#program: bruno mars

[doomduck]

The problem with having a Spotify play list dedicated to songs you want to skate to is with every new song it pushes out the ideas for the previous song

[nyoomfruits]

osctober day five

prompt: teacher pairing: charles/oscar word count: 900

“Seriously, Ames?” Oscar says, when he rounds the corner and finds her sitting on a chair just outside the classroom.

“It was for love, dad!” Amelia exclaims, jumping up when she sees him. “I can’t just not do it if it is for love.”

Oscar has conflicting opinions on that. It is, sweet, of course. He’s glad Amelia still believes in the concept of love at all, seeing as her own father is so completely shit at it. But like. He really wishes she would stop hosting flashmobs. Or serenades. Or that time she and that boy from her Spanish class that was really good at programming tried to make a matchmaking app.

“Right, yeah,” Oscar says, ruffling her hair. She’s too old for that now, and he knows he only gets away with it because she knows she’s in trouble. “Just. Maybe find a more quiet avenue next time, yeah? How about a good old fashioned love note?”

Amelia’s eyes light up in a way that the unexperienced eye would find adorable, but that fills the person who has been raising her for the past fifteen years mostly with dread. “Yes,” she breathes out, and then grabs for her bag, probably to retrieve a notepad.

“Okay, well, I guess while you go plan your next ‘disruption of a calm learning environment’ I will go speak with Mr. Leclerc yeah?” He says, hand on the doorknob. She barely glances at him and he sighs as he pushes open the door.

“Ah, Mr. Piastri,” Mr. Leclerc says, looking up from his desk with a wide smile. “You made it.”

Oscar thinks, generally, that he would have a much better time coming to the school to talk about his daughter’s behavior if her teacher wasn’t so goddamn pretty. With bright, sparkling eyes, and a lazy smile, and the kind of artfully tousled hair Oscar couldn’t even achieve if he tried.

The horribly baggy pants and oversized button up combo don’t even ruin the look. Somehow it makes him look cool. Oscar hasn’t looked cool since, well. Possibly ever.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Oscar says, sitting down in the chair Mr. Leclerc gestures at. “Again. I don’t know who he has it from.”

“Not you, I presume?” Mr. Leclerc says, eyes twinkling. He doesn’t seem mad, so that’s. Good. Amelia’s previous teacher consistently got their panties in a bunch about the well. Singing. And dancing. And everything.

“No, god no,” he hasn’t tried in a while, but he doesn’t think he could dance. Or sing.

“Her mother, perhaps?” Mr. Leclerc asks, flipping through some folders on his desk.

“Maybe,” Oscar says. “She hasn’t been around for a long time, so. Yeah. I think she mostly gets it from Lando? I mean not the singing and the dancing but this. Need to perform? He’s a DJ, so.”

“Ah, your partner?” Charles asks, looking up at Oscar now, curiously.

“Oh Christ no,” Oscar says, trying not to pull a face, remembers he’s talking to his daughter’s teacher, and schools himself into a more neutral expression. “No, uh. Lando’s just a friend. Of the family. He’s not. He has a boyfriend.”

“Ah,” Charles says. “Alright. Well, I mostly summoned you here because-“

“Because my daughter upheaved your class by performing a perfectly choreographed flashmob to Bruno Mars’s ‘Just The Way You Are’? Yeah, I uh. I heard. And I apologize, again. I’ve been trying to talk to her about it, but it’s-“ he pulls a face. “It’s just me and she’s just uh. Very different and sometimes I just. I don’t really know how to get through to her?”

It’s the most honest he’s been in a while. He doesn’t know why he’s suddenly blurting all of this out to Mr. Leclerc of all people. He’s blaming the big sparkly eyes. Stupid eyelashes, too.

“Hm, I can imagine. All parents kind of feel like that when they reach this age, though, don’t worry. No, I was actually wondering if you were aware of our after school theatre program? I think she would do wonderfully in there. If it’s more the dancing she’s into, or the singing, there’s also a dance team and a choir.”

Oscar blinks. Process. He’s so used to hearing Amelia’s teacher admonish her behavior he wasn’t really expecting anyone to. Well. Encourage her.

“Oh,” he says.

“They’re free, school funded programs, if that’s a concern,” Mr. Leclerc continues. “But I do think it might be a nice outlet for her.”

“Yeah,” he says. He knew, vaguely, that there were clubs. But Amelia had never expressed an interest, and he’d been too busy juggling his demanding job and raising a teenager to ever properly look into them and. Yeah. He takes the folder Mr. Leclerc hands him.

“Thak you, Mr. Leclerc,” he says. Mr. Leclerc stands, and so does he.

“No problem. That was all, really. I do some of the musical accompaniments for the theatre and choir programs so if you have any questions feel free to ask.” By the door, Mr. Leclerc takes his hand. Oscar shakes it a little dazedly. “And please. Call me Charles.”

“Oscar,” Oscar says. Charles hands are soft, and his smile is gentle, and his eyes are still so incredibly stupidly sparkly and fuck. Fuck.

“How did it go?” Amelia asks, when he steps back out the door.

‘I think I might be in love with your teacher’, he thinks. “We’re enrolling you into the school’s theatre program,” he says.

[madelynraemunson]

CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club series)

strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!reader

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ MDNI

Chapter 019: The Piggyback

If you had the chance to do it over again with Eddie — and DO IT RIGHT — would you?

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014** , 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020* * = somewhat smut , ** = smut

CW: hospital setting, dialogue heavy, uncertainty, fluff, talks of blood/broken bones/etc., car accident implications

word count: 2.5k words

“I’ll pick up these broken pieces ‘til I’m bleeding, if that’ll make it right.”

♡

Hawkins Memorial Hospital reeks of bleach wipes and bitter tears.

“Eddie…” Dustin wails. “No no no, noooo. Eddie…”

You’re sitting on the floor of the nurses station with Robin, Steve, and Nancy while the ‘kiddos’ occupy the waiting chairs. Surely, it's got to be unsanitary, but contracting germs off the floor of the ICU were the least of your concerns.

Your eyes follow Wayne as he helplessly wheels around, talking to anyone who would lend him an ear... anyone who would possibly know anything about his nephew’s condition.

“And my nephew — Eddie — he's self-employed,” Wayne continues to tell them.

Wheeling…wheeling…wheeling…

“But the Program he’s with allows him to go through Scott Clarke. You know Scott Clarke Insurance? It’s S-c-o-t-t, C-l-a-r-k-e… I’m through them too…”

But the able-bodied personnel are too fast for old Wayne, walking at a speed about 5mph while his frail fingers can only allow him up to 2 and a half. Just like the liters of oxygen he is on.

“Does he have a case manager assigned to him yet?” Wayne wonders. “If so I would like their name, please.”

Eventually Wayne’s voice fades the further away he gets. And just so you don't wallow in your misery, you go to your phone to see if anyone else has been reaching out to you for updates.

Justice (Hellfire)

Omg just heard the news! Hey girlie, is Eddie ok??? Can we come see him yet??

Just as you expected. Annoyed, you respond.

Girl fuck you

Suddenly a hand squeezes your kneecap. You didn't realize how aggressively you were tapping your feet until Max stops you.

“Doing okay, sis?”

“Yeah I'm just...” you sigh. “…going through all the emotions I guess. And in a fucked up way, I'm kinda convinced this is all my fault."

“You're a dumbass," she scowls at you. "How could you have possibly seen this coming? This was not in anyone’s control."

“I broke the rule,” is all you say. “We never go to bed angry.”

The odds have always been against you. You would think you knew that by now. It was probably why you spent all morning beating yourself up; because you knew that if you did, there's a huge possibility that Eddie would pull through. The Universe is twisted like that.

Suddenly, a pair of white coats are seen coming out of Eddie's room. Everybody in the party immediately stands, like it's some formation exercise at a bootcamp of sorts. Wayne eventually circles back as well, gazing up at Dr. Owens with hopeful eyes.

“Eddie is going to be okay,” Owens concludes. “You can all breathe now.”

The room fills with bone-weary, but nonetheless celebratory cheers. Owens and Eddie's nurse, Nurse Patty allows everybody to hug one another in relief. Eddie's doctor goes to speak again when the clamor dies down.

“But he did have to undergo emergency surgery,” Dr. Owens adds. “And he lost a lot of blood, so we have him on additional transfusions, as well as an antibiotic for an infection caused by his wounds. The plan for him is to recover, hopefully get him up with therapy when the time is right, and then he can get out of here.”

“Can we see him?” your voice cracks.

“That is up to him," the doctor responds. "But for now, what the young man told me is that he wants chocolate pudding... and to see his Uncle and girlfriend."

You and Wayne waste no time. Unlocking the brakes of his wheelchair, you lug Eddie's uncle into ICU room #010, unsure of what is to greet you behind the curtains.

The room is littered with juice and jello, laced by an overpowering bleach-esque fragrance that most likely was there to mask the innate smell of blood and other bodily fluids.

Beep, beep, beep, goes the familiar IV machine. And funny enough, Eddie has his TV on, blasting South Park on full volume, exactly the way it normally would be playing at the Harrington-Munson estate.

"…tell everyone the truth about whose fault this is! I didn't do anything!" ... "...you KNEW about the prank, you could've stopped it at any time, but you didn't say a word. SILENCE IS VIOLENCE!"

And there is Eddie, dressed in a mesh-fabric gauze bandana, a worn-out beige hospital gown, with matching grippy socks. His entire lower lip is busted, left arm in a cast, both of his heels elevated with blood-saturated pillows. And his hair... you didn't even want to think about the matting. But that is ground to be covered much later.

When Eddie sees the two of you, he only utters one sentence:

“Does this mean I finally get that motorcycle?”

“You fucking idiot!” you wail going in to hug him.

Eddie chuckles solemnly as you completely fall into his embrace, soaking his gown with your salty tears.

"I thought we lost you, Eddie,” you whisper in his ear as you sniff your tears away. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we did...knowing what I said."

He strokes your hair. "You have every right to be mad at me. I've been such a shitty boyfriend to you."

“I second that,” Wayne huffs, crossing his arms. “The idiot part, I mean… but I’m glad you’re okay, son.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, Wayne,” Eddie grumbles. “I knew those Eddie Stops would catch up to me one day.”

Eventually, the rest of the party spills in, starting with the batallion of younger Hellfire boys who were inconsolable all morning, absolutely petrified of losing their role-model.

"Jesus,” Dustin breathes. “We thought you were a-goner!”

"Hey guys, good to see ya," Eddie grins, soaking up every bit of attention from his little minions as they all pile on top of him. Suddenly, he flinches. "Hey hey hey, watch my IVs! I've got an important med running through that piggyback."

"Right, sorry," they all utter in unison as they separate themselves from him.

Steve is next in line to give Eddie a hug, followed by Robin, and Nancy, and soon Jonathan. Chrissy and Argyle are the next people to trail in, with Henry and Nina at their tail. Then, the Corroded Coffin boys soon after.

"Eddie, oh my god!" Chrissy cries. "Don't you ever scare any of us like that again!"

"Good to see ya, Chris," Eddie smiles, giving her a one-armed hug. "Hey Neens! Creel! Villalobos. Boys.”

"So not cool man," Argyle shakes his head. "So not cool. We were worried sick for you."

As you all iron out the details, it is discovered that Eddie got into the accident shortly after leaving your place. He, in fact did, pull an Eddie Stop, failing to see the car coming at him from his left side, which then resulted in him getting T-boned. The other driver was okay. In fact, he was the one who called the ambulance for him.

"How much longer until you're discharged?" Nancy asks.

"I'm not too sure," Eddie sighs. "Hopefully in a few weeks."

He fails to sit up completely, wincing once again when his pain drags him down. Everybody nearly rushes to his aid, tenderly lowering Eddie back onto the bed while encouraging him to take it easy.

"Don't even worry about it, Eds," Lucas assures him. "We can hold down the fort."

"Oh that's reassuring," Eddie mutters sarcastically, shaking his head in discontent.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing!"

---

You decide to stay with Eddie for the afternoon while everyone else goes home. A couple others stay behind as well, so you all take turns alternating, helping the nurses with their care and making sure Eddie isn't alone when a specialist from his team comes to see him.

But for now, it's just you and him, cuddled up in his rather stiff hospital bed, watching TV to pass time by.

"It feels weird sitting in place for once," he comments. "My body isn't used to laying down for a long period of time."

"Constantly in fight or flight, huh?" you tut. "Always on the go..."

Eddie whistles. "God, you have no idea..."

"Nah, I do," you insist, grabbing his hand to kiss it. "Our flights just look a lil different is all."

Suddenly, your phone rings again, causing both you and Eddie to jolt in shock. This time, it's your FaceTime ringtone... and on the other line, is Kassidy, quite possibly accompanied by the other Hellfire Girls.

"Jesus H. Christ," you mumble. "They've been spamming me all morning. Probably just wanna know how you're doing."

"Answer it," Eddie encourages you sharply. His tone is rather gruff, and urgent. "I need to talk to them."

Because you're nice enough to allow the girls the luxury of knowing their lord and savior is alive, you answer the call and hand your phone to Eddie. There's a slight pause before the call is connected.

"Hi," is all Eddie says.

"Eddie! OMG!" the girls squeal through the other line, of course all while failing to acknowledge you — the person whose number they called in the first place. "Are you okay?!"

"Yes girls, I'm fine..." he sighs. "How's Hellfire? Everyone holding down the fort?"

"Of course, just like we do best," Kassidy responds. "We just miss you, Eddie. What happened?"

"Got T-boned."

"OMG, whose fault was it?"

"Mine," he seems relatively short with them.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm in a little bit of pain. But I got some pain meds to help me."

"Thank God!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hospital walls, Nina and Chrissy stare at each other in bewilderment, a look that is naturally followed by one of disgust.

"Oh I know damn well..." Nina shakes her head.

"Stupid ass bitches," Chrissy adds.

Being the nosy girls they are, Nina and Chrissy crane their heads over into the room, eavesdropping on the FaceTime conversation between Eddie and the Hellfire Girls.

"Oh Eddie," Emmy pouts. "We're so glad that you're doing okay."

"Yeah, Eddie!" Lady chirps. "When do you think you'll be released?"

"Hopefully I'll be out in about two weeks," Eddie responds. "But I'll stay at home for a bit before coming back. You won't even know I'm gone."

The girls cheer obnoxiously on the other line. You try to act indifferent towards everything for Eddie's sake, but it's hard for you to feign something that so evidently isn't true.

Eddie senses it. And what he says next to the girls takes you by surprise.

"...But," Eddie says. "In that same amount of time, I expect your lockers to be cleared... as well as your side of the dressing room."

There's a brief silence while the girls try to piece together what Eddie means by that. Because surely it doesn't mean what they initially thought it meant.

"Why? Are we getting moved?"

"No, you're all getting terminated."

So it was exactly what they thought it meant.

"Wh-what? Why?!"

"What do you mean why?" Eddie demands.

He begins to list off everything they have done wrong, all of which they pretended to be oblivious about until now.

"The final straw is calling my girlfriend's phone, non-stop, knowing that's the only way to get through to me," Eddie goes on. "And not even acknowledging her! And even if you did, you all have some damn nerve considering what you guys did at Hellfire."

"You don't even have proof of us damaging her property though!" Justice argues. "So for all we know, you're just accusing us of things, Eddie."

"That's funny," you speak up. "Who said anything about property damage?"

Caught in their own trap.

The MAIN reason Eddie couldn't fire the Hellfire Girls when they put sugar in your gas tank was because you didn't have any proof that they did it, therefore it wouldn't hold up well if the girls decided to sue for wrongful termination. Again, lots of legalities to come in to play.

The girls were smart though. Choosing to wreck your car because they knew it was parked in the security camera's blindspot. Essentially, after the damage was done, it would be your word against theirs. And there was only so much that Eddie could do with the "subtle jabs". But now that you have a confession, Eddie can work off of that.

"But Eddie!" Justice whines. "This is so unfair. We've known you, and been at Hellfire longer than she has."

"Two weeks," Eddie reiterates, still firm on his decision. "That's enough time for you ladies to figure out the next step. I wish you the best of luck."

The ending of the FaceTime call wasn't a pretty one. It mainly consisted of denying and bargaining, all of which Eddie did not have the energy to be receptive to.

You and Eddie continue to hash it out with the girls over the phone, all while Nina and Chrissy were twerking in celebration because it meant more money for them during tip outs. And most importantly, celebrating you getting the justice you deserve...along with the possibility of you coming back.

"That was something I should've done way long ago," Eddie sighs as he hands you your phone back. "I hate dealing with legal shit."

"I'm sorry that they ended up being horrible," you frown.

"And I'm sorry that they ended up being horrible to you," Eddie counters. "I really wish I could've done more for you. But up until now my hands were tied legally, honey. And financially."

"It was a sticky situation," you mutter. "But...I knew you had a favorite."

He kisses your forehead once more and you lean into him again, resting your head against his chest and wrapping your leg around his torso.

"Ow, ow, OW!" Eddie yelps.

"Sorry!"

You asunder again.

"You think you're gonna find enough dancers in time?" you ask him.

"We'll be okay four dancers short," Eddie assures you. "And besides, more tips for the other ladies when it comes down to tip-outs. They did Hellfire a favor."

Exactly what Chrissy and Nina were thinking.

"Speaking of Hellfire..." Eddie quips. "Does this mean you're coming back?"

"Only if I'm still welcome."

"Of course you are, babe," Eddie chuckles. "Everyone there loves you."

Your heart flutters at the forsaken "L" word, uttered with so much certainty and fondness.

"...including me," Eddie adds. "I love you, man."

You bite your lip to contain your excitement as you blush, giving Eddie a light punch across his chest.

"I love you too...man."

And as a way to poke fun at you, Eddie flashes you a "surf's up" sign with his non-crippled fingers. He puts on his most pretentious California accent possible, one he learned how to do from Argyle.

"Righteous...man."

And before it could get any more intimate, Chrissy makes her way into the room, reaching into her tote bag to give you something she's been holding onto since she arrived.

You watch as she unveils a familiar velvet garment — your cloak. She gives you a courtly bow as she hands it back over to you, symbolizing an end to your very brief retirement from Hellfire, and a permanent seat at The Party's table.

"You know Hargrove, I believe..." says Chrissy. "...that this is for you."

🏷️ tag list: @chrrymunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n , @corrodedcoffincumslut , @bebe07011 , @mmunson86 , @eddiesguitarskills , @chelebelletx , @imonhereforareasonsadly , @eddies-trailer-babe @motherfckerr , @jxpsi , @sidthedollface2 , @manda-panda-monium , @elvendria , @micheledawn1975 , @hereforshmut , @siriuslysmoking , @mediocredreams @nymphetkoo , @m-chmcl-rmnc , @ahoyyharrington , @keepittoyourselftellnobodyelse @kellyxo1 @emsgoodthinkin @winchester-angel @chloe-6123 , @redbarn1995 @angietherose @kiyastrf94 , @purplewitchcauldron @kellsck @joyfulfxckery @munsons-mayhem28 @dragonfire @emma77645 @drivelikenina @livosssblog @thinkingth0ts @hugdealer @ellielunamckay @xblueriddlex @maskofmirrors @babyloutattoo89 @queenofhawkins @feral-pumpkin-energy @bl0ssomanddie

[mysticstronomy]

WHY ARE THINGS IN SPACE ROUND??

Blog#350

Saturday, November 18th, 2023

Welcome back,

Through telescopes on Earth and in space, astronomers can glimpse the far-flung reaches of the universe. And no matter how far away or how strange the planet, at least one thing seems to hold true in space: a lot of stuff is spherical.

So what makes these celestial bodies round? In short, it's gravity.

"It's pretty amazing that we know of so many things being round in space," Anjali Tripathi, an astrophysicist at NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program, located at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, told Live Science. Gravity's rounding effect is a result of self-gravity, the gravity that an object — in this instance, a celestial body — exerts on itself. Once a planet, or maybe a moon, accumulates enough mass, its self-gravity will pull it into a sphere-like shape.

The universe's bodies formed after the Big Bang exploded about 13.8 billion years ago. Tiny dust particles circulating in enormous doughnut-shaped dust clouds began to collide. If the collision was gentle enough, according to NASA, the dust particles fused. Collision after collision created a snowball effect; The more mass a budding planet accumulated, the more its gravity grew and the more matter it attracted.

That "gravity pulls all the matter toward the center of gravity," said Bruno Merín, an astronomer and head of the European Space Agency's ESAC Science Data Centre in Madrid.

It's like the kitchen sink, he said: "All water will flow through the hole in the bottom." In the case of planets, "every piece of matter is trying to get as close as possible to the center of gravity."

Planetary bodies will continue to shift matter around until they find an equilibrium, a state in which every point is as close as possible to the center. And the only shape that achieves this kind of equilibrium in space is a sphere, Merín told Live Science.

Mercury and Venus are nearly perfect spheres because they are slower-spinning rock planets. Ice planets also tend to be almost perfectly round, as the "layer of ice distributes very evenly," Merin said.

But "round" doesn't mean that every planet is a perfect sphere; the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn bulge at their equator because of how fast they spin. Instead of a perfect sphere, Saturn looks like a basketball someone is sitting on, according to NASA.

Even Earth has a tiny bulge of less than 1%, due to centrifugal force, the outward force on a spinning object. So Earth is oblate, or a slightly flattened sphere.

Although the universe teems with spheres, many bodies in space aren't even remotely spherical. Asteroids and comets can come in any shape, altered by crashes and interstellar spinning. Mars has a potato-shaped moon called Phobos; in fact, only about 20 of the nearly 300 known moons in the solar system are the familiar round shape we expect, the rest are more irregular. The reason for all these nonspherical bodies: Their lower mass means they don't have enough gravity to even out their shape, Tripathi said.

Originally published on www.livescience.com

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023)

"IS THE MILK WAY MOVING??"

[kyatra]

jjk chapter leak fortnite festival natlan special program spiral abyss reset hsr event speedrun bruno mars lady gaga collab clean/move out of my grandma’s house sign up for my classes starting in 4 days and my cousin’s baby shower. we didn’t start the fire

[n3wtiepatootie]

Winged COD au anyone?

Ive put some thought into this BTW.

----

Now. There is none of that whole "omg you have the rare unicorn princess alpha pegasus wolf Guardian ruler gold wings 😱😱😱"

You can see pink wings, but those are colored by wing chalk. Think of the chalk like hair dye.

To go further into depth, brightly colored wings will look out of place in places like Russia, but be more natural in places like Brazil. It's a matter of environment and genetics that tell what your wing pattern would be.

It is a possibility to have two wing patterns mixed together. Snowy owl and Scarlet Macaw for example. This is possible because travel is more common since everyone has wings, so say someone from up North with the snowy owl pattern fell in love with someone down south with the scarlet macaw pattern. While it isn't common for the wing patterns to mix if the two were to have a child, it's a possibility. It's more common if they had twins. Pattern mixes are about as rare as twins, but you don't need twins for it to occur, it's just less common in people that aren't twins. If that makes any sense.

Now, wings aren't like genuine bird types, yknow? The patterns are just classified as such. But like you could have parrot wings with the pattern of an owl if you get what I'm saying. Wings are more so classified by the pattern and fit into different styles/classes.

Now to move onto the cod characters themselves. (More importantly 141, but shhhh...)

-----

Ghost

• Wing Pattern: Bluebird

Now, usually, I've seen him made out with black wings or wings that match his tough demeanor. Something along those lines.

HOWEVER. In a stroke of genius, I decided for him to have blue wings, more specifically that of a bluebird. However 2.0, he's embarrassed of his blue wings, thinking it takes away from his y'know 'big scary lieutenant' status since most soldiers have 'natural' feather colors so he uses wing chalk to color them black. Gives it more character than just giving him black wings-

He hates going on water missions because he hates the feeling of the waterproof chalk.

-----

Soap

• Wing Pattern: Cardinal

It made sense. Also, it's a plot point in a way. Soap isn't embarrassed of the red, has never ever chalked his wings. So when he joins 141, him showing off his red wings just sorta helps Ghost realize his blue wings aren't anything to be ashamed of.

-----

Price

• Wing Pattern: Eurasian Eagle Owl

I can just see it.

-----

Gaz

• Wing Pattern: Falcon

I can see it, but I can't explain myself.

-----

Laswell

• Wing Pattern: Sparrow

Refer to Price and Gaz for reasoning. I have quite a few of these in all honesty-

-----

Valeria

• Wing Pattern: Quetzal

I had a debate with myself over macaw wings or quetzal for our lord and drug lady, Valeria. However, in the end, quetzal won and I could see her with the quetzal wings more than macaw.

-----

Graves

• Wing Pattern: Eagle.

AMERICAAAA RAHHHHHH. GUNSSSS. TANKSSSSS. FREEEDDDOOOOMMMM. HAMBURGERRRRRR. USA. USA. USA. USA. USA.

And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

-----

Shepherd

No wings.

Just like how he has no hair, common sense, or dignity. He also has no wings because he's just so cutie patootie (I'm lying to you.)

-----

Rudy and Alejandro

• Wing Patterns:

Rudy - Hyacinth Macaw

Alejandro - Scarlet Macaw

I genuinely put these two in the same category section thing so I can tell you they are macaw buddies. That is all.

-----

Farah

• Wing Pattern: House Wren

This is another one of those it just makes sense to me typa things.

-----

HASSAN & AQ

The only reason they are even here is so I can explain my thought process on such a force. This randomly came to me as I pondered the desolate streets of my quiet town in a lovely thought as I sang along to the ghost artist, Bruno Mars.

I had the brilliant thought bubble of what if this infinite supply of enemy troopers were so incompetent where in order to show you are apart of AQ, you had to have one of your wings cut clean off.

And therefore, that is now canon in my winged cod au.

AQ are so out of their minds that in order to show you are apart of said force, you must give up an entire wing.

-----

I gift thee, ✨winged cod au✨

(Btw, the aus name is Feathertips)

I will speak more on this if it is wanted fr fr

[look-at-the-soul]

Look at the soul - Part 8 Count on me

Cillian Murphy x OC

Series masterlist

Song: Count on me by Bruno Mars

As usual, we meet new characters 🥰 thank you SO much for your support, for your thoughts and feedback, it means everything 💕

“I won this time.” Cillian approached Marianne after rehearsal, she was sitting in the front row with her laptop on her lap.

“Hey, yeah… someone decided to ask a million questions today and I couldn’t get out earlier.” She explained with a worried expression.

“It’s alright, we need to remember your studies are a priority.”

“But I asked around and apparently, I can change my program to study in a hybrid method, like half my credits online half in the classroom, so I filled a form and they’ll check my status to see if I can fit the program, they’re starting it and only had like two or three students sign up.”

“That’s incredible! I hope you can make the change, but are you sure it won’t mess up with your studies?” He wondered how she’d be able to keep up with everything.

“No, because it’s the same program, professors, well all of it, that way I can have more free time to do it all.”

Cillian crossed his arms. “And what about your tests?”

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea

I'll sail the world to find you

“I’d take them online as well as the courses.”

“But how? You don’t have to be in the classroom?” He just couldn’t picture it.

“Technically no, they upload the test with four or five possible answers and you get your score right away.” She explained.

Cillian lifted his hands in a surrender motion. “Maybe I’m just too old for this.” He chuckled.

“What? That’s ridiculous… you’re not old.” Marianne shook her head.

“Can’t you see the white hairs?” He huffed taking the seat next to her.

“I have friends younger than me with their entire head white, that has nothing to do with age.” Suddenly she was aware of the masculine scent emanating from Cillian. He was too close. “Anyways let me show you this, I made a budget for the rest of the year so you can use for the different projects.”

As she started to show him a few tools, he was in awe of the information for him; graphics, proposals for the new equipment, an analysis cost-benefit of the upcoming projects, this was mind blowing!

“How the hell can you do that?” He asked squinting his eyes, a deep frown showing.

If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see

I'll be the light to guide you

“What?”

“That thing, when you show me one thing and then another.”

Switching from one file to another, Marianne showed him what buttons she pressed. He made it seem as if she was doing a magic trick.

“Now, if you want to consider buying the equipment overseas, I made this.” She showed him another analysis comparing the investment.

“Wow, this is super organized!” He admitted leaning back looking from the screen to her surprised. “I’m speechless.”

“I tried to make it easy to digest.”

“Thank you, it seems like we both have good news then.”

Marianne saved the document and looked up at Cillian as he stood up.

“Now, come on stage cause I want you to see something.”

“What is it?”

Cillian was pleased to hold it between his hands.

“Guess?” But she couldn’t imagine. “I just got the first printed poster for the promo.” Cillian unfolded the paper carefully and took a few steps back so she could see it completely.

“That’s amazing!” Lee praised joining them on stage, excited to see how everything was developing on time. “Can I take a picture?”

Cillian nodded and raised the poster above his head so it would cover his face.

“What do you think?” He asked moving the paper a bit down, so now only his eyes were poking over it.

Marianne took a moment to register the image, it felt surreal. “I can’t believe this.”

Her green eyes sparkled under the bright lights of the theater. It was one of the photos Cillian took from her as the two roles that represented Adria, looking straight to the camera it was the fearless woman in the red dress in contrast with the woman in the reflection of the mirror with a sad look in her eyes, vulnerable, hit by life over and over.

It was hard to imagine it was the same woman of the script, not only by the character’s differences, but because Cillian had been able to capture Adria’s essence and the gaze from each character when in reality it was the same woman.

We'll find out what we're made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

“It was a good idea ask you to take the photos.” Enda approached them, taking the poster from Cillian’s hands.

“You just did that so you didn’t have to hire and pay for a photographer.” Cillian laughed.

His lifetime pal was right though. “Yeah, but you did a fine work either way.”

Hiding his hands inside the back pockets of his jeans, Cillian looked down. “All credit belongs to Adria.”

Marianne immediately jumped in. “Ah non of that, you were the one making magic with the camera.”

“Right, I’m going to check the sound again, it was horrible today.” Enda adjusted his glasses on his nose and walked away. Once he was out of their sight, Cillian took the permanent marker from his pocket and handed it to Marianne.

“I’ve to be the first one,” Cillian gave her a smile, “can you sign it for me?”

She was beyond surprised, speechless even. His request took her by surprise.

“It should be the other way around, isn’t it?” She raised her eyebrows. “Me asking you for an autograph?”

“Look, as much as I enjoyed portraying a woman in a film, this is a character I’d never be able to play. And unfortunately for you, it’s not my face in the poster, so you’re the one who needs to sign it.” He carefully put the paper on the table in front of them.

“I’ve never signed anything… what do you write?” She looked up at him for guidance.

“Just my initials a circle or a line or whatever…” he chuckled, “but don’t do that, write something nice.”

“Well in that case, I’ll need to take my time to get inspired.” She added with a dramatic hint.

But a phone call interrupted their chat, it was Selene, her classmate, so she moved a few steps away to talk to her. Cillian was trying to define what was happening, because her facial expressions were full of worry.

“Everything alright?” He asked when Marianne approached him again.

“No, we’ve to do a project in teams, but one of the members just let my classmate know he was quitting school, wanted to travel the world and then work in his father’s company.” She sighed frustrated.

“Fuck.” Cillian tried to understand the way she felt.

“My thoughts exactly, now Selene and I have to do everything.”

“What’s your project about? Can I help you in any way?”

You can count on me like one, two, three

I'll be there

She felt a rush of adrenaline, they had very little time to complete the assignment. “We’ve to build a business case about well… a business, doesn’t matter the category, explain the process to the classroom and propose different goals and alternatives to reach them.”

Cillian looked at her trying to figure out a way to help. “Can you use my production agency? My secretary must’ve the monthly balances.”

His proposal made her nod eagerly. “Yes because I could include the investment you did on the play as part of the company to show some way of expansion.”

And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two

And you'll be there

“Then it’s all set… tell me what you need.”

That’s when Marianne’s smile faded away. “I’d have to ask you for an interview, or you can tell me whoever I can talk to, it doesn’t matter my professor isn’t going to corroborate the authenticity of the job position.”

He realized she was mortified. “It’s no big deal, I’m happy to help.”

We'll find out what we're made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

“Oh my God, thank you! Thank you, it’s only a few questions and it can be just by voice.”she felt at ease when Cillian smiled. “When would you like to schedule it?”

“Right now? Unless you’re busy with something else.”

Marianne could barely hide her excitement, this was extremely important for her and it meant the world that he was willing to help her. “Yes, whenever you can.”

“I‘ll see you kids tomorrow, have a boring meeting with the PR.” Enda waved at them and walked away.

“How about we go to the studio? So you can see where everything is done.” Cillian then asked, taking his jacket from the seat.

“Sure, I promise you it’ll be quick.”

As they moved to the studio, the conversation flowed naturally.

“The other day I was walking down the street, on my way to buy some groceries and I found a little antique shop, there was a beautiful painting, but it was listed as if it was a Rembrandt or a Van Gogh and of course I couldn’t afford it, or I wouldn’t have anything to eat for the rest of the course,” she laughed and the sound caught Cillian’s attention, because it was one of those genuine laughs, “so I showed Lee the picture I took of the painting and she’s doing a replica for me!”

“Really? That’s incredible, I didn’t know she could paint.”

“She’s very artistic, you guys did a great job taking the photos for the promotion of the play.”

Cillian nodded, it was easy to work with her because their ideas matched. “It’s like talent comes naturally in different areas.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know about copyright and all, but in the art world the prices go out of proportion. And I fell in love with the paint.”

“I can assure you, you’re not the first nor the last one to do it, beside if it ended in an antique store, the original owner didn’t care much about it.”

“That makes me think of the one that got destroyed at an auction.”

“Bansky right?” He immediately recalled watching it on the news, as it was destroyed by a hidden shredder inside the frame. “That was crazy.”

“It was beautiful, simple, but beautiful.” She expressed moving her hair back, a hint of orchids filled the air around him, filling his nostrils. “The little girl, reaching for a balloon that’s floating away…”

“Wonder what was the artist’s intention to do such thing, it’s something stupid right?” He felt comfortable express his thoughts to her.

Marianne shuddered. “Unconventional would be the best way to describe him.”

“Doesn’t makes sense.” He added holding the door open for her. “Nothing makes actually.” The sound of his phone interrupted their chat, Cillian pressed the button to answer, listening to the man at the other end. “So that date works for you?”

Marianne noticed the huge grin on his face as he was humming.

“Alright man, I gotta start scouting locations around and I already have the general idea, the demo is fantastic!” Another pause and he indicated her to turn to her right in the corner. “Talk to you later, thanks Danny.”

Cillian sighed pleased with the information he just got, and turned his head to look at her through his Ray Bans.

“We just signed to produce a music video for a rock band I like, it’s a great hit.”

Marianne now understood his smile. “Congratulations! That’s some great news!”

“Thank you, is a good opportunity.” He was excited about it, but decided to not ask her yet to get involved in the project, not yet.

Arriving at the studio he showed her around first, the cabin where they recorded, the sound machine, it felt like his second man cave.

“Would you like to read the questions first?” She already had a draft, so it was easier to adjust the questionnaire to his business.

Cillian frowned. “No, just shot.”

She chuckled and placed her cellphone between them, setting the recording app. “Starting in three, two, one.”

“Action!” He joked.

“Mr. Murphy could you tell us a little bit about how you started this business?”

“The Mister part made me feel old, can you cut it off?”

Marianna suppressed a small giggle but nodded at him.

“Hi Cillian, thank you for accepting this quick talk, could you tell us about how you started this business?”

Cillian adjusted on his seat and looked up at the silence sign in the corner. “I love my job, but somewhere down the road I stumbled across being behind the scenes, as I started learning what’s happening in the background, th-the things we don’t see on screen, I fell in love with that part of the process.” He looked at her intensely. “But I’m always in one corner, I care too much or I don’t at all,” he chuckled, “so I decided to explore that side of the business because I had a lot of free time and I was a good part of the day in the studio anyways with my stuff. So I talked about it with a couple of friends who are experts in their fields and they were happy to jump in this ship.”

“Can you elaborate a little about your main projects?”

“Yeah, we finance and produce independent films, advertisements, records…”

“That’s amazing, the magic behind the scenes…”

He gave her a genuine smile.

“What was the biggest challenge you faced? The struggle that almost made you quit?”

Cillian leant his body forwards, towards her, one of his hands over his thigh.

“People not believing in my dream, saying it was just one of my hobbies. But it’s always being like that, you know? People never take you seriously until you make it.”

“I’ve seen some of the projects and it’s mind blowing.”

“You’ve?” He asked surprised.

Marianne nodded. “I was curious about the audiobook you recorded and I listened it until like two or three in the morning. I also loved the promo video you did of local food in Ireland, it was mouthwatering. I wanted to take a bite of each plate.” She laughed.

Cillian was taken a back by her words, he didn’t know she had been so involved with his company to the point of seeing the projects. And he rarely got a compliment over it because he was usually behind the scenes.

“I take every project seriously, love being involved in every little detail to be able to deliver a good quality work.”

“What’s next for you?”

“There’s a video already in post production about tourism in the country, the finest places to visit, the hidden little gems… it’s beautiful. We’ll present it to the client in a few weeks and there’s another one I’m particularly excited about, but unfortunately due to confidential agreement I can’t share more at the moment, but it’s about music.”

As they finished working on the questionnaire, Marianne told him she would call Selene, to let her know the interview was done.

“Can I use your laptop in the meantime? I’ll be quick.”

Marianne already had her phone next to her ear, so she nodded before trying to reach her classmate.

As Cillian opened the icon to search, he found her email open already, his eyes were glued in one in particular.

Change of medication?

Cillian moved up to close the tab, but his fingers hesitated. He didn’t mean to intrude in her personal email account, but it caught his attention.

Feeling a rush of guilt, he looked over his shoulder to make sure Marianne was out of sight. But curiosity won him over, he really needed to know why would she need another medication since she never mentioned being sick.

There wasn’t a lot of information, at least it wasn’t clear, she just mentioned feeling her chest tight at times during the night and that she couldn’t exercise because she felt short of breath. The doctor answered he was out of town for a couple of days but would schedule her once he got back.

He also mentioned she should go back to her previous medication and look after any other alarm sign she could notice.

Cillian stared at the screen for a moment, he couldn’t see a signature or phone number. And it wasn’t clear if she was getting any better. Clicking finally on the red x at the top corner, he felt a vein in his temple starting to pulse.

Was her sickness something serious?

Should he worry about her health condition?

“All set, she will take care of the analysis and proposals for the project and I can work on the business case,” Marianne came back with a smile, oblivious of his thoughts. “I was thinking of using the play as my baseline, you’re super involved in the project and I could easily make it fit as one of the ways to expand your company, sorry I’m talking too much.”

Cillian looked into her eyes, debating between asking Marianne directly or not.

****

Next part

A/N: Still with the slow burn… but I promise you, there will be some action, can you feel them more integrated? Let me know!

Tag list: @lyarr24 @gypsy-girl-08 @cillmequick @zablife @prettylittlehoneyeyesxoxo @kettlechips3 @heidimoreton @forbidden-forest-witch @kaitebugg03 @thenattitude @forgottenpeakywriter @onlydeadcells @babaohhhriley @lonelyweeb0044 @lovemissyhoneybee @ange-thoughts @already-broken144 @shelbydelrey @cutecurly-hair @winchestergirl22 @moral-terpitude @elenavampire21 @lespendy @kittycatcait219 @stevie75 @esposadomd @sloanexx @shaddixlife @rangerelik @peakyscillian @woofgocows @cillianlove @imichelle-l-rigby @emmanuelle19 @sydneyyyya @cljordan-imperium @mrkdvidal1989 @flippittygibbitts @adaydreamaway08 @pono-pura-vida @elk96 @shelundeadxxxx

[bullet-prooflove]

The North Star - Part Fourteen: Gunplay - Terry Bruno x Reader

Welcome to mine and @the-hinky-panda The Bronx universe featuring our favs Terry Bruno & Mike Duarte.

This story takes place several years after 'Blood Out'. Terry still lives in the Bronx and works in Manhatten SVU.

Following on from @the-hinky-panda story 'The Dog' Mike has retired from the NYPD on medical grounds due to seizures causes by the attack. He has a therapy dog called Bono and lives with @the-hinky-panda character Meredith.

Tagging: @mysoulisasunflower@legit9thlunaticwarrior@bbyxoo@the-adzukibean@xoxabs88xox @crazy4chickennuggets @beardedbarba @wooshwastaken @justreblogginfics @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @storiesofsvu@anime-weeb-4-life

Part One: Moments (NSFW)

Part Two: Case of the Ex

Part Three: Her Worse Half

Part Four: Always

Part Five: Ask Me Again

 Part Six: Degas

Part Seven: The Heist

Part Eight: A Part to Play

Part Nine: Home

Part Ten: Safe Space 

Part Eleven: Weak

Part Twelve: Got Your Back

Part Thirteen: Familia

It was meant to be simple, you’d done one hundred and one of these raids in your time as an police officer, as back up, on the front line. You were used to the surge of adrenaline beforehand, the thud of your heart in your chest as everything became more saturated, more focused. There was a clarity in what you’re doing, a sense of satisfaction. You know who the bad guys are, what they’ve done, you’ve seen the fallout. All that’s left is this, the apprehension.

You know they are in there, the Dewoski brothers. Leon, Mickey and Pete. Holed up in their dead mother’s house, hungover to fuck. Munson had sold them out, for immunity and a bid in the witness protection program. The fence didn’t have the stomach for the violence, he’d been selling off the Degas so he could get the hell out of dodge. Selling stolen shit was one thing but murder was a whole other ball game.

“And there’s our delivery girl.” Sinclair said from the shelter of the sedan as the two of you watched a moped pull up alongside chain link fence.

“I’m telling you McMuffins are the way to go when your hungover.” You told him, opening your car door and stepping out. “That and a Vanilla Milkshake.”

“Hm…” Sinclair shook his head. “It’s Strawberry all the way.”

You rolled your eyes before approaching the delivery driver, your badge clasped in your hand as you flashed it at her.

“I need to borrow your hat and jacket.”

It wasn’t hard to convince her. A cool story to tell in a bar over a couple of mojitos and she was sold. The jacket was baggy, fitting loosely over your bulletproof vest and sidearm. You slung the delivery bag over your shoulder, before tipping the peak of your cap to Sinclair and striding towards the front door. The burgundy paint was peeling, and the front yard had seen much better days, whatever they were spending the money on it wasn’t the upkeep of the house.

“Team Two is in position at the rear at the building.” Paul’s voice sounded over the ear piece. You ignored the way your nerves jangled at the timbre of his voice in your ear.

Sinclair and Lou followed you up the garden path, taking up residence on either side of the door. You could smell the weed permeating through the walls of the property as you stood before the door, preparing to knock.

“Team One in position.” Sinclair’s voice sounded before giving you the nod.

Your knuckles rapped on the door, scraps of crimson flaking onto your skin as you waited patiently. There was a shuffling on the opposite side, a slow shift as the locks were drawn back and Mickey’s face appeared. Bloodshot eyes, five o’clock shadow marring his jaw. His clothes looked slept in, the stench of pot clinging to him. He held the door wide, snatching up cash from the sideboard as you unzipped the waterproof coat, revealing your badge and bullet proof vest. Your Glock was already in your hand when he turned his attention back to you, his gaze falling on the gun pointed at his chest.

“NYPD.” You announced. “Put your hands on your head.”

You stepped into the building as Mickey complied.

“Team Two breach.” Sinclair uttered into the radio. You heard the back door slam open, smashing against the wall so loudly it practically vibrated through the house. A shout went up, an exclamation of surprise from another room.

Lou was already fastening the cuffs on Mickey’s wrists, his fingers curling in the guy’s collar as he yanked him towards the door. You pressed the button on your radio.

“Target One secure…”

You released the button as the gunshot rang out, cutting through the air like an explosion. Your gun swung up as plaster erupted from the wall behind you, spewing dust into the air. Sinclair was already beside you, hand on your shoulder and gun levelled at the oncoming threat. You weren’t sure which one of you saw the letters first, they were barely visible in the haze of plaster dust. However, Sinclair’s his grip relaxed almost as simultaneously as your gun dipped.

“It’s Russo…”

The first bullet impacted. A blossom of heat roaring through your chest as it smashed into you, sending you careening into the wall. Your right arm went numb, your Glock slipped from your fingers as the second one slammed into you, knocking the air right out of you chest.  Your ears were ringing like crazy, black spots speckling your vision as your knees buckled.

You didn’t remember hitting the floor, only the explosion of light behind your eyes as your head bounced off the laminate. Excruciating pain lanced through your ribs as you tried to suck in a breath, a choked rasp leaving your lips. Sinclair’s face appeared in your vision; his lips were moving but you couldn’t hear him over the rush of blood in your head. He was trying to remove the vest, you felt it loosen as he unfastened the Velcro but it didn’t seem to make a difference. You still couldn’t fucking breathe.

The darkness was charging in, enveloping your vision with every stuttered gasp.  You tried to fight it but you could feel yourself slipping backwards into the abyss.

Your fingers grasped Sinclair’s sleeve as you sank into oblivion, a final weak attempt to anchor yourself before you suffocated. There was no reprieve, no comfort, just this agony searing through your body as the shadows closed in.

Love Terry Bruno? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[dogflowerz]

Pleaaaseeee pls pls pls tell me about any 1010 headcanons or opinions on them you may have I’m heavily fixated on those boys specifically. Eating away at my brain

SCREAMS I HAVE SO MANY HCS FOR THEM !!!!!!! IN GROUP AND ALSO ALONE

PLEASE MAKE ELONI ACTUALLY FUNNY. i might be a bit biased because hes my favorite and my sillycoder but Please. make him funny. hes apart of one of the biggest boybands world wide. hes gonna be on tiktok, instagram, literally joking about whatever he can. when the titan submersible situation happened he was definitely making tiktoks about it and joking about it. HES A FUNNY GUY

i think haym hates that hes seen as the immature young one. he resents it and wants to die everytime he has to say something during interviews to keep his persona up. he definitely has an alt making fun of the extreme 1010 fans and its widely hated in the community without knowing its him. i do think he does troll around with it, just to annoy his brothers.

hot take maybe . i think purl hew is a BITCH . hes a bit self centered and doesnt care at all about what the fuck is happening around him. does he care? no. does he know everything? yes. nsrtist drama? hes the first to know. hes gretchen weiners.

zimelu ... i think hes a bit aggressive and will full on fnaf 2 foxy jumpscare the others for laughs. i think he really likes horror movies and films. hes even made a few short films himself !!

rin is a guy. hes such a guy. (literally no original hcs all of the ones i have i stole from my friends) ermm i do think he and neon j bonded a lot at first when he gained sentience.

for all of them, i think they all gained sentience a bit before the bunk bed junction battle. this caused them to.. be a bit fucked up in the head and get a bit of trauma from it. they all hate bunk bed junction and have a resentment for them.

ALSO i think they have programmed hobbies. rins being sports (literally any type. hes good at all sports.), zimelus ive mentioned as being cinema but i think also skating (again, all types. skateboarding, ice skating, ANYTHING.), purls being poetry and writing, eloni's being knitting and embroidery (projecting) and hayms being drawing !!

I ALSO THINK THEY ALL LIKE BRUNO MARS.

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up episode 3: Jay versus Wumuti

Hello and welcome back to my Build Up episode recaps! In the previous post, we saw Seunghun from CIX and Neon go up against former member of Romeo, Ma Jaekyung, and “student who likes ballads,” Yoon Inhwan. In this one, Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T. and Jay go up against Wumuti and Kang Hayoon. Yes, that’s right, it’s a Boys Planet face off! Let’s do this!

As the guys come up onstage, the judges notice that both teams chose Western pop songs to cover -- specifically, songs by Charlie Puth and Harry Styles. 

The judges react specifically to Jay and Bitsaeon’s coordinating outfits. 

OMG. The s w e a t e r s. Yes. This is what I want. MORE SWEATERS.

They introduce themselves by singing their team name -- Sweet and Salty -- to the tune of Beethoven’s Fifth symphony. You know -- dun dun dun DUN.

Bitsaeon, left, claims he’s the sweet one and Jay says he’s the salty one, then they do some aegyo. 

At first glance, it looked like Wumuti and Hayoon are wearing white button downs, but no, on closer inspection, they are wearing….

S W E A T E R S

They introduce themselves as “Golden Boys/Voice” (saying the words in English). Since “Voice” and “Boys” sound almost identical with a Korean accent, I’m not sure which one they actually mean, but I think it’s a play on words at least. Wumuti says he’s “sexy and soft voiced.” I’ll leave that to you, the viewer, to agree or disagree with. Hayoon has a “unique” voice. 

We’re reminded that Jay did very well in the first round, and go into a flashback to their time in the Rival Choosing Platform Area (RCPA), which is frightening not just because it’s surrounded by terrifying blurs….

.. but also because it’s where your fate is determined!

But no one seems to want to challenge them. 

Jay mentions that he’s worked with Bitsaeon a lot, and we see this amazing old footage of younger Bitsaeon and Jay with Different Hair:

As I mentioned in my initial write up, Jay was part of a program to add more members to Bitsaeon’s group M.O.N.T., which wanted to have a sort of open-member concept kind of like NCT, I think. Although that never really worked out in terms of Jay actually joining, I assumed it would have meant that Jay and Bitsaeon would have gotten to know each other, and yep, I was right. 

Since no one will step up to the RCPA, Jay and Bitsaeon are allowed to choose a rival, and chose a pop vocalist team to make the match up appropriate. Side note: I’m going to just call Bitsaeon “Bit”, ok, gang? 

Jay mentions that he’s known Wumuti for five years. I also mentioned that in my write up that this is their third reality show in a row together.

 Wumuti says he’s the hyung in this relationship, and Jay puts his arm around Bit, who is older than both of them, as if to say “I have a better hyung now!” I don’t like this. Ok. 

Some time later, Bit and Jay unfold a nice folding table in a gray room with partitioned walls, put on a pair of almost matching fleece jackets, and pretend to talk strategy so that the camera can record them choosing the song they probably already chose off-camera much earlier. But it’s a pretty great scene. 

Jay and Bit say, “I think they’ll choose to do a female song.”

Smash cut to Hayoon and Wumuti in a different gray room with a much nicer table, who are in fact saying, 

… “What if we do a female song? Like, maybe something by Ariana Grande?”

Cut back to Jay and Bit: “I bet they’d choose something by Ariana Grande.” 

Back to Wumuti, who says, “I think Jay will want to do something by his role model, Bruno Mars.”

Cut back to Jay, saying, “I want to do a Bruno Mars song.”

Wumuti says he’s known Jay for five years, and they know a little too much about each other. We see a shot of Baby Jay and Baby Wu. 

“Two kids with the same kpop dream met”

I kind of get it -- when you are living in a place where you don’t speak the language that well, if you meet someone else who isn’t from that place, you kind of end up hanging out a lot. It happened to me when I was working for a royal family in an Arab country. I’ve had a weird life so far, my chingoos. 

They decide on Dangerously by Charlie Puth, because it’s high pitch, high risk, high reward. Bit says he really wants the “killing part” with the one high pitched “I love you!” standing out with a vocal “scratch.” 

I wonder, says I, I says, I wonder if they’re going to show us that part three or four times?????

Here’s the link to the performance without reaction.

My thoughts:

First off, really good song choice. It’s catchy, but it wasn’t a mega hit like “Attention” or “We Don’t Talk Any More.” It’s emotional, kind of sexy, with lots of opportunities to show off vocal skills. Really, perfect song choice.

Jay, again, was just amazing. His vocal color is obviously gorgeous, but he also seems to have worked out his issues with pitch and nasality. His adlibs and little growls add to the song appropriately. He was occasionally slightly screetchy, but it worked in the context of this song. His little mannerisms do slightly remind me of Dana Carvey’s “Choppin’ Broccoli” bit, but I guess in a hyper-regimented, always pre-planned world of Kpop, that kind of thing is to be expected. 

Working with Jay is a blessing and a curse. His voice is so impossibly pretty that it makes it likely that you’ll win the challenge, but it also means that anyone else’s voice is going to sound worse in comparison. And that’s what happened to Bitsaeon here. 

Bitsaeon’s voice is lovely, with good agility and a well-developed upper mix. He also pronounces the English really well -- possibly Jay gave him some tips. I don’t love the tone of his falsetto, and he also could get a little shrieky sometimes, but he’s never pitchy or nasal. As good as he was -- and he was really good! -- he just doesn’t have quite as pretty of a voice as Jay does. But I mean, almost no one does.

Their voices blend together well and the harmonies they worked out sounded great. 

The MNET edit for all these songs always seems to be about emphasizing how good everyone is, and this one is no exception. 

So, fun fact: I watched the performance itself while I was traveling for work. I have Youtube premium so I can download videos, and I downloaded as many ep3 videos as I could to try to get a head start on this episode. When I saw Jay doing the whole “growl then fall backward like you’re spent” part of the song, I was like -- I bet in the MNET edit, they show that part like, five times. They were pretty restrained though and only showed two of his parts twice each. I mean, they also showed the judges jumping to their feet and hugging each other so there was that. They also did an instant replay of Bit hitting a super high note, so that was good.

Looks like most of the judges stayed on their feet for the whole last third of the performance. 

When they’re done, the judges give them a standing ovation and the guys backstage wonder if their low score will be 100. 

The score is revealed: 

Baekho, Solar, and Jaehwan gave it a 100, and the low score from Eunkwang was 97. That means that the other judges gave 98s and 99s. 

It’s… pretty wild. How on earth can Wumuti and Kang Hayoon beat this? They decide to just sing their song and not worry about it. 

Dahee asks the judges for feedback. Baekho said he felt like he was just watching a concert -- nothing to judge. And Jay’s voice is so catchy, it’s good regardless of personal preference. We’re reminded of those parts that got the instant replays.

Jaehwan says he wants to be a CEO and recruit artists like them. Dahee asks, why not actually them instead of just artists like them? And he says, hey, I can’t right now, I just got a full time job finally, I can barely take care of myself!

VCG gives some love to Bit, which is nice to see. He really did great -- I really do love his upper mix. 

Seungkwan from Seventeen says, “I learned. I was humbled and even jealous. That’s how overwhelming your stage was. You did a great job. Thank you.”

Up next, it’s the other team, who come out calmly as if they didn’t just see their competitors get three perfect scores. 

Wumuti says he’s known Jay for five years, and that Jay is so good it made him and Hayoon even better. 

We flashback to episode one and see Wumuti hearing Hayoon’s voice for the first time and just loving it.

Sure, he did approach Gwangseok first, but Hayoon is who he really wanted. Wumuti says he wants to give a shocking performance, a song with bold colors and extreme details. 

We see Wumuti and Hayoon rehearsing in some sort of place with t-shirts and art and merch…? 

I tried to search for info on this stuff but didn’t find anything, so if you have light to shed, please do!

They spent a while picking the right song, which I think is smart. There’s another team that we’ll see in episode 4 that I kind of think chose their song too quickly -- we’ll get to them. But they ultimately decide on Harry Styles’ Falling. 

Hayoon says he thinks a lot of people could empathize with the lyrics, and  Wumuti feels like it relates to him and his struggles to debut.

Look at that gray and black s w e a t e r. 

They’re rehearsing so hard they levitate! 

The performance begins, and the judges wish them luck.

Full version without reactions

My thoughts:

I like Wumuti so much as a person -- I think he’s charming and I really like his optimistic, hard working attitude toward life. Also, I generally really like his singing voice, which is sweet with a nice bit of texture. His occasional belts are strong and lovely. That said, I think his voice can sometimes be a little nasal and he might need to work a little bit on his breath control, as sometimes he runs out of breath on a line or two. Regardless of those slight issues, I think this was a lovely performance, both vocally and emotionally.

I find myself kind of on the fence about Kang Hayoon’s voice. Sometimes the vocal color and stylistic choices are so overwhelming and affected that it’s a bit too much for me. But I think this was my favorite performance of his. He toned down the nasality and let what I think might be his “real voice” shine through. He did occasionally get a bit shrill on some of his louder belts -- a bit challenging to listen to, for me, like a tiny bit nails-on-the-chalkboard. Overall, though, I did really enjoy this performance. 

I know it’s weird to say for someone who recaps competitive reality shows, but competition isn’t my favorite part of all this, and I wish I could just say that both performances were good in their own way without taking a stance on which performance was better. But I also know that part of what I’m doing here is giving my opinions. So for me, I just enjoyed Jay and Bitsaeon’s a tiny bit more. There were a few notes that sounded a tiny bit off for me in this.  But they were both great and I enjoyed them both a lot.

The MNET edit continues the theme of just falling all over itself to say how good Kang Hayoon is, and sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person who doesn’t think he’s the obvious best vocalist on the show? Not saying he’s bad, just that a lot of people on this show are as good or possible a bit better than him. Tons of talent on this show! 

Everyone listening is very quiet, listening. When they’re done, there’s a moment of silence as people kind of wallow in the feeling, and then the judges all stand up. And Wumuti is crying! He explains that he felt like he was singing the words to a mirror, to the Wumuti who keeps running toward his dream of debut. 

“If one day, the stage doesn’t need someone like me anymore, what should I do then?”

The judges try to vote, but they’re kind of overwhelmed. 

The votes come in, and… commercial break!!!... the votes are revealed!

Everyone gave a 100 except for Eunkwang, who gave a 98, and Baekho, who must have given a 99. We can tell that this is a 697 point performance. Wow.

I feel bad for Jay and Bitsaeon. They got a higher score than almost anyone else but they’re still going to be up for elimination. This show is awful, isn’t it? Sigh. 

Everyone teases Eunkwang about his “low score” of 98, and then we get some feedback. 

VCG says he wished he had known back on Boys Planet how good of a singer Wumuti actually is, especially if he sits down and sings. Hey, VCG, *I* noticed it even in Zoom, when Wumuti’s awesome “LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION BABY!” right before Haruto’s dance break really was a highlight. Anyway, VCG says he’s glad Wumuti is on this show so that he can really show his vocals. 

They also heap a lot of praise on Hayoon, saying he’s a genius.

Jaehwan says, "I want to give you all the compliments of the world." Aww! That's great. 

Seungkwan says it was his first time awarding 100 points, and mentions that it was at least partly because they showed their mettle to pull off such a good performance right after the previous team. 

Eunkwang says he deducted one point for each so that they don’t get too egotistical. 

When the judges are done giving their feedback, Dahee brings back Jay and Bit to find out the winner, although it’s obvious if you pay attention to the numbers at all.

The guys exchange hugs. The judges say that there aren’t any losers here, but Jay and Bit lose, 693 to 697. 

Wumuti thanks the judges for their kind words, and then thanks Jay and Bit for motivating them to work harder. Jay looks completely unbothered -- I think voting is going to decide who stays and who goes, and if so, I think Jay knows that he’s going to stay. Jay and Wumuti tease each other a bit and it really doesn’t seem like there’s any hard feelings. 

Emotionally, I can’t help but be glad that Wumuti got the win because I think he really needed it psychologically, but I still enjoyed the first performance a little more. I really don’t want to lose Bitsaeon either. Maybe we won’t? We’ll see, I guess.

Then we get a bit of a teaser for the next performance. Looks like the next episode will begin with Seokhwa from WEi and Woong from AB6IX going up against the two trainees, Ji Yeonwoo and Jeong Yunseo. 

Finally, we get the current standings (as of episode 3). 

For each one, I’ll either list their home group or something about them to help you remember who they are. Those who are already known to be in danger due to losing their 2 vs 2 mission so far are in bold. Those who are already safe will be in italics. Everyone else hasn’t gone yet.

Jay Chang  (Boys Planet)

A.C.E.’s Lee Donghun

Wumuti    (Boys Planet)

CIX’s Seunghun

WEi’s Kang Seokhwa

Pentagon’s Yeo One

Up10tion’s Lee Hwanhee

AB6IX’s Jeon Woong

Park Jeup   (sang Sherlock)

Vanner’s Taehwan

Just B’s Geonu

KNK’s Jeong Inseong

M.O.N.T.’s Bitsaeon

Up10tion’s Sunyoul

BDC’s Hong Seongjun

Neon (sang Hmm-cheat)

Kang Hayoon   (sang Falling)

Just B’s Bain (orange hair) 

Fave1’s Hyukjin (red suit) 

Jung Soomin (from Chicago) 

Lee Gwang Suk (the model)

Hong Sung Won (that ombre sweater)

Park Joo Hee (top tier from Tomboy)

Kim Min Seo  (low tier in Beautiful)

Kim Seo Hyung (low tier in Shall I love You…)

NewKidd’s Lee Min Wook (that weird blue vest thing)

Kim Sung Jung (leaping lizard)

Lim Sang Hyun (top tier in Beautiful)

Choi Su Hwan (Decalcomanie/Sherlock)

Hwang Inhyuk  (Fragile people yellow sweater)

Yoon Inhwan (the student who loves ballads)

Taewoo (unique voice in Beautiful)

Ma Jaekyung (partnered with Yoon Inhwan for Take Me Back…)

Jo Hwanji (the soldier)

Choi Ha Ram (top tier in Breath)

Jeong Yun Seo (trainee, sang Beautiful, wasn’t nervous)

Ji Yeonwoo  (forgot words in Decalcomanie)

Kwon Euibin (the robotic guy)

Former Day6 Lim Jun Hyeok (sang Breath)

Jang Intae (sang Every Moment of You)

So, that's the end of the recap and the end of episode 3, so I maintain my status of being only two episode behind.

I'll see you in the next one, chingoos, dongsaengs, friends, oppas and unnies. Take care until then!

[tmbgareok]

Hey Flans, I've been mulling over this in the back of my mind basically since I heard the Murray Head version of "Heaven On Their Minds" on the pre-show playlist at the Bowery Ballroom shows in January, but it finally hit me that I could just pop in here and ask—what goes through your mind when you're popping songs onto the pre-show and intermission playlists? I'm always delighted by all of it, and I think I come away from every one of your shows with at least a few new songs that I add to my own playlists (another one from January was Bruno Mars's "After Last Night," what a groovy track), but it's always such an eclectic and surprising array of music. Is there any particular sort of sound or vibe that you're shooting for?

JF: I am not exactly sure how to answer the question. It is kind of a "medium energy" balancing act for the walk in music--you want to keep people "up" but not too up because they might be standing for over an hour and it might wear folks down. And for the most part I avoid the more hi energy disco/electronica/"bangers" that are going to make some people feel claustrophobic hearing while in a crowd, although I'll slip one in every ow and then. I'll draw on a different kinds of pop music, but looking at a list it is clearly about half songs from the 60s and 70s, which is kind of my home base musically, but from a variety of genres.

I do want to help frame the show by playing what isn't in the show. Female voices, New Orleans party music, Irish music, funk, some uptempo folk like the Kossoy Sisters. When we didn't have horns, I probably leaned more on horn-driven songs, whether it's Perez Prado or Tower of Power or Ozomotli, but now that we have so many horn driven things, those kind of tracks aren't in the mix. I guess I'm avoiding big hit songs, just because whether it's oldies or current radio, we are all programmed by "hits". Waiting in an environment that isn't just playing a soundtrack of super-familiar songs before we go on some how seems like it's going to open people up to a show of less-heard songs...

The "between set" list is often more focused on songs that seem extra bold, and can be higher energy. I started putting Waiting Room by Fugazi right at the top of that playlist, just because it's a funny to song to play for people who are now clearly being forced to wait. I love the songs Doomscrollers by Quasi and My Northside Girl by JD McPherson and My Husband by Mitski, and those songs seem to generate a lot of curiosity from people--although I think I might have played the last two too much. And I do slip in I Touch Myself by the Divinyls and Just a Friend by Biz Markee--both of which have kicked of spirited sing alongs which is always fun.

Here is one playlist--I'm not sure where it has evolved to now...

[delphi-dreamin]

oooh for the disney asks, I would be interested in reading about (if you haven't done them already, ofc!):

fantasia - a song that reminds you of your f/o?

peter pan - favorite picture/screencap/etc. of your f/o?

sleeping beauty - any hurdles you have had to go through during your relationship?

for any of your favs. 💙

Hi Jes!!! 🥰

Fantasia- A song that reminds you of your f/o?

Babe, I have a list~

For Lucifer:

Asmo:

Beel:

Belphie:

Simeon:

Touya:

Peter Pan- favorite picture/screencap/etc. of your f/o?

I um...I don't have a problem. (I have four entire albums for these men. I probably need psychological help.)

Sleeping Beauty- Any hurdles you've had to go through in your relationship?

You mean other than S2 of OM? Um. Well.

So, part of Delphi's lore with Dabi/Touya is that she met him while she was studying abroad in Japan. And they got...pretty close. And then he was being chased by heroes once and left her in a train station alone. And then she didn't see him for like...five years after? During which she went through the exchange program in the Devildom. (I like to have my harem all together~)

But there's also the whole marriage thing that I went over in my last ficlet. And I still haven't decided if Simeon is going to just...stay an angel forever? Or if he's going to fall in Delphi's story. Because S4 is fucking me up. Because Si.eon is twice the angel Michael will ever be and you can rip that from my cold dead hands. (I know you're a Michael simp, babe. But if I ever got to meet him? And God? I would fist fight them both.)

Wow that was long! Thanks for playing, Jes!! 😘 If you read this far, you deserve a cookie. 🍪

Send me a Disney movie!

[jules-has-notes]

2014 Sing-Off tour

For the first time since the start of the series, The Sing-Off tapped into their deep pool of talented groups and took a few of them on the road in early 2014. Season 4 winners Home Free were joined by 4th and 5th place groups The Filharmonic and VoicePlay for a 6-week whirlwind tour across the contiguous U.S. They were joined at most shows by other past Sing-Off competitors and/or professional a cappella groups.

In addition to the rotating roster of guests, there were a couple surprise cast changes. Emoni Wilkins from Ten took over for Honey Larochelle with VoicePlay. And with Adam Rupp on paternity leave for the first half of the tour, Home Free recruited Aaron "Heatbox" Heaton to fill in on percussion.

.

Rehearsals

All three groups worked on their individual sets before arriving in chilly upstate New York, but then they had just two days of intensive rehearsals to learn, relearn, and refine elements of the full show before they hit the road.

.

Performances

The program for the shows was a nice mix of fan-favorite pieces from the competition, established material from the groups' repertoires, and new songs. All of the tour dates were professionally recorded, but no official compilation of the full show has been released publicly, so I've done my best to reconstruct the setlists and find the best quality recordings available.

.

Group opener

Fun. medley — "Some Nights" / "We Are Young" / "Carry On" (7 March 2014 — Atlantic City, NJ)

What better way to kick off the tour shows than with the medley that started the television season? And with just three groups instead of all ten, some different singers got a chance to take the lead.

.

The Filharmonic set

"This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan (1 March — Philadelphia, PA)

"Treasure" by Bruno Mars (7 March 2014 — Atlantic City, NJ)

"I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith (7 March 2014 — Atlantic City, NJ)

"It's Gonna Be Me" by the Backstreet Boys (1 March — Philadelphia, PA)

"One More Night" by Maroon 5 (7 March 2014 — Atlantic City, NJ)

.

sing-off — VoicePlay vs. The Filharmonic — "Bye Bye Bye" by *NSYNC (8 March 2014 — Mohegan Sun casino in CT)

VoicePlay's first brush with elimination during the competition came in the very first episode. For the tour, The Filharmonic stepped into the Princeton Footnotes' spot to create a 6-on-6 battle-style performance as a transition between their sets.

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VoicePlay set

"Love On Top" by Beyoncé (20 February — Boston, MA)

"Can't Believe It" by Flo Rida, feat. Pitbull (7 March — Atlantic City, NJ)

Road Trip medley (20 February — Boston, MA)

A Crimpella medley (7 March — Atlantic City, NJ)

"Don't Speak" by No Doubt (20 February — Boston, MA)

"Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry (7 March — Atlantic City, NJ)

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sing-off — VoicePlay vs. Home Free — "Survivor" by Destiny's Child (8 March 2014 — Mohegan Sun casino in CT)

Since neither VoicePlay or Home Free were in danger during episode 4 of The Sing-Off, they used the arrangements they'd prepared to make a very fun music video. The tour producers liked it, too, so they used it as part of the transition between the two groups.

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The (Extra) Ultimate Beat-Off (29 March 2014 — Hollywood, CA)

The beatboxers from all three groups teamed up in an incredible demonstration of vocal percussion and sound effects. On the final night of the tour, Heatbox — Home Free's sub for the first couple weeks during Adam's paternity leave — rejoined Layne, Niko, and Adam for an extra entertaining four-man jam session.

.

sing-off — The Filharmonic vs. Home Free — "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins (9 March — Amherst, NY (U. of Buffalo))

During episode 5 of the competition, all of the remaining groups were paired off for ultimate sing-off battles. Home Free and The Filharmonic teamed up to create a performance so delightful that they had to include it in the tour shows.

.

Home Free set

"Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line (15 March — Chicago, IL)

"Colder Weather" by Zac Brown Band (20 March — Milwaukee, WI)

"Your Man" by Josh Turner (8 March 2014 — Mohegan Sun casino in CT)

"Wake Me Up" by Avicii (20 February — Boston, MA)

Guilty Pleasures medley (8 March 2014 — Mohegan Sun casino in CT) ** with Heatbox's guilty pleasure (20 February — Boston, MA)

"Life Is A Highway" by Rascal Flatts (27 March — San Francisco, CA)

"Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash (29 March 2014 — Hollywood, CA)

.

Group closer

"Please Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna / "Wanna Be Starting Something" by Michael Jackson (29 March 2014 — Hollywood, CA)

Since they had the two main groups who performed it on the show, the arrangers took the final section of the opening medley from the Party Anthems episode and reconfigured it for the tour. By expanding the sample in the original song, they added some audience participation to create an even bigger finish.

.

Encore

"Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen (27 March — San Francisco, CA)

After the high of the closing number, the groups eased the audience down to earth by bringing things back to basics. No microphones, no amplification of any kind. Just seventeen talented voices.

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Backstage & travel time

Like a lot of jobs in the performing arts, singers are often in a situation of hurry-up-and-wait. That can lead to downtime shenanigans.

And, of course, everyone wanted to look as good as they sounded.

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Downtime fun & other work

The tour schedule was fairly packed, but some folks did manage to get in some sight-seeing and extra curricular outings on their few days off.

Not to mention working on other projects during their free time.

And, of course, they had to keep their singing engines fueled by sampling the local cuisine.

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If you've made all the way through this monster of a post, all I can say is…

…and I hope you enjoyed it.

[sunskate]

iamo programs 2023-24

Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko RD: Stevie Nicks, Whole Lotta Trouble, Edge of Seventeen FD: Perfume Choreo: Madison Hubbell, Adrian Diaz, Scott Moir, Marie-France Dubreuil

Lily Hensen/Nathan Lickers: RD: Devo, Whip It; Men WIthout Hats, Safety Dance; Bonnie Tyler, Total Eclipse of the Heart; Rob Base, It Takes 2; (a-ha, Take On Me FD: Jeremy Dutcher, Oqiton, Pumok naka Poktoinskwes Choreo: Adrian Diaz, Cara Moir

Alyssa Robinson/Jacob Portz: RD: Irene Cara, Flashdance (What a Feeling), Michael Sembello, Maniac FD: NF, Trauma; Sia, Bird Set Free Choreo: Scott Moir, Sheri Moir, Madison Hubbell, Adrian Diaz

Haley Sales/Nikolas Wamsteeker: RD: Air Supply, Power of Love; Loverboy, Working for the Weekend FD: kept Phantom from last season

Charlie Anderson/Luke Anderson RD: Journey, Open Arms, Don't Stop Believing FD: Jason Mraz, I Won't Give Up

Leia Dozzi/Pietro Papetti: RD: Diana Ross, Muscles, Upside Down; Earth Wind and Fire FD: Ludovico Einaudi and Daniel Hope, Petricor; Hauser and London Symphony Orchestra, Nessun Dorma by Puccini

Samantha Ritter/Daniel Brykalov: RD: Billy Idol, Eyes Without a Face, Flesh for Fantasy, Dancing with Myself FD: Ekaterina Shelehova, Earth Melodies; Rok Nardin, Where is Your God Now; Kaia Jette, Medusa

India Nette/Eron Westwood: RD: Jan Hammer, Axel Foley Theme FD: What a Wonderful World Choreo: Barbara Fusar-Poli, Scott Moir, Adrian Diaz, Madison Hubbell

(Layla Karnes/Liam Carr) RD: Eurhythmics, Missionary Man, Sweet Dreams FD: 2WEI, Hit the Road Jack

Layla Veillon/Alex Brandys: RD: RunDMC, Walk This Way, It's Tricky RD2: Kenny Loggins, Footloose; Foreigner, Waiting for a Girl Like You; Bonnie Tyler, Holding Out for a Hero (starting w Nov sectionals) FD: Chaplin: Carl Davis, City Lights Overture; Nat King Cole, Smile; Andre Rieu, Limelight choreo: Cara Moir, Sheri Moir, Madison Hubbell

Jordyn Lewis/Noah McMillan

Olivia Corneil/Alexandre Emery Starlight Waltz: Game of Thrones Theme Paso Doble: Queen, Another One Bites the Dust FD: Bruno Mars

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of the So Much We Didn’t See (Laryngitis) episode of the podcast.

This episode on May 11 2010.

They had to really rack their brains to remember what happened in the real world the week the episode aired.

They were about to start their first tour.

They were in Phoenix Arizona. It was hot as hell.

It was Kevin’s first time in two gay bars. Jenna went to one of them.

Zach Woodlee and Kevin got invited to a back room at one of them and got to try expensive Tequila. Kevin thought it tasted like lighter fluid.

At one of the clubs it was announced that the cast of glee was there. They ran out of there so quickly. It was Kevin, Chris, Telly, and Megan. Kevin said where’s Chris, get Chris out of here.

Kevin was not closeted to the cast that played the kids. By the time they out to LA Jane Lynch came up to Kevin and said I heard you are a little gay boy. Kevin turned bright red. He didn’t want anyone else to know.

For this tour Phoenix was where they were working out what the show was going to be because there was debate if they would be in character the whole time. During the first show there wasn’t a lot of consistency. Sometimes they would refer to each other by their real names and others by their characters names. Kevin was in his chair the whole time so he was basically always Artie. They didn’t quite know what they were doing yet.

The people running the tour thought it would be like One Direction and everyone would go crazy. They would get respectful applause between numbers and then after the show everyone went crazy. The demographics were way off from what the tour promoters thought it would be because it wasn’t just teens. It was teens, younger children up through grandparents. People reacted like they were watching a theatre show and not a concert. They had to have a meeting to dissect what was going on. They figured out that because they were doing so many skits that it felt more like a theatre show. They added more bits of crowd participation to make it feel more like a concert.

Kevin took it very personally.

It was a new format for a tv show to go on tour. The only thing they had to go off before this was High School Musical which was a different demographic.

May 11 is Cory’s birthday and Jenna’s dad’s birthday. Her mom’s birthday is the same as Lea. Kevin’s mom has the same birthday as Ryan.

The tour was a hit after they figured things out. It’s as an experiment. They filmed at Radio City and we never saw it. Kevin said they have to text Ryan to see if he still has it.

The Fox execs fessed up that it was sort of like a pilot program. If it did well then they would do an even bigger tour the next year.

The #1 song was Nothin’ On You by B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars.

The #1 movie was Iron Man 2 with their future friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

On this day in 2009 the Glee cast attended their season 1 premiere screening event at Santa Monica High School.

Within a year they were selling out Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Kevin said the first tour was fun.

A restaurant was rented out for the cast and crew the day after the Radio City show. They went buck wild dancing on tables.

This episode was special for many reason.

Naya is progressively singing more and more and more in the back 9 episodes of the season. The creative team was starting to recognize how damn good she was at everything.

This episode is a perfect example of what Ryan said about it was so special that they got to spend so much time between scenes and he got to know them. This episode is a product of that. They also had time to bond with one of the directors, Alfonso.

Alfonso has also done a lot of directing for American Horror Story.

Kevin can do a great Alfonso impression. It’s the only one he can do. Well he can do Ryan too.

Zack Weinstein was a very special guest star.

Mike O’Malley and Ashley Fink are also in this episode.

Unfortunately there is no Jessalyn or Jayma in this episode.

The songs in this episode are Jesse’s Girl, Lady Is A Tramp (Kevin didn’t know this was from a Broadway show. He thought it was like a Frank Sinatra song. Jenna said that is fair because they did make it sound like a Frank Sinatra song or cover), The Boy Is Mine, Rose’s Turn, and One (The cover with Mary J. Bilge. Kevin was sad he didn’t get to sing on this song).

Rachel gets laryngitis, Kurt changes his persona to try to impress his dad, and Puck tries to regain his social status by dating Mercedes after shaving his mohawk. Mark was sick of it by this point. It made him super easy to spot out in the real world.

On the waste management sign on the trash can Puck gets thrown into there is a misspelling.

Puck tries to go after Mercedes and says many many offensive things. On the flip side Mark go to be very funny in this episode. It was something we didn’t get to see a lot of and Jenna said he was very funny.

Quinn gives Mercedes a heads up about being more worried about Santana going after Mercedes for going after her man.

Kevin said you need to go watch some bootlegs of the tour especially The Boy Is Mine.

Somehow when they were sitting around between takes they would have their directors/cast chairs in a circle in the middle of the soundstage. At some point Naya started doing a Monica impression which involved a lot of neck movement, neck bobbing, and hair moving. It was an incredible spot on impression. This probably happening during Madonna. Ryan would just appear out of nowhere and ask what they were laughing at and they would tell Naya to do the impression. Kevin said it felt like a coup and they tricked Ryan into doing something they wanted to do. You just have to make Ryan think it’s his idea.

After Naya recorded it she said Adam wouldn’t let her do the full impression. She definitely got a lot of it in there though.

There is a shot where Naya is at the piano and when she leaves she does this neck thing and that was part of the impression she would do for the cast.

Kevin discovered when he was looking this episode up he found that Naya does the full Monica impression on the tour.

Needless to say they were so excited to get to do The Boy Is Mine.

Puck at some point when trying to woo Mercedes says Blacks and Jews have a history of sticking up for each other. Wikipedia says King Martin Luther loved the Jews. He also mentions joining a Black church. It’s so very cringy and inappropriate.

Lea has a thing where she bad sings. Because she has such a phenomenal voice the juxtaposition of her bad singing is so good it’s cringing, off key, and piercing but so freaking funny. They would ask her to do it all the time on set between takes. She had the ability to get just off key enough that you are like oh god. They made her do it for Ryan and he laughed. The face she performs The Climb with is the one she uses when she does her bad singing. It’s like she’s not aware but she knows something is wrong. She did it live because it wasn’t a recordable thing. She has an earwig in her ear and you can see it. It was so she could keep time and keep the track.

She was singing and there was no music. They rest of the cast and to sit it he choir room in silence. They ere all trying to keep it together but it was so hard. Jenna was crying just thinking about it. There is a shot of Kevin before she starts singing and he’s already laughing. He’s doing his frowny face and turned away from her because he knew what was coming.

Lea was like guys you’ve got to stop laughing, I’ve got to get this done because they were making her laugh. The only way for them to not laugh was to make confused faces. Harry’s face was phenomenal. Nothing has ever made Kevin laugh harder then when Lea did her bad singing. Kevin texted her once and asked her do it on her phone for him.

Back to the episode recap. Rachel realizes that some of the glee club isn’t pulling their weight. She bribes Zizes with candy to but the choir room.

Ryan confirmed that Jesse was named Jesse so that Finn could sing Jesse’s Girl. This is Finn’s Don’t Rain On My Parade.

On the second tour the girls had a quick change room under the stage. Somehow along the way it turned into the girls pole dancing and stripping as they changed. Kevin heard about it and he would see them doing full strip tease. This would happen during Jesse’s Girl.

On one of the tours Jenna peed in a bucket.

Jesse’s Girl became an iconic number.

Rachel loses her mind and loses her will to live. She’s told she has to have surgery which is a scary thing when you are a singer.

Finn takes Rachel to see friend Sean Fretthold who is paralyzed. The actor who plays him, Zack, is paralyzed from the waist down.

When Rachel was crying in the scenes with him Lea was really crying.

Alfonso did an amazing job with these scenes.

There was an NPR article on Zack that came out the day the episode aired .He didn’t say anything bad about Kevin but said their should be more opportunities for actors that are disabled.

I’m like Tinkerbelle I need applause to live is probably one of the best lines of the show. It’s so funny.

This is when Finn decides Rachel needs some perspective.

Kevin said they were dressed like a Gap ad during One. This was a Zach Woodlee this is our Gap ad moment.

Poor Alfonso, they tortured this port guy. They could not control themselves during the serious numbers. The more serious it was the more they would laugh. Fix You was the worst. According to Kevin it was embarrassing.

The other thing that is happening in this episode is Kurt.

The assignment of the week is for everyone to find their voice. This gives us a lot of great solos.

Kurt is really threatened by what is going on with Burt and Finn. Burt takes Finn to a lot of sports ball games as Kevin put it.

Sue asks Kurt how does he know he’s gay. Have you ever kissed a boy, have you kissed a girl? That’s the problem with your generation you are obsessed with labels. Say you like show tunes that doesn’t mean you are gay, means your awful. Another funny Sue line.

This leads Kurt to go on a John Mellencamp trip and wearing flannel. Burt just goes with it. Kurt sings Ain’t That America.

The scene where Kurt is making out with Brittany and Burt comes down. Burt says, when you decided you let me know. It’s always so poignant and impactful. The show constantly constantly is going high low. You have Kurt and Brittany being silly and then a very touching grounded scene with Burt. The show is constantly swinging back and forth between those highs and lows. You get those beautiful grounded moments and silly weird moments all in one scene.

This eventually leads to Rose’s Turn. Kevin has pictures of when Kurt’s name was in lights. It was a phenomenal performance. Chris slayed. He was nominated for an Emmy for this performance. He didn’t win but it’s fine he won a Golden Globe.

Burt gets to see him perform this and we get that moment of you don’t need to change who you are to make me love you.

Chris wanted this song so badly. He had been pitching this song so hard. Kevin didn’t know any of this and of course didn’t know the song because he didn’t know Broadway when he started Glee.

It’s an iconic song. It was brilliant and it was amazing he got a sign kind of like Roxy Hart in Chicago. They also changed the lyrics.

Jenna was blown away and so happy for him. Chris was so excited to do it.

They got to watch him do the number. Kevin and Jenna said Chris has never sounded better.

Billy Porter sang it during a commercial break for the Tony’s. It’s unbelievable.

This episode was a lot of Ryan listening and giving everyone what they wanted.

Tartie Takes:

Ouchies/Cringe Moments - Puck referring to Mercedes as black girl several times. Kevin said specifically said when Puck says girl you’ve got more curves then a Nissan ad.

Best Dance Move - Naya head bob for Monica in The Boy Is Mine

Best Song - Kevin: The Boy Is Mine Jenna: Jesse’s Girl

Best Performance by a Prop - Kurt in lights on the stage.

Best Line - Jenna: I’m like Tinkerbelle Finn I need applause to live. Kevin: show you like show tunes doens’t mean your gay it just means your awful and also when she says I checked out of this conversation a minute ago, I have to remind myself to not stop and talk with students. Even when she’s not really in an episode she’s in an episode. She shows up says the greatest shit ever heard and gets the hell out.

The Shit We Found On TikTok:

There is a TikTok that ranks the songs of every episode. For Laryngitis they got the top three correct. They ranked The Climb last. Rose’s Turn is somewhere in the middle. The Boy Is Mine was number 1 on their ranking.

Next week is Dream On…it’s like Wheels part 2. They are both excited to watch it.

[duran-duran-less-official]

So I first discovered Duran Duran in 2008, hot on the heels of arguably their least impressive album ever, Red Carpet Massacre (2007).

People were generally unhappy with the album, and in hindsight I need only say "co-produced by Timbaland" to explain why.

But in 2009, we had a glimmer of hope on the horizon as we learned that, not only had Duran Duran parted ways with their record label, but they had enlisted the help of long-time Duran Duran fan Mark Ronson (best known these days for Uptown Funk with Bruno Mars) to produce their 13th album, which would turn out to be All You Need Is Now (2010).

Back when Internet Radio was a legitimate avenue of playing music for the masses, Mark Ronson had his own program on a site called East Village Radio, and Duran Duran teased that he had leaked some sneak peaks from the upcoming album, these would turn into the songs Girl Panic!* and Safe (In The Heat Of The Moment).

But to listen to those sneak peeks, you had to listen to a good 50 minutes or so of Mark Ronson's radio show, just to make sure you didn't miss anything.

In those 50 minutes, Ronson decided to play a host of other artists, in particular a demo from a band he discovered recently when visiting Australia. This song, which was called The Piper's Song, reminded him of a really upbeat and cheery song from the 1980s, which he wouldn't normally play on this alternative/hip-hop radio show, but... maybe just this once...

And that's how I discovered Gypsy and the Cat and Africa by Toto on the same day.

This has been a short study in how nearly all my tastes in music can be traced back to Duran Duran in some way.

*Girl Panic! was the inspiration for both the URL and icon of my other blog.