#spoilers for 50 first dates ig

[madelinetess]

Wouldn't it be nice?

“There are only ten minutes remaining till the end of this match and Richmond players seem to be in quite the pickle.”

“You are right Arlo, it does appear to be a dangerous situation for the greyhounds. As of now the score is 1:1 but Chelsea’s in possession and it looks like they may score the winning goal after all.”

“A beautiful pass from number 11, getting through Richmond’s defence, the only thing between the Chelsea Striker and leaving the match victorious is Richmond’s goalie, Zoreaux, who seems to be having a tough day today.”

“The greyhounds are relying quite heavily on their defence players today… What’s this? A beautiful kick by the Chelsea attacker! It’s soaring through the air and… By God, Arlo, did you see that?”

“If you are referring to the brilliant dive by Richmond’s number 13, then yes, I most definitely saw it. We simply have to look at it again, the way he got in there just in time to kick the ball right back into the stands, simply marvellous.”

A slow motion replay of Jan’s desperate save displayed on the screen accompanied by the cheers of the fans in the stands and the live commentary by both Chris Powell and Arlo White.

“The Dutchman did it again. He has definitely been the backbone of today's defence, foiling most of the scoring attempts. But back to the game, it is now time for Nelson Road residents to either try and keep the ball for the remaining four minutes, or to shock us with some clever closing play.”

“You never know what to expect from them, and they’ve been continually pulling all kinds of tricks from their sleeves. Chris, what do you think is going to happen?”

“It remains to be seen, Arlo, we’ll just have to wait.”

“Bumbercatch passes to Montlaur, Montlaur goes in to score, but no! It was a feint and it’s Jamie Tartt now with the ball. Tartt passes to Rojas who gets through Chelsea’s defence and gets the ball straight to number 12 and it’s a goal! A beautiful play by the Greyhounds mere seconds before the final whistle! Richmond winds up victorious with two goals from Tartt and Hughes respectively.”

“A beautiful display of teamwork indeed. It’s games like this one that truly highlight the unity of the Nelson Road Team, the famous ‘Richmond Way’ a term coined by Trent Crimm in his best selling book…”

The commentary was now fading away as the team exited the pitch, still euphoric after the win. Jan walked feeling exhausted but hyped up and was now heading to the locker room to celebrate along with the entirety of the team. The coaches were already there, waiting for them. 

Everyone got seated and the room fell into silence, awaiting Roy’s words. 

“Allright, I’ll make it quick. Good job Jamie, Colin,” He nodded at each respective player but then turned towards Jan “Jan Maas. You are the main reason we didn’t fuckin’ lose today!” Excitement in their manager’s voice crystal clear. 

Dani was the first one to cheer, but soon everyone joined in and the whole locker room was once again filled with excited footballers. Shoulder pats and bear hugs were exchanged once again before Roy had to shout to get them to settle down and listen to the announcements.

“Oi! You have fifteen minutes to celebrate here, and after that I expect to see you all on the bus, ready to head to the hotel.”

With that Roy left to support Rebecca handling the interviews, and both Beard and Nate followed him out of the room, probably to settle some other matters.

The team changed quickly and it wasn’t even twenty minutes later that Jan sat next to Richard on the way to the hotel. The Dutchman pulled out a well loved book that was given to him for his birthday by the man sitting right next to him out of his bag. Richard himself could never read while in a moving vehicle, so as usual he opted for listening to music and looking out the window, completely zoned out. 

The ride itself was short, and soon enough they all stood in the hotel lobby waiting to get their keys.

“Listen up people!” Coach Beard could be heard over the general ruckus “You get settled and then at 8PM sharp we meet in conference room 3 for our movie night! Jan Maas, today you get the honours of drawing the movie from our box of suggestions.” 

A collective choir of whoops and whistles filled the foyer.

The movie night tradition became a thing when Ted was still their manager and it was one of the many things that stuck around even after he didn’t. Of course pillow fights also kept on happening, but the clean-up after a movie night is undoubtedly easier, and watching a silly movie is definitely a great way of winding down after a difficult match. 

The box of suggestions though, was Phoebe’s idea that Roy decided to implement. At the beginning of the season each player got to write down one movie name on a post-it and put it in a purple glittery shoebox. Then, every movie night someone from the team would draw a piece of paper from said box and whatever it said, that was the movie they were going to watch. 

The suggestions were obviously restricted, to the disappointment of both Moe and Richard. Richard’s, because almost everyone voted no, on classic French cinema, and Bumbercatch’s for reasons unspecified. The only other rule was no one was supposed to know who suggested what.

So obviously Jan and Richard turned into a game to see if they could guess who wrote down which movie. So far they were pretty sure that Dani suggested Night at the Museum and Sam was definitely the one who pitched Ratatouille, as for the other ones they were based purely on speculation. Both of them were pretty positive that Thierry picked How to lose a guy in 10 days. Richard kept disagreeing with him about who suggested Baby Driver, it was a tie between Jamie and Isaac, but for some reason the same disagreement also occurred while debating who picked Ocean’s Eleven.

Some other movies they watched included classics such as Jojo Rabbit, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Legally Blonde, The Greatest Showman, and Knives Out. The jury was still out on all of these. 

They agreed not to disclose what movie they themselves suggested, to keep the game more interesting. 

Jan however knew exactly what Richard picked. He remembers the first practice of the season, he remembers the weather outside, and the exact button up shirt that Richard wore that day. 

Why does he remember that? Well, because he spent the entire after-practice meeting staring at the four undone upper buttons, and not thinking about what movie he should put down as his suggestion. That in turn meant he caught a glimpse of Richard’s post-it and the two titles written in neat handwriting. Duplex and 50 First Dates sat right there being deeply analysed by the Frenchman struggling to pick one. That’s when Jan decided, whichever one his friend doesn’t pick, he was going to write down.

The jangle of the room keys brought the Dutchman back to Earth. Richard has already gone and picked them up from coach Beard and was now motioning for Jan to follow him to their accommodations. 

Most of the team roomed on the same floor, but the coaches made sure to get themselves settled the furthest away from the rest of the team. The rooms were nice enough, with a small balcony, two beds, wardrobe, a table with some chairs and an adjacent bathroom. Enough for a one night stay. 

Richard immediately threw his things onto the bed by the window and sat down on it. After dozens of times sharing a room at away games Jan already knew that the Frenchman loved being woken up by the sun. 

The Dutchman took the other bed and unpacked some of their bathroom things. There was no use taking two tubes of toothpaste, so they both agreed beforehand who was going to take one, same with soap and shampoo. Neither of them trusted the ones provided by the hotels.

After they were done unpacking they headed down to the dining room to grab some dinner before coming back up to their room to get changed into some sweatpants and comfy t-shirts and whatnot. Then the only thing left was to locate conference room number 3. 

On the stairway they were joined by Colin, Isaac, Moe and a couple of the reserves. They already went up a flight before Reynolds stopped them to ask a question.

“Hold up, does anyone know where we are supposed to go?” 

“Conference room 3, duh” Colin answered.

“Yeah, but do any of you actually know where that is?”

Everyone stopped in the middle of the stairway and shook their heads.

“Then where the hell are we going?” Goodman piped up.

“O'Brien, didn't you say that your roommate stayed back to ask the receptionist about it?”

“Yeah, he did.” Tom turned around as if to locate said roommate and didn’t seem to find him. Then he turned around again, hoping for a different result. That clearly didn’t seem to help. “I forgot Bhargava!” he yelled out and dashed down the stairs back to the rooms.

“Do you guys think he just locked him inside their room?” Colin asked, looking after the goalkeeper.

“Maybe he just forgot to tell him we were going already..?” Isaac supplied. 

“Nah, he totally locked him in,” Richard laughed heartily and looked at Jan smiling which he reciprocated.

“Isn’t there a floorplan somewhere maybe?” Jan asked no one in particular. The Dutchman looked around trying to find something that would tell them where to go. While they were still standing around on the stairs they all heard O’Brien shouting.

“Lads! We got to go downstairs, not up!” A chorus of groans lasted a good ten seconds it took them to get downstairs and back to the lobby.

Once they finally reached the conference room Roy looked at them, then at his watch, and then back at them. 

“What took you so long, you got fuckin’ lost, or something?” 

“Well, what matters is that we are all here now.” Reynolds said after a beat of silence.

“That is the bare minimum, we said at 8, it’s 8:20”

“Actually, it’s only 8:17 so it’s closer to…” Goodman started but one look from their former captain turned manager shut him up.

"We need to learn how to appreciate the little things, like finding our way, or Richard…" Jan said, throwing an arm around his friend, who was standing right next to him.

The Frenchman was not amused, and rolled his eyes pointedly exaggerating the movement.

"Laugh all you want, I'm not the one that had to ask the hotel desk to get another duvet, because I didn't fit under the one that comes with the room."

“Fuckin’ hell… Enough of that, get inside, sit down and get ready to watch the movie.” Roy stopped them before they could drag the conversation out even longer. “Jan, come with me to pick the movie.”

Inside the conference room a projector was set up, along with a few rows of nice cushioned chairs to sit on. Roy stood in front of the chairs waiting for the footballers to settle down on their seats. 

“Today's match was hard,”Roy began his speech. “but we pulled through. And we fuckin’ won!” Here Roy paused, waiting for the cheers to die down. “And we owe it not only to the ones scoring the goals, but to our defence as well, especially to Jan Maas over here, so Nate,” Here Roy turned to the shorter man, “Bring in the Box!”

Nate approached with the glittery shoebox and dramatically opened the lid before turning to Jan waiting for the Dutchman to pick out a post-it note with the title of today’s movie.

Jan covered his eyes and reached into the box pulling out a piece of paper folded twice, handing it to Roy and walking off to sit down on an empty chair next to Richard that the shorter man saved for him.

“And the movie of the evening is… 50 First Dates!”

Some people whooped, some looked around confused. Richard turned to look at Jan grinning. Jan returned the gesture for the second time today and turned to the screen waiting for the movie to start. He has never seen it before, but since Richard enjoyed it, then it must be nice. 

The snack bowls were passed around, the light turned off, and the movie put on. Jan held onto the popcorn he was handed. For the next hour and a half every now and then the Frenchman would nudge him to get the bowl within his reach.

From time to time someone would snicker at some joke, Jamie definitely winced at the scene where Lucy beat Henry up, Thierry pointed out the fact that the dolphins were named Mary Kate and Ashley and Dani shot up during the diary burning scene to exclaim that it’s almost like that time when they were getting rid of the ghosts from the treatment room. 

They all bawled their eyes out at the break up scene, and tissues had to be passed around during the final one. Jan ended up liking the movie and judging by the fact that by the end most of the players were trying to hold back tears, so did they. 

Once the light came back on the coaches gave them ten minutes to tidy up, and get back to their rooms. Isaac and Sam stayed the longest to make sure everything was back to how it was beforehand, which meant Colin was stuck outside the doors waiting for his room key that his best friend held on to, Jan and Richard decided to keep him company. 

“How’d you like the movie?” the Welshman asked, noticing how the two of them decided to wait around with him.

“I liked it” Jan simply answered “And you, Richard, you’ve seen it before, right?”

“Yeah, but I still find it enjoyable.” 

“Yeah? Is it because Henry reminds you of… well, you?” Colin laughed

“Why? Because Dickie here is a shameless flirt, or actually a softie that cares a lot about penguins?” Colin joked as Isaac joined their group while Sam was locking up the conference room.

“I’ll have you know, penguins are actually great animals.”

“Yeah, and they are also the best secret agents in the world” the Nigerian finally joined their tiny circle, and they were able to start moving towards their rooms. 

They all stopped in front of Sam and Dani’s room to talk a bit more before retiring for the night. Jan couldn’t help but notice how short Richard looked standing next to them all, well, maybe not next to Colin, but the rest of them towered over the Frenchman a little. 

After about ten minutes of idle lounging around Colin yawned loudly prompting their discussion to halt.

“Need your beauty sleep?” Isaac asked.

“Better not, because he would need a lot of it.” Richard quipped.

“And remember, we have to be up early tomorrow.” Jan replied without missing a beat.

Colin flipped them both off as they bid the group farewell and took off in the direction of their room. 

Back in their room they got ready to sleep taking turns in the bathroom. Richard went in first so when Jan exited after his own shower he was surprised to see his friend still up clearly waiting for him. As soon as the Frenchman noticed Jan was done in the bathroom he motioned for him to join him on the bed, so Jan did.

“So, who do you think picked the movie? I’m pretty sure both Dixon and Goodman recognised it but I’m not sure any of them would have picked it as their one choice.”

“How about Tommy Winchester?” Jan suggested trying to seem oblivious.

“Nah, that’s also not it…Maybe Reynolds?” the shorter man continued to speculate.

“How do I know it wasn’t you?” It might have been a bit of a risky move there, but it wasn’t unsound to assume that. “After all you did know the movie and I remember you mentioning something about liking Drew Barrymore romantic comedies…”

“It does make sense, but let me tell you a secret. I wanted to put that one down, but ended up picking a different movie.” Richard winked at him and it took all the self control Jan had to not reveal to him that he knows. “Also, you remembered that comment about Drew Barrymore? I didn’t even remember it until you mentioned it.”

“We are friends, I remember things about you. Things like your favourite actress… Maybe not the French cinema ones, because most of them I’ve never heard of, but you know… other ones…”

“Give French cinematography a try, you may end up liking it. We could put a film on during our next charcuterie night?”

“How did you end up liking it? I didn’t think goat farms had access to a lot of fancy French cinemas.”

“Well, my maman had a big city soul and I got it from her. She never did get out of the farm, but I did and have been living with splendour for the two of us ever since. Never looked back…”

“You never talked about her before… She sounds like a lovely woman.”

“She was… She was the only one who would get my father to dance with her. He was the most stern man you’ve ever met, but when she put on an old record and asked him to dance he would, just like that… Bought them an Adele record for their 20th wedding anniversary with the money I earned in my first job because that was the only new release at the local store. Père and I listen to it every time I visit him back home.”

They were now both lying down, propped up on the big pillow and looking at the ceiling, Richard leaning on him.

“What is your family like? I don’t think I ever heard you talking about them either…”

“Well, I have a brother and a sister, both older than me, and my parents own a small corner shop…”

Jan woke up in the middle of the night disoriented. He looked around and noticed someone lying on top of him. 

Richard’s rhythmic breaths and the rise and fall of his chest calmly brought Jan back to Earth and stopped him from panicking lest he wake up the smaller man. They must have fallen asleep whilst talking.

The Dutchman looked back at his friend and smiled softly at how the other man curled up into him. He made a move to reach for the blanket at the foot of the bed without stirring the Frenchman but was unsuccessful in his attempt as the other man stirred awake.

“Morning… Well, not morning, but there isn’t really a greeting for the middle of the night…”

“Hello to you too… Can we go back to sleep, or are you gonna move some more?”

“I… Well, uh… Sure, let’s, let’s get back to sleeping.” Before lying back down Jan draped the blanket over the both of them and spared one last look at his best friend. He waited before Richard’s breathing slowed down again before speaking.

“I was the one who put down that movie… Because I saw you struggling to pick one, and I decided to pick the one you wrote off.” He was now absentmindedly tracing patterns on Richard’s right shoulder and arm while spilling some stuff he’d be too scared to admit in the daylight. “I couldn’t stop looking at you that day… And many days before and after that. It’s been a thing for quite some time. And now I’m thinking that I’d like to buy a gramophone so that we could get a vinyl of some Adele album and dance to it, and maybe visit your dad on the farm… You could show me the goats. I've never touched a goat before… And maybe we could grow older together, but not as friends… As something…”

“Just so you know, I’m not asleep yet…”Richard whispered softly as Jan's face dropped. “And I think I would like that too, but maybe we could talk about it more in the morning?” Jan’s face went from horrified to touched to happy as he hugged the man lying next to him.

He pressed a soft kiss to the top of Richard’s head and burrowed his face in his hair. Richard in turn kissed his neck before turning to find a comfortable position and go back to sleep.

“Goodnight Richard”

“Goodnight Jan”

[forbidding-souda]

About Mod Souda

You guys should talk to me in the ask box more smh you guys are fun

Like just tell me about your day but I won’t guarantee that like 1000% I’ll respond but I’ll read them all.... efkjlwdbsc or or ask me questions or something idk I like talking

1500 followers face reveal when (shocked emoji) /srs

Anyways here’s some things about me because I never really introduced myself (since this is my account and why would I do an introduction)

THIS IS LITERALLY MY LIFE STORY GOODBYE BAHSBAH

-Mod Souda 

Hi I am Mod Souda and I go by he/him ofc ofc I am a gay man.

Uhh I am an a native amercan mixed kid AND an Aquarius ugh I’m so unique right. I was raised by a raver and a metalhead skater in Vegas. I’ve been in the pit since I was 4 years old (specifically at a Primus concert LMAO).

The first fandom I was in was Creepypasta, and I was about 8 years old. It’s funny because the first musician I ever actively liked was Madame Macabre. 

As a child (like 7-11) I mainly listened to Vocaloid, Madame Macabre, and Nicki Minaj.

When Avengers came out I was still in elementary school. And .. Loki... wrjhfbwejdhb bro!! gay awakening!! holy shit. I was in love with him but I didn’t want to admit it smh shhh.

The first anime I ever watched was Black Butler. I was IN LOVE with Joker from Book of Circus ehbwdjqshdfb. The last episode of that season ended the day I moved to California. I remember crying bc of the last scene inside of the moving truck.

I also got into Fairy Tail a lot. Also tragic. I had the hugest crush on Gajeel Redfox mmmmmemdwkgsnekfdjsglkvcx

I live in the Bay Area, and grew up in the same house, compared to living in Vegas where I moved every two years. There are ... so many poc here ... and in vegas I was in a class with all white people. Being around so many poc was so like ?? fun ?? idk how to describe it but it feels like how life should feel like; not stressful at all.

I started listening to goth music when I was 12 because I was in the Mr. Creepypasta amino and somebody was like “you guys should join the goth amino” and I was like oh that sounds so fun !!! Boom... goth Mod Souda arrived.

I was all about Sopor Aeternus and Switchblade Symphony. 

I discovered my lifelong favorite artist in like 2016. It was because I was making playlist for my Fairy Tail oc (tragic) and I added this song I got off of a “Creepypasta Theme Songs” and it was Bernadette by IAMX (which was assigned to Laughing Jack). And I listened to the song and was like meh this is cool. Then one day I played the playlist and it just.... hit different. LMAO I was like waiitittttititit. The next day, on the way to the airport, I downloaded all 7 (at the time) of his albums and listened to them the whole way. I’ve seen him live too like mm chris corner I love you.

I got into DR in 2015 because of an edit of (anime) Syo and Junko to Pound the Alarm LOL. I was like “this looks cool” so I watched it on my phone while sitting on the couch all in one go. Spoilers but I cried the most when mondo and sakura died, fun fact. Life went down from there smh!! 

I really believed that I was dating Gundham Tanaka. Like everything in my life was Gundham Tanaka related like I was ... obsessed with him. And I coudln’t see art of him and sonia because it would make me have a breakdown bc I thought he was cheating on me PLZ BHDSABHJBAHAAHHA it’s funny because I kin sonia now and I’m in love with her.

This was the same year where I ???? got bruises on my eardrums somehow (I asked my dad recently how I got them and he went uhh idk) ???? and I couldn’t hear anything for like three years plz. My hearing has gotten better but idk if my ear percentage is 100%/100% or if I’m just grateful it isn’t what it is before LMAO so that’s when I started learning ASL.

This is also the same year where I got hospitalized for being a neurodevelopmental schizophrenic lol OOPS !

A funny story of me growing up with danganronpa is uhh when future arc was still airing ,,, Spoilers,, and the episode with Juzo passing aired,, I literally printed the frame of him talking to himself confessing his love and BROUGHT IT TO SCHOOL. I LIT A CANDLE FOR HIM TOO LIKE BYE

Freshman year of highschool I started dating an emo kid who brought his electric guitar to school. TRAGIC. We dated for like two years please what.

Sophomore year I started getting into metal and punk. This is mainly because I went to a Slayer concert. I was trying to branch out of my goth bubble and !!! metal really stuck with me. My favorite subgenre is goregrind. It’s mmm so good. Punk... was a miss. I absolutely hate punks. If anyone in the alternative community is reading this right now I’ll tell you this: the punks that I interacted with to learn more about the community were from OC .... goodbye

I still listen to Glass Street tho ^ they are hc/crossover and I really like their music omg I have their merch now plz HBSAJKH and I still like the patch pants / crusties I made so that’s cool. A lot of kids look up / glamorize me just because of my fashion but at least they give me clout ig ...

The year after that I downloaded Spotify for the first time. I was an apple music/youtube person (tragic). Uhh what else omg. I finally figured out that I was neurodevelopmental and that it affected my way of thinking and that ,, it wasn’t JUST because I am sch so that was an awakening.

Anyways now trying to get a minor in asl interpreting mmmm and trying to get a job SMH !! why is it so hard. I’m into DND now oo that’s new and I’m collecting the dice.

I started this blog in July 2020 when I was staying with my friend in a tent in New York for a couple of months. I forced her to watch despair arc (LOL) and now she’s a junko cosplayer so B^)

Metalhead anon and everyone else who’s been here for a long ass time make me SOOO happy like woah.. it’s been so long omg. I used to post fics three times a day like wtf the EFFORT (that was before school started lol oops my bad)

Since then I’ve got a boyfriend and a whole wave of danganronpa cosplayers who are my friends now. It’s really cool to talk to so many young people (sometimes) who are hella into like,, open conversations about gender and politics and whatnot. I’m used to talking to 20 year old goth people you know? 

Whenever I do something “cringey” (like if I want to do dr character impersonations or if I want to rant about how much I love this anime character or if I want to try out neopronouns) I’m like hmmmm I can go to the danganronpa cosplayers and I know they won’t judge me for this.

Anyways that’s it. It’s 22:50 where I am right now aaaanndd I go on this blog way more than I should LOL

[pestopascal]

so how would you fix the server now? i still really love fhr even after everything and what i know is in it and i still want to participate in the server but im so confused as to whats going on there are no mods, theres like no talk anymore

first and foremost, you get that fucking apology out of the previous mods. and none of this ‘i have mental illness’ stuff to hide behind either, we’re all mentally ill. thats never been an excuse, and it sure as shit aint one now. like you get them to acknowledge what theyve said, and done, how they encouraged behaviours, how they treated their other mod who was TRYING to do something for everyone, how they let themselves literally just get bought off and let people exist (”we’re well aware of smute”). you also get them to acknowledge the dms, and the bitching in other servers, and the general BEHAVIOUR they showed. thanks, but you fucked up! and they dont pity party either. they will be torn to shreds if they do.

you fucking put in place like at least a MINIMUM of 15 mods. the server is 600+ ppl. like what the fuck were idk 5 ppl in like one timezone supposed to do anyway lolllllll but these are mods with powers and we love democracy so we keep it an odd number in case they need to vote and its a tie. you can also instill the whole bullshit ‘community manager’ thing if you want to like fill the holes and keep watch and report stuff as well ig.

also like we all know who the RLY bad ppl are with their comments about “mixed people” and disgustingly nsfw content. like fucking remove them. if u wanna be nice and coddle them after everything that happened give them like the absolute final warning and then just kick but quite frankly i think you should just remove them.

next, and ive had to do this a couple of times with old servers that were getting a freshen up/restructure... what you do is you put almost all the channels on read only. like leave the gen ones, and rules/announcements/current events (that now exists lol). these are still able to be written in. but what you do is you tell EVERYONE to go through, like give ppl 5-7 days, and pick out stuff they may have like not saved, need for reference, etc. that many days bc some ppl just arent active and dont wanna miss out maybe. but ppl go through their thousands of messages, like i know ppl post writing and art without cross saving.

then, you lock those channels up and archive them. some places ive been on straight up deleted but yknow thats not super productive. drop that category right to the bottom and hide it, then reinstate every other category/channel. you fucking EMPHASISE that shit wont be tolerated anymore. keep ya nasty ass nsfw in the nsfw channels. keep to channels or you’ll be warned (PER THE FUCKING RULES RIGHT THERE). if ppl do wanna look at the archived stuff, make it role related and they can have a quick browse if they need to (thats why we keep them!!).

you go through all the pins. you clear out all the unnecessary roles. those spoilers malin posts make sure theyre up to date in that google doc, because yknow. youre gonna move them out of the chat (or repost them at the top, but you have a limited amount of pins technically per channel). you put your resources for achievements available and easily accessible (the game discussion is actually for discussion about the game, not how youre gonna be teehee more orange). you actually set this up like an official server, which it claims to be. i personally would even remove the nsfw channels, despite the game veering into that content, but like. whatever !

also i would even just ping @ everyone and like get ppl to react if theyre here for spoilers or whatever like out of 600+ i think theres 50 active ppl, and like make sure ppls roles are up to date then. if someone rly is just there for snippets, they get pinged for that. like make a fucking effort. it doesnt have to be a full time job, but if you dont make it easy for yourself, then its gonna be terrible.

[isitthescreaming20syet]

Do all the numbers you coward

– disclaimer: i did this at like late at night o’clock, while trying to avoid my fourth breakdown that hour. and i didn’t have my glasses on. so . if there’s any spelling errors that i didn’t catch, let me know.–

ok cool. imma just pick a post and go at it then.

1. what colour are you’re eyes?

Usually they’re like a green/brown ig?

2. do you like your name? why?

Yes, I love my name. I picked it myself with the help of some of my friends. It comes from a couple different book characters who are both super strong physically and emotionally and they’re honestly an inspiration to me.

3. what is your relationship status?

…. single as fuck man. Is it too much to ask for a guy who is sweet and not pushy and bigger than me so I can steal his hoodies and be swamped in them??

4. describe your personality in 3 words or less

“another fucking breakdown??”

5. what colour hair do you have?

currently a really gross red, (well I think it’s gross but i just don’t like reds) but on Thursday I finally re-dye it and im gonna go green!!

6. how would you describe your style?

either I pull smth out of the drawer in the morning and hope it goes together, or I spend three weeks planning it.

7. what size bed do you have?

P sure it’s a queen? my dog manages to take up half of it and he’s the size of a bread loaf.

8. any siblings?

Ye, two half sisters!! 

9. favourite t.v. show?

The Umbrella Academy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10. describe your dream date

uhhhhh, smth outside? like a picnic. at night, but with plenty of lights. and star gazing!!!! bc spACE!!!

11. what colour socks are you wearing?

uh… one crew that’s white and purple and one ankle that blue and white…. 

12. how many pillows do you sleep with?

trick question!! I don’t sleep with pillows. I use throw/travel blankets and stuffed animals. I do have two pillows on my bed, but they’re for my dog to sleep on.

13. do you have a job? what do you do?

I do! I just started a week or so ago and I make drinks! ISTG IF SOMEONE ORDERS ONE MORE GODDAMN MINI SLUSHI IM GONNA KILL A MAN.

14. how many friends do you have?

hhhhh, i think i have abt 0. but in reality i probably have 10ish actual friends?

15. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?

I’ve done plenty of shitty things but im not in a good place to answer this one rn.

16. what’s your favourite candle scent?

Another trick question! i despise candles and nearly anything that has a smell. good or bad.

17. three favourite boy names?

Klaus bc my boiiiiiiiiii

Ethan istg anyone i know irl brings this up you will regret it

Ashton

18. three favourite girl names?

ooooo boyyy,

Claire

Isabella (spanish pronounciation obv)

Vanya bc yk i had to make another reference but also it’s rlly pretty and just look at it!!

19. who is your celebrity crush?

ik it’s basic but cole sprouse is the first one that comes to mind.

20. do you read a lot? what’s you favourite book?

yes I read all the time bc reADING IS GOOD @dodo-likes-to-tumbl

my favourite book is probably Six of Crows.

21. top 10 favourite songs?

hhhooooohhhhhhhhkkkayyyyy not really any particular order:

1) Istanbul by They Might be Giants

2) Roaring 20s by P!atD

3) I Wait by Day6

4) Monster by EXO

5) Choke by IDKHBTFM

6)Tempo by EXO

7) Awkward Silence by Stray Kids

8) Chained Up by VIXX

9) Singularity by BTS

10) Get Cool by Stray Kids

22.  What is your biggest fear?

another one that im not able to answer at this time.

23. What’s your go to hairstyle/

Literally don’t have one. I get out of bed, get dressed, and go to school. I don’t do anything.

24. who is your role model?

Idk. I don’t really have one. I really look up to my sister, Ella, a lot. 

25. what was the last compliment you received?

idk, the most recent one I remember was my moms friends mom was going on about my hair colour even though I hate it and we were literally standing by the hair dye in walmart looking at new colours when she walked up and interrupted.

26. What was the last text you sent?

Confirming smth for a talent show group im gonna be a part of.

27. How old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real? (if this is a shock or a spoiler for you, you’re either wayyy too young for this site or wayy too stupid) 

I was probably about 5 or 6? I had a lot of cousins who were older than me who liked to spoil things. I was able to convince my parents I still believed until I was about 11 tho.

28. what is your dream job?

Dream job? I thought I’d be dead in the trunk of a car by now!!

not really, but uhh idk

29. how many pictures do you have on your phone?

Idfk? five years worth ig?

30. have you ever peed in the woods?

Wtf kinda question is this? but yeah when I was younger. like 4-7 ish maybe?

31. Do you still watch cartoons?

Tbh not nearly as often as I’d like. I love Gravity Falls and I wanna get into Steven Universe, though from what I’ve seen it’s not a cartoon it’s art. 

32. Favourite dipping sauce?

no

33. What do you wear to bed?

Sweat pants and a hoodie

34. Have you ever won a spelling bee?

Nah mate. I can’t spell for shit.

35. what are your hobbies?

crying in the dark instead of doing my hw.

36. tea or coffee?

yes

37. are you going to change your last name when you get married?

hah “when”! idk if I do get married I’ll probably hyphenate or steal my sisters idea and do some sort of mash up of the last names, kinda like a ship name.

38.  do you believe in ghosts?

meh

39. what’s your biggest pet peeve?

People

40. the last person you called?

I facetimed @panickingposters

41. chocolate or rainbow sprinkles?

hah GAY

42.  what shirt are you wearing?

damn another trick question! I’m wearing my PFTW Tour hoodie.

43. what is your phone background?

lock screen is FoB lyrics - “ I love the world, i just don’t love the way it makes me feel”

and home screen is a space edit of the trans flag.

44. do you like it when ppl play with your hair?

As long as they do it right @goodmorningchicago

45. have you ever been drunk?

no but i wish i was

46. favourite lyrics rn?

“Like awkward silence..

caw

caw

caw”

47. summer or winter?

autumn

48. day or night?

sleep during the day, everything else at night

49. dark, milk or white chocolate?

k first of all? white chocolate isn’t even fucking chocolate. so that ones out.

second, milk chocolate is just sugar and milk. also out

Dark it is!!

50. who was the last person you cried in front of?

My therapist earlier today

[enthralleddd0112]

[170728] Kyungsoo was mentioned by Director Oh Sungyoon during “Underdog”Stage Greeting

Fan Accounts from animation movie <Underdog> Rough-cut Premiere and Stage Greeting during Seoul International Cartoon Animation Festival (SICAF 2017)

-- After the director watched movie <Cart>, he only had his eyes on Kyungsoo. His acting was very good, when he saw Moongchi, he thought of Kyungsoo immediately and hence chose him right away, and even thought that Kyungsoo's a genius. 

-- The director shared that after watching movie <Cart>, he only had his eyes on Kyungsoo, and thought that he was a genius. It was awkward during the first voice recording, so he praised him a lot more during the second voice recording. After receiving the compliments, Kyungsoo did great. 

-- Till date, animation movie <Underdog> have had three voice recording sessions, Kyungsoo was awkward with the director during the first time, so the director praised him during the second time. After receiving the compliments, Kyungsoo responded saying that he will do his best. 

-- The director shared that he only had eyes for Kyungsoo after watching movie <Cart>, and that his acting is really good. How can a child that sings and performs be so good at acting too? Is he a genius? When producing animation movie <Underdog>, Kyungsoo came up in his mind and so he decided on him there and then. 

-- The reason why Kyungsoo was chosen to voice Moongchi, is when the director watched movie <Cart>, he was impressed by Kyungsoo’s acting. Isn’t he a genius? The Moongchi’s character looks like Kyungsoo too. They match each other. At the first recording, since they each were awkward, it was hard to record. But for the second recording, since the director gave many praises, seemed that it worked well. 

-- When choosing the actor for the character, it's based entirely on acting abilities and suitability; nothing to do with whether the chosen actor is news worthy. Previously for animated drama film <Leafie, A Hen into the Wild>, he had issued scripts with individual scenes for actors to dub, but that seems to have limited possible ad-libs and freeplay from the voice actors, so this time round, he only issued a synopsis instead of a script. 

-- Voice recording for the animated movie will continue, and it seems to be done up to about 50%.

-- The director said, they did one round of recording after he gave a script without individual scenes. They continued after script of individual scenes were given, and they recorded yet another time to add on the parts that they've missed. Recordings are expected to continue.

-- The director shared that he's actually keen to produce animation movie <Underdog 2>, as he'll like to see how the characters continue their lives. It will also be shown on *ScreenX and will have another continuation.

-- From the rough-cut, there’s one Kyungsoo’s line that lingers in memory and apparently this line will be the theme of the movie.

-- A little spoiler, the animation drawings and syncing are nice. Moongchi is a cooler Border Collie than my first thought. Kyungsoo showed an amazing and new side of his voice that he never shown before.

P.S. ScreenX is a new theatre offering by CGV and provides a new immersive experience for movie audiences. By projecting images onto the side walls of the theatre, ScreenX developed the world’s first multi-projection system within a theatre setting. Video Clip on ScreenX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvQONvU_pWE

Fan Acct Cr: twitter @tick2boom2, @dyozyagi_0112, @1993_112, @doh_haru, @aesop_do, @xoxo_klein, (2017.07.28) Chi Trans: weibo @Nacho_都��秀资源博, @大眼嘟企鹅 & @都暻秀吧_DohkyungsooBar Eng Trans: twitter @doyeolove_aya / tumblr @bonjourtoaya​ & twitter @enthralleddd  Fan Account Consolidation & In partnership with: IG @channel930112

[thesffcorner]

The Mandalorian: Season 1

The Mandolorian is an 8 episode series on Disney+, written and produced by John Favreau. It stars Pedro Pascal as the titular Mandolorian who I will be referring to as his actual name, Din Djarin for the rest of this review, rather than the fan-name Mando. 

Djarin is a bounty hunter, working for the Guild in the early days of the New Republic. His story starts as he takes on an under the table job to retrieve a package; however as things tend to go in this situation neither the package nor the people who are after it are what they seem, and Djarin must decide if it’s worth risking his life and reputation to protect it.  

Before the show aired, I wasn’t very interested in seeing it; I hadn’t seen any trailers or buzz and I was still under the impression that it would follow Bobba Fett. Seeing the first episode I wasn’t sold on it either; I was disappointed that we were not following Fett, and that we were stationed after the events of ROTJ. However, I pushed through, and my opinions evolved significantly over the course of the show’s 8 episodes. 

Overall, I enjoyed the show. There were some issues, and I can definitely see areas where Favreau can improve for next season, but I think season 1 was a solid starting point. My main complaint is that the season was too short, and even at 8 episodes, it still felt like it spent a lot of time on unnecessary filler. We’ll talk more about this, and other specific issues in the episode breakdown, but if you just want my opinion on if you should see it or not with no spoilers it’s this: If you like the Clone Wars, Rebels or the Solo film, you will like this. If you don’t, you probably won’t. Take that as you will. 

So let’s get into this episodes, and I’ll end with some general thoughts and desires for season 2.

Episode 1: The Mandalorian

This episode is written by John Favreau and directed by Dave Filloni, the show-runner for my personal favorite Star Wars series, Star Wars Rebels.

We start with Djarin looking for more work from his Guild leader, Greef Karga, who offers him an extremely well paid, unsanctioned job, to track down a valuable package for some former Imperials. The man, just called the Client, strongly hints that he wants the package dead, and in return he is paying in Beskar, metal important to the Mandalorians. 

The package is located on Arvala 7 (yes, I did look that up), and Djarin gets some help on his way, from a vapor farmer named Kuili, and another contractor, assassination droid IG-11. Djarin ends up shooting IG, after the droid attempts to kill the package, which turns out to be a child, the same race as or very loved Yoda. 

If you have seen Rebels, than I think you will be very familiar with Filloni’s direction and style; unfortunately, for me this felt like one of the weaker episodes in Rebels. Even when Rebels was great, it suffered from an uneven tone; it could never quite decide if it was a kids or adult show, and as such the tone could fluctuate between really dumb and cringey comedy to serious and violent death in the span of a few minutes. 

This is no different; there is some goofy humor, some characters that straddle the line between funny and annoying, but also some darkness, and good, subtle characterization.

The biggest issue this episode has (and it’s an issue the entire show never overcomes) is the pacing. It’s at once very slow, meticulously showing the loneliness and drudgery of being a bounty hunter and extremely fast, covering important character development and plot points in  single montage.  

Perhaps this is a flaw of Filloni, because what works in animation, doesn’t always work in live action. In Rebels, we could tolerate characters like Honda, we could swallow that characters teleport around and solve season ending issues in a conversation. Live action has a lot more constraints, suspension of disbelief is easier to break, so having character relationships develop at unnaturally fast paces or condensing what should be days if not weeks in a single 30 sec montage is a bit much. 

I don’t want to make it sound like Filloni is a terrible director and this is some insurmountable flaw; Star Wars as a rule tends to not do well in developing its characters. Ever since a New Hope, where Luke was more distressed at Obi Wan dying, than his own aunt and uncle, or Leia losing her entire planet, the franchise has glossed over really important bits of storytelling (ahem, somehow Palpatine has returned).There is nothing as drastic in this episode, but it was still frustrating to have the first half of the episode so meticulously follow Djarin capturing the bounty and taking the job, and having the important parts like deciding to save the child or befriending Kuili take up 5 minutes. 

On the positives, in a short time we get a really good idea of what kind of person we are following; Djarin is impatient, headstrong, a loner, someone who is very honorable, but doesn’t like showing it. We also get a good sense of the villain; Werner Herzog as the Client is a mix of a staunch and imperial like Tarkin, while also being fascinated by cultures like Thrawn. 

An ok start the show, but definitely one of the weaker episodes in the season.

Episode 2: The Child

Episode 2 is written by John Favreau and directed by Rick Famuyiwa. After rescuing the child from the compound, Djarin finds his ship being stripped for parts by the Jawa. He goes after them, but when he manages to get to the top of their ship he gets blasted away. He has a dream about the day his parents died, and is rescued again by Kuili who offers to help him get his parts back. To do so, he must steal an egg from a mudhorn, and almost dies, except the child, using the force creates enough of an opening for Djarin to finish the animal off. 

This episode is a vast improvement over episode 1; it has more action, more character development, more intrigue and a much more even pace. It’s still a slow episode, and we don’t learn much about any of the characters, but enough of what happens kept me engaged and interested. 

However, this was the first episode where I noticed a bit of an issue with Dij Djarin’s characterization, an issue the show never really resolves. 

I think, Pedro Pascal is too old to be playing Djarin. Alternatively, the writing of Djarin doesn’t match the age and gravitas of Pascal. Let me explain. 

In episode 1 we learn that Djarin is impatient. This is fine. What is less fine is for Djarin to be brash and impatient enough to think he can a) take on an entire moving castle of Jawa by himself, b) threaten and shoot at the Jawa who already beat him once, c) tret the Jawa like pests even though Kuili and the Jawa themselves already demonstrated that they are intelligent and perfectly capable of negotiating. 

These are not the actions of a man in his 40’s who is impatient; this comes off as someone who is too big for his birches, someone young and inexperienced and full of prejudice. A Luke Skywalker or Ezra Bridger, not Pedro Pascal at the same age as Qui Gon Jinn. It’s fine that Djarin is close minded and biased against Imperials and droids; it doesn’t make any sense that an experienced Mandlorin bounty hunter could speak Jawa and yet somehow not know anything about them. 

This gets worse in the next episode where the other Mandalorians pick on Djarin and treat him like this young man who got lucky to be paid instead of an experienced warrior of decades. Even the Armorer treats him like a newbie; he doesn’t have a signet, he doesn’t have a jet-pack, and yet he’s in his mid 40’s!

Again, this isn’t just a problem of Favreau; he tends to write immature men after all, seeing as his biggest success to date is Tony Stark. It was also a problem in the prequels where I constantly got the sense that Ewan McGregor was playing a very different character from the one Lucas had written and Sir Alex Guinness portrayed. I just wish we would have gotten more reasons for why Djarin acts so inconsistently and why he’s only impatient and inconsiderate when the plot needs him to be. 

The rest of the episode is fine. I liked the dynamic between him and Kuili; Kuili himself is great character, a world weary man who has worked a lifetime for his freedom and has a deep understanding of the value of life, peace and even money. I honestly wish he was in the show more; the best scenes are the ones of him and Djarin interacting. The child was also adorable; trying to heal Djarin, protecting him from the mudhorn. It was a slow build to Djarin increasingly caring more and more about it, even though he has no idea what he’s doing. 

A vast improvement over episode one, even though it’s not perfect. 

Episode 3: The Sin

Episode 3 is written by John Favreau and directed by Deborah Chow. Djarin returns to Navaro and hands the child to the Imperials, getting a full payment of Beskar for his troubles. He asks what is to happen to the child, which is a violation of the Guild’s rules, and draws the suspicion of Karga and all the other bounty hunters. Djarin gets a new set of armour from the Armourer, as well as a new job from Karga. However he can’t make himself leave, and he returns to rescue the child just in time, as it is being experimented on. Every bounty hunter in Navaro attacks him, but the Tribe of Mandalorians come to his aid, and he shoots Karga before getting away. 

This is probably my second favorite episode of the show; it was the point where things finally clicked and I got an idea of what the stakes and the story would be. It’s a little unfortunate that it took 3 episodes for that to happen, but it’s better late than never. 

This episode brought in some more mystery about the child; we still know nothing about what it is or where it came from, other than it being around 50 years old. The Client very clearly wants the child dead, while Dr. Pershing, the collaborator wants it alive for some kind of experiment. The child really isn’t the focus in this story, even if it is what everyone wants and around which the plot revolves; the real focus is Djarin’s evolving relationship to the child and himself. 

I think this was the best development Djarin got in the season (outside of the finale); we see his slow bonding to the child, feeling guilty and upset over handing it over. His relationship to the child mirrors his own past; he was a founding, the Mandalorians saved him from the Great Purge, and he already has a history of caring for foundlings, making sure all of his extra Beskar is given to them, and essentially following the Way so he can help more foundlings. Him giving the child away is a direct betrayal to his own sense of self, even if he is a loner who has no idea how to take care of another being, let alone a baby. 

We learn too, in the scene I mentioned before that Djarin is an outsider even among the other Mandalorians. He isn’t liked or respected; he is made fun of and challenged by others who consider him a traitor or weak. Whether this is because he’s a foundling and thereby not a ‘true’ Mandalorian (which doesn’t really make much sense considering what we find out later) or his vocation/personality, it clearly affects him enough to act and live the way he does. His constant pretending that he is heartless is challenged both by Kuili and especially by the child, for which he’s willing to risk his life and the secrecy of the Tribe.  

This is all basic stuff; none of this is groundbreaking, but it was still nice to see Djarin evolve as a character. If there is one theme in this show it’s fatherhood and community; Djarin needs people around him, he needs a clan, and this episode is the first step for him to accept that. 

The rest of the episode was great; it had a nice pace, it was full of tension, I liked the Armourer who gets a bit more personality as well as Greef Karga, who I have a soft spot for, even if he betrays Djarin twice in this episode. The action scenes were well shot and choreographed, I loved the Mandalorians at the end and overall it’s a big step up from the previous 2 episodes, and definitely one of the better ones in the season.

Episode 4: Sanctuary

Episode 4 is written by John Favreau and directed by Bryce Dallas Howard. It’s also my favorite episode in the show. 

In an attempt to get some heat off of him after Navaro, Djarin lands on Sorgan, a sparsely populated forest planet. He runs into an ex-rebel shocktrooper, Cara Dune, and gets approached by 2 farmers who need help in dealing with a gang of Klatoonian raiders. What the farmers neglect to mention is that the raiders have an AT-ST fighter, and Cara and Djarin have to quickly train the farmers to learn how to fight the raiders. After freeing the village, Djarin contemplates leaving the child with Omera, whom he has some chemistry with, but a bounty hunter tracking the child arrives and tries to murder it, at the last moment stopped by Cara. Realizing that as long as the Client is hiring bounty hunters, the child will never be safe, Djarin leaves the planet. 

I love this episode; it’s the perfect mix of humor and serious action, it has excellent character writing and pacing and it’s a complete story. It’s up there with some of the best Rebels and Clone Wars episodes and I wish the rest of the series was of this calibre. 

One issue that I haven’t yet mentioned, was that many people didn’t like that in episodes 1-3, the only female speaking roles was the Armourer, and there were few to no female characters even as extras in the background. I could somewhat excuse that in 1 and 2, since a lot of those episodes were following Djarin alone in deserts and caves, but in 3 I was starting to get annoyed too. The Armourer is cool and important as a character, but she is a tertiary supporting character at best. So it took 4 episodes to get some women in this show, and thank god they are all great. 

Cara Dune is absolutely flawless; I loved that she was a rebel shocktrooper, I loved her relationship with Djarin and sparring partners and quick friends who shared a lot of experiences by virtue of living through the war. She is competent, looks powerful, is noble and stoic while still having a lot of personality in her limited dialogue. It takes her no time to start making fun of Djarin’s dumb decisions, and I love that for her. 

Omera is the opposite; she is quiet, kind and secretive. She has a lot of knowledge and understanding and clearly has a past involving trauma, but we never have to see it; it’s her acting and dialogue that captures it perfectly. She is intuitive, picks up on Djarin’s insecurities and worries about the child and his choices, and the chemistry between them felt natural, even if they don’t spend a lot of time together. 

Unfortunately, this episode also starts my second big problem with Djarin, which I’ll call, wait were Mandalorians always like this?

First off, I had no idea Mandalorians can’t take their helmet off. The characters in both Rebels and Clone Wars take their helmets off all the time, especially when they are around family and friends; they only really keep them on when in battle or around enemies. Even in the prequels Jango takes the helmet off. 

At first I thought they aren’t supposed to let anyone take the helmet off, as in without their consent like in battle. That’s when they get disgraced and can never put it back on. But no, apparently it’s ever, under any circumstances. Really? Like they can never let their loved ones see their face? How does that make any sense? 

I saw people comparing the helmets to head scarves, like hijabs or nqabs, but people can take those off you know? When women are at home, and in front of their partners and families and female friends. They don’t wear the scarves forever, even at their own house!

Which makes me wonder, do Mandalorians not have partners or kids? Even if we follow the stupid retcon (which we’ll talk about) from this show, and Mandalore isn’t a people but a creed, that would imply that all the Mandalorians are foundlings. But if that’s true, than why is Djarin treated like an outsider, and so insistent on helping the foundlings if all Mandalorians are foundlings? And even if that’s the case, there’s no mention of Mandalorians being like Jedi, and being banned from having partners and children. 

If they can have partners and children how does that work? Outside of the obvious, how do you have sex in armour (unless it’s just the helmet and the rest of the armour is irrelevant), do their partners and kids never see their face? Or is it that once you find a partner you take the helmet off and never put it back on? Or do not all Mandalorians follow the Way and the ones who don’t are the ones who marry and have kids?

None of that makes ANY sense, and I hope that they explain it at least a little in season 2, because as is, it’s not only dumb, but it also contradicts everything we know about Mandalorians from other Star Wars properties. 

Outside of that, everything else this episode was great. The action was fun, the dialogue was funny, I liked the training montage, I liked Cara and Djarin’s fight, I liked the child being a child, the conclusion to the story, everything. It’s the best episode of the season, and unfortunately, only the season finale comes close to it. 

Episode 5: The Gunslinger

Episode 5 is written and directed by Dave Filoni. While leaving Sorgan, Djarin is attacked by a bounty hunter and during their battle, Djarin’s ship gets damaged. He’s forced to make a pit-stop on Tatooine, where he leaves his ship for repairs with Peli Moto. To pay for the repairs he takes a job with Toro Calican, an aspiring bounty hunter who is tracking Fennec Shard, a notorious assassin. If he catches her he can enter the Guild and Djarin can keep all the money. However, things aren’t ever easy, especially after Toro learns that Djarin and the child are worth a lot more to the Guild than Fennec herself.

This episode is about the same quality as episode 1, but it suffers from a different kind of issues. The pacing is much better, and there is some actual tension while Toro and Djarin try to find and catch Fennec. However, after everything in 3 and 4 this feels like pure and simple filler. In an 8 episode season, that’s inexcusable. Making a pitstop on Tatooine accomplishes nothing, it’s just fan-service; there isn’t even character development for Djarin; he ends the episode exactly as he started it. 

Fennec Shard is a waste of  character and a waste of Ming Na Wen. The marketing for this show made it seem like she would play this massive, important role, but all she does here is shoot at Djarin, get her ass kicked, make an incredible rookie mistake in telling Toro all she knows about Djarin and then gets killed. Even if she’s not dead by the time season 2 rolls around, nothing about her character interests me; for a super assassin who worked for the biggest criminal guilds in the galaxy, she gets taken down by a rookie bounty hunter who can’t shoot straight. 

Toro likewise was a wasted character. In a way I see what Filoni was maybe trying to do with him; if Djarin had treated him better and with a little more respect, Toro wouldn’t have turned on him, except the way it came off is that Djarin was right to treat him like shit, because Toro betrayed him when he realized he could use Djarin to get into the Guild. So what was the point? 

Peli was adorable and actually had the strongest character arc in that she started the show with wanting to charge Djarin extra for the child, only to fall in love with it by the end, and treat it like her own baby. It was cute and funny, but it wasn’t worth a whole episode. If this was an episode in a longer series I’d have no issue with it; as is it just broke the flow of the show and achieved nothing. 

Episode 6: The Prisoner

Episode 6 is written by Chris Yost and Rick Famuyiva and directed by Rick Famuyiva. It’s also my least favorite episode of the season. 

Needing credits, Djarin accepts a job with a former crew mate, Ran, who wants him, a former Imperial sharpshooter Mayfield, brawler Burg, droid pilot Q9-0 (Zeroes) and his ex-girlfriend Xian to break a prisoner out of a New Republic droid-manned prison transport. Tensions in the crew are high, and escalate after Xian ends up killing a human pilot on board the transport who activates a New Republic beacon. The crew trap Djarin in the prisoner’s cell (the prisoner being Xian’s brother Qin, who Djarin helped put in jail), and Djarin takes the crew members out one by one, until it’s just him and Qin. He gets Qin back to Ren and as Qin is about to go after him, New Republic X-Wings, following the beacon Djarin placed on Qin arrive and destroy the station. 

I can see what this episode is going for; it’s a Cowboy Bebop style, space western, and again, in theory, there’s nothing wrong with Djarin joining his old crew for a job and things going south. It could have been a character building moment, to see how far Djarin has come, from associating with dishonest killers and thieves, to hunting bounties for the New Republic. But even more than the previous episode, this one is filler, and it’s made worse by some truly bizarre casting choices and dialogue, as well as a bewildering ‘twist’ at the end. 

Let’s start with the twist. Why would Ren PAY Djarin, let him leave, THEN send Qin after him? It’s not a Guild job, clearly, seeing as Djarin has been barred from the Guild and they are breaking into a freaking New Republic prison, so why wouldn’t they just… shot him as he’s on the platform and let his body fall into space? Answer? Because I guess it looked cooler this way. 

Second, the crew. God I found most of these people insufferable. Mayfield was a cartoon character; he kept wildly flip flopping between bad-ass villain and incompetent comic relief, and I couldn’t tell if his goading of Djarin to take off his helmet was supposed to sound like he was hitting on Djarin, or they just didn’t realize it? It reminded me of John Cena’s character in Trainwreck, and I don’t think it was supposed to be a callback. 

Then we have Zeroes and Burg who are completely nondescript bad guys (although considering how bad of a pilot Djarin is I was glad to see some good piloting for a change). Xian was a can of worms I’m not sure I even want to unpack. First, why give her and Qin Chinese names, but have white actors play them? Second when are we going to stop with the all Twi’leks are sexualized perverts/slaves/are completely insane? I thought the whole point of Disney taking over the SWU was to eliminate this kind of racist and sexist shit, and yet here I am again, in 2019 forced to watch this horribly written fetish-fulfillment on my TV. 

I hated Xian as a character more than I’ve hated anything else in a while, and that’s saying something, because I’ve seen TLJ. 

There were some good bits in this episode; the child hiding around the ship from Zeroes, and thinking he killed him with the force; Djarin asking the pilot for his name and trying to diffuse the situation; thinking to put the tracker on Qin. Even the concept itself was good, and I wouldn’t mind the same episode just with characters that are actually interesting, instead of all these insufferable stereotypes. The show really drops the ball with these 2 episodes, so I was honestly glad I only had the finale left. 

Episode 7: Reckoning

Episode 7 is written by John Favreau and directed by Deborah Chow. Djarin gets a message from Greef who has survived their last encounter; he wants the Client gone so the Imperials who have taken over Navaro leave, and Djarin wants the bounty hunters to stop coming after him, so he accepts, and recruits Cara and Kuili to help. Kuili insist on bringing along the reprogrammed IG-11, who is now a nurse droid. 

The group meets Greef and two bounty hunters and as they head back to the town, they get attacked by Mynocks. The child heals a wounded Greef, and he kills the two bounty hunters, who were there to help him betray Djarin. They devise a plan; Cara is to pretend she captured Djarin and the child, while Kuili takes the child back to the Djarin’s ship and barricades himself inside. Unfortunately, the Imperials sense the betrayal, Kuili is killed and the child taken, just as Moff Gideon arrives with a platoon of death troopers and kills everyone inside the compound including the Client. 

I liked this episode though it is a bit uneven. The first half is spent with Djarin recruiting Cara and Kuili, while the latter is a rather tense standoff with the Client and subsequently Gideon. I liked that we got Cara and Kuili back, enjoyed the tension between Kuili who used to build Imperial weapons and Cara who fought for the Resistance. 

What I didn’t like so much was the child randomly being jealous of Cara? Like he tries to crash the ship when she and Djarin are bonding over weapons, and then tries to choke her? 

This is sort of a bigger problem for the show. We are 7 episodes in and we still know nothing about the child; we don’t know it’s species, why it is force sensitive, why the Imperials are after it, or even why it seems to randomly switch personalities. My further question is who exactly are the people after him? By this time, the First Order should already exist, especially if this takes place after the battle of Aquila, so is the Client First Order? Or Palpatine’s goon? Unaffiliated? 

There is an extended montage that shows how Kuili reprogrammed and taught IG to be a nurse droid which was sweet, but wasn’t really necessary; I find it funny that this montage is longer than both the training section in ep. 4 and Djarin learning to ride in ep. 1. 

The ending was appropriately a cliffhanger and I hate that they ended up killing Kuili’s character off; it was clear it would happen, especially after his fight with Cara, but it still sucks that they did it. I also didn’t like that they wasted the Client; he could have been a really interesting villain and Herzog is an excellent actor, but they never gave him a chance to do anything. 

An objectively good episode, but not my favorite. I felt that more time could have been spent on building up Moff Gideon and the Client than Mynock attacks and training montages. 

Episode 8: Redemption

Episode 8 is written by John Favreau and directed by Taika Waititi. After being captured by stormtroopers waiting for the order to bring the child into town, IG rescues it and shoots up Moff Gideon’s platoon. Gideon in return threatens the group to surrender, calling each member by name, which shocks Djarin because the only people who know his name would have died or at least been on his home planet during the Great Purge. 

Gideon injures Djarin who tells the others to use the underground tunnels to get help and/or escape. IG stays with him, convincing him to remove his helmet to administer bacta to his head injury. In the tunnels the group finds the Armourer alone, as all other Mandalorians have been killed or escaped and she gives Djarin a jet-pack and his signet; a clan of two. She ordains the child a foundling and in accordance with the Way makes Djarin responsible for keeping it safe and returning it to its people. 

The group uses an underground lava river to escape, and IG self-destructs to take out the ambushing stormtroopers. Gideon attacks them in his TIE fighter, and using the jet-pack Djarin manages to knock him down. The group says farewell, with Cara staying behind with Greef to help rebuild Navaro, while Djarin and the child leave. Gideon, having survived the crash uses the Darksaber to cut himself out of the fallen TIE and the season ends. 

This is my second favorite episode behind Sanctuary; it’s action packed, tense and full of Waititi’s recognizable humor. The opening scene alone had me in stitches; that is by far the best use of stormtroopers in any Star Wars media, outside of that First Order SNL skit with Adam Driver. 

We learn a decent amount in this episode; first that the Empire still has pockets of powerful followers, that Gideon and Djarin have some kind of past, that Gideon wants the child and most importantly that he has darksaber. How he has it we don’t know; he either took it from Kryze or is himself a Mandalorian. 

Now, we get to the second wait, were Mandalorians always like this? I thought that the  Mandalorians were a warrior race, but according to Waititi, they are a creed. This… doesn’t make sense. Why was there a civil war between the different clans? Why are there foundlings and not? How does one become a member of this creed, do you have to be a foundling? Or do you just have to follow the Way? Do all Mandalorians follow the Way? If anyone can be a Mandalorian if they follow the Way, then why can’t the child? I didn’t realize the foundlings also have to be Spartan-strong or else they don’t count. 

Then we get to the helmet thing. Now, no LIVING being can see their face, so this confirms that not even their partner and children can see their face. WHY? What purpose does this serve? Why make it this dramatically ridiculous? I guess cause they liked the line ‘I’m not a living being’. 

Waititi really enjoys taking established properties and spinning them on their head; in Thor Asgard was no longer  a place, but a people, here Mandalorians aren’t a race they are the followers of a creed. But that doesn’t make sense if this creed has no rules or hs arbitrary rules that keep changing. 

The rest of the episode was fine. Jrin completes his arc, but getting attached too IG, enough to be sad when IG self-destructs. I liked how insistent Cara was in saving him; a very soldier thing to do, and in general their friendship is excellent. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of her. The humor was also excellent, as it always is with Waititi and it was a good way to end the season.  

Concluding Thoughts: 

I feel like I always come off more negative than I mean to in all of my reviews, but it’s just because there are only so many ways I can say I liked this, this was well done, I loved this. I did I really enjoy this season; I can safely say that I love all the characters, Djarin and the child especially, I am very curious to learn more about Moff Gideon and his hipster top knot and I hope Cara Dune and Fennec Shard come back and have more to do. 

I don’t have any theories about what the child is; I’ve heard people say that it’s a reincarnation of Yoda, that it’s the Force itself in a body (like Anakin, but double), that it’s a clone of Yoda from either the Clone Wars or even Palpatine’s experiments.

Personally, I’m more interested in learning more about Djarin, and how Bobba Fett ties in with his past considering it was his signet that Djarin gave to the child at the end. I also would like to visit or revisit some more worlds; perhaps see some worlds from the books like Aquila. There are rumours that characters like Lando and Ahsoka Tano might make an appearance, and while that would be neat, I don’t necessarily mind the lack of Jedi in the show. 

As for the people working on the show, I think each director brought something to the table. I would love for Deborah Chow, Bryce Dallas Howard and Taika Waititi to return in season 2, though I’ve also heard Waititi is getting his own show. 

Them’s my thoughts. If you got to the end, thank you for reading, and I might be back quite soon, because I would like to re-watch the Clone Wars before season 8 comes out later this year.  

[funkaliciousfrog]

I’ve finished Symphogear! I have a lot of thoughts and mixed feelings and it all ended up pretty long so it’s under the cut. Spoilers for the whole series ofc.

The more stuff I watch, the more I think that maybe straight-up action just isn’t for me. I can still appreciate a good fight scene, and some of my all-time faves are battle shonen like Jojo and Hunter x Hunter. Even so, whenever there’s an extended stretch of straight-up fighting, like a tournament arc or a 3+ episode long boss fight, my eyes tend to kind of glaze over. Action alone is just kinda boring, to keep my interest there’s gotta be something else going on like character development, or clever strategies, or humor, or really anything. 

I think that disdain for pure action is the main reason why I didn’t get as much out of Symphogear as other people seem to have. It's main draws are really 1) hype 2) cool over the top fights and 3) the music (I’ll get to that later), and all the other parts of the show are the bare minimum necessary to keep it from falling apart. This especially showed in seasons 2-4, where the bulk of the episodes followed the same structure: the enemies to show up in the middle and start attacking something, the heroes show up to stop them and we get a ~cool fight~, and then one of the parties retreats. There’s still plot and character progression, but it’s sprinkled in around and in the fights. It’s a very 90s Sailor Moon filler episode vibe for me... which is a little concerning considering that Symphogear has 13 episodes per season and Sailor Moon has 50. 

Some people clearly enjoy these episodes for their cool fights, but they wore on me after a while. It even took me out of the show a bit by reminding me that it owes its existence largely to character song CD sales. By the second season we’ve got 6 main characters who all need at least one new song every season, and only 13 episodes to get them all in. So, it felt like a lot of these fights were just there to get in the obligatory character song of the week so they can slap it on the CD. 

The first season seems to be universally agreed to be the roughest, with dated animation, lots of edge, and bad writing. But, I actually enjoyed it the most. The messy plot and excessive amount of blood and explosions contributed to the show’s wacky over the top tone, even if in a so-bad-it’s-good way at times. Personally I don’t go out of my way to hunt for plot holes, and I can deal with some nonsense if it makes it more fun. And so, I had more fun on season 1′s wacky wild ride than with the more polished but also more formulaic later seasons. 

Another thing I liked more about season 1 was the extra focus on a smaller cast of main characters. Like I mentioned earlier, by season 2 we’ve got 6 characters. So, each one only gets a few of dedicated scenes each, which isn’t really enough time for an actual character arc. And then after Maria’s group joins the heroes in season 3, our 6 main characters have to split time even further with the villains. It doesn’t help that I didn’t care much about most of the villains, with the exceptions of Dr. Ver (although mostly on a meme level since he’s just Sugita set loose in the booth) and the Illuminati (I’m a bit biased there as a Shouta fan but I did genuinely like them). There’s just not time to give meaningful attention to allllll those characters in 13 episodes.

But, in season 1 the main cast is smaller and the final villain only shows up near the end. So, we’re pretty much dealing with just Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris (and Miku ig). They all get enough time for a decent character arc, be it Hibiki finding her reason to fight, Tsubasa moving on from Kanade’s death, or Chris learning to play nice with others. As mentioned the writing isn’t the best, for instance even I have to agree that Miku getting angry at Hibiki for hiding literal classified military intel from her was pretty stupid. But, I still enjoyed the main trio’s arcs a lot and they got me more attached to them than any of the characters introduced in later seasons. 

Although I’ve been complaining about the later seasons quite a bit, I do agree with everyone who has commented on how well the writers managed to pick up old plot threads and bits of lore and incorporate them into the current story. They even managed to make Fine’s crazy rant about being in love with God that came out of nowhere at the end of season 1 kinda make sense in XV, which is really quite a feat. 

Now of course I have to talk about the music! My favorite OPs remain the two I already knew before watching the show, Synchrogazer (LISTEN TO MY SONG!) and Metanoia (LIIIIIIIVE!). None of the other OPs or EDs really stuck out to me, but admittedly I have a bad habit of skipping them if I don’t like them immediately. I do plan on eventually going back and giving them another listen to see if any of them grow on me. 

To be honest most of the insert songs didn’t stick with me either. They were all fine enough and worked well in the context of the show, but over time it all starts blending together and they’re just not really something I’d listen to on my own time. The exception would be Tsubasa’s songs, since I always love a mix of pop/rock and traditional Japanese music, and Nana is in her element sounding great. For me no other insert song ever managed to top her first song, Zettou Ame no Habakiri. But I also liked the lyrics for Chris’s songs cause they were funny, Tsubasa and Kanade’s duet from the very first episode, and both of Carol’s songs. 

Speaking of Carol’s songs, Minase Inori really surprised me there. I had checked out some of her own music before, but none of it was really my thing so I kind of forgot about her even though she was clearly a pretty good singer. But, she sounds even better singing in a more dramatic and aggressive style as Carol. Just listen to her performance at the Symphogear live! I think it would be cool if she got a chance to show off those chops and sing some more aggressive songs in her solo career. King Records has done the same transition from cutesy upbeat jpop to hard rock/jpop before with Nana... just saying... (tho like I said I’ve only listened to a few of Minase’s songs, so maybe she does go hardcore at some point idk)

And to wrap things up... that very last scene was kind of BS. What is this vague Legend of Korra nonsense, just admit it! Hibiki and Miku are IN LOVE!!!

[takeeachdayonebookatatime]

My Q and A with as much as i could author Brandy Woods Snow.

 Here other books are called 

Meant To Be Broken (Carolina Clay #1)

Love on Main

  About the author she was born and raised in  Upstate South Carolina.

she was a journalist for 17 years  her articles have been  in Delta Sky, Greenville Business Magazine, Columbia Business Monthly, and Home Design & Décor magazine (Charlotte, Raleigh).

 Questions:

(Laura8759)

Any books you’re working on at the moment ?

(Brandy)

Earlier this spring, I finished up the WIP that I call the “book of my heart” because it’s very emotional and deals with an issue near and dear to my heart. I’ve started querying that one now, and I have ideas and loose plot sketches for 3-4 other books so now I just need to decide which one is “speaking” to me!

  (Laura8759)

Do you have a favorite part of the story ?

(Brandy)

Not to give away any spoilers, but my favorite scene to write was the first kiss scene between CJ and Jett. I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone who hasn’t read it yet but that particular scene was so full of setting and emotion! It’s the first time they truly let down their barriers and bear their soul secrets and there’s just something so special about writing a scene where untrusting people learn to find trust again. And the setting—the entire book is at my “happy place”—Edisto Beach, SC—and that scene captures my favorite time of day on the island—night time on the edge of America where the stars shine like nowhere else over the dark ocean while the tree frogs and cicadas and palm fronds create their own playlist. It’s just such a magical time in a very magical place. I wanted to capture that in that scene.

  (Laura8759)

What are your other hobbies when not writing a book ?

(Brandy)

I play the piano, and my family enjoys doing a lot of outdoor activities, like hiking and kayaking. I also enjoy cruising country roads in my “naked” Jeep Wrangler, if that counts as a hobby! LOL

  (Laura8759)

What genre of books do you like to read ?

(Brandy)

I am like a 90% YA contemporary and contemporary romance girl. I do, however, read some adult romance and women’s fiction, too, and I’ve been known to read a paranormal or magical realism if it “hits me” just right.

  (Laura8759)

Do you celebrate after writing a book ?

(Brandy)

I generally print out the entire thing, hole punch it, and load it into a large binder. From there, I’ll usually snap a photo for Facebook or Instagram and then put it away for a couple months before I attack it with the red pen. That’s probably as hyped up as it gets! LOL Though my husband does insist on taking me out to dinner on the book release dates so there’s at least that! LOL

  (Laura8759)

Does anything inspire you when writing a book ?

(Brandy)

I am so inspired by music! In fact, one of the first steps in my writing process is creating a Spotify playlist that goes along with the mood/themes/situations in my book. I’ve noticed that patterns emerge as well. For instance, in my latest WIP, I have Smashing Pumpkins songs galore on my list—just perfectly moody and emotional.

  (Laura8759)

Do you outline your book before you write it ?

(Brandy)

I didn’t with MEANT TO BE BROKEN, my first novel so I ended up basically re-writing that one 2.5 times! With AS MUCH AS I EVER COULD, I had a strict plot outline and my beat sheet filled and the edits were significantly minor in comparison. I would say I tend now to be a 50/50 plotter and pantster. I like some definite guidelines but if the plot begins to meander a bit, I’m one to follow it and see where it goes. Sometimes those characters have thoughts of their own!

  (Laura8759)

Do you write your story on paper first before you type it out ?

(Brandy)

Pieces of it. If I’m having a hard time with a scene, I might pull out the ol’ pad and pen to scribble some thoughts. It usually ends up in an absolute mess of scribbles that only I can understand and then that gets typed up in the Word doc.

  (Laura8759)

Who is your favorite author ?

(Brandy)

I’m not going to lie—I grew up a total VC Andrews junkie. Holy Southern drama and family dynamics! That’s also why I probably have always enjoyed Pat Conroy novels as well. If we’re going to kick it more contemporary, though, I’d have to say that I devour anything from Morgan Matson and Stephanie Perkins.

  (Laura8759)

What inspired you  to become a writer ?

(Brandy)

I’ve been a writer as long as I can remember. It just seemed to be an innate calling. I began writing stories at age 6 with my old typewriter (yes, I’m old!) and I still have some of these even to this day. One morning when I was 8 I woke up with a poem in my head and I wrote it down immediately in my diary. I still have that one too. It’s surprisingly dark and emotional for the mind of an 8 year old so I can only chalk it up to the thought that this was definitely to be my lot in life. And I’m okay with that! 😊

  (Laura8759)

What was your favorite bòok or series as a child ?

(Brandy)

I loved all the “classics” and many of them are now on my own kids’ shelves! Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Sign of the Beaver, Hatchet, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, Babysitters’ Club, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Indian in the Cupboard. I could go on and on!

  (Laura8759)

Do you have a favorite book ? 

(Brandy)

I’m going to keep this one contemporary focused since I have a ton of books I’d call favorites! Morgan Matson’s Second Chance Summer is one of me read-and-read-again books because it has some swoony love interest at the lake during summer vibes, some friendship angles, and tons of family dynamics. It’s a great book to get swept up in!

  (Laura8759)

How do you feel about a sequel to one of your books ?

(Brandy)

I hadn’t planned on one for AS MUCH AS I EVER COULD though several people have already asked for it! I mean, I’m not opposed so we’ll see where that goes! LOL I do have a “sequel” (more a companion book) for my first release, MEANT TO BE BROKEN. It’s about 30k words in and being written slowly as I go but I do love the story so maybe sooner than later that one will come to fruition!

  (Laura8759)

How did you come up with the idea for your book ?

(Brandy)

I generally come up with the theme first—the emotional hook, which is so important to me. My books and writing are all about the deep, emotional feels so if there’s an idea/emotion I want to explore, I’ll start there and think about the conflict, then the characters, and then the plot after that. I’m totally a character-driven writer!

  (Laura8759)

Is there any changes you would make to your book or story ?

(Brandy)

Nope! Not only am I a perfectionist in life, but I’m also an empath so I spend a great deal of time looking at my characters and their actions from lots of different angles. When I complete the MSS edits for publication, it is 100% where I want it to be.

  (Laura8759)

How do you feel about ghost writers ?

(Brandy)

Coming from the world of marketing and public relations, I’ve actually ghost written some articles for company CEOs and department heads, so in that part of the writing world, it’s actually very common. When it comes to ghostwriting books, I don’t know that I truly have a huge earth-shattering opinion here. I’ve certainly read books that were ghost-written—I mentioned The Babysitter’s Club as being one of my childhood faves and it was ghostwritten by Peter Lerangis after like Book 35 or 36 I think. I think it’s also probably pretty common in some non-fiction or celebrity stories as well. I will say that I enjoy the transparency in knowing at least that a book is ghostwritten. I guess for some people it’s a good option and for others not so much. For me, I can say I’d never consider it. My books are my ideas and my writing only. I’m too much of a control freak to let someone else take over my stories, which I often call my “children.” 😊

  (Laura8759)

(Finale question)

Current book you’re reading ?

(Brandy)

I have just downloaded Abigail Johnson’s EVERY OTHER WEEKEND on my Kindle to take with me on vacation in just a few weeks. I hate to say it but because of my current workload requirements, it’ll probably be next month before I am actually reading “for pleasure!” (FYI – I work as an acquisitions editor and marketing manager for Filles Vertes Publishing and I’m a mentor for the summer program Writementor so I have lots of professional reading to be done!)

  Any social media pages our very few readers can find you at and were they can buy your books 

www.brandywsnow.com

FB: @BWSnowWrites

IG: @snowbrandy

TW: @brandy_snow

[thebiggaylion]

Alison Wonderland @ EDC Orlando 2016

Good afternoon, my fine PLUR-y friends!  I’ve got a good one for you today, inspired by this weekend’s festivities:  EDC Las Vegas 2017!  This artist has TWO big stage performances coming up, and I figure I’ll add to the noise by giving it a third, her performance from less than a year ago.

Oh, and in an effort to get ahead of the Tumblr limitation on embedded videos per post, I've proactively split this one into two smaller offerings should you need them... you can get part one and part two right away!  If you're reading one of the parts now, and prefer to have it all-in-one, then click here to see it all together!

Alison.  Fucking.  Wonderland.  I was made aware of her through chit chat with my buddies.  In my prep for EDC Orlando 2016, as with every other year, I was came across the video of her EDC Las Vegas 2016 performance available on YouTube.  Wow, talk about a journey!  And personal, too?  I was intrigued to say the least, and super jazzed to get to see her in person.  I could not have been more pleased.  I’ve listened to this set at least 50 times since then, and it’s become one of my all-time favs.

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Here’s part of her intro, a big part mind you.  Intro’s can be awesome or lame, and this one has gotta be one of the best!  Her previous intro was/is great, but I think this one is better (probably why she changed it, eh?).  The first and second islands of the stage aren’t working, as you can see, but they get them fixed.  Also, you can hear a lot of the bass coming from Kinetic Field during my recording! GTA & What So Not feat. Tunji Ige - Feel It (TWERL Flip) https://soundcloud.com/twerlbeats/what-so-not-x-gta-feel-it-twerl-flip

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Okay, wow.  Again, tech nerd, and the video effects here were literally dropping my jaw, so I took another video before the first song (post-intro) finished to try to capture what I was seeing.  Apparently there’s a camera, deck-level, pointed at her through all the audio cabling, and there’s some sort of processing going on where it’s stuttering the feed, which they’re then using on various screens.  That is AWESOME!  They had more camera tricks up their sleeves (spoilers?), which we’ll get to later (definitely spoilers).  Plus, I just love TWERL’s treatment on this mix! GTA & What So Not feat. Tunji Ige - Feel It (TWERL Flip) https://soundcloud.com/twerlbeats/what-so-not-x-gta-feel-it-twerl-flip With You. feat. Vince Staples - Ghost (Major Lazer Remix) https://soundcloud.com/wyfyby/with-you-ghost-feat-vince-staples-major-lazer-remix-on-beats-1-lazer-sound

Download High Res (5.1 MB) | Download Low Res (1.2 MB) "WHERE’S VALENTINO KHAN?!”, she exclaimed into the microphone as she begins playing one of his tracks early on in her set.  He stayed up there for pretty much the whole song, and here’s me capturing a set of Burst Photos to try to document... buuut they didn’t look so hot when I was taking it, so I switched to video, and I’m glad I did!

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Supporting your friends is fun, but this drop was much more fun!  I love effects, and this one has fire!  Yay fire!  Also, you can see during the pan to the right that the two front islands on that side are working again!  Goooo, tech crew! Valentino Khan & Skrillex feat. Kstylis - Slam Dunk https://soundcloud.com/valentinokhan/slam-dunk

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Alright, so, I fucked up.  I shoot using an iPhone, and the zoom wheel is RIGHT NEXT TO the Start/Stop button to record.  I was trying to zoom out, but I ended up stopping the recording unexpectedly.  I restarted it pretty quick, but I didn’t feel either video was complete.  I’ve attempted to hack them together using iMovie on my iPhone, using audio from the set recorded by SiriusXM only for the break in recording.  I couldn’t get it exact and seamless, but I think I did well enough!   This was one of my favorite moments from her set, so I had to make it work haha Alison Wonderland feat. Wayne Coyne - U Don't Know (Vincent Remix) https://soundcloud.com/alisonwonderland/u-dont-know-vincent-remix

Download High Res (21.3 MB) | Download Low Res (4.3 MB) The visual offerings of this stage were some of my favorites thus far, and I didn’t wanna disregard my future GIF plans, so I took some more Burst Photos!

Download High Res (42.2 MB) | Download Low Res (8.5 MB) Behold, what may be my best set of Burst Photos turned into a GIF to date!  Hands are steady, framing is a bit better than my previous one (above), and loop is choice... bravo to me!

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram I’m a sucker for lasers, and Green Velvet’s lyrics are the perfect time to fire off some classic green beams!  Also, a bit of a footnote here:  there’s likely only two tracks being played by Alison during this clip, but there’s actually three songs going at once... two of which have been bootlegged together 100 times over, and as such I couldn’t figure out exactly which one she used... so I’ve linked them separately.  I presume she made her own bootleg, but who knows? Cirez D - On Off https://soundcloud.com/cirez-d-official/on-off Green Velvet & Harvard Bass - Lazer Beams https://soundcloud.com/harvardbass/harvard-bass-x-green-velvet Alison Wonderland feat. SAFIA - Take It To Reality (Justin Jay Remix) https://soundcloud.com/alisonwonderland/take-it-to-reality-justin-jay

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram This song I was quite surprised to find (when doing song matching / research for this post) is actually one track, not two songs that she mixed together!  Make sure you click the SoundCloud link below to hear how beautiful the intro is.  I love that old school atmospheric synth sound that they used! Kill The Noise & Madsonik feat. twoton - Spitfire Riddim (Boombox Cartel Remix) https://soundcloud.com/killthenoise/spitfire-riddim-feat-twoton

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Catching effects is hard to plan.  Like, it almost can not be done without recording every drop, which ain't nobody got time for!  So it's always nice when I can catch one "accidentally!"  My goal here was to capture that second camera effect I mentioned earlier...  this time, a camera facing the crowd is used!  How fun, eh? Alison Wonderland & Slumberjack - Naked https://soundcloud.com/alisonwonderland/naked Alison Wonderland & AWE - Back It Up https://soundcloud.com/alisonwonderland/back-it-up

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram I should have seen this coming, but I didn't remember that this was a "mom thing" of hers.  I'm glad I could get part of Ain't No Sunshine in my video!  What a great, soulful song to include in a set!  I'd expect nothing less!  ALSO, I didn't recognize it until doing research for this post, but that's the intro to Teardrop mixed in with Bill Withers!  She even used Stranger Things (speaking of great classic synths, go check out THAT soundtrack if you haven't already!) earlier which I didn't pick up on until someone pointed it out to me.  Exquisite! Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine https://soundcloud.com/bill-withers-official/aint-no-sunshine Massive Attack - Teardrop https://soundcloud.com/massiveattack/teardrop Alison Wonderland & M-Phazes - Messiah https://soundcloud.com/alisonwonderland/messiah-alison-wonderland-x-m

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram "Holy shit, okay...  I have three minutes, so I'm going to play Amy fucking Winehouse!"  Superb.  I really love an EDM artist that can appreciate pop music without feeling the need to shun or bash it.  It can be really great!  Granted, this end cap of a song wasn't exactly mixed in, but rather dropped straight, "as-is", but still, it was a fantastic way to end a phenomenal set! Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse - Valerie https://soundcloud.com/markronson/valerie-version-revisited

What a show! Don't forget (or be advised, if you are reading this from one of the snippets right now) that I've split this post into two parts, due to Tumblr limitations on video embeds per post.  Alternatively, if you don't need things broken up into part one and part two, then click here to see the "original", "master post" all in one piece!

I hope we all get treated just as well this weekend when she performs at two large-format stages over the course of the festival!  Hope you have fun, if you're going to be in attendance, or can tune into the live streaming they're doing (I know I'll sure be watching!).  Love ya’ll, see ya next time!  🏳️‍🌈🦁❤

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