#THEY'VE FINALLY COME TO SAVE THE INDUSTRY

[ladyelainehilfur]

OMG!!!!!!!!

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Rust Devil

CR 12

Lawful Evil Medium Outsider

Adventure Path: Hell's Rebels: The Kintargo Contract, pg. 82-83

Also known as Ferrugon in the language of Hell, Rust Devils are typically found in the infernal cities of Dis, where they view themselves as gardeners of the great iron constructs erected by the endless toil of breaking souls. They flit from building to building like tetanus-filled gargoyles, using their at-will Make Whole to fix any breaks they may see and their 3/day Fabricate and Major Creation to whip up new features and decorations in accordance with their own aesthetic sensibilities. You may be scratching your chin by now as you read this, wondering where all the rust is supposed to be coming in, and there's a bit of... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iron-y here, because Ferrugons are actually responsible for creative acts and playing the role of muses and inspiration for mortals in need of an artistic spark.

Ferrugon prefer acts of creation rather than destruction, but acts OF creation which LEAD TO destruction are their absolute favorites. This is primarily done with their Vainglorious Whisper, an incredibly dangerous ability as-written because of a few missing lines of text. Once per round as a swift action, the Rust Devil can whisper into an adjacent creature's mind, infecting them with delusional pride; the victim gets +4 to saves against fear, but takes a -4 penalty to attack rolls, damage rolls, caster level checks, and skill checks, and they cannot perform any defensive action (such as withdrawing, casting defensively, or using any healing on themselves). This pride is so powerful that a victim of it will be forced to make saving throws against any incoming healing effects, viewing them as unneeded, potentially dooming someone suffering from its bleed, but we'll get to that in a moment!

Why did I bold "incredibly" up there? Because as-written, there's no per-day limit to the number of times the devil can use Vainglorious Whispers, no 24-hour immunity clause, no duration, and no stated way to remove it. The Rust Devil can try round after round to give someone destructive pride until it finally sticks, and then the victim is stuck with that effect forever unless the DM rules that Dispel Magic, Break Enchantment, or similar removes it. It took until they reappeared in Second Edition for their whispers to gain any form of limit! If you're a DM hoping to use them, I'd install those limits into the 1e version; the whispers can only target a creature once on a given day, it's a curse effect, and it falls off an arbitrary amount of time later (such as an hour, a day, or until the victim is reduced to 0 HP).

Even without their whispers, Ferrugon are formidable enemies once discovered and forced into combat. As their name may suggest, anyone in melee with them should be as scared as they would be while fighting a Rust Monster at lower levels, as their stated preference when fighting is to utilize their Greater Sunder feat to shatter weapons and armor alike, potentially robbing players of the gear they've worked all adventure to maintain. They have Heat Metal at-will to punish anyone in armor and can use Rusting Grasp 3/day for destroying anything they do not wish to waste time sundering, though Rusting Grasp isn't especially scary for players at this level in anything but low-wealth campaigns, as it has no effect on magical metal. Neither does their at-will Shatter, though the chaos both Shatter and Rusting Grasp can cause to NPCs or across industrial zones is enormous, and a DM wishing to add some environmental hazards can have them introduced or exacerbated by the Rust Devil shattering an important support beam or rusting a weight-bearing chain.

Among their spells that are actually dangerous to a party around level 8~10 is a 3/day Suggestion and Wall of Iron, the former probably convincing someone to sit out of the fight while the latter makes a more forceful argument that some people should just stay out of this particular battle. Able to fly with a 60ft speed, Ferrugon aren't inconvenienced by their conjured walls, and trying to shoot them down without a weapon that can't pierce their DR 10/Good is basically wasting everyone's time. They've also got both high saves (+15/+13/+10) and 23 Spell Resistance, making most forms of magic less than reliable against them... but ironically (and weirdly), their Metallic body is actually vulnerable to being rusted, meaning Rusting Grasp damages them as though they were a ferrous construct, and any ability or effect which specifically affects metal also affects them.

This is dangerous for them, because they quite enjoy being in melee to affect victims with their whispers and pulverize them with Full-Attacks, but in order to rust them away, one must survive this Full-Attack first. Their two slam attacks deal a modest 1d8+6 damage each, but the real danger is their Slashing Wings, the razor-sharp feathers hitting twice in a Full-Attack and slicing 2d6+6 damage from their targets. Not only is their damage formidable, but they threaten critical strikes on 17 and higher, inflict 1d4 bleed damage, and infect anyone they strike with Scarlet Tetanus, a diabolic breed of tetanus that afflicts victims immediately upon failing a DC 23 Fortitude save, dinging their Dexterity for 1d4, draining 1 point of Con, and having a 50% chance of locking the victim's jaw up and preventing them from speaking or eating without immense difficulty. The disease ticks every 24 hours, meaning escape from the Ferrugon isn't the end of the pain it causes, though by this level the party hopefully has a means to cure the devilish disease. Every other commoner struck, however, is less than lucky.

The feathers are only slightly less dangerous from a range, as the devil can flick upwards to four of them out as a standard action every single round. Each feather deals only 1d6+6 damage, but they also have a crit range of 19-20 and afflict the struck victim with Scarlet Tetanus. Unlike the devil's whispers, there is an immediate and obvious sign that Scarlet Tetanus has affected a victim, allowing a Ferrugon focusing on spreading its sickness to focus its feather attacks against a single target, forcing them to make the DC 23 save four times a round, every round, until they're infected (or dead from the damage) before targeting someone else. That's only if it really wants to spread its disease for whatever reason; the most likely case is that the devil will simply affect every spellcaster it can see to force them to toss a coin at the risk of losing 70% of their spellbook for the day.

The feathers are just the backup, as the Ferrugon love being in melee far more, where their 27 AC and hefty DR prevent most enemies from harming them. They also have 5 points of Regeneration suppressed only by damage from a source of Good, but this healing is also suppressed if they're exposed to a rusting effect, so somehow turning their Rusting Grasp back around on them will not only deal some fair damage, but render them vulnerable to death for a round!

Ferrugon, like many higher level devils, are excellent background threats and final bosses. They prey on mortals seeking to master their craft, gifting those they favor with powerful infernal contracts which inspire astonishing creativity in the signee, not only improving their ability to perform their craft but making it cheaper for them to do so as they find new ways to work more efficiently! Most mortals, though, they curse with Vainglorious Whispers and sabotage with their spells, causing endless despair in their victims as the poor souls believe their projects are failing because of their own faults... and hey, if they really need help, if their vision is truly too important to let languish in the halls of their mind, the Ferrugon is there with a contract in one hand and a pen in the other.

True mastery of your craft is one signature away.

You can read more about them here.

[terresdebrume]

for the prompts - "i'm not worth saving. please." and/or "a few more steps. we're nearly there. i've got you" for a ship/ships of your choice?

Hey friend! Thanks for the prompt :D Sorry it took a bit, you know how it is with work^^" Still, I hope this AU without a cause will satisfy! Prompt list here, if anyone wants to send me another one!

Edwin huffs as he leans backwards, suspending his entire weight at the end of Charles' arm and still not managing to move him more than a couple of inches. He pauses, heaving for breath, and watches as Charles heaves himself up the last few steps with a painful-sounding mechanical whir.

"Come now Charles," he pants, forbidding himself from sitting down. "We only have a few steps left."

"I can't," Charles says.

His words comes out flat, mechanical. His voice modulator must have given up somewhere between the bottom of the stairs and now. His chest is rising and falling too fast, cooling circuits working overtime, but the audible sound his systems make tells Edwin it isn't quite working. Charles must be approaching overheating, and there is nothing Edwin can do about it here, in the hallway to the agency.

"Charles, please," Edwin begs, but Charles shakes his head.

"I can't," he repeats. "My left knee's piston is malfunctioning."

Edwin inhales, sharp and loud, and ignores the beeping in his systems that say his shell is too warm. They found spare parts for his cooling system last month: he can handle a little heat, but Charles--

"Charles, you must keep going, you can't--we have to plug you in!"

It took a lot of time, and even more money--although they are lucky Crystal never asked them what it was for--but they finally got their systems up to a point where they can handle one of them, at least for a time. Charles' software isn't as solid as Edwin's, but ROWLAND persocons had a reputation of hardiness for a reason. They have the memory banks required, and more than enough compatibility coding between the two of them to keep Charles safe until they can find him a new chassis, but none of that will matter if they can't get him connected before he shuts down.

"You should leave me here," he says, Edwin gasps.

"Do not say that," he warns.

"You should," Charles insists, eyes closing. "I'm not worth saving."

"Do not say that!" Edwin all but shouts, not caring about the time, or the human neighbors whose suspicions they've been trying not to arouse. "I forbid it, Charles!"

"Look at me!" Charles exclaims.

Edwin, electrical core on overdrive, looks down at Charles. Some of the hair is missing from his skull, burned away in the accident that nearly tore Edwin's head off a few years back. There is a long streak under his eyes where the synthetic skin peeled away, revealing the gray of his chassis, and the open jacket he wears fails to conceal the three large dents in his chassis, left there by the older ROWLAND model he used to live with. He looks resigned and, impossible as it should be, exhausted.

Even so, even pulling up the necessary softwares to run a simulation of existence without Charles prompts half a dozen alerts in Edwin's system, and he shudders. Crouching down, he puts a hand to the side of Charles' face.

"I am looking at you," he says, voice modulator struggling to keep his tone even through the shiver of his cooling system going overdrive.

"I'm old," Charles says, bitter. "I can't even move. Even if we do preserve me: I won't even have a body. I'm an industrial unit--what good am I if I can't even move around?"

"Charles," Edwin says, surprised to get an alert from the hardware around his throat, "please stop. You haven't been a dockhand in decades--"

"But I am!" Charles cries, or must try to. "That's why I'm the brawn, isn't it? Stronger chassis, longer batteries, building routines--that's what I'm for! What am I if I can't do what I'm for?"

"You're my friend!" Edwin says, fiercely, bringing his face closer to Charles. "You're the man who got me out of the scrapyard I'd been stuck in for seventy years! You're the one who made me look human enough to go out again!"

"Yeah, and now I'm the one who looks like a rogue!" Charles retorts, closing his eyes in distress. "If anyone from Endless Co. sees me, they'll do more than scrape us--"

"That will not happen--no!" Edwin insists, louder, when Charles looks like he is about to protest again, "That will not happen! I will never let it happen. You are my friend! You are my confident, and my companion, and you must stop talking about yourself like you are a glorified forklift!"

"That's what I was programmed for!"

"And I was supposed to be a sex unit!" Edwin breathes harshly in the stunned silence, gathering himself closer to Charles, until he can curl up around him and touch their forehead together. "I don't care chat they made you for," he whispers. "You're the one who decided to download all those fighting programs. You're the one who saved me. You're the one who came up with the name of the Agency. I don't care that they think we're not alive, Charles, I know they're wrong. You and I, we're alive in all the ways that matter, and I--"

Edwin stops talking. His voice modulator refuses to add even one word, some previously unnoticed subroutine cutting off his access to his dictionary. Fantom code, perhaps: a glitch. Or maybe the people who programmed his model line back at Payne Industries wanted to make sure they couldn't evoke certain feelings. Either way, Edwin's voice absolutely refuses to shape the words he is thinking, and so he does the only thing he can possibly do in this situation: he leans forward and presses his lips to Charles'.

Charles twitches under him, unnatural and poorly coordinated, but when Edwin pulls away to look at him, he is met with eyes filled with wonder, and joy, and that same word Edwin's core software won't let him say.

"Oh," Charles says, and brings a hand up to touch Edwin's cheek.

"Yes," Edwin replies, arch and haughty, "oh. Now, if you would please help me. It's only a few more steps."

[dingodad]

I like your ants a whole lot. Does Rimiduo as a planet/colony still exist? The Grazigazi were relocated to Gracilia, was there a specific reason THEY were the ant race that was moved instead of the other ant races? Was there just more loyalty to the empire in that group or were there maybe cultural factors/demographics that were more compatible with the empire or Gracilia? How different are Grazigazi from the other Rimiduot races? Do the others have Gamos or Polis or Drupes?!?

Plus from what I’ve picked out of your Gracilia tag, If I’m interpreting the info correctly there’s only confirmed references for an example member of the Wieze, Grazigazi, and Flambocca species. Where are the Frujgazi? What’s up with them! All dead? All too interbred with the Grazigazi to tell apart?? I don’t doubt the probability that it’s related to the Gracilia relocation..!

oh and I’ve got a crush on Kathlize 🐜<3

all A+ questions you have done your research well...

there is a kind of cultural narrative that when the alternian hordes descended upon rimiduo, the grazigazi lay their weapons at the trolls' feet and immediately became willing collaborators in the subjugation of their fellow rimiduot. gracilite warriors signed up to the ranks of the alternian colonial forces and earned their imperial overlords' earnest respect as highly efficient enforcers of alternian hegemony, and when it came time to establish a logging settlement on another, similar water world, the grazigazi had simply proven themselves the only right choice for the job.

whether ANY of it really happened that way, it's hard to be certain. but it's probably safe to assume that the true story involved a lot more nuance than what has found its way into folklore. if there really was an alternian-grazigazi alliance, it began and ended at the trolls' convenience; viewed as a whole, it seems unlikely that the grazigazi really suffered any less under alternian occupation than anyone else, and it's ESPECIALLY difficult to believe that the trolls ever felt like they owed any favours to any lesser races.

the trolls needed cheap labour to extract the natural resources from one of their newer colonies, and the seemingly neverending social unrest between the frujgazi and grazigazi was putting a wet blanket over the productivity of one of their old ones - one of the races had to go, with a simple handshake between colonial authorities they could kill two birds with one stone. were the gracilites really chosen because of the deal they'd made with the devil, as the version of events proliferated among the fruj dictates? or was it ultimately a coin toss? it's hard to say whether the grazigazi culture really made them better candidates, or whether their culture has been shaped over time to justify the arbitrarily-assigned atrocities of their own history. i think i'll let the audience come to their own conclusions on that one.............

as for all your other really great questions, a lot of this is still stuff i am thinking about LOL. i was going to save this ask for when i had a bit more to show but i've already gone on such a long tangent answering this one question... thank you for showing interest in the frujgazi though... i've already been cooking up an idea for some fruj content so you will just have to watch this space. for now i will just say that Rimiduo is still a highly active industrial colony, and just because they've been "left behind" doesn't mean the alternian empire doesn't have its uses for the frujgazi too...

(the main reason i haven't formally introduced any frujgaki yet is because i've spent a while figuring out how i want them to look! 2nd from left in this pic was one idea, though i also considered making them look kind of halfway between wieze and grazigazi, like the top leftmost ant in this post. when you do finally see the frujgaki you can probably expect them to look (at least to us and to trolls) pretty similar to the grazigazi, just with their own distinct antennae shape, which i think allows me to inject a lot of variety into their designs without worrying about making grazi who look "too much like fruj" or vice versa. that shield shaped head on the second sprite does look really stylish though...)

KATHY THANKS YOU FOR BEING AN EARLY INVESTOR IN GRACILIAN PALM OIL ! 🐜🍏

[zonedelicious]

An analysis of Ultraman Blazar's ending:

Going into the last episode I was expecting a simple but enjoyable finale. Blazar is a very simple show after all. It didn't have a big plot to keep me on the edge. I even thought about not watching it live and just going to bed. It was late and I wanted to sleep. But I didn't, and ended up watching one of the most beautiful endings to a show.

Throughout Blazar we see Gento's struggle to protect those close to him. As well as his struggle to understand the kaiju and Blazar. He was ready to die to protect the Earth, and I was actually worried that he would die while watching the last episode. But the kaiju are a part of that Earth which is what Gento comes to realise through his role as Ultraman.

There is no villain in Blazar. Well besides the military industrial complex of course. But besides that there's no role of a villain character or villain group that a superhero story usually has. Instead the final opponent of Blazar are aliens who are just as scared of humans as the humans are scared of them.

If the final message is meant to parallel current real world events I don't think it works. Might even be in poor taste. The wars in Ukraine, Syria, Palestine, etc. aren't simply about equal sides fighting for no reason.

But as a more universal message of peace I get what they're going for. Blazar was about protecting the beauty of Earth as well as humanity. And it showed that not caring for the Earth and all its beauty leads to our destruction.

This parts stuck out to me as it showed how all the fighting only lead to more destruction. No side was winning. They were both planning to fight until the other side was completely exterminated. All because they saw the other side as simply an obstacle. A hazard that needs to be taken care of. They did not consider the humanity of those they're destroying.

They needed to stop fighting to save themselves.

But while the humans are struggling to come to a decision, we see the Earth kaiju coming together to save the world. These are kaiju that humans have been fighting throughout the show. And they're now the ones helping the Earth, as they're part of it. The planet itself was fighting to survive.

Which ties well with the final message the humans send to the aliens. The message is only one word. Future. This single word was able to convince the aliens to stop fighting. Because that was when the aliens realise that humans too are people who want to survive. That they both want to live. The aliens realised that they've been destroying someone's home the entire time.

And then to further seal that message, the final power up that saves the day is the bracelet that Gento's son made. Being the bond of a father and his son, the bracelet represents the future of humanity. A better future without violence. A future worth protecting.

Blazar is a very simple show, but I think through its simplicity it ended up with a very heartwarming and deep story.

This is the final frame of the show, and it is the perfect frame to end it on. Because this one frame perfectly captures the show's message.

[writingsofwesteros]

Business Insider- Man of the Year, Aemond Targaryen (Full interview)

Pictured above, Aemond Targaryen

With the death of Viserys Targaryen over ten years ago, the future of the Targaryen dynasty hung in the balance. Bitter internal corporate rivalries bubbled to the surface, bids for the CEO position within the family. Yet out of the dark stepped into the light the company's saving grace- Viserys's second son, Aemond Targaryen.

Looking back on it now, it seemed that Aemond was always poised for the position- at St. Baelor's Private Academy, he graduated valedictorian, and he graduated from King's Landing University with a double major in business and economics, along with an internship at Oldtown Bank before apprenticing under Otto Hightower, his grandfather. He took his place as CFO of the company at just twenty three- the youngest in the history of the company, and stepped into CEO at twenty four.

Now, Targaryen Holdings has expanded beyond Westeros and Dorne into the Free Cities, new investments from Essos to Volantis. They've entered into partnerships with Stark Industries, doubling their assets in the North. Anytime you stay at a hotel or resort, take out a loan, or order a package- chances are you've come in touch with Targaryen Holdings, the young CEO's made sure of that. Aemond is known for his lack of media interaction and interviews, and so this sit down is a rare treat. He arrived on set with sister Daenora who liaised with our style team, and one of his daughters, Jaehaera, in tow- since as he'll tell us, one of his greatest accomplishments isn't the CEO office on the top floor, but his children- all five of them.

"I've spend most of my life working towards this," Aemond tells us. "And I know I've earned it- but in truth, the greatest achievement is my kids. I'm not doing it for myself anymore, it's for them- this is part of their legacy as Targaryens.

For all his corporate success, today we saw a different side of the calculating, pioneering CEO when his daughter accompanied him and his sister on set. The Targaryen family dynamic is no secret, and Aemond holds no shame about it, either. He sits in his makeup chair with Daenora supervising, and six year old Jaehaera on his lap insisting on helping. His protectiveness over his family- in particular his children's- privacy is well known, and documented, just earlier this year he saw to it that the photographers responsible for practically mobbing his youngest sister Daella and two of his sons, Baelon and Aenar, face repercussions- not in civil court, but after a proper criminal trial. "This was the final straw," He explained to us. "For years my siblings and I have dealt with it as an inevitability of our lives, who we are. But Daella has always lived a more reclusive life, and it wasn't just about taking pictures- all this happened because people just like them hacked into my sister's private like. That put her at risk, and my sons, and I don't stand for that. I don't take attacks on my family, or my children lightly."

The trial resulted in two of the photographers serving a ten year sentence ad the other three serving a five year sentence. All five lost their jobs halfway through the trial.

When we asked Aemond about fatherhood, a rare smile graced his face, as he glanced over at Jaehaera with her Aunt, the little girl looking on eagerly at one of her Daddies being interviewed. "I could sit here and tell you all the cliche things. That it's the best thing that ever happened to me, that I'm a better man because I'm a father. They'd all be true," He tells us. "But more than that, my kids have helped me let go of the past. They've helped me mend relationships I'd never had cared about fixing before. They're a reminder that I want to learn from the mistakes of the past. And I'm not alone in that- my brother, my sisters, we rarely differeciate between the kids, Helaena's twins are as much Daenora's as they are Helaena's, and Helaena and Daenora love and care for Daella's boys like their own. Saera has three mothers. It's not the traditional family structure, but my kids will grow up with three mothers, and two fathers. With more love that they'll know what to do with." We asked Aemond about the future of Targaryen Holdings, if he had any idea which Targaryen might hold the seat after him. "Well I've still got a long time in the position," He replies. "But I can't say right now. It's not going to be something that's forced on anyone, that's for sure. It could be one of my kids, or maybe Jace's kid, or who knows." He gives us a rare, cheeky comment, reminiscent of his eldest brother Aegon. "But at the rate we're going, we won't be short of successors."

ADORE HIM!

He gives us a rare, cheeky comment, reminiscent of his eldest brother Aegon. Oh he's spending too much time with Aegon

And sweet Hera is too cute !

[aghostwithnoname]

DATV GAMEPLAY SPOILERS

In other words, don't read this if you don't want my hot take.

So for the past week, I've fallen off the deep end to play Dragon Age: The Veilguard to avoid whatever the fuck is going on in the world.

First, for the pros.

The game is visually very stunning, and by the gods, the character customization is fucking amazing. The HAIR. The complexions! The scars and the FACT YOU CAN FINALLY BE A FAT HERO. My god, I spent two hours alone just creating my Rook. I LOVE that we finally have a Thedas that actually reflects the diversity of our world.

For the first time in the Dragon Age series, I can actually play as a nonbinary person and have that be recognized by the story!!!! I love that Neve is disabled, and it's not even the main focus of her character! Thank god for finally giving us a cast of companions that aren't white!

Partly why I wanted to support the game, despite knowing about all of its troubled development, was because we need to show as players that we want and support this kind of content and thus will show a demand for it in our capitalist hellscape. (I don't make the rules - that's just how this stupid industry works.)

Now, despite giving us ALL of that, this now brings me to the cons.

Veilguard just doesn't *feel* like part of the Dragon Age franchise.

Maybe it's just me but like 20-30 hours into it and I just... I'm not feeling it, guys. Like it feels like the devs just fired all the writers and threw the flashy battle mechanics of God of War, *some* of the relationship dynamics of BG3, and the user interface of Mass Effect (which for the record, I don't actually like Mass Effect) into a blender and produced... whatever this is.

The dialogue is so... bland. I skip through half of it and I *never* skipped through dialogue in any of the previous games. Progressing on this plot feels like a chore, because there is literally nothing else to do except pursue the main story line. The world deceptively *looks* expansive, but you're really just being funneled from one major plot point to the next with no room to breathe.

What was fun about BG3 is that you could drop down a fucking hole in some random part of the Underdark and the game REWARDED you for your curiosity or your weirdness (lick the spider, goddammit!). By contrast, even though GoW was basically one plot, it was poignant and meaningful because of the excellent dialogue, acting, and relationships - you cared about Kratos and Atreus and Angrboda and Thrud and Thor because they were excellently explored. Imo, BioWare clearly saw these games winning game of the year over the last decade that they've been working on the next DA game, got jealous, tried to mimic these elements to chase the success of these franchises and failed miserably, while also just not understanding the unique idiosyncrasies of the franchise they themselves created.

As someone who has played origins, awakening, da2, and inquisition, at least i felt there was some tonal consistency - despite the fact we can all argue what the "best" game was. Like, your companions are snarky and funny and weird in ways that are completely irrelevant to saving the continent, and we know the Chantry is fucked but so are the apostates and the Qun and the Dalish, and there are no clear "good guys" vs "bad guys", and not EVERYTHING said is plot-relevant.

Sweet Andraste, I think Bellara's said "The Evanuris - you know the elven gods!" like about 50 times already. I get it that they want new people to come into the world and understand what's going on, but it just feels like the devs are holding my hand like I'm a little kid who cannot be trusted to know what's going on or make their own decisions.

Don't even get me started on how Varric is narrating everything, telling me how to feel about what I am going through. It's like on top of all this disjointed gameplay mechanics and narrative design, BioWare is trying to tell me it's all okay, even though it is not.

Maybe the next 60 hours will change my mind... (I haven't even MET my loves Davrin or Taash yet) By the Maker, I hope it does.

[destinyc1020]

It is not Sunday yet but I have a confession to make.

I’m so done of seeing Sydney in everything she is to me a medium core actress that only is known for her big boobs. And suddenly she is everywhere. I blocked her name on Twitter I blocked her name on Instagram. And still see her everywhere help me! With the succes of anyone but You she is even more obnoxious. I constantly see story’s about her lying about her upbringing or other stuff and everybody lovesssssss her WHY!!!

What I’m most upset about is the fact that she get so much more and faster while Zendaya has worked her ass off and is not getting the same treatment as her. Also it doesn’t take longer and she will be on the same level or even bigger than Z unfortunately.

Hey Anon!

Thanks for your confession! 🥰 As promised, I saved your ask for Sunday lol.

So, first of all, I can sort of understand how it might feel seeing an actor/actress "everywhere" and it suddenly feeling annoying to you. I used to feel that same way about Jennifer Lawrence tbh lol. 😅

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE JLaw, and I actually find her to be a great actress, but at one point in time, prior to the #metoo movement, it just seemed like she was "Hollywood's Darling", and that she was being PUSHED in our faces everywhere lol. 😅 And then you look at other Black actresses around in the industry and you wonder, why JLaw and not [insert Black Actress Name Here]?? 🤔

I'm sure there are probably some people out there that feel the same way about Zendaya tbh lol. 😅

I think it just happens?? 🤷🏾‍♀️ I think a LOT of people in the GP start to dislike an actor/actress JUST because they are seemingly "everywhere" lol.

I've always felt too though that some actors will have a special "year" or two where they have a HUGE movie coming out, or they have some things to promote, so, of COURSE they're going to be "everywhere", because their projects that they've worked hard on are finally coming out and they are obligated by the studios to promote their work. But after, they go back into hiding, and remain under the radar.

That's how most actors work tbh. Their fame/exposure comes in waves. Right now I guess it's Sydney's turn to shine lol? 😅

I literally don't know much about her work/acting talent since I've only seen her in "Madame Web" lol, but so far she seems decent to me? And if she's working "Euphoria" then I know she must be a good actress cuz most of the actors on that show are pretty decent I feel?

What I’m most upset about is the fact that she get so much more and faster while Zendaya has worked her ass off and is not getting the same treatment as her.

With that said, I can definitely understand this sentiment above. Sometimes it feels a bit unfair when you see certain White actresses (or even actors), especially NepoBabies being promoted more or getting "instant success and fame" over other Black actresses/actors who've been working in this game for a longer period of time (sometimes, decades) and they don't even have HALF the amount of fame or "buzz" and success surrounding their names. It's even WORSE when you feel like SOME of these White actresses (or actors) aren't even as talented as some of the POC that you like, but yet they STILL get fame and attention over POC actors. 😔 That can definitely be annoying, so I get it.

Idk much about Sydney or her background growing up (I don't really follow her like that tbh), but I'm not even surprised that she gets a pass tbh. She's an "All-American"-looking (hate that term btw lol 😒🙄), blonde, WHITE woman with BIG BOOBS. Oh, and apparently she comes from a very MAGA Trump-loving family. 😒 That right there should tell you everything you need to know and why she might be given a pass and liked by certain demographics in this country.

Also it doesn’t take longer and she will be on the same level or even bigger than Z unfortunately.

Hold up hold up here....

This is where I have to disagree with you lol. I don't believe Sydney will EVER be on the same level as Zendaya popularity/fame-wise. No way. Zendaya goes by a one-name basis.

The type of level of fame that Zendaya has in Hollywood only comes like once in a million lol... 😅🤣 In fact, I'd venture to say that MOST of her peers won't be on her same level in terms of fame-level....just being honest. Plus, Zendaya has dabbled in so much stuff, music, acting, modeling, brand deals, etc.

Not saying that Sydney can't do the same thing, but do I really think she will be at the same level fame-wise worldwide that Zendaya is? No, not really. I don't think you have to worry about that Anon lol.

With all that said, I don't really know how I feel about Sydney yet. Some things she's done has seemed kinda sus to me (specifically regarding Tom/Zendaya, and then there was the whole Glen Powell PR stunt), so I give her the major side-eye. 👀

But do I think she's a "mean" person? No. There are just some people I don't think I really trust. And I kind of feel like I follow Zendaya's lead on some things. If Z seems like she doesn't trust her, and she actually KNOWS her and has worked with her, then I trust Z's "spidey senses" lol. 🤭

[itsnothingofinterest]

Hey 👋, can I ask you how you feel about the recent episode of bnha? And specifically about the heroes?

It's pretty much exactly the same as in the manga, although for some reason danger sense wasn't in the anime, despite it being clearly shown on the page, that was weird, do you think?

It's meant to be so inspiring, the whole scene, but all it really says as a whole is that people should treat the heroes better and that the heroes will then 'bring everything back', both points being the exact opposite of what needs to happen in the setting/series, as if the heroes are the ones that need saving and didn't cause half the problems/threats they now face in the first place. There's zero accountability and awareness with their side, and they still want more, hawks is straight up delusional, saying that 'thinking about everybody' even though they're obviously not thinking about everybody.

The part when ochako is thinking about toga being the only thing that wasn't oblivious to the big picture. Do you feel similarly or differently?

Yup, same as ever for the heroes; we're waiting on any hero-driven societal progress and they're just worried about themselves and the status quo.

And yet you know, the funny thing is that the scene is probably the one piece of progress in the entire series that might (though that is a BIG might) prevent one type of villain from our League appearing in the inevitable next League made up of people Class 1A fails when they're pros.

See, one of the big things that led to Tenko becoming Tomura Shigaraki was everyone leaving everything to the heroes. And while this episodes' developments were more inspired by cutting the heroes some slack than reflecting on how impossible it is for the heroes to handle everything wrong in the world and how irresponsible it was for all parties to act like they could; the result is still this promise to reduce the citizens bystander attitude, that could see them helping the next Tenko...maybe. So the next League might (again, might) not have a Tomura.

It's just a shame that, like we said, this came about for the betterment of heroes rather than from any self-reflection on their villain-generating failures. This means atm we can't exactly expect any societal faults that benefit heroes, such as quirk profiling, letting heroes get away with murder or domestic abuse, Tartarus, or other forms of corruption in the industry, to get fixed or stop coming up.

Nor do we have reason to expect heroes to do anymore than they've been doing about issues that don't really affect them at all like hetemorphobia. Not to mention the issues in HeroAca taken from real life like the transphobia that inspired Magne or...just everything about Japan that led Twice to the streets and then the League. So already, if this is the final arc, I can already see Hero Society and the next gen heroes dealing more Togas, Dabis, Spinners, Twices, Compresses, Magnes, & Nagants. Very likely forming their own teams and re-destroying society within 20 years. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Hence why I keep hoping this arc in the manga isn't the final arc. The series clearly wants Deku & his class to inspired hope; so the fact they don't really leads me to believe they need more time in the character development oven.

So like I said, this thing with the citizens at UA is technically progress. But I wouldn't call it "inspiring" or "a step in the right direction," because that direction deadened after this one step. It's all business as usual otherwise unless things change in the heroes' mindset.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

top gun/daisy jones and the six au

So like the little magpie I am, I have once again stolen one of my lovely gf's hyperfixations in a piece of media I haven't even consumed. Because what better way to consume media than just having your gf @hangsters tell you all the best bits and then help you make a top gun au?

So there is an up and coming rock band in the 70s music scene called Top Gun, consisting of Nicholas 'Goose' Bradshaw on drums, Ron 'Slider' Kerner on bass and Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky on lead guitar and vocals. They've recently added a relative unknown called Alice Duong on keys to round out their sound (who keeps drawing the eye of their bassist) but they're struggling to climb the charts.

Their success and their struggle is all down to their lead and originator, Iceman Kazansky. Fellow musicians can't stop raving about the technical flourishes in the songs, the skill and effort put into every solo, the way Kazansky seems to live and breathe music. But that experimental nature is struggling to capture people who'd just be listening to the radio on their way to work.

So their manager has an idea. Guess who he also represents, whose was a massive hit before the drugs and alcohol and partying caught up with him, who works a crowd like no one else and just oozes raw charisma and just got out of rehab and needs a comeback? Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell. And he could be just what Top Gun needs.

Instantly, Mav and Ice struggle to get along. Mav comes into the recording studio like a hurricane, messing up Ice's perfect riffs and technical genius with improvised solos, lyric changes and a general disregard for anything Kazansky (or anyone who ins't him) has to say. The rest of the bad worry that this could wreck the band entirely rather than save them. But the songs that come out of this battle are genius and sell like gangbusters.

So they tour and Ice and Mav are still butting heads but it seems to have...shifted. Like they hate each other but they love it? So no one is really surprised when one of their arguments over a song turns into the hottest sex.

But there's a problem. Maverick has never ever had a relationship like this where it's with someone he actually might love? And he panics about not being good enough, about letting Ice down and the pressure of having a gay relationship in the 70s. And yeah, he's always bucked gender roles (he's trans but not out publicly) and played with sexuality in his music but Ice feels real and he's so scared.

So one night Ice finds him high and shaking in the bathroom after a show. And he just helps him into the bath, washes him, gets him to drink water and takes care of him. But he tells him 'you have until December 1st when the tour ends and then you're done with this. you're going to get clean and be a good man for me'. And Maverick does.

Meanwhile, Goose is struggling being away from his high school sweetheart and love of his life Carole. They get the whole adorable 'if I say I have a record deal will you marry me?' thing and they have a cute backyard wedding when they realise she's pregnant and then along comes little Bradley who Goose loves more than anything (I have hangster stuff in this AU also but this post is getting long)

And eventually, after show after show of Slider staring at her, Alice finally confronts him. She's met guys in this industry that see her as a muse, see her as a skirt and nothing else and she's so done with all that. She just wants someone who treats her like a person and if Ron's gonna be that person he'd better hurry the fuck up and kiss her before she gets sick of waiting. And slider was just scared to be like one of those guys so he was holding back but now he has the go ahead he's kissing her like there's no tomorrow.

But yes I'm so deep in this AU it's not even funny and I'm looking how I can get some fics or maybe even a multi chapter thing out of it so! Ask questions, send requests, please enjoy!

[thesinglesjukebox]

YOASOBI - "IDOL"

Not a Jocelyn cover -- though there are parallels...

[7.79]

Ryo Miyauchi: You can call "idols," in particular the human exchanges and the parasocial relationships built around them, a lot of things. Using the words of Ai Hoshina from the manga-turned-anime Oshi no Ko, Ayase and Ikuta Lilas call it a lie. A performance would have neutralized, artifice would have made the critique more academic, and maybe fake would have softened the blow. A lie digs deep because it implies that I, the fan, am partly complicit in believing what I'm convinced to be true, whether or not I am aware of being sold to. And YOASOBI say the quiet parts fucking loud, starting from the most bombastic production they've made: a monstrous blast of brass, a blinding flash of synths, a trap-pop breakdown, and a gothic choir singing "you're my savior, you're my saving grace." But as "IDOL" places the onus also on the idol herself for knowingly selling a lie to her beloved fans, how could anyone resist buying into the spectacle? Ikuta embodies the superhuman ability of Ai Hoshina via her vocal performance: not only does she seamlessly maneuver through the trickiest melodies and a demanding production, she inspires in us the feeling that we can recreate the magic, too, as evident from the countless TikTok dance snippets and YouTube vocal covers uploaded this year. She fakes it until she makes it, fabricating her value before her reputation catches up to the level of work put in. But she also convinces herself this is how to love until her little fib starts to feel true. In a macabre, perfectly meta way, it's the idol's own dying words that give the song its most validating, emotionally moving moment, as she finally speaks her love into actual being: "I, I said it at last/I know it's not a lie as I'm voicing these words/I love you." I, for one, know all this is a lie, though it doesn't make the feelings any less real. [10]

Crystal Leww: Structurally and sonically, "IDOL" borrows elements that I associate with the two major, somewhat external-facing Asian pop music scenes -- the racing feeling and sweet vocal of J-pop and the cut-and-paste nature, especially second-verse half-time rap, of K-pop. It's been fun to observe this cross over into both -- on TikTok you can see not only J-pop idols covering the dance but a big contingent of K-pop idols doing the same. Ironically, all these idols are doing the little dance with a smile to a song about the dark side of the idol industry, which I guess is something that all idols from all countries can agree on after all. [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: There's too much going on here! Which, frankly, I love. Every single second of "Idol" feels stuffed to the gills with sonic ideas, burning through riffs and hooks like they've got an infinite supply. Some of it is more familiar to YOASOBI's earlier work (those mathy guitar-synth-piano passages, some of the more bombastic orchestral touches), while other parts feel more novel (those cadences on the verses call to mind J.I.D and Ski Mask; the "Heys" at the end are so very Mustard-coded; someone please tell me where those choral touches are drawn from). But it all comes together mostly by virtue of the raw power of juxtaposition. If you slowed this down and tried to dissect the individual parts of "Idol" I'm not sure it would all hang together, but why would you want to do that? The sick thrill of "Idol" -- both in sound and in lyrical message -- is in the rush and overwhelm of Big Pop Moments TM, of the joy of each individual detail as it wears you down in turn. [8]

Dorian Sinclair: Ayase is a hell of a writer and producer, and on "IDOL" he makes something that feels new for Yoasobi, even if he falls back on a few of his favourite tricks (that busy keyboard line does not feel meaningfully different from the one in "Yoru ni Kakeru" or a half-dozen songs since, even if there's a lot more around it to distract you). But if there was any doubt that Lilas Ikuta is as essential, "IDOL" should conclusively lay that to rest. It's two, or even three, unrelated songs that have been glued together, asking completely different things from the singer and doing little to ease the transition between sections. She navigates the transitions effortlessly, skipping between registers and delivery styles and making the whole thing cohere with her performance. The song's about a fictional character, but it's Ikuta's coronation. [9]

Taylor Alatorre: "IDOL" serves as an interesting companion piece to another viral Japanese smash of 2023, "INTERNET YAMERO" from the game Needy Streamer Overload. Both tread similar thematic ground: the tyranny of the public image, the codependency of entertainer and audience, the desperate search for a "savior" or "angel" in the wreckage of a mediated age. The latter, however, due to its origin in an indie visual novel, is able to shed all concerns of good taste and indulge its most ear-piercing denpa fantasies, of the kind that would be unbecoming for the theme to a Doga Kobo anime. The constraints placed upon "IDOL"'s composition may be necessary, and even beneficial to the franchise as a whole, but they are palpable throughout. It stretches against its need to serve as both a credible idol song and as a fashionably cynical take on idols, and as a portent of dark events to come -- a tough mandate indeed. Even with all of its trap interludes, wotagei chanting, and Square Enix gospel choirs, Oshi no Ko's theme ends up sounding not all that different than any random OP on the MyAnimeList top 200. Which is to say, it still pretty much bangs. [7]

Katherine St Asaph: Blurbing Stray Kids' "LALALALA" last month, I wrote: "I'm a complete mark for any pop song that sounds like its true spiritual home is on a Warcraft soundtrack." Nothing has changed, nor will it. Other things I'm a complete mark for: orchestra hits, key changes, faux harpsichord. [8]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: The half-time, militaristic reprise of the intro sequence got a chuckle out of me, as did the swiftness with which it abandons the idea. I've heard countless songs that have given me constant sonic whiplash, but "IDOL" is the rare one where you can envision that everyone involved was full-on grinning, excited to see what they could get away with. [6]

Brad Shoup: The audacity! My favorite bit is Ikura's swiping the "HUMBLE." flow for funsies: just one tool furiously, cartoonishly tossed out of YOASOBI's bag. It's like watching someone solve a Rubik's Cube while setting off a series of controlled demolitions. [9]

Nortey Dowuona: The hammering of the rap parts is so deafening; the rapping, filtered and compressed to the nth degree, has to be left alone to capture your attention. The piano line emerges at the pre-chorus but is quickly squashed by the drum programming that lightens the farther it stretches away from rap, leaving the voice to settle into the song instead of battling the synth horns stolen off a Southside beat from 2014. The theme rewards you with a brief piano line and the overly processed voice singing in the comfortable center of their range, allowing you to appreciate the creative excitement with which the producer and composer combined all these stylish sounds. But next time the production team composes a song like this, either find a vocalist who can comfortably handle the heavy-handed hammers of the rap verses, or tamp down to let this light uwu cutesy vocal shine. [8]

Michael Hong: YOASOBI's songs often sound like they could afford to be a touch faster than they are, and it's no different here. The topline of "IDOL" comes off as stiff, particularly across the opening clangs and the jumps of the chorus. As the duo race through all these ideas, Ikura stalls into a moment of exhaustion, as if the track's punch has started to weigh heavy on her. [4]

Ian Mathers: This one is genuinely baffling to me. I can't really parse out why some parts of it make my brain feel like it's fizzing pleasurably, while other parts trigger the avoidant feelings I get with certain strains of prog rock. Even worse, I'm not sure I can keep track of which parts are which from one listen to another. I love/don't love when it gets more measured and stompy. I love/don't love when it gets quieter, or when it just fully goes for it. Depending on which way this resolves in my brain, I'm either never going to seek out "IDOL" again, or going to start playing it on a loop. Hard to score that! [7]

Anna Katrina Lockwood: After reading up on Oshi no Ko, the anime for which "Idol" is the theme, this song made sense in a new way. It sounds like an idol group song shoved backward through a hedge at SMTown Tokyo in 2013, or a Dempagumi.inc song that was written by Yoo Young-jin and then performed with way more fervor than required. While I don't think it's required to enjoy this song, being familiar with the format of the titular idol, a profession with a decent amount of regional variation across Asia but entirely distinct from the Western boy/girl group, makes "Idol" more effective to me. The song really captures the troubling parasocial aspects of the idol industrial complex, issues that I feel a duty to grapple with as a long-time idol group fan. Parasocial attachment is by no means exclusive to idols, but the heady mix of accessibility, human as allegory, and physical beauty increases the likelihood of issues, sometimes with serious consequences for the idols themselves. This is all without even mentioning "Idol" being the runaway megahit of the year in a particular niche, which doesn't really demonstrate anything other than the song's wide appeal. Hey, a good song is a good song, and it's nice when that trumps everything. [9]

Leah Isobel: "IDOL" is so literal, and so garish, and so much, in a way that doesn't normally work for me. Its rapid consecutive U-turns, its pileup of shiny baubles, makes me feel like Yoasobi is playing a trick -- like they're using these techniques to gussy up what is, at heart, a relatively familiar story about the underbelly of fame. And then the final key change-into-chorus transition happens and, yeah, okay, I get it. The shifts in mood and mode raise the stakes so high that the last turnaround feels like squeezing an ocean through an arrow slit: for one person to hold the attention of millions is, after all, an impossible virtuosity. [7]

Tara Hillegeist: To love a piece of art is not, by necessity, to identify myself with the work involved in its making or feel any precious defensiveness about its merits. Indeed, when appreciating art for what it is and what it can be, it is often a richer form of love to come to that feeling through studiously antagonistic critique instead of immediately sincere affection. I already know all the work's faults, the reasons it's a failed work; and yet I still find it worth your time. There is a chasm of difference -- the kind that runs down the vein of this discourse, more often than it cuts across -- between loving art and loving "an artist," in the singular, as the bespoke creature/object/entity/producer/"person" that makes the art in question. There are many ways to prevent myself, as a critic, from falling into that trap, as many ways as there are critics. And with so many of these ways of putting distance between myself and my subjects of choice, it's easy to grow jaded and callous, to forget that these performances began as people, to make light of this business -- for it is a business, for what it does to the lives at its forefront. To crack jokes about the strain it puts on them to be the wick at the center of the candle, while we watch them flicker, flare out, and fade. Distance renders my protections as perverse as the alternative.

To find myself in love with "the artist" that makes the art I love, though -- there is no escape from the parasocial realignment of one's approach that follows. A part of me has already accepted it will betray the sensible ethics of the arrangement between that art's creator and its consumer, on behalf of a belief in the righteousness, the decency, the fundamental moral worthiness, of this image I've chosen to perceive within the actions of an otherwise total stranger -- a betrayal all the more dangerously stupid on my end for the obvious awareness that this is the image they want to sell me on. As an appreciator of art, as a fair critic, the worst mistake I can make is to take that performative sincerity at its word. It's even worse when that collapse of situational awareness leaves me with a sense of entitlement, in either direction -- a sense that the transaction involved is anything more than the exchange of the pleasure of creating for the pleasure of consuming, that in return for the joy I take in their ability to synthesize "truth" into "performance," I now owe them a debt in the form of devotion ... or, worse, that they owe me anything in kind. No matter how chaste or compassionate or self-effacing the gesture may feel, it remains a trap. I'm in love with being lied to. They're in love with lying to me. At best, it only leads to the tragedy of heartbreak -- a tragedy all the more cruel if one of us really meant it. It's enough to send one screaming to the madhouse, thinking about it seriously. Maybe that's why we all try not to. But sometimes, we let ourselves forget. It's so easy to do -- as easy as we say it is not to do it.

There was this ... girl, I liked, on the come-up in the entertainment world. She'd started as a wrestler, and I'd been what you might call a fan of her mother, a well-established name in the industry. So I was already paying attention when her mother introduced her in the ring to say she'd be pursuing the family business. I was already a fan of hers when it was announced she too would step back from wrestling to pursue a career in the wider entertainment industry. I thought she deserved the limelight, that she was made for it, that anyone could see how hard-working she was and how much she'd earned their adoration. In turn, I felt entitled to following her personal Twitter, because seeing her messages on my timeline -- whether upon waking or before bed -- and giving them the occasional like made me feel like I was supporting her in her pursuits, whatever she did. As a wrestling fan, seeing her succeed felt like its own reward, "one of ours" making good, one step at a time. In K-pop terms, you could've said she was one of my biases; in Japan, an "oshi," from the verb for "support."

Maybe you've already guessed how this story ends. It made international news, after all. They changed laws because of it. Her mother made sure they did. But for me, the volcanic upheaval that resulted was on a much more personal and unavoidable scale. All I saw, at first, was someone struggling to put her best foot forward and finally getting what looked to be her big break -- on a reality show, but one of the most popular reality shows on television at the time, where thousands of people could see her! I'd wake up every morning, eager to see whether she'd say anything new about it. So I was already awake and alert, locked down in COVID quarantine on that cold morning in the spring of 2020, when she tweeted out her suicide note for all her friends and followers to see, and followed it up with picture proof of how deeply serious she meant her attempt to be. I sat there, a helpless voyeur, those pictures a constant companion. I waited, one of the lucky few, to learn whether what my "support" had led me to witness being done "live" could be undone, or whether I'd have to live the rest of my life knowing my last memories of someone I thought I'd valued as a person would be those bloody images, all because I "cared" so much to keep tabs on her social media on the regular.

Within the hour, we all knew the answer. Her friends and family were able to at least get Twitter to take the images down before they had to put out any further statements themselves. By the time the wider world awoke to learn the news, the pronouncement of her death was a matter of recorded, impersonal fact, accompanied by photographs of her alive in the ring and on set, rather than the catastrophic tableau of judgmental violence that the internet and the television crew drove her to inflict upon herself. The price I would pay for my mistake, in thinking my support of her entitled me to knowing as much about her as was publicly knowable, would be that my witness was as much my own fault as my worthlessness. I could only live with what I'd seen and damn myself for why.

I threw myself into other spheres of my interest -- "virtual YouTubers" -- in the vain hope that my awareness of the failings of the genre would cushion me from such a tragic mistake another time. I was no stranger to the cynical mode in which the subculture operated, using surreal motion-tracked avatars as a means by which tech startups could showcase and sell their proprietary apps. I was hardly uninformed on its casually abusive handling of their talent and lax management policies. Before I'd ever started engaging with any of the talent responsible, I'd heard about managers needing to be fired for power-harassment who went on to stalk and threaten their former clients. I already knew about performers needing to go on hiatus because their audiences turned violent over the sound of their mic accidentally picking up a roommate's presence. I already knew about performers needing to reveal their own behind-the-scenes identities to prevent themselves from being replaced as the voice of the model they'd made famous.

Naturally, the artists I grew to appreciate most in the scene were the ones most aware, if not outright forceful, about reminding their audience where the boundaries were between the audience, the audience's perception of themselves, and themselves, the person putting those perceptions and boundaries in place. One of those artists mentioned that one of her favorite manga was this niche series that she felt was the most relatable and compelling depiction of the ins and outs of being, at once, both a performer and someone who had performers she loved in turn: a series called Oshi no ko. I jotted it down as something to look into, later -- it sounded like a pretty out-there title, so I didn't expect I'd find many, if any, translations of it; there certainly weren't any being published legally at that time.

But she kept bringing it up, and soon I started hearing other VTubers doing the same, so I took the curiosity more seriously. Two or three volumes in, a strange horror overtook me. The events that led to what I was reading were anything but events that I had any connection to, although I'd noticed similarities between them and real events in the industry. But now the characters in the manga had been roped into performing on a reality show, one of the most-watched television shows at that time ... and there it was. Ripped from reality, turned into performative art: the same events that I could never forget happening, had never really forgiven myself for putting myself in the position of being a helpless witness to. They had been turned into a cathartic lie -- because in the fictional tale of Oshi no ko, the protagonists, who had become her friends, were able to prevent her story from ending the same way: the way, in the fiction, that they hadn't been able to prevent their mother's ... and the way, in reality, that they couldn't have prevented their inspiration's. Through the artists' efforts, I realized I wasn't suffering that heartache alone. I, too, didn't deserve to regret having lied to myself enough about what I loved that I turned that love into a lie, that I loved a lie that can never be true. Maybe that, too, is a lie, but it's no less a lie than the belief that as an audience, our personal responsibilities should ever matter to anyone but ourselves. Cut to the spring of 2023: Oshi no ko, shocking me to the core, receives an animated adaptation. Tapped for the opening theme is YOASOBI, a group comprised of a former idol and a former Vocaloid producer, mostly known for moody, emotional rock songs. The song they make for it is this one: "IDOL"; the charts make the rest into obvious history, and the lyrics speak for themselves. So now that lie belongs to the rest of you. For what it's worth, I hope you love it as much as I did. [10]

[rmbmedia]

the protomen: european tour part 2

hope rides alone

It is the year 2023. Robots still control the airwaves, keeping the cogs in the slowly corroded propaganda machine forever turning. People live in fear and poverty as the obvious tory-dictatorship further beats the lower class down.

from out of the mists of industry, they appear.

This isn’t just commentary on the current state of the UK…

But once again, they are your hope. They are your salvation.. THEY ARE:

THE MOTHERFRACKIN PROTOMEN!

after having the concert postponed for a year due to covid. the protomen returned to these shores with one goal in mind: to bring the thunder!. Sadly, K.I.L.RO.Y. was nowhere to be seen this time round. however, his presences was felt, just the same. instructing us to once again fight with them! opening strong with three tracks off the yet-to-be-released ACT3, the band knew what they were doing. whilst it was the same old show musically, they felt more cohesive this time round, despite sir dr robert bakker's absence. we have J Rock Harding Jr. to thank for stepping in.. i think? I could be wrong. starting with "hold back the night" the band reminded us we wouldnt fight alone. carrying a strong message that heightened the feelings of the french at the gig in paris 8 days before. in a sense, the band could have been the spark to to set paris ablaze. following on, with my personal favourite, they performed no way back. a fantastic track that i personally think should've been saved for at least halfway through the set. the set soon took a turn with a new cover: Shadows of the night by pat benatar... brilliantly performed despite the crowd not knowing it fully. I think this is due to pat not being a big thing in the uk during the 80s.

finally, upon hearing the usual suspects of breaking out, keep quiet, and light up the night, we all prepared ourselves for the fall. the crowd roared. then, came that fierce, powerful reminder that hope rides alone. the big reveal: the encore- they played a new track: THE FIGHT!. There has been alot of speculation about the events that happen in act 3, no-one really knows for sure if its the final album or if there is more to come. i hope so. the fight is some of the best song writing the band has done since no way back and keep quiet. so im going to wait until further info has been dropped to say anymore. for now, they are going to end it, the way they've always ended it- Due vendetta. i dont know when the band will grace theses shores again... but when they do. I will be there.

[aniketsanimationblog]

To Draw The Similarities between the Current Situation Of This Global Animation Industry with the S1 of Star Trek: Prodigy, here it goes!!

At one point, after the Season 1 Finale of Star Trek: Prodigy, "Supernova: Pt. I & II", we were so psyched for the S2 coming in Winter 2023.

But, then 24th July, 2023, post midnight IST, a breaking news came out suddenly from Paramount+ and, POOF!!

The Waiting of Promised Season 2 of ST: Prodigy, just destroyed Overnight, as the Series got Canceled and Removed from the Platform, alongside, the S1 Arc II Never gonna be broadcasted on Nickelodeon US, calling the reason as "Tax Write-off"!!

All of because, there is a Living Construct aka. Miraculous Ladybug & PAW Patrol Duopoly, aboard the Protostar aka. the Global Animation Industry, which is Created and Installed by none other than Miraculous Ladybug creator, Thomas Astruc, who is nothing but an Egoistic and Arrogant Villain of this Industry, and designed that it can't be stopped or remove it from Existence, has been activated since 2022, when Netflix, who accidentally answered the Hail, and HBO Max (now called Max), started purging most of their Animation Content from their respective platforms!! And it was also affected to Disney and Paramount too earlier this year, 2023!! And it won't Stop, until the construct cancels each and every great Animated Series better than Miraculous Ladybug and PAW Patrol from its Existence, and until the Federation aka the alliance of the Animation Fandom and Animation Industry alike with the Corporate Companies, turn up against each other, and the alliance reduced to nothing!!

Where The WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes are happening concurrently, the production companies, in the name of Cutting Costs, they are purging the Animation Contents, with the exception of Popular and Cash-grabbing ones, and removing it from Existence!!

But, Starfleet, aka the True Animation fandom are not ready to give up right now!! They are trying to be vocal as much as they can by using the Social Media, using #SaveStarTrekProdigy, signing the petition and everything to stop/minimise this occurance!!

Please, I want Everyone in this Animation Fandom, to RAISE YOUR VOICES, to be heard by the Authorities, to take this concern as seriously as they can!!

"Because, in the infinite of Space, everyone needs to know there is a place out there willing to accept us all, no matter how different we think we are. Without Starfleet, the federation crumbles, and that dream dies with it. If they've ever helped you, as they've helped us, then hear my words. Allies, Civilians, Outsiders, anyone, Starfleet Needs you now, or it will not survive."

That Monologue by Gwyn in Supernova Pt. I is the reality, the Animation Industry is Facing Right Now!!

Animation Industry wants you to save from the Debacles happening Right in Front of Our Eyes!! Every Contribution from the True Animation Fans like You Matters!!

Please, #SaveStarTrekProdigy, and #SaveAnimation, before it's too late!! 🙏🏼

[followmetoyourdoom]

Fully agree with everything said here except for the Ed Sheeran bashing.

The song being referenced, aka Shape Of You, was originally intended to be sung by Rihanna as a self affirmative song. But labels tend to make decisions for you as to which songs you sing and which you don't. One song called Moments about the death of his close friend as a child was sold to One Direction as a break-up song. Another, called Love Yourself, originally (Go and) Fuck Yourself, about an abusive relationship was censored, changed, and sold to Justin Bieber. That's just what the pop industry is like.

The song that launched Ed Sheeran into fame was in fact The A Team, a song raising awareness about a homeless prostitute he met whilst he was sofa surfing/homeless in his early career. The song references an unhealthy reliance on drugs that he himself related to. Aka a song with genuinely smart and meaningful lyrics from an artist who wasn't ashamed to be open and honest about the very real problems that they've gone through.

During the middle of his career, when he got signed, Atlantic Records (owned by Warner, aka a big label, aka one with power) demanded 4 more albums worth of pop-ier easy listening songs. Even within those, there are still some political/emotionally strong lyrics such as 'the revolution's coming it's a minute away // I saw people marching in the streets today' and 'it's alright to die cause death's the only thing you haven't tried // but just for tonight hold on'. But fundamentally the record company had a lot of control over what did and didn't get released. There are a lot of unreleased songs from him out there that are just as poignant as his older stuff.

His initial concept for his final album with that record label got scrapped and he instead released an album (Subtract) that talked about the loss of his best friend, his struggle with that grief, the reliance on him to keep going and keep producing what his label wanted, the love for his daughter bringing him back to reality, the sudden news of his wife having cancer whilst pregnant and the decision they had to make to in order to try to save both lives (which thankfully they did).

As soon as he released that final album, he then released Autumn Variations on his own label that reflects those earlier values and earlier style of music. In that album he talks about attempts on his own life, depression, the loss of a close friend at a young age that still hurts, and drug and alcohol abuse to name a few. There are some more upbeat songs, but fundamentally it is a very emotional album.

Please do not confuse an artist with their label. In the pop industry, you often do not get full control of your music, I'm shocked they allowed his final album to be what it was. If you want to know what Ed Sheeran's music is about, listen to the stuff prior to Plus, Plus, his unreleased stuff, or Autumn Variations.

You can lift an artist up without putting another down.

[thedevotionaltour]

i need to find a lez who wants the worst lamest comic trek nerd possible and is genuinely charmed by it and also enthused alongside me about the interest bc those are unfortunately My Big Interests and i can't tolerate feeling like they are just accepted interests and not Beloved Along With Me you have to be willing to read a superhero comic for me please. you also have to be excited about watching btas it doesn't have to be your favorite but i have to feel like you will be excited to watch it with me and also like it. see most people i show trek to enjoy it enough so i need a lez who wants to talk about superheroes with me. please. get emotional about how when not from a genre critique angle one of the most important things a hero comic can do is come back to being about humanity is worth it and there is hope for it and therefore worth loving and saving because what is the point otherwise. also talk with me about how the comic industry should finally die like they've been saying since the 60s

[primereadymix4]

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