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theygotlost · 7 months

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good afternoon here's my big rant on my pet peeves for subtitles in movies and tv

This is a post that I’ve thought about making probably for years now but never got around to. I might add more later if I realize I’ve forgotten any

When it comes down to it, the purpose of subtitles is this: to reflect exactly what the audience can hear, precisely when it can be heard. If you fail to do this, your subtitles are bad and you should feel bad. Although I don’t have concrete examples for most of these off the top of my head, I promise I have experienced them all firsthand at least once.

-> Watch for spelling and typos. Obviously.

-> Syncing issues.

This should go without saying, but the captions should be synced as closely as possible with dialogue and sound effects. Subtitles that are out of sync are worse to me than no subtitles at all. They’re unbearably distracting and I have to turn them off. I’m fortunate enough that I can keep watching without them, so imagine how frustrating this is for someone who needs to keep them on no matter what.

-> Jumping the gun.

This is basically an example of out-of-sync subtitles that are slightly too fast, but it gets its own category because it ruins the viewing experience in its own unique way. In particularly dramatic scenes, actors will often draw out their lines or pause between phrases. Captions sometimes fail to reflect this by displaying the entire sentence all at once, allowing the audience to read what someone is about to say before they actually say it, which deflates all the dramatic tension of the scene.

-> Phantom captions.

This one is less self explanatory, but it’s kind of similar to syncing. Sometimes there will be significant intervals of time between lines of dialogue, especially after a scene ends and a new one begins. The interval may include music, sound effects, or complete silence, but what I’m calling a “phantom” is a caption that stays on the screen after that last line of dialogue is delivered until the next line is spoken. I don’t remember what I was watching, but there was one that was glued to the screen for SEVERAL MINUTES over what was supposed to be an atmospheric break between scenes and it drove me nuts. In my experience this happens more often with older subtitling for DVDs and some old videos and less with modern streaming.

-> Straight up spoilers.

Sometimes, a character will speak whose true identity has not yet been revealed to the audience. If I’m not supposed to know the character’s name yet, don’t just… tell me right there in the captions whenever they say something. Descriptors like “disembodied voice”, “man”/”woman”, “mysterious figure”, etc. will suffice.

-> Lack of musical descriptors.

It usually helps to describe the genre or emotion of the music that’s playing rather than just writing [music] or 🎵. That being said, if there is a song playing that’s particularly well known in the mainstream, I think it’s useful to actually include the name of the song. This one I do have a concrete example for: in Arrested Development, Gob always blasts The Final Countdown during his acts. But the captions on my DVDs for the show always describe it as [stagy pop]. Like yeah I would say that song is some pretty stagy pop, but I think a lot of the humor comes from knowing that it’s specifically The Final Countdown by Europe because it’s such a perfectly corny selection that Gob would make.

Another musical failure is not transcribing pertinent lyrics. If the song is playing in the background, then that’s understandable and it can be kind of distracting if there’s dialog happening on top of it because the audience isn’t actually meant to be paying close attention to the song. But if the song is front and center, like for a musical number or montage, then the lyrics can be pretty important. Last year when I watched Arcane on Netflix with my family (a recent, high budget production from the biggest streaming platform ever), the show had the nerve to write [man rapping] over a musical sequence. Imagine if all subtitles ever just said [person speaking] for the entire movie.

-> Affectations.

If a character starts using a silly voice or accent, or if the sound of their voice changes in any way, describe that. If the audience can hear the difference, the subtitles should reflect that difference. And they should reflect it informatively and accurately; for example, don’t just say [mock accent], but specify [mock French accent].

-> Paraphrasing.

I don’t even know why this is an issue, but it’s alarming how many times the subtitles just… straight up don’t match what the characters are actually saying. It’s like the transcriber was forced to write all the captions from memory, so they kinda sorta say the same thing, but the wording is different and some sentences or phrases are missing. When I brought this up with my mom she theorized that the transcriber was working off the script for the movie because hey, that’s all the dialogue already written down, right? But it completely fails to account for revisions, improvisation, or actors delivering their lines even slightly different than how they were originally written.

And last but certainly not least, one of the biggest offenders in bad subtitling…

-> [Speaks foreign language]

If someone says something in another language, please, for the love of god, do not just write [speaks foreign language] and call it a day. Specifying the actual language is an improvement, but this descriptor only works if the audience members are truly not meant to know what’s being said (which is sometimes the case). If a character is only saying a single word or phrase in another language, transcribe it. As in, write down the actual words that they said. If you don’t speak that language, find someone who does. You are insane for transcribing a character saying “hola” or “abuela” in an otherwise English sentence as [speaks Spanish] (real examples I saw respectively in Rango and JANE THE VIRGIN. THERE’S SO MUCH SPANISH IN THAT SHOW).

If the audience is supposed to know what someone is saying in another language, English subtitles will usually be hardcoded. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LET THE CAPTION SAYING [SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE] COVER THESE UP. This is actively impeding understanding, not helping it. Jesus christ

* Please keep in mind that I’m not deaf or hard of hearing and I don’t have auditory processing disorder; I almost always watch movies and tv with subtitles whenever the option is available because it helps me absorb information better. If I don’t even strictly NEED subtitles and these are issues for me, I can only imagine how much more difficult it is for those who rely on them more heavily. I invite you to add your own perspective!!

#mine

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single-malt-scotch · 3 months

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Given we are two episodes in to bdubs this HC seasons I will ramble a tad about his format this season and the timeline/comparisons to past ones!

Let's talk in parts for a second. For thumbnails. I didn't really know what to expect tbh. He's been going more minimalist in thumbnails for a while now- HC S9 and Create have very simple thumbnails very focus on the builds (if they occur in the HC video). Go from season 7 HC to now and they've changed a Lot. S8 was simple too if you take away the color overlay. But S10 is mega simple. There isn't even a title on the thumbnails!

Then intros. S7 and S8 would randomly have an intro of "welcome to hermitcraft!" And sometimes none at all. S9 started "welcome to hoymicraf" (how do we spell this) consistently. Additionally all those seasons had some intros beginning with some third person camera to start a scene (more consistent as time went), or without that intro in season 7, 8 and 10 we'd also just start in first pov while bdubs is already in action. Additionally intro music was always very energetic, and so far what we heard in his first s10 intro (and based off the time lapses) we are getting something way more chill. Ep2's intro is one of those exceptions for the specific scenarios that happen sometimes. The choice of situational music.

General editing? Kinda crossed over with intros here because intros have very blatant editing with music and camera etc. Tbh the biggest thing to any season is music choice, which changes how things feel entirely. Past seasons had faster paced songs in intros and many building segments had orchestral, so on. The way those building segments play out has slowly turned into bdubs cutting it up to fit the beat of music, which is most apparent now in S10 and bwb S3. For S10 I feel like this enunciates the calm music even more as it puts emphasis on what is the louder/more striking note of the song. Through S10 episodes right now we have seen more use of replay mod in more than just the intro. Usually wide shots with music. Thought out compositions and wide shots often showing scale of things around him. Even purposefully taking moments to stop and pause and linger on the shot. Definitely more cinematic, and completely different with his it slows down.

It is interesting to see what some people might feel is a total 180! Considering I have seen the flow of his format for so long "slow" is not unfamiliar but because he has grown so much as a commentator he handles this very well. It's not "old inexperienced commentator" slow. Because you can tell if you pay attention he isn't different from who he has been in recent years. He's always the same and going this direction is done w the same level of development and experience. Hes still silly, he's still got energy. It's just presentation! It feels different a lot by how he's editing.

Even so it makes me wonder Why. Was his previous loud style and high energy more aimed at when his kids were just born and very little, and he had an obvious shift to making his videos possibly more appealing to children and be child appropriate? Has he 'mellowed out' for any particular reason? If you watch him a lot, especially his Livestreams (the member ones rly) bdubs thinks hard about his building skills. He is genuinely an artist aiming to improve every day and I think he's gotten a lot back into really expressing his thoughts and feelings regarding the art. It's been a gradual focus returning I have seen. Perhaps he has decided to lean into this more on purpose, and in doing so that shifts his focus away from what people felt was "childish" acting. But it's important to remember, as a bdubs lover, the analysis here isn't actually one to say he's "changed" because he hasn't. As a content creator he knows what he's going for and to some level has consciously made these changes. We still got bdubs, he's just doing it different. And honestly if you were turned off by the energy of S9, I highly recommend giving this season a watch if you want something more artistic, and good discussion about building process.

#hermitcraft #bdoubleo100 #bdubs #hermitblr

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chososdiscordkitten · 3 months

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PLEASE GIVE ME SMUT WRUTING TIPS..GOJO BREEDING KINK MADE ME WANT TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR MYSELF. (EVEVN IF U DONT LIKE GS BREEDING KINK, ITS ONE OF UR BWSTS) PLEASE GIVE ME DIALOGUE WRITING HELP. HELPPPPP DONT LEAVE ME HELPLESS

UHHHH smut writing tips... hmmm. (yapping below the cut)

this may sound very wrong and not pc BUT, ive been reading smut for years. Since I was like 10, ive read countless different writing styles, and millions of words of pure filth.

And as I read them I developed a taste of what I like and don't like- I write in a way as though I am reading to the reader- you/your/yours, because I don't like y/n or I don't like using third person pov nor first person.

What I do- is I think of the scene, picture it and if I can't get a body part- or a hand placement correct, I go look at porn videos or hentai- whatever. Not because i derive like arousal from it- but I truly use it as a form of studying. (im asexual)

I also use shows, movies and songs for inspo- certain lyrics I can picture on x character I write down.

I find it helpful to use a physical notebook for my ideas, there are times I don't have access to my computer so actual paper helps.

And as for dialogue, I try to keep a mix of x characters physical state while they speak, an example;

("blah blah blah" she said, and he said "blah blah" and then-) ive never liked this specific kind of writing so I include the way their eyebrows furrow- or the way their nose crinkles after saying something.

with smut I think its helpful for the reader to picture the way x characters face churns, a trembling bottom lip, dilated pupils, it helps make everything seem more intimate and inclusive for the reader.

And when it comes to describing the way something feels- if its something small like a trailing touch- I take a second and do what im writing about onto myself-

example; if im writing about a gripping hand on a hip- ill press the tips of my fingers onto my thigh to see the way the skin indents and how it feels? (embarrassing)

One thing ive learned- just because you write it with a specific image in mind- doesn't mean people will be able to see it the way you do unless you provide details.

usually when im doing laundry or at work a specific sentence pops into my head that id picture x character saying.

Let's use gojo for example, in my head when I think of his dialogue I think of playful, sweet, but with kinda mean undertones. Because in the anime/manga he keeps a playful tone while saying some very mean things.

once ive finished a very rough first draft- I spell check everything and read it outloud to myself- I say the dialogue in the tone I pictured while writing to be sure it sounds correct. and if it doesn't I brainstorm different phrases or words. (use of different words is soo important.)

And once ive corrected any words that don't fit together- or changing certain things that make me squint- I feed it into Siri nd have it read it to me outloud while I follow the sentences.

I do this 3-4 times till the whole thing sounds correct and how I mean for it to be read.

And I do one final skim once I paste the story onto Tumblr.

it's a tedious process, I know, there's times where im on my 4th reread and it seems boring or uninteresting- but only because ive reread it a million times and combed through it carefully.

There are times where I think my writing sucks because it seems over processed it and it's not entertaining- but!!! I proceed regardless.

And remember- you shouldn't write for the likes of other people, write for yourself and to your likings.

The masses shouldn't tell you what you should enjoy writing, pls don't take this as rules or as like a demanding thing- this is just my personal experience and the way I like to do things.

Writing should be a fun hobby and something you do to get the filth out of your mind, nd im not a very big writer on here, so don't listen to me too much

thank u for the question :>>> (I know how it feels to reach out for some help anon, im happy you enjoy my writing enough to ask me this, ily)

#jjk #⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨ten speaks୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆#jjk x reader #writing #⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨10 asks୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

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justarandombrit · 2 months

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Well. Here you go, I guess. (To avoid the massive amount of preamble skip to "The return of lines from Spies Are Forever...")

Spies Are Forever is a 2016 spy-parody musical set in 1960s America. It's by the Tin Can Bros and is all professionally recorded on YouTube for free, so I recommend watching it before reading this, as I will be talking about the penultimate in-character song from this musical, which, despite being a parody, is very much also a serious spy story, with a lot of twists and turns.

It is probably my favourite musical of all time, so I'll give you an hour or so to watch it.

…

Back? Has your brain chemistry been fundamentally changed? Yeah, that happens.

Anyway, just in case you decided that you didn't care about spoilers, I'll give you a quick overview of the plot you need for this essay.

Agent Curt Mega has been retired from spying for four years, since his partner (Owen Carvour)’s death due to a mistake Curt made. He decides to get back into the field to fight the enigmatic Deadliest Man Alive and ridiculous Baron Von Nazi, and stop the construction of the “Nazi Super Castle”. Along the way, he works with Cynthia Houston, head of the American Secret Service, Barb Larvernor, scientist, Tatiana Slohzo, Russian spy and the Informant, informant.

Despite being a comedy first and foremost, a lot of the musical hinges on the villain’s plot, and that is important in this overview.

We are led to believe that Von Nazi is the “brains” behind the operation, so to speak (despite him having none himself), up until a confrontation where, after killing the prince of The New Democratic Republics of Old Socialist Prussian Sloviskia and convincing the country's government to sign off on the plans for the Super Castle, the DMA literally and figuratively stabs Von Nazi in the back.

This, like many of the DMA's actions throughout the show, seems completely unmotivated. The main characters question this, and, in a suspenseful, absolutely devastating moment that I cannot do justice through the medium of writing, the DMA is revealed to be Owen.

I could write pages and pages about this moment, about the foreshadowing leading up to it, about Curt's reaction, Tatiana's reaction, Joe Walker and (actor) Curt Mega’s acting, how it's Joey Richter (Owen’s actor) who says the line “Personal history does have its benefits, Mega”, that line itself! This scene keeps me up at night, but this essay isn't about that.

This essay is about the song directly following this scene.

As Owen predicts in his speech, Curt goes after him instead of the information warehouses created by Owen’s agency, Chimera. This song serves as a villain song for Owen, no longer disguised as the Deadliest Man Alive, and also a duet for Owen and Curt.

Although up until now I have been explaining the plot in order, a good chunk of this analysis requires the context of retrospect. So, again I implore you to watch it. It's only 8 minutes long and would really make my job easier. Act Two, Part Six.

https://youtu.be/yMBi9hp2QVQ?si=IUz42a_1DTMi4eNS

So. Curt and Owen were lovers. Even though that moment (along with Curt shooting Owen) had been spoiled for me before watching, I still gasped at that scene. Anyway, with the added context of what sort of “partners” they were, we can now move into the analysis.

I'm no music theorist, as evidenced by most of this essay being about the depth of the lyrics, not the music, but, as YouTube user ConsiderableColors pointed out in their video-essay “Motifs Of Remembrance In Spies Are Forever”, One Step Ahead does not have a single use of the common leitmotifs throughout the rest of the show, symbolising how Curt has moved on from mourning and feeling guilt over Owen, and accepted what he has to do.

(Sidenote; that video is incredibly good, and I'll be linking it at the end along with another SAF video-essay I love)

The return of lines from Spies Are Forever (song), specifically, “Who do you trust, who do you betray?”, really highlights TalkFine’s amazing lyric writing, recontextualising lines from the opening song, which clearly parodies the famously nonsensical Bond songs, because, as we all know:

Foreshadowing is a dramatic device in which an important plot point is mentioned earlier in the story to return later in a more significant way...

I hope somebody got that reference.

Anyway, one important aspect in the structure of One Step Ahead is, for the most part, Owen always sings his lines before Curt, reflecting how he is, a, literally ahead of Curt, as he is being chased throughout most of the song, and, b, was figuratively ahead of Curt for most of the show, knowing and predicting his every move.

Owen sings “One step ahead, that's how it's always been”, to make out that Curt is incompetent, as we see him do multiple times in the previous scene. Of course, at this point, the audience should realise that this is untrue, but it makes complete sense why Owen, the man who almost died because of a mistake Curt made, should think this.

In the next verse, Owen continues with the much softer, although arguably more hurtful to Curt, “One step ahead, I'm sorry my old friend / But I'm still here / After all those years when you thought I was dead / I was one step ahead”

When listening to the song for the first time, “old friend” may sound like a bittersweet term of endearment, but with the context of the true nature of Owen and Curt’s relationship, this can be read more as an insult, as Owen disregarding their relationship, and pretending nothing ever happened between them.

Curt, still reprising lines from Spies Are Forever, next sings “It's time to save the world again”, making no mention of beating Owen or “overthrow(ing) (...) an evil power” like the ensemble sings at the start of the song, because at this point, Curt still has hope for Owen. He still believes he can get Owen to leave Chimera and he can get the Owen he knew in the opening song back.

Owen quickly shoots down this idea with “Typical Curt / And pretend to be a hero again”, which both takes a shot at Curt’s saviour complex, but also all of the duo’s previous beliefs, which we know Owen now believes were not really the right thing to do. Thus, this line could also be read as Owen showing his disdain for both A.S.S and MI6, and, by proxy, who he used to be, and who Curt still is.

Curt retaliates, now giving up on reprising SAF and instead following the tune Owen sang, with “Typical jerk!”, showing that he's now somewhat accepted that he won't be able to easily get Owen back, and has fully joined in on the fight. (Also I don't know how to include this but, after this line in the live version of the song Joey (Owen) says “Ooh, sick burn” in the most sarcastic way you've ever heard and it's amazing)

He then asks “What happened to the man I knew?”, implying that he's realised that Owen is no longer “The man [he] knew”

Owen gives a snarky response in, “It's a little late for an interview”, further showing his hatred of the man he used to be, and refusing to defend himself and his beliefs, despite going on to do exactly that after this song.

“Feelin’ a lot of déjà vu again” This line is sung one inch away from each other’s faces… I'm just saying, they knew what they were doing.

We can see that all of the quipping in the previous lines got to Curt, as he sounds much angrier than at the start when he sings “It's time for you to feel the heat”

Of course, Owen retorts with the much calmer “Revenge is going to taste so sweet”, once again reminding Curt, and us, the viewers, of his motivation throughout this song. In this song, Owen doesn't attempt to hide or downplay how much his trauma from Curt leaving him to die, or his desire to get revenge influenced his actions, unlike later, in The Staircase Scene, where he seems to genuinely believe he is acting for the good of spies, and humanity as a whole.

In fact, pretty much the only time revenge seems to play a factor in his choices when he's monologuing in The Staircase Scene, is when he says “I'm going to single-handedly dismantle everything you've ever believed in”. This, along with how his voice breaks when he says that line, tells us that he may be being more honest about his true motivation during this song, and lying, to an extent, about it afterwards.

They both proceed to call each other platonic, and slightly condescending nicknames (e.g. pal, buddy), both to try and undermine each other, and also possibly because they're still rightfully cautious to admit that they were anything more than that, in a society that demonised and criminalised homosexuality, especially for government workers, like secret agents.

Afterwards, Curt tries to retroactively justify Owen’s betrayal to himself, as we see in “You played me from the start”. He tries to convince himself that the betrayal was inevitable, and that Owen had been lying since they met, unable to accept that Owen really had changed because of Curt’s own actions.

“Well look at you / Without a clue” Owen quickly refutes this, unwilling to let Curt believe he is completely innocent, by reinforcing that he really did love Curt once.

Instead of doubling down, Curt goes with what Owen said, attempting to appeal to his emotion with “You know you broke my heart”.

“Don't deny I was the better spy” This line breaks me. Genuinely, I've spent hours thinking about this line. Think about the implications. PROMISE ME YOU'LL THINK ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS.

See, the reason I love this line so much is that Owen is right. Objectively speaking, Owen is the better spy. And not in the way that Cynthia thinks, and not in the way he implies throughout the show. Curt is not incompetent by any means, but he is reckless. Owen is not.

The only reason Owen even survived at the start of the musical was because he took the proper safety precautions to limit the blast of the (completely unneeded) bomb Curt set the timer purposefully too short for. It makes complete sense why Owen would think he's better at spying, however I don't believe that he does. Maybe to an extent. But not fully.

“Don't deny” shows he really wants validation via this statement. He wants Curt to admit that he's better. That what happened was Curt’s fault. Maybe Owen does believe he's the better spy, maybe he doesn't, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that Curt believes he is.

(I had a lot more to say about that line than I thought…)

Instead of succumbing to Owen’s demand, Curt retorts, “I liked you better when you were dead”, which seems harsh, but utterly understandable. Owen’s betrayal hurt Curt so deeply, so intensely, that he preferred the years spent in mourning for his lover, quitting his job and drinking so much he hallucinated Owen’s ghost, because at least that Owen was the one he knew. The Owen that died a hero, rather than the one who lived long enough to become the monster.

Please forgive that cliché, but it seemed applicable.

After this, Owen reiterates “One step ahead / It's how it's always been”, but this time, Curt responds directly to Owen, with, “Can't let you win”. He's now outright saying that he and Owen are on opposite sides, rather than speaking vaguely about “saving the world”.

Owen, while still angry, again seems to be more interested in reminding Curt of his mistake and making him suffer emotionally. The “I'm still here” has an unspoken “Even though you weren't”.

Then, after Curt’s line, he goes back to the superiority idea, “And I'm better than you again”.

Interestingly, Curt doesn't attempt to appeal to Owen’s emotions again, or even insult him, instead just responding, “This is the end”. Either, at this point he has fully given up on reasoning with Owen, or, the earlier “You know you broke my heart” was a mistake, an accidental show of vulnerability Curt didn't mean.

My personal interpretation was that the line was a last-ditch effort from Curt, a sort of hail Mary to try and get Owen to see sense by alluding to their relationship. We see him do this later on in The Staircase Scene, by outright stating it, and it almost works. Almost.

Owen's line, “No one's innocent” shows a lot about his character. Even though he's trying to shift blame onto Curt, he still acknowledges wrong-doing. After all, he can't pin the over 1,000 people he killed as the Deadliest Man Alive on Curt, that was all him.

“My friend, you lost your mind” Here, Curt does the exact opposite of what he was doing before. Instead of making it out that Owen never loved him in the first place, e.g. “You played me from the start”, he disregards the reasons Owen joined Chimera, blaming it on Owen “going insane” or “losing his mind”.

As we've now come to expect, Owen immediately shuts this down, determined to make Curt feel the full gravity of what Owen sees as his original betrayal. When he says, “And you've been blind”, Owen is talking about how, in his opinion, Curt is blind to all the pain he caused, which we know is actually untrue, and we also know that Owen knows this, see “I spent as much time hating you as you did”. This, like so much in this song, is a way to guilt trip Curt, despite being an obvious lie.

This line could also be interpreted as Curt being blind to Chimera, and being so enamoured by spying and taking down governments that he is forgetting to notice (what Owen thinks is) the bigger picture.

“Now we're at the end” is pretty self-explanatory. This is the climax of the show, the point all of this has been leading up to.

The line “This is what you made me do” is sung by both Curt and Owen and has different connotations for each. Owen is once again referring to Curt abandoning him in the warehouse, causing him to join Chimera. Curt is talking about the fight itself, as he's tried to reason with Owen, but, after all of this, he's now at the end of his tether.

In the lines

“We're done”

“We're through!”

Owen sings first, symbolising how he moved on faster (well, visually, but I stick by the “Owen still had feelings for Curt until his real death” headcanon - I mean, he could've shot Curt at basically any point throughout The Staircase Scene, he chose not to). But Curt shouts louder, showing his anger about how Owen has acted after “coming back from the dead”. Also, this is their official breakup. Just think about that for a second.

These lines could also link back to the fact that this is the climax of the show, the writers are sort of telling you “This is it guys, we’re almost finished”.

The finality of the moment is emphasised by “I've nothing left to say to you”. They've both made their cases, neither was convinced, but they've said all that was needed.

After this, there's a direct homage to The Sound of Music,

“So long

Farewell

Auf Wiedersehen

Adieu

Goodbye”

…only in a minor key, taking the music from a romance and altering it slightly, depicting Curt and Owen’s own relationship. Furthermore, this is the goodbye hinted to in both Spies Are Forever and The Coldest Goodbye. This is the coldest goodbye. Why did I reread that in Eleanor Shellstrop’s voice

In conclusion, One Step Ahead is a song about truth, betrayal, tragedy and love. Curtwen is one of my top ten ships (and just character dynamics in general) of all time, and I hope this essay did them justice. Hopefully I didn't repeat myself too much? I love this song, show and characters so much that I got incredibly overexcited for massive parts of this.

I hope you at least got something out of reading this, and so one last toast. To honour-

Links:

ConsiderableColors’ essay: https://youtu.be/cS05pAQAFaY?si=16BHM3eU-gEUkxXE

Spies Are Forever: Decoded:

https://youtu.be/OYAbmbKoaqc?si=9EpZ1wYr_SMBPCP0

Ooh! New one!

How Spies Are Forever Defies Cliché With Parody

https://youtu.be/QhIwDhZKPvM?si=h6IFpKoFCHR0T-iK

(I can't believe this is also about Argylle lmaoooo)

#well enjoy this #this is the biggest analysis ive ever done... if it does well i might continue my grace chasity analysis...#or the one about starship's soundtrack #let me know if anybody would actually be interested in those #spies are forever #saf #tin can bros #tin can brothers #tcb #one step ahead #agent curt mega #owen carvour #tcb spies are forever #curtwen #tcb analysis

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wickymicky · 4 months

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top ten songs of 2023

1. Newjeans - Ditto

surprise, surprise. here we are lol. yes, this song came out in December 2022, but it was late in the month, and technically it was a pre-release track for a song that came out in January (which was OMG), so technically its official release was 2023 haha

but anyway... Ditto is perfect. it's not just the best song of the year, i think it's also my favorite kpop song of the 2020s so far. maybe my favorite kpop song ever, though i feel like i still need more time to make that decision haha.

nothing affects me the way Ditto does. it's like weapons-grade nostalgia. you could use this as a nostalgia weapon if you wanted to kill someone with just pure raw nostalgia. it hits me like a truck, man... all i can think about is how life could have been different...

the music videos are amazing too. people had all these theories that they were about parasocial relationships but i dont think that's true, i think they're about nostalgia. the main character, Heesoo, is shy and copes with that by listening to music, specifically Newjeans. but she starts to grow up. little by little, she starts running away from the members, who represent her childhood. she asks out the boy she has a crush on, she breaks her camera with all her memories, etc, and their presence fades from her life, she grows up. and at the end of Side B, adult Heesoo, now much older, finds her old videotapes and watches them. she's overwhelmed with nostalgia. she sees the tape where the members come in through a door and immediately the same scene plays out in real life, they enter her door physically. that's not real obviously, but its a metaphor for the memories rushing back to her. she's immediately transported to where she was at that time in her life. she realizes that even though she grew up, she never lost that part of her. at the drop of a hat, she's back. and it's nice

would i like the song this much without the music video? yes. but does it still help overall? yes of course. it'd be my SOTY either way, but i think this context and artistic vision for it is what helps it be SOTD, song of the decade.

Ditto isn't just good by kpop standards, like some songs on this list. it's just good by any standards. Ditto is important to me.

youtube

(and Side B)

youtube

#2023 list #newjeans #ditto

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thekidsarentalright · 1 year

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atlas, if you don't mind saying, what's your fob story? like when or what song got you into them, did you ever see them live, what's your fave thing about them? i'm sorry to be nosy, i just love when people talk about fob <3

i don't mind saying at all, i love talking about fob and my connection to them!!! the story of me getting into them is kinda a multi-part, long one and has 3 main important like. parts of it that lead to me getting into fob. basically, my best friend was into them and tried getting me into them (made me listen specifically to i slept with someone in fob and america's suitehearts, i pretended i didn't like the songs (i did) because. we were 10/11 and we couldnt both like the same thing. Obviously fkjsndf), centuries and uma thurman were playing on the radio Constantly and hearing them was literally the first time i ever heard a song and was like. i Need to find what song that is to listen to it. queue me getting spotify so i can find those songs and listen to them (this was like january 2016 and i didn't listen to them again for MONTHS), and lastly the final nail in the coffin was that i, somehow, stumbled across the this ain't a scene video on youtube and recognized the song (my older sisters were into fob in like 2007 and listened to them all the time!!!), realized that this was the same band that was the uma thurman/america's suitehearts band and. went and saved a bunch of their songs on spotify and. the rest is history really. to be as dramatic as possible it was literally like the universe was Pushing me into fob like. every time i resisted it or kinda ignored it Something Else happened to put fob into my lap lol. so to answer the song question, i always say america's suitehearts was the song that did it but it was like. suitehearts, uma thurman, And this ain't a scene all at once really! i've seen them live, as of rn, 4 times and am gonna see them my fifth time this year!! and my favorite thing about them is. god it's hard to narrow it down fkjdfks i love so much but (get ready for things to get parasocial it's to be expected i think sfkdjfsn) i think one of the biggest things that i love about them is just how. they're so real and humble and so. in it for the music and the fans and nothing else. they literally write it better then you ever felt it, they understand and i will never feel alone as long as i have their music. i always go back to that one hanif abdurraqib quote, "No matter how obsessed you’ve been with your own vanishing, there will always be someone who wants you whole", when i think about what they mean to me and what i love about them. they will always want me whole, i will always want them whole, and i love that about them so much

#another fun piece of me getting into fob is that i literally listened to them for the first time 2 days before they did a show like an hour #away from me. it's fate it was always fate fkjdnfjs #thank u for asking tho i genuinely love talking about them so much :')#asks #anon

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dungeonsdragonstdelinquents · 2 years

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UM UM GUYS I FOUND THE FREAKING SEASON 3 BIRTHDAY LINK THAT CONNECTS THE BYLER PHONE PARALLELS (orginal post i made)

excuse the grainy asf quality please

edit: again if anyone else found this first props to them! I just havent seen anythinh about it yet

the little cut that holds the volleyball ITS THE SAME FRICKEN CUP THAT IS IN THE CRAZY TOGETHER SCENE

I almost didnt catch it bc theyre such a mess in s3 BUT HOLY CRAP THIS CONNECTS EVERYTHING

if you have no idea what im screaming about, please please PLEASE go back and read the other post it will all make sense. Ill try to explain a little here, i dont have any solid notes or anything but this is the main idea:

will stands is associated with phones since the very beginning.

s1 - will trying to REACH joyce and FAILING (pointed out by @owenwillsons as well as the dustin/lucas part of s4)

*** my own note of that is i just realized, both in s1 and in s3 these failed calls (will calling joyce when he starts to be attacked, mike receiving a call in the basement) happen after and before will leaves mikes garage on his bike respectively.

let me say that again. BOTH OF THESE CALLS ARE CONNECTED TO WILL LEAVING THE MIKES GARAGE. THEY ARE PARALLELS !!!!! then comes the s1 birthday references…specifically for will we have mention of his day out with lonnie that is supposed to be his birthday (i will confirm this at a later time)

s2/3 - mike is paralleled like LITERALLY framed the exact way showing up to the byers knocking on the door calling for will after a FAILED phone call. S2 was mike trying to reach will, s3 was mike trying to reach el.

specifically in s2, for birthdays, there is the crazy together scene with the birthday mug, an “im sorry i forgot your birthday” card presumably from lonnie, and the shed speech which includes a reference to wills birthday.

Season 3 has only one reference that i have found so far—the crazy together mug sitting in the back of the wheelers basement—but i will be looking for more connections.

s4 - dustin points out that mike had been trying and FAILING to reach the byers house in s4. Them ofc the infamous rink o mania fight references phone calls. There are other cases in each season that involve phone calls that i will look into later to see if they have any relevance.

Birthday references: there a quite a few for this season which also contributes to the parallelism of season 2, with these two seasons being the most heavily birthday referenced. There is of course the date of wills birthday on the video camera—i am going back to look at a later date to see if theres some time mess stuff there—as well as the pizza boy number that gives a voicemail of the happy birthday song.

Some other references not explicitly connected to will that are of birthdays are: murray referencing a one year olds birthday party, murray referencing a classmate (jeremiah’s) birthday, the robin and vickie early birthday present scene, etc. i will be going through the season to look on the background and see if i can catch any more prop referencing.

Another thing to note is that murray is consistently a birthday referencer, and he is known for being emotionally intelligent when it comes to reading other people.

He murrayed jopper, murrayed jancy…and he made those comments on the plane about joyces worry of the kids and…was that not what happened? So murrays references to birthdays has to be of high importance.

summary edit: sorry its become clear im being a little confusing for what im talking ab for s1 and s3 connection

theres a pattern imo of -

S1 garage talk (“it was a seven”) - s1 failed call (will calling joyce) - S3 failed call (mike thinking el called) - s3 garage talk (“its not my fault you dont like girls”)

#Byler #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things #byler theory #stranger things theories

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dailyexo · 2 years

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[NEWS] Xiumin - 221017 Vanity Teen: “XIUMIN: A Fresh Start for an Industry Icon”

"The SM Entertainment group EXO and its insanely skilled members are crucial pieces to the overall legacy of K-pop, widely perceived as a chart-topping, vocally adept selection of artists. Now, after a decade of (regularly) selling millions of albums and inspiring countless individuals around the world – the group’s trailblazing powerhouse XIUMIN (@e_xiu_o) has officially received his first solo maneuver with the debut EP Brand New to showcase his staggering talent without limitations. However, when it comes to XIUMIN, is it even possible to expect anything less than perfection?

Throughout XIUMIN’s comprehensive addition to the influential group’s discography, the singer organically acquired a following for his innate sense of comedic timing, and of course, a voice that can mesmerize the masses. Even as recent as this month, the charming singer continues to have his personality praised courtesy of his commentary regarding cleanliness or more sincerely, having a genuinely humble perception of his own career. So at this point in time, XIUMIN continues to construct an evolutionary career, with his recent solo deep-dive cementing that he’s one of the most admirable artists in the game.

For the freshly-crafted EP Brand New, the singer and dancer revisits a few of his treasured childhood inspirations with a ‘90s R&B sentimentality that electrifies, or on occasion, an exceptional degree of pensive vulnerability. With the title track “Brand New”, XIUMIN seizes the opportunity for his optimal moment in the spotlight, utilizing enthusiastic and retro-themed inclusions that’ll encourage you to move – but still unveiling an ambitious vocal range that’s clearly within the esteemed performer’s reserve.

As the album unfolds it becomes crystal clear that even with his expertise, XIUMIN’s newfound creativity is channeled into a breathtaking timeless story about finding your footing while pursuing your dreams and the universal importance of stepping into your own power. As our new Vanity Teen Magazine digital cover star, K-pop titan XIUMIN is breaking down his diverse solo journey, the EXO effect, and some wildly entertaining behind-the-scenes stories of his very first music video in what we’d describe as the most endearing Zoom call imaginable.

First and foremost, congratulations on your remarkable solo debut with Brand New! This is such a pivotal moment, so I can’t imagine what you must be feeling now that it’s finally been released! When you first set out on this project, what was your primary goal or inspiration behind the album?

XIUMIN: A lot of fans have been waiting for me to have the chance to perform and be on stage again! It’s been almost three and a half years since I performed as an artist, so I wanted to dedicate this album to my fans who have been waiting and anticipating my music and career. When I first decided on this album I was hoping to bring joy and happiness to [my supporters] so rather than focusing on specific goals or records, I really wanted to focus on dedicating and presenting them with the gift of my solo EP. And also, to create happy memories with them through my own music!

Coming from the juggernaut group EXO, you’ve been consistently surrounded by music, so I’d imagine this moment has crossed your mind more than a few times. How would you say your cumulative discography with EXO has helped shape your own solo music?

XIUMIN: As you know from various songs and performances by EXO, I was able to try out different types of performances and genres that are all very different and unique. Those experiences with group activities helped me to understand and figure out the mood and vibe of songs with much more ease. So even when I was recording, it was a lot easier for me to figure out – and truly find the real soul and vibe of every single song. In terms of the performance, just like the recording process, I was able to approach the choreography a bit easier because I had a lot of experience with synchronized choreography from EXO. So overall, I’d say that the group helped me build a foundation in several ways, including helping me prepare my solo music with much more readiness and professionalism.

As an introduction to XIUMIN the soloist, I have to say that “Brand New” is such a perfect track in every perceivable aspect! Did you face any nerves taking on such a high-energy R&B/Pop track on your own, or was this something that felt like an exciting challenge?

XIUMIN: More focusing on the song itself, one concern I had was filling the song from start to finish with just my voice. As you know, in a group song there are a lot of different voices, energy, or tones that are added within a single track. Because of that, I was worried that filling an entire song on my own could sound very mundane or too similar throughout, so I was trying my best to give more dynamics and bring out various changes within my voice. In order to prepare for that, I took vocal lessons and tips about how to bring out the most charms as possible from my own voice. I also recorded the song several times in order to find the perfect version that was heard in the final product, but the overall process of preparing for my solo EP was exciting, and a fun challenge throughout!

Of course, there’s a music video element to appreciate with this era, and it’s a solid mix of precision, style, and even a bit of humor, so there’s no shortage of storytelling! What was probably the most memorable piece of your debut-video experience?

XIUMIN: So a little bit of behind-the-scenes on the [“Brand New”] music video… The process for the video was very dynamic, so we filmed it over two separate shoots in total. In the first shoot, I recall my pants exploding in the middle of a scene, right from the beginning of the shoot [laughs]. And it was followed by an outdoor dance break which was interrupted when it started pouring rain in the middle of the shoot.

And for the indoor shoot, there was actually a small prop that caught on fire… [laughs]. Despite all these mishaps and potential crises that we dealt with… the entire staff met them with a lot of positivity, good energy, and happiness, so I’ll always remember it as a happy memory because everyone was saying that everything good can happen now [after the mishaps occured], which I really enjoy reminiscing about. And, I like to now say that because of all those mishaps in the music video, I believe that all my promotional activities have been proceeding very smoothly without any problems so far!

“How We Do” is a very inviting and nostalgia-heavy song that has effortless confidence to it! What variety of music generally evokes that all-important feeling for you?

XIUMIN: Ever since I was young, I remember just purely loving and enjoying the experience of listening to music, and just being surrounded by music. One of the genres that I listened to the most was the New jack swing style which you can hear in my Brand New EP, so when I came back to this genre for my solo debut, I had a big sense of nostalgia and familiarity, and I felt a lot of comfort recording the song which allowed me to naturally bring out my confidence. This entire recording experience and genre of music helped me remember once again how much I love music and this style of music, so all of it felt very familiar to me.

Then we have “Love Letter” which is a very purposeful and reflective track, with a masterful presentation of vocal abilities. What would you say is one moment or memory throughout your remarkable career that you similarly hold closest to your heart?

XIUMIN: The moment that I actually recall the most in my career was a special fansign and performance event prior to my military enlistment. I remember the first night of my two-year enlistment, I recalled that very moment and thought about how important all of the fans are to me, and it’s something that I’ll never forget not only within the context of my career but in my life. It’s something that really impacted the importance of my feelings for [EXO-L] and it’s a feeling that’s been maintained through this EP because I think [Brand New] reflects a lot of my love, care, and overall fondness that I have for my fans.

You close out the mini-album with “Serenity” and its warm production offers listeners that exact sensation within seconds. What overall ideas or feelings do you hope that listeners leave the Brand New mini-album with?

XIUMIN: The Brand New album has a total of five tracks, and each song has its own unique style. So with all of them, I really wanted to try to bring out various diverse emotions instead of one singular theme or emotion. Most notably, I wanted to showcase some sort of fun and sense of enjoyment, as well as a refreshing feeling that comes from originality. There was also some anticipation, part confidence, love, feelings of excitement, and of course, serenity, like the last song. And hope! Each of these tracks has a symbolic theme and emotion and I hope that fans are able to feel that, experience it, and take that away from my first album."

Credit: Vanity Teen.

#EXO #EXO M #Xiumin #221017 #t:news #album:brand new #fs:vanity teen #comeback:Fight

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warmglowofsurvival · 1 year

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twenty one pilots talk origins, insecurities, and their sprawling new album blurryface

Since the release of their 2013 album Vessel and it's attendant hit singles "Holding on to You" and "Guns for Hands," Twenty One Pilots have become summer music festival favorites. Which makes sense, as the Columbus, Ohio, duo work hard to give you an entire Lollapalooza's worth of music in one convenient... well, Vessel. Their new album, Blurryface, out today on Fueled by Ramen, is even more willfully eclectic than its predecessor, veering from dance music thumpers to indie rock-rap hybrids to campfire folk comedowns with little regard for your genre expectations. Before signing with Fueled by Ramen, singer/multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun were slugging it out in the Columbus music scene, self-releasing albums and posting songs online. They might have some MTV Video Music Award nominations and Pete Wentz's phone number now, but their basic approach hasn't changed at all; they still just want to impress each other first and foremost. Here's Joseph and Dun on their early days, their new album and the intention -- or lack thereof -- behind their gift for doing everything at once.

When did you guys first meet?

Tyler Joseph: You know, when we get asked this question, Josh and I like to make something up on the spot to try to make the other laugh. We've come up with a lot of great answers to that question, like meeting in prison, or that we were the only two survivors on a train wreck. Josh always seems to be a lifeguard in his stories and he always revives me, which I think is a little odd, but it always gets a chuckle out of me. In all honesty, we met through a mutual friend here in Columbus, Ohio. Josh came out to a show that I was playing with some other people. So, we actually met at a show and he said, "Hey, let's hang out sometime," and that's something that's said all the time, you know, and people don't really follow up on it, but for some reason Josh and I did hang out. He came over to the house and late hours into the night we got to talking about music and what we wanted to do with it.

Josh Dun: We knew at that moment that we'd be best friends for life.

When you first started writing music together, how did you guys know that you had something?

TJ: I think what's cool is that we started out as friends first. When we met each other, I think that we just hung out as friends for about a year before we even started playing together. It is probably pretty important, looking back now, that we'd established that trust with each other, just as friends. We developed a cool relationship and then everything fell into place where we were both available to play music together and not with the other people that we were playing with. It just worked out perfectly. I had some songs that I had written that I was throwing together, and I remember when Josh first started playing his songs live, it all came together and made sense for me.

JD: The first time I actually met Tyler was at a show that he was playing with a couple of his buddies. I remember, because I had been playing music for a little while, and I really had a specific idea of what I wanted to be a part of in my mind, and I had never really seen what I had in mind until I saw Tyler performing. I even remember thinking, "That's what I want to be a part of." I think it was the very first time that we ever met that I just totally knew that I wanted to someday play music with Tyler and be creative and take over the world.

What was it you were looking for, and what did you find in him?

JD: I think it's just something that's a little bit different I guess. It was like some sort of itch that I couldn't scratch. What I had in mind was something that I hadn't really heard before and that I finally heard, and I was excited about that.

What was the music scene in Columbus like while you were growing up?

JD: I think Columbus has always embraced music pretty well, and I think it still does. By the time that we were in high school and early college, I would say there was a pretty decent music scene here, and from all different kinds of things: people playing house shows, or people playing one of the local venues, and people doing pretty well. We made friends with some of these people, and then there was a time when Tyler and I closed our eyes and kind of dug our own little tunnel. The way that we describe it is that a year later, after getting to reach the surface again to catch a breath of air, we look back and realized how far we've been able to go over that past year.

You pull from a lot of different genres at once on your album. There's some rap on there, indie rock, dance music, and even some ukulele. Is that the goal, to sound like someone's iPod, with all these different types of sounds in one place?

TJ: I wouldn't say that that's the goal. We're not aiming to try to be as all over the place as possible. I think that the landscape of the record is a testament to the type of music that Josh and I like to listen to, which is all kinds of music. We're a product of that generation that has access to everything, and it comes down to it whenever Josh and I are working on a song. There's a lot of outside pressure, a lot of outside opinions, especially going into the second record, and I think that we work pretty hard to all block those things out and ask ourselves the question, "Do we like this?" So I wouldn't say it's intentional, like, "Let's try to make a record that sounds so sporadic and so crazy." I think that's just the product of what we like in music.

How do you guys make it all work together as one song or one album? Because you'll jump from a song like "Polarize," which is dance music, to a song that's more of a ukulele, acoustic type of sound.

TJ: Like I said, it's not like an intentional. It just kind of all happened. We wrote the record on the road. We were very influenced by our live shows and being in front of fans every night. There's a couple things that we tried to do: one, we want to say this on our record because we didn't say it on our last record. But then at the same time we're very influenced by what we wished we had in our live set. That is very important to us, and we're very intentional about which songs go where, and when you're writing a record on the road, you kind of get to answer the questions, "What is it that our live set needs? Which song do we wish we had in this moment here?" So I guess a lot of this record is just an answer to that, kind of a rebuttal to what it is that Josh and I think our live set needs.

The first single, "Fairly Local" — I believe it has the line, "this isn't for the radio", which is a strange thing to say on your single. But it does seem to be a song about worrying that you might lose contact with where you're from. Is that something you're concerned about?

TJ: I guess there's always that fear that you're going to change as a person. But, also whether or not you're in the spotlight making music, you're going to change, too. I mean, Josh and I are right now sitting in Columbus, Ohio, at my house and we love it here. It's our hometown and it will always be. So, I think in the song "Fairly Local", it's more metaphor. We had a lot of conversations with a lot of people who like listening to music or using music to get through tough times. If anything, I think Josh and I learned when we were traveling the world during the last album cycle that everyone's the same, everyone feels the same issues. So, it's kind of a way of getting on the same level as these people and telling them, in a sense, we understand what you're going through.

What does the title Blurryface mean to you?

TJ: Blurryface is this guy who represents everything i'm insecure about. Honestly, we all know that we're insecure about certain things, but what we don't totally understand is how those insecurities affect our day-to-day life. So it's helped me give my insecurities a seat at the table, so I can stare across at him and give him a name and face and personality. I can kind of retaliate and I can see these insecurities for what they are, and so this guy named Blurryface is someone that i'm trying to understand — but also defeat every day.

#twenty one pilots #twentyonepilots #josh dun #joshua dun #tyler joseph #2015 #may 2015 #may #may '15 #may 19 #paper magazine #paper mag #paper #interview #michael tedder #archive #archive.org

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nitw · 1 year

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hiii just want to ask when you do mp100 edits how do you decide on which part to use and how to make clean scene without subtitles? Is there like a simple how to in making edits?

hi there!! you didn't specify which kind of edit so i'm going to assume you meant videos? i'll try to explain what my typical process looks like!

video editing, especially when it comes to things like amvs or other projects that require specific timing, is a lot of rinse-and-repeat. the nanana amv i made that only lasts the length of the song took me MANY hours to make, and i undoubtedly spent most of that time running scenes back over and over to check if the timing could be improved, or if a clip from the show could be replaced by a different one. i've been doing stuff like this for over 5 years so i've kinda developed the patience for it along the way but now you've been warned, it can be a pretty tedious process lol.

when it comes to choosing which clips to use for stuff like this i only have my super autistic special interest memory to thank GJSJEJFHSJF....i barely had to rewatch anything in order to make that video because i already had a pretty clear-cut idea of the direction i wanted to go, and i remember this whole show pretty intensely. but regardless, it's good to already have some kind of specific theme or template to go by in your head before you start editing, so you don't end up wasting a bunch of time on something you end up changing anyway! (this can still happen though =w=)

this is more for amvs/music edits specifically, but here are some tips for timing clips to a song:

make it consistent! try to select clips that have a similar ~vibe~ to them so a cut doesn't feel out of place. also take the song's genre, tempo and lyrics into consideration to make it all fit nicely with the theme you're going for! it's a Music Video after all, right?

timing is important but FLOW is most important! giving your transitions or cuts into new scenes a smooth, rhythmic, but also visually appealing flow is what makes any good video project. it's often best to avoid making all your clips the same length and cutting after every beat - instead try to really listen to the song you're using, and think about creative ways you can incorporate your clips into the song's short individual sections! though this MIGHT also depend on the genre, i've found that fast-paced rock songs are some the easiest for playing around with this.

lay out guidelines, notes, templates, etc for as much as your can beforehand! i don't have a lot of experience with any video editing software other than vegas pro, but one of my favorite features are MARKERS. markers are like pins you can place at any section in your video project, that stay in place unless you decide to delete or move them, and automatically redirects your cursor to that point when you click on them. you can mark as many sections as you want in your project, and that REAAALLLY helps with planning the flow of your video cuts before you get your clips. but honestly, just use any tool you can think of that might help you speed up the process and keep track of your own ideas!!! even writing down text notes could help!

this got a bit longer than expected but i really hope it helped!!!! :]

#asks #anonymous

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siancore · 1 year

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Beloved, for the ao3 wrapped…

1. How many words have you written this year?

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

10. What work was the quickest to write?

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

27. What do you listen to while writing?

31. Is it necessary to watch The Walking Dead to read your Richonne? I have fomo but no to zombies and I can’t commit to anything with 11 seasons unless I already started.

20K +

3. Every Little Thing because it's just so painful. It is the saddest, most painful, hurtful thing I have ever written, and it was nice to get it written down to channel my grief.

7. I don't think I used song lyrics this year. Oh wait, maybe something by Ho99o9.

10. It's usually one of the bingo square fills because they don't take a bunch of planning - they're responding to a quick prompt. I'd say it was Seeing the Lights. That one-shot just fell outta me.

16. Sam Wilson Needs a Hug

18. Steve Rogers.

27. I have this playlist I listen to when I'm painting, and I sometimes put it on.

31. Hehe I love that you added your own question to this.

There's a thing we call the Richonne Movie that someone made that's a video all of their scenes put together. We end up losing the link to it every once in a while as a whole fandom, but if I find it, I'll send it to you.

Separately, Rick and Michonne are really cool, interesting characters. Lot of badassery. Lot of trauma. They are literally Enemies (loosely) to Allies to Friends to Lovers. It's fucking incredible to watch, because you get this great love story, between these two hardened warriors, who are literally ONLY SOFT with one another and their kids. This mature relationship built on mutual respect and friendship between people in their 30s/40s and it's set in the Zombie Apocalypse. Like, what? Lol

You can read my stuff without ever watching the show. My favourite character to write is Rick Grimes because he gets away with so much stuff in the Richonne fandom. Seriously. You can have him murder a small village and the fandom's like, "You're doing amazing, sweetie."

There's very specific plot stuff that directly impacts who these characters are, and why it was important for them to end up together. They have never been comic book canon - they were written together in the show because Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira had so much great chemistry that the showrunner - who was also still a writer at the time - wrote them together. It was a slow burn, but it was so wonderful when it happened. Anyhoo, I'll shut up now, otherwise I'll be here all day talking about them.

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fyexo · 2 years

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221017 XIUMIN: A Fresh Start for an Industry Icon

The SM Entertainment group EXO and its insanely skilled members are crucial pieces to the overall legacy of K-pop, widely perceived as a chart-topping, vocally adept selection of artists. Now, after a decade of (regularly) selling millions of albums and inspiring countless individuals around the world – the group’s trailblazing powerhouse XIUMIN (@e_xiu_o) has officially received his first solo maneuver with the debut EP Brand New to showcase his staggering talent without limitations. However, when it comes to XIUMIN, is it even possible to expect anything less than perfection?

“How We Do” is a very inviting and nostalgia-heavy song that has effortless confidence to it! What variety of music generally evokes that all-important feeling for you?

XIUMIN’s phenomenal debut EP Brand New is available here, and the music video for the title track “Brand New” can be seen below!

Source: VanityTeen

#exo #xiumin #t: interview #vanity teen

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bvannn · 9 months

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Weekly update August 4, 2023

I have been tired and restless all week but I’ve done some stuff too.

First of all: I have finished what I hope will be the last test animation before moving on with TRG animated. I tested some fun effects, and realized I have put far too much time into certain effects, when I could have just put the lines inside the symbols from the start. Obviously the sketchiness will vary depending on scene, so I’ll have to apply it uniquely for each scene the characters are in, which I’ll have to figure out how to do that for scenes shared in the same file, since that’s how I’ve storyboarded the video, but it shouldn’t be too hard, something about duplicating symbols most likely. Layer masks also might open up the possibility of shading in the future, but only if I can figure out how to communicate to Adobe that transparent is not a color.

Also found out I forgot to lipsynch 3 storyboard shots. Got one done already, another is partway done. I also need to create, export, and import sketchy assets for Tim and Emile, although I’ll probably limit these to the lines around shapes specific to their designs, like hair, sleeves, and pants/shorts. Otherwise I can just recycle Jon’s assets. Last thing I’ll need to do with clip studio is top and bottom foot assets for Jon for sure, and I’ll need them for the others eventually too so I may take them all out in one go. I’ll try to take out all the clip studio work, at least all the drawing, tomorrow, since I also have some OC drawing I want to do.

While I’m at work I’ve been listening to music playlist based on OC stories, trying to focus on filling in gaps, and whatnot. I think I’ve gotten to a point where I’d like to redesign 3 old old characters, who I don’t believe I have featured on the internet yet, since they have become relevant. I’d also like to give Thomas a little bit of a redesign, since he’s also growing in importance. Finally, I need to design alt outfits for the unit 624 group. I’ll probably just be sketching multiple designs and put it up to polls or something, so if there an aspect of one design you like but the rest of the design you don’t like, or if you’d want an aspect of one design grafted onto another, please speak up. I love feedback.

During the work week I was poking at music stuff. I realize I’m super out of practice, and I’ll need to remember how certain transitions went, but hopefully I can start recording midi this week, and see what parts need to be added from there. First project will be a more chill arrangement of a few short Zelda songs strung together to form one longer one. From there I’ll start thinking about other projects.

I’m in a weird spot because I have lots of motivation but I’m physically exhausted and have little time. Uni starts back up again at the end of the month, with any luck I’ll have a lab internship I’ve been really really wanting for a long time, which will allow me to drop a couple classes, but will more likely take up more time than both classes combined. Most likely. I’m absolutely going to do it regardless, assuming I get selected, but fall internships tend to be less competitive than summer ones, and I have been able to build more lab experience this summer, which I am grateful for. If I get the opportunity, it also means fewer lab classes through uni, which also frees up time. I don’t know what things will be like during the school year, but I’m hoping everything will be alright.

#weekly update

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omoghouls · 1 year

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> Ocean is not an asshole and that’s important to me

Dying improves Ocean as a person. It is a major point in her character arc, that in death she has become a better person than she was in life but. Here’s the thing.

Ocean is continuously portrayed as self obsessed and as though she only likes the other choir members for the idea that they make her look better, bc of their perceived ‘inferiority,’ and I hate that sm, bc the way I perceived it she was never really selfish, as such- she just had a very specific idea of what she wanted to do with her life, and the means and academic (,if not emotional) intelligence to accomplish it.

(There’s a promo video in which Ocean says “look, I have a thirty year goal to be the first democratically elected prime minister of Canada” which literally makes me sob because. She never got to meet her thirty year goal-)

That, accompanied with her specific outlook on life, where she seems to base most of peoples worth off of academic achievement (shown in Karnaks joke abt her high grade point average being the reason she gets to have the final choice,) she comes across as self centred and that sort of thing.

She doesn’t really even improve that much, she just seemed to gain the emotional intelligence to comprehend and verbalise things she already sort of knew, and in death her conflicting personal morals (eg, the ‘and I am not even bragging about that bc that is against my Buddhist beliefs!’ speech) and views seem to solidify.

It’s why her having the ‘final say,’ but not being able to complete it (“you knew I wouldn’t be able to do it,” and the repeat of her “democracy rocks” catchphrase) is so important, because it’s when that reality of the choice she faces hits her.

Even if she does get closure, she has to choose between how she is perceived/the moral high ground, and the life she could have.

Given that she had her whole life planned out, having it not go that way must have been. Devastating on a scale I can’t even begin to imagine- especially bc the not going to plan, in this context, means ‘your life is on the line,’ and her having to pick between everything she’d ever known, and utter uncertainty- so again, moral high ground vs her life.

She picks moral high ground, in letting Jane/Penny return, despite how obviously it pains her to do so- which is why I hate sm when people disregard ‘every story has a lesson,’ bc sure, it’s a silly lighthearted song/scene, but it so clearly conveys so much about oceans character, in that she believes everything has to have meaning, and if she chooses to go back rather than letting Jane/Penny return, it nulls the meaning of Jane’s life, as she can’t remember it, and because her body was never claimed, nobody would remember it.

Also, if she voted for herself, Ocean would no longer be able to perceive herself as ‘a good person’ because of Ricky’s speech after SABM.

If she goes back, doing so will invalidate all the growth she goes through during the show- and adding onto song theme, every song in the musical is so important to me, because even the ‘silly ones’ have meaning- all the ones specially relating to ocean carry the central motif that everything Needs to have meaning.

Even in ‘the new birthday song,’ it’s shown again, in that Ocean sort of fabricates meaning for/humanises Jane, whereas before she’d only viewed her as ‘a freaky monster’ which made the choice that much harder, as her belief that she should be the one to go back started to become more unstable- and I see so many ppl hating every story has a lesson and the new birthday song and from like. An overall standpoint I can kind of understand it. But it makes me sad bc they’re so integral to ocean and her character arc !!

Also, all that aside, this is not a justification of some of the shit she says bc some of it is. Pretty fucked up- or at least, I disagree with the "her behaviour was understandable if you look hard and deep into her backstory and her parents and headcanon her certain ways, and therefore it was also okay,” because just bc smth is understandable and a valid reaction doesn't equal it being okay. Her behaviour is still shitty- which doesn't mean she is an Unforgivable Terrible Person. Like. the worst thing she's done is be kind of a bitch, vaguely ableist, very traumatised, and be dismissive of other people's feelings. Which like ????? She's a literal child! Depending on what part of the fandom you take your head cannons from, she is not even seventeen years old (or she’s closer to 18 but. i disagree with that timeline wise bc it doesn’t make sense in the overall plot)- but anyways. She’s a teenager!!! it’s normal to be a bit fucked up and have incorrect opinions- The point, for me is in that she learns and grows and starts seeing the humanity in others. And at the end she gives someone else a life at the cost of her own! That's a big deal! It shows she's grown and learned to see other people's humanity and treat them better, even if that doesn't get her what she wants. So. Yeah. Ocean is not an asshole. And that’s important.

- 🎢

Literally kissing you directly on the face MY GOD THIS IS SO GOOD AN AMAZING ANALYSIS OF HER ANNDJEJEIIWNWNWBSNDJDJ

And the end! Yes!! She's literally just a teenager, teenagers are growing, they've barley just left their childhood, ofc their view points are gonna be a bit skewed, they're growing!!! Even during the course of being in that limbo area, Ocean grows a lot, she gains different perspectives, something needed to grow!!!

#m #anjdjejejdjrnr so GOOD

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