are also some UK debuts in the form of the Star Originals listed below.

Film-wise, there’s ample reason to go back to the 90s in the form of Arachnophobia, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Con Air and a host of others, plus…well, it’s almost 300 films. Chances are you’ll find something to tickle your fancy. Households with kids should know there are new parental controls to set too, ensuring that nobody gets any unwelcome surprises.

Here’s the complete list of titles so far:

Star Originals

Big Sky

From Mr TV himself, David E. Kelley (Doogie Howser, Chicago Hope, Ally Mcbeal, Big Little Lies) comes a nine-part crime thriller starring Ryan Philippe and Vikings‘ Katheryn Winnick. Based on the 2013 novel The Highway by C.J. Box, Big Sky is the story of a series of missing girls and a private detective/cop trio with a messy personal history who team up to find them. It aired on ABC in the US last winter.

Helstrom

There’s very little fanfare for this comic book show‘s UK debut, which met with mostly negative reviews on release and was cancelled after 10 episodes, but Marvel completists will want to take a look. Tom Austen and Sidney Lemmon play the Helstrom siblings Daimon and Satana, the children of serial killers who hunt down the worst of humanity.

Love, Victor

Another Hulu original making its UK debut, this teen drama spins off from celebrated gay teen 2018 film Love, Simon. It’s narrated by Nick Robinson, who played Simon in the original film, and follows the story of a Puerto-Rican/Colombian-American teen living in Atalanta. Reviews for the 10-part first season were strong and it’s been renewed for a second.

Solar Opposites

Rick and Morty‘s Justin Roiland and Star Trek: Lower Decks‘s Mike McMahan are the creators of this adult animated comedy series about a family of aliens (pictured above) forced to seek refuge in middle America. Season one was enthusiastically received, and a second run is due to air in the US in March. Read plenty more about it here.

TV Series

According To Jim, Seasons 1 – 8 Alias, Seasons 1-5 American Dad, Seasons 1-16 Animal Fight Night, Seasons 1-6 Apocalypse World War I, Season 1 Apocalypse: The Second World War, Season 1 Atlanta, Seasons 1-2 Blackish, Seasons 1-5 Bloody Tales Of Europe, Season 1 Bloody Tales Of The Tower, Season 1 Bones, Seasons 1-12 Brothers & Sisters, Seasons 1-5 Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Seasons 1-7 Buried Secrets Of WWII, Season 1 Burn Notice, Seasons 1-7 Castle, Seasons 1-8 Code Black, Seasons 1-3 Cougar Town, Seasons 1-6 Desperate Housewives, Seasons 1-8 Devious Maids, Seasons 1-4 Drugs, Inc. Seasons 2-7 Family Guy, Seasons 1-18 Feud: Bette And Joan, Season 1 Firefly, Season 1 Flashforward, Season 1 The Fosters, Seasons 1- 5 The Gifted, Seasons 1-2 Glee, Seasons 1-6 Grey’s Anatomy, Seasons 1-15 The Hot Zone, Season 1 How I Met Your Mother, Seasons 1-9 Inside North Korea’s Dynasty, Season 1 The Killing, Seasons 1-4 LA 92 Lance, Season 1 Lie To Me, Seasons 1-3 Lost, Seasons 1-6 Mafia Confidential Maradona Confidential Mars, Seasons 1-2 Modern Family, Seasons 1-8 O.J.: Made In America Perception, Seasons 1-3 Prison Break, Seasons 1-5 Raising Hope, Seasons 1-4 Resurrection, Seasons 1-2 Revenge, Seasons 1-4 Rosewood, Seasons 1-2 Scandal, Seasons 1-7 Scream Queens, Seasons 1-2 Scrubs, Seasons 1-9 Sleepy Hollow, Seasons 1-4 Snowfall, Seasons 1-3 Sons Of Anarchy, Seasons 1-7 The Strain, Seasons 1-4 Terra Nova, Season 1 Terriers, Season 1 Trust, Season 1 Ugly Betty, Season 1-4 Ultimate Survival WWII, Season 1 Valley Of The Boom, Season 1 Witness To Disaster, Season 1 WWII Bomb Hunters The X-Files, Season 1-9 The 2000s: The Decade We Saw It All, Season 1 24, Season 1-9 24: Legacy, Season 1 The 80s: The Decade That Made Us, Season 1 9/11 Firehouse The 90s: The Last Great Decade? Season 1 9-1-1, Season 1-2

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Films

The 13th Warrior 42 to 1 9 to 5 Adam (2009) The Air Up There The Alamo (2004) Anna And The King Annapolis Another Earth Another Stakeout Anywhere But Here Arachnophobia Australia Bachelor Party Bad Ass Bad Company (2002) Bad Company (Aka: Tool Shed) Bad Girls (1994) Bad Times At The El Royale Baggage Claim The Banger Sisters Be Water Beaches Before And After (1996) Belle Beloved (1998) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Best Laid Plans Big Trouble Billy Bathgate Black Nativity Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation … Boys Don’t Cry Braveheart Breaking And Entering Bringing Out The Dead Broadcast News Brokedown Palace Broken Lizard’s Club Dread Brothers In Exile Brown Sugar Bubble Boy Bulworth Bushwhacked Can’t Buy Me Love Casanova (2005) Catch That Kid Cedar Rapids Chain Reaction Chasing Papi Chasing Tyson Choke The Clearing Cleopatra (1963) Cocktail Cocoon: The Return Cold Creek Manor The Color Of Money Come See The Paradise The Comebacks Commando (1985) Con Air Conan The Barbarian Confetti Consenting Adults A Cool Dry Place Cousin Bette Crazy/Beautiful Crimson Tide The Crucible Cyrus Damien – Omen Ii The Darjeeling Limited Dark Water Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) The Day The Series Stopped Day Watch Deadpool 2 Dead Presidents Deceived (1991) The Deep End Deep Rising Deion’s Double Play The Devil Wears Prada Devil’s Due Die Hard 2 Die Hard With A Vengeance Double Take Down And Out In Beverly Hills Down Periscope Dragonball: Evolution Dreaming Of Joseph Lees Drive Me Crazy The Drop Duets The East Ed Wood The Edge Encino Man Enemy Of The State Enough Said Evita Exodus: Gods And Kings The Fab Five (2011) Far From The Madding Crowd (2015) The Fault In Our Stars The Favourite The Final Conflict Firestorm (1998) The Fly (1986) For The Boys Four Falls Of Buffalo French Connection II The French Connection From Hell Gentlemen Broncos A Good Day To Die Hard Good Morning, Vietnam The Good Son (1993) A Good Year The Grand Budapest Hotel The Great White Hype Grosse Pointe Blank Guilty As Sin Gun Shy The Happening Here On Earth High Fidelity High Heels And Low Lifes Hitchcock Hoffa Holy Man Hope Springs (2003) I Heart Huckabees I Love You, Beth Cooper I Origins I Think I Love My Wife Idiocracy In America In Her Shoes Independence Day Independence Day: Resurgence Inventing The Abbotts Jennifer’s Body The Jewel Of The Nile John Tucker Must Die Johnson Family Vacation Jordan Rides The Bus Joshua Just Married Just Wright Kingdom Come Kissing Jessica Stein Kung Pow: Enter The Fist Ladyhawke The Ladykillers (2004) Last Dance (1996) Le Divorce The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou Live Free Or Die Hard Looking For Richard Mad Love (1995) The Man From Snowy River Margaret The Marine Marked For Death The Marrying Man Martha Marcy May Marlene MASH Max Payne The Maze Runner Medicine Man Melinda And Melinda Metro Miami Rhapsody Miller’s Crossing Moulin Rouge (2001) My Father The Hero Mystery, Alaska The Namesake Nature Boy Never Die Alone The Newton Boys Night Watch (2006) No Mas Nothing To Lose Notorious Office Space One Hour Photo Oscar And Lucinda The Other Woman (2014) Our Family Wedding Out To Sea Pathfinder (2007) Phat Girlz Phone Booth Planet Of The Apes (1968) Planet Of The Apes (2001) Pony Excess The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Post Grad Powder The Preacher’s Wife Pretty Woman Primeval The Puppet Masters The Pyramid Quills Quiz Show Ravenous Rebound Renaissance Man Revenge Of The Nerds Ii: Nerds In Paradise The Ringer Robin Hood (1991) The Rocker Romancing The Stone Ruby Sparks Runaway Bride Rushmore Ruthless People The Savages Say It Isn’t So The Scarlet Letter Sea Of Shadows The Secret Life Of Bees Separate Lies The Sessions Shadow Conspiracy Shallow Hal Shining Through The Siege Signs Simon Birch A Simple Twist Of Fate The Sitter (2011) Six Days, Seven Nights Sleeping With The Enemy Solaris Someone Like You Soul Food Spy Hard Stakeout Starship Troopers Stoker Summer Of Sam Super Troopers (2002) Surrogates Swing Kids Taxi (2004) Terminal Velocity Thank You For Smoking There’s Something About Mary The Thin Red Line (1999) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Three Fugitives The Three Stooges (2012) Titan A.E. Tombstone Toys Trapped In Paradise Tristan & Isolde Up Close & Personal V.I. Warshawski Veronica Guerin The Village (2004) Von Ryan’s Express Waiting To Exhale Waitress Waking Life The War Of The Roses The Watch (2012) The Waterboy The Way Way Back What’s Love Got To Do With It When A Man Loves A Woman White Men Can’t Jump William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Win Win Woman On Top Working Girl (1988) The X-Files

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Online project | #05 Roef Gerbang & 108

Round #05

Roef Gerbang : RG

Guido Bisagni : 108

Their conversation will be presented in ways like chat record of social network

RG: Hi! Mr.Guido.My name is Cheung. I’m Meiko’s friend, so nice to meet you! Meiko said we could can make this conversation together, so where can we start? oh, by the way, I’m a skateboarder as well!

108: Hey Cheung! How are you? Nice to meet you! I was a skateboarder! now I have 42 years old, I still have my skateboards, but it's better if I walk or I use bike :)

If you want we can start with something about skateboarding and art/stuff related to it! Like when and why you started to skate or something like that! I'm always super interested about it

RG: Yes,Mr Guido！let‘s start talk to Sk8，good choice！By the way, I’will be 39 years old till June this year！So in fact I‘m not young neither！But I still skate 2 or 3times per week，sometime 4. So I think Sk8 is good for healthy, keep ur legs strong…I mean it can also keep you feel young，I feel like I’m sort of old monster try to grab the youth power in my hand！and that's why I keep skating.. I told Meiko：“thank you for introducing a Sk8 homie in Italy！I started to go skateboarding since 2016，at that time I worked as a illustrator in Ad company，one day a project which needed to look for some reference about surf，I thought surfing is cool，but I’m not living by the sea，then I noticed skateboard…I was just wanna a board that can cursing around，but when I step on it，I addicted into it，riding stuff can‘t satisfied me anymore，then Ollie，bs/fs 180，shuvit……and my Sk8 journey turn on?How about yours？

108：(Hey, sorry yesterday I uploaded too many stories and message section went out of control)

Heheh, nice to hear that I'm not "so old" so! Anyway, the past year I met two times my old friends, we went to visit a very nice place just out from our city called Skatefarm, it's like a DIY skatepak made by great skaters. Anyway, I'm not able to skate on a skatepark and I age made me very scared about it. I was a skater mainly in the 90's and we had just the street. I started to skate around 1990 with a plastic toy skatebord of my sister than I met new people. Some of them are still some of my best friends, It was not just about learning tricks, it was a weird way of life, I spent every day of my life on a supermarket parking for many years! Crazy, after the boom in the 80's during the early 90's skateboards became very underground and crazy, we dressed xxxl all the times and we were real misfits. For sure skateboard was one of the most important thing in my life, it changed everything.We were all coming from a low/mid class and it gave us the possibility to came out from our small city situation, through it I discovered all that kind of music I still like, graffiti, art, I became a vegetarian because I red a interview with Ed Templeton when I was 17 and still I'm, so for sure, skateboarding is part of me.

Old photo from 108, the parking of supermarket, with his skate crew in 1992 in his spot in the city of Alessandria, Italy.

Old photo from 108, the parking of supermarket, with his skate crew in 1993 in his spot in the city of Alessandria, Italy.

This photo is me in 1993 ? - So, I'm curious: for me skateboard was very important to know art and new kinds of culture: punk, graffiti, and than arts, video making and stuff! You came to skateboard through illustration is that right? It was a different process, let me know about that!

RG: Oh my god... ...the 90's ! The golden and glory 90's ! Mr Guido you’re the true legend ! Meiko told me before that you have been skated for very lonnnng time ! And so do you ! I really wish you can go skateboarding again in future even if only on flat ground ! I really admire that you can have awesome relationships with your guys in 90's ! Nowadays skaters in china , especially the Z generation don't connect with each other oftenly. Most of the time kids just put on ear phone and skate on their own . I do have a little friends who can skate together sometimes , but most of the time , I skate alone . But that's ok , I just yearn for the 90's and 90's people , that's all look at your photos seems like you can do flip trick... ... I still learning , to land my first Kickflip is so damn difficult..

“See Saw” illustration by Roef Gerbang

Yeah, but actually I came to Sk8 through my last job , since then on I do put lots of illustration into it . And it is also my goal in future... I still need to make more skateboard art that can allow me to cooperate with skateboarding brands .

I also want to make skateboarding film , this art form can also let me use my art to do something with it , I’m working my first skateboarding film in process , it’s cost me nearly 2 years...

“Traffic Jam” illustration by Roef Gerbang

“Chazslater” illustration by Roef Gerbang

“Sad skater” illustration by Roef Gerbang

“Cicollins no comply party” illustration by Roef Gerbang

“Catch” illustration by Roef Gerbang

“Lawson 2：00 am” illustration by Roef Gerbang

Hope my film can come out this year . last year I was planed it when I finish the film maybe take it to some skateboarding film festival but cause of coronavirus spreading to all over the world , now I don't know whether there's any skateboarding film festival will open this year?

I’m confusing now that should I save the film to next year when the world become normally and take it to festival ? or I just put it on internet this year...damn, so hard to decide!

Roef Gerbang’s first skateboard

Doodle on first board…

Roef Gerbang’s first shoes for skate

youtube

This is when Cheung studied ollie，it torture a long time, and now still torturing he, so sometime he call himself ‘ “Ollie Patient”

youtube

And this is now，Cheung can only do some spin trick and basic rail/box trick

I make comic , cartoon and figural art a lot...sometimes I make animation as well, I think i don't have a abstract thinking brain，lol?

"Three Posture People" Acrylic, Wall Post 2019

I can only feel what I see and transfer them into my art style...I found sometimes when I feel extremely tired while I still working in front of computer...my eyes already closed at that time…but my mouse still working on photoshop...and I will suddenly wake up and saw a abstract image…

“Bear man” series product by Roef Gerbang

I 'm very curious about your art , when you working on them what are you thinking?

And what lead you through all that pictures till finished ? Instinct ? or the result of practice yourself so many years?I really like this your work (the photo below) because they are looks like butterflies, very beautiful…but the rest of them are too abstract to me? I can only figure out they‘re shapes with texture…but still look fun and mystery！

KU2 large pattern, by 108

I like this one… the patten line into a rule looks so coool！If it can be designed for shirts or trousers must be nice！Looks very high-class!

108: Wow, you are very good to skate! I'm not able to do anything anymore! hahaha, After 10 minutes my back is broken! I was able to do some filp tricks 20 years ago, I started during the "flat" times, so we were making a trick very low. The biggest problem is that in 97 I broke my wrist, and I went to the hospital after 3 months, hahah so, it's still broken. Sometimes it cause a lot of problems I can't do some kind of sports, I need the stick when I paint huge walls. I'm very very scared about it, if I fall on it I have to stop to work for months and I can't work. Anyway, I'm thinking about buying some bigger and softer wheels to ride a bit sometimes, we'll see! Here we are all inside home too.

CORPOPARASSOTA Photography series by 108

Maurilio Arcivescovo by 108, 2012

About your questions

1) I 'm very curious about your art , when you working on them what are you thinking about ?

It's not easy to reply: I think about too many things, the core of my research is the form. I like forms, everywhere, in nature, old primitive art, design, everywhere. I love textures, colors, but mainly it's about forms and lines. there two parts: irrational/irrational, planned, random, geometrical/organic... I try to find a balance or a total contrast on the two parts.

Large wall painted by 108 in Brescia, Italy, 2019

The work of 108 at Bunker, Turin, Italy, 2013

The work of 108 at Barcelona, Spain, 2014

The work of 108 at Brooklyn area, New York, America

2) And what lead you through all that pictures till finished ? Instinct ? or the result of practice yourself so many years ?

Some works, usually canvases are made with a first sketch, than I start to work and I change it, I don't like to plan, process is important as the final product. Other works, for example the black and white lines/patterns on paper or sometimes on walls, are more like a meditation. I decide some rules and than I follow those rules, trying not to think about anything, just focus on the process. I got a lot of inspiration from eastern art and philosophy, both aesthetically and conceptually. In fact I really like the connection between west and east, not just in art.

The work of 108 at Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2017

The wall of 108 with nuns at Buenos Aires, Argentine.

Every year I buy the annual subscription for the museums in my region, I go maybe 7-8 times in a year to see the Eastern art museum in Torino (MAO) I'm crazy for it, there is a big Chinese section, I need to search pics and I'll show you some my favorite objects!

Some of 108 favorite art works at the art museum in Turin (MAO)

So, skateboard is something that came from US basically, now it's a global thing, but for me too it was something exotic. What inspire you, I mean do you find inspiration inside Chinese culture too? how do you mix the two things?

RG: Sorry, Mr Guido！Reply lately…I was thinking about how to answer your question better…

Oh my god, not realize that you have been injured so badly..:(

My wrist and ankle have problems too，and I also don‘t jump stairs for years…flat ground and stage are better for me, hahaha....

For the question: to find inspiration inside Chinese culture too？

Yes, of course I am. I do inspired by Chinese culture , especially from traditional Chinese painting...the ancients they had have rich technique of expression : the line can be separated into many forms, such as dry , wet , heavy , light and so on and colors as well , for example , if you wanna painting a pine tree ,before you painting the pine needle you should paint a color first , then before the color dry , you draw line on that color can make the two parts mixed well..

“The leader“ illustration by Roef Gerbang

I also learn how to compose and leave “white space”？or should I say“blank space”（don‘t know the description right or wrong，but in Chinese called“留白”）from Chinese traditional painting，and really help me a lot, I pay more attention on form too，learn lots of things from not only Chinese traditional painting but old asian art.

I study how to control the line‘s rhythm, draw a line when going fast or slow down；how to make your art looks more interesting, more art sense will always be the lessons.

“Crow perched on willow tree in spring” , by Zhu Da (八大山人), Qing Dynasty

This work from famous painter of Ming Dynasty named：Zhu Da, aka. 八大山人(Ba Da Shan Ren）You can find that he got very special style to paint birds and another animals，and his art is too much different from other ancient Chinese artists

Look at these three unique tigers

“Bee and tiger” painted by Hua Yan（1682-1756）

“Bee and tiger” this image is the detail of the painting, usually people can‘t see that bee，actually it’s on the right corner when you see the whole picture, and the tiger is not aggressive as usual, scared, the ears also fell down，bend the tail, afraid of bee‘s sting...

Old Korean painting，unknown artist

Painted by Yanagisawa Kien (柳泽建) Japanese painter, Edo period, 18 century

I found these art works they always pursue some kinds of weird feel，not only copy the truth but more expressive force.

youtube

"After Party" acrylic, abandoned old skateboard, 2019

And this is also my goal, like I say more expression, more art scene. You noticed irrational, random, plan…I’m agree with you, I also like the process more than result, painting is more like adventure, like fishing, I like the view on the road more than arrival, enjoy more the fish bite the bait than cook them.

Comic Exhibition, painting by Roef Gerbang, Hamburg, Germany 2018

"Stranger" watercolor on paper, by Roef Gerbang, 2014

Yanshu book 48-hour comic production project, “Deja Vu” 2015

"Some like it blue" Hong Kong 62 Independent Cartoonists Group Exhibition 2016

I like simple technique to describe a thing，but interesting，that‘s what I learn from the ancient artists，oh，nearly forgot，many outsider art teach me a lot as well

So let me ask one last question for you Mr Guido：how do you think about storytelling and abstract art relationship？Do you think is there any possibility to make storyline into abstract art？

"Bs tailslide ignition" , acrylic on paper, 2017

So glad to talking with you, I‘m really enjoy the sk8 and art topic！Hope we can meet each other after coronavirus！maybe in future I‘m looking forward to that day，wish you keep pushing and have a long artistic life，Ciao！

The "Puzzle" short story is included in the "GAME" comic compilation, published by Wild Things Press

108：Ciao Cheung! ￰ Thanks a lot for it, Chao is fine to me!!! And sorry for my late reply too!

I can say ni hao, it sounds not so different, but I'm not able to write it in chinese :(

Thanks a lot for your reply, for the artists and for the pics those tigers looks so "modern"! I'm very familiar with japanese art and culture, here, expecially my generation, we grew up with japanese cartoons on tv, manga, than music and stuff... I know that large part of japanese culture has roots in chinese culture, like zen buddhism or calligraphy, but for years it was very hard to be in contact with it., so I'm always trying to find out more about it and to understand it.

So..about your question: "Let me ask one last question for you Mr Guido：how do you think about storytelling and abstract art relationship？Do you think is there any possibility to make storyline into abstract art?"

First of all, I need to explain that I don't like labels. I mean, of course I use the word "abstract" to explain quickly what I usually do, but labels describes borders. I think in 2020 we have the possibility to explore many kinds of visual arts, many different medias... so yes, I think it's possible to tell stories with "abstract art".

"Sogno Lucido" by 108, 2019

"The key" by 108, 2019

"Blue" by 108

"the entrance of the dream" by 108

"La Casa Park" by 108, 2019

Tele exhibition in New York, La Casa Park.art, 2019

The work of 108 in the Milan Triennale 2008, Italy

Ceramic installation by 108

Figurations, clay, by 108

Complete figurations, by 108

Installation Museum of the incomprehensible Antonio Colombo 2019 Milan, Italy

I mean usually yes, my work is visually abstract but I love to put a lot of things in what I do. First of all I think that all my pieces are connected and there a lot of things inside them. Cinema (or video) is a very complete for of art: you have the image, a story, the sound... with pictures you have to put everything on a single image.

Trollhattan Sweden 2016

Saeio catanzaro, by 108

Solo exhibition of 108 in Lyon, France, 2020

Archaeological Museum books above, book made by 108, Palermo, Italy, 2019

But there is more: I work also with sounds for example and sometimes I made some videos, but what fascinates me the most about any kind of art, is when it gives you a lot (ideas, feelings) but it don't gives you everything. I need some un explained parts, some shadows where I can enter and I start to imagine and to build my own world. What I like about some "not figurative" art is this kind of mystery inside it. But it can be also a movie or a photo or a landscape or anything else! I hope you understand what I mean.

"24 Tapes" series, made of 108

Exr in Seoul, wall painted by 108, 2016

So, do you think is this enough? I'll search for some pictures to add to the text! 谢谢 Mr.Cheung! It was a real pleasure to talk with you! I hope, if the virus will let us travel again, to visit China in the next years finally and of course if you are around northern Italy I will be happy to meet you! Let’s keep in touch on Instagram!

Painting on Etna Vulcano, 108

RG: Mr Guido. Those characters you showed me that from MAO are the Tomb Beast…？？In Chinese called“镇墓兽”. They‘re the guardians of tomb. In Chinese culture，people think that when people died（their soul）go to the other side of the world，there’re countless ghosts，evil spirits will harm the soul. So the guardians (have human’s face，beast‘s body) they can protect the soul stay away from the demon, and keep them safety.

108: Yes exactly! There are many of them! Amazing, they looks so modern and I like so much these kind of stories.

RG: Mr Guido, I think about our last talk “labels describes borders” couple of days ago…and it make me sense，like，portrait painting，still-life painting with very realistic technique will boring for me, it’s lack of imagination, but in the other way, if the portrait, landscape painting with simple and refining technique can make me watch for a long time. it‘s super cool tho..

So in fact I’m the guy just like you who searching for the shadows as well..:)

108: I understand very well! I love portraits, landscapes and still lifes too. But I enjoy when you can find something interesting on the way they are made. I like eastern art and modern art because usually feelings are more important than hyper realistic technique.

RG: Yes, painting should involve not only technology but also emotion.

______________________________________________________________

108 (1978, Alessandria, Italy) he lives and works between Alessandria and Milan. Among the major exponents of post-graffiti in Italy, he began his artistic research with an approach to traditional graffiti. At the end of the nineties, after moving to Milan in 1997 and graduating in industrial design from the Politecnico Milan, his stylistic figure evolved formally and conceptually, so much so that he became one of the first artists to use numbers and not letters to sign his own. works.

His abstract forms and mysterious figures begin to appear in the abandoned spaces of the streets of Milan, Berlin, London, New York and Paris. Not limiting his production, in addition to Muralism he also ventures with sculptures, sounds, paintings and installations in dozens of personal and collective exhibitions. Among the main ones are participation in 2007 at the Venice Biennale with the Walls Inside project.

Roerf Gerbang a native of Chengdu, China, now lives and works in Shanghai and he is currently UID SH Senior Illustrator.

A person who is a neighbor to art and skateboarding, usually like play skateboarding and painting, he love good stories, good weather, good coffee, and good wine.

______________________________________________________________

Contact:

108:

http://www.108nero.com/

Instagram:

108_108_108 & yiklui_cheung

#108nero #artistitalian #artconversation #skeatart #skeatboard #skeatartist #chineseartist #2020 #contemporaryart

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