#and do you honestly need to film every single song?

[nettlestingsoup]

kard was SO FUN but honestly people need to be FAR more mindful of their phones at gigs. i get that you want to film for friends or for memories or whatever other reason, but every time a song starts and a hundred phones go up it makes it REMARKABLY difficult to actually see the stage.

[sharkorok]

all eyes on you (enhypen)

or the moments that make everyone think you’re dating

cw/genre: idol!reader, reader doesnt have specified gender but implied to be a female, fluff, so cute bye, secret relationships, humor, u have delulu fans

requested: naurrr

a/n: ehe thx for 100 followers :) I hope my writing makes u happy because knowing people read my works makes me super duper happy! luv uuuu

•-•-•-•-•-•

heeseung

-at an awards show your outfits were matching, like very obviously matching

-matching bracelets, you had one on your left wrist and he had one on the right, the colors matched each other, same style and aesthetic…

-he gets v nervous but also you were in some dating rumors with another idol so…he wouldn’t be mad if he was next tbh….BUT THEN UR GROUP WAS ASSIGNED NEXT TO HIM??

-dawg was sweating the whole time trying not to admire you and how cute you two looked

-but no every one of those “enhypen mma reaction” or “heeseung reaction focus” showed him very clearly staring at you 😭, twt had a field day with you two

-he can’t help it, you looked so good and how can he keep his eyes off his lovely s/o when they’re all dressed up + matching?? seriously his management was insane for putting him so close to you

-and when all groups were leaving he was seen literally sprinting to be closer to you

-ya dispatch didn’t even need to confirm anything after that awards show

the others r below!

jay

-during a live he got his guitar out and started playing all your favorite songs

-and this was literally a day after you named your favorite songs

-then to make it worse he was like “yeah these are y/n’s favorite songs don’t they have good music taste?” and then he kept talking about you and staff was sweating while watching istg

-the way he talked about you tho,,he either had a massive crush on you or you two were dating

-the ship edits the next day were insane honestly some of your fans need to get into the editing business because you genuinely believed a photo of him holding your waist was taken at inkigayo

-he doesn’t even try to hide how much he likes you istg, he goes out of his way to talk to you at awards shows and always films challenges with you, he gives the shippers so much content

-then another time jay cooked your favorite food in a vlog and specifically said it was your favorite food, name dropping and everything

-literally no one is surprised that you two are confirmed dating after a while.

jake

-accidentally went on live while talking about you

-he fully believed he closed out of the app when he was talking to jay and saying stuff like, “I’m really excited to see her at the performance, I hope we have time to hang out…” and then he hears notifications and sees that he was streaming and he nearly faints

-plays it off like he fully intended for everyone to hear that and continues like he planned on going live

-he’s also trying to hide the way his eyes flickered up to your rapid texts being like, “JAKE WHY ARE WE TRENDING ON TWITTER??”

-jay is behind the camera just trying not to laugh becuz how do you even recover from this one, literally all the comments are talking about you and him

-“y/n…? yeah ahahah I know her uh huh mhm anyways moving on” and his horrible deflecting skills are making it even more obvious

-and when you go on live?? oh u bet the comments are “did you see jake’s recent live?? are u cheating on us y/n?”

-u desperately distract by spoiling your comeback but there’s already 14k Tik toks analyzing every interaction you had with Jake and why you two are cosmically intertwined

sunghoon

-describes you to a T when asked about his ideal type

-he meant to just mention the broad details but he gets excited talking about u ok :(

-“yeah a good heart and around (your exact height), with (the hex code of your eye color) eyes, born on (your birthday), hobbies include (every single one of your hobbies) and also…(literally all the information under your kprofiles page)”

-ur fans catch on and are like “isn’t this literally y/n” and he’s like “omg nooo coincidence”

-it is NOT a coincidence bro he was fully thinking of you and only you during that interview

-anyways you don’t help the situation by describing him too when asked about your ideal type, but ur at least a tad less obvious 😭

-“yea I love guys who ice skate and stuff”

-u two definitely get scolded by management

sunoo

-sometimes he forgets to care about keeping things secret (like that lipton tea thing he did)

-so he’s showing fans his camera roll and he shows selfies you never posted before…in his camera roll…never before seen by anyone but him and you to the camera and is like

-“y/n’s visual is so perfect, right?”

-and yeah duh ur stunning and gorgeous but fans are distracted by your beauty for a second before being like “hm…how did he get those selfies and why r they in his camera roll”

-ur fans r thankful for the content tho so he kinda did everyone a favor

-but it’s a LITTLE suspicious…but neither of you address anything so it just festers a little

-until you two do a tik tok challenge together and he captions it with a heart emoji like oh my god 😭

-you’re not innocent either when you said “sunoo’s visual is so amazing” like both of you get some media training I beg

-everyone loves how obviously whipped you two are for each other tho :,)

jungwon

-accidentally exposes your polaroid in his phone case

-thankfully he has photos of his members and maeum but why were you there??

-he completely ignores it tbh he shows the photos to the camera and is like “these r the polaroids in my phone case. anyways.” n he’s playing it cool but internally he’s PANICKING

-“hopefully they didn’t see the heart I drew on the Polaroid,” he thinks foolishly

-we did.

-so you try to do some damage control on your own live when asked about why he has ur photo in his phone and ur like “oh we’re really close friends!!”

-n honestly that’s a good and healthy response because everyone has the right to their platonic relationships

-but jungwon’s heart he drew on your Polaroid was just a little bit tooooo suspicious…anyways this leads to fans over-analyzing every single interaction to the point you two weren’t allowed to be seen in a ten foot proximity at events for a while

-but at least it reminded jungwon to be more careful lolol

niki

-accidentally rizzes you up on live television

-you’re an mc for smth and you’re interviewing enhypen and you’re like, “oooh, some burning questions, what is your ideal type?”

-and Niki, with no hesitation fully goes, “you lol” and you see ur career flash before your eyes

-ur co mc is nervously laughing and niki realizes like oh wait we’re being broadcasted so he’s like “oh just kidding haha!!!” even though you two are making awkward eye contact while you’re mentally scolding him

-he’s so used to teasing and flirting with you in private so it’s a little hard to shake off in public

-anyways fans notice he’s looking at you a little too lovingly and being a little too genuine when he responded so it’s not long before you see ship edits on Twitter and tik tok

-doesn’t help when you answer the ideal type question with “someone who is playful and funny” thinking it was broad enough but ‘twas not <3

-he doesn’t really care too much but thought it was funny, even if he had to take a media training class again afterwards >:T

[bearsintreesofficial]

a recreation of a sonic fanfiction i wrote when i was 10

ok y'all, some context is needed.

we have a song called cassiopeia coming out tonight. i made a tiktok that said if the sound for cassiopeia is used 100 times, i'll publish the sonic fanfiction i wrote when i was 10 that i joke about a lot but have never shared. anyway, this happened in an hour. i am shocked. i did not expect it to happen so quickly, if at all. i begin my search.

well, it turns out i can't publish it because the places it was published no longer exist, and 10 y/o me didn't back it up (although i thought i had). bummer. an early internet relic gone.

either way, the plot details are seared into my memory because honestly? for some reason, that small act of creativity was a core memory in my life. so while i can't share it, i can retell it, because it's silly and pretty accurately captures what it's like to be 10 and obsessed with a piece of popular media. so here goes.

enjoy, and stream our new single cassiopeia tonight.

SCENE OPENS

the fanfiction was about a page long. the story opens with me - in school, as i did most every day of my life up to that point. in the story, sonic/tails/knuckles live in the human world, and essentially function as superheroes. there's no explanation for it, they just are there keeping the earth safe and such. we are also friends. there is no explanation or backstory for that either.

with the setting established, we're straight into the action; an alien pod crash lands in our school playground after school. me and my friend are the only kids left. where are the teachers? who knows. as is evident, worldbuilding was not my strong point.

anyway, in this alien pod is...an alien. it was a spider that looked a lot like the facehuggers from the alien film franchise, because i'd seen a clip of that as a kid and it freaked the hell out of me. i call sonic (where did i get a mobile phone from?) and let him know something Serious is going down. sonic and tails arrive - knuckles is too busy trying to get the master emerald back from doctor robotnik in this instance.

my friend and i take a back seat and let sonic and tails deal with the weird alien thing. they deal with one, but as soon as they get rid of it 10 other capsules drop in the area. sonic and tails can't take them all, so me and my friend join in to help take them out. i didn't really account for how, but we're fighting all back to back and it's very epic. (sonic x was the prevailing sonic show at the time, and it was y'know - very dramatic. so this was like a scene from that.) tails even brings in the tornado two, his personal plane, to run rings around them. after we finish the final facehugger alien off, a final alien pod descends. but out of this pod emerges...

shadow the hedgehog.

the aliens had been sent by him, and he was here to take sonic down. this was all part of his master plan.

the piece then ended, because i suppose i was going to follow it up at some point. but alas, that did not happen.

moral(s) of the story:

archive the silly stuff you wrote when you were a kid, it'll be fun to look back on later.

stream our new song, cassiopeia. it has nothing to do with any of this, but i think it's neat regardless.

thank you.

[itsnathateasy]

connie being domestic!

word count: 1,3k warnings: a couple suggesting mentions (making out, car sex) author’s note: i don’t often see domestic content about connie on here, so i think it’s my solemn duty to provide these headcanons nobody asked for (boyfriend, husband, father, a bit of all tbh cause i can’t decide on one)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

I KNOW connie seems so unreliable, his fun and giggly personality makes it hard to imagine him as someone who’d take care of you or of your children (if you had any)

but connie is also the type of person who cares for his friends so deeply and was about to sacrifice a literal kid to save his mum… now, sacrifice is wrong (unless it’s a man against the feminist movement) but his intentions were pure

having said the above, connie is the person to cook for you when you’re feeling out of it, maybe you had a rough day at work or you were sick, but connie has you covered, he even gives you this lil speech about deserving a break and thanks you for always taking care of him so he’s more than happy to be taking care of you now

not that he expects you to be sick to take care of you, but it’s a great opportunity as you usually give him other household tasks to manage

like he’s the one responsible for all the shopping, from groceries to shelves and other hardware, he’s good at remembering technical details and he makes sure to follow your weekly or monthly meal prepping plan, to him this is like a game almost, he’s having a blast

he’s the sweetest to watch trying to unlock your apartment door, basically covered by all those bags he’s caring and he comes in with a “honey, i’m home!” and never fails to not by you your special treat

connie is also a master with “fun” matters, he always knows what kind of gift you’d want for your birthday or anniversary and keeps mental notes of (literally) every single thing you say

when it comes to gift giving, he’s the same with your friends, it’s honestly admirable how he recalls all these details with zero note taking

in the “fun” matters, i’m also including music and shows/films, he’s the man to text you “made this playlist for you” out of nowhere or “hey wanna listen to this new song with me” when you’re both home after work

he’s the best when it comes to preparing for movie nights and even though he can’t plan a mean girls night on october 3rd, he will have bought all the snacks you both love, have the blankets ready on your couch and the tv on, waiting to hit the play button as soon as you’re back home from the gym

i also get the vibe that connie is crafty, so when anything is broken, he may not know how to fix it, but he will find a way or he’ll make sure to be home when you need a plumber and “supervise him” (idk why he needs to supervise a professional, but let him be the man)

he may need his lunch box packed for him, but he never fails to brew your coffee and leave you an “i love you” note on the fridge if he’s to leave earlier than you in the mornings

if he finds you already asleep on the couch, he’ll cover you with a blanket and scoot as close to you as possible and spoons you for the entire night (he won’t allow you to leave the couch in the morning without a proper cuddling session)

if you have a pet, he’s their dad, he takes them to the vet and buys their supplies, he often accidentally kicks their water bowl (he was showing you how cool he’d be if he was to play any of jackie chan’s roles) but he cleans it up later

he’s just a silly lil goofy boy, yk? but he never means any harm, he’s just too enthusiastic

did i mention that you guys often bake your favourite biscuits and cakes together? I KNOW you burnt that first batch because you were making out on the counter, but the rest of the baking went great

you do have some issues with him being prompt though, that’s sad. i mean, if you were to get ready together, you’d probably monitor him so that you wouldn’t be late, but if he’s to pick you up from work or from a coffee date with your friends, you’ll have to wait at least 15 minutes before he’s there and that’s why you resort to lying about being done earlier than you actually are

he knows he’s terrible with time management and constantly apologises for it, he even set up like 27 alarms to make sure he’s there on time buuut then jean called or he couldn’t pick out an appropriate outfit and now he’s profusely apologising and handing you your favourite chocolate bar as peace offering

hate to say this, but connie honestly believes he knows the way to every single place on the planet and thinks google maps ain’t shit. so he’s not using it. ever. only HE knows how to get there. (baby boy is CLUELESS as shit, but feels like he has to keep it up to highlight his navigational skills or something)

the money you’ve spent on gas and the time you’ve wasted aimlessly driving around…

he makes it up to you as you often end up in the most remote places wink wink so his rivalry with google maps is both a cursing and a bless for you

and yeah, he gets lost often and he tends to be unreliable when he has to plan things on his own and that might be difficult to deal with from time to time, but this man loves you to his core and will do anything to make it up to you

connie knows what he’s skilled with and what he needs to work on and he owns up to his mistakes, taking full responsibility when he’s in the wrong

he might seem all over the place and like he can’t organise shit but he’ll work his ass off to make you and keep you happy

like when you fight, connie never raises his voice, he knows this will make things worse and instead he suggests that you take a few deep breaths together and hug before you continue with your argument. truth be told, the first time you fought and he pulled this card on you, you thought he was making fun of you, but once you realised he was being serious, it was game over, THIS was the man

if you guys have kids, he’s the goofiest, most fun dad to be around, he’s so invested in their lives, he’s the man that wanted to be a husband and a father and thinks of your family as the greatest blessing

yes, he does try to get the kids (and himself) out of any dentist situation, but he knows you’re right and agrees that “we all should go to the doctor’s every once in a while, right kiddo?”

BEGS to be the party clown and dresses up in the silliest costumes to make sure your kids laugh and have a good time

connie loves to paly-pretend shows like the x factor and he’s making you all either prepare a choreo or a theatrical piece and then makes you pretend to be the judge of the performance and he and the kids dance or act for you and you have to give out scores (he does the commentary too, he’s using your daughter’s unicorn brush as a mic) (SHE insisted)

connie likes plants, he always tends to his tomato pot (and is the happiest whenever he gets some ripe ones in the summer) and he also keeps basil and oregano on the window seal and chops off some fresh leaves if you needed it for your cooking

i love domestic connie, please don’t write him as a plug/w€€d smoker bf all the time

[teencopandthesourwolf]

THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN EVERY EPISODE OF TEEN WOLF EVER

part ii (part i HERE)

coach finstock philosophy being the thing that actually fixes you

a soundtrack that consists of the sort of music that makes you wish you were no longer alive, plus (ironically) the excellent song lose your soul by dead man's bones 

jeff davis forgetting character's ages and back stories and sometimes the characters themselves (fuck you forever for kira, jeff, you massive poopy head)

jeff davis forgetting the plot

jeff davis forgetting the fact that nobody likes him

tuning in for sterek and staying for sterek even when jeff davis stops giving the sterek scenes together, and staying for sterek even after one half of sterek leaves, in the hope that the half of sterek who left will one day return so you can keep on watching for sterek even though sterek is not even canon and you know inherently it never will be  

brilliantly appalling special FX

meredith having even crazier eyes than the character from the show orange is the new black who has crazy eyes and is actually named crazy eyes 

tyler hoechlin hands down having the best spine-tingling-hairs-standing-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck werewolf roar of any werewolf on any film or tv show about werewolves ever FIGHT ME

queer allegory my beloved <3

isaac inexplicably wearing a scarf all-year-round

all the characters bar derek (only bc it's hard to get it wrong with a henley and black jeans which is all he ever wears apart from the one-time crimson thumbhole shirt that was inspired drip) having honestly the worst fucking dress sense

jackson being the angriest most brilliantly hammy antagonist ever with the best facial expressions known to humankind who ends up evolving into the most adorable gayest gay to ever gay living his best life in londonia with his lovely boyfriend ethan where they are now both runway models for jean paul gaultier (who everybody knows is a french werewolf from way back when in the la bête du gévaudan era)

getting the feeling you should be doing absolutely anything else with your time instead of watching these idiots yet being completely addicted to loving this penny and dime clown show more than you love your own nearest and dearest 

VOID STILES BEING A 1000 YEAR OLD FOX DEMON THAT MAKES YOU HARD

having the constant need to shake scott vigorously because he is the funko pop! bobble head we all know and are forced to tolerate 

chris argent being such a cringe over-the-top-gun-toting-who's-your-daddy-badass that he somehow actually manages to circle back around to being rad af  

chris argent being so real and a dilf

none of the characters ever talking about the fact that scott's dad was an abusive arsehole apart from stiles because stiles is a champion amongst men who makes sure to tell scott's dad between scenes that his head looks like a cross between a crescent moon and a foot

every single character on the show knowing that there is not a hint of a shadow of a doubt that derek and stiles are doin the narsty—even the off-camera characters we never get to meet are always congregating on the reg in the grocery store or the coffee shop or the WSWA (We See Werewolves Anonymous) bi-weekly meetings and are all like "you know that furious-looking autistic dude with the spectacular monobrow whose eyes are sometimes definitely way too blue? and the noodly peewee herman MIT ADHD kid with the duct tape jeep whose dad is the sheriff of this fictional town none of us live in? they are definitely fucking omg." 

each and every school lesson we see scott and stiles attending actually being a top secret pentagram level mission impossible code for whatever supernatural shit is about to go down in beacon hills that day 

outing you as the monsterfucker you really are LMFAO

(find part i HERE)

[live-laugh-lenney]

Greetings!

So I was listening to “Glue Song” by Beabadoobee, and it just reminded me so much of Arthur! I’ve only ever see people say good things about him when they get a chance to meet him. You also just KNOW he’s someone you couldn’t forget upon meeting. I think a little short fic based off this song would be so cute!!

honestly, every single time this song plays (because it's one of my 'soft' playlists that have songs that belong in a playlist for a rainy weekend afternoon), all i think about is arthur now and i'm really honestly not mad about that... it belongs to him, without a doubt.

being christopher dixon's best friend had it's moments.

there would be many times where he would ask her to accompany him in filming a video for his latest video because he needed another pair of hands on set to stand behind a camera, or help set up for each sessions, or where he would have her running his errands for him because he was falling behind in his ever-so busy schedule of being a youtuber. there had been times when she'd dropped off some lunch for him because he didn't realise his shoot was going to take as long as it had done, buying him groceries because he always forgot to buy bread and milk, bringing umbrellas for the rainier weather so that he and his video guests weren't stricken with a cold every time, just in the background and being there as an involuntary personal assistant - that, quite honestly, she didn't mind.

but being christopher dixon's best friend did have its perks.

the list of opportunities that she had been given was forever growing and she couldn't be any more thankful that he had taken her along on his journey; she had travelled to different countries, been invited to so many exciting events, had the chance to work for different brands and companies and meeting his circle of friends had brought brand new memories and so many new friends into her life that she couldn't dream of being without now.

his roommates had always been here favourites.

george clarke had wit. he was funny and sarcastic, he broke the ice on their first meeting by trying to flirt with her but failing to even get out his pick-up line without cringing first, and he could joke with her over things that she couldn't really joke about with anyone else. but he had a soft spot that made him feel like a big brother, someone that she could always go to if she didn't feel comfortable telling chris.

arthur hill had talent as well as a sense of humour. once she found out that he was an upcoming singer and was releasing his own music into the world, she was hooked because she loved listening to any music that wasn't mainstream. and you bet that she attended every single one of his shows that she was able to attend. being that friend who was supportive in every single thing that he did.

arthur frederick had something about him that she just couldn't ever forget. he was no different to george and arthur and chris on how he acted - boys will be boys - except his personality was somewhat on a different level. he was much softer with her when they spoke one on one, he was interested in her and what her likes and dislikes and her hobbies were before he spoke for himself, he was sweeter and where they could joke, he was always weary about what he could joke with her about.

and she liked that.

she gravitated towards him.

there was just something about him that she wanted to be around, all the time, just because he felt so inviting and warm. and he was on her mind, almost all of the time when she was at home. she would think about what he was doing and whether he was working or sleeping or filming a new video. whether he was on alone or whether one of the boys was with him. whether he was a work with music in the background or a silent man who could only work in the silence with no distractions.

at a friends party, she always waved at him and slowly made her way towards him throughout the evening, saying hello to everyone so she didn't look like she was there for him and only him, making herself a lot more social to not seem rude. at any events that they would both attend, she would always linger around him - she still felt out of place at movie premieres and launch parties and he was just a sense of comfort and someone she knew the most - and he wouldn't mind it in the slightest. at video shoots for any of chris' or george's videos, he would be there by her side... even though she was most comfortable doing a set task that someone had given her for the duration of the filming... he just liked to be near her...

and, of course, chris picks up on them being a little closer than usual.

"i know it's not my place to, you know, comment on relationship stuff and all," and he brings it up at the worst time possible; she would have been fine having it privately, without the nosey ears of one of his three roommates in the room and the other two occupied with whatever they seemed to be doing with their day, "but, you two have become awfully close."

"can't we just be friends, christopher?"

"i mean, look at today. he made you a cup of tea as soon as you came in through the door. he never makes anyone a cup of tea," chris points at the mug in her hand and she shrugs playfully, "i'm not saying it's a bad thing. just-"

"tell your face that then."

"i actually think you're a good fit together. of all the people you could date, i'd say arthur was number one on my list," chris tells her and she rolls her eyes, "what?"

"i didn't realise i had a big brother," she teases him and he scoffs and his cheeks go pink for just a moment, "i appreciate you looking out for me and all but, i think i'm old enough to pick a man to date. me and arthur, we're just friends."

"just friends," he scoffs again, using his fingers to act as quotation marks, "you really aren't fooling anyone."

"you really aren't as slick as you think you're being," george perks up from the dining table, laptop open and notes filling a page on google docs, "might as well just kiss him and get something started."

"no one asked you, george," yn frowns at him and he holds his hands up in defence, "i don't even think he likes me in that way. heck, i don't even know if i like him that way. he's just-"

"he's a different breed," chris states in a matter-of-fact way, like it was obvious that he was something of a special character, "what won you over? the animal obsession? the chess head? how terrible he is at a game of football?"

yn rolls her eyes and sets her mug on the kitchen island and stands from the stool she was sat upon.

"i don't have to stay here and listen to this," she threatens and chris just sits back and smirks at her as she grabs her cardigan and her bag and manoeuvres to the front door of their flat and she takes one last look at him before realising the stupid look upon his face, "what now?"

"you're totally in love with him."

she flips him off with her middle finger and slides her feet into her shoes, reaching for the handle of the front door, "lovely as always to see you boys. i'm going. see you never again."

and she closes the door behind her and leaves the two boys grinning at each other, concealing her own smile as she trots down the hall and towards her own flat down the corridor, knowing she'd probably grace them with her appearance later on that evening - she just felt the need to be dramatic as she left.

"yn left?"

chris and george see arthur standing outside of his bedroom door, a look on his face that was full of disappointment yet almost with a look that seemed to be an attempt to hide the sadness. he'd clearly been asleep; his eyes were sleepy, his hair was a mess and he had a pair of shorts and a jumper that was creased from him being in the same position for at least most of the hour he had disappeared into his bedroom.

"yeah, chris was being a dick," george jokes and chris throws him two fingers as he stood from his stool and stretched out his back, "she left in a hurry."

"is she okay? what did you say?"

'i actually said nothing," chris lies and he shrugs his shoulders, "she just said she had to leave."

"hmm," arthur hums softly, scuffing into the kitchen and reaching for the cup she had left on the counter, "maybe i'll pop around and see if she's okay."

"yeah, she'd probably like that," chris smiles and as arthur occupies himself with washing up her mug and wiping the tea stains from the inside, chris looks over at george and they both roll their eyes - two lovesick puppies pining for each other but neither one knowing where to start, "she'd definitely like a familiar face."

if you read this far then i think i may have gotten a little carried away and actually forgotten what the prompt was all about... but i hope this is good... obviously wanted to do it justice because it's a song so fitting for arthur... let me know what you think and don't be afraid to send in some requests! i'm probably here all afternoon slash evening so come keep me company! xx

[fuck-john-calvin]

Because of some cool art you made I want to dip my toe into the Mechanisms.

where do I find the story?

So I don't know how much you know about them, but the basics are:

The Mechanisms is a band in which each member has a persona. They are a crew of immortal space pirates, roaming the galaxy in search of violence, fun, and stories to tell. Each persona character can be referred to as a mechanism, as in a member of the crew, but they each also have a mechanism, a clockwork prosthetic of some sort that was installed after they each had their own tragic story and made them immortal.

When they find a good, long, juicy tragedy, they turn it into an album. They also have two anthology albums, with some songs connecting to the wider stories and some completely independent of them, and a couple containing mechanisms lore. Their last album is from the live show of their final performance.

All of these albums stand on their own, and there is no particular order you need to listen to them in. They each contain characters and places from classic stories, putting unique sci-fi spins on them all and following queer narratives. I'd say bury your gays, but honestly, it's more like bury your gays and the entire planet they lived on, along with everything they ever held dear.

here's a summary of each, stolen from the mechs blurbs themselves:

Once Upon a Time (In Space)-

This tale tells of those embroiled in the rebellion against the tyrant of New Constantinople, Old King Cole. It tells of the love of Cinders for her captured Rose, of the treatment of Rose at the hands of Cole's genetic scientists, and of the bold but savage leadership of the rebel General Snow. And it tells of the final fates of all of these.

fairy tale but make it a rebellion. their first album, contains many of their most popular songs. solid. not personally one of my favorites, but the one I'm most likely to be listening to a song from on any given day. our boy jack and pump shanty are excellent.

High Noon Over Camelot-

A tale of hope and despair aboard the Fort Galfridian, long lost to the outside world, where the chaos of centuries of solitude has been brought in check at last by the guns of the Pendragon Gang. But the visions of the mad prophet Galahad, and the schemes of the Pendragons' lieutenants Mordred and Gawain, threaten to cast the station back into anarchy. And all the while, the Sun grows hotter...

arthurian legend has just become a space westerner in which everyone rides motorcycles and a fiery death threatens them all. haven't listened to it yet, but I've heard great things. Blood and Whiskey is a banger, and Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere are in a polycule, something I didn't know I needed until I heard it suggested.

Ulysses Dies At Dawn-

Ulysses Dies at Dawn. That's the word on the street, at any rate, if you talk to anyone who saw what went down at Calypso's Bar the other night. Who is behind the thuggish band known as the Suits - Heracles, Ariadne and the others? What is Ulysses's secret? And what is hidden within the security of the Vault?

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I think this is no-contest their best album. It's greek mythology in noir film style, with heavy usage of blues and rock. I don't even like blues, but I love each and every song. This one is also a little easier to follow than the others. I'd recommend starting here.

The Bifrost Incident-

The Bifrost Incident. Any schoolchild could tell you about it. The fall of the old order; two hundred years of Asgardian hubris come together in a single epoch-defining event. The maiden voyage of a train through the stars, vanished without a trace...

Remember how I think the last one was the best one? Well, this is still my favorite. Norse mythology framed as a mystery on a train, with a twist completely out of left field that leaves you reeling. Thus, it is probably the most difficult to follow, or at least, it was for me. The art you liked-which wasn't mine, unfortunately, credit to the artists is on the post if you want to check those blogs out-featured variations of the narrator from this album. let's just say I'm. not so normal about them.

well. ANYWAYS. this was...probably longer than what you wanted. Or than what I should have given. I don't get asks a lot and an excuse to talk about the mechanisms is always something I am willing to abuse.

If you do end up listening to any of their music, please tell me what you think! I'd love to hear it, and it's always nice to talk about them with someone else :)

[pardonmydelays]

clancy tour (watching a livestream) essay 🙏

anon, this question made me so unbelievably happy omg. i just can't get around to the eras tour essay, however, i do feel the need to write, so we're doing this instead.

for the context: i woke up at 5:30 today to watch the livestream of clancy LA show. no, i wasn't there in person. but mentally i was.

please, listen to this incredible playlist while you read my essay (no one's gonna read, it mark my words):

i have decided we will just go through the entire setlist. i don't want to make this too long but i wanna talk about EVERY. SINGLE. SONG. let's fucking go.

OVERCOMPENSATE

so this is when i started crying. who the fuck cries on overcompensate, you would ask... well, me, apparently. i honestly think this is the best opener for both, an album and a show. this song gives me so much serotonin i can't even explain it. i'm always worried about tyler tho because his entrance looks dangerous (the jump, the jump, I AM TALKING ABOUT THE JUMP!). nothing bad happened tho, thankfully. i also noticed he was wearing the other version of clancy jacket today, the one with the hood. not that it's important, but it kinda is. for me at least.

HOLDING ON TO YOU

ok, so if you know me you probably know this is my ultimate favourite twenty one pilots song. and the live performance is even better with the crowd stand at the beginning (i swear to god, it's so incredible to me how much trust tyler has for the clique), clancy mask and lightbulb mic (you can tell tyler has a lot of fun with it), and my favourite part - josh's piano backflip during the bridge of the song. fucking iconic. what's not to love.

VIGNETTE

first thing i want to talk about is the insane transition from holding on to you to vignette. honestly, all transitions are so fucking amazing on clancy tour, it's impressive. now, tyler's little dance during this song is one of the most adorable things i've ever seen (he is such a cat omg) and and and! NEIL BANGING OUT THE TUNES!!! i'll be honest with you, because of this part vignette became one of my favourite songs from clancy and definitely one of my faves from this tour.

CAR RADIO

another one of my favourites. car radio will always hold a very special place in my heart, it's so relatable to me. it makes me so happy that we have a chance to see it being performed in clancy costume (and clancy mask!!!). and when tyler teleports at the end! (also i think he's wearing a totally different jacket in this clip which probably means he has three different clancy jackets, i have no proof tho so i'm just gonna shut up. the video is from LA night one tho. not my show). here's another clip, you can see how he teleported here.

THE JUDGE

ok, so for those who don't know, right before every show the fans in their incredible outfits are being filmed while singing the judge together and every night they show a different video of them singing first verse + chorus and then after that tyler comes out with his ukulele to finish the song. it makes me cry for no reason at all. yes, i cried today too (it just makes me so happy to see all the clikkies singing together and they all look so beautiful always). so what happened today? content warning glitch happened during fan video, you can watch it here, then blurryface tweeted this:

i am losing my goddamn mind over this, people on the livestream were losing their shit when this happened, I STARTED CRYING LIKE A GODDAMN FOOL BECAUSE I'M SO FUCKING EMOTIONAL ABOUT EVERYTHING THIS BAND IS DOING. ugh. i was so right to watch today's livestream. something's gonna happen soon guys. they are warning us.

(i added CUT MY LIP to the playlist but technically it's the judge/cut my lip mashup so there's really not much to say about it)

THE CRAVING + TEAR IN MY HEART

the transition. the goddamn transition!!! it's honestly so fucking cool and probably one of my favourite parts of the tour. i absolutely love all jenna's songs and everyone who says they should not be on the setlist, fuck you forever. in this house we stan all jenna's songs. i usually cry on the craving and tyler is being so silly during tear in my heart - this is my favourite thing in the world. plus, do you really hate the sound of ukulele???

BACKSLIDE

ok, i actually started crying as soon as i realized we're singing backslide now. i love this song so goddamn much, it means the world to me. at one point it was my favourite song from clancy. the chorus breaks my poor little heart every single time and live performance of this song is so emotional... especially at the end when tyler is on his knees (the video is not from tonight's show but it's my favourite one from backslide, please watch it, his vocals here are INSANE). it's like crying for help. i wanna kill myself now. i relate to this song so much. also, backslide is the reason i decided to buy clancy tour tickets, so there's that.

SHY AWAY

oh, thank god this one is on the setlist. you know how much i love scaled and icy and i think out of all the songs from this album shy away is the best one to put on the setlist because the live performance is always so fun!!! don't you shy aWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! the scream is absolutely fucking everything oh my god. actually, i just love when tyler screams. but don't we all.

HEATHENS + NEXT SEMESTER

ok, now don't hate me, please, but i was never the biggest fan of heathens (i don't hate the song, i like it, just not as much as the others. i probably wouldn't cry if it wasn't on the setlist). however, the transition (again!!!) from heathens to next semester is the best goddamn thing in the entire world and i am losing my mind every single time i come across any clip of this moment. please, watch it, this is everything!!! one question tho: i know tyler was playing bass on the platform for next semester and he didn't do that today, did he just stop doing this recently or is it because of what happened yesterday during the show? (not during this song tho, or at least i know nothing about it, but it seems like LA fans absolutely cannot behave and he was definitely being more careful today, more about it later tho).

ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT

oh boy, this is my vigilante shit for real. remember vigilante shit performance from the eras tour and how everyone was losing their shit when they saw taylor doing the choreography with this motherfucking chair? yes. it's basically that except tyler is fully dressed. which is even worse maybe (y'all know how i feel about his clothes for some reason). one of my favourite songs from the album, but after seeing the live performance for the first time i became absolutely obsessed with the song. i was genuinely scared today because this is basically what happened last night in LA (i swear to god people are acting like fucking animals) and i noticed that tyler was being much more careful this time: he wasn't coming so close to people, and honestly good for him. he didn't even let them touch him during this part. i can't blame him. i feel so bad for what happened. hope he's ok.

ADDICT WITH A PEN + MIGRAINE + FOREST + FALL AWAY

my favourite mashup in the entire fucking world. but before we get into it, please this is so fucking funny and adorable. so basically, before playing the mashup, tyler sat by the piano and he said "currently i'm temperature hot. so i would want to take my jacket off, i promise not to turn on all the dads tonight" and then this happened. poor guy didn't know what to do LMAO. he's such a cutie, please watch the video, he's so adorable i can't. he's also the funniest person on earth. back to the topic, the mashup... i am such a slut for their old songs and this mashup is absolutely fucking insane. the song i love the most out of those is, of course, forest. according to tyler, this song is so old it basically doesn't exist. fuck you, tyler joseph. i can't believe i'm going to hear it live tho, holy shit. i will be fucking SOBBING during this part, i just know that.

MULBERRY STREET

this is such a fun song to play live and one of my favourite moments. you can tell how much fun tyler has each time they play it, also this! this is everything!!! he's always so happy when this happens, he trained us well hahaha. it's so fun omg. can't wait to be a part of it. this has always been one of my favourite songs from scaled and icy so i'm glad they decided to keep it on the setlist.

NAVIGATING

get in, losers. we are entering the lore now. ok, honestly, this part of the tour is absolutely everything to me. torchbearer with his torch? and clancy jacket?? coming to pick him up so they can perform while dema is burning??? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA. oh my GODD. also, navigating is so special to me (i picked this url for a reason) and live performance of this song is fucking fire. watch it. watch the clip. just watch the goddamn clip, will you? we all know this song is on the setlist because of josh, so everybody say thank you josh. also you can tell tyler is very emotional about this song and i just wanna give him a hug. oh my god. i can't wait to hear it live. this will fix me (it will probably make me worse).

NICO AND THE NINERS + HEAVYDIRTYSOUL

the MOTHERFUCKING transition!!! i know i say this a lot but i am such a slut for all the transitions on this tour, oh my god. they are so good. also i absolutely fucking love how we're still in the lore and also, the visuals are absolutely incredible, and also, nico and the niners is one of my favourite songs (the one that got me into their music actually) and also heavydirtysoul live is INSANE and also-

MY BLOOD

ok, i'm sorry, i keep forgetting that this song is on the setlist. it's not one of my favourites (don't fucking hate me, i like it, it's just not my fave). i will be very much singing it at the concert tho cause it's so good live. not much to say about it tho.

OLDIES STATION

boy, here we go. so i started crying at the very beginning of the song and honestly i have no idea how i'm going to handle this live. i am so very normal about this song. it means everything to me. the worst part of it tho was when during the song tyler said "thank you so much for using our music. you've saved us in ways you'll never know". OH MY GOD. i started weeping even more. it's like... their music saved US but we also saved THEM and i need 3-5 business days to recover after that. good lord. listen, i love slowtown and i'm sad that it's not part of the setlist anymore, but i love oldies station a hundred times more and that was a good change me thinks.

FAKE YOU OUT + GUNS FOR HANDS

putting those two together just because i can and i will. vessel is such a great album and it makes me so happy that those two are on the setlist. screaming "our brains are sick but that's okay" with the entire arena is going to fix me, for sure. also, here's the clip of tyler messing up the lyrics (he basically went kjbufbfkkjejkebfkjk after that lmao). can't blame him. the rap part is so fast. i died tho. he's so funny, please.

LAVISH

i can't even begin to explain how happy i am to have this one on the setlist. it's the funniest moment on tour and i love watching them being stupid on stage. also, jOsH iS sHiRtLeSs. the walk, THE WALK LMAO. the best choreography you've ever seen. i just love seeing them so silly and happy and this is everything. i paid a lot of money to see this live. i'm definitely not gonna regret this.

RIDE

so the thing i love about this tour is that every single night while performing this song tyler brings a different kid to sing the chorus with him (it's the equivalent of giving the hat during 22 on the eras tour i would say). tonight we had an adorable girl named callie (if i'm correct). she did so well! also i was giggling so much when tyler said she's cute (he was giggling too hdshfbhekj). i just love watching him with kids, it's so sweet!!! also she had a great beanie with band's logo, i want one too. please watch the clip of them singing together!

PALADIN STRAIT

i was crying. i was crying so much, i love this song and the live performance is so emotional. i put the song bandito on the playlist, because there's this moment in the song where tyler is singing the bridge of paladin strait and josh is singing bandito at the same time and OH MY GOD. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE LORE??? THIS IS SO CLEVER AND I AM LOSING MY GODDAMN MIND EVERY SINGLE TIME I THINK ABOUT IT. please, watch. this is sick as fuck. you don't understand. do you even understand? OR AM I THE ONLY ONE I KNOW???? i'm sorry i just can't i can't i am defeated i am absolutely insane about this part. also, the ending when they are showing the clip of paladin strait music video combined with other clips which looks like a flashback from clancy's life and his never ending battle with nico? the fuck??? and then we go straight to...

JUMPSUIT

the motherfucking coat. not gonna say anything else. just. the coat. oh dear lord. now i am temperature hot.

MIDWEST INDIGO

now my favourite part of midwest indigo is tyler taking off his coat very slowly. because he fucking knows what he's doing. but also, this song is so special to me. i know he wrote it as a love letter to ohio and i'm not even american but somehow this song always makes me think about my hometown. the live performance is so great. the beginning with the bass! he's adorable!

STRESSED OUT

"i don't want stressed out on the setlist it's so overplayed" kill yourself. i love stressed out because i have good taste. it's fun. it's a great song with great lyrics and you fuckers hate it only because it's popular. just shut up. shut the fuck up. in this house we actually enjoy listening to good songs. i personally want it to be on every setlist. if stressed out has no fans it means i killed myself. i'm dead. i'm gone. stressed out defender forever and always. also clancy tour version is incredible. just watch it and shut the fuck up.

TREES

again, i was so scared about my boys because of what happened yesterday in LA. people are fucking animals. i'm so glad, because tyler actually decided to call them out for this and seems like it was much better today. but still. guys please, behave, cause if you're not gonna start acting responsible they are going to stop performing like this. it's still insane compared to the opening night of clancy tour where people didn't even come closer until tyler told them to. i also just noticed now that tyler's t-shirt had black font today (the previous one had red font) for the first time. i think i was just too tired to notice this before. there's not much i can tell you about trees, because you just simply have to be there to understand. it's a perfect song to end the show (for those who don't know: they always close their shows with this one), it's something i experienced live once before and i can't even compare it to anything. i wasn't even crying. my soul literally just left my body. trust me, there's absolutely nothing like trees live. i can show you thousands of clips and it will never be enough. nobody does it like them. seriously. this is the moment. the moment of all moments. i am in fact crying now...

TO SUM IT UP:

great show. 10/10. would recommend. i'm going to see them live in 223 days. this is the thing that makes me want to stay alive. yes. i need to stay alive for this. whoever sent me this ask, thank you. it means the world to me. i need to talk about them because it's the only joy in my life now. they are the reason i want to push on through. also, if you made it this far, thank you. i love you. and i'm sorry.

[polyklok]

Movies I think Dethklok members would really like

No this is not based on anything I’m just in a mood™ rn

Nathan Explosion

Mad God

So, no, I did not have any ounce of an idea of what this movie was about when I originally watched it, and I’m still not 100% sure tbh but an hour and a half of these pure vibes would totally be up Nathan’s alley. The post-apocalyptic setting, all the gore, the details of the various monsters, and I think he would just really appreciate it from an artist’s standpoint as well. This movie would just resonate with him, even if he wouldn’t have a fucking clue what was going on the whole time.

Mary and Max

I’m, personally, a bit on-the-fence about this movie, but it is undeniably sweet and I headcanon Nate to be on the spectrum so 🤷

This would be, like, his guilty pleasure film. The movie he knows is for kids and is totally not brutal but he loves it anyway. The, “I do not feel disabled, defective, or a need to be cured” really hits for him every single time. He rewatches it at least once every few months, especially when he’s in some sort of emotional slump.

Mandy

Another one that just like, like, big Nathan energy, you know? He just seems like a guy to really love loose plots with trippy visuals and strong emotions attached to them. Also, this movie is so completely badass, it is certified metal in his book. He also finds the story incredibly tragic; having the love of your life stripped away from you in such circumstances really tugs at his heartstrings, but in a way that gets him pumped up rather than sad. This is probably his go-to when people ask, “what’s your favorite movie?”

Pickles the Drummer

Son in Law

Okay this is my guilty pleasure movie. I usually don’t like stoner-comedy from the 90s, but this movie hits different. Maybe I just find Crawl hot. Anyway, I’m projecting that onto Pickles. He honestly probably finds a lot of crappy comedies to be peak film, and this is no exception. Pauly Shore pretending to be a country boy for a whole movie? Hells yeah. Pickles would watch while high off his mind, laughing his butt off and going to town on some cheez-its or something. And you know what? He deserves it.

Opal

I’m counting short films because I feel like Opal is the movie for Pickles. He’d watch it on a whim, because these are not usually the types of things he enjoys, and then he’d in tears over the emotional rollercoaster he did not agree to go on. Like, he grew up in a neglective household with authority figures that were overly-selfish and projected their own problems onto the youngest one in the house, to which he had to hide within his own brain more often than not just to properly function. And then he just…watched it happen all again in the hypnotic style of Jack Stauber. The Mom’s song had him in gasping tears for a while, the way you get when a movie somehow perfectly captures your own trauma right in front of you. And the ending??? Ugh. Go watch Opal, guys, it’s on YouTube.

Nathan and Pickles both get very emotional about certain stop-motion films, isn’t that crazy?

House

Thank you to Lucy for this Letterbox review that I think he would write

Anyway-

This movie is actually so insane. It’s not scary in a horror-movie way, like it meant to be, it’s scary as in ‘What the hell is happening and why do I understand it?’ Pickles doesn’t like most traditional horror films, as the long, quiet suspense bores him and the sudden jumpscares freak him the hell out way more than they should. But he loves the campy-wacko-type horror that they were apparently making in 70s Japan. It’s just scary enough to get his heart pumping, but the pure silliness of it all overrides that, getting him in a giddy mood and excited to see what happens next.

(No I am not done but tumblr won’t let me add more pictures)

[toddandersonsyawp]

I haven't done a post like this in a while, but I just came across a dps edit on Pinterest (not sure if the op made the edit, I've asked them for proper credit- will update if I get an answer) it was called "The Beauty of Dead Poets Society." Here:

(if you get a notif for my acc, dw I didn't doxx myself- it's an alt. just ignore it ^^)

Whether it was just the nostalgic visuals, the song playing in the background (September Song by the talented Agnes Obel), or a mix of both- it honestly invoked a different view of the film in me.

The story of these kids finding passion admist suppression - I applied it to a larger picture. I think that the whole film/book was an overarching metaphor that mirrors our lives as human beings living in modern societies.

We are the kids. No matter our ages. We all come from different backgrounds and have different specific struggles, but in the end, are our struggles as a whole that different? Look at Neil and Todd, for example. Todd is the other sibling; he'll never be his older brother in his parents and society's (the school's) eyes. He carries a burden and an immense amount of pressure. And Neil? Different situation. He is the golden/only child; he carries that on his shoulders as well. Although their situations can be deemed opposites, they both are similar in the way that society has put massive pressure on them. Sound familiar? Yeah, one of the main reasons most of the dps audience can relate to them so much (and ALL of the other kids) is because of how much of a burden our society throws on us even as we grew up.

Notice how there are so many different personalities in the students; from anxious Todd, confident Charlie, rule-follower Cameron, to even Hopkins (unleash your inner "a cat sat on the mat"), I feel like everyone watching the film can relate even in part to at least one of these characters. These kids are a perfect way to express different types of people put under societal pressure and how they react differently (more on that later)

Queue Mr. Keating! Ah yes. I think we all have or will have a Mr. Keating in our lives. Mr. Keating symbolises pure inspiration. Our first and strongest taste of "what could be" if we only took the burden of society and threw it out the window. Despite the school (which represents society as a whole) trying to enforce its normalities and trying to fit us in a single tightly-packed conformity, we have that one inspiration admist the system that gives us passion. Does the system like this? No, not at all. This taste of freedom, that is already limited, is giving us reasons to be curious: "What could I become, who could I become, if I didn't conform?". Curiousity can be easily concealed, luckily. Confidence is what the people in control see first. Our "paces" change.

Confidence mixed with curiosity is the most powerful weapon against a static society.

We all don't react the same to this mix. Some of us take a path of full rebellion. Those people are able to break out of the system successfully when they want to. This is the path that Charlie Dalton symbolises. All he needed was that spark of inspiration (again, represented by Mr. Keating) to completely face society head-on, smirking. He got expelled from the school on his own accord. (I will add, I'm not saying this path is easier than the others. How you react to inspiration does not equal the burden you took on prior or during exposure to it) Some also have a path of confidence- however, they don't make the best decisions with their new freedom. This is a result of being oppressed for so long; the explosive taste of "possibility" clouds their judgement. Knox, fortunately, learned along the way, as most people who take his path do.

Probably the most explored in the film: others, well, they don't face societal expectations head-on. They want to. With every fibre of their being, they need to. They can go on either path; play by the system's rules until they acquire more freedom (Todd), or give up. Neil; he couldn't break out of society, but he couldn't live in it either. His method of escape was not like Charlie's. Neil believed that society was a heavy curtain draped on all people and couldn't be lifted up to let them breathe. Suffocation. Many people take this path. We see it everywhere.

Dead Poet's Society is full of so many different paths taken by so many of the students and those around them - it's all to show how we react differently to the world's pressure and burden.

Inspiration (Mr. Keating) is a spark that spreads across so many of us. As I've discussed in a previous post, inspiration has no end; it can reach those who are bound to and/or enforcing the system (the Latin teacher). It reaches out to our lives; how we react to it and use it against its inverse- society (Welton/ the parents)- is dependent on all of our own individual paths (represented by the students). The Dead Poet's Society itself represents the people who dare take control of their lives with passion and inspiration. This "society", in every way, is what our society should be.

[rainbowdaisy13]

I’ve honestly had it with people calling Taylor’s buffoonery “performance art”. She’s not doing anything of the sort! She’s not filming some documentary where she explains how heteronormativity blinds people and how deeply ingrained in society patriarchy is. She’s not playing the lovesick WAG (even dressing the part) to come out and say “gotcha!!!”.

She’s doing all this for money, plain and simple. When it’s over, it’ll be the same old song and dance. Their schedules don’t align so the relationship can’t work but they still have love for each other blah blah. There’s not mass coming out either. She’s not secretly working with a quarter of Hollywood to come out together and denounce the prejudices against LGBT people in the industry. Nothing of that sort is happening.

She might tell herself she’s doing it to protect her real family and up to some point, I agree. But going to every single game, dressing and acting like a WAG, getting him on her stage, etc, those things are not needed for people to believe she’s straight (she was barely seen with Toe and everyone believed in that sham). She’s going the extra mile to milk every dollar she can, and that’s that. We can either accept that or not, but to keep supporting her believing that she’s just being silly is dumb af, I’m sorry. Sorry for the rant, Rainbow, but if I read “performance art” or “mass coming out” one more god damn time……

I know I know I know 😆

Look to those who are still believing it’s some kind of grand scheme or conspiracy to take down the systems of homophobia and sexism in our society—I’d say to really take some time thinking about the logistics of that—it’s just not feasible. Have you ever heard the saying that it’s more likely incompetence than a conspiracy? That is how I am now viewing Taylors PR—meaning the situation she finds herself in in Sept of 2024 is a product of pushing her luck so far it flips over into madness

Bearding as a whole has been a huge success for her over her lifetime—she’s been having her cake and eating it too for decades. TTPD showed us she hasn’t always loved every second of it, and there’s definitely trauma there—BUT—and this is the important part—she’s still making an active choice to do it over & over again. That’s on her no matter what she wants us to believe

[curio-queries]

FRI(END)S : THE SONG

This post is part of a series of my thoughts on this release. It's time to finally get these out of drafts and posted before Hobi's release. Here are links to the other posts:

QUICKCOMBO: Continuation

QUICKCOMBO: Termination

The Song (this post)

The Music Video

The Promo

First, if you haven't heard the song yet, please give it a listen and make your own impressions.

Initial Thoughts

The night this was released, I was having some sudden internet issues and was slightly panicking about being able to work the next day so I was admittedly a little stressed by the time I got to listen even though I stayed up specifically for it.

Usually I would listen to it first on Spotify before watching the music video but I was able to get the mv to load first for some reason. My first impression on the song itself was actually a little bit of confusion as to how long the track actually would be given all the 'non-song' space in the mv.

When I did finally get Spotify to work, I definitely thought it was too short but I was so excited that I was vibing with it as much as I did. V's solo work is very hit or miss for me, with most of LayoVer being a miss. I don't think the album was bad, I just had a hard time with it since none of the tracks really appeal to me. But Fri(end)s? I liked on the first few listens. Which is kinda funny because I was actually wondering pretty early on if Fri(end)s would work as part of LayoVer...more on that later in this post.

I still think the song is too short. I realize that's the trend these days as it's more of a marketing tactic but that doesn't mean I have to like the trend. Especially with the extremely clear folding of the song into two parts, it's pretty obvious to even some casual listeners that there's something missing. Not enough to make it a bad song but it just feels slightly unfinished.

Performance

If you haven't already watched the Live Film, I highly recommend it.

I know it's kinda a flex in music communities to value live versions over studio releases but I rarely fall into that camp. (I honestly think it has something to do with a sensory issue I have and extra noise that is often present in such recordings...anyway back to V). This performance is so great! It perfectly embodies both Tae's personality and the energy needed for a song like this. I honestly just felt so good listening to him sing this because he did it in the exact same way I do when I sing along to music; adding extra little rifs and bits just for the fun of it and avoiding the typical notes that all of the members leave out of most performances.

I'm not qualified to comment on the musical technique needed for this song but there are definitely some fun challenges that make for a satisfying singalong once you've nailed them!

LayoVer

If you haven't listened to the complete album in a while, here's a link. Always a good idea to give an album a complete top-to-bottom listen every once in a while, especially this one with how Tae agonized over track sequence of his solo work as mentioned during Festa 2022.

So, if you just list the key words of the lyrical themes and musical elements of both Fri(end)s and LayoVer, you'd think they'd be an easy match but the more I investigated, the less I think so.

First, I'm not really a music researcher when it comes to credits or following specific contributors but from what I can tell, there weren't any of the same individuals listed between the two projects except Tae himself. Which honestly surprised me.

Just going off of memory, I thought it'd fit in smoothly either before or after Slow Dancing but after trying it out, it just doesn't land for me. It absolutely deserves to be its own single and I'd initially wondered if it had been ripped out of the album as the track to tide us over during this chunk of ms but I really don't feel that way at all.

It honestly reminds me a little of how JK released 3D as a separate track. That song (as much as I don't love it) does stand on its own without the support of an album. Maybe Fri(end)s was one of the other songs Tae found during his search for LayoVer but that team didn't have enough material for a cohesive album? He didn't want to lose it so kept it as a single to release later.

I want you all to know that I wrote the above before seeing this video...thanks for proving me right V!! 😆

More thoughts on some of the meaning(s) of the song in my mv post!

(Sidenote, if you haven't seen the full set of the gif at the top of this post, I highly recommend checking it out. It's gorgeous! Absolutely astonishing work @kimtaegis 😍)

[mschanelbag]

( 𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚍𝚎 𝟸, 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎 𝟷. ;

saweetie’s “all night” verse played in the background while she entered the set of the music video shoot for the exact song—alongside girl group, ive. days apart from the social media frenzy, she was excited to hide her face in work and do what she loved most: entertainment.

‘ so, today i’m filming a music video with a talented kpop group, ive, and honestly, i’m so excited for this one. any time where i can dabble in a new sound, i’m all for it. i think it’s super important to expand your creative palette. ’

while awaiting her cue to film her scenes, chanel sat in one of the director’s chairs prior to being approached by one of her homegirls who came as moral support. she checked on the rapper, asking her if she was excited about the music video. “i’m a lil’ nervous, but it’s the good kind of butterflies,” she smirked, hearing her phone ring from her duffle bag in the seat next to her. it was spice.

‘ i haven’t spoken to naomi ever since she went on that podcast. i’ve since cooled down, but i’m more focused on work. i love her, but i have to from a distance from here on out. ’

“girl,” she rolled her eyes, darting her attention towards her friend. acrylics flashing her phone screen, filling her in on what she might’ve missed. “now she keep texting my phone and i literally don’t want to speak to her. i can’t fake the funk, but i’m also just too busy to deal with her boredom.” chanel blatantly ignored naomi’s multiple imessages, sliding her phone back inside of her bag before finishing her shoot.

( 𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚍𝚎 𝟸, 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎 𝟸. ;

chanel set-hopped all week long, this one being for velma—though she was able to finish voice recording, she still had to shoot promotional content such as pictures, videos, and extra voice recordings. she’d been running on an energy drink and her drive to be the best, multifaceted version of herself. versatility was where she thrived, she felt.

“i can’t believe i grew up watching scooby-doo and all these years later i’m guest starring in a spinoff for the franchise,” she spoke to her makeup and hair-stylists, soaking in the surreal feeling. “how much time do we have before they need me?” “now,” her manager awkwardly laughed.

chanel quickly gathered herself before exiting the dressing room, designer-embellished soles gracing the expensive set. she greeted the cast and team of the project—engaging in conversation before eventually placing herself before the camera. posing before a green screen, she made sure to give the crew multiple selections to choose from; enjoying the spotlight they’d given her.

“you’re a natural, saweetie!” the photographer fueled her fire and she loved every second of it. once she wrapped her session, she sweetly thanked the velma crew before sauntering off toward her dressing room. she took a seat at the vanity while switching her heels into a pair of her comfortable marni slides. “have you talked to the label executives yet? the fans are flooding your comments.”

‘ my fans have always made it known they want my debut album, they don’t understand the business side of the industry. however, ever since naomi left me off of her top 5 list, people have been saying i had no reason to feel a way towards her when i don’t have a solid album out yet. ’

“yeah, they aren’t budgeting my rollout until they believe i have a great body of work,” she replied to her hairstylist, standing up to fully slide her feet inside the slides. “they basically said i have to get back in the studio and damn near rebuild the project. birthday, richtivities, and my best have all been scrapped from the album—per warner. nani was the only single able to do well on radio, so as of now, pbm has less than five official songs on the tracklist.” “wow.. so now what?” he asked. “i have to get back in the studio.” disappointment evident, chanel shrugged while wheeling her suitcase out of the dressing room.

[kattahj]

Get to know me better

Tagged by @brifrischu thank you for thinking of me!

Last song?

Honestly, I don't tend to listen much to music. Most of the time when I have Spotify on, it's a podcast, or I just go to my liked songs and hit shuffle.

I did deliberately listen to Keops pyramid the other day, though. It's a Swedish political song from the 70s which uses the creation of the pyramids, as well as the Tower of Babel, to make a commentary about class warfare. It's not terribly accurate to how pyramids work – the rich people are described as being at the top of the pyramids, and the people below slaves – but it's still a good song!

"So it seems that in every era and among all people there are those who want to create pyramids. Where they themselves are at the top and have the power in their hands, while those who live below obey them. But if those up at the top no longer want to understand, but despise all the people who give them food, the pyramids will end up being their graves."

Favorite color?

Purple and black. Used to be more black when I was younger, now more purple.

Currently watching?

The Eighth Sense, Teenage Bounty Hunters, and the Swedish version of Antiques Roadshow. I've also been watching Last Twilight and Percy Jackson, but I've fallen behind.

Also, the film festival I volunteer with has opened for submissions, so I watch a lot of short films, trying to decide which ones we should show.

Last movie?

I'm halfway through Clue. (*whispers* I don't like it much.) Latest one seen in the theaters was Monster. That, on the other hand, was amazing.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory?

Can I say salty? Otherwise sweet, I guess.

Relationship status?

Extremely single and loving it!

Current obsessions?

I'm kind of between obsessions at the moment. Although, if someone wants to come talk to me about Vanity Fair (the Thackeray novel), please do! I read it over the holidays, and while I haven't had the energy to write a full meta about it, I have So Many Thoughts. I wish we could do it as a Tumblr book club, like Dracula Daily (but preferably not in real time, since the story takes about 15 years to play out).

Last thing you googled?

I use duckduckgo for the most part, but the last thing I searched there was what kind of charger cable I need for my cellphone. (I keep forgetting and need a spare.)

Selfie or another pic you took?

My cat is so much cuter than I am!

Tagging @pocket-elf @the-bookwyrm @lena221bee @stardustviolet @thedooristhebluecushion and whoever else wants to do it!

[klenda-v]

Thinking about the King’s Jubilee special of 2003,

which featured Every Ultra they had a suit for at the time, an absurd amount of rap music, an Ultraman hip-hop dance troup, and Zearth’s hip-hop son, B-Boy Zearth Junior. He looks like this.

Literally I have difficulty watching this because this might be the single piece of ultra content that delivers the most psychic damage to me. It’s just. It’s absurd, it’s a musical, it revels in its shamelessness—or at least I think it does?

Link and more specifics below:

Just gathering screenshots I feel my soul deteriorating. For the curious and foolhardy, here’s a link to the video. No, there are no subtitles; no, you won’t need them. CONTENT WARNING: flashing lights and images, absurdity.

I will go briefly through each song, to give you an idea:

Song 0, 2:27 - Meet the performers

A dance/rap(?) group made of kaiju, aliens, and maybe bedazzled ultras? Or maybe they’re just dressed up as Ultras, the eyes are dark and they’re slightly Off? Maybe the announcer actually says, I think the general consensus is that they’re not true Ultras, but some other kind of alien cosplaying as ultras to…honor them? Or at least play as them for the purposes of the “narrative” they’re about to play out.

It’s also an incredibly large cast of performers. We’re just starting, we’re barely three minutes in.

UPDATE: My friend Emcee was kind enough to share the names of all the performers, which I will now relate to you:

Ultra Funk Jam

Hero team (or ‘ultras’):

Dyna Rocksteady, Gaia Electric, Zearth Funkygroove, B-Boy Zearth Jr., Cosmos Air, 80 Super Cool, Agul Boogiedown, Tiga Spinning, Ace Galaxy Step, Seven Shuffle, Justice Pointer

Kaiju team (which is actually mostly seijin):

Baltan Big Twister, Pit Flash, Izaak Wildstyle, Magma Freeze X, Dada Sexy (YES REALLY), Lady Benzene Hypnotic, Godola Popping, Bomberhead Gan-Q, Deban Floorcrown, Chaos Headder Grandmaster, B-G-RL Lady Benzene Daughter, Z Capsule Kouju Miraclon

Song 1, 3:15 - four-man hip-hop dance

There are no words I can possibly use to match the actual experience of watching this. I think it’s the fact that I can’t tell if this is satire, or if they’re playing it completely straight. They never tell us. Or maybe they do, I don’t speak Ultra.

Imagine if you will, any late 90s rap. Then imagine the music video for it. But filmed as if it’s a live stage performance, but also everyone is a trained gymnast and we get synchronized flips with Zearth Funkeygroove, Justice Pointer, Gaia Electric, and Tiga Spinning.

Song 2, 4:14, Kaiju Team’s turn

Now that I’m watching this, I think it’s framed as a dance competition? Where the kaiju and “ultra” teams alternate songs, like a rap battle with performances?

Anyway this song starts with an audio sample from, of all things, the sound Ultraman’s timer makes when he’s in mortal peril. This audio blinks sporadically throughout the song, hitting that sweet spot right between “huh I guess it’s just playing at the beginning, huh” and “actually using it as a sample/carrying any meaning.” Maybe the weird timing of the audio has significance with the JP lyrics, but I doubt it. The timer blinking tempo doesn’t quite sync up with the tempo of the actual music.

While the NotUltra’s solo performance had heavy use of flips, the kaiju team impliments a lot of floor work. Lotta breakdancing, if the camera cuts slowed down enough for me to catch most of the moves. Honestly the dancing throughout is very solid overall, with, again, the big caveat being the bewildering editing choices.

Also I think the ultras in the audience are moshing? Maybe I don’t know what moshing is. Watching this, I don’t think I know what anything is anymore.

Song 3, 5:21 - Kaiju Team, or the “Sexy Dance Time, Check It Out” one.

I…wish I were making this up. This one stars Dada Sexy (his [their?] actual name), alongside a feminine-coded alien I only later learned was Lady Benzene Hypnotic. At this point I wonder whether this is better watched high, or if this is already making me high.

The groove to this one starts notably different, but like…if the Cha Cha Slide tried to be steamy. And no I didn’t grab a screenshot mid-frame-shift, this part is literally shot like this. It goes on for several seconds. They wanted it to look like this.

Oh and the Not-Ultras are here too. Seven Shuffle is one of them. Do with that what you will.

The dancing itself is definitively less hip-hop and more…interpretative dance? I absolutely believe that this is an alien party, because nothing about this presents as remotely normal or human.

Partway through, a green screen cape (Kings?) flies through the screen. I can’t bring myself to care. Every Ultra in the audience is Very into it.

Then about halfway through they switch it back to…hip-hop? I think? It still has multiple Interpretive Dance elements to it. The Not-Ultras bedazzled suits have neon lights on them, btw, I think you should know that.

And yes, by the end, they have the (male) narrator's voice chanting variations of “oh, sexy” in a way that makes me feel. vEry uncomfortable and I wish I could turn back time. I can only hope that the writers truly, legitimately didn’t know what that word actually meant in English, or what it implied if you sing it with the breathy energy they put into this number.

Benzene Hypnotic lets out an alien scream/trill at the end of the song, and we cut to the Ultra audience applauding at what a fun song that was. I want to go home.

7:43 - The Kids Come And Do a lil dance!

This next song is the intermission, a little ditty sung by and danced to by children. One of whom is B-Boy Zearth Jr. Zearth has a child. I barely notice; I’m still reeling from Sexy Dance.

This song, inexplicably, also has the “Dying Ultra’s color timer” sound. It actually appears more here than in the “villain” song. The song itself is…I think cute and charming? It’s hard to tell, my eyes are still glazed over. The kids do a pirouette or a cartwheel or something. The song ends, the announcer praises how super kawaii the performance was, I get a drink.

9:03 - Actual Dance Battle

This one has Justice Pointer, Agul Boogiedown, and I think Dyna Rocksteady (Might be Gaia Electric; his head is weird so I can’t tell), in a dance battle against three Kaiju Team members. This one’s probably my favorite, it sums up the weirdest parts of this while also having some legit solid dance moves. That and since it’s turn-based, we get lots of cool freeze-poses. Plus Agul Boogiedown throws up some gangsta peace signs, which is deeply funny after watching how edgy he is in his show.

The rap song itself appears to also be framed as a rap-battle? I think? My JP is limited but each team’s bar of music seems to be lightheartedly dissing the other/pumping themselves up. Everyone ends the battle by doing the splits on the floor, which is what my head’s gonna do in a minute.

10:42 - A Ballet Number

What’s that? You wanted this to make less sense? No? Well that’s okay, this is basically a ballet number (??????), with violin and slow swaying from the crowd. Zearth Funky Groove is dancing ballet with Lady Benzene Hypnotic. It’s actually…you know what, this is kinda nice. It’s a nice break from—NOPE ITS HIP-HOP AGAIN, LADS

But like a…flamenco (I think?) influenced hip-hop. This song is actually really interesting in terms of merging VERY different influences. Definitely a musical style inspired by the carribian or one of the Romance languages, but asking me to search my mind for factual information while watching this is like asking a boxer to do trigonometry mid-match.

The announcer tells the crowd to grab your sweetheart and dance with them. Tiga bows before Camearra and offers to dance (she graciously accepts). A Daadaa propositions Seven to dance, which seems to catch him off-guard in a bad way. Ultra Father offers his wife his hand, though they don’t properly dance, they just hold hands and sway to the music. Incidentally, Yullian and 80 are present and clearly went together, but they don’t couple up for this dance (that we see).

This doesn’t fit anywhere, but Zoffy is REALLY into the music. Like I’ve never seen him this enthusiastic for anything before. It's really sweet honestly. He’s dancing alone but is clearly more than happy that way.

12:22 - Final Dance

I have trouble articulating exactly what happens in this segment. Clearly it’s framed as a final battle, but those interpretive dance bits are still mixed with the hip-hop. As before, the dancing itself is quite good, if you like incredibly 90’s hip-hop dancing and breakdancing. It’s definitely the most floorwork-heavy of any of the songs.

The camera-work, while strange but functional before, takes a turn even further into the surreal. Some of the camera cuts are so rapid you’d think it was a stage-3 marvel movie; in places it gets to about 5 cuts per second. It will also cut not only between angles on the same person mid-action, but to random other shots, like the crowd of ultras, or a different dancer, or someone unrelated doing half a flip before cutting back again.

I think this must be the point in production where someone discovered you could rotate a camera, because suddenly multiple flips or dance moves are filmed with the camera spinning—presumably to follow the movement, but not quite synchronized and there’s no way we’re doing another take.

At the climax of the song, I can only assume Ultra Father saw some risk to the child-dancers; the music gets tense, and the kaiju-dancers close in around the kids, who cower back-to-back. Ultra Father exchanges an urgent glance with his wife, and together they SHOOT A PULSE OF ENERGY AT THE PERFORMERS ON STAGE.

Which puts everyone on an acid trip. Or I think it does? The colors turn negative/green/weird, and then all the adult-coded performers drop to their knees in a clearly rehearsed part of the dance.

I’m losing my mind. What was this? Was this choreographed or not? Was Ken supposed to do that? I can only think he must have, but then why did his body language radiate legitimate fear for the children’s safety? Why have the Ultra Parents do that part, isn’t this King’s party?? What am I going to do with the avocado I bought two days ago and is gonna go bad??

Not labeling this as a separate song, because the last one never truly ended. But this is clearly the epilogue of the “fight”; the ultras do elaborate secret handshakes with the aliens and monsters, indicating everything’s A-OK now. I will never be A-OK again. The announcer is chanting “happy," though I think he’s repeating the last syllable a bit too much. I don't think they thought through what yelling "HAPPY-PEE" would actually mean in English.

The experience ends with King’s greenscreen cape floating down and King materializes onstage between the two child performers. He then levatates back up, which is the most normal thing to happen this whole time. He says something in English that sounds like maybe “Happy Mercy?” Messy? Blessing?

After the third listen, I realized he’s saying Happy Birthday. It’s his birthday. He’s saying it to himself. The crowd wildly applauds his self-congratulation and repeats the English phrase, and King makes his bows. My splintered psyche notices that the foley-work on his cape movement is very nice.

The end closes out with what I at first think is a hip-hop version of Dyna’s opening theme. I am wrong. They start a weirdly paced hip-hop beat with Cosmos’s “Something You Can Do” vocals. They loop the opening line twice, then go back to rap.

The announcer delightedly cries in English “See you NEXT YEAR!”

I take this as a threat.

[destinyc1020]

I feel really good about Astaire: Paul King is a genius and the principal writer write Billy Elliot and Rocketman (the really good Elton John biopic). Plus the studio is not rushing them (projects can get sloppy when studios try to rush them). And is generally good to see Tom in something outside the action/adventure and dark dramatic genres, particularly to see him embrace dance and song again. Maybe Tom will get attached to another project before Astaire is filmed. The best thing is to not be laser focused on the work of just one artist. That way one can enjoy other good projects until our faves can release theirs

I feel really good about Astaire: Paul King is a genius and the principal writer write Billy Elliot and Rocketman (the really good Elton John biopic).

Me too Anon! I'm very optimistic about this project. 😊👏🏾 I just love biopics in general anyway, so this film is right up my alley lol.

Plus the studio is not rushing them (projects can get sloppy when studios try to rush them).

If that isn't the truth! 🙄

And is generally good to see Tom in something outside the action/adventure and dark dramatic genres, particularly to see him embrace dance and song again.

THISSSS!!!! I'm just excited to see Tom dance onscreen honestly. 😅 I actually think he's going to shock everyone. I get the strong feeling that a lot of casual Tom fans (not us, but mainly those who only know him as "Spiderman" in the GP) don't really know that he can tap dance, so I'm eagerly awaiting to see their reaction when Tom blows them away onscreen lol. 🤭

Maybe Tom will get attached to another project before Astaire is filmed.

I strongly suspect that we will get another project announcement for Tom this year.... 👀

The best thing is to not be laser focused on the work of just one artist. That way one can enjoy other good projects until our faves can release theirs

Girl THANK YOU! I've been preaching this on my blog for years. Haven't I been saying this?? Haven't I been saying this.... 😅

When you start to appreciate a variety of actors (and just films in general), you won't be so laser-focused on just your faves and be disappointed at every single thing they do (or don't do). When you start to appreciate other actors as well (instead of just one or two) you will be able to enjoy their other projects as also in the interim while you're waiting for your fave(s) to get started on his/her project.

Diversity is the spice of life imo. It really is the best way to be when it comes to being a fan imo.😊 That way you're not putting SOOO much pressure on your fave(s) and you're not getting angry all the time and worrying about stuff that doesn't need to be worried about. 👀