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rogueshadeaux · 10 months

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Chapter Seventeen — Reascendance

6k words | 20 min read time | TRIGGER WARNINGS: child death, implied terrorism. Sorta ooc Delsin but just pretend it's his customer service voice

Brent didn’t object when I appeared in his bedroom in the middle of the night — I knew he was awake, he wasn’t snoring. He didn’t even say anything when I took one side of the full sized bed and bundled up in the woven blanket, finally managing to fall asleep. Maybe it was the few years before we moved to Chapman where we shared a twin mattress as toddlers in that one bedroom apartment in downtown Portland, or maybe it was the fact that we entered this world sharing a womb — but I always felt better with Brent close. He’d never admit it, but he felt the same — it was an unspoken agreement of sorts.

We were up all too soon again for exams, of all things, Betty shuttling us to the absolutely miniscule high school and parking in its front lot. “God, how many kids go to school here?” Brent asked, sleep still thickening his voice.

Betty, being chairman of the Akomish, apparently knew. “Well the middle school has about 350 kids and the high school has 270.”

“Middle—“ I cut off, glancing back at the school. “Is this a blended school?”

Betty nodded. Holy shit, I didn’t even know schools were allowed to do that.

Four teachers met us in the lobby, guiding us through a hall that seemed smaller than the one at my fucking gyno. We were taken to a small computer lab in a glorified broom closet, and told we’d take each exam with a break in between. “We provide lunches to those on the free and reduced lunch program during the holiday,” one guy with thick glasses said. “You’ll attend lunch with them at 11:45.”

All this life changing drama and yet I somehow couldn’t escape my AP Lit exam.

But hey, we survived, finishing up just before eleven and told to just sit tight. “You can even play around on the computers if you’d like,” a woman teacher that stayed behind offered, her partners all going to the lunchroom to prepare it.

There was no hesitation; Brent immediately began typing in a news channel’s domain name, and I left my place on the other side of the room to sit beside him.

The march was headlining news, helicopter view of COLE’s remains, which was now gated and its front absolutely covered in little offerings. Couple posters I couldn’t make out, unlit candles, one section completely dedicated to a pile of dinosaur toys. There had to be thousands, all lined up in the street and contesting it enough they had to fan into the corners of the intersections, and there at the head was Eugene Sims.

But no Dad.

That didn’t make sense; he left at 9 at night. He probably got to Portland by midnight, two in the morning if he was more cautious. Why wasn’t he there? Did something happen?

Brent’s leg started going again.

But eventually 11:05 came, and Dr. Sims started forward, leading the entire march with his own group of supporters at its head. It took me a moment to realize I knew a lot of those in the group he walked with; that financial advisor who always played on his PS Vita-lity in the break room, Annabelle. He specifically linked his arm with a woman in all black, and it took me a second to tell it was the mom of that seven year old, the charred remains of that little toy Annabelle made in her hands.

But no Dad.

We were ushered to the cafeteria at some point, something that didn’t really register with me because of how absolutely worried I was. I wasn’t sure if I should say luckily, but the teachers had a television going on in the cafeteria with the same feed, volume turned high, a bunch of kids ranging from sixth to senior in the tables surrounding it, all turning in place to stare at us as we were directed where to sit and handed some tray with cold cut ham sandwiches and baby carrots.

“Hey,” one called, an older boy with hair damn near as long as mine, staring straight past me to Brent. “Aren’t you the guy from the Longhouse yesterday?”

One of the kids, seemingly excitable ‘cause she simply wouldn’t stop moving, confirmed before Brent could even try to. “Yeah! That’s the dude with the wings!”

We were surrounded before I could even blink.

It wasn’t a bad thing, though; the younger ones were absolutely enamored, begging him to pull the wings out and making him act all awkward. There was one girl who immediately began flirting with him and his ears started to turn pink, but he managed to keep his cool enough to say, “Sorry, I’ve uh, got a girl.”

The guy with long hair slid in beside me. “They’re saying you’re Rowe’s kids,” he directed at me, the only one to actually pay me any mind. “That true?”

My first chance at admitting it. “Yeah, we are,” I said with barely any hesitation, the teeniest bit of pride managing to burst through the nausea.

“Jean,” Brent said urgently, shooting up to stand, “Jean, look.”

There was a bit of commotion on the television now; the march had been met with a small batch of Lifeline protestors that broke through the police barrier on an adjoining street, practically rushing forward to meet Dr. Sims and the COLE survivors. He made them stop, letting the mother of the seven year old go and gently putting her behind him, standing tall and refusing to flinch. The cops didn’t look in any rush to aid Dr. Sims either, the bastards. “They’re just gonna let them get through,” I scoffed, not even bothering to phrase it as a question as we walked closer to the television, the group moving with us. Cops around the march didn’t even flinch at the Lifeline protestors, instead eyeing the marchers, waiting for them to move to take action.

“Where the hell is he?” Brent muttered, and I instinctively reached out to grab at his wrist in an effort to stay there. If Dad was in trouble, we’d already know, right? But I mean, how? It isn’t like he could message us, and if something happened with that Archangel thing, wouldn’t the whole point be for no one to know?

I glanced at Brent, who was already looking down at me with the same face. I was about three minutes from stealing a car and driving to Portland myself.

Brent looked back to the television as I felt a tap on my shoulder, a little face full of equal amounts freckles and acne looking up at me. God, was I that small at some point? “Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?” She asked, giggling.

Oh I wanted to vomit. Did we really look that unalike? “Ew, god no, he’s my twin,” I almost gagged out, going to move my hand from around his wrist. His hand twisted and shot out though to keep it in place, the grip hard.

“They’re not stopping,” Brent muttered, eyes still glued to the television.

The chatter around us died off as they all began to realize there were more important things going on — like the altercation that was about to begin on television. Dr. Sims was losing control of the crowd, who were beginning to shift defensively. A few of the Conduits in the crowd called up their powers, the stagnant hold of sleeves of their abilities waiting to be used. Lifeline was making an aggressive beeline straight for the center, seemingly not intending on giving them any kind of space, and the cops in riot gear surrounding the show readied their weapons.

But off to the side, some hard light overexposed the camera, making the Lifeliners stop abruptly in place — especially as the aura of neon rushed down the side of a building at a speed I never knew he was capable of, the camera’s frame rate catching frozen glimpses of him mid-run. He zipped onto the road and skidded to a stop in the middle of the 10 feet of space between Lifeline and the COLE survivors, the pink and blue neon on his body slipping away into the air with a snap like a lightning bolt. Dad stood, shoulders squared and chest out as he eyed them, challenging them to try and push further.

They didn’t dare move.

Eugene Sims broke away from the crowd, closing that space and meeting Dad there in the middle, a hand clapping his shoulder. Dad turned, the two embracing for a quick squeeze featuring that man-back-slap thing, separating just as the camera tried zooming in on the Conduit emblem on Dad’s back. The anchor was saying something about it being Delsin Rowe, and the kids around us began looking at us again, but I didn’t care — he was okay. He made it there, and was alive.

There was newfound vigor to the marchers, Dr. Sims taking time to lead Dad back to the group of survivors. They hovered there for quite a while, giving the camera the chance to grab that million-dollar angle it was looking for a moment ago, zoomed in only on Dad now as he talked to the COLE survivors. He went to reach out to the mother but paused midair, hands eventually falling back to his side. He was making his apologies.

Lifeline didn’t move this entire time; in fact, when the camera zoomed back out, it showed they were standing stupidly in the middle of the road, wind gone from their sails. Their dumb little picket signs hung at their sides now, and they glanced at each other confused. Now that their theories were proven real, it seemed like they lost a reason to fight at all. Like they lost their cause, the ability to point their fingers accusingly.

I guess that’s why, when Dad and Dr. Sims turned back around to resume the march, the Lifeline idiots gave them a wide berth, moving to the sidewalk and pushing as close to the building as possible. Dad took his place beside Eugene Sims at the helm of the Second Age Movement, only one other person missing from the original trio.

I’m pretty sure I failed my Earth Science exam when we were shepherded back to that computer room, if I’m being honest. There was just so much distractive chatter in my mind that wouldn’t shut the hell up as I tried to remember if oceanic crust is thinner or denser than continental. Brent finished his exam a whole hour and a half later, and we left to find Betty waiting for us with her little Beetle, beaming at the fact that she gets to take us to Seattle — and immediately deflating when she figured out it wasn’t the first time we’ve been there. “We went with Dad to a gala two years ago,” Brent informed her. “Something for COLE’s charity donations,”

She just huffed in a comical way, telling us to get in.

Seattle’s skyscrapers reached higher than Portland’s, and there were so many more here too. It was strange being here with new context to our lives; this is where things changed for Dad. This is where he and Mom met. This is where Dad helped change things for Conduits. Not Delsin, Dad.

Yeah, still weird to think about.

But we got our phones, sitting in the cellular provider’s store and watching the television that streamed the end of the march as Dad, Dr. Sims and everyone else descended on Portland’s city hall. There were a few minutes of stagnant movement, the camera switched from aerial coverage to on scene as amps appeared and a mic was put up. It was normal for Dr. Sims to speak after events like this —he was their Martin Luther King Jr. after all —and sometimes when it was after a tragedy, he’d have survivors or family come up after to state their piece.

So it was surprising when Dad stepped up to the mic first.

Even now, in the throngs of a mall during last minute Christmas shopping, there was a tension to the air as people watched from food court televisions or the screens in here while Dad readjusted the mic a bit. There was feedback the news camera barely caught, and a weird staticky hum as Dr. Sims appeared beside Dad in a puff of pixels, a hand on his shoulder as he took a deep breath to steady himself, thinking hard on how to start.

“For nearly sixteen years,” he finally said into the mic, putting on his smooth and slightly-deeper-sounding lawyer voice, “I’ve gone by the name Damion Rowland, and for ten of those, I’ve worked as a head legal consultant for COLE. But…the rumors are true. I’m Delsin Rowe.”

There were immediate whispers, auditable in the crowd on the television and in the food court on our left. Dad inhaled deeply again, continuing with, “I hid after my fiancée, Abigail Walker, was killed, to protect our twins. The same fear-mongering rhetoric that took nineteen lives yesterday took my children’s mother, and I didn’t want them to be next. So I hid. That all changed last Wednesday when my daughter was kidnapped and my son was shot, all to bring me out of hiding. They…neither of them knew who I was, either. And I know most of you have seen the CCTV footage, so there’s no point in hiding it: they’re Conduits, too. I’ve spent the past few days helping them come to terms with the truth and their powers.

“But my absence shouldn’t have provoked something like this. Nineteen people are dead, and for what? Why?” He demanded, glancing over the crowd, knowing they wouldn’t have an answer either. “Everything I’ve ever feared, nineteen different families get to experience. Right behind me is a parent that lost her son because of this attack. A seven year old boy, Elliot Prue, who loved the Mariners and dinosaurs. She—” he pointed to the mom off behind him, who had the burnt stuffed toy held close to her chest, “—shouldn’t have to bury her son. Our sixteen year old resident, Amelia Soto, shouldn’t have had her life ended before it even began. My assistant should have been able to retire, Not a single person that lost their life yesterday should have.”

Dad paused to reel himself in a bit, visibly upset at the state of things. Eugene’s hand left his shoulder to go to the mother behind Dad, who began to sob, and Dad’s shoulder visibly sagged with the absence. “I have approval from the Portland Police department and the FBI to announce that we know the cause of yesterday’s attack. A dozen people were radicalized by something called Archangel, met through the networking of this group and began planning this attack almost seven months ago. Archangel was also behind the attack on my children, so we’re assuming that the attack yesterday…that it had something to do with me. Whether they thought I’d be here in Portland’s COLE chapter or if it would draw me out, I’m not sure.

“But I’m here now. And I can promise you all that I will do everything I can to help stop these attacks, not just violent shootings and bombs and whatever — but the words and legislation that’s causing all the fear. Conduits are here to stay, people are going to have to make peace with that. Cole MacGrath’s efforts to save those without the Conduit gene came at the price of having to live with us, and it’s time we begin searching for ways to live harmoniously, because it isn’t going to change. No more harassing your neighbors, no more stalking random people. I am going to return to my position at COLE to push back against the Conduit Registration Bill, as well as file suits against the various segregational legislations that’ve been passed recently. We’re looking to expand in fifteen more major cities in America, as well as starting chapters in Canada and Europe and expanding our services. I can only do so much for Conduits, though — it’s up to our government to find ways to bring peace to the nation without impeding on anyone’s rights.”

Dad’s eyes found the camera this news channel was streaming on, and his stare went entirely icy, so harsh that it felt like I was getting reprimanded a state away. “And as for this Archangel thing — I’m only giving a single warning to whoever is perpetrating these attacks. Using low-tier criminals and radicalized conspiracy theorists to do your bidding is weak, and it isn’t something I’m intimidated by. You wanted me out in the open? I’m here. I won’t let you use the lives of innocent people, of my children, to try and, what, scare me? It isn’t working. All you’ve done is piss me off. I’m only going to say it once: back off. Because if anything else happens, and I have to fight back? You’re going to regret ever challenging the one person with experience tearing down organizations like yours.”

That seemed to be where Dad wanted to stop, looking over his shoulder and waiting for Dr. Sims to look up, motioning towards the mic.

The quiet in the mall erupted into chatter, shock and disbelief at the actual Delsin Rowe being back. “How didn’t anyone know? That looks like him,” I heard someone say as they entered a Bath and Body Works, rolling her eyes like there weren't eight layers of complication to the lie. Another person walked past saying, “Rowe’s kids deserved it after all the bullshit he did,” and I had to physically grip Brent by his wrist and drag him away. Thank god he was wearing the beanie so no one would realize his hair changed color.

“Do you two need anything?” Betty asked, spinning to face us. “I know you left home with next to nothing, and I have fifteen Christmases to make up for.” She didn’t even wait for us to answer, just spun back on her heel and said, “C’mon, let’s get you two some new clothes.”

We started to object, but the glare she shot over her shoulder shut us up. She may have been old, but I had no doubt we’d get in deep shit if we continued to go against what she said. She was little, but kinda scary. Like a rabid cat.

She took us to as many discount department stores as possible, trying her best to get as much as she could for us out of some invisible limit she set in her mind. At first it was awkward, and Brent and I fished for the most minimal, low-priced items we could; but the way Betty’s face lit up when Brent found a nice jacket with some soft sherpa lining, and with how she insisted on him getting it…I don’t know, it was sort of sweet. It activated that deep want within me to have a grandmother, someone who’s entire job description was to love and spoil and care about me. Seems Brent got the same impression, because soon it became a sort of family bonding day, Betty learning more about us than we offered in the past five days and taking time to actually ask questions and become interested in everything we did, everything we were.

“Oh, you do art?” Betty smiled when she caught me in the discount art section of a Ross, casually browsing all the upended supplies. “You’re so much like your father. I still have so many of his drawings from his school years, they’re hiding somewhere in storage–”

“You’ve got to show me those,” I laughed.

Looking at the art supplies was a bit of a mistake, because we were both suddenly harassed into getting things we wanted, not just needed. Betty didn’t let me leave that aisle until I had a new sketchbook in hand and a pack of watercolor paints Brent handed to me as a joke, Betty missing the tease entirely and grabbing the set when I chucked it back at his chest, insisting I get it. “Yeah, c’mon Jean, think about how easy it’ll be to use those now.” He smirked, knowing good and well the last time I used watercolors it looked less Van Gogh and more God, no.

“I hope you rust over one day, Tin Man,”

All that teasing dissipated, though, when Brent discovered there was an official LEGO shop on the other end of the mall. I mean, it did from him — I sure didn’t spare him from a few comments of my own.

Everything ended at the same food court we were by when we got our phones, Betty having us put her number in our phones and message her our favorite Panda Express orders so she’d have ours. “Oh, I nearly forgot,” she gasped out, “Your father wanted you to call as soon as you could, I have his number—”

“We’ve got it memorized,” Brent assured her. “We’ll call while you grab food.”

Brent was dialing in the number before she’d left, saying as it rang, “Maybe I should have messaged him first, I dunno if he’s gonna answer some unknown nu—”

“Hello?”

Dad sounded winded, a bit tired in a non-negative way. Like someone does after a footrace or swimming. “Hey, Dad,” Brent greeted, putting the phone on speaker and bringing it close to his ear, motioning for me to move closer so I could hear too. The mall was packed, and because of that, it was loud too.

“Hey, son,” I could hear the smile in his voice, “Guessing you got your phone?”

“Yeah.”

“Your sister too? No issues?”

“Yeah, I did,” I said, tacking on a, “How are you?”

“Oh, hey Jean!” Dad’s chuckle was breathless as he said, “It’s something, being back out here like this. Did you see any of it?”

“Yeah, we did. Saw your speech and saw you get there late—” Brent glanced at me and motioned forward. “See you right now, too.”

I looked where Brent was pointing, to a large flat screen television posted on the skylight’s support beam; the news’ camera feed was still, not exactly grounded but definitely not in a helicopter, pointed to Dad as he paced a bit in place in an alleyway, phone to his ear.

But he froze immediately when Brent said that, glancing around. “What do you mean you see me now? You’re not here, right?”

I chuckled, “No, you’re still on camera.”

Dad’s eyebrows furrowed, and he kept looking around, suspicious. “Well that’s great,” He scoffed, annoyed. “Where?”

“Okay so, turn right.” Dad did, Brent immediately becoming confused when Dad’s back faced the camera. “Wait that’s — are cameras inverted?” he asked me.

“No, you’re just an idiot, that’s Dad’s left. Dad, turn around.”

“Wait are they — are they left or behind?”

“Around, do a 180.”

Dad turned in place, and I caught the tail end of an eye roll. “Okay, now what?”

“Whatever’s in front of you, it’s on that, but higher. Start looking up.”

“What, on this building?” Dad asked, eyes trailing up and shooting around. It only took a few glances before his eyes settled on screen, looking directly in the camera’s lens. “Oh, there it is.”

And with that, he raised a hand, pink and blue beginning to swirl around his arm in a bright pulse, and shot the camera, killing the feed. “Can you still see me?”

“No, you’re good now.”

“Good, okay.” Dad sighed. “I don’t want anyone recording our conversation.”

“But there wasn’t audio—” I started, Dad immediately cutting me off as if he knew that was what I was going to bring up.

“Even if there isn’t, they can still get someone to read my lips,” He tacked on, the camera switching to helicopter view, trying to focus in on him in the alley. With a camera so much farther away, his features became grainy as it zoomed in. “It’s — we’ve gotta be safe, now.”

“Yeah,” Brent hummed. I started nodding, taking a moment to remember he wouldn’t be able to see me before throwing in some sound of agreement.

“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you two about. Have either of you logged into anything online, or talked to anyone yet?”

“We haven’t had the chance,” I shook my head, “Betty’s made this into a whole field trip, this is the first time we’ve actually sat and gotten on them.”

Brent inhaled, “I did. I got on my discord while you were trying on something.”

“Trying on—” Dad sighed, the camera feed catching him bringing up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Betty took you two shopping, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“I shoulda known.” Dad shook his head, laughing. But the sound quickly died in his throat. “If you saw the speech, you heard about Archangel. They’re behind yesterday’s attack, and I — we need to be careful for a bit longer, at least until Eugene and I find out more about them. I know I said you could talk to people and such, but until we know more about these guys, I want you to keep quiet. Don’t log into anything that can track your location, don’t tell anyone where you are.”

“Do you know why they did it?” I asked, admittedly throwing a glance over my shoulder; was it even safe to be out right now?

Dad shrugged on camera, shaking his head. “Not really. I know I made them sound incompetent in my speech but these guys know what they’re doing. And the attackers won’t talk — they brought me in as a last resort to talk to who they think was in charge of everything, and he said something about it. That’s all we’ve gotten out of them so far,”

“But you think it has something to do with you?” Brent asked.

“When the FBI sent me into the interrogation room, we had this whole thing planned where I’d pose as his counsel, see if I could get him to slip up. Guy knew I was Delsin Rowe, even without the vest,” Dad scoffed. “Called me out and said something about how Archangel was going to be happy to know I was returning. I know it has something to do with me.”

I began absentmindedly playing with the aglet on the end of my hoodie’s drawstring. “That’s not good,” I muttered, as if it wasn’t painfully obvious.

“It isn’t,” Dad agreed, “And until Eugene and I can learn more about them, I want you two to stay safe. So far we know none are Conduits, and they’re all lackeys to something bigger — but what is that bigger, y’know?”

“They’re probably just some sort of Lifeline wanna-be,” Brent scoffed, “Bunch of crazies that got too ahead of themselves,”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Dad leaned against a wall on camera, glancing up at the helicopter, “But either way, they had the organizational skills to kill nineteen people. To find me and track Jean in the mall. Crazies or not, I don’t like that they can plan,”

“Makes them stronger.” I threw in.

“Exactly.”

“Dr. Sims — what’s his power, technology?” I asked.

Dad chuckled a bit. “Close — video.”

Right, video. What the hell did video powers entail? Either way, I continued with, “Can he use it to follow any like, online footprints? I don’t really know how the power works but they had to coordinate somehow,”

Dad hummed. “That’s a good point. I know Eugene can manipulate technology to an extent, I’ll see what he can do. Maybe I’ll work with the FBI to see if we can get access to their things under the Patriot Act and look over them tomorrow.”

Brent seemed to catch on to something, the thought in the back of his mind forcing its way out of his mouth as he asked, “Are you still gonna come back tomorrow?”

I could see Dad’s hand come up, making some sort of motion that I only realized a few seconds later was snapping. “I wanted to bring that up, too. I was thinking about swinging by the house and grabbing some things, since we’re going to be staying in Salmon Bay for now. Get all your clothes, grab some other stuff until we decide what happens next. But that’d mean I definitely wouldn’t be back till Christmas Eve.”

Brent glanced at me, and I could see the discomfort in his eyes; there've been times on his work trips before where extra days were added to it, and we weren’t really phased. But now? I really wanted nothing more than to know he was going to be back as soon as possible. But on the other hand, having some of my actual possessions, clothes that fit right and my makeup and the chest that held my art supplies — it didn’t sound too bad.

“Sure, if you want,” I eventually said, watching Dad nod on screen.

“Okay. I won’t be able to bring everything, but I’ll pack all your clothes, and you can send me messages about what you want me to grab.”

A Christmas miracle — we get some of our identity back. “Sounds good,” Brent agreed, fiddling mindlessly with the silicone of his phone case.

“What else are you going to do today?” I asked the receiver, watching Dad kick away at some slushed snow by his feet.

“Gonna go to the hospital, visit the survivors. I have a lot of apologies I gotta give. Margie’s wake starts at five, and I want to be there for Antonio, plus we’re covering funeral costs for all the victims so I’m gonna get together with COLE and hunt down relatives, find out if there’s any next of kin that want things done a certain way.”

Jeez, this conversation suddenly turned bleak. And on top of that, Dad was going to try and crack the domestic terrorists that blew up COLE — was there even enough time in the day to do everything? “But you’ll be back Christmas Eve?” I nearly begged for confirmation.

“Yeah. Promise.”

Next came the goodbyes, promises we’ll check in with him every now and then and a repeated assurance that we’d be together for Christmas. It was such a stupid thing to worry about, but it was the only bit of normalcy I was aching for; our movie marathon full of tales that didn’t really count as Christmas movies if you thought about it, the Christmas Eve taquitos meal tradition that started after Dad nearly burnt down the house trying to make turkey and we had to visit a taco truck. Maybe I could even convince them to bring back Tent City and make a pillow fort out of Ruth’s blankets and the stale bed sheets we found when unpacking. Sure, Brent and I weren’t waiting for the second we could open our presents anymore, but it had to be fun, right?

The time leading up to Christmas Eve felt awkwardly stagnant, kinda like waiting for a doctor appointment planned just after noon; like we couldn’t concentrate too hard on something out of fear that we’d miss our appointment. Like we were waiting for change. I regularly pulled up live news streams to see if Dad would make an appearance just to make sure everything was fine, and when I wasn’t, Brent was browsing the internet to see what everyone was saying. At some point I snuck a peek over his shoulder to see him on Mei’s profile, staring at a post that simply said I just hope you’re safe posted the same day we were ambushed at the mall, and didn’t do much more than squeeze his shoulder when he realized I was looking.

I understood; I found myself on Reese’s profile a few times, thumb immediately jumping to the ‘message’ icon out of reflex before I pulled it back. It was this, the torturous in between, that made the hours pass at a snail's pace, waiting for further instruction. Waiting to see what bits of normalcy we could reclaim.

Dad called regularly, which was a nice reprieve from it all despite how depressing what he was doing was; Margie was cremated, and her funeral was due to be hosted on the second. The young boy, Elliot, got a beautiful burial plot with a headstone in the shape of a t-rex, his favorite dinosaur, all thanks to some charity. He called when in the house to finalize what all he should grab, and only after we hung up did Brent’s face pale as he said, “Oh, fuck, he’s going to pack our clothes,”

“Yeah?” I watched as he laid his head in his hands, confused. Brent already knew this, why was he freaking out? “What’s so bad about that?”

Brent’s hands left his face to rest of the sides of his head as he muttered, “My dab pen is in my bottom drawer,”

“Your—“ I snorted, earning a dirty look from him. “You hid your weed in your underwear drawer? What are you, five?”

“He’s gonna kill me,” Brent said with a resigned finality. “I’m actually going to die.”

“Will me your LEGO collection before you do so I can sell it on eBay,”

Later that day as Brent grappled with his impending death, I stared at the watercolors Betty got me before finally giving in and opening them, turning to the first page of the new sketchbook and staring at it. Watercolor. Watercolor. I could totally do this, right? And if not, I’d just throw it away and act like it never happened.

My inspiration came from those few minutes of peace as I floated in the Puget Sound, staring up at the rippling sunlight refracting off of the water’s surface. I could see the picture almost perfectly in my mind, so much so that when I summoned my water gauntlets, I was able to pull and mix the shades I needed, slowly beginning to layer them on the canvas.

Bleeding art into the page with my powers was something else entirely. Making art felt vulnerable in a soft way, like exposing pieces of myself in flashes; but using water to spread the blue and shade it deeper the further down the page it went, to highlight ripples in the surface of the water and create shining rays of sunlight…it felt sincere. Forthright. Like I was screaming through the canvas here I am, the water Conduit, and I have something I need you to understand! The end product actually looked like what I meant it to this time, no doubt because I had way more control over the display. Kinda hard to fuck up your brush strokes if you’re literally using some form of hydrokinesis on a water based product. Next came the ink, something I added way too early and caused it to bleed a bit, ink blots escaping from the solid black silhouette of what was supposed to be my body and trying to unsuccessfully slip away before sinking into the page. Honestly, though? I liked how it looked. Something about the contrast between the soft watercolor and the harsh ink struck me, even if this picture was technically a failure. I let the page dry and closed the book, vowing to try and do more after the holidays as the clock hit ten at night. I had to get started on Brent’s gift, anyways.

#infamous erosion #infamous second son #infamous #delsin rowe #sucker punch productions #Eugene Sims #fanfiction #infamous oc #infamous 2 #I finally get to mention Cole MacGrath holy fuck #Fetch Walker

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guthrie-odonto · 7 months

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Biola: Monster Genesis: Rodan

The year is 2023. A particularly heavy swarm of Meganulon emerges from the earth in response to mining activity. If that wasn’t enough for Typhon to deal with (Meganulon and Meganlon larva, Meganula for short, have already been encountered by the organization in 1956, so they have experience with the insect), there were two other ancient megapredators that awoke alongside them. This pair giant “birds” would be given this name by Typhon: Rodan.

Despite appearing like the more innacurate depictions of pterosaurs, closer morphological and genetic study has found that Rodans are a highly derived pachycephalosaur, evolving from ancestors that were arboreal and with neotenic in their heads, eventually gaining flight and growing massive in convergence with large pterosaurs, with wing membranes only stretching to the hips as a fan of protofeathers from their shorter tails providing lift to the posterior end. In a radical extension of the pachycephalosaurid’s head butting behavior (which is retained in their combat, both on ground and through falcon-like, high speed impacts), these dinosaurs also show a heavy convergence with woodpeckers. With some help from their wing spurs (also used in combat and to search for hidden prey like an aye-aye tapping its finger), they use their robust beaks to chisel into the mountains and cliffs containing Meganulon, their prey, before consuming them with their long, spear tipped tongues that also wrap around their brain case like a woodpecker's.

Initially, the Rodans, a larger, brightly colored male and a dull, burgundy female, stuck to their natural food source. Both snatching individuals in the air like bee-eaters, digging within the nest, and picking off stragglers on the ground⏤then, when the swarms made their way into cities and the bugs got more inconspicuous, they started to supplement their diets with the tiny, bony things that were smaller than Meganulon, but also weren't as innately defended...

Eventually, like the real world's 56 film, their nesting site at Mt. Aso is discovered and incinerated with a controlled eruption, with the Rodans perishing in the explosion...

... about 66% of the Rodans, that is...

#that ending bit is a teaser for the next entry and also my reworked head shape for Rodan⏤the skull being shortened and thickened #amber's post #my art #Biola: Monster Genesis #kaiju #rodan

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quetzalpali-art · 7 years

Photo

A Megalosaurus and Deinonychus I made for the Mexican science and education channel CuriosaMente as a collaboration with my own project The Radical Dinsoaur Fan.

I had quite a bit of fun with these and I'm also happy to update my Deinonychus, since it was the first 'serious' reconstruction I ever drew back in the day.

#Megalosaurus #Deinonychus #CuriosaMente #The Radical Dinosaur Fan #Pensemos en Dinosaurios #Theropod #Raptor #Dromaeosaur #Dinosaur #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Palaeontology #Paleoart #Palaeoart

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a-dinosaur-a-day · 7 years

Video

youtube

Quetz’s show has a second episode now (plus other content like a Q&A vid)!!!! Please check it out, subscribe, and spread it about!!! Definitely my favorite Palaeo show on YouTube right now :D Here’s his Spanish channel, too!!

#the radical dinosaur fan #trdf #dinosaurs #palaeoblr #kulindadromeus

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radicaldinosaurfan · 7 years

Video

youtube

Our Episode 1 "Close, But Not a Dinosaur!" is now live on Youtube! Come join us for our proper series debut! After a year of hardship, planning and dealing with life, we can finally start our series in earnest!

#Dinosaurs #The Radical Dinosaur Fan #TRDF #Dinosaur #Dino #education #educational #scientific #science #palaeontology #paleontology #K.B.#KB #Youtube #video #Episode 1 #Ep 1 #Close but not a dinosaur

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crusherthedoctor · 3 years

Note

Actually, just on the topic of villainy, how did so many authors and fans get into their heads that the only way to "humanize" a villainous character is to make them as inoffensive and uwu as possible, which in turn only shatters their credibility as a villain? Is it the backwards moralist notion that, because you like a villain who is... just evil but in an entertaining way, you automatically condone all of their wrongdoings? Would fans feel bad about shipping the villain character (if they are conventionally attractive) with anyone else if they don't secretly feel much regret and angst over their actions? Of course there's also the other side of this, where a character's villain status is exaggerated to an unbelievably cartoonish degree, which in turn kills any believability, but I want to focus on the "redemption arc junkies" first.

Other villains who take pride in being goofy jokesters while also being evil bastards continue to be beloved to this very day (Joker, Green Goblin, etc). So it seems a lot of people just can't understand Eggman in particular, and I have no idea why. Especially annoying because you know the fans who claim that his evilness detracts from his depth are talking out of their ass, since they'll turn the other way and praise one-note cutouts like Mephiles and Eggman Nega for being evil.

The Softboi Eggman narrative is overwhelming and suffocating. Why do you think there's so many "He does what he does to avenge Gerald!" takes on the internet, despite there being absolutely no indication in the slightest that this was true before SA2, after SA2, or even during SA2?

You are right though in that there's a growing obsession with making villains in general "uwu so sweet", as if to ignore that they're villains at all. Not just in fanfics either: next to them getting unceremoniously killed off or humiliated, this is another way of Subverting Expectations you often see in recent media. The idea of a credible villain being allowed to just work their magic as a credible villain is... problematic to folk I guess, even though doing bad shit is the entire point of the villain. It's why they're the villain, and the villain doing bad shit doesn't mean the author condones what they do. If a character gets eaten by a dinosaur, that doesn't mean the author supports cannibalism.

And as for giving depth to a villain, there's more than one way of doing that, which also gets ignored by these sorts. Not every villain needs to have a gritty backstory or be made who they are by the cold harsh world, and if anything, if every villain were like that, none of them would stand out. There are ways to show another side to a villain without changing them radically, even when you're focusing on their actively evil attributes. Eggman is clearly not a tragic villain in the traditional sense, but you COULD say he's tragic in the sense that you have a brilliant man, who could change the world for the better in countless ways, yet he uses all his genius for his own demented, ego-driven benefit, and cares not a bit for the consequences of his crimes. He's tragic because no external force is making him like this, he doesn't have to be like this, and he could stop at any moment and help so many people if he wanted to... but he refuses, because the only one for him is him.

I don't want to say that Steven Universe certain media are single-handedly responsible for the growing trend of villains not being allowed to be villains... but I do think Steven Universe certain media have contributed to it being as common of a trend as it is.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Dr. Eggman

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rpmemesbyarat · 3 years

Conversation

RP meme from Vampire the Masquerade's Gangrel Clanbook (Revised Edition) Chapter One "Stone, Steppe, and Sea: A History of the Gangrel Clan"

"This is an idiotic thing to do."

"It’s probably going to get me killed."

"But if I don’t take notes on some of what I’ve heard, I know I’ll forget it."

"I don’t know much archaeology or cultural anthropology."

"This stuff is all legend. It may be that none of it happened."

"If we’re the children of Caine, and Caine’s the son of Adam, and Adam is the first man, created by God, then maybe God really did put the dinosaur fossils in place to fool archaeologists."

"But there has to be a truth under there someplace."

"We are vampires. Sunlight does burn us, and moonlight, which is just reflected sunlight, does not. Starlight does not. Videotapes of sunlight do not. There is something mystical about the sun."

"I’m sure my sources have lied to me, repeatedly, but perhaps if we average the contradictory stories out we’ll see a bit of truth."

"If you nuzzle up to a werewolf and try to be his buddy, odds are good that he’ll rip you to tatters."

"So none of them realized that she was pregnant?"

"As I have said before and will say again, the only witnesses aren’t talking."

"Something happened out there. Nobody knows exactly what."

"I have some theories about its origin, but for the time being I’m keeping my mouth shut."

"The great spider king gave me his silk when I was a boy. As a man I tired of its taste and spat myself from his court."

"We were only stooped and bloodied men."

"If you’ve heard something from a reliable, ancient source, by all means let me know."

"Such a social structure did not lend itself well to domination by males, for the typical male tactics of possession and bullying would not be rewarded."

"If you can divorce her point from her radical feminist mania, she might well be onto something."

"Now that’s conviction."

"Cripes, they must have been really powerful wizards."

"It’s no easy task to abandon a code of ethics you feel strongly about. If you don’t believe me, try it sometime."

"We took the good with the bad."

"It was an admirable goal, really; the improvement of humanity."

"Subway tunnels remain thoroughfares of opportunity for the undead."

"I cannot bring myself to believe that this was mere coincidence — and believe me, with all the implications such a thing has, I’d prefer it was."

"And in a bit more macabre fashion, I happen to know that battlefields make for good eating."

"They all taste the same.”

"It was all a big goddamn mess, of course."

"Nobody was sure why everything was going to hell, but everybody had a solution."

"We had something to do with it, but we didn’t start it and we didn’t finish it."

"We don’t have much to rebel against, most of the time."

"Periodically every society goes through a period of rampant xenophobia and paranoia."

"The dangers are great and the benefits are few."

"It was a pain in the ass to clean up."

"The ‘80s were all about money."

"I’m a big fan of the Internet."

"Oh, get that look off your face, you know who you are."

"Too many of them are freaks or idiots or a charmless combination of both."

"Swing dancing, guys, it’s the wave of the future."

"No one ever caters these things."

"I want a raise."

"“Either those drapes go or I go."

"Wheels within wheels, man."

"You think that myth is for real?"

"Absence of evidence is not proof of anything, you dimwit."

"If you don’t have anything more useful to add, I’ll just close the log up and end the document there."

#rp meme #rp memes #rp starters #roleplay meme #roleplay starters #roleplay memes #World Of Darkness #vampire the masquerade #gangrel #vtm #owod

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gaymer-hag-stan · 3 years

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Lara Croft's Biography

This is my attempt at consolidating Core Design's two biographies for Lara Croft as well as Crystal Dynamics' revised version for Legend into one, cohesive background story that includes all key events from her past adventures. Certain elements of the first nine games and their backstories are bound to be included in the new, unified timeline so any Reboot fans that are not as familiar with Classic Lara may find this interesting to read :) Hope you like it!

Name: Lara Croft

Nationality: British

Date of Birth: 14 February 1968

Birthplace: Wimbledon, London

Marital Status: Single

Blood Group: AB-

Height: 1,75m

Weight: 58 kg

Hair Colour: Brunnette

Eye Colour: Brown

Distinguishing Features: 9mm Handguns

Bio

Lady Lara Croft is an 11th generation Countess. The Croft family was granted the title and rights to Abbingdon, Surrey by King Edward VI in 1547. The Croft Estates are comprised of three separate manor houses, two of which are maintained by the National Trust, and the third is home to Lady Croft.

Lady Croft herself has suffered several personal tragedies, including the deaths of both parents on separate occasions before she came of age. Reputably an accredited genius and Olympic-standard gymnast, Lady Croft is the focus of wild speculation and intense debate in both the scientific and political communities in addition to the popular press. Idealized and vilified in equal measure, she is perhaps one of the most fascinating and enigmatic figures of our time.

Lara Croft was born in Surrey's Parkside hospital on the 14th of February in 1968 to Lady Amelia Croft and the notorious archeologist Lord Richard Croft, the late Earl of Abbingdon. She was raised to be an aristocrat from birth, and had lived in luxury and security aloof from the world at large. Between the ages of three and six, she attended the Abbingdon Girls School, where it quickly became clear that she was an exceptionally gifted child.

At the age of nine she survived a plane crash in the Himalayas that took the life of her mother. In perhaps the first story of her prodigious indomitability, she somehow survived a solo ten-day trek across the Himalayan mountains, one of the most hostile environments on the planet. The story goes that when she arrived in Katmandu she went to the nearest bar and made a polite telephone call to her father asking if it would be convenient for him to come and pick her up.

For six years following the plane crash, Lara rarely left her father's side, traveling around the world from one archeological dig site to another. During this period she was ostensibly given a standard education from private tutors, but it would probably be more accurate to say she was her father's full time apprentice.

When Lara was fifteen, her father went missing in Cambodia. Extensive searches by the authorities and Lara herself turned up human remains that could not definitively be identified. Since Lord Croft's body was not officially recovered, Lara could not directly inherit the Croft title and Lara was thrust into a bitter family feud over control of the Abbingdon estates with her uncle Lord Errol Croft. Lara eventually won the legal battle, and took possession of her inheritance but at the cost of a deep rift in the Croft family that left her estranged from her living relatives.

At 16 she began studying at Gordonstoun, one of Britain's most prominent boarding schools where she discovered the mountains of Scotland. One day Lara came across a copy of National Geographic on the hall table. The front cover featured a familiar name - Professor Werner Von Croy. A respected archaeologist, Von Croy had once lectured at Lara's school to pupils & parents alike.

The experience had a profound effect on Lara, triggering a desire for travel to remote locations in search of adventure. In some ways Von Croy had become an inspirational figure for Lara. As Lara read further, she learned that Von Croy was currently preparing for an archaeological tour across Asia, culminating in a potential new discovery to be made in Cambodia. Unable to pass up this opportunity, she walked over to the desk & penned a letter to Von Croy. She Introduced herself and offered financial assistance in exchange for her place on the expedition. Von Croy's reply assured her that the territories were friendly and that he had ample experience to look after both his & Lara's well being.

Lara's company as an assistant would be welcome, as was the offer of such a generous cheque. He remembered Lara from his lecture - her incessant yet insightful questions had made quite an impression upon him. And so it was agreed that Lara would accompany Von Croy for the duration of the tour.

At 21, while in college, she was part of a team of aspiring archaeologists in charge of a dig in Paraiso, Peru. Her closest friends, Amanda Evert, aspiring anthropologist, and Anaya Imanu, engineer, among them. They were attempting to break through the tomb of the Queen of Tiwanaku. The expedition was cut short however, as a tragic accident led to the deaths of most of Lara's friends and colleagues, including Amanda, with Lara and Anaya emerging from the dig as the only two known survivors.

Lara probably should have died there, as most did, instead she learned how to depend on her wits to stay alive in hostile conditions a world away from her sheltered upbringing. Her experiences had had a profound effect on her and in that process transformed herself as well. Her Peruvian odyssey was both miraculous and enlightening, as the young woman not only survived, but gained a perspective on herself and the world that made her past appear shallow and naive. Out of the darkness of her ordeal, she saw her future reflected in a different light.

She felt profoundly that there was more for her in this life than the coddled existence that had become her numbing habit. Unable to stand the suffocating atmosphere of upper-class British society any longer, she realized that she was only truly alive when she was travelling alone. Over the eight following years she acquired an intimate knowledge of ancient civilizations across the globe. Despite this drastic life change, Lara still retains the essence of her upbringing - most notably with her polite, upper-class accent. She turned to writing to fund her trips.

While in England, Lara lives in a mansion in Surrey which she inherited many years ago. At one time she saw little use in it but now realises that, if nothing else, it is at least handy for storing all the artifacts she has acquired on her travels. She has also had a custom-built assault course constructed in the grounds for training purposes.

Lady Lara Croft has already eclipsed her father's career; as of this writing she is credited with the discovery of some fifteen archeological sites of international significance. These sites are still yielding new and exciting insights to the past on an ongoing basis. No one can deny Lady Croft's incredible contribution to the field of archeology, however she is not without her detractors.

Lara's methods have been frequently called into question by government officials and other practicing archeologists. She has been described variously as anything from cavalier to downright irresponsible. Some scholars have suggested that her notorious lack of documentation and brute force methodology have contaminated countless sites and done more harm than good. There have even been (unsubstantiated) allegations that Lara actually takes items from these sites before informing the international community of their locations, and that she is nothing more than a glorified treasure hunter.

Despite the tabloid press's infatuation with her, Lara Croft guards her privacy with complete determination. She has never granted an interview nor made any personal comment to any of the rumors associated with her, preferring to express herself through brief formal statements given by the family solicitors, Hardgraves and Moore.

Predictably there have been a number of unofficial biographies printed about the young Countess, that attribute wild and fantastic feats to her exploits, ranging from the discovery of living dinosaurs in the Congo to infiltrating the infamous Area 51 in Nevada. The official line from the Croft Estate to these works is simply that "...these books are utter rot: disgraceful, trashy works of total fiction."

Nevertheless if you even make a cursory search on the Internet for the Unexplained, the Mysterious and the Downright Unbelievable, time and again you will find Lara Croft's name appearing. She appears to be a hero to conspiracy theorists and alternate history aficionados alike.

It seems the further you dig into Lady Croft's life, the more bewildering and mysterious she becomes. Perhaps like the archeological sites she discovers, we have only scratched the surface of this incredible woman and the complex and inscrutable secrets buried deep within her.

Lara Croft became the seeker of truths, both large and small, and in that pursuit she continues to this day.

Employment

Lara doesn't consider tomb raiding as a job, merely a way of life - although she has been known to uncover archeological artifacts on commission. To fund her radical lifestyle, Lara writes travel books. Titles so far have included 'A Tyrannosaurus is Jawing at My Head' and 'Slaying Bigfoot'. Her common complaint though is that she doesn't have enough time to put pen to paper.

As well as uncovering many notorious archeological sites - including the Atlantean pyramid and the last resting place of the dagger of Xian, Lara has found fame in other areas - she has driven the dangerous Alaskan Highway from Tierra del Fuego in South America in record time (although this was later denounced by the Guinness Book of Records due to her "reckless driving") and she hit the headlines again when she hunted out and killed Bigfoot in North America.

Sports

Not much of a team player. Discovered rock climbing while at Gordonstoun and used to set off into the hills alone during netball practice. Also took up shooting as an extra-curricular activity but was instantly banned for showing "too keen an interest'. However, the strength that climbing gave her fingers was to become useful when she started pulling triggers for real.

Music

Lara was brought up to appreciate classical music but having been a guest on U2's Popmart tour, has since become a fan of their music. She has also been introduced to the sounds of Nine inch Nails by her Aunty and considers it "good easy listening". Finds trance music, in general, good for training.

Food

Despite being a proficient cook from her days at finishing school and having sampled most of the exotic delicacies of the world, Lara usually opts for beans on toast when at home.

Hobbies

Any challenging sports. Has a particular interest in experimenting with different, often extreme forms of transport. Has also once admitted to stitching a kind of Bayeaux tapestry of her own adventures while at home.

Ambition

With her unique physical abilities, Lara is certain of being able to break many world athletic records and so sees no challenge in this herself. Her main ambitions still lie in the undefined world of tombs and the past. She has also however, developed a personal regard for Brian Blessed's attempts to climb Everest. If he never succeeds, she is determined to piggy-back him up there.

Heroes

All the great ancient figures who respected themselves enough to design such intricate tombs to be buried in. "Nobody goes to trouble like that anymore..."

Fears

Her Aunty's Corgi which has bitten her on several occasions - about which, for once, there is little she can do.

Lucky Charm

Any gun at hand.

#Tomb Raider #Lara Croft #Lara Croft Tomb Raider #Lara #Video Games #Gaming

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chargetheintruder · 2 years

Text

Speaking of different.

I didn’t expect that I’d have to deal with “wrestling” nonsense again this soon, but hey, I guess this is what happens when the biggest player of the bunch comes down with a bad case of Dinosaur Walnut Brain Syndrome. My apologies. Here’s some thoughts:

--We as fans need to improve our Skinner Game in terms of talent releases, particularly from WWe. In short, some of this is headgame--the company literally going out of its way to suffocate persons just so that they have an excuse to release them later to generate heat, open hatred and controversy. Essentially this is an employer refusing to give its talent work, so they can be fired later for not working. So as cold-blooded as it sounds we need to work on our “cool story bro,” or our “yeah yeah, you’re a jackass and it’s Thursday, what else is new?” reflexes. Not giving Vincent what he wants includes not giving him his emotional responses. Don’t reward what you don’t want to see. Support what you do want to see.

Edit: Adding a layer of discretion for each concept.

--And inside of character? Something radical needs to happen, but on a sneaky basis. Zelina Vega tried the obvious thing--unionization--and got crushed. So it needs to be worked into a narrative. Or more specifically, a stable while such things are even remotely fucking possible (before the whole locker room dwindles down to a handful of people on each show).

I’m thinking of a new iteration of New World Order. One started in a way that’s an implicit invasion--give it members in ALL promotions, brands, you name it--but have it present in a place that attracts less attention than average. Meaning it starts in the women’s locker room. Among people you wouldn’t suspect.

Let’s call this, tenatively, the Black Label. I don’t know if that name’s been taken already, elsewhere, so it’s tenative. Work in progress. But the idea is, make it seem like, at first, that it’s a 2-3 woman power-trip type of stable, nothing too obnoxious or overtly political, just a throwback hybrid of nWO and Foley’s Work Corps. Meaning they go in being smartasses and dropping all pretense that this is anything but them showing up to do a job, for a check. And on WWe itself it never grows beyond those 2-3 people. And then other branches of it show up, elsewhere, on other promotions. Maybe they don’t use the same name on-camera until pressed, but it’s the same idea, same gimmick, identical. Give it a few months, get over with the crowd, before revealing that Black Label is everywhere. That its in WWe, TNA, AEW, everywhere. That it doesn’t matter who gets released, the stable will not end.

And then you only grow the thing explosively, and make it pro-labor union, once the McMahons wake up to that idea, that they can’t get rid of it.

Is it low-percentage? Yes. Does it beat giving up and doing nothing while the whole damned show caves in on itself? Maybe. Would it be hard as hell to pull off? That depends. :)

But yeah, that’s all I can say about it while being discreet. I could drop some names as to who could start it, but that seems to jinx the process in terms of “let’s fire people the crowd wants to come back.” So yeah, this has to be something where nobody knows (but many suspect) who’s really in on it.

Edit 2: Yes, another idea, and one I don’t want to jinx, but I need to get it out of my head.

--On a more positive, if “this will never happen” note? Consider Mandy Rose at NXT for the moment. Yes, she demoted herself to become a protected brat, near as I can tell. Yes, it’s a dull thing, seeing a Main Roster person “invade” or be an interloper just to assert dominance with her hand-picked help. And I’m saying this as someone who wants Gigi Dolin/Priscilla Kelly to live up to her potential.

So how do you solve for this? Well, the answer lies partly in one of these releases, and partly in Rose’s previous Tweets, in addition to her being hung up on “not being afraid of anyone”. Because she is afraid of _someone_ clearly. More on that shortly.

So what do we have now? Toxic Attraction, feuding with what Ms. Rose, I’m pretty sure, would call the remainder of “the Lollipop Guild”. Io Shirai, Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro, if I have that last spelled right. Short people. So what happens? Ms. Rose gets unhinged, a bit, and starts ragging on all short wrestlers, in particular dragging Ember Moon now that she’s gone. Maybe she plays a tune or two disparaging her remaining opposition for their short-comings. And then the lights go out. And one by one yellow spotlights light up on Ms. Rose, her ladies, and someone else. A woman wrestler whose mask takes its cues from _Coraline_ as much as anything else. Button eyes on an otherwise blank seeming face. Yarn hair sewn into the mask. The Masked One marches to the ring and Ms. Rose freezes up, and then nearly wets herself in terror.

(I’ll let the intelligent among you figure out the rest, something about someone going straight to the playground, breaking Ms. Rose’s fingers, then doing it again to Pete Dunne, before raiding the hell out of Monday Night RAW)

#wwe #releases #The Black Label #outwit the beast you can't drown #also a little angle for five feet of somethin-somethin

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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years

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James Ronan's Top 5 Jurassic Park 3 Film Moments

The third article in this series counting down my Top 5 film moments looks at the 2001 Jurassic film Jurassic Park 3. Considered by many fans to be the black sheep of the Jurassic Park film series. (Thanks to the Jurassic Vault for the great images)

Jurassic Park 3 had a very troubled development. Directed by Joe Johnston (the first time for the franchise to have another director other than Spielberg) the film never had a final draft of the script before shooting. It released with mixed reviews and only made $368 million on a $93 million budget. It remains the lowest grossing Jurassic Park film and one of the most controversial in terms of canon consistency within the franchise. I decided to take the opportunity to now go over some of my Top 5 film moments from JP3 as the film celebrated its 19th anniversary back in late July. Strangely Universal seems to have a problem remembering the dates of theatrical release for the Jurassic films. Jurassic Park 3 according to the Jurassic World Twitter account released on July 17th, 2001 but in fact it actually released on July 18th, 2001 theatrically. Jurassic Outpost recently conducted a very interesting interview with Shelly Johnson the Cinematographer on JP3, it is well worth checking out for some in-depth film insight on the production and development of the film.

Before I get into my Top 5 moments, I want to just mention a few of the reasons why JP3 remains a controversial instalment in the Jurassic Park series among the fandom. Jurassic Park 3 again takes place on the island of Isla Sorna, the same island that was seen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Sorna in JP3 looks radically different in terms of flora compared with what was seen in The Lost World with lush tropical forests compared to the redwoods seen throughout most of the previous film. Many fans speculate that Sorna has a diverse flora on the island with different biomes being separated by the different sides of the island. It was an interesting choice to change the vegetation from what was seen in The Lost World for the third film and remains a debated topic within the fandom.

We are also introduced once again to some new Velociraptors in Jurassic Park 3. These Raptors are more intelligent than the previous Raptors we have seen throughout the series. Behaviour of the Raptors is a big plot point of the film with Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler discussing their intelligence, before we get a scene of Billy showcasing a 3D model of a Velociraptor resonating chamber. The Male Raptors are shown with quills on the backs of their head and neck, a palaeontology characteristic introduced to make the Raptors a bit more accurate and to appease fans who wanted to see feathers on display in the film. Speaking of Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler both Sam Neill and Laura Dern return to Jurassic Park 3 with Sam Neill again in a major role, despite both actors missing from the previous instalment in the franchise. Whilst Sam Neill and Laura Dern’s return to the franchise was most welcome, many fans had and continue to take issue with how their relationship changes from Jurassic Park to Jurassic Park 3. With Ellie now married to Mark Deggler (who works for the US State Department) who she has two children with. Alan is very much on his own and still working on dinosaurs helping palaeontology students like Billy Brennan. Whilst I am very much excited for Sam Neill and Laura Dern’s re-appearance in Jurassic World: Dominion, I am really hoping they keep the dynamic they had as friends from JP3 and don’t break up the family Ellie had in the third film. Just leave it be, as Jurassic World: Dominion has enough to cover as it is following on from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Another issue JP3 brought up is around the Pteranodons being shown free at the end of TLW and another species of Pteranodon being caged up and finally getting free during the events of the third film. Whilst these issues may seem trivial to some, Jurassic Park 3 does not really address any of them, which is why they remain hotly debated topics within the fandom.

Unlike the previous films John Williams does not return to score the film. Don Davis takes on the composer role with a soundtrack that is quite different from the past Jurassic films but still retains some of the classic Jurassic themes. Jurassic Park 3 is my least favourite film in the franchise, but the film does have some great sequences and character moments that are worth looking at so let’s break down what moments really impacted me shall we?

5. Billy Stop! (The Pteranodon Attack Sequence)

The Pteranodon attack sequence is up as my 5th Top moment from the film. Many fans including me love the Pteranodon Aviary design, the layout, and the amount of mist throughout the sequence which really set the scene as a completely strange and unknown part of Isla Sorna. The Pteranodons themselves showcase behaviour which can be related to the original Jurassic Park novel. The Aviary sequence in the original novel is very different, but it was nice to see that JP3 took that sequence as inspiration and made its own thing whilst still referring to the original novel with Alan, Lex, and Tim. We knew Billy would end up using the parachute further on in the movie as when they first discover it, after the Spinosaurus attack sequence Grant asks Billy “if he can fly one of those?” Overall, the sequence is well done and when Billy gets attacked by the Pteranodons in the water, the attack is brutal.

The music by Don Davis in this scene also amps up the horror of Billy being tortured in the water as he goes down stream whilst another Pteranodon turns and looks at both Dr. Grant and Paul Kirby. It is surprisingly quite a dark scene for JP3 which overall has the lightest tone of any Jurassic film. Ultimately Billy survives the attack sequence, which for me really negates the impact of the attack in the first place. If anything, it would have been more appropriate for Dr. Grant to have found Billy’s body later on washed up on a riverbank, with Billy holding Dr. Grant's hat. Not only would have it been a poignant moment, but it would have aided Grant’s development further to have lost a student on such an expedition that ultimately shouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

4. What’s a bad idea? (The Spinosaurus Plane Attack)

I think many JP3 fans might be surprised that this is 4th on my list in terms of Top moments in JP3. But my main complaints in this scene relate to the behaviour of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus itself which as a plot device, seems to have a knack for following the main group around the island. The death of Cooper is so well done and is in my opinion the best death in JP3 period. The setup for the Spinosaurus from Coopers death is so well done that the aeroplane attack sequence just doesn’t live up to the awesome death we just saw moments before. We also don’t see any remorse or loss from Udesky or any of the group that Cooper and Nash have just died after the plane attack and it is just odd to say the least in the context of the film.

I do have issues with how the plane attack sequence takes place. The fact that the Spinosaurus can track down the plane after it crashes rather quickly without anyone hearing it approach until it breaks open the plane is a major problem I have. Whilst this type of issue can also be compared to the Tyrannosaurus Rex appearance in the Visitor Centre at the end of Jurassic Park, how this scene takes place in JP3 with the Spinosaurus is very different. We assume that the Spinosaurus is a fairly intelligent animal to have tracked the group down and to destroy the plane the way it does, but later on in the film when it finds the group at the fence and also attacks the boat on the river we see that the animal doesn’t have much behaviour at all. Unfortunately, the animal is only used in servicing the plot and we don’t see anything more to it then to just act as a B movie monster. I really like the Spinosaurus design for what it was/is and the animatronic as well as the CGI still look really good on screen, despite the animatronic being stiff in some sequences.

I do like the scene when the plane falls out of the tree and the group are all screaming as we get a cool shot of the plane just crunching up as it hits the ground under its immense weight. It is also the first and only sequence throughout the films where an aeroplane comes under attack from a dinosaur. It makes my 4th spot though for setting up the Spinosaurus for what it ultimately is, a movie monster with little character. It is a shame that the Spinosaurus is showcased this way because it was the first Spinosaurid to be featured in a Jurassic Park film. Ultimately a lot of this comes down to the filmmakers deciding that a bigger and scary dinosaur needed to take down the T.Rex and become the focal point for the film. But the Spinosaurus lacks animalistic behaviour, something we saw more from the other dinosaurs throughout the previous two films. We never see it drink; we never see it sleep. We don’t see it hunt other dinosaurs (apart from the T.Rex kill) or fish despite spooking them in the river. It is just there to chase the group around the island and in its final scene, it runs away from fire and is never seen again.

3. Brachiosaurus on the Bank

Third on my list takes place after one of my favourite JP discussions throughout the films. I must quote it below because not only is it so poignant in the context of the film but is one of those moments in JP3 that was needed a bit more throughout.

Dr. Grant: I have a theory that there are two kinds of boys. There are those that want to be astronomers, and those that want to be astronauts. The astronomer, or the palaeontologist, gets to study these amazing things from a place of complete safety.

Erik: But then you never get to go into space.

Dr. Grant: Exactly. That's the difference between imagining and seeing: to be able to touch them. And that's... that's all that Billy wanted.

This discussion between Alan and Eric was another plot point that made me want to pursue palaeontology as a career. My dream career after seeing Jurassic Park was palaeontology but this discussion in JP3 also hit me and has stuck with me ever since I saw the film back in 2001. However, whilst this discussion has resonated with me a lot over the years, I want to discuss the scene after, where we see most of the herbivores of Isla Sorna along the river whilst the classic Jurassic theme is played. Probably one of the mot awe-inspiring moments in the film, echoing the Brachiosaurus scene in Jurassic Park.

We see four Brachiosaurs alongside two Ankylosaurs, a herd of Stegosaurs and a few Parasaurolophus in the background. All the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park 3 are depicted with the most colourful designs we have seen throughout the first three films. The Brachiosaurs in particular display a very distinct patterning with a red skull and orange eyes. As someone who likes the improvements in colour design that the dinosaurs display in JP3 the Brachiosaur colour design is bizarre to say the least especially the skull where the redness is quite patchy. The eyes are also orange which contrasts too much with the red and the rest of the colour pattern. Regardless of the dinosaur designs the scene itself is set up and executed very well. The boat just casually glides down the river as the dinosaurs watch on. You really feel the size of the dinosaurs in this scene and it brings back that sense of wonder and awe of these creatures which we didn’t get in TLW apart from seeing the Stegosaurus herd for the first time. Whilst the river scene in JP3 is very brief it goes a long way to allowing the film some breathing room just taking in the dinosaurs in their island environment.

2. This is how you play God. (The INGEN compound)

Down to the final two now! My second on my list of Top moments must be the INGEN compound and its exploration by the group of the genetics laboratory/Embryonics Administration. There are two key things that make this scene outstanding. The first is the set design which is incredible, especially with the sunlight coming in through the windows. I love the grittiness, dirtiness, and rawness of how the genetics laboratory looks, as it was left after releasing the dinosaurs into the wild. We get a real sense of the experiments INGEN was doing on the dinosaurs with the green tanks as well as how they were looked after with the incubators. The second thing I love about this scene is the score that plays alongside it, called the Raptor Room. Again, this score is very reminiscent of the Hatching Baby Raptor theme from Jurassic Park and fits so incredibly well with the group walking through looking at what INGEN was doing. The theme captures that wonder of creation which we first saw in Jurassic Park with the hatchling baby Raptor but applies it in different circumstances whilst looking at experimental dinosaurs and hatched eggshells.

The INGEN compound is also a huge plot point in terms of INGENs operations on Sorna which was discussed in TLW where Hammond mentioned “Site B being the factory floor” for the dinosaurs. Here we truly get to see the factory floor in all its glory and for me it is one of the most interesting scenes in Jurassic Park 3. As someone who loves both the original novels, knowing that the INGEN genetics lab/compound is a huge part of the second book, I was thrilled when it was shown on Sorna within the film. The way this whole scene is shot remains for me one of my favourite scenes in JP3 and it adds some really interesting backstory to INGEN as a company, how they operated and how things were left when they released the dinosaurs on Sorna and left the island.

1. Dr. Alan Grant Palaeontology Lecture

Going full circle my Top favourite film moment within Jurassic Park 3 belongs to the man himself Dr. Alan Grant in his palaeontology presentation on Raptors. One of the earliest film scenes taking place only seven minutes in, the way this scene is presented shows what many palaeontologists do at some point in their lives, giving presentations/lectures to the public. I really love the scene because it takes place like a proper lecture. It gives backstory to the viewer as to Alan's life as well as the current discussion going on regarding Raptor intelligence at the time, something of which is brought up throughout and becomes a focal point of the film's story. We see Raptor claws on display as Alan talks about the theories surrounding Raptor intelligence and behaviour.

Unlike Jurassic Park where palaeontology is seen in the field it is great to see JP3 embrace palaeontology talks to the public as it shows engagement with the wider audience and in this case the cinema audience. Obviously by now everyone in the lecture room knows about INGEN, Nublar and Sorna after the events of TLW due to the San Diego incident, and others like Ian Malcolm breaking NDA speaking out about what INGEN was doing and the deaths as a result. Alan calls INGEN out for “creating nothing more than theme park monsters, nothing more and nothing less” in the lecture room. This view changes again later in the film when Alan says to Billy on the plane “he forgotten”, referring to forgetting what it’s like to see a dinosaur for the first time. I enjoy the way the lecture talk plays out with Alan refusing to take questions relating to Jurassic Park and the San Diego incident. The fact that the Islands are such a present focus suggests that Alan just can’t get away from being linked to Jurassic Park and the events he was unfortunately involved in. What can be clearly seen is that Alan is tired of it all, he never wants to go back to the islands. He ultimately has a love hate relationship with the INGEN dinosaurs and what Jurassic Park was all about.

Many fans like myself take issue with Grant going so easily to Sorna with the Kirby’s due to money and most fans agree that it is such a 180-character change after saying “no force on earth or heaven could get him there”. Ultimately though, Alan is very much impacted by past film events and it is shown throughout. It is just a shame that by the end of the film these changes throughout his character are just left, nothing is done with them at all. After surviving another close call of death on another dinosaur island Alan isn’t too worried about the creatures getting off or the Pteranodons leaving Sorna for new nesting grounds.

This contrasts greatly to Ian Malcolm’s view of the world and the destruction caused by the genetic power INGEN unleashed as he sees it. This is an underlying theme in TLW from Malcolm due to his involvement on the island and his injury but is seen much more bluntly in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It will be interesting to see how these different views of INGENs dinosaurs will be shown when both Ian and Alan are shown on screen together in Jurassic World: Dominion. I would say Alan falls somewhere in the middle whilst Ian seems to be vehemently against genetic power being out in the world. Regardless of the changes to Grant's character throughout JP3 the palaeontology lecture is a great piece of exposition, backstory and set up for Raptor intelligence. As well as Alan's life in the spotlight and what many palaeontologists enjoy doing, giving thrilling lectures on dinosaurs to the public. Because it is filmed so well and so enjoyable to watch it makes my number one spot as my favourite film moment from Jurassic Park 3.

Written by: James Ronan

#article #james ronan #jurassic park 3 #top 5 jurassic park 3 film moments

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uneasylisteningradio · 5 years

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Audio & Playlist for August 24, 2019: Reptiles

Engraving by Patrick Guenette

Here’s a show about REPTILES, this one was harder to do than i was expecting. I saved amphibian songs and some other ones for a show at some point in the future about SWAMPS. probably for my sister’s birthday some year cause she is a true swamp fan.

Coming up next week it’s the annual labor day show which is about LABOR/RADICAL ECONOMICS etc, a fill-in show on Sunday September 1 5-7pm, and possibly another special surprise which will be announced soon!

link to audio

Playlist:

Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night (Uneasy Listening theme song)

The Church - Reptile

DJ speaks over Link Wray and His Raymen - Dinosaur

Rixe - Larmes de Crocodile

Woody Guthrie - Springfield Mountain

Pink Fairies - The Snake

Dead Milkmen - Big Lizard

DJ speaks over Sandy Nelson - Alligator Boogaloo

Pylon - Reptiles

Toxic Waste - Dear Little Dinosaur

The Cure - The Snake Pit

Cemetery - Reptile Walk

DJ speaks over Brian Eno - Sombre Reptiles

Roky Erickson - Cold Night for Alligators

The Creatures - Gecko

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles

Donovan - Riki Tiki Tavi

Bo Diddley - Who Do You Love

DJ speaks over King Curtis - Snake Eyes

React - For the Wyrm

Dennis Lee and Friends - Alligator Pie

Leadbelly - Black Snake Moan

Union Express - Alligator Fix

Rapeman - Radar Love Lizard

Th' Faith Healers - Reptile Smile

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - I'm a Little Dinosaur

DJ speaks over Louis Armstrong - Alligator Crawl

The Cooties - Dinosaurs

De La Soul - Tread Water

Townes van Zandt - Snake Song

C. Newman - The Dinosaurs Quartet

Can - Turtles Have Short Legs

Carole King - Alligators All Around

DJ speaks over the Piltdown Men - Brontosaurus Stomp

Trusty - King Snake

Septic Death - Crocodile Tears

Stone Axe - Snake Bite

Bootsy's Rubber Band - Bootzilla

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zackmephisto · 4 years

Text

dirt watches aew

ITS TIME BITCHEZ

stop i don't want to see this betrayal :(

mjf turned and now my depression is Worse i hate him i love him :(

JURASSIC EXPRESS AAAAAA

N Y L A YES OG MY GOD

i know I didnt hear yall boo nyla.

HANGMAN AND PAC REEEE

SCUUUUU REEEEE

M I S T E R M O X L E Y

:'''''(

STOP IM GONNA CRY KENNY NOOO

is it really nakazawa v mox. that's wild

mox looks good wtf?

STOP pulling the crazy shit dude. hes a good boy.

is he wrestling in pants bc his legs got fucked up or

that was weak. wtf ?

is it just bc hes still sort of hurt and they want to book him stronger than kenny?

o he speak

"you are one radical son of a bitch" how come he can say bitch but chuck cant say the s word

👀

damn yeah what's next for him. he really did fuck up kenny. who is next. I'm excited idc who is next like.... whoever it is they're gonna be working w the best of the best tbh

wait what the fuck why is it a championship match with sammy and chris and scu. why

cheer dark order and their gimp army you FUCKING cowards

T H E M!!!!!

GOD I LOVE MY CHILDREN STOP IM GONNA CRY MARKO WEARING THE MASK

THE MARKO CHANTS THANK YOU LORD

i have no more will to live now that marko ate the pin

STOP BEFORE I CRY FOR REAL

oH MY GOD LUCHASAURUS AAAA

luchasuarus said "back off my baby dinosaurs" and i respect that

hes obv still a little hurt tho you can see it in his movement

I STAN ONE DINOSAUR FAMILY

hmmm how come scu have to defend their championships every five minutes but chris jericho is always safe 🤔

gfys shawn spears

i'm a simple woman. i see shawn spears on my screen and I switch tabs

I constantly thank god for darby allin

Aubrey 😍😍😍😍

if darby loses i sue

JOEY!!!

uh. i mean. i mean. joey. big deal. who even cares about him and his braids and he smells anyway 😡

thank u darby i love you and definitely not joey...

DARBY AND JON WAIT STOP I CANT BREATHE OH MY GOD NO PLEASE THIS IS GONNA BE THE BEST THING IVE EVER SEEN SCREEEEEE

I'm literally screeching darby vs mox??? NAME A MORE ICONIC DUO

ya'll have a crowd full on transphobes huh

darby vs mox tho this is so goddamn exciting

SO excited oh my god who is nyla fighting !!

who??

people really are such big transphobes that they're cheering someone who hasn't had a match yet. i hate straighties

thank you queen I love you

get well soon dad i miss u :(

i feel like i should know her by sight but i don't

o i remember her. i like her merch

shes annoying

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

AWESOME KONG AND BRANDI MY SKIN IS CLEARING AS I SPEAK

perish, blonde woman

god i love this. i LOVE THIS

if mjf joins the inner circle i want it to be known right now at 5:56 pm that i will Still Stan. okay. i stood w baron corbin through it all. i'll stand by mjf through it all.

every time some one swears on aew and it's not chuck taylor i lose six months of my life

OH?!?!?!

HELLO MAX I LOVE YOU GOOD MORNING MY SWEET SCARF SON

he's handsome no one @ me ever again

i lov u asshole love you so much

LOVE YOUUUU

NO I LOVE YOU I'M NOT UPSET I LOVE YOU

expose him Max EXPOSE HIM

max 😍😍😍😍😍

I believe every word you've ever said ever

max is right stop SAYING MEAN THINGS TO HIM

THIS MAN IS HURT MAY I HUG HIM

max STOP I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

AND WHAT A HANDSOME NEW FACE IT IS

YES YOU ARE BETTER THAN HIM AND I DO KNOW IT

wake up sheeple max is RIGHT

"my third or fourth installment" go off king.. go off......

sigh. I didnt want to do this. but i'm gonna have to stan.

or not?

MAX SAID A LITTLE BIT OF THE BUBBLY AND I IMMEDIATELY GOT UP TO GRAB THE CHAMPAGNE I SAVED FOR THIS EXACT SITUATION

ok thank god i dont have to stan the inner circle

thanks max i love you

HE IS HANDSOME ITS TRUE

ok... maybe that was funny. but I still love max

dont do this Max I dont want to stan

this is making me laugh hella hard dncnsndj

I LOVE THE HUG

cody man come on just let me have my max in peace

sigh

cmon Maxwell let's go

who?

wardlow I see

ok. I stan if he likes max

@ Maxwell Jacob Friedman choke me like that d*ddy

good morning it's been an hour and I've had four mikes and am on my fifth i'm drunk and in love with mjf

cowboy 😍😍😍😍😍

wait please don't let hangman lose I dont want to see him sad anymore

pac is fucking. more than human. I love him too

COW👏BOY👏SHIT👏

"i'm shocked by pac's leg strength" me 2 bud. those legs? i'm always shocked. hes so ripped his muscles have muscles

BASTARD SHIT LMFAOO HOW THE TURNS HABE TABLED

COWBOY STOP MAKING THESE NOISES I FEEL NSFWORK

yall are going to commercial in the middle of this match? disgostang. guess its valid bc this alcohol is going right thru me but. >:(

so Twitter says luchasaurus is actually Back back I'm really really happy abt that I missed dinosaur father

i finished going to the bathroom and sat down and it came back on clearly this is dirt rights

hangman and pac didnt get up for a second and I was Ben Affleck w cigarette. jpeg for a second thinking abt pac vs moxley

thank u for being a good bean mr ref bryce

:(((((((((((((((((((((

suing aew for emotional distress

JESUS matt Jackson

OH MY GOD AAAAAA ORANGE IVE NEVER LOVED A MAN MORE

literally I love orange cassidy more than i love myself

I'd be more exciting for this bucks/proud n powerful moment if orange cassidy wasn't on screen for two (2) seconds. His Impact

aew refs are my new mandatory kin

dont hurt Brandon Cutler hes a good boy

thank god for private party

proud n powerful vs private party is dirt rights

me: :l

scu: SCUUUUU

me: :)

oh yeah btw my onion on scu officially changed i love them officially

SCU SAYS FUCK NASHVILLE BUT I LOVE WRESTLING FANS AND REALLY THATS CALIFORNIANS IN A NUTSHELL, I CAN CONFIRM, BEING CALIFORNIAN

i'm DRUNK thank god for autocorrect

why is sammy not vlogging. is he okay. does he have a fever

anyway if scu loses i'm suing again

jericho, a few weeks ago: WHO WEARS A SCARF

Jericho, today: wears a scarf tonight and talks abt scarfs today

judas FUCKS one of my fave songs of all time tbh

sammy guevara is like. 12. stop hip thrusting, child

kaz, my angel. I love you. so much

sammy: I GOT EM, DAD. I GOT EM

I love sammy BUT he better eat this pin so hard hes still tasting it next week

almost started filing my aew lawsuit when scorpio sky almost got pinned

I love how effective and strong the thesz press is. so wild. thank u mr sky

oh thank fuck. thank FUCK that pin wasn't complete

PLEASE MR SKY

THANK YOU MR SKY

SCU BEAT INNER CIRCLE SO NO ONE EVER TALK SHIT ABT CALIFORNIANS EVER AGAIN

unless ur californian. in which case ur allowed

scorpio sky being the first person in aew to pin Jericho is California Rights

that was a wonderful show. orange cassidy was there so it was 10/10. everyone say thank u aew

#dirt watches aew #11.13.19 #dirt's posts

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wknc881 · 5 years

Photo

ALBUM REVIEW: HUSKER DU- Metal Circus

BEST TRACKS: Real World, It’s Not Funny Anymore, First of the Last Calls, Diane

If not for Husker Du, I probably wouldn’t be writing for this blog right now. The entire apparatus of modern alternative rock would be fundamentally different. Without our darling 80s three-piece, punk’s defiant outersiderdom may never have settled upon the general anxieties of adolescence; and while the 90s grunge explosion was this sentiment’s most (commercially) developed form, Husker Du’s insistence on honest alternativism was a lightning rod for anybody searching for honest, offbeat rock and roll. Du’s magnum opus, Zen Arcade, was radically ahead of its time. Blending amphetamined screeches, startlingly tender piano, and percussive folk guitar, the absolutely essential double album is regarded as the definitive blueprint for something very dear to all of our hearts: College Radio. That’s right, if I were to step into a time machine and travel to 1978’s St. Paul to break Bob Mould’s arm, you could very well be wearing sperrys this very moment. But I didn’t, and you aren’t. And in honor of our collective Husker debt, we should all stand together in our crusty Vans and thank them for their service to aggressive otherness.

But we aren’t talking about Zen Arcade today. No, that would be too easy. Instead, this installment of WKNC From the Vaults Punk Rock Classics Hour with Cliff Jenkins Title Pending is their 1983 EP Metal Circus. Released on SST, Greg Ginn of Black Flag’s independent label, Metal Circus hints at the power punk nirvana (no pun intended) which defined Zen Arcade; and yet was still subtly positioned behind classic hardcore. In fact, SSTs catalogue was stacked with former hardcore bands set on rupturing the boundaries of a genre strictly confined by minimalist fury. Acts like Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr., and the Minutemen were stationed at the horizon separating hardcore from punk’s modern iterations by transitioning from a reactionary to a progressive sonic model. Of course, Husker Du was perhaps the most important of this noisy new guard, and Metal Circus deserves to be examined as the first evidence of a hardcore band embracing its most egregious blasphemy:power pop.

Husker Du (I don’t want to add the umlauts) was born out of Saint Paul’s Macalester College by Grant Hart, Bob Mould, and Greg Norton. Eventually the trio began practicing with keyboardist Charlie Pine, mainly playing typical classic rock covers. However, on several secret occasions where Pine was absent, the remaining trio confided their love for the Ramones and began testing to see the upper limits for the band’s speed. At their first gig in late 1979, then billed as Buddy and the Returnables, the band ran through expected pop rock before, unbeknownst to Pine, unplugged the keyboard and ripping into several speed fueled originals. Unsurprisingly, Pine was subsequently kicked out, and the band was rechristened “Husker Du” after the eponymous memory game from the 50s. Du began playing out as the consistent three-piece and entered 1980 as a pretty typical hardcore band. Although Mould has stated that there was always intent to remain at least partially removed from the strictly political aggression of bands like Crass or Minor Threat, they closely paralleled these bands’ sound in their infancy. Du toured ceaselessly and, by 1982, released the two critically acclaimed albums Land Speed Record and In a Free Land on the Minutemen’s label New Alliance. This level of semi-local fame caught the attention of punk’s pasty father figure: Greg Ginn of Black Flag. Ginn soon invited the band to move to his own SST where Husker Du were finally upgraded from one collapsing hardcore label to another collapsing hardcore label that the Meat Puppets were signed to. Born out of their brief tenure with SST was the EP Metal Circus: the first indication that their hardcore abrasion was thawing towards the inception of modern indie rock.

Metal Circus does not initially betray its forgiveness of everything sweet. The first track “Real World” does, at least upon first listening, sound pretty close to DOA’s frustrated tremors. But there is something within the apparently standard guitar assault that sounds…off. It could be the power chords shellacked with chorus, but Bad Brains already did that. It could be an anthemic melody brushed behind furious speed, but the Descendants already did that. Maybe it was the off-kilter guitar leads that meandered away from brutality…but Television already did that. Honestly, there is no particular element which separated Husker Du from their influences. But there didn’t need to be. Du was not a gimmick band. There was no awe to them beyond their incredibly explorative and tight songwriting. That being said, “Real World” was only an introduction to Metal Circus’ embrace of pop sentiment. “Deadly Skies”,the EP’s second track, is a laid trap. It’s the purest punk of the EP’s 7 track odyssey; it lures the listener into imaging “Real World” as an aberration. Maybe it was easy listening for marketing purposes. Nope, sorry my imagined 80s hardcore fan with a freshly shaven head and a dirty pair of white Reeboks, the pop has only started.

“It’s Not Funny Anymore” is actually the best 90s alternative song ever released despite coming out in 1983. Are you listening to Nirvana? Are you listening to Blur? Are you listening to fucking Oasis? Fuck that. This song connected the 11 years of poppy alt-rock between its release and Green Day’s Dookie, and shit on absolutely everything else that came out in the interim. If you ever consider creating or watching a video essay documenting the slow transformation of pop punk, don’t. Listen to the Buzzcocks, Descendents, Husker Du, and early Green Day. But I digress. “It’s not Funny Anymore” is the first substantial crack in the ice; it’s slow, fuzz filled guitar lead essentially nullifies any supposed progress that Grunge made. Bob Mould’s pained belches roughly glide along something that certainly isn’t fully departed from punk (it’s production is still shitty) but is indifferent to the rigorously ascetic lifestyle demanded by their hardcore forefathers. For better or worse, the rest of this EP is a tribute to individualized anxiety.

While “Real World”, “It’s Not Funny Anymore”, and “First of the Last Calls” deserve due recognition for their contribution to mope-riddled punk, we still haven’t explored the track that, quite frankly, birthed modern college rock. “Diane”, the EPs only (semi)ballad, instantly received nationwide attention for its declaration of a new alternativism. Its intensely muddy four-minutes of echo-fuzzed guitars, uncomfortably distant drums, and harmonizing wails brought with it a haunting melody that sat comfortably between radical noise and pleasantry. Heavily circulated among university radio stations, the song exploded any legitimate wall separating college tastes from serious commercial attention. (Again) for better or worse, college radio would now become the engine for new-wave exploration; bands like REM, Dinosaur Jr. or even Sonic Youth owe a great debt to Husker Du and the groundbreaking success of “Diane”.

Husker Du simultaneously represents the birth and actualization of college rock, and to a further extent, an accepted mingling of punk with power pop. Though later releases would ultimately prove to be more acclaimed than Metal Circus, this early EP documented a revolutionary change in indie rock that absolutely qualifies it as a legendary addition to punk’s canon.

-Cliff Jenkins

#wknc #wknc 88.1 #album review #Husker Du #Husker Du Metal Circus #Husker Du Metal Circus album review #submission

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