#hawaii music scene

[perspectivelens]

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[hooked-on-elvis]

ꜱᴄᴇɴᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀɪꜱᴏɴ — ᴇʟᴠɪꜱ ꜱɪɴɢꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀᴛʀɪᴀʀᴄʜꜱ/ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜰɪɢᴜʀᴇꜱ

"Love Me Tender" (1956)

Scene from movie "Love Me Tender" (20th Century Fox)

"Can't Help Falling In Love (With You)" (1961)

Scene from movie "Blue Hawaii" (Paramount Pictures)

"We'll Be Together" (1962)

Scene from movie "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (Paramount Pictures)

[king-of-tragedy]

Look, look. One of my favorite things--something that brings me utter delight every time I get to bring it up--is the context behind the I Can't Help Falling in Love song that everyone loves so much.

Maybe this is common knowledge and I'm just an unwitting pick me nerd. But in the movie that it originates from, the singer is singing to his girlfriend's grandmother.

[sawnickrings]

2024 art recap

My favorite piece from each month! I can't say I've grown much over the past year, but perhaps a little. Open the post to see my reflection on each piece. 💙

Tw for first two months mentions of $H

January

This was the only thing I could find from January, since my old phone got busted and all the dates on my photos got messed up. But luckily I really like it anyway so I guess it's my favorite of the month by default! During this time I was still battling with s3lf harm and so this character was supposed to represent that. Yes it's edgy, no I wouldn't have picked this one if I had any other image from January. This one was also very experimental, I've used this brush a grand total of 1 time other than this one. I felt it fit the aesthetic.

February

Again, this period was sort of like the dark ages in the fact that most of my images got screwed with after switching phones, so I don't have many drawings that I know were from February. However, this one again is a favorite of mine in general so it's not so bad. This is the only other time I used that brush. I also created this character as a sort of way to cope with my s3lf harm urges, except she's far older than the last one. This image doesn't feature it, but they have lots of scars and often open/bandaged self-inflicted wounds due to how their power works, which is blood manipulation. Again, edgy as all get-out.

March

I'm not super happy with some aspects of this but I worked really hard on it. This is a character of mine that I didn't design but still cherish lots. Her name is Coralina or just Coral for short. You'll see her again soon.

April

Once again I could not find much for April, but luckily I remembered that I did a bunch of chalk stuff at a school event that month and this one is both relevant to my blog and one of my favorites. I did a good ring too but that's in a different image.

May

This was something I designed as a contest entry that I don't believe I won so as far as I know it's my character now. I think the spots on the tail clash with the gradient but oh well.

June

There were a lot of good options for this month since I got back into commissions and art trades, but there's something about this one that I especially like. It's not fancy or anything but it showcases my style well.

July

Artfight season! Surprisingly this wasn't an attack but rather a character I made specifically for Artfight. They're based off of Miracle Musical's album Hawaii: Part II. I'm really proud of the design but I haven't really done anything with him since besides a couple drawings.

August

Here she is again! I used this image a lot to show an example of my work when offering art trades. I think I made it with that in mind? It's hard to remember. But anyway, here she is again! Plus one of my sonas, Pop Rocks!! I love her to bits. I originally made her as an adoptable that I traded to someone else, but I regretted it later and luckily my friend got her back for me! I have so many drawings of that little goofball but this is my favorite.

September

There are absolutely parts of this that suck balls but there are parts that I really like too. And I remember enjoying drawing it. This was for an art trade.

October

During this time I made matching bust drawings of all the 10 main characters from my comic. (calling it a comic is a bit of a stretch, I only have 2 chapters drawn and it's been well over a year (maybe two?) since I've touched those pages) Although I've made next to no progress on actual pages, I draw the characters often and love them with all my heart. I especially like how this one turned out.

November

At the time of drawing this I hadn't practiced drawing ferals in ages, so I was very worried about the result, but it turned out better than I could have imagined! This was another art trade, and I love the character design so much!!

December

And now we're here! I've been doing more scenes recently with my fanart, but I just love how Sonic turned out in this one so I had to include it. It almost doesn't look like my art, though the hands give it away. At first I wasn't impressed with how Shadow was looking but it's grown on me. ❤️🖤

[sissylittlefeather]

How the Web Was Woven: Chapter 13

A/N: Woof. This one took me a minute. Also, it's a short bridge-type chapter, but don't worry. Next chapter will be LONG and JUICY. This is just a necessary part of the story. Please don't give up on us! ICYMI this is the soulmate/time travel AU between Elvis and a fem!reader.

Need to catch up? Here's my Masterlist.

Warnings: cussing and angst (a smut-free chapter?! Who am I?! Don't worry. It's coming soon and they will be too 😏)

Word count: ~1.9k

"Why didn't she come for me?"

******

Elvis spends the next few weeks anxiously waiting for you to show up somewhere. It's clear his mind is elsewhere. Everyone around him notices that something is off, but he won't tell anyone what's going on. He just prowls around like a caged animal, nervous and waiting for something that no one understands. He goes back to Memphis before he has to be back in Vegas in August to film his concert documentary. The only thing that gets him out of his room is Lisa Marie. Otherwise, he mopes around or stays inside.

What no one knows is he's grieving. He's pretty sure he's lost you and his son too. The pain almost overwhelms him and he has a hard time living in his real life. He finds solace in music and spends a lot of time at the piano playing a whole catalogue of new songs. His favorite, though, is a song produced by the Beatles' record label, and he eventually asks to record it later that summer. It ends up on his album for the documentary That's the Way It Is and even makes it into a rehearsal scene with him playing it on the piano and singing. For some reason, the song makes him think of you, so he sings it as often as he can.

Even though it begins to look like he's back to himself, the pain of losing you is omnipresent. He resigns himself to the fact that he will likely never see you or his son ever again. As such, he leans into the documentary and even does a photo shoot with Priscilla over Thanksgiving to try to rekindle the affection he feels for her.

But he still feels like part of his soul has gone missing. It's the same old feeling he always has when he's away from you for too long, but this time it settles in his chest and becomes a part of him. 1970 slips into 1971 and he does his best to move on. 1971 slips into 1972 and he throws himself into work and lets his relationship with Priscilla sour. She moves out and he has a hard time even caring, except that she took Lisa Marie and it just twists the dagger of having already lost one child. There are other girls, like there always have been, but they never fill the void that you leave. He has a you-shaped hole in his heart that no amount of sex or romance or even love can fill. 1972 slides by, he films Elvis on Tour, and he plays shows across the United States. He plays Vegas again and then tours again, hoping that by keeping himself busy he'll notice your absence less.

Finally, he prepares for the Aloha from Hawaii concert that will be broadcast across the world. He tries to get back into peak physical shape and does everything he can to throw himself fully into this concert. In the process, he squashes the last hope of you ever showing up again. It's been three years.

You're gone.

******

Covid hits strong in 2020 and your world gets upended. You learn to work from home, host zoom call happy hours with your friends (even though you're pregnant and can't drink), and wear a mask anytime you're in public, which isn't often. In September, you give birth (alone and in a mask) to your daughter and name her Erin Love. She's perfectly healthy and looks so much like her brother you think you've given birth to his twin. And again you weep. Elvis is missing this and you know it'll break him if he ever finds out.

2020 fades into 2021 and you still can't risk going out with a baby. Every time you start to think it might be safe, a new strain or variant shows up and the world cowers in fear again. Vegas opens, but you're terrified, both of traveling and of the possibility of sending Covid back to 1971.

So, you wait. You wait and you wait and you keep waiting until your baby is old enough and the virus seems to slow down. Still, Vegas, with its masses of people, seems too risky. Finally, in December of 2022 you have an idea. You start making plans to head to Hawaii with both kids and your mom in January of 2023. Hawaii is much more secluded and you know exactly where he will be.

When you ask your mom to come with you, she wants to know why. This is going to be a very expensive vacation and she's not sure why you need her. You sit on her couch trying to decide just how much you should tell her. Eventually, you settle on something very close to the truth.

"John is there. We haven't seen each other in three years." You look down at the ring on your finger.

"I was starting to wonder if he still existed."

"I'm not even sure he'll want to see me..." You look at the ceiling to try to stop yourself from crying, but it doesn't work and the tears come sliding down your face.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm sure he does. He loves you."

"I hope so." She pulls you into a hug.

"I will go with you. I'll watch the kids so you two can get reacquainted."

"Thank you, mom."

Once she agrees to go with you, you drop an ungodly amount of money to stay in his suite and pack up both kids to fly to the islands. You decide not to tell John Jessie why you're going, just in case it doesn't work out. He's almost 6 now and he asks about his daddy damn near everyday. Somehow, he remembers him despite the fact that it's been almost 3 years since he's seen him. Erin's too little to ask questions. She doesn't even know she has a daddy, which breaks your heart every time you think about it.

******

After a rehearsal, Elvis heads to his suite to rest. He's 100% invested in what he's doing. But out of nowhere, he thinks of you again. He hums the song he's designated as yours and goes to work changing out of his jumpsuit.

He's got the zipper all the way down when he hears a sound that makes his heart stop. There it is, the old familiar buzzing. He hasn't heard it in so long. He turns slowly, sees the portal, and practically runs through it without thinking about the fact that he has no clothes packed and is wearing a jumpsuit.

******

When Elvis comes through the portal, he stops and stares at you. He's so in shock that he doesn't know how to respond. Your mouth pops open in awe of him standing there in the American Eagle jumpsuit fully unzipped. He looks better than you could've imagined. Obviously, you've seen the footage, but it really didn't do him justice. He zips it back up and gives you a hard stare.

"It's been three fucking years, y/n."

"I know-" You don't get any further though because John Jessie comes bounding into the room. He runs to Elvis and jumps on him. He's supposed to be napping with your mom in one of the bedrooms.

"Daddy! I heard you!" Elvis grabs him and holds him tightly.

"Heyyy buddy, I missed you so much!" You can tell he's trying hard not to cry. You look nervously towards the bedroom. If your mom sees him in this jumpsuit, it'll be impossible to explain.

"Bubby, where's your grandma?"

"She's asleep." You breathe easier and John Jessie turns back to his daddy. He launches into a monologue that only a 5-year-old can follow, but Elvis sits with him on the couch and listens attentively. You stand and watch the scene and Elvis glances at you every once in a while.

After about 15 minutes, you hear Erin cry from the room where she is taking her nap. Elvis looks up at you, shocked.

"Who is that?"

"That's my sister. She's little still." John Jessie answers knowingly. Elvis's head swivels to you so fast.

"Sister?" You nod and duck out of the room to grab Erin before her crying wakes your mom up. When you come back, Elvis looks at both of you and his eyes are shiny with tears. "Is she-?"

"She's yours." He stands up and immediately takes her from you.

"What's her name?"

"Erin Love."

"Love? Like my..." He trails off and looks at her lovingly.

"Yes. Like your mother." He holds her to himself and looks up at the ceiling, trying not to cry. He pulls back and looks at her again while she babbles to him.

"Baby, do you know I'm your daddy?" She looks up at him.

"Daddy?"

"Yes!" She smiles widely and he holds her close to him again. He looks at you incredulously.

"We have another baby."

"Yes, we do." He kisses her cheek and sets her down on the floor, turning to you. His eyes burn through you and he whispers angrily.

"Where the fuck have you been?! We have a daughter?!"

"Please, Elvis, I can explain."

"You better. I'm going to spend the evening with my kids, but you better have a damn good story when they go to bed."

You nod. How will you get him to understand Covid?

******

He changes into some clothes you have for him and helps you put the kids to bed. Despite not knowing the routine, he proves to be pretty helpful. You're amazed at how well John Jessie remembers him. Your mom seems to just know she should make herself scarce through the whole evening and stays in the room. Once you get both kids in bed, you sit on the couch facing him, heart pounding and stomach in knots. He looks at you with a mixture of sadness and anger.

"Tell me why, y/n."

"There is a new virus." You desperately try to explain everything that's happened over the last three years.

"So you couldn't come to me because of a cold virus?"

"Elvis, you don't understand. This was a global pandemic. Everything was closed and people all around the world were dying. They literally shut down Las Vegas."

"I've been other places." He responds, the anger in his voice obvious.

"I know, but I couldn't risk our kids. Or the possibility of you taking this virus back to your time. I finally feel safe here in Hawaii."

"I don't know, y/n, I'm glad you're okay and I'm especially excited to see the kids. But I thought I'd lost you. I buried you in my mind."

"Did you- did you move on?" For the first time, the reality that your marriage to Elvis might be over hits you in the gut and your eyes widen. Elvis isn't sure how to answer. He has a girlfriend, and technically another wife. But he looks at you sitting in front of him and can't help but feel the connection that's bound you together for over fifteen years. He wants to be angry so badly, but really all he is is sad. Sad that he missed the first two and a half years of his daughter's life. Sad that he went so long without all of you. Sad that you almost feel like a stranger now.

You sit on the couch staring at each other waiting for his answer.

******

Come back soon for Chapter 14!

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

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @rosepresley68 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @that-hotdog @eddiesgirlforever @helen06dreamer @returntopresley @rjmartin11 @noirrose21-blog @tacozebra051 @deltafalax

[killerandhealerqueen]

Get to Know Your Tumblr Mutuals

Thank you for the tag @ahhhnorealnamesallowed! Always fun to do these

What's the origin of your username?

I had a different username before this one, the-sassiest-trixster, because I was really into Supernatural and Gabriel was one of my favorite characters. But then...then came along Killer and Healer and just...completely changed everything. Like no, I'm serious, I don't think I've ever been this attached to a drama/characters before. And this drama just...sparked my brain into creating as much content as I did/do. And all of my friends/mutuals called me the killer and healer queen so I just...made that my username

OTP(s) + shipname:

So...my top ship obviously is Yuezhi from Killer and Healer, but I do love YaoYutong/BaiZhan from S.C.I. (they were the ones who actually got me into cdramas). I also love

junchun (Killer and Healer)

gahan (The Devil Judge)

suitang (Sleuth of Ming Dynasty)

dushen (Under the Skin)

dingzhi (Sleuth of Ming Dynasty)

And many many more

Favourite colour:

Green (any shade)

Song stuck in my head:

Currently on a vocaloid kick, so right now it's My Crush is a Monster Boy but I've also recently been listening to the White Cat Legend playlist and all of those songs bring back the joy that I felt watching that drama...I need to rewatch it

Weirdest habit/trait:

I remember random things really well; like at work I can pick up people's voices over the radio and know who's talking without looking at our CFS (calls for service) log. I also remember things after only seeing them once/reading about them once (whenever my detectives talk about a certain case I'm like "oh the one--" and they're like yeah while my partner (if she's with me) is like o.0 like how the fuck do you remember that

Hobbies:

Hula

If you work, what's your profession?

I'm a crime scene technician

If you could have any job you wish what would you have?

The job I have now is my dream job so like...I'm pretty happy

Something you're good at:

Writing/singing/dancing hula

Something you hate:

When people don't use fucking common sense...pisses me the fuck off

Something you forget:

Anything I put down if it doesn't have a set place to live <- amen bitch

Your love language:

Gift giving and quality time. I love just spending time with my friends, like I remember in college my friend and I were on a skype call and we were doing our thing and like it was just perfect. We talked every now and then but it was just nice. Also gift giving. I love giving gifts to people; like if I see something that reminds me of them, I'm going to buy it (if the price isn't unreasonable)

Favourite movies/shows:

There's too many...

Men In Black (trilogy)

Sound of Music

The Mentalist

Hawaii Five-0

CSI: Miami

Will Trent

High Potential

And so many more

Favourite food:

Pad Thai

Fried Rice

Seaweed soup

Sushi

Poké

Chinese (i love chinese food, and it's not just because i'm chinese)

And so much more

Favourite animal:

I love a lot of animals, but I'd have to say peacocks and snow leopards

What were you like as a child?

Quiet, shy, very creative...basically me now (I am a bit more extroverted but for the most part I just tend to keep to myself unless I'm comfortable with you)

Favourite subject in school:

English, Science

Least favourite subject:

MATH

What's your best character trait?

Idk?????

What's your worst character trait?

Sometimes the things I saw can come off really blunt/rude; I also jump to the worst conclusions over the smallest things

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

$50.00 more an hour at work, just because <- oh amen

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

I think I'd want to see my great-grandma again...just show her the person I am today

No pressure tagging: @theotherwhybietoldmeso @clawbehavior @mishathewtf @okifyouinsist @hyperbolicgrinch @nineninepetals @seonghwacore @kpopfantasywriter and anyone else who wants to play

[vellatra]

LISTERINE

A Mouthwashing Dumb Summary

Once upon a time, there was this company that made mouthwash. Their mouthwash was SO POPULAR that even the ALIENS wanted to get in on that good stuff, so they started interplanetary shipping, right? And for shipping you need shippers. That’s where our… heroes? Nah. That’s where our shippers come in. We’ve got Curly Fries, Hawaii 5-0, Enya, a grumpy old duffer, and Jungle Jim. Curly Fries was the captain of the space ship while everybody else did like, Amongus stuff in the background I guess? Or at least that’s what they were supposed to be doing, but Jungle Jim got bored and decided to be a nasty noser instead. First he got all flirty with Enya without asking (RUDE), then he decided that was a dumb thing to do and was like “oh hey I know how to fix it” and like. You know. Crashed the whole spaceship to try to make up for it I guess? Well everybody’s mad now and Curly Fries’ boss fires em all over like. Radio or something. And then leaves the shippers to die out in space all by themselves I guess? Really rude boss tbh. Anyway, So Jungle Jim’s like “well okay maybe that wasn’t the best idea either, let’s try THIS-“ and he starts murderizing people, real sneaky-like behind the scenes, right? I guess that’s kinda helpful cause they’re running out of resources but like. Dude. You’re just making things worse- well except Curly Fries; he got really messed up in the crash and Jungle Jim has been trying to nurse him back to health, all sweet and tender and whatever like he isn’t killing off all the other shippers in the meantime- Anyway uh, Curly’s basically a living mummy without limbs but half of Tumblr thinks he’s cute. Don’t ask me why lol

Sooo everybody’s panicking and going crazy and Jungle Jim’s running experiments with what else they can do now that they’re out of food - he tries drinking mouthwash but that’s kinda gross, so he opts into the even grosser option and starts casually munching on the rest of the crew - they don’t mind of course, being dead and all - meanwhile Jungle Jim is getting progressively more craycray and Mickey Mule, the mouthwash company mascot, has come to life in his head and started following him around, taunting him. Good times, good times, my friends.

idk how it all gets to this point but anyway, Jungle Jim and Curly Fries finally get an escape pod up and running but it only fits one guy. So Jungle Jim’s like “You know what, you’re the more handsome one, you’ve got a better chance at getting a girlfriend if you make it back to Earth.” And Curly Fries is like “Wait what dude I’m a limbless mummy the heck you talking about-“ but it’s too late Jungle Jim has loaded him in the escape pod and away he goooooooooooooooooooes-

THE END! [happy music, credits roll]

[mixmangosmangoverse]

Flow is The Best Movie of 2024

Ok, maybe that's not true. I haven't seen every film from 2024, and my focus is largely on animation. I'm sure other films, particularly Memoirs of A Snail and Look Back, might be better. But truthfully, there is no other film I have seen in 2024 that was as beautiful as Flow

Maybe we can go back a bit. What did I watch last year? Not much. 2024 was a dull year for me, a year full of fear where I couldn't feel happy much. I found myself much more engrossed in music and books than film or tv. I had become addicted to Miracle Musical's beautiful—and only—album, Hawaii Part ii. I had finally started my journey to read more horror by looking online, finding a relatively accessible horror novel that I was interested in. It was an impactful novel, one that I may write a review for one day. But after that, I went back in time. I re-read the books of my childhood. I started with my favorite childhood book, The Giver. It's a book I still cherish to this day. The sequel, Gathering Blue, is as strong as I remember. The other two, however, I have mixed feelings on. Feelings I'll likely express one day, as these books truly made me who I am

But, did I watch any movies in 2024, besides Flow? Well, yes, but not much. The highlight for many this year would undoubtedly be The Wild Robot. It's a beautiful film, no doubt, but I couldn't help but feel it was held back by the requirements of a typical animated film. The heartfelt story it told didn't require some of the more extreme action scenes it had, and ultimately I feel like my tastes have evolved past most Hollywood animated films, even with as good as The Wild Robot was

In terms of my highlight of the year, it would have to go to I Saw The TV Glow. A fantastic, horrifying film that uses the newfound wave of lost media to create a truly unique story about the fears of not being your true self. I have no doubt in my mind that this film will become a classic for the LGBT+ community, especially trans folks, and that more than that this film will be held up as the crowning jewel of analog horror on the big screen.

Other films I saw in 2024 didn't give me as much to talk about.

Deadpool and Wolverine was a fun novelty, but also a reminder of why I have issues with many superhero films, especially now

Inside Out 2, for as much as it earned, to me paled in comparison to the original. While I could go on forever, the biggest mark against it is that I did not cry once, even as someone currently dealing with anxiety. I still cry from the first

Transformers One is a fun introduction to the franchise, with great, inventive visuals and a very solid cast. It won't be a movie I return to much, but I had fun watching it with my brother

Speaking of films I won't rewatch, but I had fun watching with family, The Garfield Movie is a fun time that doesn't require you to think. If you turn your brain off and simply let yourself have fun, you'll have a good time

The movie aside from Flow that gave me the most to think about was Orion and The Dark. A seemingly harmless kid's film, yet nonetheless one that I couldn't stop thinking about. Once you realize the writer and director, the direction the movie takes makes more sense, but I can't help but feel like it should've stuck to the simple premise it introduced. I will always appreciate kids movies that do something unique, but sometimes, the formulas are there for a reason.

That's certainly enough preamble. I have set the scene for what I watched last year, so let's finally get into what exactly Flow is

Flow is a movie you may have heard of if you pay attention to film festivals and awards. A Latvian and French/Belgian co-production from director Gints Zilbalodis, this film gained acclaim for its unique presentation. A film completely devoid of dialogue, populated only by animal noises and a fantastic soundtrack, the movie tells the story of a cat who gets lost when the forest it resides in begins flooding

But that synopsis is very reductive. I'll explain the plot more in detail in just a moment, but that synopsis doesn't do service to the experience of the film. Watching this film, in a small local indie theater, surrounded by people of all ages, was one of the best theater going experiences I've had in years. This film has a truly remarkable grasp on tension. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The animation, apparently made almost entirely in Blender, puts even many of Disney's recent pictures to shame. The care, effort and detail that went into portraying the animals and their emotions is something I haven't seen in years. This is a film that forces you to think. Not only about the characters —their inner worlds, as there is no dialogue, no subtitles, nothing to clue us in besides their body language and noises— but about the meaning of everything

The first meaning that jumped out to me when watching the film was a biblical allegory. The world is flooded, completely overtaken by the sea, all the while a variety of animals escape on a boat. It's easy to see an inspiration from the tale of Noah's Ark, although I won't claim it's intentional. According to director Gints Zilbalodis, this film is an allegory of his rise in the animation and film scene. It starts with a lone character who survives on their own, mimicking how he made his first film Away by himself, and slowly builds up a team that they must learn to work with. In that way, this film is a parable about friendship. In the same interview he says that that is the meaning he has given, that the film is about an introverted individual learning to make friends and about a group learning to set aside their differences to work together.

But it would be reductive to say the film is only about friendship. The film is absolutely ripe with symbolism. The aforementioned parallels to the biblical story of Noah's Ark is only the tip of the iceberg. From the first moments of the film, we are shown a world without humans. The cat lives in an abandoned home, full of unfinished cat memorabilia. Giant cat statues are in the forest. The house's window is broken, showing the disrepair of it. No humans appear in the film, not even a glimpse of them. The only thing approximating a human is a statue, one that looks to be of a Buddhist figure, half sunken in the water with its hand reaching above. The animals travel through canals and cities, all abandoned, all designed in such a way that they could be anywhere from Italy to Indonesia. Giant, unknowable spikes stand tall in the distance.

Even beyond the absence of humans and the bizarre world they inhabit, there is symbolism to be found in every moment of the film. The lemur, who is obsessed with hoarding objects and a mirror in particular, a mirror that gives it admiration by the other lemurs, yet abandons it by the end to help the cat. The fish that the cat struggles to catch at first, stolen by birds after being given one, only to catch some successfully in a moment of exhilaration, only to lose them again as the dogs they hesitantly invite eats them all. And of course, there are the lights that the Secretary Bird follows, the lights that they disappear into by the end, almost as if they ascended to heaven, and the water stopping shortly after. There is the whale, a foreboding, horrifying creature that is peaceful the whole time, and yet ends up suffering once the waters go down. The entire climax, where the world grows anew; mountains and forests rising from the depths, trees growing in seconds, chasms of the water left below as this world is remade. The cat's disturbing dream of the same deer that warned it of the flood roaming in circles.

The film has layers upon layers, full of meanings one can extract from it. Whether religious or simply about the depths of friendship, this is a level of detail and thought behind a film that you would never find in a Hollywood picture, let alone an animated one for families.

It is for that reason that I lied when I said I'd give a summary— this is a film that can't be summarized. Oh, sure, there is a plot, a series of events. But the film is not that. It is the experience. The wonders. To simply explain the film would be to remove the experience of it. I think it's rare, in this day of overly complex plots, of spectacle, of stories that can be easily explained in a single clickbaity YouTube video, to have a movie which forces you to simple view a world, without explaining anything. Nothing in Flow is every explained, instead it is up to you to interpret everything you see. There is no spectacle in this movie. There is a climax, but it is not an action scene. It is a quiet moment of the bird lifted up to the sky, gone in a moment. It is the ground lifting up again, a moment grand in scale yet intimate and terrifying in its focus on the cat. The only thing approximating an action climax is the animals rescuing those stuck on the boat, but even then, the primary emotion is tension, not excitement. Flow is not a movie you can easily describe in a summary, and yet it's all the stronger for it

Hand in hand with that is the lack of dialogue. Mentioned a handful of times already, Flow is a movie devoid of any dialogue, completely and utterly. There are no subtitles. There aren't even words on a sign somewhere. The film is not silent; populated by animal noises and a score that sells every emotion, but the lack of dialogue may make it seem inaccessible to people. To me, however, the opposite is true. The lack of dialogue is what kept me invested. It is easy in many films, especially for a family audience, to tune out as the dialogue can be very heavy handed. This isn't an issue, movies for kids need dialogue to be clearer, but even movies for older audiences can fall into the trap of too much useless dialogue. Dialogue and words that take you out of the moment, instead of pulling you in. It's in that way that Flow succeeds completely. Ironically, by lacking dialogue, it makes every sound matter more. Every noise an animal makes becomes important, because that's the only sound made. Every new piece of the score feels more important, more noticable. And, of course, the animation and visual storytelling shines with this lack of dialogue. We are forced to pay attention to every movement. To every change of scene, to every new beat. I'm finding lately that a lack of dialogue, or even sound, actually helps me focus a lot more on a piece of visual media, and nowhere is that more apparent with Flow.

But there is another reason I declared Flow the best film of 2024. And it is because of how it personally impacted me. Flow came at just the right moment, because this film made me realize things I didn't even know I felt.

The story of Flow is about friendship. It's about companionship and working together. About putting aside differences to achieve a common goal. It's about the bonds of animals, people, through even the most impossible of situations. Sitting with this film in my mind made me realize the companionship I'm seeking, the kind I'm lacking.

It is something I'll get to at the end, but in a way, this film represents a fantasy of friendship. We want to hang out with others, to make truly meaningful memories with them. We want to believe we can meet others who will truly stick by us to the end. In that way, each animal in the journey represents a different type of friendship

The cat is an introvert, a loner, learning to cooperate for the first time. It begins afraid of others, running away from them, yelling and hissing at them. But as the film goes on, it opens up to others. It becomes a true companion, and becomes the uniting heart of the group

The capybara is a person who goes with the flow. It rarely does anything in the film, besides steering the boat in a line. But it is there to help the others calm down. It sleeps most of the trip, and yet its calmness helps the others

The lemur wants validation. It collects trinkets, remnants of humanity, almost in a show of vanity. It protects its treasures from others, instigating fights. It holds the mirror up as its best treasure, and even shows it off to other lemurs. When the world regrows, it is off with a group of lemurs who all stand behind it as it looks in the mirror. And yet, it also sees the cat. And so the lemur leaves, to join the cat. Because the lemur realized that the validation it wanted wasn't a material item or superficial validation, but true companionship

The Labrador retriever is the extrovert. Happy, excitable, full of energy, constantly wanting to play. It pushes the others out of their comfort zones. It is the friend who forces you to do new things. But it is also a friend who stays loyal. At one point, the animals come across the other dogs that chased the cat in the beginning, and the Labrador retriever invites them over. The dogs proceed to eat the fish that the cat had just caught, but seem to play along. That is, until the ending, the climax with the boat. As everyone rushes to pull the boat back to save the animals stuck there, the other dogs get distracted by a rabbit. And they leave. The other dogs run away in a moment of peril. But the Labrador retriever doesn't. It stays behind, because it is a true friend. The other dogs, however, are the false friends. Friends out of convenience. Those who stick around only when you give them something, and then leave when they find something better.

It was watching that moment, in the climax, where something clicked. I had been a victim to those dogs. Many times in my life, I had friends who only wanted something from me. I had friends who would abandon me the second I became "difficult". The moment my disability or way of behaving was inconvenient. It is a harsh lesson that there are always those that take you for granted, but also a reminder that there are those who will stay by through thick and thin. Those that are truly loyal, that truly care. But there is another, darker reason why Flow resonated with me.

2024 has been a horrible year for the Jewish community. After the attacks on October 7, we felt as the rest of the world shunned us. The rest of the world are those dogs— those who only stood by when it was convenient. Online friends who I thought cared about me turned on a dime when I said where I'm from. People who looked to me, for my perspective as a Jewish writer, immediately left. They went to me to talk about representation, as that is a topic I care about. These people said they cared too. And then they abandoned real, living Jews when the time mattered.

I have been lonely since the pandemic, but 2023 and 2024 where the years I felt the loneliest. But, they were also the years I found the other animals. I found those who, despite everything, did care about me. Who despite everything they were told, stood by me. They were few and far between, but they certainly made a difference. 2023, despite everything, was a year I did find new friends in my own community. Even with as bad as everything got, I did find a community.

The real beauty of Flow is a theme I've loved for years. I think it was Adventure Time that introduced the idea to me, and it's a simple one. It's the idea that... The world can get better. No matter what

The world could end. But it could get better.

You could lose someone you love. But it could get better.

Society could turn on you. But it could get better. No matter what. It could get better. That's an idea I've had to hold onto for years. As my life got worse, I told myself it'd get better. This attitude has helped me, more times than I could count. And it did, in small ways. After telling myself all of 2020 that it would get better, 2021 ended up the best year of this decade so far. But that didn't last long. Ever since 2023, it's been difficult to imagine things getting better. Not just for me, but for everyone. I surely wasn't the only one who wished for a scenario similar to one seen in the movie. Wishing for an end of the world. A moment where we could forget the troubles of society and simply meet others.

There is a reason people dream of going out for adventure, and a reason stories about adventure always form parties. In a way, I believe it's similar to the desire to live through an apocalypse. We want an opportunity to forget all our current worries, to go out to new places with new people. There is something so captivating, almost... Thrilling, enticing, about the idea of the entire world ending, yet finding comfort despite that.

For many in my community, October 7 may as well have been that end of the world. And as we continue into 2025, that "end of the world" will surely affect more people. But as this movie affirmed to me, it could always get better. The world of Flow may be devoid of humans, but life is still brimming. The bird may have died, but in its departure it brought back the land.

And with that...Well.

There's one more scene we have to talk about. You see, Flow doesn't end with the boat rescue. That's the climax, but the true ending is much less upbeat. The cat ventures deep in the forest, the others following it. And they find the whale. Washed ashore. Left without water. Many messages can be deciphered from this ending. The safety of one may bring harm to others, is an obvious lesson. It could be a lesson on caring for the friends who stayed behind, who didn't talk much but who helped you. It could be an allegory of disability, and how the whale finally had a place to freely roam, that was soon taken away from it. It could be about balance, how for one good thing to happen, something must be sacrificed.

But the movie has an end credits scene. It's not anything to go crazy for... Well, that is, if you care about what end credits scenes are typically for. But to me, it means everything. This scene depicts the whale swimming. Is this depicting the time of the flood? Or, as I interpret it, is it showing that the whale found more water after all? Perhaps, realizing how the whale was suffering now, the cat stood up for it and helped it find water. Maybe, this is the whale in heaven. Whatever this scene truly depicts, it reinforces the theme; Things will get better. Even the whale got better.

Keep your head high, because things could always get better

[perspectivelens]

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[hooked-on-elvis]

"Beach Boy Blues" (1961)

Written for the King by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, Elvis recorded "Beach Boys Blues" on March 23, 1961, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. The tune is featured in Elvis’s 1961 film "Blue Hawaii", as the scene above shows.

The soundtrack for "Blue Hawaii" was released in October 1961, a little time before the movie would be released on November the same year. The soundtrack LP for "Blue Hawaii" includes 14 songs in total, more than any other album from Elvis' movie soundtracks.

[harmlessmessages]

WARNING: SMUT Careless by harmlessmessages. All rights reserved by the author.

“Careless” tells the story of two strangers who meet at an open mic in Manhattan. She’s a vibrant musician determined to perform even as her body resists her every move. He’s a mysterious young man weighed down by debilitating, chronic pain and a secret as dark as the mask that hides his face. 

Through alternating perspectives, their chance encounter evolves into a night of raw connection and unguarded intimacy. As their stories intertwine, their personal struggles and unexpected likeness surface, revealing the solace and heartbreak of finding hope and relief in one another, even if for one night.

Each scene is paired with a song, making “Careless” an immersive experience where music mirrors the characters’ journeys and the poignancy of their bond.

Song: Grey Room, Damien Rice

9/41

He looked down at her lips. Soft, he noted. Trembling. He wondered what it must feel like to brush his against hers. 

So, then, she also had something wrong with her. He considered the red of her palms, the repeating hand exercise — squeeze, twist, spread. He wanted to ask more about her diagnosis, how she still managed to play the guitar, to get up there and sing in front of everyone. 

He decided to sit with his curiosity. Because here was a girl that could understand the persisting, debilitating pain that threatened to take everything she cared about away from her. But still she performed. Still, she rushed through bar doors, carelessly bumping into people, hopefully desperate that she made it on time to play a single song.

In a way, she reminded her of himself, or at least the person he was before succumbing to God’s kismet. He remembered running to his dad, holding up a giant fish, boasting his spoils of the family fishing trip. He remembered shaking his high school Headmaster’s hand before stepping onto the podium and pulling his Valedictorian speech out of his chest pocket. He remembered signing the release form in Hawaii, before taking to the warm blissful waters for the beginner surfing class that would ultimately aggravate his slipped vertebrae. 

He remembered going under, laying face down on the operating table and staring at the sharp, shiny tools on the table beside him, thinking about how they would cut him open. He remembered waking up and the surgery was successful and he cried because he thought it was finally over — the pain in his back and the pain in his family and friend’s eyes when they saw him flinch and squirm and groan for years.

After that, all he wanted was to zen out and spend some time in best place to do so. He thought he at least deserved that, right? He met wonderful people in Japan, climbed the tallest mountains and breathed the freshest air. 

But kismet did not allow that relief to last very long. And since July, he has been isolated, alone, lonely. He convinced himself that nobody could possibly understand how this kind of pain could push someone to make a decision like the one he is making, had already made. 

He looked at the girl sitting across from him, their knees hovering, the atomic space between them kindly asking for fusion. She was smiling up at him, trying to read his eyes but she did not have the faintest idea what he had resigned himself to all those months ago. And that was for the best — he would not involve innocent people. He had to do this alone. He hated being alone. 

A sharp panic rang through his body, though he did not allow himself to show it to her. Calm, be calm, he told himself, trying to still his racing thoughts. You almost forgot why you’re here, remember? No distractions. Leave, you should leave now. 

10/41

She wasn’t always this forward, coming up to a random man at the bar. When it came to making the first move, well, she would never make it. There was always something holding her back, a little voice telling her the timing wasn’t quite right and that she should wait a bit longer. But what was she meant to be waiting for? For all of the hurt from the past to suddenly lift its shroud from her? For someone to give her a certificate that says, yes, yes, you did it, you are now ready to share this life with someone else!  

She was never really alone, but she was lonely. She had dozens of friends and cousins and grandparents and coworkers who called her everyday, asking when they could see her again. She performed on stage and people followed her online, they knew the lyrics of her music, and they came to her shows. But she still went to bed alone at night. She still woke up stiff and untouched. 

Because she didn’t know how to talk to other people, not like that. She must have skipped school the day they taught this, or dozed off or daydreamed during a lecture. Because even when she was able to finally solve someone’s equation, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do with the answer. 

“I know what you’re going through.” He muttered, his jest stilled. The dark glint in his eyes became more apparent, though she had noticed it the whole time. His wincing, his body tensing, grasping his thighs as if to hold himself down.

He was in pain. She knew it after she hit him with her bag. She had reached the stage, looked at the crowd, and saw a masked man leaning over the bar with a hand clasping his back.

Maybe sitting here with him felt a little easier to her because he was wearing this mask, just like the one she wore though she did not mean nor want to. She told herself that they must be equals, because they were both hiding something. Her, hiding and shying and trembling under the weight of his stare. Him, well — she couldn’t begin to fathom what else he was hiding. 

Yet something told her he was just like her. That he has been through what she has been through. Whether that was a good basis for taking this further, she did not care. It was a bad habit of hers — being pulled towards those who resonated with the things she she showed and told on stage. And anyway, it came naturally to her to be a beacon, especially to those who could not form their own.

[canmom]

NieR Automata anime episode 6

Continuing commentary from [part 1], [part 2-3], and [part 4-5].

Ooof, I left myself with a big not-so-live blog backlog again. Never done that before! [shoves The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere under a blanket]

So where we left off, I'd covered the Simone episode and the Pascal episode. OK! Next up we have... the YoRHa stage play episode!

episode 6

This episode recounts the story of the YoRHa stage musical! Putting it alongside four different productions of the play, the official novelisation, the text version in the game from Anemone's point of view, and the ongoing manga YoRHa: Pearl Harbour Descent Record. You can never have too many.

In the present frame story, Lily walks with 2B (who looks almost the same as her old friend YoRHa No. 2) and tells her of the past events.

If you're not familiar with the play by the way, it's just about the sickest shit. Youtube won't embed this for some reason but here's the intro number Normandy...

Just like in the play, this episode of the anime tells the story of an experimental YoRHa unit on a mission to attack a machine lifeform server in Hawaii, and the android resistance unit they encounter, the gradual process of building trust between the two groups of androids, and their eventual brutal deaths as it turns out that the YoRHa command never actually intended for any of them to survive the mission.

The cast is broadly similar to most versions of the play, but in keeping with this version of the story, here Lily rather than Anemone is the focus and sole survivor of the Resistance unit. Not that this really makes a huge difference in practice.

Where the anime really benefits is that it can convey the setting a lot more clearly than a play or even a manga. This episode is full of lush forests, and the mountains of Hawaii loom in the background.

Given they're compressing the events of a two hour stage play into a twenty minute episode, naturally a lot needs to be cut, but they do a very solid job of making it flow through montages and character moments. And of course we get the key moments in the play still: Lily getting infected with the Logic Virus and being saved from a mercy-kill by the intervention of YoRHa No. 21. Added in this version are some embellishments; when No. 21 hacks Lily, she gets a brief glimpse of some memories:

These flash by too quickly to really see what's happening in the episode, but it appears that Lily was being sexually assaulted by another android, but Captain Rose intervened and invited her to the Resistance unit? I believe this storyline is further elaborated in the manga, but I haven't read that far.

The portrayal of the Logic Virus, and the earlier Red Eye Disease (basically the same thing), varies across the series. Often it's just mindless violence disease, but at its best, it exposes the simmering tensions and resentments in the character - something emphasised to great effect in the YoRHa Boys play. Here, Lily resents her helplessness - that she is always the one who has to be protected. We also get a new physical symbol of a relationship: the bullet which Rose fires at Lily and No. 2 deflects. The addition of water to the scene adds to the staging.

Another benefit of the anime is that it can portray the scale of the machine army in a way the play can't. The CG in this episode is not exactly great, but we do see swarms of machines crawling up towards the mountain...

Notably at this stage the Machine Lifeforms clearly haven't yet developed the Stubby models - they're this kind of insectoid orb design, similar to Ko-shi and Ro-shi in the game (as well as the individual segments of Hegel). It's a nice visual way to show how the machine lifeforms are developing.

The final battle montage is very well edited in general, hitting the key moments of the play without getting bogged down in details. Anemone is once again the one to stay behind to mercy-kill No. 21 after she gets infected (which explains why she survived). However, as a new addition in this version, Lily and Rose are told to evacuate before the final confrontation with the Red Girls, and Rose sends Lily up alone. Lily tries to kill herself, but Rose once again prevents it, and orders Lily to preserve the YoRHa squad in memory. The theme of memory being core to NieR...

At the end, we get our first brief glimpse of A2, who survived - with Lily still unaware. A closeup of her chin mole confirms her identification with No. 2.

The credits are also different this time, a gradual pan over the YoRHa squad members, fading away in turn as the familiar ED song Antimony plays. The final shot is notable...

The timid Lily of the past reaches out and clasps the hand of the Lily of the future who now leads the Resistance.

Honestly, despite the fact I've seen so many versions of this story, it's still affecting. I watched it again to write this post and got caught up watching the episode. It's full of quite wacky turns if I'm honest, like let's be real nothing YoRHa (the military organisation) does makes much tactical sense, but the core character dynamics are strong and they're well captured here so it never really matters.

The post-credits puppet skit this time focuses on Adam and Eve getting dressed up in uniforms. Eve is in gakuen and Adam is in a suit, each of which gets a pinup-style illustration to go with it (we get a full pan up from the feet)...

Eve annoys adam until he decides to just leave...

Yeah, that's it.

That's as much as I'm up to writing up now, but lots more NieR to cover until we're caught up!

Huge props to [GLORY] for the excellent fansubs.

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 835: Minutemen Double Nickels on the Dime

If I were to lose my entire record collection in a fire, the first albums I would replace would be Miles Davis' In A Silent Way, Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St, Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, and Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime. Of all those albums, Double Nickels has been in my life the longest.

It wasn't the first Minutemen album I owned (that would be the Post Mersh Vol 1 compilation) nor would it be the first Minutemen album that I really fell in love with (that would be Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat), but it's the album that best encapsulates and captures all that I love about Minutemen.

With 45 songs at a runtime of over 80 minutes, it's a very dense album. As the San Pedro trio was fond of explaining, this was their "art album," which presumably means they were straying even further from the punk formula of their SoCal peers. Bassist Mike Watt ditched the pick and started playing with his fingers, nudging the band into funkier territories. Guitarist D. Boon revealed an aptitude with his instrument only hinted at on previous recordings and established his place as one of the greatest players in the punk scene. Drummer George Hurley slowed the tempos and leaned into the groove. There is very little on Double Nickels that sounds traditionally punk, unless you look back to the guitar dexterity of Television's Marquee Moon or the stabby rhythms of Gang of Four's Entertainment! To further confuse things, there were covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Van Halen, and Steely Dan on the album, and they blended in seamlessly with the original material.

It was a lot to process as a 15-year-old punk back in 1992. Minutemen had been big with my peer group in Hawaii, but I'd moved to Washington over the summer, and none of the punks or skaters I knew on the mainland gave two shits about the band. The "cool" factor for the band had disappeared in the move. But there was still something fascinating about Double Nickels, even if the music felt a bit unapproachable.

There was almost a kind of separate culture that surrounded Minutemen. Their vernacular was strange... a combination of SoCal surfer-speak, trucker slang, working class drawl, and literary sophistication. Their lyrics were both topical and cryptic. The incorporation of Raymond Pettibon illustrations in their album art added another layer of tension, mystery, and irreverence. They had a blue-collar aesthetic with a political bent and an art-minded approach. There simply wasn't another band that looked, sounded, or exuded the same aura as Minutemen.

There were Easter eggs hidden all over the album. Watt had just read Ulysses and seemed intent on mirroring the book's layers of meaning and sly humor (there's even a song called "June 16th" in homage to Bloomsday). The album title was a poke at Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55," with "double nickels" referring to the 55 mph speed limit and "the dime" referring to Highway 10, which leads into their hometown of San Pedro. The album cover, an homage to Kraftwerk's original Autobahn album art, captures Watt in his car with the speedometer at a steady 55 while the highway sign for the 10 is seen through the windshield. The sequencing of the album was an homage to Pink Floyd's Ummagumma with each member getting a side of the record to curate at their will and with all the remaining songs allocated to side D.

The music was a riddle in and of itself. Songs like "#1 Hit Song" and "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" seemed to reinforce the album title's criticism of pop music's banality while basking in contradictions, such as the puzzling decision for Boon to drop a blazing guitar solo in the latter after singing "if we heard mortar shells, we'd cuss more in our songs and cut down on guitar solos." There's the intensely autobiographical "History Lesson pt 2" but also the self-referencing diss track "One Reporter's Opinion." The ominous and odd-timed "God Bows to Math" segues into the country two-step of "Corona." Hurley prioritized the clatter-and-scat of "You Need the Glory" as the opening to his side of the 2xLP over the power anthem of "Themselves."

And there were the lyrics to parse out. What's a punk kid supposed to make of lines like "me naked with textbook poems / spout fountain against the Nazis / a weird kind of sex symbol?" Or "the world was wrong and I was forced to march in line / but it felt like handcuffs / machines disregard my pronouns?" One moment it's "no hope / see, that's what gives me guts / big fucking shit / right now, man," but then it's "let the products sell themselves / fuck advertising / commercial psychology / psychological methods to sell should be destroyed."

I eventually made a commitment in November '92 to listen to Double Nickels in its entirety every day of the month. It was partially an endurance test. Could I do it? But it was also an attempt at deciphering what I was hearing. Surely this must all make sense somehow. And here I am 34 years later, still intrigued, mystified, and engaged by the album. I still hear something new every time I listen to it. There are still more in-jokes, references, and nuggets of wisdom to glean from it. It's a work of art that requires patience and attention, but it's also just a straight-up piece of celebratory joy and working class angst.

There's an entire world embedded in Double Nickels. It has its own language. It's own philosophy. It's own musical logic. It's own humor. It's own cultural reference-points. And it continues to be a world I want to visit on the regular.

[unholyverse]

waterparks // alternative press issue #341

(full article text under cut)

WATERPARKS

THESE POP-PUNK UPSTARTS HAVE CATCHY SONGS, AN ENDORSEMENT FROM THE MADDENS AND AN UNIRONIC LOVE FOR HAIR DYE AND FUNKY-COLORED JELL-O. THEY ALSO HAVE A LOT TO PROVE-AND THEY'RE READY TO GET TO WORK.

STORY: EVAN LUCY x PHOTOS: JONATHAN WEINER

Awsten Knight knows what you're thinking: This time last year, his band, Waterparks, were veritable nobodies. You'd probably not heard their two EPs (2012's Airplane Conversations and 2014's Black Light), and the band's SEO was likely so suspect, there's no way a Google search would place the Houston-based trio above their hometown Wet 'n' Wild.

What a difference a trip around the sun. makes. Since late last year, the group scored a record deal with Equal Vision, picked up Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden as their managers, performed at the 2016 APMAS and even graced the cover of AP's Warped Tour issue-all before releasing their first album. Along the way, they've cultivated a passionate (and ever-growing) fanbase, thanks to an irreverent sense of humor, insatiable work ethic and saccharine-sweet pop-rock sound. But as their star has grown, so have the rumors and confusion about just how they ended up on a collision course with success.

"I saw somebody online say, 'Isn't this that industry-plant band? Like we were made by a label or something." Knight remarks from Los Angeles, where he and his bandmates are putting the finishing touches on bonus tracks for their debut full-length, Double Dare, and filming a video for the album's first single, "Stupid For You." "People are always like, "Where'd this band come from? This band blew up overnight! That's really not the case."

Indeed, it's been a grind for Waterparks, who formed back in 2011 and, after years of hustle and hard work, got signed last year after a demo serendipitously ended up in Equal Vision's online submission box. Even today, as Waterparks—Knight, guitarist/vocalist Geoff Wigington and drummer Otto Wood-seem to have an indefinite amount of momentum and a limitless future, there's always some humbling experience to remind them the big time is still a few steps away. Look no further than their method of transportation for this summer's Warped Tour: a modified Sprinter van handily equipped with sleeping quarters- but no air conditioning.

"The van didn't have A/C until we got to the North, Knight remembers. "We did Texas and Florida, the whole South, with no A/C. People thought we were in a bus. It'd be like, 'Oh yeah, when you guys go back to your bus…" He laughs. "How can you be egotistical when you're sitting there in a sweaty van going, 'Fucking kill me?'"

Lifestyles of the rich and famous it isn't, but that's fine with Waterparks. They're used to surprising people, whether it's with their origin story or their music. A testament to both their artistic vision and desire not to be pigeonholed as just another pop-punk band, Double Dare sounds like an album made by three men raised in iPod shuffle culture. The album opener "Hawaii (Stay Awake)" skews toward more standard pop-punk fare (a sound that definitely provides a backbone for the 12 tracks that follow), but the band are quick to add bits of pop, electronica and (surprisingly) hip- hop to the melting pot, leaving Double Dare feeling instantly reminiscent, yet wildly unpredictable. There's the unabashed pop charm of "Take Her To The Moon," a DeLorean ride back to the scene's neon days that's awash in glassy synths; the biting "Little Violence," which takes aim at "fake-ass band guys," along with the now-defunct site AbsolutePunk; "Stupid For You," a roller coaster of vocal runs mixed with razor-sharp hooks; and the jittery "Dizzy," which combines mile-a-minute rapped verses with a towering half-time chorus.

Knight, a textbook over-writer, wrote and demoed more than 40 songs for the album, which the group whittled down to the 17 or so they actually tracked in Los Angeles with producers Courtney Ballard and Benji Madden. What makes Double Dare such an engaging listen is not just the songwriting, but the way Waterparks dress it up. Throughout the album, Knight's voice serves almost as a third guitar, cutting in and out and swirling around the mix to give things added depth and a secret sonic weapon their peers lack.

"Listen to Kesha," Knight implores. "People have heard a lead guitar a billion times-no one gives a shit about a sick guitar lead. What's going to sound sonically cooler to the average human: a lead guitar- which people have been hearing for the longest time- or the literally unlimited sounds I can cut my voice up into and make it [serve the same purpose]? It just sounds cooler."

As a teenager, Knight studied raps by the likes of Busta Rhymes and Ludacris (he even performed a cover of Fergie's "Fergalicious" at an early show), and he thinks it would be "sweet" to be in a boy band. "You have to stand out, otherwise there's nothing interesting about what you're doing," he explains. "We've always tried to do different shit. A lot of our songs are a pop-driven thing, but it's a band. Girl-pop, to me, is the best genre [in music]. Even if you don't speak English and you hear a Kesha song or a Katy Perry song, it's going to sound so good. The melody is everything: It sounds so happy. Put those songs next to whatever progressive metal band and their fucking guitar sweeps. That's the difference between being a band people like and being a musician's band. [Adopts nerdy voice] 'Oh, that time signature change, blah blah! No one gives a shit except nerdy dudes, and nerdy dudes aren't going to buy your record, anyway. I want to make shit my little sister and her friends would be into."

If Knight is that unabashedly honest about his musical intentions, the words he writes take it a step further. At its core, Double Dare is the antithesis to the public image Waterparks have cultivated over the years. From their irreverent music videos to any number of off- the-rails interviews (including some from this summer's Warped Tour where Knight donned a wedding veil), the band's public persona is that of perpetual Peter Pans. While that might be true (Knight frequently drops words like "butthurt" in conversation), the open-book nature of his lyrics here reveals life isn't all fun and feces jokes.

As such, the songs on Double Dare read like pages ripped from a personal journal. Whether he's dealing with crippling insecurity ("I wish I was as brave as my last name"), self-doubt ("And I'm doing all right/ But is 'all right' enough?/Because I'm living my dreams, but I live at home") or true love ("If you died, I'd hope you'd haunt me"), Knight's words are blunt, painstakingly detailed and instantly relatable. He might project as a court jester, but he's deadly serious about his art.

"There's a time when Awsten can be serious, and that's when he's talking about his music, Benji Madden offers. "In order to sell records or magazines, people feel like they have to be sensational or play a funny game. If you talk to Awsten about anything other than music, you'll get totally jokey, bullshit answers-which I love. But if you talk to him about music, he's a really smart, intentional, thoughtful guy."

"Being honest about it is the best way to go about it," Knight says of his songs. "I've never liked the vague lyrics, like, [jokingly sings] "I've gotta find my way. I've gotta get out of this place! All my favorite lyricists are killer with metaphors or are able to uniquely describe things. I like getting into things and being specific." He references the acoustic ballad "21 Questions," easily one of the album's highlights, but a song slated for the cutting-room floor until Madden stepped in. ("I feel like that song could be one of those scene classics," the Good Charlotte guitarist offers.) It's hard to imagine the album without it.

Outside of being a steady hand in the studio, the Maddens are the perfect mentors for Knight, Wigington and Wood. After all, it was 15 years ago that Good Charlotte went through everything Waterparks are currently navigating, claims of being a test-tube band and all. They've learned everything is cyclical, and they're passing on the lessons they learned to the bands they manage.

"They're so wise," Wigington explains in a separate interview. "You shut up and listen. They've told us, 'Hey, things are going to start getting weird. There will be things you haven't been used to, especially if you're out on the road! But they've told us to look out for each other and have each other's back and helped instill a sense of camaraderie so we can deal with whatever weird shit comes our way."

If their current career trajectory continues, things will be getting weirder and weirder in the Waterparks camp soon. The band have secured the opening spot on Sleeping With Sirens' fall tour, and they're already making plans well into 2017. With a new album ready and the furthest reaches of the scene at their fingertips, it seems like there's really no limit to how big this thing can get. It's already surpassed their wildest dreams in the past year; imagine what one more could bring. Not that it would change their demeanor, of course.

"I'd like to be able to live comfortably to the point where I could ride a bike into a swimming pool filled with Jell-O and have it not be a big deal," Knight says unflinchingly, when asked what success would look like for him. "I was thinking blue or purple because I like cooler colors. Red seems messy. Not yellow or orange, because I don't like those flavors as much. I used to be allergic to blue dye when I was younger, so I'd probably pick that just so I could be like, 'Fuck you." alt

[rlmfanfic]

been thinking about you and how incredible you are and how you continually inspire me to write!!!! for enrichment in our enclosures, what would be seven songs on a "cherry girl" playlist? or perhaps some songs for each of your fics?? hope you're well!!! xx.

Hello Dash! Lovely to hear from you! I'm honored to hear I inspire you to write! WOW! Thank you!

As far as a Cherry Girl playlist, I just made one! Here's a full soundtrack for you (and anyone else interested).

The songs I reference in the story itself are:

This Must Be the Place - The Talking Heads

Tequila - The Champs

Rocket Man - Cover by William Shatner

Mr. Sandman - The Chordettes

Halloween Theme - John Carpenter

Dead Man's Party/Weird Science - Oingo Boingo

Take My Breath Away - Berlin

Pure Imagination - Gene Wilder

Pony - Ginuwine

Don't Move - Phantogram 

Hip to Be Square - Huey Lewis and the News

Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News

If You Leave - Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark

I also reference a lot of Tarantino movies, so I'd add some of that to the mix as well. Plus songs from horror films for the nightmare sequence, the title song from Hard Ticket to Hawaii and the Miami Connection soundtrack for the movie nights and a smidgen of music from Pink Flamingos.

If I HAD to narrow a playlist down to seven, I'd say the most important are:

This Must Be the Place - for Jay's morning alarm. I also see it playing in the reader's mind when she's alone and melancholy in the tub.

Tequila - for the embarrassing dancing at the bar scene.

Halloween Theme - Jay's ringtone 🎃

Dead Man's Party/Weird Science - for the album that the reader gives to Jay for his birthday.

Pure Imagination - the reader seeing the viewing room for the first time.

Don't Move - slow dancing in Jay's living room in wet clothes just before they... well, you know...

If You Leave - I guess I just see the story ending on this song. Like the camera pulls back and fades to black while this song plays.

[tomboyjessie13-artblog]

Sorry for taking so long on this, this would've been done on Friday, but I got distracted by IRL problems and the internet, as well as trying to hide the pencil smudges with coloring pencil because I accidentally made Medea's legs too long. There was also a short drabble to go with this, but I got writer's block, so here's a drawing for now.

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Anyways, and was 1988, and the story here is that DIO and his house servants got invited by one of his business partners to a meeting in Hawaii, which is fine and dandy.... only one tiny little problem though:

Medea's birth country of America made Hawaii its 50th State in 1959(less than 30 years before "DIO's World"), and her parents sent her away from it due to Jason's parents wanting her head, even DIO had to steal her mother's phone number and called her(under the guise of Medea's employer) just to confirm it.

This led to a bit of an argument between the two that lasted for minutes, in the end neither DIO nor her parents wouldn't budge on her going to Hawaii, so she's forced to stay behind with another agent stationed in Egypt because DIO doesn't want her running away.

The next day, as seen in the drawing, we see DIO's plane leaving Cairo in the background while Medea sullenly sits alone in the mansion pouting, upset that she can't go as she waits to be stuck with an Agent she hates. Meanwhile her Stand(pre-Arrow) tries to cheer their user up by making her pancakes to get the feel of a Waikiki hotel breakfast and playing music popular with Hawaii like Don Ho and Elvis Presley....

....And for those wondering, no, Nukesaku wasn't allowed to go on the trip either, but only because he can't be trusted to be in the hotel room with closed curtains as he might open them during the day, so DIO left him in a local kennel in Cairo lol

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Trivia: The Hawaiian Pancake breakfast idea was inspired by a scene in Jojolion Ch. 18, where the Higashikata family had to cancel their trip to Hawaii because of Hato being stupid

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Medea King and [Molly] belongs to me