#then ONCE AGAIN on theater season as part of bright diamond...

[omoi-wa-carnaval]

wow love to see TriStar Vision being split again

ie: Elena not being allowed to be in a unit with Megumi or Kotoha

[dispactke]

Infrarealism Manifesto

Manifesto of Infrarealism

——-

GIVE IT ALL UP AGAIN

first infrarealist manifesto

“It’s four light hours to the confines of the solar system; to the closest star, four light years. A disproportionate ocean of emptiness. But are we really sure there is only a void? We only know that there are no stars shining in that space. If they existed, would they be visible? And if there existed bodies that are neither luminous nor dark? Could it not be that on the celestial maps, the same as on those of Earth, the star-cities are indicated and the star-villages are omitted?”

— Soviet science fiction writers scratching their faces at midnight.

— The infrasuns (Drummond would say the happy proletarian fellows).

— Peguero and Boris alone in a lumpen room having premonitions of the wonder behind the door.

— Free money.

*

Who has crossed the city and had, as the only music, the whistles of his fellow man, his own words of wonder and rage?

The handsome guy who didn’t know

that chicks’ orgasms are clitoral

(Look around, shit isn’t just in museums.) (A process of individual museumification.) (Certainty that everything is named, revealed.) (Fear of discovering.) (Fear of unforeseen imbalances.)

*

Our closest relatives:

snipers, country boys who smash up cheap cafés in Latin America, people who fall apart in supermarkets in their tremendous individuo-collective dilemmas; the impotence of action and the search (on individual levels or good and muddy with aesthetic contradictions) for poetic action.

*

Little bright stars eternally winking an eye at us from a place in the universe called Labyrinths.

— Nightclub of misery.

— Pepito Tequila sobbing his love for Lisa Underground.

— I suck it, you suck it, we suck it.

— And the Horror.

*

Curtains of water, cement or tin separate a cultural machinery that serves as the conscience or the ass of the dominant class from a living, annoying cultural happening, in constant death and birth, ignorant of the greater part of history and the fine arts (everyday creator of its insane history and its hallucinatory fine artz), body that suddenly feels new sensations in itself, product of an epoch in which we approach the shithouse or the revolution at 200 kph.

“New forms, strange forms,” as old Bertolt said, half curious, half cheerful.

*

Sensations don’t arise from nothingness (the obvious of obviousnesses) but from conditioned reality, in a thousand ways, as a constant flow.

— Multiple reality, you make us sick!

So it is possible that on the one hand one is born and on the other hand we’re in the front row for the death throes. Forms of life and forms of death pass daily through the retina. The constant crash gives life to infrarealist forms: THE EYE OF TRANSITION

*

They put the whole city in the nuthouse. Sweet sister, tank howls, hermaphrodite songs, diamond deserts, we’ll live only once and the visions, more complicated and slippery every day. Sweet sister, hitchhiking to Monte Albán[i]. Unbuckling their belts to water the corpses. It’s something at least.

*

And the good bourgeois culture? And academia and the arsonists? And the vanguard and its rearguard? And certain conceptions of love, nice scenery, the precise multinational Colt sidearm?

Like Saint-Just[ii] said to me in a dream I had a while ago: Even the heads of aristocrats can be our weapons.

*

— A good part of the world is being born and the other part is dying and we all know that we all have to live and we all die: in this there is no middle road.

Chirico[iii] says: thought needs to move away from everything called logic and common sense, to move away from all human obstacles in such a way that things take on a new look, as though illuminated by a constellation appearing for the first time. The infrarealists say: We’re going to stick our noses into all human obstacles, in such a way that things begin to move inside of us, a hallucinatory vision of mankind.

— The Constellation of the Beautiful Bird.

— The infrarealists propose Indianism to the world: a crazy, timid Indian.

— A new lyricism that’s beginning to grow in Latin America sustains itself in ways that never cease to amaze us. The entrance to the work is the entrance to adventure: the poem as a journey and the poet as a hero who reveals heroes. Tenderness as an exercise in speed. Respiration and heat. Experience shot, structures that devour themselves, insane contradictions.

The poet is interfering, the reader will have to interfere for himself.

“erotic books full of misspellings”

*

The THOUSAND DRAWN-AND-QUARTERED VANGUARDS OF THE SEVENTIES are our ancestors

99 flowers open like an open head

Slaughters, new concentration camps

White subterranean rivers, violet winds

These are hard times for poetry, some say, sipping tea, listening to music in their apartments, talking (listening) to the old masters. These are hard times for mankind, we say, coming back to the barricades after a workday full of shit and tear gas, discovering/creating music even in apartments, spending all day watching the cemeteries-that-expand, where they hopelessly drink a cup of tea or get drunk on pure rage or the inertia of the old masters.

HORA ZERO[iv] are our ancestors

((Raise arsonist kids, get burned))

We’re still in the Quaternary Period. We’re still in the Quaternary Period?

Pepito Tequila kisses the phosphorescent nipples of Lisa Underground and heads off for a beach where black pyramids sprout up.

*

I repeat:

The poet as a hero who reveals heroes, like the fallen red tree that announces the start of a forest.

— Attempts at an ethic-aesthetic are paved with betrayals or pathetic survivals.

— And it is the individual who could walk a thousand kilometers but inevitably the road will eat him.

— Our ethic is the Revolution, our aesthetic is Life: one-and-the-same.

*

For the bourgeoisie and the petite-bourgeoisie, life is a party. They have one every weekend. The proletariat doesn’t have parties. Just funerals with rhythm. That’s going to change. The exploited are going to throw a big party. Memory and guillotines. Sensing it, acting it out on certain nights, inventing edges and humid corners for it, like caressing the acid eyes of the new spirit.

*

Movement of the poem through the seasons of rebellion: poetry producing poets producing poems producing poetry. No electric alley/the poet with his arms separated from his body/the poem moving slowly from his Vision to his Revolution. The alley is a complex point. “We’re going to invent it so as to discover its contradiction, its invisible forms of negation, even to clarify it.” A journey of the act of writing through zones not at all favorable to the act of writing.

Rimbaud, come home!

Subvert the everyday reality of modern poetry. The chains that lead to the poem’s circular reality. A good reference: Kurt Schwitters. Lanke trr gll, or, upa kupa arggg, happens in the official line, phonetic investigators encoding the howl. The bridges of Nova Express are anti-codifying: let him scream, let him scream (please don’t go pulling out pencils or little notebooks, don’t record it, if you want to participate scream along), so let him scream, to see the look on his face when it’s over, what incredible thing happen to us.

Our bridges to unknown seasons. The poem interrelating reality and unreality.

*

Convulsively.

*

What can I ask of present-day Latin American painting? What can I ask of the theater?

It is more revealing and more evocative to stand in a park devastated by smog and watch people cross the avenues in groups (that contract and expand), the avenues, where drivers as much as pedestrians feel the urge to return to their hovels, when the murderers come out and the victims stalk them.

What stories are painters really telling me?

The interesting void, fixed form and color, at best a parody of movement. Canvases that will serve only as bright advertisements in the rooms of engineers and doctors who collect them.

The painter adapts to a society that is every day more of a “painter” than he is, and there he finds himself disarmed and registers as clown.

If painting X is found in some street by Mara, that painting acquires the status of an amusing, communicative thing; in a salon it’s as decorative as bourgeois wrought iron garden chairs/a question of the retina?/yes and no/but it’d be better to find (and systematize according to chance for awhile) the unleashing factor, class-conscious, a one hundred percent deliberate deed, in juxtaposition to the values of “work” which both precede and condition it.

The painter gives up his studio and ANY status quo and fills his head with wonder/or takes up chess like Duchamp/a self-taught painting/And a painting of poverty, free or rather cheap, unfinished, collaborative, of questioning participation, physically extended and spiritually unlimited.

The best Latin American painting is that which is still being made at unconscious levels, the game, the party, the experiment that gives us a real vision of what we are and opens us to what we can be; the best Latin American painting is what we paint in the greens, reds, and blues on our faces, to recognize ourselves in the incessant creation of the group.

*

Try daily to leave everything behind.

May architects give up the building of inward-looking scenes and open their hands (or make fists, depending on the place) toward that outer space. A wall and a roof acquire utility not when they’re used just for sleeping or avoiding rain, but rather when they establish, for example, from the everyday act of dreaming, conscious bridges between man and his creations or the momentary impossibility of these.

In architecture and sculpture the infrarealists start from two points: the barricade and the bed.

*

The true imagination is that which destroys, elucidates, injects emerald microbes into other imaginations. In poetry and in whatever else, the entrance into the work has to already be the way into adventure. Create the tools for everyday subversion. The human being’s subjective seasons, with their gigantic, beautiful, obscene trees like experimental laboratories. Watch, glimpse parallel and heart-rending situations as a giant scratch on your chest, on your face. Endless analogy of gestures. There are so many that when new ones appear we don’t even notice, even though we’re making/watching them in front of a mirror. Stormy nights. Perception opens by means of an ethic-aesthetic carried to the limit.

*

— Galaxies of love are appearing in the palms of our hands.

— Poets, let down your hair (if you have any)

— Burn your nonsense and start loving until you come up with priceless poems

— We don’t want kinetic paintings but enormous kinetic sunsets

— Horses running 500 kilometers an hour

— Squirrels of fire hopping through trees of fire

— A bet to see who blinks first, between the nerve and the sleeping pill.

*

Risk is always somewhere else. The true poet is the one who’s always letting go of himself. Never too much time in the same place, like guerrillas, like UFOs, like the white eyes of prisoners serving life sentences.

*

Fusion and explosion from two shores: creation like a decisive and open graffiti by a crazy kid.

Not at all mechanical. Scales of amazement. Somebody, maybe Bosch, smashes the aquarium of love. Free money. Sweet sister. Visions frivolous like corpses. Little boys jerking off from kisses until December.

*

At two in the morning, after having been at Mara’s house, we (Mario Santiago and some of us) heard laughter coming from the penthouse of a 9 story building. They didn’t stop, they kept laughing and laughing while below we slept propped up in various phone booths. There came a moment when only Mario was still paying attention to the laughter (the penthouse is a gay bar or something and Darío Galicia had told us that it’s always watched by the cops). We made phone calls but our coins turned into water. The laughter continued. After we left that neighborhood Mario told me that actually no one had been laughing, that it was recorded laughter, and up there in that penthouse, some stragglers or maybe a single homosexual had silently listened to that record and made us listen to it.

— The death of the swan, the swan song, the last song of the black swan, IS NOT in the Bolshoi but in the intolerable pain and beauty of the streets.

— A rainbow that starts in a grindhouse theater and ends in a factory on strike.

— May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth. May it never kiss us.

— We dreamed of utopia and woke up screaming.

— A poor lonely cowboy that comes back home, what a wonder.

*

Make new sensations appear—Subvert daily life.

O.K.

GIVE IT ALL UP AGAIN

HIT THE ROAD

—Roberto Bolaño, Mexico, 1976

(translation by Tim Pilcher – TimothyPilcher@gmail.com)

[smokinholsters]

It’s a Clown’s World

“You are absolutely not going to believe this.” Amy said to Ty as he came into view coming up the stairs. “Rollo cancelled, car accident, he’s Ok but busted up some. He’s called everyone he knows to replace him and come up empty.”

Ty frowned “Let’s get over to the house maybe someone there will have an idea.”

Amy walked over and grabbed Lyndy who was playing quietly in the living room. On the way over Amy sighed “she loves clowns Ty, I was so excited for her.”

Inside Jack took Lyndy with a smile “Happy Birthday sweetheart” he cooed at her before setting her down. A second later she was after poor Remi who would let her chase him and then lay down for a cuddle.

“Our clown cancelled.” Ty told Jack and Lisa “he’s been trying to find a replacement but no luck. She loves clowns.”

“Well, I’m heading over to Fairfield, let me call the booker we use for parties and see what he can do. I’ll be back by party time, you’re all set up sweetheart and Lou’s on her way back.”

Lisa started the Porsche, hit send on the phone and backed away.

“Lisa, I trust you and Jack are good, what a pleasure to hear from you, how can I be of assistance.”

“Hey Bert, need an emergency clown for today, lunch.”

“That’s the second call about a clown this morning. No luck Lisa, sorry.”

“It’s fine, we’ll figure something out. Thanks Bert.”

The call disconnected and Lisa sighed. “Poor Amy, she really wanted this, Lyndy won’t know the difference but she absolutely loves clowns.”

She sighed again, “it’s been 40 years Lisa” she said out loud to herself then smiled “It’ll definitely still fit, if my gear is still good, why the hell not, wouldn’t hurt to look.”

Instead of heading to the office when she parked she went up three flights to the attic. She’d seen it, it was hard to miss considering it had a big Ringling Bros. stencil on it.

Lisa pulled it out and maneuvered it to the center of the room. She snapped it open and smiled, there she lay, Pipa the Clown, Registry number F16754W. With a smile still plastered on her face by the memories flooding back she removed the small folding seat, opened it and sat down. She lifted the sealed packet and ripped open the seal.

First she removed her hat which as always snapped open efficiently, the red and white diamonds still bright. Then she popped out the one piece, standing she snapped it once to allow the air to enter the baffles and it expanded. The large red and white leather shoes still soft and pliable came next. Lastly her collar which opened after she pulled the little tab.

Looking down she took a deep breath, she could almost smell the greasepaint.

The attic at Fairfield was not typical of say a home like Heartland. Treasures were stored here, antiques of all types and artwork. There were two hidden safes and a sealed refrigerated closet to hold furs through the warm months. There were no moths here, no dampness, it was temperature controlled and more importantly right now, there was a full bathroom.

First she needed to get washed. She stared in the mirror and flashed back to her first time. She had done it 4 times in her life, each exhilarating. While she got ready she thought back to the expression on her father’s face. “Circus Camp ?”

“It sounds like fun dad, we have to be in Sarasota anyway for the racing season, you said find something.”

“I figured summer school or theater or something Lisa not Clown Camp.”

“Come on Dad it says after three sessions I can perform and register my egg.”

“What ?”

“The International Clown Egg Registry.”

“You know Lisa, fine, I have no idea what your mom would have thought about this.”

“We’ll keep it between us but you have to promise to come see me perform.”

“You have my word.”

Once washed she stripped off her blouse and covered her shoulders with a big towel.

She grabbed two floor lamps and set them up then sat down on the stool and snapped open her make-up case, then adjusted the mirror. Lisa had been taught old school, it was why she was pretty sure this would work. She pulled out a porcelain bowl and began with the bright white. Measuring out white powder and then opening a container. She moved and folded with a small metal spatula and soon was back in the rhythm smoothing and folding until it was perfect. She set it aside and then started on the other colors. Lisa was the real deal, taught by pros, she mixed her own makeup to spec to match her egg. She looked over at the encased photo to make sure the colors were perfect. There was only one Pipa the Clown in all the world, and she, was always perfect.

As she spread the white foundation and let the first light layer dry she pulled off the gloves she had donned and sent a text to Amy. “Clown found and booked !! I’m running late, minor client issue, I’ll be along.”

She glanced at the response “You’re like a super hero Lisa !!”

“Super Pipa to the rescue !!” Lisa muttered reaching for the makeup.

The transformation from Lisa Stillman to Pipa the Clown once took about an hour, so she wasn’t disappointed at the hour and 20 minutes she took. Walking over to the stand up mirror in the corner she turned back and forth. She straightened her collar and pressed down her hat. She banged the edge of her huge shoe turning and stopped to adjust her mindset to a size 16 shoe.

Then she reached for her bag of tricks and refilled the balloons after checking them, she grabbed her juggling balls and filled her lollipop wand with magic glitter powder and then carefully headed downstairs. She called an Uber for a half hour and made arrangements for a pickup later at Heartland to make her escape and get back, then she sat down, began writing out cards and waited.

While she wrote she thought back to her first day walking into the Sarasota Circus grounds and being welcomed. The smell, the feel, the atmosphere was electric. For the first few weeks they worked closely with the animals to allay any fears while also taking classes in clown demeanor, deportment and appearance. There were guidelines that needed to be memorized and rules that were strictly enforced. She learned about the trains, take down and set up and she was assigned daily chores. The most exciting part though was sitting with several clowns and designing who she would be. As the first session came to an end she remembered how exhilarated she felt and how she looked forward to the next session she’d be able to attend.

She stood hidden in the doorway when she got the text that her car was on the way and snuck out as stealthily as she could but not stealthily enough. Lisa noticed Laura her manager and rushed to the car and then waved the driver to just go. She hoped she wasn’t noticed and looked back. Didn’t seem Laura had moved so she assumed she was safe.

Laura on the other hand didn’t move because she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, a clown, carrying a big bag, just rushed into a car from the house, and took off in a hurry.

Lisa in character sent a text to Amy apologizing that her client needed to be dealt with and she would be late, the clown was on the way and then turned off her phone so that it wouldn’t ring every time someone tried to contact her.

Laura immediately tried Lisa and got a message so she shrugged and dialed the sheriff.

Amy came out onto the porch as the car pulled up and Lisa/Pipa got out. She handed a twenty to the driver who promised to be back as scheduled and Pipa climbed up the stairs and bowed elaborately, then she reached into her bag and took out a big sign with the name Pipa the Clown printed on it next to a picture of a hand with a finger pointing at her.

Amy laughed “You’re Pipa, I’m Amy, good to meet you.”

Pipa nodded and put out her hand for Amy to shake and then stood. Amy looked at her or him, Amy thought her and Pipa opened her eyes wide and pointed at the door.

“Oh, of course, I’m sorry” Amy laughed and opened the door “We’re so happy you were able to come, I’m glad they could find you on such short notice.”

Pipa smiled and reached into her bag and pulled out a large phone receiver to show Amy and then she smiled and nodded.

“They called you, thank you so much for coming, the kids are inside, should I introduce you ?”

Pipa smiled and shook her head and peeked in then with pointed eyebrows raised in question to Amy.

“Go right ahead” Amy laughed again.

For the next 90 minutes Pipa kept the 9 toddlers from Lyndy’s playgroup in stitches. She did magic tricks and sleight of hand, made balloon animals, juggled and played. The adults sat back and watched her captivate the kids and especially Lyndy who Pipa made a point to focus on. The all laughed when Lyndy called her Gamma like she called Lisa and Jack was secretly happy that she wasn’t here to hear it. Lisa was a bit taken aback but as the adults didn’t seems to put two and two together she was secretly thrilled that she couldn’t fool her sweet Lyndy.

While this was all going on Jim Parker had shown up at Fairfield and walked the house with Laura. “Nothing seems to have been taken or even moved.” Laura said.

They checked the offices and the second floor and found nothing. “What’s upstairs ?”

“The attic but it’s locked and you need the code.”

“Have you called Jack or tried Lisa again ?”

“No answer on either but it’s Lyndy’s birthday today, wait a clown, I didn’t think about it but why would it come here ?”

“You know” Jim said “Lock up and I’ll take a ride over to Heartland.”

As Pipa was ending Amy brought out the cake and Pipa stayed to help Lyndy blow out the candles and while they ate cake she slipped into the kitchen to leave. Amy left Lyndy with Ty.

“You were wonderful Pipa, she’ll remember this forever, what do we owe you ?”

Pipe nodded no and then reached into her bag for the big phone and then pulled out a big credit card and pointed.

“Lisa paid, how about a tip ?”

Pipa nodded no and pointed again. “You’ve got one of those too, how about a cab ?”

Pipa nodded no again and pointed to her big watch.

“One is coming, you never speak ?”

Pipa nodded no and then pointed to the porch.

“Of course, you can wait outside.”

Pipa sat on the stoop as Jim Parker pulled up, got out and smiled at the clown on the stoop.

“You are just who I’ve been looking for, can I have your name please ?”

Pipa nodded and reached into her bag and pulled out the big card she showed Amy before with the finger.

“Pipa the Clown, that’s cute, your real name please ? Pipa smiled again and pointed to the card.

“Look, that’s cute but you were seen leaving Fairfield before and I’d like to know why you were there.”

Lou noticed the sheriff’s car and waved to Jack who looked over and then walked out onto the porch.

“Jim, good to see you, problem ?”

“You tell me Jack, can I speak to Lisa ?”

“She’s not here Jim, something up with a client at Fairfield.”

“She’s not at Fairfield Jack, I just checked the grounds, house and offices. Her car’s there but she’s not and Laura saw this clown speed off in a car before.”

It was then that Amy came out with Ty and she put Lyndy on the porch.

“Jim ?” Ty asked.

“Hold off Ty” Jack said.

“Well ?” Jim said looking at the clown “ID maybe ?”

Pipa stuck her hands deep into her pockets and pulled them out bone empty and pouted.

Every body laughed except Jim who smirked but didn’t give in.

“Look, I need to know what’s going on, did you see Lisa Stillman and what were you doing at Fairfield ?” Jim said getting annoyed.

Pipa looked over at Lyndy and held out her hands. Lyndy smiled and ran into them “Gamma cown.”

Lisa looked over at Jim and smiled then pointed at herself over Lyndy’s head just like the big sign.

It was Amy who put two and two together “Lisa, is that you ?”

Pipa turned and pouted then held up the sign.

“You’re Pipa, but when you’re not ?”

Lisa reached back into the same exact pocket she had pulled out and stuffed back and pulled out her phone. A second later she turned it around.

“Lisa ?” Jack asked.

Pipa shrugged and nodded.

“Well I’ll be, so what now ?”

Pipa smiled and mimed rubbing her face and waving goodbye. Then she turned as the Uber driver pulled up. Turned back to the crowd and pointed at her big watch and smiled.

“Go ahead Pipa we’ll see you soon.” Amy said walking over and hugging and kissing her with tears in her eyes. “You are amazing Lisa, just the most perfect grandmother.”

Lisa smiled crookedly trying to hold back a tear and stepped into the Uber.

The party had broken up by the time Lisa returned and everyone gathered in the living room with coffee and cocoa. Lisa pulled out a scrapbook and placed it on the table.

“When I was a teenager my father had interests in the Sarasota Racing circuit in Florida. Sarasota is the home of Ringling Bros. I trained as a clown whenever we went down, after three sessions I performed at an actual Ringling Bros. performance and registered my clown face with the International Clown Egg Registry. I performed with Ringling Bros four times, my father attended each performance. I rode from Sarasota to Raleigh, NC on the actual Ringling Circus train and performed for the first time. I also performed in NYC, Calgary and Antwerp. By then my father was diagnosed and my place was here. I was never serious about it of course but the memories of those faces in the audience are forever etched in my mind and no, no one really knows.”

Amy started turning pages “that’s my first parade, there I am.”

“Where, I don’t see.” Amy said.

“Juggling on the stilts honey, right there.”

“Juggling on stilts ?” Ty exclaimed laughing.

“What else do you do ?” Jack asked.

“Some fire work, juggling, breathing, I’ve never done that live.”

They sat until bedtime looking through the folder and laughing at the pictures. As the evening drew on Jack leaned over and whispered “what do you say Lis, maybe you juggle a little for me later.”

“I’ve got something else in mind for you you old coot.”

The End.

[thorne93]

Whirlwind Romance (Part 3)

Prompt: You’re getting married to Chris Evans… Everything in your life is perfect… Except when you break the news to your two best friends: Tom Hiddleston and Sebastian Stan

Word Count: 1847

Warnings: language, anger, angst, adult themes??

Notes: This is for @carryonmyswansong challenge (Double Season, Multifaceted, 500 Follower Celebration, Writing Challenge!): Prompt – You’re marrying the wrong person! Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes bcuz shes amazing and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo@carryonmyswansong for letting me brainstorm with them. Got this idea from @formyfandoms… Fic image made by the super bomb @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wedding still hadn’t moved any closer to any planning. No colors were chosen, no location set, no dresses looked at. Part of the lack of planning was you were just too busy. The other part was Chris finding the time and needing to be home, or you at his home. But so far, that hadn’t come.

Which meant you weren’t sure if you should announce an engagement party or not, if you didn’t know any details about the wedding. People would be asking you and talking about it, wondering about it, and you’d have no answer. However, Chris really wanted his family to come around soon to celebrate the engagement and possibly talk about the wedding, so he was pushing for a party.

So now, you were trying to find a time that fit both schedules, soon, to throw an engagement party.

Filming for your new movie was next week, and your co-star was Tom. The two of you decided to run lines at your house one night, which ended up being a lot less about work and a lot more about drinking wine, thanks to his considerate gift.

Tom arrived at your doorstep, wine and flowers in hand -- they just happened to be your favorite. He was donning one of your favorite colors on him. A teal sweater with black jeans, an ensemble that you always thought looked rather good on him.

“Oh, wow, what is all this for?” you wondered as you took the things from him and stepped aside to let him in.

“Last I checked you had a movie that just hit theaters,” he reminded and you quickly smiled.

“Oh! Right, yes. Thank you so much. God these smell so good,” you noted, closing your eyes to take in the fragrance. “And my favorite wine! Care for some?” you offered and he bowed and gestured to your kitchen.

“I’d love some.”

You couldn’t help but feel a little… funny. Tom had gotten you these flowers, a small, but thoughtful gift. Chris hadn’t even mentioned it once. He had barely even said anything about it, let alone think of getting you a gift for it. Come to think of it… Chris had never gotten you a gift for any of your career achievements, and Tom usually celebrated with a dinner, a bottle of wine, flowers, a new book…

Chris was perfect in a lot of ways, in fact, he was almost too perfect. But it would be nice if maybe he gave up some of his other great habits for acknowledging your success.

“Oh, before we get started, I have some news,” you began, nervous to tell him for some reason. Announcing it still felt… rather strange.

“Oh? I’m all ears,” Tom stated with that dazzling smile as he put his hands on the kitchen island and leaned forward slightly.

You held up your hand, showcasing the massive diamond. “Chris and I are engaged.”

Tom’s eyebrow quirked up. “Engaged? You’re getting married?” he asked, his voice soft, his eyes glistening. “That’s… amazing. Truly. I’m happy for you. I suppose congratulations are in order. I wish I had brought champagne now, instead of wine.”

You peered at him, cocking your head to the side. “Are you okay?” you questioned, stepping around the island to stand in front of him.

“Yes, of course, darling, why wouldn’t I be? I’m just happy for you. These are happy tears,” he promised before taking you in an embrace.

“Well, thank you,” you said, hoping all was well with your best friend. After a moment, the hug ended.

“You don’t sound too thrilled. Neither did Seb,” you noted. Why would Seb and Tom both seem sad by this? Shouldn’t they have been thrilled for you? Your eyes widened as you realized why they both seemed bummed about this news. “Oh, I get it.”

“You do?” Tom inquired, frowning.

“Yeah, you and Seb are worried that when Chris and I tie the knot I’ll forget about you two, or be around less, or we won’t be the three musketeers anymore,” you noted.

Tom nodded his head side to side. “I didn’t think I was so transparent,” he said with a low laugh.

You shrugged. “You usually aren’t, but I can always tell when somethings up. But I promise nothing will come between us. Married or not, I’m still your go to girl,” you swore with a huge grin. You raised your glass. “To weddings and other milestones,” you toasted.

“Here, here,” he said before clinking glasses with you.

Shortly after, you broke apart and got some more wine. As soon as the two of you got your glasses, you grabbed your scripts and began running lines. All was well and good for the first two hours but then you started to feel less like working and more like reminiscing.

Just as you got done reading one of the lines, you laid your script down and looked over at Tom. “You know what this reminds me of?” you asked, prompting his eyes to flash up to yours.

“Hmm?”

“That time at RADA. Remember? We put on Much Ado About Nothing?”

“Yes, of course,” he responded with a slight smile.

“Doesn’t Don John remind you of the character Eric in this story?” you asked, making him think and then start laughing.

“Oh my god, it does,” he agreed, still giggling. “And the night that Will almost set the stage on fire during rehearsal!” he recalled, pointing at you hoping you remembered.

“Yes! Oh my god. That was so scary, and funny. He came to rehearsal drunk, didn’t he?” you asked, trying to remember why Will, a fellow student, was stumbling around.

“Yeah, we had a late rehearsal, and he’d been drinking all day, and he fell into the candelabra, lighting the stage curtain on fire.”

You shook your head. “Oh my god, what a crazy night. Then we had to rehearse out in the back alley because Simon didn’t want us to miss a beat.”

“He was one of the toughest directors I’ve ever worked with,” Tom remarked, seemingly impressed.

“I’ll say. He had me learn that play forwards and backwards.”

“Well you were the star, darling,” he gently reminded.

“True.”

“‘I do love nothing in the world so well as you- is not that strange?’” Tom quoted quietly, almost as if to himself.

You tried to access your memory to follow up the quote, and by some stroke of a miracle, you did. “‘As strange as the thing I know not. It were as possible for me to say I loved nothing so well as you; but believe me not, and yet I lie not; I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing. I am sorry for my cousin.’”

Tom smiled appreciatively at you. “I’m so thrilled you remember all that. Most people forget it as soon as they leave.”

You shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for some Shakespeare,” you casually said with a shrug. The fact of the matter however, was that it was something you loved that you and Tom could basically speak in Shakespeare. Almost a secret language in a way, between you two.

Your phone began buzzing on the coffee table so you ran to pick it up, only to see that it was Chris.

“Hey, it’s Chris,” you informed to Tom before stepping out of your open living room - kitchen floor plan. “Hey!” you greeted happily, excited to hear his voice for the first time in a couple days.

“Hey,” he greeted back equally excited. “So how’s the location hunt been going?”

“Well I wanted to talk to you about that,” you started. “Would you want a garden wedding or...?”

“Why? Do you not? It was your idea.”

“Yeah, but I was just throwing something out other than the beach since you didn’t seem to be thrilled with that idea.”

“Babe, I don’t care where we get married, really. At this point, I just want it to happen. We’ve got a little over six months to throw this thing together.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, I’ll pick three places and you choose the one you like, sound good?” you offered.

“Sounds perfect.”

“How’s New York? Seen Seb at all?”

“You know, I’m your fiance, you should be only asking about me,” he joked, you could hear the smile in his voice, making one of your own pop up.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. How is it?”

“Exhausting. I mean, if I fuck up a line while filming we can do it again, but here, you have to be on your fucking toes.”

You chuckled. “Yeah, welcome to Tom’s and my world. It’s not so easy,” you said with a playful sneer.

“I have a whole new respect for this theater thing,” he said thoughtfully.

“Well good, it deserves it.”

“I should be home in a few days, by the way.”

“Oh? Don’t you have to put on the play?”

“Nah, they want us to take a break so we don’t get burned out, and come back fresh,” he informed.

“Wow, what a great break. We can get some wedding planning done and you can help me with the guest list for the engagement party,” you excitedly mentioned.

“Happy to. Just point me where to go.”

“That, I can do,” you said with a chuckle.

“Oh, shit, we’re starting back up. I gotta run. Don’t forget, three places. Send ‘em to me,” he firmly ordered.

“Aye, aye, Cap’n…”

“Love you.”

“You too. Talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

“Goodbye.”

The phone call ended and you went back in the kitchen where Tom was still fluffing the bright bouquet on our kitchen island. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for Tom to know where everything was at in your house or make himself at home. In fact, you practically insisted on it since you were such a shitty hostess.

“Tom, those look amazing,” you gushed. “Thank you so much.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. So, how is the fiance?” he asked sweetly.

“He’s already giving up on some of the wedding decisions,” you informed with a light laugh.

Tom’s frown made you feel like you should elaborate so you did. You waved your statement off with your hand before adding, “I mean, he just wants to get married, he doesn’t care where. So he’s leaving it up to me, so I guess I have homework to do.”

“Oh? Mind if I help?” he offered.

“No! Please! By all means! We have fifty states to check the best wedding venue and I have to pick the top three.”

“Sounds like quite the challenge. I think you’ll need an extra pair of hands.”

“I really do,” you said with a grin.

“I shall help you as soon as I get dinner finished.”

“Dinner? You’re making dinner?”

“I may have bought everything for spaghetti bolognese,” he informed with a mischievous playful expression.

Your mouth dropped as you gasped excitedly. “Oh my god! My favorite! Man you’re really spoiling me tonight! Okay, yes, you get that done and I’ll start the hunt.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[recentanimenews]

Every Opening in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Ranked!

A new year is upon us, and with it comes an all new season of anime. The transition from one season to another is an exciting time for every seasonal anime viewer. As we say goodbye to our favorite shows either ending or going on break, our thoughts turn toward the continuing shows and the promise of all new openings for them. While we know we’ll miss the openings we’ve come to love for 90 seconds every week so far, we always hope the next one will be even better than the last.

As for myself, I can’t tell you how excited I am for the upcoming season’s worth of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind we have in store for us. What we’ve seen so far is nothing short of some of the best action that 2018’s anime had to offer, and all of it was preceded by “Fighting Gold,” its stellar opening. If recent entries in the JoJo’s anime are enough to go by, we can expect Golden Wind to receive another spectacular opening any time now. Not only that, I know for a fact that it will be spectacular, because every single JoJo’s opening is. We’ve seen eight openings now over the course of the show and there isn’t a bad one in the bunch. All of them deserve a spot in my personal list of all time favorites, but in what order? I know which one is my all time favorite, but I’ve never sat down to compare them all to one another. So, without further ado, here’s every opening in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure ranked from best to bestest.

8.) "JoJo Sono Chi no Kioku ~end of THE WORLD~" by TOMMY, Coda, and Jin Hashimoto

I know I’ve already said it, but given that I’m starting from the bottom it needs to be reiterated. Every single opening in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is incredible. Some just happen to be more incredible than others. A common thread I found among openings in the bottom half of this list is that either the visuals couldn’t quite match the quality of the music or vice versa. Usually there just isn’t enough there to compete with the best openings on this list. This one is different. This one just has way too much.

Visually there’s a lot to love about it. The opening is done in the extremely attractive 3DCG style that dominates all of the show’s openings through the first three seasons. Of particular interest to me is just how much foreshadowing takes place in this opening. The first shot is of the inner workings of a giant clock, alluding to the yet unknown Stand powers DIO possesses. Clockwork imagery continues throughout the opening amidst recreations of famous moments from this particular arc. Many of these moments are innocuous enough to one watching for the first time, but the seasoned JoJo’s fan will recognize them as moments taken right before a major character death (or supposed death). There’s even an incredible alternate version of this opening run later in the season where DIO uses his newly revealed time stop powers to literally pause and manipulate his place in the opening.

Its dedication to fanservice is ultimately the reason this opening places at the bottom of this list, though. The opening’s accompanying single is performed by TOMMY, Coda, and Jin Hashimoto, all of whom individually performed the show’s three prior openings. They’re all incredibly talented vocalists in their own rights, but they don’t quite gel together as well as anyone had hoped. As much as there is to love about this opening, it unfortunately ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Which, to be fair, is still better than most openings can aspire to.

7.) "chase" by batta

You know, there was once a time where I didn’t like this opening. Going back and watching it again while constructing this list taught me a few things. One, past me was a complete and utter fool for not liking this opening. Two, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a really silly series.

Okay, so maybe I knew that one already, but I still had to realize it all over again when figuring out why “chase” shouldn’t place higher in these rankings. After all, everything about it is superb. The carefree daily life of Josuke and his friends is cleverly undercut by the washed out palette and unsettling framing of each character’s actions. A crowd of feeding pigeons is disturbed by a single fingernail, taking to the skies in a Hitchcockian swarm. Josuke, Koichi, and Okuyasu chat about their day as the camera glares down at them from above, watching them. Blood drips from suitcases packed in tight corners and a clawed hand emerges to crush the protagonist’s signature anchor pin. A serial killer is lurking in Morioh, and no one is yet the wiser. The accompanying song is frantic and pained, almost as batta’s Tatsu Hoshino himself is desperately trying to warn the characters that Kira is coming for them.

It’s simply spectacular all around, which is why it pains me to say that it’s just too dark. It just doesn’t fit the tone of Diamond is Unbreakable at all. If I was judging it entirely on its own, it’s a top three opening for sure. I simply can’t do that, though. A show’s opening sets the tone for what’s to come, and the tone that “chase” sets is not at all the one that Diamond is Unbreakable provides. Yes, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure can be dark and disturbing, but it’s also very lighthearted and fun. As we’ll see soon, the best of the best JoJo’s openings convey both.

6.) "Fighting Gold" by Coda

“Fighting Gold” may not be one of the most visually inventive openings on this list, but I’d be remiss to rank it any lower than it already is. While it is easily the most conservative on this list in that department, what it has to offer is still quite good. Its opening shot depicting Michaelangelo’s statue of David in one of Giorno’s poses from the original manga and covered in chains sets the stage for a tightly composed opening. These chains binding David are a common motif throughout the opening, symbolizing the chains that bind the members of Passione to their respective fates. That is, until they’re shown calling out their Stands, at which point Gold Experience turns the chains into vines and we see one of the best Stand summoning montages of any JoJo’s opening.

The real standout part of this opening, however, is the music. “Fighting Gold” is Coda’s third appearance in a JoJo’s opening and a surprising one at that. In the songs climax his sultry crooning turns into a loud and throaty cry as the members of Passione break free of their chains. At the same time the music’s accompanying strings swell and you begin to forget you’re listening to a rock anthem. That is, until the very end when one final strum rings out on the electric guitar and Coda sings out the song’s titular line in his most gravelly voice yet. That one moment alone fills me with emotion and makes me pumped to watch a new episode of Golden Wind every single week.

5.) "Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town" by THE DU

If there’s any single testament to the sheer quality of all of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s openings, it’s that “Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town” is only ranked fifth on this list. Seriously, this song is pure unbridled FUNK. It was the first JoJo’s opening to not be done in the distinctive 3DCG style seen before, which disappointed me for about the first five seconds watching it. It’s impossible to feel anything other than joy and happiness while watching this opening. This song is easily the JoJo’s single I go back to listen to the most. Not even the show’s own cast of characters can resist dancing to it at one point! It’s bright and colorful and couldn’t fit the opening arc of Diamond is Unbreakable any better. I love it so much. God, JoJo’s has great openings.

4.) "JoJo ~Sono Chi no Sadame~" by TOMMY

I gotta admit, it had been a long time since I’d last seen this one. For awhile all of the early 3DCG openings ran together in my head as all being very similar stylistically. In analyzing them deeper for this article, though, I began noticing some stark differences. This one, the one that started it all, is actually among the most unique. This opening is a love letter to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure as a whole.

The first images shown in the opening are animated manga panels of the first six protagonists of JoJo’s (you’ll have to wait a few years to understand why the seventh and eighth ones are excluded) counting down until finally we get to Jonathan, the first, who transitions from his panel seamlessly into the 3DCG style. The rest of the opening recreates panel after panel from the very first arc, acting as a near-complete retelling of Phantom Blood in the space of a minute. SFX blast onto the screen, panel borders move in and out of frame, and colors wash away into monochrome as Phantom Blood finally transitions from the page to the screen in front of our very eyes.

The whole opening feels is a 90-second love letter to Phantom Blood and the legacy it’s left behind. While it may not be the first time it was ever translated to the silver screen (it received a movie adaptation in 2007 that ran in few theaters and was never brought to video), this animated iteration of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was many longtime fans’ first time seeing one of their favorite series done so well. For most international fans (such as myself), it was our first time experiencing the series at all. If this opening can get me feeling nostalgic and emotional for this series, I can only imagine what it’s like for someone who’s been a part of the now three-decade ride.

3.) "STAND PROUD" by Jin Hashimoto

“Ohhhhh, ‘STAND Proud.’ I get it now.”

--My dumb ass like three days ago.

Hard rock and Stardust Crusaders go together like a hat and Jotaro’s hair; you can't have one without the other. Classic rock and metal are, as we all know, referenced heavily in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, so it was only a matter of time until they tapped into those influences for an opening song. And boy do they ever knock it out of the park with this one. “STAND PROUD” shreds, rips, and rocks in every way you could conceivably like it to. It’s a hard anthem that goes perfectly with the arc that gifts us Jotaro Kujo, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's hardest dude.

If all it had was a killer sound, though, it wouldn’t be near this high on the list. Suffice to say, this opening’s visual direction and animation have the chops to back up everything the accompanying single lays down. This opening is chocked full of references to past arcs. Both Jonathan and young Joseph are shown multiple times, including one sequence harkening back to moments when each one either passed on their resolve or inherited the resolve of another, ending with Jotaro inheriting both. Eagle-eyed fans will also recognize a sequence in the opening where Jotaro confronts DIO face to face that coincidentally mirrors a scene of Jonathan confronting Dio in the very first opening.

There are so many great moments in this opening I could keep pointing out. I love the scene full of action shots of everyone using their Stands amongst a backdrop full of the series’ signature SFX. I love the intimate shots of quiet time where they wander through the desert or lounge together underneath the stars. I love the beautiful art depicting Holly being overtaken by her own Stand, and the shot of it all rushing into Jotaro as he summons Star Platinum. I also love the final sequence where we get a dynamic camera shot rotating around Jotaro as Star Platinum attacks the reflected visage of DIO. The 3DCG these openings became known for has never looked better than it does in that one shot. “STAND PROUD” is incredible.

2.) "BLOODY STREAM" by Coda

Ask any random JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fan what their favorite opening from the show is...I mean it. Go ahead, do it. I’ll wait…

...Oh, you’re back. That sure took a while. Is it because they immediately screamed “BLOODY STREAM” and forced you to watch it with them for an hour? In the time I’ve spent among other JoJo’s fans, this opening is the fan favorite by a wide margin, and for good reason too! It’s fantastic! It’s everything Battle Tendency condensed into one 90-second sequence. Despite the show’s first few openings being known for their heavy use of 3DCG, “BLOODY STREAM” actually foregoes it for much of the opening in favor of 2D silhouettes, line-heavy action, and low-movement recreations of famous panels from the manga. All of it is overflowing with bounciness and color. The entire opening simply oozes style out of every orifice. It’s as cheeky and fun as Joseph Joestar and still manages to pull an emotional gut punch at the end alluding to a major character death late in the arc. And all of this is perfectly backed up by the legendary sultriness that is Coda in the first of his three appearances in an opening for the series.  Honestly can’t find a single fault with this opening. It was my number one for a long time, that is, until...

1.) "Great Days" by Karen Aoki and Daisuke Hasegawa

Is there anything more perfect than perfection? There is; it’s called “Great Days.”

I can’t stress enough how much I love this opening. I’m bursting at the seams waiting to tell you about how good it is. It’s 90,000 milliseconds of everything that is good and just in this world delivered directly to your eye holes. Imagine 90,000,000 straight microseconds of pure, unadulterated good vibes being auditorily injected into your mind and you get “Great Days.”

This might very be the most detailed opening in the history of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Blink past the very first frame and you’ll already have missed a wealth of cool artwork that absolutely no one realized they needed. Did you notice that at the beginning the big “JOJO” is spelled out using the figures of the main cast? That the symbol you see between each “BREAKDOWN” represents a different one of Yoshikage Kira’s powers? You may have noticed that the number one in “1999” is Heart Father, but did you also notice that the other numbers were Janken Boy, Highway Go Go, and Misterioso? Everything in this opening just looks so good. The frame by frames of all the characters moving through town are incredible. I wish I had the technical art and animation knowledge to talk more in-depth about the tracking shot through Rohan’s doorway or the sequence focusing on the fracturing of Kosaku Kawajiri’s family. The moment where everyone points to the sky in unison up at their friends who died at the hands of Kira is an emotional gut punch rivaling that of Joseph donning Caesar’s headband, and my god the music! The beat changes up so much throughout this song, and it lands perfectly each and every time. It’s a roller coaster of emotion befitting of what I consider to be the high point of the entire series so far.

I am grabbing you by the collar and shaking you now. How can I possibly expect to explain to you the depths of how great this opening is? What if I tell you that there’s an entirely different version of this opening that reflects the main antagonist’s newly discovered ability to completely undo the past? Not only is the entire opening undone, but an alternate cut of the song plays too! No one asked for them to deliver something so perfect to us, but they did it anyway! It’s incredible!!! I literally have to stop myself now before I ramble on for another thousand words about it. It is without any doubt in the world the single best opening in the entirety of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

If one thing’s obvious by now, it’s that I care a lot about an anime’s opening. There’s something so uniquely integral about them to the anime experience. Pretty much every show around the world has some kind of an opening, but you’d be hard pressed to find ones that place as much emphasis on them as anime does. With so many incredible ones out there, it can be hard to really stand out among the pack. It’s an awesome feat that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s openings consistently stand head and shoulders above the pack in their style and quality. I’d have been remiss to let the opportunity pass me by to not recognize each one’s greatness, and I’m sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next one Golden Wind has to offer.

Which JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure opening is your favorite? How would you rank them all? Break down (BREAKDOWN) your thoughts in the comments below!

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Danni Wilmoth is a Features and Social Videos writer for Crunchyroll and also co-hosts the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com