#also the fact that people are getting their hands on merch before we even know much about the movie at all .

[sonknuxadow]

ohhh my god i saw more leaks of sonic movie 3 merch just now and the art on the packaging is just those 3 renders of team sonic they made for the second movie along with a screenshot of shadows face from the post credits scene just like they had on that poster at licensing expo how do they not have new art to use for this stuff by now . what is going onnnn

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Good Omens graphic novel update: December 2024

We promised a graphic novel treat for December to send off 2024, which we have at the end of the update, so let's dive in!

Colleen has been working diligently ahead of the graphic novel going to print next month, which she discussed over on Patreon. For those looking for more behind the scenes on both Good Omens and Colleen's work more broadly, we recommend either following her Substack, or subscribing via Patreon, as she approaches the finish line.

A snapshot from our production HQ where dummy books of the graphic novel, slipcase and other editions of Good Omens have been arriving thick and fast. The graphic novel (slipcased version shown) has quite the heft to it. It's going to be such a magnificent object inside and out.

Here, we're testing out the various papers, finishes, embellishments and more – everything is falling into place!

Merch-wise, some more delights. The A.Z. Fell & Co tote bag design is in, one side in celebration of our favourite angelic bookseller, the other as if it's been purchased from the bookshop itself, so you can take your pick.

We've got more pins that will be available in the 3-pin set add ons. While the full list will be available in 2025, we're happy to share a few more to get excited about:

On the trading card front, have a look at some of the base deck designs by Steve Gregson and Kirsty Hunter in situ as this all comes together rather nicely, and causes a heated game or two behind the scenes.

And, a quick admin note to wrap up that we always recommend checking the FAQ page as a first port of call for any queries. If you have questions tied to specific tiers, we'd suggest checking the last few updates if your answer can't be found on the FAQ. If there is any information required for your pledge, we will be in touch. We will be back at full steam in the New Year!

Thank you.

So, to wrap up this year's updates, we give you the draft of the full first scene of the graphic novel, artwork by Colleen Doran and lettering by Lois Buhalis. If you'd like to wait until the graphic novel publishes in Spring, skip everything after the ducks!

To 2025 🥂

Until next time.

+ post from Colleen Doran:

Good Omens: You Get...Stuff Like This

In the most recent Good Omens update at the Kickstarter, a few people got upset at the suggestion that you have to get past my paywall here to see Good Omens updates.

Except you really don't, and the post doesn't actually say you do. You get a bit more, like pics of my studio, a discussion of tools and process - but not all of that is exclusively about Good Omens.

I think the Dunmanifestin team just wanted to draw a little attention to my blogs and other works, for which I am very grateful.

As my Patreon supporters already know, Good Omens info posted here gets to the Substack and Kickstarter eventually. And since most of my posts here aren't just about Good Omens, but my other projects and personal stuff, as well as links to our weekly Virtual Art Studio sessions, I think I'm justified in keeping that material behind a paywall.

In fact, I don't think I've posted much stuff about Good Omens since the summer: pages of flats like the one you see above, a few studio photos, and color tweaks.

Also, me boo-hooing about my nerves and health.

But for those who feel left out missing even this small amount of stuff, then the screen shot above is for you.

That's called a flat.

It's a prelim color before adding final color.

Here's what the final color looks like.

So I've posted a handful of this sort of thing since this summer, but frankly, there's even more of my sketches and so on posted at my Instagram that aren't here at all.

For those who don't know, I am doing most of the color myself on the book, but I am working with assistants. I'm not sure how much the Dunmanifestin team wants out there before the big reveals, but here's a snippet of a sky.

In the first image, my flat color.

And after my assistant worked on it.

Here, I've done a repaint. Sometimes I do very extensive repaints after the assistant works on a page. Sometimes not so much. I didn't use assistants on many pages at all. About 80% of the labor on the color of the book is my work.

However, the assistants have been a big help, and I am very appreciative of them.

I will make a point to go through all my prior posts and get every single bit of art that you haven't seen and make it public for all of you in the coming weeks. I need to excise it from previous posts. As I respect the privacy of all my readers, I never make prior posts public without their permission as they may not want their comments or identities to be public.

Thanks so much for everything!

[starlightkun]

⏯ teaser word count: 839 | full fic: 9.5k ⏯ genre: fluff, established relationship, band au, punk drummer!sungchan, sequel to filler episodes, reader isn’t completely boring anymore! yay!, she’s still figuring it out a little bit but it’s not a full-fledged quarter life crisis anymore, ft. shotaro/eunseok/wonbin as sungchan’s bandmates, and nct dream 00 line as reader’s normal friends™ ⏯ warnings: the usual cursing, and reader gets creeped on briefly in a scene but gets out of there very quickly, and that’s really it! if i missed any please let me know ⏯ extra info: this is the sequel to filler episodes, it cannot be read as a standalone! ⏯ estimated release: saturday, august 3, 2024 3:00 p.m. eastern time

At the end of the show, you were sat at the band’s merch table. In addition to being the de facto tour manager and photographer/videographer, you also usually managed the merch table for Roses for Eyes. The headliner had plenty of crew to spare to work it, but you wanted to help however you could, and this was honestly one of your favorite parts. Various members usually came to hang out by the merch table and meet and talk with the concert goers, and you loved hearing all the praise that was showered on the guys. Almost nobody had heard of them before coming to the concerts, but it made your chest puff up with pride at how many people stayed just to tell the guys how much they loved their set.

Roses for Eyes didn’t have a lot of merch. In fact, they had exactly one kind of t-shirt, and CDs of their one and only semi-professionally recorded EP for sale. Which made your job easier, you just had to either hand them a CD, or ask their size in shirt.

“Oh my god, you’re here too!” Your next customers were the women who you had spent almost the whole concert with, their eyes sparkling with recognition and delight at you.

“Yes, I am!” You laughed as one reached out to fix your hair. “I’m everywhere, I swear. What can I get you guys?”

They each got a shirt, and a couple got CDs too. As you ran their cards and accepted their cash, they raved to you about the show.

“You know, I’d never heard of them before this, but they were so good!”

“That’s what everyone says,” you replied with a grin.

“I loved the first song they played, that was like—” She started mimicking the melody, and you recognized it immediately.

“Ah, ‘Lonely as Mars’!” You perked up. “That’s one of my favorites.”

“What’s your favorite song then?”

“Oh, I can’t say.” You grinned. “It’s not released yet…”

They all laughed and giggled at this. One peeked at the track list of the CD she had just bought from you again before looking up at you. “Guess we’ll have to wait until it’s released then, huh?”

“Yes, yes, please keep an eye out!” You couldn’t help it, you were proud of your boyfriend and the rest of your friends.

“Alright, beautiful, we’ll stop holding up your line.” One of them chuckled, giving your cheek a final tweak before the four of them moved over to the short line to chat with the band.

You couldn’t pause on that moment for too long, as more patrons came up to your table.

Once people had finally started trickling out of the venue, and you had no line left in front of either your merch table or to meet the band, you were unsurprised when Sungchan pulled up an extra folding chair next to you.

“You know,” he let out a sigh, scooting right up next to you until your legs were pressed together. “I think we need to completely deck you out in Roses for Eyes merch from head to toe.”

“One, you guys don’t even have that much merch. Two, I think all that would accomplish would be making me looking like a crazed fan.”

“Aren’t you?”

“I am your biggest fan,” you acquiesced with a giggle at how serious he looked, squeezing his leg. “But we need security to let me in, you know.”

“What about a shirt with my face on it?”

“I think that’d be even worse.”

“It can say ‘CREW’ on the back or something.”

You laughed again. “I did tell that guy I was working, you know. Which did nothing.”

“I know, baby, I’m not mad at you.” Sungchan put an arm around the back of your chair, leaning in closer to inform you, “I was up on stage wishing I could’ve been kicking his face instead of the bass drum.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t hop off stage just to beat up somebody in the crowd.” You whispered back. “Even if it would’ve been deserved.”

“God, I don’t know if I can take another month of hearing you get hit on from right next to me.” He was presumably referencing times like now, with you at the merch table and him nearby talking to patrons.

“You think I like hearing people compliment your tattoos as an excuse to feel up your arms?”

“I don’t let them!” He protested. “And sometimes they do actually like my tattoos!”

“I know, Sungchan,” you snickered. “It’s hard being the hottest couple ever, isn’t it?”

“God truly gives his toughest battles to his sexiest soldiers,” Sungchan joked back, letting his arm drop down to your waist.

“Hey, on the bright side, tomorrow is the Venue:Hell show,” you reminded him. “I’ll have Jeno and Jaemin and my other two much less sturdy friends there. Not to mention Anton, Sohee, and Seunghan.”

He didn’t seem much happier about this, letting out a little grumble, “Mmm, alright.”

⤷ masterlist

[dnpbeats]

There is one thing I know for a fact they will never share with us. Like they would rather post a 3 hour video of them making out before sharing. And thats how much they earn and how much they have earned. And If I had one question I could ask them that they had to answer, it wouldn't be "are you married" or anything like that, it would be how much money do you make, and where does that income come from. Because based on the look of the phouse and the price of the clothes they buy, I would not be shocked to find out they are millionaires, but where is that money coming from?? Because surely its not all from video veiws. They have not uploaded consistently enough throughout their career for that imo. And I mean. Yes they are big creators and used to be bigger, but its nothing compared to the numbers of big creators now. They never even broke 10mil subs. Is dragon city seriously paying them that much??? And what about the 5 years where they basically posted nothing and phil did like one 10min video a month. Surely that was not covering mortage costs plus rent of TWO apartments, plus all of dans bougie clothes?? Were they living off of savings from before the haitus??? That brings me back to HOW MUCH WERE THEY MAKING??? This is the phan conspiracy I want them to address.

i also would love to know how much they’re currently making bc im a nosey bitch. but also for sure they are millionaires. like multi-millionaires. think about how much money they were bringing in in their prime (2014-2018). obviously there are their videos, so the adsense money plus any sponsorships. they were getting money from the radio show and also all the other hosting gigs they did for the bbc (those handful of random docs dan did, all the festivals, etc). there was money from their own merch, but also remember that they own irl, so they're getting a cut from other people who were using irl as their merch distributor. then they had the money from tabinof and dapgo. they had the money from tatinof and ii (while we know they lost money on some legs, I'm sure overall it was income gained not lost). also whatever money they got from tatinof + story of tatinof being posted on yt red and then the money from the ii dvd. also other random shit, like they had licensed t-shirts at hot topic (which as a side note is so batshit 😭). also those random two events they did for dapgo (dapgoose 🤩). oh also truth bombs!! also the partnership they had with rize (I want to say they also had one with younow at one point?? but I could be making that up lol). and this is all just stuff off the top of my head, I’m sure there’s more i'm forgetting

and then okay, the hiatus hits, but phil's still making videos, and then dan eventual comes out with ywgttn. (then wad ofc but dan didn't make money on that so 😭 lmao.) but also keep in mind that during this time, they're still getting adsense revenue from anyone rewatching any of their videos, and also like you said im sure they had savings. and on top of all of this, I'm 100000% sure they have investments that we don't know about, because I don't know how they could've not invested any money lmao. like we know they aren't stupid when it comes to business, and investing is something regular ppl do too. so you’d assume for ppl like d&p who are self-employed (and making a shit load of money doing it) they have more investments than most ppl. so like they aren’t mr. beast obviously, but I don’t think dan is losing any sleep over dropping $600 on a shirt

[cyborg-franky]

Shopping Trip With One Piece Characters

Part of a trade with the awesome @softcenteregg

Doffy - The very definition of “Get in loser, we’re going shopping!”

Has money but you will have to pay for him all day when it comes to lunch and drinks.

Will be sitting at a restaurant at 11 am with a cocktail as he tells you about his week, regardless of if you asked or not.

Checks out the mall hotties.

Laughs when people open push/pull doors wrong.

Always has a cocktail or a Starbucks clutched in one hand, waving his credit card around in the other hand.

Rude to salespeople.

You will be dragged through the mall for hours because he needs to go into every designer shop he can and try on at least seventeen pairs of $400 sunglasses or he’ll die.

Will be the most overdressed person in the area,

When your having lunch with him and he sees someone he doesn’t like, he will be like “Oh hey! Been so long since we hung out, should do it again soon!” then soon as they're gone he’s dishing the dirt.

Also, you will carry his bags, thx.

Roger

Makes you wish you could get those reigns for kids but in adult sizes.

In fact, the entire trip is like taking a child out for his birthday.

Ever seen a huge bearded man grinning in pure glee at the new limited edition Build a Bear products? Ever seen one make like 12?

Do yourself a favor and limit his booze and sugar intake.

Is confused he can’t do a pub crawl in a mall.

Buys alot of those ‘alcoholic chocolates’ by the box load in an attempt to get a nice buzz going.

Thrift shopping but he will try on everything he can.

Does not know how to dress but does it with style, oddly enough.

You won’t get a chance to sit down or rest unless it’s dinner time.

At least he’ll sleep well tonight.

Kid

Hit’s all the stores that sell music and band merch.

Will snort at people who buy things he doesn’t like.

Throws around words like ‘poser’ and judges everyone.

The kinda metal kid who hangs out at the mall with all the wallet chains looking like their parents grounded them, but in their late 20s.

Will spend hours looking for CDs and just say he’s too broke and he’ll download it online anyway.

Walks around the mall trying to find the right shade of lipstick with Killer, both their arms and hands are covered in testers before they both just get more black nail varnish and the same shade they always buy.

Has a reusable plastic cup that's full of jack and coke. 

Taunts mall cops.

Killer

Imagine all of the above but he also spends alot of time looking at fancy new cook wear.

Will spend nothing on food all day but will drop $90 on a brand new crockpot or air fryer for the kitchen.

Very metal of him.

Thatch

Thatch is fun to go with.

Treats you, buys the coffee and lunch.

Is happy to do whatever you want as long as he gets to check out homeware sections while you look at your things.

You will never lose him behind shelves because you can always see his hair.

Like Jaws but with hair and ozone layer murdering levels of hairspray.

Will flirt with staff, will get talking to them for far too long, and hold up the line.

The type of person who has alot of change and makes it a personal challenge to count out change exactly.

Will carry your bags though, he’s a good boy.

Bit judgey on eatery places pastries.

Shanks

I hope you enjoy getting nowhere because when you're at a mall with Shanks or out and about in town you will be stopping every ten steps because someone recognises him and comes over and chats.

Has no concept of how long he’s been talking.

Is the type to have a pint with breakfast or brunch when you guys hang out.

Sale on ugly pants? He’d push you down to get there first.

Always texting the gang when he’s out.

Lol Benn guess what, I saw Buggy and he was with that guy, you know, the one with the hook, lol lol

Will drop Uta off at the mall kids' soft play area even though she’s 18 and still forget to pick her up before leaving.

Ace

Low key baits mall cops by loitering around and looking like an issue but has no intention of being an issue.

Might skateboard inside the mall.

Poses with ‘no skateboard’ signs.

Hopefully, there isn't an arcade in the mall because if you had any intention of getting things done today, that won’t happen now.

Hungry every 20 minutes and has to grab snacks.

100% the kinda friend/boyfriend who sits on the seats outside the changing rooms holding all the bags and groaning, acting like it’s the worst thing in the world.

Is one of those people who opens push/pull doors wrong.

Marco

After taking five minutes to park correctly he’s happy to go with the flow. 

Likes to have a coffee and a people watch with you, chatty and social.

But he will drag you to shoe stores and you will be sat there for ages as he tries on every strappy sandal in the place, walking up and down and asking you what you think.

“I like this one but I don’t know if it makes me too tall yoi.” while you can’t for the life of you tell the difference between that pair and the last 40.

If you meet him at the mall he might be late, very much the shows up 20 minutes late with Starbucks.

Has a tendency to wander off in shops and you spend half your time looking for him.

Doesn’t give a warning when entering a shop if something shiny caught his bird brain.

Benn

He hates the mall.

Imagine a dad who has to take his teenage daughter clothes shopping and that’d basically be him with Shanks.

Benn is a very ‘I know what I am here for’ in and out kind of person but he doesn’t mind going to other places with you.

Ignores staff-only signs when he knows there is a smoking area on the other side of that door.

Is the person to remind you of the ‘insert thing here we have at home’ and is a shop sensible person, though he won't say anything if you do buy another T-shirt that looks exactly like the one you already have.

Pretends to be annoyed at carrying the shopping, but he offered and he likes to help you out.

If you complain about your feet hurting he’ll helpfully tell you he told you to wear your other shoes.

Sabo and Luffy

Banned

Both have their pictures up in the security office.

Sabo for giving the mall cops the finger, graffiti, and shoplifting.

Luffy peed in the fountain and kept stealing pick-n-mix.

[newtthetranswriter]

Hello! Can you do Crowley from good omens with an S/O who tends to get distracted really easily, like Crowley will be talking then he'll look beside himself to see you walked of to see something in a window of a shop type of thing.

Paring: Crowley x reader

Word count: 853

A/n: Sorry this took so long I had a very small bout of writer's block but finally worked past it. I hope you enjoy this. Also with Doctor Who being confirmed to exist in the Good Omens world, I believe that people would tell Crowley he looks like Ten and he would deny it saying he is ten times more handsome than him. Any way enjoy requests are still open, and MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DON”T INTERACT.

    Today is a day for relaxing, which means forcing my demon of a boyfriend out shopping with me. Okay actually it’s not so much forcing, more like bribing him with a new house plant. You see, Crowley stopped wanting to join me at the mall because I get distracted easily and he always ends up losing me in the crowd, so to make it up to him I promise him a new house plant if he joins me. 

    After successfully bribing him, we are now walking through the mall. We have spent the last two hours looking at different stores trying to take our time and enjoying our time together. At this moment Crowley was explaining to me that Aziraphale had done something he deemed as stupid, and was trying to get me to agree with him.

    “You don’t understand Love, he thinks everyone takes the time out of their days to iron their pants. Like why would you take the time to do that, they’re just going to get wrinkly from wearing them.” He said, adamant that it was weird to press the wrinkles out of one's clothing. But sadly for him I had in fact become distracted by a shirt in the window of Hot Topic.

     I had walked away completely, forgetting I was out with my boyfriend. It seemed that Hot Topic was having a throwback sale and one of the big items was a Doctor Who shirt featuring the Tenth Doctor. I couldn’t help but go in to get the shirt, Doctor Who is one of my favorite shows and I couldn’t help but realize that my favorite demon and the Tenth Doctor locked fairly similar. 

P.O.V change to Crowley

    “Not to mention he also spends an unfathomable amount of time dusting his books, why would you do that, it’s just a bunch of dead trees.” Crowley turned his head to get his partner’s response, only to realize they weren't by him. “Oh you have got to be kidding me.” He said gritting his teeth in annoyance.

    He had no clue how long they had been missing and so resigned himself to back track looking for the easily distracted person. “Where the fuck did they run off too?” The demon mumbled to himself, irritated that he once again lost track of his partner.

    After looking around for a good ten minutes or so he remembered that Y/n loves to shop at Hot Topic and they likely got distracted by something at the edgy nerd store, and so he made his way to the store. As he walked in he spotted the source of his irritation and walked up behind them as they looked at a wall of funko pops. “Where have you been?” He asked, swinging his arm around their shoulder.

P.o.V back to Y/n

    I jumped feeling someone rest their arm on my shoulder but relaxed as I recognised the voice of my favorite demon. “Oh sorry Crowley, I just saw this shirt and had to get it, then they said there was a deal on funkos and now I can’t pick which ones to get.” I apologized for disappearing and showed him the shirt I picked out. 

    He just rolled his eyes at me and looked at the shirt. “I have told you before I don’t look like him. Why do you insist that I do?” Crowley said, already knowing one of the reasons I picked out the shirt.

    “Yes you do, even Aziraphale thinks so. But that’s not the only reason I’m getting it. I love Doctor Who and finding merch for the older seasons can be difficult if you don’t want to shop on amazon.” I explained to him. I looked down at the couple of things in my hands before I remembered the other shirts I had picked out. “Oh and I also got us matching Queen shirts, I figured since we listen to them all the time you enjoy them, so I thought you would like it.” I told him, showing him the matching shirts.

    “Aziraphale only agrees because he knows I don’t. And thank you, Love, for thinking of me.” He thanked me for the shirt. Now I know he probably won’t be caught dead wearing it out of the house but It’s nice that he isn’t fighting it. “Now let’s pick out the Funko’s and get going, the angel invited us out to dinner.” He said, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

   I smiled at him and finally settled on three Funko’s from Jujutsu Kaisen and headed to the counter. “Ok, but before we go meet with Zira, we have to go to a garden center and get you the plant I promised.” I said as we walked out of the store, with Crowley now holding me to his side so I can’t run off again.

   He just laughed and we kept walking out the mall towards the Bently, marking the end of our ‘relaxing’ day. It was always nice to spend time together even if I tend to get sidetracked.

[rose-of-pollux]

So, @belphegor1982 asked me for my thoughts on the BTTF musical which I saw about 10 days ago, and I've managed to put them together and keep them as spoiler-free as possible--

Even before you go into the theatre, the merch store is separate, which is great when it's a rainy January night and you're waiting for the doors to open (which I was). I'm not sure if this has been a thing for previous productions at the Winter Garden Theatre, but for other Broadway shows I've seen in different theatres (Phantom and Anastasia), the merch was sold inside the theatre, and you needed a ticket to get to it/wait til the doors opened.

The pre-show immersion/ambiance is fantastic; not even Phantom can boast that.

There are numerous easter eggs for fans of the movies; it's so fun spotting them all.

It does not take long for the fourth wall to come tumbling down, and it is glorious. Marty even lampshades it in the opening number.

@knickynoo mentioned this in her writeup, but Doc and Marty are just as neurodivergent (if not moreso) than their movie counterparts

Doc is also so very obviously asexual in this version, I love it.

A small thing, but we actually get to hear Doc say "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." In the movie, everyone credits him for saying it, but we never actually hear him say it.

Doc's involvement in the Manhattan Project is canonized in the musical-verse!

The DeLorean is borderline sentient and sassy

Most people know by now that they changed Twin Pines Doc's cause of death/the reason Marty goes back in time, and it works so much better for both practicality reasons on stage, and for the fact that the original was a charging bull elephant in the room.

Goldie Wilson gets an absolute banger for his song (as well he should!)

Another small thing, I like the little addition of Doc's fear of heights.

@wromwood pointed out how only Doc and Marty seem to acknowledge the existence of the chorus ensemble (Lorraine gets some backup singers for her number out of nowhere, but she takes no notice of them). I didn't even realize this until he mentioned it, and now I'm fascinated by the implications of Doc and Marty being hyper-aware of the fourth wall for whatever reasons.

The Act I closing number is gloriously chaotic.

...I could do an entire post about why I love "For the Dreamers" so much and how it delves so deeply into Doc's character. Just... GAH. This man has dealt with so many naysayers and considers himself a failure (it's telling that he did technically have a success with the Manhattan Project, but still considers that a failure--I'd theorize because he obviously feels so dang guilty about having the blood of innocent civilians on his hands as a result of it) but now he has hope that he will accomplish something great.

Not only do we have Marty worrying about Doc dying in 1985, we get to see him worried and unsure of his own fate. This kid has been Through It, and it isn't over yet.

THE WAY THEY DID THE ENCHANTMENT UNDER THE SEA DANCE. I cannot spoil this; you must experience this firsthand, but I will assure you that "Earth Angel" and "Johnny B Goode" are there in all their glory.

The Clocktower scene is spectacular. You're wondering how they'll pull it off onstage, and they just do it.

Others have mentioned this BUT WE GET THE LONE PINE HUG THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN IN THE MOVIE.

The absolute best meta joke comes courtesy of Jennifer near the end. I cannot spoil this either, but if you know, you know.

THAT FINALE (again, if you know, you know).

[peachjagiya]

can i just also cry at the fact that sweet sweet jungkook keeps even the littlest things from Taehyung?

Those Tae merch fans Tae gave to him as a "gift" in one Run episode. He made sure to keep ALL of them, was very aware that one was missing and took it back for himself.

That other Run episode of them getting BTS merch and he got a Tae tote bag and other Tae merches. He even figured out that all blue things were Tae related, while he was wearing blue coords LOL he snatched back that Tae tote bag off Namjoon's hands before leaving the set.

And now, this plushie! It is safe to assume that it is the same plushie like 99% probability, based on info we have gathered. Tae probably gave it to him, and sweet lil pookie Jungkook kept it and even brought it back to Korea.

This boy, a millionaire thru his own hardwork, who can spend whatever frivolous stuff his money could buy, who donated $700,000 to a children's hospital, this boy kept the seemingly insignificant lil things his Taehyungie hyung gave him or of Taehyung.

I'm so soft. I love Jungkook so much, it pains me that people barely acknowledge and see this side of him. This is what Taehyung sees when he wrote: "So pretty I could die"

😭

We're the soft and pretty Jungkook society.

I also think about Tae and how he's been put into this "weird and a bit dim" or "aloof and cold" box when he's actually the second highest IQ of the lot, principled and strong-willed and gentle and sweet enough that he's got this long trail of people who have met him and adore him. He knows what it's like to be more than your assigned role. The idea of these two guys seeing each other from the outset... it just makes me very very emotional. I don't know if that's my neurodivergence talking but masking is HARD and emotionally draining so like the true self and letting yourself be seen is always at the forefront of my mind.

I appreciate that they both have someone who gets them. It's so important in a relationship, friendly or otherwise.

[mrs-monaghan]

You are so sure and confident about jikook...it makes me have a side eye you👀👀 did you know something which we don't??👀👀some inside secrets??👀👀

That tickled me anon. Ngl. 🤣🤣 I don't need to see their sex tape or the many nude arts JK has drawn of Jimin to believe in them as strongly as I do. 🤭🤭

We have 18+ moments which like I've mentioned before are reason enough. Then listening to Karmys is also key here. Like a major piece of the puzzle. Couple all that with Jikook and their families and that's all she wrote.

Can u imagine the amount of artwork JK's brother was tagged on? Hundreds! Thousands maybe. If you consider the vermin spamming BTS and their friends with disgusting tkk art. Hundreds he got tagged on. And out of all of them he approves only one? A Bamily one no less?

There is plenty of tkk art with bam and yet this is what he chose to accept. Not to mention how he only used to draw Jikook and post only Jikook.

Not Tkk. Not Jinkook. Not hopekook. Not yoonkook or Namkook. Jikook and only Jikook.

----- Again, JK's brother dressing his dogs in Jikook colours. 💛💜

All Jikookers already know those are the Jikook colors. Bonus with JK dressing them 👆🏽 in the outfits Jikook had on during LGO

Anyway, back to family.

----- JK's mom making sea weed for JK because it was Jimin's birthday

According to Karmy this is a testament to how close not only Jikook are but how much JK's family or rather his mom, values Jimin. (Ftr I think this story was embellished and I think Jimin was there but I digress)

Speaking of, more proof of how much JK's mom loves Jimin

That's her son in law right there. 🥺🥺

---- Jimin's dad using JK as the messenger for Jimin's birthday

Why not RM the leader? V the 'soulmate'? Why JK? 🤔🤔

--- Jimin's dad having ONLY Jikook stuff in his cafe. Not Yoonmin, not Minimoni, not Vmin or Jinmin. Just Jikook.

Putting JK's and both their solo songs in his playlist. Just JK. I don't need to remind y'all that other members have solo music too.

Looks like Jimin's dad is really proud of his son in law 🥺🥺🥺

---- Jimin's brother getting upset because Jimin was spending too much time with JK and he thought Jimin was replacing him. That was in the beginning too so for those who say JK hated Jimin u think again....

----- JK knowing Jimin's grandma's birthday. Almost like he was there even, going by how Jimin looked at him for confirmation.

---- Last year. Apart from Jimin of course, the only other member Jimin's dad held an event for at Magnate was.......... you got it! JK 😜😜 (and no he didn't do it for RM. People tried to ot7 this by including RM coz their bdays are close when infact only JK's merch was being handed out to those who attended the event)

----- Bonus! Bam hearing Jimin's name and immediately rushing to the door thinking his other dad is here 🥺🥺

What can I say anon, i'm convinced. JIKOOK IS REAL. 🤷🏽‍♀️

People running around like headless chickens, yapping about how Jkk don't see eo anymore meanwhile these old moments shall never change the fact that Jikook and their families are super tight for some reason 👀 You can't erase facts people. No matter how much you try.

[o0anapher0o]

Since we are between the years and everybody is recovering from the first celebration and gearing up for the next I thought I’d share some of the highlights (and low points) of this year’s tenure as a gift wrapping elf for your entertainment. (anyone who works in a bookshop year round might think ‘hey, this is just Tuesday’ but I only do this one month a year so I can still appreciate the insanity)

Someone asked to have a book about Lagerfeld wrapped in the gaudiest gold and red paper, decorated with a ribbon in a different shade of gold. (I just love how much he would have hated it, especially with a relatively elegant black and gold paper available)

“Asking for a friend (for Taylor Swift merch)” (someone irl used those actual words to me. I didn’t think people really did that)

The old lady that emphatically explained to me that British colonialism in India was bad actually. (actually she said it was worse than the Nazis which, no matter if I think she’s right or wrong, is certainly A Take. To have. For an old 68er.)

“What kind of wrapping paper would you recommend for someone you don’t like but society dictates you get them a gift?”

“Why do all the middle aged gay couples come to me?” My gnc co-worker with multicoloured hair, multiple visible piercings and tattoos, and an MCR t-shirt. No idea, mate.

The number of people who tell you to put everything in one parcel because it’s for kids, they don’t care (Right, no kid has ever cared about getting many, many, many gifts instead of one that looks like someone sat on it. None. Ever.)

“Do you have those pillows in a size for kids?” (ma'am, I still resent the fact that we have pillows at all.)

“I only come here for the ribbons.” (They are pretty neat tbf)

The guy who walked through the shop stroking a book like a kitten. Like a Bond villain strokes a kitten to be precise.

The couple who made it a competition who could find the smutty book they were giving to their mutual friend first. (They were an absolute delight and tipped well.)

“Is the date on the price tag the date on which the book was printed?” (I’m pretty sure it’s the date the price tag was printed, but also, why does it matter? It’s a book. It won’t go bad.)

“Do you have any device I could use to listen to your audio books in bed, that’s more convenient than my laptop?” Cue me trying to explain that all our audio books in the shop are on CD and we’re not exactly a tech store. That one’s half a block down the road.

Similarly the couple that came in, mug of steaming mulled whine in hand, and asked if we sell phone chargers.

“The registers are a bit unorganised today, aren’t they.” (Overrun. The word you’re looking for, Sir, is overrun. It’s Saturday two weeks before Christmas and people who have lived their entire lives in society do not understand the concept of queuing)

“Do you have any books by this author, name something like Agatha Christie?” (Jail. Jail for a thousand years.)

“Is this jigsaw [big puzzle and board game brand] quality?” (I don’t even know what that means? How do you measure the quality of a jigsaw puzzle? And why would you look for quality jigsaws in a book store instead of the game and toy store next door?)

The woman we had to politely convince that the book she got from the fantasy romance section is probably not suitable for her 12 year old daughter, yes even though she likes romance. (Cue internal yelling ‘It is smut, woman!’)

“I’m looking for a book for my son,” points at a ca 14 year old boy. “Do you have anything like Don Quixote?” (I know he was looking for slapstick adventure, but the lit major in me was still going ‘you’re looking for something that compares to a 16th century satire that we tend to consider the first European novel that is actually surprisingly poignant and modern in many ways?’)

The woman who told me to use the gold wrapping paper because the gift was for her mother who hates red. When I assumed she then also didn’t want the red ribbon I usually use with the gold paper she said “Oh, no, use it. We have to torture her a little bit.”

“Do you have any of these books?” produces a four page printed list, like it isn’t a week until Christmas and the store is bursting with customers.

“I’m looking for [specific braded game name]” I point them out to her. “No, but I’m looking for the ones by [name of game company that very much doesn’t produce that game or any like them]”

“Do you know a game called Jenga?” (I thought she might know it under a different name so I described it to her. She still had never heard of it.)

The teenage boy who walked through the store for about half an hour loudly dictating an entire research paper about Dürrenmatt into his phone.

‘Let’s have the Torah in the paper with Merry Christmas written on it and the Tolkien in the plain black and gold one.” (yes, there can be a million reasons to give someone a Torah for Christmas, but I maintain that A Choice was made here.)

[fyeahdprian]

[AV Club] Head In The Clouds

Head In The Clouds is the biggest festival you haven't heard of (yet)

The festival, a celebration of Asian heritage in music, featured performances from CL, Saweetie, DPR Live, DPR Ian, and more

By Shanicka Anderson  |  November 11, 2021 | 8:04pm

Until we meet again, Rose Bowl Photo: Shanicka Anderson

The last concert I attended was way back in January 2020. (It was Seventeen, at the Prudential Center in New Jersey). At the time, I had no idea it was going to be my last show for almost two years. So the opportunity for me to fly out to L.A. to attend 88Rising’s third Head In The Clouds festival—and its lineup that boasted CL, the queen of K-pop, along with Saweetie, Rich Brian, DPR Live, DPR Ian, Japanese Breakfast and many others—seemed like the perfect event for me to reenter the world of live music.

Additionally, West Coast Asian and Asian-American culture has influenced and directly birthed so much of the music I love, so I was stoked to finally attend a festival that celebrated it. For the uninitiated, 88Rising is a music company with a simple goal for its fest: It tries to round up the best and brightest acts from the Asian continent and the Asian diaspora. And after nearly two years of increased violence and prejudice against the Asian community in the wake of COVID-19, a celebration of its culture felt even more necessary. 

Following my five-hour flight (which included a very yappy Pomeranian who barked the entire trip) I was shuttled through LAX into an Uber (I know everyone says you have to drive everywhere in L.A., but damn, y’all really have to drive everywhere) and deposited at my swanky hotel in Koreatown this past Friday night.

Of course, Friday night was also the night of Astroworld, which means I received the horrific news just as I was getting ready to start my own festival weekend. It’s very dizzy and unsettling to prepare for a music fest so soon after learning of the tragedy and the deaths that transpired there, and I’m sure it was something that also weighed heavily on HITC organizers and security guards’ minds as we all headed into the weekend.

Head In The Clouds, day one (DPR Live and DPR Ian, eaJ, Saweetie, CL, and Illenium)

3:15 p.m.

Well, the vibes are off to a bad start. After getting dropped off at the Rose Bowl, I notice immediately that line for will call is very long. Like, probably the longest box office line I’ve ever seen at a concert before, or has possibly ever existed in human history. When I join, I ask around to find out if there’s a separate line for media. They tell me, no, it’s all one line.

Which of course means that, about 40 minutes later, when I finally get close enough to speak to someone else the the box office, I realized that there is, in fact, a completely different line for media. I walk over to that window and get my wristbands in five minutes flat. Sigh.

4:00 p.m.

When I make it past the gates, I am immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of people. After over a year of being in quarantine and avoiding crowds, I’ve forgotten how to be around a crowd larger than ten people. And as I walk awkwardly and stiffly across the grassy field, I’m pretty sure it shows.

I walk past the merch stalls and take stock of the food vendor options (I notice a boba stall, a dim sum stall, one place that serves pork belly buns and another place that makes mapo tater tots at first pass), heading towards the main “88Rising” stage. 

I also survey the crowd. It’s a pretty eclectic mix: There are the guys who look like frat boys from a state college, couples who already can’t keep their hands off of each other, girls in fishnets and mesh who look dressed for a rave, and people who look ready to party like it’s 2019. I’m not totally sure how many people are expected to turn out this weekend but I already know that this will easily be the largest festival I’ve ever attended.

4:30 p.m.

DPR Live and DPR Ian’s joint set was the one I was looking forward to the most. Live’s music is more firmly hip hop-based; I’ve listened to him for years, and his set was full of crowd pleasers like “Martini Blue,” “Text Me,” and “To Myself.” (For that last one, just picture thousands of people screaming along to, “DPR, we gang gang!”) Live and Ian were joined by Korean-American musician eaJ for their collaboration “Jam & Butterfly,” and I was absolutely thrilled—I’m interviewing eaJ later, so it was good to get a little a preview before his own HITC slot tomorrow. 

Ian’s contribution to the DPR set included “Nerves,” “Scaredy Cat,” and his powerhouse debut single, “So Beautiful.” This was also Ian’s first time performing a show—ever. A pretty rad stage debut, if you ask me.

6:00 p.m.

Saweetie has just kicked off her set, and with the light work and projection screen illuminating the crowd, I can see how much the main stage area has filled out. My friends and I pick a less crowded patch of grass in the VIP section of the field to hang out for the evening. Also, it’s finally dark out, so it feels more like a concert now; the energy has ratcheted up.

Saweetie is one of those artists I never though I’d see live, so having her on this lineup is a treat. During her set she expresses appreciation for HITC and gives a special shoutout to her “Asian king and queens” in the crowd, delivering a set list that includes “My Type,” “Tap In,” and “Best Friend” (sadly, she performs that last one solo, without Doja Cat).

7:30 p.m.

My interview with eaJ goes smoothly (you can check that out when it goes up this weekend) but I was nervous that I would miss the main draw: CL. As I leave the media clubhouse and hurry out to the stage, it all kind of happens in slow motion: CL starts singing my favorite song “+DONE161201+,” I power-walk to the grass, and plant myself among a group of concertgoers who have decided to enjoy the show while sprawled out on top of some picnic blankets.

By the time CL brings Ian and Live out on stage to do “No Blueberries,” I’m getting a little embarrassingly emotional over how much I fucking missed live music. I forgot what it was like to listen to a song over and over again in your room alone, for months, and then go to a show and have the chance to scream the song with a bunch of strangers who love it just as much as you do. It’s so damn powerful.

8:00 p.m.

This is when the night takes a turn for the worse.

After CL’s performance, I meet back up with my friends, and we all decide it’s finally time to get food. All of the lines for the food stalls are incredibly long, so we decide to hop on the Korean barbecue line. After 20 minutes in line, we get to the cashier, only for me to discover they’re out of their only vegetarian option—which for me, a vegetarian, sucks. And to add the most brutal insult to injury, though I didn’t know it yet: It was time for Illenium’s set.

8:20 p.m.

To be honest, before Head In The Clouds, I’d never listened to Illenium. After HITC, I realized that my ignorance was bliss. Illenium is a DJ who makes some of the most grating EDM I have ever heard in my life. Maybe the people who aren’t covering this festival for work and who are on multiple recreational substances can appreciate his set, but for me, it’s awful. As his performance continues, I leave the field and seek refuge in the media clubhouse.

9:20 p.m.

With the vibes of the evening thoroughly destroyed by Illenium (the only white dude performer on the lineup, and he sent our mood and energy levels into a nosedive!), I decide to call it a night. After all, I have to be back the next afternoon to do this all over again.

As I’m leaving the Rose Bowl, I walk past the Double Happiness stage. Japanese Breakfast is in the tail end of her set; the crowd is more subdued over at this stage, but they’re super-engaged, and I can tell that JBrekkie’s set was the polar opposite of… whatever the hell Illenium had going on. 

We left the Rose Bowl and only had a slightly sketchy and mildly terrifying experience with the fake “cab company” that took us back to our Airbnb. The L.A. experience, baby! A rich tapestry!

Head In The Clouds, day two (Feelghoodmusic, Keshi, eaJ, Niki, Joji)

4:30 p.m.

The Feelghoodmusic set is another combination, featuring MFBTY and Bibi—artists from the Feel Ghood Music label, created by Tiger JK in 2013. Tiger JK, his wife and bandmate Yoon Mi-rae, and Bizzy—all of the OG K-hip hop group, MFBTY—take the stage, and they don’t let us forget their long history in the industry. “We’re old as shit,” Tiger JK tells the crowd.

However, that doesn’t stop them from dialing up the energy as we head into the second evening of the festival. The group’s enthusiasm is so infectious, I watch two separate breakdancing circles open up just on the other side of the VIP fence. And I mean honest-to-god breakdancing—people are doing handstands and backflips! Tiger JK doesn’t seem eager to leave the crowd, because he blatantly ignores his cue to end their set until the music is cut, the projection screen goes black, and the metaphorical rug is pulled out from under them. 

For Bibi’s half of the Feelghoodmusic set, she keeps the momentum going but adds a layer of slightly unhinged sex appeal. “Who’s having sex tonight?” she asks before shoving a hand into the giant beige purse she brought onstage with her; it’s filled with condoms and she gleefully throws handful after handful into the crowd. (I find out later that she actually hopped down off the stage, walked over to the barriers, and smooched one of the festivalgoers right on the mouth.) A part of me is obsessed with the chaotic and powerful energy of that… but a far bigger part of me is, uhhhh, horrified at the idea of kissing a stranger, in the middle of a crowd, in the middle of a pandemic. 

5:38 p.m.

One of the best things about a festival is when you stumble onto performance you hadn’t planned to watch, and end up walking away with a brand new music obsession. That’s what happened with me and Keshi.

Before he comes out, the crowd starts chanting his name. No performer yet has inspired such a reaction, so my interest is piqued. When he starts the first line of “Beside you,” every single person has their phone up and is recording. Again, no other artist other has had this much of the crowd completely enamored, all at once—and to be honest, I’m hooked too. He keeps the audience in the palm of his charismatic hand, even when his mic goes out. 

Keshi’s stage presence was especially shocking for me because the music he makes is pretty low key, lo-fi R&B. “It’s quarantine music,” my friend tells me. My other friend agrees: “Yeah, everyone got super into Keshi” during the pandemic. The way everyone around me is screaming Keshi’s own lyrics back at him seems like evidence enough.

6:30 p.m.

eaJ has a way of building rapport with a crowd. When I saw him perform with his group Day6 back in November 2019, it was the first thing I noticed. The way he bantered with his fans while on stage felt incredibly intimate. I wonder if he’ll be able to recreate that relationship with this massive festival crowd, especially given it’s a solo stage this time around. 

I quickly got my answer: Yes. When he gets on stage, eaJ jokes about the arrangement of his setlist, “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m stupid and I make bad decisions. The energy transfer [and] how I divided between songs is not good. I don’t know who the fuck made the track list… I did. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He also playfully laments his fans and their purposefully embarrassing handmade signs. “Why are all my fans always meme-ing on me, bro? Y’all are whack!” 

But he isn’t all quips and no substance. Somehow, eaJ—who still technically doesn’t have any songs available on streaming platforms—commands the crowd. He brings Keshi back out onstage to perform their song “Pillows,” and when it’s time to do fan-favorite “50 Proof,” eaJ pulls off a gut-wrenching rendition that feels like I’m being taken to church. “I know some of y’all don’t know me but I know you fuck with me now,” he tells the audience at one point. Amen.

7:33 p.m.

Niki is a goddamn superstar. For those who don’t yet know this artist, she’s a 22-year-old singer from Indonesia and who’s been releasing music with 88Rising since 2017. 

And from the moment she walks out onstage, Head In The Clouds becomes The Niki Show. First of all, she has not one, but three outfit changes (first a sparkly sequin outfit with matching eyeshadow, then a pink ruffled dress, and finally a gold romper with matching gold duster jacket). She cycles between doing choreography with her dancers, playing the piano, and playing the guitar. It’s riveting. Keshi comes onstage with her (his third stage appearance of the night) but his mic is still messed up. His mic issues have lasted for hours; what the hell?!

8:48 p.m.

It’s time for headliner Joji’s set, but after reaching the end of these two days, I am tired. Tired enough that I tell my friends to go ahead into the crowd while I sit this one out. And I mean literally sit it out—right here, on the plush faux-suede couches just outside of the media clubhouse.

As I watch Joji’s set, I find myself again filled with the same emotions I felt this time last night. I missed live music, and I’m so beyond grateful to be here. I’m also a nostalgia monster—so naturally, I’m already mourning the end of this festival and this weekend, even while I’m still here. 

It’s hard to describe the West Coast Asian-American music scene, but I’m struck by how very L.A. this festival has been. From the warm and sunny weather, to stalls selling spiked boba, to the festival’s lineup itself: Many of these performers are from overseas, and yet they were able to draw massive crowds of people who likely wouldn’t get to see these artists live outside of HITC. 

After seeing the enthusiastic crowd this weekend and witnessing how smoothly things went (terrible box office experience notwithstanding), I have high hopes for this festival next year. I imagine that—following the huge turnout and the fact that the entire show was livestreamed on Amazon—Head In the Clouds 2022 will be bigger, better, and have an even more impressive lineup. (Especially if we are finally freed of COVID and its subsequent travel restrictions.)

So, I’ll be back next year… but I’m renting a car.

[just-antithings]

(Big of a long one, sorry)

I just came across another one of those "if you put your Hogwarts houses in your bio you're a terf" posts, and in the tags one of the people was talking about how they had a Gryffindor tshirt that was their favourite thing to wear which they just threw away because they'd rather never have such a thing touch them again. Fair enough, what anyone is comfortable with in their personal life is none of my business. But it did remind me of something similar that happened with me.

I own a perfectly good Fantastic Beasts t-shirt. It's the kind that has a simple design and good enough material to last YEARS. I did, of course, buy it before I knew about all this JKR business. Then couple of years ago I was faced with the fact that I own some HP merch and the dilemma of whether or not I should throw it away. This surprisingly came down to a moment where I properly understood and defined my own politics to myself.

At the same time that I had some people in my circles insisting on these performative measures, I was also learning about fast fashion and the very real impacts of clothing trends on the environment. After reading up on it enough and seeing the gross appropriation of "thrifting", it became obvious that the solution is to "reduce" waste, to stop buying more clothes than you need, to stop throwing away perfectly good clothes, to stitch up clothing that needs mending instead of replacing it, etc. The best clothing for the environment is the one already in your closet. That idea. Was I going to make an exception in this case and throw away this t-shirt because someone might think me a class traitor for it, even though whether I keep it or discard it doesn't actually change the support JKR doe or doesn't have anymore? On the one hand it was just one tshirt and it would keep me safe from my peers in those liberal circles. On the other hand it made me feel shame like i had never felt before. It reminded me of every other performative thing I've done in the name of activism and how little it has amounted to. I'm the kind of person who still has my wardrobe from five years ago almost intact with very few changes. Wasteful consumption has a very real cost and I don't do that anymore, so when it came down to tossing that tshirt out it ended up meaning more than it should have. I kept the tshirt. It's still in great shape, it's gonna last many years more as well and save me that much more consumption waste.

What if i had given it away? Would some random person who hasn't ever heard of the JKR drama (consider: I'm not from the West) suddenly become a Terf by wearing it? Would it keep HP and JKR relevant because some person who hardly even knows HP is now wearing a second hand tshirt from someone? When I went to another trans friend's house, who has been there for the community every single day, who has worked hard at the ground levels to create safe spaces for queer people, who has advocated for trans rights in our country, and when i saw their HP merch, what kind of an asshole would I be to call them out on it or say that I suddenly don't trust them because they made a reference to some book we all read as kids? In that moment, sitting with that friend, I also realised how far removed our day-to-day lives actually are from what was considered activism in online spaces. The latter can be great when it's about spreading information and having discussions. But something that reeks that much of simply a performance? Idk, I don't think people talking about HP in their daily lives or wearing an old Gryffindor tshirt or reblogging a gif has as much power over the queer struggle as people here seem to think. It's getting a bit annoying how because I see more posts talking about HP just to tell people who are engaging with it to die than i see actual posts by people just talking about the book. I think the former are the ones actually keeping it more relevant than it is

.

[wavernot4love]

hello it is time 4 yet another wavernot4love gig recap: clancy cleveland 9.28.24 edition (from the perspective of someone who went in nearly blind due to wanting 2 be surprised) ((i typed most of this after the show until three am last night before finally crashing so it may in fact be rather incoherent) (((note i have not had time 2 edit Anything so these pictures will be uhhh Not The Best)))

- best trees experience of my life. I WAS RIGHT BY THE CIRCLE BY TYLER????? AND THEN THEY BOTH UNEXPECTEDLY WALKED RIGHT BY ME (*right* by me,,,,, do see "bonus cursed images" section at the end of this post ,,,,) AFTER TREES ON THEIR WAY BACK 2 THE STAGE???? in true wavernot4love fashion after losing my marbles for a moment ..... i locked in and yelled "great show guys!" at them both

(continued after this lil thingy)

- i had so much fun running around back and forth between stages following the dudes around. for the main b stage segment i went right by tyler and it was so nice idk dawg (mulberry street was easily my favorite bit, and will probably always be one of my favorites). i went by the little barricade thing by the path when they came back too

- oh how i love when tyler breaks character ,,,,,,, homie was talking about the michigan person in canada the other day from that video and being salty over it and introduces the story by saying something like "during routines in the night, when i'm like being all cool in the camera like [gremlin noises]"

- JOSH SINGING?????? i kid you not i've loved that bit of paladin but did not actually know that was him/that was the tidbit tyler was hinting at way back, so this served as a.... Revelation for wavernot4love. anyways i LOVED both his segments in paladin & stressed out/the tyler/josh dynamic onstage there

- i somehow wound up on the screen during the judge despite being 15ish rows back (in a crowd shot, i mean)?????

- awesome production this tour dude. so big and truly immersive - even moreso made you feel like you were living all the songs.

- early on i was a bit worried for tyler that he was maybe straining/losing his voice? not sure, might've been nothing really, but either way, he really pulled through and did great.

- there was a little sports Bit of tyler asking people for the cleveland score in a currently ongoing game which was quite silly (also lots of ohio talk naturally, as there should be, see: "finally! i'm with all my people!" proclamation)

- the part of backslide live where every last person in the room has their hands in the air..... oh yes

- fake you out into guns for hands..... oh yes 2.0 (vessel edition)

- tyler just clowning on everyone a good bit by going "did we do alright? do you smell good?" [crowd, making thumbs down motions: "NO!"], making fun of our not clearing out the red circle right.... you know, understandable

- bracelets! a sticker! confetti! oh my!!!! (bad quality pic, as ya know, i did not currently have natural lighting but U get the idea)

- lavish live. oh my. the shades. the dosey doeing little move the two of them had going. all of it!!! once again i love that i had next 2 no spoilers about the antics this tour it was so fun just. seein everything for the first time as it happened

- speaking of..... spotted lavash cafe merch in the crowd. also love that they're playing into the bit still by showing the cafe's name on the screens during lavish

- brought my film point and shoot and snapped a decent amount, stoked 2 get those developed

- sure enough, end of paladin came as as much of a jumpscare as i imagined live

- also the crowd around me was really solid for the most part honestly, and seemed 2 vibe with everything, be into the lore etc

- overall my favorite songs live 2nite were trees, oldies station, paladin, mulberry street, gfh, next semester, my blood, lavish, stressed out, and natn

- i also overall became a much bigger fan of paladin after 2nite

- only song i was totally surprised wasn't there this time was lane boy! guess she had to take a bit of a break which i understand

annnnd finally..... bonus cursed Images of

1. a tale in two video stills of my cousin's of wavernot4love in the flesh (second pic) looking a combination of shocked/Afraid/ecstatic (i cannot explain this absolutely goofy expression on my face any way else, it's worse yet in the unedited pic where i don't have part of my face scribbled out fhfhhf) when tyler & josh randomly Appeared and took that route back after trees i was talking about at the beginning of this post

(the figure closest to the camera sure is tyler, in the second pic as well, as, ya know, you probably figured, considering the black neck/white shirt thing. absolutely cursed reaction indeed and i am so glad it was caught on camera by my cousin)

2. self explanatory as to why i just got a chuckle out of this after scrolling across it in my photos

3. this picture of josh pre backflip that's asking for a toilet to be edited into it or something of the sort ,,,, i do not know it gave me another chuckle at three am last night going through my stuff

yippee!!! overall i am honestly so glad i avoided much content about tour for a change, made for a neat experience. fantastic fantastic show from the pilots, possibly my favorite from them (though every show is so special) and easily one of my favorite shows in general i've been to

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 7 Minagoroshi pt. 8

This part, I feel, is probably one of the most significant things to occur in the entire narrative.

In every timeline it's shown where Takano enters the storehouse Tomitake always hears the banging around and noises that Hanyuu makes. I mentioned it previously, but this means that he has the same disease that Satoko has, but unlike Satoko he seems unaware he has any such condition. And that's a really fascinating thing to think about in regards to the curse of Oyashiro. Does being able to hear Hanyuu have anything to do with Shion, Satoshi, Rena, and Keiichi hearing an extra footstep? Is she the extra step they hear? I think this might be too early to tell, but I think I'm onto something here. Of course that raises all sorts of other questions about Hanyuu and the curse if this is somehow down to a disease rather than a magical spiritual affliction.

We don't really get to see how they react to Rika telling them about their deaths on Watanagashi. It cuts from that last line of Rika to the end of a presentation Irie is giving to a room of other doctors and a man they specify is not wearing a labcoat.

I genuinely cannot believe that this series really is just turning into the X-Files. This reveal that Tomitake is apparently deeply involved with whatever scientific research Irie is conducting on Satoko and Rika knocked the wind out of me, I was really not prepared for it. In hindsight I guess they sowed the seeds that he might actually be a military man with the fact his design has dogtags. That and the fact he's buff as hell and looks like he'd be able to hand his own in a fight, but still I was blown away that Tomitake of all people was going to be the government/military man behind the conspiracy. Somehow despite having read all of the shit about the parasites, and government coverups from the end of Tsumihoroboshi not even a week ago I was still taken unawares by the military/government angle.

In case your curious his badge says Infectious Disease Surveillance Center.

Now we're getting to the real horror of it all.

I know this is a terribly serious scene and all talking about how Satoko probably has brain trauma due to her abuse she took in 1982. But the sentence about how there's plenty of people with emotional trauma reminded me of one piece of merch I bought from that horrible Silent Hill Ascension web series. A coffee mug with the phrase It's Trauma! written on it in a ridiculously cheerful font. It's so tasteless, I had to buy it.

Takano is showing who wears the pants in this military, pharmaceutical, government conspiracy. Also, apropos of nothing, do you think Ryukishi liked Silent Hill 1? Do you think he liked Siren when that came out a year or so prior to this chapter coming out? I'm not saying he's copying anyone or ripping anyone off. I'm just saying, I played Siren as well.

Also I do wonder when this originally came out if he just hoped people would replay the earlier chapters in anticipation of the new one. Or if he was like "if they remember, they remember." Because Tatarigoroshi was how many years ago? Who's going to remember one or two throwaway lines from around the later half of that chapter all these dozens of hours and games later? I remember because I possess the rare ability to remember things, and also I have all the chapters available to me. But back in 2004, 2005? And with at least a year and a half between chapters?

I remember Irie calling in the Mountain Dogs to potentially keep Keiichi in the clinic before he escaped and went to dig up the area he buried Teppei. I think that he also mentioned Risa being dead around that time, and I don't think it's an inaccurate guess to assume Risa is Tomitake.

I like lines like this because of the little amounts of doubt it casts on earlier statements. The past few chapters have gone out of the way to try to establish that the Sonozakis are gentle as can be, and all that. Then Rika just casually mentions that Oryou Sonozaki is actually a monster, making you wonder just who's really telling the truth here.

Something I've noticed over the course of this chapter is how weirdly possessive Rika is towards Satoko. She never says it outright to where other characters can hear it (yet), but in her narration she does seem more and more like she wants to steal Satoko away. She's treating her less like a person, and more like her pet.

Also this chapter seems a lot more meta than the previous ones. There's a lot more fourth wall jokes than there were previously. I don't mind them so much, just an observation that with the recent change to a character who has lived out the times for a hundred years plus it seems a lot more willing to delve into these meta jokes.

In case you're wondering they're back at the toy store from the tournament scenes because they're trying to get donations for the auction at the Watanagashi festival. And they took a brief aside to learn how to do some legendarily epic mahjong cheating technique. Maybe it's because I don't know how to actually play mahjong but the description of the technique was just kind of confusing to me, and I don't know how it would actually work. Perhaps the manga version of the scene, being a visual medium, actually shows how the trick is done. But honestly up until somewhere in the 2010s I thought mahjong was a single player tile matching game. Taipei? I think that's what it was called in the Windows game option way back in the bygone days of Windows XP.

[xplrvibes]

Omg yeeeees, tell us your thoughts and opinions on the Tom Ward interview! I neeeeeeed to know.

Im going to put my opinions behind a cut because quite honestly, im going to get in trouble for something in here im sure.

So remember...opinions.

Ok, so to start, the first thing I thought was interesting about this interview was that they reached out to Tom Ward and asked to be interviewed by him.

Now, I don't know when they filmed this, but it was definitely after the controversies started, so this was definitely their way of sort of getting out there and letting a respectful debunker have a crack at them.

+1 for that. Smart move.

Now, before we even get into the Cody and Satori stuff...editing.

Are we allowed to talk about it, or shall I skip over the part where Colby explained their process as: "I'll take all the footage and cut it down, and then basically give it to another main channel main editor that we have that will do all the music, effects and all the texts and all that stuff, and then Sam kind of corrects that and manages that as well?"

😉

MOVING ON to the meat of this whole thing: snc addressing the controversy at hand.

I have to give snc props for the way they handled all of this. They came across so open and not offended by any of the questions, and did exactly what I thought they should do. They gave their opinions as best they could, while repeatedly stating, "You'll have to ask Cody and Satori that," which YES. GOD. My whole problem with this thing (besides the vitriol) this whole time has been people coming after the wrong target.

So yea, snc tried their best to debunk everything, and they couldn't. When they saw some of the stuff about Cody's past coming out, they reached out to him for clarification and he gave them an answer that they repeated. Anything farther than that is on Cody and Satori to talk about from here on out.

Hopefully, this message finally gets through some thick fucking skulls out there.

Anyway, them being open and honest about certain things - like how yes, all their info is online and, in theory, could be looked up beforehand and used against them, and yes, they did sign waivers beforehand (but on the day of) and yes, they did find some of rhe stuff that came out after to be really weird and concerning (like the Fox Sisters being frauds, or Cody's 11 year old video) really helps show that they are genuine, and just kind of along for this ride with everyone else.

There were a few things that they said that I found interesting, like the fact that the Conjuring House makes them hand over the videos prior to them being posted for a watch-througj for accuracy, and that the secret message that they were told could possibly be shared some day but they have to clear it with certain people and be respectful of peoples' privacy.

I also found the Zumiez thing hilarious for 2 reasons: 1) I legit did not know there were still Zumiez out there, and 2) Sam stated at one point that this was their first brick and mortar merch line but they had merch in Hot Topic stores back in 2019 so...wtf Sam lol.

Also, why did Colby look like he had just woken up from the best weekend nap ever? Hair all flattened down, wearing what I honestly thought was a bathrobe for the entire interview (turna out it was a jacket but ive never exactly had eyes like a hawk so whatever)...dude looked like I look on every 9am conference call I ever got forced onto.

Anyway, I give them props for this. They were charming, genuine, open, not on the defensive at all, and threw absolutely nobody under the bus, while at the same time clearing their names of any wrongdoing in this matter. They utterly charmed Tom by the end, and judging from the comments, did charm a lot of people who were on the fence about them as well.

They're never going to win everyone over, but I think doing this interview at least helped to prove that they aren't about to start getting into the scripted series category of the streamys anytime soon.

[ready2blw]

tagged by @slimeybee !!

putting the divider cause shit is long

what’s the origin of your blog title? i already made a post like this one but it’s literally just the song “ready to blow” by kmfdm because i love kmfdm and i love industrial music

OTP(s) + shipname: if i actually started making a list of all my ships this post would be three hours long

favorite color? take a guess… + black and white even if they technically don’t count but LET ME LIVE

favorite game? tie between silent hill 2 and devil may cry 5

song stuck in your head?

weirdest habit/trait? i cant stay completely still except when i really have to so i always fidget with something. most of the time its my hair, my fingers or my vertical labret piercing (LMAO). when i get nervous it’s even WORSE. + sometimes when i get too nervous or overwhelmed or whatever i bite down on my fingers and/or my hand + im obsessed with certain numbers and i have to do things or list things down in 3 or 5 (like. 3 fav movies or 3 things about me etc) or else i’ll feel weirded out and my brain will act weird (3 is my lucky number!!)

hobbies: writing, cosplay, art (i guess), sometimes gaming + other stuff that idk if you can count as a hobby. and being insufferable on the internet ofc

if you work, what’s your profession? currently searching for a job! shit’s been a little hard lately

if you could have any job you wish, what would it be? something that involves cinema or theatre in some way… maybe acting, but that might only stay in my dreams

something you’re good at: i’m a pretty good listener… i guess. i don’t really know what to say to this one

something you’re bad at: anything involving maths and having to do calculations. + remembering stuff. i have big memory issues.

something you love: fashion and being able to express myself however i want, music, my close friends, my boyfriend and my cat :3

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: any of my big main interests tbh. which are like. music, fashion and cinema

something you hate: stupid people, every one that did me wrong in my life, the fact that we’re in such a horrible situation politic wise and that we are pretty much fucked and many other stupid things cause im a hater at heart

something you collect: physical media (cds/dvds), action figures, trinkets, dolls (only some), merch of my fav bands

something you forget: EVERYTHINGGGG.

what’s your love language? on the giving side, i’m more of a gift giving and quality time person. and also showing stuff that reminds me of the people i love to them. on the receiving side, i’d say all of them maybe

fav movie/fav show: i can’t pick just one so i’m gonna list like three for each one.

movies: the nightmare before christmas, perfect blue and nowhere (1997)

shows: midnight mass, arcane and (if animes count) death note

fav food: brownies…….. but if were talking about actual food then i’d say anything with chicken in it

fav animal: cats, seals and bats :3

what were you like as a child? more extrovert than how i am now, certified yapper and i wasn’t scared to be as weird as i wanted to be. didn’t have many friends as you can guess except the ones who were as weird as me

favorite subject at school? english

least favorite subject? maths and (most of) history

what’s your best character trait? i’m a very empathic person

what’s your worst character trait? unresolved anger issues, can be jealous sometimes, tend to isolate myself when i’m upset

if you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be? be in a better mental state

if you could travel in time, who would you like to meet? Wayne Static from Static-X, singer of my favorite band ever and one of my biggest inspirations. I would tell him how much his music means to me and how much it helped during the years.

tag as as many mutuals as you want!

@peachfuzz-nygma @riverphoenixsgothwife @primalsldge or anyone else that wants to do it, no obligation ofc!