#but that was in like 2017 so it could've changed

[ct-hardcase]

alright genuinely though is anyone actually moving to any other social media sites, or at least starting to branch out from tumblr

[batsplat]

if you could change the outcome of any 3 motogp races (the outcome of the championship doesn’t change regardless tho) which ones would you chose?

one of those asks that immediately made me forget every single race I've watched in my life. it's a tough one, especially with the championship thing... I'm gonna add another criterion here and say nothing to do related to injury/death

so... I came up with one quite quickly, then got stuck, then came up with a second and got even more stuck. I'm quite reluctant to change any 'plot-relevant races' in the context of specific careers and rivalries, plus I'm ideologically opposed to stealing any win off a non-alien and giving it to an alien. which then kinda left me?? well. stuck. I don't like these picks but well maybe I'll come up with something better at some point

assen 2018: I simply could not come up with a third race so I'll just throw this one in. dovi + valentino really really should have gotten onto the podium in this race, those were extremely podium-worthy performances, it was such a deeply silly incident between the pair of them that took them out of podium contention. also it's still seen as a classic race and... I don't even begrudge the two beneficiaries for their podium, it's just one where the three best riders that day didn't end up on the podium and I would change that!! I don't even really care that much but also look I had a spot to fill. would've enjoyed the rancid podium vibes, it's what a race of that quality deserved

sepang 2018: just deeply annoying? like, I think it was a super impressive performance, the consistent lap times trick from a 78 year old was very neat, it was cute when jorge did unprompted valentino prop for metronome solidarity reasons, it's one of literally two premier class races where valentino crashed out of the lead so I don't even hold it against him. but... well, that one might have been building to a battle between marc and valentino, and it would've been fun to see that! not least because of location + relationship vibes in 2018. I'd change the result in preventing the crash, don't really care who wins after that point - hey, they can crash each other out if they want. I Just Wanted To See It

styria 2020: bit of a niche one but I remember being pissed off by this so I'm going with it - this should have been mir's win without the bloody red flag. now I'm very sorry that maverick was just having an abysmal time in austria, peace and love to him, I'd probably never step foot in the country again after the eight days he had in that country.... but still, his bike attempting to murder him did ruin what really should've been joan's first win. I'm very defensive of mir's win stats and I was supporting the title bid with zero wins agenda once that looked plausible, but now that he's just gotten stuck on one win for quite a few years... well, again, I do think it's kinda iconic but I'd also let him have two. and back then he wasn't even really looking like a title contender and was still going for his FIRST win.... I was feeling very sorry for him so. there

[eggmeralda]

I ended up recording bits of songs and mixing them and now I've accidentally finished like 2 of them but shoutout to the winning result which I already did a few days ago unfortunately

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Fear No Mort" was constant whiplash. In fact, I struggled to evaluate this episode at first because it was one twist after another. Throughout the episode, I had flashbacks to "M. Night Shaym-Aliens!" (the rap scene might've been a direct reference) and the Rickbot reveal in "Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation."

For better or worse, season seven's had a lot of callbacks and episodes that mirrored previous ones: "That's Amorte" played out like "Mortynight Run"; "Air Force Wong" brought together Dr. Wong, the president and Unity; "Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie" was a "Get Schwifty" sequel.

Seasons six and seven have also piled on the fanservice. The first four seasons stubbornly refused to give us what we want, dangling fan theories or a gentler Rick in our faces before yanking it away. Rick started to change in season five, but it's another ten episodes before you get Rick in a suit and tie, Rick announcing that Rickcest is canon, Rick regularly going to therapy, Space Beth joining the family and other content that's floated around the fandom since 2017.

And let's not forget the big one: C-137 Rick and Morty, Prime Rick and Evil Morty in one episode, fighting and teaming up after we saw Evil Morty's once-forbidden backstory.

Some call it cheap thrills, but I call it a gift to the fandom that's patiently waited for the fakeouts to end. And now that I've said that: "Fear No Mort" was one giant fakeout.

But was it, though?

This is the most unpopular opinion in the world, but I'm not invested in Rick and Diane's relationship. As a gay woman, I just don't connect with opposite-gender couples. Also, I dislike the trope of the idolized dead wife that the audience only learns about through her widower. She's not her own character, just an extension of the male protagonist.

When the fake Rick and Diane reconnected, I thought "Oh boy, this is getting cheesy." They're falling for each other again: check. Rick feels guilty about her death: check. We see how similar they are: check. Rick doesn't want to leave: aaaand, check.

I'm also a little lost after the ending. Morty was the only one in the hole, so why did we see all these scenes from fake Rick's perspective? Was an NPC really that busy?

How much we learned about Diane is debatable, too, since Morty never met her. I guess his ideas came from whatever Rick's told him and maybe the ship's voice since she's based on Diane.

I did like how the episode kept reminding us that Morty's still in the Fear Hole. I mean, we didn't know that, but we knew that. No "Are they in the Fear Hole or not??" until all the twists in the third act.

Aside from that, I don't want the show to revisit the past too much because Rick needs to let go. If you're a Marvel fan, you saw the backlash to Steve Rogers traveling back in time to spend a lifetime with Peggy in "Endgame." He had a life in the present, but he refused to move on.

Nostalgia makes us yearn for earlier years, but if Rick abandoned his family to live with Diane in another reality, I wouldn't call that a sweet ending. I'd call that a disappointment and a waste of his character.

Turns out, Rick never had that option at all.

Well...in a way, he did. And when Morty told him what he saw in the Fear Hole, Rick ran back to the restroom. He looked into the hole. He thought about it. And then he did what I wanted him to do, which was walk away. In this moment, he chose the present.

Admittedly, Morty's fear came true: Rick didn't jump in the hole after him, he did just sit there and watch, and he didn't want to say that Morty's irreplaceable out loud. Plus, Rick was bewildered when Morty hugged him. But for the first time, instead of standing stiffly or gently pushing him away, Rick started to hug him back.

We also saw what Morty didn't: Rick smiling to himself after hanging up the picture of Morty that he kept in his wallet. He had the chance to wallow in shadows of the past, but he didn't take it. Rick chose him.

"Fear No Mort" could've ended with Rick just saying "Let's go" and leaving, but it didn't. Seasons one and two Rick would've bitched and moaned about Morty taking so long. Season three Rick would've left him there for a while to torment him. Season four Rick would've found a way to take advantage of this.

But seasons five, six, seven? That's real character development. That's what all the Twitter users saying "Wow, Rick and Morty is actually good" have been missing out on.

And for the first time in the series, a season didn't end with Rick relapsing or getting a (well-deserved) ass kicking. Is Morty going to get the grandfather that he deserves? Or will he move on, too, now that Rick's releasing his iron grip? Speculating is fun, but for now, let's focus on today.

[rassicas]

You at some point said that you wanted to change some of the backstory of Verna regarding his relations with Grizzco, to better reflect his position and purpose at the company with the new rotm and potential Splat3 dlc lore. Now that we have everything, have there been some finalized thoughts on the subject?

currently with my OCs I'm a bit stuck. I have this whole huge plot I've been trying to work out with how Cress and Verna reunite and get into some... Wacky Misadventures (they are going to have a bad time. together), and come out of it more understanding of each other....all this takes place prior to the start of Splatoon 3, and Grizzco is involved in that story so i cant really work out what happens to Verna during Splatoon 3 until all that is worked out...augh.

oh god i accidentally wrote too much about how grizzco works in my splatoon OCs setting. under the cut

How I've basically worked it out in my setting is that it's as if Mr. Grizz doesn't even exist. Well, he does, but...you can NOT convince me this literal mammalian bear is micromanaging an egg collection operation a few hours away from an underground cavern, all while building a spaceship, repairing alterna, and doing god knows what with fuzzy ooze? his voice from the radio is pre-recorded. He's just in the background trying to get his golden eggs for his stupid mammal revival plan. Grizz is pretty paws-off with the actual operations of the company. In order for Grizzco to operate like an actual company in the Inkling world, Mr. Grizz needs connections within the Inkling world. He needed to hire people, and lots. contractors to pilot the boats. the helicopters. people to repair them when there's issues. contractors to set up the grizzco building. people to maintain it. Supplying and maintaining weapons. Who put the statue there? Remember when grizzco would actually close its gates? someone had to be doing that. Advertisers? Sales of eggs? Do you really think Mr. "Does your species even have bones" Grizz is doing all that? No. So how would Grizz get these connections? I think ORCA could've helped out in some way with scouting some people online or with Grizz's business knowledge being an all-knowing AI. ROTM sure does a great job explaining or even implying anything about the relationship between those two. /s. But ORCA still is just a virtual entity, and you'd need a physical representative for some things, right? Anyway this is where the Judds come in. I think the idea that Lil' Judd being Grizz's initial way into the Inkling world...sucks. That's probably what the Splatoon team is going for and I do not care, the timeline on that does not make sense. Grizzco was introduced to us, the players, in April 2017. At this point the egg baskets are all installed, and there are Inklings in-universe partaking in egg collection....Lil Judd was born only a few months prior. I'm sure it would've taken a while for grizz to get everything together to establish this company. To me it makes more sense for Judd to have involvement. He's the only other mammal, and the one with all the power. (not only do i think the implied canon timeline sucks, in my OCs canon, i've had it established that grizzco has existed in some form several years before s1 so...) I wouldn't think Judd would know about the mammal revival plan. but like, Judd lets Grizz set up because he's looking out for his fellow mammal, and saw the kind of energy benefits this would have….also more salmon meat, yum. Judd canonically has numerous connections in the Inkling world, even to world leaders. He could use these connections to allow for Grizzco to set up business and give that permission to operate in the restricted areas where Salmonids live. Beyond this I have a hard time imagining Judd getting too heavily involved. Like once some other people are hired to do some more micromanaging of the company Judd kinda dips. Lil judd doesn't get involved until some years later and takes more direct interest in the company. With permissions granted and Grizzco operating as a defense against the Salmonid army while also providing power eggs, then grizz could do whatever he wanted so as long as an amount of money and eggs went into the Inkling world. And eggs are the primary source of income for Grizzco, so this part is very important. I think very early on Grizz would've had to personally deal with the sales of eggs to get the money to get the company started...maybe selling to octarians even? But for some real business dealings in inkopolis, youre gonna need some representatives in-person. anyways remember when this post was about my OCs. So I'm making a Grizzco board of directors, and they're the ones who actually maintain the company and the things in it while Grizz is busy in Alterna. Even the directors don't really know about Grizz's mammal revival plan, they just supply him with golden eggs and turn a profit for the company, by whatever means necessary.

After spending quite some time at Grizzco and becoming more trusted as an employee, Verna gets to know some of these directors. Some become his allies, and some are a bit more unsavory... He starts spending more time with some of them especially after his salmonid encounter, and they'll have a role in Cress and Verna's story. I've had some of these guys bouncing around in my head for years. some of them have art that im sitting on. i wish i could share more but I am Not done cooking </3 so to answer your ask in short. yes I have finalized much of the things with how i have grizzco functions in my OC's setting, and im basically ignoring the existence of grizz himself, in the same way that grizzco as a company runs completely normally even after grizz basically dies in ROTM. but at the moment, i do not have all the details finalized with other people at the company and how verna interacts with them

[sissylittlefeather]

How the Web Was Woven: Chapter 11

A/N: I'm on a roll with this one right now, so I figured I'd go ahead and publish this. ICYMI, this is the soulmate/time travel AU with Elvis and a fem!reader.

Need to catch up? Here's my Masterlist.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI, kissing, cussing, p in v penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie, and biting 😏

Word count: ~3k

Somehow, you're pregnant with the child of Elvis Presley.

******

On March 12, 2017 you give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. You name him John Jessie and he has your hair and Elvis's bright blue eyes. When the doctor hands him to you, you weep openly for so many reasons, but mainly because you wish Elvis could be there to see him.

And sure, you could've made a portal sometime while you were pregnant or in that first year, but you didn't. First because you were afraid he'd change his mind about staying in his time, and second because you wanted his first experience of fatherhood to be with Lisa Marie.

But once Lisa is born, you start to think about telling him. In the evenings when you rock John Jessie to sleep, the desire to let his father know about him overwhelms you. The same thing inside you that made you tell him about your engagement all those years ago is now telling you to find him and tell him about his son.

You even have the wild inclination to pack John Jessie up and bring him with you. You consider going to his time forever and just living as an unknown girlfriend. But you think about what it would mean for Elvis if anyone found out you were there with his son. His reputation would be ruined. And aside from that, you don't want to risk taking him away from Lisa Marie in any way. There's no telling how Priscilla might react if she ever found out about you.

So instead you pack up an envelope of pictures for him to see, put it in your bag filled with vintage clothes, leave John Jessie with your mom, and head to California in June of 2018. He's filming the Singer Presents Elvis special, better known now as the '68 Comeback Special, so you know exactly where to find him. Furthermore, you know he's living at the studio, so you'll be able to get to him alone more easily than if he was at home.

You don't know how he might respond to finding out he has another child, especially one that he might never get to see and definitely won't get to raise. Still, you have to risk it. He deserves to know.

******

When you get to California, you check into your hotel and get dressed. You're going to have to find a way to sneak into the studio since it's been closed to the public for a while now. You pray that fate will be on your side again, as it always has been for the two of you.

You take a cab to the studio, but the driver won't let you off in front of it. Instead you have to get out at the corner and walk over to it. You walk all the way around the large building trying to find a way in and start to get nervous that it's not going to work. You're also dodging security the whole time and you're exhausted after trying for several hours. The sun is low in the sky when you lean your back against one of the doors and almost break down crying.

******

Elvis was unbelievably nervous to begin filming for the special. In fact, he tried to refuse at the last second, but the producer insisted. After several hours of filming, he demands a break.

"I need some air." He says, looking for a door to escape and try to relax. He had finally begun to feel comfortable on stage, but there is a different kind of nervous energy possessing him now. There's a feeling in his stomach like something is about to happen, but he has no idea what it could possibly be. He gets his answer when he finally gets outside to find the buzzing sound and wavy air hovering right in front of him.

He turns and looks back at the door to the studio and then back at the portal. His life is finally starting to be what he wants. He doesn't want to leave now. And he has his child to think of. Still, he's desperate to see you, to hold you, and feel you against him. He cares for Priscilla, that is true, but his heart still belongs to you.

******

You stand there in complete shock that you were able to find a portal here outside the building. You take a deep breath, grab your suitcase, and walk through. Thankfully, he's alone when you appear out of thin air.

"Hi." You say cautiously. He's an absolute vision standing there in his black leather outfit. Your heart is beating so hard and so loud that you wonder if he can hear it. He seems to be trying to decide how to respond. "I'm sorry to just-"

In one step, he's wrapped around you with his lips pressed to yours. He takes your face in his hands and kisses both of your cheeks and then your mouth again. The scent of cologne, sweat, and cigarillos envelops you and you could cry with the familiarity of it. Neither of you has to speak to know what's being communicated. He just holds you and strokes your hair and you rest your head against his chest. You're in this position when one of his guys pokes his head out of the door.

"Hey EP they're... oh shit, sorry." He averts his eyes like you're naked or something. "They need you to come film some more."

"Okay." Elvis speaks into your hair, his voice muffled. "Come watch. I'll find you somewhere to sit."

You pull back away from him and nod. He puts his hand on the small of your back and ushers you inside. He takes your suitcase and stashes it somewhere quickly. Then, he finds you a place to sit and heads back up to the stage.

He records the sit-down portion of the show with his old band and you melt a hundred times. You haven't seen him perform for a real audience before. Its electrifying. In varying waves, your heart is filled with love and affection and then you're so turned on you could crawl up on the stage and fuck him right there in front of all these people.

You fidget with your ring to distract yourself and realize that you wore it here. You really didn't intend to, but you've been wearing it since he gave it to you, so it was habit to put it on this morning. Somewhere inside you, he's still your husband. Priscilla might have his time, but you have his heart. When you have this thought you panic for a second that she's here. You swivel your head around frantically looking for her. From the stage, he notices your mood has changed. He catches your eye and gives you the slightest inquisitive look. You mouth Priscilla? and he shakes his head ever so slightly, so you relax back into your seat. The whole exchange is less than ten seconds long and thankfully, no one notices.

Finally, they finish the set and he's done filming for the night. You stay in your seat, not sure what to do. Should you go to him? Or will he find you? You see him standing in a group of guys laughing and talking. He doesn't seem to be coming for you, so you stand up and walk slowly towards him, without an inkling of what you'll do or say when you get to him. As you get closer, you hear him.

"Nah, guys, not tonight. I have other plans tonight."

"Other plans?" One of the guys looks at him curiously. Just then, you make it to the edge of the group and he notices you.

"Ah, speak of devil. Or angel, rather." He puts his arm around your shoulders in a casual and friendly gesture. "This is y/n. She's an old friend from Tupelo. I told her I'd show her around tonight."

One of the other guys raises his eyebrows and the others shuffle around nervously.

"Oh, calm down boys. She's married." He uses his other hand to hold up your hand and show them your ring.

"Not that that ever stopped you." One of the guys jokes. Elvis moves away from you and play punches the guy that said it.

"Okay, I'll see you guys later." With that, he puts his arm around your shoulders again and walks away. On the way out, he grabs your suitcase and then leads you to the room where he's living in the studio. Once you're inside, he shuts the door and locks it and then wraps himself around you again, kissing you deeply. When he finally pulls back, he looks into your face and laughs softly.

"Good thing you're still wearing your ring."

"Yeah that would've been hard to explain after you told them I was married."

"Yes. They don't need to know it's me you're married to." He leans in and kisses you passionately again. Then he pulls back suddenly. "It is still me, right? You're not here to tell me you married some other guy again, are ya?"

"No, it's still you I'm married to." You respond, laughing. "I am here to tell you something, though."

He looks at you curiously and tries to think of what you could possibly have to report.

"What, honey?" You pull away from him and walk to your suitcase.

"I think it's better if I just show you." You pull out the envelope of pictures and hold it in your hands, your heart pounding.

"Divorce papers?" He eyes the envelope and his eyebrows knit together in concern.

"No! No, not that at all. You should sit down, though." He walks to a chair and sits down carefully.

"You're scaring me, honey." You take a deep breath and look at the ceiling. Then, you extend your arm and hand him the envelope. He opens it cautiously and pulls out the stack of pictures. The first picture is one a nurse took in the hospital of you and John Jessie together right after he was born.

He looks up at you and his face is a mix of shock and confusion. He's not able to say anything, though, so he flips to the second picture. It's one of John Jessie that you took earlier this week.

"You... you had a baby?"

"I did."

"And the baby is this old... oh God." You watch him as he puts the pieces together. He looks at the date on the back of the first one and counts the months backwards. "This is my baby."

"Yes." You almost whisper it and he looks up at you, his eyes glistening with tears.

"I have a son." You're getting choked up now too, watching him.

"You do. His name is John Jessie." He stands up and wraps his arms around you, as the tears slide down his face.

"John Jessie Presley." He whispers into your hair. Then, he sniffs and stands up, looking down at the pictures. He flips through them and smiles, seeing his little boy grow from a newborn to the almost-toddler he is right now. When he gets to the end of the stack, he has a thought.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want to distract you from Lisa Marie."

"Distract me?!"

"I wanted you to be focused on her." He shakes his head, but he can't argue with it. A different thought occurs.

"Why didn't you bring him with you? Where is he?"

"He's with my mom. I couldn't bring him here."

"Why not?"

"Do I need to spell out the headline for you? Elvis Presley's secret love child?"

"Oh, to hell with that. I want to see my boy."

"Did you forget that you have a wife here? Imagine how she would react."

"Again, I don't really care. He's my child."

"I just couldn't, Elvis. I can't mess with-"

"I swear to God, if you mention the damn timeline of history again, I'm gonna-"

"What? You're gonna what, Elvis?"

"I WANT TO SEE MY CHILD." He yells at you for the first time ever. He's yelled near you before, but never directly at you because he's angry with you. You stand there defiantly, both of you breathing heavily. "Take your clothes off. We're making a portal. You're gonna go get him and come back here."

"I'm not bringing him here."

"Goddamnit, y/n, then why did you tell me?!"

"I don't know. I guess I shouldn't have!" Your eyes begin to well up.

"You're damn right you shouldn't have. Now I get to live with the knowledge that I don't get to raise my own son." With that, the dam breaks and you begin to cry. He's right. You're ready to curl up and die when it hits you and you stop crying and look up at him.

"Come back with me."

"I can't leave Lisa."

"No, not like permanently. Just come with me and see him. The portals reopen right where you left from, right?"

"Yeah I'm always right back where I was when I walked through originally. Unfortunately, because it meant I had to finish filming Spinout-"

"So then I can open a portal for you any time I want and you can come through and see him. Just for a little while and then go back!" His eyes sparkle with excitement and he picks you up and spins you around.

"Haha! Yes! I can be a part of his life!" You nod and he kisses your cheek. "Oh, thank you, y/n. God, I love you. I missed you so much."

"I love you too." He smiles and kisses you tenderly.

Then, he sets you back down on the ground and kisses you again with a renewed hunger this time, his tongue parting your lips and dipping into your mouth. His desire is contagious and before you know it you're tearing at his leather jacket while he kisses your neck. You get it off of his shoulders and rip the shirt up and over his head. He literally tears your dress at the zipper and yanks it off of you. In your uninhibited passion, you sink your teeth into his shoulder and he yelps.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry."

"Do it again." He whispers in your ear. You bite into the skin on his chest and he growls deep in his throat. He removes your bra and panties with an animalistic fervor and throws them across the room. You peel his leather pants off of him as quickly as possible and he tosses you on the couch. In a second, he's pushed into you and is pounding you with a new kind of power and confidence.

"God, yes! Yes!" You yell as he fills you over and over. He holds your hip with one hand and slams into you rhythmically. He grunts and nips at your shoulder.

"You like it when I fuck you hard, baby?"

"Mmmmm harder." You moan.

"Yes ma'am." He listens to instructions and crashes into you even harder. There's a desperate kind of passion in the way he fucks you and it's everything you've needed for the last two years. He's needed it too; you can tell by the pace of his thrusts. He kisses your mouth, hard, and you bite his bottom lip. The way he drives into you is raw and dirty and makes you scream as you come as hard as you ever have while he pumps in and out of you.

"Fuck yes." He grunts through gritted teeth as he continues to pound against your hips while you pulse around him. Finally, he succumbs to the intensity of your sex and shoots you full of his warmth. As he comes, you bite him again on the chest and he lets out a guttural groan that makes you want to climb on top and fuck him again. He's dripping sweat and it mixes with your own as he collapses on top of you, both of you struggling to catch your breath.

The portal appears and he groans and rolls off of you. You scramble off the couch and try to get your clothes together. You cannot find your bra, though, and you have to dig through your suitcase for a new dress since he ruined the one you were wearing. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and gasp. You look like a wild animal with your fucked out eyes and hair everywhere. You're desperately trying to smooth your hair when you hear a small pop and the portal disappears.

"Oh shit." He looks at you and laughs. He stops trying to get dressed, settling for just pants, and drops back down on the couch. He produces a cigarillo from somewhere and pats the couch next to him. You pick up his black shirt and pull it on over your head and then sit next to him, lightly running your fingers over the bite marks on his chest and shoulder.

"I marked you."

"It's a good thing we're going to your time. I can't go home like this." He chuckles and lights the cigarillo, taking a long drag.

"We missed the portal." You say offhandedly.

"I guess we'll just have to have sex again."

"Oh, darn." You respond playfully, taking the cigarillo and putting it in your own mouth.

"I didn't know you smoked."

"I guess I can still surprise you."

"My wife, the mystery." He puts his arm around you and takes the cigarillo back.

You stay like that on the couch for most of the night, just talking and passing the cigarillo back and forth. You tell him all about John Jessie and he tells you about Lisa and how excited he is for the potential future of his career after the special. Eventually you fall asleep on his chest and wake up to a loud knocking on the door.

"Fuck." He sits up quickly.

"We're gonna start recording in an hour, EP. I know you like a warning..."

"Yeah, I'll be there." He hollers and then looks at you and puts his finger on his mouth to indicate that you should be quiet. You stand up and start to pack up your clothes from last night and lay out a dress to put on once the portal is there. He throws some clothes in a bag too and then comes up behind you and kisses your neck.

"I believe we have some work to do." You turn to face him and he kisses you deeply, walking you back to the couch again.

This time you have sex in the most married way possible and laugh at how tame it is compared to last night. But you're both satisfied and it works to make a portal, so neither of you complains. You get dressed and pick up your bags as he takes your hand. After a deep breath, you walk through the portal together and find yourselves outside the studio in 2018.

******

To be continued...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @rosepresley68 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @that-hotdog @eddiesgirlforever @helen06dreamer @returntopresley @rjmartin11

[hooked-on-elvis]

𝗜 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥-𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 "𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗧" 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗬... It's not really anything from our business but Elvis' personal life is very, very entertaining - plus, knowing those things fans can always choose to live vicariously through the King's enormous list of love affairs.

From The News Examiner by author Trina Young — whom I love, btw... she really does an incredible job researching on Elvis' life and career — watch the video above on Elvis' romances on set of Change Of Habit (1969). Below, an excerpt from a book mentioned there:

While on set, Elvis and Mary, during breaks would "lie on a big blanket out in sunshine of the park, surrounded by extras and other actors, making out like teenagers. I don't mean affectionate pecks on the lips either. I'm talking about arms wrapped around each other during lip-locks that lasted fifteen minutes or half an hour. No one else on the set paid any attention to this behavior." From reporter Ann Moses' memoir book, released in 2017, "MEOW! My Groovy Life with Tiger Beat's Teen Idols":

Can you even look at these pictures the same way now?

PERSONAL COMMENT: Man, Mary Tyler Moore AND Jane Elliot? Seriously? Elvis had no shame at all, if that is true. Well, he certainly didn't - just thinking about the fact that he was married and had a tiny little baby at the time - but which actor or musician does? Very few. I always see things like this from a perspective of real life... If people in real life cheat all the time then how could we expect that stunning people, with money and fame and all the temptations surrounding them 24/7, don't do it? I mean, it doesn't make things right but it's not something only Elvis and Mary did - and at least concerning E we all know his wife cheated on him too, at given point - so we can drop the judgmental comments on marital status here because that's old news.

What shocks me is the suspicion he was having a thing with two of his co-stars from the same movie. Okay, supposedly it wasn't at the exact same time - apparently Mary was "inaccessible", according to Jane Elliot, so Elvis and Mary didn't get along very well compared to his relationship with other actors that worked on COH, and for that we can suppose she and Jane weren't actually friends either. Trina supposes his romance with Mary was very short-lived... and then (or prior to him and Mary happening) him and Jane happened. At least E (supposedly) wasn't having a thing with two girls who were friends with each other, behind their backs and at the same time but still... co-workers! Surreal. To me this is shocking. I always believed Mary when she said she didn't have a thing with E... Jane I had my suspicious but it's still not confirmed as far as I know. But now that I learn Mary was (apparently) lying, from a reliable source, eye-witness, adding this to the rumors (some gossip from the director based on situational "proof") that E and Jane had an affair during the making of COH... this got even funnier (to be kind).

I personally believe Ann Moses when she shares many, many years later what she saw between E and Mary in 1969 - and based on pictures I also believe him and Jane had a thing going on at the same period. I'm not judging any of them here. Even if it was all true, we don't know the real situation (how that happened, why it happened, the mood between the actors…) Still, c'mon, isn't that weird to imagine that Jane might could've seen Elvis and Mary and afterwards (or at the same time, who knows?) she got together with him even so? In other situation, isn't that weird to imagine, on the worst case scenario, that E got together with Jane and then he moved on to Mary right on Jane's face? Now, they were all grown-ups, all of them knew what they were getting themselves into (hopefully). I'm just sharing my thoughts, not for a sec intending to create any kind of morality shame on those people. Just like everything about Elvis, his love life is something we have fun (?) speculating about. Anyhow, one thing is true... ELVIS AND MARY TYLER MOORE DID HAVE A THING GOING ON IN 1969.

Oh, and about Mary saying Elvis said he slept with all of his co-stars except one, meaning it was her? I've read somewhere that Marlyn Mason said the same thing. I guess she was really the only one. Okay, making out and "getting into bed with each other" are two different things but still... things point more to Marlyn being the one than Mary. Again, who knows?

[omegalomania]

everything is lit, except my serotonin

"what a time to be alive" is probably one of my favorite songs on the new record. that's not really a hard sell, though; i struggle to pick favorites at the best of times and by this time tomorrow, my favorite track will likely be a different one. but there's something about this track that i keep circling back to, for a multitude of reasons.

this one has proven a little contentious. critics don't quite get it, and even people who love the song will say that it's a little off-putting lyrically, primarily because of those lines in the chorus: "everything is lit, except my serotonin / everything is lit but my lightning-bolt brain". i'm not going to say outright that critics scoffing at the obvious earth, wind, and fire influence is one of those delightful instances of antiblack racism that's so common in music criticism, but i'd be lying if i said i didn't suspect that was a factor. but more to the point, that line in the chorus hit me a little harder than i expected it to.

patrick has stressed repeatedly that the majority of "what a time to be alive" was written before the pandemic. the lyrics to the bridge are the only parts that reference the pandemic specifically, but the rest of the song feels oddly prescient as it discusses how it feels like the end of the world...probably because in 2019, for some of us, especially those on the west coast, it did feel like the end of the world. pete wentz lives in los angeles, and thus probably got a very clear picture of this as it happened in real time. wildfires have always been an issue on the west coast, but by 2017, they started picking up in speed and scope, in large part due to the effects of climate change. the year after that, they got worse. the third year in a row this happened, it cemented that this was going to be a pattern, which is exactly what happened. today, the last third or so of the year is generally regarded as "fire season," when risk of wildfires becomes extremely high, power outages are common, and evacuations are anticipated.

i live in a fire zone. every year since 2017, i've had to evacuate my home regularly, or i know someone else who has. at this point, it's pretty well-established as routine. the first time this happened, it felt like the end of the world - watching neighbors' houses go up in smoke, housing displaced family members or friends who'd been evacuated themselves or actually lost their homes. by the time the pandemic happened, fire season hadn't actually died, either; we were carrying out evacuations while masked, and often without power (and thus no easy way to get news as to what was happening).

here's a thing about living in a fire zone. there are nights when you're going off no sleep and you're watching the ember-glow on the horizon at the early hours of the morning and thinking that it could almost be considered pretty, in a dark and dismal kind of way. there are days when the smoke haze is so heavy that you never get to see the sun but it makes the air hot and thick and it burns in your lungs. the smell of smoke becomes choking and omnipresent.

everything is lit, except my serotonin. everything is lit but my lightning-bolt brain.

i don't know if these lines were written about the wildfires in particular. it wouldn't surprise me if they were. there are a lot of moments in the song, the parts written pre-pandemic, that make me think that could've been the case: neon in the night-time and not caring if it's pretty because the view's so pretty from the deck of a sinking ship. livestreaming the apocalypse, because twitter feeds were literally the best way to get your news on whether your house might be next - if you had power and internet, that is. and not everyone did.

everything is lit but my lightning-bolt brain. it's kind of a silly line, and i understand being put off by it. it took me some time to warm to it too (pun absolutely intended). it's also a quadruple-entendre. everything is "lit" in the colloquial sense of being cool and exciting, sure, but it's also more or less how the human brain works. our brains are really just electricity, passing little bursts between all the neurons and synapses. on top of that, the sensation of feeling like electric shocks are passing through your skull, or "brain zaps," are a common symptom of withdrawal from antidepressants (which, among other things, are used to regulate someone's serotonin levels). and then there's the case of the world being on fire, literally. everything is lit except my serotonin. my lightning-bolt brain.

a memory:

i never actually stopped working through the pandemic, as i was considered an essential worker. the fires didn't let up either. a particularly horrible fire tore through a nearby area and that's the thing about fires: they turn the whole fucking sky vivid orange. i drove to work on a chilly autumn morning, the whole sky lit up in an orange glare. i stood for a minute in the freezing parking lot while flakes of ash overhead settled like snow onto my car, my hair, my clothes. somewhere, people's homes and livelihoods were burning, and in a matter of days or hours the wind could change and my home and friends could be next. so i walked through the falling ash and the sickly orange glow of the sky and did my temperature check at the door with my mask pulled up over the lower half of my face, and i got to work.

i remember that moment vividly because it was strange and surreal and eerie and it was probably the moment that felt most like the end of the world to me, or at least it did then. driving through town with the sky on fire and a disease tearing through the world and having to walk into work anyway. that's what this track reminds me of: the sheer, staggering surreality of watching everything fall apart, and then...you go to work, because what else are you supposed to do? you go to work. the world is ending. you go to work.

what a time to be alive.

[redactedshapes]

Thoughts and ramblings about Zane and Filmmaking before NG+

Scratch is the only one of the Alan/Zane/Scratch trifecta that we know can manifest in the real world while still inhabiting the Dark Place. It already manifested as a real person in the shape of Barbara Jagger to Alan, for example.

Zane collaborating with the Dark Presence is a logical move which I think is what allowed him to change his artistic craft from Poet to Filmmaker.

The changes done to reality by the Dark Presence/Dark Place take time to become real, they have to be gradual. I wonder if being done very slowly would allow them to become "canon".

Let's assume Remedy is not gaslighting us and Zane was initially a Poet.

Zane's craft would've been changed between 1970-2019 (2019 being the latest we can assume given Jesse's interview with a psychiatrist, which can be found in Control and doesn't have a date as far as I remember). The change solidified between 2010 and 2019. 2010 being the first time we see poster for Tom the Poet film (the asset appears in the Remaster but the file first appeared in American Nightmare in 2012 as far as I know).

That's a time-frame of approximately 50 years for such a change to become "canon".

We know events in the Dark Place don't unfold in a linear manner parallel to time in the real world, as evidenced by encounters between Saga and Alan happening out of order.

One could also count the times Alan stepped into his apartment and was photographed by Alice's camera set up. The "haunting" started after his disappearance and by 2017 Alice had already photographs of these encounters. So, as Alan has been traversing the Dark Place, his actions have bled into the real world at different points in time.

Not to mention the unknown amount of loops he's gone through before the current game, and how (if) those loops bled into each other.

I'd guess this would also apply to anyone trapped in the Dark Place. In this case, Tom Zane.

We know the Dark Presence is Scratch when it tries to imitate Alan. But when it tries to imitate Zane it becomes the Grandmaster.

The voice files for the Grandmaster lines during Zane's Film are named ZANE_SCRATCH. No grandmaster or master. Zane-Scratch.

I'd guess collaborating or integrating with Scratch would allow him to place "canonical" changes in the real world. And it could've been done at his will, following his plan, unlike the antagonistic relationship Alan has with Scratch.

And let's be honest, Zane praising Scratch? That's exactly what Scratch is after. Encountering someone who would adulate him sounds like the perfect way to manipulate him.

I think that was a great chance to make a character based off of Dark Presence in a film by Thomas Zane. A character that can be conveniently played by Zane himself.

Why changing from Poet to Filmmaker?

Filmmaking is the art form where those that came prior to it can converge:

Writing/Poetry

Painting

Sculpture

Architecture

Music

Performative Arts (Dance and Theater)

Photography

So, if you're trying to change reality, one form of Art will not be enough. In a film, anyone can play anyone.

The director would have total control over a character. Not only by directing their actions and events unfolding around them. A film Director also has control over the character's face and voice. Re-casting power if you will.

And Zane calls himself an auteur, and here, I think that makes him a control freak. Forget collaborations. It's all about him.

Before he went into the lake, Zane already knew a few musicians, the Anderson brothers. He knew at least one architect - the one that built his manor, and with whom he was probably planning on building a Hotel and Spa on an abandoned bunker.

Given the Dark Place isn't subject to causality and linear time as the real world is, we know the following events happened - but not exactly in this order and maybe one didn't give cause the next event, and we're probably missing so many events and loops that could've happened in between, on top and below, all superimposed:

After being trapped, Zane decided filmmaking would serve his goals, whatever those are.

Alice Wake, a photographer, falls into the lake. We don't know yet how the Dark Presence made use of her craft - given Alice seems to be in control of her craft during the game.

Alan Wake falls into the lake, he meets the character Tom the Poet (light in a diver's suit). The Dark Presence feeds off of him. The Scratch persona takes shape.

Tom the Poet the film is made which mirrors Zane's disappearance. Zane's original craft now a movie title, himself a character. It appears in the real world sometime when it coincided with his existence as a poet. Let's say, before or around 1970? this way the title of the film can be confused with his craft. An understandable mistake.

Alan Wake is credited as the writer that inspired the film Tom the Poet.

Alan Wake sees echoes of a cult committing murders in NY subways. Re-writes scenes to traverse the Dark Place, unaware he's (retroactively) affecting the real world. The characters are echoes of real people (Professor = Tammy, Cultist = Ilmo, NYPD officers = Thorton and Mulligan, etc.) as well as seemingly appearances of real people (Ed and Casey).

Alan meets Zane, and Alan says they don't deserve to get out - assuming we believe Zane's words while he's tied to a chair during their second meeting.

Alan stops writing.

Scratch meets Zane and they decide to collaborate, somehow giving shape to the Grandmaster. Who turns out to be the Cult leader whose followers do a lot of killing.

Scratch writes Return.

Zane, in parallel, films Yötön Yö. This movie appears in the real world sometime before Tom the Poet. At least before 1965 which is the earliest we know Zane was living on Bright Falls. Actors are credited with Finnish names, even if they originally weren't (Alex Casey). This retroactively strengthens his Filmmaker persona. This film features a character named Writer Alan Wake (this is the only named character, everyone else is just a role, like Detective and Janitor). This would be the first appearance of "Alan Wake with Zane's face" in the real world. Veikko Alén appears in the credits as the author that inspired the film.

Nightless Night is the translated name. Alan Wake is credited as the writer that inspired Nightless Night. This would be the earliest Alan Wake is referred to as a writer in the English language.

Alan meets Zane for a "second" time (first ingame meeting), in which Alan has no memory of previous meetings.

Alan finds out Scratch wrote Return and confronts Zane.

Alan shoots Zane.

The "fictional character" Alan embraces the Dark Presence and becomes Scratch after finding out the Author (real Alan in the Writer's Room) was responsible for Alice being haunted.

Author Alan embraces the Dark Presence and is shot by Saga.

-

If collaborating with Zane means he gets total control over a person's identity over in the real world then, it was extremely fucking clever to make himself a character in the first place.

And this makes me wonder. What kind of influence can he exert over paranatural beings?

Alan only ever encounters Zane in his film projector, therefore being an actor under Zane's direction. During that last meeting, Zane tried to re-direct Alan, swap their roles, but Alan resisted and took control over the scene.

As did Saga and Jesse on their respective nightmares.

Yet, Jesse corrects herself at the beginning of AWE. The changes are getting to her.

I don't think that bodes well for Ahti considering he's got dialogue where he feels lost and talks like a regular old human being while in Valhalla Nursing Home.

Now, we have not seen the Olds Gods of Asgard in any of Zane's film, yet we know they've met him and maybe were friends with him.

And it's such an interesting details the Old Gods have been performing in Door's show. And Alan has been, unknowingly, playing along, even if he sometimes seems to go out of script.

A lot of people trying to change, claim or appropriate other people's identities, and the former fighting back.

Scratch is the most straightforward doppelganger. I think he at least deserve some modicum of respect for his honesty, he's very clear about his goal to Alan, unlike every other person.

-

On a more meta and speculative note:

The fun thing is, filmmaking cannot exists by itself. Most other art forms can exists more or less independently from each other. A painting can be viewed without the existence of writing. A theater play doesn't need music or even architecture in its barest form. Dance is tricky in this context and someone smarter than me could make an argument in favor or against it existing without music.

Point being: Filmmaking is in essence, Photography.

It's photography in motion, across of time.

I'm really curious if Remedy is going to make use of that fact in any meaningful manner in the future.

-

Last thing to think about.

Let's forget for a moment that a recording (of either music or film) requires someone to press play to be enjoyed.

All forms of art previously mentioned are to be passively experienced. They exists regardless of the audience. No active input required.

However, Video Games do.

Welcome dear player. You're an essential part of the narrative. This experience cannot exist without you.

-

Which makes me think. We should be very wary of Chester Bless attempts at making a video game about Alan Wake :')

[taylortruther]

i don’t think people realize just how serious 2016 was, and this isn’t a knock on previous anon. i know there’s clips from taylor when she was younger saying she doesn’t like hiding when she’s in a relationship bc it makes her feel like she’s doing something wrong, she’s a criminal, etc etc. BUT 2016 completely changed who she is in some ways. she refuses to speak about what actually happened or how she felt or anything in great detail, and i’d wager she won’t speak on it for years to come. everyone around her was genuinely worried for her health and life. she NEEDED to disappear. and that’s not to say that’s how she wanted to live her life forever, but i can’t imagine how scary 2016 was for her and her family/people worried for her. do i think joe liked the level of privacy they had in 2017/2018? yes (obviously not saying he liked the reason they had it). but i think she worked through so much trauma from that and has wanted to bask in her career and the fruit of her labor and he didn’t want to and that became stifling for her.

yup, agreed. it's also wild because she has been pretty explicit about the suicide thing. she said to be cancelled by millions of people feels like people asking you to kill yourself. "i pulled the car off the road to the lookout, could've followed my fears all the way down." like what do you think she is talking about here??

and she needed to disappear but that doesn't mean she wanted to. i think it was an incredibly hard lesson that showed her she must save some things for herself. but that's not how she should've had to learn it.

[dodgerevansce]

Rather is pr and or not Chris Evans chooses toxicity on his own clearly he is the main immature brat he always done choosing wrong things while he was seeing woman in his life but he was not committed with anyone he never decided to put ring in their hand at all he was just messing around he was not serious with any woman in his age he dated minka from 2009 - 2017 but never put a ring on her that means he was not committed with her that means he was messing with her but turned out also toxicity although minka was loved by everyone in his family and his friends they are still in touch but he could've had married her but he chooses not too. And all the woman he was dating in Massachusetts and LA but never was committed had said I am not looking for anyone serious right now. Maybe he had committed issue or maybe he was only messing type or maybe he was afraid. But when covid started his shooting red one started out of no where his sources started popping rumours girlfriends oh Chris is dating valerie fatehi, Chris is dating Selena Gomez, Chris is dating someone from Massachusetts, now Chris is dating wn actress just because he followed them on Instagram people made accusations on his dating history his sources was his team for spreading the bullshit in the beginning it was not done by him and his friends. Basically I am saying Chris Is the main red flag he is white Boston man who has privileged and attitude problem his mind didn't made any sense at all. He end up a choosing someone who he didn't knew well and neither she knows him well enough. Rather it was chosen by his team or him whatever they have both toxicity behaviour behind the camera they are not matching at all they can match their outfits but clearly she is not ready to be wife material I can see that on her she still experiencing things and he is well experienced in both everything rather is his past relationship rather it's his career or his family background he is well experienced but he acts so dumb in his way of choosing films he clearly doesn't think from his brain he just sign sign sign oh I like it done)

I would say this clearly some people don't like the fact Chris Evans married Alba because well she's is different . racist, acts like brat, immature, age gap, posting nude on Instagram on purpose, came from yasmazi background, supported her friends doing racist comments, and also made fun of people and fatshammed people even if she didn't did but still supported it she didn't told them to stop. She's is craving attention and I can see that she want to work in Hollywood so badly that's why she being all fake on camera she said she hate a year 2023 she wants to disappear she doesn't want to act anymore but her Hollywood film is in the line for next year she still acting in her friends film next year.

If he had married someone who was mature and didn't did anything wrong and was not craving for attention then people had supported and respected his relationship better that's what I believe.

All I can say his mind doesn't make sense at all his experssions says something else his actions says something else and his brain says something else

I called that kinda man double diplomatic he has two minds which means red flag which means double versions of Chris Evans attitude he has toxicity, narsasstic behaviour it's not midlife crisis it's his behaviour that doesn't add up

And then his political site where he was vocal about everything rather it was black lives matter, Asian lives matter or right to vote, community wise, or something serious now he can't talk about it because you know his wife or whatever. Maybe he only made the site to be smart chris evans or maybe he wanted people to think he is better human being. Now he completely ghosted his political site due to his wife or due to rebranding himself to serious family man.

I never seen any Hollywood man changed their selves or rebranded themselves its just Chris Evans

I think he shouldn't done rebranding his image or his life at all if he kept the same image of himself he could have been taken seriously by people but now he is clearly acting dumb like really dumb people will still love him but not overly love him like they did in past now they are saying a clone of Chris Evans rather then the old versions of Chris Evans his jolly attitude went into garbage his wise man green flag attitude went into garbage

His career is flip flopping because his decision is not making sense now people doesn't follow his acting career then mostly his dumb drama with his wife. Like doesn't he know people make fun of them doesn't he know that people are ashamed of him I am sure he must know all of those things but he is not going to change it because he wants to be taken seriously I have never seen no man act like that at all I find that fake behaviour

@justinmythoughts

@justenjoythegossip

@readingislife

[lookninjas]

So I've been digging into some of the Electric Callboy lore, because I do that with the stuff that I love, and I keep finding the wildest shit and it keeps always being about the drummer, David.

(Fun fact: he wound up getting the final rose on The Bachelorette in 2017!

Which makes sense, because he is exceptionally funny, and also very talented, and also crazy good-looking:

But also from what little I know of USA Bachelorette it traditionally revolves around fairly bland dudes so it also doesn't make sense from that angle.)

But the absolute wildest thing thus far is this:

In 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, David basically went: "Well, my family has a house in Poland. I guess some people could stay there." And then he started a Go Fund Me, notified the band he was taking off, got in his car and drove to the Polish-Ukrainian border. The band talks about it in this video (which was originally supposed to be about their decision to change the band's name). But yeah. All kinds of crazy things going on with the band and in his life. He could've just written a check. Donated supplies. And, I mean, he did that too. But also he just up and went. Drove right out there.

IDK, I just feel like sometimes it's a lot of bad news and a lot of news about bad people doing bad things. So sometimes it's important to remember that during dark times, there will always be people who will just up and do the heroic thing. Without thinking about it, or questioning at all. Just -- "Well, I guess I'll go house some refugees then." And do it without thinking.

(And also sometimes that person is the reality tv star drummer of that band who are in the process of changing their mildly offensive name, so maybe we judge people by their actions and not our assumptions.)

But those are your interesting facts for the day about David Friedrich. Here he is playing the piano.

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A post shared by Electric Callboy (@electriccallboy)

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Hi BPP,

I'm convinced Billboard has a spilt personality for real because how do you write an article about it being difficult to produce big stars right now, turm around a do a hit job on K-pop and Jimin specifically in order to quash his chances for any American noms and awards

***

Hi @ejassy

Lol Billboard doesn't have a split personality, you're just not really listening to all they're saying.

(Brian is something of a twat sometimes but even he has his moments)

Billboard's problem is not that it's difficult to produce big stars right now, it's that (1) the big stars that are being produced are doing so outside the legacy framework and direct influence of the American rainmakers - the American labels and middlemen who would demand their cut, and instead it's fans of various artists who can influence which artists rise to the top; and (2) that the big artists that are being produced (by fan engagement) are increasingly non-white, non-American, and non-English-speaking.

That's their conundrum.

It's a problem they've had since 2018 when BTS out of nowhere showed up in the top 10 on the Hot 100 with Fake Love after it not just went viral, but was sustained on the charts driven by demand from American pop listeners (this was the time many members of the Bey hive joined the ARMY fandom and BTS caught on with the pop-listener 'gp' in huge numbers). Since then, every award-season article Billboard has published (since 2019) has had the same tone as the one published yesterday, with each year Billboard getting more overt in their disdain, and the quiet part of what they actually mean to say, getting louder.

I've been writing on this blog for over a year about BTS, k-pop, fandoms, and the music industry, and if there's one thing I suggest people take from it, it's this: it's important to understand that everything about BTS represents a world in which the industry gatekeepers as they're currently structured, are rendered obsolete.

It's why the Korean music establishment had a similar reaction to BTS from 2013 - 2017. BTS should not have been as successful as they became, they didn't come from a Big 3 company with all their industry connections as most successful groups did, they didn't have the backing of an American conglomerate as more recent breakout groups like Fifty Fifty did, they didn't have the typical visuals, sound, vocals, styling, etc that the most popular and successful groups did.

All they had was their hunger, their talent, their hopes, and their pride, with Bang PD using every bit of streetsmarts he had to navigate the cutthroat competitive environment in the industry. And the fandom quickly realized, as early as 2014, that they could not possibly operate like every other k-pop fandom if they wanted BTS to ever have a fair chance.

It wasn't until BTS became too big to ignore both inside and outside Korea, that the Korean music establishment start giving them their dues. Personally, I expect the same pattern for Western recognition. BTS was well on pace to deliver on that promise in 2020 with their MOTS tour - it was planned to be bigger than Taylor Swift's tour is today, back then. It was rumoured to be bigger than anything anyone, even Beyonce, had done till that point.

...but we all know what happened. Dynamite was a huge hit but in comparison to what could've been, it was a pitiable substitute.

Cue the English trilogy and Grammy attempts, snubs, and hiatus. Now there's a vacuum left by BTS, that most k-pop groups are trying to use to establish themselves with the same toolbox ARMYs and Western stans are using, while leveraging BTS's reputation, and the American middlemen are watching to see which groups are most compatible for them to partner with so they too can get in on the action and not get left behind.

Because the reality is that the landscape has changed. Fan engagement is not going away and will have to become a key consideration for creating 'big stars'. Everybody recognizes this. Not everybody likes it, not everybody accepts it, but everyone understands that this is now how the cookie crumbles, and that BTS and ARMY are a big reason this is now the status quo.

And the fact is this has earned the group and fandom, more enemies than friends.

Jimin, by virtue of being a BTS member, is not exempt.

Like I said before, there are many types of people in fandom spaces and everyone has their own reasons for being here. Some trivial, some not. But anybody who actually considers themselves an ARMY should take the time to understand what it means to be a fan of BTS. In my opinion.

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Auto Erotic Assimilation" from season two is one of my least favorite episodes because it takes one of the queerest concepts in the series and makes it aggressively heterosexual. Aside from a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene with one male alien and a joke about Rick possibly contracting STDs from coal miners, most of the episode is a straight male power fantasy.

"Look at all the hot women with big boobs throwing themselves at Rick! He's the man! Unity's avatar is another alien lady with big boobs! Don't worry, folks--even if Rick talks to a man, he's really talking to HER! Don't you wish you were him, straight male viewer? Sexy alien orgies everywhere!"

The episode does have poignant moments and famously culminates with Rick's suicide attempt after reading Unity's final message, but a third of the plot is just a goofy teenage boy's fantasy. I watch it when I rewatch the entire series, but that's the only time I expose myself to that one.

When I saw screenshots from this episode that featured Unity, I thought "Oh God, not this again." Just let it stay in season two!

Admittedly, "Air Force Wong" handled Unity with more maturity. If this episode aired in season two or three, a bunch of sexy women probably would've mobbed Rick as soon as he stepped foot in Virginia. Here, the writers focused solely on the characters' relationships--not just Rick and Unity but Rick, President Curtis and Dr. Wong and their web of interactions.

I liked how Rick referred to Unity as "them," although he starts using "she" pronouns when she disconnects from the hivemind. This highlights one of my issues from the original episode: Unity is a hivemind, but she's also a hot, sexy alien babe who controls everybody, which are two opposing concepts. This seems like a backdoor way to make Rick's interactions Certified Hetero (which is probably what it was, to be honest.)

I also thought the resolution was unsatisfying. Unity's note at the end of "Auto Erotic Assimilation" makes it clear that she and Rick just make each other worse, but "Air Force Wong" implies that they should have stayed in touch. I was hoping Rick would get closure by ending it for good, but it seems like they're maintaining their distant but toxic connection.

I did like how the end of "Air Force Wong" parallels "Auto Erotic Assimilation." Rick heads back to the garage to drink, but instead of attempting suicide again, he decides to visit the president and put aside some of their differences. Like Dr. Wong says: it's a slow process, but he's changing!

Aside from that, I loved this episode. President Curtis was hilarious ("Civil war, baby!" is already one of my favorite season seven lines), and he's as petty as ever. In fact, he's so petty that he was willing to enslave the entire Earth just for a 100% approval rating. He makes Rick look calm and responsible!

As usual, Dr. Wong was the voice of reason. She could've been just a crowd-pleasing cameo, but she guided Rick through his interactions and helped him remain stable in the face of emotional turmoil. While she flirted with the president, she didn't lose herself in some unprofessional whirlwind romance.

After watching "Pickle Rick" in 2017, who would have thought that Rick would not only willingly see Dr. Wong every week but try to punch the president to protect her honor? I wondered if he had a crush on her, but nothing he said implied romantic feelings, so I think he just feels protective over her because he distrusts the president.

Likewise, we're getting glimpses of how Rick treats his family: apologizing to Summer, sticking up for Morty when President Curtis insults him (I half-expected Rick to ruin that by giving Morty shit, but he didn't.) Morty sticking up for himself was nice, although man, the writers are underusing him. I think the president had more lines in "Air Force Wong" than Morty's had in these entire three episodes. And Morty's name is in the title!

Otherwise, setting up Prime's return was great. We're probably going to have a slow drip as season seven builds to their next confrontation. It seems like most of the trailer scenes are from the first four episodes and maybe "Wet Kuat Amortican Summer," so who knows what's in store for the other five.

And I mean--the Unity scenes weren't bad. Most of my issues are holdovers from 2015, which the writers can't change now. I'd prefer not to revisit it again, though. That's like taking another trip to Gazorpazorp.

Then again, later seasons have been correcting earlier issues (Summer saying "Sorry, Rick, but your opinion means very little to me" is one of my favorites), so revisiting "Raising Gazorpazorp" with a feminist lens could be another middle finger to the dudebros who are crying for Roiland's return and howling as Ian Cardoni outpaces him.

[eshokk]

the great impersonator by halsey (2024)

my favourite tracks from the album and a bit of why!

EGO: hands down, adore this single, it's just so up my alley in terms of sound and is perfectly late 90s angst teen pop rock-punk. lyrics are classic for the genre and halsey. just love it, fun, good song.

DOG YEARS: woahhh. wonderfully angry and such a tightly done song. love the inspiration of PJ harvey here. the "i'm on a real short leash, but i like it tight" is such an interesting image. the grunge sound, it's deepness is fucking great. i love that halsey is almost always successful in creating ATMOSPHERE, TONE. she nailed it.

HOMETOWN: charming song, coming of age, it's so americana, and i really respect it. it's not the best song, but you know i like the country storytelling approach halsey took to it. i like it's loose attachment to dolly parton, but i think this is a clear halsey production and a wonderful example of her ability to be a chameleon and don any genre.

LONELY IS THE MUSE: oh my god this is easily my favourite single, and maybe my favourite song off the record, absolutely floored by the talent halsey comes at this with. she suits this so much, which is what made her previous album so absolutely amazing to me. this hard-rock sound is just fucking amazing. her homage to amy lee made me absolutely giddy evanescence was a pretty formative band for me growing up. halsey just full whails about her mistreatment, her second-guessing and doubts and her utter strength to do so is what makes this track so fucking admirable.

ARSONIST: oh this song is sexyyyy sounding. i like the fiona apple attachment here, but honestly this reminds me more of halsey's older stuff from badlands?! a cool, dark mid-tempo pop-ish song, really cool, big stand out for me, definitely my top 3 tracks off the record. just COOL!

HURT FEELINGS: okay now THIS is the badlands she's truly referencing. cool pop sound! like i haven't heard this kind of sound in a while. true mix of minimalist 2017 pop and maximalism of 2024, halsey understands the strides of music and holds it with her head held high, i think. nothing particularly special about the writing here i think, halsey really loves her metaphors in this record and for the most part, it works. change is weird. she gets that here.

THE GREAT IMPERSONATOR: oh how WHIMSICAL sounding?! björk was such an interesting choice! i quite like this sound for halsey! it's not my favourite, but i really love this kind of music, this odd, theatrical-cartoonish sound. it's charming. halsey retains her usual boldness and maximalism with some really cool layering and refrains throughout the song. the harp, the "ahH!", the questioning of, "does this story die with it's narrator" is such a beautiful contemplation of facing mortality as an artist. i think this could've worked as the opening track to be honest. i really like this closing track, it works.

overall, my favourite tracks as of 26 oct. 2024

ego

dog years

hometown

lonely is the muse

arsonist

hurt feelings

the great impersonator

the rest i don't think are bad, maybe one or two that don't stick the landing for me, they'll need some time to grow on me. as a whole, this project is what i think to be the most innovative record to come out of the mainstream pop scene this year in the face of the tortured poets department and cowboy carter, the great impersonator holds a certain kind of pain behind it like no other, masked with sleek production and outstanding marketing.

a great LP, really loved it!

[godfrey-the-chaos-duck]

Okay so me and my sister got into a debate and since you like ducktales, what sounds more legit:

F.O.W.L went to the lengthy process of changing Scrooge's chromosomes when cloning Webby, May AND June to make them girls FOR NO REASON OTHER, something F.O.W.L does NOT DO (sisters incompetent idea)

or

Scrooge is trans (my CLEARLY superior idea)

Btw gonna be sending the message to a bunch of people for majority rules type stuff

Ok. This may turn into an essay, but you'll be pleased to hear it's an essay that pretty much proves your point!

Scrooge prides himself on being a "self-made man", right? And I know most of the time it's figurative, but I personally think he may mean it literally.

And before people come at me saying "how would he have made his transition before gender affirming healthcare became available?" Let me just tell you THIS.

This is Dr. James Barry. Born in Cork (Ireland) in 1789, he got a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh and went on to serve as a military doctor for the British army. He improved conditions for wounded soldiers, and is widely credited with performing one of the first Caesarian sections where both the mother and the baby survived.

But his military funeral was cancelled. Why? Because after he died in 1865, the army discovered that he was, in fact, a woman. He had managed to pass as male for literal DECADES, and wayyyy before gender affirming healthcare was a thing.

Many women have managed to pass as men to follow their desired careers in history. So could it really be so far-fetched to say Scrooge McDuck, in the DuckTales 2017 canon at least, could've been one of them?

And lastly, there is no way in hell that his parents actually sat down and named him "Scrooge" - that HAS to be handpicked!

So, yeah, everyone's entitled to their own headcanons. That said, show your sister this essay and hopefully you've just won an argument!