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kulay-ng-banaag · 1 year

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☆ IT'S MY PARTY ☆: What A Concept!

This was an extended version of the footnotes I provided in addition to my comic submission for the Razzle Dazzle zine. Out of respect for readers, I wanted to keep the zine version as simple and straightforward as possible (knowing my own wordy nature!)

CW: mentions of war, death

It hurt to look back at these footnotes, considering how I wanted to bring to light Pepe Diokno's influence behind the scenes. It hurt when you saw how he truly passed the torch to one of my choice senators in Halalan 2022. It hurt to think of how much of a deja vu the endgame might have been.

Yet, in spite of the heartbreaking turn of events, it made this story all the more worth telling.

The story itself hit the maximum limit the zine page count, so I was unable to include the cover illustration in the final submission.

For the panels, I tinted them in a mix of pink and yellow, emulating the color of some vintage photos from the 60s.

I included four motifs that pertained to American-introduced culture in the Philippines.

The design aesthetic of comic cover illustrations from about the same time period as the story setting.

While the tokenized hero Jose Rizal was typically credited as the first cartoon illustrator, the Philippine komik industry as we knew it today did not pop off until post-WWII, and borrowed heavily from the comic books left behind by American soldiers.

2. Yes, the title was after the song of the same name. I also disregarded the fact that Lesley Gore’s cover was released a year after the alluded party of my comic (let me keep this one anachronism). It added to the double purpose of reflecting the persistence of American pop culture.

3. The sorbetes! Not the same as sorbet, and absolutely not dirty ice cream (that was a classist pejorative). It was introduced during the American Occupation.

It was the real first step in getting Piri to cool down (HAHAHAHAHA) his aggressive stance towards America.

4. The TV glitches. They also popped up at certain moments in the story.

Although the first television broadcast in color in the Philippines also took place in 1963, there was a dramatic rise in the number of households in the country owning TV sets. It was the sign of a nation progressing from the dark days of WW2.

At least that was the story that would have been broadcast.

That should explain Piri's visible demeanor.

☼ ☼ ☼

On July 4, 1946, the United States government fulfilled its promise of granting the Philippines’ independent status. For the next 16 years, July 4 was the official Philippine Independence Date.

The road back to 612 was no less bumpy.

On May 9, 1962, the US House of Representatives junked the bill that would pay back the Philippines 73 million USD in war damages. Protests from Filipinos exploded. On May 12, President Diosdado Macapagal issued a proclamation that re-established June 12 as Philippine Independence Day. In his radio speech delivered May 14, he also declared the postponement of his state visit to the United States.

It was important to remember that WW2 further delayed the officiation of an independent Philippines. To flip on the added promise of repatriation was akin to scratching on old wounds. It was easy to see how Macapagal’s public moves could be interpreted as a passive-aggressive reaction.

While the decision over the bill was eventually overturned and passed, it was not the first American stain on Macapagal’s legacy.

Back in December 9, 1961, Menhart Spielman, general manager of Harry Stonehill’s tobacco business empire (worth 50 million USD) walked into the US Embassy with a heavily bruised face. He wanted to testify on the illegal activities that sustained the business.

On March 2, 1962, Justice Secretary Jose W. Diokno ordered a raid on several of Stonehill’s offices. Amongst the retrieved evidence was a “blue book” that listed beneficiaries, matching up to the allegations of several government officials being bribed into protecting the business. The list of names included the president himself, his predecessor Carlos P. Garcia (whose term was already laden with graft and corruption), and his successor Ferdinand Marcos (the dictator behind Martial Law).

On April 26, Spielman failed to attend the deportation trial for Stonehill. Newspapers published the following month stated that he was murdered in the southern part of the country in an attempt to escape (the government traced the date of murder to April 22, although his body was never found).

During Macapagal’s radio speech delivered on May 23, he explained that he had yielded to Diokno’s resignation request from his position (letter delivered May 19). Diokno argued that he never made such a request.

To add insult to injury, it was through the letter Diokno received that he learned he had been sacked.

The trial for Stonehill had not even reached a final decision when Macapagal ordered for his immediate deportation on August 3, 1962, barely two months after the historic return to 612.

Ka Pepe Diokno is indeed of the same kin as Chel Diokno (Chel’s father, actually). He also led public coalitions (which were a precursor to People Power Revolution) against the Marcos dictatorship after the assassination of Benigno Aquino.

Macapagal mentioned in his memoirs that the plan to return to 612 lingered in his mind as early as during his days as a congressman.

In 1959, historian Gabriel Fabella published his resolution that outlined his points defending 612 as the true date of Philippine Independence.

Among the reasons was that it was the date during which Emilio Aguinaldo led the declaration of independence at his family home in Kawit, Cavite. Fabella’s advocacy was inspired by his attendance of the 612 celebrations in 1954, where he was pained by the sight of his idol and fellow weary veterans, seemingly forgotten by history.

(ENGLISH translation directly below!)

“Over the years, Fabella’s admiration for the great Aguinaldo strengthened as he felt Aguinaldo did not receive enough recognition in exchange for his contributions to the country. When he attended the June 12 celebrations in 1954, he was further reminded of the hard work of the aging former president and the remaining survivors of the Asosacion de los Veteranos de la Revolucion to uphold the memory of the historic event of June 12 in place of the government establishing July 4 as the date of Philippine Independence since 1946. It was then he decided to initiate a campaign - a revision to the date of Independence Day. His efforts went into writing articles, first through the Philippine Collegian, and conducted talks throughout the country, regardless of any lack of support.”

My honest first impression after reading that excerpt: Really? Of all the possible options, you go for AGUINALDO?!?!

Although I made a couple of other pitches for the zine, I had no solid game plan in mind for them. If I pushed to change my submission, that meant going through the research process a second time. I would be killing time that could have gone into drawing a final submission at all.

It frustrated me how we never explored the nitty-gritty of a so-called historical moment that was frequently attributed to a figure whom I personally felt did not deserve it.

While growing up a (non-K to 12 generation) student, the lesson plans of compulsory PH history education were as such:

Summary of precolonial PH society

Summary of 350+ years of Spanish rule

Summary of the revolt that ended Spanish rule

Summary of the legacies of PH presidents.

That's it. I am not kidding.

We practically glossed over the periods of American rule, WW2, and even Martial Law. The most we could infer from what was going on in the Philippines was through the lens of the contributions of our elected leaders.

Which was bullshit because it is a severely biased frame of reference for studying history.

I’m going to be frank: My view of 612 1962 had since been jaded after doing more in-depth reading on the occasion. I wanted to back out of the zine because I did not want to promote a twisted story of nationalism.

Instead, I pushed myself into sticking to whose perspective I was narrating the story. How would the big day go for Piri? How would the big day go for Piri while having to grasp all these harsh truths?

Way to ruin the party.

☼ ☼ ☼

What I ended up using to show the comic title & author (because, again, I could not squeeze the cover page anymore) was supposed to be the 612 souvenir program.

Throughout the comic, Piri was quoting lines from Macapagal’s Independence Day speech that year. You may read the speech in full here!

Screw Filipino time. Piri would have arrived at his own party much sooner than the president.

Note the empty chair to the right of Piri.

I found this silent film of an Independence Day parade from that era. It was labeled 1962 but I genuinely believe that was erroneous. For one, Macapagal was donning a Western-style suit in that video. Photographs and accounts showed him in a Barong Tagalog as a symbolic gesture of reclaiming 612.

Macapagal was inaugurated into office on December 30, 1961 (Rizal Day). The 1962 celebration would be his first as president. The video should at least be one of the holiday celebrations between 1963-1965.

Even if it were not THE 1962 holiday event, the reception was stiff and unexciting for both an event and a political move that were equally of historical significance. The parade participants seemed mechanical in their movements. It felt more like a staged affair than a cause for celebration. A show of nationalistic spirit and nothing more but a show.

I added TV glitching effects to various panels throughout the comic as well, with the first third of the comic having the most intense glitching. A visual metaphor for problems in signal transmission. An allusion to what happens when you send the wrong message and how that distorts your reality.

An interference to the program.

☼ ☼ ☼

And so once more, the spotlight returned to Aguinaldo, who was not only made the guest of honor for the 612 1962 celebration but even had a replica of his Kawit home built especially for the event.

Sentiments for Aguinaldo were mixed, as it was strongly implied that he played a role in the deaths of two other leading revolutionary figures, Andres Bonifacio and Antonio Luna. Even though all three fought for the Philippines’ independence, Aguinaldo had intense rivalries with the two men when it came to the means of achieving that independence.

In ☆ LOST & FOUND ☆, I played on the scenario that the true copy of the original flag was kept by Piri. There were mixed accounts of how it got lost, but one was returned to Aguinaldo himself (albeit a later version designed by none other). It was said that he never left it out of his sight and would keep it close to him while asleep.

Note how Piri left by the time Aguinaldo arrived.

Of course, he would have been aware that he could not simply just ghost his own birthday party. A scenario made clear early on in my first fancomic. Luckily it was much easier to evade the eye of the crowd in the 60s.

Although the fact that nobody noticed him at all says a lot.

Except for a pair of navy officers who were present at the celebration. No, they were not actually designated bodyguards, but you could sense the concern from them that the birthday boy was removing himself from his own party.

Piri appreciated the company anyway.

☼ ☼ ☼

How Piri climbed up that monument is a scene you will never get to...see.

The pylon of the Rizal Monument was indeed much taller than its present height. Rather, there was an attempt to increase the height of the overall structure (what better gesture to emphasize the greatness of Rizal?). By 1961, the installation of a stainless steel pylon over the original granite obelisk was completed.

Two years later, the pylon was removed. Why? It looked ugly. Aside from the fact that it minimized the namesake focal point.

That paradoxically did not stop a certain real-estate company from constructing a certain high-rise condominium in the background of the monument, about a good 50 years later.

What better choice of street food on a hot & humid day than some sorbetes! We come back to the president’s speech. I picked out the ones I felt were good enough food for thought given the page limit.

Snacks for thought. Hehe.

☼ ☼ ☼

Someday I would draw those old folks he was referring to.

Even Piri himself had no clue about the actual date of his manifestation (his birth, if you will).

Not that anybody ever noted it down. He appreciated the idea of letting 612 double as a birthday for him. As he said himself, what mattered more was the fact that people got to celebrate (or rather, a reason to party). That was the point of memorializing the occasion, after all.

I hope you all appreciated that pun from me, but how exactly did Piri feel about all that? Why would he even allow that to happen at all?

Should he take the blame for passively accepting the change? Or should we blame those who implemented the change? Who was the one at bigger fault here? How can we answer a question when we do not know the details? How can we get the details right when we cannot get all the details? Who do we ask for the details? Is it even fair to gauge the opinion of a NATION through ONE person? Ironic, isn’t it? No wonder Piri felt the way he did.

The road to independence was never smooth, and yet as bumpy as the road back to 612 was, it was almost as if it stopped being about the Philippines than so much to preserve the egos of those who led the Philippines.

The day may have been dedicated to him in theory, but it must have been an awkward situation for Piri to be surrounded by the people who gave back to their country by taking what should have been rightfully his.

I won’t lie. I was hesitant that it might be too explicit for a politically defiant stance. But then I remember the 1986 Comelec walkout that preceded EDSA Revolution. I remember the 2001 impeachment trial walkout that preceded EDSA Dos.

It’s his party and he gets to say no to all of the theatrics.

☼ ☼ ☼

A moment to absorb that biting thought, while he took another bite on his sorbetes.

Oddly enough, the next panel proved to be the most difficult one to draw in this entire comic (more than the larger panel with the Aguinaldo home!!). All these people were revolutionary figures throughout Philippine history. Due to spacing challenges, I only drew most of the cited names in Macapagal’s speech.

Of course, both Rizal and Aguinaldo were mentioned. I opted for the monument and the monumental man that were already physically present in the story.

Look closer at that same panel and you would notice the flag was colored against a sepia-toned reenactment (and some more glitching).

A disruption of reality? Or an invitation to rethink reality?

A challenge to the notion of what constitutes a hero?

After all, THE Jose Rizal himself was never officially proclaimed the national hero of the Philippines. In fact, no one was. (If you don’t believe me, don’t worry. Neither did Filipino Hetalians on Twitter. Funny story for another day.)

It was not to say that there was never an attempt. A National Heroes Committee was formed in 1993 to convene on the individual/s who would merit the prestigious title. No final action was taken after it submitted its report (a result of 4 meetings within 3 years) to the Secretary of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (now the Department of Ejokeation).

This was the final assembled criterion:

“Heroes are those who have a concept of nation and thereafter aspire and struggle for the nation’s freedom. Our own struggle for freedom was begun by Bonifacio and finished by Aguinaldo, the latter formally declaring the revolution’s success. In reality, however, a revolution has no end. Revolutions are only the beginning. One cannot aspire to be free only to sink back into bondage.” “Heroes are those who define and contribute to a system or life of freedom and order for a nation. Freedom without order will only lead to anarchy. Therefore, heroes are those who make the nation’s constitution and laws, such as Mabini and Recto. To the latter, constitutions are only the beginning, for it is the people living under the constitution that truly constitute a nation.” “Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a nation.” “A hero is part of the people’s expression. But the process of a people’s internalization of a hero’s life and works takes time, with the youth forming a part of the internalization.” “A hero thinks of the future, especially the future generations.” “The choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an episode or events in history, but of the entire process that made this particular person a hero.”

Minus all respective individual controversies, it perfectly summed up that it was never the person who made a nation but the people.

Perhaps that was why Piri never contested the date change. It was never about the individual who lit the spark, but rather the people who kept the flame alive. It was how nations were born.

And what better gift could a nation ask for?

☼ ☼ ☼

Even in the present day, we sometimes used the Spanish word in specifying time or price. A vestige of the bygone lingua franca.

It seemed like a cheap answer to a million-peso question, but 50 centavos were worth a lot back then. A humble reward for a humble answer.

Yet, it was hard for Piri to not ponder on how else the day could have gone for him instead. Who else he could also have spent the day with. Who else he could share the gift of freedom.

Now that Piri finally achieved his independence, it was safe to say he could move on to working towards other goals. Rizal had plenty of other dreams, after all…

But that was enough nostalgia for the day! Unless…?

Note how the comic ended with a trio. Sounded like Piri had a pitch in mind for the boss...

☼ ☼ ☼

Image Credits

Carlo Caacbay (Lapulapu), Carlos "Botong" Francisco (Lakan Dula & Andres Bonifacio, from "Filipino Struggles Through History"), The Centenary of the Rizal Monument (The Official Gazette), Dan H. Dizon, ("Rajah Sulayman’s Last Stand at Maynila"), Ernee Lawagan (Blogspot), Pinoy Kollektor (Blogspot), Pinterest, Presidential Museum & Library (Flickr), Rosalio Ortiz ("Dagohoy"), Wikipedia

Sources

“Address of President Macapagal on Independence Day.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Accessed May 21, 2021. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1962/06/12/address-of-president-macapagal-on-independence-day/. Anastacio, Ellen Joy, and Janine Natalie Badiola. “The Early Days.” what’s the story, pinoy tv? (blog). WordPress. October 2000. https://pinoytvstory.wordpress.com/early-days/. Esquejo, Kristoffer R. “Gabriel F. Fabella: Talambuhay at Pamana ng Tinaguriang ‘Ama ng Hunyo 12,’ 1898-1982.” Philippine Social Sciences Review 63, no. 2 (2011): 55-88. Farolan, Ramon. “Freedom Day and family,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 13, 2016. https://opinion.inquirer.net/95189/freedom-day-and-family. Pasion, Kristoffer. “The Turbulent ‘60s and Marcos’ Ascent to Power.” Indio:Bravo// (blog). Tumblr. September 6, 2016. https://indiohistorian.tumblr.com/post/150014337316/the-turbulent-60s-and-marcos-ascent-to-power-we. Ocampo, Ambeth R. “Macapagal at 100,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 29, 2010. https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/philippine-daily-inquirer-1109/20100929/283042640853016. "Philippine War Claims Amendment Bars Lobbyist Fees." In CQ Almanac 1963, 19th ed., 303-9. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1964. http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/cqal63-1317123. “Proclamation No. 28, s. 1962.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Accessed May 22, 2021. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1962/05/12/proclamation-no-28-s-1962/. Pugay, Chris Antonette P. “Remembering the Father of June 12 Philippine Independence Day.” National Historical Commission of the Philippines. September 6, 2012. https://nhcp.gov.ph/remembering-the-father-of-june-12-philippine-independence-day/. “Radio Speech of President Macapagal on the program, ‘President Macapagal Speaks to the Masses’.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Accessed May 22, 2021. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1962/05/14/radio-speech-of-president-macapagal-on-president-macapagal-speaks-to-the-masses/. “Selection And Proclamation Of National Heroes And Laws Honoring Filipino Historical Figures.” National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Accessed July 1, 2021. https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/selection-and-proclamation-of-national-heroes-and-laws-honoring-filipino-historical-figures/. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. "10-35789 - USA v. Harry Stonehill, et al". Government. Administrative Office of the United States Courts, September 28, 2011. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-ca9-10-35789.

#historical hetalia #hws philippines #mentions of war cw #mentions of death cw #footnotes: IT'S MY PARTY #arc: modern #long post

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hakka84 · 7 months

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Betsy’s 2012 Time continuity

Following to me trying to give sense to Betsy's 2013 continuity, here I am with Avengers Vs X-Men. Betsy fights alongside memoryless!Warren in the crossover, and I want to cover that in my fanfiction, but where this meeting fits, in Betsy's complicated life post Dark Angel Saga?

I draw a complete blank on the timesetting of the crossover, in relation to Uncanny X-Force. There’s no reference to the Phoenix, the Phoenix five or Charles' death in Uncanny X-Force to understand where the crossover fits, in the X-Force timeline.

If we look at the releasing date, AvX happened at the same time of Final Execution, Uncanny X-Force’s last arch. Where there’s literally no time for the team to go and join the fight between Utopia’s mutants and Avengers. It’s unlikely that the crossover happens after the end of Uncanny X-Force either, and not only because UXF wraps up in December and AvX in October: in the latest issue of UXF Betsy leaves not only X-Force (that disbands) but is implied to leave also X-Men active duty to live her life with Fantomex.

Here's a canon-chronological (not cover date chronological) list.

Uncanny X-Force #18, 14 December 2011: Dark Angel Saga ends;

Uncanny X-Force #19: 21 December 2011: Warren is sent to the school;

Wolverine & the X-Men #4, 11 January 2011. Follows up with Warren's story as he arrives to the school;

Uncanny X-Force #19, 21 December 2011: The Otherworld arch starts here, with Fantomex's kidnapping;

Uncanny X-Force #20-23, January-March 2012: Betsy is in Otherworld;

Uncanny X-Force #24, 18 April 2012: Betsy and Fantomex return from Otherworld; Betsy seduces Fantomex:

Uncanny X-Force #25, 9 May 2012: the morning after. Betsy temporarily leaves X-Force and visits the School. From Kitty's words its implied they're still hoping Warren could remember himself.

Uncanny X-Force #26, 13 June 2012: Betsy is living on her own for an unspecified period of time (days? Week?). Charles Xavier is alive - but it's a Shadow King illusion. Unlikely he could play with Betsy is Charles had been already killed - Betsy would know and the illusion wouldn't work.

Uncanny X-Force #27, 11 July 2012. Shadow King has won over Betsy, Fantomex comes to the saving. (literally no time to force anything else in this).

Wolverine & the X-Men #10, 9 May 2012. Rachel has finished Warren's psychic evaluation and the response is that there's no memory left of Warren's old life.

Avengers Vs. X-Men #2, 18 April 2012. Betsy is in Utopia.

Avengers vs. X-Men #3, 2 May 2012. Warren (still student) officially joins the crossover.

Wolverine & the X-Men #11, 30 May 2012: Warren & Betsy (and Bobby) team up for a mission.

Wolverine & the X-Men #11, 30 May 2012: Warren Vs Hawkeye.

AvX #5, 29 August 2012: expands the Warren vs Hawkeye fight above, and we see Betsy is there as well.

Uncanny X-Men #13, 6 June 2012. Betsy recalls her time fighting beside Warren (as per W&XM #11 and AvX #5)

Warren graduates in Wolverine & the X-Men #15. (AvX).

Avengers Vs. X-Men #2 (Betsy in Utopia) is released the same day of Uncanny X-Force 24.(Betsy is in Otherworld / in Aerie having sex with Fantomex).

It's likely that, by the time UXF wraps up, Betsy has left her post in Utopia. Something that happens during/after Cyclops wreck havok as Phoenix.

There's also Kid Gladiator presences to help us:

Uncanny X-Force #25. Start of the Final Execution arch. Kid Gladiator is one of the students that take a trip to Genosha, where Evan is kidnapped.

Wolverine & the X-Men #15.. Kid Gladiator leaves.

Also. Fantomex doesn't take part to the Avengers vs X-Men crossover. It could suggest that the battle takes place before he was cloned and resurrected?

The only place to fit AvX would be in the time when Betsy is living on her own. But the pace in UXF doesn't offer much space for Betsy (and Wolverine) to go join the X-Men against the Avengers. The only place where a timeskip could be forced is after Betsy's visit to the school in UXF #24 but before the events of UXF #25. But in UXF #25 Shadow King creates an illusion with Charles Xavier to torture Betsy. If AvX had already happened, Betsy would immediately smell burning because Charles couldn't be in her apartment with Warren. Timing on Wolverine's own feats in UXF would disagree too. But there's literally no other way to fit AvX in the UXF continuity.

Marvel Database, on Evan's page, places AvX before Final Execution. On Betsy's page, on the contrary, Final Execution is placed before AvX.

Canon, I hate you. Again!

#xmen #warren worthington iii #angelpsylocke #Warrenbetsy #elizabeth braddock

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viscountessevie · 10 months

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An Upper West Side Story [ARC Review]

Release Date: 6th July 2023 Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ [3½ Stars] Drama Level: 🌶️🌶️

[I apologise for the low-res cover; this is the clearest one I could find online!]

My Review:

Contrary to the reference it's title, An Upper West Side Story by Rachel Cullen isn't a dramatic tragedy. It's a lighthearted read you can breeze through in a couple of days.

Jump back in time to 2004 with Jess, Tory, Robin and Zach on the Upper West Side.

Jessica Barlowe had plans to move in with her boyfriend until he completely blows up their lives. With her current roommate moving out in anticipation of Jess' move, she is left stranded on her own.

Tory Wallace's home life had always been difficult. Between her parents' fighting matches and her father's constant put downs, it all comes to a head. Tory has to escape and forge her own independent path.

Robin Cromwell is left with the perfect apartment. It's a classic six - which includes two bedrooms, two & a half bathrooms (what in the world is a half bathroom??) and a kitchen - in a prime location. With her roommate and best friend moving out for her residency, Robin has to comb through all the Craigslist creeps to find the perfect roommate.

Zach Sullivan is a tech executive who owns his own apartment on the Upper West Side. He has always been reserved. But when he crosses paths with someone he can't seem to stop thinking about, he impulsively ends up renting out his spare room.

***

This book was honestly a mixed bag for me. It was very easy to read and I flew through it in a couple of days. I also think Rachel had an interesting set of characters with a lot of potential.

That being said, while all the characters had the ingredients of standing out from one another, all their 'voices' in their respective POV felt very similar. This is most likely due to Rachel's writing style coming through. I definitely think the girls could had more of a distinct tone to set them apart. I was slowly able to differentiate them by Act 2.

Jess, Tory and Zach had all heartfelt backstories and trauma they had to resolve and it was done very well. I am especially a fan of how Tory's arc and storyline unfolded. Her family history was interesting to read about.

However, I felt that Robin wasn't done justice. While the trio I mentioned had backstories that added depth to their characters and raised the stakes for them, Robin's issues about dating and her career felt like small potatoes. The book could have used at least a 100 more pages fleshing out Robin who was a lovely character to read about.

All in all, the way all these characters intersected and how each of them impacted different arcs was cool to read about. Another thing that could have been done better is the conflict and pivotal moments. I felt that a lot of important scenes that should have unfolded on the page happened off-screen. I felt cheated out of getting those POVs at times. As for the conflicts, a lot of it fell under the miscommunication trope. It felt like watching a 90s sitcom episode without it being funny, I was just very frustrated with the characters at that point.

The ending was really sweet and gave me the fuzzies. All that's said and done, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a lighthearted read where you don't need to think much and can read it quickly in a day.

Thank you to Lime Street Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #ARC Review #An Upper West Side Story #Rachel Cullen #Romance #Romace Novels #An Upper West Side Story by Rachel Cullen #Romance Blogging #Lime Street Press #Independent Book Publishers Association #Members' Title

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ecodweeb · 8 years

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Toaster: 2014 BMW i3 REx

After converting the daily drivers into electric, I was ready to add it into the long-haul mix. The Range-extended BMW i3 let us hold the battery charge at 75% and run off the 2-gallon repurposed-BMW-motorcycle engine/generator to charge the battery/power the motor in a series fashion. Its quirkiness was on the level of a Volvo, and it was actually the first Electric Car I’d ever ridden in.

Service Stats

In Service Date: 7/30/2016 In Service Mileage: 13,134 Out of Service Date: 9/15/2020 Out of Service Mileage: 67,031 Service Life: 4 years, 53,892 miles Avg. Miles/yr: ~13,473

The History & Story

My husband, who works for a BMW dealer, brought home a dealer demo 2014 i3 Tera to drive while volunteering with a BMW Car Club of America Teen Driving School. I liked the car, but it reminded me of a pug and that made me take pause. It felt weird, and it was made with weird materials. But as my husband said, BMW’s attitude was “this is the future, deal with it.” Ah, so very German. What I remember of our weekend with the i3 was that using a long extension cord (which in hindsight we know wasn’t up to snuff to safely charge the car) will reduce the added range significantly.

So why then, did I buy one? Well, the gas engine did mean I could road trip with it and keep transporting rescue animals on weekends. It also was going to do it cheaper than the Mazda5 we had at the time. So after putting together a plan, I settled on a vehicle in Atlanta, Georgia. The dealer beat my out the door offer, much to the complete shock of the salesman, and I got 1.0% financing plus $2500 off for being a recent college graduate -- and to date this discount is the only thing I believe my diploma has gotten me. I digress, the deal worked out on this vehicle was really good -- less than what I was paying on the van.

I sold the Van to my dad, who used it to shuttle around my grandfather who had recently moved in with him and my mother. Dad got the van for payoff plus trade of his 2001 Passat with well over 150,000 miles on it. The Passat’s air conditioner gave out before I’d even crossed into Alabama from Mississippi, and there was no way I was driving another car without air conditioning through the heart of the south in July again. Whatever the dealer agreed to, I was taking that i3 home. When they handed me the keys the guy said it had 53 miles of estimated range, how did I plan to take it home to North Carolina? And I said, “I plan to drive it. You can refill the gas tank like any other car.” The look on his face was priceless.

The drive home was an adventure as I left the dealership and didn’t even know how to use the cruise control on the car. I hurried to IKEA where we bought the first part of our new sofa, and then hurried back home. After stopping for fuel in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the car threw a drive train error but said continued driving is possible. I made it the rest of the way home without any issue, other than the warning message popping up.

This was a really good little car to me. When it had big issues -- like when the cooling fan failed and the Range Extender wouldn’t turn on, or it had a flat tire! -- was close to home and in the best possible conditions. Even with the fuel filter door release broke and I had to use the emergency pull, it was on the way home from a rescue run. The little car was so base it didn’t even have DC fast charging, but at the time the DC fast network didn’t really exist -- Electrify America wouldn’t be a thing for nearly three years when I bought this car. I knew at that time that getting a DC charging car was a moot point, as we’d be looking to replace it in 3-5 years time anyway.

I loved the traditions with this car, like the waltz to open the back door and bringing home our Christmas trees. I rented this car to my best friend on Turo so he would have a million dollar insurance policy to drive it down to Florida and back -- the longest trip this vehicle has ever been on, over 100 miles longer than the Canada trip!

I will always hold a special place in my heart for this little car, it was my first and only BMW and I had a very good ownership experience with it overall.

#pastev #blog #bmwi3 #2016

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mwplanet · 1 year

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Win or His Loss?

Inside the controversies surrounding Drake and 21 Savage’s latest album, “Her Loss”

By Karissa Cruz

Cover of “Her Loss”

Photo via Spotify

Amidst the release of Drake and 21 Savage’s new album, several controversies have arisen between Drake, Vogue Magazine and other artists. Several artists are said to have been disrespected and thrown shade at throughout the chart-topping album, “Her Loss”. Artists like Megan Thee Stallion have fallen victim to the controversies surrounding the Torontonian artist's brand-new release. In addition to Drake receiving backlash for his shots at other artists, Vogue Magazine also filed a lawsuit against him and 21 Savage for their fake Vogue promotion poster. Despite the growing arguments with regards to the integrity of the album occurring on social media platforms, the album’s rapid success has evidently continued to overpower.

November 4, 2022, marked the release of Drake and 21 Savage’s brand new collaboration, “Her Loss”. Streaming on all listening platforms, the love rap album features several themes - women, partying, misogyny, and money. Merely minutes following the release, multiple songs from the album blew up on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. Over 70k creators from all around the world have recorded themselves lip-synching to songs like “Rich Flex”, comedically mimicking how they think Drake and 21 Savage must’ve looked whilst recording in the studio. However, the success of the album is not solely due to the catchiness of certain songs, in fact, its success is primarily the result of the gossip associated with its lyrics and covert references.

Within minutes of the release of “Her Loss”, Drake and 21 Savage set gossip sites and pop culture news aflame due to references ranging from Serena William’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, to old quarrels within the rap industry, to an insult towards Megan Thee Stallion’s foot injury caused by Tory Lanez.

Back in 2015 before Ohanian and Williams were together, Drake and Williams were exclusively dating. They broke up in 2015, and she later started seeing Ohanian in May of that same year. When she married Ohanian in 2017, Drake began to throw bitter shots at the couple. In “Her Loss”, specifically “Middle of the Ocean” at 3:35, Drake calls out the Reddit founder in the lyrics; "Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie; He claim we don't got a problem but; No, boo, it is like you comin' for sushi". Ohanian responds to the subtle diss in his tweet, saying, "The reason I stay winning is because I'm relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do - including being the best groupie for my wife & daughter." This is not the first time that Drake has made subtly bitter comments towards Williams in his songs. He previously insulted the Olympian’s tennis career, claiming that he could beat her in a match in his 2013 track, “Worst Behavior”.

Despite the disrespectful nature of the rapper’s lyrics, the jab at Ohanian and Williams’ relationship was not the main issue that occupies pop culture websites and gossip columns nowadays. Rather, Drake’s controversial covert remark towards Megan Thee Stallion, whose foot was allegedly shot by Tory Lanez back in 2020, has taken the spotlight. The rapper, Tory Lanez, is currently facing “one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, concealed firearm in a vehicle”, according to a statement made by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. According to police reports, Tory was having an argument with a woman - identified as “Megan P” in a criminal complaint - in a SUV on July 12. As the woman exited the car, she was shot multiple times in the foot. Megan Thee Stallion, formally known as Megan Jovon Ruth Pete talked about the car incident during an Instagram Live on her verified account. She later posted a photo of her wound, which was deleted slightly after. In October 2020, legal authorities charged the rapper with felony assault, but he pleaded not guilty the following month. He is currently placed under house arrest as he waits for his trial after allegedly shooting Megan and assaulting the singer August Alsina in August 2022. If convicted, Lanez faces a maximum sentence of roughly 23 years. Amidst the allegations made against Tory Lanez and Megan’s public complaints, Drake threw his own shot at Megan through his lyrics in his new album, specifically in his song “Circo Loco”; “This b---h lie 'bout getting shots, but she still a stallion.” The singer responded to the underhanded insult on Twitter. She called Drake “lame”, and claimed that such conspiracy theories were weak and that they lacked proper facts or receipts. Artists like Sweetest Pie and other listeners shared their distaste for Drake’s biased lyrics against Megan.

Like previous tracks, Drake’s songs have a history of calling out people who he feels have wronged him through his lyrics. Evidently, the success of his collaborative album with 21 Savage is not solely due to its acquired traction and fame on social media platforms like TikTok, but a large part of it is the controversies surrounding the lyrical references themselves. His album is no doubt a fan favourite, but the issues that it set aflame have definitely caused a divide amongst his supporters and supporters of those he covertly mentioned in his music.

#wact #karissa cruz #mary ward planet #mary ward #drake #megan thee stallion #21 savage #her loss controversy

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yexiu · 6 years

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Veronica Lodge was born to be a bloodsucking demon.

Vampironica (2018)

#comicedit #veronica lodge #vlodgeedit #vampironica #dailyindiecomics #&&#vidhi.edit #...look i'm not a big horror fan but i'm LOVING this series so far #also i looked up when the release date for issue 3 is and it's july 25th so guess i'll die?

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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week in BL

July 2021 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Don’t Say No Ep 0 (AKA LeoFiat Special Episode) - backstory from TT2 using previous footage plus new stuff to add chemistry, agency, and flashbacks. Full recap here. Officially, the series starts Aug 6, but all release dates out of Thailand should be taken a large grain of salt. (Or dousing of fish sauce, if you prefer. Which I do. Seriously tho, I just made marinara with fish sauce instead of salt. It’s AMAZING.)

My Boy the series Ep 2 - I get what my issue is with this show, every character is just a little bit skeezy. I’m not into creepy. This one is not yet bad enough to drop, but could be a matter of time.

Golden Blood Ep 3 - basically we got a first date, also symbolic gift exchange and the importance of the Sky’s blood. This episode was to establish friendship and intimacy between the two characters so when one or both of them are at risk going forward we feel it more. Worked for me. I like that we even get a fight scene in a slow episode like this.

The Best Story Ep 1 - finally more YinWar, although it’s only supposed to be a 3 ep miniseries. (Bold claim in the title, it means this f’er better have a plot.) It’s a slow moving high school Thai BL pulp on a classic crush trope, but with better acting and production values than most. Our POV Best seems to be out, at least to his friends, so props for that. Yin & War play similar personalities to their respective roles in Love Mechanics so this feels a little like it’s the story of Mark’s first crush. Still it looks like it’s going to sing your feelings trope reliant so I am... WARY AF.

Top Secret Together Ep 9 - if there is anything I like less than sing your feelings it’s a white elephant party. So I pretty much skipped the first half. My boys were adorable, of course, but even they tropetted (that’s a word I just invented it’s trotted + trope) out the sponge bath. NO ONE IS SAFE. If they don’t getcha with a guitar, they’ll getcha with a wet towel.

Oh hey, I think I just invented Thai BL’s operating slogan:

If ya can’t get the boy with a guitar get him with that wet towel.

Is it me, or does that sound weirdly kinky?

Nitiman Ep 10 fin - and that’s it? Okaaay? So it’s was fine and cute and repped a relatively healthy relationship and... absolutely nothing happened. And I thought Oxygen lacked drama, but this was basically "a month in the life of uni students.” Seriously, just 2 cute boys trying to figure out how to have a relationship. And there it is. The cabal of matchmakers was funny tho: the Fellowship of the BbombJin does sound like something Tolkien would come up with, only gayer. Got all the tropes in the finale - coming out, distance, water, hand kiss, public claiming via phone, gift giving, including The Gear, etc.. RECOMMENDED so long as you don’t expect much story.

Hometown’s Embrace Ep 4 - couldn’t find it and frankly, I’m not fussed. I’m dropping this one for now.

The Yearbook Ep 0 15 min sampler (?) - could be the first episode, it’s confusing as it officially starts next week. Anygay, way different filming approach more indie influenced than usual but with Thai BL pulp pacing and pat plot. But the acting is good and it’s focused on one couple so I’m intrigued. I think it’s trying to be the Thai BL pulp version of I Told Sunset About You.

Y-Destiny Ep 15 fin - just a wrap-up check-in. Cute boyfriends being cute and getting a little switchy. I particularly loved the ghostly 3some and their frubble. LOTS of tropes. Honestly the most improbable thing about this show was that there would be that many queer couples in one friendship group, all happily in relationships at the SAME TIME. Under real life stressors this is guaranteed to cause a breach in the space time continuum.

This week in amusing captions: “Food that you spooned for me.” I’m a big food cuddler myself, been known to spoon a watermelon on occasion. No, that’s not a euphemism, I have a perfectly natural inclination to hug spherical things.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Monster in Law AKA Mẹ Chồn Dâu Cáo (Vietnam) Ep 12 - I’m watching is because I like the main couple but if they aren’t on screen together i kind of check out. This ep ended with spying with the intent to cause drama, which ought to be a crime, but then all of high school woudl be spent in lock up.

Ossan’s Love Eps 5-7 - Darren’s kid is a new character, so is the female friend (maybe faen fatale?), so we are diverging from the original. I definitely like this adaptation better, although it’s still more sit-com soap than it is BL.

Light On Me 3-4 - this one airs 2 eps a week (Tues, Thurs) also Viki has started airing, so things are getting litigious out there. Ep 3 was a very awkward dating stich which I found rough going (I get serious second hand embarrassment syndrome), but nicely dramatic with hints at secrets and fence mending.

Be Loved in House: I Do (Taiwan) Ep 9 - OMG they are so soft and SO CUTE and so awkward and then so soft and so cute allover again. They’re like the BL couple version of this:

In Case You Missed It

Korean queer studio Strongberry dropped their short film The Confidential Coffee Break. I loved it. It’s a monologue pice about two closeted older gay professors about changing times and the nature of acceptance (self and others) in modern day South Korean academia. Go watch it. It’s in the Kinou Nani Tabeta? vein.

They also dropped Sweet Curse. It’s basically low-gore atmospheric horror but with very high heat BL (explicit so be aware). Longer and with a larger cast than their usual stuff, but not much.

Breaking News

KinnPorsche is on the rocks. The author disaffiliated afrom the production company, Filmania. From the author’s statement it seems like the KinnProsche team/writer hasn’t been paid(?) and the author is taking a stand and withdrawing from the project. I can only tell you want this means in Hollywood speak, and you can read that here.

Chinese danmei wuxia(?) Immortality and Winner is King rumored to be getting live action adaptations. I know nothing more. This is not my fandom.

Thai/Korea joint project Peach of Time also got a trailer. This has JimmyTommy in it, but I don’t think it’s a Mii2 vehicle. Looks like Jimmy has a different pairing.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International subs accessibility reasons. Monster in Law and Ossan’s Love are listed on Monday because they show up whenever they show up during the week.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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garc-i-a · 3 years

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Why JATP Is Taking a While to Get Officially Renewed

Thought I would put my thoughts into words on the renewal situation. We know that the show was released on Netflix on September 10, 2020. As of today, it has been 242 days (10 May 2021). Julie and the Phantoms was released under Netflix Family, marking it as a children’s show on the streaming service. It was released in the middle of the second wave of the coronavirus (in the US) that has swept the world over. The show was created by Kenny Ortega, legendary choreographer and director.

To start off, we have to acknowledge that we ARE in a pandemic. Due to that, things have been touch and go in so many industries. That includes the TV/Film industry as well. The US and Canada, the two countries involved in making the show, have to follow the rules and laws related to COVID regardless of what people in the industry want. With that, we have to pay attention to what is going on with the pandemic to know how to go about filming.

As of right now, Canada still has closed borders from the US to nonessential travel. To get into Canada as a foreigner you have to be going for a specific reason and follow all the Covid related travel rules. To read more about this, you can go to canada.ca and type in for traveling during the pandemic. Not to mention that for a lot of areas in Canada, they are still essentially in lockdown because of the now rising numbers in the country. Charlie’s home province of New Brunswick is still pretty restricted.

Regarding vaccinations, although the United States has been slowly getting people vaccinated, Canada has had issues with getting vaccinations and don’t nearly have as many vaccinated. It is only just a few days ago that New Brunswick started administering vaccinations in the last few days. The vaccinations are only for people who are 50+ who fall into specific medical condition guidelines. For British Columbia, where the show is filmed, vaccines started getting administered the third week of April. It is believed there is a chance of getting all* adults vaccinated by mid June. My source for this information is from a native New Brunswicker and a CTV News article.

For the cast, getting vaccinated is paramount. Owen is already vaccinated. Madison’s dad is also vaccinated so it is likely she is as well or part way there. Now for people who are NOT vaccinated yet, most vaccines are administered in two doses. The doses are done about three weeks apart (I am partially vaccinated and my first dose was already done and second is next week). This knowledge is important as people need to be aware of the timing of these things. The amount of time between vaccines and for everyone in the cast and crew is essential for everything to go smoothly with filming.

One of the big things that I have seen a lot is the outrage at other shows on Netflix being renewed before Julie and the Phantoms. There is a two fold answer to this. To start off, we have to remember that because of this pandemic, things take longer to process to be extra diligent and that more money is be used to cover for reconstructions and accommodations due to Covid. Knowing these two things, let’s delve into the renewals of other shows.

Some of the other shows that have been renewed are Fate: The Winx Saga, Bridgerton, Ginny and Georgia, and Emily in Paris. The big difference between these shows and Julie and the Phantoms is the fact they are not in the Netflix Family category. They are considered content for adults or young adults. Netflix has different rules on their shows that are put out on the regular platform versus the family section. Netflix Family rarely posts when a show is renewed so far from its premiere date for the next season. So in that respect, Julie and the Phantoms wouldn’t be given a huge announcement for the next season’s renewal if it follows the pattern of Netflix Family’s marketing.

Tying into this the matter of where the rest of the shows are filmed and the backing behind them in regards to production. The Winx show and Bridgerton are filmed in the UK, Ginny and Georgia is filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Emily in Paris is filmed on location in France. The reason that this matters is because these places have different rules for working during this pandemic, the vaccinations levels, and the threat of getting sick from Covid. These shows are also connected to larger properties or influential individuals*. Vancouver is a popular city to film in, of course, but it has been dealing with an uptick in cases as well as in a different province than Ginny and Georgia, and as such has their own rules. We cannot take into the likes of Riverdale or other shows that are filming right now in Vancouver. Lots of these shows were renewed and set to film already when the pandemic hit. They do not factor into things.

The last part of this is the production costs for making the show. As mentioned before, Vancouver is a popular city to film in. Due to the pandemic, it costs more to film because the need to have extra precautions, regular Covid testing, and etc. We know that there were shows that were initially renewed by Netflix but then canceled after the fact. The reason for this is that Netflix likely realized the cost to produce the shows would be too much and not in the best interest of the cast, crew, and any companies involved in the middle of such a huge reaching pandemic.

Compared to other shows in the Netflix Family section, Julie and the Phantoms has a high production level. I did some research on the Netflix originals in the section and the shows on there are either very low budget or have a backing from a franchise/company (ex. Baby Boss, Fast and Furious, Jurassic Park). Julie and the Phantoms does not have that. It is not connected to an established franchise or a large company. It is simply made by the likes of Kenny Ortega who does not skimp on anything in his productions. Kenny has stated that he is not willing to let the grandness of the show suffer because of the pandemic. The show has many crowd scenes and dancing sequences that require a lot of people. The show won’t be what it is without this. Based on this, we know that Netflix wants to be absolutely sure they can go forth with filming before announcing a renewal.

And there you guys go. All the information that I looked into and checked for this piece. I hope this helps many people understand what is going on why it is taking longer for the show to get renewed. It is not that Netflix doesn’t want to renew it. It is a matter of HOW and WHEN. If that makes sense. If you have any questions about what I wrote, you can leave a comment or DM me.

all*- Some individuals may not wish to be vaccinated

influential individuals*- There are people connected to some of the shows that have a standing within the media and the finances or awards to warrant being a part of the show or it being made at all.

Amendment

I was informed by my source in New Brunswick that vaccines have been administered since January but the qualification for who is eligible for the vaccines can change from week to week.

Amendment 2

Reuters has reported that children aged 12-15 are able to start getting the vaccine today (13 May 2021). So that means that Jadah and Sonny (15 and 13, respectively) will be fully vaccinated by the middle of June.

Amendment 3

A few days ago a local upstate New York newspaper wrote about Canada starting the process of opening up borders again. The process is in the beginning stages so there is no announced date(s) on the border reopening but it is in the works.

Amendment 4

A show called Firefly Lane has been renewed for a season 2. This is important because Firefly Lane is filmed in the same area of British Columbia as Julie and the Phantoms. British Columbia is getting better in regards to vaccinations and so this proves good news of a season 2 announcement for Julie and the Phantoms.

Amendment 5

It was reported on 21 or 22 June 2021 that Canada will relax quarantine rules for vaccinated Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and foreign nationals for essential work. This new system will go into effect 5 June 2021. If you are fully vaccinated and pass rules set by the government, you will NOT have to abide by the hotel quarantine steps when entering the country. That means that the JATP cast and crew can get to filming right away instead of quarantining beforehand. To read more about this: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lonelyplanet.com/amp/articles/canada-border-reopening

Amendment 6

On Charlie’s live yesterday (28 June 2021), Madison said that she got the second dose of the vaccine earlier in the day. In 14 days, she will be good to go on going out and such. Hopefully Jadah and Sonny have gotten at least their first dose. Gets us closer to being able to have the cast and crew together for the show.

Amendment 7

The National Law Review published an article on 2 July 2021 saying that fully vaccinated individuals will be able to travel between Canada and the US on 21 July or possibly sooner. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he wants 75% of Canadians to be fully vaccinated before allowing the border to be opened. With current numbers, it is believed this will be achieved in a few weeks time.

Amendment 8

The New York Times just reported that fully vaccinated Americans could be allowed into Canada by mid August and that people from other countries could be allowed to enter by September.

Amendment 9

It was just reported about two hours ago that Canada will allow vaccinated Americans in on 9 August. That is exactly 3 weeks from now on a Monday. Now all we have to focus on is protocols for safety while in Vancouver while filming.

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the fat ones #julie and the himbos #jatp #renew jatp #renewjatpfors2 #madison reyes #charlie gillespie #owen patrick joyner #jeremy shada #jadah marie #savannah lee may #sacha carlson #booboo stewart #tori caro #cheyenne jackson #kenny ortega

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everythingloureed · 3 years

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Humphreys was raised in Bridgeton, NJ, and San Antonio, TX. It was said that the family were of part Mexican Native descent. An apparent trans child who played with dolls, and wore girls’ clothes, Humphreys wanted to do people’s hair. As Rachel she graduated in hair-dressing at a cosmetology school in Bayonne, NJ, (north of Staten Island, across the river from Manhattan).

She was a regular at Max's Kansas City, the hip and glam rock nightclub on Park Avenue South. She also frequented the 82 Club on E 4th St which was in transition from a transvestite performance club to a glam rock and then punk club. The New York Dolls did their first show there on April 17, 1974, when they performed in drag, except for Johnny Thunders who refused. They were followed by Wayne County (not yet using the name Jayne) and short-lived glitter bands like Teenage Lust and Harlots of 42nd Street.

It was there at this time that Rachel met Lou Reed, the musician. Lou described Rachel in an interview with Bambi magazine:

"It was in a late night club in Greenwich Village. I’d been up for days as usual and everything was at that super-real, glowing stage. I walked in there and there was this amazing person, this incredible head, kind of vibrating out of it all. Rachel was wearing this amazing make-up and dress and was obviously in a different world to anyone else in the place. Eventually I spoke and she came home with me. I rapped for hours and hours, while Rachel just sat there looking at me saying nothing. At the time I was living with a girl, a crazy blonde lady and I kind of wanted us all three to live together but somehow it was too heavy for her. Rachel just stayed on and the girl moved out. Rachel was completely disinterested in who I was and what I did. Nothing could impress her. He’d hardly heard my music and didn’t like it all that much when he did. Rachel knows how to do it for me. No one else ever did before. Rachel’s something else.”

She moved in with him right away. He was then living in a modest one-bedroom apartment at 405 East 63rd Street. Lou had already written a few songs about trans women, and with the single, “Walk on the Wild Side” (which referred to the Andy Warhol-sponsored trans stars, Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis) had his biggest hit. Rachel was at this time oscillating. Some days she was Ricky, and others he was Rachel. People who knew Lou and Rachel used either pronoun. One journalist referred to Lou’s ‘boyfriend named Rachel’. Both Lou and Rachel enjoyed the confusion and further muddied the water by wearing each other’s clothes. She was street-wise and spunky in a way that Lou only pretended to be. She was said to always carry a knife, and was good in a fight – which proved useful when a concert at the Pallazzo dello Sport in Rome turned into a riot 15 February 1975.

Lou had been working on his fourth solo album, Sally Can’t Dance – the title track and spin-off single assumed to refer to trans woman, Sally Maggio, who was manager at the 220 Club, another trans bar where Lou went drinking. Sally would in the 1980s open Sally’s Hideaway, and then Sally’s II, again a bar for trans persons and with trans performers. However it was Rachel whose image was on the obverse of the Sally Can’t Dance LP sleeve, drawn as if reflected in Lou’s shades.

She supported him on some of his tours. In New York, they lived for a while in the Gramercy Park Hotel, and then an upscale apartment on East 52nd St at FDR Drive where Henry Kissinger, Greta Garbo and John Lennon had lived. In 1975 they began to frequent the rather grimey but seminal punk club, CBGBs. Lou was recording Coney Island Baby, released January 1976 and several tracks refer to Rachel. At the end of the follow-up tour, Rachel was mugged and assaulted. A doctor was called, who inevitably referred to Rachel as ‘she’, even though Lou was saying ‘he’. As Aidan Levy says:

“Rachel had been contemplating gender reassignment surgery, but the transgender rights movement had not yet solidified, and not fully understanding the nature of the decision, Lou was adamantly opposed to any operations, a growing source of conflict in their relationship”.

Despite this, a friend commented: ““I think that Rachel was the glue holding Lou together, or at least keeping him in the public view in many respects … I know that he doted on her. If there was a light shining, it was the two of them together. It doesn’t mean it was the healthiest relationship in the world.” The cover of Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed, 1977 is of photographs of the two of them.

Rachel acted as road-manager on the next tour, managed the money, and watched over the road-crew. They were in London for their third anniversary and ordered a three-tier cake to celebrate, and Lou gave her two diamond rings. He said:

"Rachel knows how to do it for me, no one else before ever did”.

However by the end of 1977, Lou and Rachel were fighting more and more, and frequently it was about the issue of transgender surgery. She had a date for surgery but backed off as Lou said:

“Well why are you doing that? I love you because of the way you are”.

The title track of Street Hassle, 1978, is about her, and an article in Rolling Stone referred to Rachel as the raison d’etre of the album, although in fact it marked the end of their relationship. Lou moved on, having met Sylvia Morales, who became his third wife in 1980.

Reed completely refused to talk about Rachel after 1978. He desisted and decided to go straight. Both his later marriages were with cis women.

Rachel died in 1990 age 37 at St Clare’s Hospital, which specialized in treating AIDS patients, and she was interred in the gigantic pauper burial site on Hart Island off the Bronx coast (which contains over a million corpses).

Lou died in 2013, aged 71, from liver failure.

LegsMcNeil & Gillian McCain. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. Penguin books, 1997: 154-5, 206.

Marc Campbell. "Rachel: Lou Reed’s transsexual muse". Dangerous Minds, 02.06.2013. Online.

Howard Sounes. Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed. Doubleday, 2015: 182-4, 187, 189, 191, 192, 194, 195, 202, 203, 205, 208, 212, 213, 214, 215-6, 221-2, 226, 229, 235, 248, 269.

Simon Reynolds. Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century. William Morrow Publishers, 2016: 271-2.

Aidan Levy. Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed. Chicago Review Press, 2016: 221-2, 227, 233, 244, 251-3, 264, 285.

Corey Kilgannon. "Dead of AIDS and Forgotten in Potter's Field: In an untold chapter of the AIDS epidemic, scores of unclaimed bodies were buried in a remote spot on Hart Island. How many exactly remains unclear". New York Times, July 3, 2018. Online.

#lou reed #rachel #Rachel Humphreys

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Scottrospective: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together! or Days of Summer

Hello all you happy scottaholics! Welcome back to those of you who’ve read the rest of this retrospective and welcome to those of you just joining us. This is the Scottrospective, my look at all 6 volumes of Scott Pilgrim, the game and the movie. It’s all the video game refrenes, slice of life story telling and boob punches you can handle!

It’s been three months since I left off with “The Infinite Sadness” , and while I intended to cover this one for Valentine’s Day, my schedule got away from me and with March being full up, this ended taking till April

I”m not too put off by it though as the hiatus between these two reviews is fitting for this one both in story and out. In story there’s a couple month time skip between books, while out.. this book got delayed a few times.

This is notable to me at least because this was the first volume of the series I bought when it came out. As i’ve brought up before I came into the series via the Free Comic Book Day Issue and the second and third volumes, picking one up later. I still have my original copies despite no longer really needing them thanks to having the color editions in general. Always will provided something dosne’t happen to them. So this was my first instalment that I got to read fresh and got to wait for and be hyped about and i’d saved enough money that I was able to pre-order it. So the experince of waiting and waiting for the book only to keep seeing it slide back is vivid in my mind as is the frustration I felt having the one thing I COULD NOT WAIT FOR, keep going further and further back.

So with this long wait and the fact I bought this one when it came out, as I would for the next two which didn’t get delayed thank god, this volume naturally means a lot for me. When I wrote Scott Pilgrim fanfiction, this volume’s status quo is what I based it on. It was the coolest to me and the one I loved to reread the most. It has the most contained story, the most character growth at the time, and the best art due to Bryan’s style having finally hit it’s stride. Not that the art for volumes 1-3 is bad mind you, but it’s very clear his style was changing and shaping into what it is now with each one and while it’d change a bit more, this volume is where the style and quality everyone thinks of when they think of this series and the kind you see on various art done from it comes from.

So as you can tell i’m excited for this one. Before we get started there WERE two shorter comics released between this one both for Free Comic Book day, the first of which, Free Scott Pilgrim, is the reason I got into the series and the second, the Wonderful World of Kim Pine .. was both delightful and sets up Kim moving in with Hollie for this volume. Originally I intended to cover these in this review.. but I realized they wouldn’t of helped the pacing and this review is going to be way longer than my standard as is.

So instead I came up with the compromise. I did review them.. but as bonus reviews on my patreon. For just one buck a month you can read them and help me reach my stretch goals which now include reviews of Lost at Sea, Seconds and SnotGirl, aka Bryan’s OTHER comics. You can find my patreon THROUGH THIS LINK HERE if your intrested in the exclusives or helping me reach my reviews. I also intend to do an exclusive of Monica Beetle, a short comic Bryan did starring Scott’s dad in the 70s at some point so keep your eyes peeled for that, as well as the three strips he did of Style, the comic that gave us the prototypes for Lisa and Kim.

I will talk about their connections and setups for this volume briefly: FSP sets up the next ex as a ninja, with Roxy having a bunch of posters come to live and pummel our boy, while Wonderful World has Hollie tell Kim she can move in with her. It’s not much, hence why i made these exclusives but they are good stories, so check them out. And with that JOIN ME UNDER THE CUT, as we enter Scott’s world once more as he grapples with the past, employment, and saying the L-Word... which might be Lesbians. I don’t know. Find out bellow!

So we open Two Months after Volume 3 with a beach birthday party! Complete with Kim in a swim suit!

But it’s for Julie who lobs a volley ball at Scott’s head when he and Ramona try to make out.

I also dont’ know if “Manfiesting out of all the world’s collectives sorrows” counts as a “birth” necessarily but whatever. I love a good beach story. It’s just a fun setitng for swimming, romance and battling a giant crab with the help of the bird what lives in your backpack.

So after the beach our heroes get dinner and Ramona sweetly calls Scott the nicest guy she’s ever dated. He responds with “That’s sad”. Blunt, but entirely accruate. Julie calls it pathetic and tries to counter Ramona RIGHTFULLY saying “who the hell asked you?” something that really should come after EVERYTHING Julie said with “Back off bitch i’ts my birthday”

So later that night Sex Bomb-Omb has a beach sing along, and I can’t help but notice Neil’s hairy legs.

I mean yes it does make since for a 19 year old to have leg hair, but of all the characters besides Stephen, the ONLY other character we’ve seen it with to give it to, why the character you specifically single out as “Young” it’s just a weird choice I never noticed before.

But anyways Julie has to whine about it because she’s Julie, she can’t stand other people being happy and complains the song...

One of my faviorite moments of the series. Knives puts a nicer spin on it, she’s here too and not over with Neil because, as we’ll find out later they broke up, but she just asks if Knives should be drinking. She shouldn’t but for fucks sake lady she was just trying to talk. I also do like that despite Julie trying to control Ramona’s love life, you know the thing the VILLIANS are doing, Ramona cannot stand her now.. and honestly probably never did.

But Julie, SOMEHOW turns out to be right for once as Kim and Knives have disappeared later that night, and Scott elects to go look for them. Also Ramona says she wants to marry kim while drunk after Julie asks if she does. The throuple is strong with these three... serioulsy that’s my one true pairing for all three now. I mean it ballances out their collective flaws, it’s cute and Ramona is just as into her boyfriends ex as she is her actual boyfriend even when she’s not hamered. Why the fuck not?

Scott instead finds the two making out. I will confess I shipped these two when I was younger.. but I don’t. Not because their gay or anything or because I found another ship for them but because the age gap is still just as wide as it was for Scott. The game did not get this memo and made them a couple which is... ehhhhhhhhh. I mean I wouldn’t mind either being bi, but it just brings up the same problems even if their both hammered. I also question why this scene exists. No really outside of one face punchingly dickish comment from Scott later, this never comes up again and it doesn’t effect Kim’s or Knives character any. Why have this? it’s clearly not fanservice, it’s just a thing that happened. And while Scott Pilgrim as a series does have some of those, as does life and that’s fine.. this is a bit too major, i.e. Kim and Knives, two of the main cast, making out, drunkenly or not, to just.. gloss over you know? I feel Kim would feel majorly guilty for this, as she has the most active moral compass of the main group, and Knives would be massively confused but it’s just.. forgotten because I dunno. In a story that’s otherwise pretty stellar this stands out as an utter waste of potential. I’m not saying have them hook up, gay or not it’s still not better than what Scott did, but have them at least talk about it and have both grow or something from it. Sheesh.

So we cut to.. another day. Maybe the next day I dunno but it’s August. Point is Scott and Wallace are grocery shopping and Wallace notes they can’t get fancy mayo as their barely in budget. I would’ve glossed over this scene... but @panur pointed out back around the Infinite Sadness review that this scene reveals something very intrestng: Scott.. is kind of a fincial burdern to Wallace. Before this while Scott mooched off him it wasn’t all that clear that Wallace was struggling.

But here we notice that outside of some Havarti, it’s just the simplest stuff imaginable: turkey, bread, boxed mac and cheese ramen noodles... it’s nto BAD stuff, I have all of that in my house and it’s good stuff... but it’s not the kind of thing that you need to carefully budget for. Now granted part of this probably is Wallace as he likely spends a LOT on drinks, condoms and two 2 liters of diet soda a day.. but while he really needs to adress his alcohol issues, the rest is fair. He should be allowed to have as much sex and diet coke as he wants it’s his money. Same with the havarti. He earned it if he wants some really delcious cheese with herbs, seriously Havarati is the best, then that’s his bidness. But the rest of the time he’s barely managing to get a basketfull of cheap food.. because he has to provide for Scott. It’s clearly something Scott dosen’t get and something I can relate to not getting. It took me a while to get how hard it is to budget for a full family, let alone two people on one income like Wallace has to. But Wallace is working on a nice job... but still a call center or something. He can’t pay for everything and the finccial stress is about to give as their landlord wants to meet with them. And as we’re about to learn things were even worse than we thought.

Our heroes head home where we get a truly iconic conversation when, over margeritas (again proving my point that while Scott certainly isn’t HELPIGN wallace’s finacials, it’s not all on him)

This will be imporant later.. both the Lesbians part and Scott’s struggle saying it. he tried earlier on the beach but couldn’t get it out and Ramona clearly didn’t want to hear it as she kapt sshhhhing him.. playfully of course but still.

So some time later it’s moving day! Kim is moving into Hollie and Josephs, and Scott, Stephen and Jason are helping. You might be wondeirng who the hell Jason is. He’s Kim’s boyfriend. I do not likes him. Not because he’s kim’s boyfriend, getting upset because a fictional character you fancy is dating is just patently stupid. I’ts like getting upset a celebrity crush is in a relationship: you had no chance anyway why. I wasn’t even bothered as a kid. I don’t really like him.. because he has no real personaliy and no real baring on the plot and I struggle to think why Bryan included him other than for a really annoying plot twist next time, which does not help my liking him knowing what’s coming.

But while our heroes help our heroine move in, and Scott is suprised Hollie is there despite Kim having told him a minute ago she was moving in with her, something I can relate to sadly, we get something vitally plot important; Stephen passes Joseph’s room.. and notices he has a small recording setup in his room. Stephen quickly begs him to record the band’s album and Joseph agrees if only because he finds Stephen hot. Eh i’ve seen better relationships start on less, fair enough. And yes I said relationship more on that in a bit.

So after a brief scene of Scott and Ramona having lunch where Scott fails to know her age and when Ramona says he could just ask.. hea sks and she dosen’t tell, not a bad scene character wise just not very plot important and probably should’ve bene swapped in order with the previous scene, we get to the next day. There’s a heat wave so Wallace orders Scott to go to the mall maybe find a job. He emphasises that.

Instead Scott just sorta bums around thirst but nto having any money.. until an old face shows up.

For those who forgot like Scott has, it’s Lisa Miller from the Volume 2 flashback, the girl who had a crush on Scott and was close friends with him and Kim. After a tackle hug and some panic Scott eventually remembers.... if in a curiously unique and self serving way

At the time this was just hilarous. Now it’s very clear foreshadowing for the big twist in Volume 6. The two catch up while Scott is very clearly attracted to her but very clearly dosen’t want to be, with Lisa wondering where kim is, finding about Ramona, etc, before offering Scott lunch as the two catch up and Scott is very conflicted about how he feels. It’s nice visual stuff as he’s blushing, something more clear in the color version and trying to desperatley sort things out. As for why Lisa’s here she’s moving to the states soon, but is staying with her sister for now.

So after an incdental scene with Wallace we catch up with Knives, who has broken up with Neil. And after some talk about Clash at the Demonhead, Tamra notes Knives apparently put a big x on her shrine of Scott... which baffles Knifves as she sure as hell didn’t do it and is still, sadly, obessed with Scott as ever. Granted Tamra isn’t at all helpful here claiming she did it even when she says she didn’t, is clearly confused and while yes we don’t know who else would care Tams, that just makes it all the more creepy. Stop gaslighting your bestie, she’s already got enoguh issues. She dosen’t need thinking she might have a split personality on top of the stalking, obession over a guy who has no intrest in loving her back, and attempted stabbings. Knives dosesn’t get a ton of focus in this one sadly. She kind of takes a back seat, and while sh’es not GONE from the volumle and someone close to her does impact it, she dosen’t really have any personal progression, negative or positive, like she does in every other volume, a shame since her personal jouney is one of the most intresting of the main cast.

Anyways that night Scott hangs out with Lisa, having not gotten around to telling Ramona she exists yet and plays a game of find the Kim Pine. She goes to Neil’ and Stephen’s place for practice, but finds no one there and Neil being a dick... get used to that it’s going to get about 80 times worse soon enough. Though we do get this classic panel i’ve gotten some use out of

He goes to Kim’s place, but she , Hollie and Satan’s Misterss have all left to Sneaky Dee’s, the local mexican place, for something to eat and Stephen is either high or doing.. something with Joseph.

Yeah i’m not hiding that Stephen turns out to be gay in the final volume or cheating on Bitch and a Half with Joseph. And even if I hate Julie with the power of a frozen sun, I still dont’ think cheating on her is kosher. He could’ve just broken up with her and while part of it was likely confusion, and he could also be bi and not decided which one he wanted to be with, it’s still a dick move.. and later makes him a hypocrite but that’s a rant for next volume.

So our heroes FINALLY find Kim, along with Hollie and Mouthface. And a nice thing I like is that Kim and Lisa are just.. increidbly close, happily catching up and making plans to hang before Lisa leaves, that despite Lisa having feelings for Scott the two ended up as close and She and Scott did and i’ts sweet to see. it’s also just.. rare to see Kim GENUINELY happy. I mean look at her

It’s not like she HASN’T smiled across the series but normally she’s just so miserable, likely because her best friends are a grumbly asshole who forces them to hang out with a raging typhoon of bitchiness, and an insenitive asshat who she never got closure with. This is the first decent human being whose not Ramona or Hollie, and that last one’s not going to last, in a while. It’s genuinely sweet to just see her.. enjoy the moment for once, honestly engaged with someone. Ramona shows up and finally meets Lisa, who apparently was on Degrassi.. I mean she says candaian show no one ever watched, and I watched that plenty but i’d like to think she was on there for a season or two. I liked Degrassi.. I honeslty miss it and think it could use some form of revivial and think porting it to netflix was a smart decision.. what wasn’t so smart was not having the other seasons leading into it on there. Need to watch more of it.

So the next day Ramona stumbles into Scott’s dreams and both are annoyed, with Ramona suggesting he get a job. This finally gets him to try. He asks about Wallace’s work but understandably, he dosen’t really want scott there and asks if he even knows. So Scott sets out to ask his other friends for jobs, while Knives shows up saying she’s “totally not stalking him” but someone is following HER, a mysterious spiky haired dude in a black leather jacket, shades and with a sword on his back. Whu-oh.

He tries Second Cup, with Julie annoyed that Stephen’s recording.. it’s hard to tell if she’s annoyed because she’s a bitch or because Stephen is both gneuinely annoying right now and clearly screwing around behind her back. My take?

But Scott realizes maybe getting a job at his Sister’s place of work who also works with his arch enemy might be stupid and backs out. He next tries Kim’s, but backs out of that too, admitting to kim it’d be stupid and Kim lists off all the reasons (His lack of resume, the fact them working together would be stresful and his ountain of late fees) why that’d be stupid, but in a jovial way. For once i’ts clear that while she’s still taking the piss out of them she isn’t mad at Scott.

In fact she genuinely helps him get a job, taking him to Stephen’s work since hers is dead right now anyway, a vegan place. While Scott naturally compares things to a job system as he’d start as dishwasher while Stephen taught him prep, Scott agrees to genuinely take this seriously and Stephen’s boss decides “eh why not” when he asks her to employ him. Scott is gainfully employed baby! God I miss that. Seriously i’m not pimping my patreon for shits and giggles.

But as he celebrates and Kim wishes she could punch his life in the face, they run into some trouble on the way home: Katana man who slices a motherfucking bus in half and chases them, with Scott reluctnat to fight because he has a sword and Scott does not, which is valid. He does escape though using subspace. He and Kim part awkardly and he returns home to Wallace throwing a party with two intresting charcters, a woman and a man of color, one of the few in the entire work, who are never seen again.

The next night is practice.. or rather recording, and we start to see Neil get edged out, with him unable to come due to exams and clearly not happy about it, and Stephen just kind of ignoring anything he cares about like the dickhead he is. It dosen’t get any better as “recording” ends up just being Scott, Ramona, and Ratfaced Knacker watching bored with Joseph and Stephen work. Eventaully Scott and Ramona decide to get out of there as things are getting tensed between thing one and thing bitch, and leave.. and take Julie with them for some reason.

So the three have dinner with Lisa, Kim, and Jason before The Mummies Curse thankfully leaves. Jason thought they were friends.

We also get this exchange.

I mean.. she is the better option. She his THE option. But before we can get the obvious answer of

Stephen comes in with Knives. He smuggled her in. This leads to problems when Scott returns from the bathroom to find Queen Bitch throwing a bitch fit about him having brought her and screechs at her when she dares to talk to him “How do you even know my name?” Well Ted Cruz, you see when someone is an actually thoughtful and likes other people, they keep track of things about them and don’t constnatly tear them down or assume their partneer is automatically bonking a 17 year old instead of you know, actually forming something of a friendship and not shutting her out sensing she needs this friend group. Some people are not vacous piles of vitriol who care about nothing but themself and seem to go off at the slightest thing.

Scott takes Ramona home but finds a drunken barely awake wallace so no sexy times. Not that he could anyway as the next day is the meeting with Peter their landlord.

Peter reveals they’ll have to clear out by the 27th as their lease was for one year and their paid up.. as in only the first and last month. The two part melacholy knowing this sucks and isn’t a great situation. Then it’s time for Scott to work work, angelica, work work, eliza and peggy. After grueling day, can relate, he runs into a wisp on teh wend and steels himself for a fight.. okay he bitches about it being too hot but it’s Scott. so it’s expected. He does get a hit in on his mysterious persuer.. and that’s when we meet Roxy.

Via boob punch, something Scott’s not proud of but in his defense, as Roxy keeps complaning about it, he was blindly struggling for a hit and din’t know the next Ex, or any of them, were female.. not that Ramona didn’t suggest it loudly enough by empahsising “exes” but scott’s a bit of a fuckwit. She mentions “everyone allways remmebers you”.. which is kind of ominus and tells me she tried to hook back up with ramona despite her having a boyfriend and she rejected her. Still on good terms though. But this confusing encounter ends with Roxy vowing she’ll get him next time gadget, next time.

So we get some assorted slice of life scenes with the band, lisa and what have you as Scott tries to get in touch with Ramona but she keeps avoiding him. THat’s not worrysome at all. And Lisa brings up high school while drunk and clearly hits on Scott. He sidesteps it with her drunkness.. but this clearly isn’t over or going to stop being a problem.

Speaking of problems Wallace makes Scott confront the truth: He either needs to find a new place to live or commit to staying, though Wallace is trying to nudge him toward asking Ramona to move into her place. Scott starts thinking it over, it being very hard especially since, as Stephen points out this was his very first place of his own.. but Stephen also points out these things are temoporary.. right before Scott ducks from katana guy.

At work Scott wonders who it could be, though it turns out Stephen’s met him before, as he’s brought his family in here. So he’s PROBABLY not one of the exes.. but it leaves the question why he wants to cut Scott in half like Dewey Cox’s brother. But it turns out he’s nto the only enemy Scott’s casually running into as Roxy is there too.. with Ramona.

The two talk, clearly about Scott and Lisa with Roxy trying to convince her he’s cheating and Ramona rightfully trusting Scott: while he IS attracted to her, he’s been fighting it every step of the way. Scott storms over to find out what’s going on and while Ramona is more distracted by his new job, she eventually realizes Roxy did attack him and he simply dscribed her poorly when he mentioned the incident over the phone. Scott is confused as he dosen’t get it. Is she with one of the exes what? After some hiinting from both parties, and Roxy rightfully mocking him for not getting the obvious... he finallyg ets it in the grandest way possible.

So Roxy gets ready to fight and Scott can’t because sword, and gets fired in the background as he hides in Ramona’s bag and Ramona prepares to step in. Roxy screams at her for trusting him and defending him when Ramona.. just dosen’t her boyfriend to be bisected by her ex. A fight insues and a damn cool one at that. I honestly wish the movie had taken more from this, but simply didn’t have time leading it to instead be more like the envy fight with a bit of the Winfried Hailey fight from Free Scott Pilgrim.

Roxy chases her and Ramona rightly points out Scott can’t run forever but takes him into Subspace.. where Roxy heads them off, having “taught you everything you know bitch” leading to a cool fight in the wintery version of subspace. Again why THIS wasn’t used instead I have no real idea. We also find out she’s a half ninja but she eventually leaves afer Ramona presses that button.. but Rammy is actually apologetic about it and Roxy’s “I hope you and your 24 children are happy together comment” is telling.

Upon this readthrough of the volume.. I realized Roxy is the most layered and intresting of the exes next to Gideon himself. None of them are out and out terrible, but most of them have pretty simple motives: to kill Scott, ???, profit. Or in Todd’s case to kill scott, bang around and be a dick. But Roxy.. genuinely wants Ramona back. She’s the ONLY one who does: Gideon kinda does, but only in the sense that he wants her for his collection. But Roxy geninely still loves her, admitting so during this fight. And it’s not like she has no chance: out of the 7 exes she’s the ONLY one who parted with Ramona on anything resembling good terms. While intrestingly we don’t find out WHY they broke up, Ramona didn’t cheat on her like she did everyone else she was with. The two have coffee and hang out and Ramona geninely dosen’t even consider until Roxy tries to attack Scott that she’d really try killing him and tries her best to talk her out of it. But what holds Roxy back is her anger: She’s so bitter about the fact Ramona is bi or pan, so dedicated to viewing Ramona’s very orintation as a betryal (though Ramona calling it a phase dosen’t help and the movie RIGHTLY has Roxie comment on it and fly into a rage over it), and so driven to make sure the woman she loves dosen’t get hurt again that it blinds her to the fact Ramona dosen’t love her the same way anymore, and that while Scott is objectively a dick, and a cheater, and a greasy buttcrack pooflap, he is not a terrible person. A meh one sure, but he’s got good to him. She’s so biophobic she simply can’t see he’s a harmless moron.. well harmless to Ramona even with the cheating. He’s killed two people at this point and will kill again. Also she apparently has issues with only being a half ninja but this is never adressed. Point is Roxy’s really grown on me and is now probably my faviorite ex.

Scott and Ramona talk it over on their way to Sneaky Dees and Scott finally asks to move in and gets a yes. His response is downright adorable.

So at Sneaky Dee’s Young Neil is just a bit absolutely irate with Scott.. which isn’t fair as them not playing things is entirely on the blocky face asshole. Yell at him.. which he does, pointing out that they haven’t played shows in forever, and that the lady who owns Sneaky Dees not only runs shows, in the upstairs space, but has been asking them to play. Kim is rightly curious about this and to both Stephen just keeps saying “We’re recording right now.” And some of you may of wondered why I hate him. Well while he’s not exctly stellar in the first half in the second Stephen becomes goddman insufferable, slowly destroying the band for his affair and not giving one iota of a shit what anyone else wants. He’s a selfish, egomanical cheating prick. And yes I get it their recording an album.. but doing live shows would give them extra practice, MONEY, even if likely not a lot and exposure for said album. I get professoinal bands stop touring for a bit to do an album but you are not a professional band, and said bands still often iron out the album on the road. God you suck.

But while Scott sidesteps this argument he walks into another where Ramona confronts him about lisa about liking her.. and he rightly says if there was anything, which there was not it’s in the past. And while yes he is a cheater, she does not know this yet. This plot honestly would’ve worked better if she learned about the knives thing sooner, but instead she just comes off as paranoid for listening to Roxy about something that isn’t happening. Yes Scott’s been shown to be attracted to her.. but he’s been ashamed of it, fighting it and in denial about it, and is clealry all in with Ramona. Being attracted to someone else on a phsyical level does NOT mean your relationship is doomed.

Things get worse as he goes home to ruminate.. and instead sees a man’s Penis. And Wallace..is at his second most unsymapthetic, not letting Scott get a shirt or a bus pass or something like a decent human being for no goddamn reason. Usually when Wallace is a dick to Scott, Scott’s earned it and badly needs a slap in the face. Here he’s just being a prick because.. the plot needs him to? I dunno it dosen’t work for me. It’s in character, I just don’t have to like it.

So with no other options.. Scott ends up at Lisa’s. And so we get the last temptation of Scott. Lisa admits, embarassed that she’s been wearing sexy dresses and what not specifically to attract him, with Scott also mentioning how things are rough, Lisa tries to fight it herself pointing out he’s with ramona.. and when Scott points out they didn’t do anything in the past Lisa points out they should’ve.. and maybe they should now.

We fade to black as Scott ends up in a dream and finds Roxy, who naturally has the same skill and tries to Freddy Kruger him before he wakes. He finds Lisa but they didn’t do anything: Scott pushed her away and babbled about how much he loved Ramona instead. As i’ve said.... his heart was never with LIsa... and even when he was so close to giving in he couldn’t. It’s a tangible sign of growth: He screwed around on Knives with Ramona, and given how bad things were getting with Ramona, it would be oh so easy to once again ditch a relationship the minute he found something else and oh so understandable. But... he dosen’t. He loves Ramona even if he hasn’t said it, he wants to make this work, and he’s changed. She’s changed him. He’s not quite a good man yet.. bu he’s getting to be good enough. Love turned him from a skeezy dumbass into a far more loveable dumbass. Ramona’s gotten him to stop dating a teenager (even if again he cheated), face his past with envy to finally move on and now get a job. He’s realized just hwo much she means to his life and world and so he goes to tell her.

Riggghtttt after going to get his job back and works a shift, with steven wanting to punch his life in the balls. Stephen shut the fuck up. Just because Scott is lucky and your stuck dating satan’s scrotum does not mean you get to punch his life int he balls. Kim does, because he’s put her through more shit but not you.

He goes to second cup to talk to Stacey.. only to end up at the wrong one where Knives also now has a job... and we finally get an answer to who the mystery katana guy is...

Yup turns out wielding giant weapons in vengance runs in the family. As for how he knows about Scott her aunt mentioned her boyfriend, everyone freaked out and obviously while her mom was mentioned as knowing in volume 1, they did not tell her dad whose brain turned into an engine of vengance and defaced the shrine. While part of it is apparnetly racisim for Scott being white the fact is he clearly saw Scott’s photograph. The guy is 5 years older. I get him being protective. Still dosen’t justify cutting off his head. His balls maybe but not his head.

And then Scott ran, once agian finding a subspace entracne.. and this time we see inside ramona’s head and well...

Yeah.. that’s.. kind of fucked, and Ramona isn’t happy scott saw that, though she backs down once Scott explains..a nd then gets upset over him staying at Lisa’s but before SCott can tell her he loves her it turns out Roxy stayed over. So yeah, Ramona might of cheated, she tells him to alk it off and he runs around in a psycadelic haze of emtoinal confusion. And meets.. someone new...

Scott snaps out of his funk and ignores his doppleganger heading back for Ramona... whose fighting Mr. Chau. Scott left the door to Ramona’s head open and he followed him through Subspace. Scott lures him into the house and away from her only to run into Roxy. This leads to both of his attackers fighting and her wondering if Gideons ent him “Why does no one ever belivie in me?!”

She soon realize no i’ts just unrelated and calls Scotto ut on hiding behind not having a sword and behind her being a woman, caling it a flimsy excuse. I mean she’s tring to kil lhim. It’s okay to hit an enemy combatant. Scott realizes he has to stop running... and get real with ramona leading to a truly epic, romantic and heartfelt speech and given how far he’s come and just how heartfelt it is it’s a real sign of how deep he feels. Sure we’ve seen genuine chemstiry between the two.. but htis moment is a shit.. from a simple relationship.. into true love.

I may of only had a few but Relationships are not easy, They take work, they take time, they take patience and theyt ake love.. but if your willing to work with someone, look past some flaws and help them with the rest.. then it’s worth it. And Scott has finally realized it and for the first time in a while is running TOWARDS something difficult, actually working on this relationship and talking with his partner instead of running finding someone else or wallowing. He’s truly grown up. While he still has miles to go.. he’s taken about 50 steps forward with this. And as such given the kind of unvierse we’re in, as Ramona is genuinely touched by it he levels up a glowing sword with a heart shaped hilt coming out of his chest.. and realizing what’s happening he pulls it out....

So Scott faces off with roxy and in an awesomly short battle, their sords clash.. and he bisects her.

Scott then honestly talks down Mr Chau who leaves after a nod, and Ramona tells Scott she loves him two. The two make out and all is well.

One make out fades into another, as we cut to Scott moving in with Kim and Blockhead’s help. Well kinda they only had one box but they owed him one. He and wallace comiserate over the end of their time as roomies. They’ll always be friend but it’s truly the end of an era. Also Wallace gets off another bit of dickery as he’’s very glad it all worked out for scott...

Now there’s the Wallace I know and love. Dickish but just the right loveable kind of douchebag with that swagger.

Back at Knives house she’s apparenlty into somebody though who I have no idea, Mr Chau give sher his blessing and she.. apparenlty doesen’t know chinese. I dunno. As I said her subplot this go round was her weakest overall.

And so we end with the whole gang gathered to see Lisa off. It’s a REALLY nice shot, and one of the only times Wallace is seen with the Sex Bomb omb side of the group. Oh sure he goes to their shows and what not, but generally their never in the same vincinity so while there’s no interaction I still find this neat. Seriously the whole main cast is there, it’s a really lovely shot

Also Jason and Hollie.. who are getting awfully chummy. Whu Oh. And of course Craphole and Mouth Face are as likeable as ever.

So we jsut get a genuinely nice sene. Except Stephen and Julie reconciling. Fuck that. Please move on. And as everyone fondly wishes Lisa adeu and wish she stuck arond the res tof the series we end on Scott and Ramona snuggling, Scott asking her her birthday and finding out she’s 24, and they both will be come september. Scott wishes this moment could last.

They probperly snuggle as the volume ends on a high.

Final Thoughts:

Yeah.. Gets it Together is, on rexamination, DEFINTELY my faviorite of the 6. Besides personal value i’ts hte best contained story, contaning lots of character development, great character moments, jokes, and EASILY the best art so far, with goregouness and creativty abounding.

There is a problem here or there: Stephen and Julie’s subplot feels underbaked, and not just because I hates them, and there are several scenes that don’t further plot or character stuff. Ther’es also stuff that could’ve been expanded on.. but given this is still a pretty meaty graphic novel, it’s understandable why it wasn’t.. though it is why I’d love a streaming series since while the movie is excellent, a full series could expand on stuff from the books more Brian simply didn’t have time for. Knives also didn’t get a lot to do.

But their drowned out by tons of great decisions: Lisa was a wonderful additoin to the cast and I genuinely wish she’d stuck around, adding in some energy, blending well with the Sex Bomb Omb crowd, and having great dynamics with everyone and her arc with Scott is heartbreaking,knowing she can’t have him but wanting him anyway having never gottne proper closure on the man she’s always wanted. She’s a heartbreaking character and its nice to see her end in a decent place and on good terms with Scott, having let him go for both thier sakes.

And while Lisa is a highlight everyone is on their a game here for the most part apart from knives, girl hitler, and captain dumbass: Scott grows signfigantly but is funny as hell, Wallace has an intresting arc trying to nudge Scott out without being overt about it, scared to really confront him, Kim is in a happy and serene place for once and it shows. The villians are also intresting: While Mr Chau is a tad underbaked, he’s sitll a cool imposing presence. I do think he shoudl’ve had more to do with the plot.. but is still just so freaking cool it papers over that and him just.. disappearing after this like poor Lisa.

Roxy is far more intresting, having clearly more going on than we see and while I wish we’d got her backstory, she’s easily the most engaging of the exes, being the only one to actively compete with Scott (All her and ramona end up doing is making out a little it turned out), and have bigger stakes than just “The glasses wearing douche asked me to beat up my exes boyfriend and I was like alright.

All in all Gets it Together is really magical, the series high point, and just damn fun and it was a pleasure to go through

Next Month on Scott Pilgrim: It all falls down as we take a look into what once was my least faviorite Album, vs the unvierse. Two perfect assholes try and murder scott with Robutts, his relationship and band crumble and things get sad so very very sad.

Next on this blog: More LIlo and Stitch! The Proud Family come to Kauai and get into a fight with our heroes. Also wizard kelly... who if nothing else is now far more tolerable now i’ve had to spend another volume with the wicked bitch of the west. Touche universe touche. See you at the next rainbow.

#scott pilgrim #ramona flowers #wallace wells #roxanne richter #knives chau #stephen stills #julie power #mr chau #stacey pilgrim #neil nordgraf #young neil #comics #oni press #scotrospective #lisa miller #kim pine #jospeh

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accio-victuuri · 3 years

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2017 BJYX Timeline : At First Sight.

Everything starts with a blank canvass. Oh we painted each others lives inch by inch. from black, gray and blue to colors we never thought existed. Two photos from different places, longing to be one.

Let’s start from the beginning of this whirlwind timeline. There will be very minimal interaction between our boys, but this will also be a good time to see how they were before working together. I wanted to paint a picture of XNINE’s Xiao Zhan and Idol Wang Yibo. Before their names got tied to the Untamed and each other.

They were doing their own thing, working hard with their careers, no clue that one chance meeting will be so important. Warning, this post is video links, image and information heavy. I am missing some stuff because this hell site refuses to save things and continues to glitch.

🡆 MARCH 2017

03242017 : The story starts when XNINE was a guest in Day Day Up. When asked, they always say that this is the first time they met. However, they did not interact at all.

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But there are definitely times on this episode where they pay attention to each other and it’s so cute. You can find different videos that will highlight these moments better than any screencaps can.

1. Web Stealing a glance at GG

2. First meeting

3. Gun heart - This is the gesture GG used when he introduced himself. The hosts all imitated him and teased, that included Web who smiled too. The same love gesture will be seen in the following years as “their thing”.

4. Doing the same steps for the dance.

5. Web allowing GG to pass and did not lift up the bamboo to trap him when it’s his turn.

6. Red string of Fate

7. Love at first sight-ology

When asked about this shooting, especially the segment when they were in the fields— GG said it was too cold. There is also CPN that the bag Web was using was GG’s.

03252017: Yin Yue V-Chart Interview with XNINE. GG talking about being scolded for not updating his video diaries and updating his fans. 😂 On the same day that this interview came out, he posted a selfie.

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🡆 APRIL 2017

04022017 : XNINE shanghai concert - BE A MAN. blessing us with this dance from GG. The next one is the one that the Untamed Cast were watching. He also posted a selfie for this night.

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Full video of the concert

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04082017 : The Wolf starts filming. According to GG, this is the drama that made him decide to really be an actor.

04092017 : Web attends the 17th Top Chinese Music Awards and wins Best New Idol. This also blessed us with the blindfold dance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW9gM7tfyFM

04132017: Southern Metropolis Entertainment Interview - XNINE. GG sings Jay Chou’s Love confession on this one ( I died ). We also see his very shy side when people say that he is the Visual of the group. Also, LOL at Peng Chuyue’s face when GG says this.

https://youtu.be/X8Xoax8dIHM

04162017: Posts a selfie on set of The Wolf in the blistering cold.

04242017: XNINE “Say No” BTS is released.

https://youtu.be/wU_tKzK64Ns

04252017: GG posts a selfie.

04282017 : Release of Single “Say No” - XNINE

04292017 : Wang Yibo X Guan Xiaoton release of the song Once Again for the Once Again OST.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0TT8y7VXNk

🡆 MAY 2017

05072017: GG posts himself with that stubble.

05292017: Another selfie in specs.

🡆 JUNE 2017

060172017 : Both GG and Web posted selfies for Children’s Day.

06082017: Zhelife

06222017: Another selfie. I’m side eyeing the date this was posted wtf. 622.

06232017 : Posted alot of selfies this time. This is one of those.

🡆 JULY 2017

072017 - Filming for GG’s “Battle through the Heavens” has ended where played the role of Lin Xiuya.

07032017 : GG posted a bare face selfie, wearing Stussy!

07032017: Adidas NEO CF for Web

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNYqVa58mgg

07102017 : Web CF for Estee Lauder. Our boi in shorts and white shorts, using estee lauder in the morning.

https://youtu.be/xeTT0QR_iKs

07192017: Idol Interview - XNINE @ Asian Music Gala. They won the Most Popular Group award. This is Where you can see a very quiet GG who does not speak at all. https://youtu.be/7dwA6WwD-5c

07202017: Cute selfie.

07272017: Posted a selfie photoset which includes the photo he sent to Web, apparently, in 2018. I’m a love at first sight believer, so I don’t buy the story that this was only sent in 2018. hahahah! don’t believe me.

🡆 AUGUST 2017

08042017: GG posted a Happy Birthday message to DDU for their anniversary. DDU weibo account responded with :

“Thank you handsome and attractive little zhan zhan! ( btw little Day Day won’t tell you that a colleague of us already became your fan. )”

08082017 : XNINE Metersbonwe photoshoot.

https://youtu.be/jM9lla6aF08

08152017: Episode 1 of Love Actually Drama aired with Web acting alongside Joe Chen. He played the role of Zhai Zhiwei who is an IT genius.

08162017 : First episode of the TV program "When we were young" airing. Web guest starred on this, for episodes 16-17 and played the role of Lin Jiayi.

08242017 : Web shoot for Once Again MV the making released.

https://youtu.be/-yn_st5vOO0

08252017: XNINE “be strong girl” campaign message. Have some encouraging words from GG.

08272017 : XNINE performs at Fresh Asia Awards.

https://youtu.be/PzGlTQ3Fga0

08302017 : “Unsurpassed Conference” ; Where we got this absolute gem of him not wanting to talk but ended up being a host on DDU.

Web : I don’t really like talking

Host : so you went to DDU

Web : I don’t know why I went too..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjO5vIfD_PQ

🡆 SEPTEMBER 2017.

09052017 : Wang Yibo and Joe Chen video in an Amusement Park shooting the drama “Love Actually”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__gIWih39Is

09162017 : Wang Yibo attended the “2017 Asian Influence Awards Ceremony.” and won Best New actor.

09222017: Web interview and photo shoot for Hey idol. This shoot is responsible for that photo where Web eats an orange like an Apple.

https://youtu.be/wCqVxog9i18

09232017: Selfie time again

09262017: Web and Wenhan represent UNIQ as they perform in TV Online Video Influence Ceremony

https://youtu.be/lc_cvlLtSaA

09272017: Web AD for KFC. Please watch this. He looks good in Yellow- dancing and eating chicken. I STAN THIS BOI!

https://youtu.be/ABH3BfZf4dg

🡆 OCTOBER 2017

10102017: Posted cute selfies with him as a cat and a Pig. hmmm. pig?

🡆 NOVEMBER 2017

11072017: Web’s Just Dance single is announced. This is the Theme song of 4th Xuan Wu Festival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvsyOxC6cs4

11092017 : Filming of Oh My Emperor has finished. GG plays the role of Bei Tang Moran in this drama that will be broadcast in 2018.

11092017 : Web attends the Ifeng Fashion show event where he won Most Popular New Actor.

11162017 : Web recording the song “just Dance”. does the clothes he’s wearing remind you of another recording session?

11212017 : Web x Fashionable Photoshoot

11262017 : Attending and performing in Star Night of Mister Inke. His style in this one is really Joker-like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75wtl-JAjis

🡆 DECEMBER 2017

2020 : Web is cast in the science fiction drama Super Talent/ My strange friend.

12032027: XNINE performs “ We want what we want”.

https://youtu.be/IJNIgPl8ImI

12032017: Web performs JUST DANCE in Tencent Games Carnival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbIzvMut2CY

12092017: Photoshoot with Rayli

12122017: Photoshoot with Cheese Fashion

12132017: Photoshoot with NTSnap

12142017 : BEST TASTE releases one of it’s short films that include Wang Yibo. We see two personas in this feature and it’s really interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP83-bEOEv0

This one called “耳” Ear; about sounds. [What we heard can’t take away by time 🕙 ]all the good memories when we were a child, some one them we might not be able to remember what happened, but when you hear the sound/voice of them, they trigger our memories

12152017: Volunteer Union photoshoot / campaign

12172017 : Attending Tencent Star Charity Night

12202017 : Photoshoot feature with our street style AKA everyone's favorite Web flower boi spread.

12222017: "Just Dance" single MV release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asb8I3oqG00

12222017 : Winter solstice post from both of them. Talking about eating tangyuan. It’s of those mirroring posts, but again, could just be coincidence that they posted something similar.

12312017 : Web Participates in Hunan TV’s new year countdown as a Host.

*** Note 01 : In 2017, XNINE was transferred from EE media to Long Danni’s Wajijiwa Ent. Company. Some initial problems that they had was that their company was more interested in promoting them as actors and not as an idol group. They were also not kept safe in public venues which will be a recurring issue to GG as we go along other timelines.

*** Note 02 : I wanted to add Web’s Rossi posts and more pictures but it won’t save (will try again at a later date, but I think Web’s awards and projects are more important to highlight here). LOL. Thankfully, GG’s selfies worked. I mainly added stuff that they did in 2017 to give a sense of where they were career-wise.

*** Note 03 : Looking at how this timeline turned into a monster, I will probably split the 2018 timeline into two parts. Forever Summer Part I & Forever Summer Part 2. Seeing the amount of Activity these two did in 2018 alone is STAGGERING. Plus, this site is glitching with all the content when I save it so splitting it might be better. if you have suggestions, let me know.

#yizhan #bjyx #bjyx timeline

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spade-riddles · 3 years

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Submission: Kaylor timeline 2019-2020

This is a atempt of maping the happenings surrounding kaylor in the last 3 years. Please keep in mind that i might forget some things, mostly from 2019 since my memory is actually horrible. I’ll try to include the most important things mainly so let me know if i missed something big. Also, feel free to add some kaylor nods, easter eggs on the girls’ social media, general stuff and correct me i fim wrong on dates or places. Oh quick disclaimer: most of this is Taylor focused because the last time i went on karlies instagram to look for the nashville selfie i actually wanted to puke or bury my face into a hole for the rest of eternety (ok, both) after seeing the jerk photos so if you have any important stuff please add it. Thank u!!!

Lover Era

- ME! MV release on lesbian visibility day (april 26th)

- City of Lover (funny enough, karlie was there in march 😉)

- taylor’s pride post “lets show our pride...” (taylors ig june 1st)

- Promo for the MV with karlie’s hand on taylors ig 16 june post

- sc**ter *audible puke sound* buys taylors masters (june 30th)

- You Need To Calm Down MV (july 17th)

- Lover Title Track released 13 days after karlie’s bday (august 16th)

- Lover mv release which Taylor captioned on her ig post with YAIL lyrics.

- Lover Album Release (august 23rd)

- Miss Americana release (jan 31 2020) “gay pride... everything that makes me me” etc

- The Man MV release (feb 27th)

Here’s some posts with lover era easter eggs:

Link 1

Link 2

some inch resting posts:

eye theory ?!

gold rush 😉

paris captions:

Link 1

Link 2

(probably not that much of a proof much more of a koincidence since au revoir is a pretty common frase but whatever)

This masterpiece here during NYFW in 2019:

note: I think its pretty safe to assume that up until this point its obvious kaylor is still together. Theres exactly no reason why Taylor and Karlie would be referencing kaylor stuff and each other at this point if they weren’t together.

folklore & evermore Era (oh the start of a daydream and a nightmare)

- Not a lot going on at the moment post April 27, 2020

- Karlies very interesting posts:

Dancing in a Cardigan July 10th, 2020

Happy Place July 23rd, 2020

- Tamagochi June 25, 2020 and buns May 14, 2020

- folklore announcement (july 23rd)

Note: up until this point its also pretty much a concensus that they’re still together. Since Karlie hinted the folklore aesthetic and cardigan on her ig post, and Taylor changed the cardigan lyrics to “knew you’d come back to me” and wrote “the lakes” and obviously there is “peace”. From this point on, especially after the WB stuff and pregnancy rumors in September (?) things start to get kinda blurry and gaylors and kaylors start building different point of views. So heres what happens:

- Taylor releases the long pond sessions where she says that joe is WB. I feel like we kinda all believe he isn’t, the thing that gives it for me is mostly Taylor’s body language and the way she stutters when she says it. Also, its kinda weird that out of nowhere joe got this songwriting skills magically. Like, they’ve been “together” for four years and only now Taylor discoveres this man has better songwriting and composing skills than his actual job, idk sounds fishy to me but, you make the call.

- Pregnancy rumors starts flowing on both sides. Taylor quickly starts drinking a shit ton of wine to get her beloved swiffers to come to the realization that she is in fact not pregnant. Karlie’s rumors also starts flowing, and then the people! (?) article comes out confirming it and Karlie later posts a video on her instagram. Here’s where it gets messy. Ill try to explain shortly to you the narrative on the Kaylor side and why i don’t believe in the gaylor narrative. Obviously its your choice wheter you believe it or not.

- Kaylor: The baby is Taylor’s and Karlie’s (not gonna get into hows and stuff bc if it is actually real then it is invading their privacy too much, also speculating about this might trigger some people).

Things that back this theory up: obviously peace “give you a child”, karlie not tagging j*sh*a on her vids, that one 2,1/2 photo from the folklore photoshoot, buns and tamagochi, Taylor and Paul talking about parenthood in the Rolling Stone issue, and all the fertility imagery in evermore and folklore.

Karlie was in Cali in may until august, Taylor was also there. Jerk was on Ny or Miami cant exactly remeber. And it seems that this is what she wrote that one line “knew youd come back to me” in cardigan about. (IMO they [t and k] had some fight after the masters sale on the end of 2019 and took a break or something, so she would in fact come back to her, but just my opinion). So, karlie was there from may to august, karlie’s is on the end of her pregnancy, and if you do the math, she got pregnant sometime between june and july. Which makes it kinda impossible for the baby to be jerk’s (consequently ending the gaylor narrative) since he was in another place and karlie was on cali for like 4 months, if the baby was his, the baby would’ve been born already.

The gaylor narrative is mostly based on Taylor’s songs specially champagne problems, coney island, hoax, closure and exile.

Coney Island isn’t even necessarily a breakup song, it’s just simply a sad song, it is like death by a thousand cuts pt2, it gives the vibe that Taylor is sorry about a lot of things like not being able to thank Karlie “but when i walked up to the podium i think that i forgot to say your name”.

Like coney island, hoax is about the lows of their relationship but it’s clear in the song that taylor still loves karlie and would trade her for anything “don’t want no other shade of blue but you”

Closure and champagne: it just reminds me of Dianna for some reason i don’t even know how to explain it. Champagne Problems remind some of Dianna bc of i know places where she says “take my hand and don’t ever drop it”, to the gp that song is about harry(<3) and most songs that “are about him” are actually about Dianna. i do think it’s is kinda inspired by Karlie though.

Exile: honestly could be used to form a toe breakup narrative.

TBH we’ll probably never understand fully the story behind it. But Taylor also said that a lot of the albums are full of fantasy even thought they’re also inspired by real life situations.

Thank u for reading!! this is obviously my opinion on the matter and my take on the whole situation. feel free to believe whatever you want, and add stuff i forgot sending u lots of love <3

#thank you for putting together this timeline #submission

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saturniandevil · 3 years

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July 2021 Important Dates

AKA my notes from The Astrology Podcast’s July 2021 Forecast. Dates are based off US Mountain Time and may be a day earlier in the Eastern Hemisphere.

We’re gonna have a lot of fixed sign emphasis this month, as the Saturn-Uranus square went exact in mid-June and Mars’s transits will be igniting this aspect as it slowly separates. Remember how this year’s got lots of fixed sign activity? July’s one of those months. Fixed signs show us the ongoing processes & issues--sustainability is a keyword here.

July 1st - Mars opposite Saturn Mars is in Leo as he opposes Saturn in Aquarius, and overall will be in a T-square (3 planets square each other) that involves Uranus in Taurus as well. (Here’s the obligatory graph from Archetypal Explorer):

If Saturn in Aquarius represents lessons from history and Uranus in Taurus brings upheaval in basic needs & the land, Mars in Leo asks, “What do I want to do with all this?” Mars forces you to move faster than you’d like, and Saturn forces you to grind almost to a halt, which naturally creates a feeling of tension or conflict. (Look to the Aquarius & Leo houses in your chart to see where one thing may grind to a halt as you’re forced to action in another area.) Saturn is in domicile and thus we’d expect him to win out over Mars in this in this conflict, but Uranus adds a wild-card factor to the whole situation...

July 3rd - Mars square Uranus Uranus makes us think on our feet--no time for Saturn’s planning!--and Mars further ignites this sense of urgency. Mars loves action and Uranus wants to disrupt patterns and stability, so together they make a pair of dangerous friends ready to blow up the walls & structure Saturn has made. Instead of reforms, Mars in Leo & Uranus in Taurus can’t ignore what’s not working anymore, so they want to level the whole situation and start again from the ground up.

Venus, who rules Uranus in this configuration, will actually square the outer planets as well on July 8th. Chris says it may look like some cleanup after Mars wrecking stuff in those degrees of the natal chart, but Venus may also signify some cooling down in relationships when she opposes Saturn and then dramatic change when she squares Uranus almost immediately after.

The Moon will also join Uranus in Taurus on July 4th, further activating the T-square just around the United States’ solar return (👀👀). Austin also brings it down to earth, advising caution with fireworks (for me this seems especially relevant to the droughts in Cascadia & the Southwest). Uranus in Taurus in general has shown us major changes in currency values, the property market going wild, and basic commodity shortages. How much energy do you have to invest on just keeping something running? Austin says Uranus unbinds energy, and when holds are released that energy will be given back.

July 6th - Mercury’s last square to Neptune(Rx) (not pictured) This aspect connotes miscommunication as our communicator meets the illusion. We may receive confirmation of...mysteries.

July 9th - New Moon in Cancer We’re now firmly out of eclipse season’s major endings & beginnings, especially for mutable risings. This is a little checkpoint for resting and taking care of ourselves emotionally while we deal with the aftershocks and frustration of all the fixed sign malefic activity. It’s the first New Moon in Cancer we’ve had in awhile where there’s not an eclipse or any malefic aspects; some new beginnings are small.

July 11th - Mercury enters Cancer Soon afterwards, the Moon, Venus and Mars will all line up together in Leo.

July 21st - Venus enters Virgo This is a fall placement for Venus, but it does take some pressure off the fixed signs.

July 22nd - Sun enters Leo After doing emotional care for much of the month, the Sun (and Mercury in a few days) will help us focus our energies on dealing with the problems of this T-square that’s been hanging over the month.

July 23rd - Full Moon in Aquarius The Moon is now approaching a conjunction with Saturn, bringing the Leo-Aquarius axis into focus once again. Jupiter is also just about to fall back into Aquarius--that part of your chart will be reactivated just when you thought you were ready. This lunation may shed a spotlight on the unsolved, ongoing problems that Jupiter is about to ease for us.

July 27th - Mercury enters Leo This is the last activation of that T-square involving Uranus and Saturn--Mercury will conjunct the Sun exactly as they oppose Saturn in Aquarius at the beginning of August. We’ve got to focus our wits on what we’re gonna do now--especially with Venus newly entered into Virgo, our minds are catching up to all the turmoil from this month.

July 28th - Jupiter regresses into Aquarius Jupiter has begun his retrograde in Pisces.As he’s entered Pisces these past few weeks we realize we’ve been clenching our hands so long that they’re sore--do we even remember how to be optimistic and open up? Look for opportunities in the house(s) that Pisces rules in your chart, but keep in mind that there’s unfinished business in Aquarius just around the corner.

When Jupiter regresses to Aquarius, we can also keep in mind the hopes that we’ve had as he entered Pisces and try to hold onto them. Jupiter in Aquarius can also connote some optimism or experimentation with new technologies, especially as it’s in contact with (squaring) innovative Aquarius. Overall Jupiter may ease some of the Saturn-Uranus tensions involving this sign.

July 29th - Mars enters Virgo He’ll oppose Jupiter before he leaves the fixed signs, kind of a suckerpunch before the training montage in a Rocky movie. This also signals a shift away from the ongoing structural problems indicated by Saturn square Uranus. We’ll have some time to rebuild our defenses until Mars transits Scorpio in November--this was round 2 of the outer planet square, now we’ve got time to prepare for round 3 (which may be rougher as there’s an eclipse involved as well).

#astrology #forecast #transits #july 2021 #theastrologypodcast #saturn square uranus #jupiter retrograde

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thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness · 4 years

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Kaoru&Toshiya Interview BURRN!! October 2020 1/2

'Ochita koto no aru sora' was released as the band's first digital single ever. In the middle of what it seems to be nightmarish situation in which they can’t predict at all what’s lies ahead , what are the hopes and emotions that these 5 people put into this song? Text by You Masuda

Notes before reading: This is the first part of the Kaoru and Toshiya interview done by You Masuda for BURRN!! October 2020 Issue, released on September 4th. This part covers more or less half of the interview. Expect second part to be posted around this weekend. You can read the second part here. You can support and get the magazine at Amazon Japan or CDJapan. Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts. Links or credits to this post when the content is reposted or captured in other SNS is appreciated :) -----

At midnight on August 3rd, DIR EN GREY's latest single 'Ochita Koto no aru Sora' was released through digital distribution. Half a day before this, on 2nd afternoon’s, this magazine had the opportunity to talk to Kaoru (guitar) and Toshiya (bassist). Following the 'TOUR 20 SOGAI’ that was scheduled for this spring, the two-night performances 'The Insulated World-The screams of Alienation', which were supposed to be held on July 23 and 24, at Pia Arena MM, a large venue newly established in Yokohama, were also cancelled. However, this latest song with such a meaningful title was delivered as a promised.

Completed by Josh Wilbur as a mixing engineer, this song should be the starting point for a new direction for the band. On the other hand, the flow of their live activities has been cut off. However, even if they are under such a strange situation, I felt objectivity and calmness that differs from resignation in their words. -I think the situation is different so far from the usual single release timing. When it comes to digital-distribution only releases, things like booklets or extra DVDs are no involved in the process. Kaoru: No, it was supposed to be like that, but this is what we are doing right now. Besides, we are making an special package for Pia Arena (a packaged version of the same single that will be sent to ticket purchasers who didn’t want a refund due to the cancellation of the two-night performance at Pia Arena MM). Toshiya: So, in the end, the result is the same thing. Kaoru: It feels like (the idea of) that kind of work (packages) is something that we pursued later so that’s why the talk about if we should do a photoshoot for it or not came out. -I see. This time, the first digital distribution only release was made. It was the result of reassuring the release of new songs at this time, right? Kaoru: That’s right. A digital release is probably the best way to get it on time. Toshiya: In a sense, it's also a new initiative. I always thought the time for us to release something in this this way would come. I couldn't predict when that would happen. But now, at this time and under these circumstances, I feel like a digital release is a very rational thing. On the contrary, if it was not this time, maybe we wouldn’t had known when the right time was to give it a try. -Then, this situation made it happen. In the first place, surely the song ‘Ochita koto no aru sora’ was planned to make its debut at the two-night performance in Yokohama (Pia Arena), After that, you have planned to release it around July, right? As a result, the fact that the performances were cancelled seems to have changed the implications a bit. K: Originally, the flow/world of ‘The Insulated World' was supposed to be finished in those two days, and we were heading to a new path from there, but the lives that were supposed to be the precursor for that, disappeared. So, as a result of that, it feels like the new single will be released while the previous flow is still going on. Of course, just because the tours and live performances that were supposed to be held are gone doesn't mean we can't make new ones, however, but you could say that the way to look at their flow has changed. Well, actually, about those two live shows (PIA ARENA MM), we may try to do them again someday in the future. -But in fact, just because a new flow is about to begin, even if these so-called revenge performances are done in the future, at this point, the things that you wanted to do might have changed. K: Yes. Because I don’t think of them as performances that had a date change. Over time, the songs we want to play will change. We actually talk about that. As expected, I can't say anything about it yet (laughs) -At the same time, the single. I think the way we look at the ‘Ochita koto no aru sora’ will also change. T: It will change naturally. But it can’t be helped, and I don't think it's a bad thing. No matter what kind of work it is, it’s something that gets out of our hands at the moment that we put it out for the world. From that moment, I think it will change depending on the moment that people listen to it and how they feel connected to it. -For the two-night performance in Yokohama, the set list was broadcasted in real time on your official channel of Youtube. The last song of the 2nd day was ’SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH'. I think that the fans that we were watching it should had listened to it while imagining ‘what kind of atmosphere will have the end of this performance?’. K: I don't think you could imagine what kind of live it was supposed to be even if you tried to (laughs). However, to reveal something at that live…. If we could had done these live, there was no announcement planned after the performance. We had no plans to do a tour beyond that, and there was nothing new to announce at that time. As a result, it only became possible to announce the single properly at that time. -The moment in which the flow from 'The Insulated World' was completed after the two-night performance, the growing curiosity would be “what’s next?”. If nothing is announced, that’s going to make people talk (speculate) about that, right? T: Hahaha. For sure. K: Well, but it was like “but there is nothing! (to announce)’, right? (laughs), But well, we are just about starting the album production. It’s just that we can't announce anything because we haven't decided when we are going to announce it yet. T: But that’s already the greatest implication, right? -For sure. Anyway, the fans have no choice but to use their imagination. Also, a song with such a meaningful title such as ‘Ochita koto no aru sora’…what kind of song it it? Is the kind of song that is ahead of ‘The Insulated World 'and 'The World of Mercy'? Could you say that this song suggests the musical direction you are going to move on? K: Well, we don’t know yet. It's just a song has been completed to be single. It starts from there but who knows what will happen in the future? -In other words, it's better to think of it only as a single song, right? K: Yes. At this point, that’s what it is. -Kaoru, you said in an interview published in 'BURRN! JAPAN VOL 16’done before the completion of this single that I have no choice but to imagine how the music would be from the title. You used the mysterious words “a modern/ a song according to the current times” as way of teasing me. K: I did say such a thing, didn’t I? (laughs) -I had no idea of what that meant, but from the impression of the title, I imagined a slow song that felt dark and heavy. However, when I actually got to listen to it, I found out that it’s not like that at all. It’s a song that doesn’t fit in your common format or a standard song that has gone through a process of changes. Although there are many developments parts and just a few repetitions, it feels like all these the elements are tightly packed in these 3 minutes. Pointing out that it’s a song that debunks the theory I made, I wonder what did you mean with “a song according to the current times/modern”? K: What I wanted to point out when I said that it’s that the high point of the melody(chorus) isn’t the only outstanding thing about the song. Usually there is one high point in the song, usually in the middle of it and a few other highlights during it. That’s what I think that I meant when I say a “modern song” (laughs) -What were your first impressions when you heard the song, Toshiya? T: I don't remember the impression I had when I first heard it. Of course, the song itself has changed a lot since that moment. However, it did change following the flow of DIR EN GREY at the same time in a natural way. I don’t know how to say explain it properly but, I think that it feels like a song that was composed while using limited components very effectively. It’s a very interesting song composed with creativity and originality. -The fact that it’s a song composed with the minimum necessary parts, including the the catchy part makes it interesting and intertwined, isn't it? T: That's right. So, while adding and subtracting parts, it created a good shape for the song. I think that’s very interesting. -In a sense, I feel that it also connectss with "CLEVER SLEAZOID", which is recorded in a new version this time. K: What do you mean? -At that time, that song was also the beginning of a new flow for you, building up the song until a high point. Moreover, there was a compactness in each part that were intertwined in a functional way and finished without needing to repeat parts more than the necessary. That's why I felt there was some intention behind these two songs lined up together in this way. K: Ah, I see. T: But that’s reading too much into it (laughs) K: Actually, before the main song of the single was completed, I've already arranged it, this 'Clever Sleazoid'. “I wish we could live in really safe circumstances. Rules for live might be different, but I definitely want to try it soon” Toshiya -Oh really? What made you decide to re-record this song at this time? K: Somehow, the lyrics…. T: As he (Kyo) wanted to sing them in Japanese... K: Yes. English is mixed this time as well in the lyrics, but at that time the lyrics were all in English. (Note: In the original song, only one line in Japanese was included in the end). He wanted to sing it in Japanese, we thought we should try it. T: This was... I think it was in France. We had already decided to do it during the European tour from January to February. That's why I remember the time when we were rehearsing it in France. K: Yeah, that's right. T: We raised the tempo a little, change the rhythm, and try to match it together. It was like… ‘how does it feel like this? ‘Or like that?’ We were kind of checking the atmosphere that it would create (for the song). - The single "Clever sleazoid" was released in 2005. At that time, even from the American label side, the lyrics were requested to be made in English. That’s something that might had cause Kyo feel disappointed. Also, using the English language did not change the way people accepted you in Europe and the United States. So it might me something that created a feeling of discontent. By the way, this song hasn't been on the set list so much in the last years. K: That was just a coincidence. -It was a little surprising that it wasn't included in the set list for the two-night performance in Yokohama (PIA ARENA). T: Yeah, for sure. K: If we would had put it in this time, you just can’t play the old version. It's just like that. (When the setlist of PIA ARENA was broadcasted in Youtube) -I agree with that. There are many things I would like to ask about the lyrics of this song now that are done in Japanese, and of course, the lyrics of "Ochita koto no aru sora", but this time, Kyo seems that won’t accept interviews about the lyrics. Fans have begun to search for the lyrics of "Ochita koto no aru sora" since the short version of Youtube was released for the first time. The words "August 6th Morning" appear in the lyrics but is the reason of this the continuation of the story that is told in the song “Riyuu” (Song from 'Macabre',released in 2000, the lyrics start with the words "August 5th")or is it pointing out the date when the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima? When the video clip was released, it seemed more natural to interpret it like the latter, because it includes images related to war scenarios. I don’t really want to compare your answers here but, how do you both interpret it? K: Mmm, I think that it’s like something that is restricted, like being trapped in something where you can’t see anything. That kind of feeling. To tell the truth, Kyo told me something like “this is the feeling of it” but, it seems that at some parts, the current situation has also been included. The other day, following the cancellation of the Pia Arena performances, there was a talk event for people who purchased VIP tickets, and this same thing was said there right on the spot. “It’s not unrelated to this situation right now”. -Even if he originally wanted to write about other things, does this mean that this situation has affected it (the lyrics)? K: It seems so. -What do you think of this, Toshiya? T: I don't really try to interpret the lyrics in detail, however, I was wondering if this song was a continuation. I feel the lyrics these days are all connected even if they come from different directions. Also, I basically think of all his lyrics and songs in terms of melody. So, I didn't scrutinize the meaning of the lyrics or anything like that, for me it is like a sound. -Saying so, I can't go asking any further (laughs) In fact, I myself feel that there is a continuation in that sense. I think there should be a connection with "The World of Mercy". What about the title itself, “Ochita koto no aru sora" (“The fallen sky or the sky that has fallen”)? Does this mean that a sky has fallen? Does that mean that you yourself or something has fallen in the past? Initially, I felt it was the first option but now seeing the story, it seems most likely to be the latter. K: I think it could be both things falling, right? But, I think that it’s ok for each person to decide how they do perceived to the lyrics. -I feel like the suffocating feeling as if the sky was falling, overlaps somehow with the current situation. K: Yes. However, when you use “koto no aru”, it means that you have already experienced it. So, in the sense still…. T: I’m not really sure about it. K: I don't feel like the person who wrote the lyrics wants to say "this is it" clearly. In a way, if it were something that wants to be clear, it would be explicit in the lyrics. Rather than that, there is a part in which what is writing is daringly blurry. After all, I don’t think I like explaining the meaning of the words because explaining will weaken the meaning. Isn’t it stronger if everything is in the shape you wrote it? -Yes. I would like to ask Kyo again about this matter sometime after. However, what about the link between the content and the video clip with the lyrics? For example, among those which are known, as "VINUSHKA" (included in "Uroboros" released in 2008) from the video, it is natural that some people interpret is as "This is a song about the atomic bomb, isn't it? However, it is not a materialization of the lyrics, but rather an answer to the song from the director of the video’s side. The video of "Ochita koto no aru Sora" is directed by Keita Kurosaka, who has worked on "Agitated Screams of Maggots" and "Rinkaku"as well. This time, you asked Mr. Kurosaka to do it because…...? K: First of all, the actual question was who could make the clip. So, it started with looking for a director. It was the same as always, this time, after all, it’s hard to come up with new ideas when it comes to select people for doing it. This time, it’s not directed by Kondo (Hiroyuki: the video director who has worked on many of their video clips) because the previous clip has not been completed yet (laughs). If he hasn’t finished that, we can’t ask him for a new one. So, we talked to Mr. Kurosaka, with whom up until now we have worked together with animation stuff but, as there were also people who took pictures and footage, we decided to mix them up. -So that was the reason why you didn't ask Mr. Kondo? The full version of ‘'The World of Mercy' video clip isn’t out yet… K: It's not finished. It hasn't been done yet, it's true. But….aren’t we a little weird? Somehow, normally, we should be angrier. Actually, I was angry but even so, it wasn’t done yet (laughs) -He is a person who thoroughly goes digs in the content. The video will be exceeding the 10 minutes as well as the length of the song. However, until now, the video for 'The World of Mercy' has only being shown to our eyes in its limited version. T: We also have seen only that as well (laughs) K: We haven't seen anything more than that. We've only seen the short one, so with those, we still don't get the big picture of the video. That’s why we haven’t been able to do some exchange of opinions like ‘isn’t it really different?’ -That's too bad.Isn’t it something like (the situation) of La Sagrada Familia? T: Isn’t it? (laughs) After all, it seems it’s hard for Kondo to put everything together, because there are too many feelings or enthusiasm towards DIR EN GREY. I’m acting as his spokesman (laughs). But well, I’d like to ask you to do it faster (laughs) (Next part)

#dir en grey #kaoru #toshiya #burrn!! october 2020 #BURRN!!#You masuda #interview #toshiyatranslations #translation

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