#and recently someone i know said an upcoming movie will be the last animated movie that was art or smth like thah

[audoodle]

the dreamcast was the last console with a soul

my elementary days are the last time I felt happy

I'll never feel carefree again

the gamecube was the last console with any sort of personality

middle school wasn't as bad as it felt in the moment actually

at least I wasn't worried about rent

the iphone 4 is the peak of mobile tech

I miss my freshman year

it was the last time I'll ever have had friends

the wii u was the last system that felt special

I want my old retail job back

it was the last job that I felt I worked well in

the playstation 4 was the last time there was magic in video games

It sucks that every movie is bad now

there's no more magic

art is dead.

it's not me.

I'm not changing.

everything is just wrong now.

it was right before.

I want it to be right again.

let me go back.

go back to when it was right.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Animation-twitter, animation video essay youtube, etc. would probably be better off if they assumed every upcoming animated movie was going to be CRAP.

The director of INSIDE OUT 2, Kelsey Mann, has talked a bit about the picture recently. After all, it's out in less than two months... And immediately, so much of what he's saying is either being misread or quoted out of context. Something something Anxiety is going to be "the villain", something something they cut characters Shame and Guilt out of the movie because they felt it was too heavy, something something-

And we've got other people freaking out that Pixar showed 35 minutes of it at CinemaCon... LIKE... What's THE issue? Pixar has done that before! CinemaCon attendees were treated to half-hour chunks of Pixar movies in the past, like MONSTERS UNIVERSITY. When TOY STORY 3 was coming out, Pixar prepared a cut of the movie that ended just as the toys were escaping Sunnyside Daycare... to show to college campuses across the country a month before release.

Y'all need to calm down.

This movie isn't even out. We don't know how it'll tell its story exactly. Maybe there's more here than it seems? Maybe Anxiety will be an antagonist in the sense that she's doing what she feels is right, or is straight-up malevolent. I doubt it's the latter, that would be kind of... Not nuanced? For a sequel to INSIDE OUT? Having Anxiety just be an evil scheming bad guy just doesn't seem like it'll happen, nor is it a good idea. I think director Kelsey Mann meant that by her kicking the other emotions out of the main control room, she'll be the "big bad" of the movie. Why she kicks those emotions out could be related to how anxiety tends to work within the human brain. Taking control of your brain, thinking that it's steering you to make the right decision, making you cautious of dangers more so than "Fear" does. Pixar movies have had antagonists in the past that aren't necessarily evil, they just think what they're doing is right.

I also doubt that Pixar would let out a movie that flat-out stigmatizes people who suffer from anxiety disorders, such as myself. Maybe the Shame and Guilt characters were cut from the movie because director Mann, writer Meg LeFauve, and several others just didn't like the direction the story was going with them in it. Maybe it was too depressing for THEM, not because of any concerns for kids in the audience. People tend to associate Pixar with "tearjerking storylines", maybe it's possible that this went WAY TOO FAR at one point? I don't know, neither do you. Pixar's team isn't Disney Animation's leadership. Pete Docter is less controlling than John Lasseter based on everything I see and hear, but there are probably still some ground rules and some do's-and-don'ts. But I think it was ultimately down to the director not enjoying making the film back when it had these characters in it. As a writer/creator myself, I sometimes pull back when I feel something I'm making is causing ME lose the drive to make the thing in the first place. Maybe it hit too close to home for Mann, LeFauve, someone- Just a few variables, ya know? Not just "Pixar is too afraid to be sad", "Disney's telling them what to do", etc. etc.

Maybe animated movies shouldn't have this kind of pre-release thing... How about, just... Movie title, release date, BOOM. Nothing else. No interviews with the filmmakers and cast, no nothing... Wanna know more? You have to see it when it comes out! Put that in big letters in the teaser trailer!

But if they did that, twitter and the YouTube Animation Opinion Industrial Complex would sound the alarm: "They're not saying anything... IS THIS MOVIE IN TROUBLE???"

(sarcasm for those last two sets of sentences)

You can't win. And watch... It'll come out, and it'll be disliked for some weird reason. Probably because it isn't... PUSS IN BOOTS 2 or whatever. While the rest of the world goes, "Yeah, that's was pretty solid." And said population streams it on Disney+ a gazillion times. I'm not part of this "animation fandom" thing, quite frankly I don't even know what half of these people want most of the time. It seems like every movie is an oncoming stinker to them, and it ends up being a stinker. Sometimes the worst thing ever made, a work of evil. You know I still see people raging over that completely harmless CHIP N' DALE RESCUE RANGERS movie from two years back? The fuck is that all about?

I get that INSIDE OUT is a sequel to a beloved Pixar movie, I get that the original movie means a lot to so many people. I love it myself. At the same time, I'm not gonna be weird about a sequel I never even wanted until the day they announced it. Okay, if it isn't very good, I'll just go on with my life. But we're not even there yet... It's not out... This is the only INSIDE OUT sequel. Now if we were coming up on an INSIDE OUT 3, and INSIDE OUT 2 managed to somehow upset everybody? Then I'd somewhat understand...

Others will dole out their dislike of recent Pixar movies as their reason, but you know me... I feel each Pixar movie - for the most part - is a statement of its filmmaking team. Not a Mr. Pixar person coming up with each and every movie. (That was Lasseter in a sense, lol.) If "animation is cinema", then you oughta look at these movies as director-driven. I feel the other way around reduces the films to a brand, and not the people who actually make them. INSIDE OUT is first and foremost a Pete Docter-directed film... Made at Pixar. Not a "Pixar film". Pixar isn't a person nor is it a collective, it's a place. It should be judged on how functions as a movie and as a sequel to INSIDE OUT, not up against other movies made at the studio by other people. Like I'm not here for THE INCREDIBLES or UP, I'm here for an INSIDE OUT sequel. I know, that's a very radical opinion to have. Silly me!

I just don't get it... I'm just gonna do it the old-fashioned way... I'm going to see the movie, and hope that I like it or get something out of it.

[xo-zozo]

100 followers! *ੈ✩‧₊˚

⤷ i actually hit 100 a little bit ago but i never did anything for it so we’re doing it now!! tysm for getting me to 100 so fast, i’ve literally only been posting for a few months so it’s a huge honor

⤹ how this is gonna work is there’s gonna be about 80 questions below and you can send me an ask with the number of question that you want me to answer

what’s your favorite tv show of all time?

who’s your favorite music artist (s)?

what’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen

who are your favorite moots?

what’s your biggest pet peeve?

what’s your go to karaoke song?

what’s your favorite color?

what’s the best vacation you took and why?

who was the last person you said i love you to?

who is your idol?

what’s the best compliment you’ve received?

what makes you laugh the most?

what are your current grades?

what did you do for your last birthday?

what is your favorite sleeping position of all time? 

what is the dumbest way you've been hurt? 

what are the three scents you like?

what’s your favorite season?

who’s your favorite disney character?

what’s your favorite disney animated movie?

what’s your favorite halloween costume you’ve worn?

what’s the best gift you’ve ever received

what are you the best at?

what’s your favorite book?

what’s your favorite quote and who is it by?

favortie fictional man?

do you have any pets?

who was your first tumblr moot?

who is the best movie villain?

what’s your favorite restaurant?

where would you like to travel?

how long have you been on tumblr?

are you popular at school?

what’s the most money you’ve ever spent in one day?

do you believe in true love?

who’s your celebrity crush?

who are your favorite youtubers?

what’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up?

what’s your favorite drink?

what’s the craziest thing you’ve done in school?

can you cook?

what books did you read as a child?

whats a celeb you hate?

how many boys bff’s do you have?

what’s your favorite movie?

whos someone you wanna look like?

what’s your favorite subject?

what’s the last song you listened to?

what’s your favorite app?

favorite emoji

what upcoming movie are you most excited for?

what was the last thing you ate?

what’s your spirit animal?

what’s the last text that you sent?

what’s the last text that you received?

what was the last ss that you took?

have you ever had a crush on an animated character?

night or day?

what’s your favorite band?

who’s your least favorite fictional character?

what’s your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

wheres the craziest place you’ve ever been?

what’s the last thing that you bought?

who’s one person you really want to meet?

what is one talent that you didn’t know that you until recently?

what’s your dream job?

what’s your favorite place to buy clothes?

what games do you play?

who’s a fictional character that you relate to?

do you plan on having kids?

what’s the worst injury you’ve gotten?

where do you sit on a roller coaster?

how big is your friend group?

who is the worse teacher you’ve ever had?

where do you usually do headcannons from?

what’s the reason for your favorite colors?

what’s the worst rule your school has?

what’s your favorite memory?

whats your least favorite memory?

anything else i’m comfortable with answering!

🫧 𓇼 𓏲 *ੈ ✩ ‧₊˚

| tags: @urbanflorals @reminiscentreader @nqds @annamatix @x-liv25-jamieswife @sophiesonlinediary @lyrakanefanatic @thatrandomlemononyourcounter1 @fortunatelyjollybeliever @123letsgobestie @off-to-the-r4ces / @zoyaaaabear @clarissawealsey-10

[purplepanda-marvel-leaks]

MARCH Q&A

Q:Will the crowns certain witches have be addressed in Agatha's show?

A: No crown lore in AGATHA I'm afraid! IIRC someone official said that Wanda gets a crown bc of her Creation magic or something.

Q: Can you share any information about the Wonder Man series?

A: Sorry, sources have been eerily quiet on Wonderman.

I'll share whenever I hear anything though.🙃

Q: any update on spiderman 4? (tom) Marvel v. Sony is still the last I heard on it. It'll take some time before they hash this out

Got some interesting info coming soon for that R-rated animated project Sony is cooking though 👀

Q: Any other F4 villains/ antagonists besides Galactus and Silver Surfer?

A: Too early to tell currently. (Is Galactus and SS even confirmed??) Last I heard is that the script was still being touched up.

Q: How big is Bullseye's role in Born Again?

A: It's substantial but not a HUGE role.

Q: Can you tell us if anything has been cancelled? (Disney+ shows, future movies)

A: I haven't heard of anything getting canned from any of my sources 🤷🏽‍♀️

Q: What do you think will be the best upcoming what if season 3 episode

A: Nice try Imao. The mech episode will be a lot of fun though

Q: Any more exciting Agatha news soon? 👀

A: Actually got quite a bit of Agatha news coming VERY soon 👀🤔

Q: Will the darkhold make an appearance in Agatha?

A: It can't make an "appearance" since Wanda destroyed them all, but it's certainly mentioned.

Q: Any update on when Eternals characters will return?

A: Check recent posts.

Q: Any details on what if…? Season 3 release? Spring? Summer?

A: it's been reported that it was planned for release this year, but it's unclear if that's still the case.

The lot of you will be the first to hear if I get any word on it

Q: What was your favorite movie from 2023?

A:

2023 was killer. Besides the obvious answers like Barbie and Oppenheimer, I thought these two films were amazing.

Q: Is Mysterios what if return as a cameo or a main focus?

A: More than a cameo forsure.

Q: Will we see more of Joe Locke in mcu after Agatha 👀👀

A: 100%. Billy has a lot to do

Q: niche question lol but do you know anything about John Walker's arc in Thunderbolts?

A: My sources have said that he's been doing his best to redeem himself.

If his best is the "right" way is to be determined…

Q: Will we ever get a strange academy? I just got done reading the comics!

A: I've heard whispers of something inspired by Strange Academy, AND Zelma Stanton is appearing in Ironheart

Q: X-Men

A:

Q: Is there any updates with Ironheart dates?? I swear I read they finished filming a while bak

A: They finished filming ages ago but I heard they're reworking things and will reshoot soon if they haven't started already.

Q: Is there any validity to the Plastic Man movie rumours?

A: I've been told no, but I want them to be true 😭

Q: Do you think part 2 of Born Again will happen?

A: Yes I do.

Q: What marvel character would your ideal film, series, or special presentation be about?

A: Specifically Joe Fixit 👀👀👀👀

Q: Should we worry about Captain America 4?!

A: I wouldn't be worried. Marvel is doing to Cap 4 what they did to DDBA:

They saw what they had, and are putting in the time and money to make it better.

Q: Will Thunderbolts be Rated R?

A: Nah I would highly doubt that.

Q: will we ever see daredevil in a comic accurate costume

A: Yes. He was supposed to get a new suit in the old finale (classic Marvel TV fashion, I know). Not sure about the new finale tho. Might be saved for part 2.

Q: Will DD:BA have a mature tone, and show the religious side of Matt like the Netflix show?

A: Yes. It was reworked to bring more of that mature tone back, especially in the action.

Q: Any future plans for Zemo in Thunderbolts or the MCU moving forward?

A: In Thunderbolts? No. In the MCU moving forward? Yes.

Q: Do we know who is on the table with the tag on the toe in Agatha?

A: The toe tag says W. MAXIMOFF 👀

Q: Do you know if we will see Mephisto in the MCU soon?

A: Mephisto will appear in Ironheart

Q: Is Wonder Man among the cancelled projects Bob Iger is referring to?

A: No. Don't expect anything that is already filming to get cancelled.

Q: will the survivors from the what if zombie episode be in marvel zombies?

A: Yes.

Q: Is Vision Quest still in the works?

A: The last i heard it was still in the works.

Q: Will we see blade in live action before his movie?

A: Unlikely. But we'll see him in animation at least 😭

Q: DDBA is releasing this year so what time of this year should we be expecting it to release

A: DDBA is NOT releasing this year

Q: Will Agatha and Rio have an stable romantic relationship in the series?

A: More like the opposite of stable 👀 💜

Q: Why did you lie about the Agatha series being titled Agatha All Along? D+ reveals its just Agatha

A: That's like asking Disney why they lied when they originally announced the series to be Agatha: House of Harkness 😭😭

My source was certain so I reported it Imao

[lord-shitbox]

entire ask game. send me asks too or ill bite you really ahrd

assuming you said this for the 'weirder asks' game. godbless

who is/are your comfort character(s)?

Gozu and mezu

lighter or matches?

I like lighters more but i only have a matchbox (the striking paper on it is shit anyways)

do you leave the window open at night?

ye

which cryptyd being do you believe in?

none

what color are your eyes?

brown

why did you do that?

do wot

hair-ties or scrunchies?

Hair ties

how many water bottles are in your room right now?

None. 2 glasses and a mason jar though 

which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

Cold. on ice

would you slaughter the rich?

Idc about killing them i just want their wealth redistributed

favorite extracurricular activity?

Fucking around at the grocery store en masse

what kind of day is it?

Did not do a single piece of schoolwork but i did every other possible task

when was the last time you ate?

Within the hour. Had a bowl of rice on my desk

do you love the smell of earth after it rains?

ya

are you a parent? (all answers qualify)

no

can you drive?

no

are you farsighted or nearsighted?

nearsighted

what hair products do you use?

none

imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

If you want me to ya

do you say soda or pop?

soda

something you’ve kept since childhood?

A lot of things. Stuffed animals, jewelry

what type of person are you?

chilling

how do you feel about chilly weather?

👍 but i prefer mild temperatures. The kind of just-barely cold that isnt really cold. I don’t like wearing lots of clothes

if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing?

Depends on who you are. for u specifically, probly not much

perfume/body spray or lotion?

Mmmm…i dont own any body spray but i have mixed feelings about the texture of lotion. It’s not actually that bad but i don’t like putting wet stuff on me (same genre of sensory dislike as wearing lots of clothing)

a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times?

Uh.. like daydream? There’s one i used to have but its really really edgy and embarrassing 

about how many hours of sleep did you get?

Last night, 12. On weekdays its like 6

do you wear a mask?

No sorry

how do you like your shower water?

warm

is there dishes in your room?

Yes leave me alone

what type of music keeps you grounded?

Heavy stuff. Like fast and hard noises. Nothing slow

do you have a favorite towel?

yeah

the last adventure you’ve been on?

Went 2 bowser movie wth an extended group of people last night and afterwards we walked to winco and did funny things in shopping carts

is there a song you know every word to by heart?

Tbh…no. Im really good at remembering song lyrics in general but i dont think there are any in particular i memorize

what’s your timezone?

Doxx me why don’t you

how many times have you changed your url?

Never <3

someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years?

Uhh.. not really? Am not in much contact with childhood close friends (theres one ive seen a few times recently but we haven’t actually talked). I believe i’ve known tuna for upcoming 8yrs though

a soap bar that smells good?

I dont like bar soap i like the liquid kinds. Old spice

do you use lip balm?

During dry lip season (i forget when this is) my lips get dry as fuck 

did you have any snacks today?

ye

how do you take your coffee?

With ice and chocolate in it

an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?

Discord & instagram 

what’s your take on spicy foods?

yum (reasonable spice tolerance)

you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

Nobody…i hate some people 2 death (i dont think about them so i forget who they are) but theyre not bothering me rn so idc

can you remember what happened yesterday?

Bowser moive

favorite holiday film?

Year without a santa claus (IM MR FREEZE MISER)

what was the last message you sent?

“so far i think the only red text thats restricted to origin is mhin's”

when did you first try an alcohol beverage?

Idk ive had sips in young youth. Parents would give me some so i could go “wow this tastes nasty” and not crave any ever (they were right for this)

can you skip rocks?

I may have done it successfully like twice in my life

can i tag you in random stuff?

Ya sure

[gruviafan-forever]

A/N: Hello everyone, Happy Gruvia Week to you. I didn't expect that I would be writing contents for this year's event too. But I'm really happy to be writing stories about my favourite anime couples.

   Hopefully, everyone likes it. This year the prompts were very similar to previous years. It had me in fix how to write content without making it a repetitive fashion.

   Finally got an idea and tried to merge all those 7 prompts into a storyline. Hopefully, it convinces you all.

   Thank you for reading and spending your time here.

----------------------------------------------

Main Pairing: GRUVIA

Summary:- Celebrity Gray x General Public Juvia, Modern AU

Words:- 2K

Currently, Fairy Tail Agency has arranged for a press meet to officially declare the facts of the new movie in which two of their most famous actors are going to be a part.

Gray Fullbuster, 25 years, tv artist turned actor and Lucy Heartfilia, 24 years, model turned actress, has signed up for this movie which is under the production of Straussl Inc.

As the reporters who out various questions regarding the details of this upcoming venture and some related to their personal life.

"So, Mr Fullbuster, tell us about how you feel knowing that you have been nominated for 3 categories of awards this year?" 

One of the reporters asked and was ready to note Gray's response.

"I'm sure that I will receive the awards for best actor and handsome face. Also, my last movie 'Icy Days' has been nominated for the best movie of the year. But not sure about the 'Gem of the decade' award." 

Gray confidently answered and smiled which made the female reporters squeal.

Lucy interrupted, "Not to ruin Gray's fantasy but my movie 'Starry Night At Stella' was a blockbuster hit. Myself and my co-actor Natsu Dragneel were praised by critics for our performance. So, Gray, don't forget that even we are on the race too." Lucy smiled which made everyone chuckle after hearing her opinions.

"Sure Lucy... All the best to you and Natsu" Gray told and looked at his manager, Erza Scarlet, who also happens to be Natsu's manager, to know when this press meet is going to end.

"Another 10 minutes" Erza gestured by hand signals. 

Suddenly, one of the reporters from Magnolia Times shot down a question that took Gray off guard.

"Recently, there was a photo of Mr Fullbuster with a child in his arms. Who does that child happen to be? And is it true that you are having an illicit affair with someone, Mr Fullbuster?" That reporter smirked. 

Gray remained indifferent and calmly answered him while his team members and staff panicked.

"Everyone in Fiore knows that it was a piece of fake news. In today's era of modern technology, it is easy to photoshop one's picture with anything and anyone, Mr Invel.

    Even my agency owner, Mr Makarov Dreyer and my manager, Ms Scarlet have clarified about it. So, don't go digging the old hoax rumours." 

Gray stood up and thanked everyone for their time and presence before dashing off to the exit where Lucy followed him back.

It was Erza and the production team who bid a farewell to the reporters before joining the actors in their cabin.

Once Erza reached Gray's cabin, she saw him tossing his coat and tie around the room while Lucy stood silently.

"Gray, I think you should disclose your relationship before it gets exposed in a bad way," Erza said calmly and patted his back.

"That's what I was thinking, Erza. I can't continue to hide this big news about my life for a long time from my fans. I will reveal this during the awards function." Gray looked determined and hoped that his fans would take it on a positive note.

"They will surely accept your relationship status just like how they received mine and Natsu's." Lucy encouraged him and patted his arms which seemed to make him calm down.

"Gray, tomorrow you have your day off then, on Wednesday, we will be going to Phoenix Mall for a fan meet up event where other actors of our agency will join us." Erza informed him and handed the invitation.

From the invitation, it was clear that this mall was quite near to his apartment complex. Moreover, it was arranged by Mr Makarov himself so there was no way of turning it down.

"Fine, I will get ready for this. Just send the car near the children's park no need to come in front of the complex." He informed Erza and thanked them both for their words of motive before he left them.

After half an hour, Gray reached the children's park and put on his disguise, cooling glass, mask and a cap to conceal his identity while he was dressed up in a simple t-shirt and jeans.

"Max, tomorrow's your day off. Pick me up here at 9 am on Wednesday. Bye."

"Yes, Mr Fullbuster. Bye, and Good night" The driver left him while Gray made his way towards his home.

The apartment complex in which he lived was one of the expensive housing in Magnolia. The higher the floor level, the higher is the cost and the higher is the security.

Till the 11th floor, the general public who did high order jobs lived while the next 10 floors were occupied by celebrities of various fields.

One of the perks of this housing agency was that their identity remains secret, not even their neighbours know about them until and unless the involved party discloses it.

Once Gray reached the 17th floor, which had two apartments where one was still vacant.

As he hit the doorbell of his apartment, Gray could hear voices coming from inside which brought a smile on his face.

The door opened and his eyes met the gorgeous lady who welcomed him with a beautiful smile that captivated him.

"Welcome home, Gray-sama"

"I'm home, Juvia," Gray said and got inside.

Soon, he removed the disguise and leaned forward to kiss her lips which she reciprocated back.

Once they broke off the kiss, Juvia hugged him and whispered, "I missed you, Gray-sama."

"Even, I missed you, Juvia. It's been a week since I last saw you and…." Before he could finish, both of them felt someone hugging their legs.

And it was none their 3-year-old daughter, Yuki Fullbuster, who resembled her mother but had father's hair and eye colour and his sharp nose.

"Papa"

Seeing his daughter's smile was enough for him to get distracted from his wife, then, have his undivided attention on his little munchkin.

Gray raised Yuki in his arms and kissed her cheeks and forehead who did the same to her papa.

"Yuki missed you, papa."

"Even, papa missed you, darling. Were you a good girl during papa's absence?" Gray asked her as they moved towards the living room.

Gray let her down who ran up to a table and tried to fetch her drawing notebook.

Juvia made her husband sit down and inquired him about his work as he looked tired and kinda depressed.

Gray convinced her everything was fine and told her about the press meet excluding the details of the rumours.

#

It had been 4 years since Gray started his acting career starting as an ad shoot model to tv artists then to movie star.

Gray, Natsu and Erza were childhood friends who did their schooling from the same institution till college.

It was during the 3rd year, Gray and Natsu got scouted to act as models for a tv commercial which they accepted readily as of then they needed some kind of part-time jobs to meet their ends.

Even, Erza thought that it was a good opportunity for them to succeed as the agency, Fairy Tail, was well known throughout Fiore and persuaded them to take up the offer.

Once, their commercials began to reach people mainly because of their handsome features and physique especially Gray got popular among the female fans.

It was during this time that Gray and Natsu had to move out of the college dorm so that they could work freely without time restrictions.

That's when Gray meets Juvia for the first time in his life. She was his neighbour whom he thought lived her boyfriend but it turned out to be her best friend, Gajeel Redfox, vocalist of Phantom Bands, an upcoming band.

Gray rarely started any kind of conversation with anyone. It was with the help of Natsu that they befriended Juvia and to date, Gray was thankful to his friend.

Until the moment he met Juvia, Gray was never keen on love or relationships. 

But to him, Juvia was way different from the girls he had met in his college. She was modest and shy but a kind person with a large helping tendency.

Gray knew her personality and beauty had beguiled his attention and wanting to know more about her made him fall for her head over heels.

Of course, they would exchange greetings whenever they met while leaving the house together. Slowly they deepened their connection and exchanged numbers.

Due to her friendly nature, Juvia would invite Gray and Natsu over to her place for small weekend parties which she would arrange for Gajeel to relieve his stress.

At first, he was reluctant to invade a party meant for Gajeel but the latter happily welcomed them.

That way, they got acquainted exchanged their work details and stress with each other.

It was after a few months of that weekend party that Gray had offered Juvia a dinner date which she accepted after a week of thinking.

By this time, Gray gained quite a lot of recognition. The reason he called her out on a dinner date was to reveal that he has signed up as the main lead for a tv drama which was produced by a well-known production house.

Juvia was elated and congratulated and wished him luck. It was during that time Gray confessed his love for her and waited for her answer.

To his surprise, Juvia readily accepted him. He still remembers her words from that time,

"Gray-sama, even I feel the same for you. I was afraid to convey my feelings to you as each day our world was getting apart. I was determined to tell you today after dinner.

     But to my surprise, I never expected even you would feel the same. I love you, Gray-sama."

After hearing her say those golden words, Gray got hold of her hand and kissed it lightly and asked Juvia to be his girlfriend which she agreed.

Once they reached their respective place, Gray kissed her lips and shared a hug before calling off that night.

The next day, both of them informed their friends about their relationship. Erza and Natsu were supportive.

But Gajeel was reluctant he wanted to tell Juvia how difficult it would be for her to date a celebrity.

She has to remain under the shadows. Moreover, if words go out then obsessive fans might harm her and she would be constantly under paparazzi's scrutiny if Gray's facing bad times.

But Juvia was ready to face any difficulties and wanted to support her boyfriend in his career.

#

Once the family had their dinner together, Gray tugged his daughter in her bed before planting a kiss on her forehead and wished her good night.

Juvia was washing the dishes when Gray snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her neck which made Juvia squeak.

Gray turned off the tap and turned his wife so that she could face him.

"Juvia, tomorrow's my day off. Even the night is still young. Moreover, I missed my wife…" He leaned forward and kissed her lips which made her moan against his lips.

"Gray-sama…."

"Juvia…." Both of their eyes were clouded with lust and decided to continue their passionate night inside their bedroom.

After an hour, both was them were under the blankets, Gray had his arm around his wife and hummed in her ears as she talked about her day with Yuki.

Juvia could sense her husband's hold around her waist getting tight. He did only when he felt insecure or paranoid.

Juvia turned around to face him who kept looking at her. She cupped his face with both of her hands which startled him.

"Gray-sama, what's on your mind? Spill it out. Don't go huddling up those stressful thoughts within you. Share it with your wife. I will help you lessen those burdens." Juvia conveyed her thoughts and smiled at him.

"This is what I'm beguiled about you, Juvia. You can easily find out my conflicting thoughts just by sensing my actions. I'm really lucky to have you as my soulmate, dear." Gray said earnestly and kissed her forehead which made Juvia feel special.

Then slowly Gray disclosed his fears about how the world will perceive his relationship and worried that this shouldn't cause any harm to either Juvia and Yuki especially.

After hearing his fears, Juvia cradled her husband and patted his back just like how she does it for her daughter whenever she has nightmares.

Gray seemed to relax from this action. Juvia assured him that nothing terrible is going to happen and just hope everything turns out well.

Suddenly Gray raised his head and questioned her, "What if things repeat? And this time to our Yuki."

Juvia's eyes grew wide, but she can't show her fear, at least, not in front of her husband for now, who himself was feeling paranoid.

"I'm sure nothing will happen. Let's have faith in ourselves and your fans, Gray-sama.

       I'm just worried that your fan number might get reduced once you reveal your married status." Juvia voiced her concern.

This time it was Gray's turn to convince her, "Nah! Just like you said let's hope for the best. I love you and Yuki. Remember that, okay"

Gray smiled and kissed her lips, "Juvia, you are still warm. Wanna continue from where we left?" He teased her.

It seemed her Gray-sama was back to normal for now.

A/N: Sorry for posting it bit late. Hope I will be able to update for the rest of the event.

[rollflasher]

Another Sonic ramble

So once again I’m here with one of my rambles about my incredibly subjective view of how the Sonic series should be handled! *Beat*

...anyway.

So, one of the more recurring opinions on the fandom is that Sonic games should be written by Ian Flynn, I have talked before about the gripes I have with his writing and why I disagree with this but this post is not entirely about him, but rather a more general topic that has been bugging me for a long time.

The other day I was watching a video speculating about the upcoming Sonic Rangers, there’s not much to write home since it was pretty well made but there’s a particular part that inspired me to do this post and talk about it with other fans to discuss it.

See, at one point the video critisized the fact that Sonic Forces was written by a Japanese writer because they have to re-write the script in English and that can cause problems with localization, and that it would be better to have western writers from the get-go since Sonic’s main demographic comes from there, while making an off-hand suggestion that Ian Flynn could be a main choice. While I can see where they’re coming from, my response was a simple:

‘‘Absolutely, not’‘

See, I have a lot of issues with this to put it bluntly and I’ll try to break them down and explain them the best I can since they’re pretty subjective in nature, but I’m bringing this up because I want you guys to share your thoughts as well.

So, why does it bug me so much the idea of Sonic being handled by western creators?

In my case, the main reasons are because Sonic loses a core part of it’s appeal because of this, the fact that SEGA of Japan seems to have a better grasp of the franchise’s tone and characters and there’s the very subjective point that, in my eyes, American versions of Japanese franchises were always nothing more than dumbed down products of the source material.

To start with my first point, whenever someone talks about Sonic’s creation, a lot of people are quick to point out that our favorite blue hedgehog and his games were inspired by western pop culture and cartoons, and that is true, however oftenly they forget to mention a core thing that not only inspired, but also formed part of the core identity of this franchise.

Sonic is very inspired on anime, and at heart this franchise is a shonen.

(This image by The Great Lange expresses more clearly what I mean)

Generally, the most acknowledgement anime gets on it’s hand on Sonic is the mentions of Sonic being inspired by Dragon Ball, particularly the Super Saiyan, but there’s so much more than that, as Sonic blatantly takes inspiration from Studio Ghibli films specially in games like Sonic 3, which draws a lot of inspiration from Laputa: Castle in the Sky, this great post shows proof that this is not a coincidence.

And it doesn’t stop there, Shiro Maekawa himself has stated that SA2′s story (and in particular, the characters of Shadow and Maria) draw a lot of inspiration from the manga Please Save My Earth.

Even Sonic’s character design resembles shonen protagonists moreso than the main characters of silent cartoons, don’t believe me?

Sure, Sonic has a cartoony anatomy, no one can deny that, but he also exhibits a lot of traits from shonen characters such as spiky hair/quills (?), dynamic posing, a confident, courageous and energetic personality and most importantly, fighting spirit.

If you compare Sonic’s personality and more specifically, his abilities and moves to, say, cartoon speedy characters like the Road Runner, there’s a pretty big disconnection between him and western cartoon characters. Hell, this disconnection is even just as present if you compare him with a character like The Flash from DC.

Simply put, Sonic acts, moves and more importantly, fights like a shonen anime character. He doesn’t just go Super Saiyan and that’s it. Here’s even a quick comparison if necessary.

And this is important because this doesn’t apply just to him, but the whole franchise as a whole and when it takes a more western approach, all of these details are kinda lost or more downplayed, of course this depends on the artists and there’s YMMV at hand, but I think my point is clear.

My second point is...SoJ has consistently proven they have a much clearer grasp on how Sonic’s world and characters are compared to SoA.

Hear me out, yes, Sonic 06 and ShtH exist and yes, SoJ is not perfect by any means. But hear me out...when did the characters start to get flanderized and turned into parodies of themselves? In the 2010s...and when did SEGA move from Japanese to western writers in the games?

Of course it was more then that since there’s a whole tone shift that came with this decade and the new writers, but it’s not a coincidence that when writing in Sonic started to decay, western writers also happened to get on board with the games.

Besides that, SoA has a wide history of not getting Sonic’s tone and characters, from how they made media without much of Sonic Team’s input, to altering how characters are seen in the west. (Such as how they amped up Sonic’s attitude in their media or how the English scripts of the games featured things like Sonic seemingly barely tolerating Amy while the JP scripts portrayed this as Sonic just not understanding girls all that well instead, or for more recent examples, the addition of the ‘’torture’’ line in Forces). Not only that, but even ignoring obvious infamous writers like Ken Penders, even the ‘’best’’ writers from the western side of Sonic are still not above of giving us Pontaff-esque gems.

Like this one.

Or alternatively, I feel like sometimes western writers on Sonic rely a bit too much on their personal vision about Sonic which may or may not be a good thing, clear examples of this are Ian Flynn himself and Pontaff.

By contrast, while SoJ has it’s own share of notorious inconsistencies when dealing with writing (The 2000s era is a big offender), it seems that for them Sonic hasn’t changed much and this is visible not only on the JP scripts of the Modern games which are for the most part better than the ENG ones, but also things like the Sonic Channel comics and the recent one-shots they made with Sonic interacting with the cast show that for all intents and purposes, the Japanese’s staff vision of Sonic is much more clear and consistent compared to the west. Because of this, I’d rather have a good Japanese writer on Sonic games with the localization being focused on being faithful with the original script than have a more western writers dramatically changing the characters. (I don’t mention the tone since either way, SEGA is the one in charge of that and the writers have to follow that)

My last and very subjective point is that, at least for me, everything SoA does with Sonic involving the writing and canon feels like a dumbed down version of the source material. One of the reasons it bugs me so much that in the latest decade Sonic has taken a more western direction is because a lot of what I pointed out gets lost as a result, even if some of those elements are still there, you can tell they’re more downplayed with products like the Tyson Hesse shorts having a more predominant cartoon direction. If any of you have been following my blog for a long time, you should be aware that just because I prefer the Japanese Sonic content doesn’t mean I won’t give the western products a chance, my enjoyment for Mania, the Tyson Hesse shorts and the movie should be a testament of that, but at the same time I can’t help but being sour about the fact that because of these products, we don’t have stuff like a new anime for Sonic or even a serialized ‘’main’’ manga as an alternative for the comics, and my hype for these products is generally more subdued as a result since I’d wish SEGA rather spent that money and resources on more Japanese content than just merchandise.

In particular, because Sonic is a Japanese franchise with a notorious inspiration from anime, what I get from this is a pretty big contradiction. I know Sonic is much more popular on the west but...is it really necessary for his game or products to be handled by western creators to keep their appeal?

For instance, imagine if Dragon Ball’s manga and anime got replaced by western comics and animated series because of it’s world-wide appeal, would that really be the same?

Or imagine the same thing with Fullmetal Alchemist, a pretty aclaimed anime that has a lot of western influence. Would it really not matter at all if it’s Japanese products were replaced with western ones?

At least for me, it wouldn’t.

And what I said about American versions of Japanese franchises being nothing more than watered down versions of the source material? I have that view because of countless examples.

Mega Man and how the English manuals removed a lot of important information about the story of the Blue Bomber’s game and world, causing a lot of plot holes in the process.

American remakes like Godzilla 1998 or Dragon Ball Evolution being an in-name only version of the source material.

Or the many censored anime English dubs from the 2000s, for instance, whenever I see the Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs, I only see a very dumbed down and childish version of a show that was originally a shonen.

And I know that all of these things don’t have to necessarely get lost since every creator is different and there’s franchises like Avatar which are made on the west but draw a lot of inspiration from anime and I’m aware of that, and I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to say that American writers are not allowed to work on Sonic, what I’m trying to say is that inevitably there’s always gonna be some culture dissonance and clash when writers from another culture handle a foreign franchise. And even with examples like ATLA, I think being made by one culture while being inspired by the other is actually a big part of these franchises appeal and it’s something that can’t simply be replicated by handing it to creators from that specific culture they draw inspiration from.

I think James Rolfe’s quote about the same thing with the Godzilla franchise sums up how I feel about this.

‘‘It’s like champagne, anybody can make their own and call it champagne, but unless it’s from Champagne France, it’s not real champagne’‘

So, this last part was very subjective, but I think this post in general sums up why I dislike so much the idea of Sonic having western writers specifically in the games or just focusing more on that side in general.

But what do you guys think? I guess I am too biased so that’s why I wanted to ask for opinions and discuss this topic.

[seijojoh]

What is this? | S. Tomura

Pairing: Shigaraki x Fem! Reader

Synopsis: Shigaraki realizes his personal feelings for you, finally. At first, he is terrified. Someone with his quirk isn’t possibly fit for love,,, right?

Warnings: a bit of angst here, a few curse words there!  A/N: Idea was taken from a friend off of discord, so enjoy the first post on this tumblr blog! Also, to give a bit of clarification, Shiggy’s quirk is still effective against the reader and highly dangerous! Caution is needed for both parties. 

Also I apologize of Tomura seems a bit ooc for this, I just kind of changed his personality a bit as I went because THIS IS HELLA SELF INDULGENT! <3

Enjoy! This was not proofread lolol

There are no manga spoilers, but there are a few S1-S2 spoilers if you have not watched the anime yet!

Shigaraki felt stupid. Dense, ignorant, absolutely mindless!

Why did it take him so long to realize how absolutely captivating you are? The way your smile seems to brush away the storm clouds that used to follow him everywhere he went. You were so gentle, so kind, so... good. Part of him was concerned why you followed him and the league. The potential you hold is incredibly high and he was happy he acknowledged it the first day you walked into the dingy bar. It was only a day after he kicked out Dabi and Toga for a much needed contemplation. Giran introduced you to him and the moment the overworked leader laid his beady red eyes on you, he knew you were worthy.

Granted, it did not show - at least he hoped not. Father was still on his face, blocking out his features from the crowd in front of him. He studied you carefully as you explained your reasoning for joining, and much to his surprise you were there for him and not Stain or his master. You claimed you had high hopes for the League of Villains and would follow him anywhere.

Although he did not audibly voice his thoughts, he simply nodded once and told Giran to show you out. You were confused of course, but assumed he did not want you there after all. Part of you panicked and worried that your request to join was denied, that was until he told you that he will be in contact.

That was seven months ago. Seven months of pure confusion and absolute torture. In that time, he was overwhelmed by his own injuries sustained from the USJ attack, the failed Nomu experiments and his master finally being taken into custody. While he worried and thought over the future of the league, you were always there to offer him help, whether it was a few words of advice, a lending ear, or a head pat (he swears he hates them, and does threaten to disintegrate your entire arm for touching it - yet, he cannot help but relax at the feel). 

Either way, he believed you were a plague in his mind that needed to be taken care of. By the time he sought out Kurogiri for guidance, the personal taxi for the LOV informed Tomura that he may have growing romantic feelings towards you. 

Shigaraki only scoffed and slammed his unfinished glass of scotch on the bar before getting up and storming out of the space. Pfft, what was he talking about? Shigaraki and feelings don’t mix. He was a firm believer that they clouded judgement and with that, he could not carefully plan out the future for his team. How the fuck can feelings help him plan out his plot to completely demolish hero society?! And another- wait, what are you doing? As he walked through the upper floor of the hide out, he saw you and a couple of the other LOV members sitting on the dingy couch. The same one that has been left abandoned and sitting here for years, but everyone swears it’s the most comfortable thing on the planet. Regardless, he noticed that you, Dabi, Toga, Spinner and Compress were all seated on the thing, staring at the TV placed on the credenza. 

You were wedged between Dabi and Spinner, Dabi’s arm was thrown over the back of the couch, his fingers gently thrumming over the old material absentmindedly. Although he was not physically touching you, Tomura could not help the twinge of.... anger that started to grow in the pit of his stomach. You looked so comfortable next to him, too. Your thighs were properly rubbing against each other (only due to Dabi’s incessant need to man spread and take up a bit of the space you silently needed), as well as your sides. It looked as if he was cuddling you and you did not seem to mind. Granted, he knows your particular love for physical affection but, out of all people? Dabi? Really?

Why was this asshole so close to you? I don’t like it. Should he dust his ass and be rid of him once and for all?!

Of course, you noticed his anger radiating off of his body in waves by the door. You turned your head in his direction and gave him a warm smile.

“Hey, we’re watching a few movies. Come join us!” You offered with the sweetest smile, back straightening in effort. The others caught onto their leader by the door, all of them sitting in quiet anticipation for what Shiggy might do. 

He felt awkward, anxious if you will. Never before did he have all of these eyes staring at him, waiting for a response no less. Damn you, look what you have done now! Now his heart is racing, a pink color spreading from his cheeks to the base of his neck. What the fuck is happening to him? And why the fuck isn’t Father on his face?

With a scoff, he mumbled a quick “no” before turning back around and heading to a space where he knew he could not get pissed off easily. 

Why does he feel this way? In his silent march back to his room, he kept replaying the beautiful smile that graced your lips. It made his heart flutter seeing it, reminding him of an innocent time that felt like it was lifetimes ago. Or the interest that sparked in your eyes as you noticed him for the first time. It was as if you were a small child, seeing a wonder for the first time. Every bit of attention you showed to this man did not go unmissed whatsoever.

In fact, he craved those little reactions, especially when he was feeling particularly overworked or just pissed off by everything something. Now he’s done it and practically shot down your innocent request just because he saw a burnt chicken sitting next to you as if you two were casual lovers. No, he should be the only one close to you like that. 

Your attention should be on him while you were comfortable at his side as he plays different rounds on his video games. Maybe you can sneak in a praise or two on how well he’s doing, or how cool his avatar looks, yanno? A movie could hardly do the trick in entertaining you in the ways he could. You only needed him....

And he only needed you.....

“Fuck,” he said once he shut the door to his room.

~

A few days after his silent revelation, Shigaraki has been characteristically quiet,,, but times 100. He hardly gets angry to the stupid shit Spinner spits out. Sometimes he’ll full out ignore the sly comments Dabi makes about upcoming missions. It was not like him and everyone knew it.

You seemed to have it worse. Every time you made a move to converse with him, he seemed to send you a hard glare that kept you away. Normally you can get past an occasional scowl or scoff sent in your direction, but the eyes he looked at you were filled with pure annoyance. It made you wonder if you are the cause of his anger. Did you say something unwarranted before? Was the progress made not sufficient enough for the singular leader? What?

The root of his anger was within himself, moreso his quirk. The strong effectiveness of destroying everything he touches pissed him off to no extent. Has he no control whatsoever? 

He was always careful, always keeping a pinkie finger or thumb raised on an object to keep it from being destroyed. Kurogiri suggested he purchased gloves with a few fingers cut out to allow him the ability to use his full hand, but that wasn’t enough for the man. He wanted, no needed, to use his full hand.

His private training started with little things: a napkin from the bar, a random door stopper found in the hallway, even a broken lamp found in the back alleyway of the hideout. He’d sit there and concentrate on his quirk, pleading with his own cells to turn off his quirk, even for a few seconds. By the time his digits would touch the objects, they’d all crumble mere moments later. To say he was irritated was an understatement. 

He’d concentrate on absolutely fuck all onto for his quirk to activate without much effort. Was he doomed to ruin everything he touched? Is this punishment for past crimes Tomura committed in another life? 

What’s the point of having a quirk that absolutely wrecks everything he touches? 

Staring at the small pile of ash on the floor (formerly known as an old bar-stool and an empty bottle of bleach), he knew this was your fate if these feelings persisted. Not being able to provide the physical contact he knew you’d love and he so desperately needed. 

Tomura never touched anyone that he liked. Hell, up until recently, he didn’t know he liked you. His touches often resulted in people getting erased and the cold sensations that would run through his spine whenever he did would leave him empty. He wanted things to be different, only because he knew you were different. 

You deserved something better, not.... this. 

Frustrated, Tomura grunted softly and picked up the empty plate he was getting ready to practice on next. With his pinkie raised, he gripped the ceramic item and threw it directly into the nearest wall. What he failed to notice was the chipped corner with sharp edges on the plate, and it effectively left a nasty cut in the space between his pinkie and ring finger.

Passing by, you heard the commotion coming from Shigaraki’s room. With a frown you knocked on the door. “Shigaraki? What’s going on in there?” There was a heavy amount of concern in your voice.

Shit.

He decided not to answer, hoping his silence coupled with his shitty attitude from the last few days would be enough to send you away. But, it didn’t.

“Hey, I’m coming in, okay?” You announced, barging into a space you knew you were not allowed in. He watched with wide eyes as you scanned the event in front of you. There was an unmissable pile of ash by his feet, a dent from which he tossed the plate as well as its shards scattered across the form. When her eyes landed on his form, she took notice of his his bleeding hand being cradled to his chest. “Here, allow me-”

“Go away, scram. I don’t need you here,” Shigaraki turned away stubbornly, walking stomping angrily to his desk in search for some form of napkin to soak up all the blood on his hand. He did not hear you walk up behind him, hand on his shoulder as a sign of your stubbornness.

“You’re bleeding,” you announced as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet. As you crossed around him, you reached forward to take his hand but he recoiled away. 

“What the fuck are you doing? Do you have a death wish?” He angrily snarled, taking a step back. With a huff, you pressed forward, still reaching for him.

“I’ll be fine. Just let me help,” your tone was soft and reassuring, which hardly helped in Tomura’s case. The hell were you thinking? If you carelessly grab him like that then surely you would crumble before him. Is breathing becoming too much of a hassle for you, or- 

Oh.

In the midst of Tomura’s silent panic, he felt the warmth of your hand cover his, your the backs of your hand gently rubbing over his in his attempt to curl his fingers. He was silently glad that he was wearing Father on his face, or you would see the insane blush washing over his cheeks; however he knew you could sense his complete and utter surprise. You were touching him... and it wasn’t a head pat.

No, this was an intimate skin to skin contact, your warmth contrasting his icy cold ones. On top of the warmth, he took note of how much softer your hands were against his rough textured ones, bringing him back to a time where he knew of what home felt like. A period in his life where he did not carry a heavy burden or the people around him look to him for all of the answers, no.

He just stared at you silent shock, his red eyes still blown wide.

“I’m okay, see. Nothing to worry about, okay?” Your voice was soft, lulling him to a much more calm state. “I’ll be careful with your fingers. I’ll just patch up the cut,” and there goes that damned smile. Whenever it was directed at him, he knew he lost the internal battle before it even began. It was just your effect on him.

He only nodded, tentatively watching the space where your hands were touching to commit this moment into memory and to make sure he did not accidentally touch you. With his green light, you were quick to jump to his aid, using whatever he had in his office to get the cut to stop bleeding and to patch it up with a band-aid.

“There we go,” you turned his hand over in your palm, fingers ghosting over the rough texture of them. He stared at you with an incredulous expression, ready to promptly kick you out but you beat him to it. “While I don’t have your quirk, I can understand it may seem like a bogus one to have. I don’t know what it’s like to constantly be on alert from something like that, but I have confidence that you will use it to lead us to greatness.”

There you go, saying cute and motivational shit again, boosting his ego and giving him words of affirmation. How the hell should he respond to that?

In his moments of silence, your smile did not falter once. You looked at him with so much adoration and care, Tomura could not help the rise in his heart race as you stared at him like that.

Without saying anything, Tomura lifted his non bruised hand (now wiped clean from the dripping blood from earlier), and used his knuckles to stroke the softness of your cheek. You did not flinch away once, instead leaning further into his touch, no matter how soft the action was. 

Even though he knew he could not touch you in the way he wanted, he found this small action of endearment to be just as effective. It burned away all of the negative emotions he has been harboring recently, leaving comfort in its wake. The sentiment surely pleased you seeing as though you were closer than before, your chest nearly pressed into his.

Maybe this physical affection thing can work out with him after all. ~

[keepingupwithlinmanuel]

Lin-Manuel Miranda Tells Us What Sets Encanto Apart From Other Disney Musicals

Disney recently unveiled its slate of upcoming animated films, including a brand-new musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Charise Castro Smith, and Zootopia’s Jared Bush and Byron Howard. Encanto might be coming just a few years after Miranda’s previous work with Disney on Moana but it’s a whole new experience for him.

In an interview with io9, Miranda shared some of the first information about Encanto, a Disney animated musical that “takes you to Colombia, where a magical family live in a magical home.” He said what’s unique about this film is, instead of being about one or two heroes who leave the nest to seek adventure, the “intergenerational family” in Encanto is a key part of the story. They don’t disappear the moment the plot arrives to take someone on a grand quest—something we’ve often seen in Disney animated movies like Moana, Onward, and Inside Out.

Miranda said the team’s goal was to create a family-friendly story that’s actually about a family, and he said that’s been a blast to write. “One of the things that we really kind of all talked about—all the creators, Charise and Byron and Jared and I—we were like, ‘We really want to tell a family, an intergenerational family story with all the complexity that brings,’” Miranda said. “So often when you get into story mode, it turns into the hero and the quest—and you lose characters, then you lose complexity because everything becomes the quest. And I think what’s been thrilling about this is, since that’s been our mission statement, it’s been really fun to sort of write, you know, musical family dynamics in a really fun and complicated way. I’m really excited for the world to finally see it.”

The project—which is set to be Disney animation’s 60th feature release—has been loosely in the works since 2016, though it ramped up more recently and Miranda’s been part of it since the very beginning. It looks to be his most in-depth contribution to the Wonderful World of Disney so far. He even got to go on the research trips to Colombia.

Miranda told us how being involved from the start—unlike with Moana, where he was brought in to write the music after the film was well underway—has given him a chance to connect with (and influence) the plot in a new and exciting way. “The biggest difference is that I’ve been able to be sort of in since the ground floor. With Moana I was kind of the last guy hired. And they were really a couple of years into the development of the story before I started working on it,” he said.

“[Encanto’s] been really fulfilling to have worked on. It’ll be three years by the time the movie comes out,” he added, “And I’m still writing! Like, as soon as I hang up with you, I go back to work on those songs.”

Encanto is set to be released in theaters on November 24, 2021.

[astoldbygingersnaps]

#wip wednesday

since the latest chapter of star trek au continues to elude me (i swear to GOD i’ve been working on it; it’s about 2/3 of the way done and should hopefully be posted in a few weeks), i figured i’d go ahead and post a snippet of one my next projects, a fic i very briefly mentioned in my end of the year wrap-up post: the jurassic world au. 

this is an idea i’ve always wanted to work on as a) a HUGE fan of the jurassic park franchise and b) a person who spent years as a dog trainer who was both puzzled and horrified by the raptor training in that movie. while this will probably be The Most Niche Fic of all my Very Niche Fics, i’m super happy with it so far and hope other people will be, too. 

currently this project is sitting at about 18k and i’d like to have it completed, edited, and posted within the next few months. until then, enjoy this preview!

Itachi has never been the kind of person that believes in fate. As a boy his father had drilled the importance of hard work into his head, and it had been a lesson Itachi had carried with him long after he realized the man’s guidance wasn’t actually worth all that much. It wasn’t luck or good fortune that had led to Itachi many successes in life. Truthfully, fate had always seemed like a childish concept to him, an excuse for people to hang their hats on when things went wrong in their lives and they weren’t willing to take responsibility for their own actions. 

That said, it’s hard for Itachi not to feel some sort of cosmic influence is manipulating his course in life when one day Uchiha Fugaku summons his eldest son into his office at the heart of Isla Nublar. Given his position as the puppetmaster of InGen, it isn’t often that his father actually finds himself on the humid and sandy shores of Jurassic World. But every time he does Itachi feels a familiar, childish pull of anxiety, a little voice in his head that drives himself to push himself to succeed, to please. It’s as if the last four years Itachi has spent almost single-handedly managing this glorified amusement park suddenly vanish in a puff as he meets his father’s judgemental black gaze. 

“Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me,” Fugaku tells him, waving a hand to silently order Itachi to sit. And, as always, Itachi obeys his father’s commands. 

“It’s no trouble, Father,” Itachi assures him as he settles into the immaculate white leather chair that no doubt costs half of his yearly salary. “Was there something you needed?”

“Yes and no,” Fugaku replies, which is fittingly ominous for the man. “I wanted to discuss a recent change that Hiruzen is implementing to the park.” 

It takes an extraordinary amount of restraint on Itachi’s part to keep his comments regarding the CEO of Jurassic World and the sheer effort he spends weekly cleaning up the man’s air-headed messes to himself. For all the years he’s lived on the island--first as a boy while his father built his career, then as an intern after college, and finally as yet another cog in the Jurassic World machine--he’s regarded Sarutobi Hiruzen with an almost bleak sort of awe. It was shocking to Itachi that a man would possess such power and wealth, yet seem almost clueless when it came to maintaining that empire. Then again, he thinks dryly, perhaps all rich and influential men were nothing more than fools in the end.

Unaware of Itachi’s thoughts on the matter, Fugaku continues, “As I’m sure you’re aware, the board has been planning for sometime now to come up with a new attraction to boost both ticket and merchandise sales.” Of course Itachi is aware of it; it had been his idea in the first place. But, like most of his suggestions regarding Jurassic World, it had been thoroughly steamrolled until a man with more money and respect to his name could repackage it as his own brilliant, brand new invention. Which, as it were, is exactly what Hiruzen is planning to do. “The project has been in the works for a while now, but it’s going to be quite controversial. We thought it best to keep it under wraps until we were certain it was viable.”

“I take it you’re certain now?” Itachi asks, and Fugaku nods.

“We’ve had great success with the assets we’ve created so far, but as long as this park has been in construction there’s been one species that we’ve been unable to successfully replicate. Unfortunately, it’s also the one species that every dim-witted tourist that sets foot on this island is looking for.”

A chill works its way down Itachi’s spine as he guesses, “Velociraptors.” 

It’s an idea that’s almost too macabre to even contemplate, let alone execute. For better or worse, the general public’s more than aware of the chaos and bloodshed that led to the destruction of the first park. It’s a shroud that lingers over Itachi’s everyday life, as no matter how hard he tries to maintain order and prioritize safety there will always be someone who looks at him as if he’s a capricious madman. 

Because of Jurassic Park’s spectacular failure, the image of the velociraptor--a brilliant and ruthless predator stalking the shadows, picking men off one by one--has captivated the average person’s interest in a way that no other species has. So, ever since that original park, Jurassic World has been chasing the holy grail of a fully operational, successful, and controlled raptor exhibit--and, considering the way his father is currently speaking, Itachi’s sure the board has finally captured that elusive golden ticket. 

“You’re correct,” Fugaku says, though at this point the admission isn’t necessary, and with careful muscular control Itachi holds back a frown. Perhaps this is the reason why no one decided to share this information with him despite the fact he’s the Operations Manager for this entire establishment; given the way he’s previously spoken about subjects such as animal welfare and reducing employee hazards, perhaps they sensed he wouldn’t exactly be on board with the wild idea of releasing one of the world’s most dangerous beasts onto the Earth again. 

Either way, regardless of his own personal feelings on the decision, Itachi intends to oversee it with the same attention to detail he brings to any other project. “It’s a risky move, but it could prove to be quite lucrative if executed properly,” he eventually replies, evenly as he’s able. “I know in prior years other raptors were bred, but they were culled because they proved to be more trouble than they were worth. What’s changed since then?”

“According to our geneticists, the sequences on the upcoming crop will give them a reduced level of aggression and increased agreeability, though to be honest I’m not convinced that isn’t just smoke and mirrors.” Bleakly, Itachi’s inclined to agree; there was a world of difference between breeding a dog for temperament and trying to strip millions of years of prey drive from a wild--and previously extinct--animal. “Given that I’m not completely sold on their claims, it’s more a question of who has changed than what.”

As if on cue, a knock arrives at his father’s door, and in seconds the visitor’s face appears in the frame. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” the man says--at least, that’s what Itachi thinks the man says, because the sight of him alone causes Itachi’s brain to spontaneously stop functioning. 

“Not at all,” Fugaku responds, completely unaware of his son’s inner turmoil. “As a matter of fact we were just discussing your contract with us.”

“Must have been why my ears were burning,” the man replies, his smile broadening into a full-on grin the moment he catches sight of Itachi positively dying in front of his father’s desk. 

If there was a god in this world, He would open a hole in Fugaku’s freshly steam-cleaned carpet and let Itachi fall to his demise. But clearly there isn’t, as instead of time ceasing entirely it drags on and leads to Fugaku announcing, “Itachi, this is Uchiha Shisui. He’s an expert in the growing field of paleo-behavioral studies, which makes him the ideal candidate for rearing the velociraptors and readying them for the public.”

“We’ve met,” Itachi all but chokes out, clearing his throat to expel the sudden lump that’s formed in it. From the other side of the room he can see Shisui fighting a laugh, and in that moment he wishes Shisui would fall in a hole and die, too. 

“Really?” his father asks curiously. “I didn’t know you two were acquainted. How do you know each other?”

While his positions at Jurassic World and in life have allowed Itachi to conquer a variety of challenges, there’s not a single skill or experience that has prepared him for this moment. Because Itachi has no idea how to explain to his father that the reason he knows this man is that he slept with him four years ago and never returned a single one of his calls or texts.

“It’s a long story.”

[caffeinetheory]

Can I humbly request some fake dating Jasonette?

Okay fair warning I kinda went ham and this is long, it’s like ten pages but for you it was worth it, I hope you enjoy it <3<3<3 now without further adieu:

///

Jason was in dire need of a date for the upcoming Gala, why you might ask? Well someone wasn’t thinking and said they had a secret girlfriend, which didn’t exist. Now the whole family was happy he had finally found someone. Dick was the most persistent, the hopeless romantic he was. 

 Telling Diana about over lunch a 2 months before the big annual charity gala was either the best decision he made or one he would regret, only time would tell. 

 She laughed in his face at his stupidity, but was willing to help. She sent a text and rolled her eyes when she got a response a few minutes later, “My sister will do it, be prepared to meet her next week at your place,” and that was that. He wasn’t expecting to actually get a date from her but hey, if it worked then he’ll go with it. He had about 2 months to make it believable, but god why did it have to be an Amazon.

 A knock on his apartment door at 3 a.m. was now how Jason would be meeting who ever Diana had convinced to do this “fake date” thing with him, so a 5”6’ women pushing herself into his apartment when the door was opened certainly woke him up.

 “And who might you be?” the door closed behind him with a soft click, the woman was surveying the room with a judgemental look, ‘lovely’. She turned sharply to him, her distaste clear on her face, “Someone who lost a bet so I owe Diana a favor,” she visibly sighed and relaxed slightly, “I’m sorry, my name is Marinette Prince, but you can call me Mari, nice to meet you.” Mari held her hand to the bewildered Jason who hesitantly shook it, “Jason Todd but I'm going to assume you already knew that.”

 And that was the rocky start to their relationship. Mari had been living on Themyscira for the last few years so she needed some time to get used to living in the rest of the world. To say she was ecstatic to be able to wear more modern fashion would be an understatement. Their first ‘date’ was in the fashion district a few days after she made herself at home in his apartment. Six hours after they started Mari was finally satisfied, and Jason could no longer feel his arms. They decided to eat dinner at one of the hole-in-the-walls on their way back to Jason’s place. 

 Neither knew how the conversation had gotten on the different costumes of the various heroes and villains but it had sent Mari off on a rant. Despite himself Jason was enjoying every word she said, every critique and every praise. To be fair there wasn’t as much praise was there was critique, but to say his ego wasn’t inflated when “one of the rare acceptable ones” was the Red Hood would be a straight up lie. It was the first time Mari was acting with little to no filter, and granted they hadn’t known each other long he could tell this was rare for her. He was finding himself proud that he was the one to get her to be open like that, why he couldn’t tell you but it did nonetheless.

-------------------------

The two had fallen into domestic life pretty quickly, maybe to quickly, but that didn’t matter. When Jason came home to a clean apartment and dinner being made by his ‘girlfriend’ he was surprisingly okay with it.

 “How was your day?” Mari was placing two plates of something heavenly on the small table just outside of the kitchen. Was that table always there? “It was decent, yours?” he began to dig in while a drink was placed next to him and Mari took her seat across from him. “It was nice, I finally got around to cleaning this place up,” her hair was put in a pair of double buns as she wore some shorts and a tank top clearly having changed recently. 

 “You know you didn’t have to right?” 

 “I enjoy organizing and consider it a small thanks for helping me with shopping the other day and dealing with my rants,” she had a small smile on her face.

 The rest of the night was spent showing Jason where she put everything. The number of guns didn't faze her but living surrounded by weapons he supposed that made sense. The organized first-aid kit was a god send though, on more ruined towels to stop the bleeding. 

------------------------------

The next date Jason planned was a movie, it was Diana’s idea. He couldn’t figure out why taking Mari to an anniversary replaying of an animated superhero movie from almost ten years ago would be in her words “comedy gold”. That was until Mari saw the opening theme and let out a loud groan.

 An hour and fifteen minutes later the credits start to roll and Mari is practically dragging him out of the theater. “This was Diana’s idea wasn’t it?!” Jason couldn’t help the chuckle escaping him, Diana was right this was golden, the only thing she got this heated about what the costumes but this felt more personal. “I swear to the gods, I hate that movie! Nothing was right, He’s like my brother! And I may have been young but I wasn’t STUPID?!” Mari realizes her misstep and quickly covered her mouth dropping Jason’s wrist making him stumble, “Well, M’Lady,” he got punched for that, “I am inclined to believe the totally historically accurate animated film,” she rolled her eyes at him, “It does explain a lot though, and lets just say you're not the only one with red suits in their past,” a wink and another punch in the arm and they left the theater a laughing mess leaning on each other so they wouldn’t fall over. “Oh you arse,” “You know you love me,” another light punch, this one with very little behind it, “Worth it!”

------------------------------

Their third date was more impulsive than the last one. It had been a tough week. For Jason his family was hounding him for details about his girl and the last case he helped with took more effort than he thought it would. Mari on the other hand had been working all week on commission (how Bruce Wayne found out about her she didn't want to know) sketches, she had to make close to ten outfits for the Gala in a month and a half, sure she could do it but the perfectionist in her meant very little sleep. She still had hers and Jason’s to make, not that he knew that yet. 

 That Saturday they found themselves at a small coffee shop Tim liked to rave about. It was homey place, and they both needed to get out of the house. 

 “You know if the replacement sees us you’re gonna have to talk about how we met-” a finger shushed him, Mari looked more dead than Tim did, she needed her coffee fix, anything else could wait.

“Shhhhh Coffee now, annoying family later,” her words were slightly slurred, she hadn’t slept in two days but she finished the sketches to be approved so that was a positive. 

 Once the once the vanilla and cinnamon coffee hit her system she was her joyful self again. Jason had gotten himself a honey chamomile tea, it always helped with the stress. What was originally supposed to be a quick in and out ended up with them spending most of the morning just chatting. 

 They talked about anything and everything. They had been living together for about 3 weeks now so they were leaning the other’s quirks. She finally told him what she was working on, and laughed as his face scrunched up hearing his adoptive fathers name, she had to admit it was kinda cute. Mari also came clean about needed his measurements so they could have matching outfits, she showed him the designs. Jason had to admit he was impressed, and noticing how they looked like something MDC would make he learned another thing about the girl with him. She sure was full of secrets.

 The rest of the day after their lovely coffee ‘date’ was spent going to fabric stores getting the stuff she needed to make everyone's outfits. Each one had elements that hinted subtly to their alter egos and pasts while still have a consistent color scheme and accents that paired the couples. 

 Jason gained yet another layer of appreciation for the girl, what couldn't she do?

--------------------------------

Turns out taking her to the Gotham Botanical Gardens was a way better idea than Jason had originally thought it would be. The plants seemed to grow and perk up as she walked by. Her smile brighten up the whole room; as she twirled in a pale green sundress inspired by the keeper of the gardens Jason couldn’t help but smile as well. She really looked like a goddess in this light. He couldn’t be happier he helped bring that smile and joy to her face, she deserved the world. When he started thinking like that he couldn’t tell you but the idea this would end soon was one he avoided thinking about. Maybe there wouldn’t be an end, but only time would tell wouldn’t it?

 Ivy sensed something was different in her precious gardens and went to investigate, her girlfriend followed to make sure on one got overly hurt. Both of them were shocked to see the plants blooming more than usual and just two people walking the gardens. The girl seemed to be making the pants so happy Ivy just had to talk with her, so she quietly made her was over to the young women hoping to not scare her. Harley made her way over to the former Robin, a little teasing was in order. 

 Yet another surprise from the former Ladybug he probably should have seen coming, Ivy adored the woman, insisting that she come more often to which Mari eagerly agreed complementing Ivy’s botanical knowledge the whole time. Suprisong himself he didn’t deny Harley’s tasing about his feelings for her, she really was something special wasn’t she?

-----------

When Mari found out Jason hadn’t seen all of the Star Wars movies she made him sit with her all weekend to watch them, he only agreed if they would watch all of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit trilogy the next weeked. 

 Their next two weekends were now booked and snack runs were made. Jason made the Living room into a palace of blankets and pillows while Mari prepared snacks and drinks. They wouldn’t be getting up for awhile.

 When episode 3’s credits were rolling Mari made an offhand comment about how hot Anakin was and how she felt bad for his fate, well Jason felt a little envious. Something about misunderstood, dark haired boys was Mari’s type apparently. The subtle hints were lost on him but they enjoyed the rest of the films. They skipped the newer trilogy for time and so they had something to watch in theaters.

 Mari fell asleep on his arm mid way through episode 6 and Jason couldn’t bring himself to wake her, he fell asleep as the end credits rolled. Both had a content smile on their faces as they dreamed of fantasy worlds long ago and far far away.

--------

Mari had a surprise for Jason, “Come on Jay, get out of bed already,” she was pulling him out of bed on a tuesday, TUESDAY! 

 With much prodding and poking Mari was able to get them out of the apartment by 8, she had a surprise for him and refused to tell him what it was. “Just trust me it will be worth it,” she handed him his helmet and got on his bike. He found himself not minding someone else driving his bike for once.

 The wind was blowing fast as they left the center of the city, they were in the outskirts in a more smalltown area of the city. It was like a whole different world like they had gone to a place untouched by the corruption of Gotham propper. They finally slowed down and parked in front of an older building. Secret Cave the sign read, no way, did she really go out of her way to take him here. 

 Taking off her helmet she shook her head to loosen her ponytail, he took this chance to really look at her. She was wearing a red v-neck under one of his older leather jackets and some dark blue jeans. She had a small black bag what went with her combat boots, both had flowers embroidered on them, he had to admit she was beautiful. 

 “Come on Jay, I got a surprise for you,” she was pulling his hand now as they entered the spacious store, books covered every surface and there were rows upon rows of selves. It was almost hard to move, not wanting to disturb the books but they had made it to one of the small sitting areas, “Wait here I’ll be right back.” Jaso found himself obeying and looking at the books in the area, lots of classic literature in fancy leather bound editions and some of the quintessential plays everyone had to read at some point in their original language, this was heaven for a book nerd like him.

 20 Minutes later a hand covered his eyes, “Guess who,” her laugh melted his heart, “I don’t know, maybe… one Mari” he scooped her up in a hug, “I love you so much,” before he could realize what he had said, “I know you big nerd, I love you too.”

 When he finally put her down, the blush was on both of their faces at their confessions, ‘they didn’t really mean that did they’ she gave him a thick parcel. “Open it later big guy, but consider it a thank you for everything.” her blush seemed to get worse but so was his, maybe it was the room, yeah it had to be right? “I should be the one thanking you but okay…” he trailed off not quite knowing where to go with this conversation, there was so many things he wanted to say to her but he couldn’t get the words out of his throat. Unknown to him Mari was in the same boat, after a beat of silence, “Want to go to the café next door than browse some more?” “Absolutely.”

 They left the shop, hand in hand, and spent the rest of the afternoon together exploring the surrounding area and exploring the store, the gift still untouched for now.

 When he would eventually open it a few days later he found red leather bound copies of all his favorites with a J engraved into the cover. These were something he’d treasure for as long as he lived.

-----------

It was the last weekend before the Gala, all the outfits were done and fitted so mari had free time, and Jason had cleared the day to spend with his ‘girlfriend’, were the quotes still there? Were they something more now? Hopefully he’d find out tonight.

 It was Roy and Diana’s idea. A dinner at an upscale restaurant, the Ocelot came to mind so he got reservations for the two of them. Diana insisted on covering it, and Roy made sure he had the perfect suit. To say Jason was nervous would be an understatement but it only got worse when Mari stepped out of her room in a floor length dress that made her look like a straight up greek goddess, she was stunning and that felt like an understatement. Her hair was lightly curled and was flowing down her back, a small golden flowers rested atop her head in a crown shape, he was glad Roy had helped him get a suite that made him look mature but he felt he still paled in comparison to her beauty. 

 They had a lovely dinner, they had gotten a table secluded in the back. It started with nervous and awkward conversation that quickly melted away into the easy conversation they usually shared, it was one of the nicest dates they had ever been on. It felt like a real date with no pressures to fake something, somehow this fake relationship had turned into a real true and meaningful one. 

 The ‘couple’ was so engrossed with each other they hadn’t noticed the spying eyes that watched from different areas of the restaurant. There were at least 16 different people watching their date if not more but if they noticed they didn’t care. The only thing on their mind was the person in front of them. 

 As they were leaving the dining room they had eaten in, Jason finally found the courage to ask, “Does this mean-” Mari cut him off with a kiss on the cheek and a tighter grip on his hand, “Absolutely Jay, I wouldn’t trade this for the world.” 

 Small cheers could be heard in the room as they had left, it had been a success!

-----------

It was finally the night of the gala, Jason and his official girlfriend Marientte would be making their debut to the public. To say it was stressful would be putting it lightly, all the other outfits had been dropped off at the Wayne Manor the day before so that was at least taken care of. They had two hours before the Gala would start, so just over an hour to get ready. The apartment was a mess, making sure they had everything.

 Jason’s suit was a dark crimson color with a midnight blue tie to tie it in with the rest of his family. The intricate beading and embroidery shined and became seen when the light hit it right, his hair was fluffy as usual but more kept than usual, the white streak pushed to the side with the rest of his hair. He looked like a proper gentleman thanks to his lady. She had a floor length ball gown that made her look like a princess.  The bodice was the same midnight blue as his tie and had off the shoulder sleeves that were see through. The skirt that flowed from her his was made with the same crimson red with balck beading and embroidery in a variety of patterns. The apple blossoms were the most obvious and they traveled up her bodices in a blood red color that was made more clear in the right light, she wore black greek sandless underneath her dress and her hair was pinned to the side, a golden flower crown that Diana insisted she wore atop her head, if she looked like a goddess when they went to dinner, she was simply ethereal now, words could do no justice for how stunning she looked right now. To think she made this all by hand was beyond him.

 Hand in hand they entered the ballroom, all eyes were on them. The camera flashes made them sparkle as they made their way down the carpet. Every reporter wanted to know everything about them and their outfits, this was the first time Jason had been seen at one of these actually looking happy and not coming with his family. It was the talk of everyone there.

 “Thank the gods we finally made it inside,” Mari was already pulling him to a place she could get a drink. “You still need to introduce me properly to your family you know.” 

 “Thanks for reminding me, you know I’m sure you  have met them all already.”

 “That’s not the point Jay!” she hit his arm softly then picked up two glasses of champagne, “Cheers?”

 “Cheers” they clinked their glasses and chugged them down. It was going to be quite the night.

 They had finally made the rounds to  all of his family and the important people of the gala and 2 hours in they had a moment to themselves. 

 “This is why I avoided these for so long.”

 “I know right, to many fake pleasantries if you ask me.” 

 “At least we are in this together,” both said at the same time, causing them to burst into a fit of giggles.

 “God I could kiss you right now.”

 “Then why don’t you,” without giving Jason a chance to backtrack Marientte pulled him down to her and locked their lips in a passionate kiss. It was pure bliss, something they both needed and longed for and finally had. It felt right, like home. “Took you long enough,” Jason had a smirk as they pulled away, the applause didn't reach their ears as they pulled each other into another one this time less needy but soft, they felt whole in each others arms, this was what they had been missing for so long and now that they had it, they wouldn’t give it up for the world.

 ///

Asks are still open, don’t hesitate to ask!!

[shemakesmusic-uk]

After releasing her film Black Is King as a Disney+ exclusive a few weeks ago, Beyoncé has shared the visual 'Brown Skin Girl' on YouTube. Featuring SAINt JHN, WizKid, and daughter Blue Ivy, the clip features appearances by former bandmate Kelly Rowland, Noami Campell, Lupita Nyong’o, and more. The video coincided with a special message the star shared with Good Morning America. "It was so important to me in 'Brown Skin Girl' that we represented all different shades of brown," Beyoncé said of the video, crediting director Jenn Nkiru with the concept. "It was important that we are all in this together and we're all celebrating each other." [via The FADER]

Eivør releases a new single and video, ‘Let It Come’, the latest lifted from her forthcoming album Segl. The transportive new clip - filmed in Iceland - is a prequel to the video for previous single release ‘Sleep On It’, which Eivør released last month. Both videos are directed by Einar Egils and feature actor Tómas Lemarquis (Blade Runner 2049, X-Men: Apocalypse). Speaking about ‘Let It Come’, Eivør says; "It’s one of those songs that took many shapes before it reached its final destination and I guess the opening line pretty much explains it all: “Sometimes I overthink the most simple things”. This song is a follow up to my previous single 'Sleep On It' - whilst that was about insomnia and making difficult choices, 'Let It Come' is about coming out at the other end of this struggle, embracing the uncertainties you might find yourself in and finding the courage to believe that something good will come your way." Of the interplay between the two music videos he has created for Eivør, director Einar Eglis adds; "'Let It Come' is a prequel to the end of the world that was portrayed in the ‘Sleep On It’ video. Eivør has been stuck in a loop of uncertainty for years, until she sees a vision that will end everything as we know it, and she is the key towards redemption. She must face these facts and embrace the golden idol she is to become."

The gentle, hypnotic sway of 'god's chariots' is central to MaryLou Mayniel's first full-length project Galore. Her catalogue of experimental electronica is impressive whichever way you look at it. Creating everything from video game soundtracks to an EP sampling the likes of Miley Cyrus and Carly Rae Jepsen to vast instrumental odysseys and empowering pop anthems, Mayniel can turn her hand to almost anything. 'god's chariots' is at the helm of the singer-songwriter's latest drop of new music. “It’s a fantasy, a place you’re in to escape reality, but it’s also about being so lonely that you kind of lose your mind,” explains Manyiel. A fragment of her forthcoming debut full-length project 'god's chariots' is just one piece of the ever-expanding story which Oklou shares on Galore. With additional tracks 'nightmare' and 'rosebud', also out n ow, we get to piece more of Galore's narrative of emotional rebirth together. Already an illuminating experience with its first six songs out in the world, soon you'll be able to witness Manyiel's first masterpiece in all its glory when the rest of the project is released next month. [via Line Of Best Fit]

Madeline Kenney has shared the visual for her Sucker's Lunch album track 'Cut the Real'. 'Cut the Real' is one of the most lyrically confrontational tracks on Kenney's new album Sucker's Lunch. Kenney has unveiled the accompanying self-directed visual filmed in Oakland that sees her dressed in a Rococo style suit and makeup, giving a heartfelt performance of the song's fierce lyrics. Madeline Kenney: "I wrote 'Cut the Real' when I was feeling particularly insane / depressed /"out of my mind" as I was starting a new relationship. I really struggle with self confidence and found myself spiraling out into deep holes of self-loathing -- even though I knew what was going on I couldn't stop that cycle. The concept was inspired by the aesthetic choices in recent Aldous Harding videos as well as old Annie Lennox videos. I wanted to put on a gender-neutral Rococo outfit and just really allow myself to ham it up, and occupy that same spinning-out headspace as I was in while writing the song." [via Line Of Best Fit]

Four years after she released her solo debut Slugger, Speedy Ortiz leader Sadie Dupuis is getting ready to release Haunted Painting, the second album released under her Sad13 alias. The album comes out next month, and  now we get another new song, and it’s got a pretty great music video attached. The new Sad13 track is called 'Hysterical,' and it’s a zippy synthpop track with layered lyrics: “I wanna see you disappear and laugh like I don’t need permission.” In a press release, Dupuis says that the song is about “unfunny comedians [who] love to argue that ‘PC culture’ destroys comedy.” Dupuis plays almost all the instruments herself. The video, directed by Kate Banford and Jamie Loftus, features Dupuis alongside comedy-world mainstays like Loftus, Mitra Jouhari, and Demi Adejuyigbe. Like the new horror movie Host, the whole thing takes place on a computer screen, and it’s all about what happens when a ghost shows up in a Zoom party and kills everyone. [via Stereogum]

When Cross Record’s Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski teamed up with Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg to form Loma, it seemed like it might be one-off endeavor. But then last month we got news that they’d be following their 2017 debut with a new album, Don’t Shy Away. Along with the announcement, they shared a stunning new track called 'Ocotillo'. Today, they’re back with another one.  The latest preview of Don’t Shy Away arrives in the form of 'Half Silences,' which the band shared an earlier iteration of last year. 'Half Silences' was the first song we recorded for Don’t Shy Away, and we kept tinkering with it after we soft-released an early version last year,” Meiburg explained in a statement. “When you start making a record, you don’t know which songs will make the cut — but this one always seemed to belong, and we wanted to give the final mix (and its DIY video) a proper debut. People have asked if the fireworks are CGI. They aren’t.” 'Ocotillo' was an almost foreboding song, cresting into horn arrangements that teetered on the brink of chaos. In comparison, 'Half Silences' is a dreamier and hazier composition. But in either form, Loma are making some gorgeous, otherworldly music. [via Stereogum]

Back in June, the Bristol songwriter Fenne Lily announced her sophomore album, BREACH. So far we’ve heard advance singles 'Alapathy' and 'Berlin,' and today she’s back with another one. Lily’s latest is called 'Solipsism.' Here’s what she had to say about it: "A lot of situations make me uncomfortable — some parties, most dates, every time I’m stoned in the supermarket. 'Solipsism' is a song about being comfortable with being uncomfortable and the freedom that comes with that. If you feel weird for long enough it becomes normal, and feeling anything is better than feeling nothing. I wanted this video to be a reflection of the scary thought that I’ll have to live with myself forever. It’s surreal to realize you’ll never live apart from someone you sometimes hate. Dad, if you’re reading this you killed it as shopper number 2." The song comes with a video directed by Tom Clover with the non-profit Film Co. “I asked Fenne what products she wanted to be and then worked backwards from there with the illustrators,” Clover explained. “Most of the references came from Asian Supermarket packaging — they are way more interesting. The most important thing was making sure that it reflected upon Fenne’s personality — there’s a bunch of details you might miss on the first watch!” [via Stereogum]

About two weeks ago Oceanator shared 'Heartbeat,' the third and final single from their upcoming full length debut, Things I Never Said and now it has a video. The highly anticipated album via Plastic Miracles captures Elise Okusami’s songwriting at it’s best, a strong effort that sits between pop, rock, fuzzy punk, and alternative radio gold. The video, directed by David Combs and Ben Epstein, is every bit as delightful as the song itself, opening with the same magnetic energy as we find Okusami seemingly lost and looking for companionship. She finds it eventually in the form of herself, quite literally, as she joins herself at a bus stop, and then again in a field, with ten of more copies, al rocking out, all enjoying each other’s company. There’s a brilliant barbershop quartet moment, cool animation, and enough smiles to keep you going throughout your day. Speaking about the song, Okusami shared: “This song is loosely about having a crush, and both the grounding feeling and the anxiety that feeling brings. We recorded it all together like a live performance, and then I went back and added the lead guitars and the vocals. Guitar and vocals by me, bass Eva Lawitts (they), drums Aaron Silberstein (he)." [via Post Trash]

Ontario-based project Falcon Jane – the moniker for primary songwriter of the group, Sara May – have released their soaring new single, ‘The Other Moon’ via Pittsburgh-based label, Darling Recordings – you can watch the new video that comes co-directed by May and Dominique van Olm above. ‘The Other Moon’, which is lifted from a larger body of material set to come from Sara May further down the line, finds the artist exploring deeply sentimental and personal themes, from death to memory, and the miscommunication that can take place between generations. May has a penchant for unpacking these emotions in succinct and comprehensible forms, making something so personal and idiosyncratic to her feel so familiar to the rest of us. Much of May’s forthcoming work found its source of inspiration in early 2019 when her songwriting synched up with a string of deaths that occurred in her immediate family; ‘The Other Moon’ pays a touching testament to her Nonna with May lacing the track’s stark honesty with swooning guitar and her enchanting vocal palette, a sound that co-director, van Olm visualized as May’s DIY journey through space. Speaking about the new track, May says: “‘The Other Moon’ is a letter and tribute to my late Nonna whose death inspired me to start recording this album. Despite being from two completely different generations, and speaking two different languages, my Nonna and I had a very special connection. We understood each other and cared about each other, even if we couldn’t find the words to express it. My Nonna would always cheekily joke about her own death, and through her broken English, she claimed that when she died she’d be going to “The Other Moon”. This song is not a story about a happy-go-lucky relationship between grandmother and granddaughter,” May continues. “It accurately depicts the contrasting dynamic of a very loving friendship mixed with a lifelong trauma-ridden miscommunication. The big hole in my heart, the black cloud over our love. This song feels like the message I always wanted to send to her; pushing through the darkness to find the deep love we shared and continue to share now.”

Baby Queen has released her third track 'Medicine' with a fab new video. The follow-up to ‘Buzzkill', it arrives ahead of her debut EP later this year. "It's about a tangle of mental health and navigating your way through this world,” Bella says of the song, “whilst being so unhappy and equally disillusioned with the cyber landscape that we are forced to live inside, and the different ways people might numb themselves, or try to find a place where they can exist in amongst all of this fucking chaos." [via Dork]

Oklahoma-born, LA-based electro-pop songstress Mothica has released her debut album Blue Hour, accompanied by the official music video for her single 'VICES.' The album was written over the course of a few months, starting with one of the worst moments of Mothica’s life: a psych ward stay for self-harm and ends with a song about never wanting to feel the “crash” of drugs ever again. “Following that incident, I sought therapy and wrote lyrics detailing my journey into sobriety. I am now 13 months sober at the time of writing this, and have never been in a better place emotionally.” With her new album Blue Hour, she chronicles her deep struggle with addiction + mental health and the process of getting sober. “Someone told me that every artist has their ‘getting sober album’ eventually,” she explains. “I find it ironic that my debut album is my ‘getting sober’ album, because I think that’s indicative of how quickly I was forced to grow up."

FKA twigs has always made incredible music videos, and 'sad day' ranks right up there with her best. For this clip, twigs worked with the director Hiro Murai, one of the best music-video directors to emerge in the last decade. Murai has mostly moved on from music videos in recent years. Instead, he’s directed episodes of Atlanta and Barry, two of the best shows on TV, as well as Donald Glover’s Amazon short film Guava Island and the forthcoming apocalyptic miniseries Station Eleven. The 'sad day' video is Murai’s first clip since he made the instantly iconic 'This Is America' with Donald Glover in 2018. I don’t want to give away much of the 'sad day' video, which starts out in a dingy takeout spot and transforms into a surreal dream-logic head trip. But you should know that twigs only made this video after spending three years studying martial arts at the Shaolin Wushu Center, and you can tell. A dancer named Teake, who twigs discovered via social media, co-stars. [via Stereogum]

The latest of Silly Boy Blue's ongoing build is 'Hi, It's Me Again,' a song she describes as the "too long text I didn't want to send at 3 AM to my ex." Like the rumination behind a loaded, emotional message to a former lover, she adds that it took months to assemble the words in her head but only one night to write out the lyrics. "I needed to write a song about this, because it's a very special place between the hate and the void during a breakup." With an almost lullaby melody, the spacey tune slowly builds into the ultimate warning: "You'll be the one I always haunt," Silly Boy Blue sings, her voice beautifully layered and atmospheric. All her thoughts throughout the song are interlaced with the relatable, somewhat insecure backpedal, "I'm sorry," capturing the headspace "just before resilience," as she describes. It's "when you start to understand the breakup, but you still have so many questions popping in your head." In the 'Hi, It's Me Again' video, Silly Boy Blue says she "needed to show the different parts" of her identity. "Some of them are masculine, some of them are feminine, some of them seem confident, some seem shy, some seem to suffocate, some stand proudly." Much like the nuanced feelings during a breakup, she expresses without binaries — and especially through fashion, as she opens the clip in only an oversized men's button-down. Scenes in the new visual roll by like memories or fleeting emotions, ranging from subdued drama to full on meltdowns. At one point, she's shown with a plastic bag pulled over her head to capture the most extreme feelings of dread, juxtaposed against a more innocent shot of Silly Boy Blue in all white with two lone tear drops fixated on her cheek. The artist also loaded in "important" references to her favorite movies, from the Titanic's necklace to The Rocky Horror Picture Show's big mouth. [via PAPER]

Dream Nails have released a video for their new single, 'This Is The Summer'. It's a song from their new Tarek Musa of Spring King-produced, self-titled record out now via Alcopop!. “[It's] a song about how our climate is breaking down irreversibly,” says singer Janey Starling. “Colonial capitalism, waged by UK governments and corporations for centuries, has ravaged our earth. “We need to be urgently fighting for migrant rights so the UK welcomes climate refugees displaced by countries hit by extreme weather. We must demand transparency from oil companies who relentlessly put profit before people, even as the world burns." Guitarist Anya Pearson adds: “We wrote ‘This Is The Summer’ in the heatwave of 2018, recorded it in another heatwave in 2019 and now we are releasing it in yet another heatwave! Our video for the track shows how the current pandemic, white supremacy and climate change are not separate issues but interlinked. The song is about the brazen complacency of getting drunk and catching a tan in the park while the world burns.” [via Dork]

BBC Sound Of 2020 winner Celeste has shared her new single 'Little Runaway'. Out now, the single is about a crisis of faith, and features a towering vocal from the London artist. A song about succumbing to the depths before emerging renewed, 'Little Runaway' began as a jazz sample, before taking on a life of its own. Celeste says... “‘Little Runaway’ is a song about losing your faith, even if just momentarily, and seeking answers from spirits and ghosts as nothing seems to make sense on this planet. My favourite line in the song is ‘good news I could use some’ – I believe everyone has a guardian angel, a protector, and this is me talking to mine.” “The verses actually started as this saxophone sample we were playing around with and eventually it transformed into the melody. I always play the sax back in my head even though it’s not in the song.” 'Little Runaway' features an innovative music video, steered by Celeste’s frequent collaborator Sophie Jones. [via Clash]

Anna Sofia released a brand new music video for her song 'Don’t Play Pretend'. 'Don’t Play Pretend' is from her latest EP Broken Perfection. Over a million streams into her career, Anna Sofia sings this song about her own life. She might not be perfect. She might make mistakes. All that said, at least she doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not. Sofia said she doesn’t have a message. “It’s just real life,” she said. “One day, I hope to fill stadiums all over the world. I want to have fans everywhere and have some way of helping them or guiding them through my music. My confidence comes from being myself and connecting with people.” [via The 360 Mag]

Last year, the K-pop group BLACKPINK made big moves in America with their Kill This Love EP, becoming the highest-charting women-led Korean act on both the Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 (with its title track). They also played Coachella. Earlier this year, they had a guest feature on Lady Gaga’s Chromatica with ‘Sour Candy,’ a single that matched their previous chart record at #33. They’re releasing a new album in a couple months, which was led off by ‘How You Like That’ in June. Now, they’re putting out another song from it, a collaboration with Selena Gomez called ‘Ice Cream.’ The food angle of the track is appropriate for Gomez, who has most recently been in the headlines for her new HBO Max cooking show. [via Stereogum]

Tel-Aviv based artist Noga Erez shares the next in a series of game-changing singles leading into her mysterious second album (details yet to be announced). 'You So Done' and its striking accompanying video are out now via City Slang. Following the sparkling sass of 'VIEWS' and the irresistibly upbeat lockdown anthem 'NO news on TV', Noga Erez and her collaborative partner Ori Rousso's latest offering 'You So Done' has been highly anticipated online since appearing on NBC's Good Girls earlier this year. It sees Erez shift from outward looking political themes to personal soul-searching, opening up for a stirring track about rejection, toxic and emotionally violent relationships, and ones own inner violence. Along with the track she has shared a moving statement, saying: "At some point, exactly one year ago, I started flashing back to one of the darkest times in my life. I was young, incredibly confused and lonely... There was a moment during this period where I was actually so weak, insecure and in need of love that I was not able to step out of what I know now to be an emotionally abusive relationship." She concludes: "It really, truly means the world to me to give this song to you. I hope this story can help some of you to realise that you are not alone. And I really do hope to make it clear that even the darkest places are not impossible to free yourself from. They are eventually an opportunity to learn, grow and to become a stronger person." Erez has created a reputation for the captivating videos that accompany her songs, and this latest video sees her step it up a level yet again. Her third collaboration with Tel Aviv-based director Indy Hait sees Erez as a puppet in a dystopian future, being violently flung to-and-fro by an unknown captor. "The video for 'You So Done' was a big risk taker for me" she comments. "Usually, I have an idea or I work with a director on an idea together. Since this was my third video with Indy Hait, I decided to let him do his thing. He offered up an idea that included a robot and I immediately hated it. I was just not able to imagine how it wouldn't come off as a science fiction video and felt it wasn't my style. But after talking and tearing the idea apart, I realised that this is a truly meaningful character. The robot in this video is actually not the violent character.  Its job was to portray the act of violence through transferring the moves from an unseen character and helping them come alive visually. The video uses muscle memory as the 'engine' to that violent dance act, and muscle memory is something that fascinates me. Eventually this video is far from being science fiction, it is my most personal video to date."

[andorerso]

tag games

There are a few tag games I’d been tagged in over the last couple of days so I thought I’d just compile it all into one big post. Thanks to everyone who tagged me! :)

Ten Songs I’ve Been Listening to Lately tagged by @firefeufuego2

1. Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus: yes, this is an old one, and I’m not a huge Miley Cyrus fan but I really love this song and I recently got obsessed with it again.

2. Someone to Stay - Vancouver Sleep Clinic: absolutely obsessed with this one! It’s so soft and pleasant to listen to. I actually discovered this song a few years ago and while I liked it, I never really appreciated it at the time. Then I heard it again somewhere recently and fell in love with it completely.

3. Hurricane - Fleurie: this is another one that I never truly appreciated then accidentally heard again and fell in love. I see a pattern here.

4. Us - James Bay: I really love a lot of his songs but this one is my current favorite. I can’t explain it, it just makes me feel really happy when I listen to it.

5. On Fire - Switchfoot: another oldie. I was in love with this song like more than ten years ago, and I still go back to it from time to time.

6. Toss a Coin to Your Witcher: yes, I’m still obsessed with this one. It’s so catchy, impossible not to sing along.

7. Don’t Cry For Me Argentina - Madonna: this one is one of my favorite songs ever, it gives you such a cathartic feeling. Plus it’s one of the inspirations for the novel I’m working on so I listen to it a lot.

8. Apám sírjánál - ByeAlex: this one is a Hungarian song and I don’t listen to a lot of them but I really love this one. The lyrics is about losing your father (the title means “at my father’s grave”) and while thankfully I haven’t experienced that, I did lose my grandfather and it always makes me think of him. It’s really heart-clenching.

9. The Archer - Taylor Swift: possibly my favorite Taylor Swift song ever! I really love the soft melody and the lyrics too. Also, inspiration for an OC.

10. Let You Go - Katie Herzig: I don’t know what to say about this tbh, I just like it and it’s catchy.

The Nosy One tagged by @the-remote-part

Top 3 ships: Well, Rebelcaptain is still number one, it seems like I just can’t let go of them. Other than that, I have a lot of favorites but none I’m particularly obsessed with at the moment. But to name two more: I just finished watching The Boys and I was absolutely in love with the relationship between Frenchie and Kimiko. So pure, so soft. I mean he calls her mon coeur! Loved them. And thirdly, Catra and Adora from She-Ra because they’re always among my top favorites and I really hope this upcoming last season will make them canon.

Last Song: Robbers - The 1975

Last Movie: It was actually TRoS back in December. I don’t watch movies often because I’m not a huge movie person, I prefer TV shows. I do plan to watch Little Women soon though.

Currently Reading: Nothing except fics. I have a bad habit that I only read at school or on the train and since I’ve been home since January, I couldn’t really make myself read anything (which is a shame because I have so many interesting books on my TBR.)

What food are you craving right now: Honestly nothing, I just had coffee. It’s dinner time soon so I could stand to eat something but I don’t particularly crave anything tbh.

Last Line Meme tagged by @leaiorganas

If Cassian hated her, what was the point of staying?

Yes, this is for corellian rum. I'm currently writing it, I’m just taking a break to post this.

5 Things You Like About Yourself tagged by @cats-and-metersticks

1. Can I say physical stuff? I’m trying to come up with things I haven’t said before in this tag and I really love my eyes. It’s my favorite physical feature on myself.

2. I’m good with creating OCs and giving them a life and personality.

3. I don’t usually panic or stress over things I know I have no control over.

4. I like to think I can make pretty aesthetic moodboards.

5. I’m good at observing/reading people. Although I usually pretend not to be but I notice stuff.

This or That: Fic Edition tagged by @agentmmayy

slowburn or love at first sight // fake dating or secret dating // enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers // oh no there’s only one bed or long-distance correspondence // hurt/comfort or amnesia // fantasy au or modern au // mutual pining or domestic bliss // smut or fluff // canon-compliant or fix-it // reincarnation or character death // one-shot or multi chapter // kid fic or road trip fic // arranged marriage or accidental marriage // high school romance or middle aged romance // time travel or isolated together // neighbors or roommates // sci-fi au or magic au // body swap or genderbend // angst or crack // apocalyptic or mundane

20 Questions tagged by @agentmmayy

1. NAME: Niki 2. NICKNAMES: Sissi aka how y’all know me here 3. ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius 4. HEIGHT: 169 cm 5. LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Hungarian, English, French, some Spanish, a little Turkish and a little Serbian 6. NATIONALITY: Hungarian 7. FAVORITE SEASON: Fall 8. FAVORITE FLOWER: Lilacs 9. FAVORITE SCENT: I couldn’t say, I don’t think I have one 10. FAVORITE COLOR: Purple, red 11. FAVORITE ANIMAL: Cats 12. FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER(s): Cassian Andor, Hürrem Sultan (at least the fictionalized version of her in Magnificent Century), Yennefer of Vengerberg, Wynonna Earp 13. COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: I love all but coffee - hot chocolate - tea in that order 14. AVERAGE SLEEP HOURS: 8-9 hours normally, though right now it might be more 15. DOG OR CAT PERSON: Cats! I think dogs are cute but absolutely cats. I can’t imagine I’d ever get a dog. 16. NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH: One. Whether it’s winter or summer, I don’t care, it’s always one. 17. DREAM TRIP: Turkey, particularly Istanbul 18. BLOG ESTABLISHED: This one in January, 2018. But I’ve been on tumblr since 2012. 19. FOLLOWERS: 422 20. RANDOM FACT: I can’t stand raisins

Spell Out Your URL Using Song Titles tagged by @agentmmayy

Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol Agape - Bear’s Den Pyro - Kings of Leon Talia - King Princess Another Love - Tom Odell I’ll Be Good - Jaymes Young National Anthem - Lana Del Rey Arsonist’s Lullaby - Hozier Never Let Me Go - Florence & the Machine Dust to Dust - The Civil Wars Oceans - Seafret Ride  - Lana Del Rey Saturn - Sleeping at Last

[medea10]

My Review of Given

*this exists* Huh? Fuck Isekai shit! GIMME SOME BL LIKE YESTERDAY! Yes, I know what I said before but…it’s an anime with boys and music! Could this be the next Gravitation that many of us have waited for?

Ritsuka Uenoyama on the outside has always seemed listless when it comes to many things and can’t be bothered with most people or demands. One day, he was about to take a nap in a stairwell when he comes across another student by the name of Mafuyu Satou. At first glance he’s pretty aloof, but the second Mafuyu met Uenoyama he couldn’t stop hanging around him. After having quite the hard past, Mafuyu took to Uenoyama’s kindness (or whatever you call it) and took a fascination with him. He even managed to join the band Uenoyama was in. While Uenoyama had his reservations over this sudden change, he finds himself dealing with feelings he’s never felt before.

Is this love that he’s feeling? God, I hope so! BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: At the moment, no licensors have taken this anime and it’s only available through Crunchyroll. I swear Yuuma Uchida is having one hell of a year in the anime voice world. I know he’s been around for a couple of years and really hit it off with roles on Banana Fish and ReLIFE. But this year with his main roles on Kono Oto Tomare and the Fruits Basket reboot have really given him quite the boost. Give this boy a Seiyuu Award! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from. *Uenoyama is played by Yuuma Uchida (known for Kyo on Fruits Basket 2019, Eiji Ootori on UtaPri, Chika on Kono Oto Tomare, Ash on Banana Fish, Ooga on ReLIFE, and Shirazu on Tokyo Ghoul :re) *Mafuyu is played by Shougo Yano (known for Nanao on Tsurune) DISLIKED CHARACTER: In a yaoi-esque series, what is the one element I despise more than life itself? The cock-blocker! Actually, this is a trait I see in other genres of animes. Simply put, these are the characters who think they know one character better than anybody else and have this aura of jealousy because some new guy is in the picture. But when I see an annoying bitch hanging around a potentially cute ship and cock-blocking the cuteness, I lose my shit!

Fuck is this lady’s name? Kasai?! Whatever, cock-blocks like you need to go away! Though I will give her some leeway as she does apologize later in the series! It’s just that I found what she did to Uenoyama to be a bit of a “dick-move”. I’ll just be happy if I don’t see her in any upcoming projects this series has. SHIPPING: I knew I was expecting something to eventually happen with the Uenoyama x Satou ship. But I didn’t expect much from Haruki x Aki! Let’s get crackin’!

*Uenoyama x Mafuyu: From the beginning, I'm like, I want this to happen one day…but I know Mafuyu is still in pain after losing the love of his life. For the majority of this series, I see Mafuyu being aloof and depressed. The only exception is when he’s playing the guitar with Uenoyama (at least at the beginning). As we all know, Mafuyu has been in pain ever since losing his best friend and boyfriend, Yuki a year prior. As for Uenoyama, feelings started to develop once he spent a lot more time with Mafuyu. We even get a realization for Uenoyama when he learned about Mafuyu’s love, he got jealous. Aw, our boy loves Mafuyu! I’ll delve deeper into what happens after a certain point in the ending.

*Haruki x Aki: So I didn’t expect any kind of chemistry with these two outside of the band. But it turns out Haruki has had a crush on Aki since meeting him at college. Their friendship and becoming bandmates kind of came without any kind of super drama. And Haruki has been able to keep his feelings in check when he’s playing in the band with Aki. I mean, Haruki is pretty strict about dipping your pen in the company ink (if you get my meaning). It’s just that he does get blushy when he’s super close to him. Like when he’s being pinned down on the bed because Aki had a few too many beers and Haruki is just embarrassed. Unfortunately for this ship and for Haruki…Aki has a boyfriend!

I don’t like Aki’s boyfriend. No way, no way, I think he needs a new one! *sighs* …Yeah, I gotta talk about it…

*Mafuyu x Yuki: So Yuki’s reveal was building throughout the series that made the audience wonder if this was an unrequited love of Mafuyu’s, a sensei who can’t love him now, or someone who is no longer with us. But once you understood that Mafuyu and Yuki’s relationship dates back to when they were children and they have such a history, you can feel that pain Mafuyu carries with him everyday. Yuki would be there for him during tough times, including dealing with an abusive father, yeah, our boy had some issues. Yuki was a seemingly good friend and lover to Mafuyu. There was even a cute moment when Yuki takes him to the ocean, saying he wants Mafuyu to remember this moment. But what happened to Yuki? Unfortunately after the boys began high school and went to different schools, their relationship strained. And then one day Yuki was found dead due to alcohol poisoning (weird, I would have guessed suicide). Yes, Yuki’s death was freakin’ traumatic for Mafuyu. This was a big enough shock to the system to cause him to not be social and to carry around his dead lover’s guitar everywhere (even though he doesn’t know how to play it). And yes, in that song the group sang in the 9th episode, Mafuyu went the extra mile to express his feelings to his long-lost love. I would have to wonder a bunch of ‘what ifs’ with Yuki. Because poor Uenoyama is fighting against a dead guy. MAFUYU’S SONG: Just watch.

My boy Mafuyu here is giving me some super feels with this song!

EPISODE TITLES: Ever notice how all the episode titles are named after famous songs. Let’s just say I was thrown off when the episodes were named Creep (song by Radiohead), The Reason (song by Hoobastank), and Wonderwall (song by Oasis). God only knows what the name of the movie will be! I’ll laugh if it’s The Dope Show, Bittersweet Symphony, or I Alone. ENDING: So Haruki, Aki, and Uenoyama were given the opportunity to perform in front of an audience. Now the big question is if Mafuyu is up to the challenge of performing with the rest of the group. He only just recently joined the group and isn’t that great playing on the guitar. But the boys have hope with his vocals. He does have a good voice. It’s just that up until the night of the performance, Mafuyu hadn’t written down any lyrics. No question this boy has something to get off his chest, it’s just that Mafuyu was conflicted moments until they go on stage. It wasn’t until they were on stage where Mafuyu let out everything in their opening song. That heartbreak of losing the person you loved just shook the audience to its core and hit every single person there. Mafuyu’s friends were happy that he finally released all that pain he’s been holding in. Uenoyama’s classmates were inspired to hold onto the person they love tightly. And after the performance, we got our moment we fangirls have waited for since episode 1…

A MOTHER-FLIPPIN’ KISSUUU! Although this kiss (while passionate), was kind of forgotten on Uenoyama’s side as he forgot what he did and Mafuyu caught a fever shortly after the performance. I know Uenoyama has been wanting to do this because throughout the series, we kept seeing the boy conflicted over him liking Mafuyu. He even got jealous over a dead guy! We know he likes Mafuyu and we know that kiss after Mafuyu's performance was more than just a "Good job, mate" kiss. So will Uenoyama's feelings be returned? After Uenoyama came to terms over what he did and Mafuyu recovered from his fever, Mafuyu took Uenoyama to the ocean. I know this was a little symbolic for Mafuyu as Yuki brought him there when they were dating. And while there, Mafuyu told Uenoyama that he liked him. And Uenoyama noticed that...

IT’S MUTUAL! HIS LOVE IS MUTUAL! But then, Uenoyama remembers an ugly reality. Long before Mafuyu joined the band, the other guys were talking about a band breaking up over two of the bandmates getting involved with each other (romantically) and Uenoyama said some pretty…well, hypocritical things. That’s why many folks try to steer away from dating someone who’s a co-worker, a co-star, and in this case, bandmate. This is also a driving factor why Aki will never be the one to step up and tell Haruki he loves him. Haruki’s gotta be the one to leave that dickhead boyfriend of his. LEAVE HIM ALREADY! Regardless, Haruki and Aki are both happy for Uenoyama and Mafuyu’s new love. And now the boys feel refreshed in trying to come up with a second song, do a photo shoot, and even come up with a steady band name, “Given”. And so we get this cute end with a lingering hope that a season two will come and… Or a movie! Damn, that was fast, guys! Okay Crunchyroll, when this comes out, I want you guys to hop on it and get this movie in theaters. I don’t care if it’s in Seattle, just get it shown in WA. The ball is in your court now, don’t fuck this up! Also...

Uenoyama, please protect this boy's smile. I like this anime! I have such a weakness for animes involving characters in bands. And believe it or not, it was not because of Gravitation. For me, it was because of NANA. I fell in love with the songs and the characters and the simple story. Now of course this anime fell way too close to Gravitation’s orbit and that’s because of the yaoi aspect. My only gripe is that we really only got one memorable song (aside from the opening and ending theme). But it’s only the beginning the way I see it. I hope that Mafuyu is able to sing some more. And with a new movie on the horizon, I’m severely hoping for a soundtrack filled with awesome music. Seriously, I will laugh if the title of the movie really is, Given: Bittersweet Symphony. I give a recommendation to those who love musical animes or those of you into Shounen-Ai. I’m into both and I don’t judge. Currently, Crunchyroll has all 11 episodes available for streaming.

[violetsystems]

Batman forever strives for a chance to set things right. That may finally happen with Ben Affleck’s version of the crimefighter.

The Argo director’s brooding Dark Knight is coming back for one more movie, with Affleck agreeing to return as Bruce Wayne in the upcoming big-screen version of The Flash, Vanity Fair has learned.

Portrayals of Batman always ignite furious debate among fans, and Affleck’s selection for the part continues to provoke intense discussion, even years after he first donned the cowl. Some love him; some disparage him. Some refused to see him in the role from the very beginning, while others consider him an underrated favorite who deserved more chances to play the role onscreen.

This does not disrupt The Batman film starring Robert Pattinson, who remains the future of the franchise.

The Flash movie, which is planned for release in summer 2022, will feature fast-moving hyper-hero Barry Allen, played by Ezra Miller, breaking the bonds of physics to crash into various parallel dimensions, where he’ll encounter slightly different versions of DC’s classic heroes. It’s an adaptation of DC’s 2011 Flashpoint series of comic book crossovers, directed by Andy Muschietti, the filmmaker behind the recent adaptations of Stephen King’s It and It Chapter Two.

“His Batman has a dichotomy that is very strong, which is his masculinity—because of the way he looks, and the imposing figure that he has, and his jawline —but he’s also very vulnerable,” Muschietti said in an interview. “He knows how to deliver from the inside out, that vulnerability. He just needs a story that allows him to bring that contrast, that balance.”

Affleck got the script at the end of last week and agreed this week to join the project.

“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before,” the director added. "It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”

“I’m glad to be collaborating with someone who has been on both sides of the camera, too,” Muschietti said. “He understands.”

Affleck won’t be the only Batman making a comeback; a few more of the alternate-dimension heroes who turn up in the Flash movie will be figures we’ve seen before. Michael Keaton’s Batman from the 1989 Tim Burton film is also set to appear in what Muschietti said was a “substantial” part.

Michael Keaton as Batman.

The Flash needed the character affectionately known as Batfleck. In DC’s movie universe, Affleck’s gray-templed Bruce Wayne is the one Ezra's Flash would consider “the original Batman,” the one he has already fought alongside in the previous Zack Snyder films.

Muschietti said it wouldn’t work as well for him to venture into the company of other Batmen without having Affleck as the starting point. “He’s the baseline. He’s part of that unaltered state before we jump into Barry’s adventure,” the director said. “There's a familiarity there.”

DC has still other motivations for exploring this story. Batman is too valuable a character to leave fallow for long, and new actors will forever be stepping into the role. By threading the concept of a multiverse into its DC storyline, Warner Bros. is attempting to create a way for all the competing factions of its fandom to coexist together.

Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars, in which everything is designed to be part of the same canon, the multiverse approach can allow projects to vary greatly in tone, or feature different actors, while still being threaded together. Keeping a broad coalition of fans from battling over what is “legitimate” is one of the biggest challenges for studios managing franchises with vast appeal and decades of history. Sony’s animated Into the Spider-Verse also helped popularize the alternate-dimension concept, introducing the Miles Morales character to a host of differing Spider–folk.

So far, the multiverse approach has helped DC both differentiate itself and revisit the same characters without being accused of rebooting or erasing recent favorites. DC TV shows such as Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, and Supergirl have done crossover events, and a few months ago the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline laid the groundwork for the multiverse concept, with Miller’s movie Flash making an appearance in that story by coming face-to-face with the TV Flash played by Grant Gustin.

“This movie is a bit of a hinge in the sense that it presents a story that implies a unified universe where all the cinematic iterations that we’ve seen before are valid,” Muschietti said. “It’s inclusive in the sense that it is saying all that you’ve seen exists, and everything that you will see exists, in the same unified multiverse.”

That doesn’t mean there aren’t still intense disagreements in the fandom, and the return of Batfleck is sure to launch countless takes.

Affleck was cast as Batman in late August of 2013, and the debate over his presence hasn’t let up even after two movies with Snyder—Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League—and one cameo in Suicide Squad. His take will also get a new approach in the famed “Snyder Cut” of Justice League, which will appear on HBO Max, restoring the original director’s vision before the film was handed off to Joss Whedon to complete—a version of the film that seems to have left no one happy.

Affleck had previously signed to direct and star in a standalone film called The Batman, but ultimately left the project after saying that its demands were taking too much of a personal toll. At the time he parted ways with the film, he was also dealing with the end of his marriage to Jennifer Garner and struggling with alcoholism. “I showed somebody The Batman script,” Affleck told the New York Times. “They said, ‘I think the script is good. I also think you’ll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again.’”

[playernumberv]

An introduction!

Hello to my likely-imaginary audience! If you’ve somehow stumbled upon this tumblr blog and are wondering what this place is all about, this post should get you all settled in. :)

Where the hell is this?

The short answer is that it’s a personal gaming blog, where I write about gaming to my heart’s content. The long answer is... well, the rest of this post. 

Who the hell am I?

I’m a random Internet person who really loves video-games, who has a strong passion about gaming, and who loves talking about games and sharing his views about games. That about sums it up. I’m a very private person in my personal life (which is why I opted for a blog and not a YouTube channel), so I won’t be talking about myself much, if at all. This is a blog purely dedicated to gaming, so I’d primarily focus on talking about gaming. :)

Let me share a little bit about who I am as a gamer. In general, my favourite genre of gaming is JRPGs (e.g. Final Fantasy, Tales of, Persona) - the recent Persona 5 Royal is my personal favourite JRPG. I also have a strong preference for narrative-focused games, which is why The Last Of Us is my absolute favourite video-game ever. I own a PS4 Pro and a Nintendo Switch, and these are the consoles on which I actively play games on at the moment. I also own a PS3, a PS Vita, a PSP, and all the Nintendo handhelds in existence all the way back to the Game Boy, but these have been retired for some time now. I also intend to buy a PS5 at launch, or shortly after launch. Hence, the gaming content on this blog will overwhelmingly be focused on these consoles - it’s difficult for me to have an informed opinion of games or consoles that I don’t own or have no interest in (such as the Xbox), after all.

I’ve got a Twitter account too (@PlayerNumberV).

At this point, I haven’t decided if I’d be actively using the Twitter account, but tentatively, properly-thought out and longer text posts go here, while immediate short reactions and thoughts will go on Twitter. I’ll work out the specifics along the way.

How did this blog come about?

I’ve been playing video-games for about two decades now (I’m currently in my late 20s), and I’ve always enjoyed writing about games and talking about games, but never really had a proper platform to do so with. I sometimes imagine that I should have pursued a career in the gaming industry, for example as a games’ journalist or even as a games’ writer, but I wasn’t gutsy enough to do so (at least in my country, it’s a pretty risky career to go for). I still enjoy writing about games as a hobby, either way, so why not do it as a hobby? I don’t know why it took me so long to actually make myself a platform, but here it is. 

Also, an interesting bit of trivia: what finally triggered the action of actually making this blog was The Last Of Us Part II. Of the hundreds of games I’ve played in my life, I’ve never loved a game as much as I loved The Last Of Us (2013). Needless to say, I was intensely and incredulously passionate about its sequel. To put things lightly, I was so thoroughly disappointed by The Last Of Us Part II that I felt an overwhelming urge to air my views somewhere, which led me to decide to finally create a gaming blog. That said, I’ve ended up talking about TLOU2 on Reddit (note: click this link at your own risk, I spoil major story details here) instead, so I’ve decided that I do not wish to start off this blog with the kind of negativity I’d inevitably have when talking about TLOU2.

Why Player Number Five? Why not 1, 2 or 3? WHY NOT 69????

I’ve got terrible naming sense, so when I had to come up with an alias, I couldn’t be bothered to give it too much thought. My name starts with ‘V’ (that’s as much as I’d be saying about my personal life here). ‘V’ in roman numerals is the number 5. Hence, PlayerNumberV gives me a convenient alias that incorporates the fact that this is a gaming blog with my own name. It also kind of makes sense that I’m player “five” and not “one” or “two”, because I’m not a professional games’ journalist or some important bigwig who is directly involved with the gaming industry. I’m just a person who really loves games, and I’m writing this blog purely to indulge in my own interests.

Maybe PlayerNumberLXIX (nice) would have been better though (please indulge my terrible sense of humor for a bit, will ya?). 

What kind of content will be posted here?

I’m a text kinda person, so most of my own original content will come in the form of text posts, such as opinion pieces, game reviews, and the like. Full-length posts will likely be in the minority - I haven’t written a full-length game review in 3 years; it’s simply too much effort, and as a working adult, it’s difficult to find the time. Similarly, full-length opinion pieces will probably be written only if there’s a subject I feel extremely strongly about. I will, however, commit to posting mini-reviews (i.e. of length around 200 words or so, where I summarize my overall opinions) of all the games I play, complete with review scores too - if it matters, I generally rate games on a 0 to 100 scale (PSA: all review scores are inevitably subjective, and mine will be too, so don’t get mad if you don’t agree with my rating). 

Occasionally, I may post other types of gaming-related content, such as concepts and ideas I have for video-games, personal wishes for an upcoming video-game, and other such content. I also do enjoy memes (seriously, memes helped me cope with my disappointment in TLOU2 so much), so if I come across a gaming-related meme which I particularly enjoy, I may post them here too! Hell, if I have a great meme idea, I may even make my own memes and post them occasionally. Some images would probably help break the monotony of a text-only blog, after all. :D

Since this is a gaming blog, I will overwhelmingly post only about gaming. I do enjoy movies and animes very much as well, however, though it is less common for me to have anything passionate or important to say about these. Still, on the rare occasion that I do have something to say about an anime or movie I watched, it’s entirely possible that I may post about them here too. 

How will I handle spoilers in my posts?

Tumblr is a public platform, and while I’m no professional writer and I don’t expect much traffic on this blog, if at all, there’s always a chance that someone may randomly stumble upon this blog. I’d hate to be the guy who posts a spoiler for a game that someone is still halfway through. In general, my policy is that reviews will be completely spoiler-free, save for information already divulged in pre-release official marketing. Other text posts, if they include spoilers, will be prefaced with spoiler warnings. As for image posts, that’s a little more difficult, but I’d generally try to avoid images with spoilers for recently-released games. At this point I haven’t decided if there’s an embargo period before I start posting freely about spoilers on this blog, but the above will be my general policy for now. I’ve gotten spoiled by the Internet before, so I absolutely understand how frustrating it is and I’d like to be a good denizen of the gaming community by not spoiling games unnecessarily.

Should you care about my opinion?

Honestly? Probably not. I’m quite literally a random Internet stranger, and as should be common wisdom by now, the words of an Internet rando don’t mean much. Still, it’s up to you, really. If you read something here that you agree with, or that helps you with thinking about games or making a decision about games, good for you! If you read something you don’t agree with, that’s fine too - as I’ve said, I’m just a random person on the Internet, and my opinion isn’t important. I’ve listed (or intend to list) my favourite games on various pages of this blog - if you find that my tastes in games coincide well with yours, by all means heed my opinion if it helps. If you think I have terrible taste in games and you disagree with almost everything I say, then clearly my opinions are not going to be of much value to you. That’s fine too - to each their own! I’m sure there’s no need to get mad at the opinions of an Internet rando, is there? ;)

Upcoming Posts

As a start, I have two posts I intend to work on in the coming week(s) or so.

First is a list of ‘upcoming games’ that I’m personally interested in. These may include games that I’m actively excited for and intend to pre-order, or may simply be games that I find intriguing and am looking out for more information on before I decide if I’d play them. I think there’s no better way to start a gaming blog than a joyful discussion of the games that I’m excited for. :)

Second is a more formal discussion I’d like to embark on in some detail: Are Metacritic scores accurate or useful? As a hobby, I’ve kept a log of subjective review scores I’ve given to many of the games I’ve played over the past 10 years or so (unfortunately, I didn’t properly keep track of scores for every single game, so I’ve lost the records for quite a number). Still, this gives me the opportunity to actually do statistical comparisons between the scores I’ve given and review scores based on Metacritic (with some caveats that I’d discuss more about in the post itself). I think it’d be quite an interesting and informative discussion of a pretty relevant topic in gaming.

More distantly, I’d likely write mini-reviews of Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Nintendo Switch) and Ghosts of Tsushima (PS4) when I play them in July! Looking forward to these!

That’ll be all for my first post! 

-V