#victory lies before you! remix

[9823678]

【パワプロ2018】ポケモンBW2　戦闘ライバルなど5曲【応援曲】

[writemarcus]

2023 Blue Ink Award Winner Announced

by Blues | Feb 10, 2023 | Blue Ink Playwriting Award, News

Congratulations to Kristoffer Diaz, winner of the 2023 Blue Ink Award for Things With Friends.

As part of the award, Diaz receives a $2,500 cash prize, a staged reading at American Blues Theater, and the opportunity to further develop his script with our artists.

Kristoffer Diaz notes, “It’s truly an honor to receive this year’s Blue Ink Award. Wendy Whiteside and American Blues have been an important part of my career dating back to before I even really had a career to speak of. It’s fantastic to come full circle. Even though my life and work are based on the east coast these days, I’m proud to consider myself a Chicago playwright.”

“We are thrilled to announce Kristoffer Diaz as the 2023 Blue Ink Award winner,” notes Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside. “Diaz’s voice resonates through every page. He has the ability to surprise through character descriptions and actions, word choice, punctuation, and reveals details only as needed.”

About Things With Friends

Manhattan. Burt and Adele are hosting a dinner party. Steak is on the stove. The George Washington Bridge has collapsed into the Hudson. Kristoffer Diaz has written a play about it. I’ve already said too much.

About Kristoffer Diaz

KRISTOFFER DIAZ is a playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and educator. His play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Other full-length titles include Welcome to Arroyo’s, Reggie Hoops, Hercules, and The Unfortunates. His work has been produced, commissioned, and developed at The Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Geffen Playhouse, ACT, Center Theatre Group, The Goodman, Second Stage, Victory Gardens, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, among many others. Awards include the Guggenheim, Jerome, Van Lier, NYFA, and Gail Merrifield Papp Fellowships; New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award; Lucille Lortel, Equity Jeff, and OBIE Awards; and the Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant, among others. As a screenwriter, Kristoffer has developed original television pilots for HBO and FX, written for the first season of Netflix’s GLOW, and adapted the musical Rent for FOX. Kristoffer teaches playwriting at New York University. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists and a member of its Board of Directors, and the current secretary of the Dramatists Guild Council.

Other 2023 Blue Ink winners

2023 Featured Finalists: Audrey Cefaly (Trouble), Victor Lesniewski (Cold Spring), Gloria Majule (Uhuru).

2023 Finalists: Amanda L. Andrei (Mama, I wish I were silver), Kimberly Dixon-Mays (When Given a Choice, Bleed), Emma Gibson (LUMIN), Keiko Green (Hells Canyon), Monet Hurst-Mendoza (Blind Crest), Deepak Kumar (House of India), Matthew Libby (Sisters), Tlaloc Rivas (DIVISIDERO), Nia Akilah Robinson (The Great Privation: How to flip ten cents into a dollar), Elaine Romero (Hoverland), Marcus Scott (There Goes The Neighborhood), SEVAN (You, The Fire, and Me), Liba Vaynberg (The Matriarchs), LaDarrion Williams (Bridging the Gap).

2023 Semi-Finalists: Jaisey Bates (Real Time remix), Cris Eli Blak (Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth), Brendan Bourque-Sheil and Madison Smith (Dogrose Patrol), Laura Maria Censabella (Beyond Words), Aaron Coleman (Tell Me I’m Gorgeous at the End of the World: The Last Gay Play), Nelson Diaz-Marcano (When the Earth Moves, We Dance), Ramón Esquivel (¡O Cascadia!), Gina Femia (lisa; a fantasia), Alyssa Haddad-Chin (Off-White; Or the Arab House Party Play), Darrel Alejandro Holnes (Franklin Ave), Jessica Kahkoska (In Her Bones), M.J. Kang (The Battle of Saratoga), Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj (stop killing black people), Zizi Majid (They Came In The Night), Eric Marlin (and come apart), Josie Nericcio (619 Hendricks), Peter Pasco (Yoli, Alfredo, y la vida), Jason Gray Platt (Homeowners), Audley Puglisi (The Misplaced Saints), Andre R. Hogan II (The Hot Wing Special), Iraisa Ann Reilly (Saturday Mourning Cartoons), Lia Romeo (Greek Tragedy), Phillip Christian Smith (Riverside Drive), Jonathan Spector (Best Available), Gina Stevensen (Breakfalls), Steven Strafford (The Model Congressman), Ellis Stump (Once on Rumspringa), Caridad Svich (Joan of the Dockyards), James Anthony Tyler (Into the Side of a Hill), Hope Villanueva (Brackish), Mary Weems (Crack the Door for Some Air), Deborah Yarchun (Great White).

About the Blue Ink Award for playwriting

The nationally-renowned Blue Ink Award was created in 2010 to support new work. Since inception, we’ve named 13 Award winners, 129 finalists, and 203 semi-finalists. Nearly $10,000 in cash and prizes will be distributed to playwrights in 2023.

Each year American Blues Theater accepts worldwide submissions of original, unpublished full-length plays. The winning play will be selected by Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and the theater’s Ensemble. The 2023 winning playwright receives a monetary prize of $2,500. Cash prizes are awarded to finalists and semi-finalists too.  All proceeds of the administrative fee are distributed for playwrights’ cash prizes.

Submissions for the 2024 Blue Ink Award open August 1, 2023. All submissions must be received by American Blues Theater by August 31, 2023 at 11:59pm. Playwrights may only submit one (1) manuscript each year for consideration.

[teruterusky-music]

It's Pokémon Day somewhere, which means it's time to release this remix! This one is several themes combined into one but primarily based around Victory Lies Before You from Black and White. Enjoy! :D

[shanascarlett]

Songs from Transformers playlist

Autobots

AC/DC - Thunderstruck

Art of Dying - Die Trying

Extreme Music - Skin Em Up

Glitch Mob - Better Hide, better run

Glitch Mob - Animus Vox

Hollywood Undead - How We Roll

ill Factor - Champion Sound

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive

Imagine Dragons - Cha-Ching (Till We Grow Older)

Imagine Dragons - I’m So Sorry

Imagine Dragons - Warriors

Imagine Dragons - Battle Cry

Lemaitre - Day Two

Linkin Park - Final Masquerade

Linkin Park - A line in the sand

Linkin Park - Lost in the Echo

Linkin Park - Burn it Down

Linkin Park - Road Untraveled

Linkin Park - Leave Out All The Rest

Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day

Linkin Park - What I’ve Done

Linkin Park - The Little Things Give You Away

Linkin Park - Iridescent

Ryan Star - Brand New Day

Skillet - Feel Invincible

two door cinema club - Undercover Martyn

USS - Who's With Me

Fall Out Boy  The Last of the Real Ones

Linkin Park ft. Steve Aoki - A Light That Never Comes

One Republic - Counting Stars

USS - Work Shoes

Panic! At The Disco - Victorious

Worlds Collide - Extended Orchestra Mix (ft. Nicki Taylor)

Youngblood Hawke - Pressure

Optimus Prime

As Lions - World on Fire

Fired Earth Music - Aphelion

Hammock - Numinous

Hollywood Undead - Take Me Home

Immediate Music - Rising Empire

Immediate Music - WIth Great Power

Linkin Park - I’ll be gone

Linkin Park - Powerless

Linkin Park - Leave Out All The Rest

Poets of the Fall - No End, No Beginning

Red - House of Glass 

Tribal Society  – Kings

Bumblebee

Arcade Fire - Rococo

Avicii - Wake me Up

Imagine Dragons - It’s Time

Imagine Dragons - Cha-Ching (Till We Grow Older)

Linkin Park - Road Untraveled

Linkin Park - Robot Boy

Swedish House Mafia - Don’t you worry child

Panic! At The Disco - Vegas Lights

Sideburns VS Matisyahu - Let Go (Fight Like A Warrior)

TobyMac - Ignition

Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime

Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap

Hollywood Undead - Live Fast Die Young

Linkin Park - Road Untraveled

Bassnectar - Into the Sun

Saint Mesa - Lion

Skillet - You Take My Rights Away

Thousand Foot Krutch - Untraveled Road

two door cinema club - Undercover Martyn

You Me At Six - Fast Foward

Panic! At The Disco - Vegas Lights

One Republic - Counting Stars

TobyMac - Ignition

Panic! At The Disco - Victorious

Vincent Steele, Michael Woodenbridge & Nine One One - Rise UP

Elita-One

Flume - Greatest View

Icon For Hire - Too Loud

Ironhide

Papa Roach - Maniac

Ill Factor - Champion Sound

Prowl

Linkin Park - Crawling

Linkin Park - Road Untraveled

Linkin Park - Blackout

Sidewalks And Skeletons - Morphine

Meg Myers - Make A Shadow

Dirty Palm - Oblivion

Vincent Steele, Michael Woodenbridge & Nine One One - Rise UP

Paramore - Ignorance (Animated ver)

Icon For Hire - Iodine

Icon For Hire - The Grey

Ratchet

Imagine Dragons - Gold

Woodkid feat. Max Richter - The golden age - embers

Arcee

Icon For Hire - Pulse

Icon For Hire - Demons

Icon For Hire - Make A Move

Drift

Linkin Park - Crawling

Linkin Park - Waiting For The End

Klangkarussell - Sternenkinder

Within Temptation - Running Up That Hill

Dirty Palm - Oblivion

Vincent Steele, Michael Woodenbridge & Nine One One - Rise UP

Sideswipe

TobyMac - Ignition

Suntreaker

Papa Roach - Maniac

TobyMac - Ignition

Vincent Steele, Michael Woodenbridge & Nine One One - Rise UP

Icon For Hire - Hope of Morning

Windblade

Dpen and Nick Varon - Grasshopper

Within Temptation - Running Up That Hill

Within Temptation - Mercy Mirror

Tommee Profitt - Enchantment (feat. HEAVYOCITY)

Tommee Profitt - This Ship Is Going Down (feat. Xeah)

Mistress of Flame

Within Temptation - Mercy Mirror

Blurr

Skillet - You Take My Rights Away

You Me At Six - Fast Foward

The Prodigy - Wild Frontier

TobyMac - Ignition

Skids

Linkin Park - Roads Untraveled

TobyMac - Ignition

Dirty Palm - Oblivion

Kup

Papa Roach - Maniac

Tailgate

Foster The People - Helena Beat

Foster The People - Houdini

Chromedome

Dirty Palm - Oblivion

Rewind

two door cinema club - Undercover Martyn

Grimlock

Foo FIghters - Rope

Alpha Trion

Ryan Star - Brand New Day

Decepticons

Deuce - I Came To Party

Hollywood Undead - Apologize

Hollywood Undead - Lights Out

Hollywood Undead - Tendencies

Hollywood Undead - Lump Your Head

Hollywood Undead - Le Deux

Hollywood Undead - War Child

Hollywood Undead - Comin In Hot

Hollywood Undead - Dead Bite

Hollywood Undead - We Are

Imagine Dragons - Who We Are

Julien-K - This Machine

Linkin Park - Plc.4 Mie Haed

Linkin Park - When They Come For Me

Powerman 5000 - How to be a human

Red - Outside

Within Temptation - Tell Me Why

Front Line Assembly - Sturm (Seekers Theme)

Clarx - H.E.Y. (Seekers Theme)

Within Temptation - Mad World

Powerman 5000 - Invade, Destroy, Repeat

Powerman 5000 - We Want It All

grandson - Blood Water

Megatron

Adelitas Way - Sick

Hollywood Undead - Dove and Grenade

Imagine Dragons - Monster

In This Moment - Adrenalize

Nine Ich Nails - Meet Your Master

Nostalghia - Homeostasis

Red - Damage

Warmer - in my head its like hell

Starscream

Franz Ferdinand - Evil Eye

Hollywood Undead - Levitate

Inner Party System - Don’t Stop

Missio - Twisted

Bring Me The Horizon - nihilist blues ft. Grimes

3OH!3 - Anything I Want

Machinae Supremacy - Gimme More

PhemieC – Ugly Story

USS - This Is The Best

Soundwave

Current Value - Dark Rain

Dead Fetus - Mind of God

King Plague - Ave Plague

Shockwave

ZAYDE WOLF - COLD-BLOODED

Knockout

Angelsplit - 100%

Family Force - Chainsaw

Franz Ferdinand - Evil Eye

Ken Ashcorp - Absolute

Prodigy - Destroy

Rabbit Junk - IDONTGIVEAFUCK

Breakdown

55 Escape - Addiction

Airachnid

Sayonara Maxwell - Decay Queen

Cyclonus

Imagine Dragons - Demons

Three Days Grace - I Am Machine

Three Days Grace - Just Like You

Action

Actual Phantom - 7 Nation of Army

Barns Courtney - Champion

Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Blue Stahli - You’ll get what’s coming

Bring Me The Horizon - Mantra

Celdweller - Own Little World

Celdweller - IRIA

Celdweller - Shapeshifter

DVBBS & Borgeous - Tsunami

Hollywood Undead - Pray

Imagine Dragons - Battle Cry

Inner Party System - Don’t Stop

Kings & Creatures (Wolfpack) - Hunted

Linkin Park - Wastelands

Linkin Park - With you

Linkin Park - Points of Authority

Linkin Park - Burn it Down

Linkin Park - Lies Greed Misery

Linkin Park - Pts. Of. Athrty

Linkin Park - P5hng Me A_wy

Linkin Park - Rnw@y

Linkin Park - By_Myslf

Linkin Park - Kyur4 Th Ich

Otep - Lie

Red - Falling Sky 

Red - Death of Me (Guillotine Remix)

The Used - Revolution

USS - Yin Yang

Within Temptation - Endless War

Fall Out Boy – Light Em Up

Hollywood Undead - Already Dead

Within Temptation - Holy Ground

Imagine Dragons - Believer

Within Temptation - In Vain

Within Temptation - Raise Your Banner

Within Temptation - Reckoning

Tommee Profitt - In The End

Julien-K - Technical Difficulties

Calm time

Arcade Fire - Suburbs

Arcade Fire - Rococo

Dirty South - Unknown

Ellie Goulding - Your Song

Everything Everything - Blast Doors

Florence And The Machine - Hurricane Drunk

IAMX - Alive in New Light

Imagine Dragons - Tokyo

Imagine Dragons - Working Man

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (Synchronice Remix)

Imagine Dragons - Fall

The Kills - Sour Cherry

Lemaitre - Day Two

Ludovico Einaudi - Life

Raign - Empire of our own

Battle Tapes - Feel The Same

Ki:Theory - Kitty Hawk (Break Science Remix)

Leon Else - Tomorrow Land (All Fall Down)

Tom Day - Who We Want To Be

Fall Out Boy - Centuries (Gazzo Remix)

Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart

Glitch Mob - Fortune Days

Panic! At The Disco - Vegas Lights

Rabbit Junk - Bubble

Ruelle  - Take It All

Ruelle - Until We Go Down

USS - Work Shoes

Cybertron

As Lions - World on Fire

Bastille - Pompeii

Imagine Dragons - Nothing Left to Say

Linkin Park - P5hng Me A_wy

Linkin Park - Fallout

Perfume Genius - Longpig

Confidential Music – Albatross

Ruelle - Until We Go Down

Woodkid feat. Max Richter - The golden age - embers

Unicron

Dead Can Dance - Black Sun

Optimus x Elita

Avril Lavigne feat. Nickelback - Let Me Go

Linkin Park - Jornada Del Muerto

Adam Lambert - Evil In The Night Lyrics (Transformers Animated Ver)

Hot Rod x Arcee

Of Monsters And Men - Wolves without teeth

Goo Goo Dolls - Before It's Too Late

Starscream x Windblade

Twenty One Pilots - Doubt

Bring Me The Horizon - in the dark

[straykidsupdate]

Stray Kids Make Their Mark In NYC With World Tour "District 9: Unlock"

Nestled underneath the majestic Madison Square Garden in New York City lies Hulu Theater — a smaller, more intimate performance venue where every seat is given a front-row view. It's here, on January 29, 2020, where Stray Kids began their journey across the USA for Stray Kids World Tour "District 9: Unlock."

Bright lights on the ceiling of the venue illuminated the crowd below, but it's nothing compared to the hundreds of Stray Kids lightsticks, coined najimbongs, that many in the audience held in their hands. Fans sang along to Stray Kids songs while they waited in anticipation for the 8 idols to take the stage.

A theatrical VCR introduced the start of the show, much to the audience's delight. Screams grew louder as their biases appeared on the screen, and peaked when the screens separated to reveal Stray Kids. They were there. They were real. Yes, it was absolutely happening.

If you thought this would be an easy-going, relaxing concert — do we have news for you! Energy levels began at 325% right off the bat as Stray Kids jumped into a remix of "District 9." And yes, the song can go harder than it already does. The momentum never stopped as they continue on with "Victory Song," "Question," a remix of "Rock," an epic dance break that made its last appearance at KCON LA, and the iconic "Side Effects." We have to commend these boys and their energy: there were no breaks in between these high-impact performances.

"We worked really hard to unlock this world tour for you," Changbin shared after the group made their cheery introductions to the crowd. It was no lie — just within eight months since Stray Kids held their last USA tour, the group has accomplished so much. Seeing their fans, known as Stay, as many times as they can is unmistakably one of their top priorities. How can you tell? If you've seen the way their eyes shine as they stare into the audience, you wouldn't doubt the love they have for Stay one bit.

To counter the tenacious impact of their first few stages, Stray Kids brought about a chiller, more laid-back atmosphere with "M.I.A." Though no choreography accompanied this performance, Felix surprised the crowd by dancing to "Renegade," a dance trend that went viral on video-based social networking app TikTok. This is one honorable mention from the show that will go down in Stray Kids history.

The first unit stage followed — Hyunjin, Lee Know, and Felix wowed the crowd with a deeply seductive performance to "Wow." Yes, abs were involved (thank you, Felix). The trio, known to fans as Danceracha, effortlessly dominated the stage with their presence. Leader Bang Chan later designated their performance as "sexy time," and we have yet to see the lie in that statement.

"Mixtape #4" was the next song off the setlist, and many were not prepared for the emotions that the song brought: with its lyrics, Stray Kids assure us to keep moving forward despite difficulties that we may face and to know that although we might feel alone, we never really are. During Felix's rap, Stay united as one as they shouted: "Stray Kids nine or none, we're gonna cross the finish line," though there were only eight standing on stage. The amount of love and adoration held in the venue visibly grew after that point.

It was time to "Get Cool," and what better way to fill the "Awkward Silence" than with the fun, cheeky performances that followed next? Members chased and tickled each other — youngest member I.N. being the most popular target — and interacted with the crowd during these upbeat, cheerful tracks. It's moments like these were the relationship between Stray Kids and Stay truly show their colors — not only through the laughs shared or cheers exchanged but also through the concerned gasps from the crowd as they watched Hyunjin fake-throw Seungmin into the audience. But hey, I'm sure Stay would have caught him if it really happened, right?

Let's take a moment to think about the VCR that played next. Picture this: Stray Kids take to the streets, wielding weapons and destroying virtual buildings in the most magnificent way possible. Is this symbolism for Stray Kids fighting the system, taking it into their own hands, and building a district of their own? Or is it purely just a group of eight boys wanting to destroy things for fun? Either way, we're all for Stray Kids world domination.

But on the real, the true message that Stray Kids wanted to share came to light in their performance of "Levanter." Stray Kids isn't just the name of their group; it's what they represent. Reflecting on the words both seen in the VCR and spoken by the members, there are lost kids all around the world just trying to find their footing. Together, step by step, they can pave a road to move forward. Here lies the strength echoed in the words, "Stray kids everywhere all around the world."

Sentimental moments were followed by soft ones as vocalists Seungmin and I.N. reappeared on stage in baby blue accented outfits, serenading the crowd during "My Universe." Just as Danceracha appeared for their unit stage earlier in the show, this was Vocalracha's time to shine. Special shoutout to Changbin for his rap verse appearance — though his vocals could potentially land him a spot in Vocalracha, don't you think?

The eight members continued their serene mood with a performance of "Third Eye," complete with the smooth use of chairs as props in their choreography. Chairs made the choreography more dynamic, playing with levels changes and strategic placements that brought the performance to the next level of satisfaction. Speaking of satisfying, Felix's deep-toned rap over nothing but a heavy, rhythmic bass drum is something we can listen to over and over again.

Stray Kids then transitioned into a straight line formation, basked in a cool light as a ballad accompaniment of "I Am You" played softly in the background. Experiencing this song without the choreography gives Stay a completely new perspective of the performance, filled with more emotion and connection than can be explained by words. The feelings intensified as Stay joined Stray Kids with the words "Stay together, you and I."

Stray Kids gave Stay the ultimate whiplash as the stage flipped into one of the most chaotically satisfying performances of the night: 3RACHA finally made their appearance. Basked in red lights (a warning, perhaps?) and dressed in leather detailed jackets, Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han lit the stage on fire with their performance of "We Go." Equal parts playful and chaotic, this unit, formed even before Stray Kids' official debut, really knows how to serve the heat - they're 3RACHA after all.

Following the wave of intensity that 3RACHA SUMMONED, the group reunited as eight on stage to perform a remix of "Road Not Taken" and an extended dance version of "My Pace." They take a moment afterwards to chat and interact with the audience. Han, being the overly excited delight that he is, fumbled with his words as he spoke. He laughed it off by apologizing to the translator, admitting he was too excited.

"I've never heard Stay scream this loud before," Bang Chan shared with the audience, "but I've never heard Felix scream so loud!" Felix laughed along with the entire venue in defeat — apparently, his excitement had gotten the better of him as well.

Changbin's comment felt all too real: "We want to be happy every day, but that's not always possible," he starts, "but I believe we can overcome these things and those hardships will pass like the wind." Bang Chan echoed his words, thanking Stay for their kind comments and for always staying by Stray Kids' side, which in turn started a chant of "we love you's" from the audience. The chant turned into a competition when Stray Kids started saying "we love Stay" in return. Who will win this exchange of love? We'll let you know (if it ever ends at all).

"Make sure to tie your shoelaces twice!" Bang Chan exclaimed as they jumped into "Double Knot." (Does he write his own material? Genius). Just like the beginning of the show, their energy stayed top tier as they lead into "Boxer" and their debut song "Hellevator." The stage production and background VCR for "Hellevator" was extremely impactful, using first-person point of view to transform the theater into a completely different world. It felt like a 3d virtual reality game where Stay accompanied Stray Kids on a journey through the fire and rubble, making their way out of this "Hellevator" together.

Stray Kids' performance to "Miroh" was taken to new levels with the introduction of drums, both as props and a backing beat to the hard-hitting instrumentals that ignite the chorus. An extended dance break made the stage even more exciting, but it also made us wonder how they're still jumping with so much energy. JYP, tell us your secrets, we beg of you.

And just when you thought this concert couldn't get any cuter, the next VCR introduced an interactive game. With games, came prizes — this one being Stray Kids returning to the stage for more performances. The premise of the game was simple: a Stray Kids song played while 8-bit icons appeared in beat at the bottom of the screen. When a clapping icon appeared, Stay had to clap. When a heart icon appeared, Stay had to form hearts over their heads. And, in true Stray Kids fashion, when a dab icon appeared, Stay had to hit the hardest dab of their life. "Get Cool" was the song that played during the practice round, with "Miroh" being the main stage of the game. Cameras panned through the audience, focusing on enthusiastic Stay in the crowd and screening them on the large LEDs on stage. It was a fun and entertaining way for Stay to participate in the show from their seats and also a clever way to get a whole theater to "dab to the left" at the same time. Several members mentioned they were watching the audience from backstage and called us "cute." If that's what it takes to make Stray Kids think we're cute, we might as well play this game all day, every day.

The final stage of the game was "unlocked," prompting Stray Kids to make their way back to NYC Stay, dressed in tour merch and bright blue accessories — Han wore a blue LA Dodgers cap (in NYC? We won't question it, we'll just let him do his thing.) while Lee Know had a soft blue sweater tied around his torso. The lyrics to "Grow Up" appeared in the background, inviting Stay to sing along. There was something soothing about singing the lyrics together, telling each other that you're doing fine, to just take your time, and that you can do it.

The inevitable finally arrived — final ments. It got real deep during Felix's last comments. "Having to express our love for one another — It gets me in the feels and I really want to do so much more for you guys. You're the reason why we are still Stray Kids. I really believe in Stay."

Changbin continued with his own set of sappy love-filled messages. "Now that I'm here with you, I'm so happy and excited. I shouldn't expect anything because you always surprise me! Thank you, this is for you." Changbin shared as he threw a cute finger heart to the crowd.

Before their last two stages, "YAYAYA" and a reprise of "Miroh," Bang Chan expressed his feelings. "As long as you guys invite us, we'll be glad to come back. You gave us the chance to come back here and we were so stoked! We'll give you guys the best 2020 ever, promise. It feels like Stay is a part of our family — it was your show and ours today."

Here's something important for Stay to remember as a takeaway from their show: You not only make Stray Kids stay — you make them grow. You make them succeed. You make them happy. This fan-idol relationship? It's a two way street. But it's a street that Stray Kids and Stay gravitate towards so effortlessly and make their home.

Thank you to SubKulture Entertainment and JYP Entertainment for the chance to experience this memorable night in New York City during Stray Kids World Tour 'District 9 : Unlock.' Make sure to keep supporting Stray Kids!

Don't miss your chance to see Stray Kids live on this tour! Tickets to upcoming locations are still available here: https://www.subkultureent.com/stray-kids

Source: KpopStarz

[callunavulgari]

Scrapbook 2020 | Pt. I

Reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read seventy-five books, finish five video games, write something novel-length and write something original. These last two goals CAN be combined. So you know, nearly the exact same goals from last year.

MOVIES

January

My Neighbor Totoro

(Matilda)

(The Mummy)

The Pacifier

(Moana)

Lion King (2019)

February

Hereditary

(The Lion King 2)

Kiki’s Delivery Service

March

(Tangled)

(Zootopia)

(Lilo and Stitch)

(The Swan Princess)

(The Swan Princess: Secret of the Castle)

(The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom)

April

Onward

(Your Name)

(Frozen 2)

Happy Death Day

Promare

May

(Free Willy)

(Star Wars: The Last Skywalker)

(Free Willy 2)

(The Road to El Dorado)

(Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron)

(Prince of Egypt)

BOOKS

January

The Secret Commonwealth | Philip Pullman [Fin]

The Great Hunt | Robert Jordan [Fin]

Wanderers | Chuck Wendig

The Dragon Republic | R.F. Kuang

February

Wanderers | Chuck Wendig [Fin]

The Dragon Republic | R.F. Kuang [Fin]

Runebinder | Alex Kahler [Fin]

The Book of M | Peng Shepherd [Fin]

Call Down the Hawk | Maggie Stiefvater [Fin]

(The Diviners | Libba Bray) [Fin]

(Lair of Dreams | Libba Bray) [Fin]

(Before the Devil Breaks You | Libba Bray) [Fin]

King of Crows | Libba Bray [Fin]

Gods of Jade and Shadow | Silvia Moreno-Garcia [Fin]

The City of Brass | S.A. Chakraborty

March

The City of Brass | S.A. Chakraborty [Fin]

Legion | Brandon Sanderson [Fin]

Taproot | Keezy Young [Fin]

Mooncakes | Suzanna Walker, Wendy Xu [Fin]

Loki: the God Who Fell to Earth | Daniel Kibblesmith [Fin]

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow | Natasha Pulley [Fin]

The Hazel Wood | Melissa Albert [Fin]

The Black Tides of Heaven | J.Y. Yang [Fin]

Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir** [Fin]

Loki: Where Mischief Lies | Mackenzie Lee [Fin]

American Royals | Katharine McGee [Fin]

River of Teeth | Sarah Gailey [Fin]

We Are Okay | Nina LaCour [Fin]

Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens [Fin]

A Memory Called Empire | Arkady Martine [Fin]

April

The Dream Peddler | Martine Fournier Watson [Fin]

The Dragon Reborn | Robert Jordan [Fin]

The Glass Hotel | Emily St John Mandel [Fin]

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous | Ocean Vuong [Fin]

The Unhoneymooners | Christina Lauren [Fin]

(Captive Prince 1 | C.S.Pacat)  [Fin]

(Captive Prince 2 | CS Pacat)  [Fin]

(Captive Prince 3 | CS Pacat)  [Fin]

The Flatshare | Bath O’Leary [Fin]

A Study in Brimstone | G.S. Denning [Fin]

May

Sky In the Deep | Adrienne Young [Fin]

House of Salt and Sorrows | Erin Craig [Fin]

The Sparrow | Mary Russell [Fin]

Here and Now and Then | Mike Chen [Fin]

Burn for Me | Ilona Andrews [Fin]

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms | N.K. Jemisin [Fin]

Mister Monday | Garth Nix

PODCASTS

January

King Falls AM, Eps 35-75

February

King Falls AM, Eps Live Special-84

The Penumbra Podcast | Juno Steel and the Tools of Rust

(Zero Hours - Ep 7)

March

King Falls AM, Eps 84-100

April

(The Magnus Archive, s1)

The Magnus Archive, s5

Welcome to Night Vale

The Bridge

The Adventure Zone

May

The Magnus Archive, s5

TV SHOWS BY SEASON

January

The Great British Baking Show, s7, s6

Lost In Space, s2

The Magicians, s3, s4

The Untamed

February

The Untamed**

The Terror, s2

March

Guardian

Haikyuu

Westworld, s3

April

The Great British Baking Show, s6

Westworld, s3

Jeopardy 

The Guardian

May

Motherland: Fort Salem

(Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural

Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime

Watcher Entertainment

She-Ra, s5**

The Guardian

(Avatar: The Last Airbender)

VIDEO GAMES

January

Pokemon: Shield (30 hrs) [Fin]

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (10 hrs)

February

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (30 hrs)

Transistor [Fin]

Plague Tales: Innocence (15 hrs)

Civ VI (France- FIN, Victory)

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (20 hrs)

March

Kingdom Hearts 3

Luigi’s Mansion [Fin]

(LoZ: Breath of the Wild)

April

(LoZ: Breath of the Wild)

The Outer Worlds

Oxenfree

May

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Shadow of the Colossus

DELIGHTFUL FIC

January

A Miracle in Thunder by LazyBaker | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 4.5k | Christmas morning, Steve’s pulling into a nearly empty parking lot to open Family Video on his own.

The White Wolf by norgbelulah | Castlevania | Alucard/Trevor/Sypha | 6k | Trevor and Sypha travel back to the Belmont Estate and Castle Dracula, unsure of what they will find there.

Stainless by Fahye | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 6.5k | "I'm starting to feel," says Lan Xichen, "that this was a counterproductive suggestion."

sleep in your bed by copperwings | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 12k | or; Wei WuXian has a tendency to fall asleep in places where he shouldn't. Lan WangJi disapproves.

by the grace of a ride along by brawlite | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 5k | They shouldn't so often find themselves in situations like this. And yet.

this line bisects by adspexi | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 1k | The rumors around Costis' status as a royal favorite haven't quieted down. The king doesn't seem to mind.

Be kind by longnationalnightmare | The Magicians | Quentin/Eliot | 10k | It was absurd how much Eliot meant it— you’re cute—so cute Eliot wanted to swallow him whole.

Reclaimed by betts | Star Wars | Reylo | 14k | Or: After the passing of new legislation, Rey and thousands of other omegas are rescued from the abusive grasps of their alphas. She gets adopted by a new alpha and braces herself for the cruelty she’s grown used to. But Ben isn’t like other alphas, and Rey slowly warms to his kindness.

Make a list of things you need by longnationalnightmare | The Magicians | Quentin/Eliot | 10k | “Whose wedding?” he asked, and only stopped assessing the room when Eliot failed to answer. “El, who’s getting married?”

seldom all they seem by Fahye | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 24k | or, one hundred and thirty-three principles of the Gusu Lan, pertaining to the state of marriage

love is touching souls (surely you touched mine) by ToAStranger | Harry Potter | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | 34k | Voldemort is dead. It's Christmas, and Harry's just opened a gift from Fred and George Weasley.

back to back by serenfire | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 13k | (Or: If Yennefer gets to be improbably naked in canon, then I am making Jaskier equally, if not more, naked. It's equality.)

You're a Story (I Can Follow) by Page161of180 | The Magicians | Queliot | 20k | The Monster's been defeated, Quentin is dead, and Eliot has a quest of his own--if he can trust himself to complete it. An Orpheus and Eurydice remix.

Lover's Touch by Rizandace | The Magicians | Queliot | 25k | Q gets cursed, and Alice can't help. Magic forces Q and Eliot to cuddle and talk about their feelings.

Possession by yaskween | The Magicians | Queliot | 9k |  “Honestly? I don’t mean to be rude,” Eliot started, having trouble meeting Quentin’s eyes again. “But I don’t think I can handle being this close to you right now.”

You In My Head by stele3 | The Magicians | Queliot | 5k | Apparently, the Monster hadn’t cared much about hydration. Eliot hasn’t been this parched since Ibiza 2012.

fall through by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan/Sara | 8k |  “Sorry man, our flights are grounded because of some freak storm. Waiting to see if we can get one out tomorrow,” Shane reads aloud, and Sara pouts down at the screen.

with them indiana boys (on them indiana nights) by ToAStranger | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 5k | The thing is, when Billy first saw Steve Harrington, he knew.  

The Genius of the Western River by Siria | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan | 14k |  Shane’s totally working on being flippant about all those times he joked about Ryan’s godlike physique, never suspecting how true those jokes might be—the two of them just have to defeat a supernatural serial killer first.

I was born to blanket you in flowers by MyFandomCausesHanaji | The Untamed | Wei Wuxan/Lan Zhan | 5k | “I have folded a thousand paper flowers for you.”

A Temporary Favor by oxymoronic | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 30k | It’s barely three days since El closed the gate when Hopper tells him he wants to rip a hole in space and time to rescue Billy Hargrove. Steve thinks it’s the dumbest thing he’s ever heard.

February

it’s a long way forward (so trust in me) by suzukiblu | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 25k | “Does that stop heat?” Jaskier asks curiously, absentmindedly tuning his lute as he speaks. He hadn’t thought anything could, but, well . . . witchers and their potions.

Love as You Are by thisgirlsays22 | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 16k | Jaskier didn’t want to marry just any noblewoman--no matter how comely she may be--he wanted adventure and many loves, but most importantly his biggest, greatest love of all.

GERALT'S A SOFT BOI send tweet by relenafanel | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 2k | WIP |  “Hey, so this is where you ended up,” Jaskier said, sliding into the chair across from Geralt in the sad truck-stop diner 50 kilometres outside of the backwater swamp-dump reporting an infestation of drowners.

The Rule Of Opposites by entanglednow | Good Omens | Aziraphale/Crowley | 6k | In which they are opposing forces, not designed to touch, anathema to each other. Crowley refuses to accept it.

have you noticed I’ve been gone? by suzukiblu | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 12k | Jaskier is a very good kisser, and almost kisses Geralt often enough, which is a damn sight closer than most people get. Even when he’s paying for it, he doesn’t get kissed enough. Jaskier gets close, though.

Chattoter Trending by DragonBandit | Pokemon | Leon/Raihan | 2.5k | Neither Raihan or Leon have told the greater public about their relationship. Then Raihan posts the wrong picture to Chattoter.

from me to you by Ceta | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 14k |  Wei Too Cool ✓ @wei-wuxian correct me if i’m wrong but i’m pretty sure that’s a love song @LanWangJi #AtFirstSight

Do it Again by thisgirlsays22 | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 7k | By the twentieth time Geralt has gone through the loop, he decides to just throw himself off the cliff’s edge after Borch.

March

The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 20k |  “Love?” he croaks, then clears his throat and tries again. “Lan Zh— uh, Hanguang-jun, in love?”

bend all the rules by brawlite | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 14k | Billy knows that it’s a bad idea to hook up with his old high school rival and certified Straight Guy™, Steve Harrington -- but Hawkins is real bleak during the holidays, and Billy’s just trying to make it through winter break without dying of boredom.

April

Probability Engine by @kaikamahine | The Watchmaker of Filigree Street | Keita/Thaniel | 22k | The worst part about knowing you will have to shove Merrick Tremayne into the path of an oncoming cannonball is that you genuinely enjoy the man's company. Unfortunately, this becomes something of a recurring theme.

rare the man who'll hold to faith by Fahye | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 13k |  "There is the mark of our bargain, and here is the challenge," said the Yiling Patriarch.

a stone to break your soul, a song to save it by rikke | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 180k | When the entire cultivation world turns against Wei WuXian, Jiang Cheng comes up with a plan to save him and arranges a marriage between his brother and the Second Jade of Lan, Lan WangJi.

a prize for rotten judgement by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 10k | “You’d drive each other crazy. You sit together at your office all day, and then you’d be commuting home together, eating dinner together, watching TV together, going to bed — well, not together, but you get it, right?”

Linger in the Sun by etymologyplayground | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 39k | "Tell Lan Zhan that I'm weeping uncontrollably," Wei Wuxian says to the juniors. "Tell him I'm truly pitiful and he needs to do everything I say until I'm well again."

Every ridge hand-picked by the late sun’s slant light by wildestranger | The Guardian | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan | 7k | “Long time, no see,” he says.The Black Cloaked Envoy blanches.

If Life Was A Movie We’d Have A Better Soundtrack Than This by galaxysoup | The Guardian | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan | 46k | The first time Shen Wei meets Zhao Yunlan is when he innocently steps out of his Monday morning office hours and is immediately slammed into by 180 pounds of cop pursuing a suspect on foot.

Sex, Science, and True Love: A Rigid Analysis of the Practical Applications of Dual Cultivation by aubreyli | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 24k | WIP | “The Lans are far too boring and repressed for something like this,” Wei Wuxian said, with the authority of one who had been resoundingly ignored by a Lan for the past month. “Can you imagine Lan Wangji dual cultivating?”

and so my heart beats wildly by lily_winterwood | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 106k | “You know, you’re the one to beat this year,” Jiang Cheng offers helpfully, having seen the glare from right next to him. “Hanguang-jun’s been through juniors with the rest of us, he knows all of our tics. You’re an unknown variable, since he’s never competed against you before.”

Weird and/or Wonderful by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan | 12k | Or: During the filming of an episode of Weird and/or Wonderful World, Ryan tosses a shoelace and a wish in an ancient magical wishing well. Mistakes are made.

one good thing by Yuu_chi | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 26k | Wei Wuxian has been haunting his childhood home for three years. He's perfected the fine art of scaring away all the tenants, and has grown used to living with the dying flowers in the garden as his only company.

  stay with me, go places by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan | 16k | “Never have I ever,” Shane says, feeling his way delicately around the syllables, making nice with all the consonants and vowels, “hooked up with a friend at a wedding.”

once more with feeling by sarsaparillia | Oxenfree | Alex/Jonas | 26k | Alex, stumbling through the time-stream.

hey boy, take a look at me by weakspots | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 17k |  Ryan is 27, for Christ’s sake, and he’s not exactly hideous, so there’s really no reason to spend his money on a dude — a dude — whose face he’ll never see but whose livestreams he’s been jerking off to for roughly 4 months now.

Warm Blanket by surveycorpsjean | Promare | Lio/Galo | 19k | He wonders if Lio remembers.

spend some time with me (i really like your company) by fencer_x | Promare | Galo/Lio | 73k | Galo Thymos is the worst hostage ever, and Lio regrets kidnapping him with every waking breath.

times that are broken can often be one again by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | The moment the lights come on, Shane senses that something is wrong.

my age has never made me wise by idrilka | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 63k | “We hear that His Excellency might be married by summer’s end,” the merchant’s wife says and Wei Wuxian freezes, his heart in his throat. “The Gusu Lan sect has been buying enough red silk and brocade that the merchants in Caiyi can’t satisfy the demand.”

May

The Shops on Morning Street by mikkimouse | Castlevania | Alucard/Trevor | 7k | Trevor Belmont, former monster hunter and current florist, is tasked with looking into the proprietor of the new tattoo parlor across the street, much to his annoyance.

Sarva by rageprufrock | Guardian | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan | 5k | Or, 一切. At work, in public, Shen Wei is meticulously, seamlessly polite. In bed, he's something else.

Heartbeat by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 66k | So the guy Ryan sits next to at work is a vampire. That's no big deal, right?

Soup-pocalypse and The Great Curry Cataclysm by SquadOfCats | Harry Potter | Draco/Harry | 104k | Eleven years after the war, Draco Malfoy leads a quiet, boring, and perfectly respectable life, thanks very much. Or, at least he does, until a sudden and very unexpected veela awakening causes him to throw soup all over Harry Potter in the middle of the Ministry cafeteria.

until you fit beneath me (and you’re breaking like a wave) by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane |  In which Shane Madej succumbs to the mortifying ordeal of being known—but not before being a real butthead about it for many thousands of words first.

there is no such thing by gh0stly | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 10k | A simple investigation turns serious as Ryan suspects the black dog of Hawthorn road isn't the only demonic entity to have followed him home.

oracle bones by orphan_account | Avatar: TLA | Zuko/Katara | 3k | The foreign, pictorial characters that bracelet Zuko's left wrist have never been covered in any of his lessons. He cannot read them.

Third Time's A Charm by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 31k | Shane can't help but fall for the hot young lifeguard that stars in his Baywatch inspired daydreams, but he has a secret that no one can know. Not even Ryan.

Milk and Honey by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 18k | Sure, the fae were real. Everyone knew that.Ryan being fae? As likely as ghosts existing.

Technically-Terrestrial by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | 60k | Nearly forty years ago, the disgraced group of an alien race found refuge amongst the population of Earth.And now Shane Madej, who is more-or-less human, kind-of-actually-an-alien, has to convince his terrified best friend Ryan that he's not about to abduct him.

play me like a love song by sky_somedays | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 10k |  Shane is Ryan's beleaguered history TA. Ryan won't stop suggesting insane theories.

one word from you by mme_anxious  | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 5k |  Wei Wuxian manages to get himself cursed and Lan Wangji just wants to be helpful. 

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

January

A Tribute to 2019 Cinema

Geralt & Yennefer | Wicked Game

chaos | Yennefer of Vengerberg

Yennefer of Vengerberg || SURVIVOR

The Multifandom Mashup 2019

Multifandom Mashup 2019

Natural ][ Multifandom

Yennefer Of Vengerberg | Here I Am

destiny [The Witcher]

star wars || war pigs

THE WITCHER || IN THE END [Happy New Year!]

Sucker [Jaskier & Geralt / Humor]

The Witcher || War Pigs

Lee Scoresby ][ Rebel Just For Kicks || HDM

Jaskier & Geralt || Hold on

February

The Art of Cinema

Jaskier & Geralt || Hold on

Jaskier || Oh No!

The Witcher || River

Geralt Of Rivia || Old Town Road

Multifandom | Glitter & Gold

Everybody knows | Multifandom

Merlin | Survivor

March

xue yang & xiao xingchen (the untamed MV) | hold on

Wei Wuxian | The Yiling Patriarch

The Untamed | Devil from Heaven

陈情令-The Untamed (2019) | but I'm only human | Yiling Patriarch

wei wu xian & lan wang ji (the untamed MV) | they don't know about us

Wangxian || Us Against the World (The Untamed)

Wei Wu Xian & Lan Wang Ji | A Thousand Years (The Untamed FMV)

hannibal || the way you are

Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji | Bury our Love《陈情令 The Untamed》

The Untamed FMV | Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji | 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎

The Untamed MV - Rule the World

𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 || wei wu xian 陈情令

陈情令 | The Untamed - I Will Carry You

wei wu xian & lan wang ji (the untamed MV) | beautiful mess

The Witcher | Geralt Of Rivia

Kylo Ren & Rey | I Know You

Miles Morales | Whatever It Takes

EGO - Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian | Rebel Just For Kicks

Geralt of Rivia // Glitter and Gold

Glitter & Gold ][ TUA

Eliot Waugh - Let It Happen

Jaskier ❤️️ Everybody Loves Me

April

DJ Earworm - YouTube Sings Dance Monkey (100 COVERS)

Khan ][ Believer

Roman Sionis | Black Mask ][ Bad Guy

(Star Wars) Kylo Ren | Redemption

(The Witcher) Geralt of Rivia | The White Wolf

Sirius & Regulus | Black Flies

The Marauders | HOME

(Marvel) Thor | The New Path

(Marvel) Tony Stark | My Legacy

A Song of Ice & Fire

(GoT) Daenerys Targaryen | My Reign is Over

Harley Quinn ][ Feeling Good

Multifandom II You'll Always Be A Monster

Haru & Rin || Deep Blue

Star Wars - Anime Opening 1 (A New Hope Arc)

It's hard

Severus Snape

Marvel || BLUE MONDAY

never surrender

May

[AMV] In The Name of Love [Yuri!!! on ICE]

Catra & Adora | I love you, I always have (+S5)

Sherlock ][ Bohemian Rhapsody

(Marvel) Avengers | Catastrophe

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

January

There She Goes - Sixpence None the Richer

Don’t You Forget About Me - Simple Minds

Devil Side - Foxes 

Medhel an Gwyns - Anna Dudley

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - Tori Amos

Toss A Coin to Your Witcher - Witcher OST

Smile For the Camera - UPSAHL

Fail We Must Sail We Must - Unloved

It’s Not You, It’s Me -Unloved

Bill - Unloved 

Cry Baby Cry - Unloved

Sigh - Unloved

Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer

My Dear - The Castros

Us - Regina Spektor

Houses - Great Northern 

Beautiful Dreamer - The Magicians Cast

Graveyard - Halsey

Imperfections - Celine Dion

Premonitions - Vaults 

Jagwar - Shells

Nice To Meet You - Niall Horan

Handsome and Wealthy - Migos

Thunder - Shaed

6 Underground - The Sneaker Pimps

February

Land of Yesterday - Anastasia Original Broadway Cast

You’re Somebody Else - Flora Cash

Masterpiece - Vargas & Lagola

Everybody Knows - Sigrid

Fly Me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra

Cringe - Stripped - Matt Maeson

Black Out Days - Phantogram

You Don’t Get Me High Anymore - Wakey!Wakey!

Pep Talk - Judah & the Lion

Ag Bruach Dhun Reimhe - Eithne Ni Uallachan

Grave Digger - Matt Maeson

Hidden Lakes - Shearwater

Maker - Anjimile

The Untamed sountracks - vocal and instrumental

Cut My Lip - 21 Pilots

Cancer - 21 Pilots

Strawberry Fields - The Beatles

March

Infinity - Jaymes Young

Chadelier - Sia

No Time to Die - Billie Eilish

South of the Border - Camila Cabello & Cardi B

Moondust - Jaymes Young

April

2020 playlist

May

2020 playlist

POSTED FIC

January

a different kind of danger in the daylight | Shades of Magic | Kell/Lila/Holland | 6,930 words | Sleeping with Holland was never part of the plan. 

February

love will have it's sacrifices | Teen Wolf | Sterek | 7,719 words | “So,” Allison starts, biting her lip. “You’re telling me that you think your roommate is a werewolf.”

March

Teeth | The Witcher | Jaskier/Geralt | 2,368 words |  “You wrote a song about my teeth,” Geralt says.

April

Lithium | Kingdom Hearts | Axel/Roxas | 378 words |  The grass is cool and faintly damp, still springy under your palms.

the thrill of knowing how alone we are | Stargate Atlantis | Rodney/John | 1,077 words | “Right now, I really don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off the damn bridge.”Rodney, who is, in fact, on a bridge right now, has never had the best sense of self preservation, because he snaps right back, “Oh good, can I pick?”

i hope you lose your way | Kingdom Hearts | Sora/Riku | 1,725 words |  The last summer that he and Sora were together, truly together, before the inexplicable pull of adulthood drew them further and further apart until that thread finally snapped, they went on a road trip.

ephemeral | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 2,353 words | “Composing is what suits me now,” Lan Wangji says, his voice like a shrug. “In a year, it may be dancing.”

May

fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 4,108 words | As Steve watches, the man arches one of those eyebrows and asks, “Are you trying to get eaten by a shark?”

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

January

N/A

February

N/A

March

N/A

April

The Untamed, ephemeral, 2148 words

May

Untitled Mermay Fic | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 3.367 words

FANMIXES/GRAPHICS

January

All the 8tracks imports

February

N/A

March

N/A

April 

N/A

May

Writing Playlist

[genelmag]

A Fresh Take on Riot Games’ New World’s Theme: “Phoenix”

An In-depth Analysis of Phoenix, 2019’s League of Legends Hype Song

As season 9 of League of Legends comes to a close, the best of the best League players from each region to compete for a chance at the Summoner’s Cup and a prize of $2,225,000 as a new World theme song sets the tone.

This is also when the much-anticipated “Worlds Theme” is released to set the tone for the most-watched esports event, with over 100 million unique viewers worldwide.

This year, however, Riot Games fell behind schedule in their release of the League of Legends esports event theme, “Phoenix”. Riot Games apologized and explained that the delay was due to them making sure that the song was ready.

Their explanation didn’t satisfy the League community. There have even been some theories that contradict Riot’s explanation. One theory says that “Phoenix” originally included Bjergsen, the mid-laner for Team Solo Mid (TSM), but had to be removed when TSM failed to make it to worlds.

And when the song was finally released last month, many were left disappointed in the quality, believing it to be one of the weaker themes to date.

Here’s why “Phoenix” is one of the best and most powerful themes to be released.

First and foremost I want to take a moment to look at the title of the song. When you put it into context, this in itself already makes this song a masterpiece. 

What is a phoenix? A phoenix is a legendary, immortal bird, wondrous in beauty, that would ignite itself in a glorious inferno before awakening to rise up from the ashes.  Now think about that, and let’s look at the titles of songs Riot has released in the past three years:

“Ignite” - Zedd | League of Legends Worlds 2016

“Legends Never Die” (ft. Against the Current) | League of Legends Worlds 2017

“RISE” (ft. The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive) | League of Legends Worlds 2018

“Awaken” (ft. Valerie Broussard) | League of Legends 2019 Season 9 Cinematic

In one word, “Phoenix” has recaptured the essence of the previous three seasons, and with “Awaken” setting the scene for 2019, “Phoenix” is in a good place to close out the year strong.  

Now I’ll let you all in on a little secret: even though we’ve already discussed the masterful application of the title, the way to crack this song wide open and find its beautiful message, lies all in its lyrics.  It sounds simple I know, but you’d be surprised how many people listen to songs without realizing what its lyrics are or understanding what they mean.  

"Phoenix - Riot Games ft. Cailin Russo and Chrissy Costanza What are you willing to lose? You cover your wounds, but underneath them A million voices in your head that whisper, "Stop, now" Another twist of the knife, a turn of the screws It's all in your mind and it's fighting you Arm yourself, a storm is coming Well, kid ... What you gonna do now? It's your reflection looking back to pull you down So are you gonna die today or make it out alive? You gotta conquer the monster in your head and then you'll fly Fly, Phoenix, fly It's time for a new empire Go bury your demons then tear down the ceiling Phoenix, fly And now you're playing with matches, come out of the ashes Underneath you, a million voices in the crowd they're screaming, "Stop, now" Well let 'em swallow their pride, you're turning the tide to true believers Got them in the palm of your hand, you're playing God now What you gonna do now? It's your reflection looking back to pull you down So are you gonna die today or make it out alive? You gotta conquer the monster in your head and then you'll fly Fly, Phoenix, fly It's time for a new empire Go bury your demons then tear down the ceiling Phoenix, fly So are you gonna die today or make it out alive? You gotta conquer the monster in your head and then you'll fly Fly, Phoenix, fly It's time for a new empire Go bury your demons then tear down the ceiling Phoenix, fly"

When we take time to analyze these lyrics, we very quickly see from the first verse that this entire song talks about the mental game in League of Legends.  In my opinion, at least 80% of playing LoL IS part of this mental game, while no more than 20% is actually raw, mechanical skill. Mechanics alone can net you those flashy plays that everyone gets excited to see in montages and can get you a decent way up the ranked ladder. But in order to actually set up those plays, the majority of LoL is a thinking game: being able to outsmart your opponents, engaging in macroplay, leadership, teamwork, and calling the shots to achieve victory on the rift, all while remaining untiltable.  

In the video, the song highlights three players in particular: IG Rookie (LPL), G2 Caps (LEC), and SKT T1 Faker (LCK). Of course, this song applies to everyone else as well. These three players are all mid-laners for their respective teams, and in turn, their respective regions, China, Europe, and Korea.

We also see the League of Legends champions that are iconic to these players, as these champions represent them: Lissandra for Rookie, Irelia for Caps, and Karma for Faker.  On top of all of this, we what are essentially glitches: a dark corruption force taking over the players and their respective champions, creating a kind of ‘photo-negative’ incarnation of each.

The symbolism around this is key to the message of the song. But let’s dive even further into the lyrics to see make this song a masterpiece.  

This is referring to both the players’ psyche and overcoming the looming corruption of doubt (which is what I believe the glitched “photo negatives” that we see in the video to be. They’re fighting versions of themselves that have been corrupted by negativity and doubt). The “million voices in their heads, whispering to them to stop,” lyric is parallel to another line in the song where it says.

This time the voices are in the crowd, “screaming”, which represents the millions of fans and patrons of the game— those watching the esports scenes each year and following the journeys of each of the teams as they look to make their marks in history.

The players, and especially those who have choked performance-wise in previous showings at worlds, definitely have to contend with and battle not only their own doubts but the doubts of their fans, wondering if hope is lost, wondering if their teams are washed up. 

These lines parallel with the respective stories of not only those featured in the video for “Phoenix” but almost all of the current world’s participants.  

Several times throughout the song we keep seeing these lines repeated:

"It’s your reflection looking back to pull you down.  So are you gonna die today or make it out alive? You gotta conquer the monster in your head and then you’ll fly. Fly, phoenix, fly. It’s time for a new empire. Go bury your demons, then tear down the ceiling, Phoenix, fly."

The chorus of this song is perfect for capturing the whole motif of fighting negativity and emerging victorious from the battle, rising up like a phoenix from the ashes.  For a lot of the players at worlds, they have to worry about their careers, and with each showing at Worlds without the chance to claim the Summoner’s Cup, it can definitely take its toll. 

If they give up and give in to doubt, they’ll never be able to achieve their dreams on the highest stage. Previous seasons of Worlds have shown that the gap is closing between the Asian ‘superpowers’ from Korea and China and the rest of the world. Superteams from other regions have risen up to claim their titles, to forge new empires which have been so long dominated by SKT T1 and the other Korean and Chinese representatives. 

Even yesterday, we saw G2, a European superteam, take down the titan that is SKT in their semifinals series, which means that this year’s world finals will be between G2 Esports, and FunPlus Phoenix; Europe versus China.  

The tension is definitely on for what will be an immensely hyped finals because the last time a European team won Worlds was season 1 in 2011, by Fnatic. The last time a European even showed in finals was last year in 2018 when Fnatic faced off against and lost to Invictus Gaming, another Chinese team. 

Now G2 carries the hopes of Europe and the hopes of all the western regions alike as we could have the Summoner’s Cup hoisted by a western team in over 7 years.  

The League of Legends esports final event will take place Sunday, November 10th at 7:00 AM Eastern. The Opening Ceremony of the League event always features a live performance of the World’s theme. 

I hope with this analysis of “Phoenix” that you will also enjoy it with this fresh, new take on the World’s song which so many have, in my opinion, dismissed prematurely.  

Editor’s Note: The past couple of weeks has also featured many artists and their own takes on Phoenix in a more musical sense, as the song already has several covers and remixes in varying styles, and I recommend you check them out and show them some love as well.

[monkeydluffy19920]

“You’ve been scared of love and what it did to you You don’t have to run, I know what you’ve been through Just a simple touch and it can set you free “

- The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk - I feel it coming

Sannami week 2019 day 2: passion

So, this year’s event organized by @sannamiweek has started yesterday and I’m so glad to see that people are still active on the fandom with all their amazing fanmade stuff and analyzes so guys, give yourself a big big hands up! \o/

So why decided to take this particular song under the lens today for the prompt? Well sometimes, just like all shippers do, the possible scenarios for otps pop into the head, for example if they became a couple (canon or non canon), how would they end up together, how would their relationship look like and what would be their love lifes be like (oi, oi! I know you guys do it too *smirk emoji*) and I think the first verse reminded my thoughts so decided to do some song analyze-ish thing today :)

“You've been scared of love and what it did to you”

Just like all of the Straw Hats, both Sanji and Nami have faced traumas in their past, Sanji was neglected and bullied by his own family because he was different and because Nami was poor she had to witness a murder of her mother Bell-Mere and got herself tangled in a dangerous and ambitious deal (to gather a big amount of money to save her whole village) and although Arlong offered her a roof above her head, there is no way she wasn’t picked up by fishmen, I mean they despised human.

I pondered in the Reasons to love Mugiwaras - Sanji -post  that what if there is a real meaning behind this “ero kappa gag” Oda uses as a comical relief (that he swoons over all the ladies)? Like what if Sanji really just wants someone beside him who could really love him? (like his mother did, unconditionally?) It would be very interesting to see if someone pure hearted confessed him her feelings because this would be unexpected both for Sanji and the readers. I don’t know but somehow in my headcanons Sanji would be lost of words, trying to play it cool but then getting genuine love and acceptance from someone he has been looking for years, this would  make him óut of words (in a good way though) and maybe like some fans ponder, his so called “ladies man”-side would fade away. Like he would be stll very gentleman and polite but he would be very loyal to the love of his life.

(well he lost his words for a second after he realized that Nami-san rushed to hug him *laughs*)

Then in Reasons to love Mugiwaras - Nami I pondered the influence of Arlong’s actions reflected on Nami’s personality/behavior. She had to suddenly bid a goodbye to her beloved mother after a big quarrell they had before and I think this has made Nami really cautious of her actions. Just like Sanji, she has a harden herself during the years but she is vunerable and soft from the core. Headcanon or not but maybe she is secretly afraid of losing someone important again. This would explain why she felt so extremely guilty about not being able to prevent Sanji’s sudden disappearence and why she felt so offended by actions of “the Prince of Germa”

I think both are deep inside vunerable and have been forced to build a strong wall to protect themselves. Scars of the past will always be part of them so probably it’ll take time for both of them to get confident enough about each others’ feelings and confessing them, because of the fears of rejection and loss.

Practically this could mean that if they end up together (either in canon or in headcanons), during the first months of building their deep and romantic relationship or at the latest after the so called honeymoon phase [x], there would probably be questions inside their minds  such as “am I really lovable?”, “what if I’m not enough?”, “am I doing this right?”,  “can they really love me because I’m incomplete?”  and then the other one would notice the moment of weakness or hesitation would calmy approach close to them, give comfort by a hug, then empathy by telling they understand how it feels like and then encourage the other by showing that there is nothing to worry or to be scared about because they will always stick together and no obstacles can stop. (something like in this GIF from the Revolationary Road-movie, that the other would look deep in the eyes say some beautiful words that’ll convince the other that everything will be fine. ps. spoiler: the movie is sad)

You don't have to run, I know what you've been through

This was mentioned in many posts before but I think it’s interesting detail that Sanji didn’t assume right away that Nami killed Usopp after hearing her telling that. By that time they didn’t know each other very well but Sanji’s basic instincts made him trust her even after she stole their ship and tried to shoo them away by lies.

What comes to the happenings of Zou and Totto Land arcs, I think they actually went to a similar-ish process than they did in Arlong Park, although the big difference was that Sanji first refused to get his friends involved and Nami reacted with shock and got hurt by Sanji’s action because she simply didn’t understand why Sanji would want to push them away and trying to solve all the problems by himself

We waited so eagerly that Nami would find out what Sanji has gone through in his past (just like Sanji learned her past via Nojiko, that would’ve been quite a parallel, especially if Reiju told her that) but in the end, she only learned bits of it and not directly the whole totality. However, we must remember that at the moment of reunion, they had a wedding to stop so there basically wasn’t time for that.

Their first reconcilliation (when they talked via the piece of glass) was shortish but despite the comical relief, Oda showed the readers that Nami was happy to hear about him and worried about him all the time but perhaps didn’t have pride or courage to say it directly? Well it was her way to say “I’m glad you’re ok” and later that iconic bridal carry scene/panel with their happy glance towards each other and the tear-filled reunion hug were Oda’s way to tell that that everything is now forgiven between them.

Just a simple touch and it can set you free We don't have to rush when you're alone with me

Back to the lyrics and the actual prompt, sorry for getting so carried away and making this post longer than it should be *laughs* So, when it comes to the assumptions of their romantic relationships, I think more importantly, it’ll require time for both of them to settle down. Not that they’d be running and chasing other people but more like referenced to earlier part of this post, they both have their  insecurities but once they overcome them (with each others’ help) and learn to trust each other’s unconditional love the fullest, their relationship could become balanced and full of love and passion <3

What comes to bedroom stories *another smirk emoji*, it’s really hard to say what kind of sex life they would have because we fans have different prefrences. For example, I think that  this The Weekend’s song could be describing at least those first times they go literally intimate with each other.

Maybe they first blush around and be a bit trembly and shy then later let their hormones and feelings carry them forward once they encourage each other, I don’t know because obviously Oda-sensei doesn’t hint us whether they are experienced or not or how sexually passionate they are as lovers  *laughs*

Well anyway, all in all and in general, I could personally imagine them  having a great relationship and something like very passionate yet romantic under the sheets. Maybe they are up to trying different things and places or maybe not, better leave that out for each of our dirty imaginations and fanmade stuff xD

Well, one thing is sure though, Sanji’s dream is to beat Zoro in a fight and get a victory hug from Nami-san (while it could have been anyone else) *wink emoji*

ps. Random fact: I made a short slideshow for Imany - Don't Be So Shy (Filatov & Karas Remix) for the first Sannami event’s Underwear prompt years ago but later decided never to upload it because well, the art used in was @_iga_guri_ ‘s and it wasn’t self made anyway)

[lilithderayne]

Ten Songs Playlist Tag

Like both @notanotherhour and @deadlyessencewhispers, (I was tagged by both of you, thank you) I don’t have a specific playlist for any of my WIPs, but I do have a playlist for when I am writing. Thus, a lot of my scenes and characters are influenced by these songs. So here we go. I’m restraining myself just to The Others Book #1, because #2 could get...odd.

Adding a “keep reading” CUZ FAM THIS GOT LONG.

Tagging @qchromanite, @undinisms, @mellow-stories, @ruins-of-gold, @silas-fenderson, and anyone else who wants to!

1. Ariana Grande-God is a woman

I'll tell you all the things you should know So, baby, take my hand, save your soul We can make it last, take it slow, hmm And I can tell that you know I know how I want it But you different from the rest And boy, if you confess, you might get blessed See if you deserve what comes next I'm tellin' you the way I like it, how I want it

I think we all know that this is Bane, Caleb and Divinity. Those kinky little shits worship the ground she walks in. She is as close to god as they can believe in.

2. Lorde-Magnets

Never really felt bad about it As we drank deep from a lie Cause I felt melting magnets babe The second I saw you through half-shut eyes

Okay this is a spoiler I’ve never given, only hinted at with Divinity’s last names, but...Nathaniel Gray and Divinity. Just sayin’ fam.

3. Lindsey Stirling & Peter Hollens-Skyrim

There are no lyrics, well not in English or that I could spell, but it’s just a really good action and battle song. I listened to it and others when I wrote the final boss battle between Marcus’ army and Divinity’s army.

4. Two Steps From Hell-Victory

Omg yay so this is another lyricless song but again it is SO. FUCKING. GOOD. ORGASM FOR THY EARS. I listened to this too, while writing the final battle.

5. Ellie Goulding & Kygo-First Time (R3hab Remix)

We were lovers on a wild ride Speeding for the finish line Come until the end of our time, yeah Started off as a wildfire Burning down the bridges to our empire Our love was something they could admire, yeah

.........Fuck I’m not even gonna go there. I’m not going to cry over my own characters. Suffice to say, there’s a certain pairing this makes me think of.

6. Selena Gomez-Wolves

Your fingertips trace my skin To places I have never been Blindly I am following Break down these walls and come on in

I wanna feel the way that we did that summer night Drunk on a feeling, alone with the stars in the sky

Same couple as before.....whom shall remain unmentioned. I’M SORRY.

7. Evanescence-Lies

Honestly, the whole song is just pure Darkling. But I choose these lyrics, even though the whole thing is just...perfection. And dark as fuck.

You will never be strong enough You will never be good enough You were never conceived in love You will not rise above They'll never see I'll never be I'll struggle on and on to feed this hunger Burning deep inside of me

8. Xandria-Nightfall

Here it comes, the story of mankind´s final glory Into the nightfall The showdown now has come, this will be the last curtain Before the Night falls We are rising higher, closer to the fire Let the final dance begin

This fits Book #2 a bit better but I listened to a lot of Xandria through all my WIPs so... Another Marcus vs. Divinity song.

9. Danny Lohner-Death Dealer’s Descent (from the Underworld soundtrack)

No words, but a badass song. Always helps me write those boss-protagonist-strutting-into-battle scenes.

10. Halsey-Hold Me Down

I sold my soul to a three-piece And he told me I was holy He's got me down on both knees But it's the devil that's tryna Hold me down, hold me down Sneaking out the back door, make no sound Knock me out, knock me out Saying that I want more, this is what I live for

Well that ended on a dark note... probably a Divinity song just because...well, Divinity backstory.

[sl-walker]

Ship Manifesto: Bail x Maul

I threatened it, so here it is.  Since I have to go to work and I actually got some sleep last night.

When I went and remixed Wild Space for Witness me, I suspected that those two would hit it off, just based on their personalities.  And while ten years of being a prisoner definitely took the sharp edges off of Maul and five years of being with Obi-Wan had taught him some (badly needed) interpersonal skills, more than he became even in canon TCW he’s still as inherently himself as he was when he went to Theed.  Just-- a somewhat healthier self, hard as that might sometimes be to believe when he’s in the middle of a flashback and actually displaying his damage.

BUT ANYWAY.  My guys.  My ridiculously opposite, beautiful guys.  Their first meeting had them both grinning and within two seconds bantering and within like five minutes, evoking solidarity against Obi-Wan’s bullheadedness, and then it just kept getting better.

Since this is a ship manifesto -- as in romantic ship -- I won’t spend too much time on their bromance, but I will say that whether or not you add the kissing and such, both versions of that relationship are fiercely mutual.  And now, for the why:

Bail Organa in Canon/Legends:  Genuine good guy.  In a Republic rife with corruption, Bail not only manages to navigate it effectively, gaining the esteem even of some of his enemies, but he never lets go of his morals.  He’s willing to play fast and loose with the rules, but every single time he does, it’s with his heart firmly in the right place.  Any selfishness Bail has tends to manifest itself in wistfulness, not action; he wants to go home, he wants to be with Breha, he wants to not deal with all this, he wants the children they were going to have.  Nonetheless, he stays on Coruscant.  Faithfully serving his post, his Queen, his world, his Republic.

He’s an idealist.  And an optimist.  He has a draw to support the underdog.  He has sharp edges because he’s also realistic.  He rights wrongs when he can, using his cleverness and political acumen; he can read a crowd and often win them over to at least liking him, even when they don’t agree with him.  He’s disarming and people admire him for his stand-up guy nature.  He’s also brave; he’s willing to put himself under siege on Christophsis, and when everything else in the world is crumbling, the Jedi are being slaughtered, he was the only one with the courage to go and try to see what was happening at the Temple, then turn around and try to save what Jedi he could personally.  He’ll pick up a blaster and follow Padmé into the streets.  He’ll demand to go to Zigoola, citing his right to put skin in the game as the reason to.  He’s incredibly loyal.

He’s not perfect.  He leans a bit more on the booze than healthy.  He’s got serious problems with his work/life balance; he works far too hard because Bail thinks -- unfortunately rightly, often -- that if he just lets it go, no one else will care enough or gain enough to do the work.  Bail’s service-mindedness goes well beyond healthy; it’s painfully easy for him to get into the idea that he has to fix things, especially for people he cares for, and he’ll throw himself against the wall of that and beat himself bloody if he can’t.  And while this genuine love and esteem can be a good trait, it also can become self-destructive.  He can get snappish and churlish, but usually only when he’s provoked into it (hello Obi-Wan); still, once you do get his blood up, Bail can dish it out as well as he can take it.

But really, Bail has no problem with positive regard.  There’s no evidence that the man carries any prejudices based on species or class.  He’s honorable; when he says he’s going to do something, he does his very best to do it.  He believes in honesty, even if he’s willing to lie by omission; still, his heart is always in the right place, and damned if I can find a single piece of canon or Legends evidence that his heart is anything but pure gold.

Maul in canon/Legends: Undeniably abused.  Badly.  Consistently.  Has the social skills of a rancor with a tooth ache.  Psychological minefield of paranoia and can’t trust anyone or anything, sometimes not even himself, in terms of recollection/etc.  If you want to know all about how bad Maul is messed up, you can go through his tag on my blog; there’s a lot there.  So, let’s go into the relevant points.

He’s lonely.  Painfully, desperately lonely, and he doesn’t even know how to quantify it, but it bleeds through his actions.  He’s desperate for approval -- mostly his Master’s, but also Kilindi’s and Trezza’s and even the damn Jedi, if you dig far enough.  Sure, he wants to kill them, but he wants to do it fairly and honorably because he doesn’t want his victory to be cheap or stolen and he wants them to know that they’re fighting an honorable foe.

He’s highly intelligent, but his ability to make proper use of it has suffered for his abuse; he struggles to grasp a lot of concepts, like creativity and philosophy.  He struggles to understand politics.  He struggles to understand the very galaxy; like, they literally said that, that Maul doesn’t quite get how it all works.  Still, he is sharp and very adaptable and malleable, especially when he’s younger.

He understands and believes in fairness and honor, even if both of those are skewed by his upbringing.  He’s agonizingly, painfully loyal, and it takes being abandoned to go mad, after finding out that Sidious might have lied to him about his future as a Sith Lord, before he even stops being loyal.  But the moment Savage comes into the picture, Maul’s again loyal, this time to someone who actually deserves it; enough to abandon battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi for the sake of his brother.

He has chinks in his hard, fucked up armor.  He absolutely respects a clever, honorable foe, enough to stand between them and death (Komari Vosa), or get pissed off at someone maybe killing an ally who stood with him enough to take revenge (Eogan); he tries to reassure Patch Bruit even as he’s advancing on the man with a lightsaber, in his hella awkward earnest way.  He responds to offers of friendship -- Kilindi, sadly Deenine (one of his own damned abusers) -- with an almost painful need, and while he’s not given opportunity once he’s older, somewhere all that lurks, because he’s still naming droids and bikes.

There lies a wellspring of patience in him, even when he’s young, especially towards his droids (or even other peoples’ droids); his ability and willingness to teach is built somewhere with this as a brick when he’s older and teaching his brother.

He often reflects his treatment; how you treat him does inform how he would treat you.  This is delicate, obviously, you can’t just walk up to him, throw arms around him and sob (though I definitely relate to the desire to), but someone good at reading people could very likely strike the right note to reach him without putting him too far on the defensive.

And Maul can perceive truthfulness.  He can sense when someone’s being honest or lying, if they aren’t shielding their intentions.

Why they work:  Leaving aside the logistics issue, and just focusing on their personalities--

Bail has a thing for the underdog; they don’t get much more underdog than Maul.

Maul is desperately lonely; having the honest, positive regard of anyone would be novel enough it might even short out his brain.  But even if it didn’t, it would absolutely throw him off balance.

Both of them are honorable and believe in fairness.  Both of them build a giant chunk of themselves around that.

Both of them are loyal, and once you have that loyalty, it takes so terribly much to break it.

Bail is innately kind.  Maul absolutely responds to kindness; he wouldn’t know what to do with it, it would make him uneasy probably at first, but boy, plant that seed and he’d keep bending towards it like a plant to water.

Bail’s purity of purpose -- to serve, to do good -- would resonate with Maul, because he also does the same!  He serves his master and tries desperately to gain his approval -- to do good in Sidious’s eyes.

Neither of them are cowards; both are willing to put their lives on the line for an objective.  For Bail, this is usually missions of mercy; for Maul, it’s usually in service to his Master, but either way, they’re both brave and determined.

While Maul doesn’t have much chance in canon or Legends to show his sense of humor, what tiny flickers we get of it shows a dry wit.  Bail would get that and play to it.

Neither of them are innately selfish.  Maul’s idea of selfishness is wanting acknowledged for doing good -- and if that’s not painful to think about, he also mentally beats himself up for just wanting that -- and Bail’s is to be wistful for a less heavy burden to carry.

There are more -- obviously -- but those are more than enough drydock to build a ship in.

Just aesthetically?  They’re both gorgeous, sheesh.  Take the snarl away, and Maul’s absolutely his own kind of beautiful, and Bail-- well.  Frankly, if you don’t think he’s hot, I don’t even know how you’re breathing, maybe you’re not, maybe we should check your pulse.  (Joking.  Mostly.)  Bail’s a head taller and overall just big, but Maul’s definitely no wilting little violet; he’s small (or smaul), but he has muscle, agility and grace.

Scenarios it could work in canon (adjust for Queen Breha as needed, because I absolutely love her, too):

GoT:A, obviously.  Heh.  There, Maul gets tossed into prison at age twelve (preceding poor Boba having the same done to him), Bail sees him on a tour when Maul’s fifteen and decides, “Nope, I’m not leaving him there.”  Takes him home, gives him stability and infinite patience and kindness and waits out the psychological damage manifesting itself, and does not realize that three years after that first sighting, Maul will be desperately, achingly pining for him, and in another two, will finally steel up enough to take a huge risk and kiss him.

Literally any scenario where Maul’s cut loose in some way Bail can encounter him, pre-Theed, in canon.  If you throw that kid into the wind at that age, he’s so ill-prepared to deal with the galaxy that he’d eventually grab hold with drowning desperation to any kind of purpose or direction.  Extra easy if Sidious is somehow dead.

Orsis gets raided.

Maul actually gets fucked up enough on some mission to land in a reputable hospital and can’t make an easy escape for whatever reason, injury or illness.

Sidious sends his apprentice before he’s ready to take a hit out on Bail and Maul flubs it somehow, thus landing himself in custody.

Post-Theed, but Maul gets captured before Lotho Minor; somehow, the Jedi don’t keep custody of him, and he ends up again imprisoned by the Republic.  His plight’s so bad there that when Bail finds out that he exists and what he’s had to live like, he starts doing something about it.

Rebellion-era: man, you could mine this one like gold.  Maul wants to hurt his master, Bail needs every skilled rebel he can get his hands on.  They work together for years.

Radical AU scenarios:

Anything.  Their chemistry is such that could make anything work with enough thought and care.

In conclusion: They have the exact kind of personalities to dovetail.  Bail has the kind of decency and kindness and honor that it wouldn’t take much for Maul to want to live up to expectations for him.  And Maul has his odd, guileless charm and a sweet streak that might get buried as he gets older, but that Bail would just find, dig out and nurture.  Maul would be a fierce protector of Bail; Bail would be the support and steady love and patience Maul really needs to reach his best possible self.  They would bring out a lot of each others’ best traits easily.  Maul would lean on Bail to work less and live more; Bail would encourage Maul to take a chance on trying new things, talking to new people.  They would likely have a very kind relationship with each other, and man, both of them could use all the kindness in the galaxy.

So, what are you waiting for?  XD Go write some.  Or I’ll just keep writing it (and begging for more).

[9823678]

Victory Lies Before You! (Back to Unova - Remix Album by Kunning Fox) #P...

[warriorxprewett-blog]

old fashioned | drabble.

Gideon Prewett liked to think that he was the future. What else could he have been? He’d excelled at most things in his life, pushed past other people (old and new) and had gotten himself into a pretty prominent position in his field of work. That classified as being the future if there was anything to go by, at least in his own, very humble, opinion. He knew that some people would think otherwise, that Fabian would’ve huffed and scoffed (albeit lovingly) in his face at the very words, but it didn’t bother the man- he knew where he stood and he knew how important his role was in this very world.

There was, of course, some dichotomy between being the future and some of the waysthat he’d often found himself doing his job. This classification also applied in other aspects of life; case in point, Gideon wasn’t one to be overjoyed at new flavours and mixes of firewhiskey, in his eyes things that were so good and did their job didn’t need to be replaced and remixed; keeping them at bay and in their rightful glory was to give them the proper respect that they needed. Voicing those opinions in a bustling bar, of course, was never the answer. Gideon Prewett was smart enough to know that much, but also stupid enough to completely ignore that idea all at the same time.

He'd found himself reclining against the mahogany of the bar, eyes busily scanning the people whose celebrations of the latest Harpies victory had begun to spill its way in. In an instant he knew that it’d make busy work of Edgar and although he took a solemn minute to mourn the poor basterd, he did find some entertainment in seeing the business fly him off the seat of his pants. The one thing that he was thankful for was the lack in presence of Madame Rosmerta, especially when tensions were heightened. Gideon always thought that her fiery misdemeanour was only further aided by the red hair which she had- Molly had the same as well, and he figured it stemmed from deep within. A fiery heart meant red hair, a warning to those who dared come close. It was probably Merlin’s funny way of letting everyone know, to warn them that to love someone with such a complexion was asking for the heat of fire- maybe redheads represented a dragon core in a world which seemed full of ice.

That was probably why the heavy hand on his shoulder had caused the guy to look up, a burly man standing over him that probably had too much to drink. He had previously been laughing at the situation before him, unbeknownst to the observation that he had become a part of. As he’d slowly stood, his eyes scanned the man.

    “Yer supportin’ the Irish?” He’d begun, breath heavy with the smell of whiskey. Gideon had to stop his eyes from tearing, had to fight to keep his eyes, cold as stone, on the man and to stand his ground. A shit-eating grin had made its way to grace his lips, head tilting in such a way that it could only cause annoyance. “Oh I see- you think it’s a joke? The Harpies kickin their arse ain’t no joke!”

It was momentous, his slurring speech had caused a speck of spit to fly skilfully into the air and land onto his cheek, producing a grimace from Gideon. He’d moved his hand to wipe his cheek, smile still poised onto his lips.

  “Listen, mate. I didn’t say anything. It’s just a match-“

   “Just a match?! All lies.” At the rate he was flouncing about, Gideon was surprised that he hadn’t fallen on his arse and liked a turtle on its shell had not been able to get up again. In truthfulness, there were more questionable things in life- like, one would say, the Harpies’ victory over the Irish. Not that he’d say it out loud.

Well, not with his mouth. His face however? It seemed to say a million words, or so that was what Molly often said… and he understood that it his family, for what it was, whatever Molly Prewett said goes.

He was about to let it go- ‘be the bigger man’ as he was often taught, but the things the next venomous words that had left the larger wizard’s lips left nothing but boiling blood inside of Gideon.

   “I know you- ain’t ya sister… I bet she supports the Harpies. Knows how ta ride a broom too, the fiery little thing.”

His face had dropped at a moment’s notice as the man’s hand had moved to grab his wand- Gideon had scoffed at the gesture.

   “What, scared ta use your wand?”

His tone was low, eyes clouded in an anger that seemed unimaginable, at least for him.

   “I don’t pedal backwards, but I live old-fashioned.” And with that he’d raised his fist and went straight towards trying to knock the bastard’s teeth down his throat.

[commanderquill]

One Step Closer

Pairing: Tim Drake/Jason Todd

Rating: Not Rated

Genre: Adventure/Mystery

Words: 100K+

Summary: Tim Drake can’t help it, he’s a sucker for mystery and there isn’t a mystery like Batman and Robin. There’s something taboo, forbidden and thrilling to hiding on rooftops for hours just to catch pictures of them in action -- pictures no one else has ever taken. These misadventures lead him to an odd acquaintance with a tire thief named Jay, who becomes an unexpected constant during Tim’s nighttime escapades.

When Jay disappears and no one will tell him where he’s gone, Tim figures it’s up to him to rescue his friend. But for some reason, amongst his investigations into the strange uprise of human disappearances around Gotham, Robin is there, preventing Tim from getting into too much trouble -- and trying to keep him away from his search for Jay.

The network of kidnappings only seems to keep getting bigger and bigger, until Tim finally turns his sights to the one percenters of the city, because Bruce Wayne is acting suspicious and Tim will find a connection to these human disappearances if it’s the last thing he does. After all, rarely are people ever what they seem, and in Gotham, rich money is always dirty.

CLICK HERE TO READ

Excerpt From Chapter 2:

“I ripped him off.”

They’re sitting on a low rooftop sandwiched between two taller buildings. Beneath them, Tim can feel the pulsing of a nightclub, the beat thump-thumping through his thighs and into his chest. The sun is low in the sky but not yet fallen, though it’s well into the evening anyway due to the summer time hours.

“You ripped your broker off?” Tim asks. Their conversation is oddly quiet despite the loud music. Slow and almost emotionless. That’s fine by him. They’re both still digesting the day’s events. “I thought it’s supposed to be the other way around.”

“It is,” Jay says. “That’s why he’s pissed.”

“Oh.” Silence.

“Y’know, I wouldn’t of done it if he’d give them their fair cut,” Jay frowns. “What he’s doin’ isn’t right. The other kids’ll pick pockets and steal and bribe to get a handful of shiny things or whatever he’s callin’ for and he sends them off with barely half of what it’s worth and they can’t do nothing about it ‘cause he’s the only one in town. Only broker. So I lied ‘bout the tire. Carved in new tread, made it too thin on purpose so it wouldn’t last. Polished over the name, lied about the type. Ripped him off by a couple hundred bucks. He barely gives out hundreds to start, but he thought it was real nice.”

Tim nods.

“And then I threw a bottle bomb in his office. His favourite couch has a hole in it,” Jay finally smirks.

Tim doesn’t even mind. “And of course, I pepper-sprayed him and his buddy.”

“Of course.”

“Twice.”

Jay huffs a laugh. Another moment passes before Tim joins him with a small smile of his own.“Y’know,” he says, finally turning to Tim. “We make a pretty good team.”

“Yeah,” Tim admits shyly, looking down at the muddy toes of his sneakers dangling off the edge of the roof. “I guess we do.”

Tim ultimately decides that the day has been given enough thought and turns his attention to attempting to judge what song is playing based on the beat reverberating through his limbs. He thinks it might be a remix of Mama by David Guetta, not like that song doesn’t have enough remixes, when Jay speaks. Tim almost doesn’t hear him.

“You’re still lookin’ for Bat and brat, right?” he asks innocently. Tim turns to him in surprise.

“I--uh,” he stammers, embarrassed. “Yeah.”

“Cool. Lemme know if you catch ‘em.”

The comment is so absurd that Tim can’t help but hang his head and laugh at it. “I’m not trying to catch them. They’re not Pokemon.”

“They probably were in another life,” Jay shrugs. He’s trying to hide his mirth but Tim can see it in the quirk of his lips. “What are you tryin’ to do, then?”

Tim has to think about that for a moment. “Not sure,” he finally says. “I think I just want to know that I did it. That I figured out who they are. The biggest mystery in modern-day Gotham, solved by the little kid nobody thought anything of. Plus, they’re...kind of my role models. Robin is, anyway.”

A smirk. “You wanna find out who bird brains is so you can ask ‘im out?”

Tim elbows him. Jay winces for a split second, his ribs must be bruised, but he recovers before Tim can apologise. “No. I don’t know. Knowledge is power, I guess.”

Jay nods in understanding. “I get it.”

“You do?” Tim asks. “The people I know don’t. They’re all thinking about...other things. Social status and stuff. What people are posting on Instagram.” He pauses, not sure if Jay wants to hear more, but the boy doesn’t say anything, just looks at him blankly and Tim finds himself talking before he can think about monitoring what comes out. “Like, no one pays attention in my science class, but my teacher loves to talk and he’ll go on about anything, and last week he started talking about what Gotham was like when he was little. He’s really old. And no one was listening, but then he started talking about the abandoned Subway tunnels. So I looked it up, and you wouldn’t believe how big it is. It connects anything and everything and no one remembers it exists. But there’s these pictures on the Newtown construction page. It’s at the very bottom of this 90-something page paper about politics and rules and stuff, but it’s there, and I found it and printed it out and put it in the box under my bed.

“I like to learn more about anything I hear, no matter how useless people think it is, because you never know when you’re going to want it. Sometimes I’ll hear something and my first thought is, ‘That’s useful’, but I don’t know why it’s useful and I don’t know what I’d use it for,” Tim finishes. “But I keep a note of it anyway, just in case.” Jay doesn’t say anything for another moment, just kicks his legs. “It’s not like that here,” he says finally. “I mean, yeah, what’s useful is a bit different, but… If you know these streets, you control these streets.” He looks at Tim, trying to see if Tim understands, and must see that Tim doesn’t because he tries elaborating. “Like Tommy. My broker you pepper-sprayed? He knows the street kids in these parts, and he’s all buddy-buddy with the gangs. He knows where to walk and where to not. He knows who to rip off and who to stay away from, so he can get money in all the right places and no one can stop him because then he puts a stop to them. Gangs don’t bother him because he knows enough secrets that he can hold it over them, make sure they don’t mess with him because he has something in his head they’re afraid of.

“It’s all about the secrets. A street looks like any other street, it’s what’s goin’ on behind the walls that you gotta worry about, that you gotta know, because if you have nothing to take from someone else, someone else is gonna take from you.” Jay nods to himself. “Yeah. Knowing too much is better than knowing nothin’ at all.”

It’s...comforting, hearing Jay say all of that. “There’s a lot I don’t know, though,” Tim says cautiously. “Like how the streets work. You’re the one with the street smarts. I’m just book smart.”

Jay cocks his head curiously. “Yeah? Don’t expect you to. You’re not from ‘round here.”

“Doesn’t mean I should be stupid about it.”

“What’s your point?”

“If I hang around long enough, you’ll teach me, right?” Tim asks. He knows he’s asking for a lot, but he doesn’t know whether or not it’s too much.

Jay frowns. “Teach you?”

“Yeah. Show me what it’s like here. Or at least, how to live here.”

That earns him an eyebrow raise. “You’re gonna have to actually live here for that. But…,” Jay continues before Tim can feel disheartened. “Sure. Hang around me. Shouldn’t be too bad. But I got rules.”

“Like?” Tim prods.

“Like, you gotta listen to what I say. If I say do something, you do it. Even if it seems weird. Also, I do all the talkin’. I can make you look like a rat, but anyone hear the way you talk and they’ll throw you to the wolves. You gotta learn how to not paint a target on your back.”

Tim nods slowly. “I have a rule, too.”

Jay’s eyes narrow. “Yeah?”

“No throwing either of us to the wolves,” he smiles. “You have my back, I have yours.”

Jay looks surprised, like that’s the last thing he expected to come out of Tim’s mouth. Oddly enough, that fills Tim with a sense of pride. He sticks his hand out. Jay looks at it like he can’t figure out what a hand is, and Tim feels a bit comical, but he’s nothing if not determined. He leans forward to whisper conspiratorially: “You’re supposed to shake it.”

Jay scowls and grabs his hand. Tim gives it a single, firm shake. “Then it’s official.”

“What is?”

“Our friendship.”

A sense of victory floods Tim when Jay’s mouth breaks out into a grin. “Whatever, Sherlock.”

They sit in companionable silence before a thought occurs to Tim. “If I’m Sherlock, are you Watson?”

“Isn’t Watson an idiot?”

“Only in some versions.”

“Go figure.”

[mizunocaitlin]

An Indictment of The Child and his Creator

There are a lot of scenes and narrative elements in The Last Jedi that add an air of unpleasantness to an otherwise entertaining spectacle. Seeing a woman being pushed to side with a volatile, abusive man who had literally attempted to murder her just days before made that epic lightsaber battle less satisfying. Seeing a person of color dismissed as rash an impulsive just because he wants to know what's going on made the snark of the battle victories less sweet. Learning that another queer-coded character was shoved into a tragic death as so many queer-coded characters are made her stint in leadership seem more like a farce. I could go on.

But the most insidious scene was the force sensitive slave child at the end of the film.

We first see the servant or slave children, impoverished and abused, as a parallel to Rose's childhood. Rose literally points to the children as an explanation of her own life and the reason the capitalists in the city are bad. This was me. I was hurt like this. It has driven me and guided my life choices. If they had left it there, it would be a somber look at what the wars in Star Wars really meant for the beings living in those stars.

But it wasn't left there.  

At the end of the film we see one of these children, an abused boy, tell his friend the story of Luke Skywalker with his toys. The message the director wanted to send seemed clear to me, then. Luke was his idol. Kylo Ren is his proxy. This child getting his head filled by the tale of Star Wars is his future, his idealism. This child, we're supposed to think, is another nobody who can and maybe will rise to carry the torch of the Light and fight against the Dark. Just like Rey! The Jedi order will live on! Yay!

Except I didn't feel that at all.

I found myself instead rolling my eyes as the boy called his broom to himself with the Force. Great. Another white male ready to be the hero. That's just what we need. Another idealistic young white man to save us. Fantastic. “Hope.”

But, look at that kid. Look at him. What is he? A small slave boy, powerful in the Force. A boy with a lot to be angry about. A boy with ambition, dreams, idols. These slave kids were ready to stick it to their masters, after all. He’s old enough to have opinions on his lot in life. He wouldn’t take well to indoctrination. Wait a minute...

HE IS FUNCTIONALLY IDENTICAL TO ANAKIN SKYWALKER. He’s even the same age. 

Snoke, Luke, and Yoda all speak with one voice in this film. All of them know that the Force exists as a natural facet of this universe. It is not a power, per se, it's the fabric of the universe itself. You merely interact with it. The Jedi and the Sith are not the Force, they are simply religions built around it. Luke's disgust with the Jedi is refreshing.

The Jedi knew a lot of things. But, they were deeply imperfect. It was pretty clear from Obi-wan's lies and Yoda's cynicism in the original trilogy, that the Jedi weren't quite the ideal warrior monks legend had made them out to be. Even Yoda admits this. It's like how people who have read the Bible cover to cover can tell you how philosophically uneven it is. The more Luke learned about the Jedi and himself, the more he saw how flawed they were and he was. And then he decides to let the past die. Let me be the last Jedi. Start something new, instead. Yeah!

…but he doesn't. Yoda burns down the tree, but the books are saved. It was like a punch in the gut seeing those books on the Falcon to me. Weren't we going to forge our own paths? The foolishness of the Jedi is now in Rey's hands and out there is the future Darth Vader, ready to rise and fall and complete the cycle again. Nobody learned anything!

You can see how this probably slipped under the director's radar. The Force Awakens exists as The Art of the Remix. JJ Abrams, flawed human that he is, sought to channel the old and push it into the new. He did this, too, with Star Trek, of course. Take the signature lines, the aesthetic, the archetypes, the narrative structure, and rework it. Craft it into a commentary on itself. Like taking a Lego set and setting aside the instructions and building something different with the same pieces. Whether he was successful, you can decide for yourself. But, that's what he was going for, in my opinion. As a result he set up a main character trio to parallel but challenge the original dynamic. What if Han was the rebel instead of Leia? Poe. What if Leia was a pilot instead of a strategist and diplomat? Poe. What if Luke had gotten his way and joined, then been absorbed into the military like he talked about? Finn. What if gearhead Han was a desert dwelling force sensitive? Rey. Each of the three was so well set up to inherit the legacy of at least two of their predecessors that most of us bought in right away.

But Rian threw that out the window to make Kylo Ren the main character of the Last Jedi. Because he identifies with Kylo Ren. He wants us to identify with Kylo Ren. He wants us to look past the crimes of Kylo because Kylo felt betrayed. He wants us to feel like there's two sides there. There... really isn't. And, so, I don't doubt that Rian has no idea he created and offered up his little hope child as direct parallel to Anakin. Because he probably sees Anakin as relatable, too.

Snoke himself even said it. When something powerful rises on one side (Kylo on the darkside) then something rises to challenge it (Rey on the light). It's an arms race. Snoke dies, Luke dies, and Rey is rising to take on Kylo. And, well, now we have a little heir to Snoke in the style of Vader cleaning out stables and hating the 1% ready to take on Rey once Kylo's been defeated.

It's depressing is what it is.

[astral-multiverse]

Super Smash Bros. Multiverse: Brandon Astral Moveset + Extra

Stage Entrance: Brandon flies in and poses as he adjusts his cap before getting into his stance

Alternate Costumes: Default, Fire Brandon, Black and Gold colors, Gaiso colors, Starri colors, Darius colors, Sherman colors, Female Alternate Costume

Moves

Neutral Jab/Rapid Jab: Throws two straight punches with his clawed gauntlets and ends with a sword stab. Rapid Jab is him rapidly slashing forward

Side Tilt: Horizontal sword slash

Up Tilt: Shoots an arrow with his new crossbow into the air and the arrow splits into two, falling down on each side

Down Tilt: Swings his hammer low to deal heavy damage. Slow, but powerful

Dash Attack: Holds sword out and spins around like a tornado, moving forward and getting dizzy

Side Smash: Comet Punch. Charges up a powerful punch, longer you charge the more powerful it gets

Up Smash: Quasar Shock. Fires a huge bolt of electricity into the air to attack above him

Down Smash: Nova Spire. Punches ground to make two pillars of fire erupt on both sides of him

Neutral Air: Deep Space Freeze. Spins around in air with arms spread out, unleashing a cold aura around himself

Forward Air: Crescent Kick. Does a front flip with leg extended forward, hitting opponent with an axe kick. Spikes at heel of his shoe

Back Air: Turns to use whip behind him

Up Air: Does a flip kick

Down Air: Meteor Crash. Goes straight down as he curls up into a ball and surrounds himself in flames. The higher he is, the more powerful it is. Has a set distance

Neutral Special: Star Gun. Charges up his shot, up to five stars can be charged up and fired. Charge can be held

Side Special: Rocket Charge. Surrounds self in flames and flies forward. Similar to Charizard's Flare Blitz, but isn't as powerful and has no recoil damage

Up Special: Rocket Boost. Similar to Palutena's Rocket Jump, but goes higher and does more damage

Down Special: Astral Charge. Aura spikes around Brandon, damaging whoever is near him. He then absorbs the aura, making his next Star Powered attack stronger

Grab: Grabs with one hand

Pummel: Punches with a weaker Comet Punch

Throws

Forward: Shoulder tackles the foe forward after stunning them with his Quasar Shock

Up: Summons a Nova Spire to launch foe into the air

Back: Spins around and uses Stellar Twister to throw opponent backwards

Down: Uses Cosmic Whip to grab opponent and swings them overhead to slam them into the ground

Final Smash: Ultimate Synergy Attack! Brandon transforms into his SuperStar form and uses his Vaccuum Force attack to suck in enemies. The ones caught in it get taken into a Cinematic Final Smash where Brandon and Bella and their team in their Synergy forms to pummel the opponents and finish with their ultimate Synergy Attack: Team Synergy Flare. Anyone over 100% gets instantly KOed. Bella also won't appear if she's fighting against Brandon

Extras

Taunts:

Up- Spins around and poses while winking and flashing a peace sign (Or V sign)

Down- BEC flies off of his wrist and Brandon starts typing something on her holo-screen before BEC goes back to his wrist

Side- Brandon shrugs his shoulders and says "You sure you're ready?"

Idle Animations-

Regular- Stands with his hand resting on his side

1- Folds arms and taps his bicep with his index finger and tapping his foot

2- Floats in air and lies back with his hands behind his head and legs crossed, like he's sitting in a chair

3- Stretches body and yawns

Victory Theme- Remix of Starman theme

Victory Poses:

1- Brandon lands while sliding on the ground a bit before he performs two roundhouse kicks and finishes by posing with a peace sign, saying "Behold the power of the stars!"

2- Brandon's teammates celebrate by toss him into the air a few times before they throw him one last time, causing him to flip in the air a few times and land, posing with his friends afterwards

3- Camera starts in one of Brandon's eyes as it's shining like stars before it zooms out and Brandon starts posing with his hands flaring with his cosmic aura, saying "They don't call me the Hero of the Stars for nothing!"

Boxing Ring Title: Hero of the Stars

Crowd Cheer: B-R-A-N-D-O-N, Let's Go! B-R-A-N-D-O-N, ASTRAL!!

[districofcolumbiaprelawland-blog]

R. Kelly: Sex, Girls & Videotapes

By Nana Evison, George Washington University Class of 2021

February 8, 2019

Robert Sylvester Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. R. Kelly has written, produced, and recorded multiple number one musical records such as I Believe I Can Fly, Bump N’ Grind, Ignition (Remix), and many more. Throughout his 25-year career, Kelly has sold approximately 60 million records.  Although his relevance has faded to some extent, he is still a musical genius in high demand for concerts, endorsements, television and radio appearances, and magazine profiles [1]. While his fame and success are undeniable, Kelly’s life off-stage alludes to sexual deviancy and predatory behavior since the 1990s.

In 1994, he married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah at a secret ceremony in Chicago when he was 27 years old. To lawfully wed, Aaliyah lied on the wedding certification listing herself as 18. A few months later their marriage was annulled [2].

In 1996, Tiffany Hawkins, an aspiring singer filed suit against Kelly and his record, publishing, and management companies. She claimed to have suffered from personal injuries and severe emotional harm because she had sex with R. Kelly, and he encouraged her to participate in group sex with him and other underaged girls [3]. Her relationship with Kelly began in 1991, when she was 15 and he was 24. In 1994, after their relationship ended she slit her wrists in an attempt to kill herself. She settled her lawsuit with Kelly and signed a confidentiality agreement, prohibiting her from sharing her story with the world [1].

In January of 2001, Jim Derogatis, a music critic who worked at the Chicago Sun Times, received a video tape that appeared to show Kelly having sex with a young girl. The tape was later turned over to Chicago police, out of concern that the girl in the recording was underaged [4].

In August of 2001, Tracy Sampson sued R. Kelly for inducing her into an indecent sexual relationship during her time as an intern at Epic Records, at 17 years old. In her lawsuit, she wrote “I was coerced into receiving oral sex from a girl that I did not want to have sex with. I was often treated as his personal sex object and cast aside. He would tell me to come to his studio and have sex with him, then tell me to go. He often tried to control every aspect of my life including who I would see and where I would go [1].”

In February of 2002, another sex videotape was sent anonymously, leading to a police investigation on Kelly [4]. It allegedly showed Kelly having sex with an underaged girl and urinating on her. The girl’s aunt, R&B singerSparkle identified her and stated that she would’ve been 14 at the time of the tape’s recording. In 2013, Derogatis recalled “you watch the video for which he was indicted and there is the disembodied look of the rape victim. He orders her to call him Daddy. He urinates in her mouth and instruct her at great length on how to position herself to receive his “gift.” It’s a rape that you’re watching. So we’re not talking about rock star behavior, which men and women can do. We’re talking about predatory behavior. Their lives were ruined [1].” Several copies of the videotape were sold and distributed on the streets, across the world [4].

In April of 2002, Patrice Jones filed suit against Kelly. She claimed that Kelly impregnated her and then coerced her into having an abortion. Her lawsuit claimed Kelly made a promise to Jones, assuring her assistance with her music career. He said that he would teach her about the music business as he had sex with her at ages 16 and 17. Jones’ lawyer claimed that at the time of the lawsuit, the abortion was having a serious impact on her mental state of mind [1].The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum [4].

In May of 2002, Dancer Montina “Tina” Woods filed suit against Kelly for taping their sexual encounter without her consent and the tape was being purchased. Soon after, the case was settled for an undisclosed sum [4].

A month later, Kelly is charged with 21 counts of child pornography, involving intercourse, oral sex, urination, and other sexual acts. He posted $750,000 bailed and immediately denied the charges in an interview with MTV and later pleaded not guilty [2]. Six years after he was first indicted, Kelly was found not guilty in June 2008, after the girl in the videotape refused to testify in court. He was acquitted on all counts and charges. Then, the judge in the case threw a party and invited the defense, prosecution, court personnel and reporters covering the trial, to celebrate Kelly’s victory [1]. 

In July of 2017, Buzzfeed published an article outlining claims that R. Kelly is keeping women against their will in an abusive cult that’s tearing families apart. Three former members of Kelly’s inner circle have attested to this cult that the families often speak of. They said that six women live in properties rented by Kelly in Chicago and the Atlanta suburbs and Kelly controls every aspect of their lives by dictating what they eat, how they dress, when they bathe, when they sleep, and how they engage in sexual encounters that he records. J. and Tim, parents of one of the women living with Kelly, recalls the last time that they saw their daughter. J. said, “it was as if she was brainwashed. [She] looked like a prisoner – it was horrible. I hugged and hugged her. But she just kept saying she’s in love and [Kelly] is the one who cares for her. I don’t know what to do. I hope that if I get back, I can get her treatment for victims of cults. They can reprogram her. But I wish I could have stopped it from happened [5].”

Jones and McGee said that they resided with Kelly and had sexual relationships with him at different times, over the course of five years, before they left Kelly’s cult. They said that Kelly controlled their phone and usage of social media. They weren’t permitted to take photos with Kelly or of the rooms that they resided in. Mack, Jones, and McGee claimed that women who live with Kelly are forced to referred to him as “Daddy” while he calls them his “babies”. They must attain permission from Kelly in order to leave their assigned rooms in suburban Atlanta or the recording studio. He confiscates the women’s cell phones to prevent them from communicating with their families. Then, he provides them with new phones that they are only allowed to use to contact him or others with his consent. McGee and Jones said that Kelly records his sexual activities and shows the videos to men in his inner circle. If the women break any of Kelly’s rules, he verbally and physically abuses them. Jones claims that Kelly held her against a tree and slapped her outside of a Subway sandwich shop in 2013 for being too friendly with the male Subway cashier. McGee doesn’t attest to seeing Kelly hit anyone; but admits that he was running a “cult” and manipulated her emotionally and sexually [5].

In January of 2019, Surviving R. Kelly, a documentary series premiered and included survivors and people from Kelly’s inner circle that are coming forward with new allegations about his sexual, mental, and physical abuse. They are able to voice their narratives and share details with the public that have never been spoken [6]. He is currently under investigation in the state of Georgia after the airing of the documentary [7].

The singer has denied all allegations made against him and has not been convicted of any crime. However, the past and recent allegations reveal how society feels about black young girls and women. In 2013, Derogatis stated “the saddest fact that I’ve learned is: Nobody matters less to our society than young black women. Nobody. They have any compliant about the way that they are treated: They are “bitches, hos, and gold-diggers,” plain and simple. Kelly never misbehaved with a single white girl who sued him or that we know of.” Black young women do not matter in the eyes of society. We are flowers in society that are not watered but somehow continue to grow and prosper.

________________________________________________________________

[1] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/r-kelly-sex-abuse-allegations_us_56797582e4b06fa6887eb270

[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40635526

[3]https://www.scribd.com/doc/152989248/R-Kelly-Timeline-Chicago-Sun-Times-Coverage?campaign=SkimbitLtd&ad_group=38395X1559468X6ae2806a278e990392d1ff762fcd5c63&keyword=660149026&source=hp_affiliate&medium=affiliate

[4] https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/entertainment/r-kelly-timeline/index.html

[5]https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jimderogatis/parents-told-police-r-kelly-is-keeping-women-in-a-cult

[6] https://www.mylifetime.com/shows/surviving-r-kelly/about

[7] https://people.com/music/r-kelly-under-investigation-georgia-following-documentary-report/

Photo Credit: Andrew Steinmetz