#especially when they're like “we're going on a world tour so we're definitely coming to somewhere near you so you dont have an excuse!!!”

[rhinco]

this is such a stupid small thing to be annoyed about in the grand scheme of things but i dont think americans/canadians especially (europeans too but not as much) understand how frustrating it is to never be able to get merch or plushies etc bc either the shipping fees and taxes are just ridiculous or they straight up don't ship to your country. there's been multiple times when shipping costs more than the product itself for me

[freckliedan]

jam do you think we're getting BIG 2 (Basically I'm Gender)?

hi teo this is a: really good question. here's the thing. i can have an answer for you but first i have to explain that it's not a prediction up to my usual standards and why?

because. my usual standards are very high. in 2017/18 it was easy? there was no break in data for us to pattern recognize them based off of. and i took them for their word on things + was able to refine my thoughts in conversations with @freckliephil to the point it was somewhat uncanny what we were right about.

we fully called that dan and phil would come out in separate videos with something longer & more serious from dan + shorter and less intense from phil a year to a year and a half before they came out. we'd discussed that the bullying dan experienced included a physical aspect and that that was the reason having his neck touched by people was triggering before ii toured. the list of detailed things we were right about goes on for a stupid length of time.

and it's just not possible to predict what they're doing next in the same way in this era! in 2018/19 they had been in the public eye for their entire adult lives and we have an excess of information from those 10 years! but now it's been five years—a third of their relationship—without that kind of data.

they didn't vanish completely but dan spent that time as out of the public eye as possible, phil has always been better with keeping his walls up, and we had absolute minimal joint content.

they were able to change massively AND AUTHENTICALLY when free from public scrutiny. especially dan! and we just don't have the fucking data to use for accurate pattern recognition in making predictions anymore.

there's still aspects of who dan and phil are as people that haven't changed and never will, and we have the era of complete data on them to compare the present to. so like. it's not fully impossible to predict things. there's definitely areas in which it's possible to make accurate predictions. but in no world will i claim my thoughts on dan addressing gender is one of them!

that said. even if i cannot confidently predict the details of what's coming with dan gender, it's as clear to me that dan has gender going on as it is that he is gay. that's a fact to me because i am in the practice of taking dan for her word.

when it comes to predictions here's where i'm at. i'm completely confident gender mentions will continue to escalate. i also think that at some point dan's going to comment directly on their gender. but i go back and forth on whether a dan gender video essay will ever exist? and so do @freckliephil and @phulge when we discuss this.

i think dan always puts a lot of thought into things, enough so to make a video essay on gender viable for him. if she waits like a year i could see that being what happens?

but on the other hand. i do not think that gender exploration is as charged and significant in dan's life as their gayness. he experienced so much trauma around how people percieved his sexuality from childhood onwards!

gender is difficult to navigate in a cisnormative society and almost always impossible to separate from sexuality but i don't think it's something that she would be inclined to make into as big of a moment & conversation as basically i'm gay.

it could be something as simple as pronouns in bio i suppose? but if so i think it would be commented on at the start of the next gaming channel video too. the biggest thing i can picture is phil starting to quite clearly use different pronouns for dan in different gaming channel videos in a way that's just. very normal about it. a "this is an everyday occurence" way. + this being consistant with the way dan genders themself too.

i do see this happening sooner than a year from now, but i don't know for sure when? pride is a convenient time for it. i think there's a 100% chance they're doing something insane this month, in part because they fucking LOVE dramatic timing and big gestures.

i don't think dan gender will be the main focus of what happens this month, but i'm open to being pleasantly surprised.

i think they're hard launching this year, this month or in october. i think wedding photos being shared is one of the more likely hard launch options. and i think if they're wedding launching that dan would say something about gender beforehand or in conjunction with it?

if in conjunction, it could be as simple as the title spouse being used for dan in an instagram caption? but the reason i think it's possible as something that happens beforehand is because marriage is such a major (and gendered) experience that it makes sense to want to be known and seen accurately as your whole self when it happens in your life.

again. the only thing i'm completely certain on here is that dan has some kind of gender going on and that it feels LIKELY that it'll be addressed some time in the next year. the rest is just probabilities. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[ambitionsource]

ok I FINALLY caught up (just before the s4 finale too let's go) and there's so much I need to say!! firstly, like always, the writing is just next level like I've laughed, I've cried, I've stared at my phone in shock I love this universe so much. idk where to actually start so this is so out of order and so long sorry but kenneth!! that whole plot was so sad but the resolution was so cathartic and lucas and grace becoming kinsleys is so beautiful and I'm so proud of him reclaiming himself. CHARLIE!! my jaw dropped when he came out to eleanor I wasn't expecting it but I'm so proud of my boy!! like he deserves to be happy and who he is!!!! him and zay oh I love them so, I'm so excited to see if zay's going on tour or not but I hope they're ok either way. FARKLE!! MY ORIGINAL BOY!! I was rooting for him and isa so much and I just want him to be happy. also ik I said this on ig but as a longtime stuart and jennifer fan I wanna again thank u for making him an absolute wifeguy it's so cute and actually makes a lot of sense (like no wonder u two have six kids 😭) and since gmw were cowards and never gave us their backstory I'm now accepting ambition as canon and I also eagerly await their spin off sksfjksk. anyway back to the main plot rucas I'm always rooting for u, riley matthews ik ur gonna do what's best for u both in or not in california!! the jeric wedding was sooo beautiful and rae!! maybe I'm name biased but I loved her, her connection to lucas was so sweet. super excited to see where josh and maya goes and yindra!! they could all work for the same label which would be so fun!! I kinda hope nigel gets to go to london (sorry jade) bc I think he'd do so well and they could still work somehow idk how but they could 😭😭 anyway sorry this went so long but I'm so excited for the finale ik it's gonna be amazing 💖💖

miss rae!! "like I've laughed, I've cried, I've stared at my phone in shock I love this universe so much" i adore how long this message is but rest assured, this sentiment alone would have been enough. this is exactly what we hope for with each new episode and it's so lovely every time y'all reiterate that we're hitting the mark. 💞

as for the rest of this beautiful wordy message (which we love and encourage):

yes on the friar plotline!! that piece of this world has truly been slow burning for years -- all the way back to season 1 -- and it was so cathartic to finally bring some clarity and closure to it. i can definitely say that writing 410 and 411 were challenging but also some of my favorite episodes to craft in the entire series (and, dare i say, some of our best). i'm so glad it landed and is paying off. it was so meaningful to start getting to write lucas james kinsley in the following episodes instead.

can't even get into the zc of it all i'm so *dial up noises* about them. make me insane, truly. it's been a long, hard-fought journey but oh did we get here. i'm so proud of both of them for the growth -- ESPECIALLY charlie, as you said. he's come so far (even if there remains tribulations to face, i.e., eleanor)

it's definitely been so fun to bring the minkus clan to life over the last five years. they are a unique, intriguing, colorful cast of side characters (just like the gardners), and i'm so happy that we have readers like you who enjoy even those details in our story universe. 😊 their dynamic as a family has certainly come a long way since the pilot too.

for everything else you've said... well, the finale awaits!! thank you so much for reading as always, pal, and i hope you enjoy the rest of the season (if you haven't already).

-- Maggie

[x3rrorx]

Carrying on from the anon who was saying about the momentum slowing down.

I know this will probably sound like criticism but I don't mean it that way.

For me, I think the TDOPOM cycle has just felt overly long, but I think part of that is because of the blow up in their popularity and them taking advantage of that which is understandable.

They released TDOPOM early 2022 and if you look at what they were doing around that time they were going on tour as support for Underoath followed by In This Moment, then spent the summer opening for A Day To Remember before announcing their headliner, A Tour of the Concrete Jungle. All of that was pretty standard for them at that time with where they were in their career and fanbase size.

Around that time is also when they started going viral on tiktok and entered a whole new world of craziness.

Start of 2023 they did A Tour of the Concrete Jungle Europe and went to Australia, but then when they came back to the US they announced Will We Both Go Home Alive? (Was it called that? Did that tour really have a name?) for May and then Concrete Forever for September/October.

Now we're into 2024, coming up to the two year anniversary of TDOPOM release, and we're on Concrete Forever Europe, still got a few Concrete Forever US dates that were rescheduled and added in, and we've not seen the TDOPOM Deluxe yet!

So for one album cycle we've had three headling North American tours, two headling European tours, a trip to Australia, a cycle of American festivals, upcoming American festivals and a summer of European festivals, and the supporting shows they've done with Underoath, In This Moment, A Day to Remember and Bring Me The Horizon. That's a lot!

They've made the most of their rapid growth by packing in tours and shows, but that's obviously not leaving a lot of time for creating, especially when part of their time will be taken up by creating the production for the next tour since their production has grown with every step.

Out of the tours and shows mentioned I think Australia and In This Moment are the only two I haven't been to (Concrete Forever EU is upcoming), so clearly I enjoy watching them perform but I'll admit it's definitely time for something new because the past two years hasn't seen a whole lot of variation in their set list, and I'm not someone who can get out of my mind excited over a few key changes.

Kudos to them for taking advantage of their new success, but there comes a point where you need to say 'enough, enough now' and move on to something new in order to keep enough people engaged with you, and to keep momentum. I know V.A.N is obviously something new, but I do wonder just what the Deluxe is going to give us because it's bold to be that confident that you've kept people waiting two years (possibly more) and that enough people will still buy into it. Obviously looking at their fanbase you know the complete die-hards are going to eat up whatever they get given, but they're not enough to sustain the success Bad Omens have achieved thus far, and I've seen a lot of people question the time frame on the Deluxe. There's also the question of whether we'd even be getting a Deluxe on this speculated scale if they hadn't enjoyed the success they have, or if it might have been more like FGBGFM, or if there would have even been a deluxe at all.

Personally, I'm more excited for the fourth studio album, and I think then we'll have a better idea of where Bad Omens could sit in history and how sustainable their current popularity is. Plus, I'm just looking forward to completely new music from them and a new performance cycle.

[charmixpower]

i’ve been missing rivusa content lately, do you have any headcanons?

Ah yes, my beloveds. I most certainly do

How about some Domestic Rivusa!

Post s3~4. Winx are famous as the new company of light and for protecting the dimension, and everyone is slowly settling down into a new normal after the roller coaster that we're their teen years

Riven isn't clingy or super touchy, right up until it's six in the morning and Musa is trying to get up earlier than him. Then it's all "nooo babe, I wanna cuddleeeeee" and repeated failed attempts convince her to stay there. Once she leaves, he grumbles and gets up because theres no point staying in bed now

This is 100% Musa's fault because she refuses to not get in Riven's arms when they fall asleep together. Riven has learned how nice it is to hold her and he will not let go now

Who ever is cooking will 9 times out of 10 be hugged from behind and leaned on by the other one, despite the fact that they are cooking. There is much pretend annoyance, and breakfast being made with a cuddly half asleep partner making the process harder than it needs to be

Their house definitely has some type of home studio, with a couch of course. Half of the time when Musa is mixing or editing Riven will wander in, sit on the couch, and scroll on his phone. Keeping her company without interrupting her. When she's recording he almost always comes in to listen

Riven probably has a room where he puts all his exercise equipment, and Musa does the same thing of chilling in the same room as him when he's working out

Musa has finally gotten free range of Riven's entire closet and Riven knows that he will never get his clothes to himself ever again. She looks cute in his clothes so it doesn't matter

I imagine Riven's chest scar from Darkar that he died getting probably has some nerve damage, and a little chronic pain. Usually manageable, but bad days happen. Bad days are usually spent cuddling up on the couch watching shitty horror movies

If it's really bad Musa will use her magic to soothe his pain away while singing to him

Can you imagine these two in a home decor shop??? Neither of them give all that much of a fuck about having a fancy or pretty living space, so neither of them have an idea of what they're doing or want to do. It's a mess, someone please help them

One of them buys a pillow the other one hates and this sparks pillow fights. All is fair in love and war

Since Riven, the little gossip, is on social media wayyy more often than Musa, and primarily posts about Musa because she likes being a public figure and he hates it, Musa jokingly makes him her social media manager. That's in his bio now. He's not removing it, even if she does hire a real one. He was here first

From what I understand about touring, it's a bit like going on the worlds most stressful road trip while also having the time of your life singing for fans. So I'm imagining Riven going on tour with Musa, mainly as the driver because touring in the magical dimension means planet hopping and Musa probably doesn't have a license for interstellar travel. While being annoyed at all the time driving, the weird fans, and the constant moving, getting to see Musa truly in her element preforming was an experience and he vows to go on every tour after this just to see how happy she looks

Plus he really really likes her performance outfits. Musa always let's Stella go crazy with them, within Musa's personal style, and they're amazing

Musa really appreciates the support, because touring was really stressful. She especially appreciates the fact that Riven seemingly has not gotten sick of hearing her sing the same song 20 times and always matches her excited energy when she comes off stage

Afterwards they got to sleep at their shared home for like a month doing jack shit, except sleeping and ordering take out. Oops all cuddles

[deada55]

i do wish I had thought through my oldklok/death hcs a little sooner but it be like that sometimes... assuming the world continues long enough for them to be old AND assuming they're still mortal... or their physical form is mortal.

So either Nathan or Toki have to die first for plot's sake, Nathan in middle age or slightly later, Toki could die "young" if you want extra angst. Presumably, although it would be incredibly sad for all involved, and this is also dependent on the manner of Toki's death, they could continue to tour with Skwisgaar taping a rhythm part beforehand or using a pedal. Without Nathan it's absolutely the end, and you bet whatever's left of the world will either cheer or literally fall into war. It's a fun expectation inversion, like the deaths of the Golden Girls, since Pickles is the oldest. If Nathan doesn't die first, he holds out for a good long while: Toki's a little. Variable.

Nathan dying of multiple organ failure/a cardiovascular event is a little on the nose, but I like things that have a precedent. It's nice when an eclectic life has components that match. One thing's for sure: we're dying married, we're leaving kids. Are the kids going to survive, or will they squander everything? Will they be left with anything? Who knows. Either way he meant well, and died somewhat suddenly, but he's never been consistently super-healthy. Of course, he survived his parents, and he set them up with very loving tributes and a memorial when they passed. Only child life ftw.

The weirdo is Skwisgaar, but I like to think that he will shed his corporeal form within a human lifespan. I'm not sure he's smart enough to find an alternative and just ascend or something. Either he'll get struck by divine lightning and vaporize like a baller or he'll get arthritis and get real, real bitter about it. Eventually he'll get senile, and his death won't be a sudden or unexpected thing (if he doesn't get electro-zapped to "valhalska".)

Poor, poor Murderface. I'd like it if he got the opportunity to get older, especially so he could grow and maybe go to therapy and have a chance to live without crippling self-hatred. Solo album? Sure! Planet Piss? Probably not as successful, but it's an earlier side project. Hopefully he can make some nice friends to inherit his estate or connect to a cause. I think he deserves to live and die as a fondly remembered benefactor and artist, with a lovely long-time (at least ~5 years) partner and a nice memorial already settled and paid for.

Toki... won't age gracefully, especially not if he's not physically living with a bandmate or a partner. If the rest of Dethklok ride out their age living more separate lives, Toki will need to find a niche to find safety and fulfillment. If he doesn't... it's not going to be fun. I can imagine him as an old(er) celebrity that you can very easily get on board a project, but he's either super cooperative or awful to work with, and his tune can change pretty fast. He's the one the band exposee documentary centers around, or he'll get his own exposee docuseries whether or not he's dead. He's also an author, so a memoir is in order, and it'll sell well. It's a good move if he got into financial trouble. The rest of the band will be really torn up however he dies, especially if he dies in physical or mental pain. His estate will definitely go to cats in some way, shape, or form.

Oh, Pickles... hard-of-hearing, smells weird, still Very, Very Cool to talk to. If you ask for him he'll show up. If he's invited and he can, he'll try. Even when he needs a nurse to come with him to make sure his power chair stays charged and his oxygen tanks are full and the piss bag is empty, he'll come do your stupid podcast or cameo in a movie. He's down-to-earth and he'll show up, especially for the family events for Seth and his many many progeny, if not Pickles' own. Hopefully him and Seth can settle into a cold distant rage and stop physically fighting. He'll die slowly, but he'll get good media coverage like the rest. Lots of collective "aw :(" all over the world and maybe a commemorative beanie baby or smth. He'll be very loved and very missed by the public, especially since he'll die with a recent public presence.

[taetaespeaches]

they definitely deserve this break, they’ve worked so hard over that past 9 years endlessly and I’m excited for them finding their individual selves. I think because ether work so hard it’s weird to us that there going on hiatus but it shouldn’t because most artists especially western take lots of time off. I hope they can spend their time with their family, friends or partners. But I trust them so they’ll come back eventually. I’m excited for their solo work though. I’m going to now drown myself in books during their hiatus and reread all of your fics. Also wooga squad are doing in the soop aghhhhh. Namjoon crying got to me though because he’s the member who least cries so it’s sad when he does because the rest of the members follow.

Sidenote: I used to be a directioner so when I hear the word hiatus I get ptsd because they still haven’t come back 😭😭. I also found out bts are going on hiatus from your tumblr. Thank you liv 😭😭😭

Exactly, they definitely deserve the time to do whatever their hearts desire, whether that means resting, doing solo music, venturing into other solo projects, spending time with loved ones, like whatever! They've more than earned that. I would hate for them to continue down a path that they aren't excited about or happy with. Like can you imagine them going on a world tour right now? They wouldn't be in the mental state to do that, they need to take time to just be and exist and explore themselves. And they're still best friends like they have so much love and respect for each other that this really should be exciting news at the end of the day. Still sad but definitely exciting. BTS is still here, we're just getting them as individuals for a bit. Joon crying definitely destroyed me, I was already crying but man, he cries and suddenly I'm sobbing. I think he's just been holding in these feelings for so long, I just hope he's feeling better and is at peace with the decision.

I've seen a lot of the 1d comparisons and I gotta say I don't think the situations are alike at all so I wouldn't worry about BTS pulling a 1d. I personally don't believe 1d ever had intentions of coming back together as a group and those dudes can't even stand each other more than half the time. BTS are getting friendship tattoos while announcing their break, like these two groups are not the same lol. Oh gosh I feel a little bad that I was the one who broke the news to you :( ily, lovely!

[ana-deaky]

It’s The Little Things || Joe Mazzello x Reader

What started out as a discussion between me and @amethyst-serenade on how cute Joe is, blown out into this story/HC, I honestly don’t know what this is. It’s definitely fluffy, now that I’m sure. Hope you guys enjoy our work!!

Words: 2393

No warnings whatsoever

HERE WE GO!!

Oh without a doubt! He's gonna be an amazing father and his kids will be adorable and lovable just like him.

Imagine him with his firstborn (especially if it's a girl) holding them in his arms and the absolute adoration on his face ♥️

It would start when you tell him you're pregnant. He'd be beside you (crying a little), kissing and hugging you, and your belly and telling "I'm gonna be a dad. We're gonna be parents."

Even when before you start showing, his hands will be on the belly, secretly protecting his kid. Involuntarily yelling "excuse me" and "coming through" when the two of you walk through crowds. And randomly talking to the baby, reading to the baby at night. And when he goes on a shoot while you're pregnant and he calls and he says "put the phone on speaker, I wanna talk to the baby" and talks about the day.

And he'd be showing everyone the ultrasound pic! And when you're having a movie night, he'd either have his hand or his head on your belly, constantly snuggling into you. And he'll tell anyone who'll listen that his beautiful wife is expecting your first child. And during the movie, if anybody cusses, Joe would put his hands on the sides of the belly and he'd say "too early for that" jokingly.

Oh Joe won't be able to hold it in for the first trimester. The day the second trimester hits, the ultrasound will be on his page and he'll share an entire paragraph about the baby and his incredible wife.

And obviously help throw the best damn dramatic Baby Gender Reveal Party ever!! YES! It's a girl!!

The moment he feels the baby kick over your belly, god, here comes the water works AGAIN!! His hands will be literally glued to your belly until he feels her kick again.

And the day comes when little Ms. Mazzello is ready to make her grand entrance into the world and you bet your ass, Mr. Mazzello has had the hospital bag and ready to go right after the baby shower.

And there she was, Ella Virginia Mazzello, the absolute adoration in his face as he watched his little girl in a tiny bundle on her mom's chest.

His face would be all lit up when he finally holds his baby girl, he's looking at his baby girl, all teary eyed and you could see his love for the baby in his eyes. And he'll literally worship the mother of his more than adorable baby, the love of his life and love her like anything.

He'd be loving and considerate, and would make sure his wife is happy and comfortable. And he tries his best to for you to let him dress the baby in the Yankees onesie he got for her. Well he knows how that's gonna end up.

Let us assume the fact that Ben has a baby boy around that time and Gwil makes a joke "that's your future boyfriend" when the boys visit the new mother and baby at Joe's home and Joe whispers to the baby, pretty audibly, "No dating for you until 16, young lady"

And on one day when the Yankees are playing, he'll be wearing a Yankees tshirt and dresses the baby in the Yankees onesie that he specifically got for her, and seats her on his lap, he'll post that picture captioned "Just two Yankees fans hangin' out"

His phone memory will be filled up with all of Ella's pictures, videos of her bouncing up and down on her father's lap to one of those Beatles songs from her dad's collection and obviously in her Halloween costume, that's right, Joe dresses up his little girl in a baby Raptor costume.

And all the boys would give him shit for it but Lucy would think it's the most adorable thing ever and tell you how lucky you are to have a husband like that.

As his little girl grows up, he'll help her host tea parties and he'd take her on daddy-daughter dates so he can show her how a REAL man should treat her.

Joe would make sure his little girl don't take no crap!

Second time along, during their second gender reveal, they find they're having a baby boy and he'll go crazy raising his hands and jumping up and down "we're having a boy, our lil baseball player is here."

He'd be going on and on and ON about having a firstborn son to carry on the family name.

He'd DEFINITELY get him a raptor onesie first and practically beg to organise play dates with Gwil & Dana's little girl and Rami and Lucy's twins (we haven't forgotten Ben's kids)

And Joe's baby girl, he'll definitely be by her side when his baby boy is too little so that she don't feel left out or anything.

********

And Mother's Day,

The boys would all get together and plan something special for the ladies so they don't have to lift a finger. Starting with breakfast in bed (that Joe made with help from the kids), well you woke up to your little girl's giggles from outside the door and in comes your lovely husband with your baby boy in the baby carrier and Ella.

The boys would have booked the girls in for a spa day and he'll organise daddy-daycare with the boys. Then you'd all go to Rami & Lucy's place for dinner, which of course, the dads are making while the girls hangout with the kids. And then comes a bab(ies)y-mommy photoshoot and everything.

But Joe would find you when the baby's hungry because 'that's the one thing I can't do, sorry!' He'll be so dramatic saying "My nipples are useless."

Under the starry skies, the boys and their wives and babies, pictures perfect.

Ooh and the kids, well the boys will set up tents for them to camp in the backyard. And they'll sit around and tell stories of dragons and pirates and wizards; and let their imaginations run wild.

Imagine Gwil telling all these amazing stories with his soothing accent, doing all the voices and making the kids laugh while the rest of you are enjoying a beer or a glass of wine under the fairy lights hanging in the trees. And later, when he gets an acoustic guitar and break into a song and all the boys sing along.

And after the kids are down, all of you reminisce about the time when they did BoRhap and all the fun you guys had during press tours and birthdays and holidays.

And Joe tells about the adventures in Japan for the press tour when the translators were finding it hard to keep up with the boys. And Ben's like "Sorry I missed it!"

"But Cardboard Ben did" and that's when they remember Ben Cardy after an awful long time

Then Gwil and Joe explain the terrible night that Cardy B was in jail. Meanwhile you and the girls look at each other like "Boys!" 🙄

And Lucy takes out Joe's YouTube page and shows all the videos. And they all give him shit for doing 'Milk' and you be like "He still got the occasional screams."

Then Rami says "so THAT'S your bedroom secret, Joe?" And Joe's like "Well, we've got two kids so it must be working!" And you shove at his arm to keep him quiet saying "Joseph!"

"That's nothing",  Lucy says with a grin "Rami sings to me". And Rami covers his face with his hands and Ben shoves his arm. "Gwil goes "Huzzah" everytime he's done", says Dana from a corner. Ben gives Olivia a warning look, and Olivia says "Ben tells me to call him Skywalker to get him in the mood" and Joe laughs.

"So we all have weird quirks, cheers to that", says Joe and takes a drink and you go like eww

"That's why were friends", says Gwil. "Joe and I are more like brothers' says Rami, "We've seen each other shirtless in The Pacific". "And other things" says Ben. Lucy rolls her eyes and you two give each other a look.

"Here we go again" says Gwil and turns to you to ask "Has he tried to make the kids watch The Pacific yet?"

"Well it's not my fault. That the scene was TOO GOOD, y'know", says Joe winking, "besides you enjoy it as much as I do" says Joe to you.

"Several times. Barely made it halfway through the first episode before Ella said she was bored. He then tried with Joey until I reminded him that the baby is, in fact, still a baby. But when WE watch it, Joe always seems really interested in THAT sex scene", you said. "Joseph!" Lucy gasps

"Attaboy!" Rami chuckles and pats Joe on his back.

"How come you guys never watched it with me?", Ben asks. "We should do a "The Pacific" watch party one day", Rami announces and Joe toasts, "To the watchparty!"

"Oh she hesitated! That means it's true!" says Ben. "No wonder you've got two kids" Gwil grins.

"You watched it too!" says Dana. "Only because Rami and Joe wouldn't shut up about it and brought it up in EVERY interview we did!" says Gwil.

Just as Joe does the toast, your daughter comes out in her favourite unicorn pyjamas. "Daddy, I need to pee". Joe looks over at you. Rami and Lucy giggle. "She did call Daddy, didn't she?", you gave a look to Joe and he says "Come here" he says and picks up his daughter and off he goes. "She walks right?", Dana asks. "Don't even get me started with that.", you told.

"Always knew he'd go all gooey over his little girl." Ben says, lighting a cigarette. "She's definitely daddy's princess", you sigh. "Does he have tea parties with her?" Olivia asks. "He does, but uh" you hesitate just as Joe comes back, "Liv wants to know about your latest tea party"

"Oh what can I say Ella loves tea parties as much as I do. It's incredible and so much fun, you know" he says. "And this one here", he gestures to you, "is kinda jealous of us spending all the time together."

"You pinky promised me that you wouldn't show it to anyone" says Joe trying to grab your phone. "Oh its them", you said. "Yes it's us. Also pinky promise? How old are you guys?", Gwil asked.

"Yeah, Joe left me for a younger woman", you grin, sipping your wine. "You bastard!" Gwil gasps.

"And yet I have photographic evidence of you wearing a flower crown" you add. "Show us!", says Ben.

"That's just the start of it, Gwil", you wink, "so we have a choice between the flower crown, the fairy wings or the unicorn headband". Ben chokes on his cigarette and the girls laugh.

"You're a man of many hidden talents, Joe", Rami smirks.

"In my defense, I take pinky promises very very seriously", Joe said as the group passed the phone around, "Also I looked good in every one of those pictures"

"Y/N, tell them", Joe said. You roll your eyes. "He looks good in every one of those pictures", you said, adding to Dana "otherwise he'll sulk for the rest of the night." Dana giggles.

"Speaking of onesies, Joe wanted to get BoRhap themed outfits for the kids.", you said. "Thats so thoughtful, Joe", Lucy said. "Hold on, next time?", Ben grinned, "You guys wanna have more kids?"

"Did you get that onesie that we sent you for the baby?" Ben asked. "We did", you confirm "and it fits perfectly. Though El almost threw a tantrum when she saw her baby brother dressed as a raptor."

"Well Joe has already bought a Yankees one, so Ben had to compromise", said Rami. "Joe made me pinky promise that we HAD to buy the Yankees onesie first", you grin. "I wanted that for the baby's "homecoming" outfit, but she didn't allow it. Both times. Better luck next time, right?" Joe said.

'It's Joey's first Christmas. They're growing up so fast. I remember like it was yesterday that I told Joe that I was pregnant with El. Now here we are", and you were interrupted by a baby crying through one of the monitors. All of you scramble around to check which one was active. And found out it was yours, "Is he hearing all this? I'm gonna go check on him", you said and walked away.

"Oh he's already advised me of this, on the wedding night", you shrugged. "Pretty sure we conceived lil Joey at your place, Gwil", Joe grins, making Gwil sputter on his beer. You swatted his arm, "Joe!!".

"And I assume you've already found these outfits for the kids?" Olivia asked.

"It's a work in progress. It should be ready by the time of our Disney trip, hopefully", Joe said.

You sat in the rocking chair with Joey in your arms, singing to him softly, looking deep into his hazel eyes, stroking his cheek with your finger.

"I remember when you told us that Y/N was pregnant again", said Lucy, "You couldn't wait give give El a baby brother or sister."

"That's what you meant when you said you were busy, huh"' Rami winked. "We thought it was time, you know, El became a big sister."

******

"Gosh, I feel bad for not saying goodnight to everyone", you yawned "I didn't realise how tired I was.". You watched as the baby snuggled into the pastel green blanket, sound asleep.

You felt the baby lifted off your arms and opened your eyes, your fingers tightening on the baby "Shhhh its okay, it's me. I got him.", said Joe as he took the baby in his arm and laid him down on the bassinet right by the bedside. "Aren't you supposed to be downstairs?", you asked sleepy

"I knew you'd have dozed off with the baby when you didn't show up and everybody was tired after the long night. Probably asleep by now", Joe said, "Come let's go to sleep."

'C'mon now, in you get', Joe said pulling the duvet aside and you got in and he behind you. His strong arms wrapped around you after he pulled the blanket over the both of you. You nuzzled into his neck. Joe kissed the top of your head. As the two of you dozed off.

......

Tags: @amethyst-serenade @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @mazzell-ro @thosequeenboys @detectivecutiepantsandhisbabyfox @brinteylovesaliens @hellysthings

[dancingintheafterglow13]

I Know Places full analysis

Okay everyone, here it is... my long awaited analysis on I Know Places (illicit affairs coming soon but I promised one at least today so I’m keeping that promise; everyone has been waiting long enough).

I’ll mostly focus on the song itself, and the visuals that go with it, but I’ll probably also touch on who it may be about (Dianna Agron) as well.

This is a VERY long analysis so it’s all under the cut.

(I want to mention before I start, that Genius has a citation that says that it could be about a “rumored same-sex relationship”. It mentions Karlie but this is a Dianna song so I don’t think the timing of this song’s release makes sense as a Karlie song but I thought I’d mention that because I’d never seen that before)

The song starts and ends with a click. I have seen quite a few interpretations of that click: cassette, record, and recorder. I’ve always thought that it was a record, and the last sound was the arm being lifted. I suppose it doesn’t really matter exactly what it is, because all three kind of relate to a similar idea: the ‘80s theme of the album and of Taylor and her lover being watched and constantly scrutinized (I’ll come back to this one later) by the media. That by itself isn’t specifically gay but this intro and closing kind of haunt me. It’s as if there are always people watching them and they can’t be together. This feels like all those historical queer movies I’ve seen where the women have to hide their relationship and people are watching (oh! and that scene in Carol where they were being recorded in their hotel room).

The instrumental of I Know Places is rather simplistic (I have the official karaoke version which helps to isolate the surrounding sounds). It starts and ends with that reverberated piano and then the piano drops at least an octave once the percussion comes in. This beat makes it feel like the central figures in the song are being chased, or at least moving fast and this is helped by the lower octave in the piano, as it adds a sense of unease to the song. The unease is carried forward by that haunting note at 0:25 that just sends a shiver down my spine. It happens again at 0:32 but lingers a bit longer, clashing just so with the piano that it gives the section more of an edge. Lyrically, at these sections, Taylor says “something happens when everybody finds out” and “love’s a fragile little flame it could burn out”. These haunting notes add to the fear that appears in these lyrics, of the relationship falling apart because people found out.

In the first Pre-Chorus, the percussion picks up, and adds in some claps and new beats that weren’t present before. Here, the song is really building up for the chorus and in this way it feels a bit chaotic here because this new drum pattern adds on to the piano and the “i, i, i, i” ’s that have returned from the beginning (and if I listen closely I think I can hear the haunting note return at 0:45 with “they are the hunters” which again, shows the fear).

The percussion stays the same from the Pre-Chorus to the Chorus but some of the other sounds change a little. The chords played by the piano are... happier almost than in the verse or the pre-chorus which really brings out the lyrics about knowing somewhere that the media can’t find them. The chorus also has more major chords than the verses. According to a website I found with the chords, the verses and pre-choruses have e minor, C major, a minor, b minor while the chorus has G major, D major, a minor, C major. This is easier to hear in a recording from the reputation stadium tour; with chords that were major in the chorus, before the melody stops just before the next verse. That pause adds another haunted vibe to the song because it asks if these places are really that safe (since, we know that Taylor’s relationship with Dianna ended in part because of the media [see the master post I’ve linked below]). It also is interesting to note that the chord changes pick up on “’Cause I know places we can hide” with G major, D major, a minor C major on the “I” and then again just to a minor on the “hide” (with the C major not coming until the first “places” in the next line). That again, matches the haunted vibe.

The second verse is very similar musically to the first but there’s an added bass line here, a plucked one. This grounds this verse more than the first one because there’s now a driving force that pulls the song forward and gives more dimension to the song. It also kind of adds an urgency to it and feels as if the people in the song are running, just as it says in the lyrics. This kind of mirroring is really cool because it deeply connects the lyrics to the music and makes the whole idea of the song much more powerful.

The second chorus is the same as the first but the bridge strips it back so it’s just the percussion and the bass line. The percussion has changed to just a bass drum hit, which again, pushes the song forward and again adds to the urgency, especially in the lyrics of the bridge “they are the hunters we are the foxes, and we run/just grab my hand and don’t ever drop it, my love”.

The urgency of the music through out the song pairs nicely with both the lyrics and looking at this song through a queer eye. Taylor, and her lover, are running from the media and it’s even more important that they aren’t caught because they aren’t straight. Taylor really wants this relationship to last, even if they have to constantly hide because she really loves this girl and wants to be with her.

It’s interesting to also take a look at the original lyrics that appear in the Voice Memo that Taylor released in the Deluxe edition of the album. The chorus is exactly the same but the first verse is a bit different (most of these are the same as what Genius says but I heard a few different words with headphones):

“... they’re waiting at the back door/they’re around and the vultures come around/and you know that...they want, they want us/say what they want about, say what they want about us/and you come and I sing and you listen?/I would not think about it but I’m not them/let them know a thing or two about it, a thing or two about it...”

Obviously these lyrics don’t make a lot of sense because they were just Taylor trying to send an idea out, but they're interesting to look at anyway. I think, especially the part where Taylor’s saying that the they (which is most likely the media) knows something but not the whole story. That's true especially about gaylor and all the women Taylor may or may not have dated.

Okay, now onto lyrics.

I’ve seen some analysis of the “I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I-I/I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I-I/I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I-I (I, I, I, I)” at the beginning as Taylor stuttering trying to answer interview questions about her love life but I also see it as paired with the click at the beginning and end, with the record or whatever recording device skipping (which lends itself back to the ‘80s theme).

“You stand with your hand on my waistline/it's a scene and we're out here in plain sight/I can hear them whisper as we pass by/it's a bad sign, bad sign”

If Taylor and her lover were seen in public together people would start talking and she’s afraid it would jeopardize their relationship.

“Something happens when everybody finds out/see the vultures circling, dark clouds”

I’ll touch on this later but making this song about Dianna, when a fake article was released that stated that they were dating, the two of them stopped hanging out in public. And, something else I’ll bring up, after going out to dinner, Dianna and Taylor were swarmed by paparazzi which is horrible to watch.

“Love's a fragile little flame, it could burn out It could burn out”

Taylor’s scared that the whole world finding out will destroy her relationship with this woman (and with Dianna, it kind of did).

'Cause they got the cages, they got the boxes and guns/they are the hunters, we are the foxes and we run”

Boxes and cages really reminds me of the glass closeting Taylor started around the 1989 era. The “guns” definitely is the cameras that photographed every moment. Taylor and her lover have to continuously hide from the media in order to escape the scrutiny (this matches with Dianna too, because there pictures with them hugging and touching their other friends but never each other).

“Baby, I know places we won't be found/and they'll be chasing their tails trying to track us down/'cause I, I know places we can hide/I know places, I know places”

Taylor’s saying she knows somewhere where she and her lover can be together that the paparazzi can’t find them (this reminds me of I Know A Place by MUNA which is a queer band).

“Lights flash and we'll run for the fences/let them say what they want, we won't hear it/loose lips sink ships all the damn time/not this time”

Again one time when Taylor and Dianna were photographed by the paparazzi they were simply exiting a restaurant and going to the car (the flash is so bright in that gif). They ignored every comment thrown at them that time and just kept going. I feel like the last two lines reference the fake article that came out about them, and the rumor that Dianna and Taylor were in a love triangle with Tim Tebow. But, because all were denied and Taylor and Dianna stopped seeing each other as much, it saved them from having to face more scrutiny.

“Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it, my love”

They both want to hang on for hope that they can be together one day.

“They take their shots, but we're bulletproof (I know places)/and you know for me, it's always you (I know places)/in the dead of night, your eyes so green (I know places)/and I know for you, it's always me (I know places)”

“Take their shots” reminds me of the cameras chasing them again and they’re bulletproof because they won’t give the media and truth to the stories that they’re spinning.

Dianna thinks of herself as having green eyes (here’s her bitmoji) and green eyes are referenced in Wonderland (which is a Dianna song, no doubt about it).

Wanting to return to a lover in the future (and always going back to someone) is a big theme in all of the Dianna songs in 1989, so it makes sense that it would be present here too.

Some important visuals surrounding I Know Places:

The closet doors from tour:

And the fake article released about Taylor and Dianna that effectively ended their public friendship:

I won’t go into detail about Dianna and Taylor’s relationship (you can read all about that on the Swiftgron Masterpost) but I wanted to go back to the idea about Taylor and her lover being constantly watched and scrutinized and how it is very reminiscent of Taylor and Dianna. There are only a couple of photos of them together that don’t come from the media but there’s one set of phots that really fits this idea. On May 15th, 2015, Taylor and Dianna went to dinner together, potentially with a couple of friends (based on photos). Here’s some screenshots from a gif of that night (the gif won’t upload but here’s a link to it [*flash warning*]).

First of all, this is horrifying. The amount of photographers there trying to take a picture of them for the tabloids (”they are the hunters we are the foxes”) and how bright it is. And, if you look carefully Taylor seems to be holding onto Dianna (”just grab my hand and don’t ever drop it”). If you watch this gif, you’ll see how this guy in the fourth screenshot just jumps on top of other photographers to get a photo of them. If the paparazzi were so brutal when she simply went out to dinner with friends (and a potential girlfriend) it’s no wonder that I Know Places exists.

Okay that’s my full analysis of I Know Places! Feel free to reblog with anything I may have missed and if you made it this far, thank you for reading :)

[serendipitybutterfly]

Finally doing Yoongi's birthday year ahead reading too... (at least it didn't take quite as long as it took me to do Hobi's!). Anyway... Let's get right into it...

The message which came to me here is kind of...... Well it seems like a continuation of a past reading I did for Yoongi and I was surprised because I kind of assumed this situation had passed... If you remember, last year there was some strange situation involving a shady woman who came up in readings regarding both Yoongi and Jimin... When I did Jimin's reading I got a bit more clarity because Yoongi's reading I found really confusing and I kept drawing more cards to try to understand the message... I've since realised that with my energy and Yoongi's, it's best for me to stay back and try to understand what's being put forward.

This time I think I better understand what the cards are saying straight away (although I still say that when it comes to Yoongi, for some reason the cards speak to me differently, or rather speak through me to try to give him advice very differently, and it means I have to kind of get in a very different kind of headspace to understand the message at all...

It's hard to explain, but basically I think out of all the members Yoongi is probably energetically the most different to me so his guidance almost feels like it's coming in a different language (imagine big symbolic runes, hieroglyphs or pictures or big waves of feeling instead of nice neat descriptive prose) that I then have to try and interpret... It's interesting but I think by staying back with a respectful distance and just accepting whatever comes without trying to overthink at all (because it's actually kind of direct... Only in a different way than I'm used to) or pry to understand more I'm getting way more from him...

Anyway... My purpose here is to write out the advice reading. I just wanted to preface it with this growing understanding of how I perceive his energy (does anyone else get this with other members?).

Back to business... We have reversed King of Wands and the reversed Ace of Cups signifying this reading. I'm taking this as there being some situations and events which knock his confidence and security in himself this year and that they will likely revolve around his emotions. This is a shame, but I don't actually see it as being Yoongi's own problems primarily that cause this...

To start off with, we have the reversed 5 of cups which I'm actually seeing as his present state rather than advice. I think currently he's recovering from a big set back, a huge feeling of disappointment is here... Reversed strength showing that it's something that made him feel powerless, helpless. Ten of cups reversed and The Moon are telling me that from Yoongi's point of view, this is not just something he's dealing with. BTS in general is taking this setback way harder than they're letting us see. A lot of things are not as they seem and there's a lack of clarity on what they're going to do that leaves them feeling unstable. To me this seems to be pretty obviously talking about the current Corona Virus global pandemic and how it's put a big spanner in the works for Yoongi as an artist who wants to perform for his fans, and of course for BTS as a whole, as they were supposed to be doing a world tour this year. They've been trying to keep up a calm image for the fans, but behind the scenes it's been much more stressful, upsetting and chaotic and this is first hurdle he needs to get over this year. Hard to do with such a lack of clarity.

However, the next cards are talking about something different and something which I think is being built up to either resulting from these setbacks or simply coming later in the year. The five of swords and Queen of Wands sees the return of this strange woman that I saw coming up last year. Again she seems to be a subject of discord... I think between at least three of the members of which Yoongi is one.

From these cards I get a strong impression of distrust from him towards her so I don't think he's actually the one she's messing with... It's definitely a younger member, so not Seokjin either.

The reversed King of Pentacles and Knight of Cups represent how he views this member in this situation; as someone who isn't being sensible or practical, who has lost touch with reality and who's being stupid with money... A fool in love who is being taken advantage of. This, as shown by the Nine of Swords, will cause him a great deal of stress and anxiety... Especially with the three of cups here, it's letting me know this is mainly concern over a close friend's recklessness and that this will mainly involve three people... Probably Yoongi, the younger member and this woman, although I also see three members in particular arguing about it...

The answer or advice on how to handle this? Well, it's pretty simple. The Angel Oracle card I pulled is Grace and Antoinette: To help heal this situation, see the other person's point of view with compassion. This is pretty obviously referring to the latter situation involving someone close to him whose choices Yoongi's probably going to seriously disagree with this year. The message is to try to make peace with him and relinquish the desire to win the argument or control the situation... To try to view the situation with empathy and compassion to find a resolution.

The numerology of this reading comes to 9, completion. We also have the Full Moon: Completion card from the Earth Magic deck. This is something that has to come full circle to resolve itself. The message I get for Yoongi is that as much as he might want to protect his friend, his brother, sometimes people just have to make stupid mistakes in order to grow and learn... That's just part of life and something they have to go through. The overall message for this reading is that you can't control everything... Sometimes you have to just let go and let the storm ride out, let the wave take you... And learn to be ok in the aftermath. Once this situation is allowed to play out, it will actually finally be resolved. It will be over and peace can be regained...

Yoongi should also try to use the instances of setback and delay this year as a chance to take a breath and release... He's actually very intune with the universe and perhaps can already sense that we're building towards a new beginning of some kind... All of us. This can definitely cause feelings of fear and anxiety, but if we let go of the fragile illusion of power and simply accept that a cycle is ending so a new one can begin, we will be able to find a great sense of peace and release as this year goes on and we look into the future.

I pray for the peace and wisdom he needs to get through his challenges this year to be granted to Min Yoongi. 🙏 💜

[lovetheplayers]

Taylor's interview on the Roz and Mocha show | KISS 92.5 (May 1, 2019)

Mocha: Hello, is this the one, the only Taylor Swift?

Taylor: Hi, how are you?

Mocha: Doing great. It's the Roz and Mocha show. You are talking to, like, every single person in Canada right now. What would you like to say to your Canadian fans?

Taylor: Oh, my god. That's so much pressure. I just want to say thank you for everything. They've been amazing and I can't wait to see them again. How are you doing?

Mocha: You know what, we're on the phone with you finally, we're so happy, and we know how busy your life is. You just wrapped up the Reputation World Tour in November. When did you start working on new music for this new album?

Taylor: I started working on it pretty much immediately after that, but I did have a lot of ideas that I've been kind of cultivating while I was on tour, so as soon as I got off tour I just went right into the studio and pretty much stayed there.

Mocha: Okay, and how long did that that process take from the time—like, was there any type of downtime after the tour to when you started working on new music?

Taylor: Not really, um, I just—I was very ready to make the next thing. I knew exactly what I wanted to make next.

Mocha: Okay.

Taylor: Sometimes that takes a long time. Like, for the album before it, reputation, that took me a very long time to realize what I wanted to make because after—the album before that was 1989 and I felt so kind of stifled by, like, "Okay, what do I do now?" But with this album I just knew exactly what I wanted to make and so I started making it immediately.

Mocha: And how does a collaboration like ME! come to light where you're working with Brendon Urie? Like, do you reach out to him, did he reach out to you? Were there talks of you guys working on music together? Are you writing together in the same room; are you texting back and forth?

Taylor: Well, yeah. It is very organic like that. Well basically, like, I was writing the song. I wrote the chorus and the first verse with Joel Little who wrote and produced the song with me, and we were in the studio and I was just thinking, "I think this needs to be a duet. I think it would be cool if both people in a relationship were saying this about each other and about themselves, just in the nature of, you know, you're worthwhile and irreplaceable, and so am I and that's why this works," and kind of make it into more of a conversation. And I also wanted it to be very playful. I didn't want it to take itself seriously at all, so I was thinking, "Who would be an amazing person to bring in to really elevate this; who could be such a good performer and who would want to do this and really want to perform with me on, like, award shows?" Like, you want someone who's going to be a full team player—no pun intended with the song. But basically I thought of Brendon and I was thinking, "I wonder if he would want to do this," because obviously he's having such an amazing year and I figured he's so busy, but then I saw that he had said in an interview that he would love to collaborate with me and I was like, "Oh, my god. Maybe he'll do it." So I, like, reached out to his management and he was immediately on board. He literally came to the studio, like, a week later and recorded his part and also, like, helped write the bridge with us and just really finished the song with his personal touch on it which was nice.

Mocha: Oh, so all it takes is a shout-out to Taylor Swift. So if I said right now next time Taylor Swift that you were in Toronto and we would love to have you live in studio on the Roz and Mocha show, we could totally make that happen?

Taylor: Well that would definitely help, yes.

Mocha: In the lead-up to the release of ME! you made an appearance at the the NFL Draft which had some people, including my co-host Roz, speculate that you might be performing at next year's Superbowl halftime show. We know that or may not know that you are or not working with Coke anymore which would totally open the door for a deal at the Pepsi halftime show.

Taylor: I mean, I hadn't even thought about it, but I'm really flattered that you have such big dreams for me.

Mocha: The internet detectives are out there. Your fans are the ones that are piecing this together as well.

Taylor: Yeah, they're really—they're so, so clever and I mean with that I really just thought it was a coincidence that it was in Nashville. Like, the NFL Draft is in Nashville and I'm from Nashville and that was really—it was the Nashville connection. I wasn't, like—I wasn't, like, at that point in time I wasn't, like, leaving a cryptic tapestry. But I am with most things.

Mocha: Okay, and other than Brendon Urie are there any other features on the new album?

Taylor: I'm gonna definitely let people kind of discover that when the time comes. You are so curious and I love it. I'm loving your energy.

Mocha: I'm asking the questions that the fans are trying to get answers to as well, including the album title.

Taylor: I don't break under interrogation.

Mocha: Taylor Swift, it was such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much. Again, I know that you're super, super busy right now. Congratulations on the success of ME! especially breaking YouTube and VEVO in 24 hour view records. That is amazing; we cannot wait to see you live in person in Canada, across the entire country in various cities. You know this country has mad love for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you and we can't wait for the album

Taylor: Well thank you so much. It's awesome talking to you too, and thank you for saying that you can't wait for the album. That's amazing to hear. I'll talk to you guys soon and hopefully see you.

Mocha: Yeah, for sure. Take care, Taylor.

Taylor: Bye!

[oliverdant]

"Prochnost" takes Oliver and his newfound family (his adult kids just arrived from the future, no big deal) to Russia to track down a way to going up against the Monitor and deal with the impending Crisis, and that apparently means several things: 1) The return of Oliver's (Stephen Amell) good ol' frenemy Anatoly (David Nykl), and 2) Oliver and Mia (Katherine McNamara) get to show off their fighting skills in an underground fight club.

That's no sweat for Mia, since that is, after all, how we met her in the first place. She spent most of her life training with Nyssa Al Ghul, and she's pretty much a pro-fighter. And her dad's the Green Arrow, so basically this should be a piece of cake. It's those long-buried emotions that are going to be the tough part to deal with.

The whole cast is also dealing with their own emotions in real life, as the show just wrapped production on its series finale last week. We hopped on the phone just a couple days after wrap with McNamara to get the scoop on all of it.

E! News: Is it really strange for you guys to have fully wrapped production?

McNamara: You know, it's funny, 'cause yesterday we had one more pickup day where I shot one scene for episode nine and then insert shots and all of this, and yesterday was just such a short day. It was just fun play time with the crew. But the day before was the big day, the last official day of production when Stephen wrapped, and Emily wrapped, and everybody else. There was one scene in particular that we had so many people in that they series wrapped about 10 people when we finished the scene. And that's when I cried, because there are so many possibilities for the future of what the Arrowverse could be, especially for me, but it will never be the same. This is special, this is unique, and you know, the people are what made that show so iconic, and that was really special to be there for that moment.

This next episode is heading to Russia and it looks like there are some really good family moments for Mia and Oliver. Can you talk about what's happening in Moscow?

It's really great for me, because when I found out who I was on the series, I watched the entirety of the show. At that point, it was six seasons worth of Arrow, and one of my favorite moments was Russia. I was absolutely head over heels for David Nykl. I just think he does such a brilliant job, and Anatoly is so fun. He's a fun character where his loyalty is always switching. They're always wondering whether he's going to appear as a friend or as an enemy, and when I found out I was going to get to work with him, I was simply over the moon. I just think he's absolutely brilliant.

Anatoly is such a huge part of Oliver's past, so what can you say about how that factors into the father/daughter bonding? How much is Mia going to learn about his life?

The thing about this is that Oliver is very aware that if he's bringing his children to Russia, there's a lost of his past that could get exposed that he may or may not necessarily want his kids to be aware of. And he struggles with that, and he tries as any parent would to shield and or protect his kids from discovering his dark past, and whether or not he succeeds will be another story, because he happens to have two very smart, strong-willed children who kind of don't follow instructions all the time.

But what's great about it too is you get to see Mia follow in his footsteps in many ways in this episode, and you saw a few moments in the trailer that are very indicative of what the entire episode has in store. It's my first episode where I really got to work with Stephen in an extended period of time and a lot of one on one stuff with him. It's such a great episode to get to watch him and be a part of the story in so many iconic ways.

When I talked to Ben Lewis, he was saying that you guys didn't really know Stephen that well, so the actors were kind of going through the same thing the characters are going through, getting to know this person they knew so much about without actually knowing them. Did you have that same experience?

Absolutely. Most of my interactions with Stephen up until that point had been social interactions or show gatherings or wrap parties or things like that, and that's a different experience than when you're spending a day on set with a person. And it was kind of a wonderful way to get to bring the story to life in getting to know Stephen and getting to know the character relationship and getting to build that very organically. And I think it played out really beautifully on screen, and Mia and Oliver have very similar sensibilities, but also there's a lot of Mia's sense of humor that mirrors Felicity. So you get to see quite a bit of banter between the two fo them, and Oliver's trying his best to be a good dad, but Mia will only accept so much help and direction, and she has a mind of her own and Oliver very quickly discovers that, much to his chagrin.

Mia has quite the past too, and so far she hasn't been very willing to share that with him. Is she going to get to that point where she feels comfortable opening up to him?

I mean, at this point Mia isn't very good at emotional conversations. Her childhood was spent Nyssa Al Ghul, who is also not the best at emotions, so it's interesting to get to see that. But what Oliver does get to see in Mia and what she does get to show him is her fighting skills. It's the first time that Oliver really gets to witness Mia do what she does best, and I think it surprises him, and it's definitely a sense of pride for Mia that she gets to show her father, this is what I do, and this is how I do it, and this is my domain. And it's something that the two of them can connect on and relate on, but it's also...she wants to impress her father. She wants to make him proud, and she has many opportunities to do that in this episode. Whether or not she succeeds is another story, but that's to be seen.

How does he react to finding out his daughter is this badass fighter?

I mean, I think he's worried for her, right? He wants her to be safe and wants her to be OK and to not have to fight for her life, but when he sees it, I think it makes him proud. I mean I can't speak for him, but I would like to think that he sees a lot of himself in her and uses this opportunity for the two of them to work together and to build a future together even in the limited time they have. Because of course Oliver knows that his time, at least according to what the Monitor says, his time is potentially coming to an end, whereas Mia doesn't exactly know that or know the exact timeline of that. I think he has a little bit of reassurance that she's gonna be OK no matter what happens.

Are Mia and William at all worried about the fact that they were just thrown into the past and they left a whole future behind?

There's so much going on that they don't really have time to think about that. All they can do to make the future better is to worry about the present or past or whatever...whatever verb tense we're using. Future, past, present, whatever it is, the time that they're currently in is the time they are concerning themselves with, and that's only by nature of the fact that in the hopes of changing the future, maybe they can affect something while they're helping Oliver complete his mission. Plus I think both of them are overwhelmed by the fact that they're actually having a chance to bond with their father in a way they never had the opportunity before.

Can you talk at all about the backdoor spinoff you filmed? How much more are we going to get to know Mia?

I mean, I can say it's very exciting, and very different, and there's really not much else I can say.

Can you talk instead about the journey that Mia is on for the rest of this season, since we're now halfway through?

We see Mia grow quite a bit this season, and she's very sure of herself in certain aspects of who she is as a person. She knows she's a fighter, she knows she's competent in that realm, and that is where she finds her strength. It's the other side of who she is, the emotional side, the human side that is underdeveloped at this point, and time and time again—we've seen it in the last couple episodes and we'll continue to see it for the rest of the season--she is, and so is Oliver, they both have a lot to work through when it comes to their relationship. His choice to leave her, her having to grow up without a father, her having to grow up in his shadow, the effect that it had on her mother and on her brother, the fact that she never had a chance to have William in her life because of her father's choices. And there's a lot of resentment there.

The one thing she's always wanted in her life has been her father, but in her mind, he's also the reason that her life wasn't what it could have been, and being confronted with him and having to deal with that is a lot for her. And it forces both of them to deal with that uncomfortable elephant in the room. And with the tensions as high as they are given the greater world conflict, it brings things to a head over the next couple of episodes, and it forces them both to deal with it in a very direct way and you get to see aspects of their character that you otherwise wouldn't have. And it definitely leaves a mark on both of them.

Can you tell me everything about the crossover?

That's the one thing I can't discuss, but it is so epic. I was definitely fangirling quite a bit while shooting the crossover.

Seems like a dream if you're a fan of this kind of thing to get to be on five shows at once.

It was pretty great. I mean, I got to kind of have this tour of the multiverse, as it were, while shooting it, and getting to work with everyone and kind of witness everything...it was really amazing. It's something I'll never forget.

[punkscowardschampions]

Nancy & Rio

Nancy: Hey Rio: Hiya babe Rio: what's good? Nancy: I need to like Nancy: ugh idk it's such a bad idea, like I already know Rio: You wanna Thelma and Louise? Nancy: Who wouldn't want that much gay subtext Rio: Susan Saradon is a babe Rio: what's the actual drama then, shitty husbands and creeps at bars assumedly ain't it Nancy: Okay so you know how I have the misfortune of having to share a birthday, well, now he also wants me to do a joint party Nancy: except not Nancy: he wants my share of the guestlist cos he's gone over his own Rio: Seriously Rio: 🙄 Rio: Well that sounds like a nightmare Nancy: Right? Like I don't have to see enough of all his fuckboy friends already Rio: So you've actually got to be there Rio: that's so rude on so many levels Nancy: I might just leave once mum and dad do, it's not like they're gonna stay and chaperone all night Nancy: That's where you come in Nancy: Save my birthday from total ruin, yeah? Rio: They should, last party I went to the house was basically a write-off after Rio: What can I do, obviously I'll do it but catch me up Nancy: Oh Nancy: maybe they will and I will have to stay Nancy: But my original idea was more Thelma & Louise, naturally Nancy: You're the most fun person I know Nancy: and it is Halloween, there's gotta be something else on offer Rio: Yeah, you do live in one of the most exciting places in the world, nbd Rio: of course there's something more fun to do! Rio: I'll start looking now Nancy: You're actually the best ever Rio: N'awh, you're so cute 💖 Rio: see how quick you are with the compliments after I've saved you 😘 Nancy: 😉 Nancy: Who's immune to such blatant heroics? Nancy: If you save me from having to spend a minute at this party you can have anything you want Rio: ���� Rio: Steady on Rio: I'm good, might not be THAT good Nancy: I was more thinking from my wardrobe Nancy: You're not really my type, cos of the whole related and straight thing Rio: Sure Rio: that whole thing Rio: not gonna turn down a tour of your latest purchases obvs Nancy: That sounds really flirty still but I'll go with the less awkward version of events Nancy: Things are weird enough with this party, like Rio: I can't help being this irresistible, babe Rio: but I won't say it's a date, just a plan Nancy: You're flirting with me but sure, we can both be irresistible, I guess Rio: I am not Rio: Straight and sharing DNA, remember Rio: you only got 1/2 so you're more suss Nancy: A lesbian remember? One convo and you're moving in Rio: 😂 Rio: Won't just do carry on then Rio: tah for the warning Nancy: You're so welcome Rio: Already gonna look so underdressed without being caught without 😱 Nancy: Um with full access to my wardrobe, not for long Nancy: Anything less than utter perfection is not an option if I have to show my face at the party for even half a second Nancy: I'm beyond prepared, and in case you can't tell, beyond STRESSED Rio: I caught that Rio: gurl you're gonna get stress spots if you don't tone it down Rio: you'll look 🔥 Rio: assume it's a costume party? Nancy: God, don't, the girls he invited would love that to happen to me Nancy: especially cos no, it's not Nancy: 🙄 Rio: Honestly, you had one job Rio: such an easy cop-out Nancy: He says no costume could make him look as hot as his labels, that's a paraphrase, I wasn't listening well enough to deliver a direct quote, sadly Rio: 🤢 Rio: Please don't try any harder to remember that was upsetting enough Rio: definitely find something better to do Nancy: Right? I literally get gayer every time he opens his mouth Rio: 😂 Rio: Not a choice but if it was, I get it Nancy: God was like, with him as a brother you've suffered enough Rio: Though it would be funny if you can find a man more unbearable Rio: he'd be fuming Nancy: My dad too Rio: Oh, the male posturing Rio: let me down, if no one else Rio: such a laugh Nancy: Maybe I should have turned this plan on its head and come to you to celebrate Nancy: Get away from it all Nancy: his friends are like clones and nobody thinks that's bizarre Nancy: like the girls are just 😍💘💋 Rio: Match their boys to their bags Rio: weird Rio: we should still do something special for you though Rio: it's your birthday as well, after-all Nancy: Yeah but I'm the weird one, okay then Nancy: It is but I don't feel as if I need to be all 🎉🎂👑 Nancy: He's got that covered Rio: Don't worry, I know your style Rio: and that it ain't his Nancy: He doesn't have any Rio: 🔥 Rio: ice that on the cake, babe Nancy: If ANYTHING was allowed to be homemade I would Rio: Can't imagine your Ma in a pinny, like Nancy: If my dad asked, then maybe Nancy: They are so gross but that's a convo to have in therapy one day Rio: Yeah, that is NOT my present to you Rio: lemme get qualified Nancy: What ARE you getting me though? Rio: No spoilers! Nancy: 😞😞😞 Rio: Surprises are fun Rio: don't be sad Nancy: Never in this house Nancy: But I trust in your gifting abilities Nancy: 🧡 Rio: And I'll bring over all the kids...interesting homemade attempts Rio: what more could you ask for? Nancy: Tell Junior he's so rude for refusing to get on a plane Nancy: It's not a phobia if you just don't want to Rio: Real talk Rio: ride or die until he's scared he'll end up at this party too Rio: bless Nancy: Like, I get it, I don't want to be in Chelsea either but I'd do it for him Rio: I ain't getting in the middle of gay drama Rio: I know better Rio: I could beg on your behalf but we both know, unlikely Nancy: Oh my god, you're not allowed to out him, even to me Nancy: It's a secret that we all know, okay Rio: 🤐 Rio: I do forget he's younger than us, like actually no pressure but also you know NONE of us are gonna be mad so Nancy: So problematic, you'd fit right in at the party actually Nancy: He's an adorable little old man Rio: 😱 Rio: 'Scuse me Rio: don't be starting beef with me, I'm coming Nancy: 😂 Rio: Literally so rude Rio: don't make me flip my hair at you Nancy: Babe please, I can do it better Nancy: Mine's so long now Rio: Alright showoff 😉 Rio: mine would be too if I straightened it Nancy: [sends a show offy hair flip clip but cute like look] Rio: Awh, you look so cute 🧡 Nancy: I look so 🥕 but I make it work Rio: straight 🔥 I swear Nancy: Okay but never use straight to refer to me, thanks Rio: Such a hater Nancy: Of men, exactly Nancy: You would be too if you went to our school though Rio: I can imagine Rio: tory central Nancy: Lord, it's like a timewarp of values but the levels of privilege have kept sky rocketing Nancy: The party's gonna be like Gatsby's except if the green light was shots and nudes Rio: Ahh the irony Rio: How do you stay even slightly sane/normal Nancy: I don't Nancy: They are the 'normal' ones and I'm obviously insane with grief about it Nancy: Oh please let me in your oh so exclusive club so I don't have to hang my head in shame Rio: nah, fuck that Rio: just the lunatics running the asylum Nancy: I hate it here so much Rio: Is there anyone vaguely decent you hang with? Nancy: No Rio: That's so crap Nancy: I'd rather have no friends than fake ones cos there's nobody real around Rio: I feel that too Rio: but its hard having to spend, what, 7 hours a day alone and surrounded by dickheads Rio: hope you're making your weekends worth it, yeah Nancy: I'd love it if they left me alone Nancy: That's what weekends are for, definitely Rio: Enough about those boring bitches anyway Rio: my mum wants to talk to yours, the usual, but they're cool with it so Rio: 👍 Nancy: I'll let her know when she comes in Rio: 🤞 she doesn't talk her ear off so hard she won't let me come like hell no, this fucking family Nancy: I can't even let that be a possibility Nancy: Do you want me to have a birthday breakdown, mum? Nancy: I don't think you have time in the schedule for that Rio: Hit her up with those birthday demands Rio: it's my party and I WILL cry if you don't do what I want, like Nancy: I don't wanna go there but if I have to, I will Rio: 👑 Rio: if there's ever a time to be a tiny bit of a diva Rio: I have to make a fuss or bitches will be tryna skip to Christmas like nah Nancy: That's so rude Nancy: To you and your dad Nancy: Also who in the hell wants to skip to Christmas? It's so stressful oh my god Nancy: Give me all the shopping days, thanks Rio: Seriously Rio: not a grinch or anything, gimme presents then too but come on Rio: attention is the best 🎁 for the eldest of 10, duh Nancy: Do you wanna be the joint guest of honor at this party instead of me? Nancy: As far as attention goes, you wouldn't get more unless you lock Buster in his room or something beforehand Rio: 😂 I know you're not identical but I don't think your ma would appreciate the insinuation that me and him are in any way twinning Nancy: You could wear a costume Nancy: He'd hate that as much as he'd hate sharing the spotlight even a little Rio: No shade but 0 lack of desire to white face Rio: but that's tempting, have I even got time to think of a decent costume though Rio: hmm Nancy: I can't lie, I'd be tempted if I was staying Rio: We so should Rio: maybe we'll need one for wherever we're going once you've made your joint wish or whatever the fuck Nancy: I'm with you on everything except I'm never blowing out candles with him for as long as I live Rio: Jokes, you definitely have enough 💸 for separate wishes Nancy: 🙏 Rio: This will be fun Rio: I'll send you details of anything that sounds good then Nancy: I'll send you any costume ideas I have, obvously Nancy: Thanks Ri Nancy: You seriously are the best Rio: Definitely Rio: and don't mention it, I had nothing good on anyway, this'll be way more fun than whatever lame party I was gonna be at Nancy: I feel like I definitely just complained about my life this entire convo Nancy: Which needs to be mentioned since I didn't even ask how you are or anything Nancy: Like, yeah that's gay culture but you know Rio: Nah, it's your bday, soon Rio: fully in support of that diva ish remember 👑 Rio: and same old same old here Rio: all good Nancy: Yeah? Nancy: Feels like forever since we've had a real life interaction Nancy: I'm glad you're coming Rio: It has been a while Rio: always feels like that since Schools in full swing and sucking the life outta us all like summer never happened Nancy: Unless you're Buster and school's your playground Nancy: I'm honestly surprised he isn't breaking in to have the party there since he loves it so much Rio: When you're gonna peak, gotta make the most, I guess 🤷 Nancy: I wish, you know he's just gonna keep doing better and better Nancy: Failure's not an option, like Rio: Not an option but a reality Rio: all well and good living that mantra and letting it take you as far as it can but I swear, real life is gonna hit him so hard, it won't be good Nancy: Maybe I took his share and mine, that'd be about right Nancy: I'll throw him a party for his mid life crisis though, of course Nancy: What are sister's for Rio: 😂 Can't wait to meet his hilariously age-inappropriate bae and pretend to give a shit about his sports car, like Nancy: I'll show up in mine like hey bro, older, hotter girlfriend in toe Rio: 🙌 Rio: Power moves Nancy: She can drive so I just get to pose even more extra when we turn up Rio: and you just want a driver, lbr 😜 Nancy: You'll thank me for not driving Nancy: The girlfriend who doesn't exist won't when I'm that distracting, though Rio: 😏 Rio: go off boo Nancy: If only that saying was true Nancy: about quiet ones Rio: can be Nancy: I can't even remember how it goes Rio: it's always yous, basically Rio: bit ominous Nancy: Oh Rio: Init Rio: Junie can't be convinced Rio: spent a solid 30 there trying Nancy: He's no longer my best friend, you are Nancy: Next time he wants to know how to let a girl down gently I'm not helping Rio: 💔 Rio: cold, I'll break that news to him gentle tho Rio: old times sake Nancy: My mum's just text me so I'll gently persuade her that you need to like, stay forever Nancy: Easy, obviously Rio: Obviously Rio: with your persuasion skills and her laidback attitude Rio: 😉 Nancy: She's in such a great mood too after another meeting with my form teacher who is himself convinced that Dyslexia only affects working class children Nancy: I tried to tell him that's the stock I'm bred from but he also believes that girls should be seen and not heard, like Rio: Ugh Rio: What a prick Rio: though not that surprised Rio: any issues and the royals hide their kids in asylums so Nancy: They only let girls in during the last century or whatever so he's far to old to have ever interacted with one Rio: Yeah, probs far too invested in the boys if the stereotypes keep ringing true Nancy: Gross but probably true Rio: Someone has to rub 'em down after rugger, babe Rio: 🤷 Nancy: Stop trying to trigger PTSD in me Rio: 😂 soz Rio: jus' sayin' silver lining you don't have to deal with the predatory masters, even if they at best tolerate your existens Nancy: Thank god, since I came out more lads have told me they fancy me than ever before, I'm already inundated and wanna die Rio: Nothing sexier than unavailability Nancy: Nothing sexy about how they show their 'interest' though Nancy: If that's how they approach straight girls I don't know how we've survived as a species Rio: Go on, wow me with their chat Rio: need a laugh Nancy: Most of them don't even bother to speak, their love language is clearly touch Rio: 😬 Rio: Rapey Nancy: It's scary, like Nancy: I thought posh boys were meant to be repressed Rio: Nah, they're THE worst Rio: untouchable in return for all the grabbing they're into Rio: and SO many mommy/daddy issues Nancy: Gross Rio: Fun if you're feeling it for the weekend but yeah Rio: not a mood you wanna marry into really Nancy: If I wasn't gay before I definitely am now you tried to force your tongue down my throat in the middle of the school hallway, thanks so much  🙄 Rio: That's so grim Rio: hope you smacked him Nancy: My brother has essentially one use to me Rio: It's something Rio: don't discount it Nancy: I can't unless I also wanna take up boxing myself Nancy: Not really my thing so Rio: Least you know he gives some shits, yeah Nancy: He likes to hit stuff Nancy: I've always known that Rio: Yeah Nancy: Anyway, I have to go Nancy: If I ignore this deadline it won't Nancy: and the essay won't write itself either Rio: Oh no Rio: lame Rio: but good 🍀 Nancy: Thanks, I need it Nancy: At least until my mum gets back and I can ask her about romantic classicism Rio: I'm too dumb and poor for this shit, sorry xoxo Nancy: I do have the money to buy myself an essay where my brain has failed me Nancy: but I'd have to make it look Dyslexic enough so I might as well just write it Rio: 💔 Rio: Sad times, princess, sad times Nancy: ikr 👑💧 that's my crown of tears not like Nancy: any other liquids Nancy: I'm definitely not putting any sweat into it Rio: 💪 you got this Nancy: I've got 🍀 because of you Nancy: I'll make it work Rio: 🧡🧡🧡 Nancy: xxx

[creativemorningsdublin-blog]

Meet our Musician: ROE

Meet our Musician: ROE

Our musician for the month of April is ROE. Devastatingly sincere and relatable, ROE is a songwriter that pours her heart into every word that she writes. Her work spills truths from her own life, and from speculations on the planet on which we exist. Hailing from Derry, NI, ROE left college before finishing to travel the world playing festivals and to focus on writing songs that felt real. Her 2020 EP ‘Things We Don’t Talk About’ saw ROE cross 1 million streams on Spotify and is the culmination of 4 years of relentless writing, releasing and touring as a completely independent artist.

We sat down with ROE to talk about all things creative.

What does our monthly theme of procrastination mean to you? Procrastination is, for me, taking time away from something that you love just to make it better. I'm one for procrastinating all the time and then whenever I finally sit down to do something it works out really well because I've taken that time away. People perceive it as a negative thing, but I think that having that time is important.

What do you find most challenging about the creative process?

Probably the hardest thing for me is actually taking the time to sit down and write and keep going with this thing that I love. This is my career but also, it's therapy for me; sitting down and writing and knowing that it's good for my head. So whenever I procrastinate I know that I'm procrastinating because I can feel it in my brain.

You've quite a close-knit team, I love that you guys are all friends and that's such a big part of who you are as an artist. So is the solo time where it's just you in your room, writing, is that where you find committing to doing that most difficult?

Yeah because there's nobody there to push you on to do it, you’re literally relying on yourself to do this thing and you know that it's going to take maybe an hour or whatever. And I’ve started this technique where you put a timer on your phone for 15 minutes to do something and that's been very helpful. I know that it's only a tiny section of time that I have to do the task for and then you end up doing it for far longer because you're really into it.

But whenever I have the team around me, I feel the buzz. Whenever they’re around you and everybody is kind of gearing towards the same goal really. It brings you out of your shell as well, because when you're having the craic with people and you're all thinking about the same thing and they’re all like-minded and just want to get the best out of everything that you do. Especially whenever it’s my own stuff, because everything I write is written by me and it's kind of my baby, so it's nice having people around that make you kind of think that OK, I'm an actual professional musician. And they're just there to support you the whole way and I love that.

Is there any experience in particular that you've been reminiscing about? You know those moments that you live in?

Yeah, we were on tour just before lockdown happened up here. Literally just got back home in time and we had the show down in Dublin in Whelan’s Main Room and before that, we'd sold out upstairs and that night was just insane, and it was crazy because we were literally on stage and then we had to go back home up to Derry.

It was just a complete rush the whole night and it was just the best craic and I miss the connection with people. I miss the whole buzz after the show and just talking to people after the show and just chatting to people about their own experiences.

This whole point in life just feels so surreal because everybody’s taken a pause in everything that they do, especially in the creative sector and it's one of those professions that are really tied into your personal life as well. We were chatting about how like most of my friends, if not all of my friends, are involved in the music scene or the creative scene in some way. And I miss that being at a show with them so much and I miss just the thrill of being on stage and being able to perform my songs with people.

Do you think that mental health is the main message in your songs that will keep cropping up and is what’s really important to you or are there other themes that you’ve started to bring into your writing over the past year?

For me, writing is really personal. It's kind of like a diary, a scary diary, but I use writing as a form of therapy, so everything that I write is very much linked to my mental health and the things that I go through, and people really close to me go through. And it’s a way of getting these thoughts out of my head without having to talk about it because I am the worst person, as much as I sing about it, I'm really bad at talking about my mental health and actually opening up to people.

So I think if I can do that in a way that helps other people as well as it helps me. That's the aim for me. You know it's just to connect with people and have a little bit of hope because all of these songs that I write, they might have really sad topics behind them or themes behind them, but I get to do what I love because of them. I get to connect with people, I get to talk to people and get to make friendships and it came from all of these mental health songs that I've written about. It makes me realise how important it is to talk about these things, especially if you have the strength to.

I still get terrified before I go on stage because I know that I'm pouring my heart out on stage in front of all these people and I have no idea how it's going to go each night, but it's really important to me to keep spreading that message of: It's OK to have mental health issues. Everybody has some form of mental health issues. Nobody is perfect and it feels like a very human thing to communicate. I don't understand why there's such a stigma around it.

How do you feel about the narrative that if you write music, you don’t need therapy, that the music is therapy and is cathartic?

I think if you need help, get help. Your music isn't going to suffer because your mental health is getting better, and I think that's really important for people to understand.

There's this narrative of a tortured artist and you have to be suffering to make good art, and there's no logic in that. There's no reason why you can't better your mental health and feel happier and still write really good songs.

If you need help, get help. Your music isn't more important than your own mental state.

This year loads of people have been learning new coping mechanisms… are there any rituals that you do before stage or daily?

It's something that I'm working on. I've been reading into it a lot more. There's this book called Sound Advice that I've absolutely been loving and it's about creating rituals, especially with your bandmates, because you need a connection before you go on stage, that's why people play ball games or silly word games before they go on stage, to get that connection and bring the best onto the stage.

But before all this, I definitely took maybe 5 minutes before I went on stage and just didn't talk to anybody. I'd kind of take the time for myself because of the nature of the songs. I had to be in the right mindset to go sing them before, without breaking down onstage.

It's talked about all the time, how exercise helps your brain, and so I've started running and doing yoga a lot more and not for any physical benefits. But just because I know that it's going to help me in the long term and my brain.

What habits do you think you've had to unlearn over the last few years?

Finding my voice was difficult. We're in the middle of recording my album and this time I've taken the reins a little bit and realise that I like having a hand in everything in every aspect of my music. So, I'm definitely a lot more assertive than what I was, maybe three or four years ago whenever I was just starting out. And it is something that you learn – that you have a voice. And you're allowed to use it, even if you're young.

Some of the youngest people in this industry are the ones with the most inspirational ideas.

Always remember that you have a voice and you're allowed to have that creative expression and guide your own music like it's your music, so don't let anybody else take charge of it.

You put up a post recently saying that you were really excited about your new tunes and how they were really different... in what way are you excited about them being different?

They’re very true to what the songs are about. It’s shown in my writing how I’ve evolved as an artist. Practice makes everything better, so I'm really proud of these songs and I'm really excited about them. The whole mental health thing has carried over a whole lot and I'm glad that it has and I don't think I'll ever step away from talking about things like that.

There's been so much talk about how the music industry needs to step up, and I think it's really important to talk about these things ... what do you wish people knew about being a musician that isn't always visible or obvious?

All of the hours that go into and everything that goes into behind the music. Whenever people hear your music, it's a finished product. It's all shiny and bright and they don't realise how much has gone into the thought, the artwork or the production or the videos and all that aspect of it as well.

I think it's really hard to see music as a nine to five because you always end up coming up with ideas and the best ideas that I have always come at like two in the morning whenever I'm going to sleep, and I have to roll over and write them in my notes app or else I won't remember them in the morning.

Is there anything else you would say about your new tunes?

I’m being very mysterious at the minute! We’re working away trying to get everything done for my debut album and it’s the first time that I've had so much space to sit with every aspect of a project without shows in between. I want it to be something special to me and I think putting in the time into it is making that real.

What do you hope for the music industry going forward, what changes would you want to see?

That it’s more of a gender-neutral environment, especially when it comes to radio because I think everybody has seen the disparity when it comes to Irish radio at the minute. I want to see more opportunities for women in the music industry that aren't token, that you're not the only woman on the line-up.

Also more transparency. There’s a lack of transparency when it comes to a lot of the industry stuff and I know my manager, Liam, he's been great at the minute because he's started this Instagram page all about the industry and everything you need to know about labels, publishers. Everybody seems to keep to themselves and I wish that there was less of this competitive nature. There's room for everybody to get the opportunities that they deserve and there shouldn't be this need to be better than somebody, because we're all in this.

I want it to feel like more of a community than competition. I feel like if there was a worldwide community of musicians and everybody in the music industry was helping each other, that would be the day.

I think if it was more accessible and more open to young artists, people wouldn't be as scared or feel as if they need somebody else to know all this stuff. They wouldn't be taken advantage of. There needs to be more education when it comes to that, especially when it comes to the younger artists.

---

You can check out ROE's music here.

[prancis-film-reviews]

Trolls 2 - World Tour (2020) Review:

SING IT TOGETHER, LOUDER THAN EVER! TROLLS 2 IS LIVELY AND COLORFUL 🤩

written by: Prancis

It's pretty disappointing to see this movie at home when you're suppose to enjoy watching it at the cinema because of its visually-stunning animation and fun songs. Sadly, we're still in quarantine and can't go elsewhere. Instead, this was released (maybe forcely) through streaming last March 11 when its original release was scheduled, April 10. But anyway, that won't pretty much change the fact that this movie still satisfied me the way the first movie did. This sequel might not be as emotionally-driven or better than the first one, but still it was rather good.

This sequel's definitely even more visually-stunning than the first one. As you can see, we get to see a bigger vision of what the trolls' universe looks like from the Pop trolls' land, to Techno, to Classical, Country, Funk, and to the Rock trolls' land—All of them have different, captivating visuals and essence. They're all colorful, beautifully and cleverly animated. Which is the thing that I admire the most in the film. I really love the visuals.

My favorite place is the Funk one. It looks like Bikini Bottom from SpongeBob but with better colors and they even have their own technology...😂

The song covers on this one is obviously cannot be compared to the first one. The songs were good, their chosen soundtracks featured in the film were a good choice, but not really as memorable and better than the songs from the first one. Remember when True Colors was such a hit? We heared it almost everyday on the radio? Yeah, it was all because of the first film. It's songs have better impact to the audience. The first one definitely have better songs compared to this one but still, it was all good. I really admire Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake's voices tho...😭😭

Let's talk about the plot.

This film heading to the end was so damn fast; It doesn't feel like a one-hour movie. One time you're having fun jamming to the song, then a character argument comes (always Poppy and Branch), it introduces new setting and characters after, argument comes again, back to the songs then repeat 'till it reaches the climax. It moves so damn fast you will definitely wish it could be longer...😭

The plot about the evil Rock troll 'Barb' collecting the music strings to feed her desire to make Rock the only genre that shall exist is hilarious. Since this movie came out after Avengers: Infinity War, we can assume that this film's plot is really similar to that and that being said, it's inspired from that: collecting 6 artifacts, wanting to change the world? Yeah, it's the same. But I don't have any issues about that tho. I just find it funny..😂

Well obviously, we can all agree that this film is intended for children satisfaction. I was a fan of the first one and I happen to love this sequel as well; but there are people out there who hated the film because it's too plot-driven or it has a lot of scenes where it's just all about having fun and music jamming rather than focusing to the character development and all that shit. If you're not a fan of the first one, you obviously won't enjoy this film as much as the fans did—little and reasonable disappointments are expected. It's not a bad thing tho 'cause I couldn't agree more when they're actually right. We only see a few serious character conversations because the film is so busy satisfying the audience with pleasing, funny scenes and amusing cover songs and dancing.

The film still did a great job tho we have that kind of issue. Everything paid off when we realized the beauty and the message of the film. It all paid off when the film gave us a heart-felt ending with a good character development from Poppy, Branch and to Barb as well.

The final 20 minutes the film was so fun and emotional. They were at a huge concert stadium with all the 6 different trolls. It was Barb's plan to held a concert after she succeeds in collecting the 6 strings and make everyone love one music only which is Rock.

Eventually she failed. Something came up (not gonna talk about it) and Poppy broke all the strings which leads us to the most beautiful scene of the entire film: Everyone were sad and their colors fade. Everyone went silent when the 6 strings broke and their music was gone. Suddenly, Cooper's heart beat were beating loud and everyone heard it. His brother did a beat box, one did tapping and clapping and eventually turning out to be a music coming from within them realizing that music is not just about its physical instruments but also with the heart. That shit was so emotional. Everyone started singing and I lost my shit...😭😭 It was so beautiful!! That scene alone carried the entire film. Lol, just kidding!

In the same setting, the characters had their character developments: Poppy learns to listen. Branch learns to understand. And Barb learns to love all kinds of music and have friends. Then all music unites. In conclusion, the ending was so satisfyingly good!

Thinking about what I love about the film, I think it was because I was so captivated by the idea that an animated movie that I loved—now have a sequel about all genres of music in one film. I really love music and I have no issues with languege barriers or where it's from and how it sounds like. I listen to a lot of genres without prejudice and this film happens to feed my satisfaction by having all of my favorite songs and genres into one film. One thing I still couldn't believe that finally, ugh finally, K-pop is featured in a mainstream film and Red Velvet was chosen—One of my favorite girl groups. I was so happy about this that's why I was so excited to watch it. Red Velvet even did the voice over and I'm here for it...😭 Also, I'm glad that since the focus of the film is mainly to the 6 genres, It's good that Reggaeton, K-pop, Jazz and Yodele are present 'cause I love these genres too especially K-pop and Reggaeton...💕

Musical genres having their own people, their own visuals and land, kingdom or whatsoever, is definitely one of the things I love about the film too. It's such a clever imagination at some point...

I'm gonna rate this film a 7 / 10 👍

I really loved it! The movie was visually-stunning and amazingly fun and satisfying but I can't get over of how the plot moves—It bothers me. At some point, this film have some things that are a bit off also. But I can agree on the fact that this still did a great job of maintaining the fun and making the audience relate to the film. Anyways, thank you for reading!! 😉

Movie Info:

Rating: PG

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, & Musical

Directed by: Walt Dohrn

Release Date: March 11, 2020

Watch the trailer here!

[goetzeus]

BVB Feiertagsmagazin w/ Roman Bürki  (03/02/17) - English translation

Nobby: Roman, you were injured for two months, longer than ever before in your career. First question: How was your rehabilitation and how glad are you to be back on the pitch?

Roman: Like you said this was the first major injury of my career and-

Nobby: Where was it?

Roman: (shows Nobby his hand) Here. You can still see it a bit.

Nobby: What was there?

Roman: The fracture. The hand fracture.

Nobby: What's the procedure for that?

Roman: I have a metal plate which stabilises things very well.

Nobby: Is it still in there?

Roman: Yes.

Nobby: If you punch someone with that now...

Roman: Well...

Nobby: A defender...

Roman: I'd rather not try it. (both laugh) I obviously still try to protect the hand as good as possible in my free time but I'm very happy to join the team again. It was tough to always just watch. Still, I had a very good time with the physiologists and all the other people who have cared for me.

Nobby: What's it like to be sitting in the stands and not being able to do anything? Strange, isn't it?

Roman: Very strange, yes. The Süd impressed me once more, having experienced it from the stands. It was actually the first time that I've watched a Borussia Dortmund match as a spectator. You want to help somehow but you're forced to... The worst thing was the away match against Real Madrid; I obviously would've wanted to be involved in that.

Nobby: I can imagine.

Roman: Yeah, I really had to pull myself together while I was watching it on tv.

---INTERLUDE---

Nobby: Well Roman, Leipzig is strong. They've been playing a strong season so far, they're rightfully second on the table but we have been undeafeated at home for 1 1/2 years. That's something we, you, should keep in mind at all times. How would you - you're kind of an "old stager" already - agitate against Leipzig? What would your tactic look like? Full on attack mode or... ?

Roman: I'm in fact one of the older ones in the team. We have a lot of young players that have to be guided. We will definitely find the right tactic to win the three points against Leipzig. And that's basically it, I don't want to spill too much. All I can say is that we're being prepared really well.

Nobby: It's the first match at home and an encounter between two top teams straightaway. How pumped are you for the match and do you already notice this kind of mood during training? Everyone being like "Yes, let's kick Leipzig's ass!"?

Roman: Yes sure! I mean, it's the first home match of the new year, of the second half of the season, and we're very excited to play in our own stadium in front of our fans again. We don't need any special motivation for that. Sure, the second in the table will be here and we'll do our best to win, to fight, but I think it's already enough of a motivation to play at home.

---INTERLUDE---

Nobby: The Super Bowl will take place on Sunday. The biggest sports event of the world second only to BVB home matches (laughs). Are you interested in American Football? Are you going to be watching the match?

Roman: Yes definitely! It's a bit of a weird time of the day for us but I certainly won't miss it.

Nobby: Who's gonna win? Do you have a favourite?

Roman: I watched the semi final and Tom Brady is in an impressingly good condition that's why I bet on him.

Nobby: With tomorrow's match the double fixture weeks will start again. We take part in all three competitions which we're happy about. How important is it to have a fit and most of all a large squad right now?

Roman: It's extremely important. I think that has also partially been the reason for our performance fluctuations. We have never been able to play with the same line-up, we could never establish a rhythm and I think it's very important for the second half of the season to have as little injured players as possible, to have the team in good shape and then I'm confident we can make a big jump ahead.

Nobby: What kind of impression does the team have on you? Is everyone excited, eager?

Roman: Yeah absolutely! There's a certain amount of tension, sure, aggressiveness, but also a healthy amount of ease. You always need that. And with the right tactical instructions from the manager staff I'm convinced we will be triumphant.

---INTERLUDE---

Nobby: Before Mario, you were the last person to take a seat in our Sparda-Bulli. How did you like it to tour around our city with Josef?

Roman: It was very enjoyable. I was lucky to have visited the big Christmas tree and the Christmas market. I really liked it a lot.

Nobby: Would you have thought that Dortmund could be so beautiful back then when you joined us?

Roman: I really didn't know a lot. I was in Freiburg and before that in Switzerland-

Nobby: It's also very beautiful there.

Roman: It's defintiely very beautiful there, too but here, with this stadium, it's - how do I say - a great tourist attraction. And the city is beautiful as well. There are a lot of things to admire, especially during winter; like I said I really like visiting the Christmas market.

Nobby: We truly do have some kind of football tourism by now, did you know that? A lot of people from England come here to watch Borussia Dortmund play.

Roman: I didn't know that but I can imagine-

Nobby: Prices in England are quite high so it can be cheaper to fly over here-

Roman: You can see better football here, anyway.

Nobby: Exactly!

Roman: Win-win. (both laugh)