#The spectacular digital studio

[bear-boi-5]

Staring contest, go

2 cartoon rabbits stare at each other for a prolonged period of time, neither of them blink

TSDS Jax belongs to me

Carnival Jax belongs to @sm-baby

[brokehorrorfan]

Tod Browning's Sideshow Shockers will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 17 via The Criterion Collection. The set collects three films directed by Tod Browning: Freaks, The Unknown, and The Mystic.

Freaks (also known as The Monster Story, Forbidden Love, and Nature's Mistake) is a 1932 horror film written by Willis Goldbeck and Leon Gordon. Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, and Roscoe Ates star.

The Unknown is a 1927 silent horror film written by Waldemar Young. Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford, and Nick De Ruiz star.

The Mystic is a 1925 silent drama film written by Browning and Young. Aileen Pringle, Conway Tearle, and Mitchell Lewis star.

Freaks has been digitally restored in 2K with uncompressed monaural sound. The Unknown has been digitally reconstructed and restored in 2K with a new score by composer Philip Carli. The Mystic has been digitally restored in 2K with a new score by composer Dean Hurley.

Raphael Geroni designed the cover art. Special features are detailed below.

Special features:

Freaks audio commentary by film scholar David J. Skal

The Unknown audio commentary by film scholar David J. Skal

The Mystic introduction by film scholar David J. Skal

Interview with author Megan Abbott about director Tod Browning and pre-Code horror (new)

Freaks archival documentary

"Spurs" - Reading of Tod Robbins' short story on which Freaks is based

Freaks prolgue, added to the film in 1947

Freaks alternate endings featurette

Freaks portrait video glalery

Essay by film critic Farran Smith Nehme

The most transgressive film produced by a major American studio in the 1930s, Tod Browning’s crowning achievement has haunted the margins of cinema for nearly one hundred years. An unforgettable cast of real-life sideshow performers portray the entertainers in a traveling circus who, shunned by mainstream society, live according to their own code—one of radical acceptance for the fellow oppressed and, as the show’s beautiful but cruel trapeze artist learns, of terrifying retribution for those who cross them. Received with revulsion by viewers upon its initial release, Freaks effectively ended Browning’s career but can now be seen for what it is: an audacious cry for understanding and a singular experience of nightmarish, almost avant-garde power.

The most celebrated and exquisitely perverse of the many collaborations between Tod Browning and his legendary leading man Lon Chaney, The Unknown features a wrenchingly physical performance from “the Man of a Thousand Faces” as the armless Spanish knife thrower Alonzo (he flings daggers with his feet) whose dastardly infatuation with his beautiful assistant (Joan Crawford)—a woman, it just so happens, who cannot bear to be touched by the hands of any man—drives him to unspeakable extremes. Sadomasochistic obsession, deception, murder, disfigurement, and a spectacular Grand Guignol climax—Browning wrings every last frisson from the lurid premise.

A fantastically atmospheric but rarely seen missing link in the development of Tod Browning’s artistry, set amid his favored milieu of shadowy sideshows and clever criminals, The Mystic provides a striking showcase for silent-era diva Aileen Pringle, who sports a series of memorably outré looks (courtesy of art-deco designer Erté) as Zara, a phony psychic in a Hungarian carnival who, under the guidance of a Svengali-like con man (Conway Tearle), crashes—and proceeds to swindle—American high society. Browning’s fascination with the weird is on full display in the eerie séance sequences, while his subversive moral ambiguity extends surprising sympathy to even the most seemingly irredeemable of antiheroes.

[autumnrainsarethebestrains]

Spectacular autumn season abstract pattern in mosaic glass background features with yellow forest landscape and sky. Digital art 3D illustration.

By Blue Planet Studio

[the-californicationist]

Growl

You meet John Price at his house for drinks, and you didn’t realize just how quickly things would escalate.

MDNI/18+

TW: femdom, switch!Price, pegging

Check the full fic on AO3

You clutched your coat around your body a little tighter, pressing the wool lapels tightly to your neck to block out the bitter cold of the night. It was torture to pull your warm hand out of its glove, but you couldn’t press the apartment buzzer through the thick fabric.

You held down the button until you heard the door click. Pulling the handle, you reveled in the sudden warmth that washed over you from the heat of his building. Your friend, John Price, lived in a pretty swanky place for a military man. To be fair, you didn’t know him that well. He was a regular at your bar, and when he was on leave, your watering hole was his first stop. You’d spoken to him about everything from the Kardashians to the cosmos, and he made you feel like you were home when you were with him.

He kissed you for the first time just this past weekend. You had been taking out the recycling, struggling to carry the heavy glass bottles, and he spotted you in the back of the building. He tossed the glass into the bin all at once, exhibiting the most incredible brute force, and without much hesitation, he pinned you to the filthy brick wall and kissed you full on the mouth.

All the flirting and the back and forth had been torturing you, haunting you like a ghost, and apparently it had been haunting him, too. He took you out to dinner the next night - a killer sushi place - and you let him finger you on his couch while you pretended to watch the Planet Earth documentary. Your orgasm was…spectacular. So, you had booked him for tonight, hoping for an encore.

You made it to his big, black door and knocked sharply. Rustling noises, and then a click.

“Hello there, sweetheart. C’mon in.”

He was dressed comfortably, a white tee and bleached jeans, barefoot in his studio apartment. You crossed the threshold, smelling curry and cardamom, a blend of aromatic spices mixing in the air from the lamb korma that he had simmering on the stovetop.

“Hey,” you kissed him chastely, letting his beard tickle your lip and cheek, “It smells amazing in here.”

“Ah,” he smiled, taking the compliment like a punch, “It’s gotta simmer down a bit. Got a while yet. Here, have a go at this.”

He handed you a cup of something, and you trusted him, drinking it in a full, slow gulp. It was rich and beautiful with a texture of silk and honey. You groaned in satisfaction,

“Mmm! John, what is this?”

“Mead. I’ve been practicing, and I think I’ve got it almost right,” he was glowing with pride and excitement.

As a bartender, you didn’t often meet true connoisseurs, so a man like Price was a rare treat. But, for him to be making his own mead, and to this level of expertise. That was transcendent. And it turned you on beyond repair.

“Fuck,” you laughed in disbelief, “That’s incredible.”

“You’re incredible,” his tone changed into a dusky register.

He started to kiss you, folding his lips around you like an embrace, pulling your coat off your back and letting it crumple to the floor with your gloves. He worked you backwards, heading for his bed, and you let him lead you like a calf by the nose. John tasted like the mead, like cashews, and like smooth tobacco. He was forceful, just as he had been in the alley, and it lit a fire in your core.

Honestly, you were already prepared for him. The walk over had filled your head with anticipation, and every time you took a step, you felt the tell-tale softness of your wet lips as they glided over one another, swelling and tingling, awaiting his thick digits to pry them apart again.

You fell back to the bed, or were pushed, and his enormous, heavy body crushed you to the soft blankets, pressing the air out of you like a wrung out rag, dripping with eagerness and growling for more of his body to smother you.

Then, he dropped to his knees in front of you, breaking his kiss. He looked up at you with bright blue eyes, pale and longing, begging with you as he said his peace very, very slowly, as if you couldn’t understand him,

“Sweetheart, I…I need to ask you a favor. I promise, tonight is going to be all about you,” his hand rustled into your skirt and pulled your panties away to find your wetness. He trembled when he found it, and began to plead with you again, “But, I need something from you that I…God, I just…”

You took his head in your hands and kissed his forehead gently,

“It’s okay, baby. What is it? What can I do for you, hm?”

John looked a little reluctant, but he sighed and continued,

“I want you to fuck me.”

You laughed a little bit,

“Baby, yes. That’s why I’m here. I was -”

“No,” he stopped you, his face turning dark and serious, “I want you to fuck me. Please. I know it’s not typical, and I know how it sounds. I just…I can’t get it out of my mind. I’ve been tossing and turning, I can’t even think straight. Every time I look at you, I just get more and more bloody mad about it. I’m fucking chuffed you’re here, and you are so hot, but…please, love. Please fuck me.”

“John…I…I’m sorry, but I don’t exactly have the right situation to fuck you with,” you guestured to your pussy, and obvious lack of a penis.

“I have something,” Price grinned, “that we might both enjoy.”

He left you for a moment and you let the anvil that he’d just given you sink into you and through you, crushing you like he had with his body, just before this shocking confession. When he returned, your pussy announced its immediate commitment to John’s plan.

John was holding a piece of equipment with straps and a plasticine gusset, and inside of where it would lay against your cunt was a big, turgid dildo, meant to slide into your warm core. Then, on the outside was its twin, meant to slide into…John.

He was extremely vulnerable at this very moment. You could see it in his face, and you tried your best to make your reaction as neutral as possible.

“Oh!” You said. It was too high-pitched. He could smell your fear.

“You can say no, lovie. It’s okay. I know it’s probably too -”

“No,” you stopped him and he scarcely allowed himself to hope. You reached out for it and unbuckled the straps, “Let’s just try. If we have to stop, we can stop, right?”

“You mean it?” He sank to his knees again, rubbing his hands up your legs, moving your skirt away, exposing you.

You pet his head gently, putting your thumb on his bottom lip and changing your tone,

“Yes, baby. I mean it. And if you’re a very, very, good boy, I might even let you come.”

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

Want to read the rest? Check it out on AO3! Too spicy for tumblr 🥵

[onenettvchannel]

FOLLOW-UP REPORT: New Key Visual Poster unveiled for 'Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt' Season 2, possibly sets to air next year in 2025

TOKYO, JAPAN -- Fans of the adult-rated cult primetime classic anime 'Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt' have reason to celebrate as one Japanese animation studio 'Trigger' unveiled new key visual for the highly anticipated Season 2. After a lengthy bankruptcy and multiple unpaid debts from a former 'Gainax' studio, within almost a decade-and-a-half… The angels of 'Daten City Sisters' are all back in action.

Thursday afternoon (July 4th, 2024 -- Pacific local time), at this year's Anime Expo 2024 in an undisclosed panel at Studio Trigger… The main staff, including directors and character designers, introduced themselves and their roles in a recent announcement and discussion video, within a day later on July 5th. They shared insights into the creative process, discussing the challenges they faced while designing the teaser visual, and new logo for this said new season.

We can all agree to describe the contents of the visual art poster photo, which is present in the pink convertible 'Hummer'. Stocking Anarchy was a passenger, while Panty Anarchy sat in front of their car. Taking their pet 'Chuck' for a wedgie at Briefers Rock's pants, because he wasn't meant to have sex with any of the sisters between Anarchy and Daemon, in the foursome harem.

Following this, the Daemon sisters were given the name 'Scanty' and 'Kneesocks', along with their animal companion 'Fastener'. Lastly, the Anarchy sisters are being mentored by the reverend father 'Garterbelt Christ', who reads general books in the back. They are all fully engaged and ready for a ride to hell, albeit sometimes acting as part-time angels in Daten City. This brand-new key visual lets loose the iconic Anarchy duos in the most vibrant and action-packed scene, promising their continued adventures in high-energy this season.

As said above, on last year's Anime Expo 2023 and the staff of 'Studio Trigger' have said that the creation of high-quality animation, and finishing it up can take ages, and even a lot of digital work hours. Before they can show it to the public on national TV, they have in need, to get approval from Japanese TV channels, which are like 'ATX' and 'BS Nitelle'.

Classic character designs will return to please fans of the original series, while some new members will be joining them later in this next phase. Indeed, several top character designers are staffed on the project, so the series should certainly be nothing short of beautiful. This is according to a YouTube video (under Google's alphabet), on a discussion of the new staff. They showed enthusiasm as they noted that they will keep up the good work, and acknowledged having fun with breaking all the rules in traditional animation, which was also characteristic of the original series. They showed excitement about creating a new series that is going to be entertaining and enjoyable, without necessarily changing your own life.

Creators discussed with Otaku, how this new team will bring the anime project to life, reflecting on the legacy of the original anime show. They expressed in the staff discussion video, "The new season with a fresh take replicates in spirit the last one, so we urge the Japanese and other fans worldwide to look forward to it".

Director 'Hiroyuki Imaishi' himself, takes control of the series, guiding the new season into its roots while introducing fresh elements that are bound to entertain both the old and the newer generations. Other creative people involved are the renowned character designer 'SUSHiO' and art designer 'Shigeto Koyama', promising a spectacular visual treat.

To keep up to speed, on what is missing that can't produce Season 2 of the anime primetime show… The first season ends with a cliffhanger in the early mid-2010s. 'Gainax' faces financial difficulties in debts as production plummets and mismanagements, leading to further legal disputes and a decline in production from 2015 to early pandemic days of Coronavirus Disease-19 (CoViD-19).

There is a scandalous turn on December 2019, according to Studio Trigger president named 'Masahiko Otsuka', the management team at 'Gainax' was replaced and later sued, due to a scandal involving its representative director and former co-founder 'Hideaki Anno', because of unpaid royalties related to 'Neon Genesis: Evangelion' in 2014 and later distanced for Studio Khara. Kyodo News reports that the president of Gainax named 'Tomohiro Maki', allegedly taking nude images of a teenage woman and illegally touching her on the pretext that he was training her for photoshoots as an entertainer. Maki was arrested, at the time our writing, on the allegations of voyerism and other crimes relating to pre-determined sex.

'Wish Upon the Pleiades' was the last anime production of 'Gainax', five (5) years after the 1st Season of 'Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt', and almost 4 decades in the Japanese adult-rated animation legacy. Hiroyuki Imaishi, alongside other key people, already moved to other studios like 'Trigger' after the complete bankruptcy and shutting 'Gainax' down in June 2024.

Today, in the present, animation fans have something to look forward to as they are promised to be met with the same irreverent humor, over-the-top action sequences, and unique flair in animation that spearheaded the same first entry of the anime franchise. Studio Trigger is teasing exciting new story arcs and character development for a long-awaited payoff of about 15 years.

Following the news regarding the 'Gainax' bankruptcy, along new key visual was unveiled and other things, to ensure that 'Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt' Season 2 set tongues wagging again among fans, foreshadowing what would be an eventful return. The Anarchy angels of Daten City are back, leaving all set for what could well be another memorable return to the world of anime.

The new season is expected to air, and possibly streaming online next year in 2025, bringing back your favorite beloved characters for the mature-rated ones, along with their mentor and 'Rev. Fr. Garterbelt Christ', who will continue fighting villainous crimes in Daten City.

VISUAL ART POSTER PHOTO COURTESY: Studio Trigger via The X Network PHOTO BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Tegna

SOURCE: *https://x.com/trigger_inc/status/1808878704137023748 [Referenced X Network Tweeted Post via Studio Trigger] *https://www.themarysue.com/a-cult-classic-anime-is-coming-back-after-almost-15-years/ [Referenced News Article via The Mary Sue] *https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-07-04/new-panty-and-stocking-with-garterbelt-anime-slated-for-2025/.212867 [Referenced News Article via Anime News Network] *https://anitrendz.net/news/2024/07/04/new-panty-stocking-with-garterbelt-reveals-latest-visual-production-staff/ [Referenced News Article via AnimeTrendz] *https://www.thepopverse.com/anime-panty-and-stocking-with-garterbelt-season-2-release-date-2025-ax-2024-announcement [Referenced News Article via The Popverse] *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meip6GWgcM0 [Referenced YT VIDEO via Studio Trigger] *https://www.anime-expo.org/ax/schedule-2024/ [Referenced Schedule Listings via Anime Expo] *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wish_Upon_the_Pleiades *https://filmstories.co.uk/news/gainax-the-studio-behind-evangelion-and-more-has-gone-bust/ [Referenced News Article via Film Stories UK] *https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/12/3f003d272417-evangelion-anime-studio-chief-arrested-for-taking-photos-of-nude-teen.html [Referenced News Article via Kyodo News] *https://www.st-trigger.co.jp/news/1854/ and *https://www.khara.co.jp/2024/06/07/240607/?lang=en

-- OneNETnews Online Publication Team

[sleekervae]

So Good [0.2]

Masterlist

A/N: Heyy, how's September treating everyone? I already hate school and I've done absolutely zero drawing in two months but you know what -- it's okay. Life is full of surprises and I'm just gonna take whatever the universe decides to throw my way -- we're cool. Anyway, thanks for the reads, likes, and reblogs, always helps to save a fanfic!

Warnings: none, spoilers for Yoü & I

Purple text is Korean

Namjoon stayed true on his promise to text Kimberly after she handed him her number, and they had exchanged a few texts in the days leading up to their next show, sporadic messages mostly, but there had been a few nights were the chat ran for hours. They had a particularly lengthy conversation about how she needed a new turntable, then she told him about her most played records; what she listened to first thing in the morning, which tunes kept her going in her workouts, what she played when she took a bath and when she cooked. From there, Namjoon asked about food, what she liked to cook and confessing that he wasn't very knowledgable around the kitchen.

Sometimes though, Namjoon would take hours to respond, not on purpose, either he had forgotten or was simply too busy. Kimberly didn't mind the gaps between their messages, he'd come back and continue the conversation as if nothing had happened whenever he had the time.

In her spare time, Kimberly had done her own exploration into BTS, blown away by the scale of their music videos and charmed in their interviews. Namjoon had a spectacular, though quiet charisma to him; bespoke and concise in some takes, but he could be a complete goofball in others. And those eyes of his were incredible, she could quite easily be transfixed by his gaze regardless of whether or not he was on a screen.

At the moment she was in the middle of one of their catch-up texts, sitting off in the corner of their rehearsal space. Catch the Caper were supposed to be rehearsing for their upcoming tour, however, lallygagging and complacency overtook the energy in the studio.

What would you want to do if you weren't in a band?

Probably something in public relations or just marketing altogether

Sounds pretty smart

Lol, I guess so

You been to college?

I had plans to go to Princeton initially, but the band was the better fit

Did you go to college?

I took some courses here and there, mostly communications stuff

I took some women's and gender studies, too

No kidding? How'd you like those?

Very very eye opening

The other girls were gathered in a circle around the drum set, having one of their usual debates about very important societal topics.

"But why would an audio book be considered the same as reading?" Chloe asked.

Charlotte shrugged back, "I mean -- for one, someone had to read out the book to record it for the audio,"

"But what if you're a really fast reader and the narrator speaks really slow?" Maria replied, "That would be torture for me,"

"... But that defeats the purpose of the idea. You're not doing a read-a-long with a narrator. The platform is just listening," Charlotte added.

"But you have books on a kindle, there's not much of a step up from just listening," Maria said.

Chloe strained her head to get a look at Kimberly in her corner, "Oh, Kimberly! Care to join us?" she called.

Kimberly glanced up from her phone, "Are we starting?"

"Nope," Maria huffed, "But we really ought to,"

"C'mon, this is important," Chloe chided back, "Eva wants to get a joint Audible membership,"

Kimberly cocked her head, "So... what's your problem, then?"

"Her problem is subscribing to another digital platform that she's not going to use so it'll just keep charging her card until she remembers to cancel it," Charlotte explained.

"But if I already have the books that Audible is offering, is there even a point to getting an account? I don't know what the difference would be... other than maybe laziness," Chloe mulled.

Kimberly sighed as she stood up, stretching out the stiffness in her back, "Okay, I define reading as taking in a story, that means visualizing the story and using imagination just like you would if you had a book in front of you," she explained, "I don't think there's much of a difference, anyhow,"

"Great," Chloe nodded, "I still don't know,"

"Just try the free trial for Pete sakes!" Maria snapped, "That's why they're called 'trials', dude,"

Charlotte, quickly becoming disillusioned with this conversation, turned to Kimberly as she walked over, "What were you doing over there, anyway?"

"I was texting," Kimberly sat beside her, crossing one leg over the other, "So sue me,"

"Darius?"

Chloe cut in before she could answer, "Namjoon," she waggled her eyebrows at the bassist. Kimberly glowered at her.

"Tattle tits,"

"Wait --" Charlotte shifted closer, "The BTS guy? Really?"

"Yeah. The tall one," Kimberly replied.

"Bro, they're all fucking tall,"

"The one with the nice quads," Chloe nodded.

Maria raised her brows as well, not so much in amusement, "How long you been talking for?"

"A couple of days. He's really nice," Kimberly replied honestly,

Charlotte smirked, "I'm sure he is,"

"Get that look off your face,"

Maria scoffed, "Well, you can't really blame her. You guys were practically inseparable at the AMAs," she said.

"Right up until you dropped the big B-word," Chloe added.

Kimberly grimaced, the stunned expression on his face continued to flicker in her memory. She truly hadn't meant any harm by it, Darius had become such a natural part of her life that she hadn't felt the need to shout to the world that she had a boyfriend. Furthermore, she didn't want to brush off a potential friendship with the B-word stonewall. Nevertheless, if Namjoon had that simmering hope of maybe -- just maybe -- Kimberly was confident that she had shut that down real quick. She loved Darius, after all, she was comfortable in her relationship.

"So what?" Kimberly replied, trying not to border on defensive, "We've effortlessly proved for the last three and something years that guys and girls can be friends without romantic tension,"

Chloe scoffed back, "Two of us proved it, anyway," she glanced at both Charlotte and Maria. The former was stuck in a will-they-won't-they tension with Luke Hemmings, while Maria had been secretly dating Calum Hood for nearly nine months, now. Only three weeks ago had Charlotte, Kimberly, and Chloe found them out.

Maria screwed up her face at the drummer, "Hey! The other three are still my friends," she pointed out, referring to the rest of the boys from 5 Seconds of Summer. Charlotte rolled her eyes, not having the energy to dignify this topic with an answer.

"Anyway," she sighed, "What do you and Namjoon talk about?"

Kimberly shook her head, debating how much she should privy the girls to. Sure, they all knew everything about each other, but there were still some things Kimberly liked to keep to herself. So far, Namjoon was definitely one of them.

"Anything that comes to mind," she replied, "Music, mostly,"

Chloe scoffed, "With the schedules these guys have, I'm surprised he has the time to text you at all," she said.

"What do you mean?" Maria asked.

"You have any idea how many hours a day they go for? How do you think they move like that? Takes some fucking work," Chloe replied, "Not to mention the strict diets, the travel, the training regimens,"

"So... like our schedules, minus the dancing?" Kimberly queried.

"Our schedules... but on major roids," she replied.

Charlotte raised her brows, "That bad?"

"Depending on the label," Chloe replied, "The boys definitely have a bit more freedom than the girls do,"

"As always in a modern, sexist society," Maria sighed, hunching forward, "So, when do they have time for friends? Dating? A life?"

"Maybe when their contracts run out," Chloe replied, "K-pop idols can't date,"

Kimberly refused to let it show, but she couldn't help the nervous pinching in her gut when Chloe said that, "W-What do you mean? Like -- at all?"

Chloe shook her head, "You ever hear of fan service? The labels make their money off of these guys being quote-on-quote 'available' and 'pure'. If they stay single the younger fans are more likely to buy into their brand,"

The other three sat in a stunned silence. It wasn't the first time they had heard of management getting involved in people's personal lives, but usually it was the other way around. Hell, their own manager tried to set Charlotte up in a PR relationship the previous year.

"Ugh," Maria cringed, "Why's that giving me Jonas Brothers purity ring bullshit?"

"Okay but -- that can't be for forever," Charlotte said, "It's fucking barbaric!"

"Over here, maybe. But Korea's a whole other culture," Chloe replied, "We just don't see it because we're foreigners. They treat us differently,"

Maria cocked her head, "Chlo, how do you know so much about this?" she asked.

Chloe smiled back, sheepish as she replied, "Let's call it a 2am rabbit-hole special. I'm also just a fan. -- I'm a fan of BTS, not of the record labels,"

Kimberly scoffed, "Must be pretty fucking bleak. You're writing love songs and you can't even have a lover to write about,"

"Oh, c'mon. They're grown men," Maria said, "I'm sure they're familiar with getting business done themselves,"

Charlotte physically grimaced, eager to change the subject, "Okay! Back to work!" she announced as she stood up. The girls followed suit.

Chloe chuckled, "Aw, what's the matter, Lottie? You never wanna change the subject when we're talking about Lu --"

"Chloe!" Kim scolded, pointing a sharp, manicured finger at her, "No,"

"Maria started it," Chloe chided back.

"And I'll also end it," Maria decided, looping her guitar strap over her shoulder.

Kimberly sighed under her breath as she did the same with her bass, glancing tentatively at her friends, "So... You guys still wanna' see their show on Friday?"

"Oh, I'm definitely down," Chloe replied.

Charlotte simpered, "Yeah, I'm into it,"

They all then turned to Maria, who stayed stiffly silent at first. Call her a killjoy or judgemental, but Maria wasn't the biggest fan of machine pop music. It wasn't so much BTS she was against, but the entire machine behind them. The industry of pretty boybands and girlbands with fancy dance moves, while definitely exciting, also held many dark undertones that turned her off completely. And she knew the girls felt the same because they had discussed this at length.

Maria could think of a hundred other things she could be doing on Friday, namely one of them being with Calum, and she knew the girls wouldn't hold it against her if she didn't go. Nevertheless, there was this air of hopefulness on Kimberly's face. They loved doing things together, experiencing new music being one of them. And the guys had promised to hold some tickets for them, so that was definitely a nice perk.

"Alright, I'm in," she conceded, "Do we have to get dressed up or..."

"Girl, it's a concert, not the Met," Charlotte pointed out.

"Well, I don't know," she shrugged back.

Kimberly's phone buzzed in her pocket, her lips curved up as she found Namjoon's name flash across her screen.

Do you like TGIF or Chili's better? We're trying to decide what to get for dinner

Ooooh...

Chili's, they're chicken sandwiches are lit

She hesitated as she typed her next message, her thumb wavered over the send button as she felt that nervous pinch in her gut. She glanced at her friends, their previous teasing weighing on her a little. Nevertheless, she averted her eyes to her keyboard as she pressed the send button.

When you have some time though, maybe I'll take you somewhere better than Chili's lol

She had barely tucked her phone back into her pocket when it buzzed again, her smile grew wider, and the pinching in her gut subsided.

I would like that a lot!

Unbeknownst to Kimberly, Chloe couldn't help but take a stealthy peak over her shoulder. Her curiosity however failed her covertness.

"What would he like?" she blurted.

Kimberly jumped forward, hugging her phone to her chest, "Chloe!" and as she turned, she smacked Chloe's side with the handle of her bass.

"Owh!" Chloe faltered, stumbling back and favouring her 'wound', "She hit me!" she whined to Maria.

"She was creeping on me!" Kimberly fought back, both of them looking to the oldest member.

Maria however remained stone faced, her exasperation evident as she turned to Charlotte. The moment the mousy brunette met the fiery Latina's gaze, she couldn't help but burst into giggles.

Kimberly rolled her eyes and took her place, awaiting patiently for the other girls to get themselves together. Despite her annoyance, she couldn't help but have a little bounce in her step, excited for Friday to just hurry up and roll around so she could see Namjoon again.

BTS' Friday night concert came upon them soon enough, and Namjoon was feeling rather calm and confident about the whole affair. Perhaps because he knew he looked good, perhaps because he had put his work in all week, making sure his performance would be flawless. Or simply, his self-assured nature had peaked because they were still riding high off of their American tour, the interviews were almost over and he was living his dream, had little to no worries except entertaining the crowd and not messing up his parts.

Namjoon felt like a fool for the nervous pinch in his chest whenever he saw her name flash on his phone screen, he liked talking to her, even if the limits of texting infuriated him at times. He knew when she'd be laughing at him over messages and when he'd stumble for words at a certain question, racking his brain for the English translation, and relieved he had time to form a cohesive thought before sending the next text.

He had done his own research into Catch the Caper, easily blown away by the rest of their music catalogue. Fiery and outspoken, and Kimberly shone through every solo shot in their videos. She didn't speak much in their interviews either, but when she did she was quite soft, though she had her moments where she had a bite to her. He liked that she always spoke her mind and could be so personable outright.

Admittedly, there were times when his thumb had hovered over the call button just so he could hear her voice again, when he was tired and bored in his hotel bed, when he fresh off his workout, but it seemed too eager, too much. How would he justify that? What would he say when or if she picked up? What if she was with Darius? Ultimately, his insecurity of overstepping the barely sketched boundaries kept him from calling.

At the moment, Namjoon was in the green room; his bandmates were primping, preening, notching the final buttons to their clothes and whatnot. He was keeping his composure, nonetheless excitement bubbled in his chest at the prospect of seeing Kimberly again. He had texted her that morning with details on how to find him once she and the girls arrived but he checked his phone again, wondering if she'd text to announce her arrival, if she'd even come at all.

He stayed slumped in his chair, his image in the vanity mirror a reflection of the self-doubt flickering through his wall of confidence. He wondered what she'd be wearing, what he should say and hoped he'd keep his cool around her, prayed he wouldn't make a wrong move, but no internal preparation could have prepared him for the moment when that green room door opened.

He didn't have to wait for Hobi's joyous greeting, or Jimin to practically fall out of his chair, the moment that door opened he knew it was her. Kimberly, Maria and Chloe had filed in after their stage manager, pleasantly taken aback by the guys' boisterous welcome. Chloe and Maria started integrating immediately, speaking slow with the guys and it gave them an opportunity to reflex their English. Chloe attempted to greet them in Korean, and Namjoon would've given her a solid B- minus.

Kimberly however migrated right over to Namjoon, and he was quick to stand up and greet her.

"Hi,"

"Hi,"

Her perfume enrobed him, kept him there as he inhaled it. He wasn't sure if he should go in for a hug but she beat him to the punch; she had to stand on her toes to reach properly and he found it so adorable. His own scent of equally dizzying to her and she breathed it in now, allowed his spicy cologne to overwhelm her, take her back to the night they'd night. Heat radiated from his touch, his lips at the side of her head and she smiled against his shoulder.

He at last let go and pulled back, he tucked his hands in his pockets to hide the slight shake in them. There was a shimmer of mischief in his eyes, the deep brown alarmingly familiar to Kimberly despite the fact she'd only met him once.

"You look amazing," he mired.

"Thanks," she smiled bashfully, "You look really cool,"

She had seen pictures of him on the tour, somehow seeing him up close in his stage fit was a little bit of a spectacle. He wore dark pants, a black t-shirt, and he had his silver print jacket hanging on the back of his chair. The choker around his neck was an unexpected, but cohesively charming touch. His hair was naturally fluffy, a lock fell over his eyes and it drew her eye to his jawline.

Everything about him exuded an abundance of collectedness but the mischief was still there, strong, bold and he seemed to be eternally smirking, the corner of his mouth pulled up and twitching as if he were about to make a coy joke. Kimberly was convinced she'd never seen a jaw that sharp and if she was unsure she'd been intrigued by him before, now there was no denying it.

"Is this the infamous jacket that's been circling the internet?" she chuckled, pointing curiously to the garment.

"Infamous?" he wondered aloud, "I suppose, if the internet says, so it shall be," he replied, his lips curling. Everything he said had a nonchalance, an effortlessness to it, but at the same time she wouldn't have been surprised should he have fallen into a fit of laughter.

"It looks cool," she nodded, chewing her lip for a split second, "You look cool in the pictures, anyway," stop saying 'cool' so much, idiot.

Namjoon's eyes trailed over her. There was a little less skin on show this time, allowing him less to study than before and he swallowed as his eyes fell on the tattoo on her forearm, peaking out under the rolled up sleeve of her velvet shirt. She wore blue wash denim jeans, baggy in the legs, scuffed white converse, and this time she had straightened her hair, tied back in a clean ballerina bun. It no doubt would've taken her a while to wrangle all those curls; he appreciated the creativity and effort she'd gone to.

"Did you miss me?" he asked with an undefeated smirked.

"Maybe a little..." she nodded truthfully, tilting her head at him and giving her best smile, "Miss me?"

"Almost forgot you were comin'..." he drawled, his lips betraying the harshness of his words.

"Oh, wow. Thanks," she grumbled playfully, "I only gave up my rare Friday night off for you, Joon..."

"Hey, I got the backstage passes for you, Kim..." he teased, cocking his head as they started for their babbling friend groups, "Speaking of, I didn't see Charlotte come in...?"

"Oh," Kimberly bit her lip, a small flush colouring her cheeks. The tone of her voice was clearly different and Namjoon raised and eyebrow in expectation, "Charlotte had something come up, so I brought Darius with me instead... I hope that's okay... he just went to catch up with the guys in the security," she gestured out the door was a particular vagueness.

Though the news was a shock to him, Namjoon nodded to feign as if he didn't care, scratched at his neck and jaw and she tilted her head to see if her boyfriend would come waltzing through the door.

"That's cool," he assured her, "He knows the security guys?"

She nodded, "He moonlights as a bouncer at this arena and at another club downtown,"

"Moonlights..."

"It's another term for 'work',"

"Right, right. Thanks,"

It seemed as though another man had appeared out of nowhere as he chatted in the middle of the group, and from the way Kimberly's eyes lit up he knew that he had to be Darius. He was tense as they approached him, even more so when Kimberly drew instantly to his side. Namjoon watched her boyfriend's hand slip to her hip and bit the inside of his cheek in annoyance.

For a second, Namjoon could only focus on her smile, the way she'd lit up even more than he thought possible at his side, but then drew his attention to Darius.

He was dressed in an obscure band tee and blue jeans, his hair tied into short dreads at the top of his head, the sides shaved down. He was a little more slender than Namjoon, nevertheless he was built similarly to Jungkook. He appeared quite friendly and his smile was genuine, the kind of smile which seemed to permanently stick even when faced with bad news. It made Namjoon realize he was probably frowning and he consciously turned the corners of his lips up to counter it.

As much as he hated to admit it, they looked good together. But at least he wasn't taller than him...

"Hey, have some water..." Jin said quickly, easily reading the tension in Namjoon's posture and quickly holding out a bottle for him.

"Thanks..." Namjoon mumbled back, drawing his eyes to the bottle. he hoped he was hiding his jealously in his expression but from the way Jin was looking at him, he figured that it was the opposite.

As Namjoon took a first sip, the condensation on the bottle cooling his clammy palm, the familiar cool liquid soothing the dryness in his throat, Chloe suddenly popped out of nowhere.

"Namjoon!" the rainbow haired drummer threw her arms around him in a hug, none the wiser to his sip. He choked back the water quickly and hugged her back, laughing quietly.

"Hi Chloe," he chuckled, "Thanks for coming,"

"Thanks for having us! Charlotte sends her best, by the way," she mired.

"Where is she?" he asked.

Chloe glanced to Maria, who glanced to Kimberly, he glanced back at him with a sly smirk. The girls had a secret between them, "Oh, she's sorting some stuff out with another friend of ours," Maria replied. It was clear by the sunken expression on Jimin's face that he was hoping Charlotte would've come.

Hobi, none the wiser to the tension in the room, unabashedly shrugged, "We send her video after," he nodded, beaming through his broken English.

Chloe then looked to Kimberly and Darius, "Oh! I know he's late, but this is Darius," she gestured to the taller gent.

Namjoon swallowed, "How's it going?" Namjoon drawled, holding his hand out as steadily as he could to meet Darius' already extended handshake, "Namjoon. Nice to meet you,"

"You too, man," Darius agreed cheerfully, meeting Namjoon's eye line directly with a confidence he prayed he was carrying off at least externally, "I'm looking forward to the show. Hey -- do you guys really move that fast on stage?"

"We definitely try," Namjoon smiled back, taken aback at how nice Darius was.

He shrugged his shoulders as an attempt to ease the tension he'd built there, stretched his neck a little. He took another sip from the water bottle to cool his nerves, relaxed his jaw and hoped it made him look much more unaffected than he felt.

Part of him wished that Kimberly's boyfriend was in any way dislikable, but he simply couldn't bring himself to hate the guy, could see she liked him and that he liked her. Darius didn't seem to be fake or forcing anything, had no features Namjoon could distinguish as better or worse than his and he made Kimberly laugh, they were comfortable together.

Kimberly couldn't help but watch Namjoon get pulled between conversations, gauging his reaction. She knew that no matter how deeply complicated that first meeting between them had been, that he'd felt something for her and as cool and collected as he was trying to seem, the effortlessness of his demeanour, his sudden focus on the others' conversations, there was an awkward reserve beneath the surface, a slight fumble for words, a general sense of fluster she could see that Jin had noticed too. She remembered the way he froze on the spot at the revelation of her having a boyfriend, how timid he'd been in engaging in conversation after her show and she hoped things wouldn't be too uncomfortable between them because of their first meeting.

"How'd you and Kimberly meet?" Namjoon asked, nodding to Darius, his voice a little scratchy and he coughed to clear it. He took another sip from his bottle.

"At my job, funny enough..." he replied, giving her an endearing side glance, "Her band had their album debut at the club I work at and, yeah... been a bit of a whirlwind but..." Kimberly turned to him and smiled brightly, "It's been an adventure,"

"Ooh, you a... dancer?" Jimin asked, the dimples in his cheeks visible. He nudged Namjoon who gave an appreciative chuckle as he wiggled his shoulders.

"Uh -- no, no. I'm a bouncer," Darius replied, "You know; security. And I'm in school in the day,"

Namjoon translated quickly for Jimin, who gave a quick nod of understanding, then he turned back to Darius, "What're you in school for?"

Kimberly watched from the corner of her eye, found Namjoon's continued curiosity endearing and his eyes lit up when he caught her gaze.

Namjoon caught Kimberly's eye and raised his eyebrows whilst the rest of his face was taught. She broke away first, looking to Darius as he began to speak and Namjoon considered it a tiny victory.

"Finances right now. I wanna' get my insurance license and go into a firm," he shrugged sheepishly, "It's not really interesting, I know. When people ask what I do, I just tell them I work in a club,"

"Hey, c'mon. Insurance is very important!" Namjoon nodded, "You're the proverbial safety net with a fire, or a car accident --"

"Or a snake bite," Darius mentioned, a quirky smile playing at his lips.

Namjoon hissed, "Ooh, ouch,"

"Nah, that's not the bad part, though," he chuckled, "The claim was filed by a guy who broke a window of this other dude's car to steal the crates in his backseat. Little did this poor guy know that the car belonged to a pest control specialist and there was a live snake in one of the crates,"

He squirmed on the spot, still visually invested in Darius' story, "No way..." he mulled it over for a moment, "Hold on though: the guy who broke into another guy's car filed an insurance claim for --?"

"Health insurance. But then the pest control guy turned around and sued him for damages. The robber counter-sued for snake bites and hospital bills, yada yada..." Darius trailed off with a shake of his head, "Welcome to America,"

Kimberly scoffed beside him, "My favourite is still Grand Theft Garden Gnome," she chuckled.

Namjoon's lips pulled into a confident smile again, his focus brimming more on him, selfishly wanting to understand more about her through him.

"Grand Theft Garden Gnome? This ought to be good,"

Darius opened his mouth to explain, though he was suddenly cut off by Jin and Maria's matching defeated cries of frustration. They were playing against Taehyung and Jungkook on the foosball table in the corner, clearly the youngest members of BTS had beaten them.

"I give up!" Jin cried, flailing onto the couch

"You guys have to be cheating," Maria marvelled at them, turning to Suga behind them, "Do they cheat a lot?" she pointed to them. Suga simply shrugged, Namjoon could tell he didn't understand what she saying yet.

"Suga!" he quickly translated for Suga, who's face immediately lit up as he glowered at the younger boys, shaking head.

"No," he spoke quickly. Hobi and Chloe began to laugh beside him, and Jimin got up from beside Namjoon to partake in the teasing.

Jungkook laughed gleefully, "You give up, yeah?" he giggled, eyes crinkled gleefully.

Maria, ever the stubborn one, glowered back at the pair with a sharp "No..." though given Jin's pouting, she was clearly without a partner.

Darius however took pity on her, excusing himself from Kimberly and Namjoon, "Don't worry Maria, I got you," he winked to Kimberly, "Show 'em how we do it on the East end,"

"Knock 'em dead," she sang back.

From his spot on the couch, Jin gave Namjoon a subtle look and a wink, continuing his pout as Darius took up his spot beside Maria. Taehyung puffed up his chest, trying to come off as intimidating.

"Let's go, let's go!" he exclaimed, and with that, another fiery game was on.

Kimberly looked across to Namjoon, who could barely contain his smile, rolled her eyes jokingly, "You might have to postpone your show. Maria's way too competitive, she's not gonna' quit until she wins one,"

Namjoon rolled his eyes and pouted a little, watching his friends go head-to-head as clearly, Darius was proving to be a tough match for them; his game was tight.

"Jungkook is equally competitive, so we might have a problem," he sighed, "We have to let him win at Mario Kart or his entire day's ruined," he smirked, keeping himself from shifting closer to her on the couch.

"Oh no," she chuckled as she looked back at him, brown eyes bright and shining.

He'd been trying not to lose himself in her too often, had purposely ignored the loose hairs falling from her bun, the way freckles across her nose stood out sweetly in the light, had willed himself to focus on the conversation each time her lips had wrapped around the bottle of her drink but now he couldn't not notice it all, admired her up close, fantasized about having her as close to him as Darius had, then bit the inside of his cheek at his thoughts. It would have been impossible.

"... You can sit closer if you wanna'," she said sheepishly, "I won't bite,"

Despite all the control he'd fought for, the arrogance and air of nonchalance he was desperate to exude, hid face lit up, he couldn't help it.

Chuckling, he shifted closer to her, "Sure,"

Kimberly smiled, glancing curiously at her soda bottle, "I... I don't suppose you have anything hanging around that's stronger than ginger ale?"

Namjoon simpered back, "At the moment -- no. We're supposed to keep sharp for the stage," he smoothed the side of his hair back with the flat of his palm. Kimberly couldn't decide if it was nerves that had prompted him, or if he was trying to keep up his act, but either way, he looked effortlessly cool doing it.

"Very fair," she nodded, "I don't wanna be a bad influence or anything, but I could go for a Paloma right now,"

"Is that your favourite drink?"

She nodded, "Mhm. Tequila, grapefruit, and lime. That's it," she replied, "You have a favourite drink?"

"Probably just soju," he said with a shrug, "The watermelon one is my favourite,"

"Soju..." she marvelled aloud, "It's like sake, right?"

"Kind of, but soju tends to be sweeter," he replied.

"Don't judge me, but I've never tried soju," she admitted with a laugh.

Namjoon's eyes went wide, "No kidding?" she shook her head, "That's like never trying water! If I had known, I would've brought some for you,"

"Hey, gimme' a break. I only turned twenty-one a couple months ago," she tucked some loose hairs behind her ear.

He cocked a brow, "But did you only start drinking at twenty-one?" he asked, bringing his voice to a lower whisper.

"Officially -- yes. Unofficially -- no comment," she sipped her ginger ale to make her point, "Were you such a boy scout back in Korea?"

Namjoon smirked back at her, leaning in close, but not close enough to make her feel uneasy. He didn't want her or Darius to detest him for anything, knew that if friendship was all he could have, then he'd take it and hold it close to his chest.

"No comment,"

[cultfaction]

SHOUT! Studios bring Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal to digital this February!

Behold the spectacular fantasy feature films from prolific genius Jim Henson when the pop culture masterpieces LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL are set to unleash globally on Digital in 4K on February 6, 2024 by Shout! Studios in collaboration with The Jim Henson Company. Movie enthusiasts and collectors will relish the definitive digital releases of LABYRINTH (starring David Bowie and Jennifer…

[bartoonist]

BAR’s PS5 Screenshots 3-6-2024: the first 7 screenshots of this game are actually my Digital Download version of the Shadow of the Colossal PS4 Remake I now own digitally in my PS5 Console, and I gotta say though, that game is just as beautiful as when I actually used to play the PS3 Remaster of the original PS2 version of that game I played in the Team Ico Collection 12 or 13 years ago… my original PS3 Fat Launch Model Console crashed from the yellow light of death only once in summer 2010 and then later twice in summer 2011 when that 3rd yellow light of death forced me to go for a PS3 Slim Model Console later on Christmas 2011, that’s when I got myself the Team Ico Collection although I can’t remember if I got that compilation title in Christmas 2011 or on the 1st quarter months of early 2012, but one thing I do know is that the two visual styles of both SOTC’s PS2 Original Graphics and PS4 Remake Graphics have both aged gracefully, especially when the underdog PlayStation Studio Owned Company: BluePoint Games have surprisingly a marvelous job at remaking both that PS2 Cult Classic’s cast & open designs wholly from scratch, and for capturing the original PS2 Gameplay Animation Physics they put into that 2018 PS4 Remake too, the 8th and 9th screenshots are of this spectacular Metroidvania title known as Vernal Edge, and I know I’m having fun with that PS5 Digital Download Title too, and the 10th screenshot is of my Street Fighter Avatar I created in Street Fighter 6, and my SF6 Avatar’s name is Brisk Tintor, in hindsight: I probably should’ve also taken some pictures of my SF6 Avatar’s full body design too, just so you’d how I made my avatar’s design look, but maybe later when I’m done playing my Scarlet Nexus PS5 Disc Title’s whole story on my PS5 Disc Drive Console, I’ll reinstall Street Fighter 6 back in and capture some screenshots of my Avatar’s full appearance one of these days, since I wanted to save up my PS5 Console’s storage space btw, but I hope you folks like what games I’ve been playing of course.

[thirdtidemouse]

okay about the art school au

tell me if you have any bright sparkling ideas for this au bc god knows i would eat them up. like i said before i know johanna is a graphic designer now but she has roots in illustration theyre like siblings. she leans towards children's books, making up stories and weird wonderful characters out of thin air. her work is also very botanical - her doodles in the show are full of winding plants and flowers. she could fill a page with dense undergrowth.

gerda is a student too but she's like that one teacher that just LOVES fonts. she is graphic design, product design, interior design, going back and forth between the computer room and the workshop to lasercut something or to build a weird chair. she could probably run a company marketing department at 18.

i also said kaisa is an analogue photography girl. she doesn't really care for most commercial photography she's like a man ray superfan and probably gets snotty about using digital cameras sometimes but loves to mess around with unconventional and cameraless methods. she might smell like chemicals. she doesn't want anyone close enough to be able to tell. she has always been an academic nerd and it shines in her artist research, drawing from the most conceptual artworks and fascinating herself with what there is to discover about them. she would love mike nelson.

edmund is perpetually covered in ink, of all colours, on his hands and his face. he's constantly workshopping prints of all kinds, one of his final pieces being a gigantic woodcut relief print depicting mythical creatures with lots of iconographic detail (think luke pearson's norse-inspired patterns o_<). he takes print room safety VERY seriously. do not put your hands or hair anywhere near the roller on the press. he will get you.

ive got like an outline idea for 6-8 chapters depending on whether i do it as a comic or writing? comics take so much effort for comparatively less story coverage so it would be a big endeavor but i would really love to have it all in visuals (also i'm not a superstar writer?) it's so difficult because some things i want to describe like in written word but some things i want to have visual 😭 artwork between paragraphs could be good but idk how cohesive it would be and it might be a bit jarring to suddenly be reading what you were looking at and vice versa.. that kind of thing works really well for a memoir like alison bechdel's fun home but not so much straightforward fictional story idkkkk... i can like see some panels in my head but i also want to do long descriptions and idrk if i want to mash them together. if i really do this it's going to take some PLANNING

victoria is still crazy but in a much more creative way. she loves to discuss everyone's work with them, she loves weird and experimental stuff. she likes to make elaborate and unconventional sets, props, and costumes for her colourful multi-media short films. she loves any art that moves, and makes great use of audio, sampling heavy thunderstorms pretty often.

AND! if i included the creatures (as people) then tontu would be a fashion & textiles tutor. i shan't be taking questions.

also thank you for the inspiring tags @the-hilda-librarians-wife 😭 your hospital au was so awesome i might find myself doing footnotes like you did, describing techniques and stuff where it would be out of place to just straight up write it down in the story.. bc i am gonna get SCIENTIFIC with the photography

(if it was a comic i'm thinking about the fun I'd have with speech bubbles especially in a classroom/studio - one of my hugest ever inspirations is anatola howard and this comic is so spectacular for speech bubbles lol)

[mtaartsdesign]

Big news! Today’s New York Times feature by Ted Loos announced the new permanent and temporary art projects that will establish a #CulturalCorridor in Grand Central Madison, the #LIRR terminal below Grand Central Terminal opening in December 2022. Spectacular glass mosaics by artists Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith will become permanent #MTAart fixtures in the elegant new train hall. Rotating photography lightbox exhibitions, programmed with @icphoto will open with a new series by photographer Paul Pfeiffer. Five monumental LED screens will feature temporary digital artworks--inaugural works by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, Jordan Bruner, and @rednosestudio —and #PoetryinMotion, presented in partnership with the @poetrysociety . #MTAMUSIC live performances will further activate the terminal. Grand Central Madison is set to be the new destination in Manhattan, a space that is not only a portal into and out of the New York City, but a place where people will gather to eat, drink, shop, and see powerful and thought-provoking art.

Image 2: Kiki Smith, “The Spring” (2022). Photo: Vincent Tullo for the New York Times

Image 3: Yayoi Kusama, “A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe,” 2022.

Photo by Kerry McFate

©YAYOI KUSAMA

Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, David Zwirner.

Image 4: Paul Pfeiffer, “Still Life” (2022)

Image 5: Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, “Platform” (2022)

Image 6: Jordan Bruner, “The Grand Wander” (2022)

Image 7: Red Nose Studio, “Hat Trick” (2022)

[bear-boi-5]

Classical Love

Out of the ships I don't mind and quite like is Showtime. It feels more natural for me compared to the others. Like I said before, I'm not much of a TADC shipper, but, I like Showtime. Maybe I'll keep TSDS Showtime? Who knows. I just felt these 2 were perfect for Showtime

May or may not have been influenced by Sm-Baby

[brokehorrorfan]

The Abyss will be released on 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray and Digital) on March 12 via 20th Century Studios. It will also play theaters for one night only on December 6 before hitting Digital on December 12.

Written and directed by James Cameron, the 1989 science fiction film stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

The Abyss has been newly remastered in 4K, supervised by Cameron, with Dolby Vision HDR as well as Dolby Atmos and 2.0 DTS-HDMA sound. Both the theatrical cut and the special edition is included. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Special edition version (171 minutes)

Theatrical cut (145 minutes)

Deep Dive: A Conversation with James Cameron (new)

The Legacy of The Abyss - Interviews with James Cameron and crew (new)

Under Pressure: Making The Abyss - 1993 documentary with James Cameron, cast, and crew

Montana Bridge Flooding behind-the-scenes footage

Engine Room Flooding behind-the-scenes footage

Surface Shoot behind-the-scenes montage

Crane Crash Shoot behind-the-scenes footage

Miniature Rear-Projection behind-the-scenes footage

Deepcore timelapse

Videomatics montage

Motion Control timelapse

Visual Effects reel

Teaser trailer

Theatrical trailer

Reiws trailer

Still gallery

A nuclear sub mysteriously sinks and a private oil rig crew, led by foreman Bud Brigman (Ed Harris), is recruited to join a team of Navy SEALs on a search and rescue effort. The group soon finds themselves on a spectacular life-and-death odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface, where they find a mysterious force that could either change the world — or destroy it.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

I saw this article linked on reddit and I can't recommend it enough. "How Hollywood killed celluloid." Some excerpts:

Hollywood executives prefer the high costs of a film that is reshaped in post, that has 5,000 percent more footage, for a simple reason: digital filmmaking offers more opportunities for studio executives to control the picture after it’s been shot. 

[...]

Disney’s Marvel Studios, the greatest champion of digital cinema today, spends hundreds of millions of dollars on CGI that is designed to be spectacular but whose purpose is abject. Marvel’s producers are known for using CGI in every frame, replacing props and set pieces, giving characters new hairstyles, and ironing away wrinkles from actors’ foreheads and creases in their suits. Like Lucas’s editor who bragged about manipulating every frame in The Phantom Menace, Marvel mistrusts the camera’s ability to capture the realism that unfolds on set. The studio wants to tame what André Bazin described as “the irrational power of the photograph” that is the basis of cinema; the image’s capacity to misbehave in the future, no matter how hard one tries to direct it in the present. Behind every instance of Marvel’s CGI is the hope for the blockbuster’s continued supremacy. 

In light of the repeal of the consent decrees, it’s clear that the myth of digital filmmaking as a cheaper, faster medium than celluloid has become the remaining big studios’ alibi for achieving what had been taken away from them: a monopolization of all filmmaking activity — control over production, distribution, and exhibition. Bordwell predicted that in converting to digital, exhibitors were opening themselves up to a power grab. He noted that the perpetual capital-intensive demands of digital exhibition would engender a situation in which “only the permanently well-funded” would be able to exhibit films. Today we know exactly who these players are: the Hollywood majors, Amazon, and Netflix.

[puppyluver256]

[Image Description: Lisia, a Pokemon Coordinator from Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, with her Altaria named Ali. Lisia is standing on one foot with the other held up, one arm held out at her side and the other held up at the side of her head, her hand making a peace sign with an outstretched thumb as she winks at an unseen audience. Her Altaria, a blue bird with large white cloud-like wings, is flying behind her. The background is the Pokemon Contest stage. End ID.]

-----

“Hiiiiii, ev-er-y-bo-dy! Lisia here! Me and my Altaria, Ali, have come to Slateport City's Contest Spectacular Hall for a bit of FUN!”

More Hoenn with Lisia! Gonna be honest, I have some, uh...mixed feelings on Lisia, or rather what she represents. Look, don't get me wrong, I love her design, even if it was a bit Much to draw! But she's a remake-exclusive character who has no real impact on the story, so no nostalgia and no recurring encounter with her or memorable battles, not to mention she is tied to a feature I never really used in the original RSE and definitely not in ORAS because of the incorporation of the 3DS camera. Whose bright idea was it to make it so you couldn't mute the 3DS camera?! Artificial camera sounds are one of the banes of my auditory experiences, so if I want my digital camera quiet I should be allowed to do so!! (okay, I know why you can't, it's Japanese law or whatever supposedly to prevent creepshots [trust me tho, if someone wants to creepshot they will find a way], but why couldn't NoA fix that so that we could turn it off?! it's LITERALLY PAINFUL TO MY BRAIN) Still! No ill will to the character herself because of these reasons, just...don't really have any strong feelings of like or dislike toward her as a result of her not really making much of an impact on me.

💖🐶 Check out my pinned post for ways to support my artwork, among other things! 🐶💖

~Likes are appreciated, but reblogs are preferred as they let more people see my artwork! If you have something to say, feel free to give feedback in tags/comments/replies as well!~

Lisia, Altaria, and other Pokemon concepts © Nintendo/GameFreak Artwork © PuppyLuver Studios

[allexonspace]

Your art is so so spectacular! I was wondering if you could provide some digital art tips for beginners/those who are a little intimidated by it (I’ve been working with traditional mediums for a while and made a switch to clip studio)?

Hi!!! Thank you so much :DD

I'm ngl, I'm absolutely awful with giving tips, but sime of the things I've learnt from making digital art for about 7 years that I still find useful are these

- look up tutorials online for clip studio, learn about the interface, shortcuts, the brushes and where you can get more. Also test out all the brushes you can, change them up play with the settings

- always and I mean always make sure you have the pen stabilizer on its a life saver (I have mine on 11 in my case)

- this is a personal thing I did when I drew on my laptop. When you are making a drawing on a laptop/tablet screen send the drawing to your phone (Google drive or a personal discord server) to see how the color saturation changes from screen to screen

- When it comes to learning how to draw digital Ill always recommend sinix's videos. Teaches the basics of drawing in general but also great tips for coloring in digital. Really helped me with learning how to render skin

And in general, just have fun! Mess around and try new things, if there's something that you don't know what's for always look it up you might end up finding a new function you'll use for the rest of your life. Good luck!!!

[trentreznorfanboy]

part 2 of the cool interview, and some more pics :>

“Pro-file: Nailing a New Look” pt 2

Q&A with Trent Reznor and Rob Shriden about All That Could Have Been

By Mathew Honen for Macworld on February 1st, 2002

This is a continuation of my previous post, the rest of the interview, and some pictures to go along. I enjoyed reading this interview, they talk about something I don’t see a lot, I hope you enjoy.

Q: What was the experience of using DVD Studio Pro like?

Sheridan: At one point during the set, there are these three giant video screens that come down behind the band and project these incredible videos that Bill Viola [did for us]. During that portion of the set on the DVD, it's cutting between wide and tight shots and shots of Trent singing. But because these screens were so amazing looking, we thought it would be great to be able to switch between an angle where you could just watch the screen and then back to the cut showing the band playing.

Reznor: There some extra things in there that we shouldn't get into too much because over time they'll be revealed. But there are a lot of little hacks into the OS of the DVD, menus that you think pop up differently than they did the last time, to try and make the whole experience immersive. It was fun to be able to see what you could do with the medium and actually do it.

Q: Didn't you record Pretty Hate Machine on a Mac?

Reznor: Yeah, I've had a Mac since the very first one. I was also using a Commodore 64 for MIDI. At the time of Pretty Hate Machine, I had a Mac Plus. I did all the sequencing of that record on that. With Broken, Studio Vision had come out. That was the first marriage of MIDI and digital audio, and that forever changed the way I was going to record. Now that it's gone from recording everything on tape with a few things on the computer to recording everything on the computer, it's really changed the roles of a lot of people in the studio. The programmer's job is much more the engineer now. All the engineers now have to know Pro Tools.

Q: After providing the music for Quake, are you scoring any more games?

Reznor: I've been discussing things with Id Software for Doom III. It's not formalized at this point, but it's something I really want to do. When I did Quake, we were still questioning if the audio was going to be streamed off of CD, which if it wasn't was incredibly limiting. But with as interactive as things are now, and as immersive as the engine they've been working on is graphically, and some of the program is so moody; it's like scoring a film. Yet it's much more intense than a film because it doesn't always go the same way, it has to be interactive. Plus the mood of the game is so dark and evil, it's interesting to me.

Q: What kind of rig do you have in your studio?

Reznor: I set this up several years ago to Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar. It's an SSL analog big console, and we've moved away from two 48-track analog tape to everything being recorded on hard disk. We have 72 tracks of in-and-out ProTools hardware. The main computer in there right now is an 867MHz G4 with 1GB of RAM and several fast SCSI cards. We still use SCSI drives. We have a few of them laying around to always have at least two 36GBs online at all times, and we have a big tape backup system that backs us up every night. We have a secondary Mac in the control room as well that we use for software synthesis and running through plug-ins in real time. I think the coolest thing that's happened in the last few years is with synthesizers going virtual. That's why we have another Mac that's just up to run things in real time, running Reason or Reactor, or a number of software samplers like Battery or Absynth. Reason is from Propellerhead--it's spectacular. There's a lot of gear just being reduced to a PowerBook.

Q: Do you have a Titanium PowerBook?

Reznor: I'm about to as soon as I can get Apple to give me one. In the meantime I've got a gasoline-powered 500MHz G3.