#and i've never been a finalist in this before so. cool!

[jonathanrook]

girl??????

[jonquilyst]

Day 28 - Liana Morris and Paulina Callaway

Total Drama Sims: Season 2 is officially coming to a close! Let's give a round of applause for both of our finalists!

THANK YOU @bloomingkyras and @cowplant-ate-my-sim for volunteering your lovely sims to Total Drama Sims! I loved them both so very much and I'm so happy they ended up being the finalists! Let's talk about their amazing performances for a bit:

Although Paulina didn't win, I think she has the most interesting TDS run out of all 28 contestants I've had, and that's all thanks to the team swap! If that elimination was just a standard elimination, she would have been in 10th place and an early-out, but the exact opposite happened! She stayed in the game, made it to the merge, and survived for its ENTIRETY! Want to know another cool Paulina fact? She is the highest-ranking member of the Illustrious Star-Shines, despite having originally been part of the Renowned Big-Names! Point being: Paulina's run was FANTASTIC and I hope you think so too!

Liana's biggest reason for making it so far in the game was pointed out by Hans: she took a "befriend-everybody" approach, similar to Lilium from last season, and because of that, nobody had a reason to vote her out; she was friends with everybody! She never even needed immunity in the merge to save herself (she never won a challenge in the merge). The only time she was almost eliminated was just before the merge, when the Renowned Big-Names were down to only 3 people, but aside from that one incident, she was never close to being voted out any other time! The fact that she was friends with almost everybody also allowed her to get additional votes in the finale and therefore win the entire competition in the end!

It's time to celebrate Liana for her well-deserved victory and the completion of another great season of TDS before everyone returns home!

Everyone partied until the stars came out! Liana takes one last glance at the Del Sol Valley night sky before she and everyone else departs for home.

THANK YOU to everyone who submitted their sims for Total Drama Sims: Season 2 💖 I'm so happy I did this for a second time and I really hope you enjoyed season 2 just as much as season 1!

If any of you are interested in sharing what your sim does after TDS2, feel free to share it with me! I would love to know what your sims’ afterthoughts are and how their experience impacted them.

Well, another great season in the books! Until next time! I’m your host jonquilyst, and this has been Total Drama Sims: Season 2!

Official Leaderboard:

14th: Brody Sherman by @aniraklova

13th: Tristan Bachman by @micrathene-w

12th: Ashlee Schaefer by @shmoodlet

11th: Neal Ward by @nakasumi-sims

10th: Willabelle Lowes by @invisiblequeen

Tied for 8th: Hans Somme by @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants & Toni Stroud by @simsinfinitylt

7th: Coffee Bean by @riverofjazzsims

6th: Enzo Espinoza by @seyvia

5th: Takashi Abbottsford by @stargazer-sims

4th: Flo Harper by @akitasimblr

3rd: Drew Pinto by @witheringscreations

2nd: Paulina Callaway by @cowplant-ate-my-sim

1st: Liana Morris by @bloomingkyras

View this spreadsheet for a more detailed leaderboard that includes challenge wins and when someone almost got eliminated!

[mirai-e-jump]

UTB (Up to Boy) Magazine, October 2023 Issue (Vol. 330) ft. Yuzuki Hirakawa Interview and Photo Shoot (translation below)

Publication: August 23, 2023 (between episodes 25-26)

"If you could look back on it alittle, please tell us how you felt when you passed the audition."

Hirakawa: I've auditioned for the Sentai series afew times in the past, but I never made it through that many rounds of judging. For the first time, I was nervous and anxious as I realized that as the judging proceeded, I would be a finalist. When I received the results, with a great sense of relief I though, "Ah, thank goodness…."

"Please tell us about Rita Kaniska, the character you play."

Hirakawa: Rita is the international judge, and King of the country Gokkan. They're calm, composed, and rarely talks, and while they seem like a very serious person, I think they're a character with a cute side, like when they're alone and act like they're talking with their "Moffun" plushies.

"Due to your costume, you can only see with one eye, do you ever find any challenges playing such a role?"

Hirakawa: At first, I felt like it was difficult to convey my emotions through just my visible left eye. I would try squinting my eyes alittle, pulling my chin back, it was alot of trial and error, and I gradually felt like I was reaching a breaking point. When I discussed it with the Director, he told me, "You don't have to try to act with just your left eye. If you express your mind and feel the scene, it'll come out naturally." From that point on, I thought I was able to get in front of the cameras without having to do strange poses.

"Rita doesn't talk much, doesn't show much emotion, but, it's a cool role to play, are there any aspects that overlap with your own?"

Hirakawa: I've been told by the staff and cast around me that I resemble them quite abit. At first, I didn't think I was like them at all. Rita doesn't talk at all, while I'm the complete opposite. I talk all the time and am the type to become excited easily. However, I think they're similar in that Rita has an unexpected side to them, like when they're alone in their room talking to plushies.

"What's an unexpected side of Hirakawa-san?"

Hirakawa: In terms of a gap, the first impression of me is often that I look quiet or shy, but that's not true at all. I'm always really excited (laughs).

"At first glance, she looks cool, but her personality is the complete opposite! By the way, how did Hirakawa-san get into the entertainment world?"

Hirakawa: I joined my agency when I was in my second year of high school. Before that, I was attending a business high school in my hometown of Kumamoto, where I studied bookkeeping and various other subjects, all while thinking about becoming a tax accountant in the future…..

"A tax accountant! This is once again another contrasting world."

Hirakawa: When I started my second year, I thought, "I'd like to start doing something." At that time, I happened to learn about LDH (Hirakawa's agency) on TV and decided to do an audition. Before that, I had no desire to be in the entertainment industry, or to even give it a try.

"So now you're on a path that you never would have imagined yourself on previously. Did things go well once you joined the agency?"

Hirakawa: No. First off, I had no idea about the entertainment world, and while I had gone to various auditions, I was never selected. I thought I had understood that, "It's exhausting, this isn't an easy job afterall." But, slowly, I've been able to participate in dramas and stage plays, and now that I'm finally appearing in King-Ohger, I feel that I can now say with pride that I'm an actor.

"In a way, this could now be called the "starting line." The Sentai series is long running performance that lasts a year. How do you hope to grow over the course of the series?"

Hirakawa: In the previous productions I performed in, I did kind of bad with scenes where there were large groups of people, and it was a challenge for me to show my movements in such situations, but, now that I'm mostly in similar kinds of scenes, I'm able to get around naturally, and I hope I've overcome these challenges. If you haven't watched King-Ohger yet, I hope you'll check out Yuzuki Hirakawa's growth and development!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

There’s a video on YouTube of the finals of the 1995 Open Mic Awards, broadcast on the BBC in September, 1995. I haven’t seen it before, but I think this calls for a post in which I write my thoughts down live as I watch.

- Right off the bat, here’s Barry Cryer telling us about the recent stand-up comedy boom, and he lists the most important, moneymaking comedians who’ve been to the Fringe: Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson, Jo Brand, Julian Cleary, Eddie Izzard. So I guess it’s 1995.

- They announce at the beginning that it’s a contest for any comedians who’ve never been paid to do stand-up comedy before, they started with over 500 and now they’re down to 8. So that’s sort of cool, that we talk (well, I talk about this, maybe other people don’t so much) about what comedians started at the same time as each other, but any who are in this have started at exactly the same time, having never been paid for it before but now being good enough to make this shortlist.

- Oh, here’s Boothby Graffoe hosting the event, a man whom I know as a voice on Radio 4, looking a lot more telegenic than I picture most people on Radio 4.

- First judge is Tony Hawks (the S is important there, not the skateboard guy), the guy who wrote two books that are on my shelf: Round Ireland with a Fridge, and One Hit Wonderland. I read both those books about ten years ago and recall them being quite funny and the former making me really want to go to Ireland. I mean, I already wanted to do that, and that’s why I read the book, but the book made me want that even more. Looking back, it's possible that that book may have been vaguely condescending, an Englishman saying "look how cute and quirky Ireland is." But if that was the case then I didn't pick up on it at the time.

- “[The stand-ups in this competition], they’ve not really done it much for money… if you’ll pardon the expression…” Tony Hawks making a joke right at the beginning in which I think he’s called Lee Mack an aspiring whore (it’s relevant to know that Lee Mack is one of the finalists).

- I apologize for anything I said about assuming voices on Radio 4 are less-than-telegenic. The next judge is Sandi Toksvig, and she has never, ever been less-than at anything.

I’m so pleased to see her that I’ll even overlook Boothby Graffoe using the word “comedienne” to introduce her.

- I’ve not heard of the next judge, apparently he’s an important decision-maker at the BBC. Or he was one of those, at least. Now all the decisions are being made by... oh God, I'll end this point here, I've done enough ranting about the cancelation of BBC topical comedy lately, I won't get into it again, I promise.

- Barry Cryer is the fourth and final judge, and they immediately make several jokes about how incredibly old he is. In 1995. His recent death was very sad, but he did have a long run.

- Barry Cryer on what he looks for in good stand-up comedy: “Originality. No sex, 70s, or Star Trek.” That's interesting to me. In the last 10 years, 90s nostalgia has been everywhere. In 2023, 00s nostalgia is taking hold (I don't mean to be dismissive about that, it's certainly taken hold of me). In 1995, someone was complaining that 70s nostalgia was so ubiquitous it had become unoriginal. As, apparently, had Star Trek and sex.

- I’ve seen pictures and videos of Baby Lee Mack before, I know what he looks like, I was prepared for this. But still, Jesus Christ.

- There is an amazing contrast between how much Lee Mack has physically changed since this video (drastically), and how much his comedic style has changed (not at all). It’s not my favourite comedic style, but I do respect it when it’s done well, which I think it is in Lee Mack’s case. And to be fair, he did make me laugh a few time in the set from this video. His stand-up DVDs made me laugh as well, when I watched them a few years ago.

It's now been more than two years since I watched Lee Mack’s stand-up DVDs, but I still recognized a couple of jokes from this 1995 set – they made it into his first DVD, which was released in 2007. His later shows no longer recycled exact jokes from 1995, but they never changed style.

I also respect a comedian who decides what they want to be early on because they truly love that thing, and then they continue to love it enough to stick with it. And I think that is real for Lee Mack, I’ve read his autobiography and so much of it’s about being really into the comedians who came before him and did that style. Comedy changed around him as he grew up, he definitely saw the alternative comedy stuff and then the other styles that branched out from there, but no, he wanted to be one type of comedian that is what he did. It's worked damn well for him, credit goes to Lee Mack for that.

- Next up are three comedians I hadn’t heard of, a couple of whom were a bit funny, followed by:

John Oliver has some stand-up jokes in his early career about how he looks like he’s Jewish, and I never understood those jokes until I saw pictures of him from even earlier in his career, when he did look exactly like a young David Baddiel. He wrote those jokes back when he looked like that, so people probably did often assume he was Jewish, and then kept telling them even after he didn’t look that much like that anymore.

I think I’ve just had a similar moment of understanding about all the jokes in The Mighty Boosh based on Julian Barratt’s eyes being too small. By the time they filmed the Mighty Boosh things that I’ve seen, he’d apparently learned to open his eyes properly, because I heard those jokes and thought, okay, they’re a bit small, but not really enough for the jokes to make sense. This, however, suggests that the issues used to be more pronounced. I'm not sure that man even has eyes.

- On the subject of The Mighty Boosh, you know how Julian Barratt’s the straight man there? Apparently he wasn’t always. He packed an impressive amount of offbeat stuff into only a couple of minutes there. Not even really a character act, just fucking weird. Possibly just as weird as the old clips I've seen of Noel Fielding's 90s-era stand-up. I see how they ended up together.

- I’ll be honest, and say the next one is the actual reason I’m here:

Jesus. I've seen a lot of different Daniel Kitson looks from different Daniel Kitson eras, but had not seen that one before. This gives me the same feeling I get from watching his Blockbusters thing, which is... okay, I love finding old footage of comedians I like, but if they're an actual child in that footage, at what point is it a weird thing to have? I think he's actually older here than he was on Blockbusters, but looks younger, possibly because of the shorter hair and/or the vest.

Seeing his age right after Lee Mack and Julian Barrett puts that difference in perspective, too. I’d been thinking that them all being in this means they all started at the same time so are the same comedic generation, but they’re really not. Because that is a small child. It takes a hell of a lot of confidence to think you can do something like this when you’re that young. I say this as someone whose brother started doing stand-up when he was sixteen… it requires an uncommon level of self-regard.

- I’ve now watched the set, and it was primarily about A-level results, his glasses, and his failure to get a girlfriend during high school. I have heard him do material even in his polished shows as an adult about his glasses and his failure to get a girlfriend in high school, and I can even think of a couple of routines that have discussed his A-level results. So he didn’t stop using the topics. Just changed every single other thing.

There was only one tiny bit when the crowd laughed too early, he got mildly annoyed and said that was just a word, that wasn’t the joke, and it was this little flash of reality. Like for about a second and a half, a curtain moved and you could look at this strange teenager and see Daniel Kitson. And then the curtain closed again and it’s just a kid with way more confidence than anyone that age should be allowed to have.

- The video cuts off the ending, but I looked it up and learned that Julian Barratt won. Which makes sense, especially if the judges were, in fact, looking for originality. He definitely had that. A very weird and creative set that would lead you to never guess he's destined for "straight man" status in his double act.

[lumiereandcogsworth]

I've never asked ...

What came first for you?

"Beauty and the Beast" or Downton Abbey?

Did you come to Downton via B&tB and Dan Stevens ... or, like me, did you go watch B&tB because you were a Downton fan?

Speaking of which, did you know that Jessica Brown Findlay was a finalist for Belle, but they chose Emma Watson because they thought she would be a bigger draw than Findlay ...

No offense, but I honestly feel that Findlay would've been a better Belle.

*Ducks behind the bar*

oh good question! no yeah i had NO idea who dan stevens was, going into batb. i knew downton abbey existed obviously but i didn’t care to watch it. i actually didn’t really get into period dramas until after batb, which doesn’t directly make sense but like once your otp is an 18th century couple… i just want more of that. so YEAH i saw batb first and i had never seen this manz before in my entire life. then i discovered he was The Lad™️ in downton abbey and one of my friends from high school kept posting about it on her instagram stories cuz she loves it and basically she wore me down. so i watched it! and it was fun seeing him as such a lil baby! and then a couple years later my best friend got very into legion, so i watched dan in that too— very fun as well.

as for your second point, YO that’s really cool! can you imagine?? sybil and matthew together in some wild au lmao?? that would’ve been so fun. she def has the beautiful provincial looks about her, she’d have pulled it off incredibly well. obviously yeah i think emma did amazing and i have zero complaints and i’m defensive about it. which is why, i’m assuming, you ducked behind the bar lol. but i’m sure jessica would’ve done a great job! i’m sure a lot of wonderful ladies would’ve done a great job! and honestly it’s not like i was pushing for emma watson to be belle. i wasn’t pushing for anyone! super fun fact: i did not at all care that batb 2017 was coming out. like i was on the “oh great, another live action disney movie” train. ENTIRELY. when i saw emma was belle i was just “ah, sure, makes sense,” and moved on. obviously i proceeded to fall madly in love with the film, but that was after the fact! so, no offense taken. fact is, emma IS belle, and i loved every bit of her performance :)

[maiverie]

Hi Mai!!!

I am indeed pre-law. Technically, I think I'm a bit closer to being a law student considering I've gotten some acceptances and stuff already but all of that is up for debate. I'm mostly waiting to hear back from a couple law schools in cities that I wouldn't mind living in and also the Fulbright program (so I can possibly, if I become a finalist, teach English in Korea). ANYWAY, I am interested in property/real estate law and education law so I can think about housing and homeless and also how that impacts students/families. It doesn't sound that cool but I really like learning about these subjects and have done some stuff relating to them before. HMMMM Enhypen recs like social media aus or fic fics? I could also share some of my favorite authors, but I'm sure you know a bunch because you're just as much (if not more) immersed in this fandom so! BUT lemme know your preferences or anything of that sort and I can put together a list for ya! I actually really like angst though so fair warning now. Also also, thanks for saying that you value my opinion and that I seem well-rounded! I wouldn't say that's true in the slightest but-- OOOOOO I have listened to all of skz's stuff and would be happy to let you know some of my favorite songs (rip cause the lists for recs will be probably be so long since I talk so much!). I think the cool thing about this album is just how much you can feel all the members' (especially 3racha's) progression as artists, dancers, and just people generally speaking. The sound is clean and fresh and just catches the ear in ways that feels shocking yet soothing (if that makes any sense). I'll follow your writing for as long as you're producing and willing to have readers! You'll always have me in your corner for support! Fighting Mai!! <3 - 🍚

OMG!!! i know a few people in law and they all tell me it's really hard so i'm wishing u the absolute best (not that u need my wishes, i'm super duper sure you'll do AMAAZZINGGGG) !! AND OMG!! you want to teach english in korea?? plsss that would literally be so cool *-* i hope you get into that pathway!!! pls keep us all updated on how that goes ;-; and OMGGGG property law!! stopPPP WHAT THE HECK you're radiating sm amazing energy rn im totally speechless 😭 i really love the way you frame property/real estate law — i've never thought of it like that before and it's so enlightening to get your perspective on it?! I REALLY DO GENUINELY WISH YOU ALL THE BEST? IM SURE ULL SMASH IT EEEKKKKK IM EXCITED FOR YOUUUUUUU

AND OOOH!! it's kind of ironic bc i'm very much a written series writer but comparatively i've been consuming a lot more smaus ;-; but please go ahead hehe!! i actually don't really mind what i read so long as the content is entertaining and/or the writing is good!! hehe :D i actually really enjoy things that make me laugh!! so if you have any funny recs i'd love to hear them <333 but tbh i literally LOVE dark themes at the same time (I FEEL LIKE IM SUPER EASY TO PLEASE HELPP) but don’t feel too pressured about compiling a list !!!

AND OOOHH YOU'RE SO RIGHT???? I REALLY REALLY LOVE THE MUSIC TOO!! I REALLY LOVE IT when they place a strong emphasis on vocals, particularly in 4th gen groups given that there's relatively a bigger focus on performance these days... SO SO SO NICE WHEN WE GET AMAZING MUSIC FROM 4TH GEN GROUPS THAT ACTUALLY SOUND LIKE U CAN HEAR THEM AS ARTISTS > DANCERS? I TOTALLY AGREE AAAA

pls!!! you're the best!!! love and appreciate u sm <333 best anon ever 😭