#or b) they're taking advantage of his popularity

[flythesail]

I wonder if Amandla and Manny got the news before or with everyone else

[angelicsjn]

How would ocs act if darling is already in an established relationship with someone else? Also I'm really interested in your religious oc, religious themes and imbalances just get me going lol

YOUR SEVEN YANDERES.

A N: This might be a lil short, my apologies...

A B O U T: You are in a relationship, and it's not with them.

W A R N I N G S: Hints of homewrecking.

— ROMAN BEAUREGARD.

Have you heard rumours around F1 drivers and their dating lives?

He doesn't care.

Call him Ariana Grande because he will break into your house and make you a new home.

If he wants you, he will get you, regardless of your relationship status.

But, he does it in a way that's so seamless that nobody even questions his motives, I mean. If it's true love, who is he to leave that chance?

— LATEN REED.

He's not like Roman, but he's still on it.

He wants that damn cookie.

He uses his popularity to his advantage. Everyone loves him, and it's easy for him to turn your partner into an enemy.

He will snoop around and find out anything that makes them even look slightly bad and capitalises on it.

— JAE 'NIKO' LEE.

This man straight up doesn't give a fuck.

He'd kill the bitch for even sniffing around you.

"You can do better than them, they're weird as fuck." And honestly, he's so true (he's got you bedazzled by his good looks)

— KAIDAN WOLFE.

No.... you don't....?

They don't exist to him.

One day, you're with someone. The next you're, like, not. You're with him.

He makes sure that the whole world knows, even you find out when you go onto your phone to see it's blown the hell up.

— HAYDEN WEST.

He's biting his fist.

He's a good boy. He can't do this. He feels so guilty.

So he settles with a friendship....

But he's so attentive. So kind. Caring. It's hard not to fall in love, really.

— JOSHUA WHITE.

Joshua is seen as one of the sweeter few, but he's very deceptive like that.

They aren't a follower of God? He turns the town on them. They said the Lords name in vain? He's rubbing his hand together.

He finds anything to turn the town against them. He finds anything to turn you against them.

He wouldn't make you cheat, no. But he will help you end it with them.

— BLAKE CROSS.

"That's... you chose that?" He'd actually laugh. "Come on, you're too good looking for that thing, Jesus Christ. We're you drunk?"

He's obvious that he wants a piece, and to be frank, he doesn't care. Lmao.

He makes it obvious, and why wouldn't you want him back? He's good-looking, rich, funny, he will take care of you.

He doesn't force it. He doesn't have to. He just worms his way into your life and gets comfortable. That's enough.

[merakiui]

Been waiting to do thisss

⭐️ for tmdg!!! Plssss!!!!

Omg I've been wanting to ramble about tmdg!!! Thank you for asking!! <3 there are many details to discuss, but I listed a few below!

(ask game)

✧ many moray eel facts and behaviors are scattered throughout the story. Like the gaping mouths to signal a want to mate or their toxic blood or how most morays aren't monogamous or how they're a territorial species. Additionally, since Jade and Floyd are canonically bioluminescent, I thought it would be interesting if they were able to glow brightly when they're attracted to someone. >:D

✧ "body language" is mentioned often. this is an allusion to The Little Mermaid (specifically Ursula's line of "and don't underestimate the importance of body language!"), but also a nod to how moray eels interact in courtship. A lot of the gestures are based on body language, and I love the concept of the trio using body language as a means of flirting or conveying certain feelings without having to verbalize them.

✧ the scene in which reader becomes a grouper mer,,,, moray eels and groupers are actually hunting partners. they have a mutualistic bond in which they work together to hunt for meals. it's initiated by the grouper approaching the eel's living space and signaling to them through body language that they'd like to engage in a joint hunt. this is meant to mirror the mutualism Jade and reader have as well as show just how good of a match they are. Even as mers, they are perfect for each other. <3

✧ the title "The Most Dangerous Game" refers to the short story of the same name, in which a hunter is stranded on an island and meets a general who loves to hunt the most dangerous game of all (human beings). For you and Jade, the most dangerous game involves navigating your situationship while trying not to fall for him and his charms. There's a point in the story where you may be able to catch Reader's shifting feelings. >:)

✧ you can tell Jade really does love you when he gives you the entire tray of mushroom brownies. Jade is a foodie with a big appetite and he loves to eat, so for him to bake an entire tray of something and then not keep a single leftover for himself,,,, oh, he's so in love. orz he wants to provide for you, not just by cooking meals for you, but in many other ways as well, such as when he comforts you during the times in which you get upset and cry. :D I like to imagine one of the biggest love languages for merfolk is giving gifts (whether that's actual materialistic items or something intangible like quality time). it's a guarantee you'll be well-fed with Jade because he loves cooking for you!!!!

✧ heliotrope symbolism (eternal love).

✧ the moon and star comparisons. you liken Floyd to a star: something that shines brightly but can also be popular if not read as the astronomical definition. Jade likens you to the moon because, unlike the stars, there is only one moon (Earth's moon) and thus there is only one of you. but there's also something so romantic in Jade pining for the moon because the sky and sea are so separate from one another. truly a bittersweet reflection of Jade's feelings. they're as deep as the sea, but can't be encapsulated in the solar system because there is no room for him there (not when you're so in love with Floyd and have made him your entire world). orz

✧ the recurring mention of scent. I like the idea of merfolk being able to scent their partners so that it's easier to find them, but also so that they can make it known to others that that person is taken. >:) Jade claims he's been scenting you for fun, but the truth is that he fully intended to let everyone know that you are his. <3 Jade takes advantage of your limited knowledge on mer customs and culture hehe.

✧ all of the times in which Floyd (the real Floyd) is being sweet to you (buying you perfume or kissing you on the cheek)... those are just his ways of being much too friendly towards you. he never had any romantic attraction towards you to begin with, which is why it drove Jade so crazy because you were looking at and loving the wrong eel!!!! T_T

✧ the times in which phony Floyd is talking about Jade are actually Jade's true feelings and actions. he really did stay up late to learn new recipes for you. and he truly isn't very physical with others. jade just loves you too much and likes being near you, touching you, kissing you, etc. orz he had to say those things as floyd, otherwise he would have just said them outright and he's trying to have some tact. ;;;;

✧ the dinner date scene was Jade's attempt at having a genuine date with you, but because you're so Floyd-brained you mistook his gesture as being part of your arrangement. ^^;;;; in fact, most of the times in which Jade tries to be authentic, you either don't believe him or interrupt him to ramble about Floyd LOL. but the dinner date was the one time in which he was hoping to do something with you that wasn't part of your deal and instead just something between you and jade. >_< he's trying his best...

✧ the waltz you share with Jade is 100% courtship. reader refers to it as a "competition, not courtship," but she forgets Octavinelle is underwater and thus, as Jade noted, both of those things are indeed the same under the sea.

✧ when you ask Jade what the both of you will be after your tryst in the Coral Sea, he leaves the specifics up to you for your decision. he does this a lot in the fic (such as asking if you'd like the dinner date to qualify as such) because, though he appears mostly confident in his actions and words, he's too cowardly to clearly illustrate what the two of you are and doesn't want to do so when he knows you may not reciprocate. he also just wants to hear the words from your mouth because he hopes that, after all of these questions, you'll eventually say the thing he wants to be with you: lovers. :D

✧ alongside Jade and reader having a few similarities (one of which being the obsessive degrees they're willing to go to for their crush), there's significance in their feelings and how they handle them. reader's chasing someone who will never turn around to look at and love her. Jade's chasing someone who only looks at him when he's Floyd. though reader loves to extremes, she's scared of that love being reciprocated, which is partially why she doesn't let Jade say "I love you," whereas Jade just doesn't want to love in silence. they're both not the best at navigating love, and the ways they do it are,,,, questionable. orz but they both understand each other on that level because they're so obsessed. it's crazy to crazy communication. to quote Azul: "a match made in madness."

[neutrallyobsessed]

do you think joan or topher gets more manipulative with the other? id assume topher of coursee but joan could be toxic in her own way with her self pity and ego

Anon, you deserved to be open mouth kissed on the mouth, cause holy shit you are so right and true, this ask got me salivating. MUCHISIMO TEXTO and season 3 never happes, I hope you enjoy ^^

Ok, so yeah it is Topher doing the most manipulating here, of Joan and her enviroment, from mostly keeping her in the house and monitoring her online activity ("the vpn works so not even I can see what you're doing"-he lied straight to her face, and in her ignorance, she believed it) to always being with her when going out, allowing her just enough independance so she can think that everything is alright. ("he worries about me like any good boyfriend does :)")

Current as I write, Joan is in a very weak state of mind, in a way, Joan herself is asking to be leashed and secluded from society, Topher just happens to be "the best" guy to provide her that shelter and a bond of sorts that will bring her back some stability to her life.

("Please don't let me go :("-"I won't")

As her mind """"gets better"""", Topher is more comfortable with letting her off the leash to roam around, after all, they're getting to the point that she will always return to his side by her own choice.

Joan has big, to say MASSIVE abandonment issues that she carries back from season 1 when her house caught on fire, losing Toots and then Gandhi while she was frozen but he wasn't thawed out, and jeez, the hell that was 2x10: losing her new friends, her new popular status, her new house, her new foster mom, her future even, with no college or no world leader position, her vision is too clouded to see any other possibilities, and of course, losing not one but two boys she loved. If Topher can A) Get this information* to B) Use it on his advantage, to make himself Her safe haven that Will Stay no matter what, that person that Will Be There For Her no matter what, have her to trust him in all that in exchange of her also Being There And Staying With Him no matter what. It'll be done. She's locked in. She'll make the conscious choice of holding on to him and he only has to hold her back.

[last minute addition: poisoning her memories, specially the ones concerning season 2, how she wasn't "truly happy" with them, that she "wasn't herself" with them because they could "never accept her". But with him, she can really Be Herself and he'd Accept all of it, the good the bad the neutral the whatever. They'll make new memories togheter to overwrite the "bad"(? ones, he'll make sure to be in all of her new good happy memories. He'll make sure to make her happy, make sure she feels loved and cherished and wanted and needed. I choose to believe in my heart of hearts that Topher really has a crush and is in love with Joan, he's weird and obsessive about it but it is Real Love ♥]

I'm writting this fic where I explore Joan's developing agoraphobia, as she goes out by herself because "being always holed up here and always being with him can't be good in the long run" but all the time she's feeling angsty, jumpy, taking deep breaths to calm down, from what exactly? well, she can't put a finger on it yet but the paragraph above tells you all you need to know and I'm not spoiling it further :v

[Read my fic where he just lies to her about her ex-friends but she's to busy finding his voice hot xdd]

For Joan getting more manipulative, that's something that happens waaaaay into the future, where Topher no longer worries about her leaving him so keeping the wife happy by giving in to what she wants is fairly easy, just mantaining the balance so she doesn't become too spoiled or bratty as he's like 98% aware of what she's trying to pull. She can bat her cute big eyes at him, promise a reward and it's a deal. After all you read, I think it's safe to say that if she gets out of hands, he can throw the "You're Ungrateful™" card and win, right?

Topher can stroke Joan's ego all nice and well btw, feeling bad so she can feel good, he knows how to satisfy her needs, her unspoken thirst for attention. I like to think that Joan feels like she's taking advantage of Topher's affection to satisfy her emotional/physical needs but doesn't really pay attention to that much and if she does fall for him (which she will) then it's no longer "taking advantage", right?

That being said, Joan is perfectly capable of pulling Topher's stunts on Abe back in season 1 if she were badder but that's a story for another day~~

As you can see, the complexities and nuances of Joanpher can best be explored in writting, drawings can only depict very few things at a time and unfortunally my own abilities have a limit. But this post was a very good way to put pretty much all I want to say in fewer words compared to a fanfic lolol.

*I'm still debating of how he'd get the info. It could be from her consciously, as Joan realizes what her problem is and trust Topher enough to tell him (she words it as a confession of love and fear of losing him because of said love and how everything she loves, leaves her -> "I worry about you"), it could be from her through hypnosis (she words it selfishly, as she only wants something/where/one that won't abandon her like everything else did, it's certain that she is confusing this desire for safety and stability with falling in love -> "I worry I'll be alone again") or an external way unrelated to Joan, just the cold facts and Topher pieces all togheter coming to this conclusion by himself ("Well, now I know what I must do…hopefully")

[last minute addition 2: this post is too long to figure out how he'd deal with Joan having friendships outside of him, if I didn't mention it is because I don't have much of an idea yet xP)

[yesloulou]

I mean if the rumours are true and he actually cut Michael off, I dont think Daniel would not do the same for Dax if he truly was unconfortable with his podcast or how much Dax talks about him. So maybe as with his relationship to Michael we don't really know if Dax is taking advantage of Daniel being a people pleaser.

Like I am all for babygirlyfing Daniel but he's been in the spotlight for a long time so I assume he knows where to draw a line when someone is taking advantage of him/his popularity.

re

anon i see where you're coming from! i also wouldn't say daniel is in a 'wanting to stand up for himself and say no to being taken advantage of but can't' situation, at all. for me their dynamics is more nuanced. (for mixing personal life with business). they're friends. on top of that dax obvi monetarily benefits from befriending daniel (views/publicity), and i think daniel has his reason to be there too (for starters the shepards are both well connected people). soo i too wouldn't say daniel is being taken advantage of, at least not like that

what i would say tho, (and this is my personal opinion although i do feel very strongly about it lol) is that daniel is the type of person who, when feeling uncomfortable/offended, he'd laugh even louder, appear even friendlier, as a disguise.

exhibit a: him on that god awful misogynistic podcast blake somehow okay'd exhibit b: on dax's podcast when he realized it was an erotic novel about himself exhibit c: that time crofty asked him a stupid question during press conference. max could be seen getting more and more annoyed by the second. meanwhile daniel smiled bigger and bigger. and when max interrupted to defend him daniel was NOT SURPRISED AT ALL even though he had appeared totally ok with the question up until that point. he just made a face like welp i tried to be civil but i do have a boyfriend max that will bite your face off

it might feel counter intuitive that someone would try to seem even friendlier when they're uncomfortable but imo it's the same as when he wasn't sure if dax was joking about the existence of that erotica book, he said 'im very gullible' instead of something more direct and inquisitive. to me daniel's way of conflict resolution is to show friendliness and harmlessness in hopes of the other party returning his good faith. (which is also why mclaren was able to take advantage of him like that imo)

anyways, this is why i rlly don't like seeing daniel interact with this particular kind of people (people who take other people's sincerity as a sign that they can push for more. for example apparently dax now thinks it's okay to read that daniel erotica book to daniel on his podcast). ik daniel has been in the spotlight for a long time and im not trying to babygirlify him when it comes to serious topics, but i do think he's vulnerable in this particular aspect

[toxic-ship-tournament]

ROUND 1 / SIDE B / POLL 5

13. Theodore Antonov x Cito Putnum ( @pixelpancake246 / @pixelsdoodles ) vs CEO x Arowana ( @owo-whats-bliss )

who makes up your ship?:

Theodore Antonov and Cito Putnum (OCs from my original story Coastal City Dudes)

why does your ship deserve to be considered the most toxic?:

Theo and Cito have been best friends for YEARS. Met when they were around 10/11, and have been by eachother's side since. Theo was raised in a cult, and the rest of his life wasn't much better. They certainly have. A Dynamic. So, they're best friends, as previously mentioned. Completely inseparable, both being in love with the other, leading to very unfortunate circumstances. Cito is very self-sacrificial in his love for Theo, often disregarding his own happiness and well-being to make sure Theo's happy. Theo on the other hand, is so deprived of love and affection that he clings onto and takes advantage of Cito's undying devotion to him. Both are aware of this on some level, but refuse to see it. Denying that there's anything wrong in the first place. There's a lot of little things with them. Cito is a recovering addict, having struggled with abusing alcohol and various other substances since high school. Despite this, Theo regularly does drugs around him and when he was still taking his medications, he wouldn't secure them, leading to Cito overdosing one afternoon. When drunk or high on drugs, Cito has a hard time controlling himself, which tends to manifest in reckless behavior and a hard time keeping his anger in check. Anger issues are something he's dealt with for forever but have repressed well for Theo's sake, rarely letting himself feel or show anything besides positive emotions around anyone. When he's not sober, Cito can get violent, usually towards Theo because of his deeply bottled up frustrations and pain with him. In high school, they were on complete ends of the social hierarchy. Cito was the star of their schools football team, he was insanely popular and liked by all, whereas Theo was a quiet, depressed, loser with no real friends besides Cito. He was constantly bullied, Severely. Often, Cito would stand in the way of this, standing up for Thei since they're best friends and people listen to him. But, he's worried and scared that if he lets up too much, he'll be next, so sometimes, occasionally enough, he lets them beat Theo up, sometimes right in front of him. In their 20's, Theo was dating and eventually engaged to a woman named Rita Barreau, which you can imagine broke Cito's heart because he's been madly in love with Theo for forever. A few months before their planned wedding date, Theo and Rita got into a brutal car accident where Rita died on impact and Theo barely survived, clinging on to what little of a life he had. Ironic really, that this guy who has been incredibly suicidal his whole life gets to live when his girlfriend who tended to act out of self-interest and preservation, dies. The accident didn't just end Rita's life, but changed Cito and Theo's irreparably. Theo became paranoid, secluded and lost in grief, while Cito did what he does best and bottled up his own grief. This is most explicitly shown through thow visibly and undeniably Theo's grief and depression (both extrapolated by the incident but also from before) has affected him, being decorated head to toe in gruesome scars of both an accidental and self-mutilating nature. The accident gave both of them PTSD, but it took almost two decades for Cito to be diagnosed because he had denied it over and over thinking he shouldn't have been that effected by it and that Theo had it much worse. I could go on and on, but I feel like this is already WAY long enough. I hope this gave a good idea on why I think they're perfect for this tournament!

ship tags/playlists/pinterest boards?:

I don't actually tag anything with their ship on Tumblr I believe, just both their names in whatever I post of them in the tags, but I do have a yt playlist! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjVZH50W2oJUVy-P6jXJobjPidG3MM0uW (PS unsure how to send multiple files through Google docs?? but I assure there's way more theocito art than the one piece I submitted)

****

Art by @eggldritchfish

who makes up your ship?:

CEO (human) and Arowana (the weird fish thing)

why does your ship deserve to be considered the most toxic?:

They do extremely unethical experiments on people together under the guise of saving them, but Arowana is just using them to eat the people while telling CEO that that was a last resort. CEO is hopelessly devoted to them, both romantically and religiously, and uses everything he has financially and emotionally to support whatever they do (even to him). Arowana is initially only using him, but falls in love and becomes unhealthily obsessed, threatening to harm those who look at him. CEO is a human, Arowana is a god, keeping him alive no matter what happens to him. (Also, Arowana does have a human form, they're just not in it 80% of the time.)

ship tags/playlists/pinterest boards?:

None of those, but I think about them to the songs "Hakidasu" by Mao Sasagawa and "god, please () me, a monster"

[slashingdisneypasta]

Hatchetfield anon here, and good to know it's fine to gush about them. (Had to Switch off from anonymous to send images :p)

The first one (and possibly less spoiler heavy) would probably be the diva, the queen bee-atch herself: Linda Monroe.

She's from Black Friday and she just scratches that part of my brain that's attracted to dommy rich ladies. She's important, her children are better than everyone else's, and though she thinks her husband is a sniveling fool, she appreciates his loyalty at least. She has a whole song about how she'll make everyone love her ("Adore Me". Quote: "You'll kneel before me, Kiss my toe"), and honestly? She's not wrong. Lot of people fell for the cult "exciting new little religion" that she started (me included. Lauren Lopez just eats her roles right the fuck up).

Then, of course, you have the cooky, reclusive, biology professor: Professor Hidgens.

Mad scientist mixed with theater kid vibes. Literally. He's as extra as you can imagine. And what I like best about him is that he's a "greater good" kind of villain. As soon as he realizes the alien hive mind that's turning the whole town into a musical (not the craziest part of this entire series, by far) could be humanity's last shot at world peace, he's all, "Okay. Yeah. Let's join the hive!", knocking out his allies, opening up the doors of his doomsday bunker, and attracting the hive zombies with his own, recently composed song, "Show Stopping Number" (quote: "it'll unify humanity, in a THUNDERING CHORUS! No exists from this Broadway venue~!"), which mixes in a except from the musical he wrote and was trying to get funding for called "Working Boys".

And finally, we have the most recent ones: Max Jagerman, and Grace Chastity.

Where do I start with Grace... She's a repressed Christian girl who thinks having no sexual thoughts until marriage is supposed to be the norm. Then she starts getting dirty thoughts, kills a man, gets her hands on a book full of rituals powered by eldritch beings and decides, "yeah. This is what I want to do with my life. Seducing pervy dudes and then, if they don't pass the vibe check, consume their soul in order to make me stronger..." One good day away from murder, really, as evidenced by her leading the songs "Bury the Bully" and "Dirty Dudes Must Die". Never really expected a character who has the canonical line "[after character A asks why character B would be in hell] -She's bisexual and dead, where else would she be?" to grow on me so strongly, and yet-

And finally we get to Max Jagerman. The unapologetically bastard of a jock with a God complex ("Don't need no one to tell me / High school will be my peak / So I'm willing to take advantage"). The way everyone paints him as this horrible monster in, well, "Literal Monster", and he doubles down on that when it becomes his turn to sing instead of the expected "I'm not *that* much of a monster, here's my redeeming qualities"... Even when his ghost is being sent to the shadow realm he reacts to it by literally saying "WORTH IT!". He's just hits all the right notes for me. The entirety of "Dirty Girl" was sung directly into my soul.

And i think that's about it for my rambling. Now I leave you with the knowledge that Grace and Max's most popular ship name (that I've seen) is "Holy Ghost/Spirit". Sorry for rambling and have a nice day!

THESE ALL SOUND SO GOOD! I definitely wanna watch these now, or at least just listen to the songs 😅😅😅

I don't even know where to start here! I cant even choose a favourite out of your descriptions!! Thank you so much!! Linda sounds completely like my type XD Oh- I have that same brain-part that makes you crave dommy rich ladies XD Especially if they're mean 😅 I'm happy to be a loyal spineless husband for a pretty woman with a sharp tongue XD Happy.

And Professor Hidgens looks promising too XD If you've been following my Callaghan meltdown you know I have a... Thing... for teachers ☠ And OH, just the way you've described him. 'knocking out his allies, opening up the doors of his doomsday bunker, and attracting the hive zombies with his own, recently composed song, "Show Stopping Number"'- Y E S. I'm all for this.

And- just- Grace and Max sound absolutely perfect XD She seems so gross and awful which I l o v e (When female villains get to be truly despicable and broken??? 👌👌👌), and him?? A villain being exactly (if not worse then) what everyone says??? Absolutely obsess-worthy.

[miss-rum-hee]

Hey Yazzy! I just wanted to mention and ask something, as a black woman talking to another black woman. There's this misinformation online that Elvis and British Invasion bands "stole" black music and "didn't credit" them. Here's an example of someone believing that:

There are other bad faith takes I've seen online, especially Twitter, and some Quora answers that are ignorant, I'm just sharing one. This is designed to slander the bands they mentioned.

The thing is.... most of the people who get accused of basically cultural appropriation have almost all acknowledged the original artists at some point, and they are very open when they talk about blues and jazz influences. And for every black person who makes an accusation, which people blindly believe because "of course black people can't be wrong", they're often very dubious or dumb lawsuits anyway, and many black celebrities loved these people. Elvis? He was open about his influence, and he grew up around black people and hung out with them. Then some fools decided he was a racist. In fact many parents who criticized him were not criticizing him being inappropriate, but "too black for comfort". Seriously. The Stones were popular with black people, Tina Turner loved the Stones. Paul McCartney wrote Blackbird as a metaphor for the race riots in America, the Beatles famously refused to play in segregated spots, the peace and love. Nothing was racist about the Beatles, how do you look at that and still think "Beatles are cultural appropriators and hate black people"?. The only questionable rock star from the top of my head was Eric Clapton because of his (albeit drunken but still) rant about how black people don't belong in Europe. Almost all these people played at the HEAVILY BLACK Woodstock, surrounded by black people. Very few musicians actually took advantage of black people. I'm sick of seeing anti-(insert rock star here) propaganda when they should be blaming radio stations for not playing the originals, but instead they blame the bands. Elvis and the British Invasion were not an attempt to "whitewash" or "butcher" black music, if anything they brought it into popularity and often these musicians would use their music to ADVOCATE for black people. By this logic, Kpop should be cancelled for "stealing" western American music without credit.

Sorry about this rant but I needed to get this off my chest. It's so easy to find racism accusations thrown at bands... when if anyone is the problem, the band is the LEAST of the problems, as said bands always turn out to be allies of black people and have a huge black following. Beatles? Black friendly. Who? Black friendly. Kinks? Black friendly. Stones? Black friendly. Animals? Black friendly. LZ? Black friendly. The Stairway to Heaven case was absolutely ridiculous. None of these people did anything wrong. None of these people are racist

https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/the-definitive-truth-about-elvis-presley-and-racism-according-to-b-b-king.shtml

Admittedly I'm not really into these bands so idrk much about em, but like, what's really the issue here if most of the bands have acknowledged the influences or whatnot?

[chim-chim1310]

I personally don't think you should dislike JK based on his perceived backstabbing of Jimin. We don't know what's the nature of their relationship behind the scenes, how much of the current trip is a professional enterprise and to what extent the other members are ok with JK. We simply don't know so I will not assume. Whether they are ok with it or whether they're not, we know BTS never really exposes any fractures to outsiders. Some people take the distance jikook have had during solo era as an indication of something, some people took his trip to NY as an indication of something else. That's why I'll say that without any real info, there's no way to know and we all know how private Jimin is so that info is probably not coming.

But I will dislike JK based on my personal standards. Not by what I assume but by what I can see and hear is happening. To some extent those standards came from being a BTS stan but I can't lie to myself about them just because they are the ones violating those standards today.

I don't agree with how he's conducted himself as an artist. I don't like the song, I don't like the fact that he's engaged in more payola than any other KPop artist ever, I don't like that he's sided himself with someone as vile as Scooter Braun, I don't like how his supposed debut song had no writing credits and no contributions from him, I don't like how even his debut is a collab, I don't like the fact that it's probably a collab because they're angling for a Grammy nom in the duo / groups category and because they thought an American artist would help for the Hot 100, I don't like the fact that he singlehandedly dismantled the legacy of BTS as an organic group, I don't like the thirst for western validation thats wafting off his promo schedule, I don't like the fact that an English album means he'll only have some token writing credits on it if any, I don't like how he's been given such an advantage over other members even though prior to solo era, Jimin's solo songs have consistently done better than JK's and Taehyung is more popular in numbers in most categories.

Hope that clears things up for anon.

I completely agree with all of this.

You're right. I'm also not hating on jungkook because he backstabbed jimin because we don't know jimin's reaction and we'll never know. I know jimin has good relationship with him but that doesn't mean that we will stop fighting for the way jimin was sabotaged and the way jk got everything. We can't forget all this just because jm f*cking smiled at jk.

They have known each other for 10 years. Situations like these must have come a lot in their life in such industry. But I don't think their friendship is that superficial that jm will drop him for that. But that's the case of their personal relationship. I don't care about that. I care about how jimin worked so hard but still got nothing and jk didn't contribute any creativity and still is getting everything.

I am mad about how he chose to play dirty tricks to get to the top. I mean he seriously listened to the song and was like "yeah this song spoke to me" Like it's a joke!

Wtf is monday, tuesday wednesday....... Is it a kids bop or something? He liked this song?! The lyrics were already trash at least they could've made it a bit more catchy. I didn't even listen to the song twice except for the fact that it's been shoved down my throat.

And just armies as usual are gobbling it up. "Oh my god jk talked about sex! A 26 year old man talked about sex! He said the word fuck, how hot is that!" Like what a bunch of idiots.

Jungkook himself said in his white day live said something like he knows that armies would support him even if he sometimes does bad, and that's where his confidence comes from. He said something like this. Like seriously?! If he was a sincere, hard working artist he would always give his all to give his fans a good song.

He chose to not work hard and use the easy way. Scooter is another b"tch like I despise that man. And yeah he needed a collab even for his debut song. Atleast that he should've done alone. God either he just doesn't trust his own talent or he's just not talented enough to carry it on his own.

But I don't think so. He released a song like 'Still with you'. Like come on. When he can release songs like that how come a song like seven spoke to him?!

Just shows that he knows this kind of song is perfect for the Western market and he just jumped on it and took everything scooter and bang pd gave him on a silver platter. How can someone respect him as an artist after this?

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

for a second I thought maybe the collabs are because (aside from him probably wanting them) he didn't nearly have enough time to do his own things but that doesn't make sense because

pretty sure a lot of those songs were already made, he just needed to sing them and create/learn the choreography &

yes they're all English and created by other people (not a criticism just an observation) but those could've still been solo songs? Like them being English singles doesn't mean they needed to be collabs

I'm not sure why I had that original thought lol.

I think maybe it's the label's influence (the American label). something to do with the marketing and introducing him to different audiences in America. Plus It's not like JK would be opposed to working with different artists he finds cool.

I am hesitant about his album though. The tracks might not all be collabs but at this point I don't think any of the songs are gonna feel like him at least the him prior to chapter 2. And I think they'll all be English (which isn't necessarily a bad thing because English songs can be meaningful, but I don't think they'll go for that. Hope I'm wrong)

I would've said differently before I discovered 3D and Seven were part of the album, but now I think this is the case.

They want his name out there and known across America as much as possible before military and before he'll literally be absent for almost 2 years.

But then that makes the whole thing so confusing!!

Well, collabs have the obvious advantage of getting fans of the other artists to listen to Jungkook's songs as well, and possibly becoming fans. I think it also helps Western audiences accept Jungkook, since he's already been "accepted" and "vouched for" by American artists. It gives him more credibility? If it was just Jungkook, maybe his solos would be regarded as side projects, and maybe his streams and records would be seen as the BTS fever effect. But with popular artists credited to his songs, I think that confers Jungkook a certain degree of legitimacy, and maybe shows he's interested in reaching a broader audience and in really building a name and career for himself. I can see the pros of the collabs. At the same time, those can quickly become cons if Jungkook just becomes the dude who only does collabs and can't succeed on his own. So far, all of his solos that charted well and had radio play have been collabs - L&R, Seven and 3D. Now that people know who he is he definitely needs to establish himself solo.

Regardless, he did a poor job choosing the collabs. It's obvious that the alternate version of 3D's better than the main one, and the reason why 3D isn't doing nearly as well as Seven is that, apart from Seven being his anticipated solo debut and having a trendier, and I'd say more tasteful, sound, even Armys didn't like Jack Harlow. The fandom itself isn't responding very well to the song. The MV was lackluster compared to Seven, which had made every Army's Y/N fantasy come true, and if the first song about sex shocks people, the second one is just more of the same. Worst of all though is probably Jack's feature. The lyrics are terrible and sexist, he's not a particularly liked rapper, many fans (like me) are only streaming the solo version and the solo and alternate versions doesn't even combine on Spotify. The way Big Hit lets BTS collab with problematic or not very well respected artists is insane. It's like they'll take anyone and don't even bother understanding what fans want. There are tons of respected, liked and very popular artists that would love to work with BTS and they chose Jack Harlow? They could've fucking asked Cardi B (who is problematic too but generally well liked), and she probably would've said yes. They could've brought back Megan.

The thing is that I don't think Jungkook even knows or understands that Jack Harlow ain't shit. He likes him, but not that many people seem to, which actually surprised me because I thought he was a big name. It's Big Hit's job to at least inform Jungkook of that or suggest other artists. With Latto the problem (aside from the racists tweets that I either misinterpreted or everyone chose to ignore) was more that no one knew who she was and he helped her career more than she helped his. However, since she's an up and coming rapper, it's a much more interesting feature, introducing him to a more specific type of audience and also showing that he's serious about music because he noticed her talent and chose to work with her even if she's less known.

The point is, people loved Seven, including Army, and mostly liked Latto, but the response to 3D has been very lackluster, and Jack is a big reason why. I wonder if Bad Decisions wouldn't have done better with different people, even if the song is Benny Blanco's.

I also think the 3D MV was a huge mistake. I saw someone on Reddit say Jack Harlow's parts give Blurred Lines and it tracks. I watched the MV yesterday and even Jungkook's parts aren't great though. The choreography is poorly shot and Jungkook's dancing doesn't look that good, the dance practice video is miles better. After Seven, which was a huge production, with a beautiful, famous actress and Jungkook being the goofy lover boy, the 3D MV is so low effort. It killed the hype for the song. And Jack dominates the track too much, it's ridiculous. I like the alternate version quite a bit, but Big Hit and Jungkook need to be smarter. I think Jungkook lacks self-confidence and is too humble to realize he's better on his own. He still has this mentality of "the more the merrier, I'll take anything", when he should've listened to the alternate version and realized the feature needed to, at least, be shorter.

As for collabs in other artists' tracks, those are an easy way of having more songs and getting his name out there, since he doesn't need to look for the songs or perform them. He just does a bit of work in the recording booth and that's it. Hybe doesn't even need to promote the songs much either, since that falls more on the main artist. However, again, it's not just about having more songs and exposure. His image matters, the kind of discography he cultivates matters. He needs to be choosier. He can't just take anyone, which at this point feels like what he's doing. It gives less "I'm a pop star" and more "I'm just a nobody from Korea who will take anyone who will help me and isn't big enough to attract more high profile names". I don't know how to express that in a non cruel way. This is really the vibe I'm starting to get, despite Jungkook carrying all of those songs and being so big already.

I don't know what to expect of his album, but 3D didn't help build up anticipation for it. I don't even know if 3D will debut on the top 10 of the Hot 100 and Army is way less excited about Golden now. At least Seven is still going strong. I remember when Seven dropped. 3D only had a week's notice which didn't help, but when Seven dropped the timeline was insane. The horniness was off the charts. The explicit version, as cheesy as it was, had everyone grabbing their hair. When 3D dropped, the reaction was much smaller, and a lot more negative. Visuals matter a lot, and 3D didn't have them. Jungkook also showed everything with Seven, so flashing his abs and talking about sex isn't going to shock people anymore.

Anyway, it's a shame, because I like the solo version of 3D a lot, the choreo is much better than Seven, the performance is better too, and I love Jungkook's vocals so much in the alternate version. I pray he does that high note live. I don't even mind the lyrics. 3D needed a much better MV and no Jack Harlow. I won't even complain about Latto anymore, since, in comparison, she fit Seven better, had less screen time and lines, and helped the song be better, and not worse, received. Maybe I'm biased because I only know what's happening in kpop spaces, but...

Thanks for the ask! Sorry for the rant...

[sinceileftyoublog]

Dean Spunt Interview: An Archaic Piece of Gear

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Of No Age drummer/vocalist Dean Spunt's solo releases, the one that's wholly a demonstration of an obsolete Aughts-era synth is his most personal and accessible yet.

A couple years ago, Spunt stumbled across the E-mu Mo'Phatt, a module popular at the turn of the century for hip-hop and R&B production, and found one for $50 on OfferUp. Playing around with it, and not having performed live in years due to the pandemic, Spunt jumped at a friend's offer to play a show and decided to bring along this new piece of gear. One show turned into a few shows, and eventually, Spunt was intrigued enough by the instrument to record with it in 2023, taking advantage of the 64-voice E-MU modules within it. Orchestra stabs, vinyl scratches, and vocal samples may be well worn territory for producers, but not for Spunt. "I was intrigued by the ridiculousness of it all," he told me over the phone last week, "because I don't make music like that."

The result was Basic Editions, released in September on Drag City. Though the songs are much more abstract than the high wire art punk of No Age, they're also far from the musique concrete of Spunt's debut solo album EE Head and collaboration with John Wiese, The Echoing Shell. For one, on Basic Editions, Spunt didn't deviate much from the source material--he's described his process as "using sounds" rather than "making sounds"--recording the Mo'Phatt into a computer in order to be able to chop, segue, and delay. "This record is very much in the box," he said. Though one can change the BPM of the presets, add internal effects to them, and modulate each of the four layers within the preset, Spunt barely tweaked the presets themselves. It was less of an artistic choice than a necessary one: Spunt didn't really know how to work the machine. But there's undeniable artistry in his presentation. On "Critic in a Coma", bowls whoosh, gurgle, and bubble; it reminds me of the sound effect most often used to denote time passing in a movie. Indeed, the E-Mu module used on the song was meant for composers. "I liked being able to pick out the things that might feel corny," Spunt said, noting that when presenting them in context of an experimental record, "You're mind's able to think about them a little differently."

From the start, the Mo'Phatt felt like familiar territory for Spunt, even more than just recognizing its "eerily familiar" sounds from the music of the early 2000s. It actually reminded him of working at his mother's screen printing business when he was in high school. Just like one could purchase expansion cards for the Mo'Phatt, Spunt worked with clipart programs, books with CDs of extra images. "If someone wanted a balloon logo for their party shop, you'd type in 'balloon,' and there would be 350 different images of balloons," Spunt said. "[Working with the Mo'Phatt]...reminded me of that." Spunt pays further tribute to this connection with the album art, an image of a box that the orchestra card came in. "It also seems like it's probably clipart, which reminded me of my mom's shop," Spunt said. "I like that there's a score on there that I don't know."

Embracing what Spunt didn't know also meant that he had to learn how to play Basic Editions songs live. "When I first recorded the record, besides recording into my computer, I didn't save any of the patches because I didn't know how to," Spunt said. He figured out how to do so later and was able to recreate the songs for a performance, having to recreate them because you cannot add your own samples to a Mo'Phatt. To Spunt's credit, live, he runs two Mo'Phatts with a delay pedal. "I'm pretty versed in [the Mo'Phatt] now," he said. "I can get in there and change things around. To get inside and manipulate stuff live can be a challenge, so you have to do it quickly. I have a controller plugged in, and with a controller, you can change parameters around what you're triggering."

Spunt performs tomorrow night at Judson & Moore, and hopefully, it won't be the last time we see him come through with his trusty Mo'Phatts. He already has plans to record more with it in December. "[Basic Editions] is not a one-off thing," he said. "[The Mo'Phatt] feels like an instrument I want to learn and master. It's an archaic piece of gear, but so is the guitar."

[angelicsjn]

Hi hi! I remember reading your blog last year and I found you again!!

So, SHOWER THOUGHT!! I was wondering how would the yan deals with their fans sending hate comments/death threats to MC just because they are dating them?

- Like for Roman, his F1 fans, they don’t like MC being his WAGs (I learn that from my F1 ✨bestie✨, unless MC is gender neutral coz I actually don’t remember).

- For Jae, his delusional K-pop fans (just like the real life delulu fans), if the relationship is not revealed and the paparazzi somehow manage to take a pic of them dating at night outside and the fans go crazy abt it.

- Kaidan is his online fans, Joshua is his fellow church members???? I’m not sure for Lento (his past hook-up?) and Hayden coz they sweet as hell.

YOUR SEVEN YANDERES.

A N: I will write it differently for the non-famous ones!

A B O U T: They see you're getting hated on.

W A R N I N G S: Death threats and online hate.

— ROMAN BEAUREGARD.

Roman is livid. He sees it all just before a race, and the whole day he's steaming, but hey, he got pole!

He has never raced so viciously in his life, and damn, he was still steaming afterwards.

Just know that he kissed you extra hard in front of the cameras that day, as a massive, 'fuck you' to the idiots who are horrible.

He wouldn't directly make a post about it. He's media trained and knows how to look good to the masses, but he does show you off more as a silent way of telling the fans to get a life.

— LATEN REED.

Laten only sees it when it's affecting you, he doesnt realise that the women around you are mean due to you both dating. He's so happy with you that nothing else exists outside of your little bubble.

Maybe you suggest breaking up. You cry over the mean comments they make towards you. Maybe you flat out ignore him in public to save yourself the backlash.

Either way, he is devastated. He's so upset that 1. He didn't notice, and 2. You're upset over a bunch of idiots.

He would comfort you, pamper you, baby you. Make sure that you're happy with him because he genuinely would go crazy if he ever lost you.

Laten will catch them out and flash his pretty smile, "Leave them alone. It's none of your business." And they smile and giggle, and suddenly they all love you and have a fanclub for you... which is also annoying.

But at least they're not mean anymore!

— JAE 'NIKO' LEE.

Due to his job and the nature of it. There is nothing that he can do. He needs to keep a polite and positive front, he can't let people know the real him.

But he is seething. Seeing the death threats? The doxxing? He's angry.

He will use it as an excuse to pin you underneath his thumb and keep you in place, "it's too dangerous out there, darling."

Honestly, he uses it to his advantage for his selfish desires of keeping you where he wants you.

But he does seek them out and have them sorted out. Legally, of course.

— KAIDAN WOLFE.

Kaidan is so upset. Our delusional baby is so overwhelmed by the fact that your sadness is due to his popularity.

His entire fandom is created by people who want him, of course it's his fault you're getting hate.

He posts you more and makes sure that you feel loved and seen. That he doesn't listen to them, doesn't care.

Kaidan takes you out on private dates and hangs around with you 1:1 to make sure that the intimacy is there.

He wants you to know that he loves you and doesn't care about what they say, so neither should you.

— HAYDEN WEST.

I genuinely don't see anything like this happening. He's a very introverted person and not really ever noticed by others.

He thanks the world for bringing you so close into his grasp.

— JOSHUA WHITE.

The girls at the church can be vicious. Joshua is the perfect man. The perfect husband. The perfect father. Their dream man.

Taken by you? What in God's name?

He doesn't seem the sly remarks or the jabs made your way at first. He's so busy helping the community.

When he finally picks up on your behaviour as you slowly crawl into yourself due to their nastiness, he's over it.

He hates bullies. Those who are unkind. It goes against everything he believes in.

He makes sure to make it known in the church that its people will remain respectful and kind, to love thy neighbour, and to stop being judgmental idiots.

He also makes sure to make eye contact with those who make you uncomfortable, to really lay it on thick that he won't stand for any of it.

— BLAKE CROSS.

Blake picks up on it way before you do, and he stamps it out just as fast.

He's wealthy, from a wealthy family and knows what he wants and how to get it.

He got you, and he's not going to lose you because of a bunch of idiots.

Unlike the others, he has no social boundaries and will create a fuss.

"Shut up, I wouldn't even piss on you if you were on fire." He spits their way before dragging you away from them with a scowl and clenched jaw.

Honestly, it doesn't take long for him to get rid of idiots. He knows he can be a nasty person, and he will take advantage of it.

[alarrytale]

Hi Marte. Have you heard of Ch.appell R.oan? She is out as queer and talks a lot about being attracted to women. She has songs about men and women. Her career is starting to take off and her recent album has done well considering she isn't mainstream yet. She was an opening act for Ol*via R*drigo and was recently at the Boston Calling festival and had a big audience. Recent articles say that she is going to become pop's next big thing. Which would be amazing considering she has sapphic songs. I really hope that if she becomes mainstream that she'll keep doing what she is doing and not change to suit a heterosexual mainstream audience. She's gaining so much popularity now and it is through her sapphic songs. It is why people like her, or they don't care about her identity and just enjoy her music. So I hope she doesn't change. It is what sets her apart from other female artists. I really hope she makes it mainstream. How amazing would it be to have more songs about same sex attraction. On twitter sapphic songs, movies, books etc are growing in popularity. I don't know if that transfers to 'real life'. I hope so. B*ygenius is growing in popularity too and there is a recent band of men and women who are all queer but I forgot who! It seems like more artists are CO now at the beginning of their career and they're being picked up by labels. I really hope this continues, that more and more out queer artists will make it mainstream. But where does this leave artists with established careers? They've got a fanbase who have probably been manipulated into thinking the artist is straight. It seems harder for established artists to CO when in the past it seemed harder for newer artists to CO. Billie CO is a step forward. She has a song about women and people seem to like it. I just worry about the likes of Harry being left behind. If he CO when he's 40+ it's not going to have any impact. If record labels invest in more queer artists it'll mean that closeted male artists will have to stay closeted to appeal to the straight women. It seems hard for them to CO. Will they be able to do it?

Hi, anon!

I love Chappell Roan! I've talked about her a bit before. So no need to star her out on this blog - i've got nothing but praise for her. She's currently my top played artist on spotify. She's such an interesting artist, banger songs and i really love her unique voice. I watched her Tiny Desk concert and her Coachella set a month or so ago, she's so good live too.

I heard Lunch by Billie followed by Good luck, babe by CR on the radio yesterday and i thought it was so queer. I love it. Queer mainstream artist are doing so well and i'm so proud of them.

I don't know how the closeted established artists will react to younger artists coming out, and out artists going mainstream. In a way it will get harder for them to come out because they have to compete. Being out and queer is a novelty now and a USP, but if many artists come out the novelty will wear off and they have to find another USP. Being queer can't be their whole personality. That's a good thing, because being queer will be more normalised, but the advantages of coming out won't be as great if you're not in the first wave and get to use it as a selling point or for attention.

I don't think it's impossible at all, but if you're the last one out, and everyone else has already paved the way for you, written all the queer songs and had all the same sex relationships then you have to find other ways to stand out and be original that will make people pay attention to you. And with so many new and upcoming talented out queer artist, that don't have baggage or aggressive homophobic denials on their shoulders, it's going to be hard to compete.

[itsvinzenzdarling]

B : BOUQUET. does your muse like flowers? which ones are their favourite? J : JEALOUSY. does your muse get jealous in a relationship? Y : YOURS. does your muse get protective easily?

Valentine's Day ask meme: accepting

B - Chrysanthemums, otherwise known as "mums," for a few reasons. 1. They're popular in the fall, and fall is his favorite season. He loves the arrangements people create when decorating their houses. More specifically, he likes the red and burgundy colors. I mean, that checks for him lolol; The color red, for mums, is supposed to mean a passionate love, which.....also checks out for him LMAO 2. In some European countries, the mum is used for funerary purposes. As in, many flower arrangements for funerals use mums, and given he's a macabre sonuvabitch, he likes the dark side of it too.

J - This one is tough. I'm compelled to say he's not the jealous type, because if he trusts his partner, he knows he doesn't have to worry about them running off with someone else. He'll show them off like the proud bitch he is, like "please, everyone look at my darling, look how beautiful they are." He likes to flaunt them and hype them up because they deserve it. However, if he doesn't trust, if they have a history of doing shit to get a rise out of their partner, or ya know, cheating, he's....more inclined to be jealous, and he's not a good kind of jealous. It'd come from a place of insecurity and anger, not the sexy kind of jealousy. I mean, if it happens once or twice, he'll do the whole thing of rocking their world to convince them not to leave him, but after that, it'd just be pissing him off. It might even depress him and lead him to leave them instead.

Y - GOD YES. I guess this can kinda go hand-in-hand with jealousy, but more so in a sense that....if he knows his partner is being targeted by unwanted attention, he steps in. He is 1000% the kind of person to take a bullet for someone. Being a vampire helps lmao but there are ways to kill him. Even if he knows they can handle themselves, he's still the one to intervene, I guess for two reasons. 1. He doesn't like to see his partner hurt or taken advantage of, and 2. It goes with his love language. Afraid of spiders and there's a spider in the house? He'll take care of it. Bad weather? He'll drive them wherever they need to go. Doing something incredibly dangerous? Absolutely not, he'll handle it.

[mikunology]

ok so folks said "yes please" so here ya go

this took a hot minute because I like making sure I actually like an idea and think it's not too half-baked to post about (some of these are also from the old list so sorry for repeats). of course, everything is open to changes. I'm not the greatest writer so as usual keep your expectations measured. (also these are out of chrono order)

"8HIT" - When the CVs struggle against the canine bandits, they decide to train up their hand-to-hand combat skills by training with Gumi's guardian, Gakupo. (this is like...early early on when Miku and the twins still have little idea what they're doing with the whole hero thing so at this point they kinda suck)

"High School Days" - The CVs enter their first term at Kenmochi Academy High School, as Meiko wants them to interact with humans their age. However, being a couple of android kids and facing a suspicious student body and an overzealous student council president, things will be harder than estimated.

"OK, Green is the Enemy!" - Rin becomes jealous when Miku continues getting picked for gigs and photoshoots over her, leading Dialtone to try taking advantage of her envy.

"A Song of Wastelands, Forests, and Rivers" - After two weeks straight of crimefighting and work, Miku becomes determined to make the group's vacation to the mountains be a relaxing one, come hell or high water.

"Nostalogic" - After finding a DVD of Meiko when she was a one hit wonder teen idol, Miku and the twins try to persuade her to return to the stage.

"White Letter" - Miku practically turns the entire city upside-down in an effort to find the author of a dropped letter she found after a concert.

"Battle Royal Valentine" - For Valentine's Day, Kokone gets the idea to organize a "love note exchange" between the Kenmochi student body. When Miku notices that it's not going well, however, she ends up using her powers to help it along, making things infinitely worse.

"Digital Girl" - Miku's body gets hijacked by a rogue sentient computer program, leading Miku to have to break out of cyberspace and find the twins and Luka so she can expose the imposter and get her body back.

"Zola Miku Eccentric Future Night" - The CVs get a new gig performing with popular boy band ZOLA PROJECT, for which Miku and Rin are very excited for. Meanwhile, an envious Len is less than pleased.

"Mata Raise ReiRei Ondo" - Miku is forced to face her fear of the supernatural when the group's gig at the local bon festival becomes invaded by an army of ghosts that pass through every 100 years.

"Happy Halloween" - The Kenmochi Academy Investigation Club enlists the CVs' help in investigating the legend of a ghost that stalks the school halls at night.

"Telecaster B-Boy" - When Len overhears some viewers making fun of his stage performances, Len becomes determined to find a new image for himself.

"The Girl in Byakkoya" - The group encourages Kaito to hold a concert in the wake of his family coming to see him for his father's birthday. However, Kaito must get over his crippling stage fright.

"Panda Hero" - When Gumi's school softball team starts to fall behind, Gumi invents a team of robots to help them improve their game. The robots end up going rogue and trying to replace their human counterparts, leading Gumi to enlist the CVs help in beating the machines.

"Snow Song Show" - Christmas Special/Movie. Miku is terribly excited for her very first Christmas concert, but a few days before the event, everyone appears to have completely forgotten the holiday. Not standing for this development, Miku, Luka and the Kagamines go on a journey to find the origin of the disappearance of Christmas and save the holiday before its forgotten forever.

"S'il Vous President" - It's time for the student council elections, and Miku ends up getting herself into a quandry when she accidentally agrees to help with each of the nominees' campaigns thanks to her inability to say no.

"Dramaturgy" - In order to expand their musical horizons, the CVs are sent to an acting, opera and musical theater class at the local theater. However, things begin to heat up when their teacher's star pupil becomes determined to stop Miku and friends from taking her spot.

"The Snow White Princess is..." - Second Christmas/winter special. A lonely and bored snow princess in another world decides to use magic to swap places with Miku, who is about to perform for the Sapporo Snow Festival. Now trapped in the Sparkling Snow World, Miku must figure out a way to get back home, help the Princess and her kingdom, and save both worlds from an evil witch.

"Dance Robot Dance" - The CVs are invited to a robotics expedition in order to show off their technology, but end up having to save the day when Dialtone appears and hijacks the bots, including a massive mecha.

"Innocence" - The higher-ups at Crypton Labs decide to allow Miku to travel and live abroad...but only Miku. Not wanting to leave Sapporo behind, Miku and friends gather up to do what they can to prevent the execs from taking Miku away.

"Piano x Forte x Scandal" - A series of piano thefts have been happening across the city, causing the Crypton Crew to have to investigate. As it turns out, Dex and Daina are also chasing the culprit for their own reasons. Will this lead to an unexpected team-up…?

"Remote Control" - Dialtone implants the CVs with some microchips that make them susceptible to remote control, leading the group to have to break free before Dialtone controls them into destroying their reputations or each other.

I ended up removing my old "episode ideas" post from the masterlist because a bunch of things had changed...I wonder if I should make a new one.

[mylordshesacactus]

In the scene where Alicent’s father tries to force her back home, Alicent notes that Rhaenyra has been more politically active recently. Could that be related? If so, how? If not, why did the author include both of these in the same scene?

YOU UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT

god that's EXACTLY the tone of high school critical-thinking questions.

My 5-paragraph essay (TM) in response to this discussion question would be that they're indirectly related because the driving force is ultimately Otto Hightower's fragile masculinity.

Rhaenyra's growing comfort in the role of Heir is an indication of her strong will. Thus, it's also an indication of Alicent's theory, ultimately proven correct, that if Rhaenyra genuinely loves her she will simply not bend to political or interpersonal pressure to set aside her lover for propriety's sake. This threatens Otto Hightower's sense of his own control, as well as grating on his sexism when a young woman shows a stronger sense of willpower than him.

Her political involvement, contrasting her father's passivity, is also likely to increase her popularity (making an future retaliation on her part against him more acceptable, and action against her less acceptable, to the common folk) and demonstrates to Lord Hightower that she is not naive to how politics works, meaning his window is closing for removing his daughter from her influence before she gains enough clout and confidence to overrule him.

Of course, Rhaenyra's political involvement is most strongly linked to the content of the scene because Otto Hightower is cynically taking advantage of it in order to create a distraction. We know this due to Alicent's narration during the scene, when she realizes the timing of this arrangement is too convenient to be a coincidence.

In conclusion, Otto Hightower's sense of manhood is threatened by a strong and decisive female heir, especially one who identifies strongly with warrior figures in history. Due to the homophobic society in which they live, he believes removing his daughter from a same-sex lover is essential; but Rhaenyra's growing popularity and political acumen make that more difficult as time goes on, which creates a sense of helplessness that also threatens his sense of masculinity and identity. Due to this sense of emasculation, he takes advantage of Rhaenyra's political involvement to distract her in a critical moment, leading to his confrontation with Alicent.

Grade: B+, would have been stronger with the use of more direct quotes.