#from his stream on feb 19 i think

[sherlockggrian]

Scar witnesses Gem and Etho’s impressions of each other

[autisticlalna]

Twitch SMP Lore Transcript Masterpost!

welcome to the cozy town of Aquarium Gravel! we've got time loops, alternate reality selves, eldritch horrors, places that Should Not Be, possession, cool item symbolism, things pretending to human that very much are not, and a guy that hallucinates scarecrows talking to him.

as someone with a burning drive to analyze as much lore as i can get my hands on, as well as someone who has trouble tracking down specific clips in hours-long VODs to back up my analyses, i decided to start transcribing VikingPilot and Rubyco's lore!

this is a bit of a massive undertaking, and there are likely going to be mistakes due to length. shoutouts to Rubyco and ghostsgone for the help on this project!

right now this only covers Viking and Ruby's plotline - if other people want to transcribe the lore streams from the other Aquarium Gravel members i 100% encourage it because everybody's got a really cool story to tell! however, i have given myself one heck of a workload, so i don't think it's in the cards for me. i would love to see it though

this post will be updated as more transcripts are finished! in the meantime, here's what we have so far!

(note: Viking and Ruby have started uploading their vods! however it looks like some of Viking's earlier ones are still missing. the ones currently available are now linked in this post :D)

TRANSCRIPTS:

Jan 29 - It's just so you. - A hypothetical future. Feb 8 - It's gonna be great. - Ruby confronts Viking about his weird behavior after he gets an IOU out of Miyaki. Feb 15 - Sleepwalk - Viking and Ruby investigate the strange signs Ruby leaves while sleepwalking. | Ruby Feb 20 - Signposting - Ruby meets another Viking. | Ruby Feb 21 - You see me. - Sapphire leaves a message. | Ruby Feb 28 - Biking Pilog - An error in the timeline. | Ruby Feb 28 - You belong to me. - Jay has an encounter. Feb 29 - What are you running from? - An introduction to Fiv and a talk with Sapphire. | Viking Mar 4 - The Clocktower - Viking and Ruby find a clocktower and get more questions than answers. | Viking / Ruby ▷ [ Navigator & Sapphire's conversation ] Mar 10 - Snails. - Aquarium Gravel has a snail infestation. Mar 19 - Homesick - Fiv finds common ground with Ruby... or a Ruby, anyway. Mar 21 - Changed Your Mind - Fiv wants out of the deal and Viking wants to know a little more about his business partner. | Ruby Mar 27 - Vintage and Ruby go on a date. [WIP] | Ruby May 23 - Aftermath - Ruby takes control and Navigator tries to jog Sapphire's memory. | Ruby

[accio-victuuri]

CPN : cute dogs, missing lyrics, interview clues, evisu numbers, :01 & the continuing bottled joy saga 🫶🏼

it’s been a while since i made a proper post like this that talks about various cpns going around bxg circles recently so here you go. have some candy!

let’s start with a fake story that seem to be close to this video of zz coaxing cute dogs and him “complaining” about them rejecting him…

WDB’s run was around early feb to june filming and then this fake rumor was released january 2023 and it is ZZ complaining to WYB, it talked about when zz was filming someone brought an animal and it didn’t want to look at him. It was always facing away, ( kinda like these dogs ) and he said “ oh look at it. it doesn’t care about me”. the rumor even said he was squatting down, which is what he was doing in the video. even him saying bye-bye.

As with all fake rumors, take this with a grain of salt. There are about 4 accounts on weibo that labels themselves as fake resources and most of them post stuff like this. Just day to day occurrence between the boys. It’s up to you if believe it or not that these things are more truth than just coincidence. the fact that a couple of them turn out to be validated later on by photos/videos is a reason why cpfs love it so much.

( the cutest and goodest puppy 🥹🥹🥹 )

It’s so funny, these cute dogs know that he already has a puppy at home so they are wary of getting close 😂😂😂😂

• In BTF’s behind the scenes video, there was a part where he was singing along with his castmates to a Jay Chou song ( Sunny Day ) and he skipped singing certain lines. The one he sang goes : Once upon a time, someone loves you for a long time…

and then he skipped singing the following parts :

However, the wind gradually blows the distance far away

但偏偏 風漸漸 把距離吹得好遠

It's hard to love one more day

好不容易 又能再多愛一天

But at the end of the story you seem to say goodbye

但故事的最後妳好像還是說了拜拜

BXGs are interpreting it as him adapting ZZ’s superstition of not saying “bad things” ( remember the boat scene in the cql bts too ) and in this case the bittersweet lyrics of parting from someone you have loved for a long time. An example of this with ZZ singing at Double 11 night and he did not sing the “bad lines” too.

You may say that this is just WYB not wanting to sing along anymore and he was doing something else, but as a cpf who believes in certain things— it’s very sweet. 💕 They are so careful when it comes to their relationship that they don’t wanna jinx it like this.

• ZZ had an interview for WDB and one of the things I loved about it was how he described true love as a flow of companionship. To those who are not watching WDB, his character had a childhood first love ( hongling ) and he described that as that fiery and unrestrained kind of youthful love. But the one he ended up with and marrying ( xiaomei ) is one that’s like a steady stream ( flow of water ). It reminds me of him and WYB. No. Listen. They might have started bickering and as kids who fell in love but it grew into something more steady as the years went by. It’s why i love domestic stories of LRLG cause it shows how their love is. They make the most mundane things sweet, it’s not always bit gestures and fanfic type stories — more often, it’s almost boring because they are literally living their day to day life together.

There was also a part where the interviewer was asking about his line saying “i will only miss you” to hongling and he said something like, he has thousand things he wants to say but ended up with that, the whole I MISS YOU being secretly said is something we CPN. both of them using “…” on their posts and when this comes up, it means i miss you

• In the EVISU video, the numbers are so sus!

13 (yizhan) 28 ( love bo ) 33 (zhan zhan )

and then below, that 23.

Don’t judge. CPFs are really just so sensitive with numbers. 😅

• The posted today and we think that ZZ missed the time. WYB is 18:01 and ZZ was 19:02! Maybe he meant to match and make it 19:01 but he missed!

• Here is a good place to catch up if you don’t know anything about the whole Bottled Joy saga — but this example is the latest. before this, they posted a video making green tea ( like the one in cql they shared i supposed ) and ofc turtles were cackling. but this one goes back to the cpf-friendly designs. they shared these two bottles for their 6.18 sales and we noticed that the colors looks sus. appearing to reference wyb’s panther and zz’s guangdian art. what a good pair ✨

-END

[flaylore]

DIRECTORY (2023)

MAJOR: Jan 7, 2023, 【DEBUT STREAM】Get in the Robot? Okay :) #Flayon_Debut #holoTEMPUS

This is Flayon’s debut stream, please read the summary for more detailed information.

MINOR: Feb 5, 2023, MEMBERSHIP CELEBRATION】Voice Requests! #Machibo | MACHINA X FLAYON

Right as Flayon’s about to end stream, X makes his first appearance ,please watch the full clip for proper experience.

Feb 5, 2023

‘He was on stream, but here he is again! 

My own mascot from the HOLOSTARS English Team 🪫

Looks very familiar, huh...What's his name?’

Feb 19, 2023

‘😈 CHIBITRUS 😈 

(He's wearing Armor...! ) His actual body actually looks like [REDACTED]’

Mar 1, 2023

‘machiroon fuel for the R-TRUS never forget😊🪫🔋’

Mar 27, 2023

‘whho thehell arey ou’

Apr 7, 2023, 【100K CELEBRATION】MachiMaid & ...THAT VERY NICE BOARD!!

As Flayon maniacally laughs over Machiroons getting baked alive, the screen transitions to a static image of X, where he comes to the conclusion to be worthy of love, he has to become special.

May 19, 2023, Pocket Mirror GoldenerTraum! // THE REMAKE IS HERE! w/ [NIJISANJI EN DOPPIO] & [HOLOSTARS FLAYON]

Doppio, through typing text displayed on the intro card, questions if the viewers know what, ‘Osananajimi’, which is a romaji of the phrase, ‘childhood friend’.

May 19, 2023, Pocket Mirror GoldenerTraum! // THE REMAKE IS HERE! w/ [NIJISANJI EN DOPPIO] & [HOLOSTARS FLAYON]

During their childhood years together, Doppio calls Flayon by his middle name, X.

May 19, 2023, Pocket Mirror GoldenerTraum! // THE REMAKE IS HERE! w/ [NIJISANJI EN DOPPIO] & [HOLOSTARS FLAYON]

Doppio questioned Flay's red hair.

May 24, 2023, 【 CHATTING 】So much rust. Rusty.

Flayon is unsure of the R-TRUS exact height, with the only frame of reference is him being the size of his foot, where his height stops.

Jul 16, 2023, 【SUPERCHAT READING】You think you can give me gifts and get away with it? *THROWS U*

Machiroons’ tail can regrow.

Jun 2, 2023 

‘18433’

MAJOR: June 5, 2023, X

This is Flayon’s birthday lore stream, it’s also the link to a visual novel under the same title was made public. Please read the summary for more detailed information.

June 5, 2023 (This is a deleted tweet)

‘i remember now

[screenshot of Flayon’s first post-birthday tweet, except it’s all scribbled out]

i’ll have to fix you again.’

Jul 19, 2023, In The Hole With Machina X Flayon Extended Cut - Talk Show With Koefficient

Flayon spills the entire premise of his whole lore.

Aug 10, 2023,【MACHI Q&A】You Ask Me Questions, I Give You Nothing

To pilot the R-TRUS, Flayon has to stick his tail, the ignition key, into one of the shields, and transmit himself via electromagnetic waves, as the interior is all digital data. It’s meant for a single user, but the others can be projected as well. 

Flayon and the R-TRUS share a symbiotic relationship, it’s why he’s the only one who is good at it. However, the Elysium government also considers this as a threat, since if he loses his temper and goes rogue, they can’t do anything. Despite needing help from him, they distrust him, which is what Flayon would say, ‘they fear what they can’t get it’. This relationship has been going on since he was young.

Aug 10, 2023,【MACHI Q&A】You Ask Me Questions, I Give You Nothing

Due to his strength, Altare asked him to join the guild and help fight for Elysium, but tried turning down multiple times, as he had other things to do. He only met the R-TRUS after joining and received his current pilot outfit.

Aug 18, 2023, 【DRAWING w/ MACHIROONS】Machisona + Meet & Greet

A viewer asked if they could pull Flayon's tail, but he denies it, saying that it's lewd since it's directly attached to his nervous system, due to it being lodged to his spine. The dopamine is too much for him.

Aug 26, 2023, 【HIGURASHI: WHEN THEY CRY HOU】#3 | All Good Things Eventually…

The R-TRUS runs out of power if he dies.

MAJOR: Sept 11, 2023, canis minor

This is an unlisted stream that introduced a new figure, a hooded figure in a mysterious train. Read the summary for more information.

MINOR: Sept 11, 2023 (This is a deleted tweet)

We’ll meet again soon

[screenshot from the stream, that only finished streaming moments before]

MINOR: Sept 12, 2023, POST TEMPUS WEEK: I'm tired, everyone is tired!

This is a teaser of the canis minor stream, where the hooded figure appeared. Please watch the longer clip for the full experience that leads up to that part. The short clip skips to his appearance. (short / long)

Sept 19, 2023, 【LIES OF P】#3 Hi, I'm #machinaxflayon and you're watching my Flop Arc 【Spoiler Warning】

Flayon said he was always good with machinery and piloting things but The R-TRUS is the first mech he piloted. No one knows why the R-TRUS was found there, and what they can do with it, but he’s the only one who can use it. The others somewhat can, but not as well as him. He also expressed interest in piloting other things.

Oct 15, 2023, 【SENTIMENTAL DEATH LOOP】#2 GIRL LOVE 【Spoiler Warning】

Flayon experiences an out-of-body experience whenever he goes in and out of the R-TRUS.

Oct 15, 2023, 【SENTIMENTAL DEATH LOOP】#2 GIRL LOVE 【Spoiler Warning】

Flayon plugs his tail into the panels and transports into the R-TRUS by dematerializing via electromagnetic waves. 

Oct 16, 2023, 【RESIDENT EVIL 4】Starting From The Beginning! One More Time.

Flayon uses an interesting example to describe how he and the R-TRUS are one of the same.

MINOR: Oct 28, 2023, 【Your Turn To Die / キミガシネ】I've Been Waiting Forever To Play, NO LONGER

A stream of strange messages from Flayon appears in the chat, begging him to return the Machiroons to him. Eventually he noticed them, got confused and reassured him that he was fine- only for the screen to have a gray filter, and the BGM stopped, as he disappeared. 

However, a more close up Flayon appeared in the middle of the screen, harshly telling the other person in the chat they, the Machiroons, are all his. Everything returned to normal, and he continued to play the game as usual.

Nov 14, 2023, 【FASHION DREAMER】Fashion is life, are you alive?

Flayon’s body suit opens up from the tail back.

Nov 15, 2023

‘R-TRUS doesn’t feel like moving We can just let them be, right? I mean does anyone actually know what happens when these “beasts” get you? What’s wrong with a little corruption?

The Guild is always so busy too.. I can only use the R-TRUS when it’s deemed “necessary” But how many times do we have to play by the rules? I’ve lost count on how many people I could have helped if they trusted me Fine, let the corruption spread I’ll just stick with the Roons

And if they don’t want me Then I really shouldn’t abide by the rules of this world, yeah? I’ll make it suit my needs What’s yours is mine

MINOR: Nov 16, 2023, 【RUNE FACTORY 3】I've Heard This One Is A Fan Fav! [Spoiler Alert]

Flayon dismisses ARMIS’ debut, saying how he’ll use any dirty trick necessary to get the corruption spreading. He puts TEMPUS’ reliability under question and reassures viewers to not worry about the outside world and continue to stay and watch him.

Nov 16, 2023

‘Hmm..’

‘So those are the beasts?’

‘Feels familiar…’

Nov 17, 2023, 【ARMIS DEBUT WATCHALONG】FRIENDS OR FOES? WE WILL FIND OUT! 【DAY 1】

Flayon proclaimed that if he were to go rogue, Shinri would be the one to kill him. He also introduced himself as the R-TRUS’ pilot, but unable to use it as much as the Elysium government deemed it as a war weapon. He confirmed that in order for another person to use the R-TRUS, they’d have to rip the tail out of his spine.

Nov 19, 2023

[schedule post with an illustration of flayon and corruption]

Nov 19, 2023

‘I Don't Know Who I Am’

Nov 19, 2023

‘He's Not Working Right Lately’

Nov 19, 2023

[a foggy image that alludes to the Church of Rune stream]

MINOR: Nov 23, 2023, 【Refind Self: The Personality Test Game】Who Am I? Who Are You

This is a preview of the Church of Rune stream, please watch for the full experience.

MINOR: Nov 23, 2023, Unlisted Waiting Room

A few hours after the Church of Rune teaser stream, he uploaded a mysterious waiting room a week before the actual stream. However, it was eventually deleted. The thumbnails have changed several times, from a glitchy grayed out image to a picture of a drawing in front of a stained glass wall.

[image of glitchy waiting room]

[image of stained glass waiting room]

The title of the waiting room was changed several times, to ‘connection lost’, ‘a’, ‘.’ and ‘you do know, don’t you?’.

[image of the title, ‘connection lost’]

[image of the title, ‘a’, ‘.’, ‘you do know, don’t you?’]

Nov 24, 2023, Graphics Changes

Flayon’s twitter PFP twitter banner, YT PFP and YT banner change. It is the same as before, except with black & white glitching.

[flayon’s partially glitched out Youtube header]

[flayon’s glitched out youtube icon]

[flayon’s glitched out twitter/X icon]

MAJOR: Dec 1, 2023, 【CHURCH OF RUNE】

This stream introduced a new figure called Father Machina, a priest that takes in people who are lost. Please read the summary for more information. 

Dec 1, 2023

🪫🔋

'My beloved "roons" If I have somehow gotten to you. Even if you believe otherwise. Thank you for your support to spread corruption. Truly, the world may be saved if put your faith in me. Love me alone. You will be saved, surely. Both runes and roons, I will protect you.'

Dec 1, 2023

For those of you devoted to me, have any nay-sayers who would dare remove "corruption" from this world.. Give them a taste of our truth.

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

🪫🔋https://www.youtube.com/live/Hh7UYiJ0T7M🪫🔋

Dec 1, 2023

I can assure you that the monastery was not built in one day, I have these amazing benefactors to thank. 

Rune Robe + Sacred Stained Glass: Aquatail

x.com/aquatail35 @aquatail35

Church of Rune Tailor: Mofu

@mofu_asb

Dec 2, 2023, 【MEMBERSHIP】Watching Heathers For The First Time!

In the description box of the membership Heathers watchalong, the stream proceeding Church of Rune, ‘TEMPUS’ is crossed out in the ad link for the new Christmas ornament acrylics. This ad doesn’t appear in any other stream’s descriptions.

Dec 7, 2023, 【DRAWING】I Try To Make A Machiroon Emote..?!

Flayon showcased the updated Machiroon 3-way reference sheet. He describes the their texture as goopy and wispy. They’re see-through, but it’s influenced by their emotional state. For example, if they’re scared, they become harder to see, and if they’re more grounded, they look more solid. Machiroons look cute because he believes it is fitting of his fans. If someone were to eat one, it will bond to you on a cellular level.

Dec 12, 2023, Playing Gartic Phone w/ rhe Machiroons (Cutest Blorb) in 2K BITRATE HELP

Machiroon’s eyes become more swirly the more emotional they are.

Dec 12, 2023, Playing Gartic Phone w/ rhe Machiroons (Cutest Blorb) in 2K BITRATE HELP

The red clips on Machiroons ears are tracking chips.

Dec 4, 2023

🪫Official MACHIROON Reference Sheet🪫

➡️Say hello to my lovely supporters or else

⚫️- Main Form, Goo-like, capable of bonding w/ host

🔴- Armor Form, customizable armor/hat

⬇️features original sketch reference sheet by me

[official reference sheets of machiroons, followed by the concept sketch version drawn by flayon]

Dec 4, 2023

⚫️Roon Taste: Depends on the food they eat, if they eat lots of strawberries they will taste like that

⚫️Roon in Water: They will float, but if stressed enough they will sink

⚫️Stronger Than They Think And Deserve Love

🔴Armor: Serves as comfort zone + personal expression

[ncisfranchise-source]

We at long last have a 10-20 on one Leroy Jethro Gibbs, well more than two years after Mark Harmon‘s character was last seen on NCIS.

Harmon remains an executive producer on CBS‘ NCIS, but he has not appeared on-camera since early Season 19, when Gibbs informed McGee that he would not return to D.C. but instead stay put in the sleepy Alaskan town that a case had led them to.

Mentions of Gibbs, let alone his whereabouts, have been few in the two seasons since — until, that is, the second episode of Season 21, which wrote out the late David McCallum’s Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. Early on in the emotional hour, we spied an envelope addressed to McGee from the fictional Naktok Bay in Southwest Alaska, inside of which was a Polaroid of Gibbs, McGee and Ducky.

Since Harmon’s exit, the NCIS showrunners previously had been reluctant to have characters even allude to Gibbs’ whereabouts.

“That’s a really interesting veil, where Gibbs is and how we left him,” co-showrunner Steven D. Binder once told TVLine. “There’s this feeling among the writing staff — and I share it — that we left him sort of nowhere but also everywhere. Like, when I think of Gibbs, I don’t think of him living in an apartment in Alaska. Instead, I imagine he’s sort of melted into pixie dust and is floating around in the sky until he is called back to duty.”

As such, Binder contended, to have a line of dialogue that crystalizes what Gibbs is up to and where would “smear dirt all over” the perfect ending that was crafted for the character in Season 19.

“When he has ‘appeared’ so far, ” Binder noted, “it was [to establish] things like the college trust fund that he deposited money into,” or via NCIS: Hawai’i‘s mention of how Gibbs quietly steered Jane Tennant’s career, “things that gave us no shape to who or what kind of life he is living right now.”

In a November 2023 Q&A with Entertainment Tonight, Harmon was asked for an update on Gibbs — and if he might ever reprise that NCIS role, perhaps for the David McCallum tribute that was in the works.

“He’s probably sitting in a stream up in Alaska fishing,” Harmon joked. “Is he going to get out of the stream? I don’t know. But if he is, I don’t know about it.”

Harmon previously weighed in on Gibbs’ decision to retire and seemingly call Alaska home in a Season 19 DVD featurette, saying, “Plot-wise, this character has taken the path that it did…. I thought it was honest.”

[devitalise]

IMO CHEESEHAIR I still need to sit with my roundup but lest I make you wait any longer — January reads pls!!! 🤲 did you set out to read the specific books you read, or did it just kinda end up that way? & do you have a plan for this month's reads? 💭

CAS DJSERVO you'd think i'd be even a little bit prepped to do a book wrap up, but january was so long and so short! i didn't go in with any specifics, i went away on a work trip and was kind of just left with my kindle picks. got to say, can't do back to back to back kindle reads, i like to break it up with a physical book just for the act of reading but anyways here's my

january book wrap up

fight club by chuck palahniuk

entered the fight club universe. i still haven't watched the movie, so i was able to go into this completely unaware of anything to do with the plot. it was actually quite easy to get into this independent of the cult-classic-coming-of-age-must-watch surrounding the book and movie. palahniuk is a decent writer, the snapshot jumpiness of the prose paid off. neat.

podcasts: bookwasted. music: fight club original score

checkout 19 by claire-louise bennett

i almost put this one down due to a mix of me not being in the right headspace to really get into the book, and the rhythm of the book not fully settling for me until around the 30% mark. but i got through it, and once i got into it, i was in. stream of consciousness with a twist, as the narrator makes sense of her own memory through remembering reading, relationships, class and money. a lot of meat for a concept that seems pretty threadbare.

podcasts: shakespeare and company music: severance soundtrack

please look after mother by shin kyung-sook

not liking a book written in second person feels blasphemous for me, i love second person sooo much! but there was a real disconnect for me here. definitely in the story. struggled to stay engaged with this book, the realisations the characters were having felt so juvenile and very early-adulthood. some of the perspective and time changes were a bit confusing too.

couldn't find a podcast for this. music: pachinko soundtrack

just by looking at him by ryan o'connell

this book was just so raunchy and fun! one of my aims for the year is to seek out more disabled representation in the books i read, and this book was just so perfect. elliot is infallible, he's real, and being in his head and his world was so dramatic and true to life i feel. a time capsule of a read, so present without being cringy.

review: bookish magazine music: good with any kind of pop

their eyes were watching god by zora neale hurston

yeah. i haven't written a review on goodreads yet, just because i want to sit with this book for a bit longer. this is an incredible book, and i don't think i could have read it at any other time in my life. this is so ahead of its time, i can't believe it was published in the 30s. all it has to say on love and community and hurston's ability to capture a time on paper is so inspiring. i love janie as a heroine, as a woman, as someone who allows herself to change in her circumstances but always know who she is at heart. one of my top of the year (no it's not too early to say that!)

podcasts: novel pairings and black chick lit music: reader made playlist

feb reads: i have another country by james baldwin picked out as my next read! i'm honestly not too sure what's after that. my book ban is still going strong, i have 47 titles to pick from so i'll see where i end up!

[lunaryhues]

Big Art Dump part three.

The rest is under the read more. Be warned: there's a lot.

^^^ Unfinished drawing of my inkling from Splatoon 2, dated May 24 2021.

Some recent BotW / TotK Links. First one is Dec 14 2023. Second one is much older, Jan 20 2022. thought it was interesting to compare the two. I was trying vastly different things.

unfinished Kasane Teto, heavily based on KIRA's song, "i DO what i WANT." I remember wanting to cover that song with Teto once I got ahold of her SynthV voicebank.

dated April 11 2023

Oh yeah. I drew Wapeach.

dated December 2 2023

My personal redesign of Betilla with her beautiful perfect son.

Dated November 11 2023

We never see Rayman use his hood, other than Laserhawk.

dated November 7 2023

A Barbara I ended up not liking enough to finish. I ended up drawing her with a different style.

More Barbara. I was trying to figure out how I wanted to draw her.

I completely forgot about drawing this. It was saved as a .clip (as well as .psd), so I think I was testing out a trial for CSP. What the hell.

I guess I wanted to see if I could draw in a stereotypical anime style???

Marx doodles

Magolor doodles

I don't ship a lot of things. I don't even know if I ship this specifically. I just thought of this and thought it was funny.

Ramon. Dated Oct 19 2023. I thought he was more funny, if anything. So over-the-top edgy, like a parody.

I reeeaaally didn't wanna draw the guns.

I had this idea for a pumpkin-themed girl that I would come back to every once in a while. 2nd one is Oct 27 2020.

More pumpkin girl. First one is Feb 13 2021.

Cyclops cyborg character named "Illumina" who I've mentioned briefly before. They're kind of like a derivative of a different character, lovingly named Hell Miku.

Ninomae Ina'nis as Agent 4. She streamed Splatoon 2 at some point. Dated January 25 2021

Inugami Korone drawn in two different styles, dated January 29 2022.

Some old OCs who were very precious to me growing up.

I redrew them for fun. Left sword guy is Kris. Right Ponytail girl is Veronica. Girl in the distance is Arrow. Big goddess lady is Soleil.

dated April 23 2022

Another Kris. Dated September 1 2020

Okay, fine. I made two versions of the "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy" meme. This was a combination I thought would be funnier, but decided to post the other one instead. but i still also like this one.

And finally...

I have a Splatoon OC named Ray. This has nothing to do with my current hyperfixation on Rayman. It's a coincidence, I swear.

(I'm not changing his name. I just thought of the idea for this comic and thought it was funny.)

[primkina]

https://www.tumblr.com/primkina/727556871905558528/httpswwwtumblrcomprimkina727455223954669568?source=share

False claim #1

"also, foolish talked to miyoung for the first time towards the end of last year and in a couple of months was already flying out to visit her"

Here's when they talked for the first time, March 9th, 2022, not late 2022 like you're claiming. He was not flying out to see Miyoung afterwards either. He did see Tina a month prior and two months later though: https://youtu.be/6yLQaMCnKEY?si=p4rqBWlC1BCAirBp&t=1440

False claim # 2

"this literary isn't true, miyoung is mostly the only one that always pushes for foolish to visit la and always asks him when he's coming over, tina rarely ever does this."

False claim # 3

"Also, the only time he went there before really knowing miyoung was for tina's birthday in which karl was also there (i could be wrong on this, but i think this was his first time visiting the state)"

Combining false claims #2&3, that they didn't meet before her bday, and that Tina rarely invites him, also adding in a true claim I made that Tina invites him, that they talk about having a pc for him

Feb 2022

Meetup #1

https://twitter.com/KarlJacobs_/status/1494814840451264513 https://twitter.com/dnfpet/status/1497065206932856837?s=20&t=ttA8fAY71osV_o6q1IT-XA

May 2022

Meetup # 2

https://twitter.com/violetdtk/status/1527926881319694337?s=20&t=4z2o7tvIshSQqK6J2FXAZA https://twitter.com/honkkaIe/status/1527893643616366592 https://twitter.com/1glaiveupdates/status/1527987515017273347 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4tV295bzvbw

June 2022

"Tina rarely ever does this" (Invites him)

Inviting him back to LA: https://youtu.be/M2pCcpn6I4M?si=eQWRtyk2v7qih1tb&t=32139

Inviting him to her bday: https://twitter.com/CarrotClips/status/1536948991258402817

In LA for her bday: https://twitter.com/XIMENA0P/status/1542299260997214208

July 2022

Inviting him to the LoL tournament in Vegas directly after her bday (he didn't go): https://youtu.be/k-SnL5tGdLo?si=XgkEEU_nvlCOCSbR&t=1354

August 2022

Tina calling from Korea saying she wants to go with him to a cat cafe lots of times and describes it as a need (he's allergic to cats btw) 3:07:05-3:07:41: https://youtu.be/qQQOLmNVOFY?si=gORWG0t5Y4HO2cvB&t=11224

Oct 2022

After Twitchcon San Diego, Tina calls Foolish and asks if he'd go back to LA, rent a car, and drive her to an apple orchard. The whole thing is less than 10 min, timestamp: https://youtu.be/Zeg4VYD2ZoI?si=QjNlgIJq2pIJ7tHz&t=3854

Tina talks about how she told him before if he came to LA (Twitch Con San Diego) he could use her PC: https://youtu.be/Zeg4VYD2ZoI?si=v_jd_i4KIeZe28m1&t=4085

Nov 2022

Tina asking Punz if he's coming to LA for Foolish's bday: https://youtu.be/DIsTfOFpks4?si=Vg8xzxDkpU3v__OS&t=19405

Dec 2022

Foolish jokingly says he probably shouldn't go to LA if Tina's sick, Tina saying he doesn't have to go to LA to see her she just wants him to have a good bday with his friends, despite your claim he was going there for Miyoung: https://youtu.be/d464tsTZEjY?si=wxZtTT8phJj1eg0H&t=650

March 2023

Streamer Awards/March Meetup where he's only seen hanging out with Tina and other friends. Please provide proof Miyoung and Foolish were hanging out because you're the one claiming this didn't happen and that he only goes to see Miyoung:

At the red carpet with Karl, Sapnap, and George: https://twitter.com/zolaliz/status/1634727306047500289

Sitting next to each other when the seats were reserved (you can see them directly to the left of the award winner next to the wall, and behind him as he's walking to the stage at around 14:18-14:19: https://youtu.be/FnoiaRk7eqM?si=Mbj72ITuJ3iAnqkL&t=855

With George, Sapnap, and Karl: https://twitter.com/sapskarl/status/1635160055099301892

Sylvee's cat cafe stream (Karl and George were also there but had to temporarily wait outside): https://youtu.be/8ISDoaDKXlI?si=ycMOjv05dS09OHD6&t=9735

Miyoung inviting Foolish to her ice cream party in Feb (putting it here since he had a chance to go in March but didn't. Also unlike your claim that he was meeting up with her, he thought it was a bit): https://twitter.com/gummydoozer/status/1627151196174835712

Miyoung saying he doesn't go to her ice cream party even though he brings it up: https://youtu.be/2R8Z0xJ5FFY?si=dfEZcUQaROSid9Hc&t=4131

May 2023

Tina asking him when he's coming over: https://youtu.be/EBlPAik81i8?si=AYIhaZvGETvW2vxZ&t=22176

June 2023

Foolish saying Tina's bday has been on the calendar all year: https://twitter.com/starduothinkr/status/1673104659089616896

There are other clips of Tina asking Foolish to come to LA/hangout that perhaps other anons can provide, such as:

-Tina suggesting they go to a restaurant near LA featured in Kitchen Nightmares -Wanting to go to Costco with him in NC (he recently said he went there for the first time, so possibly they went last time she was there) -Wanting to have hot pot with him -Saying he should come to Japan next time she goes -Suggesting he move to LA -Wanting to come over when he first moved to NC and wanting to make rice krispy treats -Asking if he was coming with her to see Karl on his bday (2022, neither went but he did move to NC that same month)

idek what’s going on anymore 😭

[dfroza]

One day,

Love will cleanse and restore purity to earth, like bright sun on fresh snow

(Light)

@RobMayeda

Monday morning at Yosemite where snow is stacked high (Southern Sierra snow at 242% of avg. & 153% of Apr 1 avg. as of Feb 3) near the High Sierra cam. Imagery via @YoseConservancy @YosemiteNPS #CAwx 2/6/2023

2.6.23 • 1:01pm • Twitter

Today,

is the New Year for Trees (Tu B’Shevat)

what do you think of the presence of Trees on garden earth?

A post by John Parsons:

The Torah alludes that human life is like "the tree of the field," i.e., כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה, Deut. 20:19), and many people therefore observe Tu B’Shevat as time to assess man’s place within creation as well. Since God created the world for a habitation (Isa. 45:18), some have pictured the world itself as a "great tree" with human beings as its fruit. Indeed, Yeshua often used such agricultural images in his parables. For example, he explained that people are known by the “fruits” of their lives (Matt. 7:16-20). He likened the spread of his message in terms of “sowing and reaping” (Matt. 13:3-23) and compared the Kingdom of Heaven to the secret working of a mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). Yeshua regarded the world as a “field” for planting with different “types of soil” (Matt. 13:38-43), and warned of the “great harvest” of souls at the end of the age (Luke 10:2; Matt. 13:30). He pointed to signs from a fig tree to indicate the nearness of the prophesied End of Days (Matt. 24:32-33). Yeshua also used the metaphor of a ��vine and its branches” to explain how his followers are to be connected to Him (John 15:1-6).

The Scriptures explicitly state various laws regarding the use of trees. In other words, there is a “Torah of Trees.” For example, “When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as “uncircumcised” (i.e., orlah: עָרְלָה) for three years; in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD; only in the fifth year may you use its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 19:23-25; 26:3-4). The Torah also clearly forbids the destruction of fruit trees during times of warfare: “When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?” (Deut. 20:19-20). Clearly, then, God cares for trees...

The psalmist describes the trees of the forest as singing for joy (Psalm 96:12), just as the prophet Isaiah foretold the day when the trees of the field shall “clap their hands” in praise to the LORD God of Israel (Isa. 55:12). Indeed the wisdom of Torah (chochmat haTorah) is metaphorically called etz chaim, a “Tree of Life,” and the ideal righteous man is described as the one who delights in the Torah (תּוֹרָה) and meditates upon it daily. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season.”

וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל־פַּלְגֵי מָיִם

אֲשֶׁר פִּרְיוֹ יִתֵּן בְּעִתּוֹ

וְעָלֵ֫הוּ לֹא־יִבּוֹל

וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂה יַצְלִיחַ

­"And he [i.e., the one who loves Torah] is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. And all that he does shall prosper." (Psalm 1:3)

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Psalm 1:3 reading:

https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm1-3-j.mp3

Psalm 92:12 reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm92-12-jjp.mp3

Hebrew download:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm92-lesson.pdf

https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Winter_Holidays/Tu_B_shevat/tu_b_shevat.html

2.6.23 • Facebook

even the Trees are said to be making music to our Creator

(along with the starry night sky)

things that exist in seeming silence, just as the heart of the thought-life where speech is “conceived”

and in this we see the significance of writing and conservation work, such as that of the Scriptures of the Holy Bible that illuminates God in Spirit and Son and heavenly Father:

I’ll be asking the questions, now—

you will supply the answers.

Where were you when I dug and laid the foundation of the earth?

Explain it to me, if you are acquainted with understanding.

Who decided on the measurements? Surely you know that!

Who stretched out a line to measure the dimensions?

Upon what base was the foundation set?

Or who laid the cornerstone

On the day when the stars of the morning broke out in song

and God’s heavenly throng, elated, shouted along?

The Book of Job, Chapter 38:3-7 (The Voice)

[berlinini]

Timeline of Louis' projects - 2021

🔎 Let's recap what's happened so far (as of September 1, 2021)

I started writing down the important info/dates related to Louis working on LT2, but then ended up adding faith in the future, 369, the merch, the fest... so it's really a timeline giving a general overview of his work projects in 2021.

📱 means twitter/announcements

🎤 is for studio/LT2

🎉 is for the AFHF

📱Feb 14, 2021: Louis tweets "I've been doing a lot of thinking about my next record. It's going to be special!". About a potential release date, he replies "No concrete plans (...) I'm sure I will have something out this year but unlikely that will be the album. Who knows though!". He also replies that he's "doing good. Really motivated!

📱March 6: Louis announces via twitter his idea to create a management company.

📱March 22: Asked about his projects, Louis replies "lots of stuff in early stages". He also replies "Seen a few I really like. Potentially" to a tweet asking him if he ever considered making a visual album. Finally, he replies "369" to a tweet asking him if he has ideas for new tattoos.

☀️ March 25-April 10: Louis is in Mexico with Charlie Lightening.

📱March 26: Louis tweets "Faith in the future"

📱March 30: Louis replies "Got a decent chorus idea down" to a tweet asking him what he's been up to. He also replies "369" to a tweet asking him to explain... 369. This is the same day he mentions the documentary while he was in Mexico... for the documentary.

📱 April 15: Louis replies "Faith in the future. Keep your head up" to a fan on Twitter (a few days after getting back from Mexico)

📱April 19: Louis tweets "Got something BIG planned later this year! It's going to be special!!" (in reference to the Away From Home Festival)

🔮👕 April 28: 369 merch drop

📱💼🎵 May 10, 2021: BMG global deal announcement. Confirmation that Louis is actively working on LT2 : Jamie Nelson from BMG UK is quoted saying "(Louis) is already busy working on new music". The press release mentions that "recording is already underway for his second solo album".

This means that Louis could have been working on the album anytime between mid-February and mid-May. No information on that was shared (by Louis nor his collaborators), probably because it was under embargo at the time.

📱🌏May 10, 2021: Louis announces that his worldwide tour is rescheduled, with dates now going from early February to late April 2022.

📱May 11: Tour promo video sponsored by Samsung UK posted on Louis' IG.

📱May 25, 2021: Louis tweets "Another great day writing"; he follows Robert Harvey on Twitter

🎤 May 28: studio (via wearesuperhi on IG)

🎤June 4: studio (via random dude on the street; June 6 on Louis' IG with caption "studio"; picture also shared on Dave Gibson's IG and Charlie's IG with caption "Mega tunes being put down, can’t wait for this #LT2")(the t-shirt Louis is wearing is the one from June 4, hence the IG posts are from that date and not June 6)

🎤 June 9: studio (via fans)

🎤June 10: studio (via fans)

⚽️ (Louis was pretty busy with the Euro Cup through late June to mid-July)

🎤 July 1: studio (via Robert Harvey on IG)

🎤 July 2: studio (via wearesuperhi on IG)

🎤 July 9: studio (via wearesuperhi on IG)

🔮👕 Mid-July: surprise 369 merch is sent to 369 fans

😜👕July 28: summer smiley merch drop

🎉 July 29: The Away From Home Festival is announced.

📸🎤 August 5: papped at the studio (via fans); Daily Mail article (published on the 6): "The outing comes as Louis recorded new music for fans"

🎤 August 16: ??? David Gibson on IG - cryptic picture of the sea captioned "LT2"

🎤 August 17: studio (via Robert Harvey on IG)

🎤 August 18: studio (via fans and via wearesuperhi on IG)

📱🎉 🌏 August 25: The Away From Home Global Streaming Event is announced.

🎉 👕 August 27: Festival merch drop. Additional items added on the 29.

📱🎉 August 28: Louis tweets about today being the last day of rehearsal for the festival. He teases the name of his new song by replying on Twitter that the setlist will be "mostly the same as tour with the odd change".

🎉 🧍‍♂️🎉 August 30: Away From Home Festival!!! Louis introduces his new song Change and mentions "it's going on the new album". No further details about LT2 are provided during the show. "Faith in the future" briefly appears on screen when Louis walks on stage. Exclusive merch being sold on site.

🎤🏢 For reference, all pictures of the studio point out to Louis recording at the Wendy House Production in London.

[voidstarzero]

no autograph has been found

In fact, Hopkins seems to have originated his sprung rhythm as a reform of Swinburne's ternary meter by eliminating what he perceived as its quantitative infelicities (Schneider 1968, Kiparsky 1989).

(Hanson and Kiparsky, 1996, p. 300)

Another [presentation piece] is supposed to be the 'Ad Mariam', printed in the 'Stonyhurst Magazine', Feb. '94. This is in five stanzas of eight lines, in direct and competent imitation of Swinburne: no autograph has been found; and, unless Fr. Hopkins's views of poetic form had been provisionally deranged or suspended, the verses can hardly be attributed to him ... nor can I put aside the overruling objection that G. M. H. would not have wished these 'little presentation pieces' to be set among his more serious artistic work. I do not think that they would please any one who is likely to be pleased with this book.

(Bridges, 1918, p. 105)

Wherefore we love thee, wherefore we sing to thee,                 Where shall we find her, how shall we sing to her, We, all we, thro' the length of our days,                     Fold our hands round her knees, and cling? The praise of the lips and the hearts of us bring to thee,                 O that man's heart were as fire and could spring to her, Thee, oh maiden, most worthy of praise;                     Fire, or the strength of the streams that spring! For lips and hearts they belong to thee                 For the stars and the winds are unto her Who to us are as dew unto grass and tree,                 As raiment, as songs of the harp-player; For the fallen rise and the stricken spring to thee,                 For the risen stars and the fallen cling to her, Thee, May-hope of our darkened ways!                     And the southwest wind and the west wind sing.

(Hopkins, 1894; Swinburne, 1865)

References

Bridges, R. (Ed.). (1918). Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. London: Humphrey Milford

Hanson, K., & Kiparsky, P. (1996). A Parametric Theory of Poetic Meter. Language, 72 (2), 287–335. https://doi.org/10.2307/416652

Hopkins, G. M. (1894). Ad Mariam. Poetry Nook. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/ad-mariam

Swinburne, A. C. (1865). Atalanta in Calydon. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Atalanta_in_Calydon/Text

[enderwalk-updates]

Changelog #14, Feb 20 - Feb 21

OH BOY. Alright, so, first off: this changelog is going to be extremely imperfect. Due to the nature of the Feb 20 charity stream, I don’t have full records from that day. Secondly, this is probably going to be a long one, just because of the...everything. I’m doing changelogs and then my thoughts down at the bottom all in one place.

Inventory Changes from Feb 20 - Feb 21:

REMOVALS:

-3 stone, 5 rotten flesh, 7 coal blocks, 1 torch, 5 stone bricks, 9 steak, 1 enderpearl

ADDITIONS:

-3 sweet berries, 61 dirt, 44 diamonds, 64 iron ore, 64 granite, 39 lapis, 64 cobblestone, 46 flint, 48 gold ore, 61 iron ore, 2 wheat seeds, 64 cobblestone, 63 diorite

Enderchest Changes from Feb 19 - Feb 21:

REMOVALS:

-None

ADDITIONS:

-51 iron blocks, 10 gold blocks

THOUGHTS:

LET’S TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU DON’T LOVE TO SEE!

Feb 20 was an hour long mining stream. I don’t have a way of knowing which of these additions were due to that stream and which weren’t, but I have a pretty good feeling those wheat seeds didn’t come from a cave. The extra 51 iron blocks, and 10 extra gold blocks, in the enderchest are also a mystery.

Feb 21 Ranboo said that he had “gone mining” when asked by chat what he’d done that day. Honestly, the evidence supports this. Most importantly here, there is no PHYSICAL evidence that Ranboo was the one setting off the explosions at the prison (I say “physical” evidence because we all know he did it, I just have to maintain an illusion of impartiality for the sake of Science). He’s been mining SOMEWHERE. One of the pickaxes is even at (barely) noticably lower durability. His armor is slightly damaged.

The Feb 21 stream heavily implied that all of this iron is being stockpiled for the purpose of making a new beacon. That tracks with what we’ve thought this whole time, and Ranboo also seemed to imply that he had enough iron to start building it (”we need one more stack, and then we’ll be good. [...] okay, now we’re good.”) I’ve made a seperate post about the hidden inventory message, so check the #message log on this blog or scroll down until you see it. It’s a confirmed thing, it wasn’t an accident, and I have no idea what the hell it means.

After yesterday’s Tommy stream, I’ve gone back and checked chests for the last 4 days, and checked our earlier record from Feb 5. There was no evidence of tnt, sand, or gunpowder stockpiles. I’m honestly not surprised by this; disappointed, but not surprised. It makes sense that the Enderwalk state would have a seperate base somewhere with materials and the memory book.

The sweet berries in his inventory at the start of the stream are very interesting to me. I haven’t checked chests; I know he has some stored, and it’s possible he pulled these from storage. If they weren’t, however, I’m inclined to believe he got them from Snowchester. I’m also putting out the EXTREMELY POORLY SUPPORTED theory that the memory book + hidden supplies are buried in Snowchester. If these are new berries, that supports this, as does the fact he woke up from an Enderwalk at the start of a stream standing on the path to Snowchester. We know he planted a ton of berry bushes in a specific area there, which was probably just a bit, but I’m saying it’s POSSIBLE that something is buried there, and the bushes act as a deterrent to keep people from looking too close.

Also! The TNT! We’re all 99% sure it was Ranboo setting off explosions in the prison. However, for the sake of presenting all the evidence, it could have been Sam or Foolish. Foolish is least likely; he has access to the materials for TNT, but no motive.

Sam was not on camera at the time, has a creeper farm with access to materials, and told Bad and Ant during his stream that the prison wasn’t damaged by the explosions. IF it were Sam, I doubt he’d want to damage the build, though I think some of the redstone may have been knocked a little off. He also alluded to the fact that there is TNT somewhere in the prison; I’m assuming as a self-destruct, “kill all the prisoners” button somewhere. Bad asked if there was, Sam replied: “No. [pause] Not that should be detonating.” There’s also that suspicous space at the top of the prison; this is confirmed to be empty by Bad and Ant, though we never see it ourselves, but that doesn’t mean it’s A) actually empty, or B) always has been empty. Sam seemed oddly hesitant about letting them up there.

However, Sam also seemed to imply that he’s going to try and get Tommy out of Dream’s cell and into one of the bed traps, probably for Tommy’s well-being. The only real motive he’d have for doing this would be Egg-related, if we all assume that he’s a little more possessed than he lets on. This is unlikely, but possible.

In conclusion:

[fangirlincorporated-blog]

The Lucky Australian

~~ 19 Alive ~~

I wanted everything I never had

Like the love that comes with light

I wore envy and I hated that

But I survived

I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go

Where the wind don't change

And nothing in the ground can ever grow

No hope, just lies

And you're taught to cry into your pillow

But I survived

 They remained under the air con waiting for he heat to pass, Aurora turning on her playstation to game with Henry. Henry noticed she much preferred survivalist horror, he watched her play a bit of dying light before Henry took over.

“It would make a great TV show” Aurora remarked, watching Henry try and escape a group of volatiles during a night mission, he had to admit, his heart rate and adrenalin were up, his hairs were standing to attention all over his body, it was unsettling and scary, but so addictive.

“I have to say, I didn’t really get too much time to get into it, but this is incredible, it’s not easy”

Aurora snorted. “That’s coz I play on nightmare mode”

Henry stole a glance at her.

“That’s hardcore”

Aurora beamed at him.

After a while, Henry noticed Aurora had fallen asleep next to him, her hands curled up underneath her face. Something caught his attention, pausing the game he looked at her arms.

There were white scars littered on them, some thin, some large. They were precise. Henry knew what they were.

He put the controller on the coffee table and hung his head. He felt so drawn out, so ripped from his skin, so weary down to his bones, so sad. All this he felt for her.

How unfair could life be to a person that only seemed to be a light in the darkness, how was she supposed to endure so much death and heartache and still consistently wake up in the fucking morning?

Henry felt the wetness of tears on his face. The burden of life seems so heavy for some, so light for others.

The never ending, continuous stream of emotion, was the pain his heart was feeling for her, as if it could simply reach out to her and out her all back together. For everything she endured, she was stronger than anyone he knew, but life shouldn’t have to throw that shit at you to make you strong. It shouldn’t have you drag you to a place where the demons go to build character. It shouldn’t have happened like that for her.

So why did it?

He cried for her. Her pain, her heartache, for everything she had been through. He cried because in the short time he knew her, he knew she deserved so much more than what life had given her. Yet, she was still here, she was still alive, still breathing, still waking in the morning next to him. Aurora had issues with her existence, she had not been fond of life, but henry was glad she was a living being.

Henry felt pickles nudge her furry little face under his hands. She looked up at him with her endless brown eyes. He smiled down sadly at her and gave her a scratch behind the ears.

“Its been a big day fluffy butt!” Slowly, he raised himself up off the couch and walked to the bathroom. Washing his face, he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

The women he had dated had been easier, this was all new territory, but somehow, he wasn’t shying away from her, from this. Henry knew he loved her, he knew she was all he needed and wanted. Still it didn’t take the sting out of the day.

He walked back into the lounge room to find Aurora waking up. She looked at the spot where Henry had been, confusion plastered on her still sleepy features. Hearing his footsteps she peered up at him and smiled. Holding out her arms, Henry all but ran into them.

He held her for a few minutes before she parted from him.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m ok, it’s just an intense game. Went to wash my face”

Aurora stared at him, she knew he was lying but she didn’t push it.

“Well, since its 3pm, most of the out of towners would’ve gone home by now, wanna go for a swim? Then we can get a drink at the beach bar? Maybe dinner out?”

“That’s sounds nice. Although you have promised to make me some Italian food!”

Aurora rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face.

“I did, so let’s go to the beach, then I’ll make dinner!” she bounded off the lounge, going to the bedroom, Henry following her.

~~~~~~~~

October rolled into November, with December fast approaching. Henry had spent the whole month getting to know the area Aurora lived in, while she was at work. She had taken him hiking in the Blue Mountains many times, he was still amazed at the travel Australians undertook all the time. A 4-hour round-trip barely tiring her out as well as hiking, meanwhile Henry would be wiped out from the whole day. His favourite days though, were the ones he got to spend at the beach, or even just wandering around the place she lived, day drinking at a few different pubs, watching the ships roll in past the horizon. Or simply enjoying wherever she took him for lunch and dinner. He particularly enjoyed the day she took him to Sydney to Bennelong. Aurora had waxed lyrical about how amazing it was, and it did not disappoint. He had to admit; he was very rarely surprised by anything, now he understood why she had told him to dress up, the restaurant was in the Sydney opera house, with a view looking out at the harbour bridge. It was fucking spectacular. Henry had tried to pay once he figured out it was a fine dining establishment. Aurora has shut that idea down quite fast, given he had taken her out in Venice; this was the least she could do. It was quite sweet. They spent the night in Sydney, Henry had stayed at a few hotels in his travels, but Aurora had pulled out all the stops when he entered the room. The room overlooked the entire Sydney Harbour. It stopped him in his tracks, rendering him breathless. Henry spent that night making sure Aurora knew how much he loved her.

~~~~~~~~

Henry found himself sitting in Aurora’s office, answering mundane emails and going over scripts he had been sent, he could hear Aurora in the other room singing along to crowded house, a new favourite of his she had introduced him too. There was so much he had learnt about Aurora, her favourite band, her favourite games, her favourite sports teams (of which he now followed by default and she had promised to take him to a game come the start of the season), pet hates, favourite ice cream. He came to really love Australia; it was going to be hard to leave. Everything he loved was here.

Suddenly, a video call came through. Noticing it was Charlie, he picked up.

“Are we getting you back to the northern hemisphere?” Charlie asked.

“Fuck no, not when you look as cold as you do! Canada in the minus yet?”

“Unfortunately. More snow too, so how is the land down under?”

“Fucking glorious, it’s so hot, but I love it! Air conditioning is the most amazing thing ever invented.”

Charlie rolled his eyes “you make it sound like it’s the worlds greatest invention you’ve never heard of. You have that in England, and in Florida. You know the other place you also live?”

“It’s not as good in England. I know, but here it’s just on all the time. I really love it here; I’m only a 5minute walk to the beach. We sat a pub the other day watching ships come in, that has to be my new favourite hobby” Henry smiled

“Wow, and here I thought it was hammertime”

“War hammer Charlie!”

“Same, same. Since I haven’t spoken to you much in a month, did you end up finding out what happened with Aurora’s last relationship? I know you were worried.”

“Charlie, hold on.” Henry got up to close the door. He sat back down and told Charlie everything that had happened.

 Henry lost track of the time he and Charlie had been talking. It was nice to be able to talk to one of his brothers. He hadn’t realised how heavy things had weighed on his heart, Charlie listening to him lessened the burden. Another call came in, from his manager.

“Charlie, I gotta go, Dany is calling”

“As long as you’re ok?”

“I am Charlie, I do really love her.” He watched Charlie smile. Saying their goodbyes, he answered Dany.

“Henry, I have an invitation to the Oscars, can you be stateside in Feb?”

“Sure. Add a plus one for me?”

Dany perked up at that

“So its serious with the girlfriend? I have to say; I’ve only seen a few photos of you in Europe with her, and one of you in Sydney. I didn’t know she was Australian. How have you stayed away from the paps for so long?”

“She lives near the beach, it’s a beautiful little place, nice area, I don’t think they give a shit really, plus its almost 2 hours from Sydney, no paps will travel that far.”

Dany nodded.

“Is she prepared for what’s about to happen?”

“She’s already explained things to me for when that does happen, which I need to talk to you about next time I see you. I will do my best to help her through everything, she might not even agree to the Oscars” Henry sat back and folded his arms.

“Why? Would she be uncomfortable? Does she not have a dress?”

Henry’s eyes snapped to her closet.

“I think she has a dress, ill get back to you.”

“Alright, speak soon”

Henry hung up the call, and stood up, rolling his shoulders and stretching out his body, he walked out of the room.

[insanityclause]

The last Broadway season ended, unexpectedly, nearly a year ago. The next one will begin who-knows-when.

But deep in this winter of our theaterlessness, a dormant tradition is starting to stir: the Tony Awards.

Hundreds of voters, this week and next, are casting ballots for the best shows, and the best performances, of a theater season abruptly cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

The jukebox shows “Jagged Little Pill,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical’ are competing for best musical, and hope to resume performances whenever Broadway reopens. All five of the best play contenders have closed. They are “Grand Horizons,” by Bess Wohl; “The Inheritance,” by Matthew López; “Sea Wall/A Life,” by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne; “Slave Play,” by Jeremy O. Harris; and “The Sound Inside,” by Adam Rapp.

In this strangest-of-all Tony competitions, the voting is disconnected from both the period being assessed, which ran from April 26, 2019, to Feb. 19, 2020, and the ceremony for handing out awards, which has not yet been scheduled.

In other words, we won’t know the results until — well, for a long time.

But here’s what we do know:

Who’s going to vote?

Not a lot of people.

There are 778 Tony voters, but they can only cast ballots in categories in which they’ve seen all the nominees. Because the pandemic prevented any spring theatergoing, there are fewer qualified voters than usual.

There are 25 prize categories; the Tonys won’t say how many people will actually be able to vote in each category, but producers believe slightly fewer than 400 people will qualify to cast ballots for best musical, and fewer than that for best play.

What’s missing?

Parties.

The usual Tonys season is all-encompassing. Shows that opened in the fall (and that would have included all three of last season’s nominated musicals) invite voters back to see them again. Monday nights are jammed with nonprofit galas at which nominees mingle with voters, and those who can sing, do. There are press junkets and mixers; display ads in The New York Times and caricatures at Sardi’s; plus, of course, a raft of spring openings to catch up with.

So much hugging. So much schmoozing. So many four-hour dinners. Everyone complains. And now they long for it.

“I can’t believe I miss buffets,” said Eva Price, a lead producer of “Jagged Little Pill.” “So much that we took for granted, and sometimes grimaced at, we would give our left arms for right now.”

Is it appropriate to campaign?

Yes, but very gingerly.

We’re still in the middle of a devastating pandemic and a huge number of people who work in theater are currently unemployed. Also: money is tight because there are no ticket sales.

“The 2020 shows can’t run a campaign in the usual way, and even if we could it would feel icky to try,” said Carmen Pavlovic, the lead producer of “Moulin Rouge!”

“This is not a moment for cocktail parties and gossip,” she added. “It’s just a moment for lifting up artists from darkness, and hoping that lifts everybody else along the way.”

So swag is minimal. “Moulin Rouge!” and “Jagged Little Pill” sent voters coffee table books about their shows, but that’s about it. The main form of campaigning this year is in the form of “For Your Consideration” emails.

The nominated show that is furthest in the rearview mirror — a revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” which closed in July 2019 — sent voters a video montage of interviews including its playwright, Terrence McNally, who died eight months later from complications of the coronavirus.

Nominees are sitting for profiles with theater trade publications. And last week, “Tina,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “The Inheritance,” “Slave Play” and “Betrayal” bought daily sponsorships of Broadway Briefing, an emailed industry newsletter whose subscribers include many Tony voters.

And there are other, newfangled ways to refresh voters’ memories. “Betrayal” on Sunday held a cast reunion on Instagram Live; “The Sound Inside” sent voters videotaped selections from the production; “Jagged Little Pill” released a video reflecting on the year and is re-airing a concert version of its show. “Moulin Rouge!” and “The Inheritance” built voter web pages with performance clips, interviews, scripts and more.

The message needs to be focused, producers say. “We have to be very mindful and respectful of what people’s experiences are right now,” said Tali Pelman, the lead producer of “Tina.” At the same time, she said, “Honoring our talent and their contribution is important. More than ever, we have to shout out about their exceptional value in society.”

What happens when the votes are tallied?

An accounting firm sits on the results.

The voting period runs through March 15, with votes cast electronically via a password-protected website, and tabulated by Deloitte & Touche LLP. Even in pre-pandemic years, results are not shared with the leaders of the organizations that present the awards — the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing — or anyone else before they are announced.

This year they will just be kept secret for longer than usual.

Can you lose if you’re the only nominee?

Theoretically, yes.

Aaron Tveit of “Moulin Rouge!” is the only person nominated as best actor in a musical. This is an unusual circumstance, for which the Tonys have imposed an unusual rule: to win, Tveit must get a positive vote from 60 percent of those who cast ballots. But, to be clear, he’s likely to pick up his first statuette this year.

There are a couple of other nomination quirks, too. There will be no prize for best musical revival, because the only one that managed to open, “West Side Story,” did so after the retroactively imposed eligibility date. And the contenders for best score were all from plays.

So when will we know the winners?

Stay tuned.

It seems clear that the ceremony will only take place after live performance is allowed to resume in New York and tickets to Broadway shows have gone on sale.

That’s because the industry’s priority will be to use the ceremony to remind potential audiences that Broadway is back. The goal, said Heather A. Hitchens, the Wing’s president and chief executive, “is to be most helpful to the industry.”

Several producers and publicists say they are now thinking the most likely time frame is after Labor Day, a full year and a half after Broadway shut down.

The organizers have shared a few other details. This year’s ceremony, like those before the pandemic, will be overseen by Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner. There will be some noncompetitive awards (those are honors like lifetime achievement). But there has been no announcement about whether the ceremony will be in-person or virtual, televised or streamed, live or taped; only that it will take place “in coordination with the reopening of Broadway.”

“We hope to have news very soon,” said the League’s president, Charlotte St. Martin.

[ollyarchive]

Olly Alexander Is Done With Shame

Like the character he plays in “It’s a Sin,” the actor and singer struggled with being gay. Now, he tells the world everything.

By Anna Leszkiewicz

Feb. 19, 2021Updated 9:22 a.m. ET

LONDON — When Olly Alexander burst into tears shooting a scene of “It’s a Sin,” no one was very surprised.

Making the show, which came to HBO Max on Thursday and follows a group of friends embracing the gay culture of ’80s London under the shadow of AIDS, was emotional for many of the cast and crew — and Alexander is as comfortable showing his vulnerabilities as the character he plays, Ritchie, is at deflecting them.

“I was a complete mess after the first take,” Alexander, 30, said in a recent video interview. “I was sobbing.” Peter Hoar, the director of “It’s a Sin,” paused filming.

The scene in question, which comes after Ritchie and his friends are arrested protesting the British government’s inaction on AIDS, is one of many in the show that explore how the epidemic devastated gay men’s lives.

When we meet Ritchie, he is an impishly confident but naïve 18-year-old who has just moved to London, with dreams of becoming an actor. Alexander also moved to the capital from rural England at 18 and scored his first movie role, but today he is better known as the lead singer of the band Years & Years. “It’s a Sin” is his first acting gig in six years.

Years & Years’s music often explores the relationship between desire and shame, and is heavily influenced by ’80s bands like Pet Shop Boys. (“It’s a Sin” takes its title from that group’s song of the same name.) So when Alexander heard Russell T Davies, the show’s creator, was interested in him for the lead role, the opportunity “made poetic sense,” Alexander said.

In an interview, Davies said the show was “cast gay as gay, which is my policy.” For Ritchie, he added, he wanted an out actor who already had a big profile in Britain. “That almost narrows it down to a field of one,” he said. “It was the simplest audition of my life.”

Alexander’s arch performance as Ritchie suggests that the character’s ambition and bravado are reactions to fear and self-loathing. “I realized straight away, ‘Oh, I know who Ritchie is,’” Alexander said. “He’s trying to get onstage and shine and dazzle: I’ve done that.”

But whereas Ritchie masks his vulnerabilities, Alexander has spoken frankly in interviews and onstage with the band about his experiences of bulimia, anxiety, self-harm and depression.

“I’ve said just everything about myself,” he said. “My life is kind of out there now.”

Alexander grew up in Gloucestershire, in western England, where his mother founded a local music festival. His father, an aspiring musician, worked in amusement parks.

It was a creative household, Alexander said, but his father had mental health problems and substance abuse issues that led to a difficult atmosphere at home. When he was 14, his parents separated; he’d only seen his father a handful of times since, he said.

School was an even more fraught environment, and Alexander experienced homophobic bullying from age 9. “I had long blond hair, and I acted quite feminine,” he said. “That made me a target. And kids can be so cruel.”

As Alexander recalled his younger self, he started to cry. It took many years until he could look back at the child he was with compassion, he said. “But that’s the biggest thing I’ve tried to do,” he added. The impact of his childhood is something he’s still processing in weekly therapy, he said.

When Alexander’s high school classmates went to college, he moved to East London and became a jobbing actor while babysitting and waiting tables. A pale, skinny teenager with a nest of tight curls, he landed roles as the tuberculosis-ridden younger brother of Ben Whishaw’s Keats in the film “Bright Star,” and an anguished drug user in Gaspar Noé’s trippy art movie “Enter the Void.”

Alexander had been living in London for a couple of years when he met his Years & Years bandmates, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen. Though they started out making high-minded, Radiohead-inspired electronic music, Alexander pushed the band toward synth-pop, with big, melodramatic choruses full of longing.

In 2015, the band’s exhilarating but anguished song “King” — about the strange thrill of being treated badly in a relationship — reached No. 1 on the British singles chart, and its debut album, “Communion,” topped the album charts, too.

“His songs are his life,” said the producer Mark Ralph, who has worked with Years & Years from the band’s earliest days “If you want to know what’s gone on in Olly’s life, then you just read all his lyrics.”

“Love takes its toll on me,” Alexander sings in “Sanctify,” a song about a secret liaison with a straight man. “And I won’t, and I won’t, and I won’t be ashamed.”

When the band performed the song at the Glastonbury Festival in 2016, soon after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., a rainbow-clad Alexander told the crowd, “I’m here, I’m queer, and, yes, sometimes I’m afraid.” But, he added, “I am never ashamed, because I am proud of who I am.”

The speech caught the interest of TV producers, and, in 2017, he fronted a BBC documentary called “Olly Alexander: Growing Up Gay.” In it, he returns to his family home and leafs through teenage diaries full of references to bulimia and self-harm. On camera, he tells his mother about the bullying at school for the first time: Through tears, they discuss how it led him to mental health problems in his teenage years.

“It’s a lot to ask someone to bare their soul on national television,” said Vicki Cooper, the TV movie’s director. “But those difficult conversations created the best moments in the film.”

That documentary, and Alexander’s openness about his own mental health, mean he gets a lot of messages on social media from fans who are struggling themselves. He used to try to respond to them, he said, but the quantity has become impossible to keep up with.

Through those messages, though, Alexander had “seen a really emotionally vulnerable side to a lot of people,” he said. “That’s a precious thing, actually.”

Alexander had also been humbled by the positive response to “It’s a Sin” in Britain, he said. The show broke records for the streaming service All4, where it aired, with 6.5 million streams.

“It’s a Sin” first appeared on All4 during National H.I.V. Testing Week; on social media, the show’s cast encouraged viewers to get tested. The Terrence Higgins Trust, an H.I.V. nonprofit, said that the number of people taking tests through their service had almost quadrupled in the weeks afterward.

“People living with H.I.V. now can live normal, healthy lives: It’s so important to get that message out,” Alexander said, adding that treatments for the virus had transformed since the ’80s. “I’m really grateful that these conversations are happening, because, honestly, lots of people really didn’t know what was going on in this period of history. They’re shocked to learn about it now.”

That era is also having an influence on Alexander’s music. He is currently recording new material with Years & Years, inspired by the ’80s dance anthems of the “It’s a Sin” soundtrack and beyond: Donna Summer, New Order, Pet Shop Boys.

“During the pandemic, I wanted to listen to super upbeat club music that made me dance around,” he said. “I found myself wanting to create the fantasy and the energy that I haven’t necessarily been experiencing.”

As well as working on new music, Alexander said he had spent the lockdowns in England watching “Real Housewives” episodes, and playing Animal Crossing. “I used to be so, so driven,” he said, but now he was putting less pressure on himself.

He was happy, he added, to think back on what he’d already achieved, and how much has changed since he was a little boy who wished he wasn’t gay.

“I’ve kept a diary since I was 13 years old,” he said. “Sometimes I look at it and think I can tell this kid: ‘You’re going to do amazing things. You’re going to get to where you are now. It’s OK. You got this.’”

Hugo Yangüela contributed additional camera operating for photographs.

[greymattermaelstrom]

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020  -   The Rik and Sophie Show

I attended Ozlander in Melbourne. What an incredible weekend so would like to share my Ozlander experience with you. Of course, it was during the very early days of covid-19 which I’ll address shortly. I’d never met any of the cast before, nor any group of like minded fans. Of course, you are usually lucky to know anyone who watch the TV show (not counting a partner) in your circle of friends let alone personally know a group of fans to chat with. It’s funny though, I’m not sure what I expected, but I thought people would have in depth discussions about OL characters/plots during coffee breaks or in line ups for autographs/photos. I didn’t experience that. I think it was a given that we were all deep into OL. Instead, I found we just chatted and got to know each other, ‘Where are you from?’ etc. As this was the first formal Outlander convention held in Australia, this was big news. I bought my ticket the day they were available (Nov 2019). It was a long way off but I knew the gathering would occur a short time after the first few episodes of Outlander S5 were broadcast, so when S5 started airing, my anticipation grew. Prices were steep admittedly, but a number of us felt it may be the first and last opportunity to meet a cast member, so we did what we could to get there (i.e. sell the healthiest child, blackmail the rich, etc).

Article from “The Scottish Banner” Feb 2020.

Unfortunately, 4 weeks out, Ed Speleers withdrew due to work commitments but local, David Berry, was announced as his replacement on the same day. Then 10 days out, Graham McTavish withdrew due to work commitments in Slovakia. No news of a replacement was announced (I learnt at the event that organising a visa etc with Covid-19 developing had made it nigh on impossible to organise a replacement in time). Ozlander organisers revisited the program and added extra value features to the various tiers. The gathering weekend was so close, yet seemed so far away in these uncertain times. Every day, I anticipated receiving an email stating it had been cancelled. I knew the organisers must have been pulling their hair out. Selfishly and as long as it was safe to do so, I was hoping it would still go ahead. The virus was not as advanced in Australia. Most of our relatively low number of cases were brought in by travellers (residents returning or tourists) from Europe/Asia before flying was cancelled. The Federal Government had restricted public gatherings to less than 500 at the time. Attendance was actually under 200.  FYI, below are the global covid-19 stats as of 19 April 2020, a month later. Australia’s population is 25 million.

A few days after the Ozlander event, only crowds of less than 100 were permitted by the govt. We were so, so lucky!! Of course, that reduced further as precautions were implemented over time. We have self-isolation and a lot of business closures, cancellation of sports/entertainment etc. It is dreadful, but not a total lock down in Australia. We could walk dogs and make necessary trips to the supermarket, pharmacy, doctor or special court appearances. Anyway, just wanted to address this concern. ~ Tickets sold well (premium tickets sold out). I saw fans on sm stating the date of the event clashed or it was a bit expensive so I know more wanted to come. Yes, the cost was relatively high. Return airfares for cast, accommodation, plus I assume their appearance fee was always going to be an expensive venture, especially as our AUD had been declining sharply against the USD for some time. Australia can miss out on some things because of distance and a relatively small population, but overall, I think we have done well over the years. ~ Rik (Richard) and Sophie posted IG photos from Melbourne a couple of days before the event. Yay!! They were in the country at least, enjoying the sunsets, cuddling koalas and hypnotising wallabies lol. Sophie posted a selfie from a public toilet (bathroom) - as you do. See Sam’s comment below. Toilet paper was becoming a precious commodity....🤔

So the odds looked good and finally, Ozlander arrived.🥳 Before we took our seats, a lone piper slowly walked into the throng playing Waltzing Matilda (iconic Australian bush ballad) which segued into Outlander's theme song. Goosebumps! Applause all 'round. The piper was a big fan too.

What a thrilling start to proceedings. We took our seats and Meagan Taylor (the one who dared dream the dream), welcomed everyone. The age range of fans was predominately 40-65. We were excited and expectant. Housekeeping announcements focused on coronavirus precautions of course. Wash hands, use hand sanitiser when you can't, no handshaking and no touching the cast. This last request was a little disappointing after seeing photos from other OL cons, but it was quite understandable. I think we were just over the moon Ozlander went ahead so we were more than happy to comply and consider the health and safety of others. Then Meagan had the unenviable task of informing us David Berry had unfortunately cancelled his appearance due to health reasons. Yikes! What a shame. (David released a press statement 15 March(?) outlining his difficult decision. Sydney is Australia's Covid-19 hot spot, so David being a Sydneysider, had to consider this I guess). There are IG photos of David, Rik and Sophie together in Australia, just not sure where. So of course, it surprised everyone that David wasn't attending. Refunds of his meet and great and the re-jigging of tiers was to be announced on the fly. Then there were two, Rik and Sophie (and no pressure whatsoever!)🤪. Meagan then advised that the five panels across the weekend would be all audience Q & A which got a loud cheer. On with the show! The Rik and Sophie show! 🎉 They came on stage ready for a good time. Rik opened with 'G'day'. Great start I thought and continued his half decent Australian accent. It's a hard accent to imitate as we know. Rik's was a bit exaggerated but that was part of the fun. 

‘G’day. ‘How are ya’?’

Sophie in an outfit she bought here. Same brand as Saturday’s dress that she brought with her.

Roger Mac is in da house.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have seen Rik and Sophie in a lot of interviews, OL promos (talking to camera) and taking part on OL panels on YouTube. I can find their rapport a little strained and snarky at times. Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised that their 2020 version was very endearing and entertaining. I think they’ve worked on this. I also think, that the spectre of Sam and Cait, through no fault of their own, does loom large at cast events. Therefore, it was great to see Rik and Sophie rise to the challenge of working the room in the absence of their cast mates. And I think they really relished this (albeit exhausting) opportunity and the small theatre made it a casual and intimate affair. They answered questions in an engaging manner and often expanded on it, citing on set examples, many I’ve never heard before, and I’ve seen a lot of OL interviews. Almost as soon as they came on stage, Rik was asked if he would play his guitar and sing for us. While flattered, I think it was too early in the piece and he said maybe he would do so during the weekend sometime. Alas, time wasn’t on our side so it didn’t eventuate. ~ Rik was asked if his hair ticks were under control (ep 501)😂. Combing his fingers through his hair, he replied in his strong Scottish brogue that most of them were gone now. Good sport. ~ He was told the OL bts photos he posts on sm (taken on set) were great and much appreciated and to keep them coming to which the audience applauded. I think he quietly enjoyed that moment. All creatives will take that, knowing their skills and hard work meant something to someone, much like our appreciation for OL and these sorts of events!

Then on to costumes, wigs and make up. It was thought that it must be nice to have your scalp/hair attended to in the makeup. ‘No, it’s not’ R&S said in unison.😂 Verra uncomfortable process apparently. The hair is flattened and held down with clips. The hairline edge of the wig is ‘glued’ to the top of your forehead and then alcohol is used to get the glue off after shooting, which dries the skin. Some hair falls out over time with this process also. We know this has happened to Sam to an extent.😬 Rik is hoping to grow his hair long enough so he doesn’t need a wig, which accounts for his current hirsute glory. ~ Sophie said they both share a make up trailer and added that Rik has a magic make up chair. Being early morning, he often goes to sleep in it and upon waking up, hey presto, it’s Roger Mac. At make up time, they do know if the other is a bit touchy, so they try not to annoy each other. Too much.😂 ~ At one stage, we were a bit shy in asking questions. Meagan said if this was in the US, there’d be a line up for the mic.😂

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie. 

~ Sophie responded to a geeky question about wearing wireless mics secreted in their costumes or hair as well using the usual overhead boom mics you see on bts videos. She was asked about her experience with ADR which she’s not a great fan of it. The audience asked, ‘What’s ADR?’ There are a few accepted terms in the industry, Additional Dialogue Replacement is one. It’s when some dialogue needs to be re-recorded late in post production if the original dialogue audio recording at the time is less than optimal for a variety of reasons (thanks Google). Sophie gave an instance when in S4, Bree told Claire she had been raped. The stream in the background got into the dialogue mics too much in this particular outdoor location, so Sophie had to re-record her dialogue (like lip syncing) saying exactly what she said at the time, whilst watching the scene on a screen in a recording studio. It’s hard to get the context and emotion of the scene back into your voice and that’s why some actors hate doing it and plead to have the original dialogue kept as much as possible. But ADR happens more than you realise and for various reasons (see Google). It is impossible to tell when you watch the show, what scenes have had ADR done, it’s blended so well. They would record the stream/ ambient sounds separately at some point and then mix it in lower against the dialogue after ADR is done. 😅

 ~ Sophie talked about her audition process and was sat down in an exec’s office and was told OL fans are very passionate! (we are?🤔😁). They have an idea of how book Brianna should look and Sophie confirmed she wasn’t tall enough, eyes the wrong colour, etc and that yeah, as expected, she received some not so nice things on sm. But she tried not to read too much of it and pressed on with the role of Bree. Her tone wasn’t sarcastic or indignant at all, but humble. I was impressed. 

Queuing for photos with Rik or Sophie on this occasion. We weren’t allowed to touch but we all had a squirt of hand sanitiser (just to be super safe?).🤔            

There were a few photo opportunities over the weekend and a bonus or two thrown in make up for the cast that couldn’t make it. A refund was offered for people with meet and greet tickets for David. However, R & S kindly offered to do a meet and greet for David’s fans instead and they happily accepted. Legends! I don’t know where they found the energy to be constantly ’on’ with so many people over the weekend. Chocolate? Youth?  ~ As it was a small event, there weren’t any extra security staff that I could see. I think it was only the Museum staff and the security cameras which were hardly noticeable. ~ When getting my autographs, Rik and Sophie didn’t ask for my name, but when I read their personal messages, they had used my name (which they’d seen on my Ozlander lanyard. How cool is that? Very slick!). There were assorted costumes, the de rigueur wedding dress of Claire’s which added to the ambience. Of course, most of the audience were women but good to see a handful of men there, some even in kilts! Saw some Aussie Peakers in their MPC tees too. Cool. 

To settle a pronunciation question, Sophie asked the audience after lunch, ‘Is it scone (as in, phone) or scone (as in, shone)? 

An emphatic SCONE (shone) came back. Rik said “Oh, wow, a shouting(?) majority?’ 

Just to be sure, someone asked who lost, Rik pointed at Sophie. He didn’t gloat too much. Poor Sophie!

Of course, what would an OL event be without the cast having a drink or two to lubricate the tonsils (as we say).

Here are a few more tidbits. All the info I’m sharing has been gleaned from the panels and time spent with Rik and Sophie over the weekend as my tier allowed (which was a lot). ~ Yes, they had tried Vegemite (similar to marmite/promite), courtesy of David Berry. Sophie has some in Scotland. Onya Davo! (good on you David). Incidentally, Sam tried some when he was here in 2016 on Studio 10 (morning talk show - March 2016, his interview is on You Tube). It’s a thing. ~ Rik didn’t know if Sam’s whisky would be his cup of tea, but said it was ‘good actually’. ~ Rik was sometimes surprised by the particular take post production used for the show, but was more surprised by what was edited out of a scene (to add dynamics or guide the narrative a certain way which would apply to all productions everywhere). ~ The pyre scene with the Jesuit Priest at the Mohawk Village Ep 412 was hard to watch on TV. He said it was hard to watch them shoot that scene on set as it was so dangerous!😬 ~ Sophie very occasionally discussed the historical accuracy of things in a scene with directors ie. birthing stool or not in Ep 413 and 1960′s The Mashed Potato moves in S5 are different to how we know them now. She convinced the director’s on those 2 occasions. To me, it shows her passion for the show! ~ When asked about Bree meeting Jamie for the first time in S4, Sophie was asked about the eww factor but didn’t think about Jamie’s hand touching her face after he had relieved himself as he had only used a fruit juice bottle.🤣 ~ R & S were asked to respond to: ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!’ And with relish they replied: ‘Oi, Oi, Oi!’. Someone did their homework. Cool. It’s a parochial call and response thing some aussies do at sporting events etc. ~ R & S often went for an early morning run. Before Sunday’s program began, Meagan asked us all to be very quiet. ‘That sound’, she said, ‘is Rik having his hair blown dry backstage.’ Laughter at Rik’s expense all round. Sophie came on with her’s still damp.

Graham McTavish ‘popped’ in from Slovakia to say hi and sorry I can’t be there. Rik and Graham had a good rapport. After some banter, the audience was now supposed to ask a question and GM rolled his eyes as he heard Rik’s voice again, this time asking him what he conditioned his beard with? ‘Well”, said GM, ‘well Richard, um, I, ahh (chuckle), I condition it with...., obviously a little bit of your love ..’. Much laughter in the theatre.

Then GM commented further, (which I missed, sadly), to even more laughter.

Who knows what would have happened had GM been at the event in person?! There is so much more I could share, but you get the idea. 

Sophie wasn’t feeling the best during the last panel just before the close of the event, but she pushed through like a trooper. Rik said she had eaten too much chocolate. A weakness of Sophie’s. I think fatigue was catching up with both of them. They did so much.

Meagan presented Rik and Sophie with an Akubra (pron. uh·koo·bruh) each (iconic Australian outback hat) as a memento of their time here at Ozlander. Rik had the Crocodile Dundee style whilst Sophie’s was more demure. In his best aussie lingo, Rik said: ‘I’m Richard Dundee and this is my partner, Skippy (Sophie).’ (Referencing Skippy the bush kangaroo ? - a much loved Australian TV show 1968-1970). 

The Scottish Banner article promised an intimate relaxed chance to get to know stars from the Outlander TV series and I’m happy to say that this is exactly what we got. Whilst it’s a shame we didn’t get to know Ed, Graham or David better, we certainly got to know Rik and Sophie better than we had ever anticipated. As a result, I see Rik and Sophie in a new light, esp in S5, where they have more scenes together. In a small way, I’ve gotten to know a little of the person that inevitably informs their TV persona (ie facial expressions, mannerisms, speaking cadence and inflections). What a memorable time I had (can you tell?). Thanks to Rik and Sophie, the gathering organisers (who got a special mention on stage at the close) and the other fans I met there. Thanks for reading this far on a rather lengthy post.😊 I know it’s my take on the weekend, but I’ve tried not to editorialise it, but present it, as accurately as I can, hence, it may be a bit dry to read.😅  I think Ozlander is a great name and I look forward to Ozlander Fan Gathering 2021.  

Ozlander graphics: Ozlander Fan Gathering (I tweaked the circle logo in the title)

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie: Ozlander Fan Gathering

other photos: all permissions obtained    

Ozlander Fan Gathering article: The Scottish Banner February 2020

Sophie Skelton post: Instagram

global covid-19 cases stats: Wikipedia