#river my darling boy at peak performance

[cakebatteronabrickwall]

River's escape is the funniest thing they've done so far, he literally went

🐶😬❗🏠🚶‍♂️👱‍♂️✌👣‼💥👁👄👁🏃‍♂️🚴‍♂️

[hiddendreamer67]

The River is Calling

Summary: Roman is a siren who lives in the river, feeding off those who fall for his charming tricks. None have ever escaped his call... well, none except for one, and when Virgil makes another appearance to save his friends Roman finds himself growing attached.

Or, the creepy mer Roman AU that nobody asked for. October prompt #11: Underwater. Check the tags for triggers.

Check out more of my work at @hiddendreamerwriting!

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Roman swished his tail, hidden beneath the murky river depths. He gave a cheeky grin, leaning closer to beckon the human who was turning a delightful shade of scarlet. “Am I making you nervous?” Roman whispered.

The human whimpered shyly, fiddling with the sleeves of his cardigan. “I… I’ve never done something like this before.” 

“What was that, my sparkling primrose?” Roman hummed, his melodious voice drawing his prey closer. The softness in his tones made mortals more trusting of him, ignoring little details like the way his teeth were a series of needles or the way his claws curled in as he gestured the human closer. “Come here, starlight. I cannot see the way your eyes twinkle from this distance. Must you be so coy? There’s no need to be shy~”

The young man took a shaky breath, kneeling down near the bank of the river. Roman grinned, pushing himself up out of the water a little further. The mortal closed his eyes, leaning forward with his lips puckered. Roman came closer to meet him, going slowly to tease him and also distract the human from the way Roman’s hand hovered over the mortal’s wrist, getting ready to tug him forward…

“Patton?”

Roman cursed inwardly as the human’s eyes snapped open, whirling around to stand up and answer the call of the frustrating individual whom had lost Roman his lunch. No matter, Patton would be back. They always were once Roman planted that first seed of longing. After all, a siren’s call has led many a man to his doom.

“Be right there!” Patton called back. He looked to the waters, but the mysterious handsome stranger had disappeared. 

Roman listened from the riverbed, hearing the humans converse as the stranger came to meet Patton on the riverbed.

“Patton, what’re you doing here?”

“I… I’m not sure.”

The other groaned, sounding frustrated and worried.

“I told you not to come here, what were you thinking?’

“I know, I’m sorry Virgil.”

Virgil. The name stopped Roman in his tracks. It couldn’t be… could it? Virgil Storm. The one who got away- the only one who had ever truly escaped Roman’s clutches. 

“Get back to camp, Logan’s worried about you.” 

Roman listened as only one pair of footsteps left the riverbed. He looked up, seeing the muddled image of a man dressed all in black staring into the river.

“...I know you’re here.” Virgil spoke aloud after a moment, staring into the waters as if he could see Roman’s silhouette in the murky depths. Impossible, for a human, but Roman still preened happily at the idea. He startled, watching a rock plunk through the water just a few feet from his head.

“Stay away from him.” Virgil growled. “You can’t have Patton.” 

Now Roman’s curiosity was peaked. He had to see what Virgil looked like now, all these years after the scared little boy first came to the riverbed. 

Roman peeked his head out of the water, only letting his eyes surface. The moment he appeared Virgil’s gaze locked on him, and the human turned deathly pale.

Roman giggled, looking the man up and down. Despite the baggy clothes hiding most of his body, Roman could tell the years had been kind to him. There was a certain hidden beauty to Virgil, not unlike the way Roman’s true form appeared. Terrifying, but beautiful. But of course Roman was not the one who should be afraid. 

The merman lifted his head out of the water, giving Virgil a grin that showed off his teeth. He watched Virgil’s expression, taking in every nervous twitch of his mouth and the way his little button nose wrinkled up. And his eyes, oh his eyes were so incredibly gorgeous that Roman could only now understand the feeling of getting lost in someone else’s gaze. 

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” Roman informed him, “but you have the most majestic eyebrows I have ever seen.”

Virgil took a wary step back, said eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “...excuse me?”

“Your eyebrows? Majestic.” Roman leaned forwards, and eager glint in his eye. “Are you certain you’re not a siren yourself? It would explain your alluring tone-”

“Stop that.” Virgil snapped, grabbing another stone and flinging it at Roman. Roman yelped, a princely sound of offense escaping his lips as he dodged the pebble thrown at his head. “And shut up. You’re not going to get any of us this camping trip, you hear me? Back off. Keep your scales to yourself.” 

Roman raised a curious eyebrow. “...There’s more of you?”

“I said, shut UP!” Virgil pressed his hands to his ears, stumbling back a few steps. “Get out of my head!”

Roman gasped, his smile turning more triumphant as he realized that perhaps Virgil had never truly escaped him. “Have you been thinking of me, storm cloud? Do I haunt your dreams? Are you tempted by flights of fancy, wondering what could have been if only you gave me your heart?”

Virgil didn’t answer, instead turning on his heel and flat-out sprinting back to his campground.

Roman hummed, clacking his nails on a hard stone of the bed. This was certainly curious. Roman had wondered what went wrong with Virgil for ages, and now he finally got the chance to find out more about his shy little emo. After all, it seemed for the sake of his friends Virgil couldn’t stay away any time soon.

The stars were high in the sky the next time a human came to the riverbed. A light shone across the surface of the river, waking Roman from his slumber. He grumbled, muttering about ruined beauty sleep as he breached the water. 

A gasp sounded, and Roman squinted against the light in his face. Slowly the flashlight was lowered, and Roman was able to make out the form of yet another mysterious human.

“Why, hello there, my angel of the evening!” Roman gave him a charming smile. “If you wanted to wake me there’s more pleasant ways to get my attention.”

The human startled, adjusting his glasses self-consciously. “I… I beg your pardon, I did not expect there to actually be an individual out here.”

“Are you disappointed?” Roman asked, tilting his head to the side. “Strange, I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

“No, just… surprised.” The human frowned. “And concerned.”

“Concerned?” That was a new one. Alarm bells went off in Roman’s head, nervous he would have another Virgil scenario on his hands. “How come? Am I not the man of your dreams?”

“You must be freezing.” The stranger explained, entering the familiar ghost-like trance often caused by Roman’s voice as he crept up to the edge of the water. “It is crucial that we remove you from these waters before you gain hypothermia.”

“Aww, you really do care about me.” Roman grinned, testing his influence as he reached a hand up to curl his fingers in the human’s hair. The human pulled back, nervous, and perhaps that was the last rational action he would be capable of taking. “The water’s warm, I promise. So pleasant. So soothing. Do you want me to show you, my love? I know you’re curious.”

As Roman spoke, the human followed the sound of his voice, coming closer. Gradually Roman lowered himself into the water, so that the young stranger subconsciously followed and his nose was so close to the river the waves nearly lapped at his nose. 

“Perhaps, but…” His mumblings sounded hazy, giving Roman’s hand only a cautious glance as the merman once again brought his hand to the back of his prize’s head.

“Oh come on, I just like ruffling your hair, my dearest!” Roman teased, performing the innocent motion so that the man would relax. The tension left the human’s shoulders, and Roman knew he had won; there would be no resistance onwards. 

At that very moment, Roman pounced, shoving the human’s head into the river. 

The mortal opened his mouth in surprise, water filling his lungs and making him splash violently as his body protested, trying to get to the surface. He was no match for Roman’s strength, who easily pulled the human deeper into the river. 

However, there was an unforeseen after effect to all this thrashing. The noise had clearly awoken someone at camp, as a pair of frantic footfalls began to rush towards their location. Roman was quick to shove his prey into the depths, where the murky waters hid the form completely.

“Why Virgil!” Roman cried happily, delighted to see what was quickly becoming his favorite human. Certainly the most intriguing, by far. “What brings you to my shores this time of night, my fleeting amore?”

“LET HIM GO!” Virgil roared, and for a moment Roman was almost afraid as Virgil showed no signs of stopping his barreling motion towards the waves. 

“I haven’t the foggiest idea who you’re talking about, darling.” Roman lied.

“Logan, you took him, I heard him resisting.” Virgil had only the slightest sense to freeze before actually entering the waters. Roman pouted. He had been hoping to have a good ol’ fashioned river wrestle for a moment there. “Let him go, now.”

“Ooooooooh, that Logan.” Roman pretended to catch on, having not known the name of the human at all. “And why would I do a thing like that? He had no qualms about staying in my elegant presence.”

“Take me instead.” Virgil immediately offered, with such a defiant air that Roman was shocked. “Take me, and let my friends live.” 

Well, now Roman was tempted. He considered this, only slightly aware of how the struggles of the form pressed underwater were beginning to lessen. “I’m going to catch you anyways, one day, my sparrow heart.” Roman debated his thoughts aloud. “And this way I’d have two… well three if you count your other friend, such a sweet little blossom that one… but then again…” Then again, Roman had never had prey who knew what he was, let alone gave themselves up with the full knowledge of the consequences. It was baffling, in the best way.

“Then again, I’m beginning to wonder if I want to eat you at all.” Roman chewed on his claw thoughtfully, watching the way Virgil’s expression turned absolutely devastated. “You’re turning out to be quite fun to keep alive, my paranoid paramour.”

“Please.” Virgil sobbed, falling to his knees as he resorted to full-out begging. “Please, don’t do this. I-” His voice became choked, forcing out the words. “I… I’ll bring you someone else.” 

Roman wasn’t fond of the idea of waiting even one more night for sustenance. This would be the second time Virgil tricked him out of a meal- well third if you counted Virgil himself. But as tears began to fall from the human’s eyes, something in Roman paused. It was as though some secret part of him had become unlocked, and while usually it was in Roman’s nature to revel at the sight of human suffering something in his mind told him that anything that upset Virgil was wholly and undeniably wrong.

“Very well then, dearest.” Roman said, his voice soft and almost forlorn. Was that the right word to describe how he felt? Did he pity Virgil? Did he fear himself?

Without another word Roman lifted Logan out of the water, shoving him onto the shore. Virgil rushed to his side, watching as the human sputtered and choked out large quantities of water. 

“Kiddo?”

Roman ducked down, watching as a gentler figure emerged from camp with a lantern. 

“Logan!” Patton rushed down the hill, hurrying to Virgil’s side as Logan shakily began to wake. “Oh my goodness gracious, are you alright?”

“I- “ Logan looked frantically around, trying to gauge what he was seeing. He squinted, and Roman remembered this human had been wearing glasses before the river. “What just occurred?”

“You- you feel in the river.” Virgil threw his arms around him, not caring about being soaked. He clutched the back of Logan’s shirt. “Don’t you ever do something so stupid again.”

“Where are your glasses?” Patton asked, looking out into the river. Roman had the good sense to stick to the shadows so he wouldn’t be seen, knowing it would be hard to resist such an easy catch should Patton fall for his tricks again. “Did they fall in? I can go get them-”

“NO!” Virgil grabbed Patton’s leg in a vice grip, looking up at Patton pleadingly. “No, just… please. Don’t go. I can’t lose you, either.”

“...okay.” Patton agreed, giving one last look at the waters, as if searching for a sign. Roman knew Patton was looking for him. Perhaps he’d be back again tomorrow, if Virgil ever let him out of his sight.

No- hurting Patton would hurt Virgil. There would be other beings foolish enough to come to his shores.

“Let’s just get Logan back to camp.” Virgil decided, hefting Logan to his feet. Patton came up on Logan’s other side, the trio making their way safely back up the slope.

...well. Another time, then. Roman was certain this wouldn’t be the last he saw of these humans; after all, no one can ignore the siren's call.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... F is For Family (S02E04) Night Shift Airdate: May 30, 2017 @Netflix @GaumontTV Ratings: Privatized @BillBurr @mikepriceinla Score: 8.75/10 @FYeahBill @FIFFNetflix TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** 'Is my house clean?' No seriously, I'm gonna look up and you take a look in. I need to know... Can't go trouncing about town, especially the notorious 'Cocaine Cowboy City' of Miami with powder around the edges of my nostrils. I wouldn't think anyone, in any decade of existence, would want an onlooker seeing them trading coke for anything right out in the open... Whether that's in a record store, yes they still exist & I'm sure they would love a visit, or a street corner... I'd suggest visiting the record store over the street corner. Just as walking, talking, 'Teenage Turmoil', 'Trepidation Tornado' (Yeah, I'm also a sucker for wordplay), Kevin Murphy (Justin Long) is looking to make it big in what he sees as almost a dream world of sorts as a bonafide rockstar, he spots his well connected, high rolling neighbor, who is very much a part of that dream world, bribing an aggressively apprehensive DJ to play a pop record with a picture of a 'Teen Heartthrob' holding an adorable puppy on the front... But hey this is where they are in their lives. Pretty sure I've been lower. Vic (Sam Rockwell), along with the rest of the cast, has so much more room to breathe now that the series has been extended from 6-Episodes to the nicely rounded off number of 10 entries for S2. However, this means that Vic can no longer simply be that hurricane of a character, representing the perfect storm of carefree 1970's hedonism and indulgence. Suddenly, there are consequences for his actions and we are peaking into a long, dark tunnel where Vic is on the verge of an 'existential crisis'. No, there are no immediate repercussions for any of Vic's self destructive behaviors quite yet anyway, but the forlorn fates are written all over his face. Right now he's much closer to what we would refer to the point of 'existential dread' than we would call a full blown 'existential crisis'. The writers are smart though, they're giving you a peak of his cards without letting you see his full hand and that will surely create a helluva payoff when it it's finally time to pay the piper. That's a stark difference from a character that was once a quick, in & out, 2-D slice of animated comic relief. When it comes to television, cinema, film, real life, whatever... 'Existential' and 'Crisis' are literally my two favorite words in the English language, not only because they are so beautiful when paired together, but more so the fact that it's one thing Im actually good at. I know that's a really weird thing to be proud of, excited to dive into, or even claim to be 'good at'... But with all the LSD & DMT I've consumed in my life, I believe I've had more self-induced existential crisis and egodeath(s) than most of the worlds population. It's not just hallucinogenics and weird dissociatives, or even a finely tuned education in psychology & sociology that have made me an expert and lover of all things 'existential', it's also real life experience in all things crisis... Inner, outer, dramatic, and otherwise... I've always been dramatic, I got it from my mother, and her adoptive Mother... They are whatever is slightly above the 'every southern woman' version of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Everything is a spectacle, darling. Anxiety attacks are full on broadway performances, complete with Tony Awards, a nice Southern 'Wink', and a long list of 'Thank You's at the end... Oh and trips to the mall that start out sweet & fruitful and end in sheer terror. My Step-Father is more like the American Cherokee version of a cross between Tim Allen & Jim Gaffigan, if that makes sense. He has a traditional, signature style of humor that is both clean & observational and masculine & sometimes surprisingly crass, mainly due to his dual nature and long hard road from the cesspool of a nasty rock bottom to the heights of being a pillar of his community. There was a time in my life where these attributes all made me angry, just like Kevin. At that rebellious teenage age, if someone says go, you stop and if they say stop, you go. If a parental figure or an adult influence that we look up to makes a mistake, as a young adult many times we hold them to it unfairly... As if they're supposed to be perfect because they are the adult. As kids, we want to meet them halfway with unrealistic expectations. Essentially that's because adults meet their children and particularly teenagers with unrealistic expectations, themselves. Can't expect a toddler not to touch a hot stove, can't expect a little kid not to pick their nose (or worse), can't expect a teenager not to do usual teenager stuff, and we can't expect our parents to always remember all of that in times of stress. Looking back now (and let's hope Kevin moves forward to this place soon), I know that I learned the most from watching my parents make mistakes and subsequently finding a way to fix it, by any means necessary. Kevin is already sick over his issues with his dad, so he's practically ready to give up when he sees Vic forking over line after line until DJ Howlin' Hank (Josh Adam Meyers) would say he loves any record Vic gave him to play (yes, that includes records with vinyl covers that feature kids holding puppies that look like they "fell out of Donnie Osmond's pussy"). When one reaches the epiphany that hard work, talent, and actually being cool isn't what gets them to top, a breakdown of some sort is to be expected. Personally I've had this specific epiphany more than once (complete with influential dramatic Hollywood Breakdown), so a nice soul searching, ego shattering session of smoking weed (or simply insert alternative mind expansion drug here) his friends refer to as 'Oregon Gold dipped in Columbia River Salmon Piss' out of a baby doll made into a pipe is just what Kevin needs to push him to a point where he's ready to face this new, harsher, cruel world to get their band's ultimate goal achieved... Being played on the radio, preferably by DJ Howlin' Hank... Because, you know, at least they are 100% sure what it takes to make 'Hank Howl' (thanks, Vic)! So off the clueless teenage trio goes to score some blow. This should be good. Kevin has currently written off his father, Frank (Bill Burr), for his inability to accept a certain kind of defeat... Or better yet, I should say... Face his humility for a greater good and 'bite the bullet' at the unemployment office. He sees his father's stubborn pride as a weakness, when really like any human attribute, it's technically both a positive and a negative. The fact that Frank is lying to Sue (Laura Dern) about it, makes it all 100x worse, though... Creating a mountain blocking any possible view to see the silver lining. Frank taking a humiliating, lower paid job, just to avoid a handout is silly and ultimately a bit insane, but at least Frank is trying to do something instead of curling up into a corner & folding. Still, the whole ironic arrangement is not lost on us. Don't think for a moment that we won't be on the lookout for bumper stickers being sold at 'Hot Topic or 'Urban Outfitters' that say "Ask me about my Loser Husband's shit job!" Frank's insecurities and paranoia are officially at an all time high. His new boss Smoky (Michael Kenneth Williams) shows Frank the restrictive ropes of the world of vending machines, its many perks, and how to "Shove it. Slam it. Twist the lock. Stick the key inside your sock." Why can't the key just be on the key ring? Simple. "Because the rhyme came first, system came later." Frank is killing it, but an accident with the lock on the back door (see how important those rhymes are), ends up with the bag of change they've been collecting falling out of the back of the truck and finding it's way all over the dirty urban street. Frank goes into survival mode, scouring the street like a hardworking crackhead to recover the change. As this is happening, Kevin is out looking to score $10 worth of coke in the same seedy downtown neighborhood. Last time I checked $10 won't get you a bag of coke, and I live in a city where cocaine is easier to get than the attention of a bartender, and cheaper to get than a simple single liquor cocktail. These three young clowns mistake a pimp for a drug dealer and one of the funniest scenes of the series commences when the 'white' they are all so ready to score turns out to be an obese, Caucasian, $10 prostitute that has difficulties keeping one of her titties inside of her blouse. As the trio scrambles to escape the low rent hooker who offers to 'fuck them all if they have a sandwich bag', they end up passing Frank digging for nickels on the side of the street. Ok, ok... This is obviously the worst possible scenario for Kevin, but his frustrations lead him to march into the radio station with his band's demo tape in hand, demanding to be heard. Fuck the system, right? Everything might be going to shit for the characters in the Netflix Original 'F is For Family', but when you are down on your luck and you don't even know why you're stuck in a meaningless, chaotic existence... Suddenly an existential crisis becomes your best friend. Frank's embarrassing dedication to picking up the change in the street leads him to secure the job of no one's dreams, Sue has a sudden idea for a product invention when going through the mundane process of drying out her lettuce while making dinner salads, and Kevin's frustration & desperation pay off after the boys tune in to hear Vic use a two syllable taste of their song to introduce the weather segment. To three young boys with a pipe dream that's like the equivalent of being featured on MTV's 'Total Request Live' in 1999. Recently I've watched a friend go through a horrible incident and face their mortality. Suddenly that person is trapped in an existential nightmare... 'What's any of this worth if it really doesn't lead to anything, if we are all biding our time on this earth until the Grim Reaper comes-a-knocking anyway?' And that's just the base of it. We've all got our existential and emotional baggage to deal with, but it's the unexpected moments when you're at your lowest point that suddenly remind us that even tho we might all just be going through the motions and repeating history over and over, sudden sparks of light can suddenly reignite your passion for life... Its as all as easy as that, or as difficult as that, whichever way you want to look at it. Like Frank said in the beginning of FIFF's 'Night Shift', "I woulda killed myself, but I don't want to haunt my own house." **********Written By: Kevin Cage********** Special Thx: TVTime, Bill Burr, Michael Price, Jerry Wilson, Kat Holiday, Chad Rigsby... Dedicated to: Denver G. Pratt http:://www.tvtime.com http://www.spotlightsaga.com http://www.facebook.com/SpotlightSaga http://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtsEntertainment

[psyclownsis-a-blog]

cyberyond replied to your post

piri i need horror movie recs it's been too long since i saw a good oNE

this ended up becoming Piri’s Ultimate List Of Horror Recs (2017 Version) so i’m putting it under a cut rip

note: this list has trigger warnings but i am operating under the assumption that you are okay with the standard level of explicit sexuality, vulgarity, violence, and gore present in mainstream horror movies

horror

original nightmare on elm street series, but especially 1, 3, 4, 6, and freddy vs. jason (tw for implied pedophilia and explicit child murder, tw for rape in #6)

friday the 13th (original and remake)

honestly all the friday the 13th sequels are A Treasure but if you want The Core Canon watch 1-3

my bloody valentine (original)

psycho (original) and tbh all its sequels (tw for sort-of-kind-of incest vibes)

psycho ii and psycho iv are my favorites because (1) meg tilly is adorable in psycho ii and (2) psycho iv has a harley/norman cameo and nobody can convince me otherwise

child’s play, child’s play 2, bride of chucky, maybe some sequels after that idk i haven’t seen them yet :(

scream franchise

not the mtv scream series

i mean s1 is decent but there are definitely other horror shows that i would recommend more

1-3 are the best, 4 is worth watching if you really like the characters but as a concept the series has p much run its course by then

tw for rape mentions in scream 3

predator

peeping tom

kenneth branagh’s frankenstein (tw for a graphic depiction of death in childbirth)

james whale’s frankenstein

bride of frankenstein

the phantom of the opera (1925)

the phantom of the opera (1989) (tw for a much grosser depiction of the phantom story than the 1925 or 2004 versions; i wanna say all tws are left at implication but i haven’t seen it in a while so i’m not sure)

alien franchise

the wolfman (2010)

darling (tw for rape)

house on haunted hill (original and remake)

final destination franchise

medium raw: night of the wolf (tw for pedophilia and child murder)

the babadook

the final girls [horror comedy]

the shining (tw for implied child abuse)

the cabin in the woods

hellraiser

heathers (tw for eating disorders, suicide, everything high school kids are insensitive assholes about)

from dusk til dawn

an american werewolf in london

the guest

it follows (tw for dubious consent)

nightwatch (tw for implied necrophilia/descriptions of necrophilia, self-mutilation)

re-animator (tw for rape, pedophilia mentions)

carrie (original) (tw for child abuse, religion iconography)

the remake had some interesting like... subtext/imagery but other than that it was pretty *wet fart noise*

the awakening

the craft

the blair witch project

honestly i loved the book of shadows: blair witch 2 bc it kind of parallels the crucible but i can admit that objectively it is Terrible

elvira, mistress of the dark [spooky comedy]*

american mary (tw for rape, (consensual surgical) genital mutilation)

fright night (original and remake)

jaws

halloween franchise

1-5 are the best imo but no matter what skip #3 because it literally has nothing to do with any of the other movies

not the rob zombie remakes, those are awful

let the right one in [swedish (?) film, watch with subtitles]

rosemary’s baby (original)

night of the living dead (original)

28 days later

suspiria

silent hill (tw for child molestation)

crimson peak (tw for incest)

the lost boys

interview with the vampire

the ring

one missed call

the raven (2012)

repo! the genetic opera

teeth (tw for rape, incest, t’s??????? about a girl who has razor-sharp teeth in her vagina and how that coincides with her sexual awakening as a very straight-laced religious person???? so idk like watch it for The Wild Ride if you want but watch at your own discretion)

american psycho (tw for rape, general misogyny)

sweeney todd

speaking from experience, this is much better live, the movie sucked out all the fun and humor that wasn’t literally written into the lyrics, so i recommend watching the original broadway cast on youtube or something

there’s also a 1936 movie but i haven’t seen it so i can’t speak to its quality BUT i would recommend it on the basis of it being made before the musical was created and thus being based more directly on “the string of pearls” novel which is where the sweeney todd urban legend was originally documented

abott and costello meet [insert universal horror monster here] [spooky comedy]

little shop of horrors (original and remake) [spooky comedy]

the last man on earth (1964)

adapted from the same book i am legend (2007) was adapted from but the last man on earth stays much closer to the original book

c. h. u. d.

ghostbusters (1984 and 2016 versions) [spooky comedy]

ghost ship

sick girl (tw for bugs, pregnancy horror)

misery (tw for torture)

puppet master (tw for rape)

the haunting in connecticut

zombieland [horror comedy]**

jurassic park series

lizzie borden took an axe

*spooky comedy: a comedy movie with a spooky premise that i am categorizing with horror movies due to the genre overlap, but that lacks the intense violence, gore, etc. of a horror movie

**horror comedy: a spooky comedy that does not lower the level of violence, gore, etc. that is standard in a horror movie

thrillers

stoker (tw for incest, has a scene in which the protag’s mother verbally abuses her)

m [german film, watch with subtitles] (tw for themes of pedophilia/child molestation/child murder, but it’s worth noting that the whole point of the movie is to condemn and demonize pedophilia)

also one of if not the very first detective movies

nightcrawler (tw for rape)

the vvitch/the witch/however the fuck it’s spelled

rear window (original)

zodiac

hannibal lecter franchise (tw for cannibalism, obviously)-- the silence of the lambs, hannibal, red dragon, manhunter

manhunter is adapted from the same book red dragon is (red dragon) except manhunter was made before anthony hopkins became The Iconic Hannibal Lecter(TM) so it focuses much more on will graham and francis dolarhyde

hannibal rising is worth watching for gaspard ulliel’s performance but the book was much better

the hannibal movie adaptation changed the ending of the hannibal book while still maintaining a really good and really compelling storyline so the book and movie are definitely both highly recommended by me

gone girl

shutter island (tw for asylum horror)

pan’s labyrinth

documentaries

cropsey (documentary on child murders)

urban legends (another documentary, by the same people, talks about how real-life crime affects the american psyche and lives on as urban legends/horror tropes)

the poisoner’s handbook

h. h. holmes

nightmares in red, white, and blue

his name was jason

never sleep again: the elm street legacy

television

bates motel

ahs s1 (tw for... literally everything)

slasher

similar basic premise as ahs, but imo ahs is v exploitative and builds the plot on violence and vice, whereas slasher builds the violence and vice on the plot

supernatural (LISTEN........ LISTEN....................... conceptually it’s the bees knees okay)

penny dreadful (tw for constant explicit sexuality, religious iconography/sacrilege, asylum horror)

criminal minds

bbc broadchurch

bbc river

bbc sherlock but literally only ep. 3.4 “the abominable bride”

rosemary’s baby (2-part made-for-tv movie)

podcasts

the black tapes podcast

small town horror

alice isn’t dead

king falls am [spooky comedy]

limetown

welcome to night vale [spooky comedy]

video games

until dawn

outlast series

[americanahighways]

photos by Jesse Faatz

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Billy Strings wrapped up the 9-date “Streaming Strings” tour this past Sunday and it put a feather in the cap of what was a highly memorable run of shows through the heart of Nashville. These last three shows began with two nights at the Exit/Inn, before culminating with a final show at 3rd and Lindsley.

Over the course of the run, which was presented by Rounder Records, the band performed over 150 songs, teased dozens more, and without question brought a huge helping of joy to live music starved fans. I also think they schooled the music community on how effective and rewarding these streaming shows can be for everyone involved. As I mentioned in part one, I’ve never really bought into the streaming phenomenon. But after this nine show run, I just might be up for more. Were there things I still dislike about the process? Sure. I missed talking with other fans. I missed the excitement of the house lights going down., and perhaps most of all, I missed the energy of the crowd, and how a band feeds from it while pushing the limits. Admittedly, I loved the convenience of home, a private bathroom and affordable concessions. But, I’d trade all of that just to set foot into a favorite venue packed with like-minded individuals. I bet you would too. So let’s take a brief look at these final three shows.

The technical gremlins were all up in the Tour Gigs stream causing many, myself included, the agony of hoping we could get connected. Thankfully, most of us did, as this one was particularly fun for its second set, as the band played their album Turmoil & Tinfoil in its entirety. It was also the first show that saw long time collaborator, John Mailander sit in on violin for the whole show (also on the 25th). But even with the temptation to dive right into the second half, don’t underestimate the value of the first set, because it was pretty impressive all on its own. Things started getting squirrely leading out of “Sally Goodin’” with lots of spacey noodling and trippy excursions of the whale call variety. Roughly 20 minutes of unbelievable intensity and cosmic guidance. They’ve only played one song, yet here we are melting faces like the Ark of the Covenant. This my friends, foretells good things. They’re on. “20/20 Vision” follows before the band really starts to hunker down with Jeff Austin love on “Fiddling Around,” before a massive “Wharf Rat.” The Hunter/Garcia tune gave Mailander ample opportunity to show why he was my pick for MVP special guest. The solo he unleashes just before the ‘I’ll get up and fly away’ verse was nothing short of magical. The set closing triad of the traditional “Reuben’s Train”>”Enter the Dragon”(Lalo Schifrin)>”No More to Leave You Behind” from the Infamous Stringdusters was yet another shining example of closing a set like a boss. Today, looking back at this set and my notes, maybe the band was determined to break any semblance of predictability before falling into the structure of playing an album set in set two. But then again, maybe not, as there was plenty of fiery unpredictability still lingering in the atmosphere of set two.

Obviously, “On the Line” began the set, and the following “Meet Me at the Creek,” is always a good conduit for exploring, and tonight’s was definitely a remarkable version. Every one of them owned a take here, with Billy Failing shining particularly bright. His run on the back half of the song had Spanish flavors I never would have expected to associate with a banjo. The band’s lighting, which has gotten more psychedelic night after night was really on point here. Speaking of psych, just go right ahead and dive into the intergalactic-ness of “Pyramid Country.”  Apostol, Failing and Mailander led the way with the stage right crew of Royal Masat and Jarrod Walker keep things equally freaky on their end. The fun part of catching the album Turmoil & Tinfoil played is the exposure of rarely played or never played songs. “Salty Sheep” (which did leave me wishing Bryan Sutton had made an appearance) segued into “Spinning” and it’s momentum carried us on through transitional space into a personal favorite, “Dealing Despair.” The “Pyramid Country” was my show highlight before the set ending “Doin’ Things Right” and the first-time played “These Memories of You.” Definitely a show cracking the top five if not top three of the run.

7/24/20 Exit/In Set 1 Sally Goodin’> Sweet Blue-Eyed Darling 20/20 Vision Fiddling Around Wharf Rat Rubens Train> Enter the Dragon> No More to Leave You Behind

Set 2 On the Line Meet Me at the Creek All of Tomorrow While I’m Waiting Here> Living Like an Animal Turmoil & Tinfoil Salty Sheep> Spinning> Dealin’ Despair Pyramid Country Doin’ Things Right These Memories of You (FTP)

The first set launched with a first-time performed take of Frank Wakefield’s “End of the Rainbow,” complete with a few “Bathtub Gin” (Phish) teases tossed in, melding skillfully into a feisty “Thirst Mutilator” that just wailed. “Dust in a Baggie” might best be known as a showcase of Apostol’s fretboard skills, but here, Mailander and Failing dominated the runs. Particularly Failing. His leads here, were simply technical ecstasy. “Baggie” transitioned into “So Many Miles,” and was followed by Yonder Mountain String Band’s “Sorrow is a Highway” and the always welcome performance of Little Feat’s “Willin’.” Jarrod Walker introduced Grisman’s “Sugarhill Rambler” and proceeded to own it and the subsequent Dawg cover of “Unwanted Love.”

Set two, and whoa boy, shit got real. There was some intensity in the air during the second set. There was rawness, self-reflection and feels. Definitely feels. I was casually listening to the first set while taking care of some things around the house. It was great, really solid. But there was an atmospheric change after the set break. I don’t know if something happened, or went down during the break but there was a whole different emotion dominating the second half. “Taking Water” and “Must Be 7” were naturally on point as was “Running.” But it was the “Away From the Mire” here that hit me like a ton of bricks. As they commence the song, Billy speaks of kindness, screwing up and giving people a break once in a while. What follows was nothing short of being my favorite song of the nine shows. In truth, it was a fairly standard version of “Away From the Mire” until Apostol seems to emotionally explode during a solo that just transcends the bindings of the song. It’s dark, it’s nerve wracking and cathartic all at once. So much so, following the solo and back at the microphone, it’s seems as if Billy has shed some burdens. I’ve only seen this rawness and passion a few times in my life, and it was one of those moments that I’ll be talking about until I’m dead and gone. Interestingly enough, that wasn’t the end of the roller coaster, with the subsequent “Home” and “Watch it Fall” maintaining the high energy, a raucous “Long Forgotten Dream”gave way to another mind-bender that was “Highway Hypnosis.” “Enough to Leave” always delivers a sobering quality, while “Enough to Leave,” “Hollow Heart,” “Love Like Me.” And “Everything’s the Same” just solidified the show as a barn burner. The band took a break giving Apostol sole ownership of the stage for a beautiful solo “Guitar Peace.” Winding things up, the always fun “Freedom” and the bouncy “Big Sandy River.” Mailander’s contributions on these two shows shouldn’t be underestimated. Being such a part of the Turmoil & Tinfoil, “Home” sessions, John has a way of seamlessly being a part of the band. Both shows should be sought out.

7/25/2020 Billy Strings Exit/In – Nashville, TN End of the Rainbow (1) > Thirst Mutilator (2) > Dust in a Baggie > So Many Miles Sorrow is a Highway Willin’ Sugarhill Rambler> Unwanted Love

Set 2 Taking Water Must Be Seven Running Away From The Mire Home Watch It Fall Long Forgotten Dream Highway Hypnosis Enough To Leave Hollow Heart Love Like Me Everything’s The Same Guitar Peace Freedom Big Sandy River (1) FTP Frank Wakefield (2) Bathtub Gin teases

This was a fun one, and the show that had me scratching my head trying to follow the setlist. Well, the reason being, there were a lot of deeper cuts played this night. Starting with the first-time played John Prine song, “Sweet Revenge,” the band threw down a fitting, loving tribute to a man that all of Nashville, as well as around the world adored. Yet again though, some had issues with connecting to the Nugs stream. As well as this run went, it would be nice to see some of the connection issues get ironed out. I’m sure they will. Anyway, back to the show. “Slow Train” is always a good one, this one included. I love “Shady Grove,” and really like the band’s take on it. “Ernest T. Grass” made a return and segued into another great version of How Mountain Girls Can Love.” “Red Rocking Chair” inspired a meaty jam that carried over into a spicy “Southern Flavor.” Blistering takes on Pearl Jam’s “In Hiding,” and Seldom Scene’s “Old Train” shredded on with a another crazy run on “Turmoil & Tinfoil.”

New Grass Revival’s “Whisper My Name” just us moving into the second set, and next, Marty Stuart’s “Old Mexico” left me grinning ear to ear, before completely stunning me as it clawed and scratched its way in to a wicked “All Fall Down.” NRPS’ Lonesome L.A. Cowboy leveled out the peak momentarily, before Anders Beck dropped by and helped to elevate “Pyramid Country”>”Little Maggie” into legend status. But they weren’t done. With Beck sitting in onward, a ripping “Ballad of Curtis Loew”(Lynryd Skynyrd” and yet another mind blowing “Meet Me at the Creek” propelled us into new realms of bluegrass inspiration. Almost in surreal fashion and with Bill Monroe’s “Y’all Come,” it was over.

7/26/2020 Billy Strings 3rd & Lindsley- Nashville, TN Sweet Revenge (1) Slow Train Shady Grove Ernest T. Grass > How Mountain Girls Can Love Red Rocking Chair > Southern Flavor In Hiding Old Train — Turmoil & Tinfoil Whisper My Name Old Mexico > All Fall Down Lonesome L.A. Cowboy Pyramid Country (2) > Little Maggie (2) Ballad of Curtis Loew (2) Meet Me at the Creek (2) Y’all Come (2)(3) (1) FTP John Prine (2) with Anders Beck (3) FTP

What a really fun experience this nine show tour was. I was impressed and definitely provided a much needed escape from the troubled times. The band is a crazy cohesive unit that just seems to get better and better. So many times they come together in a jam and pull off something so out of the realm of possibilities that’s simply unrehearsable. Not only that, but they do it again, and again. This is a band destined for big things, (perhaps faster than they might want) and bigger venues. As musicians, the band is really maturing, and still evolving as they push boundaries. It’s hard to not give the MVP of the tour to Apostol, but in all fairness, I want to call out Jarrod Walker for the most valuable picker of the run. Over and over, I watched him take the reins and more often than not, drive things past unseen plateaus. Billy Failing’s right there as well, boldly claiming his section of the stage, all while Royal Masat grins like a Cheshire cat and expertly owning the low end. Guest wise, John Mailander followed by Molly Tuttle were my highlights, particularly Tuttle’s “Cold Rain and Snow.” I was left wishing Marcus King could have played a couple more than the two he did, but it is what it is. A few more random thoughts:

Favorite song? 7/25’s “Away From the Mire” at the Exit/Inn, if just for that solo and the war of emotions it seemed to address. Favorite jam? The beautiful chaos leading out of “Sally Goodin’”>”Sweet Blue-eyed Darlin’” 7/24’s Exit Inn show. Also the 7/22 “Black Clouds” City Winery version cooks. Favorite cover? Prine’s “Sweet Revenge” closing night at 3rd & Lindsley on 7/26. I also loved Jarrod’s Grisman covers throughout. Favorite show of the tour? 7/19 at the Station Inn, very closely followed by 7/22 at the City Winery and the Exit/Inn 7/25. Favorite set? Probably the first set of 7/23 at City Winery. Just exactly perfect, and made me realize just what I’d been missing by not regularly checking into these live shows. Thankfully, all of these shows are available in soundboard quality over at Nugs. Check them out here: https://www.nugs.net/billy-strings-concerts-live-downloads-in-mp3-flac-or-online-music-streaming/

Billy Strings is the real deal. Apostol, Walker, Masat and Failing know the music. Not only that, they know the history, and they show a colossal amount of respect for those that have come before. But what might be most impressive, is that they are able to do just that, all while doing things their way. The tour itself being a prime example. Maybe other bands/artists have done similar streaming shows, but I sure missed it if anyone else did nine gigs across 5 venues all while playing 150+ songs at an unbelievable jaw-dropping level. Despite the physical detachment, I still felt a lot of similarities to the the times I’ve been able to break away from the real world to head out on Grateful Dead tour. The shamanistic joy of the music, the welcoming camaraderie of the community, and the warm feel of satisfied exhaustion, followed by the exhilarating knowledge that there’s another chance to experience it tomorrow. That made the final night tough, but thankfully during the set break they announced a few drive-in shows this September. Always nice to end tour with something to look forward too. It just wasn’t the band that made this special. This was truly a team effort. The logistics team, the lighting crew, film, band and sound crews, as well as the venues and streaming providers really came together to give us something memorable. Lastly, all the guest artists were out of sight. They all came loaded for bear, inflecting their own specialties and twists via songs and exceptional playing. A final shout-out to the Billy Strings Set List Page on Facebook for the song tracking assistance. I’ve found a new home over on the Billy Strings Fanpage (Official) also on Facebook thanks to their sense of community as well as the entertainment value. Also, the Billy Strings Merch team exceeded expectations by getting the Streaming Tour merch I ordered to me in no time. Lastly, a call out to Jesse Faatz who provided some incredible live and behind the scene photography. I’ve wanted to photograph Billy Strings for more than a little bit, and these gigs left me more than a little envious. Well done sir. We all want to get back to the live venues as soon as possible. But while we really can’t just yet, Billy Strings threw us a lifeline with these nine shows. Hopefully others follow his lead, and help get their art out to an audience starving for any kind of music experience. Billy Strings has set a pretty high bar. Visit the official Billy Strings page for all the current information and merch: https://billystrings.com/

Show Review: Billy Strings' Nine-Night Streaming Tour 2020, Last 3 Shows! @billystrings @rounderrecords #americanamusic #livemusicreviews photos by Jesse Faatz Billy Strings wrapped up the 9-date “Streaming Strings” tour this past Sunday and it put a feather in the cap of what was a highly memorable run of shows through the heart of Nashville.

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‘The Voice’ Is Great TV. It’s Just Not Always Great For The Winners.

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/arts-culture/the-voice-is-great-tv-its-just-not-always-great-for-the-winners/

‘The Voice’ Is Great TV. It’s Just Not Always Great For The Winners.

Currently in its 13th season, NBC’s “The Voice” seems to have officially cracked the secret reality-TV code and struck gold.

Fresh off a third consecutive Emmy win for outstanding reality-competition program, the show has proved that, six years into its run, it’s still capable of reeling in viewers. Recent ratings rival its debut season; this week, nearly 10 million people in the demographic of viewers ages 18-49 tuned in to watch the Top 8 perform, on par with numbers from season one.

“Whatever the DNA is that’s making it successful, it just hasn’t changed,” the show’s host and executive producer, Carson Daly, told HuffPost. “It still feels like important, special, fresh, eventized, feel-good TV. All those early themes we wanted to roll out into the marketplace have stood as the pillar of what makes the show successful.” 

Those early themes Daly’s talking about center on one primary ideal: giving someone who’s been attempting to break into the music industry the opportunity of a lifetime. Singers of all shapes, sizes, ages, backgrounds, races and gender identities are provided the chance to perform in a blind audition on “The Voice,” during which four superstar coaches (not judges) sit with their backs to the stage, hoping to hear the next Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake or Taylor Swift. From there, the contestants sing to an audience of at-home viewers eager to vote them into potential stardom. A $100,000 cash prize and a record deal with Republic Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, or, in some cases, with pop and country label Big Machine is on the line. 

“Where else can you come on a show and sing and not be judged on anything but your talent, your voice?” the show’s executive producer Audrey Morrissey told HuffPost. “You’re in one-on-one tutoring with these people who are doing nothing but trying to shine a light on you and give you the fruits of all their experience in a very concentrated time to help you: to help you win the show, to help you win your career, to help you become a better artist. It’s literally priceless. Money can’t buy that.”

Of course, the coaches on “The Voice,” the ones who sit in those massive red chairs that dramatically swivel around at the push of a button, have other motives beyond a desire to “shine a light” on fresh talent.

“They’re making a lot of money, too, so don’t forget about that,” Daly joked.

According to The Wrap, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine each make about $13 million a season. And the show not only gives unknown artists a platform but allows its star coaches one, as well. On primetime TV, they can expand their careers by flaunting family-friendly personalities and premiering new music. Before “The Voice,” for example, longtime coach Shelton had hit after hit on the country music charts with No. 1 songs like “Austin,” “Some Beach” and “All About Tonight.” But since his first stint on the show in 2011, his albums have gained mainstream appeal, with “Red River Blue” and “Bringing Back the Sunshine” both landing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, at points surpassing the likes of Adele’s “21.”

With all of its addictive goodness, you’d think the artists emerging from “The Voice” would also gain some momentum in the music business. However, the popularity of the show and its celebrity mentors doesn’t necessarily trickle down to the artists the network highlights for months on end. In truth, the show’s 12 winners have produced only five original Top 40 songs and earned one Grammy nomination from 2011 to now. And most of the winners’ singles that ranked on the Hot 100 were either “Voice” performances or original victory songs. Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery are the only artists whose post-“Voice” singles have charted on the list.

Unlike the coaches whose fame continues to flourish, it seems many “Voice” winners fare worse in the great expanses of the fair-weather music industry. The days of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood ― who, after being crowned the champions of “American Idol” in 2002 and 2005, respectively, went on to earn a combined 10 Grammy Awards ― are gone. Today, “The Voice” might do everything in its power to make sure the viewers who vote are captivated by the show’s talent in-season. But once those artists are thrust into the music world, why do we rarely hear about them post-show?

We do hear about some winners, like Jordan Smith, whose success was personally fostered by executive “Voice” producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey. After flawlessly singing Sia’s “Chandelier” to an incredulous row of coaches on the show, he went on to nab three Top 40 hits and three No. 1s on the Hot Christian Songs chart. His first album, “Something Beautiful,” was a critical and commercial success story as it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart in March 2016, right behind “Voice” coach Gwen Stefani’s “This Is What the Truth Feels Like.” Smith sold 54,000 units in the album’s first week, making him the highest-ranking winner of any singing competition series in the last six years. Nine months later, his holiday album, “’Tis the Season,” peaked at No. 11. He has been touring nationwide ever since.

And then there’s Cassadee Pope, who signed to Big Machine after her win. (A source close to the company confirmed to HuffPost that Pope and the label decided to “mutually” part ways this year.) Now in the country domain, the former pop-punk singer has drawn comparisons to alternative vocalists like Avril Lavigne with her radio-primed voice. The season three champ has produced four Top 40 hits, two of those ― “Over You” and “Stupid Boy” ― being “Voice” performances. Her 2013 hit “Wasting All These Tears” landed at No. 37 and has been played more than 19 million times on Spotify. Her debut solo country record, “Frame by Frame,” also scored a No. 9 placement on the Billboard 200 and sold 43,000 copies in its first week. Just this year, Pope was nominated for a Grammy for best country duo/group performance for her song with Chris Young, “Think of You.”

When asked who he thinks truly embodies a “Voice” success story, Daly cited the 28-year-old Florida native. “Cassadee was like a rocker chick in an all-boy band [Hey Monday], almost like Gwen in No Doubt, and she went on Team Blake and now I’ve seen her on red carpets and in Nashville,” he said.

Another notable mention is season four winner Danielle Bradbery, who, although not a mainstream darling, has achieved success in the country music realm. The Houston native was 16 when she won the show and went on to release her self-titled debut album just five months later. Like Pope, Bradbery signed to Big Machine. “We knew she had a chance, and we definitely wanted her if she was going to win,” a Big Machine representative told HuffPost. “That was at the height, when media was just like, ‘The Voice, The Voice, The Voice!’”

“They knew exactly what we needed to do as soon as I was off ‘The Voice,’ and so they flew me to Nashville and got an album cooking,” Bradbery told HuffPost of her experience with her management team. “Everything was really fast, but I knew they knew what they were doing… they had a plan. They got me on the ‘Today’ show right away, and are just big fans of getting the names and faces out there as much as possible and as fast as possible.”

Bradbery’s 2013 single “The Heart of Dixie” peaked at No. 58 on the Hot 100 and performed decently on the Country chart. She toured with Brad Paisley and went on to produce an anthem for the promotional campaign of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with “My Day.” Bradbery pushed forward with the release of her sophomore album, “I Don’t Believe We’ve Met,” on Dec. 1, and it’s currently No. 41 on the Billboard 200. Her lead single “Sway,” which features more pop-inspired undertones, was released in June and peaked at No. 19 on the Country Digital Songs Sales chart.

“If I’m being honest, I didn’t know much about the whole other side of the music industry that you have to create for yourself and your teams… management, label, booking agents, everything along those lines,” she said. “It was definitely a learning experience every step of the way.”

As it still is for season 12 winner Chris Blue. Instead of rushing forward with his debut album, the R&B singer from Knoxville, Tennessee, is working diligently with his former coach and now manager, Alicia Keys. “I watch Alicia and how she works, and she goes nonstop,” Blue told HuffPost. “After the show and putting in long hours every day, I realized, ‘Hey, this has to continue. This is now my lifestyle. You have to work hard in this business.’”

Daly and Morrissey agree. They say “The Voice” is more of a boot camp than a superstar generator, so if people want to make it in the cutthroat entertainment industry, they’re expected to put their blood, sweat and tears into their own development. Winning, they insist, is hard work.

In fact, the producers never wanted to mimic “Idol,” even if it “blazed a path” for them in the TV landscape, Daly said. “We didn’t really create the show to create a celebrity musician or make people rich and famous. That was never really the goal of the show. We are proud to say that so many of the artists who have been on ‘The Voice’ in any capacity have quit their sandwich-making jobs and are doing well in music. And at the end of the day that’s winning, to us.”

But not every artist who’s deemed “The Voice” triumphs. For every Christian singer like Smith or country fave like Pope and Bradbery, you have a handful of “winners” who enjoy less of the sensation of a post-“Voice” career.

Take, for example, season one runner-up Dia Frampton, who found some success in the early aughts alongside her sister in the indie-rock band Meg & Dia. During her time on “The Voice,” she said, the show, like many other reality programs, attempted to shape and mold its contestants’ stories to attract viewers, not necessarily lifelong fans.

“I was introduced as the children’s book author, which was something I very lightly touched upon when we were doing interviews — that I liked writing children’s books, I liked blogging and writing stories. But that was definitely not the highlight in my own mind,” Frampton explained. “I felt like I said, ‘I love yoga,’ and then it became the highlight, even though that’s just a fun thing I do on Saturday mornings. That was interesting, to kind of have that narrative chosen for me.”

Frampton didn’t see herself as a children’s book author. Nor did she think she’d make it that far on the show. Her “sole intention” behind appearing on “The Voice” was to slip in Meg & Dia stories in hopes of getting the duo back on their feet after they spent all their savings on their 2011 album, “Cocoon.”

“In the moment, we had been dropped from our label, we didn’t have a publicist, we didn’t have money, and I thought, ‘This is our publicity, possibly,’” she said. “But the band was never mentioned. I mean, I mentioned it, but it was never put on the show.” After Frampton finished second, she was picked up by Universal Republic to kick off a solo career. All the while, her sister Meg was left wondering what could’ve been.

“Honestly, there was aftermath to that decision for years,” Dia said. “I think that last year was the first year I felt normal again with my sister, and that’s been a lot of work on our part… I still feel like I abandoned her in a way, and I struggle to deal with that in trying to be successful. I feel like sometimes I wish to not be successful so that I don’t do well and don’t abandon her again.”

Following her season’s wrap, Dia and her new team whipped together an album in a few months, which she said was pushed on her by the label. ”I felt like the record was rushed to be put out,” she said of 2011’s “Red.” “I was so excited to work with so many different producers that I think I should’ve focused on working with one person who I really loved because the album kind of ended up being a crazy plethora of songs in all different genres.”

Despite that, she insists her time on “The Voice” was a learning experience that led her to open for her coach Shelton and go on tour with James Blunt in China. According to Dia, she thought she’d found her stride when “Red” went double-platinum in parts of Southeast Asia, but shortly after a year of celebrity, she was back to the life of a struggling artist. Now she can’t even go out on tour because she fails to sell enough tickets or make enough money to promote her new album, “Bruises.” She’s currently working at a health food store, making minimum wage, while writing songs for other artists.

“I look back at my time, not so much on ‘The Voice’ but post-‘Voice,’ because I felt like that was such a spike in my career and life… It felt like I was doing everything right and I was going to be OK and I was bearing on what I think was success, and then everything just kind of falls down,” she said, getting emotional. “That’s one thing you have to be prepared for as an artist. You have your ups and you have your downs, and your ups feel so amazing and your downs feel so difficult. And I feel like I am in a bit of a down right now. I feel like I’ve been throwing spaghetti at the wall for so long trying to make something hit, just kind of helping other artists get their voice out when I feel like mine is kind of going deeper and deeper into a hole.”

There’s no sure way to determine why some artists soar after “The Voice” while others fall flat, but it appears a lot has to do with who’s in a contestant’s corner after they graduate from the show. For example, if talent isn’t thoroughly supported by Universal Music Group after a season ends, albums can go unproduced, unpromoted and unsold. Morrissey explained that, at its discretion, the pop-focused Republic Records chooses how many people it wants to pick up once the finale airs. Sometimes it partners with other labels, like Big Machine, if it thinks it’s not the best fit for a specific artist. 

“Pretty much all the winners are picked up,” Morrissey said. “There is choice amongst the label what they do with them, but we, as a television show, once they won, we’re not necessarily personally involved in their careers. We do everything in our power to prop them up, as we can, but that’s when it flips over to, really, the music business.”

“When the baton is passed post-‘Voice,’ there’s some problems,” Levine told Howard Stern in 2015, suggesting that the label “fucks it up” because “no one knows what they’re doing.” He continued, “People take over after we do this great job of building these people up on the show. There’s some real issues there.”

Season eight winner Sawyer Fredericks had an inconvenient experience shortly after being crowned “The Voice” in 2015. The now 18-year-old said he dropped Republic after his first album, “The Good Storm,” was released, over disagreements about his songwriting process. “It was kind of a mutual decision,” Fredericks told HuffPost, explaining that the label had him co-writing the record even though he wanted to pen his own lyrics. “I think it definitely changed my intent for a lot of songs.”

For his sophomore album, “Hide Your Ghost,” the now independent singer-songwriter ― who lives on a farm with his family in upstate New York ― wants to take back control of his sound.

“I wanted the freedom as full producer. Basically, whatever I say happens with the album, and I have the final word for everything… really conveying what I mean in my original work,” he explained.

Fredericks is not the only “Voice” winner to go independent. After the label didn’t fully support his album “Come Through for You,” season one’s Javier Colon voluntarily moved on from Republic. Despite having catchy, potential hits like “Stand Up” (featuring Levine and co-written by Pharrell WIlliams), Colon’s music never got its due.

“I went in with high hopes, as I believe everyone did,” Colon told Buddy TV in 2012. “But when you pour your heart and soul into a new album that you think is really great, and your label who is supposed to support, market and promote your music does neither, it’s really hard not to be upset.”

Season 11’s Alisan Porter decided to part ways with Republic, too. The former child star (“Curly Sue,” “Parenthood”), now 36, initially took to Twitter to share the news that she was going independent.

Not everything worked out perfectly with my “record deal” so I went back to the drawing board. My EP is written and I begin production Fri.

— Alisan Porter (@alisanporter) March 27, 2017

“It just wasn’t the right fit for me,” she told People earlier this year. “I have a really clear vision of who I am, and it might not be the most cookie-cutter commercial radio [vision]… I would much rather be true to myself than to do something that didn’t feel right for me.”

Same goes for season five winner Tessanne Chin. Her debut album with Republic, “Count on My Love,” sold only 7,000 copies in its first week due to what she deems a lack of promotion. Now the 32-year-old Jamaican reggae-R&B singer is signed to the Justice League Music Group. She’s been performing frequently enough, but hasn’t seen the kind of success Pope and Bradbery have.

See also: winners Jermaine Paul, Josh Kaufman, Craig Wayne Boyd and Sundance Head, who have yet to release albums with Republic Records, and perhaps never will.

So, what gives? As more and more singing competition “winners” become “losers,” who’s at fault? And is there anything that can revive the once-sensational reality show dream?

“You can’t blame a record company or management because, I think, in today’s day and age, you can ‘succeed’ and really take off without it because of the tools that are available to you independently,” Daly said. “A hit song is a hit song is a hit song, and I don’t care who sings it. You can ask Charlie Puth or Meghan Trainor; Fall Out Boy did this back in the day without any help from radio. If you have a hit song, it’s going to happen for you. It’s just a matter of time.”

According to a Big Machine rep, it’s sometimes difficult to market “Voice” talent after the show, in part due to their network association. Because “The Voice” is on NBC, other companies, like CBS or ABC, won’t feature the show’s artists. “The networks are so competitive with one another that you need not only a label behind you, [but] you need to make sure the network is behind you and going to support you beyond you just being on their show,” the rep said. “If you’re stuck to only being able to do the ‘Today’ show or ‘Access Hollywood’ or another NBC platform, it’s limiting.”

Morrissey says, record deal or not, “The Voice” tries to highlight former contestants whenever it can. Just this week, Alisan Porter was able to promote her Las Vegas show, “The Voice: Neon Dreams,” which is set to give artists, including Chris Mann (season two), Mary Sarah (season 10), Matthew Schuler (season five) and Matt McAndrew (season seven), a new platform, boosting their profiles once more. “The Voice” also recently highlighted past contestants’ journeys on the web-exclusive series “After The Voice.”

“We do try to keep tabs on them. We do invite them back and have them perform on the show when they’re ready and they have music. To the best of our ability we push all of their work on all our socials. We try to do what we can,” Morrissey said. “It is what it is. We try our best.”

Fredericks, for one, confirmed that “The Voice” producers have kept tabs on him and his career. “I don’t think it’s completely like I’m on my own. They’ve helped out quite a bit, and they’ve offered me to do stuff with the show,” he said. “It’s really fun to go back; it’s like a whole family. And it’s still going! This show, like everything, is just go, go, go.”

The coaches are also a big part of the equation. Bradbery’s former mentor, Shelton, who she called “very genuine,” pays attention to the music she’s releasing. He congratulated her on a recent single, which Bradbery said he does as often as he can. “He definitely keeps everybody that’s been on his team under his wing, which I think is really amazing about him. What you see on TV of Blake is exactly what you’ll get. He’s not fake.”

The same could be said about most of the coaches who attempt to stay in contact with their contestants after “The Voice,” Morrissey said. Levine has signed former artists to his record label, 222, while Keys continues to work and write with Blue.

“Coaches go to a lot of lengths to help people keep growing far more than the public sees. We just don’t really have enough time or way on our show to illustrate that,” Morrissey said. “I’m just thinking about Christina [Aguilera] and Alisan Porter ― they’re still very close and work together. Miley [Cyrus], famously, my God, she keeps in touch with everybody, is texting constantly.”

“It’s more than just a season to them or show or just a moment in time, but they really take on the artists as their own and really care about these individuals,” Blue told HuffPost.

However, it’s not just the winning artists who take their shot in the ruthless world of music post-“Voice.” Throughout every season of the show, hundreds of contestants rotate in and out of the spotlight. Another famous reality show contestant is proof you don’t have to win to win: Jennifer Hudson. She is currently a coach on “The Voice,” but she placed seventh in the 2004 season of “American Idol.” She’s since won a Grammy for her album “Jennifer Hudson,” and Oscar, Golden Globe, British Academy Film and Screen Actors Guild awards for her role as Effie White in 2006’s “Dreamgirls.” Perhaps, with her experience, she can help guide her three eliminated live-show contestants, Davon Fleming, Shi’Ann Jones and Noah Mac, to mainstream success without a crown.

“When she’s looking at them and saying, ‘I’ve been you. I’ve been right where you are. I know how to do this. I know how you’re feeling. I can help you navigate the waters once we’re successful.’ I mean, how do you not take somebody up on that offer? That’s valuable,” Daly said. “And having Kelly [Clarkson] on next season, too, will be the same thing.”

In Clarkson’s mind, making your way to the top of the music charts after appearing on a singing competition show has a lot to do with perseverance. But, of course, luck plays a role, too.

“The question is always, ‘Why does this one make it and why didn’t this one?’ And it’s hard to tell you that because I think if we knew the answer we’d bottle it up and sell it so everybody could make it,” Clarkson told HuffPost. “Jennifer Hudson and I had this talk when I worked with her recently. We were both like, ‘You know, it’s really not even winning.’ Like she’s the best example of that. It’s taking that opportunity, making something of it and being OK with the fact that it might not be exactly what you thought it was going to be.”

We’ve seen that sort of attitude with “Voice” contestants like RaeLynn, who, at 23, is now one of the most sought-after songwriters in Nashville after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of season two. Her debut album, “Wildhorse,” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart and landed within the Top 10 on the All-Genre Album Sales Chart in 2017. This success, though, came after she left Big Machine and joined forces with Warner Music Nashville, which helped her sink into who she wanted to be as an artist. Under its guidance, she wrote “Love Triangle,” which garnered her a whole lot of attention for its raw and honest lyrics about being a child of divorce.

“Within a week, I had so many other writers who wanted to write with me because of that song,” RaeLynn told Billboard. “It goes to show a great song is what can change a lot for you, and that’s what that song did for me.”

RaeLynn credited Nashville as a pivotal environment. This might explain why a select few winners have flourished when they focused on Music City.  

“Everybody knows everybody, and when they find out there’s a new artist that’s great, everybody is going to support them,” she said. “They don’t just support artists who’ve already made it. They want to support new artists, and I think that’s so special.”

And it seems country music listeners want to support emerging artists, as well. A source close to “The Voice” told HuffPost that voting during the show typically takes off in local markets when there’s a particularly moving performance. For example, when Sundance Head advanced in the competition, “The Voice” saw a huge spike in voters from Texas.

“A lot of people who haven’t won the show [and are successful] are just people from Team Blake… He’s from that world and they take care of their own, no doubt about it,” Daly said, mentioning acts like RaeLynn, the Swon Brothers and Gwen Sebastian, who toured with Shelton and wrote three songs on Miranda Lambert’s latest critically acclaimed album, “The Weight of These Wings.”

Ultimately, Clarkson believes no singing competition winner should ever feel like they’re automatically going to be a superstar with a dozen No. 1s. “That’s a level of entitlement that’s going to end up not really working out well,” she advised.

“TV is so powerful, right? Use that platform and use that stage to really showcase what you have, and then use that opportunity to meet as many people as you can meet. That’s all we can really do because there’s no rhyme or reason to why some of us make it and some of us don’t. We all work hard. But some of it is the aligning of the stars.”

Even with the ups and downs, most if not all of the contestants HuffPost spoke to had nothing but fond memories from their time on “The Voice,” and credited the show for giving them a place to shine.

“I loved it as a learning experience, and I’m happy I did it,” Fredericks said. Bradbery and Blue expressed similar sentiments. “If it wasn’t for ‘The Voice,’ I’d be home doing regular stuff, so it was probably the biggest high moment of my whole entire life,” Bradbery said. “It’s been amazing.”

“‘The Voice’ is a really great concept,” Frampton said. “At first, I honestly thought, ‘OK, this has to be rigged. Somebody has to tell the coaches to turn around for certain people.’ But going through the show and seeing the process, I truly believe that it is very genuine.”

Despite the inconsistent track record, the hope for post-show success persists. “The Voice” is expected to continue running two cycles a year until ratings dip (which likely won’t happen anytime soon). Daly said that because there’s so much content out there, in order to stay relevant you have to be on top of your game. “There’s very little appointment viewing,” he said. “If you go away too long, you run the risk of just like falling into oblivion. There’s a successful Mark Burnett competition reality program [‘Survivor’] that’s been on twice a year on CBS for 35 seasons, and it works!”

Daly and Morrissey also know their show is entertaining a robust audience and fills that feel-good void on TV. Because when it comes down to it, the winners of “The Voice” are the network, the coaches and, undoubtedly, the devoted fans who get to see a produced version of the American Dream play out before them. They might not be tuning in to vote for album sales or chart appearances, but they’re glued to their seats in anticipation of each season’s climax.

Win or lose, prevailing after “The Voice,” like any other talent show, is the luck of the draw. But who knows? With a younger, more pop-rock-inspired crop of season 13 finalists (including Brooke Simpson, 26, Chloe Kohanski, 23, and Addison Agen, 16), the future winner could fare better. There’s still a country singer in the mix, though, ahead of next week’s finale, 40-year-old Red Marlow. Will a Tennessee crooner reign supreme once again? If we had to guess, we’d say yes.

UPDATE: (Dec. 20) ― Rock-pop singer Chloe Kohanski was crowned Season 13′s “The Voice.” With that, her coach, Blake Shelton, secured his sixth win.   

Additional reporting by Lauren Moraski. 

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the title of Stefani’s album. It is “This Is What the Truth Feels Like” not “What the Truth Feels Like.”

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[vervainomoon]

Damascus, What Are You Doing to Me? - Qabbani, Nizar 1 My voice rings out, this time, from Damascus It rings out from the house of my mother and father In Sham. The geography of my body changes. The cells of my blood become green. My alphabet is green. In Sham. A new mouth emerges for my mouth A new voice emerges for my voice And my fingers Become a tribe 2 I return to Damascus Riding on the backs of clouds Riding the two most beautiful horses in the world The horse of passion. The horse of poetry. I return after sixty years To search for my umbilical cord, For the Damascene barber who circumcised me, For the midwife who tossed me in the basin under the bed And received a gold lira from my father, She left our house On that day in March of 1923 Her hands stained with the blood of the poem… 3 I return to the womb in which I was formed... To the first book I read in it... To the first woman who taught me The geography of love... And the geography of women... 4 I return After my limbs have been strewn across all the continents And my cough has been scattered in all the hotels After my mother’s sheets scented with laurel soap I have found no other bed to sleep on... And after the “bride” of oil and thyme That she would roll up for me No longer does any other "bride" in the world please me And after the quince jam she would make with her own hands I am no longer enthusiastic about breakfast in the morning And after the blackberry drink that she would make No other wine intoxicates me... 5 I enter the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque And greet everyone in it Corner to... corner Tile to... tile Dove to... dove I wander in the gardens of Kufi script And pluck beautiful flowers of God’s words And hear with my eye the voice of the mosaics And the music of agate prayer beads A state of revelation and rapture overtakes me, So I climb the steps of the first minaret that encounters me Calling: “Come to the jasmine” “Come to the jasmine” 6 Returning to you Stained by the rains of my longing Returning to fill my pockets With nuts, green plums, and green almonds Returning to my oyster shell Returning to my birth bed For the fountains of Versailles Are no compensation for the Fountain Café And Les Halles in Paris Is no compensation for the Friday market And Buckingham Palace in London Is no compensation for Azem Palace And the pigeons of San Marco in Venice Are no more blessed than the doves in the Umayyad Mosque And Napoleon’s tomb in Les Invalides Is no more glorious than the tomb of Salah al-Din Al-Ayyubi… 7 I wander in the narrow alleys of Damascus. Behind the windows, honeyed eyes awake And greet me... The stars wear their gold bracelets And greet me And the pigeons alight from their towers And greet me And the clean Shami cats come out Who were born with us... Grew up with us... And married with us... To greet me... 8 I immerse myself in the Buzurriya Souq Set a sail in a cloud of spices Clouds of cloves And cinnamon... And camomile... I perform ablutions in rose water once. And in the water of passion many times... And I forget—while in the Souq al-‘Attarine— All the concoctions of Nina Ricci... And Coco Chanel... What are you doing to me Damascus? How have you changed my culture? My aesthetic taste? For I have been made to forget the ringing of cups of licorice The piano concerto of Rachmaninoff... How do the gardens of Sham transform me? For I have become the first conductor in the world That leads an orchestra from a willow tree!! 9 I have come to you... From the history of the Damascene rose That condenses the history of perfume... From the memory of al-Mutanabbi That condenses the history of poetry... I have come to you... From the blossoms of bitter orange... And the dahlia... And the narcissus... And the "nice boy"... That first taught me drawing... I have come to you... From the laughter of Shami women That first taught me music... And the beginning of adolesence From the spouts of our alley That first taught me crying And from my mother’s prayer rug That first taught me The path to God... 10 I open the drawers of memory One... then another I remember my father... Coming out of his workshop on Mu’awiya Alley I remember the horse-drawn carts... And the sellers of prickly pears... And the cafés of al-Rubwa That nearly—after five flasks of ‘araq— Fall into the river I remember the colored towels As they dance on the door of Hammam al-Khayyatin As if they were celebrating their national holiday. I remember the Damascene houses With their copper doorknobs And their ceilings decorated with glazed tiles And their interior courtyards That remind you of descriptions of heaven... 11 The Damascene House Is beyond the architectural text The design of our homes... Is based on an emotional foundation For every house leans... on the hip of another And every balcony... Extends its hand to another facing it Damascene houses are loving houses... They greet one another in the morning... And exchange visits... Secretly—at night... 12 When I was a diplomat in Britain Thirty years ago My mother would send letters at the beginning of Spring Inside each letter... A bundle of tarragon... And when the English suspected my letters They took them to the laboratory And turned them over to Scotland Yard And explosives experts. And when they grew weary of me... and my tarragon They would ask: Tell us, by god... What is the name of this magical herb that has made us dizzy? Is it a talisman? Medicine? A secret code? What is it called in English? I said to them: It’s difficult for me to explain… For tarragon is a language that only the gardens of Sham speak It is our sacred herb... Our perfumed eloquence And if your great poet Shakespeare had known of tarragon His plays would have been better... In brief... My mother is a wonderful woman... she loves me greatly... And whenever she missed me She would send me a bunch of tarragon... Because for her, tarragon is the emotional equivalent To the words: my darling... And when the English didn’t understand one word of my poetic argument... They gave me back my tarragon and closed the investigation... 13 From Khan Asad Basha Abu Khalil al-Qabbani emerges... In his damask robe... And his brocaded turban... And his eyes haunted with questions... Like Hamlet’s He attempts to present an avant-garde play But they demand Karagoz’s tent... He tries to present a text from Shakespeare They ask him about the news of al-Zir... He tries to find a single female voice To sing with him... “Oh That of Sham” They load up their Ottoman rifles, And fire into every rose tree That sings professionally... He tries to find a single woman To repeat after him: “Oh bird of birds, oh dove” They unsheathe their knives And slaughter all the descendents of doves... And all the descendents of women... After a hundred years... Damascus apologized to Abu Khalil al-Qabbani And they erected a magnificent theater in his name. 14 I put on the jubbah of Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi I descend from the peak of Mt. Qassiun Carrying for the children of the city... Peaches Pomegranates And sesame halawa... And for its women... Necklaces of turquoise... And poems of love... I enter... A long tunnel of sparrows Gillyflowers... Hibiscus... Clustered jasmine... And I enter the questions of perfume... And my schoolbag is lost from me And the copper lunch case... In which I used to carry my food... And the blue beads That my mother used to hang on my chest So People of Sham He among you who finds me... let him return me to Umm Mu’ataz And God’s reward will be his I am your green sparrow... People of Sham So he among you who finds me... let him feed me a grain of wheat... I am your Damascene rose... People of Sham So he among you who finds me... let him place me in the first vase... I am your mad poet... People of Sham So he among you who sees me... let him take a souvenir photograph of me Before I recover from my enchanting insanity... I am your fugitive moon... People of Sham So he among you who sees me... Let him donate to me a bed... and a wool blanket... Because I haven’t slept for centuries