#the sceptical fedora

[fruityyamenrunner]

This community note on the platform formerly known as Twitter is a noteworthy example of the dire state of anti-woo.

This note is going to get policed by polite people as being written by the ghost of a fedora atheist (derogatory) (indeed, the epithet attached by the person who brought it to my attention was "new atheist reddit tier shit") and is therefore ludicrous.

I note first that aalewis' famous quote is from 2013, a time when even *atheism*, let alone "scepticism" was on the downswing, hence aalewis' otherwise unremarkable quote taking off both within and further fuelling the reaction. That was almost 10 years ago.

Here's a Google trends graph of the colocation "fedora atheist'. The step is in 2012. The "fedora atheist" as an unmemed "authentic" phenomenon - if there ever was one - is essentially a late 2000s figure, becoming a *memed* folk devil in the early 2010s.

This folk devil, ten years on, can still be evoked in the face of a very minor anti-woo reaction like the above.

But this response is *itself* compromised in a way no actual fedora wearing skeptic speaking about alternative medicine before (idk where to date the beginning of this wave) would be.

The response objects, up front, to the characterisation of these modalities as "traditional" on the grounds they are modern inventions.

This is no good -- anyone who has read the book titles of Eric Hobsbawm knows that traditions can date from any time, so it's a bad argument.

The argument the anons writing it *really* want to make is the one they offer halfheartedly -- that those modalities are *unscientific* -- that they are "pseudoscience" --, and that scientific authorities like the WHO should not be promoting them.

But they can't -- the spirit of the times is so anti-anti-woo that you get the above which, read literally, suggests that what makes something a pseudoscience is that it was developed parallel to a science. And makes no argument that the UN should not be promoting it -- that is purely implicit.

[spiderfreedom]

Overlap between the radical feminist and rationalist world today.

If you don't know what Rationalists are, it's a Silicon Valley-centric subculture/ideology about trying to be more rational, in theory. In practice, it means you've read either everything posted by Eliezer Yudkowsky on LessWrong, or (more commonly today) everything posted by Scott Alexander on SlateStarCodex/AstralCodexTen.

Scott Alexander is well known for his, uh, interesting ideas on feminism and women. He is a proponent of the idea that women are just naturally not inclined towards STEM fields and that this is a better explanation for their underrepresentation. He is especially famous for having written 'Untitled', where he argues that pop feminists who talk about nerd entitlement are cruel character assassins and that hating fedoras is a dogwhistle for hating Jewish men.

You may think a subculture like this would be primed for sceptical, non-mainstream thinking about transition science, at least, but Rationalism has a very high rate of trans women (MTFs) participating in it, and a very high rate of defending the interpretation that the 'best thing we can do' is to just go along with the idea that trans {gender} are {gender}, in a sort of utilitarian "it causes the least harm" sort of way.

(There are some people in the subculture strongly against this, including sex dysphoric men, but they are a small minority.)

With all this in mind, I think of this part as exemplary:

Scott: This is going to sound insensitive, but as far as “bad US medical policies” go, 2,500 children having their lives low-key ruined is nothing. I can think of a dozen US medical policies that are much worse than that!

It is certainly the case that the actual, objective number of kids going on puberty blockers or youth transition is pretty small. Even as doctors try to make these treatments accessible, there simply aren't enough treatment centers to meet what they see as rising demand.

Now if you want to say "I'd rather focus my energies on an issue that objectively affects more people," I get that. But I don't trust Scott on this issue, for the reason that he is a noted anti-feminist (as in, he thinks feminists and feminist activism is untrustworthy) and a noted apologist for current levels of female representation in fields (it's 'inherent interest' after all).

For me, I see the misuse of youth transition as a way to turn gender non-conforming kids and gay kids into gender conforming straight kids who are more attractive. (The end goal of making youth transitioners into more sexually attractive partners is stated everywhere.) I also see that the ideology behind youth transition is used to pathologize gender non-conforming and gay kids into thinking that there is something horribly wrong with them and that they are "really" the opposite gender. Even if only a small number of kids actually get to take the puberty blockers, the ideology supporting the puberty blockers - that gender non-conforming behavior and dissatisfaction with one's birth body are incontrovertible signs of permanent cross-gender identity - is harmful and pathologizing to gnc/gay kids. This ideology has effects beyond the number of kids with access to clinics and "supportive" parents, and I'm seeing it in how every slightly gender non-conforming teenage girl I meet is calling herself non-binary or transmasc. The erasure of gnc women is a tragedy and a false salvation to the pains of misogyny.

I don't expect any of this to matter to Scott, though, because he has shown multiple times on his blog that he is really not that interested in women or outcomes for women. He thinks if someone is distressed and wants to transition and shows signs that transition would help, then they should be medicalized. I doubt he cares about what this means for gender non-conforming women or gay women. It is possible he thinks gender non-conforming women are on some spectrum of transness anyway, and that we'd have been happier transitioned than not.

I'm mostly just surprised at the lack of curiosity. One of the things I like about Rationalists is the sense of curiosity. It's a group that really attracts strange people who like to think very deeply. Scott is a psychiatrist. He suspects something weird is going on with youth transition, yet he's utterly uncurious about what it is, or why. Is he afraid of seeming 'obsessed' with gender? Does he think that gnc girls being medicalized and pathologized at a young age is no big loss, because they can just rebuild identities as 'trans men', so it's not worth spending time on?

Having read the accounts of detransitioners, I know that they are constantly minimized and silenced on account of being a 'small number.' I also know that detransitioners, whether youth or adult, have valuable things to add to the conversation. Even if it's a small population that we're helping, I want to help them, because I know most people's response will probably be like Scott's - "oh, there's so few of them, that's not a big deal." It is a big deal to the people affected, and it's a big deal to everyone who is told in some way that something is wrong with them because they are gnc/gay/autistic females.

[dorianbrightmusic]

Some Megami Ibunroku Persona headcanons about the characters

Uesugi Hidehiko (”Brown”)

Hidehiko, were he to work hard, would likely be at the very top of his class. His intelligence is on par with Nanjo’s, as he enjoys memorising trivia for the purpose of amusing others (e.g. he can conjugate verbs in Latin because he looked into the ‘Romanes eunt domus/romani ite domum’ sketch after seeing it). Trivia turned into facts turned into goddamn syllabi. However, unlike Nanjo, he prioritises his (failing) social life, so he attempts to cultivate the image of a carefree slacker by intentionally stuffing things up. His study habits are incredible (he spends hours every night working), but he doesn’t bother applying them in exams. 

For those who also ship Hidehiko and Nanjo, I’ve got a little bit more with this headcanon. The year after the game takes place, Hidehiko stopped failing tests intentionally, likely out of an attempt to impress Nanjo. (Nanjo: “You need help with your homework?” Hidehiko: “I’m the year below you, but sure.” *Proceeds to prove more helpful to Nanjo than vice versa.* Nanjo: ‘What the heck was that?”) 

Hidehiko has a strange and lovely friendship with Reiji. Though initially terrified of the six-pack leader, they bonded over card tricks. (Reiji is stated to be good at them in-game, while I imagine Hidehiko using them for pranks and such.) As a result, Hidehiko has also become something of an academic anchor for Reiji. 

Hidehiko’s ego was, for the longest time, in fact an inferiority-superiority complex. His character development not only ended his cowardice, but also gave him the ability to properly love himself rather than plead for others’ attention in an attempt to validate his worthwhile.

Hidehiko’s hair is partially dyed. For a long time, he experimented with different colours (including blue), but he decided that brownish-red plus the natural black was a good combination and has stuck with it since. 

Kido Reiji

[SPOILERS AHEAD] 

After Kandori’s death, Reiji inherited a share of his money. Reiji’s hatred toward Kandori was almost completely one-sided, while Kandori was fond of his little brother/brother(er). Reiji had absolutely no idea what to do with several thousand dollars, but were it not for them, he probably would have completely broken down out of inability to support the growing family by the time of Persona 2. 

Around this time, Reiji, with Hidehiko’s assistance, started to actually study, as he realised some degree of financial literacy wasn’t going to kill him. Nor was history. Or geography. Or Japanese. Or maths.

Before the game started, Reiji broke Naoya’s nose. (Because, Naoya, do you really think flirting with an antisocial man with hair-trigger fists is a good idea?) Naoya still hasn’t forgiven him. (The nose is still the only thing deemed unattractive on Naoya’s face by the St. Hermelin alumni. To be fair, it looks like an off-centre shingle between the eyes.)

Kirishima Eriko (”Elly”)

Eriko, like Masao, love the creative pursuits. She paints and plays piano in her spare time. She and Masao disagree on multiple points, however. Eriko likes still, ambient art. Masao likes politically-relevant (and politically incorrect) graffiti. Eriko is absentminded enough to forget that politics is a thing. 

Eriko, like Tamaki, attends the St. Hermelin fencing club. She often discusses Ideo Hazama with her, and she’s very interested in exactly what happened at Kurokaza Gakuen.

Ayase Yuka

She never stops speaking in kogalgo. Reiji is probably going to do something horrible to her nose if she keeps it up. She and Hidehiko briefly dated (it ended with both of them just forgetting to do romantic things and realising they were acting like friends anyway), so he’s the only one who understands her. Eriko regards kogal speech like another language and wants to learn it from Yuka. 

Yuka, like Eikichi, dyes her hair every day. The amount of bleach and product used is unthinkable.

Mayuzumi Yukino (Yukki)

Because of her old stint as a yankii, new transfer students and such often don’t trust her immediately. She aimed to bring Reiji out of his delinquency and into something more civilised. Thus, she befriended him. She still rides a motorcycle to school. Without a license. 

In Persona 2 IS, she wanted to assist Eikichi with acting civil. (It worked somewhat.) As a result, once she left the party, her legacy lived on in Eikichi mentoring Jun as Yukino had mentored him. 

My attempts at posting regularly as of late have been fairly nonexistent, but commencing February 22, I’m going to try and get something up here every Friday. It’s mostly going to just be stuff such as the random head canons above, but who knows what might happen. School and music are going to disrupt this, of course, but regularity’s now a semi-priority.

[mafiabosstsuna]

I love you guys so much. Gonna miss ya

((The admins will miss you too, dear anon! Also..... I might have taken some liberties with this ask. ^^;;; - admin nana))

Giotto:

You didn’t know why he was with you.

You were nothing special. Nothing particularly important. So easy to overlook you as you lingered at the edges of the crowd, tucking your hands behind your elbows, visibly tense despite the laughter, the cheer lightly brushing against your senses. Your smiles too strained and your attention too faked, practically sweetly false, and not that very well either.

Yet he looked to you with a warmth that almost burned, felt too good, too bright to understand. He looked at you as if you shined brighter than any star as if your very words left him breathless, something more than what you knew you were…

An ordinarily, painful person that was just – nothing without him.

And that hurt more than anything else because to think about being there without him… left you empty.

He breathed life into you, energy and excitement. You wanted him, you wanted to see as he did, with such rapture and feelings, so deep and consuming that it frightened you sometimes.

He was too much when you were too little.

You feared one day it would burn so completely and you’d never get back up again.

It isn’t healthy, you thought, to be so dependent on another as you were. To be unable to live freely without a piece of them there. It isn’t healthy, but knowing wasn’t the same as doing. Anyone could know as much as they wanted, but unless they wanted to do, to change, then nothing would.

It took you great courage to realize that, and even greater courage to act upon that.

You left, and the freedom of it had been both exhilarating and frightening.

Truth be told it had been very painful, the hardest first weeks you have ever had to work through. Everything had felt off balance, and you’d wake up with choked tears, shaking all over. It felt as if Giotto had become an addiction you needed to overcome.

It was only thanks to Alessio that you had been able to struggle past it all, a weighted, stable anchor that kept you from the sea of doubt and uncertainty. He was an odd fellow, resembling more of his mother than his father, soft-faced and as strong as the Rose she was named by. Alessio had helped you greatly, and he was, perhaps, one of your greatest friends.

It was why, when he had come to you, babbling about someone he had met, saying how he thought he was in love and he needed your help, that you decided to do just that. At first, you were confused. It didn’t seem as if Alessio was attracted to anyone. Yet here he was, looking back at you hopefully, and you just knew you had to help him. Why wouldn’t you? He was there for you in the days that felt so dark, so hard to see the light through, where you just wanted to run back and into Giotto’s arms and to the person you had been before, so small and insecure as if nothing had ever happened.

Giotto might have made you feel surreal, so loved entirely that you could have drowned in that feeling, but it was Alessio who made you strong.

“You were there for me when I had a bad day.” You laughed.

He gave you a sceptical look, “It must have been a long bad day then.”

…. It was meant to be like that.

It was… supposed to be like that.

You had hoped, even, to have called Giotto after being with Alessio for the last few months. That perhaps he could visit and see who you had become, and to perhaps come to know the dear friend you had learned to love dearly (just as strongly as Giotto who even now made your heart race). Yet that wasn’t how it had turned out. Instead, the light of the apartment was heavily shrouded, the silence so overbearing that you could almost believe the shadows were writhing and moving with life.

Giotto, a dark ember that burned too much, was standing in that darkness. He stood there and just the sight of him made you want to turn away in fear of the heat that flickered in his eyes, on his hands… in his heart. He burned so strongly that you could choke on the very air he breathed into you.

You sobbed, voice cracking, even as you could see, in the corner of your eye a slumped body just behind Giotto. “All I wanted was to be better.” You whispered, begging, pleading to any god that this was just a nightmare.

“But you were,” Giotto said, unable to understand why you flinched away from his touch, why you refused to look at him and see the dark splatters on his skin. “You were an ordinary person, the most important thing in existence… and he took it from me.”

Oh.

You remembered now.

The words he had said the very first time you had agreed to be his lover.

“Look at you. You’re not so bad, almost beautiful. So ordinary. It makes me feel happy.” His expression was almost peaceful if not for the faint furrow between his brows. His eyes looked to you, open and imploring, “Promise that won’t ever change. Even when you feel like you’re drowning, promise that this look in your eyes, that softness, living… promise me… promise me…”

He wanted you to love so much that you would drown in it.

You thought, that perhaps, he had drowned you a long time ago.

Reborn:

You knew very well that you were not someone worthy of him.

You knew very well that you were not anything beautiful, nor amazing. You were simply you, and that person was someone who held great insecurities. Such deep feelings of it that you just couldn’t sleep, listening to the whispers your own mind told you, such biting cruel words that twisted into your skin, into your heart, into your very mind.

But you had always been that way. It wasn’t hard to be that way.

It was hard though, to pretend.

With a laugh that was just too loud, too odd to even believe real, and an awkward little body that tried to mimic the behaviour of others only to fall short, a person playing pretend. You wanted to be better, needed to be more than you knew you were, to be the people he surrounded himself with – such wonderful people with strong shoulders and gleaming eyes.

But you were not, and each day you looked back at the fading smile in the mirror, wondering why it had to be so.

You had never had to try before.

You had never had to worry before about the softness of your voice, or the restless fidgeting of your hands. Never had to worry about a single thing about you. Yet standing next to him made you feel small, made you realize that this man dressed in his black suits, hair groomed back and fedora neatly turned at an incline… was a better person than you could ever be.

Perhaps you were jealous.

Yes.

You knew you were.

You were jealous of this man you cared for greatly, who didn’t feel shame in himself or in anything he said, no matter how ridiculous it truly was. Of this man who had no difficulties speaking, who seemed so relaxed, at ease in his own skin. Of this man whose heart didn’t race when feeling confronted, nor whose throat felt uncomfortably dry when realizing the shortcomings, the flaws in the choices he’s made.

Some days you did wish you believed him when he told you that you were important. And perhaps you did believe it some days, only to watch as it twisted, mangled itself apart in front of you into something less than it should have been, becoming wrong in ways that it should never be. A monster that clung to your skin, voice garbled and distorted, a demon of your own making.

You gave a shuddering breath as you leaned back with a grimace. Only to startle as two warm hands draped themselves on either side of you, pulling you closer, deeper into a familiar and comforting scent of brewed dark coffee and gunpowder, of groundwood and something like bottled sunlight.

Reborn’s hot breath tickled your ear, and your eyes closed, biting your lip to keep away the shiver building up at the base of your spine. It didn’t stop your toes from curling, nor from your breath hitching in surprise.

“I can hear you thinking.” He said, “What is it that is making you look so upset?”

You whispered back to him, voice carefully even, “I thought you could read minds.”

He hummed, the vibration rumbling against your back.

“I can. But I want to hear it from you. I want to hear those words you seem so determined to bottle up, to burn your hands with.” There was a pause and when you didn’t speak he continued on. His tone gentle and his touch just as sweet. “I can see it, you know, what you’re thinking of. I can see that you can’t even believe it for a moment that you’re special… It’s just so easy to see, to hear.”

Your body instinctively tensed up, colour pooling at your cheeks. Yet all you could do was listen, even as your stomach tightened uncomfortably with every word he spoke into your ear. Too damning, too close to your heart for your comfort; his arms a tight cage and his lips burning against your flesh.

“You think you’re not worth it. But I think that you are the most remarkable human in existence, and every day I wonder how did I meet you – you with your eyes, and your kindness, and you’re never giving up… giving up on no one but yourself.”

“I don’t –”

“But you do.” The retort was sharp, factual, leaving no room to say otherwise. “And I can’t stand it.”

You flinched, eyes dampening at his words.

“I can’t stand the way you degrade yourself so much, and look at me as if you just can’t understand why.” Reborn gave you a tight squeeze, muttering surely that he would make you see it, that he’d say it a thousand times if he must. He peppered small kisses at the curve of your shoulder. “And you know where we’re going to start?” He hummed, “With those words you heard last week, from that person. I know you were speaking to them again.”

“You have all the capabilities of seeing the truth. But you always refuse. But I know very well that you are –”

“I thought I said to ignore them,” He said, voice tinged with disappointment. “I don’t care how long they have been with you, people who care don’t say such things like that.”

“ – and unloved.”

“I know, but…”

Reborn hissed at you, and you quieted. There was a long moment of silence between you, and then Reborn spoke up again, telling you that there would be no more relapses. He had spoken to them, had made sure they would not bother you again. There was a burning anger that he had done so and yet a just as equal relief that you did not have to hear any more. No longer would their words sink into your mind, no longer would it poison it, twist it until your own mind was against you.

You understood Reborn was only waiting for you to see yourself positively, and for that you didn’t say anything more but a quiet thank you, never mentioning the odd stain on his left fingernail (of crumbling red that smelt faintly of iron), nor mentioned the broken vase that you had found in the trash (different than the new one sitting on the coffee table, more indigo than purple and not chipped at the bottom side). You never said a word, and for that Reborn held you tighter, reassuring words being buried into your heart.

Kawahira:

There used to be an odd man you knew when you were younger. You can’t quite recall what he looked like, but you do remember that he liked the snow, the new cold air of winter and the almost magical touch it brought to the earth.

You can’t quite recall what his voice sounded like, but you do remember that his words were never quite blunt, secrets tied up in other things, too much for a child of that age. Even more, you recalled the almost bitterness of his smile and the faraway glaze, the sadness and uncertainty of his gaze.

He was an odd, sad man. An odd, sad man that you had never understood, but who you had wanted to speak to underneath the biggest tree. Those were times you recalled being the happiest, a feeling so fleeting now but one very cherished.

“Tell me… am I a good man?”

Then one day he left, not a whisper of his departure, nothing but the remnants of the winter painting the ground and the newly budding leaves of the trees. He felt like a dream, an illusion that had been fabricated from the falling white mush of the skies, and the fading heat of your breathe visible in the air. He was a dream, you thought, but one you cherished no matter how frayed and forgotten the memory was.

Sometimes you thought you saw him, in the littlest things. In the oddest places, but nowadays you saw him in a person.

You knew it was silly, but sometimes you thought he had come back as –

“You’ll catch a cold sitting out here.”

You jerked in surprise, looking back over your shoulder to see Kawahira making his way down the steps, dressed in a warm scarf and in his plain green kimono. He seemed quite at ease despite the almost flimsy layers of warmth he had chosen for himself, even as the cold wind bit at his nose and brushed at his hair, he didn’t make a single suggestion that he was bothered.

A biting chill nipped at your red nose and you fixed him with a pointed glare, “Says the man who thinks he’ll keep warm in a flimsy kimono, sandals, and a scarf. Me on the other hand,” You trailed off, nuzzling into the warm jacket two sizes too big. Hands perfectly warm in the fuzzy coloured gloves and shawl-like scarf draped over your shoulders. “I’m warm and cosy!”

“…without boots on.”

You glanced down to your feet, covered snuggly with fuzzy socks that were slowly getting wet from sitting in the snow for so long. You hadn’t really noticed, the thick wool keeping most of the brunt of the ice away from your flesh. With an upturn of your nose, you retorted surely, “The warmest socks in the world.”

A soft smack at the back of your head made you yelp. He sat down with a disapproving glare, still looking as if the winter had no effect on him. “You’re just trying to get sick.” Kawahira hissed. Then he paused, scrutinized you shrewdly and then muttered, “Didn’t you sit out here when I met you? Out here in the cold…”

You hummed, thinking. “No, there was another time before, not here but somewhere else. In the little shop, remember?”

“And then I actually spoke to you out here –” He nodded before waving a hand dismissively at you, “the crazy person sitting on a cold wet bench in winter, for hours on end.”

“I do not!” You gasped, affronted by the accusation, even as your cheeks coloured with heat. You turned quickly away when he rose his brow, hoping he wouldn’t notice the redness of your cheeks, and if he did, would blame it on the whistling breeze.

Kawahira made a sound, one that just spoke of his lack of belief in your words, but did not say anything more on the subject. Instead, he quietly contemplated the grey skies and then downwards to the packed snow on the ground. There seemed to be something heavy on his mind.

“Most people don’t really meet me more than once, and yet I did meet you once, and then I met you again.” His words were soft, carrying so low that you had to almost strain your ears to hear him. “In the whole wide universe, I met you for another time.”

The way he said it seemed very special, made it seem as if the coincidence between you both hadn’t been just that. It left you strangely warm, and you laughed, brushing off his words with a simple, “Don’t be silly. You make it sound as if meeting me was something special.”

You thought that he was seeing too much in something that wasn’t really there.

“But it was. And you are,” He said with fierce certainty, “you’re special.”

You stared at him curiously, as if seeing something there, more than just the man sitting beside you right now. You shook your head and looked away, “He used to say that.” You muttered.

He looked curious, “Who did?”

“A man… ” You shrugged weakly, “can’t remember now.”

“…Is he gone?”

“No, but he used to… I don’t know. He used to just appear, and when I asked where he had gone, it was as if he never existed. I can’t remember him now, but I do remember the feeling he used to give me…”

There was a long drawn out silence between the two of you.

“… What was it?”

You stared at the ground, thinking about the man you had once known. A dream of a man that was slowly fading into obscurity. But not the feelings, never that, never the warmth he gave even at his saddest. It lingered even now, a tiny little flame you held onto even after so long, doubts and insecurities creeping in like monsters in the night.

It was silly but sometimes just the thought of that odd man from your youth gave you –

“Hope.” You said, “He gave hope.”

And sometimes when you looked at Kawahira, with his pale skin, white hair, and round glasses, you thought of that odd man whose eyes had been old and sad. Kawahira was nothing like that man, you knew. But sometimes the tiny blur between them was enough to make you wonder, to believe in the little magic that the world just didn’t have.

Without it, you would surely be nothing.

You did not want to contemplate that nothing.

Perhaps it was rude, perhaps it was selfish, but as long as Kawahira continued to give that feeling to you, then it did not matter what he was or wasn’t.

In the back of your mind, a voice whispered that perhaps you should. That there was more than what was shown, what was given, and what was received. Kawahira was more than just a memory, but the thought of letting go, of letting the long years of whispers you knew were buried deeply (shifting restlessly in the depths of your heart) out, you would not be able to live with it.

You were not a strong person, you knew.

And hope can do many things. If it helped you to hold on as tightly as you were, then that was fine, yes… that was good.

“Maybe you’ll see him again someday.”

“Time moves on for all of us. But I want you to remember this, no matter what occurs, you are brilliant and you are loved.”

[homestucky]

god ive gotten myself into one of those states again where im stuck in an imaginary argument about like, social politics and i cant escape it because its in my head and its tiring me out. phew. its bcaus theres a guy at my uni who ive never spoken to about it before but ive heard hes... sceptical of feminism. or gender inequality in general. and its never come up but i have to interact with him fairly regularly and hes a douchelord so i feel like its inevitable it will so im like. mentally preparing myself . having the argument when hes not even here. and tbh like any time i argue with anyone i start to doubt myself and think ‘why do i think this, what if im wrong’ so now apropos of nothing im in a complete spiral of self doubt generated by a theoretical conversation that may or may not happen in my future. its so stupid. but i feel like if it ever happens i need to be mentally prepared so i dont crumble. so now im just. crumbling of my own accord lol

hes just almost definitely one of those people whos like, straight white male, whos an atheist yet worships at the altar of our cultural notion of male rationality. thinks he was made in its image, and that being right is his divine right. thinks hes immune to propaganda and if you have to say ‘but the cultural/social/emotional effects...’ about something, in his mind, youve already lost, because he doesnt think social structures hold any power, because theyve only ever held him up, and he thinks he got there own his own. also he wears a fedora. fuck him

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2018 preshow: #10

10. ISRAEL

1) Pokémon references + 2) Clucking + 3) Plus-sized underdoggoddess = Eurovision Winner? :o

I don’t want to insult your intelligence by explaining Netta’s self-evident greatness to y’all but we can agree she fuckin’ kicks ass, right? I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say my first reactions to Netta fell somewhere between being gobsmacked, laughter, headbobbing and spamming the replay button. You can’t process the brilliancy of “Toy” in just one listening, let alone a tumblr write-up. 

So let us take a moment to focus on those who don’t like her, because the Netta Naysayers are vocal indead. Some criticisms are valid (I personally find the videoclip kinda annoying because it doesn’t fit Netta’s sweet, introverted personality at all), but others are downright  O__O-inducing. The worst ones claim that, and I paraphrase:  “’TOY’ IS DISGUSTING IT ENCOURAGES MALE BASHING #FeminismIsAPlagueOnSociety #JeSuisHarvey”, like... lol? 

“Toy” is a humourous empowering anthem, most of the things said in it are in fuckin’ jest, if you take them seriously ur az stoopid az ur smart...phone...x The song is “Beauty never lies” on fuckin’ acid. True, “Toy” actively mocks some men, but only those who mistreat women: Fuckbois, Fedora Lords and MRA’s. Women aren’t objects (or toys) and should be loved and respected, like all other human beings. That’s the message. ZOMG SO HARSH ON MEN!!!  (bear in mind that most of Netta’s haters are actually WOMEN. :smh @ all that selfhate)

As for me, My favourite part is the text. It’s soooo cleverly written: References to 90s toys (Simon Says, Pokémon), Gal Gadot (Who, like Netta, is Israeli and also a huge role model to Netta), the comparison of disrespectful men to children and/or coward, the clucking, the beatboxing, the EVERYTHING. I can’t pick a favourite line as the entire song is amazing, start to finish. The rhythm and vocals are on point, Netta is disarmingly charismatic, this is an all-round perfect entry.

However, as you may know, Netta is pretty much the concensus favourite; Having her as #1 would be boring, even if she was my fave (she isn’t) and since I’m a huge advocate the Underrated, I feel it’s appropriate to give some love to the underappreciated gems in this year and make them SHINE. 10th is still respectable for a pre-show rank and if Netta owns in Lisbon, I won’t hesitate to put her even higher ���0♥

Qualification Odds: Locked

Lol this is going through to the finals, no doubt. I had doubts when “Toy” first came out, but since then “Toy” has built up so much momentum it’s impossible to even think of an NQ now. She’s in the final. 

Jury of Televote: Televote

Israel are easily going to be in the top 3 with the televoters, even with a song this divise: A plus-sized woman making chicken noises will undoubtably spark instant dislike among some of the casual watchers (most notably the hausfraus), but the beauty in the televote lies in that only the positive votes will count and the haters will be able to do jack squat about it :) 

Juries is a different story since juries can vote against certain countries if they choose to. Netta’s biggest hurdle in that regard is not her song or her performance, but the banner she performs under. Israel is a notable Shit Country, and that stuff actually does matter (It effectively caused Russia to lose in both 2015 AND 2016). If the juries decide to rig against Netta, she’ll be this year’s Gabbani. 

Speaking of which,... Can Netta Win? :o

Ever since the reveal Netta has been dominating the betting odds; I personally... have always remained sceptical though, whoops. Emmelie was the last pre-show favourite who actually managed to win; Sanna got as high as third, but since then Stig&Elina, Amir and Francesco ALL failed to even make the top five. I’ve always felt this would be Netta’s destiny as well as she does fit that group of contestants more than the winner circle. 

However, I’m starting to change my mind and I’m slowly starting to belief she could win lol. A huge factor in deciding the winner is the HYPE created around their entry, as well as favourable press reviews. Netta is really the only act to achieve both in ample enough measures to win. At this point she’s definitely the act to beat. If Netta doesn’t win, then who would? Does anyone know what the weather in Vilnius is like this part of the year? 

And on that note,

Projected Placement: 1st-4th in the semifinal, 1st-6th in the Grand Final. 

RANKING SO FAR:

[endsbloody]

    *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ The  life  of  a  hunter  is  a  volatile  ,  dangerous  and  unpredictable  thing.  Unpredictable  to  the  point  in  which  Dean  Winchester  and  the  rest  of  his  kind  stare  death  in  the  face  every  day.  Sometimes  it  loses  ,  and  sometimes  it  wins.  Waking  up  in  some  grubby  little  motel  in  a  long  line  of  many  ,  the  Winchesters’  morning  routine  is  one  of  the  only  predictable  things  about  the  day.  Take  a  shower.  Get  dressed.  Have  coffee  and  a  very  unhealthy  breakfast.  And  everything  else  from  that  point  is  completely  up  in  the  air  —  a  simultaneous  blessing  and  curse.  Everything  can  change  the  moment  Sam  looks  up  from  his  laptop  and  mutters  those  two  little  words.     “  Get  this———  ”     Another  strange  death  ,  and  the  brothers  hurry  to  question  a  witness  in  the  usual  fed  get-up.  The  guy  is  a  little  weird  ,  definitely  stoned  ,  but  soon  informs  them  of  a  man  seen  dressed  ‘  like  his  grandpa  '  choking  the  life  out  of  his  neighbor.  There  was  a  red  light  ,  and  his  watch  stopped  as  his  neighbor  is  said  to  have  aged  before  his  eyes.  This  is  a  new  one  for  the  Winchesters.  Upon  leaving  the  place  ,  Dean  is  sceptical.  “  C'mon  ,  Sam.  Are  we  really  gonna  take  the  word  of  a  guy  who  was  higher  than  a  kite  at  the  time  ?  ”      The  younger  Winchester  suggests  doing  more  research  ,  and  it  doesn't  take  long  to  find  an  article  detailing  that  the  New  York  town  had  a  history  of  inexplicable  deaths  in  the  same  manner.  In  1937  ,  three  deaths  had  been  attributed  to  '  spontaneous  combustion.  '  In 1957  ,  three  people  died  from  '  severe dehydration.  '  And  in  1977  ,  another  three  bodies  were  found  with  '  leathery  decay.  '  And  it  went  on.  Three  deaths  every  twenty  years.         After  learning  a  surveillance  skill  or  two  from  Frank  ;  the  world's  most  paranoid  tech  expert  ,  Dean  hacks  into  the  town's  security  camera  feeds  and  skips  to  the  area  the  last  victim  was  found.  The  fedora-wearing  dude  eventually  shows  up  on  the  video  feed.  From  there  ,  it  doesn't  take  long  to  find  out  his  old  address.  After  a  few  hours  of  sitting  in  front  of  the  place  with  binoculars  and  typical  brotherly  quarrelling  with  Sam  ,  the  guy  finally  leaves  and  quickly  vanishes  from  sight.     “  C'mon.  You  go  'round  back.  I'll  take  the  alley.  ”     “  What's  the  plan  here  ,  Dean  ?  ”     “  Don't  die.  ”     Dean  gets  there  first  —  just  in  time  to  clock  the  stranger  in  the  alley  ,  his  hand  wrapped  around  someone's  throat  as  the  pair  glowed  blinding  crimson  and  the  victim  shrivelled  up  like  a  raisin  in  the  sun.  “  Hey  !  ”  The  hunter  charges  toward  the  hideous  scene  with  no  elaborate  plan  in  mind  other  than  to  just  attack  the  guy  and  as  the  strange  red  light  emitting  from  the  man  grows  even  brighter  ,  Dean  tackles  him  to  the  ground.  Sam  arrives  just  in  time  to  see  his  brother  and  the  man  vanish  into  thin  air.  Oblivious  to  what  has  happened  Dean  continues  struggling  with  the  man  ;  catching  sight  of  a  ring  on  his  hand  that  appears  to  resemble  an  infinity  loop  symbol  ,  before  the  guy  slips  from  his  grasp  and  takes  off  into  the  night.  And  only  then  does  the  hunter  pay  attention  to  his  surroundings.      —————  What the hell  ?     He's  in  a  street  that  looks  like  something  straight  out  of  a  noir  movie  ,  and  his  watch  has  stopped.  Exiting  the  alley  ,  Dean  wanders  the  streets  for  a  few  minutes  in  a  mix  of  confusion  and  awe.  Scanning  the  area  slowly  ,  he  tries  to  take  it  all  in.  Old  cars  ,  a  tailoring  house  ,  the  few  people  around  wearing  clothes  ,  well  ...  like  Dean  imagines  his  grandpa  would've  worn.  Where  the  hell  is  he  ?  He  glances  down  another  alley  to  see  a  shadowy  figure  there  —  smaller  than  the  assailant.  “  Hey  ,  uh  ...  kid  ?  ”  The  hunter  pauses  when  he  gets  close  enough  to  see  the  stranger's   face.  Looks  like  he  went  ten  rounds  with  a  chainsaw.  “ ...  You  okay  ?  ”  @purosdecorazon  @xsergeantxbarnesx

[ofoatd]

Tomlinson's TV talent, Panic! At The Disco's plight to high heights & Fall Out Boy's 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs' Llama led rip off

Tomlinson's judging talent, Payne's premiering EP, One Direction's eight year 'History', Fall Out Boy's 'Thnks fr th Mmrs' lama led rip off and Panic! At The Disco's daredevil plight to high heights. One Fall Out At The Disco's fortuitous hiatus has halted, honing in on music happenings from Malik's sonically startling 'Sour Diesel' to Panic! At The Disco's pious 'Pray For The Wicked Tour’ trail. Coming back from a break like Twenty One Pilots' sabbatical suspension over One Direction's cry out for a comeback, One Fall Out At The Disco's reformed and restored, magnifying music most missed matters.

Louis Tomlinson the TV talent X Factor judge

Honing in on unblemished boyband harmonies to tearing up the table as a esteemed musical magistrate of the newly designed panel, Louis Tomlinson's lustrous leverage to the heritage of TV talent The X Factor, has been an burning notion put into motion years heretofore.

The 'Back To You' singer is going back to where his life full and long living career conspired into a spiral of One Direction domination, music mogul imprints, solo success and judging jobs upon cultured acquaintance of the panel position and being a ratings boosting figure boasted by philanthropist and public personality Simon Cowell, utilising the former boyband segments popularity purposefully to revive a dying British singing show which cultivated in collecting the worst ever final ratings in its 14 year stint, prioritising Tomlinson's tactile public marketability moreover that's the northerners notorious charismatic persona was a seamlessly shameful statement surrounding Cowell's integrity and intentions.

Whilst conference communications broke of the 26 year olds artist management role, speckles of scepticism surrounding Louis debut record release unofficially branded as LT1 fretted fans over his prioritisation of music over contest commitments with the solo singer suggesting the shows help not hindering covenant commenting "The album is still definitely my priority it doesn't change any release time me doing the show. Having come from the show it made sense to me to go on, I've always been interested in mentoring that's why I've done things in the past with my imprint label. It's something that has been on my mind".

Rolling up in a Mercedes-Benz company car stepping out from the suburbs of a renewed vintage esque Burberry check craze, the 'Just Like You' lead infiltrated into the SSE Arena Wembley situated adjacent to the worldwide wonder Wembley Stadium who hosted One Direction's three date term ‘Where We Are Tour’ in 2014. Sitting in the cushion stacked hot seat for the discovery arena auditions, cautiously crying over a returning contestant and being timidly confident within his critiques plus the stressful six chair challenge mentoring the boys bracket.

Tomlinson took time to spontaneously meet smiley faced fans fighting to stay in their seats subsequent to staff brutally blacklisting and barbarically banning fans from floor perspectives, reigniting former boyband memory flames and jettisoning James Grant Management Group and moving to Mark Gillespie and Matt Vines WMA Management after a two year time with the initial leading agency providers the Syco spin off label imprint individual is moving on, maximising his music mogul mind nostalgic to Plain White T's and Toms.

8 years of One Direction

Primary vanguards of 21st century boyband unprecedented hysteria, X Factor  graduates One Direction have been masters of pop culture craft for an existing 8 years. Sitting on stairs to selling out stadiums, singing saccharine sugar coated bubblegum pop bops apropos to endless promises of partying all night, making malcontent 'Midnight Memories' stomping upon the streets of centralised London and mulling over fornoon favourite a.m conversations to a cultivation of a dedicated demographic of assured adolescents, placid parents and benevolent boyfriends of fangirl girlfriends growing and grasping mainstream music eminence, eventually evolving as one of the highest earning boyband in history eternity.

"#8YearsOfOneDirection where has the time gone!? Thank you so much to every single person who’s ever supported us. Big love!" tweets Tomlinson the 1/4 of One Direction bio beholder, taking time  aside from audition allegiance alongside Liam Payne addressing the boyband as "Brothers" simultaneously splashing in the oceanic seas from the probably private yacht on Payne's sunny staycation, Niall Horan penning homage to "Amazing memories with the lads" and Harry Styles stating the fan support system saying "Thank you for all the love, thank you for all the support. Thank you for everything" signed off with his signature H dismissal.

Meanwhile the One Direction official outlet monotonously recalled lyricism from the 4 piece's repertoire, fan frenzy was a flurry when supposed superfan speculation sparked an outpouring in overwhelmed apocalypse of panic, pandemonium and perturb as dates for a post hiatus 2020 tour to represent and fly fifth album Made In A.M mellow ambience, the cliffhanger of an album left on the indefinite break of the 'Story Of My Life' singers surfaced upon ticketing sales service Ticketmaster's Australian December dates listings, deflecting the doubt of an unreleased 'Infinity' music video and playlists reputedly lead single 'Lucky' a potential promotional lead for a group reformation of raging proportions.

Fall Out Boy "Bishops Knife Trick" music video

A manic mayhem of memories of peculiar primates to a pity party of chaotic camelids. A lama tinged ode to 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs' Fall Out Boy's brand new animated animal endeavour 'Bishops Knife Trick' is one of the top rock selling record of this year, its MANIA's answer to Infinity On High's Kim Kardashian cameo curation.  

Ticking off one less task on his comprehensively seventh studio album branded list, Pete Wentz writes off the music video of the Island Records/DCD2 recent record release penultimate track ahead of the Reading and Leeds Festival headline, homecoming Wrigley Field gig, mixing and mastering Lamamania plus renovating Folie à Deux's demo Lake Effect Kid extension, a symptomatic culmination to a MANIA era that has dished up a final frosty serving of demanding director Stump and unbeknownst animal oppression in 'Bishops Knife Trick'.

Trading in a monkey obstructed madhouse for a llama centric landscape, big boss Patrick Stump verbally browbeats working living organisms curious on curating a picture perfect Patrick paradise of fedora furry friend fashionistas and check mate chess games of a talentless wack llama ensemble. Overlaying a spat between the species, chillingly deep dark blues and animal like entrapment elevate writer Wentz' candidly confessional dealing, with dejected depression and evoked emotions of a mental mania battle of a disconnect of the ordinary world brought back to earth by the glow of the city of Chicago.

Getting a grip of reality and breaking out of the domesticated cage of a state of suppressed sadness, Stump soaringly sings subjected to sweeping sounds and climbing chimes of piano melodies amongst mid tempo strikes of the snare reinstall instrumental talent amongst a catalogue of crisis amid MANIA's repository recalling lyricism of "I got a feeling inside that I can't domesticate/It doesn't wanna live in a cage/A feeling that I can't housebreak" hones in on the entertainment exploitation of llamas laundering away over musical instruments, seeking the idealistic project of Patrick's "film school" wonders.

Liam Payne First Time EP

Stripped back sounds, sultry lyric lines and smoothly tamed tones. Liam Payne's album filler EP First Time steps in for the September suspension of an inaugural record and steps up as a tetralogy of tracks, transforming the remixing maestro into a solo singing virtuoso. Post dropping a successful string of singles, collaborating with a cultivation of reputable recording artists in the realms of Migos' Quavo and Columbian crooner J Balvin, for radio friendly feats ‘Strip That Down’ and the flamboyantly bilingual bop 'Familiar'. Surrounding the latter's release, Payne hotly hyped up the anticipation of his fully fledged step out into the solo spotlight LP momentarily dulled by the determined decision to push back the records release, following in the footsteps of Fall Out Boy's belief battle with MANIA a setback suggestive of re-defining songs that feel so differently distanced as false representations of artistry with the 'Bedroom Floor' singer stating "I looked at some of the songs on my album which were done a while ago and they felt from another age. I'm determined for my debut album to truly represent me. In the meantime, this EP is a collection of songs that I'm really proud of" launching into the era of the EP First Time.

Title track 'First Time' fuses fragments of a "Familiar" fiery and fun filled tones picturing a Payne on the prowl to follow his feelings for an elusive female fabricate themselves throughout the thrill of the chase chronicle, a typical songwriting style the 25 year old adheres to. Exploring the realms of relationships over friendships besides production work from Di Genius' repertoire with Latin esque R&B influences simmering their way slowly throughout the monotonous platforms of the lead single, spiked by a pick up of vocal hooks and lyrical lulls of Payne's palatable projections and artist come label institutor French Montanas musky melodies.

Sophomore song 'Home With You' hones in on Liam's leap into the Urban and R&B region of music considerately comparable to fellow former One Direction division Zayn Malik's mellow material, with the sophisticated sleekness of 2010's electronic pulsating drum machine moments and stylistic vocal arrangement introducing the track as a nonchalant number, none the wiser to its upbeat metronome ticking chorus and lyrically expressive 3 liner pre-chorus "Too many cooks in the kitchen/Too many fools here listening/Why don't we find somewhere quiet". Quintessentially embodying the entire archetypal narrative, where spending the night away from "Yelling to you over music" clubs in homely comforts with a newly significant other are free from the eavesdropping ears of unbeknown fools.

Musically minimalistic ballad 'Depend On It' dabbles with a tender provoking genre palette Payne sonically is a solo stranger to, amongst an array of danceable discography destined for the fm radio waves. Worlds apart from the clichéd addictiveness of pop boyband ballads, a pleasant place in unforgotten memories Liam is persistent in revitalising to the present, as the singer was pictured seizing a sentimental embodiment of One Direction artwork adorning the original ensemble apace with Up All Night and Take Me Home songwriter Savan Kotecha esteemed for penning popular pieces by Ariana Grande and Britney Spears. Perpetual piano instrumentation pays homage to 'Home With You' minor chords transformed into a pivoting arrangement of piano melody interludes, lonesome towards the climax of the third track cohesive with the upper register of Payne's vocal expansion, expressing the love hate state of a relationship dialogued rendering "I'm not ready yet, there's still a thread left/If I could just hold on onto unravelling hope/Give it one last go, I don't know why, just need us to try" compromising the succinctly short track, yet the upmost stand out of the upbeat outnumbered EP.

Conclusively 'Slow' signifies a contradicted balance between saddened lyricism and sprightful production with a negative tinged track telling the tale of a cracking and crumbling connection, purposefully moral uplifting via mediums of a selective sense for sniffing out sounds that make 'Slow' electro melodies the core carvings the 'Get Low' vocalist craves to create a chart hit wonder. Recorded in the confines of the West London located Wendy House Production Studio's a place of musical residence One Direction inhabited in their 6 year indefinitely suspended career Liam Payne, levitated by a venerated troup of songwriters including The Ordinary Boys frontman Preston and Sylvester Sivertsen who posted a behind the scenes picture of the pair in 2016. 'Slow' lyricism is the utmost suggestive and scandalous story of breakdowns and breakups throughout the EP's entire narrative elaborating on "Got me pretending' you ain't done with us/It got me runnin' round the obvious" closing simplistically on "Let me down, let me down slow" with First Time featuring a collaboration, conventional characteristics and collection of charmingly cool crusades that lulls the listener on a trip down Payne's publicly pronounced past relationship at the different stages of love, lust, spats and separation, enhancing catchy rhythmic arrangements and an aura of perspectives of Payne's personal anecdotes.

Panic! At The Disco Reading & Leeds Festival 2018

Glistening glows of luminosity embossed with a scintillating showman style, Panic! At The Disco's co-headlining call crafted the shimmer, shine and sophistication of an otherwise damp, drunken and devil-may-care merrymaking weekender. Stemmed from a Saturday of female pop frontiers 'Strangers' singer Sigrid and Brit beauty Dua Lipa, Panic! At The Disco dazzled deftly with a type of timeless sumptuous sentimentality.

"To the old, and to the new/We dedicate this song to you" allures the retro soul sample of 'Silver Lining' as glitzy garmented and gold microphoned Brendon Urie bouncily bursts onto main stage Reading, to the rebellious satisfaction of young adults supposition supported by the bands backing of shifted member swaps, loosing Dallon Weekes who took to The Pit/The Lock Up stage showcasing 80's unearthed endeavour I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME and gaining bassist Nicole Row in March 2018 filling in for the female representation against a 14 year long male amassment.

Sounds of steampunk victorian picturesque imagery illuminated 'The Ballad Of Mona Lisa', with organically engineered vintage instrumentation of sinister patters of the piano and creeping pounds of the percussion, portray a dynamic duo of moral dilemmas in confident company with Urie's dark dingy lower register. Welcoming the colossal crowd to the land of Pretty Odd, a stellar song of festival festivities manifested itself in the fields of Richfield Reading chiming in with charming melodies, feeling so good with out of mind optimism side to side with spiritually earth endearing attitudes.

From the sprightly smiles of frontman Brendon Urie transitioning between latterly acquired additions "Dancing Is Not A Crime" and 'High Hopes' in which a faithful figure displays themselves amongst a sea of singing sinners to lasting setlist staples Queen's 1975 classic covering 'Bohemian Rhapsody' prescriptively performed for heritage act admiration. Transitionally taking on Too Weird Too Live, Too Rare Too Die's! triennial single 'Girls/Girls/Boys', pigmented pops of rainbow refractions, self proclaimed extravagant exclamation points and imposing iridescent sparkles lit the product ionised representation of the outright freedom of fondness for all orientations including + communities, a core creation for the efforts of the Highest Hopes Foundation set up in support for discriminated and disregarded segmentations of society.

Encore items illustrated a bouncing back and forth between the ever evolving dosages of conviction, carefree and ceremonious crusades from wickedly weekend worshipping 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)', sonically unambiguous crowd pleaser 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' to the confidentially conquering 'Victorious' as Urie confesses his state of euphoria before launching into the high intensity hit, highlighting the brightly belting pulsating vibrato vocals of the 31 year olds articulating "I've never been happier in my life and that's all because of you. You are important, you have an impact” illustrating an important imprint for a Saturday night of the retrieval of reminiscence and the making of matchless memories.

Fall Out Boy Reading & Leeds Festival 2018

Glaring in the glory of double zero’s rock reminiscence Reading and Leeds long timers Fall Out Boy headlined the main stage, showcasing a spectacle of sets reinforcing pop-rocks reputation amongst an evolutionary shift of a festival blurring the genre identity boundaries. From a Friday fronted by American rappers Post Malone and Travis Scott to the publicly prophesied secret set of Bring Me The Horizon, Fall Out Boy waved the white flag in sheer satisfaction far from the symbolism of surrender to be sitting as sixth time servers to the British bank holiday bash.

Smashing through a stellar setlist subjected to an in with the old out with the new Folie à Deux dash down wistful album avenue in affair to the forth records decade duty to the quartets discography, of the madness mantras of messed up romantics in 'Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes' to the misery mindset of selfish meanness throughout 'I Don’t Care' flippant middle finger montage deceased video platform Vine would have been pleasantly pleased witnessing.

Upbeat anthems from the post hiatus period 'Centuries' and 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)' tinged the dark dusk skies in bursts and bangs of a 5th of November celebratory serenade succumbed to the pyro below of Wentz' fire blasting bass, betrayed by its toned down display of 2016's flame eating females, with Wentz wise words of wisdom reflecting penchants of pure honesty rendering to the adolescent audience "They tell you along the way that you need to fit into a certain mould, but be you, do you as loud as you can, stay dangerous!”.

With the dimming down of danger, poised piano ballads 'Save Rock And Roll' alongside MANIA's bright beacon of artistic hope levitated from a lacklustre LP 'The Last Of The Real Ones' shone Stumps soulfully sonic singing before storming into a powerfully propelling galactic gathering of rip roaring bass grooves and glistening electrical guitars.

Long gone the lectures of wolves and dunking the basketball and long live the king of pop culture covers and ones for the mosh pit, Fall Out Boy's headlining slot staged the rightful return of Reading champions and pensive mmrs of a marked musical legacy.

Panic! At The Disco 'High Hopes' music video

Stranger setbacks, scaling skyscrapers and rooftop recitals. Panic! At The Disco's extortionately elevated vast visionary for 'High Hopes' holds back on self sceptical hesitancy and hones in on obtaining a dream like optimistic outlook.

Recently revealing eminently awaited European and UK Spring 2019 dates for the capacious continuation of the 'Pray For The Wicked Tour' that triumphantly teemed with death walks and wayward Amazing Beebo's, the trials and tribulations of Panic! At The Disco touring members dropping have surfaced, after the axing of touring musician Kenneth Harris subsequent to supported allegations of inappropriate misconduct between the 37 year old with of age and underage female fans soared. With speedy removal of Harris post the 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' songwriters high note hitting IHeartRadio Festival performance, a succinct 13 song set compromising of current core classics 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' and 'High Hopes'.

Gazing up to the sky high structure situated amongst the neighbouring streets of Downtown Los Angeles, subsequent to a borderline civilian belabour painting battle to the trails, tribulations and setbacks Brendon Urie has unambiguously endeavoured under the Panic! At The Disco music moniker, the self confessed London west end wannabe supernormally sets upon scaling the side of a modernist American sky high complex congregating a confounded crowd on earths gravitational ground.

Pushing on with anew sense of captured power, purpose and perspective Brendon beckons down to the solid surface below, as a building bridge and prompting pre-chorus builds up to spur the singer on into "Stay up on that rise and never come down" simultaneously pushing the Panic! frontman on to prove the fallacious critics untrue chiming "They say it's all been done but they haven't seen the best of me/So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see" speculating the singular ensemble spearheads longevity, concealed by the cohort Panic! At The Disco and comparatively not soloist Brendon Urie, with sixth studio album Pray For The Wicked being the band's "One more run" record.

After a fast flicker and fierce flashback of pedantic belief that Panic! has exhausted entire repertoires of musical material, a moment of dignified realisation of accomplishment, achievement and appreciation is alluded to from the expressions of 'High Hopes' own 'Hey Look Ma, I Made It" moment Brendon and backing band burst into a sonic celebration, categorically evoked out of emotions of opportunity, outlook and optimism.

Watch Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy's Reading and Leeds Festival Sets including the music video for 'Bishops Knife Trick' and ‘High Hopes’ plus listen to First Time by Liam Payne on all major music platforms here:

Fall Out Boy Bishops Knife Trick Music Video - YouTube

Panic! At The Disco Reading and Leeds 2018 - BBC

Fall Out Boy Reading and Leeds 2018 - BBC 

Liam Payne First Time EP - Apple Music/iTunes

Liam Payne First Time EP - Spotify

Liam Payne First Time EP - Amazon

Liam Payne First Time EP - Google Play

Liam Payne First Time EP - Deezer

Liam Payne First Time EP - Tidal

Panic! At The Disc High Hopes Music Video - YouTube

(All photographic content curtesy of One Direction/Columbia Records/The X Factor (Instagram)/Capitol Records/Jake Chams/Panic! At The Disco/Elliott Ingham/Fall Out Boy)

[supposed-to-be-studying]

8 by 8 tag

Tagged by @stavroginova

Rules: Answer eight questions and tag eight people

Last Movie I watched: The Long Kiss Goodnight

Last Song I listened to: Coloring Book by OMG

Last Book I read: I don’t remember but i’m currently reading Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami

Last thing I ate: a caramel candy

Where would I want to Time Travel to:  to the future

Fictional Character I would hang out with for a day: Oh god... Indiana Jones? Is that cliche? Mr Fedora the Exlorer; i would gladly went to one of his lectures, maybe he would give me some motivation boost to continue my major

If I could be anywhere right now, where would I be: Hmm, somewhere near the sea, a beach or clif, but no people around, somewhere peaceful

Current Fandom Obsession: I got myself into Flight of the Conchords( because obviously i have nothing else to do); i was kinda sceptical at first but this is definitely one of the weirdest, sweetest and coolest tv shows i’ve seen so far. I’m also really into What We Do In The Shadows - i never thought i could like vampires!

I tag:  @pyatagodynaranku, @erich-schede, @curvaceouskatie, @qeerksilver, @cartoonsandkpop, @mysteriousmisadventures, @meoow-1, @demisucks

[dorianbrightmusic]

(The Sceptical Fedora) So I wrote this a while back and thought I might as well share my compositions here as well. Welp. Enjoy.

(c) Dorian Bright/the Sceptical Fedora.