#The way Charlie looks here is also experimental

[glitch-pep]

Charlie calling Milo at 1 am to ask him random shit is one of my favorite genres of oc jokes-

He's not going to fall asleep for a while anyways, given how much coffee he consumes, so she takes advantage of it. 💀

Extra:

Milo: "...Charlie, why do you have that as your contact name for me?"

Charlie: "...think about it for a while Einstein, I'm sure it'll dawn on ya eventua-"

Charlie: "EY GIMME MY PHONE BACK-"

[doodlyreone]

Smiling Friends at Pony Town Memories ADVENCHA!!!

Part III

An experimental bit to compensate for my always delayed screenshottter phone and archiving ponytown instances to doodles. I roleplay as Charlie and these are the highlights of my interactions with a Pim kinner @mellowvisions .

Although I haven't taken drugs, I felt like I am high in these conversations, it's just one shower thought after the other. This is the last bunch for today and it feels right it ends this way.

Hours pass and it's really coming along greatly. There's this awesome dude was nearby and like wow I can't take off my eyes on him like get this – he has more beard than any Santa Claus I've encountered in any mall. Like all natural beard. He let us touch it and it feels like an ancient artifact. It looks so cool and I'm considering about growing out a beard myself.

(Charlie and Pim having beards just makes them looking more akin to their voice actors bwhahshck. I really saw bright orange shirt with blue accent and white bandana having pony and I was like "IS THAT A DRAGONBALL CHARACTER?" I-)

Turns out the guy just got released out of prison and got the prison bar glitch 50 years ago. It is rumored around here in the local area with how bad the police are in their jobs that the prison cells are so tired of being empty, it just teleports in people, regardless of they're innocent or guilty. I don't really believe it, like I just think it's the police but it might as well happen here. I hand out the Smiling Friends building address to the guy by writing on his palm. Oh, the pen was from Pim, he always had some just in case we need to write on something and that pays off.

(I just love like trying to make sense of the show and its lore. Like as a charity that wishes to help people lift spirits, I wouldn't question like the building having a facilities to cater to those who are homeless or like neglected by society – have you noticed their building is beside an asylum. I improv that theres a public showers available and I wanna imagine they hand out free food too.

Uhh also referencing what happened to the background character in the Who Violently Murdered Simon S. Salty? ep like dude just walks out the theatre and be lookin confused when he's behind prison bars the next scene release him he did nothing wrong)

It's pretty uneventful after that. Pim and I discuss what just happened.

( I really like Charlie's front face in the Charlie Pim And Bill Vs. The Alien episode it reminds me of Captain Underpants somehow oml. Also, the disjointed phrases is mostly to blame with Ponytown chat limited-words-of-pop-up-at-time but it feels right since it emulates like Charlie and Pim sometimes cutting each other off it's brilliant)

What I heard is groundbreaking, earth shattering, reality tilting notion. I genuinely thought I'm just imagining the heart swelling chime because it feels nice but- but no Pim is actually hearing it too. Had the clients heard it as well? Is there someone tailing us behind waiting to play that chime when we'vedone our job? But no that can't be right cuz there's the constant decibel and tune and like we would have notice it and like no matter where we are, it's the same thing, as if it's not in the room for it to change its aural texture but instead like- like a sound bite overlayed on top of a show. I-I think I might actually puke from this, oh my God.

(SMILING FRIENDS IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT EXISTENTIALISM BWHAHAHAHA. The genuine distress they're under after becoming too self aware oml. It translates to what if 4D dimension exists and we are just tv show for them kind of bit. Also I kept the misspellings and missing words cuz it adds character and funny - the sequel.)

UNTEXTED VERSIONS UNDER CUT:

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

"if Buck or Eddie is going to be revealed as queer, it means Buddie will be happening." I actually completely agree with this but can I ask you why you think this? I also want to say that I don't think Eddie needs this kind of experiment arc or self discovery arc Buck is going to get. Eddie is just going to simply be in love with his best friend, and that will be it. Buck will be the experienced one.

I think that if they're giving Buck a self-discovery/experimentation arc they won't give one to Eddie because that would be redundant.

I wondered in season five if Eddie would come out - it was very heavily coded that way in my opinion - which would've meant that Buck then wouldn't get a self-discovery/experimentation arc. Again in my opinion. It would just be redundant to have both of them do that.

So yes, I agree with you, I think Eddie is just simply going to be in love with his best friend. Which I think suits him best. I personally don't think Eddie would bother to label himself or care about that kind of thing and would say "well I'm not straight" if asked and leave it at that.

The reason I think that if one or both of them is coming out as queer it means Buddie will be happening is that if the writers are cognizant enough to realize the audience sees queerness in one or both of them, they are also cognizant enough of the fact that making one or both of them queer and not getting them together is a) ridiculous and b) unkindly teasing the audience.

Looking at the situation as a writer, the simplest, easiest, obvious solution is to have Buck and Eddie date each other. If I'm going to make them queer, why would I reinvent the wheel by introducing a love interest the audience may not like, that I'll have to do extra work to get the audience to like, when I can just get them with each other?

Additionally, if I have noticed "hey we kinda made 'em queer and people have noticed," then I have also noticed the audience wants them together. To make Buck queer and give him a coming out episode/arc but then not get him with Eddie is rather like Lucy yanking the football away from Charlie Brown. While it's fun to bait and switch your audience in some ways (like who will have their life in danger in an episode, etc), you don't want to alienate your audience or make them feel played or cheated.

To make Buck queer and then not get him with Eddie would be like a middle-finger consolation prize. "Here FINE Buck's into men are you HAPPY?" And while there are definitely showrunners and writers out there who are that level of petty, most are not. Most care about their characters, story, and audience, and frankly most don't want to risk alienating their audience that much.

I think by now, showrunners and other head creatives are aware that "well we won't get the two together but we'll make one of them bi" isn't going to be treated as the well-intentioned consolation prize they think it is.

Additionally while I have a lot I'd like to yell at Tim about, he did say forever ago (back in season three I believe) that he never wants to make writing decisions based on pettiness or spite, and I choose to believe he stands by that.

Of course nothing is set in stone and if they do make Buck queer they might not make Buddie canon. But to me it simply makes the most sense. It's the easiest route and the most likely explanation for why Buck is coming out, and to not do it would be yanking the rug out from under your audience a bit, and I don't think any sensible writing team or showrunner would do that.

[cellarspider]

2/30: Prometheus attempts to establish themes

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

⛬

Several minutes into Prometheus, we have had no dialog, and we are going to wish that it stayed that way.

This is by little fault of the actors themselves. They all put in solid work. Many of the problems come from the writing, and others from the mismatch between their characterization what we’d call “informed traits”: What the movie tells us we should know about these characters. 

Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway are archaeologists. We see them with a dig team on the Isle of Skye, where they have just discovered their latest piece of evidence towards a radical theory. They have noticed something astounding that nobody else has dared to consider: evidence of alien contact with Earth, recorded in the art of disparate cultures from around the world. We, the audience, already know that they’re right. 

And we, the audience, know that the History Channel has had kooks on it for ages, ranting about Ancient Aliens. We’ve all seen the meme guy.

Okay. Let's try to meet this movie where it wants to be, thematically. These are its first two scenes, it's still establishing its direction, and nothing openly egregious has happened yet. We will ignore nitpicky stuff, like the fact that this previously undiscovered dig site is right next to a well-known tourist spot on Skye with 400 reviews on Google Maps.

This movie is establishing an existential premise for its themes. It implies aliens had some hand in shaping not just our culture, but our evolution. The questions it invites at this time are equally existential: why would they do that? What was their purpose here? What was their purpose for us? Why did they stop contacting Earth?

Whether life has a purpose is one of the core debates of philosophy and religion. This movie is beginning with the premise that terrestrial life does have a purpose, implied by the deliberate sacrifice of a thinking being to shape it. This supposition could create a more focused exploration of one possibility, within its narrative space.

I think it fails to deliver on this. The writing specifically fails to deliver on this, which will become apparent once we have more dialog. But there is also an issue with the framing of this premise, which the movie ultimately does not manage to avoid. An issue of cultural context.

Because this is where I, as somebody with a background in history, start to brace. The idea of extraterrestrials visiting ancient peoples is a discredited mid-20th century theory, which stems from ignorance of the historical record, and assumption of ignorance and incapability of ancient peoples to achieve great things, particularly outside of the cultures placed in the prized pedigree of European civilization. 

Such theorists look at the Great Pyramid of Giza and scoff at the idea that it could have been made without outside help, completely unaware of the century of more experimental pyramid-building that had preceded it, and the fact that we have written records that help us chart the progress of Egyptian mathematics for six hundred years prior to its construction.

They point to the Ramayana–likely written down around the same time that the Ancient Greeks were getting along just fine without aliens–and they say that the flying castles and chariots described in the text must’ve been aliens, who were mistaken for gods, and technological achievements such as rust-resistant iron must have been alien-made. Never mind that the period had a lively scholarly culture that was incorporating ideas from their Greek and Egyptian counterparts, and the people of the Indus Valley built well-planned metropolises with the world’s first known urban sanitation systems three thousand years before that.

They think the Moai of Rapanui, some of which were being erected while Shakespeare was writing his plays, were erected with the help of aliens. The actual answer, as usual, seems to be much more interesting: the Moai walked there:.

This is what ideas of ancient aliens are culturally tied to. You throw this into a movie, and even with the foreknowledge that they’re going to be proven right, I start out skeptical of these people from moment one. I was less likely to give them the benefit of the doubt, and less able to suspend my disbelief around them specifically. This will not get easier as we go.

Which is unfortunate, because most of the next scene is back to being phenomenal, and managed to bounce me back into going along with their premise.

...A side note as we close this out: Getting way too deep into the weeds here, but the art style of the cave paintings is worth mentioning. It appears to be a mashup of two famous cave’s painting styles: The animals are near-replicas of those famously seen in Chauvet (35,000 years old), and the humans and attendant dots are somewhat similar to Lascaux (17,000 years old), both caves in France. Here's an excellent little video from Tom Scott about the former, and the way that you can go see the cave paintings without endangering the site itself. There's a similar museum for Lascaux, shown below!

I say the human figures are somewhat similar to Lascaux, but I can’t find a match for the style anywhere. The closest I can find is from Tassili n’Ajjer in Algeria (6000 BC) or the Cave of Beasts in the Gilf Kebir mountains in Egypt (5000+ BC). This is because depictions of humanoid figures in european cave art are rare–ranging from a single bird-head figure in Lascaux, to the possible hoax at La Marche. 

This produces an interesting implication, if we take the movie’s premise at face value. If humanoid figures were avoided as subjects for cave art for thousands of years, their inclusion here is especially significant. Perhaps indicating that the alien visitors instructed that some visual representation of this scene to be made, or did so themselves. Thus, it is slotted in amongst the pre-existing animal art, creating a culture clash.

…However, cave lions never made it as far north as Skye. Their known northern range tapped out at about London. While it’s certainly possible that people could’ve traveled that far during this period, local animals tend to be the focus of cave paintings. So we’re getting the visual sense that a French stone age painter was doing a residency at Skye. Amusing, but odd.

⛬

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

⛬

Citations for alt text ramblings:

1. https://www.isleofskye.com/skye-guide/top-ten-skye-walks/old-man-of-storr

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariots_of_the_Gods%3F

3. https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

4. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/royalty-calculator

5. https://search.worldcat.org/title/7625265

[cloudwhisper23]

They didn't argue, not frequently anyway. William was proud of that fact, knowing that he and his best friend were close in a way where they simply didn't need to fight.

A detail that made this confrontation sting ever so much more.

"Will, he's bullying Charlie."

"He's going to grow out of it. You worry too much."

"Or maybe you don't worry enough." Henry shook his head. "Sammy wasn't like this when he was-"

"How about you raise your child and let me raise mine?" William growled, adjusting the amount of pressure he was adding to the springlock crank.

"Will-"

"We'll talk about it later. I have to get ready for the show."

"Spring Bonnie is fine," Henry replied wearily, but he didn't say anything. It was Charlie's birthday, and they both knew Henry would rather be spending his time celebrating with her, as if that would prove something to his wife.

"He will be in time for the show," William replied. "Go. I'll holler if I need you."

Henry sighed, but he did as William asked. When he'd left, William prodded at his suit experimentally. Henry may've assumed it was fine, but he'd nearly been caught by the springlocks the other day. And William did not want to take those kinds of risks, especially in front of the children. He already had enough problems at home with Evan's constant nightmares about the suits, and he did not need parents complaining about him giving their children nightmares as well.

And that was without considering the pain he'd actually go through during a springlock failure.

Slowly and carefully, William stepped into his suit. He rolled his ankles carefully to test the steadiness of the springlocks. When he was satisfied with that, he pulled the midsection piece closer. After putting that on, he gently flexed the fingers, feeling the added tension he'd added to ensure that the springlocks would not come loose. The springlocks held firm as he rotated his shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The metal bands remained in place as he reached for Spring Bonnie's head.

Then the first springlock snapped free.

William felt his throat tighten in fear as pain flared in his midsection. Of course it would be those springlocks that would come loose. Keeping his breath steady, he inched toward the radio sitting on the table. They kept it back here for exactly this purpose. Radio the office and ask for help from the security guard. Simple as that.

Except something in the radio was broken. No sound came from the device at all. Frustrated, William hit it against the table, but that didn't seem to fix anything.

A second springlock came loose, snapping harshly into his gut.

Don't panic, he told himself, cursing his loss of control. Already blood was soaking through his shirt and into the suit. He knew that the more he moved now, the more likely the blood would trickle down, and then he'd really be screwed. Henry will come to investigate if you take too long.

Because of course, William was meant to also be activating Fredbear for the show right now. It would be suspicious if neither of them showed up. So William just had to trust his closest friend or some random employee coming to investigate. He'd be fine. If he just stayed calm enough to wait for help to arrive.

"Father, Uncle Henry was wondering where you were," Michael peered into the saferoom. "What are you up to in here?"

"Currently?" William let out a huff of anxious laughter. "Waiting for rescue, Mike. I can't remove the suit when the springlocks have gone off, and that means this is a two-man job."

"What do you need me to do?" Michael didn't even look concerned, another sign that William missed.

"Go get your uncle."

"But I'm right here-"

"And you wouldn't know a springlock from a vent screw. Go get your uncle."

Michael's mouth tightened. "I want to-"

"Now, Michael." William shuddered involuntarily as two more springlocks stabbed into his body. He staggered backward, reaching for the wall to support him as he slid to the floor. "Before it gets worse."

"I can help-"

"Michael," William's eyes fluttered shut as he tried to block out the pain. "Do you recall the rabbit?"

"Rabbit?"

"The one you brought home. I'm presuming you were trying to save it, yeah?"

Michael didn't answer right away, but he seemed unsure when he said, "....yeah. Sure."

"Well, right now, imagine I'm the rabbit. I'm caught in a complicated trap, and if you make one wrong move, the trap kills the rabbit. You need the hunter who constructed the trap to remove it."

Michael's expression soured. "You don't think I'm capable."

"I don't think I've trained you on how to help. And reversing a springlock failure-" William hissed out another breath as more springlocks came free. It seemed that even breathing was causing it now. "Well, this is not the situation for teaching you how to remove a springlock suit. Because this might kill me."

"I can help!"

"Michael, get Henry. We're not arguing about this while I bleed out on the floor."

"Fine."

William heard his son's footsteps fade, and he wondered dimly of Henry was right. Was Michael more aggressive and angry than he should be at his age? Did he need more attention from his father?

That had been Henry's trouble, he knew. But Henry hadn't been making any time for his children. Clara never badgered him to spend more time with the kids, and they didn't ever complain about him working, so surely that wasn't the issue here.

Maybe he just really wanted a chance to prove himself with the animatronics. William wracked his brain for an explanation as he started losing consciousness. Maybe Henry.... maybe he was teaching Charlie about the animatronics.... William probably needed to.....

Losing the war of staying awake, William's mind cleared and thoughts ceased. He slumped fully now, all tension in his limbs going slack.

Michael poked Henry's arm with mild irritation.

"Can I help you, Mike?" Henry said, maintaining his cheerfulness despite the rude behavior.

"No. But you can help Dad. He's having trouble in the saferoom. Wants your help."

Why didn't he just use the radio? Henry wondered. Maybe Michael was trying to pull a prank. But that wasn't his joking face. Michael looked angry, mean even.

Sending an apologetic look to his daughter, Henry rose from his seat. He immediately looked to the stage, half-hoping Michael was indeed trying to prank him. There was only one reason William would need his help in the saferoom, and Michael didn't seem worried enough for that. But Fredbear and Spring Bonnie were still nowhere to be seen.

"I'll go check," Henry said softly. "Watch your siblings."

It was an automatic reaction, repeated based on how many times Michael's parents said the same thing to him. If it was possible, Michael's expression soured further, but he said nothing about it. Instead, his silver eyes sought out his younger sister as Henry raced to the saferoom.

"Will!" Henry called urgently. "Michael told me about-"

He froze as he noticed the dark pool of blood spreading from around his friend's springlock suit. William's head was slumped, and he was completely slack in the suit.

Terrified, Henry approached with shaky hands. "Will," he whispered. Tears were already building in his throat. For it to be this bad... he must've been there for quite some time.

Placing his hand against William's pulse point, Henry allowed himself a moment of relief. He was still alive.

It was far too late to simply remove him from the suit now. He needed paramedics, doctors. If Henry got him out of the suit, it would kill him in minutes. Not that he really has time anyway, Henry thought grimly as he heard another springlock snap in the suit.

His own radio, clipped to his belt at all times, was still functional. William should've been able to call for help the moment something went wrong.

"Scott, I need you to call 911," Henry said into the radio. "And then, I need you to call Clara. Will's been springlocked."

[linesonscreens]

Let's Read Peanuts (Yes, all of it) – December 1953

There are lots of great strips I just don't have room to comment on. I strongly encourage everybody to read the full month at the official GoComics page. Today's month starts HERE.

Dec 4, 1953

Schulz loves to put random stuff in 'quotation marks' in these early comics. I have no idea if it was a personal quirk or the standard practice of the time.

Dec 11, 1953

That's actually a good look.

Dec 13, 1953

Good perspective work on that piano. He really captured the effect of the keys going back into space. It's a harder effect to make work than you'd think.

Also, LMAO.

Dec 14, 1953

Lucy's early interactions with Linus come across as fairly mean-spirited to me and I can't say I'm a fan. It does explain a lot about how Linus ends up though.

Dec 20, 1953

I mean, this town has sentient trees and classrooms (oh shit, spoilers, sorry), so this snowman being both alive and dangerous is completely within the realm of possibility.

Dec 23, 1953

Fun fact: Schulz has actually been keeping the number of games they've played consistent this whole time.

Good job Lucy, you did it.

#goals

Dec 29, 1953

Marking the occasion because Violet failing to get CB to feel jealous (usually by way of comparing dads) becomes a recurring thing for quite a while.

Thoughts:

And that's 1953! Let's see how the art has progressed, shall we?

Charlie Brown

(October) 1950

(December) 1950

1951

1952

1953

Snoopy

(October) 1950

(December) 1950

1951

1952

1953

Shermy

(October) 1950

(December) 1950

1951

1952

1953

Lucy

(March) 1952

(December) 1952

1953

We're not seeing the massive changes that we saw between previous years, but the art is definitely still evolving. In addition to the heads continuing to shrink and the characters slowly aging up, the general design aesthetic seems to be getting more strongly defined while the line-work itself becomes a bit more loose and expressive. A pretty decent upgrade if you ask me.

We're also seeing a lot of experimentation in terms of format and character dynamics. Snoopy has started mugging for the camera, Lucy has started stalking Schroeder, Shermy got a new haircut, etc. The Sunday strips in particular seem to be getting a lot of love this year with increasingly detailed and dynamic background art and lots of different joke structures being played with. We even saw what felt like a trial balloon for longer for stories at one point.

Good stuff! Looking forward to 1954!

[autisticbokutoenthusiast]

pit babe ep 11 stray thoughts

- main cast grieving and peteway doing rainbow shots askkdjej

- i’m still invested in peteway…

- if alanjeff are in on the plan it’s serious… finally tony will fall

- CHARLIE. wait who is this

- “is babe very sad” understatement of the fucking year

- here we go here’s the plan. the experimental drug to endive temporary death plotline will always take me by surprise does not matter how many times i see it

- thinking about charlie saying “you know those senses are a curse for the two of us” but babe was sick to his stomach about getting his back…

- oh ok here comes the backstory

- “being alan’s boy requires using alan’s boy priveleges” scream??

- obsessed with this being like the only time i’ve seen an age gap ship have the younger one be liek “what if im not good enough for you you should be with someone else”

- northsonic being the biggest alanjeff supporters are everything to me. the way they look at eachother..

- kentas “i’ll handle pete myself” oh im sure you will

- alanjeff date is so funny like one lead thought to be dead the other sick with grief human trafficking ring still operating kenta on the loose winners been suspiciously quiet but yeah roller rink time wkkekeje

- jeff’s little “but i’ll see all your secrets i’ll see you” moment… you know what maybe psychic angst does hit

- “im pleased to be the person no one wants rather than a burden”

- THE MAGNETIC BRACELET IM GONNA SCREMA OH SHIT HES FUCKING THE OLD MAN

- awww I SAID STOP WITH THE FLAHSBACKS FUCKKKK

- pete and kenta being childhood friends….

- ok why did tony adopt kenta if he’s not an alpha, like was it just to raise him to be a henchman

- all the children dressing the same so they really do see younger versions of themselves when they watch kids get sold is so devastating

- way my baby, i love you come home

- thinking about kenta and his knifes and how hard he must’ve worked thinking he’d never measure up to the other children 😕

- oh?

kentapete kinda intriguing me… also i’m so happy way is back and pathetic as ever i missed him. kentapeteway when?!?!?!

[rabbitechoes]

june felt like a relatively uneventful month for new records despite some big names dropping. that could just be because i was just obsessed with that one green album everyone was talking about, but idk. anyways, here are all of the albums, EPs, and mixtapes i wrote about this month!! to check out my thoughts on some of the songs that dropped this month click here!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

BRAT - Charli XCX

🥇 BEST ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ released: June 7, 2024 ◇ genres: electropop, electronic dance music, bubblegum bass, electro house

Ever since her landmark Vroom Vroom EP from 2016, Charli XCX has gained a reputation for making “pop music from the future.” Every project she released coming into this current decade was boundary-pushing, it sounded so far ahead of nearly all of her contemporaries. In many cases, those projects still do, and those said contemporaries are still playing catch-up all these years later. That sound was captured not only by her own artistic sensibilities and knack for off-the-wall pop songwriting but also through her collaborations with likewise boundary-pushing producers like A.G. Cook and the late SOPHIE. Following a relatively disappointing release in the form of 2022’s CRASH, a record made with the primary goal of fulfilling her deal with the Asylum label, many were left uncertain about what the future might look like for her. She clearly harbored some frustration with the label, but maybe things would be different from now on. BRAT is certainly something different, a very unique record. One that strikes an impressive balance between nostalgia and that forward-thinking experimentation she became known for. It blends a love for 2000s club/dance music with some of the most nuanced songwriting of her career. BRAT is an album that only Charli XCX could make and it’s a testament to her various talents that it works as well as it does. 

The album’s minimalist, crunchy album art was met with some derision when first revealed, even from myself, but Charli’s reasoning for the art ties into some crucial themes on the record. She rejects the dominant image of pop music and its adherence to the squeaky clean – the vulnerable in the most acceptable ways. Charli wants to be messy and this album revels in it. Her writing here is real, confrontational, and occasionally very touching. She pokes fun at her undeniable influence despite not being your typical pop star on tracks like “360” and “Von dutch.” On the track “Girl, so confusing” she takes aim at an unnamed woman in the music industry she’s had a contentious relationship with. “So I” is the most poignant moment on the record as Charli eulogizes SOPHIE in a touching way, while also recognizing her shortcomings and regrets when it comes to their friendship. Many cuts on the album have Charli waxing romantic over her new fiancé, George Daniel of The 1975, and it puts her in a very different light than we’re used to seeing her in – it seems to even catch her off guard. Her writing here is all over the place, but it’s all uniquely her. BRAT offers a messy portrait of the artist and it just feels so refreshing. It sounds like it’s meant to be off-putting and inaccessible, but it’s just entrancing. The fact the record is breaking her streaming numbers further proves that. 

The songs themselves are also excellent. I’m eating some massive crow because as this rollout was happening, I was admittedly a bit underwhelmed by some of the singles. However, hearing them in the context of the full album, it’s some of her best work to date. I don’t know how I didn’t immediately connect with the soaring, red-hot synths on “Von dutch” paired with those explosive hooks. “Club classics” and “B2b” were my favorite singles heading into the album, but they shine even brighter here. They’re just straight-up club anthems. The orchestral production of “Everything is romantic” caught me off guard at first, but the way it bleeds into this jittery electronic beat is just mesmerizing. There is just something so addicting about the production across this album. Even on the more subtle tracks like “I might say something stupid” and “I think about it all the time,” I’m just locked in. The record rarely ever loses its momentum. Charli, A.G. Cook, and a revolving door of some of the most interesting producers have crafted such a distinctive album.

I love BRAT. I think it’s one of Charli’s best projects to date and it further cements her status as one of pop music’s biggest visionaries. Despite being a “get back to your roots” kind of album, it still sounds so fresh and new. To put it simply, no one is doing it like Charli XCX. None of her contemporaries could make an album as nuanced as this while also keeping the “Club classics” coming. It’s just a mess by design and it works incredibly well. This is, without a doubt, one of the best pop albums of the year.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Sentir Que no Sabes - Mabe Fratti

◇ released: June 28, 2024 ◇ genres: art pop, avant-folk, art rock, chamber jazz

The only Mabe Fratti project I’d heard prior to this record was her debut, Pies sobre la tierra. I’m sure she’s had a nice, steady evolution leading up to this record – and I hope to go back through her catalog soon – but jumping from the debut to Sentir Que no Sabes was truly shocking. Coming from an art pop album with folk stylings to art pop with folk stylings AND jazz instrumentation throughout was a shift I wasn’t expecting. Fratti structures these songs like ambient pieces, which I find truly fascinating and unique. The instrumentation is layered and complex, deeply striking too. She captures mood so incredibly well. Hearing the booming upright bass thumps on the opener “Kravitz” was already a lot to take in, but then her vocals coming in with that unreal horn section soon to follow made me know I was about to hear a very special album – and that it is. 

The instrumentation on this album is so inspired. Just as soon as you think you have it figured out, the album does something you could never have anticipated. “Pantalla azul” is one of the more straightforward songs on the record, leaning heavily into the folkier sound, but then it throws these weird synth parts at you. It manages to work incredibly well too, very rarely does a risk not pay off. Fratti sounds incredibly confident in these songs, it comes through in her vocals just as much as it does the instrumentation. She knows when to lay out and let the music do the talking. Like on the “Elastica” songs – in which “Elastica II” comes before “Elastica I” – two instrumental pieces that are so strange. One with these chaotic, dissonant cello leads that make you feel on edge, and the other is just a serene ambient piece. Both are some of my favorite moments on the record. 

Her lyricism across this album also deals with some strange concepts, to the best of my understanding and translating capabilities. Like on “Kravitz” where she sings of “ears in the ceiling” or “Enfrente” where she sings of people lying in order to sleep peacefully. There’s a lot of anxiety on the record and it’s matched in both her lyrics and the music, it’s so fascinating. There’s so much to uncover on this record, I’m still piecing things together after multiple listens. I’m very enamored with this.

Sentir Que no Sabes is one of the most unique albums I’ve heard all year. A massive leap forward for Fratti who ideally can build off of this sound for years and years. It’s such an incredibly fruitful framework that can be molded into so many different shapes. Her range as a composer is on full display here too. These songs are weird, dense, beautiful, and frightening. She revels in all of those feelings. Please do yourself a favor and dive into this album. Despite my adoring this record, I have a feeling Fratti’s best is yet to come which is extremely exciting.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Impossible Light - Uboa

◇ released: June 28, 2024 ◇ genres: death industrial, dark ambient

Xandra Metcalfe, under the moniker of Uboa, created one of the most visceral and disturbing albums in recent memory with 2019’s The Origin of My Depression. Having finally ventured through that record not too long before diving into this new one, I thought I would be at least a little prepared for Impossible Light – I was dead wrong. There is no way to prepare for a Uboa album. Given the recurring themes both lyrically and musically in her work, you can anticipate what she might throw at you, but you will not be ready for it. I’m very familiar with the “primal scream” songwriting technique, but Metcalfe takes it to an extreme new level that is both captivating and deeply upsetting. Her words are often buried beneath these scorching soundscapes making it hard to discern what she’s saying without reading a transcription of the lyrics. Even without reading the lyrics, these songs crush you, but deciphering Metcalfe’s words makes it hit that much harder. It doesn’t sound like she’s conducting these random bursts of noise and other upsetting sounds, it’s as if she’s running from them – sometimes even resigning herself to them. That choice makes the themes of the album that much more impactful. 

A lot of the same themes from The Origin of My Depression and Impossible Light overlap, but this record dives deeper into them while also providing new layers to Metcalfe’s songwriting. This album kind of picks up where the former left off, I couldn’t imagine experiencing one without the other. She reckons with the traumas of her youth and by extension the struggles she’s faced being trans. This record feels a lot more current, divulging the fluctuating feelings she’s faced over the last few years. She fiercely dissects her own feelings and usually buries them beneath dizzying, disgusting noise in an attempt to drown them out.

“Endocrine Disruptor” is a scathing and brutal attack on those who wrongfully believe trans people are “unnatural.” She proclaims, after some of her most fiery lyricism, that “If we are unnatural like they say / Then we will take their precious nature away.” It’s chilling and made all the more viscous with the ramshackle percussion and suffocating synth work throughout. “A Puzzle” is one of the most viscerally uncomfortable songs I’ve ever listened to. The sonic shift a little over a minute in throughout the middle portion of the track makes my skin crawl, I genuinely felt a little sick to my stomach for a moment. This album is just unrelenting. Even in the more serene moments, there’s this looming dread that shakes you to your very core. Perhaps the only exception is the closing track, “Impossible Light / Golden Flower,” featuring otay:onii and Liturgy’s Haela Raveena Hunt-Hendrix, which ends the album on a surprisingly optimistic note. For that reason, it’s one of the most striking songs in her catalog. The instrumentation is a lot more light, still overwhelming, but it reminds me of the elation present in a lot of the arrangements on Björk’s Vespertine. She sings of a “light at the end of infinity,” seemingly hoping to find some recovery from all of the trauma she’s dealt with. It’s an emotional moment and ends the album in a much different place than its predecessor. 

I believe Impossible Light is Metcalfe’s strongest record yet. It’s one of those albums where words can’t do it justice, you just have to experience it and see how it makes you feel. My first listen to this album took a lot out of me. I typically can handle heavy albums, but this made me feel like I’d been to hell and back. This is not my lived experience, yet I felt everything to my very core. Incredibly potent album.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Resort - Skee Mask

◇ released: June 13, 2024 ◇ genres: idm, ambient techno

German ambient techno producer Skee Mask has crafted an immersive and warm collection of tracks on his new album Resort. I usually find IDM stuff feels sort of cold, or wintery, but Resort is firmly a summer album. No doubt influenced by the fact that it’s currently summer where I live, but these songs all sound like summer. The hot pavement beneath your feet, sitting outside bathing in the sunlight, the cool breeze that occasionally blows past you for shorter than you would like, or sitting inside as the air conditioning saves your life, this album covers all of those feelings. It’s weirdly visceral. I find myself being unable to “zone out” to it, whenever I listen it has my full attention. I just end up getting lost in these tracks. 

Despite all of these pieces being very atmospheric and ambient, there’s usually something wild or crazy thrown in to shake things up. Like the jittering drum beats on “Reminiscrmx” interspersed alongside the sunny synth foundation. “Daytime Gamer” is one of the best songs I’ve heard all year, it’s so well-crafted. The song’s bridge is just otherworldly, he has such a good understanding of how to keep the listener engaged both with the sounds he implements and how these songs are structured. One of the wildest moments on the record comes with “Schneiders Paradox” which has the kind of rhythm you can’t sink into, it keeps you on your toes. I love all of the weird sounds on this cut. I also love the weird reversed percussion used on tracks like “BB Care” and “7AM At The Rodeo” it all just sounds so unreal yet it circles back to feeling very real. Most of the songs here are absolutely striking in some way.

There are so many cool little details spread across this album, some obvious and some that only reveal themselves on repeat listens. Resort definitely feels like one of those records that begs to be experienced more than once and the music justifies that. This album was the first time I’d ever listened to Skee Mask’s music and it was a damn good experience. I’m not super well-versed in the IDM world, outside of a few of the “important” artists, but it’s records like this that make me want to do a deep dive into the genre.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Dissection Maps - Old Saw

◇ released: June 21, 2024 ◇ genres: ambient americana, drone, american primitivism

Dissection Maps is like a roadmap for a place that’s completely out of time. Not in the sense that its days are numbered, but there is no context of time. This place is of both every time and no time at all. The one thing that’s for certain is that it’s all uniquely American, almost disturbingly so. Old Saw’s work feels both small-scale and sprawling. There’s this deep organic intimacy to it all, no doubt due largely to the implementation of a lot of traditional folk instruments, but it also feels all-encompassing. It captures a specific setting so well and without words. The music just guides you along and tells you all you need to know. It’s like a spiritual dissection of rural America's nooks and crannies – I don’t consider myself to be a spiritual person, but these songs feel almost religious. The instrumentation lifts you up to the clouds, surveying the sites beneath you. The trees, the plains, the long roads that lead you into town – however, it also feels like you’re completely grounded, looking up at the trees and out to the plains as you drive down that long road into town. Such a unique listening experience, at least for me. 

The feelings it conjures up usually aren’t serene or peaceful, they’re often desolate and hopeless. Like the drone towards the end of “Dealt in Silver” with the church bells ringing out of time without warning. It’s like you’re looking up at these bells shaking and rattling, making so much noise, as the hot sun beats on your face. “Revival Hearing” breaks things up a bit with the jaunty banjo and subdued bells that open the track, but then the drone comes in. It’s like even in the more joyful moments there’s a looming feeling of dread. It’s both captivating and frightening, an impressive display of the band’s abilities. I was a little let down by Old Saw’s last record, especially after how great their debut was, but they more than made up for it on Dissection Maps. It’s concise and effective, perhaps their strongest record to date. I encourage everyone to experience this.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

NO HANDS - Joey Valence & Brae

◇ released: June 7, 2024 ◇ genres: hardcore hip hop, east coast hip hop

We’re only about halfway through the year and NO HANDS might have secured the spot for the most fun hip hop album of the year. Pennsylvania hip hop duo Joey Valence and Brae have created a short, concise, and frenetic sophomore album. Full of amazing beats, courtesy of Valence, and some of the best hooks in rap I’ve heard all year. They have that bratty edge of the Beastie Boys, but the kind of humor that strictly sets them in the current day with references to things like Omnitrixes from Ben 10 and Beyblade. It’s very referential humor, which I’m usually not a fan of, but it just works for me here. Probably because, sigh, I am a Zoomer. There’s such an infectious energy to this record. It’s nothing world-changing, and it doesn’t need to be, it’s just two guys making a super enjoyable rap record. 

At just a little over 31 minutes, NO HANDS rarely wastes any time. The duo keeps up the energy the entire time. That Beastie Boys influence shines through especially on the first track with the opening call-and-response vocals and they do it very well. It never comes off as a parody despite the unserious tone of the record. That beat is just incredible too, pure hardcore hip hop goodness. “PACKAPUNCH” is even better with amazing performances from the duo and a hilarious Danny Brown verse. “Have your face fucked up like a 2K skin” has been in my head for days. The album throws a curveball at you in the form of the title track which has a great jazz rap beat. The verses from the pair are also among my favorites on the album. They have this kind of irony-tinged nostalgia, making them so much fun to listen to. “THE BADDEST” is their best attempt at a crunk song and it’s so much fun. The way they deliver the line “I’m the baddest bitch in this club” with so much force is so good. Like yeah, you guys are the baddest bitches in this club!   This album just sounds like two friends making music solely for the fun of it. They have incredible chemistry too. They always bring the same energy to these songs, they’re always on the same page. It can be easy to view this album as a joke, but Joey Valence & Brae have genuine talent. They have a good understanding of rap songwriting, especially in the hooks department. Valence’s beats are also incredible and I need to hear him produce more stuff this instant. Not every song is a heater, although most are, but they all sound like they’re trying to be. More often than not, they knock it out of the park. I learned afterward that these guys are big on TikTok, which makes a ton of sense. I usually try to steer clear of TikTok stuff, but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for these two. If you’re looking for a good time, definitely give NO HANDS a listen.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

One Hand Clapping - Paul McCartney & Wings

◇ released: June 14, 2024 ◇ genres: pop rock, power pop

It feels crazy to say this nowadays, but in the early 1970s, Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles output left many fans disappointed. He had a string of big-hit singles, but critically he was fighting an uphill battle. Especially with this new band Wings. Band on the Run marked a slow, but sure shift in McCartney’s favor and he was seemingly looking to bolster this band for stardom. In the summer of 1974, McCartney and crew retreated to Abbey Road Studios to bang out some tunes both new and old. Adding drummer Geoff Britton and young guitarist Jimmy McCulloch to the lineup as well. This lineup would carry them through the preceding Venus and Mars album, with Britton leaving the band during the recording of that album. One Hand Clapping was meant to be a documentary film, but it was abandoned as was the live album recorded for it. The film and the songs themselves have been drip-fed to us through various deluxe editions, bonus tracks, box sets, and whatever else has come out over the last 50 years, but this is the first time we’re getting a full version. This is a pretty fascinating album that features some of the most vibrant versions of these songs ever put to record. There’s this uneasy energy to the recording like everyone is still feeling each other out, but these songs just sound destined to be played in arenas. 

A hallmark of Wings’ live performances was how Linda McCartney would absolutely drench these songs in synthesizers and One Hand Clapping certainly doesn’t let you down in that regard. Hear the opening of “Jet” from this record which features said synths taking the place of the horns on the studio version. Despite that sound certainly not aging well, I kind of like it. It’s a little cheesy, but it does make this album feel a bit more intimate. Stripping away some of the pomp and circumstance while still embracing that schmaltz McCartney became notorious for. Some songs here implement some strings and brass – because many absolutely call for them, Wings did not make very intimate music – but I think it’s interesting to just hear the band on their own from time to time. This isn’t the most consistent or exciting live record, but it does reach some crazy highs. The three-track run of “Band on the Run,” “Live and Let Die,” and “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” is absolutely electric. Everyone in the band is giving it their all, but it also speaks to how well-written those songs are to begin with. The version of “Junior’s Farm” here is also a standout and might be my favorite version of the song ever. It really showcases McCulloch’s guitar skills too. As does “Wild Life,” which breathes some much-needed life into that cut. When the band goes into that next gear, they sound like superstars, ready to prove everyone wrong. McCartney especially sounds determined to make this thing succeed and the band pulled it off in the end. As I mentioned earlier, this record is full of some decent, sort of unessential songs mixed with some absolute heaters. Hearing Macca meander his way through Tin Pan Alley jazz cuts, “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” or whatever other small ditties he’s come up with has kind of lost its novelty to me after hearing so many outtakes and demos from his more creatively fruitful periods. Still, One Hand Clapping is a good listen if you’re a fan of McCartney and Wings.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

MEGAN - Megan Thee Stallion

◇ released: June 28, 2024 ◇ genres: southern hip hop, trap

On her third full-length album, Megan Thee Stallion takes absolutely no prisoners as she celebrates herself along the way. The aptly self-titled MEGAN is a bold look at one of the biggest stars in music today. I’ve always enjoyed a lot of Megan’s work over the years simply because she just has “it.” She has this undeniable energy and fire in her delivery that just makes her captivating. Made all the more powerful by the slandering she’s faced from hip hop media and her contemporaries in the wake of the whole Tory Lanez situation, which many used as an attempt to attack her for some reason I’m still confused about. I won’t harp on that long, but a lot of artists will express sentiments like “Everyone is talking about me and hating on me!” and it usually falls kind of flat, but in Megan’s case, it absolutely doesn’t. The coverage she’s faced over the last few years has hardly been music-related, it’s been drama and others using her name for clout. She puts her naysayers dead to rights on this album right from the get-go. Opening the album with “HISS” was a fantastic decision. One of the most decisive and effective takedowns of the year. Starts the record off very strong.

This is one of the few times being self-indulgent pays off. Megan rhapsodizes herself across the album over some unabashed Southern – specifically Texas – hip hop. She teams up with frequent collaborator and Texan LilJujuMadeDaBeat among other predominantly southern producers across the record to pretty good effect – although I do think it’s time for a bit of a shift after this record. The first half of the album is full of heaters, but most of my favorite tracks come from the middle section. “Otaku Hot Girl” borders on corny with the intro vocal sample of Adam McArthur, voice actor for Itadori Yuji from the Jujutsu Kaisen English dub, and Megan’s various anime references, but it’s just so much fun that it’s hard to get upset with it. “BOA” was a great single leading up to this record and it still maintains its fire on the record. It’s also an earworm, the repeated “womp, womps” in the hook stick with me for some reason. The latter half of the record sees features from a variety of Southern rappers, most notably UGK – one of the most iconic Southern rap duos. Their feature is nice, but they could’ve phoned it in and it still have been a cool moment. “Accent” has Megan teaming up with GloRilla for their second collab of the year and these two just have so much chemistry.

Megan wanted to fit herself and what she loves on this project, this is all about her. It’s a joy to listen to, even if every song doesn’t end up leaving too much of a lasting impression. This is a statement record, Megan Thee Stallion is here to stay. You certainly haven’t heard the last of her yet. She sounds ready to take on the world.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Tw*ts - bar italia

◇ released: June 5, 2024 ◇ genres: slacker rock, post-punk

Everything about bar italia just feels so effortlessly cool and this new EP, The Tw*ts, showcases that very well. Even though I am relatively unfamiliar with the band’s past material, I just get their whole vibe from these four tracks alone. These songs all have an undeniable groove anchoring them, meanwhile the vocalists and the guitars just sort of play along within that groove in often weird, noisy ways. Everything feels so rigid, but also free-flowing. I have a difficult time believing the clashing instrumentation of something like “Sarcoustica” was heavily rehearsed, it sounds so off the cuff. The band just sounds like they have concrete chemistry, knowing how to get the best they can out of these songs while sounding like they are putting in the least amount of effort in the coolest way possible. Like the dreamy, drawn-out closer “sounds like you had to be there.” It’s like a nonchalant attempt at an end credits song. Nothing sounds like a grand statement of any kind on this EP, it’s just a band playing some kickass tunes. These near-12 minutes alone have made me a fan of bar italia, I can’t wait to dive into the rest of their stuff very soon. Doing further research leads me to believe this might be a bit of a “leftovers” EP from stuff made during the recording of their last album, The Twits. Which does make this a weird entry point for the band, but I hope to fill the gaps soon enough.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

HEAT - Tove Lo & SG Lewis

◇ released: June 14, 2024 ◇ genres: dance-pop, euro house

In all honesty, I haven’t been too impressed with Tove Lo’s music over the years. I often find it just doesn’t click with me, although I do have some nostalgia for that “Habits (Stay High)” song because it was one of the wildest things I’d ever heard at the age of 11. Also, it was a free iTunes Single of the Week so I had it on my iPod! However, HEAT is the most I’ve enjoyed a project of hers yet. She teams up with house and disco producer SG Lewis for a collection of club bangers that all fly by while inviting you back for more. The groove of the title track is intoxicating, it is just one of those songs you turn your brain off to and enjoy. The hook is so amazing too, it’s such a well-crafted Euro house track. The other songs are good too, although they don’t reach the heights of that song. Aside from the closing track “Desire” which has both artists working to the best of their abilities. The EP is worth hearing for those two songs alone. One of my biggest takeaways from this EP is how great of a producer SG Lewis is. His production really shines here on all of these cuts. Even when some of the songwriting on the two middle songs leaves something to be desired, it sure as hell sounds good. If you’re in the mood for a quick fix of house bangers, certainly give HEAT a try.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Samurai - Lupe Fiasco

◇ released: June 28, 2024 ◇ genres: jazz rap, abstract hip hop, boom bap

I had very high hopes upon hearing the title track leading up to this record. It was another great example of Lupe Fiasco’s lyricism as well as his ear for good, jazzy beats. I was excited to hear where he would go on the rest of the album, but I never could’ve predicted what this album was going to be about. Samurai is a concept album and tribute to the late Amy Winehouse. Lupe set out to answer the question, “What would it be like if she was a battle rapper?” It’s a fascinating concept – a unique one to be sure. Unfortunately, despite the intrigue, the music here leaves a lot of potential on the table. Lupe’s lyrical prowess is on full display, but the album often feels unfocused on both the lyrical front and the musical front. He’ll have these elaborate complicated bars and the beat will be very good, but it just isn’t as impactful as I would like it to be. I was more so just impressed by his rapping rather than actively enjoying it. 

What makes songs like the title track and the following “Mumble Rap” great is that they both have hooks that sort of anchor them. Lupe does his lyrical thing, but those hooks elevate the songs to higher levels. The chorus in the latter has him almost mumbling the words playing into the name of the song, which I thought was clever – also helps that the song isn’t just another track dogging on “mumble rap” and instead plays into the concept of the record. “Palaces” and “No. 1 Headband” are also highlights in that regard, but his verses lack a sense of urgency that grabs you. At a brisk 31 minutes, The album’s lasting impression leaves a lot to be desired. These tracks are not bad by any means, many are pretty good, but the bulk of the songs on the album never hit that next level they have the potential to. Samurai has an interesting concept, but the execution just could’ve been a bit stronger.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Born in the Wild - Tems

◇ released: June 7, 2024 ◇ genres: alté, contemporary r&b

Tems has been making some waves throughout the hip hop and R&B world over the last six years or so. The Nigerian singer-songwriter has released a bunch of singles, two EPs, and has had some notable performances on albums from artists like Drake and Future. Now we finally have Born in the Wild, her debut album, and it’s just as promising as it is disappointing. There are many moments on here where she shines, like on “Burning” or “Love Me JeJe,” but this record only scratches the surface of what I think she is capable of. She seamlessly switches between Alté and neo-soul throughout the album which gives it a good bit of depth, but I can’t help but feel it would be a much stronger project had it been a bit more concise. I do love the production across this album. Tems handles production on multiple tracks here, but it also features contributions from notable Afrobeats producers like GuiltyBeatz, Spax, and P2J. Afrobeats have been making an impact across the world and I don’t think we’re too far off from it being one of the dominant sounds in pop music – we might already be there actually  – but I would much rather an artist like Tems be at the forefront of that rather than someone like Selena Gomez. 

I adore the two tracks I mentioned earlier. The smooth neo-soul of “Burning” perfectly showcases Tems’ ability as a vocalist and songwriter. The chorus is simple, yet effective, which I unfortunately can’t say about some of the cuts here. She has such a commanding presence vocally, I just wish some of the songwriting here matched that same energy. The subtle Afrobeats stylings of “Love Me JeJe” are so satisfying. The song interpolates and shares the same name as a 1997 song from Seyi Sodimu. It’s one of those songs that should be a big hit, but I fear the window has already closed a bit. “Ready” is also a brilliant song, I love the way the sort of jagged percussion juxtaposes both the soft synths beneath and her gorgeous vocals. There’s no shortage of really good stuff here, nothing on this album is bad by any stretch, it just has the potential to be much better. The songwriting leaves a bit to be desired on some of the songs here and it really makes you feel the album’s length. Like the sustained “Oh boy, oh boy …” chorus of “Boy O Boy,” it just feels like a song that isn’t fully finished yet. 

As it stands, Born in the Wild offers a pretty decent showcase for Tems’ various talents, but her best is definitely yet to come. With some spruced-up, more focused songwriting I could see her being a force to be reckoned with. Mark my words, Tems will have a big global hit within the next few years. If I’m wrong, I’ll be surprised!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Bad Cameo - James Blake & Lil Yachty

◇ released: June 28, 2024 ◇ genres: art pop, alternative r&b, neo-psychedelia, electronic

I’ll fully admit that I went into Bad Cameo feeling jaded at both of the artists involved in this project. I’ve never been a massive fan of James Blake’s work on his own and his comments on “erasing” the saxophone and its contributions to music, even if they were in jest, rubbed me the wrong way. Lil Yachty’s novel shift away from trap with Let’s Start Here and his subsequent shading of the genre that he made a name for himself in has also irritated me despite liking a good bit of that record. So, yeah, I wasn’t exactly excited to hear from these two. Bad Cameo is an awkward, decently crafted record with a couple of bright spots and a whole lot of snoozers. 

Yachty and Blake have the kind of chemistry that suits neither of them. Both of them sound lost on these largely atmospheric tracks. Blake’s vocal style is the same as it’s always been and Yachty’s haven’t adapted well to this style all that well, but I guess I admire the effort. Yachty’s unwieldy singing here has a bit more feeling than Blake’s at the very least. Everything he does sounds so pristine that it makes me feel like if I get too comfortable I might end up knocking some kind of expensive vase over. Like on “Midnight” where Yachty tees up Blake for the most washed-out vocal handoff I’ve heard in a while. Very rarely do these two strike a perfect balance on the record, it often ranges from decent to tolerable to “y’all have no clue what you’re doing and it’s obvious.” I do enjoy some of the production on this record, that’s always been one of Blake’s strongest assets. I adore how “In Grey” sounds, definitely my favorite track on the record. Bad Cameo is ok at best. It offers some decent surprises sometimes, but it often just feels far too aimless and clumsy for its own good. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Dopamine - Normani

◇ released: June 14, 2024 ◇ genres: contemporary r&b, pop

Gaining prominence as a member of Fifth Harmony, everyone’s favorite girl group, and through her breakout solo single “Motivation” in 2019, the anticipation has always been decently high for Normani’s full-length solo debut. Well, after all this time, we finally have Dopamine. I enjoyed “Movement” a decent amount, but I would never call it a favorite. Still, I was hopeful to see what she could do on a full album. Unfortunately, Dopamine is a very middling debut when it should be a very exciting one. She falls into all of the R&B cliches and in the process removes almost all of her individuality as an artist. What should be a mind-blowing step forward for a young artist just ends up feeling like … another album. Dopamine’s biggest crime isn’t being bad, although some moments prove to be rough, it’s just painfully generic. Most songs warrant nothing more than a shoulder shrug.

Normani carries herself well, but these tracks fail her, I feel like there’s so much more she’s capable of. The music here shifts between pop rap, R&B, and some dance pop which should give her the chance to show what she can do, but they leave a lot to be desired. The amalgamation of these established pop songwriters and producers doesn’t help matters either. It means everything is competently executed, but it lacks that flair that should make a debut so special. Still, there are some relative gems here. “Take My Time” is a sugary-sweet jam, one of the few songs where everything just works. Normani sounds like a star on this track. “Tantrums” with James Blake is another one of her strongest performances and Blake’s signature ghastly vocals fit well. She teams up with Cardi B on the closing track and lead single “Wild Side,” and it’s decent. Normani sounds like she’s having fun here and Cardi’s exaggerated lyricism provides a good foil. Strange choice for a closer though. Dopamine isn’t a bad album, but it’s held down by generic songs that don’t showcase Normani in the best light. The majority of the tracks here just don’t excite me. Despite it all, Dopamine is the best solo album from a Fifth Harmony member!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

C,XOXO - Camila Cabello

◇ released: June 28, 2024 ◇ genres: alt-pop, contemporary r&b

This new Camila Cabello album was one of my most anticipated of the month because every sign pointed to it being a trainwreck. The shift in sound displayed on the album’s singles and snippets – which many have rightfully called out for being a hodgepodge of much more interesting and subversive pop aesthetics – did not suit Cabello well at all. C,XOXO is a deeply vacant album that also happens to be embarrassingly honest. It’s like a fish out of water that’s hastily reading their diary entries in front of everyone. Cabello sounds desperate to be taken seriously, but not too seriously as to allow for some moments of levity. The end result is just a mess, a boring mess – the worst kind. 

Much has already been said about the lead single “I LUV IT” with its blatant, on the verge of plagiaristic, Charli XCX influence and weird Playboi Carti feature, but that is hardly among the most bizarre choices she makes here. The core of this album is Cabello trying her hand at a variety of pop sounds to varying, often boring, levels of success. Amidst these sterile tracks, we get an interlude featuring BLP Kosher where he starts talking about how Cabello’s music was there for him when he was going through a period of heartbreak. What? Why is this here? It feels like ego-stroking, also who the hell is BLP Kosher? This is a 32-minute album with like three different interludes, she doesn’t manage the time on this album well at all. Perhaps the most bizarre moment on the album comes with “HOT UPTOWN” with Drake – who famously hasn’t been doing too much lately – where the pair stumble their way through a dancehall track. This leads into the song “Uuugly” which, I kid you not, is a Drake solo track. A solo Drake song in the midst of a Camila Cabello album? Not even a good one either, it’s just a baffling decision. I guess Drake’s feature rate has gone down drastically over the last two months. It also takes the focus away from Cabello on her own album. She isn’t doing much to set herself apart either, none of this album sounds uniquely her own. It’s like she’s having a 32-minute identity crisis.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Timeless - Meghan Trainor

◇ released: June 7, 2024 ◇ genres: pop, dance-pop

Some albums you just listen to out of complete morbid curiosity and Timeless from Meghan Trainor is definitely one of those. The “All About That Bass” singer had a bit of a comeback a few years ago through some big, very irritating, hits on TikTok leading up to her last record Takin’ It Back. That album wasn’t very good, pretty much none of Trainor’s output has been that stellar. The follow-up, Timeless, is perhaps her best album yet and I’m only saying that because I think the opening track “To the Moon” is pretty decent. Trainor makes commercial music. You could imagine pretty much any of the tracks here in a bright and colorful Vitaminwater commercial or something. In fact, the music video for the song “Whoops” features an extended section of Trainor showing off and enjoying a cherry limeade-flavored Sparkling Ice drink during the song’s bridge. She’s brand-friendly in pretty much every aspect. It’s music more obsessed with image and commercial viability than forming a genuine connection with an audience. Her lyrics are all feel-good and empowering which makes you feel like a total asshole for not celebrating it, but my cynical anti-capitalist heart just can’t stomach it all. It’s so impersonal and commercial – money is the motive. The music across this album ranges from either unremarkable to irritating, which is to be expected. Trainor’s blend of doo-wop with current pop sensibilities is more often than not a recipe for disaster and that proves to be the case here as well. T-Pain pops up occasionally to breathe some life into this thing, but it doesn’t do much. Timeless didn’t surprise me, I knew what I was going to get coming into it. The only thing I learned is that I should probably start managing my time better. I could’ve gone for a nice walk in the sun instead of listening to this, I just didn’t need it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Secret of Us - Gracie Abrams

◇ released: June 21, 2024 ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, folk pop, alt-pop

As I’m writing this review, The Secret of Us is predicted to debut at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Now I don’t care about charts, but hearing just how creatively bankrupt this album is, I’m just shocked. I know music is subjective, but this is such a transparently empty record. Gracie Abrams, daughter of film director J.J. Abrams, seems to be the hand-picked apprentice of one Taylor Swift – don’t know if you guys have heard of her. She makes music in a similar vein, that corporately confessional verbose heartache riddled in these songs. Alongside Swift herself, many people from her “camp” are also here – so much so that it feels sort of like a pet project. The National’s Aaron Dessner co-writes most of the songs on the record alongside Abrams. Jack Antonoff obviously produces on the song “us.” – the duet with Swift. Even Justin Vernon, who seems to be wrapped up in this vortex, appears throughout the record. These are all competent artists in their own right, especially Vernon (please get back in the studio, i need another Bon Iver album), but no one is bringing their best here it seems. The album stays in that middle ground of sometimes bad, but mostly just … nothing. None of this makes me feel anything. It’s total in-one-ear-and-out-the-other singer-songwriter music. That kind of breathy folk mixed with the occasional art pop production either doesn’t suit Abrams well at all, or it’s been beaten to the point of exhaustion over the last few years.

I hesitate to say Abrams is a bad songwriter, she just seems painfully average. These songs are all deeply personal, yet have no distinct personality to them. They sound like heartbreak songs that could be shipped out to a number of different artists. They’re also very unadventurous musically. No surprises are thrown at you, once you press play on a song you know where it’s gonna go. Start subdued, go up an octave in the chorus, bring it back down again, rinse, and repeat. I guess it’s just a basic songwriting formula, but when nothing about this album is unique or interesting it wears thin quickly. The best song here is, in fact, the duet with Swift entitled “us.” It opens with this Carrie & Lowell-esque fingerpicked acoustic guitar, but thrown through that pop filter that sucks out the rawness of what makes that sound so special. Despite that, it’s still the most interesting song here musically at least. Everything else about it is fine. Whatever. Who even cares? This isn’t a good album.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading :3

psssst. i made a discord server called COSMIACORD ... if u wanna join and have fun, talk about music, play fortnite, or whatever here's the invite :3 https://discord.gg/rsHMenTU

[prof-ramses]

Here’s one last round of headcanons & ideas I want to share before the grind of my classes really sets in:

Back when they were still a circus troupe, Asmodeus and Mammon had a stand up act wherein they would respectively take the role of the straight man and wise guy. Ozzie eventually grew sick of being the punchline to all of the act’s jokes and he eventually quit. This would be the start of Ozzie’s resentment towards Mam. Mammon for his part sort of had a Jack Fenton like fondness for Ozzie that made him oblivious to the patter’s growing disdain, at least until the events of the mid season finale caused them to come to the surface.

Prior to falling, Bee was a completely insectile angel. After getting exiled from Heaven and becoming a demon, adjusting to the fact she only retained a handful of her original buggy features was a major hurdle for her to overcome, with the creation of the Hellhounds being a major step in her coming to terms with her new body.

You mentioned Levi potentially undermining the others as part of him being the embodiment of Envy, and it got me thinking that this isn’t a behavior exclusive to him (granted, he’s probably the most active when it comes to tripping up the others). The Sins and what they embody don’t always gel well with one another, so, whether it be intentional or not, they tend to sabotage one another just as often as they manage to work together.

While the entirety of Sloth is basically Belphagor’s personal Petri dish, I doubt she’d stop at experimenting on her own subjects. I think she’d probably find a subtle way to broaden her test groups without upsetting the other Sins. Namely, by marketing experimental (and highly sketchy) pharmaceuticals to some of the other Rings. Like, anabolic steroids for Wrath, dietary supplements for Gluttony, “performance enhancers” for Lust, etc.

For some reason I can’t explain, my mental image of your interpretation of Baphomet looks like goat headed version of this guy:

Also, working off of your idea that Mammon used to perform opera, I think it would be neat if either Camio or Furfur were fans of/familiar with his older musical works.

I also like to think Mam’s opera career was his way of proving he wasn’t just a comedic clown, but also a dramatic clown. The mixed reception his operatic works received also could have contributed to his distaste towards performing.

Building on my idea of Lucifer going through a tyrannical phase, I feel he’d try his hardest to keep Charlie in the dark about that chapter of his life out of fear it would drive her away.

I also had the idea of Leviathan’s having a small inner circle of demons that resemble remoras he works with that are basically just a bunch of yes men trying to coast on their boss’s success and status.

My personal theory for the Ars Goetia’s origin in the Hellaverse is that founding members were angels that sympathized or identified with Lucifer and the others, and were consequently exiled to prevent further dissension in the ranks.

You cannot convince me that Mammon and Mimzy have not met at least once. With Mimzy’s ego, she’s probably convinced herself that she and Mam are as thick as thieves. Mammon, for his part, finds her overbearing and grating to be around, but lets her live her little fantasy as it makes her easier to con out of her money. As an aside, I like to think the Loan Sharks she was indebted to in Dad Beat Dad were on his payroll.

I don’t know why, but I kinda picture Satan as having glassblowing and possibly smithing as a hobby, with his personal dwellings have a lot of his work either on display or directly incorporated into the structure. All of it is done with his own barehands too.

I’m rather fond of the idea that Octavia got her taste in music from Stella (one of the few less refined indulgences she could manage growing), with the two bonding over their shared interest after leaving Stolas.

Since Mammon undoubtedly has strong ties with the crime families that inhabit his ring, I think it would be funny if at one point when Charlie was little there was a bit of a schedule overlap, wherein he has to babysit her at the same time he had a meeting with a mob boss. Shenanigans naturally ensued, which eventually led to a moment like this:

That’s all I’ve got for now. Hope you enjoy them.

I really like you idea for the Sins having more than 1 act tied to them. I love exploring Ozzie and Mam's dynamic, I especially like the idea of Asmodeus developing gradual resentment for Mammon, while he latter just sees him as an occasionally annoying younger brother. There's also the added irony that Inside no.9 has an episode about a failed comedy duo reuniting.

Ohh, Bee only getting canine traits after the fall is such a great idea! We could do a lot with this idea.

See, get what you mean and I agree, the Sins being a chaotic found family kind of comes with that. The point I was specifically trying to make it that Leviathan would probably be the only one to do it both intentionally and on the regular. Hope this clears things up.

Another great idea. I think Bel also forbids Bee from taking her party drugs is because the stash is always full of untested concoctions and she uses reverse psychology to make Bee take as much as she can for the parties so she can take stock of what was taken and track the side effects when they show up (because they always do) by comparing samples from patients to the testing samples she kept.

Yep, that's hitting the nail, but I must say, my favorite Baphomet idea is easily your concept of his Hawaiian shirt having medical patterns on it.

YEAH! Mam's older works still have plenty of fans. He tries not to show it, but he's always really happy to see his older projects being enjoyed and respected.

Yeah, he's a great creative, but his performances don't always stick the landing.

Absolutely, Luci would do literally anything to keep this from Charlie, he'll avoid the topic around the other Sins like the plague.

Levi's assistants being literal parasites like him is great, maybe he has cleaners who look lie deep sea prawns, too.

I really like the concept of the original Goetia being "lesser" rebels. Nothing more to say, really. Just a really solid idea.

Mimzy is one of Mammon's more recent disaster patsies, he keeps her around not just because she's easy to talk into pretty much anything, but because she's genuinely loyal to him, and most importantly, when he wants to test new loan sharks, he sees if they can survive tracking her down, they never catch her, she's too unpredictable for that, but making it out of chasing that walking disaster alive is an impressive feet for an average hellborn in it's own right.

Interesting, I had this ide of him having a thing for reenactments, since they're another great reason for fights and destruction.

This is so wholesome! I can picture a scene of Stella listening to something with earbuds and when she takes them out because Octavia wants to ask her something, Via is so surprised that she forgets what she was going to ask and they just end up talking about music.

Oh, that's amazing. This has a whole fic worth of potential, I can just imagine Charlie accidentally doing something that gets the most important gangster at the meeting killed and Mam, now with the big issue out of the way, just barks some quick orders to the ones who are left and they wordlessly shuffle out the door, making sure to avoid Charlie in the process. Of course, this would all happen when Charlie's too young to remember and Mammon wants to keep it that way, he knows she wouldn't be proud of it

Great ideas, all around, as always!

[videostarblogs]

10. decora kei

decora kei is one of the most vibrant and visually striking subcultures to emerge from Japan's harajuku district. known for its playful, maximalist aesthetic, decorated kei is all about layering accessories, bright colors, and a childlike sense of fun. here's a detailed breakdown of decora kei.

origins and development

harajuku and street fashion: decora kei originated in the late 1990s and early 2000s in tokyo harajuku district, which has long been a hotspot for experimental and avant-garde street fashion. the term decorated is derived from decoration, reflecting the styles emphasis on excessive adornment

influences: decora kei draws inspiration from various sources, including 1990s Japanese pop culture, childrens toys, and candy colors. the style is heavily influenced by a desire to express individuality and creativity through fashion, often in a way that feels spontaneous and unrestrained

key figures and media: pioneers like model and singer kyary pamyu pamyu helped popularize decora kei both within Japan and internationally. the style was frequently featured in Japanese street fashion like FRUiTS and KERA, which documented harajuku most eclectic and colorful trends.

key motifs

over the top accessories: the most defining characteristic of decora kei is the sheer number of accessories worn. this can include dozens of hair clips, bows, bracelets, necklaces, and rings. the goal is to cover as much surface area as possible with colorful, playful decorations.

bright and layered clothing: decora outfits are typically built around layers of bright, clashing colors and patterns. t shirts, skirts, and leggings in neon hues or with playful prints such as polka dots, stripes, or with cartoon characters, are common. the more layers and the more mismatched the patterns, the better.

hair and makeup: hair in decora kei is often styles in pigtails, buns, or simply left down, but always decorated with a multitude of clips, bows, and headbands. hair colors range from natural to neon, with some enthusiasts opting for wigs to achieve the desired looks. makeup is typically fun and colorful, with heavy blush, pastel eyeshadow, and glitter. stickers and face gems are often applied to the cheeks and around the eyes for extra decoration.

toys and plushies: carrying or incorporating toys ND plushies into the outfit is common in decora kei. these can be worn as accessories, attached to bas, or even sewn into clothing.

masks and band aids: surgical masks often decorated in bright colors and bandaids placed decoratively on the face are also popular in decora kei, these elements add to the cute feel of the style.

music

the decora kei aesthetic is often associated with upbeat and playful music genres. j-pop, particularly the works of kyary pamyu pamyu, who is known for her colorful and whimsical style, aligns perfectly with decora kei. "shibuya-kei" music, a subgenre of pop that blends electronic, jazz, and pop influences, is also popular among decora enthusiasts. here are artists I suggest.

kyary pamyu pamyu

dempagumi.inc

perfume

poppy

charli xcx (debatable but I think her music matches the colors a lot for some reason)

halcali

babymetal

tommy fenruary6

shiina ringo

momoiro clover x

movies

so decora kei doesn't have a direct connection to movies, but films that have lots of color, fun, whimcy elements resonate with the aesthetic. animated films, mostly studio ghibli or other light-hearted anime films, align well with the playful and nostalgic elements of decora kei!!! movies that also feature fantasy or hyper stylized visuals like Alice in wonderland, especially the animated verion from the 50s, also work well with the decora aesthetic! here are 10 movies I suggest

kamikaze girls (2004)

funky forest: the first contact (2005)

love and pop (1998)

suicide club (2001)

the taste of tea (2004)

nana (2005)

sakuran (2006)

cutie honey (2004)

tokyo tribe (2014)

the night is short, walk on girl (2017)

books and other media

manga and anime: manga and anime that has cute, colorful, and slightly chaotic worlds are popular among decora kei fans. mangas/animes like "cardcaptor sakura", and "sailor moon", embody the magical and whimsical aspects of the style

fashion magazines: Japanese fashion magazines like FRUiTS and KERA were instrumental in documenting and spreading decora kei fashion. these magazines often featured street snaps of people wearing decora fashion, offering inspiration and showcasing the latest trends within the community

social media: plat forms like Instagram, TikTok, and of course, Tumblr are vital for decora kei enjoyers. these platforms allow fans to share their looks, connect with others, and find inspirations. decora kei communities often participate in dress up days too!!!!! so cute!!!

inspo

overall, decorated is a maximalist, vibrant fashion style that thrives on excess and creativity. its characterize dby a LOT of accessories, bright colors, and a playful, childlike sense of fun. the style s about expressing individuality and joy through fashion, often a way that feels like freedom. decorated kei celebrates the whimsical and fantastical, creating amazing outfits that are both chaotic and charming!!!!!

hello everyone!!!11111111 I know I haven't been online as of late. in early August, my boyfriend tragically and suddenly passed so I decided to take a long break from all social medias. thank you for understanding...

make sure to follow for more deep dive sinto fashion, like, and reblog if you'd like!!!! click my questions box in my bio to suggest a style as well!! that's all for now! TTYL

videostar signing off.....................................................................................................................................................................

[steelbluehome]

Variety

January 22, 2024 2:30am PT

‘A Different Man’ Review: Is Sebastian Stan the Right Person to Play This Part? You Decide in Daring A24 Drama

Featuring boundary-defying performances from both Stan and 'Under the Skin' actor Adam Pearson, director Aaron Schimberg’s dizzyingly rich think-piece raises bold questions about representation.

By Peter Debruge

Here we are, three weeks into January, and the Sundance Film Festival has delivered what promises to be the year’s most uncomfortable date movie: a grubby New York-set fable about a facially distinctive actor (modeled on Adam Pearson) who undergoes an experimental procedure that leaves him looking like Sebastian Stan — presumably an improvement, until he realizes that under the skin, he’s still the same miserable loser.

The kind of oddball satire only indie studio A24 would dare to produce, Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man” asks what it means to be “normal,” and whether, if we could wave a magic wand and “correct” those same aberrant qualities which set us apart, that’s really something we’d want. “Twilight Zone”-level weird at times, “A Different Man” suggests the bizart-house version of a Woody Allen movie, wherein traditional jokes have been axed in favor of long, cringe-inducing scenes between a nervous shlub named Edward (Stan, disguised to the point of unrecognizability) and the out-of-his-league neighbor on whom he has a crush (Renate Reinsve of “The Worst Person in the World”).

If you’ve seen Schimberg’s previous feature, “Chained for Life,” or Jonathan Glazer’s out-there “Under the Skin,” then you’re already familiar with Pearson, a British actor whose unique appearance — the result of a condition called neurofibromatosis, incorrectly associated for years with “Elephant Man” Joseph Merrick — made him just right for a handful of incredibly specific film roles.

Now comes Edward, the character Pearson was born to play. Except Schimberg casts Stan instead, hiding him behind an elaborate mask for much of the film. Makeup pro Mike Marino’s mostly convincing prosthetics replicate many of Pearson’s signature features — the asymmetrical brow, swollen lips and loose jowls — which inevitably invites the question why Schimberg didn’t simply ask Pearson to play Edward.

“Exactly!” the writer-director would surely reply, pleased to see that his thought-provoking project has audiences engaging with the kind of issues the looks-conscious film industry is still trying to wrap its head around. Here’s one, straight out of Schimberg’s script: “Do you cast someone with a condition even though it’s not the right fit?” And who gets to tell such stories anyway? (Schimberg, for the record, was born with a cleft palate and focuses much of his work on shifting cultural views of such conditions. To his credit, he imbues even the smallest supporting characters with the sense that their lives continue off-screen.)

With “A Different Man,” Schimberg attempts — and mostly succeeds, with deliciously awkward results — to cram a lifetime of thoughts about beauty and ugliness, attraction and disgust, identity and performance into a postmodern meta-film mold that few (apart from Charlie Kaufman, perhaps) have managed to make tolerable. Add to that Schimberg’s Brechtian way of cueing audiences to interrogate his choices as they go (the makeup is deliberately imperfect, the script brazenly self-conscious), and you get an exercise more appealing to film critics and academics than to an amusement-seeking public.

Embodying an aspiring playwright and not-especially-good actor, respectively, Reinsve and Stan could be two sides of the self-loathing character Nicolas Cage plays in “Adaptation”: artist and muse, splintered into separate personae, both struggling to find the appropriate/ethical/respectful way to communicate the experience of someone with a conspicuous physical deformity. Expecting the pair to also be romantic partners is asking a lot of a movie that crams a seminar’s worth of representation issues into two hours (which can feel like years, the way Schimberg draws out the discomfort).

“A Different Man” shares how it feels to be ogled and avoided by strangers as Edward rides the subway home, relying on Umberto Smerilli’s score to amplify our uneasy sense of identification. He startles Ingrid (Reinsve) the first time she sees him, moving in next door to his filthy apartment (there’s a disgusting black leak in his living room ceiling). But she shows no sign of unease when she stops by later that day to borrow detergent, which Edward isn’t sure how to interpret. Stan’s body language — stooped shoulders, hesitant gestures, ducked head — positions Edward as a pitiful character, which in turn is how Ingrid depicts him in a play written expressly for him to play the lead.

But before she can finish, Edward agrees to participate in a medical study that could potentially reverse his condition. (In reality, there’s no known cure for neurofibromatosis, and it’s a smart move on Schimberg’s part to keep the science/sci-fi to a minimum.) Soon enough, Edward’s face starts to peel — a gory process that involves stripping away Stan’s makeup to reveal the conventionally attractive mug underneath.

Suddenly, Edward has no trouble picking up women. He tells people that Edward died and invents a new name, Guy, landing a lucrative job in a real estate office. When he learns that Ingrid finished her play, he shows up to audition, bringing a mold of his old face and wearing it as a mask. The lead role was literally written for him, but he’s no longer right for the part. And then Pearson shows up, playing an upbeat, outgoing guy named Oswald who is the opposite of “Guy” in every way except one: He has the same face that Edward did, only more expressive.

“A Different Man” could have ended there, but Schimberg digs deeper, embracing the increasingly unhinged, high-concept absurdity that follows. Judging by the one screen credit pre-transformation Edward had to his name — a sensitivity-training video about working alongside people with facial differences — acting is not this guy’s calling. The audition finds this movie-star-handsome man going out for the same role that people with unconventional features seem ideally suited to play.

Whereas the cultural conversation can be suffocatingly one-sided on these issues, Schimberg invites all perspectives in a movie that risks offending so-called political correctness. “A Different Man” finds room for both Stan and Pearson to play characters with the same physiognomy, and it takes the bold route of making both men insufferable in different ways. Oswald is charming and charismatic to a fault, insinuating himself into the stage role Guy hoped to play.

Meanwhile, Reinsve delivers on the promise of her “Worst Person” performance, playing another casually seductive young woman with a capacity to hurt the things she loves. Shortly after meeting Guy, Ingrid throws herself at the actor (who’s the same person he was before in all but the most superficial sense). Once she gets him in bed, Ingrid asks Guy to put on the mask, adding still more layers to the film’s most vulnerable scene. Things get a bit more confused as “A Different Man” enters its final stretch, effectively testing the limits of Stan’s acting ability — whereas no one but Pearson could have played the doppelganger smiling him in the face.

[angst-king]

Corruption of Humanity Chp3

(CW mention of experimentation, implied drugging, & seizure) Emily found herself going back to the center many times, and the information Eve had given her, really opened her eyes and made her more aware! She was still having to get used to Charlie and Charlie was easing herself into letting Emily do basic checkups on her with Eve nearby. Emily was getting into routines with them and getting to know Charlie. Vaggie was still closed off and made sure her dislike for her was clear though she never hurt Emily.

Today was different, they were going to let some of the patients out and into a lounge area of ‘enrichment’. They’d be monitored by their handlers of course but it was better than seeing them all cooped up in their rooms. Vaggie seemed too cheery when Emily told them they’d be going out to the lounge, which was a nice change of pace. When she brought Charlie with her Vaggie immediately hugged Charlie as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. Taking them to the lounge Emily saw a few other patients along with handlers all sitting around. There was a small girl with bright red hair a gold streak and fairy wings sitting beside a much much taller man. This man looked like a humanoid deer. A flattened-out blackened nose, small antlers, ears, and a tail. Though his face was a greyish brown and all his sharp teeth were born in a grin. His hair was red and black as was a small staff-like thing he had in hand.

“Alastor!” Charlie shouted and ran over to him and the smaller girl, the deer man looked over and his smile and eyes softened to her. Vaggie followed the blond and they now were all sitting at the table together. Emily went to go and stand with the other handlers, seeing Eve and an older gentleman beside her.

“So this is enrichment, we just let them socialize?” Emily asked, Eve nodded and the man beside them hummed back. He had dark skin similar to her own but also salt and pepper hair. They watched the small group interact, casually conversing like teenagers at a lunch table. These guys were supposedly dangerous? Sure they weren’t human-looking anymore but they seemed to get along just like humans did!

“I see you got a new handler, is she treating you well, dear?” Asked Alastor, Charlie nodded while brushing her hair, something she seemed to do in an almost disassociated way.

“That's good, here’s hoping they drop those silly little experiments they seem to like doing with you.” “You know that they won't, they want to see when her powers will come in since her current ones don’t seem to be what they want.” Grumbled Vaggie, Charlie smiled attempting to reassure her girlfriend that she was alright.

“I-I’ll be okay, b-but Alastor you didn’t need to do all that for me you know.” “None sense my dear,” Alastor said warmly while he took the brush from her hands and started to braid her hair. He could feel a set of eyes watching him but he pretended not to notice.

“How could I let our dear princess suffer through such horrific things if I can help it? Besides it was fun, and you know I live for chaos.” Charlie smiled and nodded sitting still as he worked.

“Thank you, Al.” “You’re welcome”

“They seem so sweet, are they really that dangerous?” Emily said quietly, the man beside her raised and brow and huffed.

“You’re the new one, so I guess I can see why you’d say that, especially seeing this mushy show. But I’ll tell you now, they’re not as sweet as you may think, sure they can act it. They can be all nice and doughy-eyed with you or others but you end up alone, especially at night this place turns into a monster house and will drive you insane.” He says before taking a long sip of his coffee and leaning against the wall. Eve nodded and joined in.

“Alastor, that deer man over there,” Emily nodded seeing him gingerly braiding Charlie’s hair.

“He’s one of our eldrich horrors, he thrives on making deals with others and messing with them. He’s a cannibal who uses shadow manipulation to do what he wants, but his main thing is radio. The patients call him ‘the radio demon’ and it's fitting.” This seemed to really intrigue Emily, asking what sort of things has he done.

“Well, his favorite thing is letting his shadow creatins wander around and yank random people into a room and for him to kill. He broadcasts their screams over the PA system after somehow hacking into it and then does a whole freaky radio show.” Husk said between sips keeping his eyes lazily on the group of patients.

As the patients hung out another one joined them looking skittish and jumpy. A young male-looking figure much taller than Alastor, he had six arms, two large bright pink eyes, and many small ones as well, his form resembled an almost humanoid spider. He was accompanied by a tall tanned man, with long black hair with purple ends dressed in a handler uniform. The patient sat with the group who welcomed him.

“Angel!” “Hey-hey Charlie” Angel answered shakily, it was obvious something was wrong with the way Angel picked at his bandages and fidgeted. Charlie wanted to ask him but knew asking out loud was bad. She grabbed her notebook she kept and her favorite pen and wrote down.

“What happened?” And passed it back to Angel, who picked up the pen, and looked out of the corner of his eyes at his handler before writing.

“I can’t remember and I don’t like it.” He pushed the notebook back to Charlie, she frowned at this wishing there was something she could do. Angel took the notebook back and wrote.

“What about you Principessa?” “I’m fine” “Really? Ya look worse than me” “I’ll be okay, Al took care of it before they do much.” “Alright, I’m here if ya wanna talk.” “Thanks, Angel”

Angel gave a small smile and a thumbs up which Charlie returned. Games toys and coloring supplies were brought out for them to entertain themselves.

Back at the wall Husk had noticed Angel’s strange behavior and frowned. Thankfully he wasn’t the only one.

“Is that blond and pink-haired patient okay?” Asked Emily, the long-haired man nodded with a sly grin.

“Oh yes he’s alright” “He seems out of it, what’s with the bandages?” “Angel-Dust has a few self-harming habits so I had to bandage him up.” “Bullshit” Muttered Husk rolling his eyes.

“Oh don’t be such a sour puss, I’m just taking care of the poor thing, he can be quite self-destructive if you’re not watching.” “Well maybe if you didn’t pump him full of drugs all the time he wouldn’t be like that” Husk grumbled, Eve’s head snapped at the both of them.

“What?!” “Oh don’t worry, it's just some experimental drugs they ordered for him to try, I asked them to tone it down with the dosage but you know those two don’t listen to me” Husk wasn’t buying it and Eve didn’t know what to say.

“Valentino?” “Honest! I wouldn’t hurt the little spider, I’m just doing what’s ordered” Valentino replied though his tone almost sounded sarcastic. They went back to watching their patients, keeping an eye on Angel-Dust and how he interacted. He would sway frequently, stare off into space, eyes would roll back. It also wasn’t hard to see he was weak and shaky. You can’t miss it when he’s almost 8 feet tall! Whatever they were giving him wasn’t good if he could barely function!

After activities were over, patients were sent back to their rooms, and Emily decided to walk around and see if anyone needed anything. Looking through the one-way glass windows of each room most patients either took a nap or meddled with their own devices. The further she walked the darker the hall and then she stumbled upon Angel-Dust’s room. The taller being was sitting on the floor, hunched over on his knees. A set of hands tugging at his hair, another pair repeatedly scratching his throat and bandages. His last set wrapped themselves around his body. He was facing away from her but she could see that this was done out of distress. Shit should she get Valentino? He seemed really sketchy though, she could handle it right and could always radio for backup if need be. Sliding the keycard to let herself in, she called his name.

“A-Angel-Dust?” Angel swiftly turned around and let out a hissing noise and scurried weakly to a corner. Now that Emily was closer she could see his body was littered with scarring since the bandages were starting to come off. He looked petrified, continuing to hiss at her and doing a sort of posturing-up position she’d seen certain spiders do.

“Hey hey, I’m not here to hurt you, just to check on you,” Emily said gently staying near the door in case she needed to leave and not approaching unless he calmed down or needed to. Angel backed himself into a corner, his legs seemed to have trouble moving. He was pushing himself back on his hands.

“I promise Angel, I just wanted to check on you, do you want your handler, I can get him-” Angel’s eyes went wide and he shook his head frantically, tears started to fall. Okay, so that’s a definite ‘No’.

“Alright alright I won't get him, do you want me to leave?” Angel seemed unsure, of himself he shrugged and curled up into a corner. Still harshly yanking and clutching his hair. Emily slowly got closer to him warning him she was coming over. She stopped just in front of him and sat on her knees

“Can you tell me what’s wrong Angel?” Angel’s lips trembled as he tried to find his words. Emily encouraged him to take deep breaths and take his time. Finally, he answered.

“I-I can’t remember, I can’t remember, I-I’m scared!” in a shouting whisper.

“What can’t you remember, Angel?” “H-he did something t-to me, can’t-I can’t remember!” His breathing was quick and shallow as he continued to stutter.

“C-can’t can’t remember, brain nu-numb fuzzy” His words began to slur as if he was losing control of himself, his body slowly went limp and he leaned into the wall.

“A-Angel?!” Then he went rigid and his body started to convulse. Drool ran down his mouth and weird noises came from his body. Emily was quick to grab the pillow off his bed and put it behind his head to keep it from smashing against the wall and causing injury. There wasn’t much she could do for now besides keep him from injuring himself. She just had to wait it out. The sound of the door opening behind her had her on alert, but she quickly turned to see Husk and relaxed a bit.

“Oh shit what happened?” He asked hurrying over to them, Emily didn’t keep her eyes off Angel as she explained.

“I came into his room because he was freaking out saying he couldn’t remember something, and then he had a seizure.” “Damn, this happens often with him, it's from the drugs Val is ordered to give him. Go into the pharmacy room. You leave this room and head left down the hall you’ll see two double doors, labeled ‘pharmacy’. Grab a syringe from the red bin and a vial called midazolam.” Emily nodded at Husk’s instructions and made haste out of the room.

Running down the hall she found the double doors and went inside. The room was filled with cabinets and bins it was enough to make your head spin! She looked through the medicine cabinets found the anti-seizure supply and grabbed the small vial of Midazolam. She ran back to Angel’s room to see his seizing had stopped but he was struggling to come out of it. Though Husk was gentle in his efforts. His voice was soft and encouraging, rubbing small circles into his shoulders to keep him awake.

“Hey there Angel, come on, open your eyes for me. It's me, Husk, I’m right here.” Angel’s eyes would flutter open and roll back into his head then close. He would make these strained whimpering noises as a response. Emily gave Husk the medication to draw up.

“I’m gonna give you some medicine so can come out of this seizure alright, Anthony.” Anthony? But everyone called him Angel-Dust, I mean Angel-Dust wasn’t exactly a normal name it was a common nickname for crack though. After drawing up the medicine into the syringe, Husk grabbed onto fo Angel’s arms revealing an IV, and injected it into him.

“There, it's going to be alright Anthony, you’re gonna be okay.” Husk was now basically holding Angel though still keeping his head against the pillow that Emily placed in case he started to seize again. It took a few minutes before Angel sat up and opened his eyes, though his eyes remained rolled back. He started to move his hands as if he were searching for something.

“You’re okay Anthony, it's me, Husk, I’m just holding ya. Take it easy now, don’t want you to get hurt.” Angel slumped into Husk’s body, laying his head on his shoulder and chest. He still made the strangled whimpering noises as he calmed down. Rubbing circles into his back and whispering reassurance, Husk seemed to have it handled. So Emily let them, damn she needed a lunch break!

“You good, Em?” Eve asked while walking into the breakroom, Emily nodded putting on a smile.

“You look overwhelmed, something happens?” Did she look that overwhelmed? Sure what happened was a lot but, damn!

“Angel-Dust had a seizure in the middle of a panic attack.” “Oh damn, guess that was your first time helping someone through it?” Emily nodded and swallowed down what she was eating.

“I’ve helped many friends who have seizures but I’ve never given medicine to them or seen a person shut down and become self-destructive.” Eve nodded empathetically and placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder.

“You did your best, I know it can be a lot for your first time, this place will drive you crazy but. Just do your best. They appreciate it”

[onpitchperformingarts]

Why You Can’t Miss OPPA!’s 2025 Season!

The upcoming 2025 season at On Pitch Performing Arts (OPPA!) promises to be one of the most exciting and diverse seasons yet! Whether you're a longtime theater lover or new to the world of live performance, this season has something that will capture your imagination, tug at your heartstrings, and leave you inspired. Here are three compelling reasons why you absolutely can’t miss OPPA!’s 2025 lineup:

1. A Diverse Lineup for Every Taste

When we say OPPA!’s 2025 season has something for everyone, we truly mean it! The breadth of shows we’re offering will have you coming back again and again for more—each performance providing a unique experience that taps into different emotions and storytelling styles.

We start the year with the charming, romantic musical She Loves Me. It's a timeless story about finding love in unexpected places, offering humor, heart, and memorable music.

Then we take you on an epic journey with Titanic, the powerful and sweeping musical based on one of history’s most infamous shipwrecks. This is a show you won’t want to miss as it explores human courage, love, and tragedy.

For something more modern and uplifting, you’ll love The Prom, a heartwarming and joyous celebration of self-expression and acceptance. Perfect for anyone looking to laugh, cry, and maybe even dance along in their seats.

Later in the summer, we’ll bring Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to life. It’s a musical that appeals to all ages, with its dazzling costumes, unforgettable score, and family-friendly story.

The fall brings the lovable You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, featuring everyone’s favorite Peanuts characters. It’s the perfect mix of nostalgia and feel-good moments that will delight audiences of all ages.

Finally, we close the main stage season with Little Shop of Horrors, a cult classic that combines horror, humor, and irresistible music. With its quirky characters and edge-of-your-seat suspense, it’s sure to be a highlight!

But the excitement doesn’t end with the Main Stage! Our Creators Stage productions bring an intimate and often experimental flavor to the mix. You can expect shows like the hilarious Tuna Does Vegas, the thought-provoking Silent Sky, the iconic musical Godspell, and the beloved southern classic Steel Magnolias. Each show on this stage offers something fresh, inventive, and unforgettable.

Plus, don’t forget about our Children’s Theatre programming. Whether it’s seeing your little ones take the stage in The Little Mermaid Jr or cheering on the older kids in Mean Girls Jr, OPPA! is the perfect place to foster a love for the arts in the next generation.

2. Incredible Value

With ticket prices increasing everywhere, finding affordable ways to enjoy quality entertainment is a challenge. OPPA! is proud to offer season tickets for the 2025 season at a price that makes live theater accessible to all.

For as little as $143, you can have access to a full year of unforgettable performances. That’s six Main Stage shows, four Creators Stage productions, and the chance to support our growing Children’s Theatre program—all at a fraction of what you’d pay elsewhere for entertainment of this caliber. Think about it: that’s less than the cost of one dinner out per show, but it provides lasting memories and moments that will stay with you long after the curtain falls.

But the value doesn’t stop there! With season tickets, you get additional perks like priority seating, discounted rates for additional tickets, and the flexibility to exchange tickets if your schedule changes. You’ll also have the peace of mind knowing that your favorite seats are reserved for every show. It’s an unbeatable deal that allows you to make the most of everything OPPA! has to offer.

3. Support Local Arts

When you purchase a ticket to one of OPPA!'s shows, you’re doing more than just enjoying a night out. You're investing in your community, supporting the local arts, and helping us fulfill our mission of inspiring, educating, and entertaining audiences.

As a non-profit organization, OPPA! thrives because of the generosity of patrons like you. Every ticket sold helps us continue to bring quality theater productions to Layton and the surrounding areas. It allows us to keep offering arts education programs for kids and adults, maintain our beautiful performance spaces, and provide opportunities for local artists to shine.

Your support is what keeps community theater alive. In a world where we are increasingly bombarded with digital entertainment, there's something uniquely powerful about live theater—the connection between performers and the audience, the collective energy of a shared experience, and the magic that happens on stage. None of this would be possible without people like you.

So, when you choose to buy season tickets or attend any of our shows, you’re not just filling a seat. You’re making a difference in the lives of your neighbors, friends, and family members who volunteer, perform, and create with us. You’re helping to build a vibrant, artistic community that enriches everyone it touches.

Don’t Miss Out—Get Your Season Tickets!

There’s no better time to get involved with OPPA! than now. With such a varied lineup of shows, unbeatable ticket prices, and the opportunity to support the local arts, 2025 is going to be a season to remember.

Whether you’re a longtime supporter or new to our theater family, we can’t wait to share these incredible productions with you. Be sure to mark your calendar for August 1st, when Season Tickets and Flex Passes go on sale to the public, and secure your spot for a year full of music, drama, comedy, and heart.

See you at the theater!

For more information on tickets and performances, visit our website!

[fashionlandscapeblog]

I think it's more the way the outfit fit. They just often don't fit, especially in the bist area. I also think that especially back then people wore a lot of outfits in that style because of Kanye, Celine, Alexander Wang etc. but do you

Oh you did mean to be rude and very. First off, that is not completely true and you can see it through most my outfits in the past two years. Maybe there are a couple pieces that don't fit so well anymore and I should replace, since my body has changed now that I'm older and I rarely buy anything anymore for a couple of years, but that has nothing to do with my overall style. However, I will take your criticism in a constructive manner, even if it's evidently not how you meant it.

Secondly, I am NOT a fashion influencer anymore and I very ocassionally post outfits here, not in any serious way whatsoever, only having fun with 95% of things I've had in my closet for many years. I am honestly surprised that someone even cares about the looks I'm posting here since I stopped using Instagram.

And lastly, big NO: most people who wore minimal outfits then were wearing normcore and that is a fact. I do not remember Kanye being an influence on anybody (not a hip hop fan , but punk, on the other hand, has been an inspiration), but mostly, I do not remember anyone with an overall elegant, experimental minimal style other than Centenera who was my biggest inspiration (she was Kanye's influence rather than the other way around and I hate streetwear BTW). There were people like Elin Kling, Columbine Smile, Camille Charriere, Ivania Carpio, Charlie May and a few others with their own brand of minimalism, but none looked like each other differently to today's influencers. There might have been people who wore here and there elegant minimal outfits, but it was overall not a thing. Everyone wanted to wear casual, relaxed, and effortless was a key word back then. I know it because I was there. There wasn't even one single Tumblr blog solely dedicated to elegant minimal style and collecting those brands and designers back then. Besides, if you are telling me that there was anyone in the blogosphere then with an overall style wearing all the exact elements I've continously worn since then (asymmetry, dresses over pants, skants, subversive clothing, puff sleeves, barely there sandals or mules, etc) then I can just laugh.

You very clearly do not understand what style is (general problem with the Instagram generation) and that it is a very personal thing about the very specific things one likes and one's experiences and personal background (I studied architecture and I put together outfits in a similar manner I would design). My style was formed in the Y2K era (Helmut Lang style) and the influence was always there. I even met my husband back in 2003 in an outfit similar to what I wear today: white capris, pointy kitten mules, and a black plunge halterneck.

Please find a better hobby than to troll people on the internet. If you are so bothered by the looks I post, ignore them, it's very simple. I don't even earn a cent by doing this.

[denimbex1986]

'Here we are, three weeks into January, and the Sundance Film Festival has delivered what promises to be the year’s most uncomfortable date movie: a grubby New York-set fable about a facially distinctive actor (modeled on Adam Pearson) who undergoes an experimental procedure that leaves him looking like Sebastian Stan — presumably an improvement, until he realizes that under the skin, he’s still the same miserable loser.

The kind of oddball satire only indie studio A24 would dare to produce, Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man” asks what it means to be “normal,” and whether, if we could wave a magic wand and “correct” those qualities that set us apart, that’s really something we’d want. “Twilight Zone”-level weird at times, “A Different Man” suggests the bizart-house version of a Woody Allen movie, wherein traditional jokes have been axed in favor of long, cringe-inducing scenes between a nervous shlub named Edward (Stan, disguised to the point of unrecognizability) and the out-of-his-league neighbor on whom he has a crush (Renate Reinsve of “The Worst Person in the World”).

If you’ve seen Schimberg’s previous feature, “Chained for Life,” or Jonathan Glazer’s out-there “Under the Skin,” then you’re already familiar with Pearson, a British actor whose unique appearance — the result of a condition called neurofibromatosis, incorrectly associated for years with “Elephant Man” Joseph Merrick — made him just right for a handful of incredibly specific film roles.

Now comes Edward, the character Pearson was born to play. Except Schimberg casts Stan instead, hiding him behind an elaborate mask for much of the film. Makeup pro Mike Marino’s mostly convincing prosthetics replicate many of Pearson’s signature features — the asymmetrical brow, swollen lips and loose jowls — which inevitably invites the question why Schimberg didn’t simply ask Pearson to play Edward.

“Exactly!” the writer-director would surely reply, pleased to see that his thought-provoking project has audiences engaging with the kind of issues the looks-conscious film industry is still trying to wrap its head around. Here’s one, straight out of Schimberg’s script: “Do you cast someone with a condition even though it’s not the right fit?” And who gets to tell such stories anyway? (Schimberg, for the record, was born with a cleft palate and focuses much of his work on shifting cultural views of such conditions. To his credit, he imbues even the smallest supporting characters with the sense that their lives continue off-screen.)

With “A Different Man,” Schimberg attempts — and mostly succeeds, with deliciously awkward results — to cram a lifetime of thoughts about beauty and ugliness, attraction and disgust, identity and performance into a postmodern meta-film mold that few (apart from Charlie Kaufman, perhaps) have managed to make tolerable. Add to that Schimberg’s Brechtian way of cueing audiences to interrogate his choices as they go (the makeup is deliberately imperfect, the script brazenly self-conscious), and you get an exercise better suited for film critics and academics than for an amusement-seeking public.

Embodying an aspiring playwright and not-especially-good actor, respectively, Reinsve and Stan could be two sides of the self-loathing character Nicolas Cage plays in “Adaptation”: artist and muse, splintered into separate personae, both struggling to find the appropriate/ethical/respectful way to communicate the experience of someone with a conspicuous physical deformity. Expecting the pair to also be romantic partners is asking a lot of a movie that crams a seminar’s worth of representation issues into two hours (which can feel like years, the way Schimberg draws out the discomfort).

“A Different Man” shares how it feels to be ogled and avoided by strangers as Edward rides the subway home, relying on Umberto Smerilli’s score to amplify our uneasy sense of identification. He startles Ingrid (Reinsve) the first time she sees him, moving in next door to his filthy apartment (there’s a disgusting black leak in his living room ceiling). But she shows no sign of unease when she stops by later that day to borrow detergent, which Edward isn’t sure how to interpret. Stan’s body language — stooped shoulders, hesitant gestures, ducked head — positions Edward as a pitiful character, which in turn is how Ingrid depicts him in a play written expressly for him to play the lead.

But before she can finish, Edward agrees to participate in a medical study that could potentially reverse his condition. (In reality, there’s no known cure for neurofibromatosis, and it’s a smart move on Schimberg’s part to keep the science/sci-fi to a minimum.) Soon enough, Edward’s face starts to peel — a gory process that involves stripping away Stan’s makeup to reveal the conventionally attractive mug underneath.

Suddenly, Edward has no trouble picking up women. He tells people that Edward died and invents a new name, Guy, landing a lucrative job in a real estate office. When he learns that Ingrid finished her play, he shows up to audition, bringing a mold of his old face and wearing it as a mask. The lead role was literally written for him, but he’s no longer right for the part. And then Pearson shows up, playing an upbeat, outgoing guy named Oswald who is the opposite of “Guy” in every way except one: He has the same face that Edward did, only more expressive.

“A Different Man” could have ended there, but Schimberg digs deeper, embracing the increasingly unhinged, high-concept absurdity that follows. Judging by the one screen credit pre-transformation Edward had to his name — a sensitivity-training video about working alongside people with facial differences — acting is not this guy’s calling. The audition finds this movie-star-handsome man going out for the same role that people with unconventional features seem ideally suited to play.

Whereas the cultural conversation can be suffocatingly one-sided on these issues, Schimberg invites all perspectives in a movie that risks offending so-called political correctness. “A Different Man” finds room for both Stan and Pearson to play characters with the same physiognomy, and it takes the bold route of making both men insufferable in different ways. Oswald is charming and charismatic to a fault, insinuating himself into the stage role Guy hoped to play.

Meanwhile, Reinsve delivers on the promise of her “Worst Person” performance, playing another casually seductive young woman with a capacity to hurt the things she loves. Shortly after meeting Guy, Ingrid throws herself at the actor (who’s the same person he was before in all but the most superficial sense). Once she gets him in bed, Ingrid asks Guy to put on the mask, adding still more layers to the film’s most vulnerable scene. Things get a bit more confused as “A Different Man” enters its final stretch, effectively testing the limits of Stan’s acting ability — whereas no one but Pearson could have played the doppelganger smiling him in the face.'

[waokevale]

I strongly agree with this take!

And since we're talking about how the characters would rule the world in Maxwell's place, let me give some of my ideas, alongside potential skin changes.

Here's a couple entries of other characters if they were potentially to run the constant their own way:

Willow would absolutely be the kind of person who would spring life in just to destroy it later. She has to every once and a while create new stuff, it doesn't have to look good, as long as it's flammable! And of course the fire she'd cause would probably last waaay longer than it does normally, and it would take much longer for the structures to be completely destroyed before the flame gave out. I really like the hair they did for her in her triumphant skin, because she's DEFINITELY have that sort of thing going on, buut then again, she's just cosplaying as Charlie but in a puffier dress. I think she'd wear something much more chaotic.

While I think her top part would stay similar to her triumphant, her bottom part would need more color, more FIRE kind of similar to her Magmatic skin but with much more razzmatazz, and the skirt would actually be 24/7 fire effect, as would be her hair. She'd love it that way. Also her hair could probably switch between being actual fire (perhaps whenever she's excited or angered) and the nightmare fuel one.

WX-78

would probably build a robot army and I'd like to imagine they'd use one of their scrapped skins as either a mech or their brand new, better body. (They'd likely make themself into a stronger type of metal so they might potentially change color, depending on the metal's properties)

They'd also add a ton of weapons, firearms and spikes to look extra menacing and tall. (As any 4'10 person dreams of I'm sure) Their version of the constant would just be a mine field full of machines 0% organic plants, all mechanical mock-ups, and instead of water, the lakes and ocean would be filled with either tar, gasoline or oil, anything that's actually beneficial to machines. They'd also build a lot of obnoxious statues of themselves as Maxwell does.

Wickerbottom

Not sure if she'd wear so much black but she could potentially make herself appear younger (ditch the black hair, shed make herself ginger again, or stay grey) I don't really have many complaints against her outfit except that it could perhaps use more white or grey. She'd definitely keep the feathers though, that part suits her well and she doesn't seem to complain about wearing fine clothes.

And about her ruling; She'd make the constant into her personal library, build a couple of statues of herself since this exists.

She'd probably make the area appear more elegant and maybe victorian, honestly I think she'd have a similar taste to Charlie, but with her nerdy addons. Books will be everywhere. Of any kind about pretty much anything. She'd probably occasionally show up to the player and give them some kind of interesting fact before dissapearing into nothingness. Now that doesn't mean she would develop a sadistic side, anyone corrupted by Them would, I'm sure.

She'd likely punish those who avoid reading her books, or make her books especially hypnotizing so once you start reading you won't stop until you're finished with the last page. So for example If you pick up a book while starving, fighting or running you'd be screwed potentially. She'd also make notes of your progress and tell you that she's making a title about you. Similar to Wilson shed put you into specific experimental situations to make her book more interesting. And you should know very well that authors can be quite vicious to their characters. :)

Wolfgang

would make himself ridiculously muscular I'm sure, ditch that shirt and belt, maybe he'd just wear speedos and flex all the time, other times he'd go back to his era as a war vet and look like a commanding officer. He'd make the survivors go through a military endurance training, turning the whole world into one hellish gym. He'd probably brag to the survivor that he can do it, so why can't they?

On the plus side, food would be plentiful. There would be patches of land to farm, and beasts to hunt too, but you'd have to survive a full course of training to get to them first.

Webber

would obviously fill the world with spiders. Any kind of spiders, every surface would be covered in webs. He'd make the area a fun playground for spiders, but a misery to everyone else. Maybe he's unaware of it, maybe They made him enjoy watching others struggle. He'd probably add in other creatures but they'd all be lower on the food chain than spiders.

And I'm not too sure about him being a black widow, since they're not even as deadly to humans, as they're rumored. So how about making him even more deadly, say a Funnel web Spider? (Would show the image here, but I don't want to startle any arachnophobes so you can search them up yourself) Now, the pattern on their back might not be as iconic as the red hour glass, but their venom is certainly much more deadly, and they're said to be more aggressive. One chomp from Webber and you'd be sent to the purgatory.

Wormwood

while I'm not sure if he'll cope well with being on the shadow side, so I'm going to give two alternatives. One if he were to become corrupted by the nightmare throne, and other if he were to come into ruling on the light side.

Triumphant wormwood is honestly a very fitting skin for him so no complaints there, he's a rotten, carnivorous plant, he both looks and feels miserable (plus he already sticks out from the rest of triumphunt skins) so naturally, he would make the world as rotten and miserable as he himself is. The world would be covered in vines and thorns, plants would rot quickly, so harvests would be few and far in between, the most sufficient way to get food is to hunt mobs. Although most mobs would also be carnivorous plants, so the main source of food would be plant meat that's also likely stale.

His throneroom would all be just thorny vines with a few evil flowers here and there. Vines would hang from the ceiling which would likely strangle you if you made the wrong move. They would do that if you were to try and free him from the throne.

On the other hand, if he were to go into god mode as a being of light, the way he is. It honestly depends on his mental state to be honest, but knowing Them, he'd crack eventually or 'realize' his purpose, so in that case, the world would all be Alter themed, everything would be lunar plants and moon rocks. The nature would be plentiful, ghastalts would roam freely, and every night would be a full moon night. Shadows would be extremely rare in this world since the player would constantly be in a state of enlightenment. Even the caves would be mostly lit up by magical plants and flying mutated creatures. Wormwood would not allow a single shade to escape him, since Alter says shadows are bad, therefore they must go away. Though I imagine such world would look rather intriguing, all encased in a moon glass terrarium basically.

Skin wise I think his moonbound does the job just fine, bringing him back to his roots.

And that's all the character ideas I have atm. It's honestly fun imagining how these guys would dress and rule the world.

Ok this may be me being pedantic BUT

Something's always bugged me about the Triumphant Skins. They're supposedly the survivors if they had the opportunity to rule the Constant (minus Maxwell) or something along those lines. And for those most part, they do a good job of it.

But you cannot tell me that Wilson would run it like Maxwell did and dress in a fancy suit that (if you go by his Guest of Honor skin and quote) he'd likely hate.

If Wilson was in charge of the Constant, there's no way he wouldn't treat the place like his own personal science experiment. Studying the behavior of humans under stressful conditions and deadly situations? That would be a goldmine of data for any aspiring scientist of the era.

TLDR Wilson's Hallowed Nights skin is a better fit for a Triumphant skin instead of him cosplaying as Maxwell.