#the cars fandom on tiktok is crazy

[bootleg-cal-weathers]

“prime mcqueen can beat storm-“

no he can’t.

sure if he was in his prime, he’d have been faster but storm still would’ve won. storm is a new gen racer, one that has been modified specifically for racing. mcqueen is just a stock car. ok, fine, you could say stock cars are built and modified for racing too, but not like storm. storm was made for the track, natalie certain said it herself, he exploits the numbers of racing data. storm has access to things that didn’t even exist when mcqueen was in his prime. they trained differently and it makes a difference.

(sorry for the bad quality , i couldn’t find the clip on youtube)

this clip from the movie states that storm set a record of fastest lap ever recorded at 213 mph. which means that mcqueen has never ran a lap that fast, and (correct me if i’m wrong), it was strip weathers that held the record before storm. and sure, you can use the fact that lightning won against francisco, but that was one race. and notice how francisco was in the lead for most of the race? ya, mcqueen only won by luck and probably a turn he over took francisco on. remember when cruz was drafting storm? she was calling out his speed, which was 205-208 mph. storms racing speed is about 208 mph, give or take. mcqueens racing speed was never given to us (that i know of), but i personally believe that it’s 197-199 mph. which isn’t enough to over take storm.

but whatever, believe what you want. because who am to tell you what you believe or be in denial about.

[vanteguccir]

── ୨୧ !　𝗧𝗜𝗞𝗧𝗢𝗞 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦

　　　　　　　　　𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒐 x reader

SUMMARY: 4 times that Y/N and Matt made a couple's trend on tiktok.

WARNING: None.

REQUESTED?: Yes, by @paytonthereader

AUTHOR'S NOTE: That is my work, I DON'T authorize any plagiarism! | English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.

　　　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

Just like Matt worked with YouTube making videos with his brothers, Y/N worked with TikTok. She created her account on the app in 2019, and from 2020, she lost her camera shyness slowly and started posting her own videos, creating content for her favorite niche: makeup and skincare.

When Matt moved to Los Angeles, the two met in an unexpected and cliché encounter in line at a bakery on a rainy morning. Their friendship grew as quickly as it began, and feelings were gradually cultivated. With both of them working on the Internet and being public figures, it was easy to understand each other and fit in their crazy schedules.

It didn't take much. The two quickly found themselves in a tangle of reciprocal feelings. Matt felt proud that he was brave enough to make the first move, and soon, the two were in a beautiful relationship that blossomed very quickly and lightly.

Because they both work with social networks, they decided not to keep their love a secret, and what surprised them most was how the fans supported them together, it was rare that they encountered comments from haters.

With that, in all of the Sturniolo Triplets' YouTube videos and Y/N's TikToks, there were thousands of people begging them to make more content together, being called "the power couple" by both fandoms.

That's why Y/N always found a way to convince Matt to do some couple trends on TikTok with her, and despite pretending he didn't like it, she knew how much he adored making mini videos with her, showing to the world how much he loved her.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

1.

Y/N fitted her phone on the phone holder attached to the right side of the front windowscreen of Matt's car - which was there precisely because she loved recording herself doing makeup there, being the passenger princess she was -, lowering the brightness of the screen so that the boy couldn't see the TikTok camera open.

She adjusted the position of the device so that it covered the two front seats, pressing the red button to start recording, smiling slightly to the camera before looking away.

Matt didn't notice her movements, too focused on the sight in front of him, driving slowly through the McDonald's drive thru line, waiting for their turn. His left hand held the steering wheel, while his right hand rested on Y/N's thigh, caressing her covered skin gently.

Y/N's calm playlist played softly through the speakers, creating a comfortable atmosphere for both of them.

The girl knew that she was going to make the order that day, knowing that Matt was feeling too anxious to talk to a stranger, so her plan would work.

"Do you already know what you will want, baby?" The girl asked. Her tone was low as she turned her upper body to the left, focusing her eyes on the brunette.

"Just some nuggets, baby. And Coke, please." He asked, looking at her quickly before returning his eyes to the cars in front of them, receiving a nod from the girl.

It didn't take long and soon it was their turn. Matt rolled down the window on the driver's side door, smiling kindly at the attendant before turning to his girlfriend, waiting for her to start the order.

Y/N leaned to her left, getting closer to Matt so the attendant could hear her clearly.

"Hi, good evening! Can I have a cheeseburger with fries and a Diet Coke, please?" She spoke her order, waiting for the attendant to select it before starting Matt's. "And my husband will just have a big portion of nuggets and a Coke, please."

Y/N tried to capture Matt's reaction without letting on that she was expecting something, watching him surreptitiously from the corner of her eye, pressing her lips into a thin line when she saw him smile big, lowering his face to hide the red color that took over his cheeks.

His hand - which was still on the girl's thigh - squeezed the flesh lightly, and Y/N could swear his fingers were shaking.

After receiving confirmation from the attendant and paying for them, Matt rolled up the window and gently accelerated to get back in line.

When the car in front stopped again, he finally turned to Y/N, a huge smile on his face as his eyes glistened with tears.

"I'm your husband?" He asked, his voice coming out weak from the emotions he felt, his cheeks burning with redness while he felt his heart accelerating.

"Not yet, but one day you will be." Y/N said in a low voice, smiling equally big. She brought her left hand to Matt's right, caressing the soft skin, holding herself back from pulling him into a hug and peppering him with kisses.

"I love you so much. So, so much." He muttered, moving closer and sealing his lips over Y/N's, closing his eyes and letting a happy sigh scape through his nose, a smile still on his mouth.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

2.

Y/N placed her phone on the kitchen counter next to the stove so that the front camera was facing her and taking in as much information from the room as possible.

The girl was cutting some vegetables while preparing lunch for herself and the boys, wiping her hands on the dishrag before clicking on the screen, starting the recording.

"Baby!" She called from where she was, smiling quickly to the camera before lifting her chin slightly so that her voice echoed better. "Come here, I need a favor."

The sound of her and Matt's shared bedroom door opening sounded before light footsteps approached. Soon, the boy's image appeared behind Y/N as he walked closer to her.

"Hi honey. What do you need?" He spoke back, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist and resting his chin on Y/N's right shoulder, sealing the area with his lips softly before noticing the phone recording them. "What are you doing?" Matt asked, his brow furrowed as his eyes focused on the image of the two hugging each other that stared back at him.

"I'm just recording a recipe." She lied quickly, lightly biting her bottom lip to hold back her laughter. She really didn't know how to lie to him. "Baby, can you go to the market for me? I need tomatoes to make sauce." Y/N asked, releasing the knife she was holding in her right hand and bringing it to Matt's head still on her shoulder, stroking his hair lightly, receiving a happy sigh in response.

The boy let out a sound of agreement, nodding his head before lifting it up, kissing Y/N's shoulder and her cheek, squeezing her waist one last time before taking some steps back.

"That's it, baby?" He asked as he felt his pants pocket with his right hand, checking if he had his wallet and car keys.

Y/N agreed, picking up the knife again and going back to cutting the vegetables.

"Alright, if you remember anything else, just text me. I love you, bye." Matt asked, turning around and starting to walk towards the stairs.

"Okay, thanks!" Y/N thanked him, smiling small when she heard Matt's footsteps stop abruptly. She looked up at her phone slightly, seeing her boyfriend turn around with a confused expression.

"I love you, bye." He repeated, watching her closely.

"Bye, honey. Drive safe." She added, trying to hide her smile as she turned her attention back to the vegetables.

Matt approached her again, positioning himself behind her body and tilting his head to the side so he could see her profile, his blue eyes running over her features.

"I love you." He repeated it a third time, this time slowly, as if he were speaking to a child.

"Okay." Y/N persisted, keeping her eyes on the vegetables, taking deep breaths to keep from laughing.

"Did I do something?" Matt asked, his right hand lightly grabbing Y/N's right arm and making her release the knife, turning her body so that she was facing him. "I'm sorry." He asked, his eyes scanning his girlfriend's face as a weight took over his gaze; he felt guilty despite not knowing what he had done.

"What? No, you didn't do anything." The girl shook her head, intertwining their fingers and looking at him in false confusion.

"But... that's not how it works, baby. I say, "I love you", and you have to say "I love you" back." Matt insisted, his brow furrowed as he tried to understand what was happening. "Did something happen that I don't know about?"

A sound of laughter escaped Y/N's throat, she couldn't keep pretending when seeing the confusion in her boyfriend's eyes, her heart warmed with the way he was trying to apologize and fix something he didn't do and that, in fact, didn't even exist. Matt remained watching her, feeling even more lost than before.

"I'm sorry, It's just a prank, baby. It's for a TikTok." The girl explained, pointing to her phone that was still recording them.

Matt rolled his eyes, sighing in relief before a smile took over his face.

"You're still going to give me a heart attack." He muttered, shaking his head. "Let's do it again then. I love you, bye." Matt repeated, still holding his girlfriend, who laughed lightly at his reactions.

"I love you more, my love." She finally responded, reaching forward and quickly sealing their lips. "Now go buy my tomatoes."

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

3.

Y/N held her phone with her right hand, the screen showing the TikTok camera open, with the audio already selected, just waiting to be started.

She was standing in front of the closet doors in her shared room with Matt. The lights were low, forming a comfortable atmosphere.

Her left hand held her favorite red lipstick from Kylie Cosmetics, with the lid off and the contents showing.

Her right thumb clicked the red button to start recording, the audio echoing through the four walls.

"Stay with me"

She applied one more layer of lipstick to her bottom lip, smudging it a little on purpose.

A masculine hand - Matt's - appeared in the camera view, cupping Y/N's chin firmly and wiping away the smudged lipstick with his thumb gently, pulling her face up so she was looking at him.

"I don't want you to leave..."

Y/N turned her phone slightly so the camera caught the two of them, Matt appearing at her side with his face and neck smeared with lipstick marks.

His face was facing hers, his blue eyes traveling from her eyes to her painted lips, a smirk appearing on his cheeks.

Y/N looked up at him through her eyelashes, feeling her face take on a red color due to the intensity of his gaze, smiling shyly.

Matt pulling her face for a kiss was the last image captured on camera, before the TikTok ended.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

4.

"Baby?" Y/N called out loud, her eyes briefly flicking to her phone, which had the TikTok camera open, already recording herself.

She was sitting on the couch in the living room, the television on in the background as her favorite series played.

"Yes, baby?" Matt responded from their bedroom, leaving the room seconds later and approaching the living room, stopping near the couch as he looked at his girlfriend, waiting.

"Do we have orange?" She asked, turning her face towards him, smiling small when she saw a confused expression appear in his eyes.

"The fruit? Hm, I guess so. We bought it last time we went to the market." Matt replied, resting his hand on the back of the couch, leaning his hips on the armrest.

"I really feel like eating an orange right now." Y/N continued, closely watching her boyfriend's reaction.

"Oh, I'll get you one, hold on." Matt responded quickly, turning around and walking over to the fridge, opening the door and reaching for the fruit from the fruit and vegetable drawer.

Y/N looked at her phone camera wide-eyed, catching her bottom lip between her teeth as she smiled big, a reddish hue taking over her cheeks.

Just under two minutes later, Matt returned with a small bowl in hand, and Y/N quickly recognized it as her favorite bowl that had bee designs on it.

"Here, my love." He handed her the ceramic. Y/N took it and looked inside, seeing her orange not only peeled but cut so that she could eat it slowly and without getting her hands dirty.

Y/N pouted as her eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you." Her voice was broken due to the amount of love she felt at that moment, looking up at her boyfriend.

"What is it?" Matt asked worriedly, sitting down next to her and pulling her close, laying her head on his right shoulder as he brought his head closer to hers, sealing his lips on her hair and exhaling lightly, smelling the soft smell of shampoo. "Why are you crying, baby?"

"I just love you so much."

"I love you more, silly."

taglist:

@lustfulslxt @ladybunny44 @worldlxvlys @earth2starkey @remussbitch @freshloveforthefit @il0vebeingdelulu

(If you want to be added to the taglist, go to this post)

[bad268]

hii! idk if i can request this but can you write for pepe marti about the crash in baku? like the crash happened and reader try to comfort him or something like that??

My Methods (Pepe Marti X Reader)

Fandom: RPF/F2/F3

Requested: Clearly (Took me a minute, but I got it!)

Warnings: none technically

POV: Second Person (You/your)

W.C. 877

Summary: The reader comforts Pepe after the crash in Baku.

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Pinterest)

The last place you expected to be after this race was in a hospital waiting room. You knew this was just a precaution, but that didn’t mean you wanted to be there any more than you needed to be. You weren’t allowed to go back with Pepe, so you sat scrolling through TikTok in the waiting room. 

You loosely followed the rest of the race, but after Pepe’s accident, you went to grab yours and Pepe’s things from the driver’s room, knowing that he would need to go to medical. Little did you know, they would suggest he go straight to the hospital until his engineer told you separately. By the time you got there with the rental car, Pepe was already in the room getting checked out, so you just had to wait. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for him to be released on concussion protocol. 

He slowly walked with his head down through the waiting room as the nurse guided him to you. Once he was within an arm’s length, you reached out and grabbed his hands. You pulled him closer to you and wrapped your arms around his waist, breathing him in. You realized he still had his race suit on, so you tried your best to grab your backpack without pulling too far away from him. 

“I've got a hoodie and jeans for you, so you can get comfy,” You whispered, putting the backpack in his hands. You walked with him to the bathroom before gently pulling away and gesturing for him to head inside. “I’ll be out here, waiting for you, and we can go home.” He seemed to hesitate, looking between you and the door a few times. Then, he just walked back over to you and rested his head against your shoulder.

“No,” He whispered back as you moved your hands to card through his hair carefully and tried to see if there was a nurse or anyone nearby that could help. Unfortunately, or fortunately in your case, no one was around, so you pulled him into the bathroom after checking to make sure it was empty as well. When the coast was clear, you pulled him into one of the stalls and locked it behind him. He barely opened his eyes as he slurred, “What’re you doing?”

“Getting you out of this suit,” You said, moving to undo his suit. You pushed it off his shoulders and helped him get his arms out of the sleeves, taking care not to make him move too much. “It’ll suck getting it off, but you’ll feel better not being in your suit. Can you lean down a bit or sit down?” He didn’t fight as he bent his knees to lean a bit, so you could lift his fireproofs over his head without straining or gostling his head. You set the fireproof top on top of the bag before grabbing his hoodie and helping him put it over his head. “That wasn’t too bad?”

“No,” He whispered back again, closing his eyes and swaying lightly on his feet. You wrapped your arm around his waist quickly to help him regain his balance. “I’m good, I think.”

“We can take a minute,” You comforted, keeping your arms around him. “You were just in a crazy crash. We can take all the time you need right now. I’m in no rush. The team said we could head back to the hotel after this, and they’re helping extend the stay at the hotel for a few nights since you shouldn’t fly with a concussion. “

“Can we just,” he stopped for a second, trying to collect his thoughts, “wait…? Like, slow down?”

“Yeah,” You agreed, running a hand up and down his back as he planted his head on your shoulder again. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“Can you just talk for a while? Everything’s spinning, and I just wanna hear your voice,” He requested as he hid his face between your neck and shoulder.

“Of course, baby,” You cooed, leaving a kiss on his cheek before sighing, trying to think of something to talk about. “I don’t know if you wanna hear about the race, but I’m glad you’re okay. That was super scary to watch, and I bet it was scary to experience. There was nothing you could have done to avoid it, and I’m just glad that you are not seriously injured. The good news is it could have been worse. The bad news is you have to deal with a concussion and a few bruises for a while. You’ll come back stronger in Qatar. I just know it. I’ll also get to spend every day until then spoiling you and making sure you’re ready to get back in the car.”

“Will you let me eat candy?” Pepe perked up slightly, peaking his eyes open to gaze at you.

“If you want candy, I’ll sneak it in for you,” You chuckled lightly. “Anything you want. You’re currently injured, so I’m here to get you back to health. If that means getting you candy, we get you candy. Mental health is physical health, and your team can take it up with me if they have a problem with my methods.”

~~~~~

© BAD268 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[kodaloveschris]

200 Followers Face Reveal and Get To Know Me 🥰🥰🥰

For one thing I want to say thank you for 200 Followers!! It crazy to think about. I also want to thank everyone for being super accepting and allowing me into the fandom. When I first came into this fandom I was quite intimidated and nervous to start from ground zero again and work my way up. Especially when in the Sam and Colby fandom, I am on top and well known ( having been apart of their fandom since their very first vine almost a decade ago.)

Get to know me 😊

My name is Dakota and I’m 27 years old will be 28 in November (God, I’m old). In September I will be starting my senior year of college. I’m going to school for elementary/middle school education. I’ve been watching the triplets since middle of May. So not very long. My first official video I saw of them was Jake Webber’s favorite food car video they did with him. Then obviously it was the Sam and Colby collab.

I’m currently going through a weight loss journey and have been since March of this year. At the start of my journey, I weighed 319lbs but as of yesterday, I currently weigh 285.2 (almost a 30 pound difference). My main goal is to get back to the weight on my drivers licenses which is 260.

More facts about me

I am 6’3

I have severe OCD, Anxiety, and Depression

I have met Sam and Colby 3 times and they know who I am and Sam follows me on twitter

My favorite triplet is Nick but I still love Matt and Chris

Or as I say it I’m a Nick Girl but a Chris and Matt Whore 😜

But I relate to Matt the most for obvious reasons

I have a soft spot for Nate. I just find him super adorable

I hope to get merch from Fresh Love and Let’s Trip hopefully in their next drops

I was scared to create fan pages for Nick, Matt, and Chris because of my age and me being almost 7 years older than them. I did get a lot of hate for it and still do occasionally. My IRLs and my family think it is weird but who cares about their opinion.

I hope to be able to meet them one day and tell them how much of an impact they have had on my life so far even though they haven’t been apart of it for long.

This might come off as weird but I have some childhood trauma that affects me to this day and when I’m super stressed or anxious I have this series of recurring nightmares where it just started off as Sam and Colby but now Nick, Matt, and Chris are included but the nightmares are them getting hurt or dying in different ways and I never get repeats. I always have to wake up and check social media to see if they are okay and it wasn’t real.

This fandom has made get the spark back for writing fan fiction and I wouldn’t change it for the world

I am grateful for my closest triplets mutual on here @adirtylittleheart. I love you so much and am so grateful that you came into my life. I also love being your drama informant and letting our thirstyness come out and sharing tiktoks of the triplets or our favorite videos etc. ❤️❤️❤️

[dearweirdme]

I love the point you made on hereronormativity earlier on the plushie and how people feel about two men sharing it.

That's funny because it reminds me of this thought I've been having recently :I actually understand the notion of not shipping real people together because it will make them uncomfortable or whatever and at first I failed to get along with this statement because I think taekook is real and the fact that I couldn't enjoy anything related to them without some mfs reminding me that they are friends...

But anyway. I think people in the fandom do not think like that. At least not recently. It started off as something about moral and the members respect and it went down the road as a thing of heteronormativity borderline homophobic.

Because why were people writing EVERYWHERE (even some shippers) that jungkook has a girlfriend(also the weird stereotype) because he has a hello kitty plushie????? Like it really blows my mind up how it was sooo normal for everyone to assume this one bit and nobody saw anything weird in this. It's like having a car key and my family members assumung right away that I have a boyfriend because boys love cars. See how stupid it sounds???? It's sooo crazy to me.

But I sat there and observe because I didn't think my word could have had much effect against 200k likes on tiktok.

And now we are in the present, Taehyung and Jungkook happens to have the same damn plushie and its considered a bro thing.. I don't want to exaggerate about anything but the moment the fandom open their eyes and understand that those fads going around shoving the hetero thing down our throat and then acting blind when it happens to be about two men or homosexuality in general, they'll also understand that homophobic people thrive in this fandom and they think they have a place there because who's gonna complain about Anna who thinks Jungkook has a girlfriend because of his tattoos and it doesn't make sense if its not the case?

Hi anon!

Oh.. heteronormative thinking is ingrained in so many people still. Let me go on a bit of a rant here 😁.

It starts as soon as someone is pregnant.. and it intensifies when a child is born. I live in a so called progressive and openminded country.. and yet to my ex it was extra special that our kid was a boy. Thoughts of playing football (soccer) and other ‘boy activities’ went through his mind. People gave us blue clothes and car toys. When my kid got older it became clear that he has what would be considered a ‘soft’ side. He’d choose rainbow colored mermaid plushies and unicorns to play with alongside his car toys.. and people found that odd. Kids don’t actually see a difference.. they just like stuff and colors and it’s the reaction of adults that makes them feel a certain way about it. My kid is a bit older now and I have constant conversations with him about that it’s okay to let his hair grow out if he likes it, that boys can love boys and that girls can love girls (i always say stuff like ‘when you’re older and have a boyfriend or girlfriend’). I was a member of an inclusive bookclub for kids for a while, and people got uncomfortable about the topics.. which was basically that love is love and that people are diverse. I am a big believer that if people start being inclusive in the language they use.. it will make a difference.

A lot of people aren’t even aware that it’s something they’re doing. I still catch myself at times.. but I make it a learning experience.

Fandom absolutely treats heteronormative ways of thinking different than queerness. The many times we see people defending members from queer allegations is insane and it shows that queerness is seen as something less valuable/weird/abnormal 😡.

I have always seen Jk as a soft guy (which has nothing to do with his sexuality). Straight men can be soft, queer men can be tough. Tattoos say nothing about what someone is like.. I have tattoos and I’m all sorts of things none of which would have anything to do with my tattoos. My tattoos are an expression of what’s going on in my mind while for someone else it could be that they just like the look of it.

I think Jk is queer because he is attracted to men (Tae) it’s as simple as that really.

[g0ingb4tty]

Hi random SpookyMonth rant incoming but i HATE the way Dexter's character is seen/portrayed and mischaracterized in the SM fandom (I've mainly seen it on TikTok), but the fandom waters down his complexity to "silly smol bean autism murder boi" and that's just... no.

Dexter is canonically a mentally ill murderer with a LITERAL ADDICTION to killing and will spiral if he doesn't kill something within a certain period of time (as seen in episode 4 Deadly Smiles where he posessed the kids' Happy Fella doll and tries to kill them)

He CANONICALLY became an exterminator so he would have a constant supply of creatures to kill and yet the fandom just waters him down to a "silly innocent twink" and it pisses me the fuck off.

Whenever a fandom gets ahold of a complex character, especially a mentally ill or "crazy" one, that just so happens to be a bit silly or act quirky, the character's lore immediately gets erased or watered down in fanon to where they're just some playful innocent guy who just so happens to kill people. It happened in the Creepypasta fandom too, and they're also doing it to Bob in a way but it's to a much worse degree with Dexter.

Sr. Pelo describes Dexter's character as just a bad person trying not to get worse, and even calls him a "sicko"

No, he wouldn't cry over a movie, no he wouldn't cling to Bob's or whoever the hell you ship him with's shoulder 24/7 and whine whenever he's alone. (These are all real things I've seen said about him)

(Speaking of him being shipped with Bob, they canonically dislike eachother lol)

And what really bothers me about these types of fanon, is yeah, they do it with almost every character in one way or another, but it's always the ones that are MEANT to be bad people, to be almost, or completely unredeemable. They have their complexity stripped away from them.

Take "ticci" Toby Rogers, he was abused by his father, he was bullied in school for having Tourette's Syndrome, watched his sister, the only person who cared for him (other than his mom) die in a car crash, then spiraled and killed his dad. The Creepypasta fandom waters him down to some innocent uwu waffle loving boy, and that's just... taking away from the entire story.

They're doing the same with Dexter too, like, actually look into the lore, you don't even have to do much reading between the lines when watching the show to see that he's literally DERANGED.

What these fanons are doing is just taking the character's name, design, (sometimes they even change how they look beyond recognition too :/) and just making a new character with it. It makes me so mad.

I could apply this to a gazillion different fanbases, like how I used Creepypasta as an example, but Spooky Month is my hyperfixation and I hold CANON Dexter very near and dear to me because he's a comfort character for me and I can see myself in him and it just INFURIATES ME seeing how they misportray him, I go looking for fanarts/fanfics/any fanworks of him and it's all just mischaracterized and it makes me physically cringe every time i see it. UUUYYHNMJHHGBBBHHH

[roo-bastmoon]

Just a little reminder that since coming home from a crazy amount of Jikookery in Vegas in April, we've had:

--waiting deliberately to ride home from the airport in a car together

--JK singing With You on his vlog

--Jikook giggling and holding hands in the dark at Hobi's party

--JK accepting Kookmin Are Dating and Jimin's Little Finger into his In the Seom circle even though they had fewer experience points

--JK's tattoo artist inking JM and JK on his own arm

--cute interactions at awards shows and changed lyrics for June performances

--JK's brother liking Jikook + Bam family fan art

--Jimin giggling and chasing JK over eating ramen (knowing about his gluten intolerance before it was public)

--JK flirting in the car while sucking on corn ice cream

--JK smacking the hell out of Jimin's ass and doing couples flying yoga

--Jimin coming to visit JK in the dead of night for his birthday, bringing his own cake, snapping that intimate photo, posting on WeVerse two days in a row despite the fact he was also working in the studio that whole time

--Jimin's dad posting a photo of JK's old beloved dog on his birthday

--what sounds like Jimin's giggles in the background on JK's birthday live with Jin

--what sounds like JK whispering "JIMIN!" twice during Jimin's birthday live

--JK's birthday thirst trap for Jimin--which he posted on WeVerse specifically for Jimin, having not been on that platform himself in years

--The Busan live where JK looks on adoringly while Jimin slurps noodles

--JK offering up the story of his mom making seaweed soup just for Jimin which is culturally SIGNIFICANT

--Jimin razzing the shit out of JK for "Jungkook Marry Me"

--Jimin inviting JK to feast after the Busan live

--JK saying twice that he'll join Jimin on a live soon if he has time

--JK posting their special numbers on his selfie in Qatar

--Jimin posting about how cool JK's World Cup performance was.

Now look, they've both been busy with work and travel. What raises doubts about if Jikook are still close is the fact that JK goes out (seemingly mostly alone) to so many meat restaurants. I saw one video of him joining another person outside, but it was too shaky to make out much of anything. The coat and jeans looked similar to what Jimin wore to the airport for NYC, but I can't say that with any certainty so please take that with a grain of salt.

After 10 years of having every second of his life scheduled and strict diets, GOOD FOR JK. A restaurant tour of Korea while Jimin is holed up in the studio is a lovely idea, especially since it seems he's not super into cooking for himself.

Here's where fandom gets sticky.

JK also went bowling with Tae and friends, and did a TikTok dance challenge with Taehyung, who mentioned JK frequently before Taehyung went to Paris. Seems like there were plans for them to do a gaming live similar to Jin's but time didn't allow for it.

There's also unsubstantiated rumors of them going skiing this week with other people. You know, friendship things. Positive, healthy, harmless things you do with friends when you are young. It definitely suggests closeness, but not necessarily sexy times? People made a lot of assumptions that JK came right from the airport and spent the night in a luxury villa with Taehyung, but, actually, Taehyung is friends with the owners, and JK's pants are different than what he wore at the airport, and it could have been filmed at dusk, not dawn. Maybe they just, ya know, wanted to do a cool TikTok vid since their versions weren't included on the official choreo version Hobi posted.

What worries some folks is that there's no evidence of Jikook even doing friendship things since Vegas. Which, again, PJM1 is consuming Jimin's time... Plus also remember that whole traumatizing few months of mail tampering, doxxing, scandal in the press overshadowing Jimin's unpromoted OST, governmental manipulation over the Expo, stocks tanking, and military enlistment, plus rampant hate online and sometimes even death threats?

Those are all really good reasons to not share one's personal life or hint at a closeted homosexual relationship. Even under the cover of friendship and group outings, Jimin just may be sick of the scrutiny. He's not been going out with ANYONE.

And yes, it's fair to say that Jikook normally are always together and never really hid that before. I mean, there is an ENTIRE POP UP MUSEUM DEDICATED TO ALL THEIR INTERACTIONS. No other members have anything like it.

But 2022 is unlike any other year they've had before either.

Also something to think about: Jimin once recently mentioned that he and Taehyung Facetime each other practically every day. (It was during the live when he shared that Taehyung was the one who inspired Jimin's moon tattoos based on fan art he showed Jimin.) Think about that Vmin hug on the Busan stage--it was a chef's kiss. Just this week, Jimin insisted on a selca with Tae and Jin on his own phone.

We can assume their friendship is rock solid, but we rarely see much evidence of them interacting in their off time. In fact I cannot think of the last time Jimin and Taehyung hung out in person when not for a work thing. I can't imagine they are faking affection or bed hoping with JK. I don't require proof of them doing things together to think their friendship is real.

Maybe we could do the same for Jikook? Even if they don't post a selca this year? Yeah, it's a bummer, but it's not divorce papers, y'all.

Can I say for sure Jikook dated / are still dating? NO. I can't say that about any point in their relationship, actually. But I keep reminding myself to be patient, wait things out, because more always comes out.

There's all these little things, like JK knowing that Jimin won't be drinking champagne, but having no idea that Taehyung had given up alcohol for two months.

Clues always come out eventually.

I'll be so curious to see what happens after PJM1 drops. Will Jimin do very little promo, like with his OST? Will there be multiple videos, with choreo? Will his members be silent about this work too? Will he have more free time and thus poke his head up more? Or will he continue to be a lil ninja? I dunno. I'll be supporting him no matter what.

And even if his members don't publicly hype him up, I won't just assume that means they are jealous or don't care about him. Like Jin said: "Post, it's good. No post, it's still good." Will I be a bit unnerved? Honestly, yeah. But Jimin knows Jimin's situation best.

The honest truth is this: none of us KNOW what's going on with any of the members' relationships except the members. And that's how it should be because that's their business. They only owe us good music and dance performances. The rest is icing on the cake.

It's totally okay if you believe this is just one of those dry spells Jikook has over the years. It's valid if you think they broke up and are just being good friends and coworkers at a distance. If your gut is telling you Taekook is now real, I can't say I agree with you, but I'll never come into your spaces and argue with you.

It's up to you to seek out reliable sources of info and then make your own judgement call, if you feel if you have enough data. This isn't a cult. You are not required to "keep the faith" about anything.

Two months ago, Jikook were Jikooking like always. Now Jimin is quiet (except to tell us to keep warm and not get sick, bless his heart). And Jungkook and Taehyung are showing us they hang out (as they have done in the past--restaurants, gaming, trips with Wooga--though perhaps now they are doing it a bit more than when they all had an OT7 schedule).

And so the silence from Jikook and the hanging out from Taekook has the cult all whipped up and Jikookers feeling unsettled. I get it. It's normal to feel your feels. But also be sure to math your math.

Me? I honestly have no clue what's going on. I still feel like we're seeing so little of the full picture, it would be wise to withhold judgement quite yet. I tell myself: Be patient. Trust the members. There are things they can't tell us, but if we trust their words, that would be good.

In the meantime, please stream and vote and buy albums. That's our main job as Army, regardless of ship or bias. Soon all our boys will be serving, and the drought will be very very real. So let's try to celebrate, smile, and laugh about what we still can, okay? I think they'd want us to focus on that.

[uriekukistan]

matt or gojo for the character thingy?? (or both <3 if u want)

heck yeah i'll do both 😎 thank u for the ask!!

matt

favorite thing about them: there is so little canon material that we can just say whatever we want about him and everyone agrees. what r u gonna do? pull out the canon evidence against me?

least favorite thing about them: there is so little canon material that ppl can just say whatever they want about him and i cant disagree. what am i gonna do? pull out the canon evidence against them?

favorite line: "since when did the japanese carry such big guns" or whatever that line was. brother ur abt to get blown away i dont think its time for jokey jokes

brOTP: mellodramattic 🤞

OTP: also mellodramattic 🤞

nOTP: i haven't seen much of him with anyone other than mello or near which are both cool w me. i think i saw him w light once though which was so funny to me they would NAWT fuck with each other AT ALL

random headcanon: okay i AM a matt cigarette traditionalist truther for the most part, but i can see him buying them for the fun flavors and still continuing to smoke cigs because vapes "aren't real nicotine"

unpopular opinion: why do we spend so much time talking about him and his 5 seconds of screentime when we are overlooking slayful women like naomi and halle (although i've been glad to see more appreciation for them recently, and he does have a better role in the manga so)

song i associate with them: glamorous by fergie. saw an edit of him and mello to this song on tiktok so this their song now. they play it in the car while speeding away from the cops :D shut up and drive by rihanna would be another good one

favorite picture of them: beep boop :D

gojo

favorite thing about them: he's a silly little guy :) he uses his silliness to cover his deep loneliness :) how fun :)

least favorite thing about them: he uses his silliness and confidence to cover his deep loneliness TOO well and now 60-70% of the fandom, maybe more, doesn't fully understand his character

favorite line: HAHAHAHAA i'll murder you 😘🌸...ofc im also an enjoyer of "nah i'd win" and "yowai mo" just for the sillies

brOTP: now. coming back to that loneliness. he's not letting anyone get close enough for this one unfortunately

OTP: ofc has to be satosugu. doomed gays!

nOTP: gojohime. gojohime. have i mentioned gojohime? gojohime. also any ships of him with his students 😀👍

random headcanon: not me saying everyone should do ballet. but gojo should do ballet.

unpopular opinion: ask me again when ur caught up with the manga

song i associate with them: ...if i said daddy's home by usher would it be too cliche

favorite picture of them: okay mr. crazy! tell him what you think!

[rabbitechoes]

feels like a bit of a less-eventful month for new releases, but i still heard a few great records!!! i've been very enamored with the new porter robinson album especially!!! it's looking like august will be a veryyyyy busy month for new releases so let's hope i don't get swamped ... to check out my thoughts on some of the songs that dropped this month click here!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

SMILE! :D - Porter Robinson

🥇 BEST ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ released: July 26, 2024 ◇ genres: indietronica, electropop, pop rock

Despite the drastic difference in execution, Porter Robinson’s third studio album SMILE! :D is the perfect follow-up to 2021’s Nurture. The latter acted as an exploration to appreciate the beauty of life and art, all through bright and textured production. SMILE! :D is just as existential, but this time it’s a quest for Porter to learn to love himself and find enjoyment in the music he makes. Robinson ventures into his struggles with fame, fandom, and getting lost in nostalgia over bombastic electropop production. Those going into this album with the high expectations set by Nurture will most likely be disappointed – even I, who was pretty late to the hype of that record, found myself a bit stumped by this album at first. It’s a step back and as tongue-in-cheek as it is sincere, but it all comes into focus eventually. To move forward, SMILE! :D was the album he needed to make.

There’s a sugary sweet sound to most of the record which creates this dizzying array of emotions. On my first few listens, I viewed this as one of the album’s main flaws, and while I still have some very minor nitpicks with this approach, the brilliance of this choice reveals itself. The listener has about as much of a grasp on Robinson’s emotions as he does. He’s desperately trying to get a grip and rekindle the fun of making music, all the while putting on a delusionally brave face as he reckons with all of this conflict. Many of the album’s core themes are introduced in the faux-braggadocious opener, “Knock Yourself Out XD.” Robinson wrestles with how people perceive him and his music. Fighting expectations set by both his fans and the music industry at large. He wants to make happy pop music, but he can’t – at least not for long. The end of the song has him defeatedly embracing the aesthetics of a star; face tattoos, a drink in hand, a fancy new car, but it’s all disingenuous. “Cheerleader” and “Russian Roulette” expand on these ideas. The former is a cathartic banger about the parasocial relationships some people have with their favorite artists and the latter is an emotionally dynamic exploration of how it all affects his depression – drawing to a close with the sobering repeated phrase, “I wanna live, I don’t wanna die” before getting swallowed by rave-like synths. Robinson’s analysis of this is all through the context of the internet, which I find very compelling. The perpetual unseriousness of the internet, he sings about “YouTube review, funny monkey / Takes a piss into his own mouth, crazy” a reference to Pitchfork’s notorious review of Jet’s Shine On and how “A bad guy just died / They’re making memes about it.” This behavior, of which most of us are guilty to some degree, can disincentive sincerity and throw emotion to the wind. It can also be dehumanizing to the artists, making them feel like soulless commodities for our enjoyment alone.

“Russian Roulette” and the aggressive “Perfect Pinterest Garden” mark turning points in the album’s focus, it’s from here that Robinson begins to look further inward and dissect his own behaviors. “Year of the Cup” has the same structure as those TikTok videos of people putting Midwest emo riffs instrumentation over random videos which makes for one of the shakier moments on the record, but he manages to make it work. The song is built around this combative interview Lil Wayne did with Tim Westwood in 2009 and Robinson ties it back to his struggles with alcoholism and lashing out at those close to him. The predominant theme for the rest of the album is Robinson trying to come to terms with himself while reconnecting with his audience more healthily. He reminisces on how his past self would perceive him now, vowing to “Take care of the person we’ll both be eventually” on “Easier to Love You.” He regrets the things he’s done to become what he thinks a star should be, he’s just “Trying to look good, trying not to feel bad.” It’s empty and unfulfilling, he has to reconnect with who he is to both himself and his audience – finally coming to some form of a resolution on the optimistic closer “Everything To Me.”

SMILE! :D is an unconventional love letter to Robinson’s fans. In his words, they were “the perfect muse for an entire album.” This is an excellent album, one that is both interesting and immensely enjoyable. I understand why it’s proven to be a bit polarizing, but this is one of his finest achievements yet. His talents as a producer and songwriter are on full display here – and in much different ways than the album proceeding it. I’m pretty enamored with this album.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Passage du Desir - Johnny Blue Skies / Sturgill Simpson

◇ released: July 14, 2024 ◇ genres: progressive country, country rock

Ever since 2014’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Sturgill Simpson has made a name for himself as one of the most ambitious artists in country music that’s just barely outside the mainstream. Unlike a lot of other country artists who regularly see critical acclaim for simply being normal when compared to the worst the genre usually has to offer, Simpson has garnered that acclaim for making interesting music. His sound balances the rooted and the otherworldly – Passage du Desir is another great showcase of that. Working under the pseudonym Johnny Blue Skies, he crafts this almost cosmic sound. It’s like a country star beamed back down to earth, here to make country music that sounds familiar to us, but with an opulent and psychedelic twist that few artists wield as well as he does.

At each of these song’s respective cores is a damn fine country song, displaying Simpson’s clear understanding of the genre, but the arrangements are what make this album so special. This album was recorded in both Nashville and Abbey Road Studios in London and Simpson sounds in complete control here. He’s determined to take these songs to just the right heights. Like the opening accordion passage and subsequent simmering psychedelia of “Swamp of Sadness” where he sings of “Nights under the bright lights at Mignon on Beaumarchais,” hardly regular country fair – I would be amused to hear Morgan Wallen sing of nights spent in Paris. It has this alluring dreaminess to it that just swallows you, an incredible opener that shows his ambition. The centerpiece of the album is “Jupiter’s Faerie,” a cathartic lamentation of a lost friend. His vocals have this understated effect to them and the instrumentation builds around him as it eventually explodes alongside him in the chorus. The string flourishes in the chorus is exhilarating and beautiful. The near 9-minute “One For The Road” closes the album strong and another crowning achievement in Simpson’s, or Johnny Blue Skies’, career thus far. It’s a bittersweet country ballad that you can just get lost in. Ending the album with an extended instrumental section with harmonica, a soft piano, and a striking guitar solo is a bold move, but it works so well. 

There are moments where things are relatively stripped-back, like the jaunty “Scooter Blues,” the delightful melancholy of “Who I Am,” and the sweetness of “Mint Tea” – rather than potentially act as roadblocks between the more expansive tracks, they’re necessary. They re-center the album’s focus, grounding it a bit so that the grander moments hit that much harder. They never veer into the generic either, they still show an artist poised to be different.

Passage du Desir is an amazing album and the start of a bold new chapter for Johnny Blue Skies. Simpson’s use of that alter-ego from here on out is a little confusing given how personal everything still feels, but as long as he’s still making great music like this who am I to complain? This isn’t hokey or gimmicky at all, it just feels like yet another one of his tactics to subvert people’s expectations. Keep it up, I say!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

魔法学校 (Mahōgakkō) - Hakushi Hasegawa

◇ released: July 24, 2024 ◇ genres: art pop, glitch pop, nu jazz, deconstructed club, folktronica

I’ve been acutely aware of Hakushi Hasegawa for a little bit now, mainly through the acclaim of their 2018 EP 草木萌動 (Sōmoku hōdō). Despite that, 魔法学校 (Mahōgakkō) was my first foray into their music. Talk about a first impression, this album is insane. Right from the start, it grabs you by the scruff of your neck and throws you on a rollercoaster of abrasive, colorful, and rhythmic instrumentation. These songs are captivating, both in how wild they tend to be and even more so in how occasionally beautiful they are. Like the disorienting sound of “行つてしまつた (Gone)” with KID FRESNO or the serene folktronica of “撤回 (Repeal).” Hasegawa has a deep understanding of the eclectic sounds they’re incorporating on this record which makes both their renditions and disorientations of them pay off in such a unique way. 

Nearly every song here has some kind of unexpected twist and turn. The rare ones that don’t still add this feeling of surreality to the album. There’s such a palpable energy to the album too, it’s like electricity currents are running underneath every song on the album. It feels almost magical like you’re in some kind of distorted fantasy land where things only vaguely resemble what you’re familiar with. Hasegawa is in complete control of these eccentric sounds. This is very evident on tracks like “恐怖の星 (KYŌFUNOHOSHI)” with its distinct blend of nu jazz and glitch pop. Or the avant-garde sound collage nature of “焱ばみ (Enbami).” Nothing sounds out of their jurisdiction. They lead these songs into bold new territory and you’re just along for the experience. 

魔法学校 (Mahōgakkō) is an amazing album that greatly showcases Hakushi Hasegawa’s talents. This is an album best experienced in one sitting. Let all of these sounds wash over you – or rather let them throw themselves at you. This album hardly wastes a single second, besides that 30-second interlude of an A.I. conversation, they just keep crafting wild, exciting, and sometimes gorgeous sounds that are sure to enthrall you. This is one of the best instances of maximalist music in the online age. It’s also a good motivator to finally go back through Hasegawa’s back catalog and hear what I’ve been missing.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 - Denzel Curry

◇ released: July 19, 2024 ◇ genres: southern hip hop, trap, hardcore hip hop, memphis rap

Denzel Curry has proven to be one of the most consistent rappers of the modern era and that remains true with this new record, King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 – the sequel to one of his early mixtapes. Curry’s last album, Melt My Eyez See Your Future, was the biggest progression of his sound since TA13OO in 2018. However, instead of pushing forward, Curry decided to take a step backward and get re-acquainted with his roots. This album is just no-nonsense southern hip hop in a concise and effective package. Gone are the dense, jazz-flavored beats of his last album – in are the hard-hitting hardcore beats that cut right to the heart of the matter. Neither approach is inherently better or worse, but Curry has crafted one of the most fiery hip hop records of the year with the latter.

Curry is no stranger to scaling things back after a big project – in fact, it’s a part of his formula at this point. The ambitious TA13OO beget ZUU the following year and Melt My Eyez led into this great new record. This is a much more effective record than ZUU, it shows Curry returning to his old stomping grounds and showing that he is a force to be reckoned with. He enlists numerous fellow southern rappers to aid him, aside from a few from the East and West coasts, as well as Kingpin Skinny Pimp to host the record in its interludes. This is a very collaborative effort, but make no mistake Curry is the star. He rarely ever does things halfheartedly, but he sounds incredibly reinvigorated on this project. His bars are clever, sharp, and confident. They have this air of spontaneity to them which makes this album so infectious. The other rappers featured here, for the most part, keep that same energy. Like on “BLACK FLAG FREESTYLE” where That Mexican OT – who I had never heard of before this project, damn near steals the show. That’s another cool thing about this album, alongside some well-established names, it features a lot of lower-profile rappers like That Mexican OT, TiaCorine, Key Nyata, and Armani White who get the opportunity to shine here alongside Denzel. Everyone brings the heat and most of them make a good impression. On his quest to prove that he’s the king, Curry raises these artists up with him while also sharing the stage with legends like Juicy J and Project Pat – although Pat will show up damn near anywhere at this point.

Although some tracks don’t fully stick the landing, like “Set It” with Maxo Kream and “Hit the Floor” with Ski Mask the Slump God, there’s no shortage of bonafide heaters on this record. “HOT ONE,” the album’s lead single, is an awesome mix of trap, cloud rap, and Memphis rap. Curry boldly claims that he hasn’t changed despite leaving the South, he’s still just as driven. That drive is evident throughout the project. “G’Z UP” is a straight-up jam that doesn’t waste any time and features great guest verses from 2 Chainz and Mike Dimes. “SKED” has Curry, Kenny Mason, and Project Pat sounding fearless over a lowkey almost rage beat. Every now and then some tracks feel like they’re far too brief, but that can be sort of forgiven due to the album’s quick pacing. Dull moments are seldom found here.

King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 feels like a quick detour for Curry before he goes back to making grander projects – this is hardly a dismissal of the project though as it’s almost endlessly enjoyable. He reconnects with his roots in a deeply satisfying way. He’s always been one of the most exciting artists in hip hop and this record provides further proof to that claim.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The War - Toy Bastard

◇ released: July 15, 2024 ◇ genres: indie rock, post-rock

Ethan Ives, best known as a multi-instrumentalist in Car Seat Headrest, has released his second album under the name Toy Bastard. The War is a damn fine post-rock record with some big indie rock choruses throughout. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a very great record despite that. This is a concept record about, I believe metaphorically, being at war. Ives uses wartime imagery to detail being at war with the world itself. It’s a concept that could easily be a little corny, but it works well here. This frantic and anxious atmosphere keeps you engaged, waiting to see what comes next. Made all the more enthralling because of the instrumentation – perhaps the biggest highlight of the record. Everything has a punch, nothing lays soft on the ears or floats past you. Everything from the acoustic guitar passage at the start of “The Babe in the Woodshed” to the sporadic synths on “Summer of ‘14,” it all just grabs you. Necessary for the concept to work as well as it does.

My favorite moment on the record comes with the 13-minute “VALIS,” an epic borderline prog-rock instrumental which, even without words, adds so much to the record’s concept. If you take the album at face value and believe the narrator is actually at war, it sounds like being on the battlefield. Loud guitar riffs come and go before being washed out alongside these choral arrangements – it’s unpredictable, but you’re hanging on to every shift. It’s wonderfully paced and not something I was expecting going into this record. Even on the tracks that are more of your standard indie rock, Ives brings in some cool quirks to these arrangements. It never sounds generic or tired, it sounds like he has a strong vision of what he wants this album to sound like, and for the most part, he nails it. The album ends with “Daddy Was a Starship Captain,” another “epic” track and the emotional climax of the record. It displays all of his strengths as both a songwriter and a producer, from the aquatic vocals to the killer guitar solo towards the end – everything just comes together here. Songs like this and “VALIS,” make me so excited to hear what Toy Bastard has in store for the future. The War is a great record and I feel like we’ll get even more great records from him in the future.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

My Light, My Destroyer - Cassandra Jenkins

◇ released: July 12, 2024 ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, sophisti-pop, indie rock

My Light, My Destroyer sounds like sifting through old photos during a transitional period of your life and letting all of the old memories wash over you like waves on the shore. One minute you’re transported back to the past, not a perfect one, but one that seems more comforting than where you are now. The next you’re reflecting on the present, the dishes are piling up and you feel alone, but there are still beautiful things in the world and you need to be reminded of that – The constellations in the sky, the colorful flowers, and the people you love. Cassandra Jenkins explores them all in her bold third studio album, the follow-up to her acclaimed previous album An Overview on Phenomenal Nature as well as her label debut on Dead Oceans.

The instrumentation is the only thing that keeps this album from reaching its full potential. Jenkins’ songwriting is the strongest it has ever been here, but some of these songs lack a distinct sound that separates her from her contemporaries. Like the soaring guitars on “Aurora, IL” which sound reminiscent of some of her new labelmates – it’s not a bad song, I just wish every track here had a striking and distinct sound that matched her songwriting. That’s certainly not to say there’s a shortage of unique arrangements here. In fact, I think this is her strongest material to date in that regard. Like the ambient art pop of “Delphinium Blue” where Jenkins’ voice sounds adrift in the ocean as the atmospheric synths and subtle percussion surround her. She’s trying to keep herself grounded as she gets lost in the delphinium flowers that remind her of someone. All of those feelings are not just conveyed lyrically, but also through the instrumentation. She shifts between that soft art pop and more rock-tinged tracks, like the steady guitars of “Petco” and the almost country flavor of “Clams Casino.” It’s a good balance. The strongest track on the album is “Tape and Tissue,” with its jazzy flavor which juxtaposes the spacey synths in such an amazing way. It’s one of the most vulnerable moments in Jenkins’ catalog thus far, a very captivating song.

This is a fascinating next step for Jenkins and I’m excited to hear where she goes from here. Her music sounds bigger and more polished, but I hope she introduces some more unique sounds in the future to make herself fully stand out. There’s a lot to love here though, I just feel like her best is still on the horizon. I can’t wait for that.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Charm - Clairo

◇ released: July 12, 2024 ◇ genres: soft rock, sophisti-pop

Bedroom pop icon Claire Cottrill continues to ramp up her sound on her third studio album Charm. Her last album was very folk-inspired, but instead of going further in that direction, she dives deep into this 70s soft rock sound which yields some gorgeous instrumentation while often obscuring her in the process. Clairo’s vocals have always been light no matter the words she’s singing, she’s a very cozy singer. This has worked in her favor a lot of the time, like on the mostly spare arrangements of Sling, but on Charm, she ends up getting lost in it all. Not in a “this music is free-flowing and all-encompassing” kind of way, but in a way that snuffs out some of the heart of the record. These beautiful, mostly organic arrangements yearn for a vocalist with stronger conviction. If there ever was an album for Clairo to add some new flair to her delivery it was this one. 

There are some strong highlights here though, namely the opening track “Nomad” with its alluringly textured arrangement – the twinkling guitar and that weighty upright bass work so well together. It’s also one of the songs where I think she stands out as a vocalist, the way she seamlessly transitions to the higher note of the chorus is stunning. Very glad that song finally clicked with me after I heard it as a single and was left a little unimpressed. That starts the album on a very high note and it just keeps going! It’s light on the ears, most songs coming and going without grabbing you beyond a catchy chorus or maybe some cool new bits of instrumentation. Like the whirling synths on “Juna” or the clarinet on “Pier 4,” but those bright spots aren’t enough to elevate the album to a more satisfying level. Charm is a very pleasant album. It’s not bad at all, it’s just pleasant.   I understand why some people love this unabashedly, I was just craving something with a bit more substance. The thing is, her lyricism isn’t unsubstantial, I just wish she delivered it in a more engaging form and not within songs that often fade into the background. I’m curious about which direction she’ll go in after Charm, I just hope it’s more interesting.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Bando Stone and the New World - Childish Gambino

◇ released: July 19, 2024 ◇ genres: experimental hip hop, art pop

Donald Glover is drawing the Childish Gambino era of his career to a close with Bando Stone and the New World – the soundtrack to his upcoming film which doesn’t have a release date yet. It’s a bold move to drop the soundtrack to a film that still has no release date, but Glover has made interesting creative decisions for years now to varying levels of success. In a way, that’s what makes this album the perfect closing chapter for Childish Gambino. It’s an ambitious, eclectic mess with high highs, low lows, and a lot of stuff that falls in between. Such is the case with most of his albums – bar Awaken, My Love which I think is a consistently great project and his best work. However, while it might be a fitting end, that doesn’t make this a great record.

Glover dabbles in a number of different sounds across this album, which is neat, but the songs themselves leave a lot to be desired. It’s cool that “Running Around” is a pop punk track, but is the song that good beyond the novel concept? Not really. The same can be said about “Happy Survival” which is a dub song. It’s cool that he goes to these places, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Then again, maybe the songs that didn’t click with me on this album make more sense in the context of the film. There are plenty of voice clips and narrative references I can only assume are related to the film it’s soundtracking, but they mean nothing to me in this current moment. On its own, it feels like this album is awkwardly awaiting its companion. To play on a quote from Glover’s character in Community, “I can’t wait to understand these references!”

With that being said, he manages to throw in some great songs here and there. I said in my write-up on “Lithonia” when it was first released as a single that it was “overdramatic and suffocating,” but that it could be the soundtrack to a climactic moment in both the film and the soundtrack. Well, despite it being only the second song on the album, I unabashedly love this track. The suffocating nature of the production ramps up the energy even more and Glover’s yelped vocals add to the intensity. I don’t know who Cody LeRae is, but that dude is going through some shit! He plays around with various styles of hip hop across the album to mostly good results. The peak of this is the deceptively layered production of “Yoshinoya,” which has Glover cutting out all pretense and making a straight-up banger. “No Excuses” is another massive highlight as it blends neo-soul with some subtle lounge elements and the end result is one of the prettiest songs in his catalog. The little synth riffs in the choruses are just sublime. This album is spotty overall, but it has plenty of gems.

Childish Gambino has been a constant presence in hip hop and beyond for over a decade now. Starting out as an actor making deeply corny music on Camp, to the massive Because the Internet which is considered by many to be a seminal 2010s hip hop record despite its flaws – no shame, I have nostalgia for it too – to his more experimental works in both music and TV throughout the later part of the decade, Childish Gambino’s legacy is nothing to sneeze at. Sure, it’s got an abundance of flaws, and a lot of it doesn’t hold up under intense scrutiny, but he’s nothing if not ambitious. Such is the case with Bando Stone and the New World which, in its own imperfect way, is the perfect end to the Childish Gambino story.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Y2K! - Ice Spice

◇ released: July 26, 2024 ◇ genres: new york drill, east coast hip hop

Ice Spice has become one of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, for better or for worse. She’s built an empire on hit-or-miss heaters and an abundance of bars of the fecal variety. Now, after what seems like a long wait, we have her debut album Y2K! – an album that doesn’t resemble any of the aesthetics or reference anything from Y2K culture, so that’s a bit of a head-scratcher. This is hardly a bold new statement from Ice Spice, this is just her doing her thing except a bit more tired. These songs, for the most part, leave you with nothing to say. She and producer RIOTUSA craft sleepy bangers that give Spice the stage to do her same old, same old routine. She has “ABC, 123” flows and says the most inane stuff until she spits another funny poop or fart bar that’s so weird that it makes me laugh so hard until I feel sick. There’s a three-track run where she centers all of this soiled energy, she says “I’m Miss Poopie, but I never smell” on “BB Belt,” “Think you the shit, bitch? / You not even the fart (Grrah)” on the titular “Think U The Shit (Fart),” and she rounds it all up with “I'm Miss Poopie like I need a diaper (Grrah)” on “Gimmie A Light.” Ok, Miss Poopie, what the fuck are you talking about? Are you determined to be the poop bar girl?

“Did It First” with Central Cee is the only song I think is pretty great. Somehow they just bring out the best in each other, it’s one of her best for sure. The rest of Y2K! is either just ok, bad, or exhausting, but you would be hard-pressed to find another album that has made me laugh as much as it has so I guess that has to count for something. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Guilty Pleasure - JoJo Siwa

◇ released: July 12, 2024 ◇ genres: electropop, dance-pop, slap house

Dance Moms and Nickelodeon alumni JoJo Siwa has been making an ass of herself over the last few months as she ushers in this new “adult” era of her career. From gaudy outfits and makeup to claiming that she wants to invent “gay pop” to downing Fireball during a live performance, she’s become a consistent scapegoat of the internet. After hearing this new EP Guilty Pleasures, I just have to ask … why did she do all that? Now, Siwa has never had a penchant for subtlety – see her car with a wrap-around decal that’s just a collage of her face as the most damning example – but this music just doesn’t call for any of that. It’s more mature in a sense, she sings about “twirlin' in a ballroom” and “twerkin' in the bedroom” in the song “Balance Baby” and the biggest hook on the album is Siwa crooning that “Karma’s a bitch!” so this wouldn’t get played on Nickelodeon that’s for sure, but it all just feels so childish. It’s almost like she’s doing an over-the-top parody of the infamous edgy phases a lot of child stars have gone through – which if that’s the case, maybe this is all genius, but I highly doubt it. Also enlisting Meghan Trainor for help on your “I’m a big kid now” EP is laughable. It’s like trying to buy punk clothes at an Old Navy. 

On the whole, I guess Guilty Pleasure isn’t as big of a trainwreck musically as I thought it would be – not to say it’s good by any means though. It’s just loud, vapid, boringly competent pop songs for the most part that weren’t worth all of the antics we’ve been subject to for months. I don’t see this being the starting point for a fruitful new chapter of JoJo Siwa’s career. The music is incredibly forgettable so maybe that’s why she feels the need to make a fool of herself in public.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) - Eminem

◇ released: July 12, 2024 ◇ genre: hardcore hip hop

In this messy concept album, Eminem resurrects and then kills his alter ego “Slim Shady” while also offering an introspective look at his own life. Sounds like a cool concept, in theory – no doubt, a little bit of a nostalgia ploy for the millennial crowd, but in execution, this is one of the most clumsy albums I’ve ever heard. I wasn’t expecting much at all going into The Death of Slim Shady given the state of his work over the past, give or take, 20 years, but it might be worse than I was anticipating. He fumbles over this concept of wrestling with his edgy other self for the bulk of the record, relying on tired shock humor and staccato flows that wear thin barely before the album gets going.

The shock humor in question is seemingly self-aware, but that doesn’t make it any less exhausting. Eminem and Slim Shady poke fun at several things that will get the worst people you know to cheer and applaud. Multiple jabs at Caitlyn Jenner and transgender people in general, Christopher Reeve and paraplegic people, people with dwarfism, and numerous mentions of people being “woke” and Eminem being afraid of the “politically correct police.” The desired reaction is a “WOAH, CAN HE EVEN SAY THAT?” – but my reaction was just a shrug of the shoulders and an “ok?” This concept plagues the album and he runs every joke into the ground right as it’s getting started. If I took a shot every time Caitlyn Jenner was mentioned on this album I would die of alcohol poisoning. More than the material on the album being tired, Eminem’s fanbase by and large clings to this edgy stuff. They lament the “woke mob” and “cancel culture” so they’re taking the album at face value. Likewise, Eminem’s critics take it at face value as well and pick lyrics out of context to make Eminem look like the bad guy he pokes fun at. So, this album is one both his fanbase and critics misinterpret and an incredibly rough listen even if you grasp the concept – so is there anything at all The Death of Slim Shady succeeds at? Uhhhh, some of the beats are cool I guess.

This album is just Eminem doing his thing. He’s stuck in this “lyrical spiritual miracle” style perpetually and it’s grating even if he had something of worth to say – which he doesn’t. Even the ruminations he offers on his own life, career, and family feel way too theatrical and obtuse to connect with. The album’s drastic shift at points towards the end, namely “Temporary” and the closer “Somebody Save Me,” where he makes songs directed to his family in the event of his passing just falls flat. Not helped by the fact he comes into the record with a full head of steam as he lashes out at the world in his own self-obsessed way. The rare time it sort of, emphasis on that, works is on the short opener “Renaissance” where he takes aim at modern hip hop fans. There’s no shortage of clunky bars, but “You nerdy pricks would find somethin' wrong with 36 Chambers” gave me a good laugh, ostensibly making it the highlight of the record for me. 

The Death of Slim Shady is a complicated misfire being celebrated by those who don’t understand it as a win and being torn down by those who also don’t understand it as a bigoted dumpster fire. I want to make this perfectly clear, it is not the onus of the artist to spoon-feed the audience what the actual meaning of it all is, but this just seems like a total miscalculation and misunderstanding of your fanbase and the world at large. Slim Shady’s edgy antics seemed outlandish in the 2000s which is what made them kind of work, but when he goes on record venting about “woke people” and transgender people it just doesn’t ring the same in 2024. These are talking points that aren’t hard to find anymore, they’re in the mainstream. It will be celebrated by those who agree with his observations and ridiculed by those who see Marshall Mathers as another old rapper who cried “cancel culture.” It’s a lose-lose situation, not helped at all by the fact that this album simply isn’t good – I would go as far as to say it’s pretty bad.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I Love You So F***ing Much - Glass Animals

◇ released: July 12, 2024 ◇ genres: alt-pop, pop rock

Glass Animal’s previous effort Dreamland is one of my nightmare albums. One of the vapidest and most irritating albums I’ve ever heard – made even more unbearable by the fact their disaster song “Heat Waves” lingered on the charts for well over a year, 91 weeks to be exact. The band holds the record for the longest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 of all time. Everyone I’ve spoken to tells me some variation of “This band used to be good” or “They just got too commercial,” and while that may be true, they’re not worthy of much grace. My only prior exposure to the band was through “Life Itself” playing all the time on my local alternative radio station in the summer of 2016. That song isn’t perfect by any means, but listening to it after having heard Dreamland and I Love You So F***ing Much, made it feel like one of the greatest songs of all time. The band did not clean up their act on this new record here, in fact, they just dug their graves even deeper. 

A lot of the same horrible qualities of their last album are present here except for that corporate summer veneer. Instead, that’s traded out for spacier sounds which don’t make the album any more palatable. There is no life here. It’s as if a group of deeply sheltered 20-somethings who had only heard sacred music their entire life stumbled upon MGMT and decided to make their version. The band is not good songwriters, perhaps their only talent is the ability to drive the most annoying choruses and melodies you have ever heard far into the ground – ironic given the interstellar aspirations they have for this album. The worst offender here is “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” with its repeating “WATAAH” hooks in the chorus. I sense a desire from the band to have another “Heat Waves,” they want to fluke their way back onto the charts with another big song with a big, obnoxious chorus, but I don’t see that happening with any track on the album. That’s the only artistic motivation I can grasp from this project, it feels desolate. It’s empty and soul-crushing, it doesn’t feel human. Made even worse by the fact that I don’t think any of the normal pop music listeners were clamoring for another song from the “Heat Waves” band – so I have to ask, why did they decide to go down this dead-end road instead of making something even a teeny tiny bit interesting? Have they simply just thrown in the towel and resigned themselves to making this kind of music for the foreseeable future? I Love You So F***ing Much is a hopeless record, a deeply miserable affair with little to no redeeming qualities. It’s the sound of a band with no convictions and no heart. The threat of A.I. and its inevitable use in music is a genuine fear, but I feel like a computer could never replicate the human element of music. I have faith that the general public will see through it as some sort of gimmick and it won’t put any musicians out of a job – well, maybe except for Glass Animals.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

psssst. i made a discord server called COSMIACORD ... if u wanna join and have fun, talk about music, play fortnite, or whatever here's the invite :3 https://discord.gg/rsHMenTU

[twerkstallion]

🪐 and 🌻 for the ask game? Also the twerkstallion (car) looks so cool!!! I'd never seen it before!! -VPoC

HI VP!!! OMG ive learned you about the twerkstallion this is fantastic, joyous day!!

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

1.) the big one rn is ive been super creative!! ive been drawing and writing every week for like 2+ months!! i havent felt like this since like 2019, i dont even remember! 2.) ive been going for hikes! ive never wanted to Go For A Walk so much before?? its crazy its like a switch flipped in my brain. 3.) overall i have a better 'big picture' of my health now. hearing people talk about their struggles on tiktok and tumblr has finally broken thru to me i suppose. im not Cured per say, but i understand myself so much better. that, and i just think ive aged haha. get older, its good for you.

🌻 ⇢ tag someone you appreciate but don't talk to on a regular basis

oh boy, im shy!!... but im a big fan of @/antimony-medusa and @/whipplefilter. love the community stuff medusa organizes and the deep thought/research whipple puts into their posts. they both communicate with their respective fandoms so wonderfully and with great care.

thanks for the ask!

[writing ask game]

[tariah23]

Man………… Scrolling by that video of that little girl (she looks at least 9-10 bro) doing a full face of makeup on TikTok talking about her “love life,” and “juicy texts,” um… I feel so unwell rn.

Apparently, her mother manages her TikTok as well… and her comments are full of predators. It just breaks my heart, man. There truly isn’t a place on the internet for children to go on anymore. I mean, there hasn’t been so for a very long time anyway. The last generation to be affected by this are the youth who are in their early 20’s and below, too.

Most people my age did not grow up playing on IPADS and carrying around fancy smart phones (we didn’t have them but also, most parents got their children cellphones for safety reasons or they just got them a track phone and called it a day. As long as you could call your parents and be called back, that’s all that really mattered.) I didn’t get my first phone until much later in my life since I’d always been the kinda person to live off of the grid and didn’t really care to contact others. I still don’t even like being on the phone like that and I’m a slow responder both through text and online DM’s and it’s just always been me. We had a lot of social media back then and the internet was no safer back then than it is now but there were also TONS of websites specifically heard towards children. Disney channel and Cartoon Networks websites back then were really good for kids and had a ton of fun games, as well as educational games, to play. There used to be so many video game websites… bro, I used to be so obsessed with blingee 😭!!! I used to cry to go to the library so that I could watch the Naruto abridged series on the computers there lol. My uncle gave us one of his fat white computers but my brother ended up messing it up so she eventually bought us a brand new one so that we could stop begging to go to the library. Most people didn’t have access to computers outside of going to the library or using them at school. At school, my teachers used to let me get on the internet because I wasn’t misbehaving and the other kids used to be so PISSED lmfao. All I did was watch the Naruto and YYH abridged series, bro. Wait, also anime of course in the classic 3 parts as well as AMVS 😭… no celebrity shit or fandom stuff. Just my interests that any other kid would be interested in. Mom didn’t even monitor our computer time fr but it’s more like we knew what was bad and stuff like that.

We really used to play outside, man. Like, I remember crying to go play outside!!! One time, my sister and I were playing across a giant grassy field with friends and their mother told them that it was time to go into the house since It had gotten dark… I remember feeling sad, not wanting the fun to ever end. I went home and mom was making dinner (macaroni, fried chicken, and potatoes I believe) and my brother had already made it back into the house and I just remembered my mom telling me to go get my sister since it was time to go in. But when I made it back to her, I didn’t tell her at all because again, I didn’t want the fun to end 😭. We ended up playing with some other kids who were playing outside a few houses around the corner facing the street (two little boys who were outside playing on their skates and they were trying to teach my sister and I how to skate lol. It was so fun! Then we saw the flashing lights from the police car about an hour or so later and got nervous and said our goodbyes. We made it back home and my mom had called the police 😭… she was furious and I remember she was about to whoop us by her friend who lived across the street from us somehow managed to calm her down and we were spared lmfao. That was still crazy that we didn’t get in trouble for that knowing how my mom was at the time, omg 😭.

Catch lightning bugs was so fun. Our friends who lived across the field from us had an uncle who used to play with all of us and passed out large jars once and had us catching as many lightning bugs as we could 🥺. Then we let them go whaa…

We used to play made up games with the kids from the neighborhood we barely knew, (one time, my mom through my sister and I a huge birthday party for our 6th b-day and got us a Black Barbie cake. We named the little girl on the cake “Ashley,” and she instantly became a new character in our Jerry springer ass doll play time lol. Literally every kid from the neighborhood showed up even though we didn’t know most of them but it was all so fun, we didn’t even care, man. Our cake was huge and we had a good time running around and getting dirty. I remember our apartment being filled with a gazillion balloons that my mom and her friend at the time, helped blow up together.

Playing at the park (I used to HATE when the big kids would show up because they wouldn’t let us get off of the giant tire and would continue to spin us around like crazy until it was scary 👎🏾.) Going to the candy stores was also fun… (my mom used to also run the most POPULAR candy store in the hood 😭. My siblings and I used to sneak into the snacks that she’d buy in bulk from the warehouse and hope that she didn’t find out before putting them on the shelf before opening up the store. Kids were running in and out of our backdoor (it faced the street and my mom kept the door open all day until she closed the store. All of the snacks were pushed up against the wall on a giant shelf as soon as you walked in. I think my brother’s father stole the self tbh) all day and my little brothers father used to be the one to cook all of the ground beef and warm up the cheese for the kids who I wanted to buy chips with cheese. Fun times)

I’m all over the place but man, I just wished that the world was kinder, especially to children. They’re so sensitive and any fucked up thing can changed the trajectory of their entire lives. And you have awful parents who are so desperate for attention, living vicariously through their little girls and boys, actively putting them in harm’s way for follows, likes, and views. They don’t see their kids as worth protecting, only toy. The sad thing is, these people know exactly what they’re doing by exposing their children to the world. You run your child’s account and see house comments from very obvious predators calling your child sexy and shit. It’s just… :(. I know that not everyone was fortunate enough to have a decent childhood (we were poor as hell but were happy) or parents who loved you enough to not put you in harms way and I am so sorry for that…. because you deserved better. But fuck. It’s so dark, man. It shouldn’t not be normalized to see little girls wearing full face makeup and long nails, trying to look older than what they are. And they don’t even know what they’re doing. They’re just babies, man. They should be playing outside and catching lightning bugs. Getting dirty from playing in the mud and dirt. Playing red light, green light and shit. Not worrying about if their contour is applied correctly. It’s bleak. The parents are getting younger and the grandparents; same boat. There’s no place left on the internet for the youth to be children and in rl, they’re clued to their phone screens and tablets all day. It’s… is it so over? I don’t fucking know, man.

[golbrocklovely]

Didn’t Elton trash Colby’s first car and asked to show his wrists when he knew he was harming himself?

All in all. I watch both accounts but Elton is just crazy. I also think he’s desperate to prove himself and to prove the paranormal like Sam. But then again, they both want to spread a message. But they both differ I guess.

He was at the Hellfire 3 days after I went there. So crazy!

this turned into such a rant omg i'm so sorry

he did wreck colby's car, but a lot of us personally believe he actually just trashed a car that looked like colby's since in the end he "gave" colby a car that look suspiciously like his and was just slightly nicer looking.

and the wrist thing NEVER happened. i've had to reiterate this on several occasions so if i seem a bit snippy about it, my apologies. but this has never happened. colby has never self harmed before, and elton has never made him show scars… since they don't exist.

here's where the rant starts in case anyone wants to read it:

the only reason this rumor infuriates me so much is that it wasn't until last year that ppl started talking about it and bringing it up but there is literally NO PROOF of it's existence. and when you ask ppl where they heard it from, they say "oh someone said it was in a video that got removed" or you also get "someone said it was in a livestream that's been deleted". my issue with this is that the last time snc collabed with elton was in 2019. and it took until 2022 for anyone to talk about this event. if that's the case…. you don't think someone would have brought it up before?? like the ENTIRE fandom just let elton make colby "show" self harm scars and it took three years for anyone to say that wasn't cool? if it happened in a livestream, which notoriously never gave saved or screen recorded all that often, how do you know it happened unless you were there and watched it and WAITED three years to say something about? and if it was in a video that only got deleted recently, no one… not a single person…. recorded it??? i've been in the fandom since 2018, this did not occur bc i've heard NOTHING about it ever until 2022 and the only place i've heard it from is tiktok.

idk who started the rumor, but i really wish they didn't. bc elton is an asshole for a lot of reasons, but this is not one of them.

sorry this is turning into a rant about elton and the tiktok fandom but i gotta vent a bit: i get that some of elton's pranks back in the day were a bit intense. and if you want to harp on the ones that got snc hurt or really emotional, also valid. but some of these fans are being upset for snc when snc don't fucking care about these pranks and SIGNED OFF on them existing and being posted in the first place !! you are talking about the same boys that did the killing best friend prank. clearly, snc can handle a douchebag who possibly destroys their car or slams a hand into their face or whatever. again, i agree that elton went above and beyond with his pranks, but like…. dear lord, please dislike him for the actual bad shit he's done.

he made a rape joke in 2020 and then tried to argue with fans about the semantics of it since he didn't "actually" make a joke about sexual assault. then he bitched about have to remove the video since the clip was at the tail end of it and only lasted like 10 second or whatever. he can't take a lick of criticism and will block fans that don't kiss his ass just bc they have something to say that isn't positive. for YEARS NOW, he has been petty and shit talking snc's name just bc of a video series they haven't done since the early half of 2021 that he believed they copied off of him BUT HE WASN'T CORRECT ABOUT THAT. tfil and 25x25 were not copies of one another. similar? sure, kinda. but not copies. and the single time snc went to the same place as elton THEY GAVE CREDIT IN THEIR VIDEO. but since then, elton has made it his mission to shit on snc any chance he gets and literally has bad mouthed them to crowds of his fans during tour (and most likely to the owners of some of these haunted places since snc weirdly can't go to some of these places for one reason or another but elton and other creators can). elton was BANNED from the conjuring house, and that alone tells me all i need to know about him. when demons can vibe in a space, but not you…. that's proof that you suck deeply as a human being. the only reason he was allowed back recently was bc of it having new owners.

everyone is harping on the old fucking pranks and dumb made up shit and not focusing on ACTUAL shit elton has done. it's like when the anons i had a couple years ago where focusing on shea lying about her age…. who CARES? there are bigger things to pay attention to !

sorry, none of this was directed at you, anon. i've just been really annoyed about tiktok and the dumb shit the fans on there say and it's getting on my last nerve that ppl are focusing on shit that does exist or lying about elton when there is plenty of proof of him being a dick irl. no need to lie on his behalf.

i just realized i never got to the rest of your ask. my bad lol

personally i can't sit thru elton's content bc i deeply don't like him. but if other ppl like him and his content, that's fine ! watch whoever you enjoy more of. my whole thing is elton is the reason i know who snc are, and i don't want to hate him. i would much rather live in the world where they're all still friends with one another and collab when they can. instead we live in the world where elton did all of that and then on top of it didn't even wish colby well when he was going thru his cancer treatment... so fuck him :)

and that's kinda cool that he was there after you. he was definitely copying you, you trend setter haha

[champagnepodiums]

If I may and it's not a bother, I want to share a bit of the bizarre juxtaposition this weekend and last few days have been for me. Feel free to ignore it though because it's a bit long lmao. On the one side you have the bad side of our passion with the whole Juncos/IndyCar mess which has me incredibly depressed. On the other side, we have a young driver called Franco Colapinto who has been the last 2 years in F3, doing a very good job for the teams he was in (this year he managed to bag 56% of the team's points in a three car team). On Friday, he said in a interview that another year in F3 wouldn't be beneficial for him and he has offers for 3 F2 teams but he doesn't have the necessary budget which is par for the course with our economy (for reference: the 2M Euros required for the budget today are 1540M argentine pesos. A year ago, 2M Euros equalled 582M Argentinian pesos. So in a year our currency became a third of its value) So one of his fans on Twitter said that she wanted to start a # and try to share and make it reach more people and big companies to see if any were willing to sponsor him. Everyone in the relatively small fandom that is f1twt Argentina loved the idea and got on board. We managed to keep the hashtag as #1 trending on Twitter in here for most of the weekend, also Tiktok and other social media. We got a lot of the biggest Argentina news channels to make articles and even show it on TV and a lot of popular local influencers to talk about it, among other things. And a lot of big and small companies contacted Franco directly to see about helping him, including the 17th biggest company here. If it works or not with contracts and stuff, that's out of our hands. But we managed to give him a lot more visibility than what he would have gotten by himself and maybe a chance. Also Franco and his management were blown away by our campaign 😂 We are completely crazy lmao but never underestimate the power of social media and working together haha. So I just wanted to share that while there is definitely a bad side and what happened to Callum should've never had happened, there is also a good side and if Franco manages to get to F2 we will, without a doubt, absolutely lose our minds 😭

THAT IS SO COOL!!!

Of course, it’s always the negative things that get highlighted and never the positive

[himemeiya]

Stumbled upon your blog yesterday and realised you were the one behind the Utena Bet On it AMV, plus all the other videos on that channel! I had a friend who had already watched RGU reccomend the show to me and when I finished the finale she sent me a bunch of videos, essays, meta, memes she really liked about Utena. Out of the videos your vine videos, your bet on it amv and your tiktok sounds utena videos all featured as Things U Gotta Watch. Top Tier. And they are! I cannot stress how good they are. I've got a friend I'm trying to get to watch utena and I'm already prepared to send your whole channel her way.

Like, your Bet On It amv is just crazy - to the point I associate the whole song with utena instead of high school musical. High School Musical Who? I have driven home from work with the song blasting and in my head I'm thinking of the corrosponding imagery in my head. listened to the song a LOT just thinking of the amv. 'blame the world but never blame you' and it focusing on anthy. the start 'everybodys tryna get in my head' with everyone who manipluates utena? the bridge speeding up through all their utena/anthys relationship until utena gets up again at the climax of the song? This video is a masterpiece.

The vines and the tiktok sounds are soooo spot on and hilarious. every onee. and seeing an upbeat version of 'empty chairs at empty tables' to the end of utena emotionally altered something in me oh my lordie. I got introduced to the song The Draw from your other amv, which is SO PERFECT for the black rose arc?

And as a Lizzy McApline fan the ceilings youtube short took me OUT! the way the details about the car, the lines about 'you dont exist' being applied to utena's prince/akio, 'story ive seen before' being the prince/princess/witch ohturi mythology and ending with anthy at the end....... !!!!

All this to say I love all your utena edits on youtube and will be watching them many times over, as well as showing them to other people. Great work. ╰⁠(⁠*⁠´⁠︶⁠`⁠*⁠)⁠╯

🥺 This message is so damn nice and I have reread it multiple times cause oh my god your appreciation of my videos just makes me so happy and I'm so glad you watched and enjoyed them!! 😭 The support I've gotten from the fandom is very heartwarming, I just love it!!!

Yes hehe I'm the one behind all those videos! The Bet On It video specifically was one that lived in my head for YEARS until I finally sat down and decided to make it everyone else's problem too 😂 I would just listen to the song on repeat while geting overly emotional imagining Utena's journey and the fact I was tearing up to a Troy mf Bolton song was so unhinged 💀 yet now look at me, I have spread my vision like a plague amongst the fandom and everyone else gets to be just as unhinged over the golf course disney movie meme song as I am ⛳️ I would have it no other way. My favorite comments on that video are the ones along the lines of "I clicked this thinking it was gonna be funny but now I'm crying" cause if that doesn't just sum up the experience of Revolutionary Girl Utena itself then idk what does 😂

RGU's tonal conflict is one of my favorite things so choosing goofy audios for the end of the show was such a treat lmfao. And ugh The Draw is just such a good and ominous song. I rlly love how the Black Rose arc is all about radicalizing character's emotions to the point where they'll do anything to get what they think will fix their lives. Reverse therapy with Mikage is a hell of a drug. 🦋☞

I rlly feel like Ceilings captures that self-sacrificial "first love" feeling so many girls go through (especially with men) where they're uncomfortable and can't be open but ignore all those red flags until it gets to a point where things crumble and they realize the relationship never existed how they were imagining it. GAH THE FEELINGSSSS.

Sheesh thank you so much again for this message, it really brightened my week and was so touching to read. 😭💜 If I may humbly offer some video suggestions (if you haven't already watched them) I really love the For Your Love amv by Mari F and the Utena in 7 Minutes amv by Akilice. The first rlly captures that melancholic yet hopeful tone of Utena & Anthy and the latter has the audacity to make me emotional over a goddamn acapella Hamilton mashup of all things 💀 (the It's Quiet Uptown part literally destroys me every time.....). Digi Story has an Utena Deep Dive Analysis that I really enjoy, he talks about how RGU is "prismatic" in it's storytelling where there's no singular interpretation because there's just so much to look at and analyze. And finally, the Therefore You and Me animatic by edsartfactory literally changed my life it's ridiculously good!!

AHH thanks once again and I hope you have a great weekend!! 💞

[mangoposts]

no literally most of the fandom (especially tiktok fans) are crazy and i just know that they would lose so many followers and subscribers if the announced a relationship which rlly fucking sucks bc i agree w u i would love to see those corny ass couple videossss

-🎞️

Fr that’s just how it be but for me?????? Naw im signed IN to youtube every wednesday and friday for those couples challenges and car videos like i want it

[cozymochi]

im so sorry people are being assholes in the comments of ur iz animatics :((( they bring such joy and are so well done!! forever grateful that you share you art <3 even if you decide to take them down i just wanted to let you know that you are appreciated <3<3<3 hoping your day goes well and you find small unexpected delights

I don’t plan on taking them down. That carnal part of me gets a lil’ joy when I still see nice comments anyway. It’s only been a year, but I still get comments! So that’s crazy.

BUT!!

Another fear I do have is the response if I do post again, and it’s completely different than what those 2.4k subs are expecting to see. I’ve already warned about it literally a year in advance, and then again very recently in multiple places. Idk why I SHOULD be uneased by it, but it’s not like IZ fans are quiet when it comes to their distaste when something changes. *cough.* It’s part of why I’ve distanced myself from that fandom (there’s a myriad of reasons but still).

Insanity incoming:

I don’t have immediate plans to make more animatics, they’re kind of long term thing to consider. Back when I used to make them I had NOTHING but free time and my biggest concern was feeding myself cuz my home environment was horrid and I had zero means of leaving since I lived in bum fuck nowhere! Since my last yt upload I moved out, was in a car wreck (not even 2 days in), my own car went through thousands of dollars in repairs, i got a job, went through a period where I worked nearly 100hrs for several months consecutively with hardly any breaks, and to think! It wasn’t and it’s still not sustainable. Things changed. And I do not want to go “home.” After being forced to visit family again a month ago I especially don’t want to go back.

The channel was literally a dumping ground. I got those 2k subs when I wasn’t posting for a year. So! You can imagine I might not be prioritizing a channel I only used as a dumping ground or in a state to make fully or even barely boarded videos and shitposts weekly or monthly. Idk what these people want from me schedule wise. I make $0 from it, and monetizing for a few cents isn’t worth it. I didn’t even get paid when I made thumbnails and assets for bigger channels lmfao. Yeah, I did do that. Wouldn’t know tho. Paid in “exposure” hurr hurr or “omg i need that money myself XDD cmon” whatever backwards excuse.

So what’s next in line but a bunch of strangers with fickle attention being passive aggressive and demanding I make more stuff when I say multiple times that I don’t intend to, and if I do (big if) it WON’T be what they came here for. They aren’t paying me. It’s not like I have a gajillion other things to be concerned about.

…Okay, that was a tangent.

Those few condescending comments make me just wanna outright cancel what iz stuff was left on the backburner. It was more like an indefinite hiatus until I can stomach finishing them. The files take up space anyway for the projects I’m actually interested in. Even if all of them are purely hypotheticals until I can get my focus together (which isn’t likely to happen anytime soon).

sorry about the TMI rant for a second but!! MAN!! It’s frustrating! If anything I could very well take them down. But, I won’t. Besides, for all I know some tiktok took some and it’s getting an exponentially higher amount of views anyway. I should at least keep mine…

It’s not like i don’t WANT to use it for actual new things, but the sheer pressure keeps me away. I get enough pressure to make animatics offline as it is. And if someone out there is gonna be all like “well who cares what those kids think” believe me, I get it and I promise don’t care. But at the same time it’s egghhhhhh. I delete the comments anyway.… however that doesn’t mean they still won’t bug me.

Considering all of the above it’s a miracle I don’t just take them down.