#throw some ideas at me like specific bands or artists so i can maybe doodle on stream instead of work lol

[evillillad]

makes my own metal/punk/goth au even though theres so many just so i can make howdy sound like peter steele from type-o-negative

[wtfy-cyzj]

*SPOILERS* CYZJ Subbed Ep. 9 reaction

Episode 9 is finally out with subs, so you know what that means: another play-by-play reaction text post! And it’s another 2-hour episode, so we’re back to the super long format.

As with previous installments, each major section of the show has a header so you can scroll if you’re looking for something specific. And, of course, spoilers and foul language kinda come with the territory.

Mission reveal and song assignments

Another two performance mission assignment – picking the third finalist pair and then establishing a ranking for the finalists – because they just gotta be ranked going into the finals *rolls eyes* - I could rant about how much I wish the producers would stop pushing the competitive aspect of the show while talking about it being about “breakthroughs”

Hao’s little goddamnit-esque laugh when the 1v1 mission is announced  :/

Anybody else get the feeling Victor’s the reason Eric & JC are worried about the other team picking their song? Like Hao might give them something out of left field because he wants them to show a new side or because he thinks it suits them, but not to torpedo them – Victor, however, seems a bit of a wild card

…! I seriously thought Eric had the card down the front of his pants for a moment there!

Aw, Hao’s smile is so sweet – I already knew Eric/JC got to do one of Eric’s songs – that little “you’re welcome” bow & Victor being totally checked out makes me think that was all Hao’s doing

So, yes & no – I expected Victor to at least playfully push to mess w/ the other team – he seems kinda disengaged though

Wait, is that Hao’s handwriting?! I was admiring it when Eric first revealed the card – I know people who only know English who don’t write that nicely – kid’s definitely an artist

“How can I not be satisfied with my own song?”  XD

Aw, that was really sweet of Victor to say he hopes they don’t mess w/ the song too much

I love that when Victor asks “by who” Eric & Xiao Wu both go “Drake” w/ a very soft “duh, who the fuck else” feel – and then Hao gets stoked when they start singing it

Yes! I’m so glad Jiacheng said that about Hao & Victor’s performances not being them together! I thought it about the last 2 performances, but since I didn’t really see anyone else talk about it, I wondered if it was just me. Plus there’s the whole cultural disconnect & not being part of the target demographic that added to it. It’s good to see someone who’s in the thick of it with them recognize that same thing

I want to talk about the warm fuzzy feelings I get from Eric & Jiacheng being so thoughtful about their choice and how this reinforces my desire for the show to stop leaning into the competition narrative, but Eric mimicking both Hao & Victor is too cute

I love that Jiacheng doesn’t know how to process Eric’s goofiness for a second – same Xiao Wu, same

Aw, the doodles!

Hao’s “don’t say anything” is great! – take a stand & make Victor dance!

“Okay fine, alright, I’ll dance. I’ll dance” – damn straight!

Second mission reveal

“Sprint Out” Attack? And that means…?

Meh… Another drawn out process to pick a collaborator? - it was cute w/ the ladies but since I haven’t seen anyone talking about the guests and the tease at the beginning of the episode was blah, I’m not really looking forward to it

Trying to ignore the elevator talk and not roll my eyes too hard

Meeting the musicians

Oh dear god, Yanan is so fucking cute watching Liron Man play! – tell me someone’s giffed that doofy expression and weird little wiggle! *heart eyes*

Ooh, Liron Man’s got a great smile – has nothing to do w/ anything but I couldn’t leave it unremarked upon

“The sound produced is very cute […] like a tortoise who lost its soul” – say what now, Yanan?! – that does not seem like a “cute” sound, sir!

Once again, being thoughtful and aware of the other contestants – brownie points to Jun

I’m so glad dude knows some Chinese! We don’t need another person stranded behind the language barrier even if it’s just one episode

Apparently, I love the pipa and didn’t even know what it was – now that I have a name, research will be done!

“My mother’s profession is also in the pipa” – poor girl stepped in it!  XD

Here I was thinking they reacted much better than with the previous lady guests, but no, still shy as fuck

I realize that as an apparently internationally-recognized musician, Wangtao probably plays the clarinet in ways that I never could imagine – unfortunately I took band from 7th through 9th grades, including marching band, so I cringed when I saw what he plays – and I immediately had to go look up this Eddie Izzard bit because my brain wouldn’t stop going “clahr-en-ahrt” and “WEzul WEzul” until I did

Watching Jun & Yanan discuss their options is a really interesting look into their personalities – “are we choosing calm or movement?”

“You decide” – brave words, Jun – I wonder where this fell on the timeline of Yanan deciding to leave the show

It’s not going to be a famous Western artist, Samuel – it’s never going to be a famous Western artist – sorry to burst your bubble, kiddo

Bahahaha! For all Zhennan’s “leave us a good one” in the elevator, Jun & Yanan picked the most obvious choice for the kiddies – …yes, I know I’m an asshole for finding that so funny

…Does Zhennan’s shirt say “same shit different day”?!

They completely lost that whole “working w/ musicians will be hard” thing real quick

“I feel like I tortured little kids”  XD

Someone’s setting himself up for a headache confusing jazz with jazzy, especially when picking a classically trained accompanist

It’s really cute seeing Eric & Xiao Wu being a little awkward with the pipa player after they seemed to calm with the previous female guests – they both barely look at her

I love arrogant!Eric, especially when he’s immediately replaced by embarrassed!Eric – I am, however, more than a little creeped out by the cartoon bull being blown around by, what, an umbilical cord?!

Aw, Jiacheng immediately defends his “arrogance” *heart eyes*

Wait, did Xiao Wu’s lyrics sound bad? Eric said it could “be a little better” so maybe the phrasing was awkward, but the translation of “lately, I’ve been scared of sleeping alone” grabbed my attention and made me wonder what prompted those words

They’re dorks and I love them

Poor Hao being left to talk to their musician alone

…! I totally blanked that this could be Minghao’s first chance to really do a traditional Chinese sound – aw, yay!

Hmm, Victor really agreed to do purely traditional? I guess “purely Chinese” doesn’t have to mean traditional instead of modern

And then we flash back and I stand corrected!

Performance day

Wait, they’re not gonna show how they chose the performance order between MH/Victor and Eric/JC?! I feel so cheated! thank god

Minghao & Victor are up first – 1v1

“I’m always ready!” *heart eyes*

Hao accidentally proposed confessing to the other contestants  XD – just because you think something is meaningless doesn’t mean it really is!

What’s cuter: Hao’s reaction when he realized putting in the other contestants’ names wasn’t the best idea or Hao’s reaction to the thought of name-dropping exes?

I love MH’s logic! Victor’s trying to downplay any romantic intention behind calling out a female artist by saying it’s about respect & admiration, so Hao throws out Jony J & Gong Ge - if it’s about respect & admiration he’s not wrong, but Victor’s face says otherwise – I laughed so hard I had to stop the video and go calm down by doing a load of laundry

I’ve gotta say, as someone who liked both JJ & GG from the beginning & still really likes them and as someone who started watching specifically for Minghao, I love that he brought them up again and in such a positive light. Fans can – and do­ – hate on them, but he’s got every right to continue to look up to them. He’s the one who was directly affected by their actions, yet he continues to admire them and voice that admiration. I don’t get how people try to drag them on his behalf when he says things like this.

Aw, it breaks my heart a little that Victor thinks making the song about the show is “limiting” their creativity – Hao’s had a lot of fun and had made connections on the show that he obviously values – how is making an ode to that a limitation?

I love when Hao speaks in English – it always surprises me how rich & deep his voice is – like I usually chalk it up to being an artifact of the language, but it’s genuinely appealing – does that make sense? Just me?

Am I the only one who thinks changing the names to their own makes it about self-doubt, not narcissism?

Victor’s so American!

I feel like Victor having to dance is a little bit of karma for being a pain in the ass  >:D

That little intro clip is adorable!

Aw, Victor did MH’s 8 hand sign!

Overall thoughts: I loved that! It wasn’t perfect, but I think, after Clap, it was Hao’s best performance by far. He definitely had fun and loosened up with Supernatural in ep.8, but this was a whole other level and I think a lot of it was from actually playing w/ Victor during the performance. I love that they switched it up and Victor had the vocal parts; he’s a talented singer so it was nice seeing him step out of the rapper role. And I was really impressed with Hao’s English. A lot of times, non-English-speakers do odd things with their emphasis on words, but he was pretty damn spot on. It makes me wonder just how fluent he actually is since we don’t see him speak it much beyond simple phrases. The one thing I wasn’t entirely feeling was Victor’s rap. It felt a little rushed? Cramped? It’s understandable since he’s working within a pre-existing song, but it did stick out to me. I don’t know why Victor was worried about dancing. That bit was less choreography and more conscious swagger, if that makes sense, and he pulled it off swimmingly. I wish they hadn’t cut to the audience during Hao’s dance break because it was my favorite one he’s done so far – less artistry and more simple fun. Can we take a moment to thank Eric & Jiacheng for making this gem happen?

“And we were constantly laughing at Victor’s attempt at dancing” – Eric! I’m glad he finally has someone else’s dancing to pick on but also smh

Eric & Jiacheng’s 1v1 prep and performance

Aw, Jiacheng gushing about the comradery on the show and wanting to help each other show their best sides  XD

The idea of them singing acapella is actually really cool – if anyone on the show could pull it off really well, it’s these two

I love that Xiao Wu seems to throw out more English the longer he’s w/ Eric – he’s gaining experience and confidence in other areas – why not English, too?

Back to Eric’s crush on Dilireba  XD

Aw, JC says they got close – of course they’re (probably) going to in a situation like this, but it’s cute that he’s talking about it – I know I’ve said it before, but I love that he’s so open with talking about stuff like that

Xiao Wu really looks like he’s about to cry reading those comments – and then Eric ruins the moment telling him not to cry

I already saw @bathtubofdonuts​’s post talking about them incorporating the fan comments in the stage but seeing them get to that point is so sweet

Wait, so why is it important to tell us the screenwriter lady is in the audience? Was it the OST for her drama?

Aw, Hao’s so touched already

I was starting to worry the editing was going to lose the comments to those close-ups

It’s not weird to comment on how pretty Jiacheng’s hands are, right?

Wah! JC’s teary-eyed!! I was already tearing up – don’t make me cry!

Ah, okay, so she helped Eric write the song

Overall thoughts: I was sniffly & teary, but I managed not to cry. That was beautiful. This is why I was worried when they were talking about making a more impressive set design in ep. 8. They do simple so, so well, and they really don’t need a bunch of extras. Just having that one element of the comments playing behind them was so gorgeous and impactful. I’m really glad that they didn’t have accompanists on stage with them because they’d just be a visual distraction. I know I’ve talked about it in previous reactions, but the combination of their voices is incredible. I doubt Eric has ever sung a sour note in his life, and I wish Jiacheng knew how gorgeous his voice really is. His little power vocal moment toward the end? Ugh! So good! I’m gonna keep saying how happy I am that they got to work together because of this show.

“I feel that this bundle here is trembling” – I’m going to be so sad not to see this sweet kid after the show ends! TnT

1v1 performance results

Nooo! I know what’s about to happen – I’m not ready for the angst!

Poor Jun looking so nervous over there w/o Yanan

I hate this fucking setup so much. I’ve said that I think the way Jony J left the show was probably at least partially prompted by the production staff. Knowing that Jun was given options after Yanan left and that, for all his extraness, Jun is super shy, I have a hard time believing the production staff didn’t go, “So you don’t want to be in the running anymore and ~play by the rules~? Okay, so how about we make it look like there’s gonna be an elimination then you come out and dramatically withdraw? Wouldn’t that be awesome!” Jun’s never been my favorite because his playfulness can come of really childish to me, but I highly doubt he would put Minghao this scenario again for funsies.

Having seen translations of this weeks ago when the episode aired, I was not prepared to tear up. It hurts to see Hao so freaked out again and try to pull Jun back bodily. And seeing the distress on Jiacheng’s face as he says “no!” at him, my breath caught in my throat. Ugh! I’m seriously starting to cry watching JC panic more as Jun compliments them all. X(

Oh god that whole bit after the interview section was… weird. It’s pretty obvious the way Eric & Jiacheng are smiling in the background that things were cleared up. But that audience reaction… It’s so cold? This weird sort of idea that idols “betray” their fans is something I’ll never understand in kpop. (This is taking into account all the chaos that happened because of Jun’s decision, not just what made the edit.) Disappointment I get, but there’s no compassion for the grace he displayed in a shitty situation or relief that he’s going to continue performing. This whole situation was made so much worse being in front of a live audience.

The interviews after Jun’s reveal are so sweet, but why does it feel like a memorial? It’s just shy of saying “in loving memory of Wen Junhui”

Top 3 ranking performances

I love when the show has to blur someone’s phone because it’s not the sponsor phone – it’s usually Samuel, but this time Eric’s the culprit

And there’s the performance order ceremony

Minghao, Victor & Lian Pieru (pipa) are up first

Interesting thoughts about the Mechanical Era – it seems like Peiru’s a good match for Hao

So the interview thing is the only lead up we get? I don’t want to episode to be 3 hours, but they’ve got such an interesting story they want to tell and Peiru seems like such a character, I was really looking forward to the preparations – now I do actually feel a little cheated

Overall thoughts: I may have actually liked this performance better than In My Feelings. It wasn’t as entertaining, but it was a cool concept that was executed really well. I’ve gotta say before I go on though, I’ve seen people complain about the editing of other performances, but this is the first one that’s been distracting to me throughout.  :/  If I didn’t know before going in that Victor was supposed to be the narrator, I don’t think I would’ve gotten that. The harsh stage whisper sort of effect in the beginning comes off kind of judgmental and, well, harsh where I was expecting more of an impartial observer style narrator. I wish his character had either done less interacting (to be an observer) or done more (to show his investment in the storyline and justify the judginess). It was a nice change of pace to see him being subdued while Hao was the higher energy partner. Hao’s rap in both performances this episode was great. They felt more natural and less stylized, which I really dig. He also showed his vocals more here than I think he really has in a while. At least it was more impactful than past performance. I would love to see a purely vocal song from him – no rap, light choreo – because he does really interesting things with his voice and we don’t get enough of it. [I just got a flash of him singing w/ Susu O.O] The choreo was impressive even if the edit made it hard to get the full effect. The end was great with the angry faces and the final little trill of the pipa.

It weirdly warms my heart to see them acknowledge they’ve been kind of at odds in their partnership up til now

Eric, Jiacheng & Lian Peiru (pipa) perform second

Uh, does Jiacheng’s overcoat have Donald Duck smack in the middle of a traditional tapestry?!

Not gonna gush about the VCR, but these two are so damn cute

We don’t even get an interview lead-in for them?!  >.<

Ooh, pop-style pipa is really cool…

Somebody put Xiao Wu in a musical please - even my theatre-hating ass would pay to see that

Aw, Liron Man reacting to them  uwu

Overall thoughts: I really enjoyed that. It was soft and sweet, and of course their voices are amazing. The set design was really pretty with all the florals. For some reason, thought, for most of the song Eric seemed strangely pulled back? Maybe it was because Xiao Wu was still on a high from the previous performance and the pipa is so distinct, but his parts just got overpowered to my ear. It was still beautiful.

Huh, Samuel really hasn’t gotten much screentime in this episode, even for reactions

Zhennan, Samuel & Wangtao (clarinet) are up third

Maybe it’s because he’s a good bit older, but I really appreciate the way Wangtao talks about Zhennan here – at least I assume he’s referring to Zhennan since Samuel seems pretty cool with being a kid – it doesn’t soften me to him, but it’s a needed reminder that his bravado may be more façade than arrogance – still find it annoying though *shrug*

Anyone else have to look up what an elaphure is? – it’s a Père David’s deer

Excuse me, mister clarinet man, don’t make me start thinking clarinets are sexy – I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that I’m probably gonna look up your music but that’s just taking it too far!

Overall thoughts: For anyone who thinks I’m just going to shit all over this because it’s Zhennan and Samuel, you’re wrong. I actually kind of dug that. It’s not really my bag, but I don’t dislike it at all. First off, the stage design is impressive with that cube setup. It’s really interesting having Wangtao on top of it (but also, get off the tall thing!). I would love to see a fixed cam of the performance to get the full effect. I really liked Zhennan’s solo in ep. 2, so seeing him go back to that sleepy, almost lazy delivery style is really nice. I’ve complained about him leaning too hard into his imagery (or did I cut that bit because I was being an ass?), but it was used beautifully here. Samuel really impressed me. His rap style still sounds a little like he’s trying to be someone else, but it didn’t sound awkward this time. It’ll be really interesting to see where his style goes as he comes into his own. And these are his best lyrics yet. Yes, I snorted at the LeBron reference in the otherwise whimsical song, but I really liked the honestly and depth. The dance break was beautiful and a nice escape from the more stock mainstream choreo Samuel’s been showing us. He does hip hop well, but I’m glad he gave us something more contemporary here and showed off his range. If I have a complaint it’s that Samuel’s voice gets lost in the “I don’t want” bits. I wish they’d at least brought him forward so you hear him more, or better yet, given him something a little more ornate to weave around Zhennan’s more drudging sound. His little vocalization before ZN’s final part was a pleasant surprise, and I would’ve liked more of that. They’ve made the best use of the accompanist so far, too. The whole thing was lovely and haunting and understated. Of all their stages, I think this performance has been the most effective in delivering the message they wanted to get across.

Jun & Liron Man (handpans) are up last

Why are the lead-ups getting shorter?! We’re going straight into the performance with no interview or VCR. I get that he’s not eligible for votes anymore, but I still want to see something, man

Total Pure Moods vibes here – fun fact: I wanted that CD so badly that both of my (divorced) parents got it for me for Christmas that year – I was a weird kid

Aw, is he singing along with Jun?! So cute! *heart eyes*

…off the tall thing, please…

Overall thoughts: If you’d told me before this that I would eagerly watch a Jun solo three times in a row, I would’ve laughed in your face. His style just isn’t for me usually. And yet, I watched this three times in a row (I zoned out and just listened to first time, watched the second, and read the lyrics the third). Thank you, Yanan, for picking the handpan. I never would’ve thought the distorted ring of a handpan would complement Jun’s very unique vocal quality as well as it does. This is the most at ease we’ve seen Jun on the show, and I don’t mean relaxed or confident. It didn’t seem at all like he was performing or was “on” but like he was singing for the sheer personal pleasure of it. After his stress in previous episodes, it was so good to see. As for the song itself, I have no fucking clue how to describe it. It reminded me of the weirdest things without really sounding like any of them. I mentioned Pure Moods, but also The Little Mermaid and “What Is Love” – as in the song from A Night at the Roxbury (listen to it, young’uns, and be confused). There were others, but I’ve blanked because that last one was a little too wtf.

“He was definitely enjoying it, really” – you know it’s true when the guest is saying it

Wait, no contestant reactions even?! Why are we getting robbed of the good stuff in this episode, goddamnit!?

Points reveal for the finals

This is for the ranking going into the finale – plus starting points which seems weirdly unnecessary?

Hao & Victor got 66 votes – why so low?

Xiao Wu & Eric got 73 – better but still really low considering the stages & past scores

Zhennan & Samuel got 72 – why so low?!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad my boys are leading, but they all gave incredibly good, polished stages and those scores really don’t seem to reflect that. I mean, they’ve given out 80s before – are the panelists given criteria or is it purely a matter of preference? – the contestants all look a little disappointed with the scores, too

After show nonsense

“passionate teens Zhou Zhennan and Samuel, gentle warriors Wu Jiacheng and Zhou Xingzhe, mood players Xu Minghao and Ma Boqian” – I don’t know why those labels amuse me so much but they do

I’m glad we get to see Samuel & ZN react to the handpans because they were so cute with the other instruments

Damn, Samuel really is a quick learner

Did he mean to play Eric’s song? He’s definitely got a bit of an artist crush on Eric, but that’s adorable if he was trying to play it. And impressive that he did it well enough on something he just learned how to get a sound from that the others recognized it!

  My personal rankings

MH & Victor

Jun

Eric & Xiao Wu

Zhennan & Samuel

Usually picking my rankings is super easy. My favorite and least favorite have been leagues away from the others, but I really liked everybody this week  :D

And now, another long wait until the subs come out for the finale...

[wrong--lever]

Your Thoughts for OW’s Lore At Blizzcon

**Edit - would help to tag you hurr durr @freckledmccree

I like how you will indulge in detailed speculation and interpretation of OW lore and don’t center all ideas around one specific (noncanon) idea but will admit occasional personal bias. I also really appreciate that you steer relatively clear from fanon and when people respond to your writings you don’t have an attitude or seemingly disregard them. Sooo, that’s why I wrote this disgustingly long thing even tho I’m paranoid about being annoying.

 (Apology beforehand if you have answered any of these before, I have not properly stalked your blog yet. Also, excuse my rambling I did my best to be coherent. Lastly, I only have one friend who is kinda into OW and I feel bad to bother them 24/7 so I talk a lot in this.)

McCree Speculation

The following assumes that the new cinematic will be McCree’s.

If there is another known character in the short along with McCree, excluding flashbacks, who do you think it would be? 

I have 3-4 ideas even though I would not say they are likely. And with any of these I don't imagine a role any larger than Brig's in Honor and Glory or even Zarya in Infiltration.

A.) Genji. I don't think it's likely but I wouldn't be surprised. It also might be risky on Blizzard's part because many are salty about Genji's abundance of lore compared to others. (Which is dumb and I would gladly rant on it but it's not the point) Reasons:

Notable increase of McCree's interactions w/him.

McCree might've left OW in a less professional fashion than others. Which would mean he may not have anything to be alerted by for the recall. Especially since he went underground for a while.  Winston’s contact info? Long since changed.

From how I interpret “Dragons” it seems that Genji has received the call as well as offered Hanzo a choice to go w/him “The world is changing once again, Hanzo. And it's time to pick a side.” So why not others?

Genji has also been canonically in touch w/at least one other ex OW member. So why not try to get in touch with another member that we know he directly worked with?

My logic - Why would their interactions matter?

McCree's asking about how Genji dealt with the loss of his body emotionally/physically as well as Genji's response leaves room for the implication that Genji knows how he lost his arm.

Why would Genji go in person?

Well, I mean you probably don't wanna broadcast that your getting the highly illegal band back together. In which said band also is also hated by the UN and every other terrorist organization on the planet.

How will Genji know how to find him?

Cause he's a ninja, duh. But seriously McCree most likely said something before he quit OW and if not Genji would just have to look at the news and he'd be there.

B.) Sombra. If anything I wouldn't be surprised by a small reference to her rather than actually seeing her.

Reflections comic (duh)

My logic - I expect Sombra to get involved with a little bit of everything. She likes making people question their beliefs on who is “right” or “wrong”. 

She would most likely know about the recall so if she wants to manipulate that at all she could be the one to tell McCree about it. Idk, she’s a wildcard with anything.

C.) Fio. The Blackwatch Pilot in Retribution. (I used “known” characters loosely) I'm not sure on my certainty with her, tbh. But I do find it rather intriguing. (I said no flashbacks but maybe with this one)

Fio's only lines that are not directly related towards the mission are all directed towards McCree.

The tone of them is clearly on the teasing/banter side of things.

My logic - Why have this side character show any interest in conversation outside of the task at hand? 

If she was just being used for the game mode and as lore filler it would make more sense to have only lines relating to the mission. Or have generalized ones for the team. But she has multiple focusing on the one and only Jesse McCree.

Reasons for that could be that they ran out of time to add other interactions. Which would explain why McCree does not acknowledge her comments. (The only time he was quiet during the mission is when she talked to him, rip you got denied girl) Or it could be that they knew each other previously or trained together in some of the early days of Blackwatch.

D.) Mercy. This one I would be surprised to see but it would have some logic to it.

Losing his arm, depending on the how/when/where.

She is not one of the characters who speak to him about his arm.

My logic - Who fixed his arm up for him?

Depending on how/when/where he lost his arm he may have shyed away from public hospitals. Especially with Talon  seemingly controlling so much of the press. So he may of wanted someone he personally trusted as well as doctor patient confidentiality.

Why does Mercy of all people not ask about the prosthetic? 

Out of the people who question McCree Mercy isn't one of them. Which may seem odd since she has known him for so long and her being a doctor. However, she does call out his smoking. So this proves she does pay attention to his over all health. (Which I am aware is a much older interaction) But it would have been a good opportunity to have her inquire about the arm there if she doesn't already know.

 Do you think McCree will directly receive the recall or from some other source?

What do you think of the fact that McCree lost his left arm specifically?

If the loss of McCree's arm is related to the Deadlock Gang do you speculate that it was intentionally the arm that had his tattoo on it? With how far McCree got in his career/life with OW and potentially spilling info on the gang when caught some people might want him to hurt. Not just die. To me forcefully sawing off the branding of the gang he betrayed would fit the bill. As well as be a good warning for others. (Not that blizzard would show that)

How do you imagine the camaraderie within Deadlock to be?

I ask this since in “Hero” right before the Los Muertos member throws the grenade it shows him actively choosing to help the other gang members (very broken gang members thanks to Soldier 76)onto the back of the truck instead of getting out ASAP. 

I just found that to be notable in how their social structure works. It makes more sense for Los Muertos specifically since they originally wanted to stand up against the politics and speak out for the people still suffering from the Omnic Crisis. They are not formed from the shady work they do.

Deadlock, however, doesn't seem to represent a core ideology. So I wouldn't be surprised if when OW caught some of them the others ran. Especially since McCree would probably still be pretty low in the pecking order at the time.

Can you imagine a shoot out in the warehouse tho, that'd be so risky people could be anywhere and there's no good line of sight except for where the truck drives through. Sneaky teen McCree climbing around and ish

Do you expect/hope for the origin on any mementos to be revealed?

My only idea is his iconic BAMF belt buckle. We know he's had it for quite a while since he wears it here: 

Just  thought Blizzard could do something cute with it if they wanted.

Do you have any thoughts on the Deadlock Torb skin?

Idk, this is kinda silly but people have talked about it. People do have a good point that it’s odd for him to have that skin.

Lastly, do you have any little head canons that you hope to see confirmed? 

Nothing serious just simple personal hopes from the cinematic which may or may not set you up for disappointment cause fun

(When I first started writing this I had two questions, rip. I'm pretty sure I forgot one of the original questions too)

Other Blizzcon Lore Speculation

Do you have any ideas for the new hero?

Personally, I do not have any super strong theories but I do have a few loose ideas. Tbh, I can’t especially convince myself of any these besides the likelihood of said character being a tank.

A.) Talon Tank

Reasons:

Moira’s origin story contains two possible indicators towards this, or another Talon member in general.

We need another main tank added to the roster (opinion)

Talon has a character for every role except tanking (weak)

Popular request (weak)

My Logic lacking- Majority of this idea comes from Moira’s origin story which shows this relatively well known photo with a person or armored suit of some kind on the back panel here: 

I used to think of this to be much harder evidence than I do now since it looks like it could be a uncolored design used for the Talon members in Retribution. However, there’s another detail in the photo (including the version with the different back panel that I believe could point to another member. Each character, excluding Moira, has their line of sight going to the same spot. My doodles for emphasis:

(Reaper is kind of hard to tell but that’s basically his entire role in Talon at this point, lol) Who are they all looking at? This could just be an artistic choice for viewer immersion but it also could be rather purposeful. To me, it looks like a proposition to someone, with the panel in the back for emphasis. If not a proposition, perhaps the workings of a plan or setting clear expectations for said person. (either version works for this context) This someone must be rather important to have them all there. Moira is looking back at the rest of them, seemingly reading their expressions/body language. She seems pleased but then again she’s a tad bit odd.

B.) Mystery Characters

Idek, I added this cause I could. This is not likely at all but will remain on the list of possibilities as long as Overwatch shall live.

Have been shown or spoken of very early on but nothing since

Recently mentioned names but no physical hints of who/what they are

Tying up some long held questions (weak)

Popular demand (weak)

My logic (or lack there of) - I have exactly one tiny speck of logic for this. Mystery characters shown and/or spoken of before the cancellation of the First Strike comic are still occasionally brought up to the OW team. Yet they have conveniently  not retconned them.  Why not say they are no longer a significant part of the story when there has been no updates on them for 2ish years? Maybe they are just keeping the possibility open. Liao and the two from Ana’s origin story are the best (only?) examples:

There is also more recently mentioned characters such as Ray and Fio. Ray was discussed mostly early this year and all we know about them is the following:

We do not know anything else about who or what Ray is. I do not 100% believe Ray is an actual person but you never know. The comment on the beard and his response to has Ray’s combat experience could be some teasing on Michael Chu’s part. To me, Ray is either a person, an omnic, or some sort of computer system used in the Orca.  I should note that another AI other than Athena would seem odd especially with the whole reason OW formed and all.

(Fio I have already discussed but at least we know she’s an actual person, hopefully...OW is weird man)

What do you think of the common theory of Sanjay Korpal being the next hero?

Personally, I think he lacks the look of an OW character. He looks rather plain to me, almost like a background character used to fill up comic space. I do believe his role is going to grow substantially in the lore but as an in game hero? Eh, I don’t know. Another thing I struggle with imagining is him being a tank like a lot of people presume. It would be interesting with what Vishkar can do with hard light technology to have a tank based on that, I will admit. Just don’t see him filling the role of that, he doesn’t strike me as someone who wants to get his hands dirty. I will admit, that this is very strictly my opinion and read of his character and by no means is anything to go off of speculation wise.

 But, if I’m wrong, then next years first cinematic should definitely be a Symmetra/Lucio one and it should definitely have Symmetra kiCKING HIS ASS FOR MANIPUlATING HER foR GOD KNOWs hOW LONG..ahem.

Do you think a comic will be released soon?

They usually put out comics on Wednesdays but they have been odd this year when it comes to them. Idk, if they’ll announce one at Blizzcon. I kinda doubt it. Personally, I’m hoping for a really kick ass Christmas comic since in Reflections it ended with Winston saying he has a good feeling for “next year” (OW’s next year cause timeline) plus last year’s was cute but underwhelming.

I think that’s all I have to ask/discuss for now? I had ideas keep popping up but I kept going back over what I already wrote and my attention span is all or nothing soooo there goes my ideas into the void.

***Random ass question cause you like RDR2. I keep getting a gamestop ad for it and it’s bugging me cause I can’t make out what this guy is saying. It sounds like “I don’t want to kill all you smooth dutch. Just you.” Idk where the exact video is rip, but I feel like I’m really mishearing the guy, lmao.

Non Sequiturs and Stupid Fangirl Squealing

(possibly completely incoherent warning idk how to wenglish when im excited pls ignore mw)

I saw a comic aart thing once and it had young jesse punch Jack in the face and Reyes thought it was the funniest thing and I feel like that’s in character

What if Reyes had a few choices on who to recruit and he was like I want the cowboy chose the instead of the trained older guys. Ana would be like Reyes no and Reyes would be like I want the damn cowboy

I never realised how much I appreciate McCree’s character until the hints of him having a short started popping up. Before I liked him sure, I just never thought too deep into how they could expand on his character. Originally I was just like, “so Reyes picked this kid out of a big ass gang and had him trained among the world’s most renowned soldiers and he still is perfectly content being a cowboy?” Good for you my dudely man, good for you,

wanna see skinny (lean)  young McCree but everyone will want the skin but it wont look the same with his in game model so blegh

I agree with you on how you think reyes recruited him, so many people think he just yeeted jesse at a bunch of angry omnics and was like lol have a cowboy

Imagine McCree being so confused by the weird ass original OW team like y there captain america, my new found father, a dwarf (swede) and an 8 ft german happy meal

He’d be so intimidated by Ana I bench lift Reinhardt for fun Amari being his coach like asdfsdf

But I think with her training it’d be the first real time he let his guard down without him realizing it because he was so in awe of her sniping skills and being able to get taught by her, bonding over shooting people half a continent away yAY

What if we see lil pharah??? I’ll die???

Okay I’ve said this to another  blog but even tho McCree is not my “type” I’m still gonna need to strap my ovaries in place for this short, cause booooooooyyyyyyyyy (I dont even have a type but I guess I mean a lil scruffy?)

[houseofvans]

Sketchy Behaviors | PACOLLI (San Francisco,CA)

Working as a producer in MTV Brazil, self taught artist Patricia Colli (Pacolli) started out hand drawing her own calendars and silk screening her own shirts. Making her own way through a mostly male dominated São Paulo art scene, Pacolli's natural creativity, unique eye for color and composition, and ear for the lyrical made her work stand out from the rest. Not only did her colorfully spastic, psychedelic, and angsty work catch our eye, but also her “go-getter” attitude and DIY ethic which permeates in everything she does: from silk screening her own gear, self publishing her zines, managing her online shop, High In The Bay to the recent opening of her new art space–Bendgy in Brazil.  We got to chat with this chill artist about her new space Bendgy, her artistic processes, and about the magic of zines.  

Photographs courtesy of the artist. 

Keep calm, read on! 

Introduce yourself  My name is Patricia Colli, but people call me Pacolli (it doesn't really have a funny story behind the name, it was just my first email because i wasn't much of a Patty and I had a band with my friend Ronaldo who introduced me to everyone as Pacolli, eventually I stopped fighting it and embraced it, it's like a one name thing like Cher and I like Cher). I'm 35, born in São Paulo (Brazil) and I live in San Francisco, California with my husband and also artist Mildred.

What’s the first thing you remember drawing?  How did you first get interested in art and making art? I remember drawing a house in the hills when I was in school and the teacher said that wasn't really good, I went to an italian catholic school in Brazil and they were not a fan of arts. Maybe that's why I started, in a very shy way, to go around it and start drawing all the time. I didn't like school from day one so I started drawing during classes to escape from it. In 7th grade I started drawing the guys that my friends and I had crushes on and passing them during class, we would laugh so much because the drawings were really sketchy and they were all about skipping class to go see them and skipping class to go to concerts, getting fake IDs and being crazy, recklessly teenagers!I always kept something like a sketchbook journal through the years and eventually they started to become zines, and then t-shirts...

What’s your artistic process like? Do you keep a sketchbook or doodle everywhere you go? I do keep a sketchbook with me at all times, and I make a lot of lists of things to draw. I also write down funny/interesting things I heard or read somewhere. I like to take my time to come up with an idea and daydream as much as I can about it before doing it. I like the process of coming up with something and letting it reveal itself as I go on. It's like finding something about yourself there.

How did your life go from drawing as a hobby to drawing as a career? I used to work on MTV Brazil as a producer and I used to make my own calendars with a big drawing on top, my co-workers used to make copies of those to use them too... I thought it was cool that people liked it but I never thought I could do this for a living. A couple years went by and I started screen printing some t-shirts and got invited for a fashion art show in Antwerp (Belgium). It was funny cause I started being asked to participate in art shows and collaborative zines in Europe but never in Brazil, so it was like a fun side gig to me. Eventually I started getting some freelance illustration/t-shirt design gigs/art shows in Brazil and abroad and gave up my tv job, started traveling where my art was taking me and it took me to San Francisco where I am since then.

What are some of the hardest challenges you have faced as an artist and how did you overcome them? It was hard to manage the ups and downs of the job and understand that's how it goes, sometimes you get called to make a bunch of shows and gigs at the same time and sometimes it feels like there's nothing happening for months to end... so I like to make things happen when I have these slower times, experiment different mediums, collaborate with other artists, start a new personal project and be productive. It's important to keep a perspective about those things and to not compare your path to anyone else cause that won't help. I tend to get anxious if I don't have projects lined up, but if there are no opportunities you have to create them yourself.

You have some many various types of characters – heart shaped people, coffee cup personalities to rabbit / cat people.  What’s the inspiration behind some of them and do they all sort of have personalities? I guess I see faces everywhere lol, drawing humans is challenging! I make myself laugh sometimes when I'm drawing strange creatures that don't exist doing humane things, it's like it's ok for them to look a bit off because there's nothing to compare them to, you know? I like drawing these characters with human feelings but not in a human form because it's more fun and freeing. Sometimes I make these creatures inspired by my friends, I drew the album cover for my friend's band Polara and we used to drink so much coffee all the time, I thought the best way to go about was to draw a bunch of espresso coffee cups dancing like crazy and dizzy bumper cars cause that's how you feel listening to their music after all that coffee!

It’s always really cool to see you printing your own stuff from shirts to stickers  When did you first start silk screening and printing your own things? Has the process evolved for you? I had some friends that screen printed t-shirts and I knew the basic process of doing it, so one day I decided to try one myself and I fell in love with the process and results. It was like playing with stamps all over again (I played with stamps and stickers my whole childhood). Since I was self taught in a way, I didn't know what I was doing...so I started to print things a bit different, not doing the same image over and over. I got a small squeegee and I took my time printing each drawing at once and composing a different story behind each tshirt. I became a screen hoarder!, I never throw them away (unless if they're clogged but I don't let it happen much) and bring them from Brazil - i know, it's crazy! I found my happy place doing these 1/1 prints, it gives me new ideas every time I'm printing, I see new possibilities and experiment without fear, it's very calming and exciting at the same time.

How many zines have you self-published?  How did you first start creating your own zine? I self published six zines so far, my intention was to publish at least one every year but I've been slacking on that goal. I had too many sketchbooks full of drawings, my friends would tell me to do something with them and I was always shy and a bit embarrassed about sharing personal things, one of my friends called me out that all I like a lot from other artists are personal and maybe embarrassing things lol.. so yeah I had no excuse anymore! Reading Jeffrey Brown, Vanessa Davis and Esther Pearl Watson really encouraged me to make my own zine at that time! They're work is very personal and it was definitely an inspiration to me!

What is it that you love so much about zine culture?   I think it's a very specific kind of subject that you couldn't find anywhere else (before the internet got huge). I started reading music zines about underground indie and punk bands. I think I still see it in the same way, a place to put on specific things you don't find anywhere else. I'm really into checking out the paper and print style, small editions with something handmade or hand drawn on it always get my attention. They're hard to find these days! Fun Chicken (the online shop from Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson) have really cool zines and I'm always checking Fudge Factory Comics (Travis Millard's online store) cause there's always cool zines. Well everything they have is amazing!

What have been some of your favorite collaborations? What do you enjoy most about them?   I collaborate a lot with my husband, he's been making art and zines for a long time too and every now and then I'll sneak one of our collabs in my zines and vice versa. It's important to have some intimacy with whoever you're collaborating with so you can say what you really think. It's fun to do it and I always learn something from the experience. 

Is there a medium you want to try and haven’t?  What is currently your favorite medium and why? I got a wood burner from my in-laws last christmas and I haven't tried yet, it's sitting next to me and I'm very excited to try it out.I really like painting with acrylics and india ink on wood panels, there's so many possibilities and room for trial and error.

What are your top 5 artistic influences, past and contemporary?  When I saw Dan Clowes comics for the first time, it changed my life! The way he draws and portrays the world was so new but so familiar in a way... he's a huge influence to me because it sparkled my interest in expressing myself through drawing. The same happened when I first saw the art of Clayton Brothers, I realized art could be so cool!! Their paintings and drawings blew my mind, I have never seen anything like that... I remember trying to like mainstream art like Picasso and Mondrian but I truly didn't have an emotional connection to any of these guys, I knew that I felt different when I saw Clayton Brothers in the cover of Juxtapoz in 2004. It was hard to find this kind of art in Brazil, and still is! Keith Haring went to São Paulo in the 80's and painted murals, he was on the tv and I thought he was such a cool guy. My mom gave me a calendar with his drawings on it and I loved it and kept it for years! Same thing happened when I discovered Warhol, his persona was always intriguing to me and it made me like his art even more. I grew up watching and reading Peanuts, so I don't think I can leave Charles Schultz out of this list. I don't separate comics from art, they have the same impact for me. I love his ability to create his own world and still being completely relatable, it's also kind of simple but extremely complex at the same time.

There’s an autobiographical nature and intimacy to a lot of your works because they come from feelings and experiences you’ve had or gone through or thought.   Can you talk a little bit of maybe you’ve used some bad experiences in your life to create art from that has been maybe therapeutic?  I feel like since my first sketchbooks were sort of journal like, that I've always had this relationship with drawing and letting emotions out... and it's therapeutic, cheaper than therapy as I always say! It's hard for me sometimes to not let it out, so I don't hold back anymore. It's funny cause the more embarrassed I am of something ultra personal that I drew, the more I get people to write me and say they really liked it. My first two zines were miserably sad ("I thought it was a love story" and "Mad for Sadness") I didn't know what to do with myself so I put together a zine with all those feelings. It kept me busy, which is usually a great thing, and a few years later I got emails from these teenage high school girls from San Francisco telling me their teacher showed my zine in class (!!) and they thought it was a good way to survive a heartbreak. I thought it was so sweet! I never thought about it before, you know? Sad things will happen anyway but how you deal with them is up to you.

What common misconception do you think folks might have about being an artist or making art for a living? I think the internet makes things look easier and more glamorous than they really are. I grew up seeing cartoonists drawing and being a bit miserable like Robert Crumb. Have you seen the documentary "Crumb"? I knew it wasn't easy being him and doing what he was doing, maybe it made me have even more respect for his work. He never tried to portray any glamour about being an artist and I think it's more like the real thing. These days people don't care for struggle, they seem to always want the easy way and that's not how art goes most of the time so I think it's funny and sad in a way. People rip off your work and forget you're a human too, trying to survive in this messy world.

What do you do to overcome those days when nothing you’re making is turning out right? What do you like to do in your off time? I like to read books when I don't know what to do with myself, it helps me to shift the focus and get into something else than my own drama. It helps me with anxiety and always sparks new ideas. Going to concerts and playing drums are my other escape tools for living a better life, music is magic... the power of live music is amazing, going to concerts is one of my favorite things to do!

Tell us about your recent trip to visit Brazil.  When you lived there, you used to do some events called Bendgy. Can you tell us how they came about and how your recent visit went? I lived in São Paulo for 28 years, it's a huge city with a lot of cultural things happening all the time, the pace of the city is maddening and it's hard to keep focus sometimes, but regardlessly it's where i'm from and I love it! I started throwing an art party/concerts in my apartment when I started to make tshirts around 2006-2007. It was a very low profile thing, just for friends and just for fun... i didn't wanted to reach out to places that already existed and try to sell my art because it was weird... so I started something unpretentious to do what I was doing and that's Bendgy!It was an art party with a concert Saturdays afternoon in my apartment, i would sell beers, vegan sandwiches and tshirts. A lot of my friends are musicians so I wanted to have a band and we would support each other, it started getting bigger and I was scared of the risk of being kicked out of my apartment for the loud noise and amount of people coming in...I threw a few Bendgys at my friends places and eventually my dad moved out of his house and it was empty for a while, I started throwing bigger concerts there and it was so much fun!

How is Bendgy now? I just came back from SP and it was a long process but now Bendgy is a real art space, I got a great staff and we open every Saturday! We're having an international art show called "Hit the ground running" with the art of Albert Reyes, Jason Vivona, Jeff Roysdon, Mats!?, Mildred, Michael Hsiung (you!) and myself! In addition to the art show, there's a zine/print/tshirt/stickers shop and we have more affordable things from all the artists in the show and from other great artists from the US, Argentina and Brazil. I'm stoked that it turned out the way it did! It was so much hard work putting it together, I thought I was going crazy.. i felt like Donal Duck, but it was worth it!I book every band and make almost every flyer for it, so it's like I'm there but I'm not.

During your time living in São Paulo, Brasil, what was the art scene like?   It was most like an all boys club to be honest. Graffiti and pixação (São Paulo style of tagging) were the underground art that I liked but always made by guys, some really talented ones too! Like, Os Gemeos still blow my mind and were always a reference for me to what brazilian art is, even though they are more respected as artists outside Brazil. I think they're a good example, for some reason Brazil doesn't cherish their own artists until someone else says it's good. It needs a foreign stamp of approval that always made me bored about it because there's so many great artists there!

Who are some artists in Brazil you admire? and why? I love Stephan Doitschinoff's art, he creates his own world and he is very focused on being true to who he is. His work has always been an inspiration to me on how to do things, if there's not a scene for what you're doing you create the scene! 

Throw a zine fest or an art party, and make no excuses for not doing things. People tend to complain there's not enough opportunities there, but i feel like it's also in our own hands to make things happen and not just wait for someone to invite you to be part of something. Jaca is another extremely talented artist living in São Paulo, he is super humble and not really into posting his art online. He doesn't need no approval or applause and I love that! He looks inside himself and his works reveal that to us, it's very inspiring! He will have a solo show at Bendgy in July and I can't wait to see what he's going to do.

When did you start your online store High in the Bay?  The products on there are all hand made by you in SF?  What’s it like keeping your own shop?   I started High in the Bay with my husband, Mildred, when I moved to SF in 2010 to make it up for the fact that I couldn't do a Bendgy here (i would have been evicted right away) so we did an online store.We do carry zines from other artists that we like and sometimes we make collaborative zine packs so people get to know other things than our own work, they get to see what we like! I brought some books, prints and zines from an amazing artist from Argentina called Tomás Spicolli, his work has been a big influence to me so I was very happy to have his art at Bendgy and soon at High in the Bay. It's important to learn to manage something even if it's an online shop, so then you get the grip of it and can do things better in the future, I used to work at Needles and Pens and I learned a lot from them on how to do things, it really helped me when I was doing Bendgy and High in the Bay.

You done a lot of cool art for bands!  What has been your favorite collaboration?  Thanks, man! I have to say I've been lucky to have worked with cool people, like I told before the Polara album cover was a cool one, it's coming out sometime this year in Brazil. All the bands were really cool to me and we became friends, I did a tshirt design for Josh Berwanger Band a few years ago, it had a funny request "draw Patrick Swayze in Road House"! And there was another album cover i did for Swivs that was so much fun to do, his music is so good!!

Give us your top 5 bands or tunes while creating?  How does music influence your art?  I'm very into the new Afghan Whigs album called "In Spades", and all their music really. It's one of my favorite bands ever, I have drawn so many of their lyrics consciously and unconsciously!I just came back from a concert last night in Oakland from another favorite of mine, The Magnetic Fields.  They're great and i came back from Brazil earlier just to see them, love everything that Stephin Merritt does, forever and ever.I'm very into the same bands for the longest time, I love the Ramones, Pulp, Os Mutantes, Cypress Hill, Tupac, Jonathan Richman, Spaceman 3... my music taste is all over the place!Music is a major influence to me, since I was a kid my best friend was not my pen but my radio.

What are your favorite Vans? how would you describe your personal style?Ok, there was a limited edition Lo Pros Saddle shoes that was SO cool! I have a photo of me wearing it, cause i wore it all the time! I'm a Hi Top girl, black and white or just white ones, love those!

What’s the best and worse advice you’ve gotten about art?  Best advice is to work hard and be true to yourself, sounds cliche but it's the truth.Worse advice is when people told me I had to go to art school, it might work for some people but it wasn't for me...

What’s on the horizon for the rest of 2017?  There's one big project that i'm super excited about but can't talk about it yet... And there will be lots and lots of cool art and live music happening at Bendgy!

Follow Pacolli Website: http://www.pacollipacolli.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/pacollionline Shop:https://highinthebay.bigcartel.com Bendgy: www.instagram.com/bendgysp