#i just needed to look up the original performance date and the video showed up. they put it online just 4 days ago

[abrahamvanhelsings]

GIRL THEY PUT THE OPÉRA DE PARIS PERFORMANCE OF LA VESTALE ON YOUTUBE? IN HD??

[centrally-unplanned]

Academic History YouTuber Premodernist released video recently on "State Flag" discourse, and flag discourse more wildly, that I thought was pretty good! I agreed with 50% of it. For those who don't know, there is a longstanding movement in the vexillology community to push for more simplified flag designs, and they hate the state flags of the US as their antithesis; a movement that catapulted into the internet mainstream when YouTuber CGPGrey released a video riffing on that debate and grading all the state flag designs.

That video is great by the way (it's hilarious, CGP Grey is just very talented as a performer), and the biggest thing Premodernist is wrong about is that the state flags do suck. But what he gets right is that the so-called "principles" briefly referred to in the video are themselves pretty weak; some are fine but others do not hold up to much scrutiny. The state flags largely suck for the boring reason that they just suck; they are shitty designs and often repeat each other in a domain where "standing out" is the point. Like what the fuck Montana:

This is something a 5th grader whips up in PowerPoint for a class presentation. Helvetica Bold?? "Mandated by law in 1985" yeah I didn't need Wikipedia tell me this decision dates to the 80's.

But that is boring and subjective, right? You can't just say they suck. So you had to make a theory about it - and I won't go into too much detail but it generally boils down to:

Make it simple, "something a child could draw"

Make it "distinct at a distance", since it is a flag you are supposed to see it at a distance

Three colors or fewer

No words on flags

Which I think you can get the philosophy for. These principles, which CGP Grey outlines, actually come from the work of Ted Kaye, who is a big figure in the aforementioned flag reform movement and the focus of most of the video. As part of the original CGP Grey video I just rolled with that, but I did remember him showing Utah's newly designed flag at the end which embodied these principles, and uh:

This is kind of mid? Like it doesn't suck, but it looks like a corporate redesign of a hockey team logo or something. A bit of a red flag (hah) if your front-and-center case is weak.

Anyway this is what Premodernist digs into in the video. The stuff I agreed with the most are the parts where he just ???? at some of these rules. "No finicky bits", a "child must draw it", "distinct at a distance"? None of these actually track for say this one:

A child drawing the US flag does not draw 50 stars and 13 stripes unless they are a budding librarian; you absolutely cannot tell if this flag has 50 stars on it from a distance, and that level of detail is clearly some kind of finicky. Of course your response is "okay sure but still, I can tell what the flag is from a distance, I can't count the 50 stars but I get the gist". But that is true for almost all flags!

It's a fern and a peace pipe and a brown thing and the word "Oklahoma" below it, you absolutely, 100%, will be able to tell what this flag is at a distance. You don't need to count the leaves to get the general shape, and when you think about it, it is actually kind of silly anyone would claim otherwise. There just isn't any need to appreciate the tiny details on a flag to understand whose flag it is. (the only valid critique here is that everything should be bigger - too much dead space)

Not to mention the "see from a distance" thing even being a metric. That isn't how you encounter flags most often today? Maybe in the 19th century on a battlefield that was (and even then you had battle standards), but it isn't now. You see it in textbooks, on your computer screen, as an icon for a football game team, right next to you in a government office. Why privilege distance? You just made that up as a value. 99% of "flag consumption" is not seeing it at a distance.

The "only use ~3 colors thing" is the funniest, you can just argue this with...no? No you don't. You don't. What? No. You can...you can just use more colors? Here is an example from the "manual" Ted Kaye wrote on the subject:

And the 5 bands on the chinese flag are fine! They are not "hard to look at" or whatever. Also, I am screenshotting a tiny corner of a youtube video, this image is like 240p, and I can tell its a dragon - and that isn't even the color point it is trying to make, dude just deviates off into another critique. Meanwhile the Amsterdam flag looks like a traffic warning sign. Chinese flag needs to not have the white stripe connect into the white seal background, that is an error, but otherwise I prefer it.

It is annoying how many of the state flags are a blue banners with a round seal in the middle. That does make them hard to distinguish from each other. But that isn't a problem with seal-on-blue, that is just a collective action problem! Flag-reform-favourite the tricolor can run into this too - here are the flags of the Netherlands and Luxembourg:

Like one of your needs to go home and change, that is ridiculous. Though if you had a complex seal in the middle that might avoid this problem! Funny that.

Even the "no words on a flag" argument, which I am more sympathetic to, doesn't hold up too well because too often you find yourself going "unless it is good" which just isn't a rule. The Iranian flag is the stand-out he mentions:

The middle crest is a stylized rendition of the name Allah, and the cursive lining on the tricolor bands are text as well - God Is Great, 22 times, marking the anniversary date of the Islamic Revolution. Stylistically beautiful, also words on a flag. The state flags just didn't try to do anything artistic.

I think the best point Premodernism mentions is a sort of stylistic unity Kaye & Co are pursuing above all else - everything sacrificed for corporate minimalism. Kaye's book will say it respects history and symbols should be meaningful, but then hates any symbols that require complexity. He singles out Turkmenistan as an ugly flag for example:

And as I said I only 50% disagree sometimes, I do think there is a complexity limit, and this flag goes over it, that is too detailed. Though the main reason this flag is bad is the weird choice to not put the banner at the edge, and have the crescent just...float off center? If it was this:

Two seconds in paint, already better, you can play with it. But anyway, you can say the symbols are too complex, but if you also say you care about historical meaning? Turkmenistan is a nation of traditional semi-nomadic tribes, who populated the Silk Road and made textiles as their ultimate expression of art. These carpet guls are traditional symbols used in those carpets that represent the five major tribes that compose the country. You can't just invent new symbols that have equal meaning to these, right? Like you can try if you want, sure, new symbols become meaningful all the time. But a rule that says "all art from before 1950 is tossed in the dumpster because it wouldn't pass muster as a Pepsi logo" is a weird rule to adopt if you say you value historical meaning. Turkmenistan does not have to look like France, and it is weird to want every national symbol to be aesthetically coherent to each other. Let 100 flags bloom! It is certainly "distinct at a distance" lol.

Anyway that is enough summarizing of a YouTube video - as I mentioned, he actually likes the state flags, I don't, I do think you have to balance a lot of this with just "general design principles". Never have your name on a flag in Helvetica Bold, amazing I had to write that one down for you. But a lot of these flag-specific rules derived from Kaye's work I often see bandied about are silly, and I was glad to see someone point that out.

[luckyloops]

Cottontail Mila!

ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ🐇་༘࿐

My One Piece OC!

For everyone who wants a good, up to date reference of who Mila is and what she is all about, here it is in one neat tumblr post for you!

Name: Mila “Cottontail” Box

Age: 24

Pronouns: she/her but tbh idrm ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Height: 171cm (5’7/8)

Devil fruit: Zoan Type ‘Hare-Hare Fruit’

Sexuality: Anyone ૮ . . ྀིა⁩

Canon ship: Law ૮꒰˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶꒱ა

Origin: North Blue (Mila is German!)

Tag for Mila: #Milachat

Tag for Mila/Law: #Milaw

Mini fact file:

* Personality: Endearing, naive, diligent, skittish, cowardly.

* Will place looking and acting professional above her own needs

* Something of a bleeding heart

* Smells like Taro

* Thumps her foot when she’s frustrated

* Has several Zoan shifting forms in between her human and animal state.

Family:

Mila is the youngest of 10 siblings. Her 9 older brothers form the Chocolate Box pirates, headed up by Captain Felix ‘Espresso’ Box.

Overview:

Mila works as a messenger/mail girl for various clients across the Grand Line. Mila has the power of the ‘Hare-Hare’ devil fruit, a Zoan type fruit granting the user super speed and heightened senses. Her speed allows her to become fast enough to travel over water without needing a ship and cover land distances in a matter of minutes if not seconds, making her such a reliable messenger. This is where she got the nickname ‘Cottontail’ from- though she’ll exhaust herself trying to explain to people that Cottontails are a species of rabbit, and technically her powers are that of a Hare. 

Mila takes jobs for pretty much anyone- the best and worst of the Grand Line, as long as they’ll pay, she’ll deliver, and as such is somewhat morally grey given the whole working for villains thing. She spends most work days being overlooked and talked down to by the high rollers on the Grand Line who employ her services- and that’s just fine. The less of a threat she makes herself out to be, the more employable she becomes to those with the most Berry. Emperors, Marines, Warlords, anyone. Her job means she knows a lot of the secrets people keep.

Abilities:

• Super Speed

• Shapeshifting

• Heightened senses

This is a sheet I drew for fun to show what Mila’s moves would be if she were in a video game!

Mila’s nickname and more on her personality:

AKA Why I gave ‘Cottontail’ a Hare based Zoan fruit instead of a Rabbit based one (and why her nickname not matching up matters).

* Hares are larger than rabbits. I always wanted Mila to be on the taller/more willowy side so a slightly larger animal made sense

* Hares are born with their eyes open and covered in fur, ready to fight to survive. Rabbits are born blind and without fur. Mila was born into a situation where she had to quickly adapt and perform to the standards of a very hostile atmosphere- she is a survivor to boot, from an abusive household to dealing with villains on the grand line, Mila is meek, but she is perceptive, and will skitter her way to safety and survival every time

* Rabbits prefer to hide from predators, but Hares are runners, extremely fast and preferring to bolt from predators, tracking with Mila’s top power being her super speed.

* Hares are not domesticated like rabbits have been, & Mila no longer has a home or family she can depend on.

* ^ rabbits are very social, living in colonies- hares are much more solitary.

Why ‘Cottontail’?

In Mila’s canon, Shanks was the first big client she had on the Grand Line, and the one to give her that nickname. Mila having a nickname that doesn’t factually match with her power is very intentional. It’s the reception she gets out in the Grand Line: the smaller and more unassuming she appears, she more likely she is to find work because she won’t be seen as an employee who doesn’t potentially pose a threat. Her only goal is to work and to earn Berry- she doesn’t need to be perceived as strong or competent, despite being both, even if it’s not in the traditional sense. Mila has a prey animal’s ruthlessness: quick & clever & always the first to run.

MILA / LAW = MILAW!

Emo bf and decora gf. Also they both work too hard. Also they both have autism. ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

Law likes to look cool and Mila is easy to impress. Mila likes to bring levity and Law wants to let the light in. Win win.

[kawaiijohn]

Dipper accidentally summons King Phantom to Gravity Falls to help against Bill?

okay never thought i'd write anything with GF buttttt here ya go @guardianrex <3

And Happy super late tenth birthday gravity falls. Hope this rocks.

"You're just a teenager!" Dipper pointed at the lanky boy from behind the table turned cover. His finger shakes a little as he wills himself to be brave.

"You're just a teenager!" Dipper pointed at the lanky boy from behind the table-turned-cover. His finger shakes a little as he wills himself to be brave.

"And you're just a kid," said teenager yawns, rubbing sleep out of heavily bagged eyes. "Is there a reason I'm standing in my living room with some kid I don't know at ass o clock in the morning?"

Dipper swallows. He'd meant to summon the 'Infinity King', a figure Grunkle Ford had found information on during his travels. The King of All Reality was supposedly an eldritch being of unknown origin and deathless power, one that could possibly be asked to help deal with Bill and his crap.

And his research was going perfectly! The texts Ford had shown him a few weeks ago- the very same texts that Dipper had stolen while Ford was asleep, were translated quite easily (who knew Pig Latin was a viable language in some realities?) and used without his Grunkle's knowledge. Against said Grunkle's warnings.

But ignoring warnings could have gone much worse. At least the figure floating three inches off the floor looked about as human as Dipper did. He knows from personal experience (what a weird summer) it doesn't mean much, but at least the King's skin wasn't like, inside-out or something gross. He shudders at the thought of the possibility.

Although the King looks nothing more than a teenager who just woke up, Dipper could still sense something about the guy was... off.

Unnatural

Dipper realizes he's been staring for a while, and that he's being stared back at. He points more confidently at the King and swallows his fear.

"Takes one to uh... takes one to know one!"

Smooth

The Infinity King sighs and pinches his brow. "Look, kid. I don't know how you summoned me or why you summoned me, but I'm very tired. I have no money, and I would like to go back to bed before the test I have tomorrow."

"Oh man, is it not summer break for you? That stinks."

"Buddy I'm in summer school, it does stink. So I'd appreciate being able to leave. Please."

"Oh yeah let me just-" Dipper almost falls for the believable performance before catching himself. "Wait a second, that's dumb. I'm not gonna fall for that, Infinity King!"

Dipper shines his flashlight into the King's eyes and is on the receiving end of a very angry stare. "Ancients help me..." the King sighs.

"Nobody can help you! Those sigils are for trapping ghosts and spirits! So now you gotta listen to what I say."

"I really don't have a choice, huh?" The King crosses his legs and places an elbow on his knee. "Alright, shortie. What did you summon me for? Need dating advice? Video game level can't be beat? Annoying sister?"

"I'm not so dumb to summon a powerful being for petty squabbles or whatever!" Dipper grumbles. "I'm dealing with something really really bad, alright?"

He walks up to the border of the circle and shows the King the journal, specifically the pages on Bill Cipher.

"What the hell is this thing? An evil triangle?" the King asks and begins to read. "Don't like how that page gives me goosebumps."

"He's an inter dimensional demon and a jerk. He's also evil and messing with my family."

"Well, I don't know what I can do, but inter dimensional jerks happen to be what I fight most." the King sighs. "What can I do to help?"

"First you gotta make me a-a deal!" Dipper's voice squeaks, realizing what he's said aloud before looking around to make sure Bill isn't going to pop up out of nowhere.

"Kid, I don't think deals are a good choice for someone your age, nor with an inter dimensional being like me."

"Yeah, but like, your kind is kinda all about deals, right?"

"No, but I guess if it makes you feel better... how about you buy me a pizza when this is over. A pizza, and a milkshake of my choice."

"You're serious?" Dipper squints.

"Deadly." the King grins.

"Alright, deal then-"

"Okay, drop the shield and we'll shake on it."

[hotvintagepoll]

Hi, I added propaganda for Edward G Robinson and THEN read the rules, totally my bad, but one video I posted is from pre 1970 and one is from post. Should I just delete the first addition I added, repost with just the 60s video, and tag you again? Not sure how strict the rules are, the second video is from 1973.

My rules for propaganda (which I'll add to the FAQ) are:

It must be from a movie. If you have to show me a television appearance, it must be them being themselves, not a TV episode where they play a character. (for example, Burgess Meredith making a cameo as himself on a TV program would be allowed, but an in-character performance as the Penguin would not be.)

It must be from before 1970. I have that cutoff date because that's a generous estimate for the end of the Classic Hollywood era. After that you're in New Hollywood territory, which these polls don't cover.

For this tournament, propaganda that is scrungly-focused is encouraged. A standard studio portrait of the actor looking glamorous is not very convincing and won't be boosted.

If you want to submit a video, it has to not be long. I watch every video I receive in full so I can tag for content warnings. If you need to send me a full movie that has your scrungly in it—which sometimes you have to, if they're a niche character actor with no other existing short clips on YouTube—please let me know a timestamp of a few minutes to watch. I will only watch and put content warnings for the small timestamped interval.

If you want to submit photos, please don't send me asks with more than 4 pics. I want to be respectful of everyone's dashes and not make huge posts.

To submit propaganda, either (1) send me an ask, (2) reblog the original poll post with your propaganda, or (3) tag me in it. If you want me to see another person's post relating to a scrungle, like a gifset, please tag me in it like this -> @hotvintagepoll

I do make rare exceptions on these rules, but any propaganda that breaks the movie/1970 rules has to ABSOLUTELY KNOCK MY SOCKS OFF. I haven't looked at your propaganda yet—I won't look at any until all the poll posts are up—but if you want to be safe, remove the 1973 video.

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

Riddlers with a s/o who really likes horror movies, old ones, news one, everything in between long as it's horror? Need to know who's ear I can talk off

"Riddlers and Horror Movies" Riddler party x Reader

Several of these riddlers share direct horror movie quirks with me have fun guessing which. Also listed favorite horror film(s).

TW: horror films, blood and gore descriptions, mentions of emotional self-harm

Gotham

He's the guy who is going to contradict and tell you every medical inaccuracy of the deaths and mechanics in the movies. Yes, of course there's suspension of disbelief but at some point things are just wrong.

Babe, that should be arterial blood but they're portraying venous blood consistency :(

If you don't mind him talking at length about how these things would actually go OR conversely how well the sfx portrayed real injuries, he is your horror movie buddy! None of it bothers him considering how many real life murder, suicide and accident victims he's had to perform autopsies on.

Cuddling with his gangly legs on the couch bundled up in a big blanket with you while the sounds of screams echo from the tv and fill the room. Huge smile. He especially old classics when you're in the mood. Black and white films and transatlantic accents... It sounds like a great night to him.

Favorite Horror Movies: Might be a surprise but he really loves "Freaks" from 1932. He will talk for a long time about how, even though many of the disabled actors were ostracized on set, the fact that they were present at all is significant. The ableist assholes get theirs in the end! He also has a lot of fondness for "Re-animator."

Btas

He's the one interested in the sfx rambles. What, you think he designed a video game and labyrinth for a theme park just because he's intelligent? He likes behind the scenes work. God help everyone if he and Scarecrow decided to get together to make a haunted house.

You ever see those huge animatronics in horror mazes, especially the huge end show pieces? That's where his interest goes.

Depending on how much you watch and express interest in that kind of thing, he genuinely might start making horror animatronics and programs. He has the know-how! His would be the realistic looking ones, especially for animals. Spooky but definitely based in forms you see in real life.

Well, beautiful, you might have helped him find a very profitable side gig. Everyone else might be sore at you for a while, though, given Edward scaring the fuck out of them with holograms and mechanics. Plus more team-ups with Scarecrow.

All this because you wanted to watch horror movies with him. His darling <3

Favorite horror movie: "The Thing" (1982) and while it's not his absolute favorite, he ends up enjoying "Willy's Wonderland" a lot for both the animatronics and video game nods.

60s

The old ones with little to no gore is fine! More modern hack and slashers might be a little too spooky for him :( definitely never show him "Hostel" or anything in that vein.

Truthfully, it's not the violence or the blood, he's seen that. It's the suffering that gets him. It all seems so pointless and needless. At least when he's attempting to cut batman into tiny pieces using a comically giant fan, there's a goal or point. In his mind, anyways.

Before dating you his idea of horror was "Dracula", "Frankenstein"... "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken".... Start with horror that has a more comedic or cheesy element- "Little Shop of Horrors" to "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil." "Creepshow" 1 and 2 from the 80s! If you ease him into it and don't go too extreme, he'll love watching horror movies with you.

Favorite Horror Movie: OKAY THIS IS CHEATING BECAUSE IT'S NOT A MOVIE BUT. He'd be a HUGE fan of the "Tales from the Crypt" show from the early 90s (that is almost impossible to find streaming rip my horror uncle The Cryptkeeper). Horror plus puns. He will always take a funny, morbid pun! Plus... man can appreciate a cackle. He also has several opinions about the original "Suspiria."

Zero Year

It has to have something of a decent story or he's not paying attention. Where is the BACKGROUND? Sidenote: if you get him into something like Bloodborne (I know, not a movie) with lots of lore, expect to not see him for a hot minute as he consumes all the information he can like a sponge.

He tends to favor psychological horror- Although, if it means spending time with you and gaining favor, he would watch most anything. Especially if there's the possibility of close physical affection... ANYWAYS. He's also the one who wants to watch a bunch of foreign language film horror such as "Les yeux sans visage" in original French.

Another thing is that he will watch things over and over and over again with you if you want. Part of it is the undiagnosed neurodivergency. Part of it is because you always catch new details when you watch things again. Him noticing something that you didn't and him getting to tell you and impressing you is a special kind of high. He will talk about movies for hours afterwards. "Jacob's Ladder" has been a several hours long dissection MULTIPLE TIMES.

Favorite Horror Movies: "Angel Heart" is his top all time favorite. If you haven't seen it, he will practically tie you up to watch it together- He also really enjoyed "The Lighthouse" and "Us."

Arkham

Similar to BTAS, he is also interested in the animatronics. His, however, would lean to body horror and sci-fi. Something about biology and machine blending together... it gets him kind of excited.

He will sit and work while watching you play something like Deadspace (sorry, a game again) for HOURS. Then he wants to watch the prequel movie with you. Also if you don't mind subtitles, he has this recommendation for "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" if you haven't seen it already. And if you haven't... You are in for an experience.

In short, this man is about the body horror. He likes other horror too, but that's his bread and butter. Sci-fi horror as well. Bonus when there is overlap. He's seen "Annihilation" at least twenty times and has the books dog-eared and rough from multiple reads somewhere in his belongings. Yes, they are ultimately different, but he's in love with the concept enough that to him he appreciates both.

He is going to scare you with animatronics he makes. Sometimes intentionally. Sometimes not. Have fun with that.

Favorite horror movies: Cronenberg period but he has a special fondness for "Videodrome" and "The Fly" (1986).

Telltale

Despite it being an excellent movie, he despises "Jacob's Ladder." It brings up too many unpleasant thoughts. Movies, especially horror, with medical experimentation are a trigger though he'll never say it out loud. You find this out as you discuss watching certain movies and see the connection between all of them.

That being said, the horror movies he likes have two themes: they have meaning/ a message or they involve transformation. The first is because anything too simple bores him. The second is totally absolutely NOT because of projection of his own trauma.

Show him "Get Out" and "Nope" and he gains a deep reverence for Jordan Peele as a writer and director. Intelligent, entertaining, and the perfect amount of horror mixed in. Kind of a fan, only you know, really.

80s version of "The Fly" makes him emotional and you probably only watch it once with him. He likes it a lot! Just... the slow transformation via a science accident is very relatable. Madness overtaking you.

Favorite horror movies: "An American Werewolf In London" it's a classic. Not to mention in his opinion one of the best transformation scenes in a movie.

2022/nashton

Ha... so here's the thing. He likes "Hostel" and movies like that with lots of violence and gore. He's even seen "Wolf Creek" and got some real excitement out of it. HOWEVER. Movies in that vein are a form of emotional self-harm for him. He likes them in the moment but they also usually trigger massive anxiety and depression episodes for him later on in the day/night.

Others like "Se7en" (I know it's a thriller not true horror), "Saw" and the like are usually okay. There's a distinctive difference that may only exist in his own mind, but the more you watch with him, the more you'll find out which movies are "safe" for him. Which is good! He does like horror movies, but as we know from the prequel comics, he's not always good at taking care of himself due to massive amounts of trauma.

He loves films that are gems that aren't super well known in the US when he can find them. Have you seen the Korean horror film "The Silenced"? No? You're in for a treat.

He likes movies that have a logic or puzzle to them. Complex mechanics and traps. A sick sense of justice dispensed.

Favorite horror movies: The "Saw" series. Also "The Collector." He sees the upside down shot with the reflective contacts and the spider allegories and his eyes dilate like a cat seeing it's favorite toy.

[ask-serendipity-sky]

There are a lot of rumors going on that the actress han so hee is going to be in the jk1 mv that set to come out in July because both of their staffs have been photographed to be in the same location and a lot of people are assuming it’s gonna be romantic and have a lot of “love” scenes + people are also saying that Jo went on a date with a woman in LA and are bringing up the fact that he also went on date with a woman jeju and it’s causing alot of chaos and people are starting to doubt kookmin again. My question is, if it’s true and han so hee is in the mv and it turns out to be romantic do you think it will affect the “believability” of kookmin? And I know men can have female friends but alot of people are saying it happened way too many times for it to be just them “hanging out” since it’s mostly a one on one kind of situation. I’m sorry if I worded this poorly English is not my first language but I’d really like to hear your insight since I’m new to this whole Jikook thing and things seem to be very confusing.

Hi anons,

Oh god. All this time I thought this was a joke. I've been in a Jikook bubble ever since Jimin's live. I still want to talk about that but everyone else moved on, apparently lol

(I'll still talk about Jm's live later today just to clear the air lol)

To ME, Jk being in a video with a woman in any way or using "she" "girl" or anything that doesn't point to Jimin, wouldn't phase me at all. This wouldn't affect the credibility of Jikook for ME.

I keep using Ricky Martin as an example but he is really the best example. He is a gay man with videos like the following:

Drop It On Me

She Bangs

Those clips...ahem. If Jikook did a performance like that the world would go down in flames and the haters would rejoice...but these performances are just that. Performances.

My mom and I would watch his performances and say "Nope, he still gay."

Music, dancing, lyrics doesn't make someone straight or gay. Ricky is spanking his dancers and the women all grinding up on him and he's smiling looking hot and the man is still gay.

I wouldn't think "Omg, Jk danced with a woman. He must not be into men." Because these performances of dancing with a woman or a man don't define anyone's gender. It's just art.

And regarding the dating rumors, again I'm still unfazed lol

I've never seen her hanging out with Jungkook. The picture of Jungkook in Jeju doesn't even show that he was with a woman in a romantic way or a date. It shows nothing. Just like all the other pictures where Jungkook is standing close to a woman. Nothing.

Yes, she did attend the premiere with Tae, Jk, and Tae's friends.

She's smiling with Tae's friend and Jk is doing his own thing. Has anyone linked her to Tae's friend instead?

She wasn't even there in the pictures and video Tae posted.

(I won't post the pictures because I'm petty like that and I strongly dislike Tae's behavior. I'll just post this Jungkook to keep this post pretty."

If he is dating her why did Jungkook find the need to come do a welive instead of continuing the night with her?

He was feeling troubled but found comfort in a welive instead of his rumored girlfriend.

And if Jungkook is dating her, why in the world did he make a 3 part welive on White Day and had Jimin on his mind?

This is why I don't worry. We see Jikook in separate screens, but there are real things that connect them. Things that are said by them. Not random rumors or blurry pictures.

I'm quite transparent about the times I have personally observed Jikook troubles but this is just not one of these times where I sense trouble.

Thank you for stopping by!

[givemeanaccountalready]

Points of Origin & Paths to Take (Part 4)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Kazui & Amane: the Absence of Authenticity

“I keep on seeing dreams / I am always indecisive, I can’t be saved”

“Just need to believe / there is no reason to break a promise”

Amane's Trial Two verdict has been decided, so it is once again time for me to babble on. These two were much easier to assign a “lack of” value compared to Shidou and Mahiru. I really do think that authenticity plays a key role in both their music videos, and while it’s more obvious with Kazui, Amane shows it as well. They both deal with their environment rejecting their true selves and build up these idealized versions to act out. Performance is a recurring motif with both of them. Kazui with a play in “Half” and then magic tricks in “Cat” and Amane with her TV show in “Magic” and then the marching band in “Purge March.”

It’s time for me to push my ‘Kazui is Es’s dad’ fringe theory. Just kidding. But you guys are welcome to try and pull that crack theory from my cold, dead hands :)

Unfortunately, I don’t have any cool theories about Kazui’s murder. I think he is a gay man who hid his sexuality to protect himself from harsh discrimination and married Hinako to further protect himself from any accusations (see his ‘marriage is great for social credibility’ response from Trial Two). Sometime before Milgram, stress and/or exhaustion from his lies boiled over, and Kazui confessed to his wife that he didn’t love her (and that he is gay), and then Hinako committed suicide. Based on Hinako’s reaction at the end of “Cat” (when Kazui turns the ring into a cigarette and asks for a break), I think that Hinako wasn’t expecting Kazui to tell her that he didn’t love her and that drove her to suicide. Throughout “Cat” she is almost always looking at Kazui with loving adoration and Kazui seems to return it. With Kazui’s confession, her whole world turned on its head. The man she married, the one that, “loved her more than anything,” does not love her the same way she does. I’d argue that Kazui cares deeply for Hinako, even if he doesn’t love her romantically or sexually, because he is distraught over her death, admits from the get-go that she was dead because of him, and outright states that he should have kept lying, implying that he would have kept lying if he had known the truth would have pushed her over the edge.

In Kazui’s first performance, “Half” the Kazui onstage is clearly a metaphor for him playing the role of a respectable, straight man who is very much in love with his wife. Not exactly a ground-breaking analysis, I know, but I do enjoy some low-lying fruit when I do this stuff. We don’t get to see his wife’s face, and I don’t recall learning that her name was Hinako until the second trial. She’s kind of just there for the most part. In “Half”, Hinako does reach out to caress Kazui’s face only for him to give her a sad look, but otherwise, he is mostly watching her while she’s stationary. She’s more or less a prop in this performance. In “Cat”, Hinako is a bit more active. It seems that she was a coworker of Kazui’s, and we see her steal a glance or two at Kazui, before he realizes and then seemingly asks her on their first date. I do want to note that when we see their feet while they’re walking, Kazui seems to be walking slightly ahead of her (leading her on), and he turns first to offer Hinako the large bouquet of red roses and then switches it for an engagement ring using sleight of hand. She's more of an active participant, but except for the whole stealing a glance thing, she is more or less reactive rather than proactive. Similar to Mahiru, Kazui acknowledges the effect he had on Hinako (labeling it as “victim (Hinako) and perpetrator (Kazui)”) whereas he focused on the effect their relationship had on him in his first trial music video.

I do like how similar to Yuno, Kazui decides to make his second trial music video less palatable, if that makes sense. Magicians rely on sleight of hand to trick their audience. Kazui emphasizes deception in his lyrics along with the many magic tricks he performs during "Cat". He is no longer just playing a role assigned to him, but actively deceiving Hinako. "Cat" is also... let's say more explicit than "Half" was, but not in a sexual way. Let's ignore that poor dove and focus on the apples. If the green apple represents Kazui's homosexuality, or true feelings for Hinako, then the red apples must be heterosexuality, and Hinako's feelings for him. In "Half" we see a fuzzy image of a balcony at sunset and then what looks like shattered, round pieces of red porcelain. It could have been a bowl, but it was probably a red apple. I can't say for sure that it was an apple, because we didn't see it break. When the red apple is destroyed in "Cat", we see Hinako fall this time, and the red apple smashes into the ground in her place. It's not a pleasant thing to look at. It reminds me of when I took a forensics class and got to spend time analyzing blood splatters, and it resembles the high-velocity, high-impact spray pattern. Which is what you'd see if someone had jumped or fallen from a great height.

Similar to Shidou, I think Kazui may have voiced a desire to be found innocent only to help protect the other prisoners if Kotoko, or a different prisoner, rampages while Es sleeps in-between the second and third trial. Were this threat not an issue, I doubt he would have voiced an opinion on which verdict he wanted in his second voice drama and continue to do what he did during his first voice drama: finding out who runs Milgram, why are they doing this, and what is the end-goal. Kotoko's rampage put these questions on the back-burner, and we all know that something is definitely going down between trials to keep them on the backburner. If I was a betting gal, I'd say if there had been nothing to make Kazui worry about other things, he probably would have needled Es on their personal dislike of cheaters to try and get a guilty verdict since the innocent verdict brought him no relief.

I'll be honest, on my first watch of "Magic", I thought that the injured cat was another child in Amane's cult that she had helped until they both were caught and punished for it. And that the other child died during the punishment, and Amane thought it was her fault for helping the other child break the cult's rules. Wow, did "Purge March" annihilate that theory completely. Amane's mother is giving the pedophile killer that Kotoko killed a run for his money for the number one asshole victim spot.

Now, to Amane's two performances: in "Magic" we are treated to a rather cutesy kid's show musical number, and then in "Purge March" we get a terrifying marching band. Honestly, I think we deserved it in response for the Trial One Guilty verdict. I wonder how many near misses she had with Kotoko "I'll throw hands with an eight-year-old! I don't give a fuck!" Yuzuriha in-between Trials One and Two. No wonder she had those scissors on the ready. I just want to get this off my chest, I don’t think the audience was ever going to “win” against her cult teachings by voting one way or the other. It's going to be something Amane sorts out herself. A Trial One Guilty verdict led her to double down on her religious teachings, but there’s no guarantee that a Trial One Innocent verdict would prevented that from happening. It seems that the mental restriction that comes from a Guilty verdict results in said prisoner being overwhelmed with our opinions while they are processing their verdict. All four Trial One Guilty prisoners seemed to have withdrawn socially, and are more focused on themselves than on their existing relationships, (Fuuta doesn't care about watching out for Haruka, Mikoto seems to have holed up in his room and the smoking club was disbanded, Mahiru's social interactions are now limited to her two caretakers, Shidou and Yuno, Amane won't initiate conversations with others).

There may have been a chance that with an Innocent verdict, Amane would have had the freedom of thought to grapple with Shidou's medical treatment of the wounded prisoners in a more healthy way. Kotoko did severely injure two prisoners that she seemed to get along with. Fuuta is immature but doesn't condescend to her and we see Amane tease him in the timeline conversations. Mahiru dotes on her in a way Amane likes (compliments her maturity, asks about her family (who Amane loves), etc.), and the two seem to get along. Shidou treats her the same way he treated his two young sons (who are probably half her age or less), which she hates, and is doing the same thing that got her in massive trouble, but was not punished. She could grow to resent Shidou for not getting punished by Es or anyone else, or she could start to understand what happened to her was immensely cruel, unfair, and wrong. The latter would have done a hell of a lot for getting her out of her cult's teachings.

Alas, we cannot rewind the clock, so let's go back to a more proper analysis of her two performances. "Magic" is less ominous than "Purge March" in the same way that "Courage the Cowardly Dog" is less ominous "The Shining". Both are meant to make you feel uneasy, but the former has a PG rating. Visually, "Magic" starts out innocently enough. Amane is in what I can only assume is a Magical Girl costume and surrounded by the personification of her cult's four tenets. It reminds me of shows like "High-Five" and "Yo Gabba Gabba". For those not familiar with them, they're both shows meant for children under the age of eight, filled with educational songs and dance numbers with human actors and muppet looking creatures of various sizes. She is educating Es (and us) on the teachings she was brought up on. Each muppet in "Magic" has a gimmick and color. We have Gachata the green robot who encourages healthy habits, like waking up on time, studying, and working hard. There's Yuri, the yellow big brother, who encourages donations and is said to be kind and compassionate. There's Gozake, the blue monk, who leads a choir and seems to be the religious leader teaching Amane and the pets. Then there's Riyome that pink bitch the pink faith healer, who espouses that prayer is the best medicine. Of course, Riyome is the most ominous motherfucker of the four tenets, and instead of having a wholly cutesy scene like the previous three, we watch a spotlight break and fall and then take out that cat with extreme prejudice. Not a hint of shrapnel hits the others. The actual violence is cartoon-ed out with a dust cloud, and the only signs of injury are the faint scratch lines and over the top tears from the cat.

We see Amane sin, and by sin, I mean she gave the poor cat a Band-Aid. She gets caught by the four evil muppets, who then punish her. The stern robot lectures her. The compassionate big bro beats her. The monk bastard waterboards her and then pink bitch tazes her. Granted, the last two are made explicit in "Purge March" whereas they are just cartoon violence with some papery waterfalls and lightning bolts. Not explicit, but concerning nonetheless. After her punishment, Amane picks herself up, goes through a transformation, waves her lightning wand (in hindsight, oh shit), and swears to be a good girl and reaffirms that a promise is a promise.

"Magic" is colorful and fun and light-hearted. Contrast to "Purge March" which is pretty devoid of color, serious, and harsh. "Purge March" reflects her doubling down and taking things seriously. Amane no longer has a colorful outfit. Her marching band costume is almost entirely white, with some black and gold accents. The confetti is about as colorful as the marching band scenes get. We see how strict Amane is with herself for making a mistake (when the one Amane drops the blue vulgarity flag). Instead of cartoon violence, we see Amane condemn one of the flag holding Amanes to drown after dropping the flag, we see her gasp for air after either being drowned in a tub or waterboarded with the shower head, and Amane shrink in fear as her mother readies her damn Taser. As Amane in the real world goes off to confront her mother, the Amanes in the marching band sequence break formation and rush forward to swarm her mother.

This may not matter, but I just want to point out that in both music videos, Amane wears yellow. Her Magical Girl costume is mostly yellow (yes, I am counting that creamy pale yellow as yellow), and then she has gold accents on her marching band outfits. Yellow is associated with our compassionate, physically violent big bro Yuri, whose flag motto is "Tis ordained, thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in." If we look back to "Undercover" we see Amane slam some kind of object into Es's back (hitting just like she was taught) and from what the entire fandom has gathered from her videos, voice dramas, and interrogation question responses, Amane delivered a punishment to a fellow believer who failed to follow their religious doctrine. Just as she was taught.

Also, I only noticed this because other people have pointed out that the "discard vulgarity" blue flag in "Purge March" is the disrespected flag, but in "Magic", there is hardly any blue in Amane's magical girl costume. The majority of her costume (the hat, the bolero jacket, the flower looking overskirt) is that pale yellow/cream color. Underneath the bolero jacket are some pink paneling that becomes pink wings. Amane's hair and eyes are green, which we could count. As for the color blue, there is one underpanel on that flowery overskirt that is blue. The shadows on the marching band Amanes in "Purge March" have a blue tint to them, which is kind of funny, because the whole performance thing falls under vulgarity.

This is getting really long, so let’s wrap it up. The lack of authenticity for these two led to performances that slap so hard, you guys. They both have Innocent verdicts this round, so I think Kazui will go the extra mile to earn condemnation (since our forgiveness does nothing other than allow him to occupy a potential protector role) while Amane could become conflicted over the reversal of verdicts or act out some kind of gravitas for Es finally seeing her point of view. I do think they’ll both be more honest with us. I’m curious as to what kind of performances we’ll see with them next trial.

It would be a nice subversion of expectations if Kazui does drop the facade he keeps up and is completely honest in his performance, but I’m not so sure we’ll get that. We’ll probably get some kind of conman vibes from Kazui. I crave “Catch Me if You Can” vibes goddamnit! I want Amane to have fun. She had her little tv show and then her marching band. Both went hard and were fun. Maybe she’ll go to an amusement park. Or have a little idol concert. Idk. She may roll it back. A school play would be fun, but given her insistence to not be treated like a child, that has a close to zero chance of happening. It will probably resemble a church choir/religious service, but I want the idol concert. I want some Magical Girl fun. What do y’all think? Any heartier predictions than what I got?

5

[swiftyangx12]

🕷️The Adventures of Agent Arachnis!🕸️

[Ep. 3: Briefing & Chill out]

[Valorant x Marvel]

[Synopsis]: Arachnis has more to tell about Earth 2020-6-2 (Valorant Universe) and it’s mostly a chilled out day.

[Gender Neutral Reader]

[(A/N)]: Yeah, I’m still working on the OC. Just need some time working on their traits and backstory.

[Earth-928, Spider Society H.Q.]

[Spider-Man 2099’s lair]

Arachnis: So, you’re still questioning about my world and line of work?

Miguel: It’s unlikely we recruited a Spider-based hero who has no variations of Spider-Man’s enemies.

Arachnis: That should be a good thing since we’re already dealing with doppelgängers stealing our power source. *Hooks up their tablet to the computer*

Peter B. Parker: What are you about to show us?

Arachnis: Video feeds of the agents doing their duties. Lyla, is everything ready?

Lyla: Yep! *Plays the video*

Peter B. Parker: What’s with the music?

Arachnis: Sorry. My colleague, Cypher edited these videos and he likes to add dramatization to everything.

Miguel: This is where we caught the Goblin variant.

Arachnis: Yeah, back on Omega Earth where I freaked out because we were on their territory.

Peter B. Parker: Huh. Sounds like you two had fun on your “date”.

Miguel & Arachnis: We’re not dating.

Lyla: Wow. You have so many video feeds. *Plays another one*

Peter B. Parker: *Growing concern* Are you sure this alright to watch this?

Arachnis: Peter, everything is heavily edited in case newly recruited agents are too squeamish when reviewing these feeds.

Peter B. Parker: What if the kids see these videos?

Arachnis: I added a passcode to the feeds for security reasons and only agents can access them. *Points to themselves*

Lyla: *Plays another feed* These look fun.

Arachnis: Oh yeah. For odd reasons, he likes to add titles and thumbnails like if they’re cinematic episodes or something.

Peter B. Parker: You have a training bot?

Arachnis: We had one, but everyone destroyed the thing. Originally, it was a cleaner bot and some agents decided to rebuild it as a killing machine for petty games, and it was completely demolished because it tried to eliminate us all.

Peter B. Parker: Oh. At least you’re okay.

Miguel: [Y/N], why aren’t you in any of these feeds?

Arachnis: I wasn’t recruited yet until later and had stealth missions during those times. I have some clips with me in them. *Shows some exclusive feeds to Miguel from their phone*

Miguel: *Watching intently* *Secretly impressed by their performance and gets surprised by the killing spree*

Arachnis: Ah fuck. Sorry. I forgot those parts. Some guards spotted me and I had to fight back.

《🕷️》

Arachnis: Wait. Say that again? You called everything about multiple universes with their variants of Spider-people, the “Arachnohumanoid Polymultiverse”?

Miguel: It’s an accurate description.

Arachnis: It sounds stupid. Cute, but stupid.

Miguel: How would you rename it?

Arachnis: The Spiderverse sounds like a better fit.

《🕷️》

Peter B. Parker: Has anyone seen Mayday?

Miles: *Nods* We haven’t seen her.

Gwen: Oh god. Let’s go find her.

[The Spider gang search everywhere in the building. Through the food court, to every sector, to the Go-Home area and even the darkest corners of the society.]

Hobie: *Spots a bundle of webbing by Sector 2* Found ‘em.

[Peter lifts off the flap that is attached to the funnel web and he finds a surprise inside.]

Arachnis: *Quietly napping with Mayday on their chest in the funnel-shaped web hammock*

Peter B. Parker: Awww. *Pulls out his phone and snaps some images*

Arachnis: *Wakes up drowsy and yawns* Huh? Peter?

Mayday: *Also wakes up and yawns* *Adorably rubs her eyes*

Peter B. Parker: Morning, sleepyheads.

Arachnis: *Takes out their mouth guards* Bleh.

Peter B. Parker: Huh. I didn’t know you wear retainers.

Arachnis: No, these are mouth guards. I can’t retract my fangs and don’t want to hurt Mayday.

Miles: When did you have time to make this?

Arachnis: Just an hour ago. It’s pretty easy when your role is Sentinel on missions.

《🕷️》

Arachnis: *Babysitting Mayday again* “Spider-Mayday! Spider-Mayday! Does whatever a spider can do! She can swing, from her web!”

Mayday: *Giggling while Arachnis lifts her around the air*

Miguel: *Watches the two playing around through his monitors*

Lyla: *Over his shoulder* Stalker, much?

Miguel: What? No. They’re still a possibility that they can be dangerous.

Arachnis: Look, Mayday. Check this out, *Creates a Web Barrier* Can you do that?

Mayday: *Manage to trap Arachnis in her webs* *Cheers happily*

Arachnis: *Wrapped up like a burrito* Somebody help me.

Lyla: Uh-huh, yeah. They seem dangerous.

《🕷️》

[Earth 2020-6-2, Valorant H.Q.]

Arachnis: *Contacting with the others through their watch* Sorry, Miguel. Things are tense at the VP now and I’m not sure how long it will take for the mess to settle down. There are major updates about Kingdom and something triggered my friend’s buddies from the revelations.

Gekko: *In the background trying to calm Thrash down with Wingman*

Miguel: Understandable. You do what you need to do. Just…

Arachnis: What?

Miguel: Just don’t get in trouble and do not fail your duties.

Arachnis: I know, you grump. You don’t have to remind me. Maybe when things get better, I’ll be back in the Society. Don’t miss me too much, big guy.

Miguel: I won’t miss you.

Arachnis: I know you will. Tell the others I’ll be gone for some time and be back soon. *Ends call*

[Back on Earth 928]

Lyla: You’re worried about them.

Miguel: No, I don’t.

Lyla: C’mon, admit it. I read the vitals and they don’t lie. You’re more than worried for their safety.

Miguel: Lyla, just stop. I understand they need to do their job. Just like everyone else.

Lyla: Not everyone faces their own double everyday to prevent a worldly disaster while avoiding hundreds of bullets.

Miguel: *Sighs* “Shock. I do worry for them.”

🕷️[Reblogs helps creators and creates for more content]🕸️

[Tagged]: @hhurric4ne @radianights @l0serloki @theladyheroine @mrssabinecallas

[neattequila]

Harry's Style Evolution (by an actual stylist) Part 3: Fine Line Era! Part 2 of 2*

Gorlies I can't believe I hit pic limit on the first Fine Line Era post (I can believe it, I have so much to say.)

Anyway this is Harry's Style evolution part THREE part TWO (like how they made Breaking Dawn two movies ya get me?)

*PLEASE read part 1 first. That is linked HERE!

2020

January of 2020 feels like it was a lifetime ago, but here we are. Fine Line the album just came out in December and after preforming the full album twice, once in LA and once in London. Harry's back in London for award season.

The pics aren't revealed til later but H rings in the New Year in the INFAMOUS "But Daddy I Love Him" shirt <3

Later in January arrives at Radio one in a gorgeous Bode jacket carrying Gucci's Jackie purse.

But girls (gender neutral) get comfy because it's time for the Brit Awards and the look we need to talk about is this one.

LISTEN!!! The girls that get it GET IT! Because this was EVERYTHING EVERYTHING!!!

To DATE I think this is the best award show look he's ever worn, contending only with the leather suit at the Grammy. I really thought this was going to be the new style. It's sexy, it's slightly punk, it's BRIT POP references chock full!

The Mary Janes, the Brown suit with the purple sweater and blue lace color with the pearls and the HAIR! THE BRIT POP PUNK HAIR! This was *chefs kiss* I am absolutely devastated that we never got anything like her again.

Also at the Brit Awards he wears this yellow suit paired with purple necktie, and Treat People With Kindness pin. For his beautiful falling performance he wears a full lace ensemble including gloves. This night is also includes my blog name's origins.

Fine Line promo continues and Harry wears a myriad of cozy outfits.

In New York he wears a JW Anderson cardigan, later to become TikTok famous with the "Be Healthy, Eat Your Honey" shirt and Gucci jeans. Later he wears another sweater vest (staple of the FL Era,) and for NPR's Tiny Desk he wears a Gucci mohair sweater.

At the beginning of the end March 2020 Harry's shoot for Beauty Papers comes out. One of my FAVORITE editorials he's ever in.

These photos are gorgeous, camp, sexy, kind of eerie. He's photographed and directed by Casper Sejersen who I think absolutely killed it. Beauty Papers always has amazing queer camp shoots and I highly recommend paying attention to them.

The world goes into lockdown and H releases the previously recorded "Watermelon Sugar" music video "Dedicated to touching."

Most of the ensemble is Gucci but some pieces were vintage thrifted including the loose-knit tank (right.)

Harry grows out his facial hair and becomes even sexier somehow.

Like fr. This is the hottest he's ever been. Left he wears a hoodie that he made himself printed with photographs of philosopher Alain de Botton, and paired with the vintage military jacket he was wearing in Japan during 2019. Middle I just think this pic of him is so hot, and right he wears a custom Bode shirt.

September 2020 Harry becomes the first man to ever be on the cover of Vogue!

Y'all I was so excited when this first came out. So imagine when I opened the magazine and saw the absolute trash outfits they put him in for it. Like literally all of these outfits are some of the worst he's ever worn. Like honey clean up! Vogue is here!

The only piece I adored from this whole shoot was the custom Bode pants. Bode has a chokehold on me and I wish Harry L would've featured more of them in this shoot.

In October of 2020...

The MV for Golden is released after being filmed in Italy and heavily features both Gucci and S.S. Daley pieces. The Eliou necklaces he covets make their first official debut in this video as well.

In November he films (released in December) this performance for iHeartRadio. He's wearing head to toe Gucci with a custom Eliou necklace. His hair and this performance is so dreamy. (Left)

He also starts filming Don't Worry Darling *crowd boos* and among his cozy on set looks this is my favorite. The pictures of him this day really made me go gaga. He wears a Free & Easy shirt paired with Elder Statesmen sweatpants and New Balance sneakers.

2021

It's 2021 baby! Harry rings in the new year by releasing the video for TPWK with Phoebe Waller Bridge

We're jumping to March 2021, I'm scared to hit pic limit again lol, with the GRAMMYS!

Harry wore three! outfits to the Grammy's where he took home his first ever Grammy for Song of the Year. All three looks were Gucci and all featured feather boas which he never wore again! Which is odd because it really seemed like it was going to be a tour staple, but wasn't!

Throughout the summer and into fall his personal style is very casual, this makes sense. We're still in a pandemic and everyone is trending to a more casual fit sense. I had to include the pink beanie because every time I remember that it's $112 I go inside. Girl I got the same one for like $10 from Forever21 5 years ago!

April/May

In April Harry stars in a Gucci campaign along with many other celebs (left,) he also attends the Brit awards in May (Right) wearing a Gucci ensemble that isn't bad but is nothing to write home about. This is the first time we see him in Gucci Gazelle sneakers which will later become a staple.

September the long awaited Love on Tour officially starts!

The tour kicks off in Las Vegas with a fun sparkly Gucci outfit, and continues with these suspender/open shirts/high waisted pants that we saw on the Fine Line cover. These outfits are underwhelming but do ultimately make sense.

The tour outfits really do blend together, the full collection can be found HERE, so here are three of my favorites <3

We'll end our Fine Line coverage with the first annual Harryween!

Harry wore custom Gucci ensembles for both, one dressing as Dorothy and one dressing as a pierrot.

Next is Harry's House Era!

Thank you again for all the love, and for bearing with me when I had to split these into two parts!

AGAIN PART ONE IS HERE!

See you next time <3

[pozzonero]

Anatomy of a callout, part 3

Shortly after the publication of the callout, Marianna the Influenza – a well-known feminist influencer/author, close friend of Giorgia Soleri, and one of Simona's original "welcomers" to Instagram - posts a direct link to the report on her IG story. In a personal note, she urges her 26,000 followers to bookmark the callout account in order to stay on top of breaking updates.

(Translation: "Follow @callout_influencers. Although abusers cannot be named for legal reasons, you will understand who they are.")

Soon thereafter – and seemingly unprompted – Giorgia posts a lengthy official statement on IG, confronting allegations that she knows something about the callout. She clarifies to her 700,000+ followers that she stands firmly on the side of "the victims" but firmly distances herself from the alleged crime:

(TRANSLATION: "Given that this story doesn't concern me and it already seems quite out of place to have to speak up, unfortunately some very serious accusations have been made against me from which I cannot but dissociate myself. I was not aware of any of the charges that were brought against a person who, by the way, is not even named in these charges. Imputing knowledge and therefore complicity on me and third parties is extremely serious and I ask you to realize the sensitivity and delicacy of the topic. My greatest thoughts and hugs go to the victims, whoever the abuser in question is. PS If you don't know what I'm talking about, please don't ask questions because we're not talking about gossip.")

Next, Laura shows her support by liking the callout report on IG.

This blink-and-you'll-miss-it detail causes the most damage of any action thus far. Before it appeared, one could defend Ethan in the belief that he had been misidentified and/or wrongly accused. But a wordless public endorsement by none other than his own ex-partner lends credibility to the accusation and silences anyone who asked for more proof.

Within hours, Federica Fabrizio - Giorgia’s closest friend and a prominent young feminist influencer in her own right - promotes the callout report to her own 87K+ followers, along with a cryptic caption.

(TRANSLATION: "A day will come when I stop surprising myself, but today is not that day")

As fandom descends into a welter of suspicion, accusation, condemnation, and rage, Federica follows up with an even more pointed (and distinctly triumphant) comment.

(TRANSLATION: "Sooner or later we will stop asking for justice and start demanding revenge, and at that point you will just have to take it")

On November 14th, Simona publishes a new story covering similar ground as before: emotional abuse, sexual coercion, unprotected intercourse, masculine arrogance hiding behind performative feminism. She warns that anyone could be an abuser– from your own friend to “a musician from the band you like”. Immediately following this story, she posts a video of a drummer performing (of all things) a Måneskin's biggest hit. What talent, reads the caption. The message is both coy and pointed: Fire your drummer and hire a substitute. Here, this one should do nicely.

In an echo of her comment thread brainstorming session, Simona also issues an explicit call to “name names”.

At this point in the callout saga, it is useful to look at who is following who on social media:

The above roll call dated November 15th shows a core group of five women whose activities are more or less enmeshed. Their association cannot be denied, nor can (in several cases) their prior connections to the chosen target. Right now, all focus is on him and his alleged but unproven wrongdoing. But the coordinated actions of these five women, the manner in which they implicate one another and give themselves away, will eventually need to be answered for.

So while we happen to be naming names, in no particular order…

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:

[sankta-starkova]

LETTERMAN

020; yes, and

previous chapter | next chapter | masterlist

summary: the one where ej and andy realise that there may be some romantic feelings between them that hadn't been there before, or had they? the new year test this revelation

wordcount: 1.4k

Andy scoffed as she leaned over Carlos' shoulder along with the rest of the group, watching the North High advertisement for Beauty and The Beast on his phone.

"Thats the bitch Lily from out auditions," Andy said, shaking her head at the screen.

"You mean perfect pitch, looks like an actual disney princess, mean girl Lily," Ashlyn said, pacing back and forth.

Miss Jenn walked, in looking at them, "Thank you for coming so quickly on a Saturday, but it seems we are missing a village idiot and a teapot," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"They said on the group chat they couldn't get anyone to cover their shifts at the pizza place," Seb explained.

Miss Jenn looked confused, everyone knowing that they had two separate group chats, one with the students and one with Miss Jenn as well.

"I meant the group chat with me, Andy and EJ," Seb said and Miss Jenn just went along with it.

"Back to the matter at hand," Miss Jenn said, "I can tell you've all seen the video,"

It was nerve wracking to know that East High had such a high production quality compared to theirs.

Everyone nodded, "Its incredible, even I have no notes, I can't believe they stole our show," Carlos exclaimed.

"Miss Jenn, how are we supposed to beat North High at the Menkies if they're churning out this a second after changing their musical?" Ashlyn asked and everyone started to freak out.

Miss Jenn clapped her hands, everyone going silent as they waited for her to provide a solution.

"Wildcats, North High is clearly focusing on bells and whistles. All we need is to get back to basics," she said, explaining that they were going to spend the rest of the weekend doing an active intensive.

"I'm gonna have to cancel the table for tonight," EJ whispered into Andys ear. She nodded. It was their first date tonight and for the third time, it had been cancelled.

Andy just wanted this perfect first date with him, one where they could sit around and just chat and she didn't care if that was in a Carrabba's or a random parking lot.

She reached down, squeezing his hand and feeling him squeeze back.

"Don't forget, we have something North High doesn't have, a brand new original song for the beast and the rose," Miss Jenn explained, Nini was now playing the rose.

They all did some weird warm up exercises, Nini leaving to go and write the song.

They performed loads of weird exercises and finally it was time to practice some improv.

"Ashlyn will start us off, Gina agree with what she says and then carry on, lets get a suggestion for the location" Miss Jenn said.

"The louvre?" EJ suggested, Miss Jenn loving the idea. He smiled, reaching down and grabbing Andys hand.

"I thought this was meant to be a secret relationship?" She whispered to him and he smiled, squeezing her hand.

"Nobody will notice," he promised, the two going back to watching Ashlyn and Gina's improv.

She shook her head, a giddy smile on her face as she felt his hand in hers.

Gina didn't seem connected to the piece and Ashlyn got frustrated, leaving the scene as they finished the improv.

She called Carlos and Seb to the front and they performed some improv.

After a long and incredibly tiring day, Andy and EJ walked outside, her uncle waving from his car.

"Andy!" He exclaimed and she looked at her boyfriend confused before walking over with EJ behind her.

"Hey James, whats up?" She asked, not understanding why her uncle was sitting in his car in the parking lot with flowers and a picnic basket.

"Sophie told me that Viv told her that you told her that you and EJ are dating so I brought you a first date picnic basket," he said, freezing when he saw her confused face, "But if you don't want it-"

Andy cut him off, she just froze because she felt so grateful, "No! It's great," she said before turning to EJ, "I'm up to it if you are,"

He smiled at her, walking over and helping rake the picnic basket out of the car, "Course I am Andy," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"You watch those hands mister," James said with a smile, "Your mum and dad went on a similar first date, back in high school,"

Andy smiled half heartedly at the sentiment, thanking her uncle before walking to the park with EJ.

The two sat there, eating food and just talking about school and the play and everything - it was absolutely perfect.

There was something nice and simple about it just being the two of them with no fuss..

"Do you wish your dad was here, to see all this?" EJ asked randomly and when he saw Andy freeze up, his eyes went wide with panic, "Sorry! God, I shouldn't have brought that up,"

Andy chuckled, "It's fine EJ, I can talk about my dad without bursting into tears," she took a deep breath, "Of course I do, but I try not to linger on the thought,"

For a while, it was silent, both teenagers just looking at each other with smiles on their faces.

EJ leaned in, placing a hand on her cheek, "Your dad would be so proud of you, I know I am," he said and she just blushed.

It was always going to be a slightly tough conversation but she was a grown up and could handle it.

"That means a lot Eej," she said, leaning in closer so that their noses were touching.

"I'm gonna kiss you now," he whispered and she smiled as his lips pressed up against hers in a sweet kiss.

When they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers, his hand going to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"You're perfect," he whispered and she smorted at his cheesiness.

He started laughing as well when he heard her snort, her hands going up to clasp her mouth. They both broke out into laughs, the two teenagers lost in each other completely.

There was something easy about being around EJ. She never had to worry about doing something dumb.

When they finished, there was a tiny, many make out session on the blanket that Andy had to cut short.

"My uncle will be pissed if I'm late home," she said, a sad tone to her voice.

She didn't want the date to end and neither did he.

They took a slow walk through the suburbs, under the blossoming flowers of the trees and the blue skies.

It seemed like the perfect day, his hand in hers as he held her close, the picnic basket in the other hand.

She looked up at him, his eyes shining in the light. She let out a small chuckle, unable to fathom how she had managed to find someone like him.

"What?" He asked, stopping at the start of their street, looking down at her.

As EJ looked at her, he couldn't understand why someone as amazing as her would ever choose someone like him.

He brushed a piece of her away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. He watched a blush spread across her cheeks at the action.

"Just wondering how I got this lucky," Andy stated.

He smiled, that perfect smile that had made her fall for him in the first place and she knew he was the perfect boy for her.

"Well I don't know how I got this lucky, so i guess we're both in shock," he stated.

She hummed in response before looking behind her at their houses next to each other.

"Pretty good first date if you ask me," Andy said and he nodded.

He squeezed her hand as he walked her over to her door.

"Yeah, and plenty more to come. I'll pick you up Sunday, I'll surprise you with a great second date," he said, sticking his pinky finger out as they reached their houses, stopping.

"Deal," she said, pulling him in for a quick kiss before walking away, opening her door and taking one last look at EJ.

He waved at her and she smiled before closing the door, a giddy grin stuck on her face.

Vivian was standing there and looked at her little sisters elated expression and she knew there would be no boy that could compare to EJ Caswell after this.

Taglist:

@maggiecc @hesfasttandshesweird

[frozenmikan]

Love Live! Days x Nikkei Entertainment - Liella! ON Volume 1

Check out the original interview in Nikkei Entertainment June 2023, available for purchase on Amazon JP here.

Yuigaoka Girls' High School School Idol Club's Monthly Report

What she really wanted to say during the MC of the final leg of the tour

In this column held in collaboration with Love Live! Days, we follow the activities of Liella!, the school idol group from Love Live! Superstar!!. In this volume, Date Sayuri, the voice of Shibuya Kanon, shares what the group has achieved in March and April 2023.

Summary of This Month Final leg of the tour, new album, and new first-years

March 4-5 Final leg of the 3rd Live Tour at Belluna Dome

Now that I think about it, (the Saitama leg at) Belluna Dome felt really special. The setlist was different from the other legs, and we even performed Second Sparkle for the first time on Day 2. It was also special since I approached both days with very different states of mind. On Day 1, it just didn’t feel real, and my head was in the clouds from the rehearsal to the end of the performance. It felt like my memories of that performance went missing, like, did I even perform on that day?

Day 2 was also the final performance of the live tour, so I remember telling myself to make sure to commit the performance into memory. But, I ended up getting too excited and didn’t manage to say what I really wanted to say during my final MC… What I really wanted to convey back then was the frustration and disappointment I felt upon the realization that although Kanon-chan managed to overcome her worries and take the next step forward, I myself didn’t manage to hold my head high and grow when faced with the same worries.

I’ve received many encouraging words in response to what I said back then. There were people who said something like “You’re two different people, so it’s understandable that seeing Kanon-chan’s good points would make you realize your own weaknesses. You don’t need to try too hard to become Kanon-chan”. That made me think that perhaps I would be able to enjoy myself more and look towards the future if I didn’t fixate over becoming one and the same as Kanon-chan. I have nothing but gratitude for everyone who wrote those comments as they were the ones who brought me to this realization.

March 15 Release of 2nd Album, Second Sparkle

The title song of the album, Second Sparkle, was a song that the group really wanted everyone to listen to in full as soon as possible, so we were all ecstatic when it was finally released. Thoughts like “You’re all so cool!” and “I could go on all day about this song!” were ones that we could totally relate to (laughs). I think we managed to show off a new side of us in the music video as well.

On the other hand, the recording of my solo, Free Flight, came and went without me coming to an interpretation that I felt satisfied with… So, if I have the opportunity to perform the song in the future, I do hope that I’d be able to perform it in a way that I’d be satisfied with. Hopefully I’d be able to look back at this moment with some optimism in the future, and look back fondly at the time when I wasn’t quite sure how to approach the song.

We’ll be having a meet-and-greet event in May for the release of Second Sparkle as well. It’s my first time doing an event like this as the voice of Shibuya Kanon, so I’m really looking forward to it!

April 1 Release of April Fool’s video

A video titled Onifessional - Their Way of Work was released for a limited time on the official YouTube channel, in which the nine of us acted as employees of a fictional events company. I was definitely shocked that we’d be doing a live-action video when I first heard about it, but all of us loved projects that went all out on the ridiculousness, so I left behind any sense of embarrassment I had and dove straight in (laughs). When we received the script, we were told that basically, most of it would be ad-libbed. Both participating in a live-action production and ad-libbing were things that I’ve never done before, so I had a lot of fun.

Each of us had a character setting in the script that we received, and what I got was three phrases: “Has been in the company for three years”, “A moodmaker that’s always cheerful”, and “Loves using quotes whenever she can”. I therefore decided to look up people I could use as a reference, as well as quotes that virtually everyone would know. There was a part when I said something like “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’”, and the only instructions the script had was “act like something or someone”. I’m sure many of you have already noticed, but I did use that famous actor as a reference!

There was one thing I felt was quite difficult though. Even though I tried my best to put on an act, I received many comments that went “that’s basically just Date Sayuri”. That was somewhat frustrating (laughs). But, in the making-of video that’s currently available on Liella! Club, Emori (Aya)-chan said, “You’re going back to being Sayuri!”, and I responded by telling myself to get into character, so do check that out as well!

April 28 Announcement of new first-years and unit groupings

On this day, it was announced that Wien Margarete and Onitsuka Tomari would be joining Liella! as new first-years, and the group would be split into three units. Joining Kanon-chan’s unit would be Heanna Sumire (voiced by Payton Naomi) and Yoneme Mei (voiced by Yabushima Akane).

First of all, about the new first-years, I expected Kanon-chan’s younger sister, Aria-chan to join, given their age gap, but instead, we got Oninatsu’s younger sister instead, which was quite unexpected. I was quite surprised to learn that she even had a sister (laughs). I have yet to meet the voice of Tomari-chan, but since everyone in Liella! is very kind, I hope she has an enjoyable time here. As for the voice of Wien (Margarete), Yuina-chan, she has already gone on an entire tour with us, so I am really excited about the new first-years.

We heard about who would be in which unit after Day 2 at Belluna Dome, and I remembered being quite surprised at the size of the units, as well as the fact that Kanon, Sumire, and Mei would be in the same unit. Personally, I have the feeling that we were split into units based on our singing voices. I don’t know the concepts of each unit yet, so that’s something that I’m quite excited about (laughs).

Agenda for Next Month The theme song of SIF2

May 17 Release of new single, MIRACLE NEW STORY

Liella! was picked to perform the theme song of SIF2 [1], and it’s a song that makes me want to carry the weight of SIF2 when we perform it live in the future. There are a lot of lines that relate to “singing out loud together”, so not only is it a perfect fit for SIF2’s theme song, it’s also a perfect fit for Liella! now that we’re now able to hold performances where cheers are allowed. The coupling song for the single is also a song that’s quite conducive to cheers, so I’m hoping that it’ll become a song that’ll feel complete when the fans are performing it with us, and that it’ll help shape the new Liella!.

Also, I personally love the SIF game, and being able to listen to all kinds of songs from the Love Live! franchise is definitely one of its strengths. I’d be glad if it gave people who haven’t heard Liella!’s songs an opportunity to listen to our songs, to develop an interest in them, and to eventually fall in love with our songs.

May 27 BUSHIROAD ROCK FESTIVAL 2023

We participated in MEGA VEGAS 2023 on March 11, and we could tell that there’ll be a lot of rock fans in attendance just from what the venue looked like. Because of that, we thought we couldn’t lose to everyone else performing, and that sweating is part and parcel of the rock experience, so we definitely did sweat a lot more than we usually do on that day (laughs). It was quite liberating, in a way. I had a lot of fun imagining what a rock-inspired Kanon-chan would be like, which made me really grateful to receive the opportunity to perform at BUSHIROAD ROCK FESTIVAL 2023. The first time we participated in a music festival held outdoors was Bannam Fest last year, so this is our second time doing this. There was a moment when I felt infinitely small compared to the vast venue that we performed at last time, so I hope I’ll be able to overcome that feeling this time! It was also announced that we’ll be performing in this summer’s Animelo Summer Live 2023 -AXEL- on March 19, so I hope we’ll be able to show what it means to be Liella! at the various music festivals as well. 

[1] The official name of the game is Love Live! School Idol Festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE!, a smartphone rhythm game released on April 15 as the successor to Love Live! School Idol Festival, which had been in operation for ten years.

Translator: xIceArcher Quality Check: Yujacha (@yujachachacha)

[speakeasy8]

[004] Fujii, K. (through the eyes of Zuzzu, his manager)

Kaze’s Autumn Fest  

(TL: This is a 4-part entry covering the LASA Concert @ Panasonic Stadium Suita of which I’m only doing the second one, because it’s the most interesting.) 

- Staff journal entry dating 28 October 2022, by Zuzzu 

The first time I saw Kaze perform live was at a show with an audience of about a hundred. Advance tickets were sold out. Setlist was comprised of well-known covers and the original songs he was already performing live back then were NaN-NaNw and Choshinochatte.  The immensity of his skills needs no introduction, and whether it be witnessed within videos on YouTube or live in front of an audience, his desire to entertain and deliver high quality enjoyment to the audience is an overpowering one. 

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From that point at the very beginning to the LOVE ALL SERVE ALL Stadium Live four years later, it’s been a long journey of carefully finding ways to introduce the existence known as Fujii Kaze to the world. It’s a process that involved many long discussions, sharing of ideas and working around issues which were all done as a team (Kaze himself included, of course), and it still continues to this day.  I could tell from the get-go through the very first performance I experienced that Kaze already had it all: singing ability, piano skill, audience engagement, you name it. But the more I learn about him as a person, the more apparent it became that he isn’t somebody who can or should be simply thrust to the world, as the chances of it leading to grave misunderstanding is pretty high.  As such, I figured it‘d be wiser to first show people what he is able to offer as a musician, instead of simply suddenly unveiling to the world who he essentially is as a person. It was just a gut feeling I had. 

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Another aspect I had to consider was the fact that he’s been uploading videos of himself performing piano covers on YouTube since little, so anyone who knew him from those would only know him as a cover artist there, as he hadn’t shared any of his own original works. As someone who got to hear his original songs pretty early on, I had to tackle the issue of how and when best to present them, as I felt the initial performances that would introduce him to the world should be centered on them and not the covers that he does.  If a number of people got to hear his music first, then perhaps the time for us to introduce him to a wider audience would come. But would people really understand simply from listening to his music? 

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See, even for me, it took a while before his nature finally sunk in. In the earliest stages, I didn’t know anything apart from what I was able to see on the surface. Even now, I cannot confidently claim that I know everything there is to know about him.   The way he thinks and lives and the fact the he is a vegetarian, I couldn’t help but to stop and ask myself how old this kid really is. Based on physical appearance alone, he doesn’t look particularly out of the norm age-wise, but the moment I got a better glimpse of his mentality, the number my mental calculation came up with was 109. And the more I got to know him, the more certain of it I became. What’s scary is, this was the impression that I got right from the time I first met him and, even until now, it hasn’t changed. I know I sound absurd but even as the depth of his soul seems bottomless, there are also very simple things that he’s somehow managed to remain completely ignorant about. This yawning gap that he has, it‘s pretty astounding.   This is veering off topic a little but here’s a recent example:  Kaze: Would ye mind stoppin by a convenience store? Ah wanna withdraw me some monies.  --At the parking area of a convenience store-- Me: Aite, imma wait here for ya.  --5 minutes later-- Me: (What’s taking him so long? He said he was only gonna make a withdrawal.)     --A wild Kaze then hesitantly appears at the entrance. Looking lost, he shuffles his way back.-- Kaze: Ah couldnae wit’draw nothin. None o’ these cards seem ta work. :((   Me: Wha? Why? It clearly says ATM there on the entrance.  --And so I ended up going in with him-- Kaze: So ah wuz tryna insert mah card in ‘ere... Me: ...this is a Loppi. It’s a ticket machine, not an ATM.  Kaze: Ooooh! No wonder it wuz spittin out tix instead~~!  And this isn’t the only example. Things like this happen a few times on an almost daily basis. Anything that doesn’t bear a significant interest to him, he is completely ignorant about.  

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HELP EVER HURT NEVER was released in 2020.  And in 2022, it was followed by LOVE ALL SERVE ALL.  Both albums carry his core message. It is delivered musically-- embedded within the words, melodies and music videos. According to him, everything he feels he wants to sing about up to this point, has already been sung.   The LOVE ALL SERVE ALL Stadium Live in October is where we wanted to showcase everything Kaze had to offer musically. But just as we were thinking that, in came the docomo future project “KAZE FILMS,” through which the song “grace” was born. What’s even more amazing is that the director, after listening to the song, proposed that the music video be shot in India, a place that bears significant meaning to Kaze, being a big part of his roots. (I’ll be talking more about the music video itself in another entry.)  The origin of Kaze’s mindset, I feel, lies in India, where his family visited while he was still just a foetus sleeping within his mother, and where they went again to give thanks not too long after he finally came into the world.  

When the idea to hold this stadium concert was greenlit, Kaze and I first spoke about making it something that introduces both albums, with an emphasis on LOVE ALL SERVE ALL, and we’d base the infrastructural setup on Kaze’s mindset, turning it into a visual representation of sorts.  All the things that make Kaze who he is: his vegetarianism, his love for animals, and his Indian-based mindset, how do we apply these concepts to this stadium concert?  All other aspects other than the musical one were still only WIP right up until the beginning of September, and while whatever we could move forward with we did, the design aspect was still cloudy so it was absolutely serendipitous that we somehow ended up actually being able to visit the country mid-September.  

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I intend to journalize this trip here someday but for now, I’ll just say that the people who went with us were the film crew who shot NaN-NaNw in NYC, Universal’s Higashi-san, the graphic designer behind all of Kaze’s professional releases and merch so far, Motty Marui-san, the cameraman Ono-san, and the hairstylist-cum-makeup artist Matsuno-san, who was joining a Team Kaze project for the first time. With the creative team in tow, and through the sights that we all took in together with Kaze in India, we were finally able to determine the direction of the overall thematical design to take for the show.  The LASA flag, the staircase leading up, the décor in the SERVE ALL Area, the fresco decorating the stadium itself, the décor in the LOVE ALL Area, the smaller flags and banners, the sounds and the smells.   

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With this, the time where we can finally show to the world Kaze's inherent nature in the most visual form possible is finally upon us.  

Photos by: Yosuke UEYAMA 

[jules-has-notes]

The Sing-Off, s.4 ep.4 — My Generation

The remaining four groups who hadn't competed in episode 3 did so in this one, and the the adherance to the theme was just as loose. It seems that the groups only had to choose songs that impacted a generation, not necessarily their own. Nonetheless, they all did a great job with what they had.

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Group opener

[WARNING: The staging of this piece includes flashing lights.]

With fewer singers in the mix, the choreographers had a field day moving folks around and giving them big, dramatic steps to do, and it works really well. The arrangers did a great job transitioning between the songs, as well. And, of course, the competitors performed everything beautifully.

Details:

title: group B opening medley

original songs / performers: "My Generation" by The Who; [0:30] "We Will Rock You" by Queen; [1:00] "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons

written by: "My Generation" by Pete Townshend; "We Will Rock You" by Brian May; "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons

arranged by: The Sing-Off arrangers

air date: 16 December 2013

My favorite bits:

Austin and Honey dueting on the lead to kick things off

the way the arrangement passes the lead vocals around, even with fewer groups to feature

Earl leading the charge for the second section

Tony going hard with the dance moves up front

the percussionists bringing back the "We Will Rock You" drumbeat underneath "It's Time"

Earl throwing the horns while belting out that high note

just how much fun it looks like everyone's having

and VoicePlay once again being in easy-to-spot wardrobe

Trivia:

One of the Vocal Rush chaperones recorded a rehearsal for the kids from the audience. The video quality isn't great, but you can definitely hear everyone.

VoicePlay later also included an excerpt of "We Will Rock You" in their "Queen in 5 Minutes" medley.

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Theme reveal

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Order of performances

Home Free — "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash

VoicePlay — "Don't Speak" by No Doubt

Element — "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes

Vocal Rush — "Holding Out For a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler

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VoicePlay performance

[Here is another version with the intro package and judges' comments.]

The show was, above all things, a reality TV competition, so appealing to the judges' tastes was pretty important. VoicePlay had struggled to truly impress Ben Folds with their ecclectic musical style, so when he asked for more emotion and consistency, they gave it to him in their own special way.

Details:

title: Don't Speak

original performers: No Doubt

written by: Gwen Stefani & Eric Stefani

arranged by: Layne Stein, Eli Jacobson, & Honey Larochelle

air date: 16 December 2013

My favorite bits:

Layne starting with a bare percussion line, removing the need to count them in

the gradual layering and swells to reach a small emotional peak at the end of the first chorus

Geoff holding the low end steady so the higher voices can soar, and giving their sound more breadth

Eli's big old descending riff, and the moment of silence that lingers just long enough afterward

the repeated ♫ "I don't want to kno-ow" ♫ in the harmony lines after the bridge

the vulnerability of ending on just Honey's voice for the last few words

Trivia:

Layne took inspiration from Jeff Thatcher's percussion line in Rockapella's "Ellie My Love" for this arrangement.

Some viewers made fun of the gang's pattern-tastic wardrobe, but ska-punk fashion of the era was actually just kinda like that.

Of the four groups in this "my generation" themed episode, VoicePlay were the only ones who actually performed a song that was released during their formative years. Or their lifetimes, for that matter.

Layne's then-girlfriend Cyndi was in the audience cheering on her fella.

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Judges' choice

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Ultimate sing-off

Element vs. Vocal Rush — "Survivor" by Destiny's Child

Eliminated: Element

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Since neither VoicePlay or Home Free ended up in the ultimate sing-off battle, they took the hard work they put into arranging and rehearsing "Survivor" and made their own video out of it.

[adultswim2021]

Metalocalypse #31: “Dethrace” | June 16, 2008 - 12:00AM | S02E11

NOTE: I wrote this last night, but accidentally saved it as a draft instead of scheduling it to post. Sorry, bros.

Hey, I’m going easy on myself tonight. I deserve it after that last gigantic post. The Venture Bros. can take a lot out of me. Gosh, it’s a lot!

This one is a bit slight, and hardly excellent, but it's a nice hang with my personal close friends, the men from Metalocalypse Rock Band. In this one, Murderface is miffed that Toki and Skwisgaar have undermined his command performance of the Star Spangled Banner using nothing more than his dick and a bass guitar. They undermined Murderface by being in a high speed police chase, which interrupts the broadcast of Murderface rockin with his brain out. 

Speaking of brain out, the best scene in this episode are Toki and Skwisgaar at traffic school, watching an ultra violent educational video about how being irresponsible with your car can get your body all wet and in pieces. It is wet from your blood getting escaped from your body. Good lines, gruesome drawings, it’s the good shit of the episode. 

Murderface wants to do a convoluted event that’s a race and also a concert. Toki and Skwisgaar get involved by way of their community service. And Nathan Explosion and Pickles not only have nothing to do with the plot, but they make a point to just always be reading the paper whenever they are referred to. This is a funny meta-joke about how frustrating it must be to have a show like this and constantly have to come up with individual plots for each character. At least, I assume that’s what this is.

MAIL BAG

Hi this is Gabe Teplen the original voice of Moltar. I just want to say you are doing a great job and maybe give the original Space Ghost a spin sometimes. My granddaughters say it's just as funny as Coast to Coast.

Hi, my name is Mayor Giuliani, and I'm gay

I have a blog where I cover Adult Swim's original comedy shows in chronological order from the first stealth pilot premieres onward. every episode of every adult swim original program reviewed by a middle-aged dipshit. go here if you wanna start at the start

Hey, fuck you man, don't copy and paste stuff I say on other websites and then combine it with stuff I say on this website and send it to me anonymously. That is really fucking rude and it pisses me off. I'm actually pissed off about this. EAT SHIT MOTHER FUCKER

Should I go see Barbie or Oppenheimer? Let's date these blog posts. Which one are you more willing to see? Provided you get a big hamburger and fries with your movie either way.

You should watch any other movie. But if I had to pick between those two I'd watch Barbie. Oppenheimer just seems too boring, sorry. How big is the hamburger

Lesbian porno was like really good in the 80s but as time went on it just became so bad. Sure there are still hot women fucking but there is no sensuality. You can tell they are doing it contractually and have no love in licking pussy, ect. What do you think?

I don't like discussing sexual stuff because it's alienating, but I disagree. We are living in a golden age of sapphic erotica, and you need look no further than two girls I call Angela & Strawberry. Look them up. They lick, they suck, they finger, and they ... FUCK?????

You're supreme hatred of pitbulls is so funny. My aunt had a pitbull. She died.

I'm sorry to hear about your Aunt that got eatten by her own pitbull :(

I would prefer if you just said nothing than do the AI bit. I have to deal with my favorite fast food reviewer outsourcing his titles/descriptions to ChatGPT and it's quite frankly distasteful. The shit doesn't know anything about anything.

FUCK YOU! FREEDOM OF GENERATED SPEECH BITCH!! But by coincidence I've decided to retire the bit, but not because of you. It's my choice and I'm the boss and I'm the one that says how the rules goes.