#i really hope the producers and the directors would listen to what the public is saying

[wreckedandpolemic]

yours - george daniel

(mdni) thank you anon for this request i had a SPECTACULAR time with this i hope i did it justice!!

warnings: 18+, semi-public unprotected sex, degradation, praise, jealousy, bratting, slight exhibitionism

It starts the way it always does: teasing. You don’t think you've taken your eyes off George once since he left your side, always ready with a smirk or sly wink when he catches your gaze.  He’s talking to some indie darling or other, a pretty girl, really, but you can see her hand practically white-knuckling his bicep from across the room. She smiles too big and laughs too hard and you hate her, just a little bit. You can’t stop her — you have no reason to. George isn’t yours, not really. The two of you fuck. It’s not exclusive, there’s no strings, but you’re starting to realise you might have let him in one too many times, let him jam something in the door to your heart; you can’t lock it back up when he leaves anymore.

 George locks eyes with you, expression pleading, and you suppress a victorious grin and delicately lift a shoulder in his direction. This is a game you play; he loves it when you get jealous, though neither of you would admit it. You want him all to yourself, want to march over there and prise that girl’s fingers off him, demand that he never so much as look at another girl. But that would be losing, which you’re not in the habit of, so you swallow your bitter fury and wash it down with a long sip of sweet wine, staring intensely at him over the rim of your glass. The girl goes on tiptoes to whisper something to him, and he stoops low to listen, two blonde heads bending together conspiratorially. Worse, he laughs in response, not a polite, awkward chuckle, but a genuine laugh. And he doesn’t look back at you afterwards.

You drain the rest of your wine and set the glass back on the table with a too-loud thud. Making your excuses to the director? producer? you’ve been chatting with, you stroll across the room, feigned casualness becoming harder to maintain with every step. The self-congratulatory smirk on his face as you approach is aggravating. He’s won and he knows it.

“Well, hello, love. I was wondering when I’d get to chat to you,” he says, hugging you from the side and letting his hand linger low on your waist for just a moment longer than he should. “Was starting to think you were avoiding me,” he adds, voice heavy with meaning, dripping with the unsaid.

“You know I can’t keep away from you for too long,” you grin, trailing a finger down his chest. It’s hot in here, his shirt unbuttoned as much as it’s acceptable, giving you the tiniest preview of the toned chest you know so well. The other girl hasn’t said a word, but she’s still lingering, her presence an unwelcome stain on the moment blossoming around the two of you, both curbing your tongues for her benefit. “Come on, I need a refill. We can catch up at the bar.” You phrase it like a suggestion, but he knows from the way your nails dig into his arm through his suit jacket that it’s a command. He leads you away and you shoot the girl a warning glare as you go for good measure.

“You look incredible,” he murmurs low in your ear, splaying a hand at your waist. The warmth of his palm radiates through you, some Pavlovian response to the simple feel of his fingers on your skin making you suppress a shudder. 

“Thank you, darling. I guess you’re alright,” you tease. He raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Fine, you’re fucking gorgeous.” You wander over to the bar, and you let him order for the pair of you. He knows what you like, anyway. Probably better than any man on Earth.

You still keep your eyes averted, though, because you knows as soon as you meet his eyes, he’ll say, “You really didn’t want me talking to her, huh?”

You roll your eyes, feigning nonchalance. “Oh, please. You were begging me to get rid of her. Besides, tiny, pretty little thing like her? She couldn’t have handled you.” You shrug. The bartender sets two glasses of wine in front of you, one red, one white, and he takes a long sip before replying.

“Maybe you’re right. I’ll never know, now. You dragged me out of there before I could even get her name.” Smug satisfaction courses through you — you’ve got your claws firmly hooked into him, at least for tonight. You bite back the reply of ‘Good. Forget her. Forget them all,’ that springs to your lips. You’re cool, you remind yourself. You’re relaxed and chill, and you can do casual. You’re not that cliché girl who falls in love with her fuckbuddy.

He runs a finger along the edge of your jaw, dipping down to play with your necklace. “My eyes are up here, darling,” you tell him, his warm hands nauseatingly close to your traitorous, beating heart. It thuds harder, calling out to him. You pray he can’t tell that if he wanted to crack your ribs, reach in and pluck your heart from its place in your chest, that you would let him. You wouldn’t even resist.

“I know what I’m looking at,” he says. “God, you can see everything through this dress.” He raises his other hand, knuckles grazing your nipple accidentally-on-purpose, and tucks a flyaway piece of hair behind your ear.

You swallow a moan, leaning close enough to him that his breath ghosts on your face. He tilts your chin up with a thumb, parting his lips in expectation. “You’re a fucking cock-tease bitch,” you murmur with a scowl, startling him into a laugh; that endearing, high pitched cackle that shakes his shoulders near-violently. “Where the fuck do you get off, flirting with her just to piss me off? Touching me like that in public?”

One of his hands glides down to the thigh-high slit in your dress, thumbing over the skin there. Electricity races from the point his fingers touch your skin, so close to where you want them and yet miles and miles away. “You wanna play, baby? Let’s play,” you breathe, gripping his neck and crashing your lips together. It’s harsh, messy, an explosion of lips and teeth and tongues sliding together. You pull back, biting hard at his lower lip just to feel the flesh tear beneath your teeth. To leave your mark on him so that when he kisses the next girl, the sting reminds him of you.

“You’re fucking wild,” he hisses, tongue flicking over your bite mark.

You shrug. “Don’t piss me off next time.” You pat his chest and lean past him to pick up your wine glass, brushing deliberately against him. “Come find me when you’re ready to get out of here. And you’re not gonna like what I do if you try it on with one more bitch in front of my face,” you promise, turning your back to him and taking a few calculated steps away before throwing him a glance over your shoulder.

“Oh, and George? Can I tell you a secret? I’m not wearing any underwear.”

He freezes and you give a self-satisfied grin. Your victory is short-lived, though, his hand shooting out to catch you by the wrist as you try to walk away. He tugs you back towards him, and you obey easily. There was never any question that you would, really. “You’re not fucking going anywhere,” he hisses in your ear. “Come with me,” he orders, keeping your wrist in a vice-like grip as he drags you out of the room. He doesn’t look at you once the whole time he stalks down the corridor, the only sound your heels clicking against the tile as you struggle to keep pace with him.

George crowds you into a bathroom, attacking your lips the moment the door slams closed. You barely register the quiet click of the lock, letting him flip you so your back is against the door and pin your arms above your head. The second he frees your mouth you moan, trying to squirm away from his lips against your neck and collarbones, but he holds you fast. He dips his head into the valley between your breasts, licking at the skin there. “I love your fucking tits,” he says, mouthing wetly over the fabric that covers your nipple.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” you sigh, voice full of false bravado that can’t cover how weak his touch makes you. “Get on with it, or people are going to notice we’re missing,”

“Greedy girl,” George chastises, but his eyes shine with want and his hard cock presses against you through his trousers. He steps back, and your whole body mourns the loss of his skin against yours, aching for him. “Bend over for me, baby,” he orders, a bolt of lust striking you. He knows acutely that all he has to do is tack on for me? and you’ll do whatever he asks. You lean over the sink, cold porcelain biting into your thighs. His eyes meet yours in the mirror, and he lowers his head to kiss your bare back. It’s soft, intimate, in stark contrast to the rough way he’s handling you. It adds fuel to the sickening flare of hope deep in your chest that gutters and gutters but never goes out. “Keep your eyes on me, okay?” He’s gentle, all of a sudden, gathering your dress in one fist and pulling it to the side. You gasp, your cunt fluttering in the cool air, and George grins.

“Come on, just fuck me,” you groan, rocking your bare cunt against him, the friction from the fabric of his clothes burning your clit deliciously. Your breath fogs up the mirror, the tap presses uncomfortably between your breasts and the corner of the counter cuts into your thighs. You hardly feel any of it, singularly focused on the man behind you. He removes his steadying hand from your hip, unbuckling his belt and shoving his trousers and boxers down just enough to release his cock. You contort your body, twisting to look over your shoulder at him, his cock red and dripping, begging for you. He still looks so put together, crisp and elegant in his suit, his reflection immaculate above you. You look even more wanton by comparison, hair tumbling over your shoulders and lipstick smeared across your chin. Desperate, hot desire drips out of you, your pussy clenching around nothing.

“Beg for it,” he orders, and you’re too far gone to feel embarrassed. He slides a hand between your legs, just barely grazing at your clit. “Oh, God, George, please fuck me,” you moan, mind-wiping pleasure licking from where he toys gently with your swollen bud. “Shit, I need it. Nobody fucks me like you, baby. It’s you, it’s you, it’s always you,” you gasp, biting down on your lower lip before you let slip another incriminating admission.

He swipes a finger across your cunt, dipping teasingly into your entrance and pulling away before you can even react. He licks your arousal off his finger, both of you moaning softly. “Wish we had enough time for me to eat that sweet little pussy. Always so fucking wet for me. Don’t worry, baby, you’ll get what you need,” he promises. You watch him reach into his pocket for a condom and shake your head wildly. “Oh, my dirty girl,” he murmurs, interest colouring his tone. My, your heart gets caught on. My, my, my. My girl. The words ricochet in your skull, bashing against your brain, denting it, leaving it bent out of shape with enough room for George to shove his way in and stay firmly glued there. “You want it raw?”

You nod desperately. “Want it fast. Hard. Dirty,” you plead. “Come on, baby. Ruin me.” At that, he can’t stay teasingly out of your reach any longer, guiding himself to your dripping entrance and thrusting into you in one fluid motion. You’re full so fast you’re practically choking on him, biting down hard to keep a scream at bay. You marvel every time at how well he fits inside you; your body feels made for him. Coherent thought escapes you, euphoria twining through all of your limbs at once.

He paws at your tit with the hand not holding your dress, pinching your nipple cruelly and sending a shock of pleasure-pain spiralling through you. His thrusts are quick but measured, exercising a control that you can’t even begin to fathom as you cling to the edge of the sink for dear life. Your thighs bash against the counter, but you can’t even begin to care. The only thing you know now is George. His hand digging into your waist, nails biting at your flesh, sharp pinpricks drawing a constellation of pleasure in your skin. You’ll be glad, tomorrow, to have the marks, the physical evidence of this encounter, proof of the ownership you feel over him.

“Is someone in there?” somebody calls from outside. You freeze. George only laughs, low and breathy in your ear, teasing, taunting.

“Well? Is someone here, baby?” he whispers, fucking into you again as he speaks.

You choke back a whimper, thrill stealing up your spine at the prospect of getting caught. Someone is right there. If they decide to open the door, there’s no hiding the dirty display you and George are putting on. Being seen like this, bent over, stuffed full of him and begging for more should be humiliating, but inexplicably you almost want to be caught. Maybe, if those girls out there could see how perfectly you fit, how well you fuck him, they’d leave him alone.

“Yeah, I’m in here,” you choke out, clapping a hand to your mouth to stifle a moan when George rolls your clit between his fingers, hot euphoria dripping down your spine. “I’ll— I’ll probably be a second!” you manage, his teasing fingers not giving you even a moment to breathe. Footsteps recede from behind the door and you breathe a sigh of relief, letting a string of suppressed whines and curses fall from your lips. Before you can chastise him, he perfectly hits that spot inside of you and you scream out, mind going blank from pleasure.

He groans. “You’re so fucking beautiful like this, baby. My sweet girl, stretching so pretty around my cock.” You whimper, widening your legs to draw him in deeper. George lifts your head up by your hair, forcing you to make eye contact with yourself in the mirror. “Look at yourself,” he commands. “Look at my pretty girl, falling apart for me.” Your soupy mind latches onto that my again, that little word choking you as effectively as if he had wrapped his hands around your throat. “Made to take my cock. Isn’t that right?”

“Tell me you’re mine,” you gasp, so, so full of him.

“What?” he manages between pants, hips never slowing from their brutal pace. Your skin slaps together, wet, sopping sounds ringing through the small room.

“Fuck, George, just say you’re mine. You don’t even have to mean it,” you coax, moaning low in your throat when his fingers brush your clit. “Come on, baby. Who else do you get it this good from? You know you own my fucking pussy. Let me pretend I get something back,”

He stills for a split second, as though your words cut through the fog of lust swirling between you. Another girl might not have even noticed, but you know every motion he makes inside and out. A broken beat in his perfect rhythm means everything to you. He leans down, slow and deliberate. “I’m yours,” George whispers, and you can’t hide your physical reaction, how good it feels to hear those words. Your blood turns to syrup, heart beating deadly fast to keep it pumping through your organs. “Does it feel good when I say that?” You nod wildly. “I know it does. I can feel what that does for you. I’m yours, baby. Yours, all yours. As long as you’re mine,” he croons, breath hot and sticking in your ears. He’s ruining you. You won’t ever be able to lay under another man without thinking of him, of this.

“I’m yours, George, you know that. Ugh, fuck, I’m getting close.” You slip a hand between your legs, both of you rolling circles on your clit. Tantalising pleasure builds and builds, churning in your gut, setting your body alight. George doesn’t let up, words failing the pair of you, grunts and moans dripping off his tongue in the place of gratifying words. Pleasure coils in your belly, winding tighter and tighter, dragging you ever closer to your high.

One final thrust and you fall apart, unspooling under his quick, clever fingers. Euphoria seeps into your bones, sticky heat keeping you glued to George. Your toes curl in your shoes, your legs shake, unsteady on your feet. He fucks you through your orgasm, stroking your flushed skin as his thrusts become more erratic. You cry out something that could be his name, rocking your hips, half retreating from overstimulation and half chasing his orgasm. You squeeze your cunt around him and he comes with a shout, his body loosening against you, his hand dropping from your hip to catch himself on the counter. He spills inside you as your name spills from his lips, smooth and sweet on his tongue. He pants, hips resting against yours, and catches your eye in the mirror with a smile.

“Fuck,” he mutters, grinning tiredly. He pulls out of you with a sickening squelch, cleaning up as best as he can in the bathroom sink and tucking himself away. You stand upright slowly, clutching your abused muscles.

“Fuck is right,” you reply, wincing as you feel his cum trickling out of you. “I think you’ve shattered my hipbones, darling.” You adjust your dress, crumpled where George had it clutched in his fist.

“You love it,” he fires back. You shrug, tipping your head in acknowledgement. “Sit up here for me, love,” he says, patting the counter. You balance on the edge and let George fuss over you for a moment, cleaning you up as gently as possible, plying you with soft kisses when you whimper and squirm away, oversensitive. This is always the worst part of your hookups — he takes such good care of you after, and for those few minutes, you feel what it would be like to be really his. You stand on shaky legs and try to breathe some life back into your body, try to reel your mutinous heart back in.

“Shit,” you hiss, registering your reflection in the mirror. You look utterly fucked, hair wild, dress ruined, makeup smeared, chest heaving. “I can’t go back out there like this,” you complain, swatting at him when he smirks. Of course, he still looks completely put together, composed as if he wasn’t crying out your name and cumming mere minutes ago.

It takes a minute, but you manage to wrangle your hair into submission and scrub the lipstick stains from your face. There isn’t a lot you can do for your dress, though. Your thighs burn every time you take a step, and your bare cunt is desperately sore. George swats you on the ass and follows you out of the bathroom. Matty catches your eye as you slink guiltily back into the party, shooting you a wicked smirk. You can’t help but love him, even if it does mean everyone in this room is going to know your business by night’s end.

“Hey,” George says, still keeping a supportive arm around your waist. “If you really want me, I’m yours,”

Your pulse speeds, your tender heart smashing against your ribs, bruising to a pulp. “Can you repeat that?” you manage.

“I’m yours, love. As long as you’re mine,” he promises, taking you by the waist and staring deep into your eyes. You’ve always wondered whether he could read your thoughts with that look, and now you have your answer. Stretching up on tiptoes, you sling your arms around his neck and catch him in a long, sweet kiss. You link a finger around his.

“Yours. All yours,”

#george daniel x reader #george daniel #george daniel imagine #george daniel smut #the 1975 #the 1975 smut #the 1975 fanfic #smut #writing #request #i dont think this is as good as sun-soaked sorry guys #i also wrote Three endings and im not a Huge fan of any of them #idk i might remaster this when ive had a bit more practice bc i dont think ive done the concept justice

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Thank you for your write up on Jimin's wkorea interview.

Maybe the questions are reviewed and approved by his label/manager?

Because when you get to ask Park Jimin questions, why would you stick to some general topics? He's such a mysterious man, ask him something/anything so we can deep dive into the man he is. He's like an unsolved puzzle. You would think he'll do x but he'll turn around and do y and surprise you. You never know what his next steps are or what he's doing while he's quiet on sm. That's how he drives his fans and also his antis crazy.

Iam fine that he didn't reveal much about his album and kept the expectations low saying it's his first and it's not grand. That's humble but also clever.

Considering he's in the middle of his album, they could have asked questions about his past work.

They could have picked a few of his memorable/viral acts and asked more open ended questions about his preparations, his feeling, thoughts on them. His routine with learning those choreos, the idea behind how they come up with it etc.

But again, that might lead him to talk about the group I guess. But this was supposed to be only about him.

But they could have asked atleast some dance related questions. It bothers me that his dancing is almost sidelined. I really want someone to discuss dancing at length with him.

Honestly I thought this interview was not meant to reveal anything about his album or future plans. It was just to get some pictures of him in Dior outfits.

Finally, Jimin has a way with words. When you're listening to him, your listening to him thinking he's telling you soo much. But he really isn't. He seems vulnerable and open about his feelings and thoughts but same time he's also guarded. I don't know how he manages that.

I'm going to rant here because the more I think about it, the more disappointed and frustrated I am because somehow, I still have high expectations.

Indeed, the main point of the photoshoot was to be linked to the official announcement of Jimin becoming a Dior GA. They dedicated one question to that and Jimin said it's an opportunity for him to learn more about fashion. Great. But the logical follow up question wouldn't have been about his own fashion style throughout his career? How it changed along the years, how/if it was influenced by the changes happening to him throughout his 20s in the public eye? Or how about something related to his photofolio where obviously clothing was used as a metaphor for what he wanted to express about himself. Damn, it was called tailor of chaos. So many missed opportunities there.

As to his performances and him as a dancer, there were ways of talking about it. How about his work in Filter? Or the fan dance? His contemporary solo in 2019?

I reached the conclusion that perhaps it's pointless to want him to talk about the creative process in detail, when that's something that never happened. He has the skill, he spends countless hours practicing in the studio and the final product is an amazing performance, but maybe sticking to just doing that is all there is to it. I want to hear Jimin talking in depth about the inner meanings of Filter, but does he want to do that? Is he capable of doing that? I see Jimin as a great speaker and master of his words in so many occassions, but what he actually says leaves me with barely anything (and he's not the only one, I will say the same about Jungkook too. Tae and Jin fall in that category as well. The only in depth talks - at the BTS level - came from the rap line in terms of creative process. But that doesn't mean just writing lyrics and producing songs. Dancing gets in there as well, their involvement in the concepts. They seem to be ignored and not offered as a chance for the vocal line to talk about). I don't want to be fully missunderstood here and I hope that those who know my blog will understand nuance. I know incredibly talented film directors who made some really great movies which shaped an entire cinematic movement while at the same time, they were shit at talking about their films and what meaning they were trying to convey. And let me tell you, it was high level stuff from an ideological point of view. But they didn't know how to express that through dialogue. More or less, I see the same situation with some BTS members too. Not to mention Black Swan, a highlight of their career conceptual wise and nothing was or will be spoken about it more in depth.

This is an issue that is visible in the type of content the company releases. They focus on providing footage of them giggling in between rehearsals and a quick 1 minute montage of rehearsal, without actually showing the work. And it became worse and worse as the years went by because there is evidence that for at least a few years, they still cared about that. As a fan, I would love to see the work, or at least hear them talk more about the work. I see fans praising Jimin for coming up with bridges and melodies for what ended up as famous songs for them, but no actual real talk about that work. They push the cameras in their faces for Bangtan Bombs and they are asked to say something about the most insignificant thing ever (and it shows through their responses), but they wouldn't focus more on the recording process.

And why would they change the strategy when it proves to be enough for the fans? They can sell their Memories DVDs with more than half of it already released as free content on youtube, the fans buy it, half of them waste their time fighting over the ship content, while the other half just fucking loves it and we all see it through gifs and short clips on twitter, reposted and quote retweeted ad naseum.

To end all this and go back to my initial point, there's many ways of giving a valuable insight about someone's work through and interview, but I have yet to read something actually good. Will I be naive enough to believe that it's going to be different when Jimin releases his album? Not as much as I would have been in the past. But, to end this on a more positive note, he still has time to grow and gain experience on doing stuff on his own. And perhaps that once it happens, it will open the door to a different way of talking about his work.

#bmt asks #jimin #jimin w korea interview #bts #bighit

[hooned]

Jelly, can you give me/us more info on what F4 is? I see four boys and a cute sapphic in a jean jacket and flower names. I'm so confused 👀.

terry!! hi hi love!! 💙 hmm i really have no idea too except that brightwin will be part of thailand’s f4. based from the vibes from the teaser,, i think win will play xi men?? or hua zi lei?? & i’m guessing bright will be dao ming si. that’s all i know too bb huhu i’m sorryyy here’s my heaart though!!!!!!! 💙💙💙💙💙

#i really reallyyy hope they remove all the problematic parts of the plot 🥺 #our babies deserve to play wonderful characters #not shitty characters who bullies and abuse other people huhu #i really hope the producers and the directors would listen to what the public is saying #coz i love how brightwin is working together again #but f4 is just ... too scary 🥺 #snugglesweaters #💌 ask.

[thatpoppinat]

When The World Knows (Pt 1)

    pt 2

    It's been a while since Marinette has had time to herself. Thankfully, this isn't due to her responsibilities as Ladybug. 

      In fact, Hawkmoth seemed to be losing whatever motivation he once had for terrorizing Paris, and akumas were becoming scarce. This could have also meant that he was planning something big, but if Marinette was being 100% honest with you, Hawkmoth was becoming the least of her concerns.

    Was her growing fame something she should be concerned about? She couldn’t tell you.    

_____________

     It all started on accident, if you were to ask Marinette. She had just went to visit her uncle Jagged while he was making music for an upcoming show that was being produced. After spending some time with him, he eventually introduced her to Hugo Morris, the director of "Autodale; a noir-esque dystopian show that is ‘the next being thing’”. 

      Hugo had apparently aided in the release of multiple blockbuster and popular shows. Marinette had no doubt that this one would be well received by the public, just by seeing the detailed sets being created all around her.

    Almost jokingly, Jagged had encouraged Marinette to audition for the lead role as Aubrey; the Exceptional Girl. After all; Marinette matched the director's description of her very well, apparently.    

     She was given the script, and she auditioned. She didn't expect to get the role.  

      And somehow - miraculously - she did. Two days after her audition, she received a callback.  

       Marinette, after receiving the email, promptly had a seizure. She didn't think she was that good. But apparently, the producer saw something in her.      

    When she came in the week after to meet the rest of the cast, Marinette could only think about how big the production was, or worry if whether or not she was gonna screw something up with her world renowned clumsiness. She was Marinette Dupain-Cheng after all.

     Speaking of her being her, the thought of being on the big screen made her head spin. In the past, she always thought that if she were to ever work in a film production, she would have been on the design team. Designing clothes was her dream after all.

  But she guessed the saying was true: "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." She was brought back in, she met the rest of the cast, and they were given scripts to read over and have decently memorized by the end of the month.       

     To only add to the workload, Marinette was still a school student. She hadn't even told her classmates about this.

… Her classmates, the people who didn't even bother to question if Lila was telling the truth; who didn't even care if Marinette's feelings were hurt; the people who didn't even hesitate to isolate her and bully her 'for Lila's sake', even after all she had done for them. And Adrien, who knew what they were doing to her, but chose to keep him mouth shut.    

     It was safe to say, that after all they'd done, they were merely classmates. Forced acquaintances, if you will.

    After a few seconds of thought, Marinette decided not to tell them. She didn't want them to ruin this for her.

     She'd have to tell Principal Damocles and Mrs. Bustier, however. If this production was as big as the cast was saying it was, she'd clearly be missing a lot of class.

   And, after months of working with fellow actors, memorizing scripts, helping make props, doing schoolwork online, and keeping her nosy classmates from finding out, she could safely say that was the case.

_________________

    Speaking of classmates.

     When she was needed for the production of "Autodale" , Marinette rarely ever saw them. Being the lead role in a long production show would  mess up your schedule one way or another. When she did go into that class, it was filled with people constantly going up to her new, lonely seat in the back and asking were she had been.

    Instead of answering them, she simply shrugged and told them it wasn't their business. This got on their nerves to no end. At one point, Lila was spreading rumors and lies about how she saw Marinette hanging out with some older men (Marinette had to practically nail herself to the seat as she heard Lila "whisper" it to her loyal followers).

   But Mrs. Bustier quickly shot that down and told the class that she knew where she "disappeared to", that it was a safe environment, and that per request of Marinette and her parents, the class wasn't allowed to know. Mrs. Bustier then scolded Lila about telling people things that could lead to trouble, with no proof anyway.        

     Lila then recovered by spilling crocodile tears and saying that she was only trying to help her dear friend Mari.

  Well, at least Ms. Bustier wasn’t a wallflower anymore.

   It was then classmates started to question Lila, not completely doubting her, though. Which made Marinette want to pull her hair out.

   Marinette didn't end up doing that. After all, she had something to look forward too!

    A sneak peek of Autodale was being broadcasted  during an award show after school.  Marinette couldn't wait! Marinette and the rest of the cast had gotten to see it early, and they were impressed with the craftsmanship.

_________

   The next day, Autodale was all anyone would talk about at school.

   And of course, Lila had to be apart of it.

   "It took them a long time to make the animation that phenomenal. The team poured their hearts and souls into this project. Oh, Hugo is such a good director. He's really nice in real life, too! But, I think that may just be because he has a huge crush on me. 

   “Oh! yeah, I know the secret main actress. She's just secretive and only wants to reveal herself to the public after the episodes are released on Netflix. We're basically besties- sorry Alya! Aww! Of course Alya, I can try to get you an interview with her after the show is released. She might be busy, being the lead role in an anticipated TV and all, but I'll try my best! No problem!"

   Oh the irony. She would've laughed.

   But she was focused with what she said prior to claiming their supposed  "friendship".

    Did Lila know that Morris was a forty year old man and that she had just basically accused him of being a pedophile. That detail probably didn't matter to her. Lila probably would have said it anyway.

    Marinette clenched her fists. Lila could spread all of the lies she wanted (she decided it wasn't worth it after seeing how gullible and unyielding her classmates were), but the fact that she was basically claiming how one of her father figures, with a wife whom he was deeply in love with, was a cheating, flirty pedophile  made her blood boil.

   It must've shown on her face. In a split second, Lila faces her, hiding a small smirk, then loudly proclaimed to her her:

  "Aww! There's no need to be jealous Marinette! I might be able to get her to meet you! But, from what I've told her about you, I don't think she'll want to." Lila shook her head, as if she was pitying her. The class threw sneers her way. 

    Adrien winced, but, once again, did nothing, then looked away.

  Marinette took a deep breath.

 "No, no. That's fine," she smiled.

  Then, with a stroke of luck, she was saved by the bell.

   Thank the Gods for lunch period, she thought.

___________

  She headed to the locker room. Once they were alone, Tikki emerged from her hiding spot.

 "Are you okay?" Tikki frowned.

 "Yeah, I'll be fine,"  Marinette insisted. "I just feel like talking to Carlos."

  Carlos was one of the many actors and actresses she met on the set. Carlos played Macro, Aubrey's main love interest. He was funny, understanding, and would listen to her rants of frustration. All in all, they had a great relationship with each other.

  Not a romantic one, mind you.

   Carlos was gay.

   She dialed his number, and he almost immediately responded. She put him on speaker.

  "Hey Marshmallow!" Carlos exclaimed

   "Hello, rainbow fish."

  "Let me guess. Lila?" he questioned.

   She sighed, "Yeah. You know me too well."

  "So, what she do this time?"

"She essentially called Hugo a pedophile."

"...What?" He practically hissed.

  "Yep. Said she knew the old man and claimed he had a crush on her."

"That lying two-faced fox." he sneered.

  "She also said she knew the secret lead, that they were practically besties, and then straight up looked at me and proclaimed to everyone that the lead didn't like me."

“Wow. And they actually believed her?

  "They always have been. And Adrien did nothing, again." Tikki handed her one of her cookies. She was missing lunch time.

"Seriously, that Agreste boy needs to grow a pair! I'm starting to think he just doesn't care."

Marinette said nothing. She could practically hear him rubbing his temples.

  "*sigh* Don't worry Marinette. With the pilot episode being released next Tuesday, they'll learn the truth and regret treating you like trash. Everyone will finally know that Lila has been spewing bullshit since she arrived."

  "I really hope so. I'm not sure how long I can take this."

  "Girl, I'm telling you! Transfer schools! It's obvious that they're the type to suck up to influential people. Once they find out you're the secret lead, and MDC, they're gonna clam up to you so fast for clout it's not even funny."

   THAT was another thing she hardly told anyone. A couple of weeks ago, she opened a commission website called MDCDesigns.

   To help her out - and because they believed her clothes were to die for - , Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale began to wear her designs more often. It wasn't long until the Style Queen herself read a review, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn't tearing a brand to shreds.

   In fact, she actually seemed to like her designs.

  "They have potential, I'll admit. Certainly about average. Marvelous designs. " Style Queen said in her review. "If they keep this up, they'll certainly have a spot in the industry." She turned to the cameras. "Also, if you're watching this MDC, know that if we ever meet, I'd like a cream colored faux fur scarf."

  Her website practically crashed due to the insane amount of commissions she had received that night. Ever since then, people have been dying to know who this mysterious designer was. She wondered if opening the shop was a good decision: not because of her career, mind you, but her health.

   Regardless, she was planning to reveal herself after the pilot episode was aired on HBO (not Netflix Lila. If your gonna lie about something, at least research it beforehand)in an interview -with proof, as many people have claimed to be MDC since then.

   She sat there in thought, when she was done thinking she responded.

  "That... that sounds like a good idea. Well, the Earth doesn't revolve around me! How is your trip going yo-"

   Suddenly, she heard footsteps and a door being slammed closed.

   She froze.

    "What was that??!"

   She’d had Carlos on speaker the entire time.

   Someone had been watching her.

    And the person must've heard everything they said.

_____________________

Hi!

So, this is my first project, and I’m not sure I wanna continue writing it. If you wanna adopt it, I don’t mind. Positive criticism is welcome! Reblog if you want idc rn.

Also, seriously, Check out the series "Autodale” created by Dead Sound on youtube. It can be a little dark, but I think most people can handle it! It’s amazing!

This is also kinda based off of the tumblr fanfic “After The Week Off”. Huge thanks to  princesslenaakaladykittuna for the link.

____________________

Anyways, have a nice day!

#lila salt #au #MDC #miraculous #class salt #ml #mlb #ml au #WTWK

[lady-ofroses]

something else to talk about chapter 2

in which cordelia is an oscar winning actress, anna is an entrepreneur and the author of a popular lifestyle blog, ariadne is a model and owner of a famous winery, matthew helps write anna’s lifestyle blog and is a highly sought out fashion designer, james is a singer and occasional actor, lucie is a famous author, thomas and alastair both have their own separate talk shows, christopher is bill nye 2.0, jesse is director and producer, and grace is a model

thank you to the wondrous @sleepy-sendhelp​ for helping me come up with this and proofreading i could not have done this without you!

you can read chapter one here!

hope you enjoy!

When James opened the door to his penthouse he was not expecting to see Cordelia Carstairs, standing in all of her crimson-haired glory. He certainly wasn’t expecting the words: “be my fake boyfriend” to leave her mouth.

But, in spite of that, he invited her in. Offered her a glass of water and waited for her to explain. She was sitting now on his plush gray couch, water in hand, taking a long sip of water and James made his way over to the couch. Of course, he knew what had happened with her father, it was all over the news. 

He was also scared of the impact it would have on his career since it was his first role ever. His career as part of the band he was in with Matthew, Christopher, and Thomas, The Merry Thieves, had given him his start as a musician and now his career as a solo artist had cemented his future for the next five years. But he knew that if this movie failed, he would forever be known as “that singer that tried (and failed) acting” and he didn’t want that. He also knew that this movie was a huge thing for Lucie and he could not risk ruining that.

He turned to face her, finally ready to listen to whatever thought process brought her to this insane idea of fake dating. He didn’t know Cordelia very well. Other than the fact that she was Lucie’s best friend and that they were co-workers, they had never spent any one-on-one time, unless it was to practice their “chemistry” for the movie.

Cordelia was looking at him now. She placed the glass of water onto the wooden coffee table and tucked a strand of her garnet hair. “I feel like I should elaborate now,” she said as she chuckled awkwardly, “About the whole ‘fake dating’ thing.”

“Yes, I think that would be quite helpful,” he replied, trying not to sound as uncomfortable as he was. After his relationship with Grace, he wasn’t really in the mood to date somebody else, even though his publicist had told him multiple times that he had to date someone else so that he wouldn’t look like he was still pining after Grace and also make him win the date race.

“So you probably already know about my dad,” she paused and took a shaky inhale. “And that’s going to cause ticket sales to drop. My plan is... to give them something else to talk about, for example, a new romance.” She gestured towards him and looked him straight in the eye. “And you also care about the ticket sales and with the whole Grace thing, well... we could... you know...”

“Fake date?” James asked. Listening to her now it did seem logical even though it was a little unorthodox. This could be the perfect way for James to make the public happy but be happy himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cordelia clench her hands into fists. 

Dating someone was out of the question for James. He had so much going on that he didn’t want to have to deal with another person, especially if that relationship would end up like his relationship with Grace had. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to handle the heartbreak that came from breakups and he also knew that he wouldn’t be a very good boyfriend. He looked back at Cordelia, she sat with her arms crossed over her chest, one of her fingers tapping impatiently on her elbow. He could feel her anxiety, the waves of it reaching him, almost as if they were beckoning him to respond faster.

She stood sharply and began walking towards the door. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob. “Never mind, it was a stupid idea. I’ll see you tomorrow, James.” She twisted the doorknob and opened the door. James desperately reached his hand out to her. 

“Wait!” he called out. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. He looked her in her coal-black eyes that seemed to shine, almost as if she had captured the stars of the midnight sky in her eyes. “I’ll do it,” he announced.

Her eyes widened in surprise as if she couldn’t believe his answer and frankly, neither could he.

He couldn’t date someone, it would end badly for the both of them.

But this wasn’t a real relationship, this was for the press, it was simply a mutually beneficial alliance made between two co-workers to get a job done. It was all fake. He couldn’t ruin their relationship by breaking up with her because there wasn’t a real relationship to ruin.

“Okay so... we need to make some ground rules,” Cordelia said, as her surprise wore off. She stepped out of his apartment. “But not now. I’ll see you tomorrow, you’re taking me out on a date. Pick me up at noon and make it public.” And with that, she shut the door to his apartment, not even waiting for confirmation from him.

James knew that this was the best possible option for the both of them, but a part of him knew that something was going to go wrong.

***

The next day, James woke up at eight and went through his usual morning routine. He got up, went out for a jog and stretched afterward, showered, ate breakfast, and finally, brushed his teeth. He looked at his closet, trying to find proper first date attire while debating where to take Cordelia for lunch. He eventually decided on going to Perch because of its glamorous rooftop dining and quickly called to get a reservation. On normal occasions, James would’ve tried to reserve the entire rooftop for privacy but Cordelia had told him to make it public. He made sure that the table was in a more secluded space that was still seen by others.

It was a smart idea, to have their first date in front of others, it would ensure that they were seen so they could get the rumors about their relationship started. They would still have to come up with an official relationship timeline and a whole story on how they got together. 

James speedily chose his outfit, a white t-shirt, and some jeans, left his penthouse, and drove over to Cordelia’s apartment building. He had only been there a few times since they usually went to his place when Lucie made them practice their chemistry, he rushed inside and turned to go to the elevators when he saw a familiar flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to see Cordelia sitting on a sofa near the entrance to the building. She was reading her favorite book, Layla and Majnun. 

“Hey!” James said, trying to sound enthusiastic as he walked over to her. In reality, his stomach was a mess with nerves and he couldn’t help but think that yesterday had been his last day of normal, his last day of being real, because now, everything he did, every move he would make, would be part of the show he and Cordelia would have to put on.

Cordelia had put her book in her purse and was walking towards him by the time James had been snapped out of his mind. She was dressed in a dark green sundress that was decorated with tiny white flowers. It had a square neckline that perfectly allowed Cordelia to show off the friendship necklace that Lucie had given her. 

James signaled for Cordelia to follow him as he led her over to the place where he had parked. He unlocked the doors to his black BMW and slide into the driver’s seat as Cordelia slide into the passenger’s side. He could tell that she was also as nervous as he was from the way that her knee bounced and the way that she kept on looking around, almost as if she was trying to find an escape.

“Where are we going?” she asked, as she continued to look at the street. She had stopped bouncing her knees and started to tap on her elbow, just as she had the night before.

“Perch,” he replied. He got to a stoplight so he turned to look at her, “I didn’t reserve the entire roof though so that it would be public.” The light turned green and James accelerated again.

“Thank you for doing this. I really do appreciate it,” she said as she stopped tapping her elbow. She seemed calmer now. As if knowing where they were going was calming her down or maybe she just really liked the food from Perch and that was making her more calm.

“No problem,” he replied as he took a turn to find a place to park. Cordelia seemed to notice because she began to sit straighter and look around again.

“There,” she said as she pointed at an empty parking spot near a tree. James began to make his way over there and parked flawlessly. He turned off the engine, took off his seatbelt, and looked out of the window before opening the door to get out. He went around the car to open the door for Cordelia and waited as she stepped out to close the door.

Together they walked over to Perch and went into the elevator. This was it, the point of no return. Once they stepped out of the elevator, their scheme would have to face the scrutinizing eyes of the media and everyone else and they would have to hope that they would never be found out.

Cordelia looked up at him, almost as if waiting for confirmation.

He held out his arm for her and looked her square in the eye.

“Ready?” he asked.

the next chapter will definitely feature their first date and it will be in cordelia’s pov. constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated! please let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

taglist: @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1, @jem-nasium, @writeforjordelia

#jordelia #jordelia fanfiction #herondaisy #herondaisy fanfiction #james x cordelia #cordelia x james #cordelia carstairs #james herondale #grace blackthorn #grace cartwright #lucie herondale #chog #cog2 #chain of gold #coi #chain of iron #no chain of iron spoilers tho #cot #chain of thorns #tlh #the last hours #tlh fanfiction #tlh fanfic #tsc #tsc fanfiction #the shadowhunter chronicles

[cryptic-flash]

"Polygon Wave EP" created by the change in the production system and the relationship with Yasutaka Nakata who came closer to Perfume (Natalie Interview Sep 2021)

Page 1 - about live show

Page 2

Which was the most memorable performance of this concert for you?

Kashiyuka: The first performance of "Polygon Wave (Original Mix)". Originally, we were going to perform the version that was released earlier, but when we were deciding which song to include on the EP, Yasutaka Nakata said, "This is the one!" About two weeks before the concert, I asked MIKIKO-sensei, "I'd like to change the song to this one, can you do the choreography in time? "I'll do my best at ......! (laughs).

I'll do my best." (laughs) That's pretty sudden.

 "Polygon Wave" is also the title of the show, and this song was the concept that ran through the entire show.

Nocchi: But I didn't just say, "Let's record a song that will be important for the live performance. When I had a chance to talk with Mr. Nakata last December, he said, "Let's just record a song without thinking about what it's for. If it's good enough, you can use it for something else." He suggested that we go to the studio and record the song after it was written, and the first song we wrote was "Polygon Wave. The first song that came out of that process was "Polygon Wave." I think that kind of rough, uncomplicated feeling is easier for you now. All the songs we recorded this time have a different and new atmosphere. Among them, it seems that "Polygon Wave" was the first song that Nakata felt was appropriate for everyone to hear, and from that point on, we started talking about various things.

Kashiyuka: The songs "∞ Loop" and "Android &" that will be included in the EP were also recorded at that time. When we were recording, we hadn't talked about an EP yet, but since "Polygon Wave" was chosen as the theme song for "The Masked Singer," we decided to release a single. He said, "I want to put a lot of 'Polygon Wave'! I thought, "That's new" (laughs).

Nakata-san also likes this song a lot, doesn't he ?

Nocchi: I think Nakata-san had a clear idea of the world he wanted to show us. We also thought it was a great song, so we thought, "If that's the case, why don't we just release this one song first?" Then Mr. Nakata said, "If we make an EP, we'll make another version. We said, "If you're going to make another version, we'll do it live."

Kashiyuka: We've never had so many different mixes of the same song before, so we'd talk about things like, "Which 'Polygon Wave' should be the first song? We talked about it. I thought it was unusual for you to have such an opinion on the song order. It's always easy to decide, but we had many discussions.

"A closer relationship than that between "producers" and "singers.

Kashiyuka: In the past, we'd record songs after we'd decided on a release or a tie-up, but this time we were free to write and record without thinking about whether we'd use them or not, so the pace was faster than usual. When we were recording, people would say things like, "We might not use this song," but since we've already sung it, we've grown to love it (laughs). (laughs) So I sang it, thinking, "I hope it doesn't disappear. (laughs) So I sang the songs while thinking "I hope they don't disappear". In fact, I recorded songs that were not on the EP.

A~chan: Mr. Nakata's mode was different. He's always been a fast songwriter, but what happened to him?  It was so fast. I think he had a clear idea of what he wanted.

Nocchi: You and Nakata-san talked a lot before and after the recording, didn't you? We talked about our old music, our stance when being interviewed, what we hope Perfume will be like in the future, and what we want to do.

In the last interview, you said that there were only two songs that you made demos for and rejected (see Perfume "Perfume The Best "Cubed"" interview). That's a big difference.

What was the recording process like?

A~chan: we talked for hours.

Your relationship with Nakata-san is completely different from what I've heard from everyone.

Nocchi: Yes. Before, we used to talk about such things only in the occasional discussions. Nakata-san used to only reveal a little bit of what he was thinking, but this time, he was overflowing with it on .......

Kashiyuka: This time, I was happy to feel that we were working together at a closer distance than the previous relationship of "producer" and "singers". "I thought, "Oh, it was easier for Mr. Nakata to work this way. I'm not sure why I didn't realize that until now (laughs).

I'm curious to know what songs you recorded but didn't include in the EP.

Kashiyuka: The song we played at the end of the live the other night is also not on the EP, but we recorded it at that time. We don't even know if that song is finished (laughs). (laughs) But I liked that song so much from the moment we recorded it that I told MIKIKO that I wanted it to be included in the live set list.

 It's rare to play a song in its current state in a live performance. In rock bands, they sometimes show off songs that they are still working on.

Kashiyuka: That's true (laughs).

Nocchi: But we wanted to sing that song at this live, because it expresses the message that Perfume wants to convey to the fans now. It might not be released for a long time, or it might not be released at all, but we were aware that this live performance would remain as a video for a long time.

Page 3

`A desert world where all organic matter is made up of digital bits.`

So, I felt that both "∞ Loop" and "Android &" selected for this song are similar to the world view of "Polygon Wave".

Nocchi: I like both of them very much. The music is stylish and light without being mechanical, but "∞ Loop" is about the scary feeling of living in a world where time loops, and "Android &" is about falling in love with an android.

A-chan: Nakata-san told me the meaning of the lyrics. The main character of "Android &" is actually an android who thinks he's completely human. That's why the title of the song ends with "&", but it's supposed to be like "Android & Human". It's interesting, isn't it?

Kashiyuka: But we didn't know the titles of either "∞ Loop" or "Android &" until the songs were announced (laughs). (laughs) When we were recording, we said "loop" and "android", so we thought that was the name of the song, but when the information was released and we read the news article, it said something different. "But when I read the news article after the information was released, it said something different. "Is this "&" a typo? I thought, "Is this okay? I contacted them just to make sure. I asked him if it was okay, and he said, "Nakata-san told me it's "Android &". The other song is called "Mugen Loop" (laughs).

Nocchi: The lyrics of "Android &" are kind of harsh, looking at the world from a bird's eye view (laughs).  It's a song with a clear story, so I hope you'll write a story based on it.

A~chan: It looks like it's going to be hard to draw the CG (laughs).

Kashiyuka: But we can probably cover the motion with the data we've collected so far (laughs). I feel that Nakata-san had envisioned a total world in this EP.  He wanted to express the whole thing like a movie.

That's right. I thought it was a very conceptual composition that "∞ Loop" depicts a world that keeps rebooting at the end of the day, and the song "System Reboot", which means "reboot", is included at the end of the same work.

Kashiyuka: Nakata-san's image for this EP is "a beautiful & broad desert, but all the trees and organic matter growing there are made of digital bits. It's a world with a sense of discomfort," he said.

Director Yusuke Tanaka's signature "Wow, I'm so scared"

You made a dance practice video for "Polygon Wave", didn't you? It was the first time for Perfume to make a video focusing on the choreography, but it seems that there was a demand for a video where you can see every detail of the body movements, and the response was great.

Nocchi: I'm so happy (laughs). It's not often that I get to dance in sneakers, so it was fun to film.

A~chan: Whenever I appear on a music program, I always take a short video of myself dancing and submit it to the TV station. I can't show that kind of footage to the public, but the atmosphere of the dance practice video is similar to that. It's hard to dance in heels, so just wearing sneakers made it really easy.

I heard that you're working on a music video for this song, will there be a lot of dance scenes in the music video?

Nocchi: Basically, it's like a dance video.

Kashiyuka: But we just shot it, so I haven't watched it yet (laughs).

A~chan: It's a video with a clear world view, so I'm sure you'll understand how to listen to this song by watching it. Is this real? Is this real or is this virtual? In the music video, the three of us are driving together, and in the middle of the road, we're like, "What? It ends with Yusuke Tanaka's signature "Wow, this is so scary! (laughs). During the shooting, I was dancing so hard that my legs became sticks.

The choreography is quite complicated, isn't it?  It's a collage of past songs, updated with the skills of the three of us, and it's the culmination of Perfume's dancing to date.

A~chan: What! Is that so? I thought you were doing it consciously, but it's not like that?

Nocchi: I wasn't conscious of it at all. To be honest, I just thought, "I've never done all these moves before" (laughs).(laughs)

Kashiyuka: When I was being choreographed, I took it as "new movements for a new song", so I didn't feel anything special. But we didn't talk about such messages.

A~chan: I thought that the arrangement of the song had various old tastes. I thought, "That sound in the background is the one they used in 'Polyrhythm'! It brings back memories! I'm nostalgic!

─ Speaking of which, the newly recorded "Polygon Wave (Remix)" is a very interesting remix, with a series of tones and phrases that remind me of various Perfume songs.

A~chan: I think Nakata-san has that planned out! I mean, he said something like that, didn't he?

Oh, so that's what he said. I was listening to the song thinking that it was like a concept live "Reframe" that reconstructed Perfume with the most advanced production, and that it was like your own "Reframe" that reconstructed Perfume's history in one song.

A~chan: Yes, yes. When you've been doing this for a long time, you get to make this kind of music.In many cases, remixes are done in a way that is different from the artist's usual style, as if to say, "This could be interpreted in this way," but this remix has more of a Perfume feel to it.

Nocchi: Yeah, I was expecting it to be weirder, but when I listened to it, it sounded so much like Perfume (laughs).

Page 4 - upcoming Reframe etc.

src : https://natalie.mu/music/pp/perfume17

#prfm #prfm:interview #ystk #ystk:interview #polygonwave #polygon wave #2021 #nakata #yasutaka nakata #mugen loop #system reboot #natalie #∞ loop #polygon wave EP #perfume #android&

[stylesnews]

Ben and Gabe Turner directed the videos for Harry Styles’ singles Golden and Treat People With Kindness, and the Fulwell 73 partners have opened up to Music Week about working on the blockbuster Fine Line campaign.

The video for Treat People With Kindness (TPWK) stars Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge and was released on New Year’s Day 2021, more than a year after Fine Line came out. The Turner brothers were also behind the film for Golden, which dropped in October. TPWK has 18,019,468 views on YouTube, while Golden, which was filmed under Covid restrictions on Italy’s Amalfi coast last year when lockdowns eased, has racked up 81,373,613.

Ben and Gabe Turner have been working with former Music Week cover star Styles since One Direction emerged on The X Factor, making videos for Steal My Girl and Drag Me Down. Their Fulwell 73 partner Ben Winston has also worked extensively with the group.

The brothers told Music Week that their longstanding relationship with Styles leads to an easy working environment, and the idea behind the TPWK video – which features Styles and Waller-Bridge doing a choreographed dance routine and was filmed at East London’s Troxy early in 2020 – came about after Styles saw the actor’s Fleabag live show.

“It was always supposed to be the last thing on the album run as an ending beat, and the album did so well that it just carried on,” said Gabe Turner. “We just didn’t know when [it would drop]. New Year’s Day 2021 was the perfect release date for us in the end.”

The duo make documentaries, TV shows, music videos, promos and more and Ben Turner said that “hope, warmth, fun and emotional honesty” define their work, which includes 2019 documentary Hitsville: The Making Of Motown.

“Music videos are fun, they’re the most impressionistic of the things we do,” said Ben Turner. “When else are we going to shoot a black and white dance video? There probably isn’t another avenue for us to do that.”

Here, the brothers look back on shooting Golden and TPWK with Styles and his team, talk Fine Line and trace the history of their work with the singer.

What are your reflections on the Treat People With Kindness video now it’s out?

Gabe Turner: “There’s a tendency when you’re working and going from job to job, not to sit back and enjoy something when it comes out, because you’re in the middle of something else. This was really enjoyable, a piece of work that’s really expansive, joyous and has loads of people dancing and reminds you of a time where life was really fun felt really nice. Harry and all of One Direction have incredible fans and they obviously amplify your work and make it bigger and feel like more of an achievement, which is really nice because you’re like, ‘The whole world is talking about it’ [laughs]. When really, the whole world is talking about Harry, or the boys, but it feels very special to be a part of that.”

What do you like most about the video?

Ben Turner: “It was just an amazing opportunity to work on a song we loved with some people we loved. We’d never worked with Phoebe before, so that was really exciting. It just feels so different now because we’ve been stuck indoors for a year. This thing about treating people with kindness, it just feels more prescient even than it did then. It feels like a really important message. The world has changed since we made it, the video has stayed the same but the world has disappeared.”

Have the videos have been extra important to the campaign with touring postponed?

GT: Harry’s got an incredible team, his manager Jeff Azoff, Tommy Bruce, Molly Hawkins and Rob Stringer and the label, they’re just brilliant. They’ve been really impressive in how they view and plan stuff. The videos kind of replaced him touring, so they had to have an impact. His fanbase wanted something to feel positive about and joyous about. We just feel hugely privileged that we were able to collaborate on two of the songs. We love the album, it’s a real quality piece of work. With Harry, because the camera loves him so much, you really want to raise your game and make something really special because you’ve got such an incredible protagonist. And then with Phoebe involved too, me and Ben thought this might be the best it ever gets for us behind camera – two people completely in their prime. The last time Phoebe was photographed in a public place she was clutching three Emmys. And Harry, he’s getting bigger and bigger and is such a joyous presence to be around. Those two massive stars together, learning a dance routine, doing something they’d not done before, it felt like we were witnessing something really special and it just makes you want to shoot the best video you possibly can.”

How did you end up doing two videos for the record?

GT: “We see Harry outside of work, so we talk about things all the time in a slightly different way. The TPWK conversation came from meeting Phoebe and saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you two danced together?’ Then after we did that, when Golden came up, there was a feeling that we could do something together in a similar vein.”

BT: “Golden came about as organically as TPWK. We all sit around mooching with our mates saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if this or that…’ When you’re mooching with your mates and it’s Harry or Phoebe, those ideas can become. And that’s how these videos really came about. Golden feels like a driving song. The initial idea was Harry driving around LA with different people getting in and out of the car, people who were significant to the album or his life. That came off the table with Covid, but it was the idea we fell in love with. The world changed and he couldn’t tour, so they wanted to make more videos. We couldn’t make that original version, but the thing of movement came out of it. When someone you feel close to does something you rate as highly as I rate Fine Line you feel lucky. When you’re listening to that kind of music you get ideas. We’ve been in the position where you’re racking your brains for the right idea, and that can also lead to brilliant work, but this album in particular, I’d listen to it, walk along and think about it, before pitching anything.”

Harry’s vision for the album was so strong, what was that like to work with?

GT: “You just don’t want to drop the ball for him. It’s so important and the album’s so good, plus we’re fans of his as well as contemporaries. When he drafts you in to work on a video, you’re like, ‘OK, I just want to make sure you’re happy with it, if you are then it’s job done’.

BT: “There’s just so much there to work with. There’s so much in there. Why does TPWK work? What’s it really got to do with anything? Except somehow it does. There’s so much in that song and the feel of it that a slightly weird, leftfield idea makes perfect sense. I think that’s to do with how deep his creative thought and well of feeling [are], that allows it to go off. Not just our videos, but the ones everyone else made for the album, they’re widely varied but they work together. That’s got to be down to him, he’s the common thread. His creative team, too. They’re great sounding boards to work with, a guiding hand. It sounds like this massive love-in, but it really has been a very enjoyable, rewarding process.”

What was it like on set?

GT: “Harry doesn’t go off set. He does his bits and then when other stuff is going on he’s sitting next to you watching the monitor. He’s very, very involved in everything and he’ll push himself. At the end of TPWK he wanted to do a couple more takes at the end to make sure they’d nailed it. We said, ‘We think you’ve got it’, but he just said, ‘Let me go again a couple of times, I want to make sure it’s done to the best of my ability’. He works really hard, he’s great to collaborate with and he doesn’t let up. If it’s not good enough, he’ll carry on going.”

BT: “You’ve got a sense that it’s his video and he wants it to be the best. He takes ownership. He knows it’s his video and that how good and engaged he is will affect how good the product is. The length of the relationship we’ve had with him allows a kind of shorthand and a way of working to maximise that.”

GT: “He works to a really high standard but he’s unbelievably kind to literally everyone, all the time. Even if he’s under pressure, he never drops his standards of the right way to behave and being kind to people. It’s so impressive to work with someone like that. He’s never not a good bloke about whatever it is that he faces. You watch the way he is with the runners, producers, sound people, whoever… He’s treating them with so much love and respect that everyone works as hard as they possibly can to make his vision come true because he’s so joyful to be around. It does sound like a love-in, but that’s the most defining factor – he’s so talented and so nice about it.”

What do these videos say about where you are at right now as directors?

GT: “Our thinking is always about how we can be creative. We don’t really think about the space we’re going into as much as what the idea is. If you only do one thing it sometimes stilts your creativity because you get into a pattern, whereas if you’re constantly jumping between mediums it keeps you fresh. We like to be involved in lots of stuff. We try and surround ourselves with people like Harry, who operate in that way. Ben and I just try and push each other into trying to do the best we can. We feel massively lucky we get to work together, we’re brothers, best friends, it’s a dream.”

#harry styles #jan21 #gabe turner #ben turner #tpwkmv #goldenmv #music week #article

[ghostiepopcorn]

Why ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005) is a underrated masterpiece.

‘War of the Worlds’ was released in 2005, it is directed by the film god that is Steven Spielberg (Jaws, E.T.) and written by Josh Friedman (Terminator: Dark Fate, Avatar 2) and David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible) 

Cast:  - Tom Cruise as Ray Farrier. - Justin Chatwin as Robbie Farrier. - Dakota Fanning as Rachel Farrier. - Miranda Otto as Mary Ann. -Tim Robbins as Harlan Ogilvy. - Ann Robinson as Grandmother.  - Gene Barry as Grandfather. 

First lets start with some history of ‘The War of the Worlds’ - The 2005 film is based off the novel of the same name which was written by H.G. Wells between 1895 and 1897, it then was then made into a series by Pearson’s Magazine in 1897 in the UK, Cosmopolitan in the US. Then becoming a hardback novel in 1898, it is one of the earliest written pieces to tell a story of conflict between Martians and man and so its one of the most commented on pieces of science fiction. 

It has been adapted and developed several times over many decades in many medias, the ones that come to mind are the famous 1938 dramatic radio reading that was directed and starred Orson Welles that actually caused public panic to those who listened in and didn’t know that the Martian invasion was fiction, its said that up to a million people ran out of their homes in terror.  (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(1938_radio_drama) )

The 1953 ‘The War of the Worlds’ film adaptation, which was produced by George Pal and directed by Byron Haskin. It also starred Gene Barry (who played Dr. Clayton Forrester) and Ann Robinson (who played Sylvia Van Buren) who can also been seen at the end of the 2005 film, they play the grandparents of Robbie and Rachel which I think is a sweet little cameo to see for those who loved the 1953 film.  Ann Robinson also revived her role as Sylvia Van Buren in two other films and three episodes of ‘The War of the Worlds’ tv series in 1988. 

In 1978 the most well known musical album by Jeff Wayne was produced and based off the story of ‘War of the Worlds’ this album included the voices of Richard Burton and David Essex.

This was then turned into a concert musical which tours annually through out the UK and Europe, the concert includes live performers such as Carrie Hope Fletcher but also a 3D hologram of Liam Neeson. It also includes a mix of computer animation, pyrotechnics and a big mechanical tripod that comes out on stage and lights up and can fire its heat-ray. 

(Source: Birmingham Mail.)

There have also been several Tv series, the two newest being the 2019 BBC version staring Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson and Full Monty’s Robert Carlyle, that has a Edwardian setting and follows closely to the novel. 

The other being the FOX 2019 adaptation that is set in present day Europe but I found this version didn’t really go off the novel, and was frustrated with the lack of the famous Tripods.  (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds) 

As a kid I would watch the 1953 film with my mum all the time as its one of her favourites and I do really like it, but then 2005 rolled around and in comes Steven Spielberg’s version. To be fair it was probably 2006 when I finally saw it, I was nine years old at the time and I remember my dad bringing home the DVD that someone at work had lent him. I don’t remember watching it but I do remember having nightmares for a month after, only for a month though.  Many years later when I was half way through high school and getting more and more into film my dad then bought the DVD from Woolworth's before it shut down, the DVD didn’t have a case only a see through CD case so I think it only cost him something like 50p. So I re-watched and again I don’t really remember this but all of a sudden I was hooked, and it climbed to the second spot on my favourite movies list where it still sits today. Honestly if you asked anyone I was friends with at that time they will tell you just how obsessed I was with it.  

I have many scenes that I love in this film the first being the rise of the first tripod, but there are two that I geek out over every time. 

The first scene being the one in the basement at Robbie and Rachel’s house, the scene starts off with Ray asleep in a chair. He starts to stir when when a blue flash of light on his face, but then jolts up right at a load whooshing noise followed by closely by Robbie shooting up from just below the camera. I love the way that Robbie appears sort of fits with the sound that’s heard, also the whole mood of the scene which is pitch black with this blue flashing light every now and then. The fact that you’re just as clueless as the characters as well, you find out what’s happening when they find out.  Also the way that Rachel appears behind the basement stairs, which will appear again near the end of the movie in a much more damaged basement which shows just how much their world has changed in just a short few days.  The sound design in this movie as well is something that I love, I love when the sound in a film alone can creep you out. The tripod sound is one of my favourite sounds to exist, like if I heard that from outside I would be so creeped out and scared.  At this moment in time Robbie and Rachel have no idea what is hunting them or what Ray has seen, Imagine running from something and seeing something completely destroy the whole of your neighbourhood yet not knowing what it looks like. This is what runs through my mind when I heart Rachel cry “Is it them, Is it them?!”  Then the next morning when Ray goes upstairs and see’s that the house is just completely destroyed by an aeroplane that has crashed down in the middle of the the housing estate. This Boeing 747 was a out of use plane and the production crew bought it for $60,000 which then cost them $200,000 to transport, it was then broken into pieces and houses were built around it. Which just shows how far some movie productions will go to make a film look more legit. (We love practical effects in this house.) This scene is still set up at Universal Studios Hollywood and can be seen on the Studio tour. 

(Basement and Plane crash scene.)

My second favourite scene, which is one of my all time top favourite scene ever with no surprise is the dock scene.  The speeding train that’s on fire is absolute stunning in every sense but for me the scene starts when the music starts.  ‘If I ruled the world, everyday would be the first day of spring.’ But i’m really glued to the screen when Rachel starts to follow the birds coming in from the river to in land, she follows them up to the hill where she notices the tree’s on the top are moving weirdly. “The tree’s are funny.” She then reaches out and grabs onto Rays hand who was talking to a friend.  Robbie turns to the hill as the camera slowly comes back and shows Robbie also turning to look at where Ray is looking. (Just remembering that this is the first time Robbie and Rachel ever see the tripods.) 

The camera then shows us what the family is looking at to reveal a tripod stood on the top of the hill, it then moves one of its legs which crushes a tree and makes everyone else look back. Obviously chaos ensues from this point on, everyone running trying to get onto the ferry to get away from the impending doom, unfortunately we learn that no where, not even on the water is safe. As a tripod comes up from out of the water and attacks the ferry, the family manage to escape and get to land on the other side of the ferry. They stop for a moment to catch their breath as people are being picked out of the water below them, they turn as a old air raid alarm is heard on the other side of the hill and we see tripods coming over another hill that was filled with people and using their head rays to wipe them all out, we also see in the distance a lighting storm indicating more Martions are still coming to earth. The scene is like a depiction of all the stages of the attack.  (Dock attack scene.)

I mean all the action scenes in this movie are just so beautiful and amazing, but did we expect any less from Spielberg? And the CGI and practical are all done extremely well and fitted together to make a scene look as real as possible. One of the art directors that worked on this film, Doug J. Meerdink who has also worked on Jurassic Park: III, Cloverfield and Jurassic World. 

I was looking up some trivia on IMDB for this movie and found that there was a deleted scene that is called the ‘Camelot’ scene. This scene is supposed to take place between the attack on the ferry and the battle on the hill, it involves Ray, Rachel and Robbie walking through an abandoned housing estate that’s named Camelot, when a pack of tripods start walking near by.  One of the tripods breaks off and the family has to take cover behind a SUV, they watch helplessly from behind as the tripod reaches into the house and grabs people from the houses. This scene has never been released but apparently it was fully finished, VFX and all but then taken out a few weeks before post production was wrapped up.  There is only one official video from this scene that was in the actual trailer for the film, and it’s only a shot of the family hiding behind the SUV. 

The only other shot from the scene is this landscape shot of a CGI tripod. 

There are also photos of the set designers setting up the miniature of the housing estate to shoot this scene, the rest are fan arts of how the scene maybe looked/ played out.  (Source)

I really hope that one day Steven releases this scene, or for some anniversary adds it into an extended version of the film like we’ve seen for other films. Because I would love that so much! It seems like such an incredible scene, and to see the tripods up this close again would be so cool! 

One of the trailers that was released for this film doesn’t have any of the film shots it in, It takes place in a normal neighbourhood where people are just going about their normal nightly routine when suddenly over the hill there are all these brilliant flashing lights, everyone's just coming out of their houses in their pj’s and standing in the street marvelling at this sight in front of them. Then we see explosions and suddenly heat rays are blowing up the tress on the street which then goes into the title.  I just love this, a trailer that doesn’t give anything away from the movie but creeps you out enough to be invested.  (Trailer.)

All in all it’s just an very visually pleasing film, it feels real enough to give you a sense of fear for the characters and for yourself. I also love that Steven stayed true to the source material,more truer than some of the other adaptations and also added in his own little Easter eggs.  The sounds, the aesthetic, the colours just everything comes together so beautifully. I think its a very underrated movie that deserves so much more love.

#war of the worlds #war of the worlds 2005 #robbie farrier #ray farrier #rachel farrier #steven spielberg #movie #film #film talk #tom cruise #dakota fanning #justin chatwin #the war of the worlds #not really a film review #i just wanted to talk about my love for this film

[fishylife]

Street Dance of China S4 Ep 3

(I’m having problems with Tumblr not saving my posts...)

- Oh no people are going to start getting eliminated! :o Well, I’m still really glad that we had two whole episodes of people just dancing and having fun and getting the opportunity to showcase who they are and how they dance.

- This question just occurred to me, but where do people look when they watch dance performances? As I watched the Go Go Brothers, I was thinking to myself, “Where do I look? If I look at one of them, I might miss what the other Brother is doing!” Just my musings lol.

- I am super shallow but people tripping makes me laugh, so yes, Nelson accidentally tripping did make me chuckle. (+ Rochka’s reaction)

- Yibo and Yixing discussing the SDOC theme song. It made me laugh because the lyrics are kind of hype but Yibo and Yixing aren’t exactly the most facially expressive people lol.

- After every performance Henry’d be like “let’s collaborate!!!!!!” Han Geng finally stepped in being like aight Henry you gotta take it easy on the recruitment because we’ve literally only seen three performances. I’m still not really sure of the format of the show from now on, so I’m not sure if they form new teams afterwards.

- Yixing was so guilty about not giving Bouboo a vote.

- Rochka’s shock @ Boubou not getting four votes.

- He’s ashamed.

- I think if a dancer gets less than 4 votes, then other dancers are allowed to challenge them for a spot to advance, but whoever loses is eliminated out of the tournament, so you have to be super confident to challenge. And if a dancer only gets 1 or 2 votes, they are eliminated.

- Yibo asked Rochka why he wouldn’t challenge Bouboo and Rochka said he’d never go against his teacher/big brother v.v They exchanged hearts but then Rochka pretended to throw the heart away and crush it lol.

- While I was expecting a bit more from Bouboo, I don’t think his challenger JC Jun was better than him. JC Jun was kind of wobbly, and I think his dance didn’t match the music as well as Bouboo’s did.

- Yixing had his head down when he voted for Ibuki too, so I think he just gets nervous about voting.

- Henry wanted to say that Ibuki was like lightning but he said the word for a flashing light/disco light and Han Geng wanted to give him shit for it.

- Yixing said that he thought AC’s waacking almost felt like krump.Yixing said that if he was to collaborate with AC, AC should do the arm swing, and Yixing would do the waacking lol. I am all for seeing Yixing doing more dance styles! Not gonna lie, I think he’d look cute doing waacking.

- Ye Yin’s performance was really nice! The music was unique and the way he danced, with the tap dance and folk-like elements really suited it.

- Rochka said he wants to know Ye Yin more and said they also have the same smile.

- Xiao Jie said he’d never battle Ye Yin but he got peer pressured by the captains into freestyling to Ye Yin’s self-produced song lol.

- To show face, you know? The entire time he was like “but this doesn’t count, okay?!!!!” since he wasn’t actually challenging Ye Yin, and it was just for funsies.

- The judges were a bit troubled by Xiaoming’s performance because at the end, he was supposed to fall but his fall wasn’t coordinated with the sound effect in the music. Xiaoming was like yeah, it’s pretty difficult but I’m hoping that my challenger wouldn’t be able to get it too and Yixing was laughing his goose laugh. But Xiaoming was eliminated with zero votes in the end.

- Kelo and Uwa had a horror mental hospital-themed dance which was interesting. Kelo said it was based on a nightmare he had as a child.

- Yang Kai wasn’t impressed though. He said he’d performed something similar with Liangliang before. He felt that Kelo and Uwa were performing but not really dancing. I can see where he’s coming from. Kelo and Uwa got three votes.

- Xiaohai ended up challenging them. He used the wheelchair too but like...somehow his expression just makes us unable to not laugh.

- I think he did really well considering he’d only heard the music once. And he returned to the wheelchair at the end of the performance lmfao

- Apparently when Xiaohai was looking up at the beginning, he was asking Li Yulong (who I assume is the person in charge of the music) for music cues but Li Yulong just laughed at him lol.

- Yibo basically said that Kelo and Uwa’s performance felt a bit abrupt in the story telling side, and that there weren’t really highs and lows to their performance.

- Rochka was talking crap about Bouboo behind his back and Yibo tattled which resulted in Rochka getting whacked in the face.

- Zyko taught Yibo and Rochka how to do his fancy leg moves.

- Yixing talking krump with Auju. Auju was like you’re really good for someone who’s only been learning for a year, but then Yixing was like, I practise 6 hours a day and Auju was like ?!?!

- Zyko + Henry (with Henry’s infamous “getting down while playing violin” move)

- Poppin’C introduced himself, saying he was from Italy and Switzerland, and Yibo and Yixing were thinking of all the things from Italy they knew. Yibo was like “...Valentino Rossi...” and Yixing was like “....pizza.....” These two spacey twinks istg.

- Anyway, Poppin’C’s performance was nice. Not only were his moves clean and impressive, but he also expressed the lyrics through his dance.

- Rochka fanboying over Poppin’C’s dance :P At one point, the lyrics were about hearts, and Poppin’C did some moves where he made a heart and Rochka here is saying how cute it was.

- Poppin’C said he missed his daughter and everybody’s like ?? a baby??? :3 :3 :3

- Also, I saw Uwa in the audience, so I think that the eliminated contestants get to continue watching.

- Poppin’C said that before, he was more fierce, but now that he has a daughter, he’s a little smoother and sweeter :3 Also he was describing that the singer’s voice in the song made his skin feel like chicken and everybody was like ??? Luckily Yixing saved the day lol. In Chinese, goose bumps are called “chicken pimples” or something like that.

- Bozi was next. In his introduction, Bozi said he was from Guangzhou, and maybe that’s why it sounded like so many people in the audience were pronouncing 波子 in Cantonese.

- Eleven said something very interesting about B-boys. He said that in their profession of dance, they don’t fear b-boys who can do tricks, but they fear b-boys who can listen to music. I think it’s a reference to the fact that b-boys are often doing their own thing and disregard the music, which makes sense. Sometimes b-boys are closer to gymnasts because they are so focused on the spins and other really athletic moves they do. But because their moves are so difficult, they sometimes don’t move to the music which is supposed to be the point of dancing.

- Bozi passed with 4 votes. And he did a bit of krump at the beginning, which Yixing admitted he fell for haha. Bozi said that Eleven helped him choreograph that part, so it’s Eleven who knows Yixing well >3

- The director asked Bozi who he thought his biggest b-boy rival on the show was. Of course, we all thought he was going to say Lil Kev, but he ended up saying Xiaoji and Xiaoji was like ?? me?? Bozi’s reasoning was that he’s more troubled by dancers with a different style from him because he doesn’t know how to beat them. From the small clips they showed, I think Xiaoji has a more animated style, whereas Bozi is more serious and reserved.

- Acky-san cheering on MT Pop lol. (”Embarrassing dad at baseball game” mode activate)

- MT Pop has really impressed me in the competition so far though. The way he moves is so cool and creative. I think he purposely goes for a kind of...monster vibe? Like he often has this creepy smile on his face lol. He’s not only dancing, but he’s using popping techniques to change how he moves entirely, including simple things like walking or how he turns his head. I think MT Pop is my favourite contestant.

- He said the monster from Pan’s Labrynth inspired this dance. So I guess I was kind of right that he does draw inspiration from monsters and other creatures.

- Low key mad at Han Geng for not giving MT Pop his vote lol. Geng-ge said he wanted to give someone a chance to challenge. Of all people, why MT Pop?? I don’t want him to goooo.

- Henry wanted to try doing the voiceover for the challenger and Han Geng indulged his overdramatic ass.

- Baby Dolphin challenged. He had some cool moves at the beginning, but I think he fell apart a bit towards the end, based on the judges’ reactions (as we didn’t see the full performance). Plus, I think MT Pop’s approach to dancing is just too unique and interesting to eliminate at this point.

- Kabamba had an interesting performance that had African and Latin influences, with big and energetic movements. Tianci challenged but he went with a general hip hop approach which did not suit the music at all. (I looked up Kabamba. Her name is Latrice Kabamba, but she also goes by 林珊娜 on her social media, which is why she’s sometimes called Nana on the show).

- Acky-san was repeating everything that people were saying around him. Stuff like jiayou!! and other words of encouragement. Dianmen who was sitting next to him was just lol’ing.

- Ma Xiaolong was performing to a song called 棋 and this word usually refers to any kind of board game. Ma Xiaolong’s first moves looked like he was putting pieces on a board and you just know that kind of stuff draws Yixing’s attention right away.

- I think Kenken’s style of dance is the kind of dance that the general public would really enjoy. Whereas some kinds of dance don’t really appeal to people who aren’t into dance, I think Kenken’s kind of dance will attract both the dance-conscious people as well as those who aren’t. I definitely got that vibe from him in the dance that he choreographed, and also his individual performance.

- Not even gonna question this. Perfection. Rochka catboy here we go.

- Okay, I agree with Colin’s performance not making the cut. Based on his introduction, he was supposed to be a popping expert, but his dance didn’t showcase that. His dance was more of a contemporary dance piece, but while we’ve had performances similar to that, his choreography didn’t stand out in comparison. After his performance he had a bit of a cry. Yixing mentioned that it was hard to judge because of the emotional aspect. But admittedly, this emotional stuff is usually the reason why I don’t like competition shows. It was revealed that Colin had lost his grandfather. Now, I’m going to sound cold, but I don’t like it when sob stories are brought in, because it makes us feel bad when we don’t like a piece of art that comes from very pure intentions. Yixing’s reasoning for not giving a vote was that he felt that the emotions overshadowed the dance, which is a problem because this is a show about dance. Han Geng’s reasoning was that he felt that the skill level could have been better. Yibo was quite moved by the performance, and I think that’s why he gave his vote to Colin.

- We got a preview for this week’s hotpot show.

- Yixing and his emotional support giant cup

- Lots of laughing (including Yixing laughing) which is good for the soul

#thinking out loud #cvariety #street dance of china #screencaps

[path-of-my-childhood]

How Midterm Elections Inspired Taylor Swift’s New Song, ‘Only the Young’

By: Chris Willman for Variety Date: January 21st 2020

Miss Americana was keeping another song about America in her back pocket, as it turns out. Taylor Swift didn’t just record 18 songs for last fall’s “Lover” album - a 19th, “Only the Young,” was held back and kept under wraps for the right occasion. It finds its moment in “Miss Americana,” the Lana Wilson-directed documentary that premieres at the Sundance Film Festival Jan. 23 and goes wide to the public in theaters and on Netflix Jan. 31.

In an an interview for this week’s Variety cover story, Swift described the tune’s origins. Its writing followed a personally disappointing moment for the singer after the 2018 midterm elections, when she got involved by endorsing candidates in the senatorial and gubernatorial races in her home state of Tennessee, only to see them go down despite her best efforts - and those of a lot of fans she urged to sign up to vote and campaign.

“I wrote it after the midterm elections, when there were so many young people who rallied for their candidate, whether it was a senator or congressman or congresswoman,” Swift tells Variety. “It was hard to see so many people feel like they had canvassed and done everything and tried so hard. I saw a lot of young people’s hopes dashed. And I found that to be particularly tragic, because young people are the people who feel the worst effects of gun violence, and student loans and trying to figure out how to start their lives and how to pay their bills, and climate change, and are we going to war - all these horrific situations that we find ourselves facing right now.”

It won’t be any secret to anyone watching the documentary just how crestfallen she was when the senatorial candidate Swift had declared stood in opposition to women’s issues and gay rights lost.

“I was really upset about Tennessee going the way that it did, obviously. And so I just wanted to write a song about it. I didn’t know where it would end up. But I did think that it would be better for it to come out at a time that it could maybe hopefully stoke some fires politically and maybe engage younger people to form their own views, break away from the pack, and not feel like they need to vote exactly the same way that people in their town are voting.”

Swift is seen demo-ing the song during the body of the film, before a fully produced version kicks in at the end. “With the way that the documentary ended up being politically leaning, when Lana wanted to put it in the film and use it as an end-credit song, I just went along with it. Just like everything else!” she laughs, asserting again that decisions about the film were really up to her director.

Key lyrics from the song: “You did all that you could do / The game was rigged, the ref got tricked/ The wrong ones think they’re right / We were outnumbered - this time.” Although it isn’t specific about particular causes or political issues, the track references forces that are “too busy helping themselves... We gotta do it ourselves.”

The song was co-written and co-produced with Joel Little. With the “Lover” album, he seems to have become Swift’s go-to guy, deliberately or just by coincidence, for message songs. The other tracks they worked on all, or almost all, fit into that category - “Miss Americana,” “The Man,” “You Need to Calm Down” and (if you consider self-esteem anthems  message songs, too) “Me!” Now, “Only the Young” arrives as an unexpected addition to that portfolio.

Says Little, “We did a week in New York; that week we did ‘The Man’ and ‘Me!,’ and ‘Only the Young’ was the last one that we did. That was one where I’d actually come in with a drumbeat, and she was like, ‘Oh, I was actually just playing around with chords that could go with that,’ and then the song just quickly moved from there.”

Adds Little, “Lyrically, that song has got so many gut punches in it - just really important lines, I feel. As that song was coming together and we were realizing what it was saying, it was a very emotional aura. The energy in the room was really intense. Knowing the way things have been going in the States lately with all these horrible shootings and everything, for her to be saying these things made it all the more powerful.”

Production-wise, he says, “That was a fun one. There’s, like, a kids’ choir, and that’s just my two daughters, stepped up over the top of each other singing harmonies with themselves. I had to do it in a way where they weren’t allowed to know that they were singing on a Taylor Swift song, obviously, because there’s a lot of secrecy involved with all this stuff. So I had to sing the parts in a kid’s voice and then get them to sing over the top. They actually don’t even know that it’s going to be in the documentary yet, so I’m excited for them to hear it.” (Let’s hope they aren’t reading it here first.)

Will the song come out as a single? “I don’t see it as a single,” Swift says. “I just see it as a song that goes with this film. I don’t see it as a ‘let’s go make a music video and try to see what this does at radio’ single. I think I’m probably going to keep putting songs out from ‘Lover,’ if I can.” No, no - we, on behalf of fans, want to know if it’ll be available for download or streaming, apart from its place in the documentary? “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can listen to it if you want,” she laughs.

*** You can read other parts of Taylor’s interview with Variety here: Taylor Swift: No Longer ‘Polite at All Costs’ and Taylor Swift Opens Up About Overcoming Struggle With Eating Disorder

#bonus parts of the interview =) #only the young #taylor swift #joel little #Chris Willman #variety #interview #lover era #Taylor Swift: Miss Americana #songwriting

[ggukkiedae]

WEVERSE MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW

Miya: “I’m not the same person I was back in 2013.”

BTS BE comeback interview

2020.11.30

When I first interviewed 13-year-old Miya, she was very unsure of herself and relied on having RM sit with her. Now, at 20-years-old and finally an adult, she expresses herself well and confidently despite being on her own. She grew into a more independent and outspoken version of herself with a mature outlook, yet never lost her youth.

You’ve grown a lot since debut.

Miya: I grew 13 centimeters, yeah. (laughs) On a serious note, though, I agree. I’ve experienced so much since debut, and I’m incredibly grateful for everything that’s happened so far. I grew to be the way I am today because of the things I’ve experienced in the past decade, actually.

One of those experiences must include your general fame internationally. You’ve won Awards in America and performed on some of their big shows. You even topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “Dynamite”.

Miya: I still can’t believe we did that, honestly. It���s like one day I’m my young self watching SHINee on my brother’s computer and accompanying him to music events, the next I’m producing and writing for our I think 19th or 20th album and filming interviews with shows I used to watch other celebrities feature on. It’s such a big honor that we can do that today. And “Dynamite” topping the Top 100? You don’t know how ecstatic all of us were knowing we were able to do that.

You’ve written a lot of personal songs in the past. Your solo on Map of the Soul: 7, especially exposed your inner thoughts.

Miya: That is correct. Music is my way of expressing myself. It’s like a diary, and that’s why my studio is called M.Y. Diary. (laughs) To be honest, we all tend to be a little more personal when writing songs, especially our solos. This time around, though we were able to put our thoughts together and channel all our emotions about the current pandemic situation into Be.

You worked with Jungkook on the song “Stay”. How was it to have a song that you two produced together after a long time?

Miya: Ggukoo oppa and I have been talking about working on something together for the longest time. The opportunity came when he was working on his mixtape, and he asked me to help him out with the last track. We really liked the idea of having an upbeat yet nostalgic song, so we tried out EDM for this. I guess the members liked it a lot, so we decided to put it on the album. It was fun to work not just with him, but also with Seokjinnie oppa and Namjoonie oppa.

I imagine that, as assistant music director and head producer, you had a lot of input on all of the songs on the album.

Miya: Well, I guess you could say that. (laughs) Namjoonie oppa and I worked closest together since he’s the head music director and assistant producer. To be honest, we just compiled everyone’s opinions and ideas while working on the songs and the tracklist. We both worked at least a little bit on each track, but we mostly just solidified what everyone was conceptualizing. I’m actually surprised the members all insisted on making me head producer, but it’s nice to know they trust me enough to basically help manage the sound and music quality of our album.

Were any of the members being nitpicky?

Miya: We all were nitpicky, to be honest. (laughs) We’re all a little crazy when it comes to our music. We want everything to sound a specific way and to feel a specific way before we release it to the public. Not to mention Be in particular tackles our emotions from the pandemic. We wanted to make sure we relayed our thoughts well so that people can listen to the album and relate or even feel comforted. So, yes, we were all pretty nitpicky. (laughs)

“Dis-ease” is another song I found intriguing. J-hope told me about it’s concept and how you two came up with it. Are there any events in particular when you felt the song’s message about your work?

Miya: It’s a little typical, but I sometimes would stop working and just think to myself, “I can’t do this. Not right now”. It’s usually when I have homework to do, though. But then I also want to go back to work when I’m doing other things, so I was confused for a bit. This is actually exactly what Hobi oppa and I talked about when we were writing this. He did most of the writing, though. I just added a few small things.

Have you ever had a bad burnout over the past few months where you didn’t want to work?

Miya: It was more of a mini-crisis than it was a burnout. When this whole thing started, I was already upset about not being able to show our ARMY what we prepared for them. Then, time went on, and nothing was really allowing us to continue with our plan. I just got more and more scared. I didn’t know if the ARMYs would grow tired of us after not seeing us live for so long. Ggukoo oppa had a really long talk about that, and that’s where we got the initial concept of “Stay,” actually.

“Blue & Grey” tackles a more sensitive topic. You all expressed your darker thoughts through this song.

Miya: I wouldn’t say it as our darker thoughts. I’d rather say it’s more of just our internal struggle. I don’t want to paint it in a negative light when these are some things a lot of people go through. We want these people going through similar things to know they are not alone, and it’s okay to feel like that sometimes.

You’re known as a happy person, so hearing your thoughts through this track must be a shock to a lot of people.

Miya: I’d like to disagree, actually. I’m not exactly a happy person. Well, I wasn’t back then. I’m just surrounded by people who make me happy. Everyone close to me have all helped build me into my more positive mindset now, but it still gets a little grey and blue in my mind. I’m sure ARMY knows about this, but I’m someone who can’t deal with people walking out of my life well. And there’s always that fear of these people doing just that.

This reminds me of your line in the song. “Please don’t leave me alone, it hurts too much”.

Miya: It seems a little dramatic taken out of context. (laughs) But, yes, that’s basically the bulk of my thoughts. I think Tae oppa did really well with the overall vibe of the song, so I wanted to do him justice by giving out the emotions he aimed for. Do you know that this was supposed to be on his mixtape? I’m really honored he let us put this masterpiece in our album.

He cares about the group that much, I’m guessing. Hopefully your fear of people walking out of your life doesn’t include the members, considering how much you all care for each other.

Miya: I can’t say I don’t fear it because it’s probably my biggest fear, but I know it won’t happen. I think it was two years ago, we all sat down and talked about our future as a group. We all agreed that we wanted to be together for a long time. It doesn’t matter where or how, but we just all want to be around each other. I know they’ll keep that promise, so, whenever this fear surfaces, the oppas somehow are able to tell, and they remind me of what we promised to each other.

You sound a lot more mature now compared to when I first interviewed you.

Miya: I’d hope so. (laughs) I was way too naive back then, and I was mostly unaware of what was going on. I like to think I grew up well, especially with the oppas helping me. I’m not the same person I was back in 2013. I’m stronger, more skillful, more confident, and more sure of myself. I think you can tell through my music, too. Especially with the Be album.

What are some things that you did in order to grow confident?

Miya: I didn’t do much, to be honest. Back then, I got a lot of negative backlash, so I hid myself in a shell. The oppas and my family worked really hard to pull me out of that shell, and I’m so thankful to them for that. I really am just surrounded by some of the best people. The Bangtan oppas always made sure to remind me of my skills and abilities. They showed me a lot of love, as well. My blood brother worked hard to be able to take care of me, and Channie oppa is always giving me advice and talking me through my thoughts. He and Namjoonie oppa are very similar in that way.

Let’s talk about “Life Goes On”. You’re the song’s producer and main lyricist. How did the members pick your song as the title track?

Miya: First of all, I’d like to say Pdogg oppa helped me with the production, and the rest of the rap line helped me greatly with the lyrics. Secondly, I really don’t know. (laughs) I was messing around on the guitar once, and Yoongi oppa heard what I was playing. He asked me to play it for everyone, and I guess they liked it. We built on it a little bit, played with lyrics and concepts and all. Eventually, the rapline oppas and I finished a raw version of it and sent it to Pdogg oppa who added more instrumentals. Now, “Life Goes On” sounds like this, and we’re promoting it.

You’re doing well as producer and music director, then.

Miya: Thank you!

The song itself is very comforting, especially with the pandemic situation.

Miya: Well, that is what we were going for. It’s just a little reminder that we still continue to live on despite the new reality we’re facing. We mentioned it during the 75th UN General Assembly. Life goes on, so let’s live on. Just because this pandemic is stopping us from doing the usual things we’re used to, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the line.

You seem to be adamant about this.

Miya: I got a little bit louder, didn’t I? (laughs) It’s just because I realized this myself. When COVID-19 first led to all these lockdowns, I felt helpless. Like I mentioned previously, I was scared. I was frustrated. I thought, “There’s nothing I can do, now.” but there is something I can do. I’m fortunate enough to still be able to work, so I want to be able to spread positivity and comfort through the platform we have.

It sounds like you had an eventful quarantine. How have you been spending it?

Miya: To be fair, I mostly spent it with the Bangtan oppas, friends, and my biological brother’s family. You can ask ARMYs, I’ve posted many pictures and videos of my niece. As much as I want to say I spent time with my family, Channie oppa has been a little busy, and I haven’t gotten the chance to go back to Australia, either. I guess I can say this now as well, now that the public knows. I’ve been spending time with Mark oppa.

Your relationship became a big topic in the whole world, didn’t it?

Miya: Yes, and it’s a little funny. I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. I mean, it’s our lives, and we’re people, too. What’s the big deal with it that we actually made headlines? (laughs) It’s just a little bit of a shame that we didn’t get to reveal it on our own terms.

It’s great to know you have been living like how you would even if you weren’t the Nation’s Makdungie or the International Sweetheart. I heard from your Skit in this album that you drink now.

Miya: (laughs) I do! I’m an adult now, so the oppas can invite me to drink with them with actual alcohol instead of just juice or milk like they used to give me. They were all pretty excited when they realized I could drink with them. Well, Seokjinnie oppa had a little crisis because he was reminded of his age, but it was amusing.

According to Jungkook on one of your previous Vlives, you’re planning to do a drinking broadcast. What made you decide to do that?

Miya: I just want to talk to the ARMYs on a more casual basis, I guess. I saw a few of the oppas do it before, and they were actually really funny. They also have this intimate and homelike vibe that I want to try once as well. Warning to ARMY when I do finally do the drinking broadcast, those who aren’t adults yet must only drink milk or juice like I used to!

You must really miss your fans.

Miya: I really do. I miss hearing their voices and seeing their faces. I don’t think they realize that we do our best to see each and every one of them when we perform live. We remember. My very first fansite? I remember her. The fan that scolded me back in Manila for overworking? I remember her. The fan that gave me a letter written on paper designed to look like the oppas taking care of a baby me? I remember him. I think back on a lot of memories like this, and I just miss them a lot more. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess. Is that how the saying goes? (laughs)

Hopefully you’ll get to see them soon.

Miya: Oh, I really hope so. I want to have fun with them. It’s been way too long, and I really miss the feeling of being with them. For now, though, I hope we can bring them comfort through our music and through the screen. When all this is over, we’ll all meet again, and it’ll be like coming back home.

Credit

Editor. Myungseok Kang

Interview. Myungseok Kang

Visual Director. Yurim Jeon

Visual Creative Team. Sunkyung Lee, Yeonhwa Cha (Big Hit Entertainment)

Photography. Sunhye Shin / Seongjo Baik, Minseok Kim(@co-op.)(Digital camera), Yurim Jeon(Film camera)

Hair. Som Han, Mujin Choi, Daeun Lee

Makeup. Dareum Kim, Sunmin Kim, Yuri Seo

Stylist. Hajeong Lee, Hyesu Kim, Sil Hong

#yoonmi.interview #yoonmi.weverse #yoonmi.be #bts 8th member #bts female member #bts female addition #miya #yoonmi #kim yoonmi

[hlupdate]

Ben and Gabe Turner directed the videos for Harry Styles’ singles Golden and Treat People With Kindness, and the Fulwell 73 partners have opened up to Music Week about working on the blockbuster Fine Line campaign.

The video for Treat People With Kindness (TPWK) stars Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge and was released on New Year’s Day 2021, more than a year after Fine Line came out. The Turner brothers were also behind the film for Golden, which dropped in October. TPWK has 18,019,468 views on YouTube, while Golden, which was filmed under Covid restrictions on Italy’s Amalfi coast last year when lockdowns eased, has racked up 81,373,613.

Ben and Gabe Turner have been working with former Music Week cover star Styles since One Direction emerged on The X Factor, making videos for Steal My Girl and Drag Me Down. Their Fulwell 73 partner Ben Winston has also worked extensively with the group.

The brothers told Music Week that their longstanding relationship with Styles leads to an easy working environment, and the idea behind the TPWK video – which features Styles and Waller-Bridge doing a choreographed dance routine and was filmed at East London’s Troxy early in 2020 – came about after Styles saw the actor’s Fleabag live show.

“It was always supposed to be the last thing on the album run as an ending beat, and the album did so well that it just carried on,” said Gabe Turner. “We just didn’t know when [it would drop]. New Year’s Day 2021 was the perfect release date for us in the end.”

The duo make documentaries, TV shows, music videos, promos and more and Ben Turner said that “hope, warmth, fun and emotional honesty” define their work, which includes 2019 documentary Hitsville: The Making Of Motown.

“Music videos are fun, they’re the most impressionistic of the things we do,” said Ben Turner. “When else are we going to shoot a black and white dance video? There probably isn’t another avenue for us to do that.”

Here, the brothers look back on shooting Golden and TPWK with Styles and his team, talk Fine Line and trace the history of their work with the singer…

What are your reflections on the Treat People With Kindness video now it’s out?

Gabe Turner: “There’s a tendency when you’re working and going from job to job, not to sit back and enjoy something when it comes out, because you’re in the middle of something else. This was really enjoyable, a piece of work that’s really expansive, joyous and has loads of people dancing and reminds you of a time where life was really fun felt really nice. Harry and all of One Direction have incredible fans and they obviously amplify your work and make it bigger and feel like more of an achievement, which is really nice because you’re like, ‘The whole world is talking about it’ [laughs]. When really, the whole world is talking about Harry, or the boys, but it feels very special to be a part of that.”

What do you like most about the video?

Ben Turner: “It was just an amazing opportunity to work on a song we loved with some people we loved. We’d never worked with Phoebe before, so that was really exciting. It just feels so different now because we’ve been stuck indoors for a year. This thing about treating people with kindness, it just feels more prescient even than it did then. It feels like a really important message. The world has changed since we made it, the video has stayed the same but the world has disappeared.”

Have the videos have been extra important to the campaign with touring postponed?

GT: Harry’s got an incredible team, his manager Jeff Azoff, Tommy Bruce, Molly Hawkins and Rob Stringerand the label, they’re just brilliant. They’ve been really impressive in how they view and plan stuff. The videos kind of replaced him touring, so they had to have an impact. His fanbase wanted something to feel positive about and joyous about. We just feel hugely privileged that we were able to collaborate on two of the songs. We love the album, it’s a real quality piece of work. With Harry, because the camera loves him so much, you really want to raise your game and make something really special because you’ve got such an incredible protagonist. And then with Phoebe involved too, me and Ben thought this might be the best it ever gets for us behind camera – two people completely in their prime. The last time Phoebe was photographed in a public place she was clutching three Emmys. And Harry, he’s getting bigger and bigger and is such a joyous presence to be around. Those two massive stars together, learning a dance routine, doing something they’d not done before, it felt like we were witnessing something really special and it just makes you want to shoot the best video you possibly can.”

How did you end up doing two videos for the record?

GT: “We see Harry outside of work, so we talk about things all the time in a slightly different way. The TPWK conversation came from meeting Phoebe and saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you two danced together?’ Then after we did that, when Golden came up, there was a feeling that we could do something together in a similar vein.”

BT: “Golden came about as organically as TPWK. We all sit around mooching with our mates saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if this or that…’ When you’re mooching with your mates and it’s Harry or Phoebe, those ideas can become. And that’s how these videos really came about. Golden feels like a driving song. The initial idea was Harry driving around LA with different people getting in and out of the car, people who were significant to the album or his life. That came off the table with Covid, but it was the idea we fell in love with. The world changed and he couldn’t tour, so they wanted to make more videos. We couldn’t make that original version, but the thing of movement came out of it. When someone you feel close to does something you rate as highly as I rate Fine Line you feel lucky. When you’re listening to that kind of music you get ideas. We’ve been in the position where you’re racking your brains for the right idea, and that can also lead to brilliant work, but this album in particular, I’d listen to it, walk along and think about it, before pitching anything.”

Harry’s vision for the album was so strong, what was that like to work with?

GT: “You just don’t want to drop the ball for him. It’s so important and the album’s so good, plus we’re fans of his as well as contemporaries. When he drafts you in to work on a video, you’re like, ‘OK, I just want to make sure you’re happy with it, if you are then it’s job done’.

BT: “There’s just so much there to work with. There’s so much in there. Why does TPWK work? What’s it really got to do with anything? Except somehow it does. There’s so much in that song and the feel of it that a slightly weird, leftfield idea makes perfect sense. I think that’s to do with how deep his creative thought and well of feeling [are], that allows it to go off. Not just our videos, but the ones everyone else made for the album, they’re widely varied but they work together. That’s got to be down to him, he’s the common thread. His creative team, too. They’re great sounding boards to work with, a guiding hand. It sounds like this massive love-in, but it really has been a very enjoyable, rewarding process.”

What was it like on set?

GT: “Harry doesn’t go off set. He does his bits and then when other stuff is going on he’s sitting next to you watching the monitor. He’s very, very involved in everything and he’ll push himself. At the end of TPWK he wanted to do a couple more takes at the end to make sure they’d nailed it. We said, ‘We think you’ve got it’, but he just said, ‘Let me go again a couple of times, I want to make sure it’s done to the best of my ability’. He works really hard, he’s great to collaborate with and he doesn’t let up. If it’s not good enough, he’ll carry on going.”

BT: “You’ve got a sense that it’s his video and he wants it to be the best. He takes ownership. He knows it’s his video and that how good and engaged he is will affect how good the product is. The length of the relationship we’ve had with him allows a kind of shorthand and a way of working to maximise that.”

GT: “He works to a really high standard but he’s unbelievably kind to literally everyone, all the time. Even if he’s under pressure, he never drops his standards of the right way to behave and being kind to people. It’s so impressive to work with someone like that. He’s never not a good bloke about whatever it is that he faces. You watch the way he is with the runners, producers, sound people, whoever… He’s treating them with so much love and respect that everyone works as hard as they possibly can to make his vision come true because he’s so joyful to be around. It does sound like a love-in, but that’s the most defining factor – he’s so talented and so nice about it.”

What do these videos say about where you are at right now as directors?

GT: “Our thinking is always about how we can be creative. We don’t really think about the space we’re going into as much as what the idea is. If you only do one thing it sometimes stilts your creativity because you get into a pattern, whereas if you’re constantly jumping between mediums it keeps you fresh. We like to be involved in lots of stuff. We try and surround ourselves with people like Harry, who operate in that way. Ben and I just try and push each other into trying to do the best we can. We feel massively lucky we get to work together, we’re brothers, best friends, it’s a dream.”

#harry styles #articles #150121

[invisibleraven]

I wish you would write a fic where Carrie and Julie are rival broadway stars (or just general singers) and they're brought together by Reggie (I hope that's not too vague)

Carrie looked up when she heard the name of the next auditonee, and glared at Julie when their eyes met. The two of them had been rivals for ages, always going after the same parts, and right now they were neck and neck for who had won the most. They had done a few shows together, and always put their issues aside during them, but it was well known that they didn't get along due to the cut-throat nature of Broadway. But hell, Carrie was not losing this role to Julie Molina of all people, she had dreamed of performing Sondheim since she first heard his name, this was her role to play!

Carrie silently crept to the door of the auditorium, listening through the crack, but she had missed what role Julie was going out for, only hearing her monologue and then a snippet of a song before she spied an employee closing in, so she scampered back to her seat. Julie came out not long after, looking satisfied, and nodded at Carrie as she went. Carrie steamed for a moment, as Julie was always professional, and it irritated Carrie's catty nature. But she tossed those thoughts aside, as it was her turn, and she was determined to blow those producers away!

In the end, it turned out they had auditioned for different roles, so Carrie was ecstatic to learn she got the role of Cinderella to Julie's Baker's Wife. There was some relative unknown playing the Baker, a Reggie Peters and when the girls caught sight of him, Julie clutched at Carrie's hand, Carrie clutching right back. Oh, he was cute, and then when they heard him sing, well it sealed the deal, one of them was going to win him.

So it began, the girls inviting Reggie for meals and drinks and extra rehearsals, and he happily agreed. More often than not, the three of them ended up together, due to their similar call times, and Carrie had to admit that she enjoyed it. She and Julie had been friends once, with a possibility for more until they were always competing for jobs. These quasi dates brings that all back, and well, Reggie seems to fit right in with them, making the possibilities seem more than they ever had been when it was just the two of them. Yet none of them make a move, and Carrie is adamant in her mind that all she wants is to win Reggie for her own, and that's all Julie could want as well.

The show goes off without a hitch, several reviews mentioning Reggie's chemistry with the both of them, and a few even mentioning the chemistry between Carrie and Julie. The director thinks it's great publicity, and declares he is definitely keeping them in mind when he stages the next iteration of Wicked.

Come closing night, the three of them are getting dressed for the last time, biding farewell to the crew as they leave the after party. They are standing on the curb, debating getting a car when Reggie finally pipes up "So now that the show is done are the two of you ever gonna make a move? I mean, I appreciate the wooing, but if you wanted me as a third all you had to do was ask."

Both girls sputter at that, red faced, and Carrie finally exclaims that they weren't even together. Reggie scoffs "Well you could have fooled me, because if you're not, you totally should be." Carrie and Julie exchange glances at that, and Julie slowly extends a hand to her. Had they really been fooling themselves all this time? Carrie takes Julie's hand, and smiles, but then they both pull Reggie into their arms.

"C'mon sugar, you too," Carrie says, and he smiles as the car pulls up. When the cabbie asks for an address, Carrie gives hers, and they spend the rest of the ride exchanging sweet kisses between the three of them, the strains of the shows final number still buzzing around their brains as they drive off.

#so the show is into the woods if you weren't sure #because i love it so #regal jewelry #julie/carrie/reggie #ficlet #my stuff #writing #julie and the phantoms #ask games

[jeongyunhoed]

A year after the events of Past-Present-Future, Lee Mirae, Choi San, and Jeong Yunho receive a mysterious envelope containing photos and notes about the deaths of several individuals. The deeper they go into the case, they find that the entertainment industry hides a very dark secret.

Group: ATEEZ Pairing: Yunho/OC Genres: It’s a little bit of: adventure, romance, mystery, crime, fantasy, action. Things to note: It also features mentions of other idols/artists: Junhong (Zelo), Dean, Chanyeol, Enhypen etc.

Superpowers AU if it wasn’t obvious as well.

T/W: Themes of death, violence, demons, cults, blood, use of weapons and/or firearms, use of drugs (both recreational and medical), implied/referenced assault, implied/referenced suicide, implied smut

A/N: So, because of the flow of the story so far, things might end in less than 10 chapters. Sorry it took me a while to finish this. I was in a bit of a rut but as of a few weeks ago, I’ve come back from it but I’m still just swamped with work so yeah. 

Masterlist

Chapter 5

“Do we knock? Or do we let ourselves in?” San muttered as they approached the door. 

Wooyoung touched the doorknob. He could hear a woman giggling and a man grunting, rushing to unlock the door and kicking it closed. He turned to the rest of them and nodded. “He’s in here,” He said. Upon seeing the sliver of a shadow being cast by the nearby trees onto the door, he took a deep breath, stepping into the sliver. He had transformed into the shadow itself, and they watched him open the door, hearing some metal parts clinking and breaking inside. 

“Wow,” San looked impressed as Wooyoung turned back to normal. Yunho and Mirae also looked impressed.  

“You’re getting the hang of your powers already, aren’t you?” Mirae asked quietly. 

“Sort of. In a way I know how you feel now,” Wooyoung offered a small smile and they quietly stepped inside, Mirae leading the way. 

Hardwood floors and walls bathed the home of Yang Tan as they crept down the front hall, seeing framed certificates of recognition of the outlet he owned. One framed photo stood out from the rest. It was a family photo of the CEO himself and his wife, with one son who looked unsuspecting. Wooyoung removed the sling of his katanas from his back, both hands now at the handles. 

“Do you think his son knows about what his father’s doing?” San whispered. 

“He might, he might not, there’s nothing much he can do about it really,” Mirae replied. 

No one seemed to be around the living room, and Wooyoung didn’t sense any presence at the mini patio close to the kitchen. There was a muffled sound coming from the second floor, making them look up. Mirae gestured to go up and they crept up the stairs, San’s hand poised on his harpoon while Yunho had a hand on the handle of one of his sai. The closer they were, the muffled noises grew louder. 

They approached the door where the noises were coming from, what looked like the master bedroom. They heard a squeaking as they observed the noises coming from the room. “It sounds like someone moaning-oh,” San looked shocked, making the rest of them gape. 

The moans were growing louder mixed in between squeaking and San tried to turn around to leave, only for Yunho to pull him back. “I’ve heard our old boss fuck someone from another room before, but I didn’t expect to relive that experience now,” Wooyoung pursed his lips, eyes flitting around as if avoiding looking at the door. 

“Do you think we should wait for another time?” San whispered. 

“We need to move quickly, we can’t just leave because the guy we’re after is busy screwing someone in his bedroom,” Mirae shook her head, feeling just as uncomfortable. 

“...But they’d be naked in there!” San whispered, covering his ears. “I think we can wait until they’re done.”

Mirae shook her head again, stopping her brother from trying to leave this time as she led the way, bursting in the room and making them skid to a halt at what they were seeing. Yang Tan and a woman they knew wasn’t his wife, were in a very compromising position, both of them scrambling to cover themselves up in a second, the woman screaming in surprise. “Yang Tan, we’ve got some questions to ask you,” She pressed on. 

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?!” Tan bellowed. 

“Who we are isn’t important, it’s what you know that is,” Mirae said. “Min Junghwa, you were in the list of people she was going to sue-” 

“You come here to my home with that drivel-” Tan spat. 

“I don’t think your wife would appreciate you screwing that in the bedroom you share with her either,” Yunho pointed out. “Tell us what you know about Min Junghwa, or Madame Seo, or both of those women as I’m sure you are fully aware.” 

“What makes you think I’d have an inkling of what those women were about?” 

“You own a news outlet, surely you’d have known firsthand what’s happening,” San chimed in. “Protection in the form of exposing other scandals to distract the public, we know your MO.” 

Tan stared at the four of them, his expression suddenly relaxing. “And I will tell you because…?” 

“If you don’t tell us, we’ll have to do it the other way around, and trust me, you won’t like what you’re going to see,” Mirae stared at him, her eyes turning black. 

Wooyoung stared at him. Flashes of the CEO at a club, at a house, taking a line of the gold powder. The more he stared at Yang Tan, the more he began to see flashes of his memories. They were in a room, he was feeling up a woman, until it happened, the horrific act itself. He looked away, not wanting to see anymore. “He did it. He really made a pass at that actress, and many others probably.” 

Tan looked at him in horror. “H-how did you see that?” He sputtered. 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, someone’s guilty,” Mirae said, her eyes still black, 

“Tell me what you want? Do you want money? I have money,” Tan pleaded as the four of them approached the bed. “I-I know people that could make your life-your lives very comfortable, protection from the law, is that it? I-I can give you that too!” 

“We don’t want and need those, we just want to know what you know, especially about Madame Seo,” Mirae leaned forward, taking out the spray bottle from her belt and spritzing his face once. “You better hit the road, this guy’s no good. He’s had innocent people killed, you know, he might do the same to you,” She added, glancing at the woman he was with, who was also unable to speak from fright. 

The woman crawled out of the bed, covering herself up with the sheet. San threw her clothes in her face. “Wouldn’t want people to see a naked woman running down the street tonight, would you?” He smirked, watching her stumble on her way out, getting dressed haphazardly. 

Just like the CEO, Tan’s face had gone blank with his eyes glazed over. “Did you think Madame Seo would willingly meet with you? I am protected,” He said blankly. “Principium est, et finis est initium, principium est, et finis est initium.” 

Mirae’s eyes changed back and she turned to the boys. “An entertainment agency CEO, a media outlet, those three other guys are probably involved in the industry too,” She got back up. “If Madame Seo has control of the outlet, of the entertainment agency, and the fact that those idols in that company are not human, she wants to do something,” She deduced. 

“And with Yeosang’s influence and money, she’s practically untouchable,” Yunho said. 

“But we need to look at the three others,” San chimed in. “If they have industry ties, then we can say what all of us are probably thinking.” 

“She’s using the entertainment industry,” All of them began to say, exchanging looks in surprise that they were all thinking the same thing. 

“Who are we visiting next?” Yunho turned to Mirae, who took out the list again. 

“Song Youngdo, he’s a producer for the big three tv stations,” Mirae read out. “She really is using the entertainment industry as pawns, isn’t she?” 

“An agency CEO, a media outlet, a producer,” San muttered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the next two guys are higher up.” 

“What could be higher than the CEO?” 

“The investors, and Yeosang is an investor,” San shrugged. “Those people on the board of directors.” 

“How can we track that guy down first?” Wooyoung asked, and Mirae showed him the list. He looked at the names. Yang Tan, Noh Hodong, Song Youngdo, Yoo Jongseob, and Cho Hajoon. Images began to flash in his mind again as he read the names. “They’re-I think they’re at a club.” 

Mirae, San, and Yunho all turned to him. “A club?” 

Wooyoung tried to piece together the flashes of what he was seeing all of a sudden. “I have a feeling that those two, the last two names, are at a club, music, drinking, drugs, all of those things.” 

“Let’s not hope we catch them in an orgy then,” San cringed, looking back at the dazed form of Youngdo before knocking him out with the handle of his harpoon. “But which club exactly? There’s so many.” 

Wooyoung looked back at the list again, trying to concentrate some more in the hopes of sensing more information just from the names. He closed his eyes as flashes of scenes were coming to him. “Leopard print. Leopard print rooms,” He mumbled, the three of them stopping to listen to him. “Elevators, suits,” 

“A lot of corporate people,” Mirae said quietly, paying attention to him. 

“Building, middle of the city,” Wooyoung opened his eyes. “That place is a building in the middle of the city.” 

“It could be any building, those two guys are in that building then?” San questioned. 

“Seems like it, yeah. They’re there partying or something.” 

The television behind them suddenly turned itself on, making them turn around. It showed a signal interruption. The four of them stared at the screen, seeing a face form from behind until it turned black. A figure wearing a Max Headroom mask and a suit appeared. “So we finally meet at last, soul-taker,” said the figure whose voice was gravelly and distorted. 

“Soul-taker?” Wooyoung mouthed to them. San quietly pointed to Mirae and he nodded. 

Mirae stayed quiet. “I’ve anticipated all your moves. I’ve been watching you every step of the way, but no matter how much you find out, it’s too late for you to do anything more. I have eyes and ears, you know. Lee Miran and Go Changseok knew what you were capable of when you underwent that training program. What they, or your mutant comrades don’t know is, the extent of power you wield. Sooner or later, you will see how important it is to keep the status quo in order to keep the peace. I mean it, soul-taker. The more you move, the more we strike, and believe me, it will be painful,” and the screen turned black, the television turning itself off. 

Wooyoung was still looking at the screen. “They’re after Mirae. They’ll come after her,” he said, making them stare at her. 

“Fine, let them come after me,” Mirae said plainly. 

~ 

They teleported out of the house and close to the car. Mirae kept thinking of what she was called by that figure. Yunho took her hand, as if letting her know that he heard her as they approached their vehicle. They stopped in their tracks when they heard a swooping from behind. 

“Soul-taker,” They heard a growling followed by a little giggle. 

They turned around, Mirae recognizing who the voices belonged to and the clothes they were wearing. It was that same idol group that tried to kill her in the agency. “Get the soul-taker, make it quick,” the boy in the red tracksuit growled as the seven of them surrounded them by moving around in circles. 

Wooyoung brandished his katanas, Mirae extended her staff, San loaded his harpoon, and Yunho brought out his sai, the four of them ready to attack. The boy in blue and the boy in yellow sped past them, both their hands transforming into claws and eyes glowing red as they swooped in, hovering over Mirae while the rest of the boys attacked the three males. 

Mirae tried to fend the two off, spinning her staff in the ground to emit a shock. She dodged every strike made towards her until the boy in blue quickly struck her neck with one of his talons. She felt lightheaded, her vision turning black as she dropped to the ground, the two boys picking her up. 

“Mirae!!!” Yunho yelled, fighting the rest off while watching the two boys take her unconscious figure away into a portal, the rest of the boys following close behind until the boy in red clapped his claws together emitting a sound wave that sent them flying towards the nearby brick wall, the three of them sliding to the ground. The portal had closed. 

San rushed back up to his feet, racing to the spot where the portal was. Yunho followed close behind. His heart was pounding. “Mirae!” San called out, looking all around him. She was gone. 

“What was that? Who were those guys?” Wooyoung had caught up to them. 

San was trying not to cry as he kept looking around in frustration. Yunho looked like he was about to break down as well. “I’m guessing those were the idols she fought off at Kang Entertainment,” He replied, blinking back the tears that were welling in his eyes. 

“What do we do now?” Yunho spoke. “We have to come up with a plan or else I’m going to kill someone, and it’s likely going to be Yeosang.”

“If you kill someone, you’re giving them what they want, you’re giving this Madame Seo character what she wants,” Wooyoung said knowingly. “They took Mirae before we could get to the other three guys. She’s trying to stall.” 

“What’s she rushing for? Does she have something to do tonight?” San was puzzled. “That guy on the tv just said the more we make a move, the more they will do something. They know we’re onto them, they’re threatened.” 

“They’re taking Mirae hostage,” Yunho closed his eyes, trying to see if he could hear her thoughts. There was nothing. “What are they planning to make her do?” 

“I think we’re running out of time now,” Wooyoung opened the car doors and got in the driver’s seat, making the two of them follow suit. “If they’ve got Mirae, if my senses are right, this is what Ino is afraid of.”

“But where are we going?” San slid in the backseat while Yunho got in the passenger seat. 

“Back to the house, we’ve seen enough from them, and we’ve had a hell of a night,” Wooyoung started the car and stepped on the gas. 

~ 

Ino froze in his place, staring into space with a horrified expression. “Yunho, San, and Wooyoung, they will be returning shortly,” He said, making everyone in the lab abruptly stop their brief training session. 

Junhong sensed what the older male meant. “What about Mirae?” 

Ino stared at him, and then at the other four, whose expressions fell. “You mean she’s dead?” Hongjoong asked. “You mean, Mirae’s dead? Really dead? She can’t die, can she?” 

Ino shook his head. The doors of the lab opened, with Yunho, San, and Wooyoung appearing. “They took her, those idols in that Kang Entertainment agency, and before that-” San’s free hand had curled into a fist. “Before that we confirmed Yang Tan’s got something to do with it, but there’s more to what we found and it’s going to take a while to get everyone up to speed.” 

“Firstly, they called Mirae soul-taker,” Wooyoung added. “Do they call her that because they know what we all used to do?” 

Ino and Junhong shook their heads. San remained quiet. “One of Mirae’s abilities, as I’m sure you remember, manifested during the Utopian cult ordeal,” Ino began to explain. “When her eyes turn black, she can take a person’s soul, trap it into something. She usually did it with her playing cards before making those cards explode.” 

“Does Madame Seo want that power of hers then? Is that why those guys took her?” Yunho asked. “They want her to do that?” 

Ino shook his head again. “Yes and no, Yunho,” He said. “You of all people should know, she’s an omega-level mutant, those kinds of mutants are rare, as rare as immortals like you, what you’ve seen so far is nowhere close to the damage she can do when pushed to the extreme.”

“They want her to use her powers, on everyone,” San figured it out. “Through the entertainment industry, probably. All those guys that harassed that actress, and those other actors and actresses, they were all part of the industry. Madame Seo is using the industry to bend people to her own will.” 

“It would make sense that she would, people watch television, stream movies, videos,” Junhong chimed in. “Those idols have a wide reach, as I’ve learned,” He turned on the monitor, showing the group’s music video. “Millions of views, millions of followers not just here but everywhere.” 

“You think there might be something in their songs? A melody or the lyrics, perhaps?” Ino mused. 

“I give you my blood blood blood blood, I give you my blood,” the group was singing. 

“Mirae, she didn’t say much about the meeting, but when she met them, I heard that they’re hungry for blood, they tried to suck the blood out of her when she first met them in the CEO’s office,” Yunho recalled. 

“They were the ones that killed those actors and actresses then!” Wooyoung gaped. “They’re- they’re her children or something like that.” 

“Close,” Ino realized where they were going. A large book had materialized in front of him, its pages yellowed and slightly rough around the edges. The pages were flipping in front of him until it stopped. They were staring at him in amazement. “Demons” 

“Demons?” San questioned. 

“Demons,” Ino read. “Demonic creatures that mainly live on the blood of humans, of animals and they are birthed by one of the leaders of hell, Ose, who would manifest in the world above in the form of a leopard.” 

“Madame Seo worships that one then? Is that what we’re dealing with?” Seonghwa asked. 

“It could be, it’s making even more sense now. The leopard prints Wooyoung had seen, the leopard print interiors of Montague, the leopard print...everything that’s related to her,” San explained. 

“With Yeosang and Mirae, she would have more power,” Yunho deduced, the feeling of helplessness seeping in. “We need to act and we need to act now, I don’t care if they strike, they took Mirae, that’s enough of a reason for us to move.” 

“How? How are we going to do that? How are we going to do that without knowing what exactly they plan to do to her?” San shot at him. “I want Mirae back just as much as you do, but we can’t go there without knowing what we’re doing and what we’re dealing with.” 

“We already know what we’re dealing with!” Yunho’s voice was raised. 

“You don’t know how to stop them! You think our weapons are enough?!” San shouted back. “Everything was fine until you started lashing out at her over Yeosang!” 

Mingi and Jongho held Yunho back, while Seonghwa and Wooyoung held San back. Ino and Junhong kept them apart as well. “It’s not the time to argue, both of you,” Ino advised. “We all want her back, you going on a rampage is what they’d want, if you do that, they’ll find a way to end her permanently.” 

“All of you did the same thing before coming here, were the same kind of people before you all met us,” Junhong added. “Think of using that to your advantage when we try to get her back. Mirae would do that, whether she knows it or not.” 

Tears were welling in Yunho’s eyes out of frustration, he sat down on the nearby chair and covered his face. “We need to do something, anything, I lost her once, I don’t want to lose her again,” His voice was muffled. 

“How do we take them on?” Jongho managed to say. 

“We go to that place Wooyoung saw. A building in the middle of the city, if we find Mirae there, good. If we find the three other guys we’re hoping to look for, that’s good too,” San suggested. “It’s all we can do, and we can hope we’re not too late when we do it.” 

~ 

The seven boys had placed Mirae’s body in front of a woman whose face was obscured by a black shawl. They had transformed back to normal, but their clothes had some stains from the dirt and dust. “We found her,” The boy in red said. 

“Good boys, all of you, I’ll make sure your comeback will be highly successful, at least your human forms will find success,” The woman said with a simper. 

“I see nothing special about her, except for her blood of course, running through her veins,” The boy in green purred, looking at Mirae’s wrists. 

“Ah, ah, don’t touch her, my children,” The woman stopped him. “She is important, she is not to be harmed. Her blood is not for the taking, you have to feed on others.” 

“We drained the last manager we had dry,” The boy in purple pointed out. “We’re getting hungry again.” 

“I know, and I am fully aware of that, but don’t you worry your pretty faces,” The woman said. “You’ll be able to drink until you lose your will to do so in time. Tonight is the night of reckoning, and I need you all to be on your best behavior, we’ll be meeting people who can make sure you carry out what you’re going to do.” 

“Will this please our master?” The boy in orange asked. 

“Yes, immensely,” The woman replied. She heard the elevator door open and in came a man dressed in black and his hair slicked back and wearing a tag labeled “Montague.” He ran up to her. “Yes?” 

“Everyone is assembling. What time does the ritual start?” He asked. 

“Midnight tonight, we need to be prepared, especially these boys for what we are about to do. Everything we’ve worked for in the last 20 years is leading up to this,” She replied. “Summon Song Youngdo, he needs to be briefed on the upcoming tv special these boys have.” 

The employee bowed before leaving the room again. “What do we do with her? She can only stay unconscious for so long,” The boy in blue kicked Mirae’s leg slightly. 

The woman bent down to take a closer look at Mirae. “She will be sent to someone whose influence will be very useful and then she’ll be hooked up to the machine we’ve been developing.” 

The elevator doors opened again. Yeosang stepped out, walking up to the woman. “You sent for me?” He asked. 

“Ah, Mr. Kang, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, I brought you something you might like,” the woman stood aside. 

Yeosang stared at Mirae’s unconscious body. “You-you brought her?” He mumbled. 

“Of course. She is what you wanted, didn’t you? I told you I’d give you what you want,” The woman replied, lifting her shawl to place a very wet kiss on his lips, some of her red lipstick transferring on him. 

Yeosang froze as he tried to wrap his head around the situation he was in. He glanced at the seven boys. “Was she hurt?” He asked coldly. 

“Not really, just a little prick on the neck, I had already warned these boys not to drink the life out of her, so you shouldn’t worry about it either,” The woman smiled at him. “She’d make a good pet for you, don’t you think? Am I worthy of you now?” She tilted her head at him before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. 

“You would go to this extent to bring her to me?” Yeosang said quietly. 

“Yes I would, I would do anything for you.”

#kdiner #ateez #ateez scenarios #ateez timestamps #seonghwa #park seonghwa #ateez seonghwa #hongjoong #kim hongjoong #ateez hongjoong #yunho #jeong yunho #ateez yunho #yeosang #kang yeosang #ateez yeosang #san #choi san #ateez san #mingi #song mingi #ateez mingi #wooyoung #jung wooyoung #ateez wooyoung #jongho #choi jongho #ateez jongho

[mercerislandbooks]

Try Audio Books for Book Bingo!

Thanks to the recent Seattle Times article with the reminder that listening to an audio book constitutes reading a book for the purposes of Book Bingo, I was able to use some of my recent audio book “reads” to fill in a few Book Bingo squares!

For me, audio books have been a fun way to squeeze in a few more titles per month. I listen when I work out, on my way to and from work, when I’m knitting, and, when I’m really into an audio book, on my lunch breaks. I especially like listening to YA (bonus points if they have dual narrators, so fun!), romance, and some nonfiction, which is often narrated by the author, as you’ll see below. Every so often I’ll add in a literary fiction, like Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. The pleasure of truly excellent prose spoken aloud adds a depth to my experience of the story. I can’t listen to an audiobook as fast as I can read a book, so it gives me more time to think about the characters, what is happening in the plot and speculate about what might happen next. When I listened to The Dutch House (read by Tom Hanks) I was continually surprised by the twists of the plot. When I listened to Gold Diggers, I was able to step away long enough to remind myself these were fictional characters, because I thought they were making so many bad choices!

Island Books partners with Libro.fm, a local independent audio book platform. Readers who want to support Island Books and get downloadable audio books can purchase a monthly subscription, or buy audio books a la carte, while designating their chosen independent bookstore. Most of our staff uses the Libro.fm app, and whenever I personally mention in a recommendation card or in a blog that I listened to the audio book, it has been exclusively using Libro.fm.

Here are my recent audio book “reads” that are helping me fill in my Book Bingo!

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

I’ve read several of John Green’s YA titles, (The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Turtles all the Way Down) and heard he had a podcast, but never listened to it. So when I saw he had a book of essays coming out, and that he was reading the audiobook, I thought it would be a nice change of pace from all the YA rom-coms I’d been devouring. There’s something lovely about hearing an author read their personal essays aloud, knowing that they are acutely aware of the intent they are trying to convey to their reader/listener. Having no preconceptions, I found this a delightful ramble through John Green’s thoughts about things as varied as the Indy 500, Kentucky Bluegrass (which I initially thought was the music genre and was confused as to all this discussion of lawn care), and Air-Conditioning. Green gives a concise deep dive into each subject, but always circles back to his own, quite moving, personal experience. The through line in each, either explicitly or not, is the disruption of the Covid pandemic, and he imbeds in each essay a snapshot of whatever uncertainty we were all contending with at that particular time. I used The Anthropocene Reviewed for my “Poetry or Essays” square.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

I know this has already been one of the big books of the summer, especially among the late teens and early twenties readers. I had it in my to listen queue when I found it listed on the Seattle Public Library’s “Peak Picks” page - perfect way to fill in that square! I listened to the bulk of it on a recent road trip and, for me, the audio book was the perfect way to submerge myself in the story without overthinking the moments that slightly strained my credulity. August has recently moved to New York City as a way to hopefully finish college, extract herself from her mother’s obsession with a particular cold case, and be alone without feeling lonely. She stumbles into an apartment situation with a handful of quirky characters, a job as a waitress at a pancake restaurant, and a commute on the Q train to school. Which is where she meets Jane. August has a crush at first sight, especially after Jane rescues August with a scarf to cover her coffee ruined shirt. But August starts to realize there’s something different about Jane - she listens to cassettes on a Walkman, she’s always wearing the same outfit, and she’s always, always on the Q train whenever August gets on. This is certainly a romance, and there’s plenty of steamy moments, but the relationships between August and her roommates moved me the most as they slowly break down her protective shell. August struggles to let herself love others, and to let herself be loved, so listening to her gradual change was tender and sweet. I loved seeing her find her people, a place where she felt like she belonged, and realize how full and good her life could be. One Last Stop would also work for Romance, QTBIPOC and Coming of Age Book Bingo squares.

The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta

This one I didn’t start for any particular Book Bingo square, but The View Was Exhausting would work for Romance, Beach Read, QTBIPOC, or Recommended by a Local Bookseller (me!).  All I knew going in was it was a romance with the fake dating trope and set in the upper echelons of Hollywood society. I figured it would be a fun escapist look behind the scenes of a lifestyle a million miles away from my own. Whitman “Win” Tagore is an A-list British Indian actress chasing after a coveted role in a Hemingway film adaptation when scandal erupts in her personal life. She retreats to Saint-Tropez to do damage control by calling in her on again off again “boyfriend”, society darling/male model Leo Milanowski. The world thinks that Win and Leo have a love story for the ages, but since the moment they met at age 20, it’s been about public image - fake dating on a global stage. First I was captured by narrator, Tania Rodrigues, and her precise English accent that she molds to fit every character. Her voice reading Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta’s words made me feel like I was in each exotic location. Second, the whole concept raised really interesting questions about the double standard for men and women in the film industry, and especially for women of color. Win feels like she has to faultlessly maintain her image in order to have the career she wants, and so as not to make it harder for any other British Indian actresses coming up behind her. She goes to great lengths, with her loyal publicist, to craft the image she thinks the public wants, the producers and directors want, and is exhausted by the effort. I found myself wondering if Win could just refuse to play the game? This is an audio book I raced through because I couldn’t wait to see what would happen!

I hope everyone is finding something fun to read or listen to this summer. If you want to sign up for a Libro.fm membership, go to the sidebar on our website, islandbooks.com and click on the link. Time for me to pick my next listen!

— Lori

#island books #lori robinson #BookBingoNW2021 #Librofm #audiobooks #summer reading #john green #the anthropocene reviewed #casey mcquiston #one last stop #mikaella clements #onjuli datta #the view was exhausting

[thekillerssluts]

WILL BUTLER: GENERATIONAL, DIVIDED

With Generations, Will Butler presents an album with dark themes but eclectic and engaging music.

With Generations, released a few days ago, Will Butler is the third member of Arcade Fire to put out an album this year. Recorded in his Brooklyn studio, Generations is an eclectic work, with varied colours, sometimes closer to the vitaminized punk or the exhilarating flights of Arcade Fire, and other times not very far from cabaret song, a kind of antimony or emotional paradox between the engaging side of the music and the darker themes that are evoked.

In the five years since the release of his debut album, Policy, which served as a sort of tentative premise for the more assertive Generations, Butler hasn’t been idle. He travelled the world as a solo artist, then released the live album Friday Night, went on to design and record Arcade Fire’s Everything Now, travelled the world again, earned a master’s degree in public policy at Harvard, and organised a series of town-hall discussions to debate issues such as police contracts, prison reform, paid sick leave, voting rights, and so on. He also spent a lot of time playing father to his three children.

Sitting on a couch at home in Brooklyn with a mug in his hand, Will Butler is there to talk. Smiling, very comfortable and above all affable, it seems to give him pleasure to talk once again about his album, and to invariably answer the same questions about Arcade Fire that all the journalists ask him…

PAN M 360: During the last five years, you’ve done film, recorded, studied, you are the father of three children… With such a busy schedule, how did you find the time to conceive and produce Generations?

Will Butler: I’ve been building up songs over the last two years, and mostly playing them live when I can, at shows, and figuring them out. I hadn’t had time to sit down and figure out if I was doing another record or not, and last year I knew that I would have time in the summer to sit down with my touring band and record some demos, to see what these songs feel like. So I have a studio in a basement in South Brooklyn, and we recorded for a week, and at the end of those sessions, I was listening back to the takes and said, “this is the record, It sounds great! We have six songs here, we have a couple more, so let’s keep moving!”. So after the band sessions, I would take everything and put that on my laptop and work drafts of lyrics, cross some words, write other drafts… And I did that for about nine months, and the record was done. My last bit of recording was March 9, and then New York shut down on March 14… (laughs). So yes, it was a bit long between the two albums, but so much has happened in the last four or five years. (laughs) Not just in my life, but in the whole fucking world.

I knew I needed a stretch of peaceful time to process all that. And my wife and I, we have an older kid and we had twins two years ago, so you know, all this takes up a lot of brain space! But it was also trying to synthesize what was happening in the world since my last record. 2015 was a year of protest, there was Ferguson and Baltimore and then the election and the shit show since 2016, and now it’s the same thing again, with the pandemic on top… So I was basically trying to figure out how to respond to that with art.

PAN M 360: Who worked on the album with you?

WB: There was Miles Francis (Antibalas) on drums, who has been playing with me for the last five years, Julie Shore and her sister Jenny, who is also my wife, and Sara Dobbs. Everybody sings on this record, and the rest of it is a lot of synthesizers. Miles also took care of the guitars, and I played a little bit of guitars too, as well as some piano and keyboards, and I took care of the recording and producing. I did a bit of everything!  

PAN M 360: What are the main themes on the album? It feels like you touch on fatality, despair, but also hope…

WB: Yes, there is a lot of despair on this record, especially in the lyrics. I don’t think there is much despair in the music. The music is always pretty forward-moving. But the songs are the words and the music, so there is always a tension between what your mind is thinking and what your body is doing. (laughs). I’ve always absorbed the lyrics last, so I always process music through my body, and then it ultimately reaches my brain. Besides despair, it’s being overwhelmed, like not even knowing what to do or where to turn or how to begin to formulate an answer to the questions that have been posed, particularly in political life, but it’s the same on the personal side. You know, some of the songs, like “Promised” or “Surrender”, are about friendships that have broken over the years, or have faded or twisted, and not knowing what to do with someone that you love but that has fundamentally lost you. So what do you do with that besides feel bad about the past, or wish that things were different? So both on the political level and the personal level, I was overwhelmed by giant forces, and trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

PAN M 360: There are several shades of sound on this record. It starts out a little punk, and then slides into the indie rock and pop that we know from Arcade Fire, it flirts with Bowie, LCD Soundsystem, to finish with something more reflective, cabaret even, à la Destroyer… It’s a very interesting pacing on this album.

WB: Yes, there is a strong A-side, B-side feel. It doesn’t mean you have to listen to the record on vinyl, I listen to everything on Spotify anyway, but it has a first act and a second act. The first act is a little more urgent, a little more punk, whereas the second act is a little more electronic, and then “Fine” is like the afterword or something, it’s like an author’s note.

PAN M 360: Seems like you’ve worked on your voice since your first album. You seem to have a lot more confidence and emotion.

WB: I think that comes from very deliberately working out most of these songs on stage, learning what the core of the song is. Policy was more something that was created in the studio… I don’t know… I was experimenting. The bulk of Generations is something like, “we’re here, we know what we’re doing and we’re doing it.” As nebulous as the lyrics can be, there is still a musical mission. And I’m a better singer, I guess. From having to sing as a frontman, you just become a better singer (laughs).

PAN M 360: Looking back, how do you perceive Policy, how would you compare the two albums?

WB: Policy, to me, is like a bunch of different characters. Like every song is like in a different suit or skin. This record sonically changes a lot, but it’s still one perspective, whereas Generations has a bit more of a coherent vision. The record as a whole has a bit more of a sonic arc. It’s not a concept record but it’s tied together both sonically and lyrically.

PAN M 360: Would you say that your solo work allows you to express yourself in a way that you couldn’t with Arcade Fire?

WB: Yeah, I think that’s true! But also, Arcade Fire lets me express myself in ways that I can’t on a solo record. Update one is that I don’t write any words for Arcade Fire (laughs). That’s like a very big difference. And there is a slight difference in ethos, and in approaching recording… Generations is a collaborative effort but I’m more the director, and Arcade Fire is more fighting with co-workers, in a creative way. But to me, it’s also like the same project. You know, it’s like Marcel Dzama, who sometimes does movies with Amy Sedaris and sometimes does paintings, but they’re all from the same body of work, a little bit.

PAN M 360: And what does your brother think of your music?

WB: I think he likes it. In the band, we all think we’re all talented. We like each other and we trust each other. So if they wouldn’t like it, they’d tell me.

PAN M 360: How’s it going with the new Arcade Fire. Should we expect a record soon?

WB: We can’t really work separately. We can do a little bit online, but we’re not good at it… So if the virus stays calm, we’ll get back together and be basically on track… It takes us so long to make a record anyway, it takes us a year or a year and a half. The timing has been different, the process has been different, but the process is always different…

https://panm360.com/en/interviews-panm360/will-butler-regeneration/

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