#those last few are love songs - the rest are pretty generalized

[sparkles-rule-4eva]

Okay imma just drop random songs that I've gotten addicted to over the past year or so

"Right Here" by Ashes Remain

"Reality" by Lost Frequencies and Janieck Devy

"Blink" by Revive

"Astronaut" by Simple Plan

"The Antidote" by Simple Plan

"Little Dreams" by Mandy Moore

"Stronger" by Sam Feldt, Kesha

"Shout your Freedom" by Skillet

"Icarus" by Bastille

"Unstoppable" covered by LVNJ

"Listen Friend" by Above Only

"Be My Escape" by Relient K

"Could Have Been Me" by Halsey

"Make It Out Alive" by Malachiii

"I so Hate Consequences" by Relient K

"Way Less Sad" by AJR

"Kids in the Dark" by All Time Low

"Dreams" by Phil Beaudreau

"Inkpot Gods" by The Amazing Devil

"Hero of Our Time" by NateWantsToBattle

"Brave Enough" by Lindsey Stirling and Christina Perri

"Hello My Old Heart" by The Oh Hellos

"Everything I Need" by Skylar Grey

"Hold Me Closer" by Cornelia Jakobs

"Thief" by Imagine Dragons

"Constellations" by The Oh Hellos

"King and Lionheart" by Of Monsters and Men

"Bitter Water" by The Oh Hellos

"Under the Circus Lights" by Owl City

"Wildflower" by Matthew Parker

"Falling Faster" by Matthew Parker

"Perfectly Broken - Duet Version" by BANNERS and Lily Meola

50 SONGS TILL I REACH 1000 SONGS IN MY PLAYLIST

GUYS. I NEED SONG RECS. NOW

[obsessivevoidkitten]

Animal Farm: Mondays

Male Yandere Harpies x Gender Neutral Reader (CW: Noncon, harpies, general yandere behavior, captive reader, spit roasting, cum in hair, aftercare, male harem, brief mention of being used as a cock sleeve by bull men.) Word Count: 500 (Here it is! I have had a solid wave of productivity lately answering old asks and now there is this, something I said I would do a long time ago. I said I would make a mini-fic/drabble with every group of monster men from my animal farm fic which can be found HERE.)

You sighed. It was early on Monday morning, the sun starting to stream into the window enough to disturb your sleep. You glared at your alarm clock and preemptively turned off the alarm that would go off at 10:00. It was 9:53. You wanted to cry. You had not fully recovered from Rory, Sev, and Bruc swapping you between them as a communal cock sleeve all day on Friday. You lamented your decision to be a monster man farmer with so many different species. You should have stuck to one or two. Oh well… no use crying over it now. At least you started the week off easy after your weekend break. The harpy men had pretty forgiving cocks. Ugh. Was that what it had come to? Judging how not awful your day was by the brutality of the cocks you were about to encounter? You scarfed down a quick breakfast then enjoyed your last few minutes before you were swarmed by the three harpies that called your farm home, Zan, Xilra, and Elry. They all looked similar, green and blue feathers in their hair, emerald green eyes to match, dark skin, with large angel-like wings sprouting from their backs and their legs ended in the way any bird of prey’s did. Sharp. Talons. When you stepped into the aviary your watch read exactly 10:30, you weren’t giving them a second more than you were forced to. It was like your one shred of resistance, even though it didn’t really matter very much. You also were too scared to be late after what happened the one time you were. You were sniffed out and fucked. Swiftly. As soon as you stepped into the large greenhouse-like domed building, it was like a miniature forest complete with all sorts of trees and plants, you were instantly pounced upon by the three monster men. They wasted not a single second in taking off your clothes and tossing them aside on the dirt while pinning you to the wall. “Hey come on! Those were just cleeeEEEEAAAAAANNNED. H-hey!” Two of them were biting, licking and nuzzling all over your neck while the third was using his mouth between your legs. “W-w-why do we always have to start the d-daaaay like thiiiiis??” “We love you little starling~” “Yes! And we must show you!” “We haven’t been inside you for a whole week love! It was torture~” “We must make up for the lost time sweet bird.” And that they certainly did. A week's worth of the pent up libidos of three tall harpy men unloaded on you and in you within hours. They spit roast you while you were on the ground before taking you in mid air. By the end of their breeding session with you you were exhausted. And this was supposed to be the easy day. At least they let you rest afterwards, washing the cum out of your hair and off your sore body before cuddling you and petting you while they sang sweet little bird songs and praised their darling little starling~

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Jimin - Muse (2024)

3/5 ☆

I thought it'd get me several days to come back here with some thoughts on Muse, but it proved it's not necessary.

Who as title track makes complete sense. We're still into 90s nostalgia, but it's a recipe that works. Not just in kpop, but pop in general. Looking at the charts, it paints a pretty clear picture for the last couple of years. Add the zoomer idea of a what a Y2K aesthetic is like and we get the recipe for today's music and concept. Repeat, reuse, recycle. How fitting for postmodernism.

Who is a really catchy tune, with lyrics easy to remember and sing out loud. A tad more commercial-sounding than Like Crazy, but that's Muse overall anyway. The truth is, I have the song on loop (streamers can't come for me, lol). I think Jimin's style of singing and the melody itself are a good fit. Lyric wise, it's sort of basic, but this is pop music made for mass consumption. I don't mind it. It's also radio friendly and definitely has the potential for summer hit, but I'm 99% sure it won't turn into one. BH won't move a finger to send it to radio and it's another song that will fall victim to fandom mass streaming to chart high for one week. I've seen this all before.

It's also a shame to have this released when an artist is away, without being able to properly promote it. In my non-expert opinion, it could have been released as a single a few months later after Face and scratch the rest of Muse or keep it in the drafts.

As to the other songs, perhaps Rebirth (Intro) is the only other song on the album that has something to it, it stands out a bit more and it also bridges the two albums, despite the connection being sort of flimsy.

Having Sofia Carson on Slow Dance had brought nothing to the song. It could have been a full Jimin track all the way. Her style of singing does not stand out and I find it a failed pair because there's no contrast or voices complementing each other. Jimin can sing just like her. If a collab is really wanted/needed/necessary, then I'd wish for a pairing that also makes sense vocal-wise.

Be Mine is ok, but it sounds too much like that one TXT song and I simply can't get over past it. It's afro beat and latino influence which has been all the rage in the past few years, which Hybe has been pushing a lot. It explains the song.

SGMB and Closer Than This were previously released and I'm not covering them again.

I think it's difficult for me to not make comparisons to Face, considering both albums were produced around the same period, without much time left in between them. One is simply more cohesive and has a depth that showcases a first solo attempt, while the other one is clearly going a more commercial route with less of a personal signature.

Despite Muse being promoted as another conceptual album, I find that umbrella to be a bit forced given that the theme of finding love is really a generic one. Perhaps way too generic with not much individuality. Does it show Jimin's vocal range? Yes. Does it show him trying various genres? Yes. In this case, perhaps Muse is a bit similar to Golden in some aspects, with the difference that Jimin gets producing and writing credits in 5/6 songs. So his involvement is greater, but the scope of the album is in the same category as Golden, which is another production that had this LOVE as an overarching theme. But without much more to it that would make it stand out lyrically. The focus on both is genre diversity and vocal capability.

In short: I like Who (I also like Ace of Base songs and all those silly 90s pop songs, so my music taste is most likely considered bad, but I don't care). I think Muse overall is an amalgam of whatever is trendy at the moment, without being able to truly stand out and say more about Jimin, apart from his capabilities as idol/performer. Perhaps that was the point too.

P.S. My inbox has been closed for anonymous asks since I reblogged a few days ago my post about using lyrics as clues for personal life. It seems that it invited homophobia and I won't have that here.

I'm keeping it that way for now because I'm sure my personal "review" on Muse will either be seen as an invitation for people to either bash me for not thinking it's the album of the year or to be seen as an opportunity for others to talk shit about Jimin, Who and the album overall. I found that usually there is no middle ground with kpop stans/army/Jimin stans, etc.

[meluiloth]

Just saw your post for the greenwood headcannons (lemme first tell ya, I also love them to a fault, such a shame we have almost nothing on them that is cannon), and do you have any thoughts about holidays or parties they might have? We know of the Feast in The Hobbit book where Galion drinks himself unconscious lmao (iconic of him btw), but seeing as they are apparently a very happy population in general, I'd wager they have more than just that one yk

Thanks for the ask!

I think the Silvan Elves are a very celebratory people, and will take any opportunity to partake in feasting, wine, and song. There are banquets and parties often, sometimes for no occasion other than to make merry (as is seen in The Hobbit, where the Elves host parties for many nights in a row!) That being said, I do think there are also holidays of special significance throughout the year and are commemorated differently than the common feast. Birthdays, for example, are a citywide affair, as are marriages and new babies; the Elves are a very family-oriented community, where everyone pretty much knows everyone. Aside from those, I've compiled a small list of holidays the Silvan Elves would celebrate!

Among the most well-known and extravagantly celebrated holidays are the Seasonal Masques, which are festivals that take place at the height of each of the four seasons. The Elves honor the bounty of nature and the beauty of every season to the fullest, and a lot of preparation is put into these four festivals.

First is the Spring Masque, which is focused on the joy of new blossoms and blooming fruit after winter. They dress mostly in white during this festival, so as to devote their full attention to the vibrant colors around them, and all of the food is found fresh in the wild: berries, fruits, and greenery in particular. There is no meat consumed during this festival, to preserve and honor the new life in this season.

A few months later is the Summer Masque, which is held on the longest day and is a celebration of the lushness of the forest; this day is full of dancing and song to display the excitement of the wild. The outfits of this festival are quite extravagant, featuring a lot of animal and flower motifs.

When the days shorten and the forest is completely covered in the colors of fall, the Autumn Masque arrives, bringing with it a bounty of harvest, changing leaves, and preparation for colder months ahead. The colors of this festival are warm and rich, and there is plenty of hot food and aromatic spices in every dish.

Finally comes the Winter Masque, and the end of the cycle of seasons. The Elves gather inside the Elvenking's Halls, where it is warm, making this a quieter and gentler holiday illuminated with candles, starlight, and snow; the forest is sleeping, so the festivities are quieter to avoid disturbing it. Often, there is a hunt, and the costumes are very fur-based to keep warm, and fresh spiced venison and wine is served.

There is also the Feast of Starlight (or Mereth Nuin Giliath in Sindarin) which takes place in the early winter, when the trees are bare and the stars are clearest; this is the feast that is featured in The Hobbit films, and, as its name suggests, it is a commemoration of Arda's dearest creations.

However, not all of the Silvan Elf holidays are joyful. Lû-o-fuin, or Time of Darkness, is a period of mourning for the Mirkwood Elves; it is a week-long fast in honor of all the lives lost during the War of the Last Alliance. Though the rest of Middle-Earth celebrates this time for the fall of Sauron, the Silvan Elves remember it for the grief it caused to their people - they lost King Oropher and an overwhelming number of their army, and this also marks the time in their history when the Necromancer first came to Greenwood and the trees began to wither. To honor this loss, the Elves do not eat or drink for a week, and wear only ash-colored robes. On the last day of mourning, they go to the Forest River, where they make small boats out of leaves and set them floating in the water, to signify the souls of those who died returning to Faerie (Valinor).

Those are some ideas for Mirkwood Elf holidays! I hope you like them (because I spent a lot of time thinking about these and even longer looking for the right images...), and thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share this!

If you're interested in my imagining of the Silvan Elves in Mirkwood, check out my mirkwood headcanons tag! If there's a headcanon you want me to explore that I haven't already, my ask box is open!

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's remaster...

[Spoilers below cut]

Aha! I've expected as much, they usually release a regular episode or a Remaster. It's been a while since they've done one of these, I honestly thought we were going to get one during the Puzzle Park arc, which of course didn't happen.

Let's see, the OG "Return to Freddy's Spaghettria" episode was...

9 YEARS AGO?!?!?

...time isn't real, guys. I feel old old. Makes sense though, the OG has 44 million views, being one of the most popular videos on the channel. It's a no-brainer. also it was spooky month *does the dance* a few days ago.

Anyway, since it's a remaster, this post is going to be a lot shorter than usual.

(the following is my reaction:)

ah, of course, the updated graphics

and Mario going from his polygonal 64 model to his current one

but also peach's castle.... ahem, let's keep going

"no more saying cuss words guys" oh right, susan is watching over us

[*sigh*] i miss my wife, tails. i miss her a lot, I'll be back

gotta make the reference I'm sorry

go off Mario, show those dance moves

also can I just say, I love how expressive Mario is now. It's one of the things I love about the show

WIZARD ROCK IS BACK!!!! it's been so long

man, i'm old

omg the barney song (listen, I was a PBS Kid and I've indeed watched barney when I was a child soooo I still find it wild to hear that song again.)

"do you like popsicles?" oh hey a spongebob... oh...

....i'm overthinking this i'm overthinking this i'm overthinking this

uh, moving on!

and mario using mr. yeast to barricade the door... [*IGBP flashbacks*]

Welcome, everyone, to "Let's Remind Ink of the Show's Past Arcs and Current Mysteries" :)

"remember the locket :)" "YEAH I KNOW I KNOW"

that camera work tho

cocomelon... WHY AM I GETTING FLASHBACKS

pizza :D

[*claps in terror*]

well, that's new from the OG.... okay, look, I know this purple thing is from something else and not related to anything at all i get that BUT I just got reminded of meme rehab

happy halloween to me specifically ig, thanks Team

DAMN his coin count lowered from 24 coins in the OG to just 14 coins in the remaster

WII SPORTS, I love all the references to it in this episode

"who wants a muffin?" "no" "but I wanna die :D" /ref

the mickey mouse audio.... LEAVE ME ALONE *flachback* AAAH *flashback* AAAAAAHHHHH

SMG4 HIIII :D good to see blue Mario every now and then

and some voice acting wow

RAVE PARTY

hold up, i gonna pull out the crafting table for this one

mario can and will teleport behind you when he wants to

pizza :D

also congrats to ArrowDustt for your art being featured in the credits 🎉

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Another pleasant episode. It's really fun to see how much the Team has improved over the years while still being the show. It is a remaster so it's pretty much the same storyline, but the animation and editing and voice acting and so much more. Go show some appreciation for the Team!!

As much as I'm here for the loreeeeeeeee, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the year is just filled with silly episodes. it's the silly meme show after all... but Team, was it really necessary to remind me that these characters had trauma from previous episodes? well, guess what? it's day of the dead for me so your plan failed aha!!! /silly

Yeah, I do look too much into stuff sprinkled in the background or the episode in general, it's kinda my thing. Don't mind me overanalyzing the bingo numbers from the last episode. Anyway, it was nice of Ben (the thumbnail artist) to show some of the behind-the-scenes.

Stretchy boi :) Love when the Team does these kinds of things. By the way, if anyone was curious, the WOTFI website is still up. Interesting....

Well, my dear fellows, that's all for now. Curious to know what the next remaster will be, and as always, looking forward to what shenanigans the SMG4 Crew will be up to next week. Hmm, maybe I'll post another episode concept (angst or fluff, no in-between >:] hehehe). Take care, and I'll see you all next time!!! pizza :D

...

BUT ALSO GOOP!FOUR— *green screen explosion*

[mikeysbride]

Welcome Back to Trench

When our kids introduced us to the world of the twenty one pilots fandom a couple of years ago, we were initially full of corny parent jokes:

Why are they called twenty one pilots when there are only two of them?

That's way too many pilots.

They're gonna need a bigger cockpit.

Why, for the love of God, don't they capitalize their name!?

That's not to say we don't still say those things sometimes (thank goodness our teens generally find us amusing), but it's also wild to see how big a part of our family dynamic this duo has become over these couple of years...so much so that I've even suggested that when we finally get a dog, he should be named Clancy. [T.O.P. fans will understand.] They are in regular rotation in our home and in our cars. Last year, they were one of my top 5 most listened to artists on Spotify! And last night, at last, we all went to see them perform live on the aptly-named Clancy Tour. It was the first time seeing them for all 5 of us - our family of 4, along with my 16yo's...um, favorite boy, we'll call him. I don't think she's been quite this happy since maybe when we first surprised her with AJR tickets. But as much as she loves AJR (we all do now!), twenty one pilots is HER band as Living Colour is mine, and Genesis is her dad's. Now we are all along for the ride.

And last night, much of Orlando was also along for that ride, having sold out the Kia Center pretty much immediately when the tickets went on sale months ago. I had a feeling their show would be high energy and that the crowd would be super hyped, and I was not wrong about that. But after being as impressed as I was by AJR (twice!) this year, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. Tyler and Josh did not disappoint, though, and I have to say I am also quite impressed with THEM...not that I didn't think I would be. We've watched enough of their music videos and live performance clips (full concerts, even) on YouTube for me to know this, too, wasn't going to be just an ordinary concert.

To the point, Tyler and Josh have a way of immersing themselves into the crowd (literally) that makes them feel like they are right there with you - because they are - spending quite a bit of time out amongst their fans instead of on the stage. They are seemingly everywhere at once, making it feel like an intimate performance even with thousands of people in the audience. And the fire. There was a lot of fire, which I rather appreciated because, being prone to being cold, I was chilly in the arena, and it was nice to sometimes be able to feel a bit of warmth from the flames, all the way up our cushy club level seats!

We heard so many favorite songs of theirs last night, including my newest favorite from them, the super catchy "Lavish," but I have not stopped playfully pouting yet that they didn't do my O.G. favorite of theirs - the one that really stuck out to me when I first heard them, and that is "Lane Boy." I love that one so much that I have a bit of a reputation for it at this point. With a catalog as extensive as theirs is, they can't be expected to play everything, but man, hearing that one live would've made the night absolutely, undeniably perfect for me. Here's hoping they'll add it back in on a future tour.

Also on the subject of their music, I couldn't help but giggle thinking that Tyler doesn't really even need to know his own lyrics because that arena full of fans was more than happy to sing every line for him. From the first notes of every song, they were READY. If anyone knows the assignment, it's T.O.P. fans. Apparently, my kids aren't the only ones who can recite their songs like the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a thing I know now.

And finally, a huge thank you to Tyler for actually telling those of us in reserved seats to sit and rest for a few songs. Not to be the old lady in the room, but I'm long past the age of wanting to stand for an entire show, in most cases preferring to sit and truly hear the music and watch what is happening on the stage - or in this case (also) in the middle of the crowd somewhere. It was a bit of a reprieve when he said that.

Eh, so maybe I'll let that "Lane Boy" thing slide after all.

[blorbologist]

📂📂📂

SORRY got a little busy - let's get those HCs!

Look: Grog and Percy will likely to be the first members of Vox Machina to die, assuming they live out their natural lifespans give or take. I HC that, as they age, they grow closer. No one else in VM understands the encroaching end, how old wounds now ache. The children they (helped) raise are still so young, being quarter-elves and gnomes - it dawns on them how few memories their loved ones will have of them, in the grand scheme of their long lives ahead. Consider Grog feeling weak and Percy's mind growing dull, the traits they take pride in being worn away. Both would likely be pretty frustrated by this, while taking comfort in the fact they survived this long at all despite the lives they lead. Also giving their families heart attacks with their latest hairbrained, half-planned scheme. They're engaged in a PVP exercise ball reenactment of the skull thing. They're seeing how high Grog can throw a bomb Percy made with shaking hands. There's a canonball contest. "GRANDPA NO!" "Grandpa yes."

Vex is in an awkward spot: longer-lived than her husband and Grog (and even some of her children - Tieflings have human lifespans :,) ), yet far shorter lived than the remaining three. I'd think she might get closer to her elven family, in her twilight years. Understanding a bit better the loss they inevitably go through over the centuries. I can see her remaining a fairly public figure well into old age, keeping Whitestone on the right track in Percy and Cass' stead. Getting involved in the legacies of all her shorter-lived friends: Zahra and Kash's kids, the Brigade sans Tary and Gilmore's Glorious Goods. Keeping pleasantly busy - she'll rest when she's with her husband, gods damn it, and not a moment before. (Before she goes, she promises Keyleth she'll say hello).

... which leaves the gnomes and Keyleth. They'll likely live to see generations and generations of their families come and go. Probably some impossible-feeling changes to the world, too - remember that Chetney was born before Tal'Dorei and the Dwendalian Empire were founded, probably before Ank'Harel was raised either! I think they'd likely realize down the line that they've got an absolute wealth of historical knowledge, often first-hand, and strive to document and protect it. Of course Scanlan would compose so many songs, but I think he might actually grow into that role of a bard Ioun saw in him. The knowledge-sharer, history-speeker, not the guy singing brawdy songs and lying liberally in his youth. Pike might write religious texts and hymns of her own with the help of her ex-husband. I wonder if the Slayer's Cake might outlast the Take it was named for, under her watch. And Keyleth... well.

(Bonus: do any of them forget the faces? Minds are so fallible. Do they realize, and commission mind-reading magic paired with artists to get portraits of those they've lost? Do they trust their minds until the very last? Does Keyleth gasp, when she sees Vax'ildan again, and he is not as she thought he would be? Is he even still Vax'ildan, after over a thousand years without anyone who knew him passing through his care?)

[animebw]

So there's a big issue with this final plotline about Kanon getting an offer to study abroad in Vienna. Actually, there's a few issues compounding on top of each other, but at heart it comes back to what I said before about Superstar lacking its own identity.

As a season finale, this storyline makes sense as the climax to a story like Hibike. You know, a conflict between just performing music because it's fun and you want to share that joy versus performing music to achieve greatness no matter the difficulties or sacrifices. And there have been hints at that throughout season 2- the second episode was all about exploring that idea and it was pretty damn excellent. That was the basis of Sumire and Keke's conflict in episode 9 as well: is it worth pushing the first-years out of the competition if it means a better chance to win for Keke's sake? And, of course, Wien's whole deal has been pursuing greatness at the expense of everything else. So it's not like this idea hasn't been established.

But that's also all it's been: established.

Something I'm realizing looking back on Superstar as a whole is how shockingly episodic it's been from start to finish. Compared to Sunshine and SIP, which developed pretty continuous story threads as they went along, very little of Superstar's many component parts feel like they feed into each other. Kanon had three episodes of stage fright at the start and then it wasn't an issue again until the penultimate episode of the first season. Basically every character's introduction arc into Liella is completely self-contained with emotional issues that are no longer a factor once they're part of the group. And all those moments season 2 touches on the theme of greatness vs passion are similarly resolved in a tight twenty-four minute package. The idea's brought up, toyed with, then resolved the same way: Liella is nine, and they want to sing for each other and the joy of singing. There's no progression of that theme, no elaboration, no sense that the way the characters interact with those ideas is evolving throughout the season or changing them as people.

So to have this Vienna school thrust upon us in the last moments of the season feels... wrong. It feels like it's trying to pull on threads that have already been tied up, trying to make a grand, cumulative statement on something that just hasn't been prominent enough in the story to warrant that amount of focus. We know what Superstar thinks about the conflict between doing what you love because you love it and doing what you love to create something special with it. It's already been tidily resolved multiple times. And trying to close out the season by prying those closed loops open again just reveals how little this idea has actually mattered in the grand scheme of things. Actually, it's worse; it's revealed how little any of Superstar's ideas have mattered. This season, compared to even Sunshine's weakest stretches, has so little meat on its bones that any conclusion would ring hollow from how little foundation it has to build on.

And unfortunately, it's let me to one final big disappointing realization: Kanon is a bad protagonist.

Like, I'm kind of surprised that's where I've ended up? I've never disliked Kanon or her presence in the show, I've had no trouble watching her on screen. But now that Superstar's actively centering her in the narrative again, I'm forced to realize that she is just such an empty character. Beyond the generic motivation of wanting to share her songs with the world and her long-since-resolved stage fright issues, I can't think of anything that defines her. No real quirks, no specific motivating factors, few strong relationships with the rest of Liella, no sense of her family life... I could talk at length about the nuances of Honoka and Chika and the different aspects of the genki girl archetype they emulate, even how they change and mature throughout their respective shows (And neither of them are my favorite characters of their groups!) But with Kanon? She's a near-empty vessel propped up by the much more dynamic cast surrounding her.

And that's a huge problem when you're trying to build any sort of drama around her specifically. Especially when that drama relies on us believing that Kanon is such an exceptional singer that one of the best music schools in the world would make an offer to her. Because straight up? I do not believe that for a second. Even the the heightened, idealized world of Love Live, it does not make sense how this girl, of all people, could make such an impression all by herself. Nothing Superstar has shown us has made it seem like Kanon is any more or less talented than her classmates. Honestly, Love Live's never really been good at showcasing the individual talents and skill levels of its main cast; when the performance starts, they're all basically the same up on stage. But that's never been a problem before because the story's never been about exploring those different skill levels until now. And nothing in this show has felt like it's even been trying to present Kanon as some kind of exceptional star in the making. She's always just been one idol among many, except now we're supposed to believe she's a step above everyone else and there's just no evidence to support that.

So Kanon's not a bad protagonist in the sense that she's annoying or unrealistic. She's a bad protagonist because Superstar has utterly failed to justify why she belongs at the center of this story. And with all the other issues I've talked about compounding on top of that, it's basically impossible for this show to do anything meaningful with her character as is. She's doomed to an existence of perpetual superfluousness, a gaping hole at the center of her own narrative who can only ever fail to be more than that. And that, more than anything, is the reason that Superstar, for all its delights, has come up so painfully short.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/08/2024 (Chase & Status/Stormzy)

It’s a new #1 the second week in a row, as Chase & Status of all acts launch their hit “BACKBONE” with Stormzy to the top of the UK Singles Chart, it being the first for the drum and bass duo and the fourth for the MC. Perhaps unexpected but an ultimately exciting shake-up, it does not reflect the rest of this dull week. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: celebrities complaining

Rundown

As always in this series, we start with our notable dropouts, those being songs that exit the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to “you look like you love me” by Ella Langley featuring Riley Green and “Pour Me a Drink” by Post Malone featuring Blake Shelton which may rebound given the album’s release, as well as some bigger hits like “LUNCH” by Billie Eilish and “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas which lasted longer than it ever should have.

As for our returns, other than Noah Kahan’s “You’re Gonna Go Far” re-entering at #74 after peaking at #63 earlier this year - it often just bubbles under like this - we have a big resurgence at #27, as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” gets a boost from being featured in the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack. It was the pop icon’s sixth #1 and stayed at the top for three weeks back in 1989, thanks to firstly being a fantastic song as well as having a controversial, larger than life music video that angered the Vatican… like all great artists have at least once. Whilst a classic, it’s not exactly my ultimate favourite of Madonna’s hit but with a catalogue like hers, that’s inevitable, and naturally, the track has seen success in several cover versions. Trbute act Who’s That Girl! released a version alongside “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” that reached #88 in 1997 and Miley Cyrus reached #79 with it in 2022, though between those were the biggest versions in the UK, the first being from Eurodance outfit MadHouse who took their “Like a Prayer” all the way to #3 in 2002, when Darius’ “Colourblind” occupied the #1. In 2010, the cast to the musical sitcom Glee created a Madonna tribute episode that obvioussly had to contain “Like a Prayer”. It reached #16 in 2010 on its debut week, the same week that Roll Deep debuted at #1 with “Good Times”.

And now that history lesson’s over, we also have a few notable gains, those being “Double Life” by Pharrell Williams at #56, “Carry You Home” by Alex Warren at #51, “Black Friday (pretty like the sun)” by Lost Frequencies and Tom Odell at #50, “Sailor Song” by Gigi Perez at #43, “I Love You, I’m Sorry” by Gracie Abrams at #38, “Big Dawgs” by Hanumankind and Kalmi at #21, “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy and D.O.D at #19, “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv and Malachiii at #11 and finally, “Angel of My Dreams” by JADE at #10 thanks to a new version. I honestly can’t complain about much of that batch.

As for our top five, well, “BACKBONE” is at #1, we know that, but otherwise we see “Stargazing” by Myles Smith at #5, “Guess” by Charli xcx featuring Billie Eilish slip off the top to #4, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan at #3 and just pipped at the post once again is, also Billie Eilish, with “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” at #2. Now we have a small batch of new songs, but it seems we’ll actually be starting where we started and will be ending. If that wasn’t too convoluted.

New Entries

#72 - “Gunfinger (Salute)” - IRAH featuring Chase & Status

Produced by Chase & Status

So Chase & Status have naturally gotten an algorithmic push they didn’t really get before the massive success of “BACKBONE”, which has not only boosted their back catalogue but also this bubbling track they just produced with a feature credit for IRAH, an MC who hass worked with the two before, most notably on last year’s #5 hit “Baddadan”. I generally like the jump-up intensity of Chase & Status production, and “Gunfinger” feels pretty traditional with IRAH’s deep-voiced intimidation and the reggae sample starting off the song, later warping into a rolicking drum and bass clatter decorated with a sparse, windy atmosphere, stray vocal samples and an array of alarming synths. Whilst I appreciate the details in the drum fills and sound design here, there is a certain emptiness to this that really is evident from IRAH’s general incapability to make much of an impression, sticking to a pretty basic, unmoving delivery that could really do with being more energetic when the production is going to try and rally for minimal intensity over anything. It’s fine, I just wish there was something more to it.

#59 - “Why Why Why” - Shawn Mendes

Produced by Mike Sabath, Shawn Mendes, Eddie Benjamin and Scott Harris

The in-demand Mike Sabath seems to be the go-to for pop singer-songwriters who wish to go for a more serious and ambitious direction, since it worked so well with RAYE, and I can’t blame Shawn Mendes wanting that same level of control and detail given how much of his earlier output was nearly insufferably manufactured. A song like “Stitches” plays out much more like a Disney star’s song than the maturer side Mendes has been wanting to show since at least “In My Blood”, and whilst he has been hit-and-miss in that like he has his entire career, he at least has the dignity to not flail out into failed hyperpop experiments like the ex-partner who I have no doubts he’s still writing about because I know she is too. In this new comeback single, Mendes is constantly thinking of his ex-partner, waking up in a sweat having visions of her naked, and just asking… “why”.

So the song has a general focus on a hopeless state of mental health, but plants ideas without ever expanding on them: the anxiety he feels on tour, the over-dramatic relationship drama and feeling writer’s block all coalesce into that one hook of “I don’t know why”, over a more organic, reverb-drenched folk instrumental that feels very blatantly a trend-chase, even if it does make sense for the acoustic-focused Shawn Mendes to hop on the sound. The bridge makes the childlike confusion Mr. Mendes even more transparent: as soon as he thinks he can be a father, he getss the grounding realisation that he is still a child inside and sometimes even pleads with his mother for help, though does not seem to really do anything to help or prevent any of this? In fact, the only problem resolved is that he “chose himself” instead of his ex-partner, which may be telling that the only recurring problem in his life he can entirely dismiss is those close to him, as everything else described in the track is either cyclical or unresolved entirely, hence his clueless wandering through those underwritten choruses and wow, this is insufferable. For once, I think he knows, and that restless whining about problems is undoubtedly intended to be further frustrated by his refusal to, or maybe even no awareness to how he can, fix those issues. It’s just also not something I really care to hear from, well, anyone. It doesn’t display any temptation to fix his problems, the lyrics aren’t poetic in expressing such, and half of them are informed by his accessibility to experiences I simply cannot access. A self-obessed wobble or spiralling down through the woes that come with “more money, more problems” would be interesting if there was actually any clear progression or detail, but Mendes and co. seem much happier in just leaving the song as is: an unneeded yet unspecific venting session from a wildly successful musician wherein you’re left in the dust to core elements that could actually resonate, and justify the frankly dumb writing. This new lead single ultimately just shows a disconnect that isn’t particularly worth caring about, and I’m not even sure Shawn wants us to, given this sonically has “fulfilling my contract album” kind of written all over it. I’m sure this will be nice for the diehard fans, but to me, this is just useless.

#58 - “Active” - Asake and Travis Scott

Produced by Sarz and MIKE DEAN

Nigerian singer Asake, best known on the UK charts for “Lonely at the Top” and its recent single “Wave” with Central Cee, has released his newest record, Lungu Boy, which has landed on the UK albums chart at #15. I have yet to listen to that full album yet but Asake has impressed me before with their bright, melodious take on Afrobeats, and this new track is actually very interesting, using a sample of fellow NIgerian Jazzman Olofin’s “Raise da Roof” and cutting the vocal off into a stuttered riff against the almost 90s house groove that quickly tumbles into a tighter, minimal bass that feels so full in the mix, to the point where the cowbells and vocal loop end up kind of extraneous to just how good that bassline is. Asake’s melody seems somewhat out of place in his verse given how percussive the production is, but it plays off really interestingly off the busier drums in its second half, and that chorus is so simple yet worms its way into my head, especially when surrounded by the pitch-shifted vocal loop that is just as sticky. If I have a problem, it’s Travis Scott, who once again confuses laziness for being interesting, cutting off elements of his vocal take for no functioning reason other than sounding awkward and “different” for a few bars before quickly dipping into typical flows he has always used to flex vapidly and take me out of just how fun the song should be, though he quickly disappears after. Frankly, both artists do end up disappointing in the core part of the song, even if I have no expectations for Travis other than substanceless garbage nowadays (“fetish for the money”? Seriously?), as both fail to truly make the best use of the instrumental possible, I think becaue Travis is useless and Asake just needs more space to go for the melodic approach, and is given so in the outro, where that rushed vocal loop is placed against smooth, spacey keys that Asake can croon and riff off of. I wouldn’t be surprised if that beautiful section is what MIKE DEAN contributed to the beat, but even with that, it feels like it was tacked on to grant the song more depth than it needs, and I end up pretty much torn damn near 50-50 on it despite a great instrumental. Maybe this would just be better-served by other artists, and not even because of talent dsparity, just because the limitations of the production would fit more frenetic artists than two Auto-Tune crooners. Overall, I do think I’m teetering positively on it, but I wanted to enjoy it way more given what Sarz and DEAN cooked up.

#1 - “BACKBONE” - Chase & Status and Stormzy

Produced by Chase & Status

Now this is how to go for pure intensity: there’s a screeching lead synth, a heavily elevated build that relies not on the instrumental to gather its swell, as Stormzy is much more of a unique presence than IRAH, mostly due to his switches in flow and cadence that convince you on his smug flexes and macho posturing which is honestly mostly just dedicated to defying “you” - not the listener, but an imagined sense of authority to rebel against and insult. That kind of relentless energy in the content may not translate perfectly when he’s still flexing materialistically, but it’s easier than ever to ignore the less populist elements of Stormzy’s bars when the intensity is just this high. The spiralling synth in the build wires down into a canvas of thumping bass tones in the drop, with the drums jumping off of pitch-shifted vocal fragments and stretched backing strings propelling from the back of the mix. The song refuses to commit to a copy-paste structure, with Chase & Status adding great, small details like the break fill before the second verse, the brief but absolutely cavernous, industrial-sounding drums behind Stormzy prior to the final drop, and those horns bursting with not just bombast but a real sinister tone by the end that helps bring back some of the immersion. This is honestly a really simple song structurally, especially lyrically, but the execution is so powerful it trumps the need for anything all too complex, and that probably would have ruined its chances at #1 anyway. It’s exactly the kind of straightforward banger you’d expect the trio to make and whilst like “Guess”, the other likeably obnoxious, arguably garish EDM collaboration to debut unexpectedly at #1, I don’t see ths lasting too long at the very top, I’m sure it can find its space below, and whatever run it has doesn’t take away from that initial spark that gave the production duo a long-overdue reign on the singles chart they’ve called home for over a decade now.

Conclusion

This should be the easiest episode ever for you to figure out who gets what. Shawn Mendes takes the Worst of the Week for “Why Why Why”, “BACKBONE” by Chase & Status and Stormzy gets the Best of the Week, we’ll probably see the new Bruno and Gaga collab shake things up next week alongside Hozier and Post, but we’ll see. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy and I’ll see you next week!

[mexicancherry]

IM BACK! if u have my IG You have seen this photos i took! But if not, i wanna post them in here too to spill the beans a little regarding a few stuff i noticed working on this event (from this year and also last year).

So the "Mujeres en producción" show (women in [music] production) was an event held by my university where a lot of the girls and women from the music and music production careers get together to put on a show for open public but most importantly, to girls in high school!!

The goal is to promote the career (and therefore the university lmao) to young girls interested in music, showing them there is a space for them in every art or music form! Wheter it be as a singer, musician, audio ingeneer, organizer etc.

I was in the art department, So i was kind of in charge of the whole visuals aesthetic, the ilumination, outfits and makeup 🥴. At first i was very thrilled to be i'm charge ... Then.. well .. if You know anything about live performances, things can go south veeery fast.

The organization was lacking, a lot of songs had to be cut out of the setlist, girls cried and vented about the pressure put on them (some of them just cried cause their protagonist song was cut out but anyway), teachers yelled to each other, miscomunnication and a lot of shit took place lmao.

That was behind the scenes! And even on the days the show took place things went wrong, things that where out of my hands and also things that definitely where in my control! Things that i would do different and things in where i lacked in general...

So if i speak on the negative is only cause i know i learned a lot, and cause i hope all of the girls did too...

I think in the end, seeing all those young girls happy, dancing and singing, asking for autographs and pictures to the singers after the show was really cute and i loved to see it!! Id love to think the show inspired a lot of them to pursue music or art in any way

Also wanna point out that there was a conference too held by a really cool old lady talking about interviews she had with women and men working in profesional studios and their experience viewed thru a feminist perspective, was pretty interesting to hear those experiences as well!

So in conclusion... There was drama, a lot of it! And into an extent none of you can imagine !! There was arguments, disagreements, people being unprofessional even... But we all came thru and made it happen for all the young girls who needed it and that was the goal so ill rest my case here.

If you read all of that thank u i love you im peeling a mango for you rn

[boysplanetrecaps]

Ep 4 Wrap Up

Hello, lovies! Welcome back to the Great Produce48 Recap Rewatch-a-ma-whoozit! In the previous post, we covered the Very Very teams. In this post, I’ll be wrapping up episode 4 and giving you some general thoughts about the challenge mission in the form of my first annual BRAPPY Awards! Let’s do it!

Seungki gathers the girls together now that the audience has left, in order to give them the results of the on-site vote. Seungki quizzes a few girls is the audience at quasi-random to re-establish the rules -- that 58th is the cut off point, and that if you don’t make it within that range, “you can’t practice here anymore.” I think that’s a comparatively kind way to put it.

This is basically a pointless exercise that they’re going through right now, though. They rank the girls solely by their voting for tonight, including the 1000 point benefit. There is literally no point to it, since this ranking has no impact on the rest of their life, except their pride. We find out that poor AleXa came in dead last, with flat-tummied Hwang Soyeon just above her. 

AleXa takes it pretty well -- she knew how low she scored, so she was ready for this.

Poor Soyeon. She’s so good, and I think she’s pretty. I don’t get it. 

Lee Chaeyeon voice overs, “The Japanese members are celebrities, and Koreans are trainees. So there was a gap.” 

Was there? Let me get out my spreadsheet. *cracks knuckles* 

Hmm. The Japanese members had an average of 85.3 votes per trainee. The members signed to Korean agencies had an average of 59.0 votes per trainee. The overall average was 69, because there are more Korean members. So yes, there was a huge gap.

The show goes on revealing the "final ranking" from the night, but it's so annoying, since all the votes were based on their immediate competition among those 10-12 girls, so it’s especially meaningless.

Anyway, here’s the top 12 -- just looking at it reminds you that this is dumb, since we know these aren’t the 12 most popular girls on the show.

Trainee /// Song she did /// votes she got

12. Kojima Mako    ///       Short Hair 1       ///       120 11. Murase Sae      ///       Mamma Mia 1    ///       138 11. Kim Hyunah      ///     Mamma Mia 1 /// 138 9. Asai Nanami   ///           Boombayah 2 /// 144 8. Lee Sian           ///         Short Hair 2     ///       148 7. Jo Yuri      ///                 Short Hair 1     ///       152 6. Cho Ahyeong        ///     High Tension 2 /// 160 5. Miyawaki Sakura   ///     Very Very 2          ///   164 4. Goto Moe      ///         Like Ooh Ahh 1 /// 172 3. Huh Yunjin      ///       High Tension 2 /// 188 2. Ko Yujin        ///     Boombayah 1        ///     198 1. Yabuki Nako /// Love Whisper 2 /// 330

Fun fact: Only three of these girls make it into IZ*one, and, extra fun (or not fun at all?), one of these 12 girls gets eliminated in the very next episode! 

This is so dumb.

Seungki interviews Nako about her overwhelming victory, and she says she still can’t believe it. (You can see that she has a small earpiece in her ear for translation purposes.)

It’s almost as if she was really good and also was in a matchup with mostly weaker members….? Hilariously, she says “I’ll try my best to be in a higher rank next time.” Nako? Sweetie? You were in first place. I think it’s ok to not strive to do even better than that. Cutely, she adds a Korean “thank you!” at the end. 

Then the show does a dumb thing where it adds the 1000 vote benefit into the votes to see how things change in the ranking, and it’s pointless AF. Seungki reminds them that the first ranking announcement will be next week, and that's when they'll "release" about a third of the girls.

Ok, so that’s the end of episode 4. 

Time for my general thoughts on the challenge mission!

My main thought is: None of the performances were actually horrifically bad. Even Hellbayah was watchable in its own way. Vocally, nearly everyone sounded notably better than they even had before, making me wonder if there was some processing being done to the vocals for everyone. Dance-wise, the camera hid a lot of the choreo, so it's impossible to know. In the end, I had to base a lot of my differential off of stage presence, which is tough since it's so subjective.

I think that so much of it was decided the moment that certain teams were formed and certain teams got certain songs. Having Nako sing Love Whisper? Match made in heaven. Putting Chiba Erii in Boombayah? Match made in hell.

I wish I had the energy to go through and look at each group and think, which song should this group of 5-6 girls have done? But alas, I do not. I welcome your thoughts, if you have them!

The First Annual BRAPPIES 

And now, for the first Brappies, the award that BPR-Unnie gives out starting now, after each challenge mission. Be aware that as I type this, I’ve had a headache for about two weeks and it’s making me just a tiny bit cranky. Ok, here goes!

Group who the stylist unnies hated the most:

I give this to Peekaboo 2. 

Ugh, those translucent control top thigh highs!

Group who it just looks like they forgot to put on pants:

Obviously, Short Hair (both teams)

I'm unlikely to use this category again, but it had to be said.

Group that cried the most:

I’m tempted to say it’s a 15-way tie between most of them, but I have to give it to Love Whisper 1, whose leader, Eunchae, actually cried during the ending fairy.

Group that seemed to have the most fun:

Very Very, Red team.

Most deserved win:

Love Whisper 2.

I’m giving it to them since, other than the Boombayah teams, there was no other match up where the winner felt quite so obvious to me.  

Least deserved win:

Hellbayah. Obviously.

It’s infuriating that this performance won. 

Best leader:

From what we could see, that goes to Haeyoon (Cherry Bullet) from Like Ooh Ah, who not only mothered her own team, but also had time to mother the other team, who had the worst leader (Park Seoyoung). She also is apparently fluent in Japanese. 

Honorable mention: Miyu from High Tension, who was smart enough to know that they should have Huh Yunjin as their center, and did a great job as main vocal, to boot.

Worst leader:

I have to give this to Park Seoyoung. She didn't seem to take the time constraints seriously enough, so didn't push her team appropriately. She also didn't seem that great at teaching the dancing, which is one of the things a leader should either be able to do, or be able to delegate well. She should have made little Haeun the dance captain and gone from there, to avoid a feeling of a power struggle. She seems like a really sweet girl, actually, and as I've said before, AleXa is friends with her to this day and that says a lot. But she just isn't really cut out to be leader.

Most put-upon leader:

Han Chowon from Hellbayah. She obviously did an extraordinary job considering her situation. 

Biggest discovery: 

Yoon Haesol, main vocal of High Tension 1. I’d been completely unaware of her up until this point. Her audition, Question Mark, wasn’t aired -- all we saw of her was starting her audition in the wrong key and needing to start over.  All I had said about her audition was that she did pretty well, but this performance really impressed me. So, good for you, Haesol. 

Trainee who “won” the night

Huh Yunjin.

I say she won the night because before this episode, she wasn’t really seen as a front runner, and afterward, she really was. There are events to come that will drag her down a bit, but I think she earned her spot on Le Sserafim with this performance. She definitely won my heart the first time I was watching. So, congrats, Jennifer! You killed it. But you know that, right? 

Trainee who “lost” the night:

In some ways, this award should go to just about anyone who the edit ignored completely despite them doing good stuff, like fantastic singer and leader Miyu from the winning High Tension group, or any of the innumerable other trainees with no stage time. But I have to give this award to Jang Gyuri.

She had her tiny tiny vocal mistake built up to over the course of two episodes and then replayed thirteen fucking times. Meanwhile if you watch her fancam, you might actually gain some respect for her lovely vocal color. 

So, that’s a wrap for right now.  I’m going to check out Build Up for a bit and we’ll see how that goes, and I’ll finish these recaps when the time is right. See you soon! 

[bvannn]

Weekly Update January 5, 2024

I’m still recovering slowly. I never mentioned this because I want to be as vague as I can about my big congenital medical issue, but the surgery last week removed some tissue that affects my endocrine system, and now that it’s gone I’m having some problems with my mood. I have a medicine that corrects it, but I need to wait another week and a half to get my dosage adjusted, so all next week I’m going to be volatile which sucks. Stomach has seemingly gotten better though so hopefully that pain was just caused by those cysts and nothing else was wrong. Sorry if I ramble on a bit too much tonight, I am loopy because of the endocrine stuff so I might go on too long. Anyway artstuffs.

I got a music project done. It was for Mav, and it was pretty small but I stayed up all night working on it. Working on it I discovered a big set of plugins that I got somewhere that look to be automatically doing some of that balancing I was worried about. I still need to double check what exactly it can do, since I’d like a widener plugin, but I don’t want to stack my brain over it if I already have one. I have a few ideas floating around for the next song thing, I’m a bit hesitant on continuing that vocal one I haven’t finished because I watched a bunch of videos today in the bad lyrics of the Wish soundtrack, and the lady kept bringing up cadence and pentameter which are concepts I know about but can’t hear. Like, pentameter is supposed to be the natural inflection a syllable has, but like whenever I hear it, I just hear the inflection of the vocalist. I think I’m overthinking it, since she used a writing scheme to explain it and I think the vocaloid software uses that same writing scheme so maybe I can learn through practice? Or I can just write lyrics that match the melody and call it good as long as the flow sounds natural because of subconscious understanding, like how I figured out how to do harmonies. Whatever. Music theory is hard but my stupid will and brute force is harder.

Other instrumental things I’ve been kinda thinking about include a little Zelda medley that I already recorded the melodies and stuff for, instrumental themes for my OCs because of course. And then I kinda want to just do a big fat medley that goes on for like an hour-ish because I love those kinds of medleys they’re great for car rides and stuff. And the final two I’m thinking about would be for animation memes: either an arcade beat-em-up style boss fight sounding theme, or a cover of a 90s pop-punk-rock (idk what genre) song. I think that one would be cool because I could use it as promotional stuff for a comic.

Oh yeah that O’Malley comic! I actually did good thumbnail work on that this week! I was going to do more today but mood and sleep schedule were wonky, plus I had a meeting this morning, so good chance I’ll put it off until tomorrow. But either way, chipping away at it, trying to watch more movies so I can get better at understanding shot comp, watched Kill Bill part 1 last night and wasn’t expecting it to be like, the best fucking movie ever? Like why does everyone talk about it like ‘eh it’s pretty good’ like no that shit was *Phenomenal*! Hoping part 2 lives up to the first, planning to watch it maybe tomorrow night? Definitely before I go back to uni. Anyway pitch comic is coming along nice, after it’s drawn I can either work on the rest of that story or a pitch for the secondary story I’ve been working on, depending on demand. Right now leaning towards series, since I have general synopsies for a couple more general ‘episodes’.

Also only done like one general drawing for comsheet practice hehehe it’s fine I can try others as time comes and is appropriate. Also did epithet stuff but not as much as I’d like. My original plan tonight was to work on TTRPG stuff but maybe I’ll do writing or thumbnailing instead. Or maybe both.

TRGA: got shot 1-4 done enough. Also got Jon tweened for 1-5. I need to clean him up and do his face and stuff. Tonight maybe if I’m having trouble focusing on the other stuff I’ll clean him up, I think I want to go back to that ‘one significant development a day’ schedule I was on for a bit, but pushed a bit further since I have better strategies now. I’ve also started the ‘every time I sit down and open clip studio I’m going to draw one (1) prop’ strategy so hopefully props won’t be as bad in the future either (even the ones I can’t just recycle). Tomorrow if I’m doing better I’ll try to get 1-5 Jon’s face done (and clean him up too if I don’t tonight) and maybe do another drawing. Maybe more epithet TTRPG stuff maybe not.

I’m trying to get my priorities back in order. 1) TRGA 2) Comic work 3) fix your commissions 4) other projects. Inspiration is fickle though so I’m really all over the place. My mood being volatilized is also not helping but I’ll keep going until my brain explodes. For now I’m able to plan out enough with time for sleep and stuff. I don’t know what’s exactly going to happen when classes start but I am taking *fewer* credits than normal so theoretically that means more time.

[dearfuturehusbandblog]

Another Song (and Some Dark Thoughts)

Dear Future Husband,

My last post was about this song L'man Achai by The Chevra, but that's not the only song that I listened to over Chanukah that ended up as an earworm for me. One of the other songs that's been kicking around my brain, one which wasn't as much on the forefront of my mind as L'man Achai, but which has still bobbed to the top on occasion, is the Six13 acapella version of L'Cha Dodi.

My brain tends to pick certain lines of a song and just repeat those over and over (surprisingly not always the chorus), so I rarely have the whole song on repeat in my head, and instead it's just a few bars.

And this time the part on repeat was primarily the end of the zemer:

So the line "Toch emunei am segulah" has been floating around my brain for a couple of weeks. And again, my Hebrew skills aren't that amazing, so I'm pretty bad at knowing the translations of the songs that I sing unless I think reeally hard about them. And I didn't really think too much about what this whole zemer means.

But I was just on a forum reading about the Jews as the "chosen people" and it occurred to me I don't know where that reference actually comes from. So I went to chatgpt and asked for the source (viewable here), which is apparently from Devarim 7:6.

I tried Sefaria, but I think chabad.org has the better translation for this passuk. (Although you can see some consistencies in the various translation options on Sefaria)

The word used for "chosen" appears to be bachor which usually refers to an oldest son who is given the choice portion of an inheritance. Which in this case would refer to the fact that every nation of people on planet earth are God's children and are all loved by Him, regardless of race, gender, religious affiliation, etc, and that the Jewish people are just the "oldest", the ones who are supposed to lead and teach the rest of the world, and with that responsibility comes additional requirements, and thus additional rewards.

I could go into a whole d'var torah about that, but that's not really what interested me...

What interested me, in case you didn't catch it already, is the reference to "Am Segulah" (His "treasured nation") in both places.

We don't really use that term often and it just kind of struck me while reading this passage that this portion that defines the Jews as "chosen" also uses the same term that has been bopping around my head for a couple of weeks.

Off the top of my head I couldn't have told you that segulah meant 'treasure', because we tend to use that term when we refer to a good luck charm (for lack of a better term), which I guess could be equated to a treasure if you think about it like that?

But usually treasure is something unrelated to luck. It's gold and diamonds and anything a dragon would hoard. Or it's sentimental, a memorial to something special with personal significance. To treasure something is to love it and protect it and keep it safe.

According to the wikipedia page for segulah, it's a charm or ritual in kabbalistic practice intended for protection or benevolence. Although over time a lot of kabbalistic practices have kind of become enmeshed with mainstream orthodox Jewish practice, so a lot of these "segulot" are accepted in general orthodox Jewish society without knowledge of their kabbalistic origins. Some refer to these as old wives tales and say to stop attempting these "extra credit projects" and just do the "required assignments" of proper Torah adherence if you want the benefits that are supposedly "guaranteed" by the segulot...

Kabbalah really became a thing during the Middle Ages (aka The Dark Ages), which was fraught with darkness and evil and superstition. Stories like the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales and our own stories of the Golem originate from these times. It was also an era of mass death, whether inflicted by disease or humans. There was so much hatred and persecution towards various groups, but most especially Jews, who were kicked out of so many countries across Europe, that it makes sense that people would have wanted anything of protection and comfort to hold onto in those dark times.

But most of these modern segulot aren't amulets, they're not technically treasured artifacts, they're more ritualistic. For example:

People pray at the Kotel for 40 consecutive days as a segulah.

People take challah as a segulah.

People drink from the kos shel bracha at a wedding as a segulah.

People recite the entire sefer of tehillem as a segulah.

Etc.

So when I was "translating" the words in my head, trying to figure out what I was singing, "Am Segulah" never translated to 'treasured nation' or 'treasured people,' because that wasn't my association with the word 'segulah.'

And I'm kind of curious if we truly see ourselves as an "Am Segulah".

Do we view ourselves as something to be treasured?

Do we view ourselves as a group that deserves Divine protection and love and care?

I know that I personally don't.

Nothing about my life thus far has even hinted to me that I'm truly loved or cared for or treasured by humans OR God.

And I look around at all the awfulness that has happened to the Jews over the last 3000 years and I wonder how we lose our way so quickly in practically every generation.

Is it a self fulfilling prophesy?

Like in the story of Yoseph haTzaddik that we've been discussing in recent parshios - he told his family his dreams about them all bowing to him and THEY interpreted it as them treating him like a king. If they hadn't interpreted it that way or if he hadn't shared the dreams with them at all, would they have gotten mad at him and tried to get rid of him? Would the famine in Egypt have happened at all? Would Klal Yisrael have ever ended up in slavery in Mitzrayim?

How much of what we go through is predetermined and how much of it is the consequence of our own individual and collective actions?

For the majority of the Shabbossim over the last year I've spent time reading Jewish history books, most of which is stories or overviews of particular Rabbis from various eras, but the rest of it is just one horrid story after another. More in-fighting, more persecution, more exile. It's a never ending cycle that we just can't seem to break.

One story that continuously sticks out in my mind since reading about it earlier this year is the accounts of what happened in Eretz Yisrael globally and Yerushalayim specifically during the Chorban Bayis Sheini. It is absolutely horrific.

In elementary and middle school they dumb stuff down for us, so we end up with the childhood song lyrics that stick with us into adulthood that warp our ideas of the entire situation. Lyrics like:

(TOGETHER BY ABIE ROTENBERG) I am an ancient wall of stone, atop a hill so high. And if you listen with your heart, you just may hear my cry. Where has the Bais Hamikdash gone, I stand here all alone. How long am I to wait for all my children to come home? A house of marble and of gold once stood here by my side. From far and wide all came to see its beauty and its pride. But Sin’as Chinam brought it down, and with it so much pain. Now only Ahavas Yisroel can build it once again. CHORUS 1: Together, together, you stood by Har Sinai, my daughters and sons. Forever, forever, you must stand together forever as one.

And with this "romantic" version of the Kotel longing for a Bais Hamikdash we can't relate to, destroyed in a time and controversy we don't understand, we have absolutely no idea how horrific the actual circumstances were because nobody speaks about it.

"But Sinas Chinam brought it down"

Do we even know what that means?

We come up with so many of our own contemporary examples but those are seriously watered down versions of the appalling and gruesome things that were happening that caused the complete destruction of the Bais Hamikdash.

I'm 35 years old. I've been through orthodox Jewish day schools and I've been to seminary.

And never once did I hear anyone discuss it, even when we visited locations like Massada.

Nobody wants to address the harsh realities.

But how are we supposed to recognize the deeply rooted problems in order to fix them if nobody is willing to talk about it?

Rabbi Berel Wein and Rabbi David Fohrman are two of the few Rabbis I've seen discuss any of this darkness.

Rabbi Wein discusses it in his 1990s book trilogy on Jewish history. Most of Jewish history happens against a complex and continuously active and morphing secular political background, but Jews turning against Jews in the streets outside the Bais Hamikdash was OUR fault.

It was US vs US.

The streets of Yerushalayim ran red as Jewish people slaughtered each other in cold blood over disagreements. All while daily karbanos were still being accepted by Hashem in the Bais Hamikdash.

We literally can't wrap our heads around what that means.

We don't understand what it means to truly despise each other that much over nothing.

We've just exited Chanukah and it's a celebration that isn't taught in full context either.

Whenever we discussed Chanukah in grade school and even in seminary, we never went into deep discussions about the war that was being fought by the Macabees. Everything taught about the story of Chanukah was just so superficial, which is crazy because there's so much more context and nuance that lends insight into who we are as a people and what it means to survive, all of which is never really touched on.

Chanukah was not the end of the war. It was a miraculous respite in the form of a won battle and a small jar of oil. But it was not a won war.

The Bais Hamikdash still stood during the Chanukah story, but it doesn't anymore. The end of that story was not a positive one.

We annually celebrate a momentary victory of such "minor" proportions that the holiday wasn't even instituted until a year after it occurred because the leaders of the time weren't even sure what to make of it right away.

But nobody talks about how and why the Hasmonean dynasty (the Macabee family) died out and has no descendants alive today. One of the descendants became the Kohen Gadol and literally imprisoned and murdered his own family members, including his mother. (I highly recommend the Aleph Beta videos for insight into this with a positive conclusion).

We all just want to white wash history into an "everyone hates the Jews, but we didn't do anything wrong" narrative and that's just not true. We are constantly doing wrong. That's why we haven't earned the 3rd and final Bais Hamikdash yet.

And I've been raised by pessimistic people who suffer from anxiety and depression that has been coded into their DNA by previous generations who suffered from anxiety and depression, and so my outlook has always been more negative and I tend to focus on the negative more often than I should.

And this means that when I talk to friends who have experienced something negative in the frum world or I read accounts online, whether it's here on tumblr or in a frum group on facebook, and when I see some of the disgusting comments left by people who don't care that their name and their family members' names will forever be associated with that comment, I immediately think "well, color me unsurprised. it's cuz we're all horrible failures who treat each other like garbage. we are undeserving of anything good. why are we even here?"

So I'm rarely emotionally effected by this stuff because it just seems unfortunately "normal" to me. And reading these historic accounts and seeing how awful we've been to each other for millennia.... I'm just continually unsurprised by the negative things that result here in the modern world.

I think that's one of the reasons I've been so "unaffected" by this war.

Because in my mind it's "of course this is happening. we've grown too comfortable, too complacent. and that complacency leads to us treating each other like trash, which leads to yet another pogrom."

Because "when the yidden don't make kiddush, the goyim make havdalah."

It happened in Mitzrayim. It happened in Shushan. It happened in Germany.

We like to say "never again" in reference to the Holocaust, but what are we saying?

It seems like more often than not we're saying "we won't let the goyim kill our people" but we have no control over that.

Hashem does.

The only things we have control over are our own actions. And our own actions, when focused on the things we're supposed to be doing, are what will prevent the goyim from killing us.

But it always starts with us.

And I'm trying, dear Future Husband. I'm really trying.

I know most of what I do is wrong. And I'm trying to correct myself. I'm often so stuck inside my own head that my constant failures are all I can think about and it makes positive change harder than pushing a boulder up a steep hill, but I'm trying.

I visited Israel for a short time earlier this year for the first time since seminary and I got pushback from pretty much everyone I spoke to when I told them that, despite having plans to stay in a city outside of Yerushalayim which I had to catch a bus for, and shlepping huge bags with me, I wanted to visit the Kosel first thing.

"You can do that later in the week when you're settled."

"You'll end up missing your bus if you're shlepping all over Yerushalayim when you get in."

But it was important to me and I couldn't understand how it wasn't important to everyone else.

Upon entering the land that even Moshe Rabbeinu didn't have the privilege to step foot in, how could the Kosel - the location of the greatest tragedies in Jewish history, and the holiest place on earth - not be my first stop??

How could tearing kriyah not be the first thing I do?

In fact, when I told people I needed to go and tear kriyah, some of them even asked "oh, you do that?" as though it's not an accepted thing to tear kriyah at the site of ultimate sadness in Jewish life and history. Some people told me I should wait until rosh chodesh so I wouldn't have to tear, because "loophole!"

To me, not visiting the Kosel first thing would be like being away from your parents' house for decades and then coming to stay in your old bedroom without saying hello to them first. Such a slap in the face. (And this is coming from someone who grew up in a family steeped in dysfunction and doesn't speak to her father...)

But so many people wanted me to push it off because it would be "an inconvenience."

THAT is what I mean when I say we are complacent.

THAT is what I mean when I say we are too comfortable.

I know so many people who live in Yerushalayim and when I was there and asked some of them the last time they visited the Kosel, I got numbers ranging from weeks to months. (A few said days, but not most).

Because "life gets in the way" and "we get busy."

And I know I'm not perfect in any way, shape, or form, but that honestly blew my mind and made me feel differently about everyone, and not in a good way.

Which just reinforces my negativity, which is even more problematic...

But I keep trying anyway.

How I wish Hashem would speak to me more clearly than the cryptic messages He sends me like this odd "coincidence" of the term "Am Segulah". Because I don't know what this message means.

Maybe it's a nod to the idea that we are cherished despite not feeling like we are. Maybe it's a message to tell me that I need to think more positively. Or maybe it's something else that I won't understand until the day that I die. I have no idea.

Regardless, wherever you are, I hope that you are trying too.

Because these are trying times. And all we can do is try.

-LivelyHeart

[crowdvscritic]

round up // SEPTEMBER 23

My fellow Fall Goblins, we must usher in the Autumn by force! 

One of the joys of not using TikTok and minimizing your Instagram use over time is any content you do watch is even more tailored to your interests than an algorithm because only people who know and love are sending it to you directly. I am embracing my Fall Goblin status (as @taryndelaniesmith coined it) with the new iced pumpkin chai at Starbucks and rewatching Gilmore Girls. (Sorry to sound like an #ad.) Less related to the latest equinox, I’ve been catching up with 2023 releases, digging into women’s memoirs, and, yes, still thinking about Barbie. If these September picks don’t tide you over all through October, add these movies with Autumn vibes to your watchlist.  

September Crowd-Pleasers

1. The Equalizer 3 (2023)

If the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it mentality is what you’re looking for in the action genre, this more than delivers because Antoine Fuqua is one of the best at making action that is both beautifully shot and easy to follow. (Just a reminder that his Magnificent Seven remake is deeply underrated!) Setting this adventure on one of the dreamiest coastal towns in the world means this is the best-looking Equalizer yet, but even that isn’t the real draw. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023)

Someone’s ex shows up unexpectedly, family secrets are unearthed, and we have to find something for Joey Fatone to do! Fortunately, even with all that story, this is still a good time and also a step up from the Netflix and Hallmark-style movies that have become the de facto purgatory for rom-coms and family comedies in the last 10 years. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

3. A Haunting in Venice (2023)

To use a Moneyball metaphor, if Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building are hitting grand slams and home runs, these Agatha Christie movies are focused on getting on base. Haunting is like watching your favorite team win 1-0—you may not remember the game the rest of your life, but it’s still a win. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

in the Building are hitting grand slams and home runs, these Agatha Christie movies are focused on getting on base. Haunting is like watching your favorite team win 1-0—you may not remember the game the rest of your life, but it’s still a win. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

4. GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo (2023)

Queen! The opening track’s satiric take on the unattainable expectations for modern women goes right up there with America Ferrera’s speech in Barbie, and “pretty isn’t pretty” and “teenage dream” are excellent companions for those themes. “bad idea right?” is a hilarious anthem meant for shouting at the top of your lungs, and “get him back!” is one of the flat-out best pop songs since, well, “drivers license.” While GUTS may not have a track that transcends that generation-crossing ballad, this album is a step up because it avoids the repetition of the breakup tracks from SOUR. 

5. Gran Turismo (2023)

A movie about gamer-turned-racecar-driver does not scream A Movie for Taylor™, but a movie starring Orlando Bloom and David Harbour sure does! I went in skeptical but ended up emotionally invested in this based-on-a-true-coming-of-age-story sports movie that was much better than it needed to be thanks to this charismatic cast and Neill Blomkamp’s innovative directing. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

More September Crowd-Pleasers: Our Lips Are Sealed (2000) is just an Annette and Frankie movie starring the Olsen twins, a baby kangaroo named Boomer, and Jason he-better-win-an-Oscar-someday Clarke // Did you know Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta reunited in Basic (2003)? It’s a fun thriller with plot in the vein of A Few Good Men from the director Die Hard // Accepted (2006) is cruder than my typical taste, but Justin Long and the script find heart and insightful comedy in an update to Animal House // Is Terminator Salvation (2009) an underrated gem of the franchise even without Schwarzenegger? // Iron Sky (2012), a sci-fi action flick in which astronauts find a secret base the Nazis fled to in 1945, is one of the most fun bad movies I’ve seen in a long time // Sisu (2023) is the John Wick of WWII Finland with all the fun and none of the baggage of world building // Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver are teaming up for the Strike Force Five podcast, and their conversations are as random and delightful as you’d hope

September Critic Picks

1. Girls on Film by Alicia Malone (2022)

Turner Classic Movies host Alicia Malone’s memoir looks back on her life through the films that influenced her growing up and through the ones the ones that have represented her life as a woman. She shares how Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Mad Love, National Velvet, The NeverEnding Story, and Smooth Talk have impacted her life, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from her career and her Hollywood adventures. (In one, she shares a life-changing conversation she had with an unnamed actor in Rome. I’m choosing to believe it was Andrew Garfield!) A thoughtful combination of reflection and cinema history, I had trouble putting this down. 

2. And So They Were Married (1936)

In a Parent Trap-reverse plot, single parents Mary Astor and Melvyn Douglas fall for each other at a ski lodge over a Christmas holiday, but their kids (Edith Fellows, Jackie Moran) can’t stand each other. I will definitely be revisiting this charming screwball rom-com this holiday season! Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

3. The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) [Deluxe Edition] by Switchfoot (2023)

Nostalgia overload! I didn’t know I needed the Jonas Brothers, Relient K, and more covering one of the core albums of my youth.

4. Archive by Sofia Coppola (2023)

If, like me, you love films about lonely women, scrapbooks so thick they can't close, photos of people in period costumes using modern technology, and learning everything you can about an artist’s process, you'll also love this 500-page collection of Sofia Coppola’s mood boards, character notes, and story inspirations.

5. Good Reads

If you’re still thinking about Barbie, these are great companion pieces for digging into the ideas it’s exploring: 

“The Good Christian Girl: A Fable,” ChristianityToday.com (2010) 

“Single Christian Women Are Much More Than Their Wombs,” ChristianityToday.com (2023) 

“Men Are Lost. Here’s a Map Out of the Wilderness,” WashingtonPost.com (2023)

“Barbie Affirms the Goodness of Women's Embodiment,” KatelynBeaty.substack.com (2023)

"In the Beginning, There Was Barbie,” vox.com (2023)

And only tangentially related to Barbie, this piece:

“The Real Lesson From the Lizzo Saga: Don’t Deify Celebrities,” WashingtonPost.com (2023)

More September Critic Picks: The Big Short (2015) is the platonic ideal of an Adam McKay issues movie // Can we get more old school pop records like The Dip Delivers by The Dip (2019), please? // Before Forrest Gump, there was Being There (1979), which is a slow-burn comedy only someone as stellar as Peter Sellers could pull off // Hanna (2011) makes me wish more directors like Joe Wright were tackling action thrillers starring Saoirse Ronan-caliber actresses

Also in September…

My two takeaways from Dumb Money (2023) are that

Money is, well, dumb

We have not figured out how to make movies about the Internet yet

This comedy feels like scrolling through the Internet: always entertaining, needlessly profane, and featuring TikTok dances even when I’m not looking for them. Read my full review for ZekeFilm.

Photo credits: Alicia Malone, Switchfoot, Sofia Coppola. IMDb.com.

[theangryjikooker]

I'm not really a vminie, other than that I enjoy their bond and sometimes blink several times in amazement at them, but if I could maybe build a little on what your last anon asked and maybe throw a few of my big vmin eyebrow raises into your ask box to maybe start a discussion? I honestly think it's really healthy for jikook shippers/believers/whatevers to get into the weeds on vmin ship tumblr or twt. You could pick any ship for what I'm about to explain, but taekookers tend to be explicitly nasty, yoonminers just straight up explicit, and the rest of the ships just don't have the presence to create a good deep dive (except for maybe namjin? who wants namjin deep dive blog recs?) But vminies are mostly normal. They think their ship is in love (or at least used to-- huge drop off in those blogs and twt accounts posting in the past year or so, for obvious reasons) and they base their theories around that. They're rarely super disparaging towards the other members, and the vmin bond is so open that they don't need to really create insane theories. They just vibe. They also seem to be handling the more recent proof that their ship isn't real extraordinarily well without falling into delusion. I would say none of the other big bts ships would do the same. (and I have proof tkkers wouldn't). But for anyone who really thinks Jikook is real (I'm like 75/25 myself), I think it's valuable to look another narrative, with a lot of genuine contradictions in it to the 'standard' jikook one, straight in the face and take in how perspective can change something. It's healthy. These spaces so quickly fall into echo chambers.

off the top of my head, my big vmin eyebrow raises:

vmin have zero physical boundaries. open affection, sometimes truly bafflingly so. all over eachother and almost never pull away. (jikooker: of course they don't pull away, they're not hiding anything. do you see the way jimin leaned so naturally into jk but then saw the camera--. vminie: vmin go 2 seconds without touching eachother challenge failed)

they literally acted out being boyfriends on more than one occasion (jikooker: it was s roleplay! you know how tae is! vminie: they're trying to tell us!)

4'oclock, scenery, and sweet night. 4'oclock is explicitly about jimin and has been confirmed so on MULTIPLE occasions by the members. That in and of itself is insane (i wrote a long long letter to the moon one night but it wasn't as beautiful as you PLUS namjoon's moonlight movie ref, whew), but if you then look at the lyrics to scenery and sweet night the lyrical parallels and common themes paint a pretty crazy picture. Vastly beyond any song jikookers have ever managed to tie to their ship, except for maybe the serendipity i am you you are me. (jikooker: tae is just a lazy songwriter of course he's using the same themes, you don't know his live. vminie: LOOK AT HIM ALL HIS SONGS ARE JIMIN CODED HES CRAZY)

I also think jikookers could use a solid rewatch of older bangtan content. I'm watching BV2 right now and the amount of time that Jimin spends hanging off Tae/they spend together is truly incredible. In Jikook spaces all I got out of it was a few scattered fragments of interaction (Jungkook spends WAY more time gravitating towards Seokjin in Hawaii at least by my read)

Do I think vmin is real? No, for obvious reasons. But I think paying attention to the way a ship can generate these narratives is important for all shippers.

Co-signed 100%. I always find discussing Jikook and Vmin and the difference in their dynamics really interesting. What I covered isn’t anywhere near the level of discussion I could go into, and a few followers I’ve exchanged DMs with know what I’m talking about lol.

I also need to watch the BV series again and have been planning to. It’ll be nice to watch them with fresh eyes.

[askrossiel]

Dash Game: Muse Interview

(using adopted!verse 'Siel for this, since that verse has the most branching AUs in common with it)

What is your name?

"Rossiel of the Greenwood, if you please."

Do you know why you’re here?

"Ah, that's an easy one. Ilúvatar made the first Elves, and when the time was right, they awoke beside the lake Cuiviénen. And generations and generations and generations later, there was me! Oh... or did you mean here in this room?"

Do you have any family?

"Well, there's my ada and my naneth and my muindor, but they all, alas, wait for me in Aman, as does my beloved teacher. For now, I have Lord Elrond and I have my foster-father, and they are as dear a family to me as those I was born to."

What did you last have for breakfast?

"Porridge with honey."

What do you last have for lunch?

"Tea and bread and cheese and fruit."

What did you last have for Dinner?

"Mushroom stew."

How old are you?

"Six centuries and a couple decades atop that."

Do you have any friends?

"Oh, most certainly. There's 'Las, and Counsellor Erestor, and Lin, and Captain Glorfindel, and 'Dan and 'Ro..."

Are you more comfortable by yourself or surrounded by others?

"Both in careful measure. I love my friends, and I love to perform, but I need my moments of rest and quiet reflection."

Do you have any hobbies?

"Mm, not counting things related to my profession, I would say I enjoy baking and reading, and I dabble a little in painting with inks."

Do you have any aspirations or dreams?

"If I write just one song that endures through the Ages, even when we are gone and mortal Men have taken our place, I shall be satisfied."

Are you quick to anger?

"I am quicker to cry, if I may be honest. My anger is harder to reach, and I fear I am about as threatening as a kitten when it does raise its head."

Can you dance?

"I know a few very simple steps, but livelier or more complicated ones escape me. I'd rather play for the dancers."

Do you prefer casual or stylish wear?

"I prefer to dress simply most of the time, but I do like to look pretty when I am able for special feast-day performances."

Can you lift?

"More than a stack of books or a medium-sized hound? Not really."

Do you play games?

"I know counting-stones and rhythm-sticks and flower-tiles, and Lin may occasionally talk me into drinking games."

Are there any parts of your past self that you’re ashamed of?

"I wish I could have been more help at Edhelion. I know I was very small and very frightened, but I still spend nights imagining I could have done... something."

Can you tell us a joke?

"Don't let Lord Elrond catch me telling this one, but... did you know his father is very famous? You could say he's a real star!"

Is there anything you’d like to say before we wrap things up?

"Take care of yourself out there! The nights outside our Valley may be full of perils indeed, but even so, the stars light your path."

-

Tagged by: yoinked from @coollyinterferes

Tagging: if you want it, come get it