#cos being in a band was just a hobby. not an actual Future.

[biillys]

band au where billy, eddie, and tommy are in a punk/metal/heavy rock band and are successful etc whatever anyway. Anyway.

the idea of them being interviewed and the interviewer asking tommy about his sexuality becos both billy and eddie are publicly bi

billy and eddie being like. hold the fuck up. u can't just ask someone that. but tommy, king of openness and honesty and also just a naive bitch, being like. i've been with my girl since seventh grade and i know she's it for me but like. guys are cool. can't confirm personally but guys are definitely cool. and being an awkward mess about it

the guys groaning and dropping their heads to their hands and jesus christ. shut the fuck up, man and the interviewer being like. so, bi?

tommy blushing like. aha ha ! when you put it like that !

them returning to the tour bus after and eddie being like. first of all that interviewer was a cunt for asking u that. second of all. [twirls hair] u can't confirm?

and billy cutting in like. we can help you confirm. we can 100% help you confirm. i already messaged carol and she's cool with it. said as long as we promised to return u in one piece, we can do whatever you want.

ANYWAY the idea of the guys having a threesome simply becos tommy's like. Well It'd Be Nice To Know For Sure. and billy and eddie giving him a night he'll never forget that bleeds into a morning he'll always remember

then the idea of someone bringing up that interview or asking tommy if he's Figured It Out Yet? and billy being like that's none of your fuckin' business only for tommy to jump in and be like oh i figured it out alright. i'm bi as FUCK.

and then all the fans and stans etc losing their minds on social media like what is THAT supposed to mean and why did billy and eddie fuck him so good that he said it like That

[toomanythoughts2]

Here's some miscellaneous Metalocalypse headcanons. I'm gonna put them here just to get them down.

Skwisgaar has flat feet, which will result in leg problems later in his life.

Toki has nerve damage to his back and he can't feel it in places. He has to go to massage therapy for it every week so it doesn't get too bad.

Murderface has long hair, his fro is just so dense. It's as long as Skiwsgaar's hair.

Stella Murderface is William Murderface's paternal grandmother, so his mother is Stella's Daughter-In-Law and his father is their biological son. Murderface's looks skipped his father, so his father and his mother were average looking individuals. The idea that Murderface's looks were the catalysis for his father's mental break were probably intensified because of the paternal skip.

Murderface's mom was very excited for William's birth. She spent a long time getting ready for his arrival. William was a wanted, planned child, whose mother was fully encapsulated in being a good mom. She took so many photos of her pregnancy and had a baby book prepared. Mama Murderface was fully ready to be a mom. When William was born, she fell in love with him. William is probably less than a year when they died, but more than 4 months. Up until their death, his mom obsessed over him, loved him, cared for him. There are so many baby photos of him up until their death, and his baby book ends at the same age of when they died.

Murderface has multiple photos of his mother tucked safely in his room. He looks at them when he's feeling particularly sad and lost. He'll look back over the home movies she took, listen to her voice, listen to how much she loved him and how she was waiting for him. He blocks out his father in the video as much as he can. He hates him more than he hates himself.

Toki has a hobby grave yard. However, he is not afraid of any hobby and will at least become competent in them.

Pickles still doesn't really understand the internet. He's got the concept but it alludes him for the most part.

Toki's family is actually the black sheep of the majority of the family and Toki is the black sheep within the black sheep.

Toki was on his way to becoming the next Reverend after Aslaug, but the family at large was very wary of this possible development. They avoided Toki at all cost due to his presence with death and his possible future position in the family.

Everyone has neck pain from head banging and windmilling, so they have physical therapy on their necks to keep them strong and to stop any further deterioration.

Nathan has back pain. Like really bad back pain. Him and his father, since they are larger men, have consistent back issues that make it hard to stand for long hours.

Rose is Nathan's biggest supporter. She co-signed on the apartment, she helped get him his first van, she helped pick out stage clothes, she painted his nails. He would read his lyrics out to her (and his dad) at the dinner table and she would help him with lyrics and support his direction. Rose knew that Nathan's life was not leading him to college, but to something else, and she fully believed that he could do anything he set his mind to.

Skwisgaar is double jointed and can pop and crack his knuckles. Murderface and Pickles DESPISE it.

While there are many "Deaddy Bears", there is only one true, original Deaddy Bear. It's the one that got burnt up in "Dethkids" but it came back afterwards. Why? BECAUSE IT'S POSSESSED! ITS A POSSESSED DEADDY BEAR KINDA LIKE THE VELVETEEN RABBIT! TOKI MADE IT BE ALIVE WITH HIS LOVE AND THE TRUAMA! TOKI NEVER QUESTIONS IT AND THE BAND IS VERY WORRIED ABOUT IT!

Murderface has gotten himself stuck in the Iron Maiden before.

There's a lot more wholesome/domestic moments within the band dynamic than their fans or even the label knows about. It's regular shit, like a routine they have worked out with themselves about how to live with each other without going crazy.

They do the "Do you want my broccoli?" "I can take your rice." "Here, take the pepper, I dont want it." kind of switch with their food when they go out. It's just a choirs of plate scraps from one plate to another.

[theimperialnuisance]

Know the mun/blogger

1. Are you named after anyone?

First name, no, but my middle name yes, after my great grandmother

2. When was the last time you cried?

This morning :,< I was in a lot of pain and the pain meds were not kicking in at all. I'm a lot better now but today has been a down-for-the-count kind of day as my energy level is really low from that. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be more productive

3. Do you have kids?

Do a puppy and two kitties count? :3 Otherwise, nope. No tiny humans in my life but maybe one day in the far future.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

When the situation calls for it, yes, or if I am comfortable with my surroundings cause I try not to be sarcastic if I'm around new faces

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

I was an avid dancer until High School and then traded out the dance shoes for an instrument and did Marching Band till College. I only really played soccer in Physical Ed classes and/or with friends and I used to play street hockey as well but again all of that was just for fun with friends as I was never part of a sports team.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

Oh. Good question. Appearance-wise, their eyes. Non-appearance wise, how they hold themselves or talk to other people. Sometimes you can tell a lot (good or bad) by how someone talks to others or how they act in certain situations. I dunno if that makes sense but that's usually what I notice as a quiet observer.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Definitely not scary movies as I am a scardy cat XD I can barely sit through any sort of scary movie so if it's between those two, happy endings it is!

8. Any special talents?

Apparently (at least according to my friends and co-workers) being able to braid my hair, like a French braid or a fishtail braid, is a talent of mine because I can do it without a mirror and also while I am walking. And yes, they are really good-looking braids XD

9. Where were you born?

A small town in the hills on the West Coast of the states in the southern part of said state. I moved up north when I was still little though.

10. What are your hobbies?

Video games for sure, Writing, Reading, Theater (More so theater tech over acting but occasionally I will act) Singing, Roller skating, Yoga, annnnd crochet!

11. Do you have any pets?

I have two cats and a dog! My two cats are twins, one is super affectionate and vocal (my sister's cat) and my cat is a sleepy old man who is very selective of who gets to cuddle with him (usually I can say someone is good people if my cat likes them XD) and then a very cute and energetic puppy who is small like a lap dog but she's actually a full 40 lbs as she's mixed with a pit bull and a corgi! She's the sweetest pup I've ever had <3

12. How tall are you?

152.4 cm!

13. Fave subject in school?

I absolutely loved English/Creative writing and then History mainly ancient history if I had to narrow it down.

14. Dream job?

Working at a professional theatre in some capacity whether I am working the Front of House as a House Manager or the Back of House as a Tech or Stage Manager :3 and as of this year, that dream job has become a reality <3

15. Eye colour?

Hazel but my eyes will change to green depending on certain factors!

Tagged by: @sundered-souls (tyvm! <3)

Tagging: Whoever would like to do this! :3

[doihavetosaymyname]

HOW TO UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL &lt;3

Pick your fav fictional couple and get a reading <3

_____________________________________________

Pile One. 

The Hermit, the Devil rx, 4 of Pentacles, 2 of Wands, the Moon, 6 of Pentacles, King of Wands, the World, 3 of Wands.

Channelled message: You always had it in you. 

Perhaps you have a bad habit of holding on to relationships (whether romantic or platonic) that no longer work. You do not like to be alone, that is why you are ready to endure everything as long as there is someone next to you.

This tendency to be codependent slows you down. In order to unlock your potential, you will have to work on your fear of loneliness. Let go of the person who you know is not compatible with you. Try being still and listen to what your soul is saying. What do you like to do alone? Do you have hobbies? Do you love yourself enough to enjoy solitude?

Take yourself out on dates. Alone. Treat yourself the same way you would treat your lover. Become your own best friend. Put yourself and your well-being first. This is not being selfish or narcissistic, it is simply self-care. 

Self-analysis, evaluation of pros and cons are difficult tasks but the effort you put into learning about yourself will pay off. Short-term satisfaction of fast gratification will vanish to make space for long-term happiness and silent confidence. It is highly advised to start therapy and in general to pay attention to mental health.

Hope you enjoyed your reading <3 Contact me for more in-depth readings.

________________________

Pile Two. 

The Emperor, Ace of Pentacles, 7 of Cups, the Sun, Page of Pentacles, King of Cups, the Hierophant rx.

Channeled message: You are like a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy day. 

You are an extremely positive and open-hearted person. You believe you are naturally incredibly lucky and attract lots of blessings in your life. You are ambitious, comfortable in your skin, and know that you have an undisputed power within. There is an interest in manifestation. But what you refuse to accept about yourself is extreme sensitivity and impulsiveness. You are a very emotional person. When you are overwhelmed with feelings, it is very difficult for you to pull yourself together and think rationally. You fantasize a lot about success but have no clear vision or plan of actually achieving it. There is a tendency of starting new projects and not finishing them; giving up/losing interest as soon as reality of life does not meet your expectations.

Your only limit is a tendency to live in your head. Therefore, in order to reach your full potential, you will have to stop daydreaming and take full responsibility for your actions and decisions. Discipline and control will open lots of new opportunities. Emotional maturity will transform your life. You will finally be able to complete that course you were procrastinating to take.

Your desires won’t be just fantasies anymore, they will become your reality.

Perhaps teachers/instructors/father figures in your life believe in you and expect you to surpass them in the future. They are ready to help you and teach you everything they know.

Hope you enjoyed your reading <3 Contact me for more in-depth readings.

________________________

Pile Three.

Queen of Pentacles, 2 of Cups, the Chariot, Knight of Swords, 10 of Swords rx, the Strength rx, Ace of Wands, 6 of Swords, 6 of Cups.

Channeled message: You will always be surrounded by love. 

Something in the past shattered your self-confidence. Childhood trauma or maybe a painful breakup; the event literally swallowed up your self-esteem. You've done a great job of leaving it all behind and healing your wounds. But the path to recovery is extremely unpredictable, so healed scars sometimes hurt. You keep scolding yourself for still thinking about your trauma even though some time has passed. You miss the person you used to be before it happened. 

However, remembering the past is normal. Coming couple steps back doesn't mean you threw the entire progress out the window. Progress is not always  linear and straightforward.

What will set you free and unlock your potential is self-forgiveness. I am so sorry you had to suffer. I am proud of you doing the best you can and shining despite your pain.

You always blame yourself and it leads to another obstacle: extreme self-doubt. You miss opportunities because you are so unsure of yourself, then regret it, and then eventually berate yourself again. A vicious circle of self-hatred.

You have to learn to break this bad habit of being too hard on yourself.

Release your doubts and guilt. You managed to achieve what you wanted once, so it will work again. And again. And again. And even if it doesn't work out don't blame yourself for it.

Also, I don't know who specifically needs to read this but your person reciprocates your feelings and is currently waiting for you. So be courageous  and approach them!

Hope you enjoyed your reading <3 Contact me for more in-depth readings.

________________________

If you like my readings, please consider donating <3

KO-FI

PAYPAL.ME

[croatian-nt]

Livi podcast

The guests of the podcasts are Dominik Livaković and Marjan Mrmić(who is goalie coach)

Translation under the cut

Host: Tell me a bit about your season in Dinamo. It was one of, if not the best season ever in Dinamo. What would you say, what happened? How did you guys become so good?

Livi: I guess there are more quality players now. And we worked well together and..yeah. I guess something just clicked

Marjan: He is being humble. Dominik had an excellent season and he knew how to stay calm in stressful situations and that calmed the rest of the team

Livi: *looks at the floor*

Host: was losing against Ferencvaros the turning point? What made you all be that much better after?

Livi: well I suppose it was important. I mean, I think I could almost say it was a good thing we lost so early on, considering the rest of the season

Host: I am not sure director of finances in dinamo agrees

Livi, laughing: well no, probably not but I think we brought it enough money later on

Host: you defended a penalty against Cluj. Well two actually. Was that harder to do or was watching Suba defending penalties during WC?

Livi: oh wow *laughs * that's-I mean you can't compare those two things. Completely different feelings. But I suppose there wasn't that much pressure put on me during those penalities because I didn't know they would be the last. But Suba is probably one of the best goalies Croatia ever had, if not the best. So I really don't think that's comparable

 Host: Alright, first card break. You need to choose between two things

Marjan: Nutmerg or dribble?

Livi: what?

Host: *repeats it *

Livi: *loading * oh! Nutmeg. *laughs * especially when it's Vida

Host: did that happen?

Domo: *yelling from the background * (I think he said "he didn't say that!" But it's not clear) *

Livi: *laughs * Anyway, next question

 Marjan: Meat or fish?

Livi: Hmm. Meat

 Marjan: Pizza or hamburger?

Livi: Pizza. Especially after a winning game

 Host: how did you start with your goalie career? Since most guys want to score a goal

Livi: well, I can't quite remember. I was attacker one day and goalie the next. I like the way goalies threw themselves to catch a ball I guess

 Host: are all goalies this calm? Or are you and Marjan exceptions?

Livi: I mean, there are some goalies that are crazy *laughs, shakes his head * but I am more of a calm type. Works better for me. Although there is that saying 'you are a goalie? You must be crazy' so you know

 Host: Second card break. It's who in the national team...?

Marjan: who takes the longest to get read in the nt?

Livi: oh, Vida

Marjan: Who runs the fastest?

Livi: Vida

Host: Vida, again?

Livi: *shrugs, laughing *

Livi: who has the most precise shoot?

Marjan: right now? Oršić

Host: Livi, would you agree as his teammate?

Livi: well yes, of course he is very good. But Vida is also very good, especially recently, he scored a lot

Marjan: who has the best hairstyle?

Livi: * laughs, covers his mouth*

Host: yeah, you can use Vida again here

Livi: yeah, yeah... Vida has the best hair

Livi: who has the best sense of humor?

Marjan: Vida

*all laugh, Domo yelling again from the background *

 Host: so your first, well second game, against England, what do you remember from it? Were you nervous?

Livi: yes, of course. When I read the list of names of their players...I certainly felt nervous. It has been...what? 5 years since then?

Host: 3, 4 years actually. Autumn in 2018?

Livi: Really?

 Host: who are players who you find most fun? The ones whose company you liked the most during WC?

*Livi, looking at Vida and laughing *

Host: EXCEPT for Vida

Livi: Then, there were also Šime, Dejan and Broz

 Host: except for not missing being on a bench, do you miss Suba in nt?

Livi, smiling: yes, I miss him. I miss him a lot. We have been on a coffee the other day, actually

Host: what would you say, how did you improve as a goalie? But please don't give me a generic answer like, experience

Livi: experience *laughs * I am kidding, I am kidding. But I have been working on playing with my foot a lot. That's what I concentrate on the most and I think I improved. Other goalie stuff well...you learn in every training

 Host: okay, new set of cards, but with one new rule. Who would you choose from nt but WITHOUT Domagoj Vida

Marjan: who would you choose as a singer in a band

Livi, laughing: who else am I supposed to choose? Who else?

Host: alright, alright. I'll give you that one

Marjan: who would you let babysit your kid for a few hours?

*Livi, laughing*

Host: no. No you can't

Livi: hmmm. Then I suppose either Kale or Vrsaljko. They have a lot of experience

Livi: who would you let choose your outfit

Marjan: hmmm. Dominik

Marjan: who would you choose as a co-driver on rallying?

Livi: oh, Šime for sure. When he presses accelator...he doesn't stop

  Host: so tell me, do you plan to stay in Dinamo forever? Or did you have some plans for future clubs?

Livi: I don't think much ahead. Everytime I do, it doesn't exactly end up that way. We'll see. I feel good in Dinamo right now. We have amazing results and I feel like home. Zadar is close, too

Host: Well then. Don't forget about out deal. If you sign up for Barcelona you have to go to every nt conference for the rest of your career

Livi: *laughs awkardly *

Host: I hope it still counts. I mean Ter Stengen isn't bad but I am holding onto your word about that

Livi: alright

 Host: Let's ask something more private. We know you are in a relationship and by recent covid regulations we are allowed to have bigger weddings again so...I am kidding, but in all seriousness did you think about starting a family?

Livi: well yes, of course I have. I mean, all the people I know that have children think of them as biggest blessing. I do want that, at some point

 Host: pets?

Livi, smiling again: yes, Cruz

Host: what breed is he?

Livi: pomsky. Do I really need to explain?

Host: ...a bit

Livi: * explains *He is wonderful. I mean he is mine, but...he is really wonderful. He makes you so happy, especially when you come home after being away...it's amazing

 Host: Helena used to do ice skating and according to Vida, you are the best dancer on the team. That means your first dance will be amazing

Livi: *laughs * I am not so sure about that. I think I'll need to practice a lot, even more than I did to learn how to defend a goal. But we'll see how that'll go. And I have to say that Vida lied. But maybe he is the best. He dances...really good

Host: he has a good sense for rhythm?

Livi: he rips shirts a lot

 Host: New card break. Favorites

Marjan, reading a question from the card: what's your favorite childhood moment?

Host: the one that isn't connected to football

Livi: not connected to fooball. Uff. I am not sure I remember. Hmmm

Host: that far away huh?

Livi: *laughs * yeah. I guess coming back from school and everything being alright(I am guessing he means grades wise)

Host: that moments were so rare huh?

 Marjan: Favorite series?

Livi: Game of Thrones

 Host: what's your hobbies, except for series? What so you do when you don't play football

Livi: well, I actually like to play basketball. I am from Zadar, after all. I started with basketball first actually, before switching to football

 Host: okay, I gotta ask. Why do goalies spit in their gloves?

Livi: well so the ball sticks to them better. So it doesn't fall out of our hands *rubs palms together * so they are...wet. *realizes what he said * but yeah uh. Mostly so you don't drop the ball

 Host: do you prefer long or short sleeved jersey? And how do you choose that?

Livi: I like long sleeved one better

Host: except when it's really hot?

Livi: yeah...when it's really hot I choose short sleeved undershit

 Host: Anyway, you guys told me not to make this too long considering there is a final of Europe league that you want to watch. Any preferences about who wins?

Livi: No, I think both teams are great. They have different qualities so, we'll see

Marjan: I think Manchester United will win. Longer tradition

Host: Either way, thank you guys for participating in today's podcast. And to everyoone who is watching, I hope you'll watch us tomorrow as well. Goodbye

[fuckitup-in-style]

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS!

Hey guys, so I just finished watching JATP and I am absolutely obsessed with it! The songs, the characters, the plot - it’s just beautiful how the creators have brought to life this light, whimsical but also very heartfelt and warm show and I am so glad to see the wonderful reception from the fandom here on Tumblr and other social media outlets because the more reception, the more likely the show will come back for season 2 - which, I think we can all agree is something we all want to see (OH, and the TOURRRR)

But I couldn’t help but notice that there is some budding tension in the fandom concerning the controversy over shipping the characters Julie Molina and Luke Patterson, which I have noticed makes a lot of people uncomfortable (and I understand).

But I got some red flags when I saw words like predatory and sickening were labelled to the ship, and specifically to Luke as a character (and the casting team). I also noticed people attacking others for shipping Luke and Julie and I felt like I needed to say something.

So, as you probably can tell, I ship Juke or Jukebox as some people have started to call them (which I think is really cute). I only ship Juke, I do not under any circumstances ship the actors because 1) I dont ship actors as a principal because too many times have actors and the relationships they have held with others in their life been damaged because of people taking the chemistry they demonstrate with their onscreen relationship out of context 2) Maddy is underaged and I don’t ship child actors at all especially with 3) their co-actors, especially if they’re over 18 like Charlie is because 4) they have a very controversial age gap.

Now that I have gotten that out of the road, I was to explain why I ship Juke - and I can’t believe I feel so anxious about defending myself for wanting to see the relationship/friendship explored with Julie and Luke over the seasons but I understand. 

1. The characters themselves are 2 years apart. It’s an interracial relationship and I love the representation with Juke as well as with Willex. Maddy has promoted and publicly shipped the idea of Julie and Luke as a couple on social media and I think that if she was okay with it, than it shouldn’t be a problem (we’re the same age and i could see how, as a actress who would have the emotional and mental capacity to consent to acting out romantic scenes, it would be ok - keep in mind, it is a G-PG teens show so it would be limited to kissing. Wishing for anything beyond that to be presented as canon is wrong and I can admit that without any shame or regret). Julie canonically has a crush on Luke and Luke has canonically confirmed strong feelings/ chemistry with and for Julie. I love seeing this demonstrated when they are singing, songwritng, performing and dancing and even during really soft or playful moments like Unsaid Emily and Edge of Great and would like to see more of these really powerful moments between the two characters as the show progresses.

2. Be that as it may, I don’t want the characters to get together in the second season. I still believe that this show is primarily about Julie and the Phantoms, a band of friends consisting of a girl rediscovering her love and passion for music and continuing to do what she loves in her mom’s memory and three boys who died before they could make their dreams come true. The Orpheum was their first step to becoming legends and I don’t believe that’s over yet.

3. I also love the idea that Charlie and Maddy both have implied that they want Luke and Julie to build a strong, formidable friendship in the show before they even consider acting on any romantic notions and I support this and would look forward to seeing it! It would be great to see how their friendship, and she friendship she has with Alex and Reggie, grows and evolves over the show. Some people might argue that this will be boring and would slow the seemingly fast progress of the bond that has been shaped but I don’t think so.

There is so many subplots for the show to explore based off of what the show creators gave us in season 1:

- The obvious, Caleb possessing Nick. I have seen the Juke shippers jump right onto this one and saying how Caleb (as Nick) trying to get closer and make moves on Julie would make Luke jealous but I think we have seen a bit of that already from when Luke first interacted (kinda) with Nick when he and Julie were talking by the lockers. I think that the Caleb subplot would not only be a good idea to show how Luke will be conflicted with how he feels about it, but it would also show how Julie might be conflicted with her own feelings if she sees Nick presenting a different attitude. As to Caleb’s true motives, this presents the opportunity for some advenutre kind tropes where Julie and the Phantoms have to stop Caleb and save Nick from possession. Both Caleb and Nick have demonstrated an affintiy for performing (Nick with guitar and Caleb with singing) so that will be interesting to see. Also Willie is still under Caleb’s thumb so that will cause some angst and tension between himself and Alex.

- Willie and Alex’s relationship has a chance to develop. The last time they saw each other, Willie thought that Alex was crossing over so I think it will be super cute to see their reunion. (Boo Boo Stewart is a cutie) so I’m interested in seeing him and the Phantoms interact. Also - I kind of want to see him and Julie meet. I want to see if Julie’s ability to see ghosts extends to all ghosts or just the boys (this can relate back to the Phantoms connection to her mother and that can be explored).

- I want Reggie and Alex’s backgrounds to be developed and explored with music and with their friends. They didnt get much bonding moments with her and I want to see their friendship with Julie grow like Julie and Alex talking about relationships and Willie and Julie and Reggie talking about how he sees Ray as a father figure and how this might relate back to his own family history. 

- Carlos knows about the boys being ghosts and I want to see how that will play into everything. I know that Reggie has shown to be playful and indulgent in his ‘Ghost Hunting’ hobby so maybe they can have some fun playing pranks on Aunt Victoria. 

- I want to see Flynn’s character become more involved in the Phantoms and helping Julie reach her dreams but I also want Flynn’s dreams to be introduced and to be explored because she is such a fun and relatable character - and her and Julie’s friendship is pure - and she deserves to have a storyline independent of that or dominant and explored.

- I want more flashbacks too of Carrie and Julie’s friendship, of the boys when they were still alive, of Julie’s mom and how her connection with Sunset Curve was forged. I just think that would be super cool to see.

- Bobby has now seen the boys perform with Julie, finally achieving their dream performance at the Orpheum so I wonder how that will go on. I want to see the boys confront him and I want to see like some real shit going down on why and how he could cheat them out of their music. They were his friends and they died and he stole their dreams, their musics, their very souls laid bare on paper and I feel like that’s some good angst.

- Like I said before, it’s a show about Julie and the Phantoms and they want to make it big. After the Orpheum, it will be interesting to see them go on to play at other venues, tackle getting involved in the music industry and making more songs. I WANT MORE SONGSSS BRUH.

- Guys, if Julie and the Phantoms are going to become stars sometime in the show, they’ll be pretty famous. Like maybe they’re going to be on TV and they’re supposed to be dead and what happens if Luke’s parents see him like Bobby did? WHat will ahppen then?!

- As for romantic relationships (besides Juke and Willex) I want to see Reggie have a love interest or maybe even come out as Bi. That would be so cool! As a fellow bisexual, I think that would demonstrate a lot of representation to not only have a openly gay character (maybe two bec Willie’s sexuality hasn’t been confirmed yet but fingers crossed) but also a bi character. Maybe another ghost ? I want to see more ghosttss.

As for how I want Julie and Luke’s relationships to be explored:

- MORE MUSICCCCCC (because I feel the safetest bet right now considering, I feel everyone agrees that their music chemistry is A+ and gives their performances some fire😉)

- Some shenanagins with them and the rest of the Phantoms (+ Flynn) like them being actual teenagers (the boys were 17 when they died and I think that’s pretty sad as a 17 year old) and showing up at school and Alex dancing with Carrie when she throws Dirty Candy performances. I think it would be funny if the two of them ever met.

- Luke making fun of Nick (jealoussyyy) and him and Julie bickering like they always do. Maybe Flynn and the boys making fun of them both. Flynn will definently want to protect her friend after seeing what a wreck she was before the performance when she thought the boys might have crossed over or gotten destroyed by Caleb’s curse, so she might convince Julie to keep her distance like in ‘Edge of Great’. Alex and Reggie will make fun of Luke def. No questions. It’s what they do best but they love each other.

- Guys, they can’t just ignore Perfect Harmony like - come on. Like, if Luke goes snooping inside Julie’s dream box (because, let’s face it, it’s sitting right there and it’s full of LYRICS people and he loves MUSIC and he loves JULIE’S MUSIC and - yeah, come on.) I also think it would be funny to see more of Julie saying Luke’s name by accident or daydreaming because I thought - ACTUAL TEENAGE GIRL REPRESENTATION!

- More fighting because her and Luke have such strong, dominant personalities and I can see them clashing in the future over the direction they want the band to go in and, more or less, petty teenage stuff.

- Possibly being more diverse with their style of music like in Perfect Harmony and Unsaid Emily. Maybe exploring some really deep and emotional lyrics and changing it up with their performance (although, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE THAT BIT WHERE JULIE DOES THAT HIGH NOTE AT THE START OF THE SONG AND THAN THE BOYS JUST ROCK IN LIKE LEGENDS AND - ) but yeah, I want to cry again like I did in Unsaid Emily so. 

Anyway, feel free to add what you guys most look forward to but the whole point of this was I want this fandom to be a fun, free and safe environment. So don’t ship actors, I don’t support sexualizing child actors and don’t expect Luke or Julie’s relationship to go past the soft, chaste, fluffy kisses you see at 16/17 because it is a kids show and once again because Maddy is underage and her and Charlie’s age gap is controversial. But shipping Juke isn’t predatory because Luke isn’t a predator, the character is 17, 1-2 years older than Julie. It’s a kids show and it’s very tender, very pure and very sweet. We have seen nothing to contradict this so don’t make it something it’s not.

Anyway that’s my two cents so don’t @ me to yell at me, okay?

[onestowatch]

Aidan Gallagher Has No Limits [Q&A]

Photo By Allan Zaki

There are many facets to Aidan Gallagher. On the surface, his scene stealing prowess as the co-star of The Umbrella Academy has catapulted him to an immense level of popularity on a piece of prime real estate amongst Hollywood’s brightest young A-List celebrities. But beneath the surface of this 17-year-old actor lies a multi-instrumentalist. An independent singer-songwriter who doesn’t seem to care about the mainstream attention that his music may garner in the future, only the substance for which it can bare.  Musically, his original compositions like “I LOVE YOU” and “4TH of July” draw early comparisons to acoustic-pop artists like Jack Johnson and Passenger. While lyrically some of his introspective words jump off the paper as if they were indie pop-ballads written by singers like Jason Mraz or Aqualung back in 2003.

For Aidan Gallagher the musician, the year 2020 began with a sold-out show at the Troubadour in his hometown of Los Angeles, California. This live performance on January 6th was supposed to be his introduction to the tour life. In fact, a couple weeks later, he even announced that he would be playing a live set at SXSW in March.  But…just as quickly as the Neon Lights Tour began, it came to an abrupt end due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Although his first ever headlining tour has been temporarily delayed, it hasn’t stopped Aidan Gallagher from publishing fresh content for his listeners along with a series of new music videos.

There are many facets to the year 2020. On the surface the pandemic this year alone has derailed the plans of some of the world’s most talented independent recording artists. But when you’re an intuitive songwriter like Aidan Gallagher, times like these can provide the backdrop for some of the most emotional compositions that you may create.

We caught up with Aidan Gallagher to talk about his emotional subject matter, his dream collaborations and his future plans to balance his music endeavors with a budding acting career.

Ones to Watch: With all of the success that you've enjoyed over the course of the past two years, you've become one of the most recognized actors in young Hollywood. But now you're starting to get a lot more attention as a recording artist. In fact, you currently have four music videos that have garnered over 1 million views on YouTube. Those are very impressive feats to have accomplished without the support of a major record label. What was your personal goal when you first started releasing music? And are you happy with the reception that your music videos have received so far?

Aidan Gallagher: There was always less of a defined personal goal in terms of a release schedule other than just to make great music and put it out there and if people enjoy it, that’s really gratifying. I’ve always made music as a means of working out emotions and because it’s one of the most rewarding hobbies one can have.

Two singles that you've released this year are "I LOVE YOU" and "Blue Neon." Lyrically, they're both heartbreaking tracks that teenagers can relate to. But you also reference some introspective experiences that many adults in their 20s or 30s can relate to. What inspired the lyrics to these songs?

I've often found that the melodic structure and the micro-tonal characteristics of a riff are what inspire the emotional landscape of a song. When I hear music, I see colors and shapes and textures that I couldn't necessarily describe to another person. I let that imagery inform my emotional state and the subject matter of the song. The lyrics always coincide with this. Sometimes the lyrics relate more to the music than myself and other times they are stripped word for word from my own personal experience. Either way the lyrics always come from an honest place. I don't see how you could create anything of value without that.

“4th of July" is a Folk song that pulls on the heart strings of your listeners. The date is very specifically addressed in your lyrics, so why did you choose to release the music video on August 1st instead of the actual day of July 4th?

Thank you! I’m really proud of that song. It brought together a lot of what I’ve been learning about music production and engineering. It gave me a chance to show what I can do. A lot of people have asked about the timing of videos and our team has found through the advice of some very wise music industry people and just trial and error that it’s best to release a listening only video first. I like the idea that people will listen to the work before they start dissecting the visuals. I want them to have their own interpretation and not necessarily the visual scenery I put on it.

Of all the musicians and bands that have released music videos in 2020, which ones have inspired your imagination the most, when it comes to creating your own videos?

I often find myself influenced by a variety of artists across musical genres. To give an example or two, I really love what Jacob Collier and Finneas are doing with their videos. But at the same time, some of my favorite videos are the ones that are stripped down, and the artist is just performing their song in a studio or on a stage. I think it puts a beautiful focus on the music and the emotional texture of the song.

The 2020 Blue Neon Tour was going to be your first heading tour, but it was cancelled back in January due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Can you tell us a little bit about what you had in store for this tour?

Well, I was lucky that I got a chance to kick it off at the Troubadour here in Los Angeles.  Just that alone was pretty cool. I had a full tour planned to go around the country and then travel to international cities and do meet-and-greets with my fans and really connect. I was really looking forward to my first SXSW performance, so that was a really hard pill to swallow when they cancelled the festival. But all things considered, I’ve been incredibly lucky in my life and my little plans pale in comparison when you look at the state of the world right now.

How many songs have you recorded since the pandemic shutdowns began? And will you be releasing an EP or debut album anytime soon?

“I Love You” and “4th of July” were released this year but everything else I’m doing is currently in a state of flux. I’ve definitely got the songs but it’s a balance of finding the time to put into recording them. I have a large catalog that I’m really proud of that will be coming out one at a time as I can get to it. With (Covid-19) it’s really slowed down my ability to record because I have to engineer everything myself. With “4th of July” I had 3 different engineers on rotation come to my house to work so it kept me working on a strong schedule and we knocked it out fast. When (Covid-19) put everyone in quarantine I lost that team and schedule. We’ll get it back though.

Who would your dream collaborators be for a full-length studio album and why?

Wow, I mean, if I was ever lucky enough to work with any of my idols, I’d be over the moon. If I got to collaborate with another artist for an entire album it would probably be on a production or writing level. I’d love to work with John Mayer, Finneas, Charlie Puth or Ed Sheeran.

If you could pick any film director to direct the first music video from your debut album who would it be and why?

Honestly, I don’t think in terms of music videos. I only think about music. Once a song is produced then I have the luxury to get into the ideas for a video. I do have some raw visual impressions in my mind of what the song means to me but it’s hard to say until the song is done. Though there are many film directors that I’d love to work with as an actor such as Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle and the list goes on and on and on.

We heard that you're a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Tell us about your work with the UN. What made you want to get involved with their efforts to stop Illegal wildlife trade? And why has it been so important for you to shed more light on the animal agricultural industry?

I can’t begin to tell you what a privilege it has been to be able to magnify my concerns about saving our planet through their channels. The environmental crisis is the largest and the most complex problem we face in the world. I have always wanted to use the platform I lucked into as an actor to showcase that. It all started with not being able to go surfing after a rain and that led to many realizations about carbon emissions and the role of the animal agriculture industry in those emissions. I don’t want to seem preachy to people or judge anyone’s choices, but I do want to spread awareness as I learn from the world’s top scientists. The truth is that if we don’t take aggressive action in the next few years, my generation isn’t going to have a viable future in a collapsed environment. The UN is calling the next ten years the "Decade of Action.” As individuals, there are a lot of small steps people can take that make a huge difference collectively such as “Meatless Mondays”, cutting down on single use plastic and cash voting for the environment with your daily spending.

You launched a five-part Q&A series on your YouTube channel back in September. Most of the questions from your fans were centered around your role as Number Five on The Umbrella Academy. Are you planning on creating any new content for your channel that primarily focuses on your musicianship and artistry as a songwriter?

I have a lot of plans for all kinds of content and ways to stay engaged with fans and it all makes me really happy. I’ve been doing music performances for my Patreon members every week, and music performing has always given me happiness. I bet a lot of performers are experiencing depression once they lost the ability to tour. Patreon brought back that happiness to me. Not every person who follows me is into my music, so it’s just for those who are and who would come to a show if I were touring in their city. I try to balance my time between the various things I’m passionate about; however, the past few months have really been about promoting the vote.

You play the guitar and piano. In addition to singing, producing and engineering. Take us back to the early stages of your timeline as a musician. Were you a self-taught musician or did you have instructors and mentors help you develop your skills?

Well, when you're first starting out you generally work on covers to develop your skills with your instrument while also making it fun. Once you can play the chords and you have an understanding of how your instrument works, you can learn things at your leisure. I started off taking lessons but eventually I stopped due to production and had to let my ear guide my learning. That's also when I started writing songs. I never took lessons for songwriting, I just watched YouTube. In particular I remember John Mayer’s seminar at Berklee College of Music to be a defining influence on my methodology for songwriting. As for producing and engineering, I'm completely self-taught and rely only on YouTube research and my own musical instinct to create.

Most of your songs could be categorized as Pop-Rock. What other genres of music would you like to incorporate into your sound?

I like all kinds of music, so I’m not necessarily trying to find a genre to incorporate but I guess you get influenced by whatever you are listening to. Genres are so blended these days, and I really think music operates on more of a spectrum than it does on individual categorizations of itself.

Who are your top five Pop-Rock artists/bands of all-time? And why?

There’s way more than five!  But since 5 is my lucky number I’ll try to narrow it down but it’s not in any order. Also know that this list is characterized by how I define Pop-rock. My Chemical Romance, The White Stripes, David Bowie, Queen and Foo Fighters.

We noticed that you filmed season two of The Umbrella Academy in Toronto. How do you think the experience of living in that city helped shape you as a songwriter and artist?

I think in order to write about life you have to live life. At this point in my life, I don't at all consider myself worldly as I simply haven't lived long enough and because of that I find that a lot of my music is introspective, and my songs often feel like the places I've written them. By putting yourself in new environments, I think it pulls new ideas out of you. Travel broadens the mind.

Hypothetically speaking, if you had to choose between winning a Grammy Award as a solo artist or a winning Academy Award with the entire cast of The Umbrella Academy, which option would you pick?

Awards aren’t why I make music or act. I don’t think about them. I just love music and acting. Any part I can play in those fields brings me happiness and I'd love to experiment with the different aspects of those art forms. Initially I got into acting because I wanted to be a director. I also loved listening to music, but I had no idea I would be a musician until I started taking piano lessons.

What’s the plan for your music career moving forward? Do you plan to continue to release material independently or would you prefer to be signed to a major record label?

It was a hard decision, but right now it’s best for me to remain an independent artist as I’m growing my music and balancing an acting career. I had really exciting offers from major labels, but they all want me to drop acting and tour full time. I also really enjoy having creative control over my songs. For the past couple of years, I’ve mostly been writing and because of that, I’ve built up a huge catalog of music to produce when I get the time. After that I’m really looking forward to being able to perform more and on tour.  For the time being, I’m really excited about catching up with what I’ve written so that I’ll finally be in a place where I can write a song and begin recording it the next day.

[piracytheorist]

Allen & Colin interview (pt.1) summary and tidbits

Because I know y’all are curious ;)

I’m not mentioning everything, because a) it’s in a foreign language for me and I miss stuff, b) I’m not sure what impact it has other than them simply mentioning that stuff in the interview and c) I’m just your average fan with her biases and preferences, some things draw my attention, some don’t. But it was an interesting insight into Colin’s inspirations and work ethic, so I’ll try to mention as much as possible. Also because c’mon it’s Colin and we all want a bit.

If you can and can afford it, I’d suggest supporting Allen on patreon. The work he’s offering is very important, especially in the times we’re currently experiencing.

In the intro, which was recorded after the interview, Allen says: “In this interview, Colin talks about his early life, growing up, having such a wonderful big brother to look up to... Maybe he doesn't say that. You'll have to wait and see.”

There's a lot of laughs in the beginning, as they start getting into the motion of brother interviewing brother. The room they were recording used to be Colin's old bedroom, and Allen asked him where his bed used to be, and almost immediately said "I'm pretty sure the listeners are loving this right now." Hahaha we are.

Colin kept a bit to himself when he was a teenager. He drew a lot and played the guitar, he was introverted when he got into the whole theater thing.

Real artistic, so, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be a musician or an artist, but when he started theater he eventually realized it was theater he wanted above all. Dude. If only we all were so widely talented and had so many opportunities to choose from XD

Honorable detailed mention: Allen mentions how amazed he was by Colin's talent. He remembers one time he was looking after Colin (he said it was about six months after Colin had started learning guitar, and iirc that was when he was 11) and he (Allen) had also recently started, and was trying hard to learn some chords. He heard some Led Zeppelin from Colin's room and was like "Oh he's listening to Led Zeppelin," then he went to his room and he realized it was actually Colin, playing Stairway to Heaven. And he still remembers! What a proud bro, we stan.

Colin learned a lot of music by ear. It was more practical than technical stuff that he worked on. He's very humble about his guitar playing, too.

They talked a bit about playing music with emotion and how sometimes people who concentrate a lot on technique don't use any emotion, and as a musician myself I've seen this a lot, where people focus too much on teaching technique that the result comes off completely emotionless. Though, I mean, I'm trained in classical music, and that's heavily based on building technique, so I can’t say you shouldn’t work on technique, but there are many ways of playing music and so many genres, and there is a healthy balance between technique and emotion, and depending on the style you're playing technique can be applied (or is needed) accordingly.

Colin talked about how he had piano lessons when he was young, and he remembers how the place where he had lessons creeped him out (he laughed at that), so that along with the heavy focus on technique discouraged him, but he wishes he was able to play it.

Don’t we all

He remembers Michael Jackson being one of his first inspirations for music. He remembers Thriller was the first vinyl he got, though the very first music that he bought was a cassette from Huey Lewis and the News - after he had his communion. Gotta say I appreciate the attention to detail XD

Colin: I used to listen to Michael Jackson non-stop. Allen: You did.

I can picture Allen nodding as he said that XD

The first concert he went to was of Jackson's Bad (I think), when he was seven! It was Allen's first concert too.

Their dad used to listen to a lot of Rory Gallagher, Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam and those became Colin's favourite music to play. Especially Rory Gallagher. He and their mom also used to play in bands, and there was a lot of music in the house in general and Colin said all that contributed to his inclination in music.

He said how once he was an adult, Helen was his biggest supporter in what he did. WE STAN. That meant a lot to him, especially when as a starting actor there'd be times he wouldn't have a job for a long time, but the support from Helen and the rest of his family in general meant a lot to him.

Then they talked about people who used to tell him that he was lucky to have the band (The Enemies) as a job, but how that wasn't luck, it was based on work he did for years before he could go out on stage with them. And again, can confirm, there's a lot of work put behind any decent and above musical performance, it can be as hard as any job, especially when you have to pack up and go to a different place, set up, rehearse, perform, pack it all up and come home late. It's just that the crowd sees only the entertainment part it gets, and doesn't know the work behind it, so a lot of time they don't appreciate it as such.

It's just... I feel that, a lot, you know? Yes, music is fun and we love it, but performing it for a crowd ain't no game.

Colin compared that to acting, with how people see the end result as a snapshot of the entire work behind it, same way we don't see a lot of the work behind professions we don't know about - Colin mentioned an electrician, for example.

I think he’d shared this story before or something about it, but he talked about his very first touch with theater; he’d gone to the youth theater to meet with his friends - just to meet them, and they were rehearsing a play but one actor was missing, so they asked him to read in for him that day. At first Colin was like “No way” but eventually they convinced him.

That first experience made him realize he could pretend to be anyone he wanted to be and it gave him a newfound confidence. At the time he wasn't playing the guitar publicly, only in his room, and playing in the theater gave him the confidence he didn't have with the guitar at the time, because in the theater he was putting his character out there, not himself.

I think it's interesting how he talks about acting; he mentioned "putting on a skin". And I think, seeing the variety of characters he has portrayed, and how invested you can feel he is during filming, and then seeing him... "collected" in cons and interviews, and not very active in social media... I think "putting on a skin" fits perfectly the way he does it. And I think it's part of why I love his acting, and why his characters feel so different from each other; it's full-on becoming and feeling like another person, not simply acting like one.

His theater group went to the Olivier Theatre in London (for a competition, if I got that right), and they got a standing ovation for their play, and it was then that Colin thought that he could really invest and make a living out of acting. He was about 15-16 at the time.

Again, standing ovation => confidence goes through the roof, can confirm.

It was there that his group won an award, and it was Colin who received that from Anthony Minghella, the director of The English Patient, and Allen said that Minghella said Colin was amazing. a) bruh can you imagine and b) what a proud brother!

Colin said how he was already interested in animation and special effects, and the whole act of making a movie, so even as an actor he still likes wandering around sets and getting to see how they're all made and built, even sets he's not part of. Again he talked about how much is done behind the scenes that the audience never gets to see.

Even from his experience in the Olivier Theatre, Colin already had the ideology that in drama, it was about the group, the team, and not about himself, and he's followed that to the present. He talked about how acting is just one part of a production, and it takes hard work from many people of different professions working together to get to that.

Like, he's so conscious and so respectful of what is behind the scenes of a production and how important everyone is... and like, I feel that says a lot about the humility we see of him, the way he treats his job as any other job, and the way a lot of his co-workers talk with such respect about him. Like, when you respect everything, from the basis to every little cogwheel that make a film and always take the opportunity to learn anything you can from your co-workers...

I love him so much.

He mentioned how his grandmother was a big influence for him too, back in the fourties she’d gone to London to study producing, so he says subconsciously there was always an influence towards drama in his family.

"You can't complain about having a disillusioned bunch of teenagers or kids causing trouble if you're not willing to invest [in their future], to help them realize [their potential]." He said that as part of how that one evening in the youth theater changed his life, and how having the chance to have a safe space to express himself, that being the theater, played such an important part in his life and the lives of pretty much everyone who had taken part in it. And how things like that, giving children the chance to explore hobbies and things they like, can have such a positive impact on their lives and futures.

So that’s for the first part! I hope it was all clear :D

[stuckonvenus]

𝔸𝔹ℂ   ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤 ! — 𝐿𝒾𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓁.

Alignment: What would be their D&D alignment? How might it come into play?

Ellie’s alignment is Chaotic Neutral. He is an individualist who follows his own heart and generally shirks rules and traditions. Although he promotes the ideals of freedom, it is his own freedom that comes first; good and evil come second to his need to be free.

Beverage: What do they most like to drink, and why?

Before turning, his favorite ‘drink’ was a strawberry milkshake.

Co-Habitate: Do they live with anyone? What’s “need to know” before moving in?

He lives with his mother and step-father, so he’s never been able to establish his own ground rules for anything outside his room, which he really doesn’t care about.

Décor: What kind of home do they keep? Are there any defining details?

His bedroom is the size of a regular house’s master bedroom. It is extremely colorful and decked out with film posters, shelves upon shelves of books and DvDs, and a projector attached to the wall over his bed which takes over the adjacent wall.

Escape: What do they do to destress? How successful is it?

Ellie will typically watch a comfort movie to calm down, or listen to music and write. Or jerk off. Depends on the day.

Fluff: What hits their soft spot? Does anything turn them into emotional goo?

Anything involving love. It doesn’t even have to be particularly eloquent, he’s just a hopeless romantic who loves love.

Grudge: How bad does an insult go over? Do they hold a grudge longer?

He’s been subject to many nicknames over the years, even worse rumors, but something always leaves a sting, whether or not it hurts as much as the one before never mattering. He’s more likely to be offended by a stranger making a comment toward him than someone he’s close to, however.

Hobby: What’s something they do for fun that might be surprising?

Ellie is thoroughly entertained by himself, and despite being outgoing and extroverted he enjoys walking by himself along the beach and being alone with his thoughts. It keeps him from possibly overexerting himself and he’s just as amused as he would be with a group of friends.

Insomnia: What’s their sleeping schedule like? Snorer? Sound sleeper?

He used to sleep all throughout the night and occasionally take a nap after school, always snoring and keeping whoever was near him awake all night. Nowadays, he doesn’t sleep at all, but he doesn’t mind. Gives him more time to work.

Jaded: Do they buy into the “happily ever after” ideal? What’s their standard?

Totally! He believes in happily ever after thanks to Disney movies and his father’s influence on him. You’d think from his extreme faith in romance he’d have high standards, but after being treated somewhat poorly by his peers and hook-ups in high school and allowing it, all he really requires in a relationship is that the person realizes that he’s multidimensional, too, and that he’s completely capable of being genuinely hurt.

Kin: What’s their role among their relations? Do they consider others family?

He’s often the sidekick in his friend groups, or the comic relief, which he never minds. He considers his mother, brother (begrudgingly), father, boyfriend and friends his family. 

Law: What do they think about abiding rules? Are they selective about it?

Absolutely selective. If they don’t benefit him, he often casts them aside, but he’s never gone too far out of the way for his own needs. Yet.

Magic: In a magic series or not, are they accepting, or is each instance a shock?

Each instance is a shock. He isn’t sure he’ll ever get the memo that magic is completely real and he isn’t just living in an insanely long fever dream. His arms are littered in bite marks from the amounts of time he’s spent trying to see if he’s dreaming.

Network: Are they connected to the people? How much do they reach out to others?

Ellie’s fairly well known in town, mostly thanks to his moderate popularity in high school and ever since his mother married successful lawyer Ethan Driscoll. He can’t stand a day without social interaction, so he’s out and about a lot, during the night nowadays, but he still reaches out to people very often.

Offspring: What kind of parent would they be? Would they prefer one, or multiple?

At least two. He’d be a fantastical parent, always encouraging his children to chase their dreams no matter what stands in their way and to believe in beauty, truth, freedom, and love above all things. 

Pistol: Is this character skilled with a weapon? What’s their opinion of violence?

He doesn’t own a weapon. He only condones violence if it’s against his brother and he’s the one conducting it.

Question: How often do they feel doubt? What topics are they defensive about?

It’s not often at all that Ellie’s doubtful, being a very happy-go-lucky person. He’s quick to disregard things that make him uncomfortable, moving along flawlessly much to others’ chagrin, but something that he’s always been defensive about is his family. He doesn’t condone anyone else talking badly about his parents or even his brother, unless he initiates it, and especially not his friends.

Reminder: How are they at remembering daily needs? What falls through the cracks?

Ellie is pretty forgetful about anything that isn’t considered a necessity to him, which would only be making his film. He hardly ever eats and is actually glad he can forfeit sleep for more time at his desk working on other things.

Sing: Do they like music? Do they listen often/sing/hum/play songs in their head?

His taste in music is broad, he can listen to just about anything and enjoy it. His favorite would be prog rock bands from the 70s-90s, but he can just as easily listen to the Top 40 from today.

Touch: How do they handle contact? Is their personal bubble big?

Considering physical touch is his love language, Ellie loves contact. He couldn’t live without it. Hugs, cuddling, kisses, holding hands, all of it.

Upcoming: How much do they think of the future? Do they make long-term plans?

He thinks about the future a lot. It excites him, because he has big things in store, and he has a vague outline of where he’ll be in ten years. 

Vice: What bad habits do they have? Is there something they would be ashamed of?

He gets attached to people very easily, whether they were meant to last for a night or forever, he always finds something to love about a person upon meeting them. It hurts him the most whenever they leave without reason, but he pretends that it doesn’t scar him as much as it actually does.

Wardrobe: What’s their fashion style? Do they have any staple pieces?

Ellie wears a lot of graphic tees and skinny jeans with the same converse that his friend Kira stitched with flowers and smiley faces in their junior year. He has contact lenses, refusing to wear his glasses most days because his brother wears them too, but whenever he has to rest his eyes he wears these oversized gold-rimmed spectacles that look ridiculous on him.

X-Ray: How’s their health? Any problem areas? Do they take care of themselves?

As a human, his health was subpar. He was clinically underweight which caused some problems, making him more susceptible to injury, but his worst has been a broken arm from trying to climb the rope in gym class when he was 17. Other than that it’s been nasty bruises and hairline fractures.

Yack: What’s their favorite thing to talk about? What do they go on about?

Film! He adores it, it’s his favorite thing in the entire world and he could go on for literal hours about it. 

Zodiac: What’s their astro sign? Does it fit? What would you pick, if it’s unknown?

Ellie is an Aquarius. He can be a bit detached when he’s thinking of something he deems important, he’s very eccentric and easy going as well, however he isn’t as assertive as others that share his zodiac sign nor is he very independent.

[believexfanzine]

Emmanuel Jasmin of DELUSION OF TERROR RECORDS

(Manila, Philippines)

April 2015/Believe Fanzine issue #4

delusion.of.terror@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/dotrecordsdistroph03

instagram: dotrecordsph

Kamusta Emman? What made you want to start a label? How was the first release?

Hi Rann! All is well. Just finish listening to Feral Trash 'Trashfiction'LP. Awesome stuff,i highly recommend it. Regarding the label,the label started out after me and my younger brother went on a small South East Asian tour back in 2003. It started out as a distro at first since i've acquired a lot of Hc punk titles from those places i've visited. The label part was born a couple of months after with the idea of releasing local and foreign bands that i like. The 1st official release came out as a collaboration with friends from the now defunct Take 4 Collective. That was the Vitamin X "Pissed Off" CD back in 2005, since the band was currently on tour in the region at that time. Working with friends make things more easier and less complicated so to speak.

 Since that time, where have you looked for inspiration and guidance in running the label? How much have your ideals and views changed since the beginning of it all?

Running the label is more of a trial and error thing for me. It has been a learning curve for sure. One thing i learned about running the label is that you need to have a steady source of income to finance it, in other words you need to have a regular job. Since i consider the label more of a hobby, I always save up money from my work to keep the financial side of the label active and current. I dont rely much on label/distro sales to finance or cover up the cost of running the label. There are expenses that will surely arise when you least expect it. So the best way for me to deal with it is to allocate some of my personal earnings which would serve as the backbone of the label/distro finances. So far i was able to manage it. I always keep in mind that the main reason why the label got started is to release bands that i LIKE regardless if its going to sell or not, at least I'm able to see something materialize out of the band's hard work. That is more than enough for me.

 Along with the label, you've obviously expanded your focus beyond just local bands and included mostly bands from Asia. What made you focus on such area?

As previously mentioned my idea of starting the label is to release bands that i like. So i dont confine my releases to just local bands. I do think that there are tons of good bands out there that needs to be heard beyond our waters. I believe that we should keep an active and open communication with neighboring scenes in our region. Doing co releases with other labels/bands outside our country is a good way to promote our own scene to them,the same goes with their scene to us. Having our own releases being available in other countries means a lot as well. It's more of a mutual cooperation.

 How did you start connecting with bands outside your own country?

I started being in contact with bands outside our country thru zine writing and tape trading. Prior to me having a label/distro i used to edit my own fanzine called Resist To Exist. Thru my zine i was able to reach out to various zinester outside our local scene. It gives me a better perspective / insight to know whats going on beyond our own scene at that time.

 In relation to the previous question, how do you choose the bands that you want to release/ co-relase or distro?

Before i join a particular release i always make sure that i like the band. That's the most important thing. Music & lyric wise should be appealing to me. I want the band to be part of the label for the right reasons, at the same time most of the bands i work with are the ones i have an affinity with. As for the distro titles,same thing. I always carry titles that i like. I often distribute bands that have made an impression or impact on me. The distro part pretty much describes my musical taste.

 Doing record label over the years, what's your stand in this digital age with free download of music from the internet and at the same time vinyl records started to increase its demand?

It always goes down to the listener if they ought to get thier music online for free or buy the actual physical copies. To each thier own. If you think that it would be more convenient to just download the music online and just pop it on your ipod or whatever devices you have then feel free to do it. Maximize the technology you have but i do hope that you'll be able to get something out of it. Whatever floats your boat.

As for Vinyl records making a huge comeback,it's kinda like a double edge sword. It's good in a sense that a lot of bands are able to release their stuff in that format and it's one of the many ways to properly document thier recorded material which is great. The only problem that im seeing is that the prices of vinyl records are getting more expensive. Expensive in a sense that there those who would sell a particular release higher than the normal price. I mean i dont have a problem if you make money out of your label releases as long as you do it fair & square. What i dont really like are the bootleg copies which are being sold at insane prices. Just because this release was done in a limited pressing doesn't justify the idea of selling it 5x times the original price when it 1st came out. A bootleg is a bootleg.

 What is your favorite thing about running Delusion of Terror Records/Distro?

The thing i like most about running the label is being able to release bands that i love and adore. It's an awesome feeling working with bands that you strongly believe in. Helping them spread thier releases to a wide array of folks and getting positive & not so good feedback makes you want to strive more and work harder for future projects.

 Do you think the future is still bright in the Philippine hardcore punk scene?

The local scene is pretty much alive and kicking and it still has a lot to offer in my opinion.There are a lot of good bands here that are worth checking out. We just need to go over the extra mile to further boost our scene here. If a band releases a demo or zine maker has new issue out go buy and pick a copy. If someone puts on a show always pay the required entrance fee and dont fuck things up. Small stuff like these definitely helps the scene. Complaining and whining about everything you despise about the scene wont do you any good if your not doing anything to help or rectify the situation. Talk without action equates to nothing.

 What advice can you give to kids who want to start a label/distro?

- If you’re going to do a particular release always try to check which format suits your budget so you can plan it well.

-Release bands that you strongly believe in.

- Always do a test print of the cover/sleeve of your releases to ensure that you have the right information,same goes with the proper length & width of the layout before sending them to the printing press.

-Feel free to trade your own releases with other label/distros. It helps spread the label name and it promotes the bands as well.

 Maraming Salamat Emman! Where can we check out your distro and releases?

Thanks Rann for the interview, appreciate the support. All the best with your upcoming projects. Mabuhay ka!

For updates regarding the label/distro you can check the following pages. Thank you for reading and have a good day! :)

[thedailyrindblog-blog]

Ten Minutes with NoEXIT

In case you missed the memo, boy bands are back. Left and right, boy bands have been reuniting, and this doesn’t exclude British boy band, NoEXIT aka Derek Mcnally, Mark Jeremy Barry and Stephen Adel Burns.

We had a chance to catch up with them after a 15 year hiatus and asked the trio a few questions about their careers, families, and upcoming album.

NoEXIT will be touring across the US in the upcoming months, so make sure to grab your tickets and  check out their new album Powerstation coming October 11 via Topanga Creek Records.

Tell us about how you became NoEXIT and your first few years as a group.

We got together in 1996, a long time ago now. We were just playing with different bands. It was more of a hobby at the time. We met in Liverpool, you know, going to different shows. One thing lead to another and we decided to start our own band together and that was the beginning of it, really. We said, “Alright, let’s take it seriously” and we all just quit what we were doing at the time and said “Let’s just get together and lets do this,” and we took it completely serious and we locked ourselves in a bedroom for about six months, just writing and singing everyday full time, all day and that’s how we did it. I remember being in college at the time and having a bunch of exams to do and just walking out.

What made you take that leap of faith?

We were in it, we were gonna give it 100% and we all committed. We moved to Liverpool and lived in a house together and we just wrote songs. We believed in what we were doing as well. We thought we were doing something different, something unique to us and we believed in it. We thought, “if we’re gonna do this, we gotta give it everything, even if it’s for a year or two.”

What does fan engagement look like now compared to when you first started out?

Well fan engagement back then was in person, there was no social media. We were on MySpace and everything, but now it’s great because now it’s a touch of a button you can engage with potentially millions of people. It’s great for us, especially because we don’t have to be together; one of us is at home, or LA or wherever. We try to post and share and interact with fans as much as we can. It’s important because the fans that were there for us back then are still with us now and we massively appreciate the support we’re getting up to this day. It’s a direct line of communication for all kinds of reasons, you know: picking singles, albums, we can post questions like ‘what’s your favorite song?’ You can get a lot out of social media. We wish we would’ve had it back in the day. Back then you had to go to every city to do TV promo.

In the 2000s, I was saying in an interview I did that I had a diary in which I wrote everyday and I found out we did a total of 180 flights that year; it was like every corner of America. We’d get up in the morning and be in one state then another state doing a photoshoot then we’d be on the tour bus overnight driving through the desert, it was surreal. It was constant, it was just nonstop for 3 years.

Would you change anything from those early days?

No, no. It was amazing! It was just a different time. But you know social media and the way people interact with fans has changed. You had to be on the road and physically go to each state. It was living out of a suitcase for months.

If you could give your younger selves advice, what would you say?

“Don’t have that last drink on the road!”

“Get some sleep.” I think it’s crazy because back then we were going out, we were making the most of it, enjoying it, but we were still sensible to a point.

I’d say to my younger self, “just take it all in.” Last time around everything was moving so quickly and we didn’t really get to absorb it. It was the airports, the venue, then the airport again, we didn’t have enough time to process everything. It was like ‘where’s next, where’s next, where’s next, let’s get it done.’ Ticking every box that we had. I’d say to my younger self, don’t take it for granted because one minute it’ll be here, the next minute it won’t.

I’d say to my younger self, don’t take it for granted because one minute it’ll be here, the next minute it won’t.

Do you feel like you did take it for granted?

You know what, I did to a point, I mean I appreciated it but I was 22 years old. What an amazing experience to have in the world. Now cause I’m older, we got kids, you know it’s weird. It seems like a dream because we’ve had that amount of time away from it. There was a focus on other things: family life, kids, and al. It wasn’t quite the right time to get back together with the lads. Now it’s like we’re enjoying it more because we appreciate it more. We’re getting that second chance that not many bands get. We did vanish for 15 years, so to come back and do shows and to have Good Morning America want us on there, it’s amazing.

During those 15 years, were you still playing music? What did you need during that time in order to come back?

We all did different things, fitness, music, one of us was in a band, did our own thing, family and stuff, and before you realize it 15 years had gone by. We got offered some cool reunion shows previously, but it just didn’t feel right at the time. It felt like we were forcing it. We decided to get back together and do it all ourselves, have full control, have our own team. Instead of someone saying ‘You’re gonna get back together, you’re gonna have a full itinerary and full schedule.’ That was important this time, especially with family. We wanted to be in control, it’s not like we were mistreated before or anything, but we were out there for three or four years non-stop and this time we wanted to be in control of the tour, schedules, and stuff like that.

We decided to get back together and do it all ourselves, have full control, have our own team.

Musically, how would you say you transitioned over the years?

I think we’ve all transitioned. We’re definitely better musicians, better singers, better songwriters. We’ve all transitioned lyrically especially. We’ve always had really catchy songs and melodies, but lyrically it’s matured a bit. We’ve obviously experienced a lot more in the past 20 years, so we have a lot to write about.

So what does the future hold for NoEXIT?

Were always gonna continue to write music and perform. We’re not gonna be taking a break anymore. We’re just gonna give it our all, perform, write music, record great songs, create a bigger fanbase and reach out to the people that still don’t know we’re back together yet. There’s so many people that aren’t aware that we’re back together so we’re just gonna continue doing what we’re doing. We’ll write an album every year if we can, and do bigger tours, and if any songs become a hit… (which we do want, I mean what band doesn’t?). We’re really enjoying it, not that we didn’t enjoy it last time but we’re really enjoying it this time. That’s the main thing, as long as we’re enjoying it, doing it together, we’ll be around for a long time.

How about your families? Do you talk with them about the origins of NoEXIT?

I’ve told the guys this story: my oldest son, got an Ipad. He says to me, ‘Dad, what was that band you were in?’ I said to him, “NoEXIT” and didn’t think anything of it. Then I was walking past his bedroom and I hear our song playing and I hear him singing. He got a guitar for Christmas and I showed him a few chords and then again I walk past his bedroom and I hear him playing my song.

For me, I have a two year old son and a seven year old son as well. I’m never going to force music on them, but I’m always playing music around them. When we’re in the car I’ll play them stuff from NoEXIT. I hope they do follow my footsteps because they can sing, they actually can sing, and I’m not being a biased dad, but (the seven year old) he really can sing. There’s something there. Knowing what music has done for me, it’d be great for them to do it as well. I’m hoping to be a great role model for my kids. The seven year old is taking it in but not as much as he would in the next three or four years, but he’s happy; he’s proud. All our families have been supportive. I play the new songs in the car all the time and my son goes, “Daddy put “Bullet Train” on!” Now they love “Wolves,” and they’re singing, they know the words. They sing the songs to their mum. It’s a great feeling.

What does your creative process look like? Do you write together or individually?

We all write individually and write together, and co-write. For this album, we did some of it in Los Angeles and some of it in England, in Yorkshire and Liverpool. We just do whatever we need to do to get it done. We swap and send ideas back and forth from Los Angeles and England. The great thing now is with the internet, you can collaborate with anyone around the world, at anytime. We just shot videos the other day, one of us filmed our bit in LA, the other in another place. We put the files together and many thought we had filmed the whole video together.

Walking down memory lane, what was it like to perform songs like “Back Here” and “Out of My Heart” to million and millions of screaming fans?

It was amazing, it was a different time. You can see things working correctly when you go to a show and everyone’s singing along. We have nothing but great memories; like the tours we did with Britney Spears and NSYNC at the height of their career. Giant stadiums doing two or three nights in a row. It was just surreal. We were then able to do our own and sell out a House of Blues tour. Just looking back, it was pretty mental but so enjoyable.

Just looking back, it was pretty mental but so enjoyable.

How do you get over those nerves when you walk out to face a stadium-sized crowd?

I remember we did our first show in London, I was sweating and dropping picks. When it’s smaller crowds it’s harder because it’s so intimate. When it’s a sea of people, you’re not really connecting with anybody. The first few shows we were all nervous. It comes with experience. Even now, we’re not going out on stage totally relaxed. We still get nervous. We still get butterflies. When we just did Good Morning America, we felt the adrenaline.

Were you at all nervous to come back after all that time?

Well, we’ve still been singing and performing. Stephen was doing shows with Train and if anything, the feeling that we get now instead of back then is different. We really take it in. When you’re on stage and the fans are connecting with you and you can see that they’re really getting into the performance; I’m getting a better feeling of that now than I used to. I can’t describe it. You get lost in it on stage. You get lost in the music, in your own world. It’s a great feeling.

I can’t describe it. You get lost in it on stage. You get lost in the music, in your own world. It’s a great feeling.

What does it mean to you to be independent?

We need to be independent now and have that control, especially with a family. We [Mark and Steve] couldn’t do this the way we could back then. If someone said ‘get back together’ and we had to do that same level of work like before, I wouldn’t have done it. Family is our priority, family is number one.We can still do the work, but we don’t have to be out [on the road] all the time. Social media frees us up a lot and allows us to be present everywhere. It’s a good feeling. Before social media, all you could do was go on TV or do interviews for magazines. That’s what we were worried about when thinking about getting back together — our control being taken out of our hands. This time we’re going to do it ourselves and we got a great team around us. You guys (The Orchard), a manager, a great tour promotion company working with us…we got a great team. When you do it independently there are obstacles but it’s just about getting the right people. There’s pros and cons. We’re not signed, and we got on Good Morning America and to be able to say that while not being signed… hopefully it will snow ball and that’ll create more interest.

What can we expect from the new album?

It definitely has that NoEXIT sound in the guitars, vocals, and harmonies, but it’s very contemporary in the production. I’d say there’s elements of the first and second album on there, and other elements that no one’s heard yet. The three voices make it sound like NoEXIT. We were a bit worried in the studio, thinking, ‘It doesn’t sound like anything NoEXIT’ then we put the vocals down. Lyrically, we’ve moved forward in the right direction with catchy songs. The old NoEXIT fans won’t be disappointed.

[marionetteblues]

the future

JILY CHALLENGE | @marionetteblues vs @chierafied TV Show AU -  "i am painfully in love with a woman who has been engaged to another man for 3 years, who she is marrying now because she is in denial about the fact she has feelings for me so honestly no i'm not okAY... my wife is marrying someone else" jim and pam the office au

what is this? who knows, not me soooo this is an eensy bit late because i’m an idiot but it’s just about on time! also i have no idea how security works in any shape or form so please don’t yell at me over it and let’s all call it creative license ok 

Sometimes, James thinks he can tell the future. He gets these weird feelings - flashes, maybe - when he meets a person. He knew the moment he met Sirius that this person would become like a brother to him. He could see it spread out before his feet, scrolling through every second of his life.

He had the same feeling when he met Remus. He knew when he met Lisa how their relationship would end. It played out in a way that was eerily accurate to his own prediction.

He’s been wrong once - Peter, unfortunately - and it never changes. It usually happens in that first split second of looking into someone’s eyes and just knowing.

That’s why he never sees Lily coming. She kind of sneaks up on him.

The briefing has been steadily melting his brain all morning. He didn’t finish up last night until at least a quarter to midnight, because the band did three encores and then invited a bunch of people back to the green room.

Alastor Moody stands at the top of the room, and at least he looks as bored as James does. He’s crawling through a list of assignments in a drone, but his eyes never rest. They dart around uneasily. Nothing unusual.

He’s been at Moody’s specialised security firm for about a year now. Most of the guys are a lot like Moody - slightly older, grizzly looking guys who look like they could punch through cement. Having a missing limb isn’t a requirement, but Moody knows what he likes, and that’s apparently amputees who could kill you.

James is kind of an anomaly, if you think about it. But he’s good - he does a lot of tech stuff, a lot of crawling into tight spaces that no one else can fit in, a lot of pretending to be a hipster arts student to “blend in”. James doesn’t mind; he’s still a junior member of the team - a lot of the time, he just gets puts on a team because he’s on the payroll and Moody is going to be damn sure he’s going to use anyone he’s paying.  

That feeling he gets? It makes him pretty good at his job.

“Potter,” Moody barks. “I’m putting you on Dawlish’s team to guard the ambassador’s family. We’re expecting it to be an easy job. Which is why you’re taking the new recruit with you.”

It’s some kind of magic, but that’s the exact second there’s a knock on the door. The girl who lets herself in is compact, a little on the short side. Her dark red hair is pulled into a sharp, sleek ponytail. She’s dressed in black, sensible clothes. Her expression makes her look like she could eat them alive.

A couple of the guys shift uncomfortably. There have been women before, obviously, but a lot of the team have been there for decades, and Moody doesn’t see any sense in replacing them while they’re still good and not dead. Which means that there’s not a lot of staff turnover.

“Alastor?” she says, easy and light, like she isn’t looking at one of the scariest guys anyone’s ever come across.

“Ah, Evans, just in time,” Moody mutters, clapping his hands together. “I don’t like late.”

She shrugs her shoulders. “I got a little held up at your HR department.”

Moody blinks at her for a second - the rest of the room holds its breath - and then coughs out a laugh.

“Take a seat. Everyone, this is Lily Evans. She’s our new recruit, and she’s one of the best in the business. I wouldn’t cross her,” he adds with a wry smile, even a tiny, harsh chuckle.

“As I was saying, Potter, you’ll be staying with Evans until she gets acquainted with how we work around here. He’ll fill you in, Evans. Right. Back to work!”

And that’s how he meets her, giving her the details of a glorified babysitting mission, which involves a lot of walking while looking menacing, driving cars in tight packs so they get hit with the bombs or bullets or anything else that could be heading for the target.

“Is this your first time in security?” he asks her as they leave, geared up and split into pairs.

Lily walks alongside him with breezy confidence, turning her head to look at him sharply. “Well. I’ve been with MI6 and the CIA for three years, and I’ve got three advanced degrees in criminology and security management. Can you defuse a bomb?”

James can’t help but laugh, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Alright, I’m waving a white flag here. I didn’t mean to imply you had something to prove. Just making small talk.”

Lily grumbles something under her breath that he doesn’t quite catch, and she says nothing until they get to their car.

He takes one look at her and then nods to the driver’s seat. “I’m guessing you want to drive, then?”

James can see her, biting back her smirk. But she doesn’t quite manage it as she climbs into the driver’s side and starts the engine. James grins and follows her.

The thing is, James doesn’t see it. Not right away.

Here’s what he sees: this is the first co-worker in Moody’s entire outfit that is anywhere close to his age, so it makes sense for them to band together. They’d probably be partners a lot, and Lily would do that thing where she deflects his prodding and personal questions and keep it kind of professional, while at the same time they’re eating a mountain of chinese food out of cardboard containers while sitting in their car, maybe tossing cheetos at each other or something.

It doesn’t really start like that.

Lily is … quiet. She wears her sunglasses and stares at the windshield when they’re doing the more covert stuff. She stands much taller than she actually is and stares straight ahead when she’s on duty.

At briefings, she sits and takes notes and plays with a ring that’s kept on a silver chain around her neck, tugging it back and forth.

But slowly, Lily opens up, and they end up more or less exactly the way James saw. And that’s fine, because that’s how it works. James sees, and then the world sees.

They’re doing heightened security for some singer who’s convinced that someone is planning to kill him after his show. They’ve got people on every entrance, two on either side of the stage, plants in the audience. Moody says they’re making a fortune from this guy’s anxiety.

They’re kind of spares, here. They’re alert, they’re ready, but there’s not really much for them to do except sit against the wall under harsh fluorescent lights outside of the dressing room - locked, of course - and feel the bass vibrating through the floor, rattling their bones.

Lily’s got her head buried in her phone, toying with her ring. She wears it around her neck on a silver chain when she’s in the field - if you could even call this in the field - and James has seen her tug on it a lot, back and forth.

“Is there really something more interesting than me on that thing?” James says, poking her arm. His earpiece crackles like someone’s trying to get through, but no one says anything.

“Is this about your ego or about you being a Luddite?” she says with a wry grin, but she doesn’t look up.

James pouts. “Can’t it be about both?”

“Isn’t it always about both?”

“Sometimes it’s about your ego,” he points out, making her laugh.

She lifts her head, rests it against the wall and blinks at him. “It’s my mum.”

James snorts into his bottle of water. “Is she antiquing or crafting?”

Lily wrinkles up her nose like she does so often. It’s her signature move. “She’s not doing either. You’ll be appropriately horrified to find out that my mother has found an even worse hobby.”

“Something worse than antiquing?”

Lily nods gravely, letting out a deep, dramatic sigh.

James narrows his eyes. “Something worse than crafting?”

“Considering that antiquing is worse than crafting, obviously…”

James holds up a hand, resting his elbow on his knee before she can go any further. “Lily, I am not getting into this argument with you again, there is no way -”

“You said you weren’t getting into this argument again, you’re just -”

“I just can’t believe you think antiquing is more of a problem here -”

“You know, I think you’re more of a problem here -”

They both pause to take in a large breath at the same moment, and then burst out laughing. They’re sitting in the hallway that runs from the dressing room to the steps up to the stage. One of their guys pokes his head around from where he stands on the wings to peer at the commotion, and they just laugh when they try to silence the other.

They both go quiet, and in the silence Lily starts fiddling with her ring again, glancing at her phone.

“So, what is worse than crafting and antiquing?” James says, glancing at the phone. It hasn’t buzzed or lit up.

Lily groans. “Wedding planning.”

There’s a few beats of silence; whatever James was expecting, it was in the abstract. If he had to guess, maybe beekeeping or making her own shoes something else a little wacky. He hasn’t met Lily’s mum, but he’s seen a lot of pictures and heard a lot of stories.

He shifts his weight uncomfortably before he realizes he hasn’t said anything, and Lily’s looking at him with this sort of expectant expression.

There’s not a whole lot James can say back to that.

“Have you set a date? Did you deliberately not invite me?”

Lily doesn’t scowl the way normal people scowl. She scowls with her whole face, her whole body, her whole self - past, present and future. It’s terrifying.

She scowls now and James braces himself to scoot away from her.

“No, we haven’t set a date yet,” she tells him, her arms folded tightly across her chest. “Three years I’ve been waiting for Aaron to set a date. Now, I think he’s just taking bets on how long I last before my head blows up.”

James clears his throat. Lily talks about Aaron too. They met so many years ago, it’s like a whole other Lily. Before she ever got a qualification, before any of her training, she worked as a receptionist for a newspaper, and that’s where she met him.

Privately, James thinks that Aaron is trying to set the record for world’s longest engagement.

And then it hits him, jabbing him right in his stomach. He blinks over at Lily and he can see something else, something he never saw before. He swallows, his whole body going cold as Lily keeps talking about her fiancé. He can’t look away, but he can barely look at her. His heart is hammering and his insides are shaking, his entire body reeling from the gravity of … this.

Once he’s home, James lies in bed, wide awake for hours. He watches the sun crawl up from behind the horizon from his spot on the bed, he watches his room slowly lighten from pitch black to shadows and shapes.

This is what he sees now: the same arguments, crafting or antiquing or even something worse, only now they’re in his apartment instead of their work space. Instead of sharing his lunch because she never remembers to bring food, he makes them both lunch. Backing away when she scowls with her own body, but hearing her laugh when he does. Distracting her from her phone in other ways than poking her in the arm, much more exciting ways …

He alternates between lying on his sides, stomach, and back. He pinches his nose and stares at the ceiling. Every second he spends not sleeping, he grows more uncomfortable, and the less he can think about anything else.

He’s heard Lily talk about her fiancé dozens of times. He asked her about her ring once, and she said she didn’t want to lose it, and he felt nothing. He remembers feeling nothing.

Or maybe he just doesn’t remember feeling anything, so he thinks he didn’t.

Or maybe he remembers feeling something, but he never realized that this was what he was remembering.  

It makes no sense, to see the trajectory of a relationship, to think you know exactly what’s going to happen and have no idea, all in one moment. And in the very next, you know, and you realize you knew nothing.

And that’s when James knows.

He’s been wrong twice.

He tries telling her. His first attempt is some ridiculous teapot scheme while they’re all passing out Christmas presents.

It doesn’t go according to plan.

But she likes the teapot.

“Maybe I don’t need to tell her,” he says to Sirius one day, over  their breakfast. For James, that’s fried eggs and bacon. For Sirius, it is coffee as black as his name.

Sirius does not look impressed.

“All you’ve talked about for months is that you need to tell her,” he points out, his eyebrow drawn up delicately. “And especially before she gets married. Not that you couldn’t tell her after, but it might be a little more tricky. All things considered.”

“Yeah, but she wants to get married, right? I shouldn’t get in the way of that.”

Sirius takes a massive gulp of his coffee like he’s chugging a beer. “Look, I think if she really wants to be married, she’d be married.”

“She’s waiting for -”

“Oh my god, James, I physically cannot care about this anymore.”

“I know, I’m just saying that -”

“Don’t. Care.” James glares at him in complete silence until Sirius shrugs his shoulders again. “People make things happen when they want them to happen.”

“So you think I should make it happen?”

“I never said that,” replies Sirius, going back for more coffee, because he never learns.

“But you think I should?”

“If it makes you stop whining about the girl, tell her in skywriting, Potter, just do something.”

Do something. That’s never been something that James has had a problem with. He’s pretty good at getting things done. He’s pretty good at wanting to do things, even. He gets what he wants, most of the time.

But this? This feels different, and weird, and new, and he continues to do this dance with her, feeling his heart thud when she smiles at him across the table during their briefings, experiencing a consuming ache of disappointment when they aren’t on the same assignment.

He even convinces himself that he’s happy to do it. After all, he’s not the opposite of happy.

James picks the worst moment to realize that he can’t wait a second longer. He comes into the break room, and it’s a quiet day. He and Lily are charged with manning the phones, hopping with frantic calls from people with warbling voices who need more security than the local mall can provide.

Lily’s already in the break room, and she nods her head towards the tea that is sitting on the counter, steaming.

“For me?”

She nods distractedly. “It’s so you don’t mind that I’ve commandeered the entire table.”

He sits down opposite her - she’s right. There isn’t a single place to put a small cup of tea. He adds enough sugar to make Lily pull a face, since she’s a purist who doesn’t even put milk in her tea, and then sips on it happily.

“What is all this?” he asks her. It’s a lot of papers, bright colours and fancy fonts.

He peers, and has a sinking feeling in his chest.

“Wedding stuff,” she grumbles. She could have very well said ‘battle plan’ in the same tone. “I figure if I do some of the ground work, maybe Aaron will just ... “

“Just what?” he prompts her, frowning deeply.

Her own face starts to crumple. “What does it mean when someone asks you to marry you and then doesn’t for four years?”

It’s another one of those moments in his life where James thinks he can see the future. He feels the pressure of it laying in front of him, his feet fast approaching him.

“It means you shouldn’t marry him,” he says, his tone lighthearted.

But Lily’s eyes dart up to meet his, her face stricken. “What?”

James’ breath is unsteady; he needs to force his lungs to take in more air before he can speak. “I don’t think you should marry him, Lily.”

She says nothing. Nothing. James watches as she swallows hard, eyes boring into his.

“And why is that, James?”

She leans across the table, and he really sees it - he sees the outcome before it happens, he knows how this is going to work. She wants to hear him say it out loud.

So he does. He tells her exactly why, and he waits for her to smile and say that she loves him too, that they’re much better matched than she ever was with Aaron.

This is when James realizes, for the third time, that he’s wrong.

It’s four a.m. in the morning, and James has given up trying to tell the future. Three strikes and you’re out, and he doesn’t want to find out what happens when you’re wrong for the fourth time.

But just like always, Lily has other ideas. She never fails to sneak up on him. Maybe she thrives on subverting his expectations. Maybe it’s just the universe.

But she shows up - and she doesn’t knock, she bangs, hammers, pounds, brings down the thunder on his door until he opens it - and she stands there, dressed in mismatched socks and her hair in these ridiculous braids that she obviously wears to bed.

And she glares and glares, her hands still balled into fists. “I broke off my wedding for you,” she says, her voice loud and clear. “I broke off my wedding, and you just didn’t say anything. After all the stupid things you said!”

“Stupid?” he repeats, frowning as he rubs sleep from his eyes. He works in security, so he’s got a swiss knife tucked between his fingers. He drops it on the nearest surface. “Technically, you didn’t have a wedding to break off.”

“I had a ring to give back,” she replies, stomping into his apartment. He shuts the door behind her, and finds there are no words inside of him.

“And you don’t even react,” she mumbles, her voice breaking a little bit.

“I wasn’t sure you wanted me to,” James admits, rubbing the back of his neck.

All the fight seems to leave her. She flaps her hands to either side as if she’s saying take a look around, idiot - she’s got a point. It’s four a.m. in the morning, and she’s here in his apartment, looking ridiculous, and yelling at him about wedding rings.

“James…” she whispers, shaking her head. Her eyes are so wide. James can tell she’s doing everything she can not to insult him right now.

And just like that, he can’t see anything. Well, he can see her, he can see the smile growing as the anger wears off to be replaced by something warm and hopeful and good. He can’t see the future. But he can feel it, somewhere deep down, he can feel his future standing in the room with them. This is it.

[blueraspberrycoolatta]

2018 writing self-evaluation

yoo @suspendrs​ tagged me in this and i got so excited!! y’all know i love any opportunity to yell about my fics!!

ALL FICS MUST HAVE POSTED ON AO3 IN 2018

1. Number of stories (including drabbles) posted to AO3: 15

2. Word count posted for the year: 122,531

3. List of works published this year (in order of posting):

play me a memory (5 february)

don’t stop us now, we’ve started (11 march)

Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (with @lesbianharrie​) (23 april)

come find me in the afterglow (14 july)

you look just fine on your own (6 august)

some princes don’t become kings (11 august)

melodies and memories (31 august)

I Get A Kick Out Of You (with @lesbianharrie​) (18 september)

i’ve learned to loathe these goddamn visions (7 october)

a little bit stressed out (2 november)

take off your colours (16 november)

no time for getting old (2 december)

hold onto this feeling (3 december)

taste the tension, now i’m begging (5 december)

half remembered, halfway across the world (first chapter posted 2 february, last updated 11 december)

4. Fandoms I wrote for: the legend of zelda: breath of the wild (8), one direction (5), 5 seconds of summer (1), kingdom hearts (1), choices: stories you play (1)

5. Pairings: louis/harry (5), link/revali (3), louis/zayn (2), calum/luke (2), hayner/roxas (1)

6. Story with the most:

Kudos: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (1062)

Bookmarks: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (432)

Comments: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (141)

9. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

it’s a tie between don’t stop us now, we’ve started and melodies and memories. don’t stop us was one of those stories that ran away from me in the best way—i intended it to be around 5k when i started it, 7k max, but as i dug into calum’s backstory, everything just kind of...started writing itself. 

melodies and memories was similar. it doubled in length from what i’d originally planned for it to be, but what i actually like most about this one is that since it’s so closely linked to half remembered, halfway across the world, i’ve been putting little easter eggs and phrases/occurrences that mirror each other, either within the same fic or across both of them. the paraglider that zayn makes for louis in melodies and memories is the same one troye uses in half remembered. loius tells zayn he’s not the type to make promises, once in melodes and memories, and then again in half remembered. zayn there are a ton more but i can’t say them cos those chapters haven’t been posted yet, but i’ve been having way too much fun putting them in. (as emma’s said: i’m playing 3d chess with this fic) 

10. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

probably take off your colours? i posted a first chapter and people seemed to like it but i started it with no idea where it was going and i’m worried i should have waited to post it, wrapped it up to make it a oneshot, and then just left it, rather than setting it up for a whole chaptered story. and i feel like the revalink fandom already has a bunch of soulmate fics and like do we really need mine fskjdfh

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

oh! can i post two? i’m gonna post two. the first is from a revalink fic, and the second is from the soccer fic.

Then it’s Link’s turn to say his vows. “Revali.” Link’s voice is soft, but steady and clear, no signs of nervousness as he picks up the diamond pendant. “When we first met, I thought you hated me. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, and I thought I’d be just fine never seeing you again.” Scattered chuckles from the crowd. “I’ve never been so happy to be wrong. Revali, falling in love with you was like falling out of the sky. It happened so quickly, and I didn’t know what was happening, and it was scary at first, but once I accepted it, every moment has been thrilling and exciting and I never want to hit the ground and let it come to an end. I want to spend the rest of my life falling in love with you. So I take you, as you are, pride and all, to be my husband. I will be by your side, through storms, through Calamities, through everything life has to throw at us. I promise to support you and love you, unconditionally. You already have wings to take you into the sky—I promise to be the wings that take you into our future.”

Well, that does it. Revali blinks back tears. “Your vows were way better than mine,” he whispers, no venom behind the words even if he wanted there to be.

Link snorts fondly, standing on the balls of his feet to tie the pendant around Revali’s neck. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that not everything’s a competition?”

~

and then:

“I have dual fucking citizenship, you weeb.”

12. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

i really truly love every comment i get. it means the world that someone not only read my fic, but took the time to say something afterward. but i got several comments this year that were all along the lines of: i never thought about this this way. and i love that even in a fic context i can bring something new to the table, a unique perspective.

also, someone called me their favorite revalink writer and that made me into the literal hearteyes emoji i almost cried

13. A time when writing was really, really hard:

when isn’t it hard? but actually, nano was hard this year. i wrote more than i ever have, but i just felt like the pressure was Too Much. usually pressure is a good thing for me but for some reason it got to me this year. i was writing 4+ different projects, in 2 different fandoms, and i just couldn’t really focus. 

14. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

all of 5sos in the breath of the wild au took me by surprise with the depth of their dynamics, but calum especially. i didn’t Mean to give him a fuckton of backstory, but i did, and he just kind of...developed on his own. next thing i knew, he was a conflicted teenager with a penchant for fighting but a whole lot of guilt. i’ve been really loving digging into his character, not only in the prequel but with the way ashton and luke talk about him half remembered. in fact, he surprised me so much he’s getting a sequel set after the events of half remembered. but that won’t be for a while yet.

15. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i want to say i surprised myself with the emotional themes i’ve been exploring in fics this year. i’ve had so much fun writing angst, especially in the breath of the wild verse, and i used to say i’ve never do angst or i’d never be good at writing it. i don’t know if i can say i’m good at it just yet, but i definitely feel like i’ve been getting better at conveying more emotion in my writing. also, i like to think i’ve gotten better at humor. 

16. How do you hope to grow next year:

i just want to keep writing! i feel like especially this past month, i’ve just been hit with bursts of inspiration, and when that happens, i just want to go with it rather than be like ‘oh, that’s interesting, i’ll come back to that later when i have a better idea of what’ll happen.’ some of my favorite fics i’ve written this year have been largely unplanned and spontaneous so i want to carry that energy into the new year. 

17. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

my loggies! i loved getting together to write (even if not a lot of writing got done) but all your encouragement and support has meant the world. also i wanna shoutout @lesbianharrie for being the absolute best cowriter i could ask for. i feel like she’s helped me be funnier, which has been something i’ve always wanted to do. also, writing comedy is always more fun with a friend!

18. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

please refer to the entirety of Ain’t That A Kick In The Head!

19. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

honestly, you have to like what you’re writing. otherwise, you’re gonna slog through it and you’ll hate every moment and that’s no fun, especially if writing is meant to be a hobby. write the stories you want to write, even if it seems like no one will read them. you never know—people might surprise you. and even if they don’t, hey! you wrote something you like and you’re proud of, and that’s enough.

20. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’M GOING TO FINISH HALF REMEMBERED. I’M SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE. the second half is actually going to be posted more quickly because i keep writing it out of order. like. i have the epilogue done. but do i know what’s happening in the immediate next chapter? not a clue!

but also, i have some really exciting new projects in the works as well! i have a high school bagpipe band au that’s gonna be ridiculous and (hopefully) funny, my fic for the @hlmusicalsficfest that’s gonna be based on nice work if you can get it, and at Least two (2) more disaster harry fics. get pumped!

21. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

uhhh idk who’s been tagged and who’s already done it so i’m just gonna say: anyone who sees this and wants to do it! just tag me, i wanna read your answers!

[badger-s-moved]

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾15 questions, 15 mutuals☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

i was tagged by @cosmicxwoobear !! thanks hun ilysm uwu

1. are you named after anyone?

Birth name wise, no, but the middle name my mom gave me is the name of my paternal grandmother

2. when was the last time you cried?

A day or two ago? I was listening to The Orbiting Human Circus and a part of it just hit me because it reminded me of my late grandfather and I cried bc it’s almost been exactly a year since he passed away and i miss him very dearly

3. do you have kids?

i have honorary kids (aka lil freshmen who don’t know what they’re doing) and my pets but uhh. no actual kids. tbh i don’t really want kids of my own, like one of my occupations i’m thinking about is being a teacher but i don’t think i could ever go home to kids lmao

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

uhh yeah. like i know when to use it and when i shouldn’t but i’m quite fond of using sarcasm when i have the chance lmao

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

their tone of voice??? and their posture. In my experience, these two things are the biggest indicator of character, so I usually pay attention to those more than anything.

6. eye color?

It’s like a mix of brown with the tiniest bit of green/hazel in a couple areas ??? and like i guess when i’m in the sun there’s a bit of gold in them as well (so i’m told anyways sksksks)

7. scary movie or happy ending?

I’m a sucker for both but i have to say that i absolutely adore horror movies (esp. those from the 80′s and 90′s)

8. any special talents?

does crafting count ??? bc it’s one of those things that i can pick up really fast and enjoy doing

9. where were you born?

I was born in good ol’ Englewood, Colorado (not where i live now in CO but yknow that’s neither a here nor there you guys don’t get to know where i live)

10. what are your hobbies?

language learning (i’m learning chinese and korean rn but i’m planning on picking up japanese, thai and cantonese over the next couple years), crafting, video games, writing poetry, planning for the future (i feel like this sounds really serious but it’s just like really hardcore daydreaming where i make budgets for things i want to do when i get older)

11. do you have any pets?

i have two dogs, both mutts, named Gibbs and Chewie; a guinea pig named pandora and we’ve been watching my sister’s chinchilla, Eevee for about a year now

12. what sports do you play/have played?

I played soccer when i was way little, and i did marching band from like. 6th grade until my freshman year (i’d been around my band since 1st grade though sksksksk)

13. how tall are you?

i’m a nice solid 5′4

14. favorite subjects at school?

Chinese, English, and Humanities/world history

15. dream job?

either working as a freelance interpreter in China or Korea or being paid to travel!

i’m not gonna tag anyone bc i just did a tag game like. just a second ago so yeehaw

[darkfutureshq-blog]

Task Number 01 - Character Questionnaire 

Hello there, cupcakes. As promised, we present our first task to you. You are going to find a ton of questions under the read more (which were inspired by this post over here). There are mandatory questions, so if you play multiple characters it would be enough to work with that section, but we encourage everyone to answer as much as possible, so everyone can get to know your characters! Have fun and don’t forget to task your answers as df:task 01!

Mandatory Questions

What about them is heroic?

What about them is social? What do they like about people?

Of what benefit could they be to the current group they are aligned with (Wyatt, Rebels)?

Why did they choose to join their current alignment (Wyatt, Rebels)?

How loyal are they to the group they are aligned with (Wyatt, Rebels)?

Invent an adventure/plot that your character would actively undertake (as opposed to just tagging along)?

Personal Questions

What is their real, birth name? What name do they use?

Do they have a nickname? What is it, and where did they get it?

How do they dress most of the time?

How do they “dress up”?

How do they “dress down”?

What do they wear when they go to sleep?

Do they wear any jewelry?

In their opinion, what is their best feature?

What’s their real birth date?

Where do they live? Describe it: Is it messy, neat, avant-garde, sparse, etc.?

Do they own a car? Describe it.

What is their most prized mundane possession? Why do they value it so much?

What one word best describes them?

Familial Questions

What was their family like?

Who was their father, and what was he like?

Who was their mother, and what was she like?

What was their parents marriage like? Were they married? Did they remain married?

What were their siblings names? What were they like?

What’s the worst thing one of their siblings ever did to them? What’s the worst thing they’ve done to one of their siblings?

When’s the last time they saw any member of their family? Where are they now?

Did they ever meet any other family members? Who were they? What did they think of them?

Childhood Questions

What is their first memory?

What was their favorite toy?

What was their favorite game?

Any non-family member adults stick out in their mind? Who were they, and how did they know them? Why do they stick out?

Who was their best friend when they were growing up?

What is their fondest, childhood memory?

What is their worst childhood memory?

Adolescent Questions

How old were they when they went on their first date?

It is common for one’s view of authority to develop in their adolescent years. What is their view of authority, and what event most affected it?

What were they like in high school? What “clique” did they best fit in with?

Who was their idol when they were growing up?

Occupational Questions

Do they have a job? What is it? Do they like it? If no job, where does their money come from?

What are their co-workers like? Do they get along with them? Any in particular? Which ones don’t they get along with?

What is something they had to learn that they hated?

Do they tend to save or spend their money? Why?

Likes & Dislikes Questions

What hobbies do they have?

Who is their closest mundane friend? Describe them and how they relate to them.

Who is their worst mundane enemy? Describe them and why they don’t get along.

What bands do they like? Do they even pay attention?

What tape or CD hasn’t left their player since they purchased it? Why?

What song is “their song?” Why?

What’s been their favorite movie of all time?

Read any good books? What were they?

What do they watch on the Television?

What type of places do they hang out in with their mundane friends?

What type of places do they hang out in with their supernatural friends?

What annoys them more than anything else?

What would be the perfect gift for them?

What’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen?

What time of day is their favorite?

What kind of weather is their favorite?

What is their favorite food? What is their least favorite food?

What is their favorite drink? (Coffee, Coke, Juice, Beer, Wine, etc.)

What’s their favorite animal? Why?

Do they have any pets? Do they want any pets? What kind?

What do they find most relaxing? (Not as in stress relief, but as something that actually calms them down.)

What habit that others have annoys them most?

What kind of things embarrass them? Why?

What don’t they like about themselves?

Sex & Intimacy Questions

Would they consider themselves straight, gay, bi, or something else? Why?

Do they currently have a lover? What is their name, and what is their relationship like? What are they like? Why are they attracted to them?

What is the perfect romantic date?

Describe the perfect partner for them.

Do they ever want to get married and have children? When do they see this happening?

What is more important - sex or intimacy? Why?

What was their most recent relationship like? Who was it with? 

What’s the worst thing they’ve done to someone they loved?

Drug & Alcohol Questions

How old were they when they first got drunk? What was the experience like? Did anything good come out of it? Did anything bad come out of it?

Do they drink on any kind of regular basis?

What kind of alcohol do they prefer?

Have they ever tried any other kind of “mood altering” substance? Which one(s)? What did they think of each?

What do they think of drugs and alcohol?

Morality Questions

What one act in their past are they most ashamed of? What one act in their past are they most proud of?

Have they ever been in a physical fight before? Over what, with who, and who won?

What do they pretend to feel strongly about, just to impress people?

What trait do they find most admirable, and how often do they find it?

Do they have any feelings in general that they are disturbed by? What are they? Why do they disturb them?

Do they think the future is hopeful? Why?

Are they a better leader or follower? Why do they think that?

What is their responsibility to the world, if any? Why do they think that?

Do they think redemption is possible? If so, can anyone be redeemed, or are there only certain circumstances that can be? If not, why do they think nothing can redeem itself?

Is it okay for them to cry? When was the last time they cried?

What do they think is wrong with MOST people, overall?

Post-Supernatural Awareness Questions

If they could choose, what kind of a supernatural being would they like to be?

If they are a supernatural being: When did they go through whatever made them supernatural? What was it like (in their opinion)?

What do they think now of being supernatural? Is it cool, or would they take a cure?

Do they have a mentor? Who are they? How did they become their student?

Do they have any magical items? Where did they get them?

Think of a major event that happened during their training/initiation. What was it?

Miscellaneous Questions

What is the thing that has frightened them most? Do they think there is anything out there that’s scarier than that? What do they think that would be?

How ticklish are they? Where are they ticklish?

What is their current long term goal?

Do they have any bad habits? If so, what are they, and do they plan to get rid of them?

If they were a mundane person, what would they do with their life?

How private of a person are they? Why?

If they were to gain an obscenely large sum of money (via an inheritance, a lawsuit, a lottery, or anything else) what would they do with it?

What would they wish for if they found a genie?

What do they do when they are bored?

[kitto-toberu-sa]

Digimon Stage Play - Part One

Sorry, my friend introduced me to Tiger and Bunny, which is why this was delayed ;;; This is everything up until curtain for half time, rest will be up within the next 12 hours, sorry!!! Aight, so tl;dr: great show, actors are perfect, Yamato is beautiful beyond belief, Mimi is UGHHHHHH in the good way and I’m bitter that the whole show isn’t sold out and whoever was in charge of promotion should be forced to eat nothing but the hottest of hot chillies for the rest of their life.

Venue/Goods: a little out of the way, small. You couldn’t buy goods unless you had a ticket, which sucks. Goods were sold on the inside, line was small pre-play, massive after. My store clerk couldn’t count to save her life. People were trading, everybody hated that everything was random and there were so many types of things. Friend and I ordered dvd – no blu ray option, it’s being released in December. Had to downpay 2000 yen, which this and dvd only option has never happened before when I’ve seen other stage shows – not a good sign. No postal option, so my friend has to pick mine up for me – poor form again. (Pick up is only at animate – my nearest one is 2+ hours away :/)

Promotion/sold out: four shows sold out. Tickets reduced to 7000 yen, which is insulting for us who went through lottery. They advertised low prices at fes too. Promotion was done badly. Digimon isn’t massively popular, but Toei isn’t small either. Get a cast twitter, post rehearsal pics etc. Promotion doesn’t need to be costly. Fes advertisement (last weeks vid) was too little too late. Theres events with Miyazaki and AiM and seiyuus, which also seems last minute and an attempt to sell out. Again insulting to those of us to preordered. Shonichi didn’t sell out. Must be tough on actors. Promotion video (August 5th? 6th?) is kinda bad quality – the stage itself looks and sounds better than the video may lead you to believe.

Seating: nice, comfy. We were second row, left hand side, aisle. If we had been one or two more to the left it would have been really bad (same if you’re too overly right). The cast faces back/sideways too often, so we saw a lot of backs. Need to work on being diagonal, basic stage stuff there. However, pros of our seating were: Yamato being right in front of us when he sang, Jyou fishing in front of us and making eye contact with Etemon to the point where it was creepy lmao

Play Y’all. Y’ALL. THIS IS THE GOOD SHIT. A+ A+ A+ A+!!!!!! Agumon is twitchy in the start, scene is a little long. He’s basically like ‘my body can’t move/is moving on it’s own???? Wat? Why???’ (both happen, not a bad translation on my part). He wakes up and Gabumon’s like ‘yeah me too’ and some of the other Digimon agree but Palmon’s like ‘yeah same but it’s because I’m not a morning person lmao’.

They all go to where the kids are. So this is set sometime after Koushirou makes the cyber space for them. Mimi and Koushirou talk about camping and Mimi ends up throwing his laptop on the FLOOR. Koushirou looks heartbroken and the entire audience was ?!?!? but sasuga Mimi and Koushirou’s like … well, moving on. Mimi is perfect beyond belief. Right voice, face, mannerisms. I know that’s what acting is, but she NAILED IT. She’s all like ‘camping is about feeling the breeze~’ then acts like she has wind her face, ‘about being hot’ (ahhhh, it’s hoooooot, she says), about monsters! (she says as she stalks towards the Digimon). We then get the scene where Sora talks about the importance of August 1st. While she speaks, on the left and right sides we see actual scenes from the original anime, which is really touching. Sora mentions that although there were good times, there were bad ones too (CUE GIF OF LEOMON DYING BECAUSE THEY HAD TO HAVE IT SOMEWHERE) All the mons wanna go camping which obviously, is cool.

Hikari invites Taichi and they talk. Jyou calls Hikari but Taichi answers and Jyou doesn’t realise. ‘Damn that Taichi, he isn’t coming? Leave it to me!’ Eventually Taichi is like ‘it me moron’ and Jyou convinces him to come after Taichi’s like ‘I BET UR NOT COMING’ because Jyou, as always, has exams. Jyou is a smart ass? He’s like ‘Taichi, next year, you’ll be in my position. And if it’s you… well… you’ll be in trouble.’ SUCH A GOOD SCENE JYOU IS MVP IN THIS PLAY Y’ALL. He gets his creep on here and it’s so funny.

Next is Knife of Day. Yamato sung and you could tell he was nervous but he did really well. Yamato talks technical stuff (music wise) and then he high fives and fist bumps one of the band mates?? CUTIE PATOOTIE ALERT!!!! Honestly, he’s so pure and beautiful? One of the band mates tried to go ‘Knife of Day is… well, the name isn’t…’ ‘HAVE CONFIDENCE IT’S ALL GOOD FRIEND!!!!’ ‘Yamato that’s not what-‘ ‘WITH THESE MEMBERS WE’RE KNIFE OF DAY! WE’RE GOOD!!!’ ‘but the name-‘ ‘THESE FOUR MEMBERS. KNIFE OF DAY. HAVE CONFIDENCE!!!!’ Takeru comes along and talks about camp. Yamato is very cute toward Takeru who is worried a little about him. Very sweet scenes. Yamato explains both the band and August 1st are important to him. Later, Takeru buys Yamato a pink sleeping bag because he’s a shit head lmao

Everyone’s at camp, Mimi forgets everything. She’s adorable. People set up camp, which is cute. Yamato runs the kitchen and Hikari is chased by Agumon because she has meat. Etemon is the camp ground guardian? (What do you call these guys??) He takes their money (OF COURSE) and keeps going ‘there are MONKEYS around here!’ and everyone’s like k cool story. Eventually he’s like YOU WANNA SEE A MONKEY?!? But everyone’s like nah bro we good, so he runs off dejected.

The kids talk about the future. Mimi just wants to be a kid forever, but Palmon says she wants to be an adult lol. Koushirou isn’t sure what he wants to do, but says he likes computers. Jyou really talks about why he wants to be a doctor and it’s such a good speech! Yamato and Taichi are both like ‘well, I like my hobby I guess??’ Sora deflects the question, Hikari doesn’t know.

Yamato and Taichi try to converse later (it’s just the two of them because Koushirou said something to ruin the mood so Takeru dragged him away even though he was like ‘I’ll stay awake as long as you’re up bro’). It’s mostly Hey Yamato Yeah? …. … . … Yeah?! …Nothing -silence- We have a lot to talk about, huh Yamato? -plays harmonica-

dumb morons lmao

Mimi: Sora, you awake? …SORA Hikari: aye what up Mimi: GHOST STORY TIME Hikari: starts telling an old experience Mimi: NO TOO SPOOKY STOP STOP LET’S TALK ABOUT LOVE!!!!!

She tries to get info out of Hikari who tries to get info out of her back. They both start going ‘what about Sora’ who stays asleep but Mimi is about to ‘reveal’ who Sora likes when she shoots up and is all like I DON’T LIKE ANYONE!!! They’re all lying down in sleeping bags, so Hikari and Mimi were jumping around in their sleeping bags and Mimi does the CUTEST wiggle!!!

They talk about their dreams and Mimi is like ‘I like lotsa stuff??’ but she thinks it’s stupid and is kinda embarrassed but they’re like?? No? it’s cool to have multiple interests and dreams? WHICH IS A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE

Jyou leaves early for his exam the next morning. Shit goes down and people split up to solve the problem. Etemon ends up revealing himself to Taichi and co. He’s super strong and is basically like “it’s been six years your time BUT I’VE BEEN SUPER SUPER LONELY FOR 100 YEARS I JUST WANNA CHILL”

There’s a gate so everyone (bar Jyou) is stuck at camp. Etemon forces Tai, Hikari, Sora and Mimi to bbq with him. AND THE ETEMON FIVE. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT – ETEMON HAS FOUR COLOURED MONKEY BOY BAND FRIENDS. THEY SING AND EAT AND PLAY TOGETHER. THEY’RE THE ETEMON FIVE, COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU!!!

Anyway, there’s a fight and Etemon wins and gets the above group together and the bbq happens. Etemon is super happy to see Hikari (“oniichan!” “eh? You’re the only dude… YOUR SISTER?! HOW ADORABLE!!!”) and she’s like ‘stop fighting’ and he’s like ‘girl? That’s all I want???’ but later they eat all the food and Etemon whips out yakisoba and offers some to Hikari.

“No. I don’t want it?” –awkward silence- Etemon 1: Eh? Why? Etemon 2: -idk- Etemon 3: Don’t push her! Etemon 4: Is it… you’re dieting? If that’s it… I totally understand…

Hikari is done with their shit. She wants to go home. Mimi wants a bath. Sora’s done with this bullshit. They realise time has gone whack. Tai and Sora have a tiff, Mimi makes Sora back down when she tries to comfort him so Hikari can do it instead. Time is whack so they’ve been there forever, Etemon is like I SAID I WAS LONELY YOU CAN’T LEAVE EVER!!! He then tries to make Taichi be his bestie.

By forcing him into a kiss.

Curtain close.

(Honestly it was the funniest thing – it was a non-sexual kiss, but y’all, consent is consent. I mean, you probably shouldn’t take dating advice from a man in a monkey suit who low key resembles Piko Taro, but like. This is a weird site, Idk where some of you learnt to romance. I feel I need to say that.)