#Direct Hit Records

[soath]

"exu: calamity should be done by the studio that animated arcane" okay, sure, easy pull. EYE think that downfall can only be properly handled by cartoon saloon. no one else knows how to capture space and break the bounds of dimensionality and perspective like they do. no other animation studio can do the interplay of horrific modern dystopia vs. ancient magics long suppressed. no one else could correctly pull off a sequences that's just Shapes and Light. no one else can be trusted to deploy a tactical symbolic halo. imagine panning out to see all of aeor from a raven's eye or ten-thousand rats', a city flattened into mere brutalist squares against the sky. imagine the artwork becoming something more abstract, more stylized, like an illuminated manuscript or papercut art laid over the background world as mortality fades and the gods take over.

[bredforloyalty]

does anyone want to recommend me.. like.. a Rock song mayhaps. or any song

[femme-foucault]

Award Season Guesses - late December 2024

Alright, well I still haven't seen The Brutalist (or Nickel Boys) because it's not releasing outside NYC and LA until sometime in January and I have no intention of seeing A Complete Unknown precisely because I am a Bob Dylan fan. So I haven't really updated my list of predictions from about a month ago or so. I am tempted to include The Substance but it is a sliiiiiim possibility given how the Oscars snubs work in horror. So here are my predictions as of late December 2024.

Above the Line Awards:

Alphabetical order as usual. My suspected winners in bold and runner-ups/potential "upsets in italics.

Best Picture:

Anora*

The Brutalist

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Dune Pt 2

Emilia Perez

Nickel Boys

A Real Pain

Sing Sing

The Substance (????)

Wicked Pt 1

I am going on a limb and guessing The Substance does get in even though I think it is reeeeally a stretch. The Academy snubs horror films all the time, especially in acting (see Toni Collette in Hereditary and Mia Goth in Pearl). But the GG noms made me reconsider even though the GG is a critics/journalism awards show and the Oscars are an industry awards show and like any "election," demographic patterns vary. But actually if anything I think critics are snobbier about horror than industry people so that's a good sign. No idea what will win -- which is fun! 2024 was not nearly as good as 2023, which was an unusually packed year for great movies. But in a way, that makes Awards Season more fun because there isn't a clear front runner. I am leaning Anora right now for BP like I have been all year, but I would NOT underestimate either Wicked or Emilia Perez. I don't like the latter movie very much and while I did really enjoy Wicked I wouldn't say it was the best of the year. But don't underestimate the Oscars leaning populist because all three of the last BP winners in awards season were very much "crowd pleasers" over more "artsy" choices like Power of the Dog or Poor Things. (It feels odd to call Oppenheimer a "crowd pleaser" as that movie is so bleak, but technically, it counts in the sense that many people saw it and both general audiences and industry people liked it. So I'd put it next to EEAO and CODA as a "crowd-pleaser" Best Picture winner and a "populist" choice due to it making so much money because of Barbeheimer despite being, technically, a kinda weird movie when you dissect it. So don't underestimate Wicked!).

Best Director: Sean Baker (Anora), Edward Berger (Conclave), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), maaaaybe Coralie Fargeat, but ONLY if The Substance gets into Best Picture. I have taken Denis Villeneuve (Dune Pt 2) out of my predictions even though he deserves it because Dune Pt 2 was better than the first one. But until I see The Brutalist, I can't evaluate it. I wouldn't be surprised if we got a rare Best Picture and Best Director split.

Best Actress in A Lead Role: Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Perez), Angelina Jolie (Maria), Mikkey Madison (Anora).....and if and only if The Substance The Substance gets into picture, maaaaaybe Demi Moore. She probably deserves it (I haven't seen The Substance because I'm squeamish), but the Academy is awful about nominating horror performances (see Toni Collette for Hereditary). The alternative might be Nicole Kidman for Babygirl.

Best Actor in a Lead Role: Adrian Brody (The Brutalist), Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave).

I am leaning Brody based on trailers alone (the Academy loves an accent and a WWII-post Holcaust drama) but even if Chalamet is mid -- and apparently he is quite good -- the Academy isn't above rewarding lame music biopics. See Austin Butler's nomination for Elvis and Rami Malek winning for Bohemian Rhapsody. ACU is apparently good -- I really hate that kind of biopic so I am not there for it -- so all Chalamet has to do to be decent for the boomer crowd who likes Dylan to vote for him.

Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (Wicked), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave), Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez), Margaret Qualley (The Substance).

Still leaning Saldana but Grande is not to be underestimated (the Academy are more likely to award comedic performances in supporting -- see Ryan Gosling's nom last year. He might have won if RDJ didn't have The Narrative). I am putting Rosselini in there now that she got into GG and if I am going to lean towards The Substance, maybe Qualley. Felicity Jones isn't doing well in critics circles but I think if The Brutlaist is popular, she could be the Emily Blunt of the season (the person who gets nominated for being in a popular movie and tags along but doesn't win anything, which is what happened with Emily Blunt last year because Oppenheimer was so popular with the industry and critics that she got a lot of "tag along" noms but no real wins).

Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), Denzel Washington (Gladiator II)...and someone else. Idk maybe one of the Anora guys (Yura Borisov (Igor?). I don't see the supporting performances from Conclave aside from Rosselini getting in because while everyone was good...that is part of the problem. No one but her really stood out because everyone in the supporting cast was so solid and I think Anora is a bit similar in that regard except that Borisov's character sticks out as having a sliver of decency. It's weird to think that the sentence "Oscar winner Kieran Culkin" might be a thing. As much as I like Culkin from Succession, my actual vote would be Maclin. But no one saw that movie :( I am including Washington even though Gladiator II got poor to mixed reviews because he's Denzel. He is such a great actor who was snubbed for his best performances that now they nominate him all the time to make up for it, and it's such a weak year in this category that I'm not complaining.

Original Screenplay: Idk what is original and adapted, but I think Anora wins Screenplay, especially if it doesn't win Best Picture. The recent trend is sometimes to throw a movie that won't be awarded anywhere else a screenplay award (see last year with both American Fiction and Anatomy of A Fall). The other possibility might be A Real Pain if they decide to award it.

Other than Anora, I think: The Brutalist, A Real Pain, The Substance, and maybe September 5 if they follow the Globes (which they don't always do because the Golden Globes are a press/critics award and the Oscars are industry so different voting demographics).

Adapted Screenplay: No idea what is even in this category. The distinction between Original and Adapted is pretty arbitrary at times (see: Barbie in Adapted last year). My guesses are A Complete Unknown (based on a specific Dylan bio apparently), Conclave (based on a novel), Emilia Perez (I think inspired by something?), Sing Sing (loosely based on a true story) and idk what the fifth slot is.

Who I think will win in the tech categories:

Best Production Design: Wicked. Dune Pt 2 might be an upset.

Costume: Obviously Wicked.

Special Effects: Probably Dune Pt 2 but it could be something I haven't heard of that the effects branch likes, because that happens often.

Hair and Make Up: If The Substance gets in, maaaybe. This is the one category that horror is recognized so I wouldn't be surprised if The Substance and maybe even Nosferatu gets in. But it might be Wicked if the Academy does what it often does and people outside the nominating branches just vote for the movie they like more, in which case it would be Wicked. Dune Pt 2 should get at least a nomination for Rebecca Ferguson's possessed henna.

Cinematography: Either Conclave or Anora. It really depends how 1) Anora does in general and 2) if it does well, if there is a "share the love" vibe. The Academy doesn't do the massive Titanic/Lord of the Rings sweeps anymore (and I'm fine with that) -- see last year giving Zone of Interest the Sound award and American Fiction got Adapted Screenplay when a lot of people thought Oppenheimer was a lock for both because it was the BP frontrunner and, if this was the 2000s, probably would have taken them by default. In the EEAAO year, an Edward Berger film (All Quiet on the Western Front) won cinematography over EEAAO in an upset, so it wouldn't be unprecedented if that happened again with Conclave.I hope it's not Emilia Perez. That movie is very flashy but I don't like the cinematography much. It's all flash no style. Dune Pt 2 will definitely be nominated but I feel like its spring release hurt it.

Score: It'd be cool if Challengers got nominated but I don't see it, unfortunately. The score branch is not that cool and prefers instrumental scores over tech/synth music, even though Trent has been nominated before. I don't know what will win, since Dune 2 is not even eligible.

Sound Design: It better be Dune Pt 2. I think Wicked and probably A Complete Unknown will get nominated because of the music mixing (which, in Wicked, was very subtle and well done and apparently ACU sounds great too). But I really don't like biopics about musicians so I'd rather it not. I wouldn't mind a Wicked nom here, but Dune Pt 2 is so inventive in its sound design that I am rooting for it.

[dogshit-enchantment]

Another day of trying to have a normal one and being thrust back into grief because I looked in my phone's image folder

It's like a landmine except I can't bring myself to remove any images or videos

When does the hurting end

I miss my fucking cat. She wasn't even mine. I can't undo it. I can't bring her back.

[someweirdoreblogger]

doodling off the side

[sniperct]

getting new FF14 story content so soon after I caught up to dragonflight is a kick in the gut at how much better at storytelling CBU3 is compared to blizzard lol

Gonna get a better comparison when I do the DF epilogue and the gilneas reclamation later or tomorrow lol

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

y'all...i just watched the first four episodes of house md because i wanted to see jesse spencer and hear him talk with his actual accent

i'm going to scream into the abyss

[broke-on-books]

Holy topic change batman

How did we even get here

[wekillitwithfire]

you know, i STILL struggle to put into words my feelings on Lovejoy’s music. one of these days tho ill get it

[countdown-til-sanders-take-over]

So hows it going 😀

TMAGP 7 is a WILD ride

[burningcomputerpersona]

person: *shows even the slightest hint of interest in music that I enjoy*

me: ah yes a new victim muhahahaha

[fatherbrat]

ONE LAST TIME, R. SUNA

sum. two months into your relationship with your current boyfriend, your ex-fwb finally sends you a voicenote to let you know exactly how he feels about it.

feat. rintaro suna

cw. ex-fwb!suna, cheating, mutual masturbation (kinda lol), jealousy, dirty talk, anal mention, pillow humping, possessiveness, degradation

wc. 1.2k

When you posted your first official pictures of you and your new boyfriend, you had expected Suna to react…negatively. You basically braced for impact the moment you hit post, but all you got from him was an Instagram notification and two texts.

sunarin liked your post.

rin ;)

lmk if you want me to delete our pics.  and hmu when you two break up :p

You never bothered replying, initially not sure how to reply, and then forgetting about the texts entirely. The two of you barely have any contact for a few weeks after that, but he's obviously keeping up with your socials; liking every post and viewing every story. It doesn't bother you, but it's weird going cold turkey on your relationship like that. You had expected him to reach out for some sort of closure. You wanted him to. 

Halloween swings by in no time, and (much to you boyfriend’s dismay) you dress up as a sexy nurse. You don’t remember much of the night, but you do know that you posted a picture of you and your friends all dressed up on your story before getting blackout drunk. 

Your phone dies early on in the night. Your friends take good care of you up until it’s time to bring you back home, and you don’t wake up until the afternoon. You don’t check your phone until a couple hours after that—long after it's been turned on and charged to 100%. 

When you finally check it, two particular notifications catch your attention. 

sunarin liked your story. 

rin ;)

Voice Message

The voice message is 12 minutes long. 

You exit your texts immediately, opting to distract yourself by tending to your other notifications. It doesn’t help much. Your mind races, wondering what he was talking about for so long and if it was really so important that he reached out after almost four months of near-silence. 

You toss your phone onto your bed, shaking your head. You try to ignore it, cleaning the bathroom and folding the laundry and vacuuming the living room all in an effort to forget about the lengthy recording sitting in your phone. 

But it doesn’t take long for the curiosity gnawing at you to win. 

You practically run back to your bedroom, grabbing your phone and sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed. Your fingers move quickly across the screen, hitting play without hesitation. 

The first 8 seconds are nearly silent, and you start to wonder if it’s possible that he sent such a long message by mistake.

But then you hear a heavy sigh.

“I like your costume.” His tone is hushed, like he’s telling you a secret. “You look hot.”

There’s another moment of silence, like he’s giving you a chance to change your mind and stop listening. 

But then Suna moans and your eyes nearly bulge out of your head. 

“You never answered my text, y’know. When I asked if you wanted me to delete our pictures. So, uh, I kept ‘em.”

Oh. 

Oh fuck.

“I’m looking at one right now. It’s from last Halloween. When you-“ His breath hitches. “When you went as a Playboy Bunny.”

You remember. Suna dressed as Hugh Hefner and the two of you went to a party together. Then he took you back to his apartment and fucked you while you were still wearing the bunny ears and bowtie. 

You’re pretty positive you’re not wearing the bodysuit in the picture he’s looking at. 

“I don’t know how much of this night you actually remember, but I can describe the picture for you.”

You tense, anticipation sending goosebumps up your arms. 

“You’re kneeling on the ground, looking up at the camera, and you’ve still got those bunny ears on your head.”

This voice message is going in the last direction you thought it would.  Is he—?

“You’ve got cum all over your face, baby.” He laughs to himself before continuing. “And you’re sticking your tongue out like a fucking whore.”

Suna takes a ragged breath, a sound you're all too familiar with. It confirms your suspicions—he’s definitely jerking off. 

“That was a good night. We had a lot of good nights.” He sounds miffed all of a sudden. “I seriously doubt the boyfriend is fucking you as good as I did.”

You suppress a shiver. A pang of guilt heats your chest at the mention of your boyfriend. You should stop listening. Delete the message. Tell him to delete the pictures and then probably block him. 

Or you could let the message keep playing. 

Suna inhales sharply, followed by a shaky moan. You swear you can hear the sound of his fist stroking his dick. 

“I hope you’re not letting him put it in your ass like you let me. That’s our thing, okay?”

Under different circumstances you would have laughed. 

“Fuck,” he hisses. “And I hope you’re not letting him spit in your fucking mouth. Or–shit–doing that thing where you’d suck me off with your head hanging upside down off the bed.” He falters at the end of the sentence, groaning into the phone.

“I’m not gonna–” he interrupts himself, sighing deeply. “I’m not gonna pretend I’ve been happy for you. I miss you.”

You feel hot all over, a heady combination of annoyance and arousal and embarrassment. There’s a dull throbbing between your legs and in the back of your mind you wonder if this is what Suna wanted when he sent the message. 

“Just–just let me fuck you one more time. Okay princess? I’ll make it sooo good for you,” he whines. You can hear his hand picking up speed.

“It’s still early. Two months is nothing, it won’t even count as cheating.” You can hear the smirk in his voice. “God, just one last time. Please?”

Without thinking, you grab a pillow and position yourself over it in a straddle. You won’t let him fuck you, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make you come one last time.

“I promise I’ll do that thing you like with my tongue. And you can pick all the positions if you want to.” There’s a tremble in his voice. “Or just lay there. I’ll do all the work.”

You grind into the pillow beneath you, picturing the expression you know he’d be wearing if he were in front of you–batting those dark eyelashes with raised eyebrows, just barely able to control the smug curve of his lips.

Heat pools in your gut and a whimper falls from your lips. Suna keeps talking.

“I know you miss me. You have to. You’re probably touching yourself to this right now.” 

You gasp softly and rock your hips faster.

“Such a fucking slut.” You hear the telltale quiver in his voice that tells you he’s getting close. “My fucking slut.”

You moan, his words giving you flashbacks.

“Oh fuck. Fuck, I’m coming,” he rasps, before letting off a series of moans and whimpers that almost make you concede. You grind harder into the pillow beneath you, imagining Suna in his room, chest heaving, talking into the phone and making himself come to pictures of you. 

That does it. A tsunami of pleasure washes over you, forcing your body to tense before you go limp, collapsing onto your bed with a shudder.

You and Suna breathe in tandem, both of you catching your breath. 

You hear another laugh through the phone. “Damn, that was a lot.” There’s the sound of sheets rustling. “Kinda made a mess, princess.”

He’s silent for another few beats before clearing his throat. “Text me, okay?” he says quietly. “Please.”

The voice message ends.

part two

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

these are the bear underwear, for the record

JIB11 / JIB8

[whorelaud]

reader doing the ‘he’s the best big brother ever’ trend on bf!rafe <3 warnings none/rafe being salty in reader’s comments

Rafe’s gaze hovered over your figure, admiring as you shuffled around to adjust the phone positioned on the counter. You set the timer, stealing a glance in Rafe’s direction, who stood and observed like a lost puppy; unaware of what to do with himself. “I’ll start recording on three, please don’t say or do anything weird, okay? My account is done for if another post of mine gets flagged.”

“Alright baby, start it.” He assured, his statement not convincing whatsoever. You simply rolled your eyes, doing as he ordered, hurrying to press the record button. You straightened up, taking Rafe’s side as you fixed up your hair, instantly flashing the camera a smile when the blue line appeared on the screen. 

Rafe crossed his arms, brows knitting into a frown upon hearing your next words. “If you wanna get to him,” you started, suppressing your giggles as you addressed Rafe with your thumb, then back at your chest. “You’ll have to go through me first.” 

“What are you saying?” Rafe scoffed, slightly taken aback when you turned around, your arms filling the majority of the view. You reached for his face, cupping his cheeks in your hold as you forced his head down, until his eyes leveled with yours. 

Rafe instantly melted when you sweeped him in a kiss, arms naturally finding the curve of your waist, in an attempt to deepen the kiss. A groan of complaint bubbled out of his throat when you moved away, not giving him the satisfaction of getting what he wants, and instead turning back to the camera, with his hand loosely hugging your side. 

��He’s the best big brother ever!” You uttered between chuckles,  sensing the way Rafe stiffened from your side. 

“What the fuck?!” His eyes widened with shock, flashing you a look of disbelief, watching as you erupted into a fit of laughter, unable to maintain character at your boyfriend’s reaction. “Best what now? Delete that shit!” 

“Oh my–” you continue to giggle, amused by the hint of annoyance washing over Rafe’s expression. “You’re the best, I can't ask for a better brother figure–” 

“Enough with your bullshit, man!” He interrupted before you could further speak, aiming for the phone. “You and your stupid TikTok challenges.” 

“Wait, Rafe!” You snatched your phone from his hold, knowing the latter;  he was probably going to delete it. “I’m posting it, your reaction is funny.” 

“You’re not posting that!” He argued, groaning when he strived to take your phone, merely for you to dodge his hold. “C’mon baby, what if they actually think I’m your brother? You already have so many thirsty men in your comments.” 

“Relax, baby.” You rolled your eyes, embracing the boy in a hug, too engrossed by the video on your phone to spare him a glance. “It’s a trend, besides, who in their right mind kisses their brother?” 

Yeah, maybe you should’ve listened to your boyfriend. 

–

andy6928h Let daddy take you out on a date

rafecameron Hop off her dick

alibabefaen Check your Dms for A surprise 👅

rafecameron This is not funny.

user6292936 Get rid of that twig hun 🌹 I will treat you so much better

rafecameron She is completely fine and content with me, therefore, she will NOT be needing you, thanks.

rafecameron Actually yk what f*ck you 🖕🏼

rafecameron Stop hitting on MY girl please and thanks. She is MINE.

a/n old trend ik... but this was too cute not to do :'(

[sreegs]

I reblogged it earlier but I'm glad the Something Awful Forums 9/11 thread was archived because it's an incredibly important slice of internet history. For the record I think 9/11 was thousands of personal tragedies for the direct victims of the attacks but one big national farce that led to America's ongoing slide into fascism, and the nationalism and remembrance around it is a joke especially in the wake of the same amount of deaths every fucking day in the US during the height of coronavirus.

Nevertheless I think it's important that if you do not remember because you were too young or just didn't exist on Sept 11, 2001 to read the Something Awful 9/11 forums to get an idea of what the internet was like at the moment when America changed to 24 hour news cycles and renewed hyper-nationalism not seen since WWII.

This all happened before Twitter, Facebook, before Discord. Before smart phones. Before most people had cell phones. When a lot of people still had dial-up internet, even. Some people in the thread were relying on radio because internet and TV weren't keeping up.

It was a live event of internet denizens reacting to the biggest national event (and among the biggest international events) of the past 25 years. It was also a slice of what the internet was like at the turn of the millennium. Not only that, but people accurately calling out who was responsible, and what would result before the attacks even finished.

Keep in mind that the links that follow contain images of the event, lots of Islamophobia, people calling for the Middle East to be nuked, people blaming Palestine, casual racist and homophobic language (this was Something Awful after all), etc etc. They preserved the first 17 pages which spanned about 24 hours during the events. It's the origin of the "WATCH BUSH START A FUCKING WAR" screenshot.

Links under the fold. I've also annotated the pages with notes regarding the timeline and any posts of interest. Note the thread was preserved in Pacific Time even though the page says times are Eastern. That's incorrect. Post timestamps are 3 hours behind Eastern Time, which is the time zone where the attacks occurred:

Page 1 - Note the first post was edited to include images of the second attack. The thread started after the first plane hit. Second plane hitting the WTC happens here too.

Page 2 - Poster accurately calling out Bin Laden was responsible at 9:14 AM EST

Page 3 - "WATCH BUSH START A FUCKING WAR"

Page 4

Page 5 - First official acknowledgement it was a terrorist attack.

Page 6 - Pentagon hit

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9 - Commercial flights grounded by FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)

Page 10 - First mention of towers collapsing at end of page

Page 11 - More reactions to collapse of first tower. People thinking it was a bomb or yet another plane. Rumors about a fourth plane just missing the White House (these are false and predate the actual 4th plane crash by minutes)

Page 12

Page 13 - By this point there's just rampant speculation about more bombs at the WTC, the US Capitol building being hit, etc (all false). Remember this is all just people reacting to TV news and radio and the rumor mill via phone, AIM, IRC, and maybe text messages.

Page 14 - By this point internet news sites are overwhelmed

Page 15 - Second tower collapses. First acknowledgement of the fourth plane that crashed in PA.

Page 16 - There's an abrupt time jump in the threads, I think it was the result of admins pruning the activity or the SA forums going down. This page starts on 9/12 even though it is page 16. American flag signatures and ribbons start appearing.

Page 17

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Aha - Take On Me 1985

"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version from 1984 was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's debut studio album, Hunting High and Low.

In 1984, Andrew Wickham was the international vice-president for Warner Bros Records America, and their A&R man in London. He immediately signed A-ha to Warner Brothers America, after learning several previous attempts had failed to make "Take On Me" a commercial success. The next release was not successful either and featured a very ordinary performance video. He authorised considerable investment in the band: on Slater's recommendation, renowned producer Alan Tarney was commissioned to refine the song. The new recording achieved a cleaner and more soaring sound. It was re-released in the UK, but the record label's office in London gave them little support, and the single flopped for the second time.

Wickham placed the band on high priority and applied a lateral strategy with further investment. Steve Barron directed a revolutionary rotoscoping animation music video which took six months to create, using professional artists. Approximately 3,000 frames were rotoscoped, which took 16 weeks to complete. The single was released in the US one month after the music video, and immediately appeared in the Billboard Hot 100 and was a worldwide smash, reaching No. 1 in numerous countries.

At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the video won six awards: Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Most Experimental Video, Best Direction in a Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Viewer's Choice, and was nominated for two others, Best Group Video and Video of the Year. It was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Video at the 13th American Music Awards in 1986.

"Take On Me" received a total of 95% yes votes, and is currently the most liked song on this poll blog! 🥳