#Not ever after high related but the same audience

[demigirlravenqueen]

so I was watching darling dollz’s video on weird monsters high hate from back in the day, first off highly recommend watching it, very funny, very reminiscent of the time.

but there’s this one comment in the video that absolutely cracks me up “I can’t help but think of the homosexual culture in the background of all this” just because… well he’s not wrong. If you were obsessed with monster high as a kid you’re queer now! Hu I guess we were brainwashed, the more you know.

[veryintricaterituals]

I know I'm a perfect stranger, but I'm a fellow fan, and I need to vent this shit to someone. That was the most heartbreakingly dissappointing and infuriatingly insulting half hour of television I've ever personally experienced. Especially because they had Guillermo there as the perfect audience stand-in relating to all of our pain. I was in tears watching him desperately grapple for some kind of character development, meaning, revelation, resolution, something, ANYTHING. Amid unfunny and often straight up insulting, callous jokes at his and our expense. Plot points brought up and left unresolved, character development left uncompleted. All the obvious Nandermo hints straight up queerbait, Nandor will remain romantically lonely and never discover the love "right under his nose" that was obviously seemingly intended to be Guillermo, Colin will never know Lazlo really raised and cared for him, Memo too, Guidja was never going to happen, Lazlos Dad locked in the closet with Colins Funkos seemingly hinting at making a comeback, not happening. Jerrys betrayal arc anticlimactic, badass parts of Guillermos last fight scenes with his cousin pointlessly cut for unfunny pointless bullshit, Nadja never getting an independent business or whatever, Guillermo and Sean mortal and destined to die and be lost to their friends forever someday. WHY THE FUCK DID COLIN BEAT HIM!?? they were hinting towards him being an EV but now that scene makes no fucking sense missing an opportunity to also explain where EVs come from. The Guide being pushed to the wayside. None of the other characters were brought up again. 3 fake endings obviously meant to insult us for, of course, being upset by this real bullshit one, one of them insulting us for wanting the Nandermo they had hinted at themselves, needlessly stretched between 3 episodes. The shitty Nandermo mocking 'cameras off' comment near the end. We were strung along with Guillermo for SIX FUCKING YEARS, and all of it wasted, none of it mattered. It was all pointless. The writers didnt care. And by the end seemed to hate us for loving and being attached to the show they made for so long and wanting more, and wanting Nandermo, which they set up, and just queer ship rep that they had been setting up in the first place. I guess you could say Guillermo grew the most, but I would've liked to see more about where he ended up. They had the option of another episode they turned down. There was just so, so, much wasted potential with what this show could have been and how much more time could've been spent on it without 'jumping the shark' as Waititi claims if it had competent, progressive, brave, writers who gave a shit all the way through and it didnt need to have constant jokes later on with less dramatic breathing room. They just wanted to be done with it. I can see now why Matt Berry seemed so unenthusiastic in interviews and apparently Harvey seemed annoyed with Simms in promos, and that comment he made in an interview about his last moments on set reminding him of Titanic and "Nandor and Guillermo finally being able to be, y-know" So fucking heartbreaking him experiencing this after getting invested in these characters and their relationship as a queer man himself. I was sitting there watching Guillermo walk into the foyer and just sit there silently defeated in tears, staring into the void as the other characters sang "we'll meet again" in the background, and I'm just crying with him.

The good thing about fandom is that we're all perfect strangers and great friends at the same time, as high school musical once said: "we're all in this together".

Go ahead and vent in my comments! Scream your truth! They fucked with us!

I guess I'm actually not that angry because I could see it coming from a mile away, I feel like I've been grieving this show since season five ended and they destroyed Guillermo's arc, I just didn't think it'd be this bad.

There's just nothing there, no purpose, no aspirations, no character development. I get what they were going for, they been trying to ram it in since season 4 "Vampires don't change and everything stays the same" but the problem is that they have changed and significantly so throughout the seasons, they have grown and learned and loved and lost.

It's just fucking disappointing and such wasted potential, like not even thinking about Nandermo, but in general. They couldn't give an ending to any other character because they had destroyed their characters and arcs so completely there was nothing to say. And they knew that, they had a whole season to figure it out and instead just went, ehh let's use Guillermo as a stand in for the audience and gave us nothing anyway.

I have so many thoughts because I've been watching since season 1 and ughhh, I have so many drafts that I'll be posting in the next few days. All I'm going to say is thank G-d I have interview with the vampire because I would be way more devastated if I didn't have beautifully written gay vampire media to fall back on.

Anyway feel free to come and vent to me!! It's the way to get through this! also we're totally friends now 💜💜

[noneorother]

Hi, I’ve only read one meta by you yet, but you seem to be just the right person to ask this: did you notice how many people in the scenes outside the bookshop are wearing orange, in series 2?

Any idea what that’s all about? Is it just esthetics, an echo of the bookshop‘s columns, or does it have a filmographical significance? Everytime I watch the show there seem to be more orange clothes, once you start seeing that, it’s crazy how many there are!

Hey thanks for the ask! I mean, you have until 2026 to read more of my drivel so; pace yourself! Orange clothing is definitely an *interesting* choice for extras in film. You almost never see it in background actors clothing because... it draws the eye! The fact that they included so much orange, yellow, and loud patterning in the extras in season 2 is a real decision to throw film tradition and S1 cannon out the window.

I would like to submit my own theory that the choice was made as a deliberate nod to time travel. But first, a little background.

Compare two crowd scenes on Whickeber street from each season: It's kind of nuts that even at microscopic resolution we get such a HUGE difference.

That's not to say orange is missing. Here are the only two extras wearing orange in S1, and they happen to be in the same scene in episode 2, when Newt and Shadwell meet for the first time, discussing occult beings "hiding in plain sight". (witches in this case)

We also get some pretty obvious bright orange in main characters in S1: Madame Tracy and Beelzebub. We meet Tracy in orange as she immediately reveals to Newt multiple hidden identities, see her again wearing orange hair when she communes with spirits, and finally all decked out in orange when she is being possessed by an angel (a person hiding inside a person). Beelzebub wears an orange sash and medal as a high ranking Duke of Hell, so orange is maybe their house colour, or a prestigious colour for hell in general, but after season 2 we know Beelzebub doesn't always have the same face, and is hiding intentions of their own.

Orange doesn't have much biblical significance, mostly because the colour orange was mostly seen as "fire" or "bright" coloured until way after the bible was transcribed, and orange dye wasn't really a thing in the European world until significant trade with east Asia developed. Here's the only other bright orange thing to appear all season, (in a deleted scene): Crowley hiding in plain sight, posing as a maintenance worker.

I think we might be able to draw the conclusion from season 1 that orange is a colour associated with the "Hidden Occult/Power". Not necessarily only hell, but more as something otherworldly, that's hidden in plain sight. (Interestingly, we never ever see Anathema or Agnes Nutter in orange. So I wouldn't say it's related to witches at all.)

In season 2 however, orange is everywhere. More specifically on extras' clothing and the outside of Maggie's record shop.

Maggie seems to be the only main character to wear bright orange herself (E2).

But this is by far my favourite one: in the back of the crowd of demons getting a Shax pep talk in S2E5, there's a regular human extra wearing bright orange sitting amongst the army, completely unnoticed by both demons and audience, observing the plan.

This really set off alarm bells for me, because there's a very Terry Pratchett precedent for powerful and unnoticed orange-wearing characters in the discworld series : the time monks.

Terry's character Sweeper seen here on the original cover of Night Watch. The time monks' clothing and general philosophy is based on Thai buddhist monks, who (like in many buddhists sects) wear donated, saffron-dyed robes in orange and yellow/red to symbolize flames of purity, and to separate them from the world of gross matter, like a fallen leaf from a tree.

In the discworld novel Night Watch, the time monks are responsible for monitoring and cleaning up the timeline, pruning it like a bonzai tree. They are everywhere and yet unnoticed, inside the flow of time yet not of it. And they are the ones who guide the main character through the process of being stuck after falling back through his own timeline, into his own past.

(Excerpt from the book where Sweeper is explaning time travel to Vimes).

Extras circling in the background are called "background actors" because they exist to not be noticed. Put in extras wearing orange/yellow and bright red, and suddenly you can track them, and notice how they are part of the crowd, but stand apart from it. You can notice when they go missing from one cut to the next, or appear to circle or jump between frames. Many extras, including the demon army watcher, also seem to be circling, and monitoring the goings-on in the world of Good Omens. Based on the meaning of orange from S1, it would seem these mere background actors are more than they appear to be. Could they even be checking up on unwarranted time distortions or timeline ruptures happening around a certain Bookshop...?

[deafsignifcantother]

sanctum

♥ summary: after being flabbergasted at meeting a deaf person for the first time, and after husk gives him a little lesson, angel approaches with an apology. based off of if music be the food of love woot woot but i changed the reader to be a little less obvious it's the other protag so it's easier to consume for people who aren't interested in the series bc i love my audience :3 ♥ relationship: angel dust and x deaf woman reader (platonic) ♥ word count: 2.2k ♥ notes: for @glitched-out-dusk , reader talks with alastor a lot bc i actively hc alastor knows asl and i'll never change that in my stories

The first time Angel saw you, he didn't try to communicate. He just analyzed you, staring you up and down, wondering if you were faking your Deafness. You stared at him back with a small smile. The moment only lasted a few seconds since Charlie decided it was time to butt in and start a conversation with you. Angel kept glancing over, his arms crossed, watching your body movements and how your eyes flicker around. You stare at others' lips, which is a weird habit, and though you have a clueless look in your eyes, you never look away from others' faces.

You are the first visitor in months after Sir Pentious. Since he came, Charlie hoped another visitor would seek redemption, and her positive affirmations came true. Angel only has expectancy this day. It's not like any other person will come knocking on the door.

His brain sinks into dirty thoughts while he watches you: how loud would you moan if you were doing the nasty? What would please a deaf girl most?

Husk can practically hear the porn star's thoughts, but Angel Dust's forcing those thoughts into his head to repress what he really feels. His heart decides on feeling a tinge of forsaken loneliness, he's going to be forgotten again, isn't he? But you're the one most isolated with the language barrier. You might be the forgotten one, right? Does he, selfishly, want that?

It is all Angel can do to imagine what you must be feeling, understand the situation you've found yourself in; dealing with everybody and losing social interaction. He's become a part of that cause, hasn't he?

Damn you. Damn you for forcing him to learn something new. Damn you for making him realize how empty he feels in the group and how he doesn't want you to feel the same way.

So sometimes, after you go to sleep, he'll stay up with Husk, both cooing at him and begging him to teach basic sentences.

Simple signs stick with Angel, even as drunk.

"Is hello that easy?" He asks. Husk just laughs.

"Some signs are a lot easier than you'd think."

Husk is rusty in his ability. He's only had to use the language a few times when he was alive, and he doesn't remember ever interacting with an actual Deaf person. Surely, he had learned it for a good reason. His soul is so long gone that he can't even remember.

But the alphabet sticks with him, and so do gambling-related signs. He picks apart those sentences and tries to teach Angel the words rather than their meanings when pieced together.

And one night, not even a week since you arrived, somebody tapped Angel's shoulder as he leaned over the bar's counter.

He turns, hair bouncing with the whip of his head, and he bites the inside of his lip when he sees you. He finger spells your name, and you can only give him a sympathetic smile in your sleepy haze.

"Good job," you sign to him before turning to Husk. "Do you have water over here, or is it in the kitchen?"

He stares at you blankly. You, water, pointing to the bar, pointing somewhere else, question face. "Yeah, give me a second."

Angel eyes you, taking notes in his head. Your hands move slower when you sign to Husk, compared to signing with Alastor, and you tend to sign high so Husk can focus on your hands instead of your eyes.

Holding back a yawn, you rub your eyes while sitting on a stool, taking the very full glass of water and sipping the top. If you sit here, they'd have to acknowledge your presence, but they need to be more confident to hold a conversation. What could they even talk about? Card dealing? Sex?

You look between them and smile to yourself, dropping your head and looking away in case they try to start signing. You're just here for water, not to be a test subject. The more they practice, the better they'll be.

A small groan leaves your throat. As you turn to Angel, he stops talking to Husk, closing his lips and searching your lifted hands. You sign your name, giving him your name sign, hoping he'd understand. When he stares at you in panic, you fingerspell your name and then wave it off, signing your name again.

Husk speaks up, dropping his voice. "It's her name. You don't gotta fingerspell it all the time."

Angel glances over, whispering as if you'd overhear. "Do I gotta use it everytime I see her? When do I use it?"

"It's a fucking name, you don't go around naming Charlie every time you see her."

Your eyes flicker back and forth between the two of them. Husk pauses, and so does Angel, almost in alarm.

"Idiots." You're not even sure they understood the insult, but you keep going. You grab the glass with one hand, signing with the other. "I know you filled this up just to keep me here."

Husk shrugs, pretending to understand, and grabs a bottle (copying your actions) and drinks it. Angel stares with red cheeks, awkwardly holding his own and mimicking the movement.

You fight a frown; they're so annoyingly cute.

So you chug the drink, closing your eyes as you do so. Angel would have preferred if you had stayed, but he had to say his goodbyes with his hand twitching as if he was waving wrong. You get up from the stool. "See you tomorrow," to Husk and a simple wave to Angel.

They both watch you walk off.

"Could have been worse," Husk mumbles.

"Great. What if she thinks I'm a dumbass." He puts his check in his hand, his elbow pressing hard into the wood of the counter. The words sound faint coming from Angel. The change of heart has Husk grinning behind a bottle. "What's come over you?"

He runs a hand through his hair. "Nothing, it's whatever."

.

Once again, once you wake up, you walk downstairs and head straight to the bar. But Husk isn't there. A prominent frown falls onto your face. The water you drank last night was the most comfortable liquid you've ever had the pleasure of drinking in Hell. It cleared your throat and overstayed its welcome in your need for hydration. You enter behind the bar, eyeing the crazy amount of bottles and the array of fridges. How does he remember all of these products? Perhaps he just drinks them and hopes they do something. Your hand runs across the area for mixing, feeling the sticky covers. Maybe he's not the best bartender.

You grab a glass, wiping off the rim just in case, and you eye the hose-like thing nearing the sink.

Husk watches from afar but your focus is too direct to perceive his presence. You push down on a trigger as lightly as possible, and a powerful burst of water fills the cup, wetting your arms. You place the glass on the counter and use a hand towel to dry yourself off. Is this thing stained? You hope not. It's so unclean back here.

You see the blurry colors of Husk in the corner of your eye before you look up at him. He can't help but give you a small, unadorned smile.

You figured the water out yourself; that's cute; the whole ordeal was a show he would have paid to watch.

He crosses your body and stands next to you, grabbing the hose from you and showing you the switch on it. It's not a button but a pressure-related scale. Your mouth forms an O.

Angel isn't the only one who wants you to feel welcomed.

Vaggie is having issues letting Angel be the second guest getting so close to you. She knows that he is undoubtedly someone who can't read the room and will fit sexual words into any conversation. His ability to read the room is either nonexistent or actively ignored. She watches him practicing signing with Husk whenever he can. Maybe he's trying to learn complete sentences before harassing you.

She also notices that whenever he hears the click of your shoes against the floor, he'll look up with excitement, clenching his fists to calm down his delight. He always tells himself, 'this is the day I'll actually talk to her.' The day doesn't come for a while since whenever he sees you, you're by Alastor. Alastor will tell you stories about his life (lies?) and things that happened in the hotel. He'll describe the nightshade assemblages before explaining how often their railings have fallen apart.

Angel can't understand anything that demon says but glimpses at your hand shows how comfortable you are around him. Angel stares expressionlessly at the two of you, signing back and forth, and your smiles, wide. The jealousy heats him constantly, but nothing ever comes from it.

It will take a while before he can talk to you like that. The realization puts him on the brink of giving up.

Beer dribbles downward, discoloring the tips of his chest fur. The bar is messy, as if it's not the middle of the day. His confidence rises when he drinks. All he needs is a moment where you're alone. Or not.

With all his might, he drags himself sloppily towards the lounge and almost flops onto the couch next to you. He steps over the threshold, inhaling deeply. Alastor eyes him with his every step, and you follow his gaze, staring at Angel. Angel braces himself by gripping the top cushions when he staggers close enough to the couch. He raises his right hand, fingers wiggling in thought. It almost comes across as a "wait."

Alastor's eyes go to you, half expecting you to look back at him and roll your eyes, but you continue your stern gaze at Angel.

Angel drops his head, looking up at you through his eyelashes, "I'm sorry."

The chandelier darkens his face from above, and gravity pulls down the fluff of his head that seems to have been unbrushed this morning. At your silence, his confidence melts leisurely down from his head to the tip of his fingers.

"Sorry for what?" You drop the smile that was on your face and adjust yourself to face him a little more. The major thing you notice is him signing with one hand comfortably.

"I'm sorry you only have him to talk to." Angel's interpretation of 'him' wasn't a point but a wave in the direction, almost a 'that guy over there.'

You laugh. "We are talking now, aren't we?"

More apprehension burns a hole in his chest. He finally stands up, using two hands instead of one. "I'm running out of signs I know."

"Are you sure?" You finally switch your position on the couch to face him completely, ignoring Alastor at last. Your eyes look him up and down. "You look tired."

Tired, he knows that sign.

"Just a little."

You hum, reaching out to him. Your fingers brush his fur, feeling the drip, trying to wipe it away. "Sure."

You unveil a smile that looks as if it were snatched from Charlie's at her bondings. But your eyes continue to stare intently. "You should go to sleep. Stop drinking so much. It's not even night."

"I got things to do."

"Really? Astonishing."

He snaps into focus. One day, he was worried about whether he was waving right, and days later, he signs simple sentences you understand. His vision aims at your eyes, the area he wonders he should actually be looking at.

His thoughts are interrupted by the clearing of a throat. "I'm afraid you're intruding," Alastor says. Angel frowns at him, and you follow his gaze.

"Alastor," you sign with a psah, "he's just practicing."

"Rather annoyingly, my dear. I don't know how you do it."

"With patience."

Patience, Angel doesn't know that sign. When you whip your head back and give a playful shrug, you lean in. "He's going to get pissy if I talk any longer. You're doing a good job, Angel. Don't doubt yourself."

You grab his hand, holding his pointy fingers and maneuvering his fingers to form a thumbs-up. If he doesn't understand half of your signs, at least he can understand that. And then, with a wink, you turn back to Alastor, who lets out a hum in disapproval at the whole ordeal.

The flicker of the lights went unnoticed as Angel marched over to Husk, a big smile on his face. He had left a manly collection of bottles surrounding the area, which Husk had politely taken care of.

Husk chuckles before Angel can even get close. "Yeah?"

"You won't believe it," Angel boasts. "I actually got her approval."

"Wow," it almost sounds sarcastic. "Good work."

Angel plops down on a stool, holding the edge counter to stretch out his hands, dramatically straightening his shoulders and putting pressure on the middle of his palms. "Now, whiskers, do I get a reward? I've been a good boy."

Husk grimaces as if he's smelled a foul odor. "Not excited for the day you learn how to sign that."

"She'll be ecstatic," Angel smiles at himself. "Won't even see it coming."

[sekahni]

To All the Fandoms I've Loved Before

Throughout my life, I've regularly participated in fandom—from enjoying art and AMVs/edits to writing fanfiction for Naruto, Supernatural, One Piece, and more. So, it's safe to say that I have a lot of experience watching the highs and lows of different fandoms.

And, trust me, I know the sting of finishing a series and learning that a ship I've loved for years hasn't been made canon. The frustration when a character I love dies. How a story deviated from what I hoped. It sucks! However, I also remember the hysteria too. Happening again and again. The malicious attacks and inappropriate conduct. Over and over.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, here are some examples:

SasuSaku blogs were flooded with threatening messages after Sasuke and Sakura were confirmed to be a couple

Kikyo stans were harassed out of forums, YT comment sections, etc., simply because they might've preferred her character over Kagome's

Genevieve Padalecki and Danneel Ackles endured a barrage of online attacks, bullying, and threats because they married Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) and Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester)

Amanda Abbington, Martin Freeman's ex-wife, faced similar attacks after she was cast as Mary Morstan in BBC's Sherlock—simply because some fans believed she was "getting in the way" of Johnlock

Prior to the Vox Machina animated series, when the campaign was still streaming, many people within the Criticial Role fandom villified Marisha Ray for her relationship with Matthew Mercer, wherein she became the victim of excessive online harassment and bullying

Laura Bailey portrayed Abby Anderson in the Last of Us II, a character who is highly controversial amongst fans. As such, Laura was subjected to mass online harassment and death threats. It was so bad, ign reported that HBO has increased security around Abby's live-action actress, Kaitlyn Dever.

Some Klance and Allurance stans routinely trolled and harassed each other—inciting such extreme inter-fandom conflict online that their "war" spilled into non-ship related content, discouraging others from interacting with the Voltron fandom entirely

Matt Smith faced unfair online criticism at the time of his casting, simply because he was the follow-up act to David Tennant's iconic Tenth Doctor—only for Matt Smith's iteration to be one of the most beloved incarnations ever

The frequent and ongoing racism POC cosplayers face every fucking day—slurs, threats, and more

The Cassandra Clare fandom came for the throats of anyone who had fair and justified criticism of both CC and her work—particularly around copyright infringement

The same thing can be said about the Sarah J. Maas fandom

2010s Tumblr blogs falsely accused John Green of pedophilia because he wrote contemporary romance YA—harassing him for months on Tumblr, and practically driving him off the platform

Marvel fans spread rumors about Brie Larson, accusing her of being an "arrogant racist" because they didn't like her or the MCU's depiction of Carol Danvers

Legend of Korra stans are still targets of misogynistic and racist rhetoric online—both here on Tumblr and on TikTok

The Durarara!! discourse of the 2010s was so fucked up, so vile, people disengaged from the series and the fandom entirely. This affected sales and the second season, which never really gained the traction it deserved because of how insufferable and toxic Durarara!! fans proved to be during the original run of the first season—I mean, people were harassing cosplayers at events! That's how bad it was

I could go on—and on, and on, until this post is nothing but a harrowing list of how people can't seem to behave themselves.

And, these behaviours need to fucking stop.

So, to reiterate what I've said on another post, but targeted towards a wider audience:

Your feelings of disappointment do not give you the right to harass others online

Your feelings of frustration do not give you the right to harass and bully actors, creators, and writers ever—online or otherwise

Your ugly biases will never justify viciously attacking women, POC, queer people, disabled people, and fat people in fandom spaces

You're entitled to feel your feelings and have your opinions. You're allowed to express your disappointment online and within your own community. But don't go around attacking others because of said feelings—this concept really isn't that hard to grasp. And in the same vein, don't incite conflict with fans who are disappointed to gloat about your "victories." Neither of these actions are productive and simply contribute to the growing toxicity in fandom spaces.

The only exception to this, of course, is if you're racist, ableist, fatphobic, homophobic, transphobic, etc. Cause if you're any of those things, you're disgusting and block me right the fuck now. This blog is NOT a safe space for you.

Sincerely,

A jaded fan, sick of the toxicity

[princess-of-the-corner]

Relating to the Tiger-Bee stuff from yesterday but I am just imagining the anarchy of all this and then the the classes perspective, cos like.

OK, so Chloe & Juleka are being super heroes and having a great time in their new personas/identities that are "Completely" or near completely divorced from their civilian selves. & have enough free time to hang out 'a lot' in hero form; Queen Bee's particularly avid as this is literally the healthiest relationship she has.

There's definitely some flirting, but despite some genuine mutual interest, Tigress has someone she's pursuing in civilian guise and QB steps back. Juleka's boost in confidence gets her to finally shoot her shot with Rose but oops, Ali is here so that burns out.

Which circles into a nit of comfort turned flirting, turned QB making her move cos Chloe has zero chill when she likes someone and no grasp of what a healthy relationship looks like. So being a "Rebound" doesn't even register, besides Tigress already said she liked her, just that she'd been pursuing someone as a civilian for longer. Obviously with time, QB's exceptional-ness will surpass this nameless scrub.

Or to quote an 80s song:

The Stingers - Perfect Match Someone wonderful as you, needs someone as wonderful as me Lady can't you see, we're a perfect match, perfect match Side by side unified we make an ideal pair Where else can you find someone, so good, so right, so theeere! No one's half as good for you and no one is ever gonna be Together we would be a perfect a match

So that's happening and is very public, but it also kind of serves as spark for Rose to make her move at last. (Ali was a celebrity crush) Which oh boy, Juleka's apparently somehow found someone else but also can't introduce or explain them and then disappeared in a room with no means of leaving unless someone can jump ten stories to avoid the awkward conversation?

Weird.

Tigress explains to QB who after some strange facial contortions is like "This is fine, our civilian lives and hero lives are different people entirely. You said yourself how different you are. Its not cheating if we're different people." & like, Tigress isn't 'sure' it works that way, but her sense of self while not as skewed as Chloe's is definitely divided enough for it to logically work.

So she tries to explain this to Rose & well, yeah its not hard to put together who Juleka is now is it? But Rose is seemingly OK with it (Cos she finds Tigress a little bracing and isn't sure how to process that side of Juleka & has been shipping Tiger-Bee since minute one).

So all's well that ends well right?

Well not quite as this isn't exactly a well structured poly relationship put together by three people who know what they're doing. But its hanging together- Until Chloe's ID is discovered by them.

Chloe: So then you have been two timing? Juleka: What!? Chloe: If you see my personas as the same person despite everything then the same is true for you no?

Juleka: Dammit... Now I feel like a heel too. Rose: Well I didn't do anything so I think- Chloe: You did worse than nothing, you kept Juleka on standby until you thought you might lose her, how is that fair? She's a person not some mint condition collectible!

Juleka: Hey that's not fair! Rose: No I... I kind of did always just rely on the fact you'd be there. Chloe: Seems like I'm the one with the moral high ground.

Rose & Juleka: That is not remotely true and you know it.

The entire Class & Madame Bustier: (OO)

Cos like, from their perspective this is just rapid fire:

Juleka made her move, but on no it didn't pan out! Now she's seeing someone else? But she won't introduce them, so they might be fake! Now she's apparently dating two people!? What, how Juleka's a heartthrob?! & both girls somehow didn't know who the other is, but do know they exist? How does this work!? Wait, one of those girls she's seeing is Chloe!? How!? Chloe!? What!? How!?

Cue the trio realizing they have an audience and just fucking bailing.

So class is confusion, Tiger-Bee has marked their relationship publicly as "Complicated" and wow, so weird that drama is happening at the same time as Rose/Juleka/Chloe explosion.

Strange timing!

Anyway, I actually imagine that like, some shirt gets worked through, clumsily and fumbling, with a sort of "OK, maybe we all rushed into this & need to work on some stuff" attitude prevailing. All in time for season 2, with parental and medical drama ahoy! Also maybe some new heroes too!?

Juleka jumping out a 10 story building to avoid an awkward conversation is a Mood™

[heyidkyay]

Tag along |

Part two

You asked for a part two and so I delivered! Wasn't too sure where to lead with it at first so.. hopefully it's up to par and you actually enjoy it! Anyway, thank you for the love on part one!!:)

Summary: (From anon) Just wondering if you would ever consider writing a Matty fic where he falls in love with a fan in the audience of a show?

Warnings: food, brief mentions of anxiety

Part One

--

The concert drew to an end. As all things tended to do. And still, I found myself sort of floating.

It was strange, I just wanted to simply stand there whilst the rest of the crowd ebbed around me, slowly making their way out of the pit, back to reality.

Matty and the rest of the band had since departed, the stage now deserted after having blessed the crowd with an encore. That last song had been something else.

“What was that last one?” I heard myself ask out loud, blinking out of the hazy daze.

Rosie glanced back at me from over her shoulder, plaited hair falling down her back. “What’dya mean?”

Lewis squeezed my shoulders as he and his boyfriend passed us by, I smiled up at him and gave them each a hug goodbye, already having promised to talk again soon after having swapped numbers a little while earlier.

Rosie was still waiting for my reply once the couple had set off, working their way through the restless mass made up of forlorn fans. I actually could relate, which was something I didn’t think I’d be experiencing this time around.

She quirked a brow.

I took a second to sort through my many thoughts. It still felt as though my mind was whirling, sort of like coming down from a long-lived euphoric high.

“That song- the last one they sung. What was it?” I replied, and I could feel the slight crease in my forehead as I zeroed in on her.

Rosie’s face gave away her evident surprise to my sudden interest but she was quick to replace it with an enthusiastic grin. “The Sound. You liked it then?”

I found myself nodding at her lightly as I hummed my approval. I could actually still hear the song’s lyrics, playing on a loop in my head. Still hear his voice.

I snapped out of it though the second that I realised something was off. My head snapped to my left then to my right, eyes darting about. “Wait, where’s Tea?”

I watched my younger sister’s eyes widen as she quickly came to the same conclusion. Frowning, her gaze drifted all over the place in search. “Tea?” She called out, but only the strangers surrounding us glanced back.

“Tea?” I repeated, only this time a little louder. But still, no reply. 

Fuck. I dragged a hand through my hair, searching. Oh god, was I so fucked…

“Tea?” I called out again, panic rising in sudden waves throughout my chest. “Tea!”

Rosie was now a little way a way, shouting out her best mates name too, jumping to look for her over the heads of the slowly dispersing crowd. “T-ea?” I heard her drag out, my heart clenched she looked as distressed as I felt.

I turned towards the nearest group and tried to swallow down some of my hysteria. If I’d lost her… shit, I dreaded to even think of what would occur.

“Have any of you seen a girl?” I asked them, eyes still scanning the masses. 

I huffed slightly, realising that that probably hadn’t been the best question to ask. There must’ve been over a couple thousand girls in this very arena. I swallowed again thickly, my anxiety was palpable.

“I mean- she’s about a head shorter than me. Brown hair. Blue top.” I attempted to describe, using a hand to taper off her height against me, but they all just shook their heads in return. “Right, okay.” I sighed in defeat, already moving onto the next as I briefly thanked them.

But there were only more shaking heads.

More, “No, sorry”’s.

I wanted to scream. How had things flipped this quickly?

I took a moment to simply inhale, knowing it wouldn’t do anyone any good if I was an inch away from a meltdown. Tea was a big girl, she could take care of herself. In fact, she’d probably just gotten swept up in all the excitement and was already waiting near the exit for us. 

“Y/n! Y/n!”

My head spun in every which direction, trying to place my sister’s voice in the sea of people.

No, no. 

No, ah no, no- 

There!

And there Tea was too, stood right beside her!

I thanked every star in the nights sky as I darted my way over to them, blood rushing in my ears now that the bubble of panic had finally burst. I gripped them in a tight hug the second I could, my relief evident. 

“I swear to every God- I am this close to having an actual aneurysm!” I all but panted to the two teenage girls, and as I held up a hand to demonstrate just how close I’d actually been I could see that my hands were shaking. I willed myself to take a couple deep breaths, calming the slightest. “Don’t do that again. Please? I can not afford to die at the hands of either of your mothers. I want an open casket at my funeral and something tells me they wouldn’t leave me a pretty sight if I lost either one of you.”

Tea gave me an impish smile, looking truly apologetic as she gave me a sorry, whilst Rosie merely snorted at my dramatics, clearly over the whole catastrophe now.

“Oi, you three.”

I jumped out of my fucking skin at the sound of the sudden deep voice which had come from right behind us. Still riding out the adrenaline and anxiety(!!) I’d just been drowning in, I leapt around, eyes wide, only to come face to face with some big burly bloke. I lifted my head to meet his eyes.

“Christ! I just about pissed myself!” I breathed out, placing a hand over my erratic heart and noting how he gave the three of us the once over. My brow pinched. “Look mate, can we actually help you?”

“You the girl from earlier?” Was all he replied, his face as blank as canvas whilst he jutted his chin out towards me.

“Um…” My mouth opened and shut in confusion, severely caught off guard. He was like a stone wall of a man, it was hard to even fathom him being an actual human too and not just some robot or emotionless machine. Thankfully Rosie was there to save the day. As per usual, at this rate.

“She is. Why, who’s askin’?”

I glanced over towards my sister and bit back a small chuckle at the suspicious expression she now wore. Completely uncaring for the fact that this guy was three times her size.

He stared her down. She stared right back. 

I ground my teeth together then, frowning as I crossed my arms over my chest to join my younger sister in this weird face off.

“Sorry, have we done something wrong?” Came Tea’s polite little voice, and the bloke and I both turned slightly towards her, whilst Rosie continued scowling, undeterred.

“No,” The man said, moving an arm up to gesture out over towards a point a little further away. It was that motion that allowed me to catch the laminated tag on the sleeve of his black polo. Security. Oh. “Someone backstage asked after the girl from the show’s end. The one who spoke with the lead singer.”

My head reeled back at this information. “What’s that meant to mean?”

But both Tea and Rosie were already squealing quietly to one another behind me, talking in that squeaky high pitch tone of theirs. My brow furrowed further as I averted my attention, not even questioning my sister’s sudden change in mood. It wasn’t anything I wasn’t used to at this point, lets be honest.

I had to withhold a massive sigh.

The security guy gave no reaction to the girls- probably used to it by now too, having had to deal with thousands of them at each show, I could only suppose.

He glanced towards me, “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to catch sight of you to be honest, but you’re pretty hard to miss.”

I felt the flush as it crawled its way up my neck, recalling the state I’d just been in. I must’ve looked a right twat, screaming and shouting about for Tea. Of all the names in the world, hey?

But I fought my way through the mortification, smiling up at the bloke as though it was a regular occurrence.

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m glad something came out of it then.”

The man’s demeanour cracked the slightest bit. I saw it in the tiniest curl of his upper lip, a barely there smirk. I grinned victoriously.

He then hummed, “So, if you’d like to follow me backstage?”

My grin fell as quickly as it had came. But the girls’s squeals only grew louder.

“Backstage.” I reiterated slowly, blinking up at him owlishly.

The bloke nodded just once. “Backstage.”

“Like now?”

“Now.” He replied, that emotionless mask making him hard to argue with.

“Right…”

Rosie shook my shoulders, practically bouncing in her stance. “We’re gonna meet the band! Oh my fucking God, Y/n, we’re actually gonna meet them!”

I looked over at her, alarm swimming in my eyes as I tried to match her enthusiasm. “Seems so.”

—

I was a jittery mess.

Who the fuck knew just how many corridors and hallways there were hiding around back here… I don’t think anyone could even begin to comprehend just how much work seemed to be happening either. Mics, cameras, crew: backstage was a proper hectic mess. 

God, Backstage.

Because shit! We were actually behind the stage! As in, on our way to meet the cocky headed twat of a singer who had spotted my ugly mug in an arena full of them.

How? Why?

What was I even supposed to do- to say- to people like them?

It seemed like Rosie and Tea were just as bad though, if not more so. I’d never seen Tea so pale, and my sister… well, she had yet to utter a single word since we’d been given these badge-things. I flicked at it aimlessly. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her so quiet. The two friends were practically clinging to each other now, all moon-eyed as they surveyed their surroundings.

I had to swallow past the lump in my throat, as well as the oncoming nerves, and instead decided to try and attempt to converse with the woman the security bloke had passed us over to. If only to distract me.

“Sorry, can I ask, what’s it that you do here?”

I hadn’t known what else to ask, if I was being honest. Work seemed like the easiest topic, other than the weather, as well as having been the first thing that had come to mind.

She didn’t seem to mind it though, smiling politely over at me as she directed us down another hallway and past some sound technicians.

“You’re fine, lovie. I’m just an assistant of sorts really, help out where I can. Mainly in it for the music and the money though.” She said with this gorgeous sort of laugh that had me settling slightly.

“So you must get to meet all sorts of people then.” I prompted and it helped us fall easily into a real conversation, her describing some of the faces she’d encountered throughout the years she’d worked at the arena, as well as reliving a couple of wild tales about what typically went on behind the scenes.

She had me in actual stitches over this one Coldplay story that had occurred a few years prior- apparently Guy couldn’t hold his drink as well as he claimed he could, which had led to the fire-brigade being phoned and a head having had to be extracted from a toilet bowl.

So by the time we’d come to a stop, I’d almost completely forgotten the reason as to where we’d been headed to in the first place.

“Shoot me.”

I peered over my shoulder at Rosie with a confused frown, wondering what had caused the painful croaking sound she’d just made. But then, well…

“Shoot you, now why would we do that?”

My eyes closed instinctively at the sound and I was thankful that I still had my back  towards the doorway of the room we’d since paused by, because I was already able to recognise that voice of his. Which in itself was baffling beyond belief. But also, I didn’t think I’d ever be prepared to look at him again. Not this soon at least. 

Rosie squeaked at having just been spoken to by her idol and I really couldn’t help the snort which escaped my mouth. Because if there was one reason for older siblings to exist then it was merely to laugh at their younger ones expense.

“Ah, come on, darling! Don’t laugh at her, she’s just starstruck, ain’t you? Not everyday you get to see a face as fit as mine.”

“Or meet someone who talks completely out of their arse.”

That was the voice I did eventually turn back around for, wanting to place the person who had Matty huffing in a strop.

“Oh fuck off would you, George?”

George? George…

Oh! Immediately my eyes found Tea and the poor girl’s mouth was hung wide open, tongue practically licking the carpeted floors as she stared at the band’s shorthaired drummer. If Rosie wasn’t in the same position right now I’d bet my life on the knowing that she’d lord this over her best friend for the rest of time. 

“Oh no, please do continue! I’d honestly love to hear more.”

Every face in that room darted towards me then and I had to hold strong, fighting to keep the small smirk that had taken hold instead of cowering under their sudden stares. Fuck, this whole groupie thing was well hard. Internally, I cackled to myself. I couldn’t even begin to imagine. 

“I like her.” The drummer announced with a small shrug of his shoulder, pointing over at me with a cardboard box full of- was that chow-mein?

“Ooh, any more of that going ‘round?” I asked him, my stomach gurgling at the very smell. “I’m fucking starved- drink always has a funny way of turning me into a ravenous teenage boy.”

“Yeah, I like her too.” Another announced, and I titled my head over towards the long haired man who was lounging on a bright orange settee. “And you lot can just go ahead and help yourself, always get enough to feed a tiny nation.”

I grinned, thanking him as I swanned past Matty, who stood almost bewildered, to gravitate towards a large table full of takeout.

“This what us common folk have been missing out on then, hey? Who would’ve guessed that rockstars had a thing for Chinese food rather than just sex and alcohol.”

“Um, young ears?” Someone else chimed in.

My head lifted and landed on a tall figure who was now leaning in another doorway, one which led elsewhere I presumed. I seemed to remember myself then, but waved the blond’s weary caution off. “Oh yeah, they’re all good. Probably said much worse in truth.”

A light laugh came from beside me and I smiled over to my right, already knowing just who it would be. “Alright there, Curly?”

“Me? I’m great. Figure you are too, making yourself right at home there.” Matty retorted, grinning wickedly as he watched me steal a few dumplings.

I shrugged, wiggling my brows as I bit into one. “Have to, I’d be shitting myself otherwise. Intimidating lot you are.”

The long haired bloke just snorted loudly whilst George gently beckoned Rosie and Tea further into the room, nodding his goodbyes to the woman who’d led us over. I shouted out mine too just before she could disappear behind the frame and received an amused smile in turn. I frowned slightly, wishing I’d had the foresight to grab her name beforehand, she’d really been great.

“Alright, I’ve got to know your name.” Orange settee resident all but demanded, holding his fork up at me. Seemed we shared a brain.

I smiled, moving across the floor to join him. 

“Give you mine, if you give me yours.” I quipped, having nestled myself into the sofas other end, tucking a foot up under me.

He cocked an eyebrow, mouth pulling up at both sides.

“Wait, you two were actually serious when you said she’d never heard of us?” George quizzed the girls with a gleeful sort of laugh, vastly different to that of his husky low voice. 

It was then that Rosie decided to shake herself out of the dreamlike daze she’d been living in, visibly taking a deep breath before she answered him. 

“Um, yeah,” Another breath, then she plastered on a smile and carefully took perch on a nearby ottoman, Tea sliding in quietly beside her, eyes still honed in on a certain drummer. “Yeah, we all but dragged her here- mum wanted us safe and what not, but we didn’t want her spoiling our fun. So…”

“So big sisters do come in handy. Or at least I’m assuming.” Bearded bloke concluded and I withheld a long sigh whilst the girls nodded at him.

“Alright, seeing as we’ve established the fact that I’m in desperate need of a debrief. Can I get all of your names now? ‘Cause I can’t keep calling you bearded orange bloke, and you tall one in the doorway.”

“Bearded orange bloke?” Settee man with the fork parroted under his breath, obviously not too big a fan of the nickname. Matty was laughing away though as he threw himself between us the two of us, kicking his feet up on the coffee table after having gifted the girls a couple cans of coke. I tired to hide my endeared smile by inhaling another dumpling.

“That the best you could come up with, really? What name did you have for our G then?” Matty questioned me, and I had to pull all my focus on answering him instead of how our arms were now touching ever so slightly or the way his brown eyes were hyper-focused on me.

I hummed around a mouthful of food whilst nodding. “Don’t make fun, and I already knew George’s.”

“Wait, hang on. You can fuck right off. How’d you know his name and not any of ours?” Matty exclaimed, wrinkling the skin between his brows, seeming properly offended by the mere idea.

George looked far too pleased with himself though as he continued to tuck into his food and I glanced up just in time to catch my sister’s look of warning, but paid her no mind. 

“The pit is a place of the people.” Is what I decided on, rather than opting to further embarrass the two teens. My gaze landed on the drummer as I spoke and I gave him a wry little smile before I continued on, “There were lots of lovely looking girls out there screaming your name.”

“Ah, what can I say?” George gave us all a put-upon sigh, but he was smirking. “Although can I just say, it’s a right shame you didn’t happen to join them.”

“Who’s saying I didn’t?” I quipped right back. But my teasing was cut short when Matty piped up, apparently feeling a tad left out now.

“Come off it. Did you see how flustered she got when I nabbed her attention?” He challenged his bandmate with a delighted grin, leaning further into my side as he did. His dark playful eyes flicked up at me, mirthful and alive, they really had a way of pulling you in.

“Uh, maybe because you singled me out in a crowd of around ten thousand people?”

“Twenty actually.” The smartarse responded, and I tried not to outwardly react when his hand came to rest on my knee. “Full house tonight.” He squeezed lightly. 

The rest of the band whooped loudly and it was sweet to see them so sincerely proud of themselves.

“Twenty thousand?” Rosie parroted, looking baffled by the sheer thought.

“Mad, ain’t it?” Matty grinned at her and I smiled behind a loose lock of hair when she blushed, having caught his full attention. I felt her pain. It was a lot, being trapped under his intense stare.

“Insane.” She breathed, and thankfully Tea was the one to save her.

“Does it ever get overwhelming?” The girl appeared a little startled by her own question when everyone turned to look towards her, and she found herself spiralling to clarify, eyes shifting back and forth between us all. “You know, being up there. In front of that many people.”

I let myself relax further into the settee whilst the boys begun to converse with the girls, telling them funny tales and answering their many, many questions. And the girls seem to follow soon after, gaining the courage to poke fun and simply enjoy themselves in the presence of their favourite people. 

When we first got asked to head backstage, this was far from the image I’d pictured. 

But still, I wouldn’t have changed it for anything in the world. Especially when Matty’s grip seemed to tighten on my knee almost subconsciously whenever he chattered away, gesturing this way and that, but his hand never moving.

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG translation] Is Joker Out a possible antidote to the youth's obsession with turbofolk music?

Original article written by Aleksandar Dragaš and published in Jutarnji List newspaper and online on 19.01.2024.

English translation by @moonlvster and proofread by @itinerantbookworm (Instagram)

The most wanted Slovenian music "export"

Is Joker Out a possible antidote to the youth's obsession with turbofolk music?

They have experience performing abroad and a contract with the powerful Virgin Music: nobody from this region has had that kind of start to their European journey since Ivo Robić.

Last autumn Joker Out had two rapidly sold-out concerts in Tvornica Kulture, at which youngsters fainted and sang along like a chorus with their favourites, regardless of whether the songs were in Slovenian, English, or Croatian (Serbian).

The Croatian youth's mass hysteria around the Slovenian pop-rock band Joker Out started after their performance at Eurovision. However, no matter how young Bojan Cvjetićanin (son of the Croatian basketball player Danko Cvjetićanin¹), Jure Maček, Kris Guštin, Jan Peteh and Nace Jordan were, even prior to their Eurovision performance they had already published two albums, 'Umazane misli' and 'Demoni', and packed clubs and even concert halls around Slovenia, like Cvetličarna in Ljubljana.

¹Bojan isn't related to him, his parents are Branko and Snežana Cvjetićanin

More popular than Laibach

In the meantime, they gained experience through concerts closer and farther abroad and scored a direct contract with the powerful British Virgin Music. In short, practically nobody from this region has had that kind of start to their European journey ever since Ivo Robić left Opatija, went to Germany and signed with Polydor, or since Laibach signed with Mute, even though Joker Out was far from winning Eurovision, like the more experienced Italian glam-rock band Måneskin accomplished.

Since Joker Out performed in the Stožice Arena in Slovenia, an extensive live album has been published through Virgin Music, which offers practically all of their studio songs in live versions. And that is the most appropriate introduction to Joker Out's music for older folks for whom this young band isn't (or hasn't been) in focus. This craze of the young audience for Joker Out might remind them of the teen ecstasy caused by Plavi orkestar's first two albums. Of course, there are differences, because Joker Out still hasn't reached that level of popularity and they have no connection to Bijelo dugme like Plavi orkestar did, nor do they come from Sarajevo but from Ljubljana. We don't live in the same country anymore either, but because of that it's even more interesting to note that Joker Out is experiencing sucess outside of Slovenia, Croatia included, which is usually not that inclined to like Slovenian musical performers. You can already say that Joker Out has become more famous in Croatia than Buldožer, Pankrti, Lačni Franz or Laibach were during their time.

Even more importantly, Joker Out - enthusiastic and attractive, melodic, and even danceable - offer a possible antidote to the youth's obsession with "turbofolk music" or "estrada(stage) performers"; even with their pop production, which tends to neglect electric guitars, it's clear that Joker Out's songs, sound, instrumentals, image make them equally a rock and a pop band modelled after the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Imagine Dragons, One Republic, the Kooks. Something similar applies to the Serbian band Buč Kesidi, who have gained visible popularity in Croatia as well, and we're still waiting to see if some young Croatian (pop) rock band will see similar success. Maybe one will "emerge" from the praiseworthy festival of Croatian high school bands 'Superval'. As a reminder, Joker Out "emerged" as the winner of the third season of the Slovenian 'Špil liga', a similar festival meant to promote highschool bands started by Kino Šiška in Ljubljana over 10 years ago.

European tour

The problem is that Zagreb doesn't have Kino Šiška as the city's cultural institution, or abundant subsidization of clubs such as Tvornica Kulture, Močvara and Vintage Industrial Bar, so now our jaws are dropping in shock because our youth is caught in the paws of turbofolk music while Joker Out, after a full Stožice Arena, at the beginning of March starts their tour around Finland, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and the Baltic republics. The first two concerts in Helsinski are already sold out.

It's great that a young pop-rock band, which happens to be from Slovenia, but also due to the cultural politics there, became popular in their home country and outside of it. A bonus is that Joker Out shows that new sucessful rock stories are still possible today, which is a paradigm that goes far beyond Slovenian borders. The problem with Croatia is that not a single young (pop) rock band today can hold a concert in Arena Zagreb, let alone set off around Europe. We should look up to Slovenia, with a question if Smrdljivi Martini, a band from Zagreb who recently competed in Superval, could become a Croatian version of Arctic Monkeys?

[kygerbearr]

explain ur persona 5 thoughts better nerd. not saying i disagree, i just wanna know what's going on in that head of urs

if such a thing were possible I would say persona 5 is bad on an objective level. I don't believe there to be objectivity in relation to art so it doesn't quite reach that point, but only because it is fundamentally impossible to do so. I do think it reaches the closest it can possibly get to that point, mainly because almost every single aspect of the game undermines itself.

the first thing that stands out is the entirely of ann takamaki's character arc, which I also think is the one that they handle the best, at least before they undermine it entirely. for those who don't know, her character arc revolves around being objectified and sexually harassed, mainly by the gym teacher but it's presented very much as a thing that all women have to deal with. how this character arc ultimately pans out is that she learns to face that objectification head on, while simultaneously weaponizing the very thing that tormented her in the form of her persona which resembles a dominatrix. a woman overcoming something like that is really powerful and I think it was handled very well, if it weren't for one thing.

they completely sideline her immediately after her arc. she is no longer relevant in the story. not only this but 90% of morgana's dialogue is him thirsting over her and it's frankly just annoying. this will spark a running theme where things are established and the resolved swiftly, with no amount of depth or nuance to the story whatsoever.

one of the most interesting aspects of the game narratively is the detective, goro akechi, who serves primarily as an anti-hero in the first part of the game by hunting the phantom thieves, before becoming somewhat of an ally halfway through and joining the phantom thieves. this could have been interesting had they not completely destroyed his character by the final part of the game in which he's revealed to be a villain, and worse, all of his actions are entirely fueled by daddy issues. the portrayal of his character completely drops the intelligence and craftiness of a detective and then adopts an appearance of psychotic behaviors and general bloodlust, at which point the dynamic he has with Joker and the phantom thieves is completely shattered.

after this reveal the game goes on to make up an entirely new villain, waffles on about the collective unconsciousness, society's unwillingness to self-govern and makes up a final boss thats just god while simultaneously representing every deadly sin, which conveys absolutely nothing. the only thing that could possibly be extrapolated from this would be "gods bad, church bad" which is such a 17 year old type of thing to come up with.

similarly, many aspects of the gameplay and narrative revolve around high school experiences, all of which are inane and pointless if you fail to relate to it. which I am willing to accept that I may not be the core audience for persona 5, but only if we're ready to accept that the target audience are teenagers who lack the reading comprehension to process anything more than the most milquetoast stories about rebellion

the daily life sections of the game repeat the same 5 cutscenes with different worded dialogue until the chapter is finally cleared. none of the thoughts shared in the in-between days amount to anything and it's just empty drivel. it's nothing. persona 5 is the most nothing type game I have ever played.

and while I did point out the one good aspect of ann's character arc, as well as the complete fucking fumble of akechi's character assassination, that's not even to say everything about all the other characters. which I don't have much to say about, because they all lack any amount of depth whatsoever.

yusuke's arc is the least offensive of them as I think his character is a little fun and what he learns about himself, his art, and his past is a fairly engaging plotline, but it still has no connection to the entire rest of the game.

makoto's arc is decent and I like her character, I like the portrayal of her own rebellion and the dynamic she has between her sister and the unique complexities of being involved with the phantom thieves while her prosecutor sister hunts them down serve as an interesting way to navigate the concept of dependency (since her backstory involves her parents not being there, and the sisters having each other) but the way the writers handled this caused her to have the spotlight for so long that most other characters get sidelined like ann

ryuji's story is nothing. I have nothing to say about this. it's actually nothing. haru's story I have nothing at all to say because I don't think I could name 5 things about her that matter. futaba's story is decent overall and her social link is cool since you're helping her learn how to function as a human being so I will let hers slide.

in regards to royal, the plot has an opportunity to redeem itself, but ultimately fails to do so as it follows the most generic concepts of loss, ignorance being bliss, believing in the most comforting of lies, etc. kasumi's character is almost interesting if she actually learned anything from it but she's fundamentally no different than when she started even after dropping her facade.

and thats all without going over the insanely bad game design choices but I don't feel the need to go into that since the most egregious part of this 80 hour story-based JRPG, is the fucking story. and it's wholly irredeemable.

I genuinely think that if you enjoy persona 5 you're either wholly uncritical about the media you enjoy, you're 15 and it's the first time you've felt an emotion, or you're genuinely so fucking stupid and lack any amount of reading comprehension that you think it's anywhere close to a good story. I think there is not a single argument that could be made in defense of its story. play a real game

[pillow-anime-talk]

3. “Are we gonna fight? Like fist to fist or rather... lips to lips?”- samatoki🍭

# tags: scenario; enemies/?; light romance; a bit of comedy, i guess; maybe fluff; rapper!reader; rap battle; girls power; i love girls; teasing; gender discrimination, difficult childhood, superiority over others (in the lyrics); sfw

includes: female reader ft. samatoki aohitsugi {hypmic}

3. “Are we gonna fight? Like fist to fist or rather... lips to lips?”

You, Nikki and Yume ran onto the stage with white microphones in your hands. Your serious expressions described your immense confidence and sense of victory. You were ready for anything, but definitely not for failure that evening. Several groups have already performed before you, including i.a. Buster Bros!!! and MAD TRIGGER CREW. Their performances were good, full of emotions and at a high level. Still, it wasn’t what the audience expected. Surely three brothers and three friends raised the level of today’s performances, the fans wanted even more. Everyone needed a fire on stage.

The song was started by the youngest of you – Yume – who immediately started a personal attack towards all the rappers gathered inside the building. She touched on the sexualization of women in rap tracks, as well as injustice in modern times. Her lines have always been the most moving and always loved by female audiences (Yume was generally very popular with girls and women). You moved your head slightly at the sound of her words hitting the beat perfectly; blonde girl almost blew up the stage. Nikki was next.

She was your younger cousin on your father’s side. She was passionate not only in music, but above all in dancing, which is why she rocked slightly during rap, moving her hips and hands. While her body expressed pure playfulness, her voice seemed genuinely sweet. But don’t let that cute tone of voice fool you. Her rap parts were always the most aggressive and full of references to the past, to the injustice of the world, to hatred towards others and the government’s decisions on teenagers’ lives. Everything based on her own experiences surrounded by a sense of fear and uncertainty about the slowly coming future.

And then it’s time for you; leader, composer, the greatest mental support of the trio. Your parts have never been marked by emotions or sad memories. You focused more on yourself and your girls; praise, boasting, showing your dominance on stage was your most important goal and your best weapon. Offending people? Yeah, why not. Talking negatively about everything? Sure, you don’t care about other people’s feelings. Supporting your own group and showing the three of you as the best crew? Of course, that’s what you’re for. It was your role, your way of expressing yourself. People loved your confidence, your determination and superiority over others. No woman ever thought of gossiping about you, and no man has been able to speak negatively or about you and your girls – people respected you and sometimes feared you.

Your performance ended with the loudest applause and cheers. And it couldn’t be otherwise, and everyone knew it… Even if their fists were clenched as tightly as possible.

{ ･ﾟ✧ }

With sunglasses on, you left the dressing room with your friends and rolled your eyes at the sight of one of your opponents.

“... Aohitsugi, long time no see. How do you feel after losing?” You giggled, nodding to Nikki and Yume. Two girls smirked and then left the huge hall. You were planning to go to the grill bar and drink something.

“You were good, but you can do it better next time.” He replied in a low tone, his tiger eyes looking at your figure.

“If I showed more you would get depressed. I prefer to spare your fragile psyche.”

“Shut up, Y/N.”

Your relation was… quite specific. You’ve known each other for years and even grew up in the same neighborhood. You were also in the same class in elementary and high school, but then your paths parted. For several years you have been meeting during street performances or rap battles organized in the city. You liked him, but nothing else. He was, after all, another pawn to knock down.

“Ouu, so scary, Mr. Hardcore.” You bit your lip between your teeth, then rested one hand on your hip. “Are we gonna fight? Like fist to fist or rather… lips to lips?” Samatoki sighed, crossing his arms. “Of course, I mean our microphones.” You liked teasing him and you knew perfectly well that he had a soft spot for you. After all, everyone in this world had a soft spot for your person.

So why not have more fun? Especially if we’re talking about Samatoki?

[lboogie1906]

Dr. Betty Shabazz (born Betty Dean Sanders; May 28, 1934 – June 23, 1997) known as Betty X, was an educator and civil rights, advocate. She was the wife of Malcolm X.

She was born Betty Dean Sanders to Ollie May Sanders and Shelman Sandlin. She was born in Pinehurst. She was placed with Lorenzo Don Malloy and Helen Lowe Malloy who became her foster parents.

She grew up in Detroit. She graduated from Northern High School in Detroit and enrolled in Tuskegee Institute where she began studying elementary education. She switched her major to nursing after months of working at the front desk at the campus hospital. She graduated from Brooklyn State College of Nursing in New York City with a BS.

She joined the Nation of Islam. She became Sister Betty X and for the first time began to publicly acknowledge racism in America. She married Malcolm (1958-1965). They were parents to six girls (the twins were born after his assignation).

She began giving public lectures which focused on the African American condition. She fought for education and human-rights causes, as well as issues crucial to women and children.

She earned an MA in Public Health Administration at Jersey City State College. She taught remedial reading and childhood health care, while she was completing her Ph.D. in Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She joined the faculty of Medgar Evers College. She became the College’s director of public relations.

She spent her final years trying to remind audiences of the historical legacy of her husband Malcolm X. By the early 1990s renewed interest in Malcolm X, including the 1992 film of the same name with Denzel Washington playing the title role, helped increase popular awareness of that legacy. She died three weeks after her grandson, set fire to her Yonkers, New York apartment. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #deltasigmatheta

[districtunrest]

Do you think Katniss and Peeta have biased opinions of each other?

Yes / No? Why?

Could you give example?

How did Peeta's hijacking affect their views of each other?

Disclaimer : these questions are for textual analysis, it’s not meant to incite fandom war.

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

absolutely they do, in the way everyone who loves someone does. but it's important where they start out and where they end.

at first, they think the best of the other and the worst of themselves (or rather, Katniss thinks she's worse and Peeta thinks he's lesser):

Katniss sees Peeta as good, particularly in relation to herself and other survivors/victors. he doesn't have the same strong survival instinct that would push him to kill - whereas Katniss sees herself as a wild, desperate thing that Peeta has to condescend and give bread to out of kindness. like she has guilt about killing, but she'd do the same all over again if she needed to, even tho she agrees with Peeta that 'it takes everything you are.' so anyway there's a kernel of truth - he was being kind, and she was desperate - but she's not a worse person than him for it. her idealized view of him is very much spurred by her own insecurities and guilt.

as for Peeta, he thinks of himself as weak and unimportant compared to Katniss. he's not a survivor in the way she is (the way Gale is), so he can't win the Games as readily and doesn't even want to. but also people are always choosing her over him - Haymitch does (who straight-up admits it), the audience does (they don't shout his name when he's the boy on fire), President Snow does (he doesn't personally visit Peeta to threaten him into submission), the rebels do (he's literally captured and tortured over it). so Peeta very well understands Katniss is something great and inspiring, and he thinks himself lesser for it. he doesn't see how strong and charming and kind he is in her eyes. and with what we know of his upbringing, he's also carrying some baggage that plays into how he idealizes Katniss. so again, Peeta sees something good in Katniss but then compares it to the worst of himself.

and what's so horrible about the hijacking is that it takes Peeta's known insecurities and warps/exploits them, which in turn brings out Katniss'. so now here's all of Peeta's emotional baggage on steroids, alongside a monstrous, fearful distrust in Katniss. this makes him view her quite critically when faced with the reality of her, stripped of the childhood crush and the 'mutt' delusion at bay. the mean, challenging comments he makes to her in MJ are not only calling out her faults but also directing his own hurt/confused feelings about her and, ya know, everything, at her and not holding back.

and it's the worst possible thing to do to Katniss, to make her think he doesn't love her anymore and in fact hates her very being, when she in turn thought the world of him and was coming around to the fact that he still liked her the more he got to know her in CF. like at one point she literally states outright that she hates him for no longer seeing her in the high regard he once did, that now he sees her as she is (aka the worst of herself, the part she's always known about herself but hoped Peeta wouldn't notice or at least not reject if he did). her opinion of him is so idealized, she considers him an inhuman monster for going against the standard he set prior to the hijacking.

but the hijacking also forces them both to have to reckon with their biased/idealized versions of each other, what with their worst selves coming out in full force, or at least now more apparent to the other than ever.

and like. they make it. they grow back together. they suffer the mortifying ordeal of being known - fully known, the good and the bad and the ugly trauma - and they work together to heal. after everything, the love is still there. and what's funny is they most likely still have biased opinions of the other in the end. like they probably still see the other as the best thing ever, but now it's a much more informed decision, and hopefully not so much at the expense of themselves - which makes it all the more meaningful than when they were young and insecure with crushes on each other. and why shouldn't they? I have never met another man as incredible as my husband, like not even close, and I know enough about him that could detract from such an obviously biased statement. and he'd say the same about me. that's just kind of part of it, love.

[xceanlynx]

I don't think Ray has ever really loved Mew romantically. Not ever.

The thing is, when you are deprived of love your entire life, it's very hard to differentiate between platonic love, romantic love and gratitude.

Ray was at his lowest. We still don't have enough information to understand exactly how his familial relationships shaped him as the person he is, but from what it was implied, he never really felt like he belonged to anywhere, to anyone. His understanding of love is already distorted - the person that society says is supposed to love him the most, his mom, didn't love him, or she did in a toxic, abusive way. The only person close enough to him to form a similar bond (the bond of healthy dependency) with was Mew.

Ray never had love before Mew. Not from his family, not from other friends, not from himself. How could he differentiate between all of these kinds of love? No one would be able to.

Mew saved Ray, who already saw him as his bestest friend, the one he could count on. Saving him from his attempt just solidified it in his mind - Mew is the one who could save him. Mew is the only one that showed him love, true love. But Ray doesn't understand that there are different kinds of love. A friend's love can be just as strong as a lover's love for someone, but they are still different kinds of love.

To Ray, if he lets Mew go, he will be letting go the only form of love he has ever known. He sees Top as competition because he doesn't understand that love can have different facets (also Boston is feeding his ill brain with shit but that's just a small part of it all). He is afraid of being in that position again, of being lonely again, when no one - not even himself - loved him. He is afraid that, when a newcomer arrives in the friend group, a player, someone that "obviously" do not love Mew the same way as Ray does, and Mew actually likes the player back, he will be set aside. Because Mew likes someone romantically, and romantic love is more valued anyway, so no matter how many times Mew says he loves Ray, it will not be enough. I could write an entire book about this specific topic through an aroace lens, but this is not the point of this post.

Now we see Ray, after being rejected by Mew (rightfully so - Mew did a very good job setting and enforcing his boundaries), seeing in Sand another person that could love him, that could take care of him when no one else would. There is hope, in his perspective, that another person can and will love him. He even begin to repeat the same patterns he experienced in his life with Sand: asking him to curse him won't bother him because it's what he was used to his entire life. That's normal life to him. That's what people who are supposed to care about him do anyway (Mew being just enough outside of the standard to make Ray obsessed). What Ray still doesn't know is that NO OUTSIDE LOVE can save someone.

What I mean is, the only hope for Ray to live a joyful and fulfilling life, is if he starts loving himself. It does sound cliché, but it's true. No amount of love from other people can save someone. It's not family, friends, lovers, or even God and religion that is going to save someone from themselves. They can and do absolutely help, but at the end of the day the willpower must come from inside. His self loathing, his hatred, his low self esteem caused by whatever trauma he holds will only get better if he works on himself of his on volition. For Ray to understand it, I'm afraid only with psychological and medical help - and this is how other people can help.

I have high hopes for his character development. As someone who went through similar stuff (don't worry, I've been through years of therapy and it had no hard drugs involved), some scenes can be quite triggering, but I still very much enjoy what they are doing with his character, by far the one I can relate the most. Ray is a complicated, flawed character and definitely not the cup of tea for everyone in audience, but I can't help being fascinated. I do hope his development won't fall flat at the end of the series.

(also, Khaotung made me cry again. Thank you for your acting, sir. I know you will destroy me eventually.)

[giantmushyfriend]

The Ineffable Husbands are ABBA coded (I went overboard on this one) (S2 SPOILERS) (I’m not sorry)

I see your “the ineffable husbands are so Hozier coded,” and your “they’re so Taylor Swift coded,” and I raise you a “the ineffable husbands are incredibly ABBA coded.” 

Listen, I know we all know about Aziraphale’s playlist having Angeleyes on it, which makes perfect sense given where Series 2 left us. I mean, come on; 

“Look into his angel eyes

One look and you’re hypnotized. 

He’ll take your heart and you must pray the price” 

And

“Sometimes when I’m lonely, I sit and think about him 

And it hurts to remember all the good times 

When I thought I could never live without him 

And I wonder, does it have to be the same

Every time? When I see him, will it bring back all the pain? 

How can I forget that name?” 

It’s obvious that this song, from a post-Series 2 standpoint is Aziraphale (and also Crowley) analyzing their relationship. It’s them admitting to themselves that although the other caused them pain, they still miss and love each other, even if they aren’t willing to admit it yet. 

However, this isn’t where the ABBA train ends. We can see Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship, both the highs and lows, in several different ABBA songs. Do you want to talk about how Crowley is probably feeling after the finale? And how he’ll probably be feeling when we get our AziraCrow reunion in S3? Let’s look at The Winner Takes It All. The entire song relates to how Crowley see’s the split and different aspects of their relationship. 

“I’ve played all my cards

And that’s what you’ve done too

Nothing more to say

No more ace to play

The Winner takes it all

The loser’s standing small” 

Tell me this is not his confession scene. Crowley laid it all out there, and it wasn’t enough. They both have laid out what they think is best, and neither of them was pursued (mostly because of the bad communication). Heaven’s influence on Aziraphale and his inherent want to do good won out, the cards were never in Crowley’s favor in this situation. He’s left with essentially nothing when Aziraphale leaves, his one constant, his one tether to this world, is gone. 

“I was in your arms

Thinking I belonged there

I figured it made sense

Building me a fence

Building me a home

Thinking I’d be strong there

But I was a fool

Playing by the rules”

Talking about how Crowley built a home within his relationship with Aziraphale, and how he feels like a fool for relying on it after its been stripped away. 

“The gods may throw a dice

Their minds as cold as ice

And someone way down here

Loses someone dear” 

In reference to God’s ineffable plan, if Aziraphale leaving him and choosing Heaven is really a part of it. To God, this separation is just a smaller part of a larger scheme, insignificant, but to Crowley, it is life-changing. He’s lost his best friend, seemingly for good, all in the name of “the greater good.” 

“Somewhere deep inside

You must know I miss you

But what can I say?

Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide

The likes of me abide”

COME ON. Crowley doesn’t believe that Aziraphale could ever love him, he’s a demon, and to the rest of the world, he is inherently below Aziraphale. Those are the “rules” of the world, and this is a dejected Crowley saying that maybe they can’t rewrite them. This is him, in his darkest moment, telling himself and Aziraphale that there is nothing they can do, rules in the end have to be obeyed and the likes of him have to abide by them eventually. 

To an extent, Aziraphale is the “winner” in this split. He’s the one that gets to leave, seemingly unbothered by the pain he is causing Crowley. We as the audience know differently, but Crowley doesn’t. In his perspective, Aziraphale has won the game. 

And their reunion in (hopefully) S3?

“And I understand

You’ve come to shake my hand”. 

Admitting defeat. Good game. 

You want Aziraphale to reflect on his mistake of leaving Crowley, which he inevitably will? Look at One of Us. 

“My picture clear

Everything seemed so easy

And so I dealt you the blow

One of us had to go”

Aziraphale is obviously still working through his toxic relationship with Heaven as an institution. In his eyes, with his belief in the greater good, everything seems easy. He can go to Heaven, make it worthy of beings like Crowley, and make it better. But when Crowley says he doesn’t want to go with him, Aziraphale knows he has to make the choice. And because of his inherent belief that Heaven can and is good, he chooses them, dealing the blow to Crowley with that final “I forgive you.” 

“One of us is crying, one of us is lying 

In a lonely bed

Staring at the ceiling

Wishing she was

somewhere else instead

One of us is lonely, and one of us is only

Waiting for a call

Sorry for herself, feeling 

stupid, feeling small

Wishing she had never left at all”

The entire chorus is Aziraphale wishing he could take back what happened that day. It’s him wishing that he was back on Earth, in his bookshop with Crowley. It’s him wishing that Crowley would come back to him. It’s him completely enveloped in regret. 

“I saw myself 

As a concealed attraction. 

I felt you kept me away 

From the heath and the action. 

Just like a child 

Stubborn and misconceiving

That’s how I started the show 

One of us had to go 

Now I’m changed and I want you to know” 

As we’ve already discussed, Aziraphale believes that Heaven is inherently good and thus must just need a push in the right direction. To him, he could be that push. When Crowley stands firm in his belief that Heaven won’t change, a part of Aziraphale had to have taken offense to that, because he’s partially hearing “Heaven won’t change, let alone for you”. Aziraphale, for his entire existence, has been told his efforts aren’t enough. So when he’s given the chance to make an impact, to finally do what he thinks is right, he jumps for it. He’s stubborn in his core beliefs that there is an inherently good and inherent evil, which we as the audience have come to learn isn’t true. To us, and probably to future Aziraphale, his past self was misconceiving. This is both present and future Aziraphale admitting that he made a mistake choosing Heaven over Crowley. This is Aziraphale pinning for the life he could have had with Crowley, for the life he gave away for what he thought was right. 

You want both of them to look back on the good times of them traveling the world throughout time before all of this Second Coming shit went down? Look at Our Last Summer. 

“I was so happy we had met

It was the age of no regret” 

“We took the chance

Like we were dancing our last dance 

I can still recall our last summer

I still see it all

In the tourist jam

Round the Notre Dame

Our Last summer

Walking hand in hand

Paris restaurants

Our last summer

Morning croissants

Living for the day 

Worries far away

Our last summer

We could laugh and play”

Do you want some angst where they both are looking back at what went wrong? Look no further, SOS has got you covered! 

“I try to reach for you, but

you have closed your mind. 

Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood”’

That’s literally their final argument before Aziraphale leaves with Metatron. It’s them reaching for each other, both of them saying “Stay with me” but the lack of communication has shut down all hope. 

“When you’re gone, how 

can I even try to go on?”

“You made me feel alive,

but something died, I fear

I really tried to make it up

I wish I understood” 

Crowley in his last stitched attempt to make Aziraphale stay: the kiss. He tried to make it up, but it didn’t work and he doesn’t understand why it really didn’t. 

Oh, are you tired of angst? Do you want some happy ineffable husbands? ABBA beat us to it! You better believe that Crowley jams to Take a Chance on Me at least once a day. 

“Gonna do my very best 

and it ain’t no lie

If you put me to the test, if 

you let me try

Take a chance on me” 

“‘Cause you know I’ve got

So much that I wanna do 

When I dream I’m alone 

with you, it’s magic

You want me to leave it

there

Afraid of a love affair

But I think you know

That I can’t let go” 

“Oh, you can take your time baby

I’m in no hurry

Know I’m gonna get you” 

The entire song is Crowley asking Aziraphale to just give him a chance. To let him prove how much he loves him. 

Do you want them talking about that first Doomsday where they turned against their respective sides for each other? Fernando. 

“There was something in 

the air that night

The stars were bright, 

Fernando

They were shining there 

for you and me

For liberty, Fernando

Though we never thought 

that we could lose

There’s no regret

If I had to do the same

again

I would, my friend, 

Fernando” 

How about them talking about how much they love each other? I’ve Been Waiting For You, Waterloo, Super Trouper, and Lay Your Love On Me sums it up perfectly. 

I’ve Been Waiting For You:

“You’re something I’d been

pleading for

I love you, I adore you

I lay my life before you

I’ll have you want me more

and more

And finally, it seems 

my lonely days are through

I’ve been waiting for you” 

Waterloo:

“Waterloo

Promise to love you

forevermore

Waterloo

Couldn’t escape if I

wanted to

Waterloo

Knowing my fate is to be

with you”

“And how could I ever refuse

I feel like I win when I lose”

Super Trouper:

“So I’ll be there when you

arrive

The sight of you will prove 

to me I’m 

Still alive, and when you

take me in your arms

And hold me tight

I know it’s gonna mean so much tonight” 

Lay  All Your Love On Me

“It was like shooting a 

sitting duck

A little small talk, a smile

and baby I was stuck

I still don’t know what

you’ve done with me

A grown-up woman

should never fall so easily

I feel a kind of fear

When I don’t have you

near

Unsatisfied, I skip my pride

I beg you dear”

“I used to think that was sensible

It makes the truth even

more incomprehensible 

‘Cause everything is new

And everything is you

And all I’ve learned has

overturned

What can I do?” 

In conclusion, the ineffable husbands are probably the most ABBA-coded thing I’ve seen in a while. And no one talks about it! Absolutely no one! I think part of it comes from the fact that Series 2 of Our Flag Means Death has already been lumped with ABBA, but they both can be ABBA coded! Aziraphale and Crowley inspired all of the songs on the Mamma Mia set list, and you can pry that fact from my cold, dead hands. 

[grandhotelabyss]

What makes an artwork highbrow? What makes another low?

Keeping in mind that this is a sociological rather than an aesthetic distinction, I believe the distinction hinges on how much you already have to know about art in general to appreciate any given work. As the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu writes:

A genre containing ever more references to the history of that genre calls for a second-degree reading, reserved for the initiate, who can only grasp the work’s nuances and subtleties by relating it back to previous works. By introducing subtle breaks and fine variations, with regard to assumed expectations, the play of internal allusions (the same one that has always been practised by lettered traditions) authorizes detached and distanced perception, quite as much as first-degree adherence, and calls for either erudite analysis or the aesthete’s wink.

This is most obvious in the case of a work that is both intensely allusive and extremely sophisticated in technique, like Ulysses, but it also applies to works of a radical simplicity or even contentlessness, like the writings of Gertrude Stein or the paintings of Jackson Pollock, where you have to know enough about art to know why this apparent non-art ("my toddler could paint that!") is actually very serious and meaningful art.

In practice, these distinctions don't hold. They don't hold aesthetically, because most actual practitioners say that the relevant distinction is not high and low but good and bad. But they also don't hold sociologically. The high-low distinction only applies after the mass literacy of the late 19th century, which generated both a mass culture industry and writers and artists who wanted to set themselves apart from this mass culture industry. The very same industry, however, produces such a proliferation of niche markets that even low-art genres become as complex and recursive in their own traditions as the high-art genres, such that you can't really just hand The Big Sleep or Dune or Watchmen to a person off the street anymore than you could with Ulysses. This is the symbolic import of the factoid I am always insisting upon: that this all comes from Poe, that Poe invents both Mallarmé and Lovecraft.

Then "middlebrow" as a concept presents problems of its own. A serious critic wants to scorn the middlebrow and uphold only the raw energy of the lowbrow and the radical intellection of the highbrow, but this standard is too severe. Anti-middlebrow critics get trapped in a hipper-than-thou spiral, or, to vary my image, they futilely chase an unreachable horizon of authenticity and difficulty. There is such a thing as middlebrow—we know it when we see it—but if you become obsessed with the idea, then soon you'll find that nothing is astringent enough for your taste. Anti-middlebrow critics may start by dismissing Our Town and The Grapes of Wrath, but they will inevitably end up writing "Against Ulysses."

Finally, these categories assume too much about who attends to what, and where and when and for what purpose. I quoted that Bourdieu passage above this summer in my Oppenheimer essay. Is Oppenheimer lowbrow, middlebrow, or highbrow? A film made for and sold to a mass audience through memes and sex appeal (lowbrow), a film full of Big Themes and Human Interest and Major Issues (middlebrow), a film formally ambitious, politically ambiguous, tragic in theme, and freighted with unexplained scientific, historical, political, and cultural allusions (highbrow)? I just don't think it's a very interesting question.

Do these categories explain why I read about Ulysses on Microsoft Encarta when I was 13 years old? (It included a recording of an Irish actress doing some of Molly Bloom's interior monologue.) I first checked the novel out of my suburban public branch library the summer of the same year and determined to read it, a task I admittedly didn't accomplish in full until later, when I was in college, just as Bourdieu would predict. But the ambition first found me in the lower-middle-class suburbs through a simple consumer conveyance rather than through any type of elite training.

I don't mean to sound a note of false populism here, to suggest that there's much hidden greatness in the morass of cranked-out junk clogging Amazon. It is, as I've written, "lonely at the top." My populist instinct, insofar as I have one, runs in the other direction: not "low art is actually great" but rather "great art is actually for everyone." (Or perhaps not "everyone" but "anyone." Not every single person but any single person capable of being found by it, which can't be determined in advance.) Still, the worth of a work of art is not extrinsically determined by the position it occupies in the social field, as the sociologists claim, but rather relies on its intrinsic merit in dynamic interaction with an unpredictable range of actual and potential audience members.

[daily-leoneed]

Ichika’s Colorfes Story Analysis

To start of this blog’s analysis of each Leoni Colorfes card, we have to start with both the unit’s first member and the first one of the four to receive one. Hoshino Ichika’s Colorfes card released on October 1st, 2021 alongside Miku for Project SEKAI’s 1st Anniversary. The card is titled ‘The Starry Sky I Saw’.

How she sparked her fragment SEKAI

Ichika is having issues transferring her feelings into lyrics. After a practice session Saki asks her how she’s doing and after Ichika explains her dilemma the group starts talking about it. Miku says something about wanting to see some of her lyrics and Saki is ready to tell her. Somehow they end up talking about the guitarist when they were younger. Honami comments, ‘Back then, Ichika, you really just let your actions speak for themselves.’ Junior High changed them all, but Ichika feels like she’s lost all the traits from before then.

These words spark the fragment SEKAI to appear up on the school rooftop. Miku finds, leads, and accompanies Ichika.

Fragment SEKAI

The SEKAI features a very similar playground to the one Leoni use to frequently visit as children. The night sky directly resembles the night the girls watched the Leonids. Their character colors are present in the night sky.

We get a minor explanation about Fragment SEKAI’s from Miku

She doesn’t outright say it at first, but it’s quite easy for players to put two-and-two together that the ‘someone’ Miku talks about is Ichika. The feelings aren’t strong enough to create a whole SEKAI, but still forms a half-complete one. It’s interesting to think about in relation to characters whose feelings made a whole SEKAI on their own, yet also have a fragment SEKAI. However, this is a Leoni-focused blog, so I won’t be looking into that much further. The fact is, Ichika could create a whole new SEKAI if her feelings were stronger. I’m very excited to see how they handle this in the future with the next ColorFes rotation.

What exactly is the reason for this Fragment?

As stated before, Ichika sparked it by feeling like her past self is better in comparison to her present self. She knows those years in junior high changed her, but she only views that change in a negative light. While that is understandable, it causes her to ignore what she gained from surviving it. Each member of Leoni uses their past to strengthen themselves throughout the story, but at this point they only finished the first event rotation and their first appearance before an audience. They’ve recently changed the goal for Leoni, and so, haven’t started the development they get in their second, third, and fourth. And, to top it all off, Ichika had her event a month before her ColorFes was released. We didn’t see her next one till April of 2022, six months, and once again finished the event rotation. Apologies for the tangent, just something that caught my eye while looking over the event list.

What’s the change in her feelings?

After asking a few questions about the playground and that night with the meteor shower, Miku climbs to the top, right where Ichika sat when she was younger, and invites the guitarist to follow. This interaction follows after Miku asks how the view is.

Miku explains how though the park is different, it’s still holds the same special place in Ichika’s heart. Just like how they’ve all changed, they’re still Ichika, Saki, Honami, and Shiho. Personalities change, but they do not change who you are. While she does agree, Ichika stil, doesn’t feel certain.

‘You’re the most amazing person ever, Ichi!’ Saki says this in the cards first side story, and now Miku is using it to reassure Ichika of everything they’ve just discussed. After this, they return back to the School SEKAI. These words, have such meaning to her because they are from Saki. Those three mean so much to Ichika, and their words carry more than others. Even Miku couldn’t get her to realize her strengths until Saki’s statement was brought up. Leoni is a unit that have known each other the longest, most other units never meet until their main stories. That’s why childhood friends is talked about so much. It’s very important to how they interact and react to each other. They know more, have seen more, understand the suffering the others went through because it unfolded before their very eyes. Ichika especially. She watched them drift away, and helped piece the bonds back together with Saki’s help. Yet, she doesn’t see how much character a person needs to live through that experience and still strive to reforge that friendship. Miku does mention this, but only touches briefly on it. At the very end of the card story, Ichika thanks Miku.

And how does the vocaloid respond?

‘Great. I’ll be looking forward to seeing them, Ichika.

Mod Rant

I love everything about this card, from the story to the symbolism. This made me realize how amazing Ichika’s character is, and truly when I first fell in love with it. Many people tend to overlook her because Colorful Palette gives her lots of mascot privileges. I use to dislike her for stealing all the lines, but she is the band’s lead singer, so they have every reason to give her more. The story beautifully ties in her doubts and her junior high trauma. She overcomes it, and becomes more confident in the abilities she possesses. We also get to see a good example of a vocaloid giving subtle hints and allowing the character to piece together the solution. The card’s art is meant to symbolize (very much my opinion) Ichika’s growing confidence. She’s sat right in front of a paint splatter, causing her to stand out from the white background. Painting and writing lyrics are similar in ways. Both are meant to convey a feeling or story by the artist, and Ichika has made a mark on the room. Just like how her lyrics tend to leave a mark on a person, she is conveying her emotions and smiling about it. She looks proud of her actions, holding onto the paint bucket as if to let viewers know it was Ichika, not someone else. The hairstyle could even add onto this. Some cut their hair to symbolize a new start, or show that they’re confident in their own actions. Kohane is an example of this, and so is Ichika in this card. One last thing before I end my rant. If you look closely, you’ll notice her guitar in the background, but it’s blank. This could symbolize how music is the blank canvas she paints upon (that wording sound familiar?), and she’s left it untouched for now. Maybe it’s linked to her struggles in conveying her message or even how she’s starting a new chapter in her musical path. All I can do is hypothesize about it, but it’s just something to think about.

You’ve reached the end! Congratulations, I hope this helped you to understand Ichika better or just brought her into a new light. I may do Honami or Shiho before Saki, but that may be a while. Depends on my motivation sadly. It would be amazing if I could just sit and write paragraphs about Leoni. I’m always open to dissecting cards, so if you have one you’d like me to do, please let me know! Events are welcomed too, but that may take longer and multiple posts. Anyways, that’s it from me! Thank you so much for reading my analysis and stay tuned for more.