#but in doing so they inevitably vibrate the entire rest of the theater

[tachyon-omlette]

okay before I lose my thought (MASSIVE Rise of the Beasts spoilers re: Unicron)

in my opinion rotb handled Unicron perfectly.

when I first watched the full trailer & saw Unicron my second thought was "oh no" (my first being "YOOOOOO") because in the bumblebee-rotb timeline it seemed extremely early to be involving him. I went into the movie almost resigning myself to the thought that it would end with Unicron being destroyed & never seen again, because he was advertised as the main Big Bad.

but the truth is, Scourge was the main Big Bad. and while Unicron made several appearances and had more than one line, the primary thing he did was loom over the narrative like the slow approach of death - he did more than haunting the narrative, I think, but aside from his interactions with the Terrorcons and his arrival at the final scene, he was largely uninvolved in the main conflict, and was in the end defeated momentarily rather than destroyed.

what we did see of him was always displays of power: the destruction of the Maximals' homeworld, his ability to supply the battlefield with endless Terrorcon footsoldiers, his mindscape-meeting with Scourge wherein he tortured Scourge for failing him from Primus knows how far away. hell, even Scourge, Battletrap, and Nightbird themselves were living proof of Unicron's power - ruthless, near-invincible supersoldiers who've killed enough Cybertronians and Cybertronian-adjacent lifeforms to steal and wear their badges like a bounty hunter collects trophies. on-screen all of this is done through Unicron's power, the extension of his will - and not, notably, by Unicron himself.

this wasn't Unicron's moment to shine, only to be destroyed so early in the narrative.

this was the moment that painted a target on Earth, and on Optimus Prime. this was the moment that established how Unicron is accustomed to taking thralls from other worlds while also killing off the ones he already had, laying the potential groundwork for Galvatron or even Sideways. this was the moment that showed off just how powerful Unicron and his allies are without cramming it into the first fifteen minutes of another movie down the line, and when he appears again we'll already know just how fucked the protagonists are.

this was the setup to Unicron's moment to shine. though I'd hoped Unicron would get more screentime, rotb ultimately handled Unicron with the severity he deserves; for that, it was perfect.

sidenote: I got very big "then perish" vibes at the end of the movie, when Unicron said smth like "think about this, Prime. I could give you anything you want." and Optimus responded with "then DIE!!". it was dramatic in the moment but remembering it got me a good laugh

#rotb spoilers #lil technical note regarding my theater experience: i wanted to see it in an xd theater bc the video quality is higher #but the only xd theater showing it for the next several days is the one with d-box seats #if you don't know what d-box seats are they're supposed to provide a 4d experience by shaking you around #but in doing so they inevitably vibrate the entire rest of the theater #which also makes the audio extremely bass-y #one of the given windows when the d-box seats would go off was ANY TIME unicron talked or was at all onscreen #so my movie experience was a lot like [Unicron: appear] [PERMEATING VIBRATION] [IMPOSSIBLY LOUD BASS RUMBLE] #i wanna watch it in a non d-box theater so i can better enjoy the soundtrack bc i caught in credits they used unicron's og theme from '86 #but overall this is not a complaint. bc it did make me feel like i was up close to unicron in real #and i sure hope it didnt awaken anything in me (it did i already know it did. im aroace but i would unironically seduce unicron /gen) #transformers #rotb #rise of the beasts spoilers #rise of the beasts #extra tags so i can find this later

[danicoldkingdom-blog]

Shinedown Tour-Day 1 (Tucson, AZ)

Successful people often say that there are moments when you realize that what you are doing is right, that what you are doing is the next step in your journey.

Well I had that moment at this show, and it was fucking awesome!

We arrived in Tucson the night before, driving from Denver overnight. Sleeping in a van in a Walmart parking lot becomes band standard over time. Often you can find a slew of vans, RVs, and (for the hyper-elite) Prevosts all lined up in the back of the dimly lit 24-hour superstore parking lot. The advantage of such a sleeping arrangement is this: it’s free, you can use the bathrooms to give your show-scented hard-working dirty hobo body a good cleaning, if you like you may purchase anything from Lunchables to new undies, and you won’t get evicted for parking overnight.

Here’s the shit thing about it though…it’s Walmart. I try as I can to not support evil mega-chain right wing corporations as much as I can, but in today’s “Merica” this can be unavoidable. As a vegan human woman trying to stay healthy, my options for food are limited at most big blue locations. I pack what I can with me from home, but alas, am not afforded the luxury of an actual warm meal most nights.

We wake up ready to start one of the most influential days in our lives, the first day of our first national tour, in said Walmart parking lot. I stumbled into the store, road hardened and sloppy, in search of the pisser and some breakfast. After surviving mean-girl glares while I brush my teeth in the public restroom I collect a coconut water and a banana to supplement my protein powder for breakfast.

Jason and I headed off to the gym whilst the rest of the band inevitably, though unplanned, had to change a trailer tire. The workout was great and I was super thankful that he allowed me to use his guest pass at Planet Fitness. This is a gym where they occasionally have Pizza Mondays…. That aside, I did 20 minutes of sprint intervals (1:30 at 5mph alternating with :30 at 10mph) then did 30 minutes of Tracy Anderson muscular structure and a half hour vinyasa flow from Youtuber “Yoga with Adrienne.” I felt great sitting in the Arizona sun eating my post-workout breakfast, proud that I took care of my body that morning, and knowing what the day had laid out before me.

We took an Uber and arrived at the venue 30 minutes early. Our dressing room was shared with As Lions down in the basement of the historic Rialto Theater in downtown Tucson. I really liked the vibe of the town during the day. (At night this opinion changed as the town turned into a drunken party-town bro-fest. Too clubby for my taste.) Catering set up tacos for lunch and Boston Market for dinner. (I ate tortillas with just salsa for lunch mashed potatoes with veg for pre-show dinner) I’m aware already that catering doesn’t facilitate to vegetarians easily. I’m totally ok with that, and grateful for my weird salsa tacos.

After loading in, setting up merch and getting the lay of the land, eventually doors opened and we were ready. The feeling isn’t entirely describable. I sat in the dressing room getting ready, putting on my show clothes and stage makeup, doing vocal warm-ups knowing that I was about to embark on an amazing journey and an unforgettable night.

If you think I’m being overly dramatic, I get it, but fuck off, it honestly felt like this.

We could hear the people funneling in upstairs, we could feel their energy and excitement. This sold-out packed house was vibrating with anticipation. I fed off of this.

Walking up the stairs ready to take the stage, I was reminded by my fellow band members that this was just another show, something we have done hundreds of times, they reminded me that I was going to kill it and that it was going to be fun as hell.

They were right.

The brief 25 minute opening slot went off perfectly. The crowd was completely into it. Sometimes audiences don’t clap or move or follow along with crowd participation efforts, but Tucson was down to party! Big smiles and loud voices lifted our spirits and floated us through the set. They were amazing.

I ran over to our Merch table where I was greeted by so many smiling faces ready to say hello and pick up an album or a selfie with me. Brent Smith of Shinedown gave us a huge shoutout on stage later during their set. It’s hard not to feel completely amazing during moments like this. Don’t believe me? Try it.

After we left, we traveled back to our beloved Walmart where I purchased a spicy pickle for dinner and tried to sleep in a captains chair. Perspective.

I left that night knowing without a doubt that this is what I’m meant to do, this is my legend

“PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE AT ANY TIME IN THEIR LIVES, OF DOING WHAT THEY DREAM OF.” -Paulo Cohelo, The Alchemist

#coldkingdom #tourlife #roadlife #shinedown #singer #musician #musicianlife #band #rocknroll #rockband #hard rock #tucson #rialto #walmart #pickles #health #fitness #vegan