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#i was gonna do a lyric edit for this line but it just looked hilariously edgy no matter what i did lmfao so i just took it from a lyric site
httpknjoon · 1 year
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A-Listers Q&A!
- What's your favorite YN-credit on Midnights?
- How do you put up with rumors and gossip?
- Favorite YN-credit lyric off Midnights?
- Midnights or Lover?
- Midnights or Lover (YN-Credits Edition)?
- Best things to do when you're on a break from work?
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note | thank you for sending these questions, anon! 🤍🤍 I'm unsure of which a-lister these questions are for. but I'm just gonna assume it's Jin 😅
main masterlist | drabble series
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"I have two favorites from the songs she co-wrote. Sweet Nothings and... Midnight Rain." Jin's lips formed into a small smile.
It can not be defined whether he was smiling out of happiness or some memory in his head. But his eyes linger on nothingness as if he's trying to remember something in his head. It took him seconds to snap out of it, sighing, before the next question was asked.
He hummed, organizing his answer in his head, before replying, "I try to go on my day normally if the gossip is nothing new or bad. But if it's a destructive type of gossip, I have my team to help me to deal with it. They always know what to do and don't. I am not always updated by the rumors that include me unless it's something hilarious, crazy, or harmful."
For the third question,
"I love some lines from Sweet Nothing." he paused before reciting the said lines, "They said the end is coming, everyone's up to something. I find myself runnin' home to your sweet nothings. If you look at it at first, you might find it simple. But as someone who works in this messy world of Hollywood, I think about the feeling of coming home to someone who gives you a lot of love and comfort after dealing with a lot of stressful news about everything that you do."
This time, he beamed wider. The idea of that moment just stays in his head. The first time he heard that line, he found himself painting that idea in his head. His heart instantly yearned for affection and just going somewhere for comfort, away from the cameras.
For the next question, Jin was quick to answer: "I still find myself listening to Lover occasionally. So, maybe the Lover album."
"Both. I have no bias against Y/N-written songs in these two albums. I think all of them were amazing and came from what was going on with her life during the times she wrote them." he replied to the next question.
On the last question, Jin took his time to think about his answer.
"I personally think the best thing to do is sleep." he laughed. "But other than that, start doing things that you love or your hobbies again! Spend your time with people and things that make you happy."
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taglist rules
THE A-LISTERS TAGLIST
@seolaquotes @jub-jub @yoontaethings @kissme-ornot @sleepy-daydreams @veronawrites @cuteipat @ratherbefangirling @babystarcandy-gcf @akirawhore @alpacaparkaseok @rjsmochii @lovesickbangtan @zealouslightcookiebasketball @rapmonie2047 @btsiguess-kpop @angelarin @walkinganxiety0 @bloopkook @yoooonie @amara-mars @firesighgirl @zwiehe @hiii-priestess @lojocas @juju-227592 @singukieee @eshtravagent @canarystwin
PERMANENT TAGLIST
@dunixxd​ @cixrosie​​ @jksjx​ @embrace-themagic ​@buttvi​ @starbtslove​ @missseoulite @vanntaesworld @kenqki @miyukihoshi @stopeatread
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inksplit · 3 years
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bluewinnerangel · 3 years
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Last update: may 14 2021
Edit: So these are pretty much my favorite posts I made from the beginning of 2021 up until then ^ and since I’ve made a ton more but just havent found the will to gather them together with something like this again. Still I’ll keep a link to this one on my page, but it’s not getting updated woop. Anyway:
Favs:
Larry’s Grandpa aesthetic. A large very not serious collection that displays how they’re sharing a very specific vibe. This thing is one big meme but is also important, highly recommend.
Larry Loves Laurels - masterpost/timeline of times laurels (meaning of the name “larry”) showed up in their clothing or elsewhere.
Louis’ synced Walls to Harry’s Lights Up music videos. The parallels are known but lining them up hurts is gonna hurt your brain on a whole new level. Poor editors. 
Body/sign language
Louis and Harry knowing sign language masterpost
Louis’ Nose Tap when he’s not telling the truth masterpost
Larry’s Grandpa aesthetic euh I guess this is a masterpost (it’s just really... unhinged)
Just a few Harry behaviors that look like Louis - let’s add this here too (not mine) - or this
Related to sign language, the theory that Louis’ common hand gesture might mean “H”
Lyric analyses / Song parallels
Masterpost here
Music video parallels
Louis’ Walls + Harry’s Lights Up (literally 2 halves of the same whole)
^ + Harry’s TPWK
^ + Liam Gallagher’s Wall of Glass and/or Oasis (as part of Larry+LG masterpost)
(not larry) Zayn’s Still Got Time + One Direction’s Take Me Home tour intro video
More gayvinci code chaos
Larry Loves Laurels - masterpost
Larry Loves Liam Gallagher - masterpost
Larry Loves Fibonacci
Same old shit, different year - 6 times Louis and/or Harry aggressively larried 1, 2, 3, or even 10 years after some other larrying on that same date.
Louis finding some boss level chaos cap and posting it on instagram
When they just decided to bluegreen at the same time
The Harry’s being geniuses with grammy outfits - How Harry & Harry Lambert might have used inverted colors to create opposite looks
Larry Loves Papillon - links to papillon posts (effectively a masterpost)
Harry loves clothing named Louis/look 28
They both love to oioiii
Debunking 28 sept 2013 - but that doesn’t even matter because harry ran with it anyway
This thing about them using *** **
(mainly 2015) aggressive displays of larry:
Louis subtly shading Taylor in 2015 and Harry treating it like a love letter 
When Louis yelled for help to stop Harry from serenading him during 18 and Liam hilariously obliged (september 28, 2015)
That same day Harry was an unhinged mess including the above and 3 more examples.
Harry definitely saying “Lou” instead of “You”
That time Harry had no control at the 2014 ARIAS - from all angles
That other time Harry had no control during an interview when Louis started mumbling in French
This collective realisation about L acting like a cat on James Corden
Just misc things I guess what is this mess who knows
I I HAVE A HAYLOR MASTER-MASTERPOST
The actual reference painting of Harry’s ship tattoo
Not mine just wanna have a link to this piece of art
Oh just Harry making Louis laugh and then getting all shy about it, or: a real life Jim Halpert.
This thing about the SOTT cover and bjs
Harry said “George Michael” - not much of a post I just feel like this will come back in the faith in the future
This dumbass post about Louis wearing skull shirts that i do have more to say about but.. one day (or not).
What even is this band - 1D chaos gifs
some tags I use (these tags don’t work on mobile and I don’t get why yay): 
gayvinci code - “this lil shit did this on purpose didn’t he” type of mess.
aggressive larrying - literal aggressive displays of affection or very loud larryvinci’ing.
smart things with lyrics
welikeparallels
if only there was a name for them together - just larry being one morphed entity behaving the same
Watermelon sugar WHY - Staring at Louis’ face hours
This is a mermaid - Staring at Harry’s face hours
dancing in the street - them looking like david bowie and/or mick jagger <3
FL - tag for lyric analyses of songs on Fine Line or somehow link to them
/endofmess
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shealwaysreads · 3 years
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Sterek Fic Rec: The Future!Fic Edition
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Kiss Me on This Cold December Night by @leslieknopeismyspiritanimal
The hairs on the back of Stiles’ neck tingle, and he swallows hard against the unmistakable sensation of someone staring at him. He’s tempted to just ignore it, but after a few seconds, his curiosity wins out and he looks up from his phone instead. He doesn’t notice anything right away, flicking his gaze along the people on the other side of the intersection until he suddenly stops and backtracks. It’s a little hard to see, what with the thick drizzle and the cars whizzing between them, but he would recognize that glorious bearded face anywhere, even after six years. Holy shit.
Well. This is so damn good okay? We've got grown up Stiles with his own career, and Derek who is an architect and has had therapy and is happy and safe and well adjusted. AND THIS IS THEIR MOMENT. Cue Stiles getting all hot and bothered by Derek successfully adulating, and Derek being blown away by Stiles' everything. And there's Christmas. So you know I'm in love with this fic.
Homing Mechanisms by @sterekationstation
Magnetoreception: The sense which allows an organism to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude or location. How birds find their way home.
--
Stiles returns to Beacon Hills after four years at Stanford, only to find out that Derek has moved back into town. He brings him a housewarming gift. Derek makes food. Things escalate from there.
Derek Hale and happiness - the ultimate kink - a sentiment shared by Stiles in this fic. It’s just perfectly done - both of our fave boys back in Beacon Hills and finally, finally able to settle and be happy. Favourite line including ‘Stiles' brain bluescreens for a second when he sees how dark Derek's eyes are.” 
Testing the Waters by @coyotequeens
Prompt fill: "I would LOVE a future!fic where Stiles randomly bumps into Derek, maybe in nyc. He's in college now or maybe even post college, and this is their first time interacting since Derek left Beacon Hills. Stiles is obviously SMOKING HOT now and Derek finally got his shit together and is a successful 30 something."
This is awesome - Derek is settled and content and he has friends and a job and he’s happy okay? And then Stiles shows up and it’s even better. In such a short fic with no ‘plot’ grimm just writes such a believable experience and it feels like the start of the future.
How to Be a Normal Person by @drunktuesdays
Instead he sits for a moment, looking at the empty search box, fingers on the home row the way his mother taught him. He thinks about that, and about the hole in the wall he’d lived with for so long, and the way Isaac had grinned at him last night when he’d finally gotten around to plugging the refrigerator in.
He finds himself typing in, “how to be a normal person.”
This is just brilliant. Hilarious and tragic and heartfelt all at once, I love this Derek who doesn’t have his shit together, I love his growth. I love Trixie more than possibly anything in the world. And Stiles totally loves Derek. So, you know, it’s all good.
Sunshine (Walking On) by @jentnova
Derek Hale has a good day. (There is ice cream.)
All of this is good. The whole fic is just filled with such warmth and gentleness and love it’s just a delight to read. Derek Hale is happy here, so so happy. You will be smiling the whole way through.
Believer and a Homecoming by ldsme
“I’m serious Derek,” Stiles whispers. “Come home.”
Okay so “gratuitous beards” and “explicit peace” are both tags on this work which I feel negate any need for me to wax lyrical about it. BUT IM GONNA ANYWAY. This whole fic is just. Ugh. It’s just so satisfying and achingly sweet, and Stiles has no idea until he does. And Derek is so hopeful and open and so surprised that he is loved and I could cry at how much he deserves this ending.
How It’s Meant to Be by  TangentiaLives
"Hey," Derek replies, a ready smirk curling the edge of his mouth. He's always ready to smile when Stiles is around: it just seems to happen that way.
Again, Stiles says, "Hey." Derek waits expectantly, and Stiles pushes off the Jeep, shoving his hands into his pockets and ambling towards Derek like he's got all the time in the world. "Do you want to get something to eat?" he asks, the quiet confidence that Derek will say yes making the timbre of his voice a little lower than usual.
This is short, but sweet, and totally lovely. Just what we want to happen to these two - naturally falling into one another.
Inexorable by @notthequiettype 
Derek might never admit what he wants from Stiles, what he's wanted for so long, but Stiles is okay with that most days. It's been years of this low thrumming, pulsing want between them and Stiles thinks of it like a living thing, warm and familiar and constant.
I just really like the way this plays out - Derek’s restraint (for so many reasons) and Stiles actually being content with how things are, but still needing to mention it, to push. Because he’s Stiles and because he knows that he and Derek deserve more. So lovely.
The House That Built Us by @cleverlittlekit  
"I like open concept," Stiles says, and Derek wonders briefly if he is simply thinking out loud. "And lots of seating. Like, maybe a big, cushy sectional. A couple of recliners. Lots of room to lounge."
Derek nods, mostly out of habit. He's become accustomed to hearing Stiles without really listening to him.
Derek builds a house, Stiles doesn’t understand, until he does. This is so sweetly done, Derek is so lovely, and the final scenes in the house with dinner and the tour are perfect.
I know My Kingdom Awaits and They've Forgiven My Mistakes by @bleep0bleep
It’s now, watching the fading rays of the afternoon sun on the longest day of the summer, that it becomes more and more apparent that Stiles needs a car. Stiles gets a text message from an unexpected someone. And a gift.
This is just, so believable actually. It could be a canon future and I love that. It’s short and has a hopeful ending, and the Sheriff is amazing.
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anasticep · 3 years
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Why Julie and the Phantoms is a masterpiece of a show. Part 2. Heroes and Villains or Let that foil shine
NOTE: Thanks again for your kind response to Part 1. I never expected that. It being my first tumblr post and a first meta in quite a long time I was blown away. I read all the tags, some were really hilarious. About having more than one brain cell xDDD I laughed so hard. It means a lot.
NOTE2: Please remember that the gifs are made by me, so don't crop, edit or give as yours.
Part 1.
Before diving into meta, I have to mention that the Villain of the story is actually one of the best in the decade. He’s cool, evil from the start, we understand his motives and we certainly are not supposed to love and make excuses for him. The writers made sure of that. So back to the main topic.
A foil is a character who contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist
Foils in literature are not necessarily antagonists. A friend can be a foil or sometimes even a thing, a song. Whatever can make a good and real contrast to the protagonist. But it’s not very simple to use this author’s device and not fall down a deep hole. Because you have to make sure you did just the right amount of work to make it understandable for a reader, the things you want to contrast are definitely there and still you don't waste a character. On TV it can be even harder given limited air time. And, well, I don’t come across this device being used in full very often nowadays. It’s usually good and evil fighting for the plot. That’s why I personally appreciate JaTP so much.
Caleb is clearly a foil to Luke. As much as I’d love to say that Julie also has one, that’s not entirely true, at least not this season. Carrie is not her foil though it may seem so, and I really think that’s cool as Julie’s journey is being presented through her own demons and I'm going to cover that next. That being said, of course Caleb doubles as an antagonist plotwise, but I personally consider him being written more as a contract to Luke so we could see and appreciate his character and journey better.
1. Origins
Caleb and Luke have extremely similar backgrounds. They are both natural performers. They know how to deliver, because c’mon, “Now or Never” is something and so is “The other side of Hollywood”. Stage is their natural habitat, their element, power. Although they channel this power from completely different places.
Let’s start with our little ball of energy. It’s emphasized TWICE that he doesn’t care about the money aka the physical side of art.
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All Luke wants is to make music. Connect with people. He is so happy just to be heard despite him loving to perform. Making music is what makes him feel alive and basically that’s enough. I think if there was no “hologram” magic at all, Luke would have still been extremely happy to make music with and for Julie. Because that’s the way he is.
But Caleb doesn’t know that. He knows, and I’m standing by that, right away that Luke is the one to aim at. Because we always feel the similarity in people. If Luke said yes, Reggie and Alex would have followed. So Caleb recognizes the passion and shoots at them what he thinks is appealing. And, oh boy, he delivers.
“The Other Side of Hollywood” is a perfect song to emphasize Luke and Caleb being foils for each other. Follow me here:
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But these lines come from very different places. For Caleb the only thing that matters is himself. He owns the show, he IS the show. It’s about being famous, drowning in applause, admiration. Look at how he performs. Confident, yes, but still very much in control. He must keep his perfect face. No flaws, no real emotions, no real connection (Did you miss ME? I did too // This band is back). Whereas Luke is simply living the best time of his life each time he performs. Is it just jamming? Bring it on. Doing fun riffs? He’s all for it. He doesn’t care how he looks (though who could deny gorgeous sweaty Luke), he owns the show just because he is a natural.
So back to the business. Caleb immediately puts the boys in his own shoes:
On the other side we live like kings // Your soulprint on the walk of fame on the boulevard of your wildest dreams // I got your glamour, got your gold, got all you’ll ever need
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And, I mean, he is not that wrong. You can see the appeal on the boys’ faces. They are young, passionate, handsome, talented musicians. Of course they wouldn’t deny fame. Of course they would want all that to some extent. And Caleb is very sure he pulled the right strings.
Watch me make a move, I’m your number one choice
Also I have to mention, as we are talking about TOSOH (IKEA name again) and it being a foil for Luke, thy lyrics still don’t forget about what is important for Reggie and Alex (we’ll talk about that just a bit later):
Welcome to the brotherhood -> Reggie
Where you won’t be misunderstood -> Alex
Then again, lots of foreshadowing in the song, if you listen carefully the lyrics are stressing the true colors of the offer:
A tomb with a view
Man, what a metaphor. I would have run out of there the minute I heard this line. But our boys share one brain cell (I can’t get over how funny this is) and it’s currently taken by Julie, so I don’t blame them.
Disappointment is huge. Caleb read it all wrong. So we are moving to the next point in our Heroes and Villains essay.
2. Recruitment
It’s very cool that Caleb offers the boys to join his band right after Luke offers Julie to join Sunset Curve. They both are going out of their ways to get that (although have different budgets apparently. But look, they live in a garage). Luke made a hit with a bunch of Julie’s not very well structured lines (I love Flying Solo with all my heart as a song, but as a poem it just looks weird to me) to impress her, and we all saw the show Caleb had thrown to impress the boys. Plus food. And fancy dancing. But here is where contrast comes again.
Caleb offers to join the band, yes, but only as backup singers. It’s his show, remember? It’s only about him. He doesn’t care if they are even good. He wants their magic under control.
Share the spotlight with ME / How do you like MY new band?!
Luke offering Julie a spot in the band is a completely different story. He saw what she is capable of. He instantly knows she must be the key to a new sound, a new level. And he, a natural performer, frontman, lead guitarist, steps back and gives the spotlight to Julie. To think about it, he could have just got her magic under control by giving her simple lines, incorporating piano in the songs and that’s all. They would be visible, he would still be a center of attention, and Julie herself wouldn't mind that much. But that’s not who Luke is. Yes, there is a funny scene of “Hey, I’m your lead singer” and “you don’t have to be mean”, but it’s just messing around. Because right after that he finishes Flying Solo, writes several other songs with Julie, seeks her approval of Sunset Curve songs and basically follows her around like an adorable excited puppy.
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Moving on and back to the rejection. Again the writers are mirroring them. Julie quits the band & the boys decline the offer. What does Luke do? Well, he tries the way he knows: books a gig, makes Reggie and Alex sing in perfect harmonies and does his puppy eyes thing. And it doesn’t work. And Luke goes to reflect and then probably try to come up with a plan. But something tells me he would not have haunted Julie until she joined them.
What does Caleb do after the initial rejection? Puts a cursed stamp that leaves them no choice but to join HGC. You don’t need to say more.
But in fact the more I think about it, the more I suspect Caleb also not possessing enough mental capacity for a human being. Like, if it wasn’t for Willie, how would they even know? Has Caleb planned to simply show up one day and casually explain? Look, foils in everything.
“You’re in a tough spot… So, you wanna join the band?” | “Looked like it hurt… you know where to find me”
But we sidestepped a bit.
3. Pulling the strings
After the song Caleb comes out to consolidate his success. What he does is clever and, btw, that’s the only time he becomes Julie’s foil. They are stating basically the same thing.
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Again, Julie is concerned about the band and the boys, while Caleb is only concerned about having them under control. But they both are pulling basically the right strings.
What is interesting, Caleb actually impressed the wrong person (and that person is our sweet Reggie). Luke follows the string Julie pulled. Although the offer is tempting, he insists twice that they are in a band already directly to Caleb and then in Eats&Beats he says "It's like Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound». No matter what Caleb promised, Luke is not affected at all although Caleb’s offer is a very-very safe choice.
Speaking about using friends as foils, Alex and Reggie also serve as contrast characters for Luke at some points. Luke’s indifference to money is first stressed through Alex who is clearly the chief accountant for the band. His lines about not getting tips, living in a garage and «it’s a little bit about the money» are waved aside by Luke. Reggie is clearly the most affected by the whole Bobbie thing. His lines «I don’t care what Julie said, I’m glad we scared Bobbie», «So we’re gonna forget about getting back at Trevor?» are getting a clear contrast by Luke’s «It’s what Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound» and «He has to live with that guilt».
While editing the article I realised a very cool thing I haven't noticed before. How badly Luke wants to go on tour. And again that's another thing Caleb offers as if reading his mind. That's actually brilliant, to think about it.
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Caleb is a VERY good reader. He tests the waters with a speech about disappearing from stage and going around the world and all dreams coming true. Still he doesn’t know the boys and especially Luke, so his phrase “no real connection” doesn’t register that much.
But he learns. Remember the lines I’ve marked before?
Reggie is afraid they will not be together after they cross over. He is in desperate need of a family. So wouldn’t it be nice to spend the rest of your afterlife with your brothers? (Reggie's main insecurity is loneliness, feel of a broken family. That's why he is the most concerned about crossing over. Will his family stay intact?)
Alex is insecure, and not being understood by the people closest to him will always hit hard. So welcome to a place where you won’t be misunderstood. And actually we know there is a guy you like and find comfort in. (Alex's insecurity is growing up in times when he could not truly be himself even with his family and for sure not believing he would ever be able to find someone meant just for him)
That mirrors the whole Luke’s beach speech perfectly. Only comparing them we can truly appreciate why Luke is the leader. He shuts down his own demons to make Alex and Reggie remember that they are not alone (“and I believe in you”. sorry. Olicity fan).
Caleb makes them suffer to get what he wants. But this time he is careful with the words aimed at Luke. Yes, he repeats his words about vanishing and applauses BUT he makes sure that his words about CONNECTION are the key words for Luke. Intense look, calming voice, touching - these are all elements of hypnosis. And Luke is in a daze. (Continuing the parents' thing, for Luke the main insecurity is not managing to connect with his mom. Maybe that's such a big thing for him: through all these people he wanted to find that connection with her)
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4. The Hero’s journey
That’s the best part actually but I won’t be saying anything new or that you don’t know. Luke is made of lyrics and music. That’s his soul, heart, that’s the feeling running through his veins. He doesn’t need anything other than that in his life. Playing for eternity is “a gift no musician would ever turn down”. But he actually does turn it down. As well as his dream to go see the world with his band (is there covid in jatp universe?). He is the one who resists the hardest to the pull. Luke, who always has a guitar in his hands, doesn't want to play. Because it’s not only about the music now. He has this amazing girl in his afterlife who was willing to accept them for who they were, helped Luke battle his own demons, eased his pain and made him open up. And it doesn’t make sense any longer without her anymore. “And you’re a part of me now till eternity”.
Caleb, being Luke’s foil, completely misses the whole point of connection. It’s not in his nature. His house band are just recruits (Just so happens you’re in luck we’ve got a vacancy). For Luke his band is his family (We are the only family we ever gonna need). The Connection theme is one of the main in the show. And it’s so cool to show it focused through Luke whose best way of interaction is a touch. But not being able to touch Julie Luke has to find other ways, although it’s not that simple for him. And Julie backs that up: We connect in so many other ways. They literally touched each other's souls. Without knowing she put a stamp of her own on Luke, Alex and Reggie. They’ve never felt loved enough, appreciated enough, supported enough. They’ve only had each other. And Julie’s stamp is love. And for Luke (as well as Reggie and Alex) from now on this girl is worth dying for all over again.
_______
So yeah. I hope you enjoyed it, as I for sure enjoyed writing. There is gonna be a part 3 about Julie and a few honorable mentions of parallels of the Pilot and the Finale (I hope at least to do all that). I’ve also figured very very cool connections in the songs and I can’t wait to share.
Also as I was heavily speaking about The Other side of Hollywood, @catty-words has a wonderful meta on rain metaphors here (sorry for tagging, if you don't want to be tagged), check it out if you somehow missed it. It's super clever.
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go-learn-esperanto · 2 years
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Survey answers until now:
This was so fun. There are a lot of answers and that's pretty pog! I'm not gonna include everyone but I assure you I've been reading all of them.
Edit: the resolution was awful. Sorry about that. Updated version now! :)
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Now the text answers my beloved <3
Here are some of my favourites!
Mumza. On accident.
How do you cosplay on accident? 👁️👁️
Phil and say it's Urahara
200 IQ play right here
none but i wanted to tell you its not much better. im going as a Supernatural character smh
We really are on Tumblr.com
im doing rivals duo with my friend =]
cc!Ranboo basically. now it just sounds weird. I mean who dresses up as irl celebrities and not the roles they play? man. it just sounds cringe now
I'm gonna throw on a green hoodie, say I'm dream and call it a day B)
Put a plastic plate on it too and it's complete
I have a half-made Ranboo cosplay, but I'm also too old lol
DO IT. I don't care. Even if it's just for you to wear at home. Do it. Nobody it's too old to dress as things they like!
tubbo :D (not 2 self promo but ill be posting pics @starbug.png on insta 👀)
Check them out! :)
There's a bunch of Wilbur/Ghostbur cosplayers. I love you and the Grisn cosplayer very parasocially.
Also the Mumza cosplayers
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I got my ex into mcyt a day or so before we broke up because he started to ignore me > - >
Well... That's.
Figured out one of my besties is into it bc I saw a sketch of the Llama Line by L'Targay
One of my irl friends is an OG dsmp fan, she was there the very first stream. It’s just fun to talk to her about stuff.
A group of 17 year old boys called me cringe at the publix selfcheckout bc of my quackity shirt and i laughed so hard that they got confused like. its not bullying if theyre right
This one. This one has to be my favourite. That's the spirit.
There is a girl in my class who I talked to very little. We were supposed to do an assignment based on a hobby we liked, so I chose MINECRFAT. After I presented this, she approached me after class and said she liked my presentation. She showed me some of her dsmp drawings, like the realistic ones based off photos. She fucking amazing at it and they’re incredible
i was having a rlly bad day at school and in maths class(my last hour of the day)my teacher started playing jump in the cadillac and i just started crying
I really don't want to laugh at your suffering but damn that's hilarious from the outside. I hope you're doing better now tho 💜
i showed my mom a ranboo video and accidentally reviled that i stole almost his every one of his speech patterns
In class, a guy compliments my Ranboo hoodie. I look at his hoodie and he’s wearing a Wilbur one. I compliment his as well. A girl nearby stands up and looks at us. She is wearing a Quackity hoodie. Somehow the universe has placed three Dream SMP fans together in the same class. The best part is you would never know we were fans without our merch. We could be anyone. We walk amongst the living
That makes me want to buy merch so bad
last night I wrote penis smp fanfic while sitting right next to my mom who doesn't think I swear. she could have looked at my screen at any time.
Asked “does a historical speech from a minecraft roleplay count?” For a kinetic typography assignment
Wrote a lyrical analysis on the l’manburg theme for a school project
o7
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the reason i didn't answer "mumbo jumbo" to the philza's wife question is because mumbo jumbo is too busy being a gay whore in last life. he's gay married but also flirts with every man he comes across
True. Absolutely true.
I literally saw an anti vaxxer on tumblr talking about how it's bad that Tommy and tubbo have to get vaccinated just to see each other irl
!! i have a VERY IMPORTANT FACT: niki nihachu <3 also dsmp women in general,, hannah niki puffy tina collab when pls give it to me its all i want in life,,,,,, also unrelated but im in a musicy mood listen to romance by yoasobi and watch the video trust me its stunning :]
Watched it! Really cool visuals! The music just brings me back to my VOCALOID fandom fase (not that is possible to love the VOCALOID fandom completly though. I definitely haven't.)
I’m making a Wilbur soot animatic based on The Fall by lovejoy and I hope I can get it finished by the 16th !!
Good luck!!! That's awesome!
im in this hellhole more than 1 year how am i still alive akpqpqlajwhoq give money
I have exactly one irl friend who watches dsmp n I'm the one who got her into it >:]
Evil >:]
"Im not gay I just can't read" - Jack Manifold
i just want to know why ranboo was at the red banquet, dressed up and wearing a blindfold . w h y
i can't wait for big lore to come back djfjdkkf
Same
Why must life give its hardest battles to its weakest warriors
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Please help okay so the problem is "Let P be the set of all people who have ever lived and define a relation R on P as follows: for every r and s that are elements or P, rRs <-> r is an ancestor of s or r =s. Is R a partial order relation? Prove or give a counter example." It's definitely reflexive ince when s=r then s=r which is true. It isn't symmetrical since that would be weird as hell, I mean a grandparent cannot be the grandchild of their own grandchild that would fuck up the family tree even more than the DSMPs but like, how do I prove that mathematically? Like, if rRs and sRr then r = s but "if person A is either a grandparent or the same person as person B and person B is either the grandparent or the same person as person A then person A is person B" just feels like a weird sentence.
69
Just did the Komaeda checklist for c!Wilbur...
I don't wanna know. (I kinda do actually)
Catch me dual-wielding Hermitcraft and the Dream SMP… call me Hannah Montana cause I’m the best of both worlds
Same. Same. Call me Ariana Griande because I'm a-grian with you.
i just saw a post. soon, we will have enough tommy father figures for a mamma mia! au.
Months before I got into DSMP I had an internet friend interested in it and I was like "lol, nice, but could never be me" because I had gotten out of my 2016-2018 MCYT phase not that long ago at that point and didn't think I'd go back... Well...
ldshadowlady is a goddess amongst us all and we should recognize her as such.
True
HMMM well i messed up my eyeliner which has made me quite sad
Mumbo Jumbo could steal anyone’s wife
I always talk about wanting to bake bread again but I keep procrastinating. Same goes for writing fanfiction and stuff too. I have countless abandoned fics across all of the platforms I'm on, plus about ten that never made it out of Google docs or pure writer. I think I have a bit of a problem lol
I can assure you're not the only one. 👁️👄👁️
We all suffer from the procrastination problem. Don't put yourself down too much ok? You're doing that for yourself and if you don't feel like doing it then you don't feel like doing it. 💜
Wilbur with wings is unappreciated especially when you consider all the cool headcanons you can have for what they'd be like after his revival like skeleton wings or phantom wings or only wings DreamXD can see. Also ghostbur w/ blue melting/ evaporating wings *longing sigh*
That's pretty cool!
I figured out I was fine with any pronouns by brainstorming self insert dream smp fanfic
I have a huge crush on quackity
This one broke me and I don't know why. Every time I look at it I start laughing my ass off.
I got into it because of Woe to the People of Order
Oh, woe to thee, ye people of order
I hope your homes continue to smolder
And that you never rise again
And woe to those that called me a friend~
That's a badass way to join a fandom
I just miss Ghostbur man
Don't we all? (っ.❛ ᴗ ❛.)っ Have some blue
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oneletterelliot · 2 years
Text
Regulate (NCT 127) - liveblog reaction
Disclaimer: I’m familiar with the big tracks off this album: “Regular” (though WayV’s version more than NCT 127′s), “Simon Says,” and “Chain,” as well as WayV’s version of “Come Back.” As per usual, I’ll be skipping different language variations of the same song, so now thoughts on the English version of “Regular,” though I’ll say that “walking with the cheese, that’s the queso” is truly an incredible piece of lyrical songwriting.
City 127 - Starting off smooth. I feel like NCT albums usually open with a hard-hitting song or two before transitioning into this style of softer, easy-listening song, so this is an interesting change of pace. I like the instrumental, especially the whistling. I don’t have strong feelings on this song. It’s nice, though I don’t know how much I’ll be coming back to listen to it. Taeil sounding really nice towards the end. Yes, I’m quite fond of the whistling.
Regular - As always, I am thrown for a loop by this not being WayV’s version lol. The rhythm of this song is so interesting to me. The clapping sort of percussion in the pre-chorus buildup is subtle but I think it adds a lot. The doubled up rapping at 1:19 caught my attention—Johnny and someone else? (Edit: it’s definitely Johnny, but unclear whose voice is layering with his, if it’s someone else’s.) Does WayV’s version have it doubled up like this? (Edit: No, it doesn’t. It’s just Kun in that version.) Haechan’s voice is so unique. This song was definitely the one that made me first notice how distinct his tone is the first time I heard it. I like the “ooh”s backing vocals during the chorus. I know I’m biased because of a) familiarity, and b) Chinese, but I just really prefer WayV’s style of rapping for this song over Taeyong’s at the section around the 2:38 time mark. Really interesting vocal layering throughout this song.
Reply (PM 01:27) - Is this going to be a club song? It’s either gonna be a club song or a ballad, and I can’t tell which one. Either way, I’m digging it thus far. Kind of makes me want to choreograph something to it. Okay, I think it’s going club song. The instrumental sounds very club song. Oh yes, here we go. “I just want to be loved.” Boy, don’t we all. I really like this. Is this Jungwoo at 1:25? (Edit: Yes.) He sounds good, clear and strong. 2:26 Doyoung? (Edit: Huh, according the lyric video I looked up, it’s him and Yuta.) I’m feeling it. 2021 the year I finally admit to myself how much I LOVE club beats lol. Jaehyun opening the bridge? Then Haechan, Doyoung, Taeil? (Edit: Yes on all counts.) Solid vocal lineup really. (Edit: So, I didn’t realize this was a unit song, by which I mean it’s everyone except Taeyong and Mark.)
Welcome to My Playground - Right off the bat, what a hilarious title. Oh, I like the birdsong background audio. Jungwoo opening line? Did they just sing, “Why you trippin’?” lmao??? This song is interesting, but I don’t love it. “Welcome to my playground.” No, I do appreciate how varied this song sounds, but it just isn’t doing much for me. Jaehyun at 1:42 sounds quite nice though. Will be interested to see where this buildup that starts at 2:23 is going. Oh, just back to the chorus? A little anti-climatic, imo. Jungwoo bridge? (Edit: Yes.) I think he’s really shining in this song, which is nice, since this was his first release with NCT 127, right? “Shawty, that’s you!” Mark omg. Okay I like this ending. Best part of the song. (Wait, that sounds so bitchy, but I didn’t mean it that way.)
Knock On - This is such an intriguing title. Was kind expecting something hard and grungy from it, but this is interesting. Something about the synth makes me think 70s disco. Digging the overlapping vocals at 0:56. I wish there was more of that. Something about listening to this and looking at the Regulate cover photo is making me imagine NCT 127 as a college acapella group, and it’s making me giggle. Haechan sounds good at 2:03. I think his tone here really meshes well with the instrumental. Jaehyun solid throughout this song.
No Longer - The title gave me ballad vibes, but I wasn’t sure if there would be another softer song after “Knock On,” but yes. Sometimes Doyoung’s voice gets a little too breathy for my tastes, and it’s certainly breathy in this opening, but it fits with the feeling of the song I feel. This sounds like the sort of song that would play in romantic movie. “She no longer needs me.” Aw man. One of THOSE vibes, huh? Even though this isn’t really my favorite type of song, I do think everyone sounds good, especially Doyoung. Ballad king or something. Oh, is this a unit song? (Edit: It is! Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, and Haechan.) The piano is quite nice.
My Van  - We welcomed you to my playground, now welcome to my van. What an interesting intro. I’m kinda into this instrumental. I can’t hear Taeyong rap “long riding” without thinking about Mark’s “long-ass ride.” Oh, if the last song was a unit song, is this one too? (Edit: Yes, it’s Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun,  Jungwoo, and Mark.) 1:26 Johnny? (Edit: So clearly not, since he isn’t even in this song. It’s Jaehyun.) Okay, this isn’t really my type of song, but it’s so interesting to me, so I predict it will grow on me a lot.
Interlude: Regular to Irregular - NCT interludes are always musically interesting. Wait, this is the NCT 2018 year party (or whatever that video was called) background song. Gorgeous gorgeous cello. I don’t love the spoken parts, but the instrumental is lovely. Cello, my darling. Shout out to “Dream within a Dream?” Okay, the way it changes at 1:55 has my attention! I’m into it! Different from the other NCT interludes I’ve heard, but I like it.
Simon Says - I didn’t love this song the first time I heard it, but it’s really grown on me. About a year ago, I began a vampire drawing with the phrase “real vibe-killer” scrawled across the back. Maybe I should go back and try to finish it up. “Bless me, achoo” is such a fucking funny line. This would be a fun song to learn the choreography to. Really interesting harmonies in the backing vocals. Such a good bridge. The musicbox style instrumental under Taeil’s high note is a great little touch.
Come Back - Once again, I am the surprised pikachu meme at this not being WayV’s version lol. I like this song a lot. When I was first getting into NCT beyond WayV, I watched a video comparing the two choreographies for this song, and it was so good and so interesting the changes between NCT 127 and WayV. I don’t think the vocal distortion effect at 1:04 is in the WayV version? (Edit: No, it’s there too, but it’s a little less intense.) I think there are more layers in the harmonies in this version, which makes sense there are more members in NCT 127 than in WayV. Has there been an NCT U with Mark and Yangyang both? I would love to hear their raps flow off each other. (Edit: Oh my god, “90s  Love” of course! How could I forget? AND “Misfit!” Silly of me.)
Fly Away with Me - Expecting an easy-listening sort of song based off the title. Ooh, the instrumental is a little more driving than I was expecting, but I like it. I like this song well enough, but I doubt it’ll ever be a favorite. Unless the bridge is really different, I think this song is little bland? Like it’s not varied enough. It’s too easy-listening? Not really sure how to describe it. Yeah, this bridge is about what I expected. I do like it, but… the song as a whole just isn’t that interesting to me. Everyone sounds good though.
Chain - Okay, I really like this song—or at least the Japanese version. (Awaken is my favorite NCT 127 release.) I don’t know if I’ve ever heard the Korean version before. It’s impossible not to think of the choreography while listening to this, and I love the choreography. Jaehyun at 1:22, nice. I think the instrumental is really interesting and good. I like Mark’s rap. I like Taeyong’s rap too, and I am not always partial to his rapping. The harmony at 2:10 is soooo good. Taeil, Haechan, Doyoung, back to Taeil for the bridge? (Edit: It’s Jaehyun not Taeil for the first line.) Just an all around fun song!
Run Back 2 U - Interestingggggg instrumental opening. “Can’t do without you girl.” I hate the way they always give Johnny cringy spoken English lines lol. I feel like the mixing isn’t great, like the vocals are way overpowering the instrumental. I like the driving beat. And whoever is singing “I always love you” (Doyoung?) sounds great. (Edit: Yes, it’s Doyoung.) Oh, this is interesting. Reminds me of some DJ Snake song I’ve heard, but I can’t think of which one. Wow, this song just keeps changing. It’s really interesting! Who is this at 1:53? Yuta? Then Johnny? (Edit: Nope, it’s Taeil then Winwin lol. I feel like I’ve mixed up Taeil’s and Yuta’s voices a bunch recently.) “I love you like this beat drop.” Mark’s rap with the “I always love you” backing vocals is nice. Ohhhh, this acoustic guitar is nice. This song is fun. It does feel very bonus tracky to me, though.
Final thoughts: “Come Back” and “Chain” were already faves of mine, but among the songs that were new to me, “Replay (PM 01:27)” is definitely my favorite.
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clumsyclifford · 3 years
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bella I would love a directors cut on literally any of the rilex you’ve written, but specifically it’s always her, and you, and me, or for these days you’ve been stuck in my brain 💙
OHHHHHH those are some CHOICESSSSSS lucy. fuck yeah. let’s get into it. ill link them both here but we’ll take em one at a time
it’s always her, and me, you
these days you’ve been stuck in my brain
here’s a cut for convenience cos i KNOW i’m gonna go long here.
okay! let’s start with the rilisex fic.
it’s always her, and me, and you
so like it says in the ao3 notes, this fic came from realizing just how frequently rian and alex kiss each other like, all the time? just? casually? for funsies? this was another one of those situations like i mentioned where the hook aka first line (“Rian's no expert, but he doesn't think normal friends kiss this much.”) just appeared in my head and i was like heyyy that’s a GOOD first line. i have to build from that line. that’s the hook, that’s the summary, that’s the core. 
something i discovered upon searching through the editing history of the doc: i had originally sort of intended to go a direction with this where in some other circumstance, rian would see alex giving jack a super casual friendly kiss and he’d get all sad/jealous and be like sure why SHOULDNT alex kiss jack after all its just a thing he does with his FRIENDS. but the fic ended up going a different way and honestly? im glad. i like this way better.
the role of singin in the rain in this fic actually has a HILARIOUS backstory because the night i originally wrote that conversation in the tour bus kitchen, i went into the club and said the following
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and then. the next day. rian streamed with ricky, and i asked if he’d ever seen singin in the rain, and he ANSWERED ME and said he hadn’t. so first of all i had already written the scene and i then had to rewrite it to make it so rian wouldn’t have seen it but also!!! i literally asked rian fucking dawson if he’d seen a movie for the sole reason of using that information for fanfiction!!!! and he provided me with the information i needed!!!! whole thing is just fucking hysterical to me. ANYWAY.
ANYWAY, the other reason why sitr has such a big role in the fic is because megs and i watched the movie together while i was in the middle of working on the fic, so it was extremely fresh in my mind. in fact i can probably show you this: i had this comment left for myself when i was kind of trying to figure out if i could make a real metaphor of sorts with the sitr ot3 and the Big Three of this fic. some of this ended up in rian’s wild musings in the hotel scene but i did conclude that it wouldn’t really have worked and that was definitely true but anyway. fuck it, director’s cut, here’s the kind of shit i leave for myself to refer to
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so that’s part of the reason why it became such a puzzle piece of this fic, but real talk, it’s also just because i love singin in the rain it’s one of my favorite movies lmao
briefly gonna also touch on lisa and why she’s in this fic because i realize that rian/alex/lisa is an interesting approach to rilex! first of all, i love lisa. i love alex and lisa. and it occurred to me that there was really no reason to split lisex up just to make rilex happen. plus there’s this tweet that really just pushed me over the edge of being like yeah, rilisex is extremely plausible. so that’s that on that.
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as for the scene in the hotel room while they’re watching sitr, there is a small piece of that scene - from when alex starts kissing rian’s shoulders etc to “it would defy the laws of nature not to” - that i actually wrote before anything else in that scene. that small piece got stretched out and edited quite a bit from how it started but it did function as a sort of foundation around which i built the rest of the scene, because that small section sort of ~came to me~ absolutely out of nowhere, and i really liked the Vibe it had and i wanted to include it. i THINK that was the only piece of this fic that i wrote Out Of Order - for the most part this was written chronologically.
ALSO!!! omg this is exciting, this fic actually has a deleted scene!!!!!! i hate cutting scenes but i also hate having scenes that are less than 1k and this one didn’t really contribute much to the fic. i can probably share it here right? sure why not ! hopefully you can read this. it originally took place after the scene where alex and rian call lisa for the first time. the question of “what gets left into interview videos and what gets cut” is also just interesting to me as a (fic) concept in general so...eyes emoji, but here’s my mini-exploration that i cut from the original fic. enjoy lol it’s silly <3
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oh! also one more thing!! the very final scene was included for two reasons. the first reason being that when i write getting-together fics, i really prefer to add on a scene After they Get Together because i love to write domestic established relationship stuff and i think that’s a satisfying reward for a reader who’s just slogged through all the mutual pining and bullshit to get the characters together. but the OTHER reason is that i got an anon (here it is!) and i read that ask and was immediately like well shit. now i have to fucking include this. for the anon and for myself. so you can thank that anon for that last scene. (also i wanted to include merrikat especially since i had to cut their little moment in the interview scene above.)
so....................whew. i think i’ve bled that fic dry. holy shit that’s a lot of Stuff. OKAY! let’s move on.
~
these days you’ve been stuck in my brain
so!!! THIS fic was the breakthrough after (what felt like) a long bout of writer’s block. long for me was maybe two weeks, but i am the kind of person who is always writing, and two weeks was a long time to go with little to no inspiration/motivation to write anything. i had also been in a weird narrative headspace because i’d been binge-watching disney shows (jessie > austin and ally > girl meets world) and i don’t know how well i can explain this but the way those shows are written is a lot snappier and cares way less for realistic and consistent character development or plots or relationships, and so i was stuck between caring a lot about including those things in my fics but also being unable to conceptualize them in writing because my brain was in Disney Writing Mode. does that make sense? this is rhetorical so let’s go with yes. so anyway. i was in a slump
actually what i ended up doing was basically googling something like “au prompts tumblr” or something and just scrolling through posts. i saw something about soulmate telepathy and i actually tried to write something totally different before i wrote this one, but the first attempt was a different concept and then the direction i took it was like......it wasn’t quite right and i realized that i was kind of writing dark disney style? there is really no way for me to explain what i mean by that because it seems really obvious to me but that’s just because i’m inside my own head so just take my word. 
anyway. attempt #1 of soulmate telepathy rilex went poorly, and this fic was attempt #2. i kinda took the soulmate telepathy thing and changed it as i saw fit and i also went back to skim helen’s telepathy fic because obviously she’s the pro and then i tried not to steal her ideas. and as i was writing it i kinda realized i was doing the whole quirky funny best friend character with jack and also doing the whole “somehow this not-very-dramatic situation with teenagers is treated as The Most Dramatic Thing Ever and that’s totally normal and nobody finds it strange” disney trope with rian and alex being soulmates and i was like (deep sigh) i have to accept that no matter how much i try to fight this, this fic is going to be tainted with disney. and that’s life
on top of that i will add that the real-life rilex were extremely inspiring during the two-day period during which i wrote this fic, because that was when the once in a lifetime video came out and in the brief pre-video livestream rilex were Beyond Married and that definitely helped in the writing of fic rilex!
hmmmm what can i tell you about this fic itself.................honestly, i don’t think there’s much to tell! rian is a band kid because in real life rian was a band kid and he’s staff manager at rita’s just like he was in real life. there is truthfully not a lot to unpack here that i can think of!
oh here’s something i guess: rian and alex go on a date in this fic! that is because watching So Much Disney made me realize that i often forget the fact that people just. go on dates. sometimes. look i clearly do not have an active romantic life but i also really liked the idea of alex and rian going on a date despite not knowing if they’d be soulmates or not and liking each other organically just by getting to know each other, rather than being victim to the whole soulmate thing. like i wanted them to build a connection so that they would want to be soulmates. and then the audience would want that for them too. stakes!! very important.
i can tell you i had a mild crisis over the title of the fic because i am not a fan of the word brain and i didnt wanna use that sticky lyric for the title when it had a word i hated but it was objectively a much better title option than the other one i had, which was “sticky just like the song in my head” but i obviously decided on the former and it has not upset me nearly as much as i expected it to so that was the right decision imo
so! i think that’s all on that! sorry (?) that it got so long although then again i don’t know what’s to be expected in a director’s cut for two long fics but thank you for asking me about these, i love them both so very much rilex is so supremely underrated but so very important
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beaniegyu · 3 years
Note
✨ + .gifs on all of my blogs hehe. feel free to do this only if you've time omg <3
hi rue!!!!!! this is gonna be fun because you have a lot of side blogs hehehe
skz in i'll be your man. i love the typography in this set and how they're paired!!! i rarely use inner shadows for my letters but maybe i should give it a try because you did here and it looks so so so good. i also thing the coloring is amazing!!!!
seungwoo in fade mood film. i tend to gravitate towards palettes with complementary colors and this set is satisfactory in that regard lkfsdfjls. also the way you cropped them and the scenes you chose are beautiful. i usually say that we ccs can pull out a gifset in under 20 mins sometimes, but some other really take longer, or even if they don't take longer it's still very important to pay attention to where you want the focus to be you know? and this is just mwah 💋.
sunric. this is hilarious!!!!! amazing set amazing boys. it's also really original because in general we tend to make gif compilations in small 2 gifs by line format and this was super refreshing and new and cute and i love it a lot.
hoshi in spider. with this one i felt the same way i did with seungwoo's in terms of how much i love the cropping. also the coloring is really nice. you toned down the red so they look darker and really nice. and i also think you choosing to add lyrics to some of them made the set look very original.
jeonghan in hit. the coloring here did it for me. i've seen many jeonghan in hit sets and i've even made one set where i turned his scene into a movie poster (very bizarre, you can have a look here) and this is the first time i've seen him with the purple look and i am IN LOVE.
send me ✨ + the link to your creations and I’ll answer with my top five favorite edits of yours!
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tumppu-tale · 4 years
Text
SO.... Remus’ playlist
Gonna analyse his songs next because I love our trash boy and his playlist was interesting ¯\_(ヅ)_/¯
I’ve also made a similar thing with Janus’ playlist (link if you wanna check that out)  and I am planning to do Logan as well!
And because Remus IS intrusive thoughts some songs don’t seem to have any deeper meaning (one of the reasons I love the Duke’s list!! Fits his character) I will mark some songs as Remus being Remus = “there’s no reason what I do I just do”, he’s horny and takes pleasure of other’s being uncomfortable with his randomness. 
ALSO the idea of absolute freedom is a common theme/subject in these songs! And Remus is very forward with what he says and tells Thomas. He has nothing to hide and uses quite literal language. So I see these lyrics to be taken as they’re said, unlike with the other sides they seem to be more metaphorical and figurative.
This Devil's Workday by Modest Mouse: I think this is a perfect opening for Remus. The song is just about all these things you could do to/by yourself, random and some terrible. Remus being Remus here, but also All the folks I know are gone. Is this a reference for Virgil/Janus turning into ‘light sides’ or how Thomas fears his intrusive thoughts would turn his friends away?
Forbidden Fruit by Thomas Sanders: DUH, it’s his theme song, he is a creativity so an original song is more than approved and Roman had “a gay Disney prince” on his list. Talking about Roman, he and his twin had some common bands in their list. Nice little detail in my opinion.
Double Team by Tenacious D: Remus being Remus
Man by Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Remus being Remus and a reference to “if I am awful.... so is Thomas <3″ (more about this later)
Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2) by KIDS SEE GHOSTS: ok, this is the first song that I think opens up Remus’ character a little more. FIRST, the opening of the song: 
May I say something to you to give you a true knowledge of yourself and life? Man in the full knowledge of himself is a superb and supreme creature of creation! When man becomes possessor of the knowledge of himself, He becomes the master of his environment.
What Remus is offering to Thomas is horrible thoughts and THE TRUTH. The truth is Thomas isn’t “good”, nobody is. Good and bad are made up nonsense. And most of all, freedom. When you know yourself, all of yourself, life becomes more comfortable, much easier when you don’t have to question yourself or your actions. When you’ve no concept what is right or wrong, good or bad you are left with a feeling of pure want without boundaries. And with that comes no guilt and pleasure.
Most of the song is telling us Thomas’ was repressing/denying Remus’ existence but now once Janus let him out, he is free. But the thing, the first lines that hit me were: 
I don't, feel, pain anymore Guess what, baby? I feel free Scoop! Nothing hurts me anymore Guess what, baby? I feel free
Do you know how nothing hurts you anymore? How you come to this point, this MIND SET that nothing can touch you? By being hurt countlessly, on repeat again and again and again.
In The Room Where You Sleep by Dead Man's Bones: Remus being Remus... nighttime edition :)
No reason boner by Ninja Sex Party: REMUS BEING REMUS (also a confirmation that he controls Thomas’ dick?) I found this song funny and Remus would definitely find this hilarious.
I Told You I Was Freaky - Flight of the Conchords: Remus being Remus. Also I feel like this is a reminder to the fanders; Remus is fucking freaky and disgusting and we still love him.
Queef by Awkwafina: Remus being Remus
Manners by Ashnikko: Remus being Remus. Also, to fuel my overthinking: Fight or flight, fighting for my life Fuck it up, I'm fucking with his psyche I'm a teddy bear with lots of spikes
Ben Bernanke by Lemon Demon: ANOTHER THEORY SONG! This is Remus talking to Thomas. 
You're the architect of my dreams, Spencer. You plan them, and build them on blue paper and hand them to me.  And then I dream them, Spencer. That's what you do for me. Thank you for that, Spencer... you prick.
Remus is Thomas’ creativity! Thomas does think those awful thoughts and sends them to Remus. He’s Remus’ muse and has the nerve to dislike the Duke for what’s his job as one of Thomas’ side. THOMAS is the one who created Remus by splitting up his creativity and thoughts into two.
I'll admit, Spencer, you're handsome. But what have you done with it? You think you can mock me, Spencer? Do you? Do you think you can mock me, Spencer? Do you think you can capture my essence and throw it back at me with humour and rhetorical devices? Well, you can't, Spencer. You don't know what I'm capable of! I need your teeth for my Lonely Hearts Club Band, Spencer.
Thomas’ is not seeking the kind of freedom Remus is dreaming of. And Thomas cannot force the Duke out, just ignore him but boy does Remus not like that! Because he wants Thomas’ to acknowledge him and ask his opinion, just like all the sides do.
I'll bet you are, pretty little boy, sitting up there in your high chair. Demanding more applesauce!  Well you've already got enough applesauce, Spencer! There's plenty of applesauce on your plate...
This could be Remus talking to Roman here; he’s having all of Thomas’ attention while Remus is kept away as a dirty little secret. However, since I’ve a strong feeling Spencer is Thomas, this could be Remus blaming him for trying to be “good” and ignoring his darker thoughts. I'm going to kiss you, Spencer, on the lips. You sexy little rattlesnake, you naughty little baby boy... You rambunctious little infant.
Before you shippers come aboard, “rattlesnake” is a reference to Janus, but as a part of Thomas. Thomas is only now learning about himself and Remus loves to point out his not completely innocent and using religious symbols against him (snake = the sinner, the liar, the unholy). But he cares about Thomas...
I'm a magician, Spencer, a furious magician! Magician, Magician...  I love you, Spencer; I'm gonna spank you silly...
Remus is angry and hurt, but he still loves Thomas and wouldn’t really hurt him.
Worldwide Torture by Jazmin Bean: Remus being Remus but also 
I never come second place, always been a big disgrace. Smell the fear I know you see, high achiever (Yeah, that's me)! Make you mad, ruining your shit. Trust me; I'm not hesitant. Killing so I stay on top but I could never do no wrong.
Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance: Remus being Remus and a reference to Virgil and their past? Remus seeks pleasure as much as chaos.
Trash People by Cherry Glazerr: Remus being Remus, I am worried for his mental health (depression) and We can't live a nine-to-five (in a routine), Art is love and love is sloppy. Nothing is all pure. Nothing is all dirty.
Tranz by Gorillaz: Are you okay Remus? Or is this more of “Roman and Remus aren’t so different after all” or that sometimes Thomas does go with Remus’ ideas (when in a party/having fun) without realising it?
Death As A Fetish by Starfucker: 
Ghost dad, keeping the secrets and float the dead ones home. And I will never be good enough, quietly. And you will never be good enough, just like me. And I will never be good enough, quietly.
Janus hiding the dark sides away because they’ll never be good enough for Thomas and this hurts them all. Because why wouldn’t it? They’re casted out even thought they’re just doing what they were created to do, at least half of them only protecting Thomas. And Remus is the most hurt, since he is everything Thomas hates, what Thomas doesn’t want to be or become. No to see, think or hear, he is the most vulnerable. All things normal to us, the simple parts of life are something twisted and crooked to him, automatically. 
Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen: Remus is having a good time. Don’t stop him. Let him enjoy himself.
Things i Don't Remember by Ugly Casanova: 
Looking for a purpose. How'd the hell'd we get here? There were things I don't remember. There was messed up alligator. There were endless conversations, No one's mouths were really moving. All them dumpsters overflowing, all my malevolent intentions...
Things I don't remember.
I figured out what I'm good for. Making anything look better. How the hell could I blame her? Even then I was a sailor. There were jokes that never land. Every hand was tipped in subliminal sand.
I feel like this song is when Remus became to be. We don’t know if he and Roman remember of being one or is it all darkness for them until the split. There was also another song where there was a mention of not remembering something/anything (too lazy to go back and find out which one it was lmao). But if we takes the lyrics quite literally, Remus didn't know WHY he was suddenly there, with these awful and messy thoughts and no good ones left. He is lost and nobody is there to guide him... So he figures it out himself. And as someone who had to do a similar thing myself I can say it is not easy and will fuck you up.
Fuck It! by Days N Daze: Remus is not okay. The song is all about “life’s a game, life’s a joke so what’s the fucking point?”. If nothing really matters, why to try at all, why not be free of everything and do whatever? 
But it also starts very sad but at least they know their way of thinking is not helpful or healthy... And it is true, without downs there’s no ups in life.
She smiled and she said; “On days like this, it seems like it never rains”.          But without the rain we'd starve. I can't escape the fly and the skull, so I'm beginning to lull myself into a false security. 'Cause it's easier to lie to yourself than to face reality so bittersweet...  So let's pretend all of the ones we love won't die! Sweep their skeletons off to the side! I'm oh so sorry, swear I tried to see over the wall I've built up In my head of guilt and fuckups. Maybe I'm just thinkin' much too hard...
And the end conclusion being:
They say don't take the risk, you're sure to fail. 'Cause there's no “get out of jail free card” in life. But what's the worst that could happen, end up in a coffin? Isn't that where we're all headed anyway? 
Can't escape the madness, So you might as well embrace it.
fReAkY 4 Life by Dorian Electra: I’m so uptight, my head it ain’t right.  It’s spinning baby, spinning around! You know that I need some freak therapy so let’s freak out and spread it around! I like to be in the spotlight. Step on the scene cos it feels right. I freakin’ scream, baby, all night I do it, I do it, do it all the time.  They just don’t understand me, I’m not like them, I’m freaky.
And the madness he embraces.
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mytastessuck · 3 years
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Gorillaz: Gorillaz (2001)
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The history of my relationship is a long one...but I don’t like explaining stuff so I’ll keep it brief. I became a fan of the band when I saw a premiere of the “Clint Eastwood” video on Toonami. This could be attributed to the fact that I loved cartoons and I didn’t know there was a bunch of animated music videos back then. But there are. There are a like a ton of animated music videos. Even back then. Even before back then. Did you know one won an Oscar? It was by Tom Waits. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. We’ll get to him later. Anyway, I heard a couple more songs from them around this era but I couldn’t get into them because I was young, stupid and had no money. It actually wasn’t till around the Demon Days era (Phase 2 for us in the know) that I managed to get a hold of this album. My dad is also a fan of this band and gave a special edition version of this album. Thanks to that gesture, I really got back into Gorillaz in a huge way. Looking up lyrics, lore and cameos (these guys did a song with D12. For 9/11. Is The Rap Critic’s Patreon still open? I got a request to make...). 
We can get into more details later. Right now, I am going to rate every single song on Gorillaz (2001) US Deluxe Edition. 1. Rehash A nice breezy way to start off the album. Although, to be honest, if you picked this CD up and put it in a player after seeing of Gorillaz’ released singles, you’ll most likely be going, “Did I get the right disc?”. Still, that’s the reason I love the band. They can go into any genre and there is still something there that sounds like them. This song is pretty cool. 
Song Score: 8/10
2. 5/4
Now this is what I’m talking about. Classic British Alternative: Uncommon time, indecipherable lyrics, disgust when you figure out what the lyrics are actually saying and a sick bass. This song right here? It justifies the purchase of the whole album. It’s nasty and it’s cool, like Peanut Butter water ice.
Song Score: 10/10
3. Tomorrow Comes Today
Oh my lord, this song. I always have a soft spot for songs that I can pretend I was deep to back in the day. Very slow, very contemplative, very moody...just like a young me. It’s good that they made this their first single because it really showed up what they were capable of.
Song Score: 9/10
4. New Genius (Brother)
Ooooo...spooky. This song is pretty nice for a dark atmosphere and recommended for singing in a bar by with smoking patrons. Also nice of Gorillaz to give us the Stranger Danger spiel without sounding completely lame about it.
Song Score: 8/10
5. Clint Eastwood
AWWW SHIT MUTHAFUCKERS, HERE WE GO! This is the song that I obsessed over for a decade of my life. I sucked the entire life out of this song to the point that I skip over it in some playlists because it has nothing left to offer me. Still, I objectively love this song and I appreciate it for introducing to this band and for introducing me to Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. Seriously, how was I supposed to live the rest of my life without knowing a guy was capable of bars like that? This song fucks.
Song Score: 10/10
6. Man Research (Clapper)
I think I can blame this song for me getting into Electronica at a later age. High-pitched voices, nice beats, the feeling that I’m in a lab watching people being experimented on...everything a good track needs. This song was really fun to sing out loud to myself when I was younger. Probably one of the things that made my neighbors call my sanity into question.
Song Score: 10/10
7. Punk
Fuck yeah. Gorillaz was slaughtering some bands before they even got of their crib with tribute to the genre. Don’t bother with the lyrics because the words just basically become another instrument on this track and boy are the instruments on their loudest display here. I can only hear a dude telling his mom to shut up on it anyway.
Song Score: 9/10
8. Sound Check (Gravity)
Gotta admit, didn’t really appreciate this song when I was younger. It felt like the pieces were there but it didn’t come together into something of substance. Now that I’m older, I...am still of the same opinion. I like the breakdown but I feel like the high-pitched voice has been played out at this point in the album.
Song Score 7/10
9. Double Bass
Ah, an instrumental. Probably one of the first ones I listened to on repeat. I love the string work on this and the accompanying beats. Really good music to chill to...if you ignore that one line.
Song Score: 9/10
10. Rock The House
Hey, it’s our old friend Del! I was pleasantly surprised to see him on another track, kicking ass to a set of nice pan flutes. Man, this song ruled. But I can only listen to the album version. The music video version censors ass crack. Ass crack! How conservative can you get?! Luckily, Gorillaz never ran into this problem again.
Song Score: 10/10
11. 19-2000
I remember this album being the first time I heard the original version of this song instead of the Soulchild Remix. Obviously, I had to prefer this version because the original version is always the best. At least, that’s the way I thought back then. Nowadays...
THEY BOTH SOUND NICE!
But I do have a special place in my heart for this song. I like the woman in the background. Adds an ethereal quality to the song.
Song Score: 9/10
12. Latin Simone (Que Pasa Condigo?)
The first time I heard this, I was like, “Why is this song in Spanish?” This is because I listened to the G Sides album first (more on that next week). But the more I listened, the more I preferred it to the English version. This guy sings like he’s before an auditorium and he wants the people outside to hear him. Funny story: I tried to play this song for my Spanish class but my speakers didn’t work for them to hear it. Sucks for them.
Song Score: 11/10
13. Starshine
This is probably my least favorite song on the album. Just melancholy for the sake of melancholy. Kind of bothers me how there’s no substance to it I can find...nice instrumental though.
Song Score: 6/10
14. Slow Country
My second least favorite song on the album. Usually I like discordant noises in a song but the amateur piano with the honks...don’t really do it for me. Nice mumbling at the end though. Never change, Damon.
Song Score: 7/10
15. M1A1
I remember the first time I watched Day of the Dead and during the beginning I kept going, “WHEN THE GUITAR COME IN?!”. I know, I know, I’m hilarious. Especially when I’m by myself. But seriously, not even factoring in nostalgia, this is the best track on the album. Great song, great singing, awesome fucking solo. The only thing better than M1A1 on this album is M1A1 live.
Song Score: 12/10
16. Dracula
You know that when I heard the sound bite from this track, I thought it was from the original movie? It’s not. It’s from fucking Looney Tunes. Damn. Egg on my face. Anyway, I love the goofiness of this track. It tries to sound dark and scary but it’s like that nice goth kid in your class who always pick Edgar Allan Poe as his Powerpoint topic. Good kid, great song.
Song Score: 8/10
17. Left Hand Suzuki Method
FEEL THE IMPACT
And I did. Like a wise man once said, I don’t need drugs to enjoy this track, just to enhance my enjoyment of it. And you know what? I don’t want to enhance it. This shit sounds good by itself. See, Slow Country? This is how you mix in things that don’t sound good together and make them sound good together. You know what that track needs? Japanese children talking. That improves everything.
Song Score: 9/10
18. 19-2000 (Soulchild remix)
And the head honcho themself, one of the first Gorillaz songs I listened to. Man, this shit slaps like Dave Grohl in a Michael Gondry video. Whenever I heard this song when I was a kid, I was thinking about it all week. It just sounds so sunny, so uplifting, like something you should be listening to on an amusement park ride. Fuck, this track is tight.
Song Score: 10/10
19. Clint Eastwood (Ed Case and Sweetie Irie remix)
...
...Is it too late to change my least favorite track on the album choice yet?
Okay, Slow Country was on the original album so it can keep its title. This track is the worst track of all the bonus ones. It’s just...they were onto something with the breakdown but the goofy reggae singing and the way too fast to enjoy beat? Just rubs me the wrong way. Ugh, and now I’m thinking of Laika already...
Song Score: 5/10
Album Score: 8.8/10
Join me next week as I review G-Sides. It’s gonna resemble fun!
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its-all-ineffable · 4 years
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TUA 1x01 Review: ‘We Only See Each Other At Weddings & Funerals’
The opening scene got me hooked immediately! Kudos to the young girl at the pool, she’s absolutely brilliant at conveying a sweet, innocent romance and then the fear of suddenly and unexpectedly giving birth! The girl and guy are a very cute couple, and I kinda wanna know more about them. And the concern that the guy shows when the girl doesn’t surface immediately after she’s jumped in the pool is so sweet. Also, those women in the pool are hilarious! They all scream in horror when they see the girl start to give birth in the pool and the next scene they're crowded around her, patting her hair and holding her hand! I do feel sorry for the girl though - I personally headcannon that she’s Vanya’s mother. They’re in Russia, as we can tell because they’re all speaking Russian, and Vanya is a diminutive form of the Russian (among others) name Ivan. It’s just an idea, but I like it!
Pogo’s VO (though of course, we don’t know it’s Pogo at this time) is nice - he’s got the kind of soothing and authoritative voice that makes you feel like everything’s gonna be okay. Nice bit of exposition too! ‘HE GOT SEVEN OF THEM’ hahahahaha!! Love the overdramatic text on-screen! Also, ‘Picture Book’ by The Kinks fits so nicely in this scene, the lyrics are a beautiful juxtaposition for the ‘family’ that they become and all the actors manage to walk perfectly on the beat. The swinging arms from Reginald though - every inch the pompous idiot we love to hate already! Though the nannies have some pomp and swagger too. Imagine how weird it’d be to see the Monoply man walking down the street followed by 7 women in the same outfit with prams though? The small, ridiculous moments make the series!
The intro to the siblings is one of my favourite moments in the entire series! It’s beautifully acted and edited and the music is perfect. When we see Vanya for the first time, the blue lighting she’s framed adds a sense of melancholy too the scene, and perfectly sets her up as a lonely woman and an outsider. Ahh, Tom Hopper! And his butt scratching! Love Luther’s intro, Vanya still playing the slow, melancholy music, emphasising that he’s lonely too. Bless him. As we move to Diego, bass, guitar and drums join the violin, which I love, as it gives the music a more dangerous and frantic edge to showcase what sort of person Diego is. Also, what a badass rip-off Batman with a Robin mask! Go Diego! Then we have Allison, appearing in that frankly stunning dress! The violin gets a solo her, possibly to emphasise her fame? Love how gorgeous and stylish she is. Those paps get on my nerves though, the fucking assholes. The music switches again, to a more sombre violin melody for Klaus, indicating his BAG of trauma. The music changes are very cleverly done. Also, the “I believe in you! You, not so much.” - instantly my fave!! And his outfit is on point! And, I just noticed that when the clinic worker says “Stay sober.”, Klaus just shakes his head! 
Then we go back to a nice, slow violin solo, indicating loneliness. Poor Luther, stranded on the moon all alone. Though, he’s the only one that finds out about Reginald’s death directly?! The others all find out from the TV, or in Allison’s case, the paps! Who’s the favourite son?! Also, those paps? Twats! Insensitive twats! Ugh! Moving on - love the rock version of ‘The Music of the Night’ that starts playing when Klaus gets resuscitated! It works so well with the scene and his manic attitude. The way he high fives the paramedic makes me laugh every time though! I love Klaus, can you tell? A very solid introduction to Klaus’ character, to all of them in fact. The finish with Vanya’s sad sounding solo is a beautiful end to the scene. Also, when the lights go off and we have the establishing shot of the theatre, Vanya looks so small and alone. I just want to wrap her in a hug and tell her that everything will be okay. The way she says “Dad” as well, so soft and sad, gets me. Bless her tiny heart, she’s so cute! Ellen Page is such a brilliant actress, portraying sadness, loneliness and shyness at the same time. 
The way they show the passage of time through the photographs is really clever - a brilliant idea! The way we see 2 pictures, then suddenly one kid is missing and we get shown the solitary painting of Five, then we see 2 more pictures, after being shown Ben’s statute? Cleverly done, and deepens the mystery of the missing numbers! Moving on again - the house is a brilliant set and so well-designed. Mom’s intro, with her staring into nothing is weird, but we know right from the get go that this is weird. Another mystery! And the actress who plays Mom is so pretty! Just had to say that! Love her outfits too! 
The reunion - when everything starts to go to shit, though of course, we don’t know that yet. The way Allison is cloaked in shadow on the stairs as she comes towards Vanya - like she’s a threat? Very clever. Also, the tone that she says “You’re actually here” in, bitchy much? But, siblings I guess! I don’t know, I don’t have any. The hug is nice though, and Allison makes more of an effort to interact with Vanya than the rest of them. FUCK OFF DIEGO, with you’re “You don’t belong here!” Stop being an asshole to tiny, adorable Ellen Page! The beginning of my dislike for Number 2, I’m afraid. Sorry, Diego fans! Not happy with him atm! Allison sasses him though, go Allison! And the way she re-assures Vanya. Bless! 
Luther, WTF are you doing sneaking around? Hmm. Ah, and here comes the tense brotherly banter between #1 and #2. It’s pretty funny, but you can smell the rivalry a mile away! And Luther, just forget the monocle. Forget it! Jeez! Loving Diego’s sass though, very good at low blows isn’t he? And finally, the famous book - I’d read it! Looks interesting. I kinda want to know what she says in it, don’t you? And there’s Pogo! Is it bad that when I first watched this, I wasn’t even surprised to see a walking, talking monkey reach out to hug Vanya? Welp, I feel like that says something about me. I liked him straight away, he’s so kind to Vanya and his voice is very soothing. I don’t know okay, it just is?! 
The backstory isn’t exactly subtle, the whole “How long has it been since Five disappeared?”, but it works. The whole interaction between Vanya and Pogo, when they talk about Five, makes me so sad for Vanya. The way she said “I used to leave the lights on for him” tells me that they had a pretty close bond before Five up and left, even when I first watched the show. It just made me feel for Vanya’s character more, she’s so sweet and she clearly misses Five a whole lot. 
They all seem to wander round the house a lot, don’t they? Memories I suppose. The flashback scene here cemented my hatred for Reginald, it takes 2 seconds to say goodnight to your kids!! Fucking dick! Also, looking at the kids breaks my heart even more - Ben and Five are looking at Reginald all hopeful, Klaus clearly knows Reginald doesn’t give a shit, leaning against the doorframe with a ‘I don’t care’ expression on his face, Vanya hiding in the background, slightly separate from the rest of them. They break my heart. Great acting from the kids btw! And the way Ben looks back at Reginald, still hoping, and Luther guides him away - aww!
And back to the present - “Where’s the cash Dad?” Klaus!! XD The gigantic, adorable smile Klaus has when he sees Allison, and he immediately goes for a hug is so sweet! I get the feeling that Klaus genuinely cares about his siblings, but he masks a lot of his true feelings. That could be interesting to explore in a fic. The hug is very tense though - Allison recoils from him and awkwardly pats his back - as if she’s too good for him? Clearly not sure how to feel about him. Klaus in this scene is great, and was already my favourite at this point when I first watched. Though Allison does snort at his jokes, so perhaps they were close once? I want more Allison and Klaus interaction is Season 2! They could be an amazing duo! 
And then Luther ruins the moment, with his “Get out of his chair.” Jeez, Luther, lighten up? Also, this is the first time you’ve seen them in years and that’s your opening line? Way to go big boy. I do love Robbie in that cropped shirt though, and the coat is awesome! Allison, I see you laughing at Klaus! I see you! Also - how the hell did that box fit in his trousers?! XD I’ll leave you be Luther, ‘cause you’re taking the piss out of Diego and it’s funny. Though I’m slightly uncomfortable. Allison & Luther stare at each other with so much longing, and I just...ugh! Also, I know this whole Patrick & Claire situation is supposed to make us feel sympathy for Allison, but immediately saying “shit” when you hear that he got custody, like - don’t judge? It could be a good thing? Don’t assume that Allison didn’t do anything wrong. Sorry, just, the bias. And so begins my dislike of Luther!
The tense silence in the sitting room. Family’s, am I right? Also, Klaus steals every scene he’s in, especially in that skirt! “And here we go,” Preach Diego! Here comes the family dysfunction. Also, how does no one laugh at Klaus? Can you imagine how many bloopers there must be? C’mon Netflix, give me! The family dysfunction is strong, though. “Sober up.” - it’s not that fucking simple Luther! There’s a long hard road to sobriety, even after withdrawals, so just shut up and leave Klaus the fuck alone, yeah? You are part of the problem, the reason why Klaus is the way he is. Just...can you tell I dislike Luther a bit? 
And here’s Diego, who I also dislike, but at least he actually addresses Klaus like he’s a PERSON! So, I like him slightly more. And Luther totally suspects Diego of killing their father. None of the other siblings, just Diego. You can see it in his face. “I’m just gonna go an murder mom” I love Klaus so much! XD And the way they all file out while Luther stands there like an idiot...
The whole flashback scene, to the bank, is AMAZING, all the kids are great and its a great way of showcasing all their powers (bar Klaus’) and what they had to experience. Also, we get some Five and Ben content! Yay! Five’s sass immediately endeared me too him. Poor Ben “C’mon Ben”, Jeez Luther, do you ever stop being an ass?! And there’s Kenny’s mom, running out the bank! Poor Ben again, he clearly hates his power and using it. And being covered in all that blood. Also, can we talk about Klaus leaning on Five when they get outside?! And Five lets him?! I want more Klaus and Five in Season 2 as well, pretty please? And then here comes Reginald, telling Vanya she’s not special. Great parenting strategy asshat! Also, “six children”, GET FUCKED REGGIE! That reporter made me laugh though, the “Are you concerned about the welfare of the children?” one. Nope, no he is not. Take them away from him please! 
Those posters, in the hallway outside the bedrooms, fuck, they’re disturbing! G is for gouge? Fuck me. And here we are, the ‘A+L’ locket. Slightly weirded out by it. Also, love the symbolism of the siblings being scattered throughout the house all in different rooms. Shows how fractured they are at the moment. 
AND NEED I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE MASTERPIECE THAT IS THE DANCE SCENE?!
“Daddy?” Klaus, I can’t even...XD What was with the fire extinguisher as well? Darling, I love you, but really? “Yeah, get behind us!” cough*toxic masculinity*cough! Now is not the time to try and be the alpha male Diego. Also, Klaus seems to have the most common sense - “I vote for running!” - yep, great idea! Common sense, folks, from the super high medium! Five’s entrance is pretty great though, but I’ll just say this - if it was my sibling that I hadn’t seen for 17 years? I’d be hugging him so tight, regardless whether he likes touch or not. Just saying. I like how we have Five falling right back into the family as if he were never gone, as if him being 13 isn’t a big deal, the banter is great. I also like how he doesn’t look at his siblings at all, and then he looks up for the first time since being inside, and it’s to compliment Klaus. Such a small yet sweet moment in the series. Underappreciated, I feel. Five doesn't seem like the type to give compliments often. The “Well you would if you were smarter”!XD 2nd favourite sibling, here we come! This whole kitchen scene was a great setup for the sibling dynamics. 
The elusive Ben is finally mentioned again. Creepy statue though. I love the fact that they all have big black umbrellas, and then there’s Klaus, with his little plastic one with pink trim! Diego again with the impeccable comedic timing “He was a monster”. And Mom is adorable, I love her so much. Here we go with Luther & Diego again, I guess. “Who’s the alpha male? I’m the alpha male!” Jeez. AGAIN? You 2 ever even tried being nice to each other? The fight scene is pretty cool though, the choreography is really well done. I love how we see them act more like a family here too, Vanya pulling Mom back and Klaus shoving Five out the way. Adorable! Allison’s got some deadpan! Like it. Diego, why are you such a dick? Especially to Vanya? She was trying, is trying, and you just...I’m so done with you and Luther. And y’all just gonna leave Klaus out there alone? Nice. Predication...
This training scene, reinforcing how AMAZING Reginald Hargreeves is as a parent! The tattoo scene too. Poor tiny little Klaus and Allison huddled together, and Ben, Luther and Five looking so scared/nervous. The way Vanya is left out - again - and draws her own tat. These poor abused kids guys! I just wanna hug ‘em all! Also, watching your kids sleep? Not creepy at all! And back from the flashback, Vanya leaving because she keeps being treated like crap. You know in nature programmes, when the baby animals bully the runt of the litter out? Yep. Loving the way Pogo is looking out for her though, clearly he cares about her a lot. Better Dad than Reggie! And no one notices she’s gone, that’s nice.
Love the entire kitchen interaction between Five, Klaus, Diego and Allison. Family banter again! Oh wait, they did notice Vanya left, they just didn’t care? Brilliant. Great family. Also, does Diego always need to be such a prick to his sisters? Asshole. Though I like the way he treats Klaus - he lets him hitch a ride despite knowing that he could leave without him, and listens to him more than the others do. Though you can see David trying not to laugh at Rob’s ‘hippo’ line in the scene. God, he seems like so much fun! 
The scene at Griddy’s is just, simply awesome. Love Agnes, she’s so sweet. Five’s fake smile has me in hysterics every time though! The tow truck driver is very nice, buying for a ‘weird kid’ he doesn’t know. The fight scene, again, is perfect, and the juxtaposition of the upbeat tune “Istanbul Not Constantinople” in the background, just...chef’s kiss! Poor Five didn’t get his coffee though. The quest for Five to have a decent cup of coffee begins! Aidan is a phenomenal actor too, absolutely brilliant! Love the tightening of his tie as he walks away, the cocky little shit!XD Poor Agnes.
The intro to Ben is funny, and cleverly placed so that it doesn’t feel forced, it just fits with the story of the episode. Also, Diego’s a dramatic bitch. But he cares about Klaus. So, we’ll see, I guess. A nice little interaction between 2 brother (3, sorry Ben!) that love each other. Nice to have a moment of the siblings being, ‘normal’, for want of a better word. Vanya and Five interaction, yay! “Rapists can cimb” - Five, no!XD Funny, but...Anyway, I like the relationship between these two. The way he comes to her and trusts her the most and lets her touch him and clean his wound. I love it. The flashback to Five hurts, because he really was just a kid then and I feel so maternal about that...I’m not the only one, right? Aidan’s phenomenal acting again. I love the cliff hanger of the world ending in 8 days. Got me hooked. Also, Van’s response is perfect - “I’ll put on a pot of coffee.” I love you Vanya! XD
Alright, I know it was long, but it’s over now. Thanks for reading all of it, if you did. I don’t know when I’ll get around to the 2nd episode, but hopefully it’ll be soon. Hope you all enjoyed my ramblings! x
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shadowed-dancer · 4 years
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Cats 2019 Review (Spoilers)
So I FINALLY got to experience Cats the Movie (2019) and I have some thoughts. For context, I’ve seen the staged production and actually really enjoyed it!
You can find my review of the soundtrack here.
I wasn’t sure how to organize my thoughts in any coherent manner, so I decided to to a quick overview, a plot summary, then break it up into visuals, story, singing, changes, and other thoughts for those who want an in depth thing.
Overview
So overall, I didn’t hate this film. It was weird, but pretty par for the course compared to its source material. If you know the plot of cats then you’ll only be weirded out by some odd visual moments. If you know nothing about Cats the Musical, then you will be very confused. The best part imo was Mr. Mistofelees (the character, not the song).
Summary (of the film)
We start with Victoria (a white cat) being tossed into an alley and immediately she is found by a tribe of cats called the Jellicles
She learns that once a year, a Jellicle is chosen to ascend to the Heaviside layer (basically heaven) where that cat is then reborn into a new life. This decision is made by their leader, Old Deuteronomy, and is called the Jellicle choice
We learn that a cat must sing a song about themselves if they want to be chosen. There are some cats who introduce themselves with the desire to be chosen, and some who introduce themselves for the fun of it
Our contenders to be chosen are: Jennyanydots, Bustopher Jones, Gus, Skimbleshanks, Macavity, and Grizabella
The cats who introduce themselves for fun are: Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, and Mister Mistofelees
Macavity is the villain and kidnaps all the other contenders by teleporting them to his boat. That way he’d be the only one present once the choice is made
Old Deuteronomy refuses to choose him and is teleported away by Macavity, but she’s brought back by Mistofelees before she can be forced to walk the plank (no, I’m not kidding, that’s an actual line)
Oh yeah, side note. Macavity and Mistofelees have actual magical powers. It’s never explained how or why
Old Deuteronomy ends up choosing Grizabella, an outcast cat, and she flies away in a hot air balloon that’s also a chandelier
Visuals
I'm not sure if I saw the updated version but someone said if Judy Dench has a human hand with her wedding ring in the last scene, then it’s the old version. My version had that so I’m assuming I saw the original
The CGI fur wasn’t as horrifying as I feared but any time their feet were shown, the illusion was immediately broken
Also the mice and cockroaches looked so fake I couldn’t help but laugh
The cats also looked very fake in Skimbleshanks’ song, but I liked the song so I gave it a pass
Mistofelees’ ears weren’t really a consistent size. Like if he took off his hat his ears should have been way bigger than they actually were rendered to be
Actually nothing was a consistent size. Sometimes the cats looked way smaller compared to other scenes
Idk what was wrong with some of the clothing in this movie, but Jenny’s dance suit, Skimble’s suspenders, and Munkustrap’s collar looked like they were floating over their bodies
This is weird since all the coats in this movie look absolutely fine
Also at one point I made the mistake of looking at a background character and I saw her face was clearly not connected to her body
I thought I’d have to see Misto and Victoria kiss with their weird human mouths. Luckily I did not. Thank you for sparing me from that
At a few points the cat’s (human) nails extend into “claws” but they just look like longer human nails. Idk how to describe it.
Idris Elba looked very naked. Why did he ditch his coat at the end?
At one point Bustopher drinks some champagne (I think) and it spills all over his face and then literally evaporated as soon as it’s done. Like not even in the next shot, in one continuing shot the drink is gone from his fur
In the last scene, Jenny’s collar keeps popping in an out of existence between shots. I’m sure it was inconsistent throughout the film, but I noticed it at the end
Oh, and yes I saw the snot on Grizabella’s face and yes it was very distracting
Story
I was really confused about the rules of the Jellicle choice. They said you have to sing a song if you want to be chosen, but Jennyanydots and Bustopher Jones sing before Old Deuteronomy even shows up
Edit from the future: I saw the movie again and realized Jenny’s performance was a practice for her real performance. That’s why she packs up the cockroaches, it’s because she’s taking them to the actual venue.
This also explains the fact that she unzips her skin. It implies she made a suit to look like her skin for this big reveal. That’s weird in it’s own right, because it implies she made a suit to like like her own skin
Also apparently Rum Tum Tugger wasn’t trying to be the Jellicle choice (which makes sense, his life seems pretty good) because he's never taken away by Macavity
Macavity says “I’m the only contender here” while Tugger is in the room, so I’d assume that means a few cats are just introducing themselves for the heck of it (Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, and Mistofelees)
How did the other cats get off Macavity’s boat? I get that they fought back, but how did they actually get to the statue in time?
Overall the story is pretty much the same, only they gave Macavity more of a role
Singing
Yes, I know I reviewed the soundtrack already, but now with the context of the film I have some more thoughts
Jenny sounded like Miranda Sings when she sang “BuUuUuuuuuT” (idk how to describe that voice, but if you’ve heard Mirana you know what I mean)
Also she is not a tap dancer and I’m very sad
So turns out Beautiful Ghosts is sung to Grizabella. It really slows down the film because it’s right in between the first Memories and Gus’ song (both very slow songs)
I was not on board for Judy Dench as Old Deuteronomy, at least in the singing department. Acting wise she was great, but I couldn’t do the singing.
Also remember how I said Grizabella slurred her words? It REALLY stands out in the movie. Oh my gosh at one point I couldn’t tell what she said despite knowing the lyrics. I didn’t love her
It felt like she was singing for sadness, not for the emotion
Also the music really overtook her during the climax of the song and it took away from the emotion
Oh, the first bit of Mr Mistofelees is actually sung by Munkustrap! I couldn't tell from the recording. Just thought I’d point that out
And also Macavity appears after his song, so it’s not as weird timing wise as I thought
Changes
I actually didn’t hate the shy version of Misto they created. However, it was very hard to watch his song because I could feel the awkwardness radiating through the screen
I’m also upset that his song is no longer as fun and upbeat as it used to be. Like he almost bursts into tears at one point and I was just sitting there like “Wow, this is the exact opposite energy I was feeling at this point in the stage production”
I miss Jellylorum, but it was cute having Misto be like this big fan of Gus, that was adorable.
And yeah I didn’t hate Misto and Victoria together. I thought it was cute watching them interact
Misto didn’t dance and I felt ripped off
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer helped with the catnip scene, but when was this agreed upon? Before the movie took place?
Other
Not gonna lie, I actually laughed when Bustopher Jones went into a garbage can and Tugger was just chilling with 2 girls. And then Bustopher acts like it’s such a normal occurrence I found it funny
The film needed more Tugger, I was very disappointed in the lack of Tugger in this film. Even if it was just a running gag of him in random places with some cats like the garbage can bit, that would have been hilarious
The ending scene was horrifying sorry. Like I’m fine with eye contact, but that was too much
Victoria, Misto, and Munkustrap’s actors were fantastic
At one point Victoria was dancing on pointe but they edited it so she was barefoot, so she was on pointe on her actual toes (think that party scene in Titanic)
Misto has to wear an actual bow tie while Bustopher Jones has it as a pattern on his fur, which is reversed from the stage play? Why?
During Macavity’s song, when all the cats are high on catnip, Misto makes this weird expression while rubbing his face on the barstool and it was SO UNCOMFORTABLE TO WATCH. That whole scene was actually unnerving there was a lot of moaning and heavy breathing
Any time Macavity teleported by saying “Meow” I burst out laughing
What kind of cat was Victoria supposed to be? Because I always imagined her as a Persian kitten but she’s kind of a tabby in this version (but not consistently, her markings seem to fade or get bolder randomly)
Speaking of which, so many of the cats looked the same and were kind of boring. Lots of tabbies with short fur.
Misto’s wand is a pencil
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed. You should absolutely go see this film just for the experience of it. I will absolutely be adding this to my yearly Halloween-movie line up.
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shhhhyoursister · 4 years
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hi friends i wrote this all yesterday and just never posted it i guess and these thoughts are definitely less coherent but!!!!! they’re valid!!!!! so here is the second edition of.....
MUSIC IN DRUCK (3x02)
quick musical doodles - i’m including this just cause it makes me laugh, cause it starts and the first notes hit kinda heavy, especially cause you can see matteo sitting on the steps just flopped over and it seems like it could potentially be the start to a serious scene, but then you see the BOYS coming in and then you see matteo looking slowly up at them and carlos’ fucking face kills me every time he looks like he’s trying so hard not to laugh but jonas and abdi are walking with like,, a hint of swag??? and then you can see the “what the fuck” on matteo’s face, that part is just hilarious and i had to mention it
obvs - so i didn’t think i’d have much to say about this song (plays during the scene where david and matteo are awkward gay stuttering and then leonie comes over) but i think the function of it is to highlight the whole nervous/stuttery/apprehensiveness of approaching/talking to someone you’re developing a crush on??? and how you can obviously hear the music during the moments of awkward silence and there are no words so you’re just kind focusing on the fact that they aren’t speaking and it plays until david is completely gone
8896 - so this song gets interesting when you look into the lyrics a lil more,, this song plays while matteo is watching david try to shove his bag in the locker (as this post said it’s heavy bottom imagery) and when i looked ho the lyrics i was like 🤔🤔🤔 because the first line is “you say there is nothing to hide” which is interesting because both matteo and david, at this point in the story, are hiding pretty big things about themselves!!!! it gets even MORE interesting later on when you look in the 2nd chorus and see “we’re running down roads and crossing track stones / pay for the ticket, just enjoy the circus / run away another day” that first line kinda made me think about them leaving leonie and sara to go to the pool (i know they were riding bikes but you get it) which is further cemented by the last line?? like how many songs did the druck crew manage to find that reference “running away”???? that must have been someone’s entire job!!!!!!!! (also the fact that this song that mentions hiding things and running away leads up to matteo googling how to have sex with a girl when you’re not into her.....)
go! - AKDKAKD okay y’all there’s not even that much for me to say about this one i just needed to include it cause the absolute CAMP of having matteo fantasize about david walking down the hallway staring at him and then twirling while a dramatic saxophone song plays in the background???? are you kidding me???? that’s comedy gold
where’s the catch? - this song goes from rap to basically a few different voices going “aaaAAAHHHHH” (in like a nice melodic way of course) as he sees david in the bus, and then they the beat kicks in again as matteo is doing his weird 👁👄👁 intense staring, and it’s a very steady beat and it was kinda making me think about when you’re standing near your crush and you can kinda feel your heart beating a little harder and faster and you can maybe hear it a little in your ears and your palms are sweaty (moms spaghetti) and you’re trying to not be weird (matteo definitely did not succeed at that) and you’re just excited?? that’s the vibe i got with this song in this part, esp cause it sounds like it’s in kind of a weird key so it’s really driving in that “this is exciting but strange and kinda nerve wracking but i don’t hate it” vibe ya know??
**jazz - okay so i think this was such a fucking good song to play for this part???? “drink more water” is just....idk really funny to me?? but also the song itself is really chill and playing a rap song if they knew they were gonna cut the sound of the dialogue out was a really smart type of song to choose!!!! like it’s obvious that matteo is just staring at him and losing his mind over having a cute boy at his place, and the way they cut the words out when matteo and david are talking and slowly fade it out....it’s good dude it’s VERY good
love$ick - this song starts with a very interesting lil percussion bit that really sets up the tone for this part of the clip??? it’s fun and catchy and has an interesting beat and mixes really well with the sounds of two high dumbasses cooking gross sandwiches and falling in love :,,) it’s also kind of interesting that they chose to play a part with no words while they are cooking because there is very little actual dialogue, so unlike before where they filled the silence with fast rap, here they really want you to focus on the smaller details and the way their bodies already naturally kind of move around each other very well?? and the way they end it right after the boys each take a bite of the sandwich is really funny to me just cause you can obviously hear the *crunch* and then it stops and you hear them both going like “hmmm” “mhm” and the “weird....but also good??” i think i love every single decision this show has made so far with the music tbh
**go rilla - this song starts playing like the second before matteo picks up davids beanie, and it definitely isn’t the happiest sounding song, but while it has kind of a sadness to it the music drives in a way that makes the vibe more that matteo is sad that david left, but seeing the beanie is a moment of “oh, but now i get to interact with him again” so it’s a hopeful kind of sadness?? i’ve definitely talked about the hopefulness of some of the songs before but i feel like its the correct word?? like as a viewer i’m hearing that song and seeing him hold the beanie and i’m thinking to myself “oh, davids gone, but it’s not over yet folks!!!!”
ahh hope this was okay hope y’all enjoy readin my stupud ass thoughts about this topic lol next one soon??? probably??????
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jq37 · 5 years
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so...... thoughts on the first ep?
**spoilers for start spreading the news**
What is UP you guys? The new season of Dimension 20 is out and your girl is back (implies I left, which is false) with only the hottest of takes.
Usually I vomit up my opinions with little rhyme or reason and, don't worry, I'm not changing that format any time soon. But, because of the structure of the episode, I think it'll be easier to use headings and go through each character/element of this. So let's do this y'all!
The Setting
I think the best thing you can do as a writer or a creative person in general is the make something that only you could make, you know? Like, make the thing that only someone with your specific life experiences and weird brain could have come up with. And I really think that this is that for Brennan. I already talked about this in other posts, but the version of NYC that Brennan created for this game is that to me. Like, magical NY has been done, but the specific details? Who else could have written, "The annual SantaCon is actually Santa dumping all of his defective clones into NYC where the magic barrier that keeps normals from seeing magic will disguise them and the protectors of the city will be able to deal with them"? That's so specific and so wild and so New York and so Brennan.
And I haven't lived in NY for so long but I've had one winter here and the way he describes what it's like to walk down the street during winter in the city is so real. Like smelling garbage then laundry detergent then sugared nuts from those corner stands and you're freezing and then baking in the subway in your coat. That was so so real. (I will be saying this phrase a lot so get used to it now)
And I like that he didn't make the obvious choices, you know? Like we've had three, like, magical figureheads across D20 and those are usually classic old, white, possibly British roles, you know? Like a Gandalf or a Dumbledore. But he had Aguefort in FH and now Esther and Alejandro in TUS. I just think it's cool that we're getting some different archetypes to fill these roles instead of the same dude c.p'd in again, you know?
Also, the fantasy NYC map is so dope. I wanna go back and try to read everything on it when I have the chance. 
Pete
Ally is a DRUG DEALER. I thought Pete was gonna be a stripper but he's a DRUG DEALER. Honestly, I could have figured this out sooner if I'd just checked Urban Dictionary like I did just now and found out that "plug" means "someone who is a resource for obtaining something valuable that would otherwise be difficult to obtain" or, more simply, "drug dealer". But I'm glad I didn't because it was much more fun to find out in real time.
Ally makes some character choices sometimes that are too specific to not be rooted in life experience and that whole microwave cheese monologue was one of them.
Pete's official diagnosis is that he has "a lot going on."
Ally almost won MVP line of the episode with, "Shot my tits off." Murph losing it in the background killed me almost more than the actual line.
I really, really want Pete's doctor to be a recurring character because he is wild in how wild he isn't. He has so much wild stuff happening around him and he is in a wild line of work but he seems like a relatively stable guy. I love him. Also, the completely wrong cadence he used to say, "lgbt ally" was gold.
Is Ally ever gonna have a character with a good relationship with their parents? One time? Ever?
I literally don't even know how to begin to address the wild magic trip Pete went on. Like, I don't think Ally knew what they were doing when they decided to be a wild magic sorcerer. I don't think they knew what kind of challenge they were issuing to Brennan. And after seeing the wild nonsense Brennan consistently came up with for Jer'ih'meh in Bloodkeep, I can't want to see the insanity he spits out for Pete.
"You're the one who they they wanted to play a wild magic sorcerer."
Also, Brennan just using lyrics from "New York, New York" for whatever dream demon or whatever was going on in that trip was, like, equal parts clever and hilarious. Sidenote, do you think all the ep titles are gonna be from songs about NY? I mean, there are enough songs I bet.
Pete has this thing where he constantly lands on the exact wrong part of the situation to focus on. Like later when he gets stuffed in the magic closet at the hospital and he's like, "Hospitals are so advanced, also go much is this gonna cost?" Ally's comic timing on that is always perfect.
WILD that that was the first intro. Like, way to kick off the new season with a bang.  I really wonder what this episode would have felt like if this was the last intro or if the intro for the two normal people hadn’t been right at the top. Actually now that I’m editing, I feel like we almost got the intros from least experienced w/ this stuff to most experienced. Because Pete is a total noob. Sophia is also a noob but she has met Kugrash at least once. Then you have Ricky who’s only been in this for about a year. Then Kingston who probably has more experience than Kug by years but Kug has been a rat man his whole life (presumably). Finally Misty who is probably like a BS amount of years old and steeped in this stuff. Honestly,  if I was DM’ing, I might have fudged the die rolls to look exactly like how it turned out. 
Sophia
Emily describing her character and slipping into her character voice gradually as she went on was so pro.
"Like if Fran Dresher went on an Amy Winehouse bender." I love her.
"Did you not want baby bangs?"
"She's a WHOO-OAR."
I'm gonna die if Brennan make than woman an actual succubus because of an offhanded comment.
My favorite thing is when Emily is saying some nonsense and she can barely even get through it without breaking. Also, Murph is so visibly amused by Emily's entire intro. It's great.
I love that both of the "normal" characters spent most of this episode intoxicated in one way or another.
So Emily absolutely won the episode in my eyes for coming up with one of the sickest burns I've heard and in real time. A dude tells her to read his dick and she, after only a momentary pause, says, "No I'm not gonna read your dick (beat) because I don't read short stories!" Brennan doesn't even make her roll. He just narrates her success. The table goes wild. The bar she's at goes wild. Zac specifically is cracking up. Like, I feel like this is gonna be a little bit of a deep cut reference but did any of you ever play the Monkey Island games and do the insult swordfighting? That's what that scene was. Amazing.
Murph's, like, entire posture and expression (@ 1:24ish) when Emily is saying Sophia thinks she saw a giant rat man who gave her an egg sandwich and Gatorade is total gold.
"Gotta kill some brain cells to kill the ones with the memory of Dale in them."
OK so funny story (funny to me at least) at the Fantasy High live show, I was talking to some other girls who were there and we ended up talking about how the small of a woman's back is basically the worst place you can casually touch them outside of the really bad places and how viscerally terrible it is so when Brennan said one of the trolls touched one of the girls there and Sophie/Emily was like BIG NOPE, I had a That's So Raven flashback to that conversation immediately.
Emily leaps into action...and rolls a nat 1 to fight a bunch of trolls. She actually does really well in the rest of the fight though so that's good.  
Oh, also Siobhan made everyone dope themed dice boxes!
Ricky
I hope Dimension 20 runs for the next 10 years and I hope Zac plays a good, big, doofus in every single season.
"He's basically like Superman if Superman were Japanese." Love.
Also, I love the distinction that he's 5' 8" but buff.
Ricky surrounded by a raging fire: First of all, that's a cool bear.
I like the way that Brennan skinned the cleric and paladin powers for this game so they're more about values than deities. I was wondering how it was gonna work in this setting and I think this was such a cool way to handle it.  
I really think Brennan has a great handle of presenting certain things in such a way that it's interesting for the players as well as the audience. Like, when Ricky is trying to escape the burning apartment, he puts an obstacle in his way that forces him to use his Paladin powers (to create water specifically). It's not really a hard "puzzle" or something he has to roll for, but it introduces to the audiences that he's not just a firefighter. I just think it's really cool that he's able to pull off narrative things like that without actually controlling the characters. (And, props to the players too, of course, for being so consistently entertaining).
"Mr. March."
Ricky in the middle of the winter: I'm not as tan as I used to be.
Ricky rooftop runs like a freaking superhero.
OK, this is barely related to what I'm talking about right now but it's important to me that you all know this. I commented in an earlier post that Ricky clearly had circus music playing in his head at all times and then I was like, "Hmm, I wonder what that one circus song is called." You know, the song that you think about immediately when you hear the phrase "circus music" so I looked it up and APPARENTLY it is a CZECH MILITARY MARCH known alternately as (brace yourselves) ENTRY OF THE GLADIATORS and THUNDER AND BLAZES. I kid you not. That's actually what that song is called. I called my brother and told him immediately. OK, back on topic.
Is a questing blade a thing? I feel like it's a Thing from legend or fairy tales or something but, when I Google it, I come up with basically nothing.
Does Ricky have a thing for Esther or is he just a super awkward texter and nice guy who does not want to be set up by his sister for a different reason?
I need Brennan to explain how the Santa Question works in this world. The question being, "Why don't parents freak about the gifts they're not buying?" and, side question, "Why don't poor kids get presents?" My go-to answers are always, "He Jedi Mind Tricks into thinking they bought them," and, "He has to work within each family's socio-economic means in order to not be obvious." So there are def plausible answers. But, like, this is something I like to see addressed when we're doing the "Santa is real," thing.  
"I grew up with twins and one of them was worse than the others so that makes sense."
"Is Santa good?"/"The ethics of it are alarming, I won't lie."
So, my paranoid thought for this episode is I'm a little Concerned that someone down the line (maybe Esther, but hopefully not) is going to take advantage of Ricky's Big Dumb energy and his "It's the right thing to do," mentality and manipulate him into doing something Not Great. Like, it's not based on anything besides mainlining a ton of media over the past 24 years but I'm just gonna keep an eye out.
Re the Santa/Peppermint Zombification: Hey Brennan, turn your location on. I just wanna talk.
I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, what the hell?
That creeped me out in the same way that episode of Adventure time where Princess Bubblegum (infused with the primal elemental candy energy or whatever) turned everyone into Candy people and everyone started singing Let Me Call You Sweetheart. What a weirdly specific body horror thing for me to encounter more than once. That one peppermint tooth thing is gonna haunt me. 
Kingston
I gotta say, props to Lou for pulling a complete 180 on the kind of character he picked this time around. He went from playing this super extra rich pretty boy to this salt of the Earth quasi patriarch and he's just as comfortable with it. Kingston is so real. I went to church with like 50 guys like him back home.
Why are you fighting so hard about free food Kingston? Take the free homecooked food Kingston!
The intensity of his, "I will be here until I die," was hysterical.
Mentioned this before but I love the flavoring of the cleric class where instead of being attuned to a deity Kingston is basically attuned to the entire city. Also, the perks are excellent. Bus service anywhere for free. Sign me up.
I like that Ricky's sister works at the hospital. It's a really cool potential connection for later.
"We're gonna take the thing outchyo butt. We're not gonna deny you medical services."
"Aint nothing wrong with being a freak." --Kingston Brown
Fantasy creatures having to deal with updated tech (like the Toll bridge trolls talking about EZ-passes) is one of my fave urban fantasy tropes.
"I've got a really sweet smelling man here!"
"Yeah, my tooth fell out and now it's a candy. Hey, how much is this gonna cost?" This is what I’m talking about. Priorities my dude.
I love that Kingston knows Pete's weird mob doctor. It seems like part of his deal is that he just knows everything about everyone in the city (within whatever parameters).
Pete says, in quick succession about Ricky, "I feel like he would bully me," and, "He seems like a golden retriever," which I feel are almost mutually exclusive statements.
Kugrash
Well, I asked what kind of druid nonsense was happening in Central Park and the answer is Murph apparently.
I really wish I could have been there when Murph announced he wanted to play a literal rat.
"I am the shit that feeds the flies. A dumpster druid."
"Wherever you are rat Jesus, I love you." You're killing me Brennan.
Aww Kugrash goes around feeding the homeless and stuff. He's like this grumpy ass rat man who really cares about the community.
"Santa you fucking bum." --Kugrash
"I'm sorry are you a rat?"
The idea of a roach with a hobo sack pisses me off because it's adorable but roaches are the worst.
"Is Santa dead?"/"I don't know. I'm not religious."
"Santa Claus is real and he's DEAD."
Brennan loves to use the modifiers "full" and "fully" and I have picked it up irl and in my writing.
"Let's get a little fucked up and go see if Santa's dead!"
Just that whole squirrel interaction.
The sixth borough huh? Interesting. I see you Brennan.
Also, the detail that Kug's clothes are made from old MTA vests is great.
Misty
Siobahn is playing basically exactly the character I thought she'd be playing but she's doing it so much better and more extra than I could have imagined.
"A lady would never say her age, so I won't."
Is her pianist magic or something too? I have my suspicions.
So Misty gets some kind of bard and/or fairy high from praise and adoration which is interesting.
What kind of weird, morally dubious and/or unpleasant fae thing is Misty gonna have to do soonish? It's not gonna be good. Fae stuff never is.
DON CONFETTI
"I don't study magic. I just *am* magic."
So many of these intro vignettes end with, "You don't know that...but you do know who does." Like I said before, I really love the weaving together of all the story threads to get everyone in the same place at the same time in an organic feeling way.
Also he makes all these transitions sound cinematic, like he's writing the description parts of a movie script and not narrating in person.
Public Library! I knew we'd end up here eventually but I didn't know it'd be pretty much immediately. Like, if you're going w/ the "NY is magic" premise, the library has to figure in, you know?
Emily immediately having Sophia recognize Ricky as Mr. March was such a funny and on point character decision. I love how one-off, spur of the moment lines end up being running jokes because other players pick on them and drop them an hour later.
"Are you a rat?"/"Yeah, I'm a rat man!"/"I'm sorry if that was rude."
Brennan: The lions are alive and they're boyfriends.
Misty and Siobhan both are genre savvy enough to want to nip a knights/knave door puzzle situation in the bud.
Ricky on escape rooms: I'm not very good at them but I can definitely try my hardest. (Guys, I love him so much.)
Love me some MC Escher steps.
Underrated Misty line: It's all infernal to me.
Misty's little, "Ugh" at learning they have to go to Times Square is the real NY experience.
Is this Alejandro dude gonna die? What's the over under on this dude eating it very soon?
Misty encouraging Pete to shoot Alejandro is so needlessly chaotic which is a common fae trait and I really hope this escalates.
I dunno what Murph rolled for initiative but he looks like he just shamed his entire family line.
And we’re fighting an army of crazed Santa clones next week! We have literally just started and we are already fully off the rails.  I cannot *wait* to see where we go from here if this is the *starting point*. 
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Arya/Gendry
A song they would slow dance to: “Wild Horses” by the Rolling Stones (Liz Gillies cover). Arya’s not the type to slow dance, but I’m sure she could be persuaded if the circumstances were depressing and Gendry seemed like he really needed her to just sway back & forth and shut up for once. 
A song they sing along to in the car: (would have to be a modern-day au but there are plenty of those) Gendry drives and they scream “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me” by Fall Out Boy at the top of their lungs and Gendry pretends that he doesn’t secretly want to do exactly what the chorus says and “kiss her, kiss her” 
A song that neither one can listen to after a fight/breakup: The first time they get separated in season 3: “Look After You” by The Fray. After  the finale: “Whatever It Takes” by Ron Pope. 
A song that Person A hates but Person B loves: Arya loves to sing the filthiest, rudest bar songs with the most curse words in them (thanks Tormund and Pod) and thinks it’s hilarious that Gendry is always trying to get her to quit it 
The songs they would serenade each other with at karaoke: Not exactly karaoke but if GoT was a musical, the scene where she turns down the proposal would be “The Perfect Home” from The Civility of Albert Cashier (which can be found here)
A song Person A would sing in the shower while Person B listens in: Arya hums a lullaby Catelyn used to sing to the Stark children while she washes her hair and Gendry thinks it’s adorable (she definitely knows he’s listening in of course but she lets him have this) 
A song with lyrics that perfectly describe their relationship: “Like Real People Do” by Hozier for the happy times and “Don’t Miss Me?” by Marianas Trench for sad times (for which I made an edit) 
A song that would play during a love scene between them: “Work Song” by Hozier if it’s more intimate and “Only You” by Little Mix if it’s more of a passionate kinda deal
A song that relates to an inside joke between them: “Touch Me” from Spring Awakening (not gonna go too much into details but it’s the “where the figs lie” line) 
A song that relates to an AU I’ve created in my head involving this pair: “Hey #2” from Next to Normal. High School AU where after being friends forever, they sleep together, Gendry is ready to commit, and then Arya panics and ghosts him, EXCEPT they end up running into each other periodically and it’s super awkward and Gendry keeps trying to ask her to the dance 
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