#go watch the whole thing if you can they talk about producers and stuff for a good long while its rly interesting!!

[omegalomania]

some kind soul uploaded the full q&a that fall out boy did the other night! here is a highlights reel of things that grabbed me while i was watching for those who don't have time to watch:

they have a rapport with the interviewer and have hung out with him a bunch. patrick says they spent like 30 minutes making fun of couches last they hung out lmao

pete describes working with neal avron as being held like an enchanted forest creature with him standing inches from pete's face and saying "what. are. the songs. about." and pete going "oh my god he's looking into my fucking soul rn"

when asked what their favorite meal is, andy says "mom's spaghetti" and doesn't elaborate, patrick says "sushi" and doesn't elaborate. pete says that he's like the joker and he's a simple man and today he had a full english breakfast and he didn't know what to do with half the stuff that showed up.

pete talks about discussing the name of "the beatles" with elliot ingham (their photographer) and says he finally understood that their name was a pun. he says about this "i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed" and doesn't realize he's referencing a meme. the crowd immediately fills him in that it's a lyric by smash mouth. andy clowns on him for this right after: "he's NOT the sharpest tool in the shed"

the host says that pete seems very intellectual. pete says "i PROMISE you that's not true."

when asked about formative musical influences andy and patrick both cite familiar names (andy namedrops drummers for bands like slayer and metallica, patrick says his dad being a folk singer was a huge influence and the 1989 danny elfman batman score). pete says joy division but says he's a visual person and most of his influences are movies.

there's a moment where patrick and pete banter and pete points at the host and says "he just told me i'm smart, i'm trying to live up to it!!" and patrick says in this very small high pitched voice "please be nice to pete!"

anyway pete says his biggest influences are "all the twilight movies except for the one where they introduce [i have no idea what he says here because the crowd promptly goes apeshit]" and also lego batman.

for newer artists patrick says he really likes the new zulu record and the new incendiary song. he says he also likes MSPAINT, alvvays, and another band i couldn't catch the name of

pete says he likes all of patrick's recommendations and says he also likes games we play. andy doesn't give any artists but says patrick gave a "great list" because he's VERY jet-lagged. he's keeping it together as best as he can tho lmao

when asked about if they would ever do a fashion runway show like they did in 2013, patrick says he was embarrassingly short for the whole thing. "i'm at like, bellybutton level." so he says he doubts they would ever be invited back to do something similar "unless they want a bunch of hobbits"

someone asks about producing and patrick gets really in depth with what producing is like and uses "from under the cork tree" as an example - "nobody puts baby in the corner" was barely adjusted from demo form but "sugar we're goin down" had totally different verses at first until they got better direction from the producer.

when asked about what their favorite video to film was, pete says youngblood chronicles WASN'T a lot of fun to make because it was like 9 months with fake blood in your hair and clothes that haven't been washed oNCE. he also didn't love doing the prosthetics for "love from the other side"

the host asks if they've seen the last of us and pete says yes but points at andy and says "he hasn't seen the last episode though so no spoilers!!!" which i thought was very sweet. he then follows that up with "just watch the fuckin episode so we can talk about it!"

patrick and andy said they shot a music video recently that was a "blast" but it's not out yet. pete calls it "very fun, very funny." the crowd starts cheering and patrick hastily says "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT! you're under NO obligation to like it! but if you do then that's good :)"

patrick says one of the best parts of being in a band is that they all have imposter syndrome but in different ways so they can build up each other's ideas even if they don't believe in their own.....

pete's very nervous about the lyrics to this album cause he's not sure they'll be relatable since he has a lot of "insane fears day to day about not existing." he went to a lot of places that were terrifying to him and he was like "should i talk about this to my therapist" but his therapist said "put this in your lyrics"

"heaven, iowa" was the song that took the longest to come together on this record. this is followed by a rly long anecdote from patrick that im putting in another post cause it honestly made me howl.

when asked about who they'd most like to collaborate with, andy without hesitation says "ourselves" and nothing else. pete says he wanted a kid cudi feature on the album but it didn't work out since he was either busy or ghosted them fldjflkdf

when asked what song are they tired of playing that they can't cut from the setlist and they DON'T want to answer. patrick says some songs have really high notes that are demanding physically for him but that's as specific as he gets lol

pete's like "well we've got this punk song we end all our shows with from one of our earlier albums and it gets very chaotic and sometimes it's a bit of a fancy crowd of people who are like 'i like centuries, i like some of their other songs....i write sins...' and before we start the song i'm like. oh god this is gonna be bad."

when asked about the songwriting process, patrick says: "pete sends me lyrics, i mine them for stuff i like, and....i hate starting answers like this i feel like i've been saying this all MONTH. so i have ADHD - " [crowd fucking goes wild]

when asked about which projects they're proudest of outside of fall out boy, patrick turns to andy and says "andy is very quiet about being in like thirty bands" but andy says he's proud of "all of it"

patrick remarks that he's heard some love for soul punk but is also super grateful he gets to do film and tv scoring now too! he says he likes that when he's talking to people and they ask what he does and if they don't know bands or anything he can say he likes scoring for film and tv and their eyes glaze over and there are no follow-up questions LMAO??

pete is proudest of the bands on his record label!

for favorite songs on the new record, patrick says he likes "what a time to be alive" and says the lyrics are "so tremendously pete"

pete likes "baby annihilation"

when asked about the most difficult song to play live, patrick said headfirst slide wasn't really that difficult even though he expected it to be. he says a lot of songs on mania were very challenging to play live, like young and menace. pete says "what a catch, donnie" was very hard for his "little brain" to play

at the end pete shouts out the host for being fantastic since they've hung out like 3 times now and he thinks he's a great dude to hang out with. andy inexplicably follows this up with "you look like a DAMN fine cup of coffee" and doesn't elaborate but patrick thinks that's his way of saying thank you too

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Thinking of a modern AU when the kids get to be kids after it's all over and they go to the movies, they play games, hang out, all that. And of course, Steve drives them everywhere. He vouches for them in front of their parents, watches them like a hawk, tries to tell them about the adult stuff he's learned so far and chases Robin and Nancy to give them info on uni application and the things he feels he's too dumb for. Still, when Robin and Nancy are away and one of his kids needs something, he'll grab that legal document and either stare at it long enough to get a migraine or begins hounding the smart people who stayed in Hawkins (Mr. Clarke is Steve's go-to person and Mr. Clarke won't say it, but he's so proud of Harrington's progress).

So, Steve's life is basically nonstop work and babysitting (with lots of complaints and grumbling from the teens), they ask him to drive them somewhere and he'll bitch about it, sure, but he will get up after 4 hours of sleep and do it anyways. Dustin often reprimands Steve for not taking care of his health, but he doesn't see why.

When Encanto comes out, El really, really wants to see it, and how can Steve say no to her? He drives the whole gang to the movie theatre (some of them stacked on top of each other, some in the trunk on a pile of blankets) and decides to join them. He doesn't really like animated stuff, but Robin loves these movies and he wants yet another reason to call her and talk through the night.

He didn't expect to enjoy the movie so much, but it's colorful and catchy. The songs are nice and the characters are relatable. He makes a lot of mental notes to discuss with Robin. He thinks she will love Mirabel.

And then "Surface Pressure" starts playing and Steve wonders why he suddenly feels like crying. "I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service" hits especially hard. He's just sitting there and feeling incredibly stupid for tearing up at flying glitter-covered donkeys.

When they leave the movie theater, everyone is pretty excited and discussing which characters and songs they liked the most (even if some feel like rolling their eyes at a kids' movie, El's excitement stops them from doing that). They all start discussing to who they relate the most, El feels with Mirabel for being left out and different, even if she actually is the only one who has a gift, Will dares to utter that he really sympathizes with Dolores, Dustin loves Bruno for trying to fix the cracks in Casita.

And then they turn to Steve and someone makes a jab at him, saying he resembles Mariano the most. Steve is ready to shrug it off, there's some truth in that with what happened to his relationship with Nancy, but El just shakes her head and says: "No. Steve is our Luisa."

Everyone goes silent. There's a lot of hmmming and "well, he did get up to drive us when he had a night shift..." and "we could have just biked...". Steve tries to make them feel better about it, joking that he really has nothing better to do, but the drive home is full of whispering, and the party actually diligently thank him when they leave his car.

The next day is Sunday and Steve is ready for his usual routine, making himself busy until someone needs something. But there's a knock on the door to his small apartment and when he opens it, he sees his group of kids, proudly presenting a tray of muffins and two cartons of orange juice.

Out of all of them, it's Mike who speaks up. "Nancy said you often forget to eat breakfast," he states in his usual annoyed tone. "She also said that you like chocolate muffins, so we are here to ensure you don't die from hunger. Now move, I'll get the glasses and plates."

Steve just watches in awe as they swarm his flat, Will smiling at him and producing a DVD of the latest Spider-man movie. "This one was a tip from Robin, she says you haven't seen it yet."

Max is standing in the kitchenette with her cane, watching the pile of meds Steve has to take after his injuries with disdain. "This has to take forever for you to find what you need. Don't argue, I remember how shitty it was for me. Let me help you build a chart and thank me later."

El and Lucas are rearranging Steve's couch and placing pillows in front of the TV so everyone can sit comfortably. El also ensures the blinds are closed so Steve's eyes don't have to fight against the light.

And if that all wasn't more care than Steve has known in years, Dustin grabs his elbow and sits him down, threatening him with violence if he even thinks about working on Sunday.

As the opening titles start, Steve is surrounded by six teenagers in his tiny and cheap flat, chewing on a subpar muffin with an orange juice that probably never saw the actual fruit, and he thinks that there's no greater happiness than this.

[worstqueerbaittournament]

Submission message: howdy, would like to submit keith and lance from voltron (lmao)

Submission message: BBC Sherlock and Moriarty / BBC Sherlock and John Watson

Additional propaganda: Now Keith and Lance on the other hand was a whole fucking mess that they then shoehorned in an hetero romance to try and "fix it" but by lord it was bad, everything about voltron is so fucking bad

Anyway this is my Klance propaganda : They were actually bait

Klance's queer baiting by the team was the worst!! We had to deal with NETFLIX ALSO GETTING IN ON THE QUEER BAITING!! If you searched up Kkance during the times for season 6-8, the SHOW WOULD POP UP. The directors would make jokes about it being canon, even Lance's VA got in the joke!

Their queer baiting was the worst for anyone who was even looking for an ounce of queer rep in that show. The only queer rep we got was a man who died after not even 5 minutes on screen, and shoehorned in the credit scene of a gay wedding of a character that was neither Keith nor Lance.

I do not know Agatha and Sophie, so I can't argue that klance was bigger bait or not, I just know voltron was mean lmao. the creators said stuff like "lance will be someone's first choice!" (meaning NOT ending up in a relationship with allura bc she very much chose another guy over him) and heavily implying he would be Keith's 1st choice (or a guy in general bc of point number 2). point number 2: they also released official art showing how super cool and diverse the main cast was! race! gender! LGBT - they had shiro (who was......canon gay but that's a whole other can of worms) and lance hold the sign with LGBT on it and then did absolutely nothing with that w lance at all (he hit on allura, so obvi he's not gay, but at least bi or smt) (UNLESS you count the scenes where he's flirty with keith). I just remember going into the last few seasons being like "klance probably won't be happen be honest with yourself there's like no queer kids shows!! but damn like it so could tho!!! because of how much it's been teased both in the show and by showrunners like I can't have no hope with the way the producers talk about it!" lmao I should have had no hope, but i genuinkey believed there was a possibility it could happen. and actually I discovered after the fact that i think one of the writers for the show who was the main advocate for klance (they had a lot of diff writers for eps, which led to lots of character butchering but ANYWAY) left not terribly long into the show I believe bc he didn't like the direction it was moving in and didn't want to be tied to the show anymore. so it's not like fans just made klance up either - it was written into earlier episodes with the hope and plan to continue developing later, and then just nothing ever happened with it besides INTENSE teasing it to keep queer fans around. esp after shiro's relationship was literally only a flashback and then his fiance thing or whatever got blown up before we even got to watch him interact w shiro as we knew him in present time in s7, so I think they kept being like hmmm klance and the stuff about lance being a first choice before s8 to keep ppl around. also esp bc klancers made up such a big portion of the fan base. then they made a horrible szn and ended it w a flashforward to shiro marrying some random background character who maybe had 1 line? I just remember hitting the flashforward and being like uhhhh who is this dude??? but they did that to hit those diversity points wow first gay marriage in a cartoon or smt idk it doesn't count to me really. so anyway voltron in general is queerbait lol but klance is because it started out as a legit possibility and then they said sike! but only maybe sike bc u guys are mad at us burying our guys in s7 so maybe klance could still happen haha okay now we're serious no it's not happening. anyway I think klance is p bad queerbait and a vote for them is a valid vote, not just u liking the ship.

#im sorry but johnlock is a household name in ther queerbait trenches

I don't know much about blaze runner, but this website made me endure Johnlock FOR YEARS, that ship makes me so fucking angry, and it's so much bait, the whole fucking show is just 4 kinds of bait in a trenchcoat trying to pass as something good, and Tumblr(and the rest of the goddamn world) ate it up like a five course meal. So anyway that's why I'm voting Johnlock

[galaxythreads]

Foegive me of this is a question you've answered in the past but, what are your thoughts on the scene at the beginning of Avengers 1 where Loki sort of doubles over/trips on his way out of the SHIELD base and it's never addressed?

Also thoughts on the canonicity of various myths to the MCU Loki backstory?

no worries, I don't mind answering questions twice. My blog is long and tales tales, so I understand if people don't want to hunt for answers and just reask stuff.

as far as your question goes,

SCREAMING SCREAMING SCREAMING. Do you KNOW how much I LOVE that SCENE (the answer is no because I haven't talked about it) but I LOVE THAT SCENE! That is THE scene to me. I love everything about how carefully it's handled because what you have to look for is SUBTEXT here, because the Avengers was written in a way that forces you to think. It doesn't lay everything out for you, it's intended you come to your own conclusions.

The Avengers trusts you and that is a very strange thing for media now. It's pretty rare to find one that doesn't treat you like an idiot.

Breaking this down:

The first frame with Loki is of him kneeling. That is the first thing we learn about him. I want you guys to remember that the introduction of a character is HUGE. It tells us the most important things for us to know about that character right now

So what do we need to know about Loki RIGHT THEn. Right at the start of the movie?

he's smart. He opened the portal with the Tesseract, from across space, and teleported himself to another planet. This is something no one has replicated (using an infinity stone from across space). Loki is said to "know it's workings like they never will" which says a lot about him.

Loki was GIVEN the scepter by the Chitauri, but if you watch that opening opening scene, it looks more like it's being forced on him than him GLADLY taking it. (There's this half second where the Other waits to make sure Loki is actually going to hold it. Loki doesn't reach for it until he has to. One of the most powerful objects in existence and it practically has to be shoved into his hands) Look how close their bodies are. Like bro???

-okay, then Loki comes through the portal and he is KNEELING. so the first, and I mean the VERY FIRST thing we need to know about Loki is that he is in the subservience of someone/thing else. This gif below is artwork of that moment, but still. Like. who do you think he's kneeling TO? Well, the opening scene of the Avengers showcases that the Other is kneeling to Thanos, Ergo, using the subtext trust that the director/writers have given us, that means Loki was kneeling to Thanos before he came through the portal.

And then, Loki comes out like a hunted animal, but he legitimately does not remember he's holding the scepter until Fury points it out to him. You can see him look down at it in confusion. And okay, WHY is he confused? I remember watching this for the first time at 14 and going huh, that's kinda weird he forgot he had the weapon. What this is trying to tell us is that this is not a familiar weapon to Loki AND -- it is doing something to him. It's emitting that same misty thing that it does when Loki possesses someone later. That wispy smoke is always so interesting to me because of the implications. The scepter doesn't do that unless it is FRESHLY possessing someone. And what do we know about Loki TWO SECONDS AGO?

he was kneeling to thanos.

Anyway, so Loki gives his name, is not a well man, and the scene you're actually referring to is this one:

which GETS ME EVERY TIME. I could talk aout this scene for hours. The implications of it. (Also if you've read my work YSFSLWFTCA, that man who grabs Loki's back is Nathan Swenson ;)

So I've been getting professional acting training for about 6-7 months now and one thing I have learned is that nothing makes it in the movie by accident. The director has to approve it, the editor, the producer, up the whole food chain. This was not Tom Hiddleston sneezing and then them keeping it in the movie because it's funny. So this was put in on purpose. They WANTED you to know that Loki isn't okay. And a scene like this would get like what? idk 3-6 takes at a minimum, which means that they flimed this ON PURPOSE 3-6 times. Tom Hiddleston was instructed to do this ON PURPOSE. That guy who approaches Loki's back was told to do that ON PURPOSE. Loki was supposed to be shown to be a mess physically. Like. Then they go and KEEP doing this later, when Loki can't get into the car and can barely keep himself upright. Loki doesn't start to look "okay" until Germany and even then he's not doing amazing.

What's interesting to me, beyond the obvious implications toward bodily harm - torture! :) - is the timing. Loki immediately topples when Clint hands the Tesseract to Selvig. There's something about Clint doing that that seems to cause him physical pain. That could be a coincidence, and I bet it is because it's not brought up again in the movie that the Tesseract exchanging hands gives Loki physical pain, but it is interesting.

Another interesting point is that Clint looks away, Selvig doesn't care, but that sheild agent Immediately moves up to put his hand on Loki's back to support him. And Loki doesn't flinch. That always struck me as weird, right, because even people who don't have trauma flinch when someone touches their back and they weren't expecting it. And Loki clearly wasn't? So why didn't he twitch at least a little? Tom Hiddleston is too good of an actor for that to be a mistake.

So to me that means that Loki just... doesn't have feeling in his spine at that moment. Or he was in too much pain to even register it. Loki was clearly tortured with some type of heat. If you watch him in this scene he's displaying all the signs of heat exhaustion. So I kinda think that maybe Loki got burned so badly on his back before this happened that he just... doesn't feel anything anymore. It had to have been recent for walking to nearly send him toppling, but Loki's back is a source of issues for the entire movie.

That is why this scene is here from a directing perspective. to SET UP Loki's back problems. The extent of them are left vague, but I think when Tom Hiddleston and Joss Whedon sat down to talk about Loki for the Avengers, one of the things they must have agreed on was that Loki was not in good physical condition and they planned to show that THE ENTIRE MOVIE. I don't know if they talked about torture or Thanos, but they talked about SOMETHING.

But I just...idk. That guy grabs Loki's back to support him in an effort to help and it's just so interesting to me. Because how does the mind control WORK then? Selvig is obsessed with the Tesseract. He almost seems possessed by that rather than Loki. Clint goes completely silent and doesn't do anything except the mission. THIS GUY immediately comes to take care of Loki, and Loki himself is ruthlessly efficient with one goal in his mind. So it's interesting. Subtext! :D

So what do I think about this scene. I think that Loki was tortured and his back is giving out and I LOVE THIS SCENE BECAUSE IT IS SO DARK BUT TRYING NOT TO BE.

Thanos' immediate response to something not going his way is torture and he knows Loki. Knows him well enough to pick his brother out of a crowd in Infinity War and leave him alive until the end. Knows him well enough to make his death personal. Strangulation is a crime of passion. Thanos hurt Loki and he knew Loki, and the idea that Thanos made sure that Loki wouldn't see the torture coming - by doing it to his back/spine - is just an extra layer of awful. Thanos left Thor alive. On purpose. He could have killed him. He didn't.

That was Loki's punishment. Leaving Thor alone. Because Thanos knew that would hurt him the most.

But Thanos also chose to kill Loki, and in infintiny war, while hunting the stones, Thanos doesn't make any unnecessary bodies. Which to me, means that Thanos had to kill Loki because he saw Loki as a threat.

So anyway, somehow I'm talking about Loki and Thanos again, who are my favorite horrible duo and I love talking about them because their relationship is so so messed up. I wish that the Loki series had DONE something with Thanos and Loki, but they didn't. :/

But why Loki's back? Like Thanos started with Loki's head in the post-credits scene of Thor 1:

why did he move to Loki's back? Also the fact that Thanos was having Loki hunt down the Infinity Stones through astral projection and/or enchantment is just so messed up and I love it. Wish it had been explored because THIS ^^^ was the giant beast I wanted poked at in Loki season 1.

[renthony]

I haven't enjoyed a Marvel movie since I stopped bothering to keep up with the MCU in 2014. I don't care for most Marvel movies. I think Marvel Studios is a case study in things that are shitty in the entertainment industry. But holy shit, pretentious posts along the lines of "haha, I don't watch Marvel films, I have real taste, go watch another movie!" are so fucking annoying.

Like, go put up your middle finger at some preps or something. People are allowed to watch whatever they want and enjoy whatever movies they want and make whatever fandom stuff they want, and that doesn't say anything about their intelligence or morals or character. It doesn't mean they are somehow bad at watching movies, or are too stupid to realize whatever nugget of wisdom ye high-and-mighty Marvel Haters think you're the only ones to understand.

Again, not personally a Marvel fan, but this whole "haha, I'm better than Marvel fans" relates to something I've been musing on about media analysis as a whole. There is a persistent idea that mass entertainment is inherently lower quality or less artistic because it's made for a wide audience, and that bad art isn't worth analyzing or engaging with just because it's low quality. In this mindset, the only art that has the possibility to be any good at all is 100% independent projects made by amateurs, and anything produced by a studio or with wide appeal is inherently poser art with absolutely nothing meaningful to say. In this mindset, you can't possibly learn anything or take anything from bad art, and if you find meaning in bad art, you're clearly just stupid and uneducated and have bad taste.

The thing is? Liking bad art is not a sin. Having a different opinion about what constitutes "bad art" is not a sin. Finding something entertaining despite its flaws is not a sin. Studying bad art is not a sin. You can learn a lot from bad art, you can learn a lot from interpreting propaganda, you can learn a lot from engaging with things even if you don't think they're very "good."

My vaudeville research keeps turning up author after author who talks about vaudeville as some sort of "point of no return," like the performing arts all turned to shit the second things were intended to be seen by more than a single audience for a single show. Popularity gets equated with lack of skill or quality, because all the performers were "just pandering to the audience" instead of relying on "real skill."

For one, what the fuck does that even mean, but for two, the theatrical quality of vaudeville isn't what makes it interesting and worth engaging with. Every single thing that ever came out of vaudeville could be 100% total utter garbage, but vaudeville would still be worth studying because of how influential it still is on arts and entertainment today. It has significant historical and educational merit. And some of it is still genuinely fun and entertaining, once you pick out all the things that didn't age well or were just plain bigoted. There's artistic merit in those old sketches and songs, and there's meaning to be drawn from plenty of it even here in 2023.

You want to learn about the Hays Code? Well, let's talk about how early films were shown on projectors on vaudeville stages, so vaudeville censorship went on to influence American film censorship. Let's talk about how we still use slang to this day that originated on vaudeville, such as "skit" or "one night stand" or "ad lib" or "the big time." Vaudeville is still in the bones of the modern American entertainment industry and pop culture, and you can't really escape that influence.

People in modern day use Marvel movies as proof that big studio films are singlehandedly responsible for the decline of art, and there is nothing to learn from them or see in them at all, ever. But to me, "Marvel movies are bad" is such a flat, uninteresting observation, because when it comes to media analysis, it doesn't really matter if Marvel films are good or entertaining. If you want to actually dig into the problems with big-budget summer Hollywood blockbusters, and the way they're impacting the industry as a whole, you have to go deeper than "pop culture is all stupid stuff for stupid people, unlike me, who isn't like other girls actually has good taste in media!"

There are so many more factors at play than "mass entertainment = bad art." Let's look at the ways capitalism screws over small creators and forces them to seek funding from the very same studios that fuck them over. Let's talk about how the actual workers in the industry are fighting tooth and fucking nail against the exact same things all the Marvel haters harp on about. Let's talk about studios that accept funding from the United States Government to turn superhero comics into propaganda films, and then threaten the actual workers with never having a career again if they complain or quit. Let's talk about how the actors are regularly abused and treated to hostile work environments.

Let's talk about the people who made the films, because the films were not made by a CEO pressing the "make movie" button. The workers made those films. The workers were exploited by those studios. Let's try giving a shit about them, instead of taking the "haha, Marvel fans are stupid and cringe" route.

There is so much more fucking nuance and detail and conversation about mass media as a topic, and boiling it down to, "art made for a wide audience is inherently shitty and has nothing to say."

You're not a better, more intelligent, more educated person just because you don't like Marvel movies. Making posts about how much better you are than Marvel fans does nothing to either explain or tackle the issues in the entertainment industry.

It just makes you look like a dickhead.

[mashiraostail]

Me sitting sooooooo nicely

Could you possibly do “you can sit on my lap” from the prompt list with Fatgum? As NSFW as your heart desires, but I loooooove how you write him! (Ngl your depressive episode reader fics got me through some tough times here and I treasure them with all my heart)

omg thank you for sitting nicely!!!!

A quiet day in seemed to be exactly what you needed, it was all the more delightful that Taishiro was there. You were glad he'd found the time to spend with you, even moreso to spend it lolling around your. place together. You'd ran a few small errands during the day but ultimately came back together in the afternoon, content to enjoy each other's company. You're sitting on the couch, watching some silly television program when you decide to start washing up. You announce it as you stand.

"I'm gonna wash my face and stuff, maybe put on some PJs."

"PJs?" Taishiro sounds excited, "maybe I'll follow your lead."

You grin and stand in front of his seat, "we can't go to bed too early."

"I know, I know, I wanna spend as much time together as possible too, but we might as well be comfy while you tell me all your work gossip. I swear I'll stay awake, and if I don't I owe you big time....but I will stay up."

You laugh at that, a quiet lilting sound that Taishiro feels like he's always chasing. His hands rest on the back of your thighs and he leans his head into your stomach, "go on, I'm excited to talk to you some more. You're leaving me with a crazy cliffhanger with that HR lady."

"She works in finances." You chuckle as you kiss his brow, "but sure."

You make fast work of washing up it wasn't anything major, just washing the oils from the day off your skin and changing into a comfy set of shorts and a teeshirt. You didn't look when you reached into your pajama pile, and the shirt you produced was a bit smaller than your average bed time tee shirt but it wasn't too tight or restrictive and you figured it would be nice to have some more exposed skin for Taishiro to brush his fingers against anyway.

When you emerge again Taishiro looks surprised.

"Woah-"

"What?" You prickle, "you know I don't have any matching sets or-"

"No it's good, a good 'woah.'" And he's being honest, all of your newly exposed skin looks equally tantalizing from your thighs to the sliver of your belly showing over your shorts. He realizes how close you'd been all day and how little he's actually be able to touch.

"Come here," he eggs you on, "don't torture me now, I'm just a man."

You go to him, no real reason to deny him popping up in your immediate thoughts. In fact all you can thing of are reasons to indulge him.

"You look pretty as a petal." He's smiling, grinning impishly at you, "'re you gonna let me touch you?"

You flush, surprised at his change of mood but not at all displeased, "of course I am."

"Lucky me." He huffs out a quiet laugh, "come on, you can sit on my lap." The motion is so practiced and easy, you'd dare call it muscle memory.

"That's perfect." He's already sliding his hands into your shirt, the devil.

"Is this what you've been waiting for this whole time?" You laugh a bit, unable to even feign anger with him.

"Oh no," He assures you, "I was just...listening to you talk with that pretty voice of yours all day, watching you play with you hair, and smile at me like you do." His hands are gliding up your back pulling you closer to him easily.

You don't mind the direction this is going in, you indulge him, maybe a bit selfishly. You kiss him, hands holding on his shoulders and sliding down his chest. You enjoy the feeling of his lips wandering down your jaw and neck, and his hands sneaking lower to your belly then your thighs. You don't mind taking off the pajamas you just put on, and he certainly doesn't mind undressing and shifting his own clothes to get as much skin to skin contact as possible.

For all intents and purposes you liked being in his lap, you felt surrounded by him, and something about the idea of him watching you, egging you on along the way lit a fire inside you. And watch you he did, he liked having you on his lap just as much. He could touch and guide you but also leave you to your own devices and he could watch. He liked to let you set the pace, especially at a time like there where he would just like to ravish you with attention from all fronts. For now he'll huddle you close, and follow the roll of your hips while he continue to kiss around your lips and jaw. When you work yourself up to a climax he'll welcome you, slumped over into his chest, and he'll stand, taking you with him. He'll clean you off and bring you to bed and you won't have to say a word if you don't want to. He'll huddle you even closer under the covers and rub circles in the nape of your neck until you doze off for the night.

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen Talk Finding Their ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ on Broadway: ‘It’s a Really Charming, Kind Little World’

It’s best to let Darren Criss describe the simply complex story of Maybe Happy Ending, the new musical he co-stars in with Broadway newcomer Helen J. Shen. “There’s what the story is and then there’s what the show is about,” the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning singer/actor/songwriter tells Billboard in an interview you can watch above.

“Those aren’t necessarily the same things,” he notes about the musical love story from Will Aronson and Hue Park, in which the former Glee star and Shen appear as obsolete Helperbot robots who meet cute and fall in love. “Thematically, it’s about two elderly people in hospice who decide to break out of the situation to go connect with their family,” says Criss about what sounds like a potentially dark theme.

And while that “grim, depressing construct for a show” doesn’t sound like the stuff of uplifting Broadway magic, Criss promises that the musical’s creators have somehow morphed that idea about the chilly march of time and hard lessons about love and life into a “really charming, kind little world” filled with Helper robots who are living embodiments of our iPhones and other digital assistants.

Because many of us imbue our inanimate digital devices with human-like qualities, sometimes holding on to them well past their best-by use date, Criss says the musical asks what happens when those objects become more like us?

Shen makes her Broadway debut in the play alongside theater/TV/movie veteran Criss, 37, after turning heads last year in the ensemble of the Off Broadway musical Teeth. She says one of the most exciting parts of performing in the show is the chance to take the lead in a completely new piece of theater not based on any existing intellectual property or a reboot/revival, but something that theatergoers have never seen before.

“It’s super overwhelming. The idea of it has been something that I’ve dreamed about my whole life,” says Shen, 24 of originating a character on Broadway. “And to have it come to fruition with this particular story, with this particular group of people I just feel… abundance. I feel so lucky and grateful.”

Both say they feel really blessed to be part of the show, with Criss noting that he has typically starred in “iconic” roles in his previous Broadway runs, including as Harry Potter in A Very Potter Musical, J. Pierrpont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors and Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, among others. “These are things people know and love,” he says of those classics.

“[Which] were great, with or without me. I now go in there trying to do my own thing and make it my own and there’s the excitement of the challenge, but also the pressure of living up to a certain thing and wanting to do your own thing,” he adds about trying to find something of yourself in a well-known role people may have seen many other times with other performers. “Whereas this, it’s an open canvas, not only for us, but for the audience. They don’t have any preconceived notions. That’s the best thing about this.”

Because it is a new experience, audiences don’t know what to expect, which both actors say makes attendees really listen and sit up in their seats to take in all the nuance of the show that also heralds the Broadway debuts for creators Aronson and Park; it began its life on stage in Seoul, South Korea in 2016 and was later produced in Japan and China as well.

Maybe Happy Ending, directed by Michael Arden (Parade), is open now at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway.

[roo-bastmoon]

IMPORTANT INFO: issues around Jimin’s album

I have an ARMY friend (who shall remain safely anonymous) who works in film production for the music and entertainment industry here in the US. They offered me some valuable insights today into production limitations and possible issues related to Jimin’s solo album.

Below the cut is a transcript of their messages to me. I share this in the hopes it better informs our discussions around fair treatment of BTS members’ releases. It is by no means a definitive account of Jimin’s situation—simply an insider’s ideas on what likely happened around a few things.

I understand there are very big feelings about this topic, especially with the apparent differences around JK’s single, and I appreciate everyone’s viewpoints. However, if you choose to interact with this post, you will be respectful to others (including members) or you will be blocked. You are always welcome to DM me privately if you need to vent—we are all human and we all need a bit of grace, so you’ll always have that with me.

Sending you guys so much love, Roo

Anonymous Insider

Some “light reading” while you’re resting up and recovering, lol. This is all just based on what I’ve been watching and seen. Of course, I don’t have access to their production budget sheet and Korea works very differently than the US when it comes to production, but this what I’ve been seeing when it comes to their videos and particularly the promotions for FACE.

(I’m sending in sections, lol)

Alrighty - I’m still like deep in edit-land (still am two days later 😭) but I started typing this on the train between meetings, ha ha. (And am still on the train doing this, lol.) Also this rambles a bit I’m sorry! So the first thing I did was go back to the interview where Jimin talked about the music videos — it was a Japanese TV show and he’s talking with a host in Korean.

He’s talking about “wanting to do it all,” laughs and says, “I wanted all the music videos” and that “they” (the company assuming) said “무리다” which has its roots in the word 무리 which means a herd, a party, a group — basically “it’s too much,” “it’s unreasonable,” and “it’s impossible” are decent translations as it refers to something or an idea being “too much” — then the host and Jimin burst out laughing and the host goes “서리와 무리다” which I read as “sorry (in konglish) but we can’t” and they continue to laugh. So based on that —it sounds very understandable.

We can imagine Jimin sitting down with his team and planning out SMFP2 and LC videos, with the 30 dancers and all the party scene extras, and then Jimin saying he wants to do the music shows with 6 different sets in rented locations so they could have total control. And if Jimin in that process went “what if we made official music videos for all of them?” the team would understandably go “that’s just not reasonable!” 1) because it would give Jimin a budget no other member had gotten and 2) there aren’t that many production houses in Korea. It’s a very small scene — it may just logistically not been possible. There aren’t enough DPs and crew and editors. Sometimes, as a producer, you have to tell your creative talent “I’m sorry, but no.” — I say it every week!

So what about the music videos? Well, here’s what I know from meticulously watching all the behind the scenes for BTS videos over the years. They work with a small team. They likely own a good deal of the gear — they shoot mainly on RED cameras and heavy expensive Cooke lenses (which you can’t get this stuff easily in Korea. I lost a lens cap for a Canon CINÉ Lens in Seoul and it was like this whole big deal because getting gear there is an import challenge but anyways) they use MOVI and Ronin gimbal stabilizers and Jimmy Rigs a lot.

Recently they’ve been using technocranes but I wonder how many technocranes there are in Seoul. As I said, they likely own a lot of this gear which can help with costs. But we’ve also been told — and I’ve heard through my industry friends — that Hybe PAYS. And in Korea there’s no unions in the entertainment world, and often the rates are shit (hence Netflix investing so much there - blerg) their standard work week is also already 12 hours longer than the US. It’s a whole thing. and they spend so much money on sets. It’s incredible.

They rent these huge spaces outside Seoul and BUILD — I mean the build out for SMFP2 was astounding. They easily dropped 1million on that video. The rigging, the build-out, the custom set and the custom camera rigs to achieve the 360 shots - the drone shots. They’re astounding videos. No US label is spending that money on videos these day. Absolutely none of them are — my friend recently produced a video for John Legend. They were trying to pull the whole thing off for $100K which is ridiculous. It’s really almost impossible.  

But on the Big videos they spend a lot of money, but they also produce a lot of other stuff too (and these are often looked at as Performance Videos vs all-caps MUSIC VIDEOS) -— like RM’s video shoot at DIA Beacon… that was a much smaller, fairly single camera shoot — all shot on drones or a MOVI handheld rig. No set, they also didn’t like pay for the set because DIA: Beacon is an art museum — and similar a little bit to Letter for Jimin, which was much smaller set and easy in-house gear.

(And it was also released on Bangtan TV channel vs Hybe Labels Channel, which is a good indicator of how they categorize these shoots.) But the big videos, they go for broke. I mean they spend so much money and again they may own a lot of the equipment but there’s still so much people-power and labor involved. Take the dancers’ rehearsals. You have to pay people for all that — you have to pay them for the weeks of rehearsal, you have to pay them to be in a video. It is so expensive — like, I would not be able to budget that video for under 1 million, that’s how much it costs.  

So then Jimin wanted to do music shows —- and so because he’s Jimin and it’s BTS, Hybe rented larger venues and locations for all of the shoots. None of them use the actual Broadcast spaces or were provided by the broadcast studios. The smaller companies do though — remember when BTS first started out they went to SBS to film on the day? — but they don’t do that anymore. They rent huge facilities so that they could be a mini concerts for ARMYs to visit with Jimin and see him.

They also have to do this kind of outside of the city and they built huge sets because they’re going to want to show off if they’re gonna be on TV but that is so expensive. (I don’t think you were an ARMY then, but when ON was released, at the time it was the “biggest broadcast performance ever” and they keep upping that ante for sure!) It’s possible the broadcast companies spend some money but what BTS is doing is so outside the usual budget and given the tension with the broadcasters and HYBE — they (Hybe) wants control of their products, and so I think they pay for that control.

I can’t imagine they got out of any of those days for under $500K; I mean, there were two different sets, all the crew; they’re paying for all of it. We add it up and they probably spent close to $3-5 million between Jimin’s music videos and his music show performances, and I would be understandably like: “That’s it!” Like, that’s the budget for an EP, you know.

I don’t think Jimin could have it all because that wasn’t the case for the other members. RM got to lead videos and J Hope had pyrotechnics, which definitely costs money and safety and insurance. You know he had visual effects his first video (a lotta visual effects) and again a lot of challenging technocrane work, but I haven’t really seen them build something on the scale of what they built for SMFP2 in a very long time (or ever?).

We heard from the Art Dept that Jimin did not want to shoot on blue screen, so they built the set for him. This cannot be the same label that is shafting him — that allows him to spend that amount of money just because the artist said “I want to shoot in a real space!” because I’m gonna be completely honest— he could’ve done that on a blue screen — I’m glad they built a real world because BTS almost always shoots on Blue/Green Screen. They build him a huge set like that. It’s absolutely incredible.

I was also reminded this morning that people are talking about radio for Like Crazy and not supporting the song — and I just keep thinking that they did exact rollout for Butter, Dynamite, and Permission to Dance. They released Like Crazy. It had both a Korean version and English version. (Obviously that wasn’t the case for the English BTS songs.) They released two additional remixes. Then they kept releasing, like, alternate cover versions — alternate covers of the main remix, alternate cover the other remix. They were trying to maximize the direct-to-consumer store and exact same way they had tried to maximize it with Dynamite and Butter and Permission to Dance.

The way you were buying Like Crazy was the same process I took on Dynamite. They did the exact same playbook. So the fact that they were unable to get the kind of radio play they wanted or maybe they weren’t prioritizing radio because they knew that they were gonna have a better chance at direct to consumer sales... Maybe they didn’t want to fight radio. Maybe Geffen was like “We don’t have the right ‘Ins’ yet!” — I’m not sure, but the fact that they got completely screwed over by Billboard doesn’t mean that they weren’t actually rolling it out in that way, because as soon as they started doing the whole alternate cover thing, I was like: “Well, they clearly want us to try to go for number one!” You know, “They clearly think that they are going to be able to get number one on the hot 100 and we’re gonna use these sales to do that!” And clearly that’s all changed now.

They keep changing the rules on us, so — with JK, they’re obviously trying to, you know, use whatever tools they have available to them at this point.

Finally, when it comes to restocking the digital single CD. There are still albums available in the store. So why would they manufacture and ship more (likely thrown away) plastic that’s just for one song, when those CD singles only serve to raise sales for the charts? All of the other member’s CD singles are out of stock except The Astronaut, which they treated more like a proper album a bit (kinda like the Butter CD releases). Because they still have both versions of his full albums in stock, so if I were Hybe, I’d be like “No,you need to buy the album, we still have albums, we’re not going to sell you a single song when you can buy the album!” That makes more sense to me. The albums cost more.

TL:DR, haha — so I feel like this narrative around Jimin’s release has been ramped up because, from my professional opinion, he’s had the most expensive release so far (by far) and if we want to compare him to, say, Beyoncé — well she owns her own production company (Parkwood Entertainment), so she can funnel her own money into a Visual Album, I don’t know if Jimin has considered that at this point in his career, but in the future, he might!

((Not including costs for Suga’s tour because that’s a whole other thing, and the tour probably made money I would expect to balance out the cost of the tour itself))

Anonymous Insider

This isn’t to say that the other things, the part where he didn’t get the cake celebration, or the posts, the issues with the linking and this general feeling that Jimin was short-changed in these things isn’t valid and understandable. I think Hybe relied too much on D2C sales and I don’t think they leveraged their might as much as could have for JM. They could have risked more for him.

{This is an end of Anonymous Insider’s messages to me. They noted that they are an intermediate non-native Korean speaker so please excuse any translation errors. They translated things themselves using Naver tools that aligned with the video subtitles.}

So, listen, I still don’t think Like Crazy was sent/promoted to radio (which was a mistake and still is a mistake) and I am furious at the shady articles and lack of celebration for Jimin…

But after reading the way the members approach their work in the Beyond the Story book and now hearing from someone who produces these works for a living, I have to wonder if the company was doing everything they knew how to do for Jimin, but the second it didn’t work out because of the western music industry culling streams and sales, they pulled back all their resources and pivoted for Yoongi and JK. (I also wonder if leadership shut up about it all due to liability issues, or not to cause bad blood with the music industry for future releases.)

Again, I’ll never forgive the lack of celebration and the split streams (not without a great explanation), but at least now I think there’s a good chance no one was actively trying to sabotage Jimin on purpose. They seemed to have wanted that #1 and then it all went to shit because Billboard and radio want to get paid. Maybe leadership decided not to put any more resources into Face but instead pivot for all the future music coming out (including PJM2.)

Perhaps I'm a cockeyed optimist. I’m just hoping like hell they never engage in payola. I want all our boys to win, but I want us to win fairly. And even if everyone cannot have the same investment every time on every project, I hope when they come back together in 2025 that everyone feels good about their solo works and each other. This is my prayer. Love, Roo

[gabessquishytum]

Dream is an HGTV designer who has Hob on his show for a design job. The sexual tension is so strong, they might not be able to show the show on TV.

The production team (Matthew, Lucienne and Joanna) aren't sure how to produce a cleam cut of the show! The whole master bedroom segment is unusable; the backyard segment where Hob is "helping" cut wood (OR hammering along with the team building the pergola) is just Dream staring in a human representation of blue screen of death - Dream had 2 pages of script to get through. Matthew thinks Dream forgot words when Hob lifted up his shirt to use the hem to wipe his forehead sweat. Hob isn't any better -- the "demo" day segement is just Hob standing in a corner watching Dream knock out the cabinets.

The final design is beautiful, but the crew think some time during the late night sprint to finish, the two gave in and now there are soo many shots of Hob and Dream necking behind corners, what they think is out of frame of the cameras --- it's so not.

Akskdjfbasjdbd Matthew gets them both into the studio and he's like "should we just go ahead and upload this to pornhub? BECAUSE THATS ALL SOME OF THIS FOOTAGE IS FIT FOR, YOU HORNY ASSHOLES!"

He's yelling because he's been up all night going through the footage. And also because it's not like this stuff can be re-filmed. The project is finished, they can't knock it down and build it all over again!

Hob has the good grace to look apologetic. There's an enormous hickey on the side of his neck, and he refuses to sit down on any of the chairs, so it's fairly obvious that he got absolutely railed within an inch of his life. Dream glares at Matthew, ever the asshat, and says that it's not his problem that the camera happened to be there.

Matthew puts his head in his hands. Jo is honestly trying not to laugh. Her suggestion is to simply leave the (pg 13) kisses in and make a feature out of it for the show. Maybe do an interview with Hob about what it was like to get a newly designed house AND a boyfriend in the same week?

In the end, the steamy looks remain in the final cut of the show, while the kissing and groping is edited out. A few extra scenes are added with Hob talking about how much he loves Dream’s design, with a few spicy innuendos to make the whole sexual tension kind of comedic? And they tag on a final scene at the end where Hob and Dream sit on the gorgeous new patio and share a toast to the completed project... and Hob presses a family friendly kiss to the back of Dream’s hand.

The whole episode takes 10 years off Matthew's life... so it's a good thing that it goes viral and brings a whole new lease of life to the show <3 especially when the viewers notice that massive fucking hickey ajsbsbdb <333

[pineappleciders]

hihi! i just found your blog because of your Eddsworld x reader post and it was so cute, i love how you write for the characters. i also saw that your requests were open, and i was wondering if you could write the main 4 boys with gn!s/o that is a singer/songwriter and plays different instruments like piano and guitar. thank you <3

EW main 4 with a musical S/O

includes: edd, tom, matt, and tord

A/N: i am assuming you meant the ew main 4 as you mentioned it!!!! apologies if it isn't what you meant :P also thank you :))

edd

he 100% spies on you when you're rocking out or writing songs. like he thinks it's so interesting. he would just ask to watch but he knows you wouldn't want someone hovering over you while you do your thing

he looves to draw you playing the guitar in his sketchbook,, like he already draws u a lot but he has little shitty doodles of you playing instruments and singing on his wall with lil music notes and everything

lots of music puns.

"hey- hey Y/N. what do you call a musician with problems?"

"what?"

"a trebled man."

if you ever fully produce and release a song, he makes a little animation to it and put a drawing of him smooching u on the cheek at the end. (iknow this is really specific but tell me u don't see this happening)

claps for you when you sing. like in a crowd he'd stand up and clap really obnoxiously and yell "YEAHH WOOOHOOOO GO Y/N" n it'd be really embarrassing

"hey, you see that person- right- right up there? yeah, yeah that's my S/O. i know, they're so great." he says to the person next to him with tears in his eyes

karaoke nights. you two go to a karaoke bar and sing your hearts out. he's absolutely awful at singing but he LOVES it

tom

your guitar and susan have a makeshift wedding, and tom is crying the entire time, walking susan down the aisle while you play wedding music

if you started like shredding on an electric guitar or bass he'd just sit on the bed and ogle like a lovestruck idiot. like he's soooooo in love

he's super impressed, and he'll say it sometimes but be all awkward about it

"you're really good at that stuff, Y/N. i mean- seriously, it's impressive." he's like looking away and scratching his neck

he low-key feels kinda insecure about his own music skills. i think he'd like to write his own songs but hates sharing them, and he's kinda mediocre at playing the bass so when he sees you absolutely destroying the piano or something he deflates

asks you to help him get better at guitar,, which ends up with you like. holding his hands over the correct position on it behind him and it's super awkward and he gets really flustered

you both write songs about each other and you both nearly faint when you see each others songs

sometimes he gets shit-faced and shows up at your door like crying with his bass and a whole speaker system set up outside and just plays a love song he made for you while sobbing his 'eyes' out

matt

he's like, insisting that you play professional classical music or something. like his eyes are glittering talking about having a duet together on stage

he probably has like a play about himself and he begs you to play the music for it

he's constantly asking you to play him stuff. like every now and then he asks you to sing him a lullaby when he goes to bed and he falls asleep in your lap

or sometimes he asks you to play a popular pop song on guitar, and he sings along (albeit terribly)

speaking of singing, he ALWAYS starts singing when he hears you singing or humming. like it's a reflex to sing along. he sheepishly apologizes if you deadpan at him though

when introducing you to someone he wraps his arm around your waist or shoulder and pulls you close and flashes a shiny grin, showing you off

"heh, yeah, this is my S/O, they're a singer and musician. they can play the guitar, piano, violin.. yeah, i'm a pretty cool guy- i mean! uh, they're, pretty cool. yeah. that's what i said."

when the person starts talking to you about your talent goes to you he'll whine and try to get their attention back on him. he knows you're super cool and awesome and have an amazing voice and a beautiful face but this is about HIM and HIS beautiful face!!!

tord

sometimes he walks in on you strumming your guitar or singing a little tune, and he'll lean on the doorway with his arms crossed just listening

he thinks it's super cool, and sometimes he'll ask you to play one of his favorite songs

subconsciously starts humming your songs around the house, and might get a little flustered if you mention it

definitely borrowed your guitar one time and probably broke one of the strings. he got absolutely terrified and locked himself in his room waiting for you to get home

"tord! i'm home! what's- *gasp*"

absolutely quaking in his boots. safe to say he got a good smack on the head and had to pay to get it repaired

he loves to listen to you sing or play piano through the walls. he finds it less awkward than being in the same room, and the muffled effect makes it strangely calming

like matt he pulls you close and brags about your talents to people you meet. with a huge grin too. he thinks he looks so cool but he actually looks like a huge douchebag

he actually looks like a huge douchebag in general. but he's your huge douchebag🥰

this is random but i feel like all of them are the type to show up outside your window in the middle of the night, hold a speaker over their head and play peter gabriel to win ur love. they're such fuckung geeks

[kfkr1ze]

[002-A06] Anemic Killer Horseshoe Crab～Night before the Counterattack～

Summary — ✈︎ Kaede visits the Lion Theater to watch the movie that Akuta produced by himself. When he enters the theater, though, he finds Akuta sitting there with a gloomy expression on his face.

Characters— ✈︎ Akuta

Location: Lion Theater

Kaede: Excuse me…

(This place is the Lion Theater, isn’t it?

I guess it hasn’t started yet. No one seems to be hereーー)

Akuta: ……

Kaede: Hee!

Akuta: …… Ah, it’s… Sensei?

Kaede: That scared me… Just what on earth is on your head…?

Akuta: I’m, the demonic, horseshoe crab. This whole world, I’ll curse it.

Kaede: I-I see… That’s a pretty unique way of talking…

Akuta: …… 

Kaede: Umm… I came to watch the thing on this tissue…

Akuta: Human, if you, want tissues…

There’s, still some, in that, mountain over there.

Kaede: (That box is filled to the brim with tissues…!

He definitely ordered the wrong amount…!)

Akuta: Go ahead, and take, as many, as you like.

Kaede: Don’t be so hasty! You can still use them for the next screening! You should save them for later!

Akuta: …… 

Kaede: (He has such a gloomy expression… It’s hard to see him like this, especially based on how he was before… I feel so bad for him.)

Is it fine if I sit next to you?

Akuta: Do what… you please…

Kaede: Thanks.

… They’re still doing screenings here, huh?

I thought this place was abandoned a long time ago.

Akuta: They’re not, it’s my, playground, that I sneak into…

Kaede: But isn’t the screening…?

Akuta: I rented, the projector… Got a bunch, of part time jobs… like, demolition, shopping for women, walking dogs, and stuff.

Kaede: I see… You worked really hard for this day huh.

But I don’t think it’s good to sneak in here though.

Akuta: …… 

Kaede: (He’s shaking his sword tail sadly…

I wonder if I could do anything to cheer him up)

Let’s wait a bit longer.

Someone else might show up after all.

Akuta: … Mm, nah it’s fine.

My ass is starting to hurt… Ahaha.

Kaede: ……

Akuta: Y’know.

In the past, this place used to be where entertainment began in HAMA.

Kaede: … Yeah. I heard something like that. 

Akuta: I wish I could’ve filled it with a lotta people again.

If only I were a more famous, a galactic filmmakerーー

If only I was the type of human… that could have an influence on people more.

Kaede: … Akuta-kun…

Don’t stay stuff like that, cheer upーー

Akuta: Then… I’d be so popular I could die… And I’d be swarmed by a loootta women…!

I wanna play tag shirtless on the moon～～～！

And I’d eat lots of mochi with Bunny-chan and Bunny-kun～～！

And then, we’d build a huge 365LDK [1] house up there, and we’d have a drinking party where we’d drink a lotta shots～～！

Kaede: Akuta-kun.

Akuta: Yup!

Kaede: Since I’m here, I wanted to watch the movie that was going to be shown. Is everything ready?

Akuta: ーーOf… Course!

Everything’s all set!

I’ll get everything started real quickly…!

Akuta: Hey hey, look look, this is a real projector! Isn’t it SUPER cool～～～!?

It’s so incredible. It has the weight from all these years… and the brightness is completely next level!

Didya know? When you’re talking about projectors, they project the film directly onto the screen. Directly! Isn’t that cool? It’s not data at all!

The colors from the film are projected exactly as they were from recording! 

It’s the real colors, not ones from an electric signal , y’know?

That’s why! I put a lotta effort into making the visuals look good!

Now then, now then… Take a look!

“Mysterious! The Anemic Horseshoe’s Counterattack!”

Jessica [2]: “NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Philip: “What’s wrong!? I heard a scream just nowーー Nee-san!?

What’s wrong Nee-san!?”

“NEE-SAAAAAAAAAAAAN!”

Dr. Henry: “Yet again, there’s another dead body just like this…”

“The only common thread between them was that they were struck in the head with a terrifyingly sharp blade.”

“It’s almost like… they were stabbed with the tail sword of a horseshoe crab.”

Demonic Horseshoe Crab: “Guh… GUYAAAAAAAH!”

Dr. Henry: The demon is scared!? Just what on earth could scareーー”

“It can’t be… The syringe!?”

“I see… After having your blood taken for medical reasons for tens of thousands of years… You must’ve grown to resent humans.”

“I pity you, demon.”

“Butーー … This is goodbye.”

Akuta: Whatdya think!?

Kaede: … Um… It was very innovative… Like it’s Avant Garde… Or like a roller coaster.

It was unprecedented… It was…

… It was a bit incoherent.

(Ah. I said it…)

Akuta: OH, incoherent! Yayyy〜 I’m happy〜! WOOO〜!

Kaede: (Wah, I’m relieved… Even though I accidentally said what was on my mind, I’m glad you don’t seem to be hurt…)

( … But really, everyone…)

( Really, could they not have come to watch even just a little bit?)

……

( I need to calm down… I’m sure that Akuta-kun is a hundred times more frustrated than I am)

(Today, this kid was both the star of the film and the director. I didn’t really get the message, but it was a great film in my opinion.)

(I’ll just return home today without showing him the proposal. I wouldn’t wanna spoil the mood.)

Then, it’s about time I go.

Akuta: Stoーp.

Kaede: Eh?

Akuta: Didn’t you come here to finish talking about that thing?

Kaede: No, but…

Akuta: Let’s hear it. …As a thank you gift for watching.

Location: Cafe 369

Akuta: D-Delicious… Meat buns are SERIOUSLY delicious～～～～！

Heyhey! Is it okay if I get 20 more!?

Kaede: Yeah, get as many as you want.

Akuta: YAYYY! Thanks! You’re like a god, Sensei!

Munch munch, it’s too gooood!!

Kaede: (He told me he’d hear me out, but ended up asking me to get him something to eat instead…)

( I can’t believe he spent all the earnings he got from those part time jobs on equipment, costumes, and those tissues… He hasn't had a proper meal in days.)

Are you gonna be able to fill up on those meat buns?

Akuta: I will I will! They’re super tasty and big, and they’re fluffy and dense! It’s like eating a proper meal!

Kaede: I’m glad then… But what about your family? You didn’t say anything?

Akuta: Nah. I’m pretty much the only one there.

Kaede: … I see.

(Maybe he has a complicated family situation…)

Okay then, feel free to eat as much as you want.

Akuta: Thanks!

Kaede: Then you can just listen to me while you’re eating.

So the plan isーー

We have decided that the members of the Community Revitalization Club will participate in a study tour as candidates for Ward Mayors.

During this training, they will experience work that a Ward Mayor typically does, and thus gain a deeper understanding of the job.

By the end, they will be graded based on their performance and contribution to the missions assigned on site.

If you pass this test, you will be officially appointed as a Ward Mayor…

That’s how the plan goes.

Kaede: This is the plan and the parental consent form…

Akuta: I didn’t get it at all. It’s stupidly difficult.

Kaede: To make it a bit more understandable… Oh I got it.

Akuta–kun, you want to be a more popular person right?

Akuta: Eh, that’s what you’re saying…?

Kaede: Yes it is. Listen closely, Akuta-kun.

First up, I think that using videos as an expression is a great way to boost tourism.

Also, by having a lot of people watch the video, many more people will start to get interested in Akuta-kun’s work. You’d gain people who look forward to what you want to put out!

Akuta: ……

Kaede: What’s more, being a high school student as the Ward Mayor is sure to give you more attention at school too.

Andーー

The tissues that Akuta-kun worked so hard to make ended up getting treated so poorly.

Even though they were at a party, it was so carelessーー

Akuta: ……

Kaede: The people who let the equipment Akuta-kun spent all his money on go to wasteーー

I think we should make them look back on this day and regret not coming!

Akuta: ーーHaha!

Sensei, somehow you ended more fired up than I was～～!

Suddenly, you looked all fired up like a punk, it was crazyy! 

You’re more interesting than I thought～～～!

Kaede: S-Sorry. I got heated without realizing.

Akuta: Nah. Thank you for that.

Kaede: ……

Akuta: Alright… Let’s do thisss!!

For the sake of movies! And to be more popular～～～！

The others are being kinda reluctant too aren’t they?

I’ll find a way to get them to agree, so it’s all good!

I’ll get them to go on that study tour thingy!

Leave it to me!

Kaede: T-That’s reassuring, thanks.

But tomorrow is summer break, isn’t it? Do you have their contact information?

Akuta: ‘Course I do!

Kaede: ( I see, so they stay in touch with each other.)

(At school they didn’t seem to be all that close at school when I saw them though. 

They had a strange distance between them.)

Previous — ✈︎ Masterlist — ✈︎ Next

Notes — ✈︎

And LDK stands for "Living Dining Kitchen" Typically you'd say like 1LDK or 2LDK for a one or two bedroom house respectively. 365LDK is . a 365 bedroom house.

For the film, every character is voiced by Akuta.

[bisexualnerd]

Writer tag game

I wasn’t tagged, but I saw the game randomly posted by another user so I want to play anyway! (red for fic links and blue for series links)

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

35 (and only one draft because I don't really like working on multiple projects at the same time)

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

395,306

3. what fandoms do you write for?

I write the most for Batfam, mostly Tim and Jason but usually, the whole fam (more or less) is also there.

I write a bit more for some other fandoms but there are only one or two fics for each (2021 Produce 101 - Chuang Zao Ying, Hollywood Undead (but these fics are not finished), Julie and The Phantoms (1 fic - finished), Arsenal Military Academy + The Legends (they are kinda connected in 1 fic) and I have like, one translation project too.

I'm hoping to write Star Wars fics one day too. Really like the whole time travel thing and Obi-Wan is my beloved.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Monster Under My Bed (The Monster Down The Hall)

"Back Away From Him."

if i lose everything in the fire, i'm sending all my love to you

Cold

A Pile of Sleeping Birds

5. do you respond to comments?

All of the comments, definitely. I really enjoy reading and replying to them and sometimes, I even come back to re-read the comments to feel validated 🤣

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I write angst a lot but I have a thing for happy endings. But if I look at the fics individually and not like, as a part of a bigger series, it might be i have so much to say but you're so far away. But if not just the ending but the whole plot in general, it can be any fic really (I would recommend Restless Heart Syndrome, And Now You're Home, The Monster Under My Bed (The Monster Down The Hall), and What The Heart Remembers).

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They all have some sort of happy endings (though some fics that are a part of a series might not but the series will have happy endings). But since all I have talked about is Batfam, I would recommend this from Julie and the Phantoms. I don't write romance often, but this is just a short soft, cute love story of two ghosts (Reggie and an OC based on his real-life wife) plus some humour in the band - ‘Cause I’m Not Too Far And You’re My Favorite Place. I was very satisfied with how it turned out and I still come back to re-read for my own enjoyment a few times so I hope you guys will give it a chance.

8. do you get hate on fics?

My most controversial fic would be Hold Me Close, Don't Let Go (Watch Me Burn) but it's not like people showed hate to me. They just didn't like the story and how I wrote it so there were some unpleasant comments. The newest one, I think I did well with my response. It's a rather heavy fic because I went through a really rough time when I was writing it (along with many others) so if you want to read it, be careful.

9. do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don't. My fics are all rated G or T (mostly because of swearing and violence, and also some with suicidal theme or idealisation because I did have a really bad time).

10. do you write crossovers?

Just for two fandoms, Arsenal Military Academy & The Legends, because they share the same lead actor and actress so I thought it would be fun to write something about reincarnation. It's Then and Now, Forever and Always.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think I'm famous enough for that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, into Chinese, actually. It's The Monster Under My Bed (The Monster Down The Hall). The link to the translated fic is in the fic.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not really. I planned my current series How To Steal A Brother with my friend Den and she is also my beta-reader for this series but I still write all of the stuff, which she reads and corrects the mistakes for me later.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

That's hard to choose. I really like Robin (Dick Grayson) and Starfire. It was like my first ship ever because I watched Teen Titans as a child. I also like Marinette/Adrien, very cute but the secondhand embarrassment is not very healthy for me (at least she has gotten better at interacting with him). The Doctor (10th) and Rose was one heartbreak that got me crying like a baby in 8th grade.

So honestly, I don't think I can pick because those were the three that came to my mind first, but I still have like a few dozen left.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

The Hollywood Undead fic - When Gravity Pulls You In. It was a really fun idea but then I ran into a big writer's block and I haven't recovered for this fic. I have been writing for Batfam again but I doubt I can go back and finish this one (at least anytime soon).

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't think I'm too good with dialogue but I do have a strength in describing and like some sort of metaphor (English is not my first language so this is a difficult question to answer). I don't know if this is also considered a strength but like I said, I don't really write many fics at the same time so I can manage them pretty well. Most of my fics are completed before I move on to another one.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. And I forget a lot of stuff so I have to go back to the earlier part so the plot won't be inconsistent. And of course, I write in English, which is not my mother tongue, so sometimes, I lack vocabulary or my grammar can feel weird.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I mean, I would add translation or explanation very subtly in there. But I saw a Star Wars fic where the writer had like, floating texts or something for the conversations in Mando'a so like, I will research on that if I need to write in another language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Batfam. Tim-centric.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Damn, that's like asking a parent for their fav child on national television.

In terms of like, wording and metaphors and descriptions and all the technical stuff - And Now You're Home - because some of my fav paragraphs are in here. In terms of logic, time can never change for the flying bird under the summer sun because I went crazy with all the planning for the whole time-travel-but-nothing-changes-the-future thing. In terms of plot, i'm so out of touch with everyone, and everything's a blur to me. This was one of my earlier ones but when I came back to this earlier this year, I found it so enjoyable and fascinated. I couldn't even believe I wrote this one. But it is a part of a series so you might want to check out I've Got You Brother.

This has been fun and I have been shamelessly PR-ing my fics. I don't really know who to tag so anyone else who wants to play, go ahead and have fun!

[noonaishere]

Music of the Heart [J.YH] - ninety-six | it’s a metaphor

“Should we just follow the chords here?” You asked. 

Hongjoong bit his nail, listening to the track again. “Hmmmmm…”

You and Hongjoong were in the studio together, working on more demo songs for Ans:wer. Maddox was not there that day.

“Should we go discordant?”

“Cor-dant or dis-cor-dant… that is the question.”

You smiled.

“I don’t know if I would here, I think it’d fuck up the flow of the song right before the pre-chorus. I think it could really help the song though…”

“Hmm…” You listened to the song a little more. “Maybe we go discordant before the last chorus instead?”

He nodded. “I think that’d be better.”

He stopped the track and moved a few parts of the file around, adding parts the two of you had hidden earlier, not knowing what to do with them. He started the track again and you both leaned back as well as you could, both of you with your feet pulled up to your chest as you sat in the fancy studio chairs.

He stopped it, clicked back a few times and played the part that you had altered a second time. He pointed at the screen and you watched as the progress bar scanned over several layers of the song.

“Should we do a Tension Harmony here?”

“A tension harmony? In a song called Tension?” You laughed.

His eyebrows furrowed. “Too corny?”

“More like you’re a genius and someone will make a whole-ass thirty minute youtube video just to talk about it.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. Let’s go for it.”

He chuckled as he wrote notes for when Ans:wer would come in and record the song.

“Okay, we’re done with this demo. Let’s work on the next one…” He saved and closed that project and opened another one and played it. 

You listened to it a few times before you paused it. “It’s missing something traditional.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that is kind of the point…”

You sat in silence as you thought.

“Should we go with big horns?”

You put your fingers on your head like a bull.

“Cute.”

You laughed at your own joke. “Hmm… can we get a bunch of nabal players?”

“Oh, you want to go full Daechwita?”

“That’s a good idea though, we could invite a whole group and have the drums too!”

He laughed loudly. “Ohh… that’d be a good idea for a performance video!”

“Yeah! Write that down.” You hit him in the arm excitedly and he laughed as he made notes in his notebook. 

“The group can be in full hanbok and we can get traditional dancers and stuff.”

Hongjoong laughed as he wrote. “You keep saying ‘we’ like you’re going to be doing all the calling musicians and dancers and shit.”

You laughed. “I’m changing from a music producer to a movie producer. I’ll finally find out what it is they do.”

He stopped and looked up at nothing, then turned to you. “I never realized I don’t know what a movie producer does.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re like… in charge of knowing people. Like they ‘know a guy’.”

“‘Know a guy’?” He laughed.

“Yeah. Like in a mob movie or something, someone will be like, ‘I know a guy’ and then the guy is like a lockpicker or… I don’t know. Some other useful thing the movie needs at that moment.” “Huh… I guess that makes sense.”

You shrugged. “You need a guy that knows a guy. And producers? They know guys.”

He nodded.

“Dolls, too.”

He slowly looked over at you. “‘Guys and Dolls’?” He asked blankly.

You held back a laugh.

He nodded with a sigh. “How do you even know that musical? I thought your parents only let you watch classical music things. Wouldn’t musical theater be too modern?”

“Some teenagers watched porn, I spent the wee hours of the morning looking up as many other kinds of music as I could find because all of it was verboten.”

He laughed. “Makes sense.”

You nodded.

“Okay, back to the song.”

He played it again and stopped it at another point.

He pointed at the screen. “It’s missing something.”

“Hmm…”

The two of you sat together, arms crossed, listening to that 10-second loop for about five minutes.

“Snare hit right… here?” You pointed as the moment came up.

He snapped his fingers. “I agree.”

Hongjoong added it and started the song again. When the moment came up and the snare hit happened, you both nodded like two doctors proud at having saved the life of a dying patient.

“So… I had a long talk with Ans:wer’s leader and came up with something for the intro for their new album. He wants to have some lore for their songs, so this is what I came up with…” Hongjoong said as he flipped to the page in his notes. 

“Mhm?”

He handed it to you. “Tell me what you think.”

You read the page. “Hmm… who’s going to be reading it? One of the members?”

“I was going to ask Maddox to read it.”

“Does he normally read stuff like this?”

“Well, he’s the most fluent in English, so it makes sense.”

You shrugged and nodded. It did. 

“He normally does the reads for the groups. If it has a man’s voice, it’s probably him..”

“He’s never mentioned that.”

Hongjoong shrugged, nodding towards the notebook. “What do you think?”

“I’m excited to hear it. Especially with the music behind it.”

He smiled and nodded as you handed the book back to him. 

“When is Maddox coming in? He hasn’t been here all day.”

“Hmm,” Hongjoong looked at his phone for the time, “we were so wrapped up in work that I didn’t even notice.”

“He’s not here to make crying puppy noises, how could we not have noticed?”

Hongjoong laughed quietly to himself as he dialed Maddox and put the phone on speaker. You both sat there and listened to the ring and wondered if he was going to pick up. Surprisingly, he did.

“Hello?”

“Hey, buddy, what’s up? You didn’t come in today.””

“...You’re only calling to ask about it now?”

“We were busy working on the demos for Ans:wer’s new album and got way too into it.”

“We’re going to hire a Daechwita band for it.” You added.

“Wowwwww,” Maddox said, somewhat sarcastically. 

You scrunched up your face at his reaction. 

“Maddox, you’re making her pout. Are you trying to hurt her feelings?”

“Oh--! No! I’m sorry! I woke up like five minutes ago and I’m an angry waker. I apologize.”

“I didn’t even know that was a thing,” you said quietly to Hongjoong.

He smiled and shook his head. “You should apologize again, hyung, she looks like she’s gonna cry.”

You frowned at Hongjoong and he held up his hand for you to wait.

“I’m so so so so so sorry. You even took me hiking and helped me record ideas, I’m SO sorry.”

You chuckled. “Thanks, but Hongjoong lied, I wasn’t on the verge of tears.” You pinched Hongjoong’s leg, making him yelp.

Maddox sighed. “He would lie to me, wouldn’t he?”

“He’s a horrible man.”

Hongjoong laughed. “Maddox, did you just sleep all day?”

“Ohhhhhh,” Maddox groaned in jest. “Now he’s in with the criticism. Do you hear this, t/n?”

You laughed. “Such a dad, always nagging.”

Hongjoong looked at you in faux displeasure, and you raised your brows as if to say you were right and smiled.

“Ugh, he is. “And for the record, I slept all morning, because I finished three demos last night.”

“Woah! Really?” You asked.

“Mhm.”

“Do you like them?” Hongjoong asked.

“I like… all of them.”

“Wowwww,” Hongjoong said, genuinely impressed. “That doesn’t happen often.”

“Mhm! I was super inspired yesterday I guess. Everything just clicked.”

“I’m really happy for you,” you said.

“Thanks.”

You could tell from the sound of his voice that he was smiling. 

“Maddox, I also wanted to ask if you wanted to do a read for Ans:wer’s opening track. I want to go with a very epic sounding opening of spoken word over an instrumental.”

“Ooh. Should I come over now?”

“Yeah, we have time.” “Okay. I’ll get ready and hurry over.”

“See you in a bit.” 

Maddox hung up.

“It’ll take him about thirty minutes to get here so I can show you the instrumental for the spoken word.”

You nodded as Hongjoong opened the track.

The music faded in, the gentle plucking of gayageum strings accompanied by flutes and then fleshed out by a western string section to make the sound more lush. The woodwinds gave the feeling of floating for a moment, as the drums and brass instruments joined in, seeming to swirl around each other like the clashing of swords on shields or - more metaphorically - emotions, before all of it came crashing down and the flutes came back by themselves, gentle, somber.

It was then that Maddox started his line read.

“The heart of a ruler. As a single man’s will looms over his people, they wonder; does he care? Does he care about all of us? Any of us? Or is he like so many others? So many men of history who walked through pools of red so they could be the most important man. Did he do it for gold? For glory? For something more? Did he do it because he thought only he could rule? And, if he is the one who should rule over us… do we have to accept him? If he is unjust, is that what we deserve? …no.”

As he spoke, the music swirled a second time; seemingly rotating on a singular point before the sound of shattering, as whatever the feeling was broke like glass into a thousand pieces, signaling that the members of Ans:wer were going to have to fight this unjust ruler.

He paused for a moment until Hongjoong gave him the signal that the recording had been stopped. He stepped out of the booth, hair still damp from a rushed shower and dry as he hurried himself there only five minutes before getting into the booth.

“How was that?”

You and Hongjoong were stock still as you looked at him, something between shock and admiration on both your faces. Hongjoong started clapping and you joined him, both of you giving Maddox a standing ovation for his performance.

He smiled and ran his hand through his hair bashfully. “Guys, come on.”

“As expected of my oppa and your hoobae!” You clapped louder.

“As expected!” Hongjoong echoed.

  previous | main cast | masterlist | next

a/n: I tried my best to write a Long Journey-esque opener for a concept about revolution against a king lol. How did i do? 😅

Send an ask or leave a comment if you want to be added to the tag list! 🎵 Any comments, reblogs, or asks are appreciated! I love talking with you guys and seeing what you’re saying about the chapters, it keeps me going 🥰

@luvvvx • @iamthehotdemon • @hrts4hanniehae • @rachs-words • @stayatinykatsy • @anythingrelatingtojinyoung​ • @jaytheatiny​ •

[stormblessed95]

I have a question

Like Crazy is probably the most queercoded in Jimins songs, right after Filter.

But the song also begins with the pronoun "She's saying Baby come and follow me"

Some fans on Twitter are saying this is a reference to a gf or something.

Whats your take on this?

Hi! Thanks for your ask. Sorry for the delay in replying! And to start, I think it's fairly clear that I don't think Jimin is straight, in my opinion, based off my views. But in that same vein, I think he also likes women. I mean, he has shared previous school crushes on a girl with us. So a "she" in the lyrics of a love song, wouldn't ever really throw me off personally. But that's just me. On top of that, Jimin did share his notes of his lyric writing process for his songs on FACE. And we can see for Like Crazy, his original planned lyrics said "baby" in place of "she." So that probably got changed for a better flow, either he did that himself, or it was suggested to him by RM, Pdogg or one of the other people who helped and gave input to the song. Either way, I don't think it's indicative of a girlfriend or an ex girlfriend in anything factual. But everyone can think what they will and have their own opinions of it for sure.

Now, for me, honestly there is a lot of queer coding through this whole MV and through subsequent performances/choreo/promotions for this song as well. Lyric breakdown can be found here before we go further:

Music Video:

And my first post about Like Crazy, where I talk about the song as a whole, what I think it's about AND touch on the queerness of Jimins gender expression throughout the MV:

To expand upon that, the choreo is a huge part of that and this person did a pretty good job breaking that down and sharing their theory over the dance too.

On top of in the extra content for FACE, similar references get lowkey pointed out in the FACE Playlist video, both in the LC MV and the Playlist video. Which you can watch here

During the Set Me Free portion, things line up very similarly to Freddie's "I want to break free" video, where he cross dresses. And for those who don't know, he fairly openly queer as an artist. He was involved with both men and women regardless of never openly stating or confirming his sexuality (that I know of). In the video, we also see Jimin looking through vinyls, including Queen and Nirvana. AND in the LC MV set, we see on the wall writing that says "Set Me Free" "Moon" "Wake" among others AND a Queen sticker too.

I want to break free video:

He talks and makes references to accepting both sides of himself a lot. It's in his stylistic choices, his art, how he expresses himself. And it's been a repeated theme for AWHILE now and if you aren't seeing it... it's because you don't want to

To get deeper into it, some of the historic queer imagery and iconography Jimin used in this MV specifically and just in FACE promotions in general... would include Philip Johnson, the architect of the Glass House, openly gay and where the term "the glass closet" was coined from. A photo of his is once again in the FACE Playlist video.

Robert Mapplethorpe, his portrait on the jeans Jimin wore through the MV and several images in his photobook I believe too. A photographer specializing in male and female nude works, among other things. Including his most controversial work being his documentation of the gay male BDSM subculture scene.

In the photobook, he is pictured several times in an outfit where he is wearing Jean Paul Gaultier y/series Bodymorph jeans. Specifically he is wearing the "woman" set. The designer Specifically described this series as exploring and playing with the concepts of gender, he liked the idea of there being a mens set, and a womens set and them being able to overlap each other. The bodymorph clothing sets have naked human body prints on them. So!Yoon who recently worked with and is friends with RM (if not friendly with the other members too) also recently wore these in her album release as well. You can interpret him wearing these as you choose of course. I personally think it's speaks fairly clearly to the same things I was talking about above, with him referencing all things gender and how he is leaning into the more typical feminine iconography here with these pants for his softer side of the photoshoot for his album.

I think looking at the designs for both sets also makes it more clear which ahem, set, Jimin is wearing too. Lol and how some of the models are mixing the sets (including So!Yoon wearing the women's set as well in a diff color)

And lastly, while it might not have to do with the album directly, it does involve Jimin and is worth mentioning here as it was lowkey part of album promotions. During the first ever performance aired of Like Crazy on the Jimin Fallon show, Jimin worked with 8 backup dancers and one of them was nonbinary and shared their experience and how comfortable, welcoming, non judged and appreciated Jimin and staff made them feel the whole time. How they got to just be who they were the whole time. It speaks the type of environment Jimin cultivates around himself all the time.

Performance video:

And during the teaser that was shared of Jimin working on his album with Pdogg and others. They talked about how for 10 months, Jimin basically lived in Pdoggs house. They all just lived together and ate, slept, breathed this album. Lol and in the hallway of Pdogg's house, we see that he has a Stonewall rainbow art piece. Which if that is what that is, is very special to have the education over Stonewall and the support of for that in your home in Korea. I won't speak to it either way, if that is what it is, great. If it's not. I'm just going to enjoy a rainbow in the same shot as Jimin regardless. Lol

Teaser video:

At this point, there is deep references to historic queer iconography in so much of Jimins art, it's fair to say we aren't guessing anymore. He is as out as he can be without explicitly saying anything. For me personally at least. And no one is owed an explicit coming out from anyone for any reason. If you listen to what he says, what he sings about, what he photographs, what he dances, what he shares with us? It's all right there too see. So plainly. Queer people have always had to talk and listen between the lines. It's there if you want to see it. And it's fair for queer armys and queer people to react and talk about the continuous use of queer icons and imagery Jimin has used over the years. It's not assuming anything. It's just listening to what he is telling us and sharing.

Thank you for the ask. And thanks to anyone who read the whole thing. 💜

[its-a-me-mango]

By saying that support shouldn’t be given to glitch rn, does that include not watching newer SMG4 episodes and other Glitch related stuff? (I’m trying to know whether i should continue to watch them for now)

If you don't support what Glitch is doing in regards to the Tari's VA situation right now, then yes not watching what they produce is how you can show that you don't support them, that also includes not buying their merch for now (I know they just released a bunch of TADC merch which they've been promoting like crazy since this whole situation started (also you don't need to get rid of anything you've already brought, this is about buying their stuff currently)). Striking is one of the best ways to show a company that you don't support their actions, if done en mass it can send a very powerful message.

Withholding your support until accountability is given is how it should be done for companies like Glitch, they're a company after all, they're not gonna read your callout posts in a 83 part twitter thread lol. Obviously openly harassing Glitch and singling out employees to harass ISN'T the right thing to do and doesn't show anything other than you're a hateful person. If you don't agree with what Glitch is doing, I'd suggest striking.

However if you choose to keep watching SMG4 or anything else Glitch make, then that's your choice to make, its up to you to decide if this situation is worth ceasing your support towards Glitch over. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you what you should be doing, nor am I going to judge anyone who isn't doing the same thing as me and neither should anyone else. Ultimately, I don't care whether you watch Glitch productions or not, its my personal choice to stop supporting Glitch by not watching SMG4 and its up to you if you want to do the same.

I think it's most important to stay up to date with everything that's happening and to keep talking about it, we can't just let this be forgotten about because it may cause it to happen again. Keep informed and keep spreading awareness about it until something is done if nothing else. Don't be afraid to change your mind later one once new information is revealed or even admit fault where needed, this is still and ongoing situation so people's views will change as time goes on.

Anyway take care, remember it's up to you to decide how you handled this situation, do it in whatever way feels best for you and for the people you want to stand with.

[gothicprep]

so, apparently marvel is in disarray. ahead of the marvels coming out this weekend, variety dropped a bomb on the studio's somewhat dire state of affairs, as the franchise has hit its first real rough patch since the release of iron man 15 years ago. among the issues: jonathan majors, whose domestic violence arrest continues to hang over marvel's plans to make his character the thanos-like heavy for the next sequence of movies, the weak box office projections for the marvels (which some have said is tracking lower than recent bombs like the flash), the unending flood of hashtag content on disney plus which is overwhelming audiences who are finding it harder to keep up with the interlocking stories that have served marvel so well over the years, shoddy visual effects, spiraling budgets such as the reported $25mil an episode for she-hulk, a show that looked terrible because of the shoddy effects work aforementioned, behind the scenes chaos as kevin feige works to slash budgets and kill projects that aren't coming together. one movie at risk is the forthcoming blade reboot with mahershala ali, which has gone through rewrite after rewrite including reportedly one draft in which blade was the fourth lead in, quote, "a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons".

that last line has provided a lot of laughs for people like jay gothicprep, and critics who insist that marvel's efforts to diversify the lineup have led to much of this disaster, indicative of disney's overall failure with things like indiana jones and the dial of destiny or animated projects like strange world or lightyear. while this is potentially true (i guess, it's possible) it doesn't seem true because this certainly wasn't the case when black panther and captain marvel were both cracking the billion dollar mark a few years ago. rather it just seems, more simply, that marvel has run its course. marvel was hit by a double-whammy of endings. the thanos storyline that'd dominated the first ten or so years of the project came to an end. at the same time, the pandemic began and disney plus started flooding the zone with content, creating a natural break point for audiences that had no desire to watch hours of tv to understand 1.5 plot points in whatever the next movie that's coming out is.

this preamble is getting kind of long, and i have a lot more to say, so i'm going to continue to thought dump about this under a cut.

first of all, i'm still laughing like a week later at the women led life lessons description. no one has disputed that it happened. that description is the funniest thing i've ever read in a trade industry report possibly ever. what in the hell, my friends. did a writer even talk to a producer about what blade was? it's a movie about a guy with a sword who kills vampires! it's pretty straighforward! that sounds like something i want to see! there were three of them already, and two of them were pretty good!

anyway, i think you can take that incredibly ridiculous description of a draft that maybe wasn't the main draft – this movie has been through tons of writers and directors – and see some of the real problems with marvel's creative direction, which is that they've stopped making movies that highlight the core concepts of their characters. there are other problems as well, but when's the last time they put out a movie that was like, "iron man. he's a guy in a metal suit and he fights a bad guy." or "spider man. it's a guy in a spider suit with spider powers. he's got girlfriend problems and he fights crime around manhattan and maybe there's dr octopus." they don't do that. their recent stretch of movies have all been these impenetrable multiverse stuff with ties to tv series that you haven't seen and maybe won't ever see. there was a whole 25 minute section in black panther 2 that was setting up armor wars and ironheart. and like. who needs that sequence, which was boring and looked like total garbage? and now armor wars is being redeveloped lol. they've just departed from a lot of the core concepts that powered their earlier films.

they have some other problems. they've leaned into a slate of characters that is not all that well-known or inherently super popular, even for marvel being able to deliver on making billion dollar films out of guardians of the galaxy and such. maybe with the exception of spider man, which they don't get a full cut from because sony owns the actual movie rights. then there's the fact that the streaming series, by all accounts, aren't great but you *feel* like you need to have seen them. they're all real big problems. marvel needs to go back to making movies that are named after a character who's a superhero with a clear concept. guy with spider powers fights crime in his neighborhood. even though those movies got kind of repetitive, they did well enough because they didn't stray too far from the character concept.

i think, too, as a viewer, when you have a studio churning out so much stuff that's not good, you get the impression that the superhero industry feels entitled to your time and entitled to your money while not delivering.

this summer also represents an interesting counterpoint to what's happened with marvel and dc. the sheer amount of stuff that you devote every waking minute to keeping track of the damn things got exhausting and made movies stop feeling like events. this summer we've had barbenheimer and the eras tour, and those have been both big events and felt exciting. barbie was a chance to be campy, oppenheimer was a chance to see something serious and cinematic, the eras tour was exciting for fans of taylor swift who couldn't afford to spend $3k on taylor swift. and they felt this way because they were all unlike anything you'd seen at the movies in recent years. they had a high standard of quality, and going, it genuinely felt like people were there because they wanted to be, not because they were being force marched by a cultural behemoth to be there. you can't summon that same kind of energy for a marvel movie when it both feels obligatory and you expect it to be bad.

it also feels like there's a certain contempt for the audience where it concerns quality problems. i mean, i don't think that this is the intention. marvel isn't saying "we can deliver this stuff that's garbage and people will see it anyway". but one of the things i thought was the most damning about that variety story was the fact that, on some of the marvel tv shows, the final effects were inserted after the shows were released. so if you watched the show on opening night, you probably didn't see the final effects work. the arrogance involved in that is insane. it speaks to a total vanished pride in putting out a good product.

even some of marvel's better regarded films were heavily edited and heavily worked on right until the end, in part because kevin feige would come in and fix things, so stuff would have to get reworked. that's why effects deadlines were super tight and people were always crunching at the very end of this. there was that incredible quote from sam raimi from a couple months before the second doctor strange came out where he was like, "i think it's done but i'm not sure. marvel, they work on their movies until the very end." the director didn't even know if his own movie was locked or not because he clearly wasn't the one making the decisions about what the final print would look like.

that can work if you're making two movies a year and have a supervisor that comes in during the process and says, "i need you to redo this, in this way". but when you stretch that out to three movies a year, plus god knows how many episodes of television, there's no way to do that and make it a high quality product.

an instructive lesson comes from the book "disneywar", which chronicles michael eisner's time at disney. and one of the things in this book was the development and deployment of "who wants to be a millionaire" in america. bob iger is head of abc at this time. the guys making this show do it for a week. audiences love it. it's putting up huge numbers. everybody is excited. it's crushing it in the ratings. and the people who made it wanted to keep doing special week or two week long engagements that people would show up for. and iger was like, "no. i want this every week, three times a week, forever." and audiences got burnt out on it quickly, because it was something that only really worked as a special that ran for a week and disappeared for a few months. that's what the disney plus strategy feels like with marvel.