#twitter keeps making me follow black jack artists

[xbuster]

身長制限の罠 by @kager_en ※Translated and typeset by me

#black jack #kuroo hazama #pinoko #twitter keeps making me follow black jack artists #so of course now i have to do black jack translations

[benis-chillin]

Sonic Wolf 6 Profiles: Jack the Wolf

Well, this blog's recent glut of pornbot followers are about to get a shock.

So basically, part of the reason I wanted a Tumblr is to have an outlet for fanfic stuff. I just don't think Twitter cares that much, even if I do try to promote it there.

But of course, I needed to let some context and backlog build, so it's only NOW getting fanfic posts.

Nobody will care about these except for me, but I still want to post some behind the scenes and lore stuff about my ongoing Sonic fanfic series: Wolf 6. It's free, and it's for fun, just like all of my fanfics!

So, why are they called Wolf 6? Because I suck at naming things and couldn't think of a better name.

I might do some stuff on the individual stories if I don't feel that the character stuff intertwines with it enough, but some of this stuff(like my Shadow Android storyline I wanna do at some point)needs the full context to build. Now that "Now and Then" is out, though, I think some focus posts on the main three(I've been thinking of dubbing them "Team Wolf," but that sounds kinda uninspired)and their Wolf 6 teammates are finally ready to go, starting with the patriarch of this bizzaro family, Jack the Wolf.

Name: Jack the Wolf

Age: 21

Bio: Jack was a fairly normal wolf before the Eggman War. A master chef and overall positive person, you would never think that he'd be one for war, much less leading a team into fierce battle. However, during Infinite's first strike, he lost the love of his life, Sarah. After that, his entire personality shifted. He became cold and distant, donning a facemask and goggles to hide his emotions on the battlefield, leading the Resistance Unit, Wolf 6, on the toughest jobs. Now retired after the war, he lives with Cyber and Raccoon in the Mystic Ruins. In battle, he uses a Void Wispon, and also wields an energy blade gifted to him by former teammate Edge, which can easily sweep through Badniks for a short period after unsheathing, or can be swung to absorb enemy fire, and send it back to them in a large wave.

Please stifle your laughter at my oh-so edgy OC.

So Jack has an interesting creation history. You see, he was the OC I made when I first played Sonic Forces, which yes, is where I make all of my Sonic OCs. It's cheaper than hiring an artist that I can't afford(and to be clear, they deserve that money I don't have. I just don't have the money).

His look developed naturally as I played the game, with the black and white battle suit, accented with yellow here and there. His face mask and goggles giving him a mysterious visage. The only thing I added when he became an actual character was the cowboy hat to make his look more complete.

But of course, this just begs the question: Why a wolf? And why is he red?

Because the wolf avatars in Forces have the ring attract ability, and red is my favorite color. That's literally the only reason. May have thought subtly of the Gadget OC config, but I don't remember.

Anyway, these pictures actually omit a small detail that's in the stories. This happens a lot with the Forces OCs, so get used to it.

Basically, he has a black utility belt, Batman style, and a sheath on his back for his energy sword. I've used MS Paint to highlight the general shape of these details in red.

Ah yes, you may have noticed the energy blade. Basically, I felt that purely having him wield his Void Wispon(chosen because Void is my favorite Wisp)was very bland and not Sonic-like, especially since a theme of Jack's character is that he's just a regular dude caught up in all of the weirdness of Sonic canon. He wants to spend a lovely evening with his cyborg girlfriend and adopted feral child, but he needs the power to keep up in a world of super-sonic hedgehogs and egg-themed despots.

Anyway, the energy blade stays fairly short when not energized. It's barely even sharp. However, it lengthens when energized and activated(for short bursts, to keep it from being TOO OP), displaying a rainbow effect similar to one of the pictures below. That effect is because I thought it would look cool in the non-existent art of it in action.

But of course, that's him in battle, how does he look OFF of the battlefield?

He's naked, that's what.

(Btw, don't take that wrist launcher and those shoes as canon. Forces limitations)

(Also, Jack is DEFINITELY a fuzzy slippers guy)

As mentioned before, Jack's just a normal dude with deep-ass war trauma trying to live his life as normally as possible. He doesn't want to wear anything special. Heck, the only reason he started wearing the battlesuit was so he'd always be able to make the sacrifice after what happened with OnePunch in a scene depicted at the beginning of "Those who left us behind." I think this first death is where he started clinging to any sense of normalcy, to the point of not wanting to kick Edge off of the team when it was obvious he needed to be kicked off. But of course, that's just some internal logic, so it may read differently to you.

For those curious, here's what he was wearing in that scene.

And while we're here, here's a reference mock-up I made back in the day of the outfit he was wearing in the third story of "3 Tales of the Chaotix."

Fun fact, in the original draft of that story, Cyber gave his ass a playful smack before winking at him. I toned it down in the final edit, but I figured I'd mention it here so y'all would know that I'm not COMPLETELY asexual.

Anyway, a recent retcon to Jack's civilian form is facial scars and a damaged right eye. I avoided this in the initial version of "Prototypes," since I didn't want to come off as an edgelord, but as a writer, I've grown to accept the fact that I am, in fact, an edgelord, so scars he gets in my signature MS Paint fashion.

Also, I chose to damage his right eye because I'm missing my right eye IRL. I think he can actually see a bit out of his, though. It at least perceives light to some degree.

He also gained a new permanent scar on his right arm and hand from the final battle in "Those who left us behind," btw. I'll try to bring it up in story at some point, but for now that's just lame-ass Tumblr lore.

And so, that's Jack. If you read through this all, and decided it interests you, here are some story links:

The full Wolf 6 collection on A03: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2802334

A Tumblr textpost made to promote Then and Now: https://www.tumblr.com/benis-chillin/698601893325389824/a-regular-run-of-the-mill-ambush

Alright, I'll see you guys next time I decide to upload these for best girl, Cyber the Canary! Take care!

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic fan character #sonic fanfiction #sonic oc #sonic wolf 6 posts

[lilmissbacon]

Why Jelsa is Ridiculously Stupid

Let me start off by saying that the idea of this ship was cute at first, I have nothing against it. In fact I have a few ships myself that have nothing to back them up. I am not making this to convince people to be anti, stop the ship itself, or spread any form of hate what so ever.

But this Jelsa fandom has gone too far. And when I say "jelsa shippers," of course I don't mean ALL of them, just about 80% of them.

In fact, I'm very appreciative of the few jelsa shippers who don't go around harassing others because "jelsa is life."

Also, allow me to correct you in saying that I'm not a jelsa hater, I'm a jelsa loather. There's a difference. Most jelsa haters, hate jelsa for the sake of hating it.

I genuinely hate it.

And don't go commenting about, "how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?" Because you see, that's where you're wrong. I did used to ship it, when I was 11. I was a child, I was new to the internet, I didn't know better. But I do now!

I am writing this so that some who may not know, will now understand why jelsa is bad and because I need to get all of this out of my system. I am slowly dieing inside.

First; I'm gonna go into how all the excuses to ship this are pointless. Next, I'll talk about just how these two would never work out as a couple. Then, will be what the toxicity has done to not just to the ship itself, but to the big four as well. And finally, I'll go into how uncreative the shippers are and just what horrible/stupid things they've done and are still doing.

1) Excuses are Pointless

Excuse #1: They have the same powers.

...Yeah, that's like saying you ship Lavagirl (Sharboy and Lavagirl) and Bolin (LoK) because they can both control lava. That's not a valid reason to ship anyone. There needs to be actual substance and I'll only say that once because that sentence applies to every excuse here.

Excuse #2: They look alike

🤦🤦🤦 First of all: that's also like saying you ship Tiana (Princess and the Frog) and Frozone (The Incredibles) because they're both black. Second of all: no they don't. It may be because I'm an artist so I notice small details, but here's how it is; Jack's hair is white, Elsa's is platinum blonde. Jack has a square chin, Elsa has a round face. Jack is much paler! THEIR EYES AREN'T EVEN THE SAME SHADE OF BLUE!!! Your excuse is null and void. Even so, if characters do look alike, then they're most likely to be related. Especially in animation.

Excuse #3: Jack can teach Elsa to have fun and Elsa can teach Jack to be serious

This clearly proves the point that jelsa shippers don't know these characters. The job of teaching Elsa how to be social and have fun is already taken by Anna. So if anything, Elsa will see Jack as a younger brother. And Jack wouldn't have been chosen to take on such a responsibility of guardianship if he didn't know when to quit. I don't know what it is about playful characters that make people think they're obnoxious. Jack is an immortal teenager with the heart of a child, that's what makes him a good guardian. But he's been alive for over 300 years, he bound to have the mind capacity of an adult and he does know better. He doesn't play when he's in battle, he's dead serious.

Excuse #4: They understand each other because they were both isolated for a long time

I don't know where you come from but people don't really "bond" over their trauma. Infact, if anything, that would make the relationship more unstable. Plus, Elsa isolated herself for 13 years because she was afraid of her powers. Jack was forced into isolation for 300 years! He has never been afraid of his powers and Elsa could still be seen throughout the day by parents and servants. They would never be able understand what the other went through.

Excuse #5: They both have a sister they love

SO WHAT?! At least half of the population have sisters. Simple as that. It's a horrible excuse.

Excuse #6: They both have an enemy in fear

Bruh, almost every fictional character has to deal with their fears, literal or mental. It's not at all unique to these two.

Excuse #7: Jack can teach Elsa to control her powers

She already has control of them by the end of the movie. And even if you mean prier to that, the reason she couldn't control them was because she feared them. I doubt that even if she could see him and if he showed her his powers, she's be irrational, believing that their powers were different.

Excuse #8: William Joyce says he ships it

Really, you're going to base the possibility of a ship because the writer of the 'books' that "inspired" rotg says he likes it. First: the books and movie are not the same worlds. Two: he most likely stated this in order for jelsa shippers to shut up to him about it. And three: his own canon with the books is a mess as it is. With him adding a bunch on random/unnecessary details on twitter that have no relevance or reference in the books. Even if he does ship it, everything that's going on with Jack's character in the books is weird enough as it is. Plus he's physically 14 in the books. I know age doesn't really matter but Elsa would definitely feel weird about dating someone who looks so young when she's currently 24 by the second movie.

Excuse #9: They could've met before the events of rotg

Not a reason to ship them but whatever 🙄 Even if their stories were based in the same world (which it isn't), Elsa never would've believed in fairy tales. Having to grow up so soon and all. She believes in magic, of course, but you need to believe in the individuals themselves in order to see them. Plus it is very clear in rotg that Jamie is Jack's first believer.

Excuse #10: Now that Frozen 2 is out, they are both spirits who followed the memories of their loved ones. They can live forever together!

Once AGAIN, how does this factor to them being a good couple? Plus the title of spirit is different in the Frozen-verse than the Guardian-verse. Guardian-verse; they are un-aging beings who keep the entire world in balance. Frozen-verse; never confirmed to be immortal (especially since 3 out of 5 spirits are inanimate objects), magical things that keep a single forest secure. The only reason the elements needed a fifth spirit was most likely because the one before Elsa died of old age. Plus the idea of Elsa outliving Anna goes against the theme of sisterly love that both movies strive on. This can be changed in fanfiction but I hate how people lie about her mortality for an excuse to ship.

Excuse #11: They're both single

So what? People ship characters who aren't single with other characters all the time. That's not a reason to ship them. Especially since your statement is false because Tooth is Jack's canon love interest.

It is true that jelsa haters will give reasons to not ship that I necessarily don't agree with.

•Like the age gap — Jack has the mental capacity of an adult, as I've said before. He's smart enough to make his own choices.

•Elsa not being immortal — that doesn't mean they can't still date, even if he outlives her. Plus you can change that in fanfiction.

•They come from different studios and will never be canon — Again, this is fanfiction, we can do whatever we want.

•Elsa is independent and shipping her with someone takes her independence away — for one: most of the world is bound to find love at some point in time. I would imagine that Elsa would want to find love like her sister. Two: Mulan, Pocahontas and Jasmine are very independent and they all still ended up with men. Three: she's not that independent to begin with. Independence isn't relationship status, it's your ability to make it on your own and Elsa is clearly, very dependant on Anna and her safety. Which is actually what pushes her to being a bad sister in Frozen 2. In fact it is because they made her more 'independant' in the sequel that Elsa clearly, no longer loves Anna as much as Anna loves her (you can check out Watso Videos' video on YouTube about how Elsa is a bad sister bc I'm not gonna go into it here).

My god that was ALL just part one. This is gonna take forever 😰

2) How they would never work out

For Elsa, she needs someone who is calm and collected. A rock for her to stand on when she's being irrational. Possibly even someone who is very stoic and straight to the point but with enough sense of humor to lighten the mood. And now that I'm thinking about it, Honeymaren fits that description to a tee. I'm not one to push LGBT+ in anyone's face, but I'm not gonna judge ships on characters assumed sexualities either. Even though Honeymaren didn't have much screen time, her personality still showed through and Elsamaren could very well work.

Jack on the other hand needs someone who would be able to keep up with his playful nature as well as be a rock for him to stand on when he's emotional. Tooth is a good suitor even though I don't really ship it myself. Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel could also fit in this description.

They don't have the ability to be each other's rocks. They can't be stable if they both need someone to keep them so. If they were to date, the relationship would crumble before it even began.

Plus Jack has to be a guardian and there are a lot of fanfics that go into this idea of Jack being the king of Arendalle? First off: I'm fairly certain that you can't marry into royalty to become king. At least in the real world. Second: Jack wouldn't be able to handle that responsibility with him already being a guardian. And he can't just leave guardianship either, it was what he always was and was ment to be. And Elsa has the responsibility of keeping a magical forest in check, she can't leave to become a guardian.

3) The Toxicity

Oh my God! The fanfiction! As I usually say, you can do whatever you want in fanfiction. But if you have to butcher all the characters so much in EVERY fanfic in order to make the ship work, then there's clearly something wrong here! In every fanfic I've ever seen, the characters are so out of character it's insane. Not just Jack and Elsa, every character.

Olaf for example, is practically in love with Jack first meeting, in every fanfic. If he were to actually meet Jack, he would be apprehensive of him.

It's horrifying in not only that, but jelsa shippers will add Rapunzel a lot, just in spite of Jackunzel. They turn Rapunzel into a needy ex-girlfriend of Jack's when in reality, she's a very sweet and kind soul. Even if she and Jack had dated, they would've split on good terms and stayed friends after. There have also been cases where they do the same but with Tooth. Sometimes even both and it's honestly sick.

And let's talk about the sexism as well HAHA! I swear to God, they will rewrite Frozen but where Jack will save Elsa instead of Anna. They write Elsa as a hormonal teenage girl who falls in love with Jack within seconds.

This is from an actual jelsa shipper, my dude. WTF!!! They make Jack super dominant as well as a douche who cheats on Elsa half the time. Jack is not that dominant, he's a very emotional guy. And he'd be the most faithful boyfriend on the planet. He was alone for 300 years! If anything, he'd be clingy but not too clingy because he also understands personal space.

And if you like angsty fanfiction where a character cheats on the other, there are literally no fanfics where Elsa cheats on Jack. As if a woman couldn't possibly cheat. This is very sexist towards men and women and is toxic as hell.

If anything, Elsa would cheat on Jack, she's not exactly trustworthy in keeping promises or being loyal.

I swear, half of the jelsa shippers has never even seen rotg and just go by what they read in others fanfiction.

Jelsa shippers have gotten so bad about this ship that they've low-key harassed people for not shipping it, as well as start shipping wars within the big four fandom. That's the reason the fandom truly shrunk after 2013. I've seen posts about people admitting to leaving the fandom because it got so bad.

4) The Shippers

Jelsa shippers have literally threatened lives, not just to other fans but even to the creators of the movies. Literally threatening them into making the ship canon. They've made patitions to make it canon as if that would work. They've even harassed a lot of recent shippers to Elsamaren because "jelsa is canon."

Oh look at that, they're homophobic too...

...

...

...

... That's great 🙃

Isn't it a bigger sin to love a celestial being though? Therefore the fact that you –as a toxic christian– ship Elsa with a spirit it worse.

THEY'RE DELUSIONAL!!! So many of them have shipped jelsa so long that legit think it's canon!

Not only all that mess but there are literally more jelsa games on the internet then there are Merida games. I'm specifying this for personal reasons (aka Merida is my fave Disney princess)

And let's continue on with what really aggravates me as an artist. Jelsa shippers, stealing artwork, mostly from Jackunzel. This is not just a rumor, it's very much real.

And it doesn't help when all of their actual original fanart is just them taking scenes from Frozen and adding Jack. Then to add more salt on the wound is that almost all the fanfiction is the same, whether it'd be based during Frozen, rotg or in a highschool au.

There's literally nothing original about or going on with this ship, even after Frozen 2 came out, the shippers and fanfiction haven't changed. If anything it made the shippers spike up again.

The only thing that could say is original about jelsa is the frost daughter fanon. Oh boy! What we have to unpack here.

This is something that I recently heard about...

...

I am mortified.

Frost daughters is this little thing that jelsa shippers came up with, believing Jack and Elsa (if they could get pregnant) would have nothing but girls. What's scary about it is they're designs. Like they're trying to be original... But it's not really going great.

Most of them are just young!Elsa copies, some are edits of Elsa with Jack's hair color.

For example:

This is fine, this follows genetrical rules. I'm fine with this.

But what has me low-key petrified are some of the other designs.

Like... WTF IS ALL OF THIS!!! Where are this colors coming from?!! I don't understand 😭 You can see in the screen shots that these are literally titled as daughters of jelsa.

The white haired ones are fine. The ginger is understandable. Got it from Elsa's dad's genes. That's okay. A few are wearing pink? They can wear what ever they want. But wtf I'd going on with Nevada? Why is she black? Jack and Elsa the pastiest of white! And you cannot tell me that she got it from Elsa's mom because this was made BEFORE Frozen 2 and her mother is still white as an adult.

Where tf does the blue and pink hair come from? None of these make sense!

I want to kill myself, just looking at these!

That's gonna be the end of this rant

Now I'll say it again, I really have nothing against the ship itself. I too have casual ships that make no sense. But with ALL the fanfiction and fanart being so unoriginal and most jelsa shippers low-key being dangerous, it's hard for me respect people's opinions about it.

I try, trust me, I do! But it's become so murky in my brain that I can't tell the difference anymore and I'm also just not a fan of Elsa's character in general. And I like ships that actually make sense.

And being that I'm an equalist... it's really hard for me to look at this stuff and not get pissed off. I'm sorry if all of this comes off as aggressive because it kinda is.

I'm just very passionate, okay?

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. None of the pictures I used are mine. And I hope you have a good day?

#anti jelsa #antijelsa #jack frost #anti elsa #DreamWorks #disney #ships #hate jelsa #the big five

[douglashonorscollege]

Burn the House Down

essay by Olivia McDougall ⌂

IT WAS 2006 in the heart of New York City. The New York Knicks failed to make the play-offs for the third consecutive year. President George W. Bush’s approval rating had hit at an all-time low. Panic! at the Disco released “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” and Justin Timberlake performed “SexyBack” on the MTV Video Music Awards—hosted by Jack Black—at Radio City Music Hall. For the American people, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times… and three young kids were out pursuing their dream in the streets of Manhattan.

Adam, Ryan, and Jack Metzger were trying their hand at busking in Central Park and Washington Square. The youngest at nine years old, Jack led vocals while his older brothers backed him with instrumentals. The boys played covers of songs old and new, anything to get enough money for new instruments with which to experiment. The brothers spent many years on street corners serenading strangers, earning their 10,000 hours. In the following years, when YouTube started gaining traction, the boys put up videos of their covers: more and more inventive spins on pop songs. Jack and Ryan also started trying their hand at writing, directing, and acting in their own little sketches for video content. At that time, the boys had very few followers, but nonetheless continued to play, to save up, to buy more equipment, to make more music.

As they grew, the boys were exposed to their parents’ old records and the sounds of a very different generation influenced their style. The Beach Boys; the Beatles; Peter, Paul, and Mary among many others inspired them, but more contemporary artists like Kanye West also came into play. Later, while eldest brother Adam pursued his degree at Columbia University, the younger two brothers took note of sampling—the music trend of artists taking sound clips and reusing them in their songs. Jack mentioned to his brotherhow cool it would be if someone sampled Spongebob Squarepants on a track.

“Well, why don’t we do it?” was Ryan’s reply.

In spring of 2013, the brothers, naming themselves AJR after their own initials, released a video of their first single “I’m Ready.” The song sampled the popular Spongebob catchphrase, and became a classic, upbeat, dance-floor pop song. The brothers sent the link to their video to several celebrities over Twitter, until famous singer-songwriter Sia noticed them and passed it along to her manager. The song was then commercially released that summer and began to see regular radio play, and the band was labeled as the next up and comers in the music scene.

After “I’m Ready,” AJR released a five song EP of the same name. Their first song continued to grow, receiving millions of views on YouTube and going platinum in Canada and Australia. The brothers continued to create music (and go to school; the eldest was only in his early twenties at this time), releasing another single and EP titled Infinity in 2014. The majority of the band’s music was pop songs, easy to listen to with familiar rhythms and lyrics of love and youth. Remarkably, the boys chose to mix and record all their own music in their NYC apartment living room, instead of paying for studio time. Paying homage to their workspace and independence, the band released their first album Living Room in 2015. Except for some bouncier, odd-duck tracks like “Big Idea” and “Thirsty,” most of the songs fit the same earlier patterns of the pop genre. However, in 2016, the band experienced the shift that would change their music career forever.

Before the What Everyone’s Thinking EP came out, AJR had little recognition beyond their break-out hit. However, the tracks on the latest EP sounded entirely evolved from the brother’s previous style. The lyrics were brimmed with honesty, abandoning the emptiness of many other pop tunes. The boys sang about missing out on their friends while pursuing their dreams, about being unsure about what love means, about not trying so hard to be cool, about being human. Their style of composition had also matured. The band would release videos on how they made their songs, revealing that they took whatever strange sound they could make and mix it however they could to make it new and interesting. They had people who were not musicians or artists, such as their ever supportive father, come in and sing to add a new dimension to their songs. They used something they called “spokestep,” a technique of recording a someone singing, then cutting it up over a beat in editing. They continued to utilize sampling, taking bits of anything from Fountains of Wayne to yodeling competitions. The EP was well-received with hundreds of messages from fans who deeply related to the music. This was all the push the brothers needed to keep writing freely, and not what they thought would sell.

On June 9th, 2017, the three brothers dropped the album that would unknowingly launch their music career to a unimaginable level. Several songs on the album made it to regular radio play, giving the band more recognition and growing their dedicated fan base. The Click clearly communicated AJR’s desire to get real in their music, with songs about the detached feelings of growing up or distaste toward the typical party scene. One of their most successful songs, “Sober Up,” featured Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and paved the way for more collaborations with artists such as Steve Aoki and Lil Yachty. The band had been on tours before, playing small venues where the opener drew more fans than they, but now they began to sell out everywhere. The kids who had been playing to no one on street corners now began to sing for thousands.

Shortly after their album The Click debuted, AJR announced that they had been asked to create the theme for Supersize Me 2: Holy Chicken, a documentary attempting to expose the fast food industry’s lax safety regulations. The band had been asked to write for other people before, but never for a movie. The theme song, “Burn the House Down,” would live to surpass its original purpose and become the honest encapsulation of the political attitudes of its time. “Burn the House Down” expresses the band’s indecision to either “keep things light” or to get involved in important issues. The song, with compelling lyrics such as “Or should I march with every stranger from Twitter to get shit done? / Used to hang my head low / Now I hear it loud / Every stranger from Twitter is gonna burn this down” further cemented the band’s dedication to revolution and their abandonment of passivity. The song called out deception plaguing the media cycle and public affairs, and the need to burn it all down in order to expose the truth.

*   *   *

The election of Donald Trump in 2016 acted as a catalyst for various protest movements around the country. Marches have occurred on the White House doorstep since the signing of the Constitution, but the Trump administration triggered a marked influx. Beyond Washington, protests like the Women’s March and National Pride March were seen nation-wide. People from all over rallied together to advocate for science and evidenced-based policies, for immigrant’s rights and racial justice, for transparency over Russian involvement in elections, and even for the publication of Trump’s tax returns. People, especially those liberal-leaning, felt that their voices weren’t being heard and that the President was not reflective of their values. Change in politics is gradual and incremental, but it felt like everyday a new injustice was being thrown at the American people. Families were being separated at the border, more evidence that Russia swayed the 2016 election came to light, allegations of sexual abuse from the President were revealed, racism, sexism, and hate seem to run rampant and unchecked, and overall many people felt disheartened and disgusted with the state of the nation. So, with the power of social media, users of popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter planned protests. The marches drew thousands of people together, uniting many for a common cause. Today’s youth, often labeled as lazy and entitled, came together in the March for Our Lives, an empowering result from one of many tragic school shootings. High-schoolers fed up with feeling unsafe on their campuses advocated for stricter gun control laws and led the biggest youth rally since the Vietnam War, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people. Americans refused to take anything sitting down and demonstrated their needs loudly to those in charge.

The effectiveness of these protests is a tricky one to determine, as many perceived different goals for the marches. Some believe getting people out on the streets and building a community of like-minded people is a strong start, but others think success is nothing less than immediate change and tangible evidence that they have been heard. Further, some argue that current protests lack the solid political backing that are required to enact true change, and that the marches will never be as powerful as they mean to be without that factor. However, even though many of the things modern protests have demanded have yet to come to fruition, it does not necessarily mean the marches have been for naught. Many of the marches throughout history that today are viewed as world-shattering did not see the change they were fighting for immediately. Politics take time, and the justice and change in policies the people demand to see might still be a long time coming. However, it is necessary to take up the fight, for the people to demonstrate that enough is enough.

Protest songs in the past like “Fortunate Son” by Credence Clearwater Revival or “The Times They are A-Changin” by Bob Dylan rallied people for their cause, stoking the flames of change in hearts across the nation. Music was a way for artists to contribute to the fight, giving a voice to those silenced and reflecting the opinions of the oppressed or wronged. Protest songs today have the same effect, uniting thousands to sing in one voice and empowering movements. “Burn the House Down” provides a battlecry for a whole new generation of people. It is a warning of accountability for those in the corrupt establishment; the harbingers will burn it down.

Works Cited “Burn the House Down” Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnyLfqpyi94 AJR Zach Sang Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQnXGsKwaIU&t=1725 Recent Marches Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rallies_and_protest_marches_in_Washington,_D.C.#2018 Supersize Me 2 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me_2:_Holy_Chicken! Article on political protests, bustle.com: https://www.bustle.com/p/do-political-protests-actually-change-anything-29952 2006 NYC Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2006_in_New_York_City AJR Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJR_(band) One of AJR’s “How We Made THE CLICK” Vidoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YWj3DAo6xM  ∎

More on Olivia ~ Minerva’s Owl Homepage

#journal #journal2021 #2021

[vole-mon-amour]

OTP tag game.

Tagged by @captainjowl. You know for sure than I'm struggling to pick only 10 & fit them in here. But hell, that’s fun, thank you <3

Rules: Choose 10 OTPs BEFORE reading the questions, and then get to answering

1) Harry James Potter & Sirius Orion Black

2) Daniel Le Domas & Grace (Ready or Not 2019)

3) Samuel & Nathan Drake (Uncharted 4)

4) Corvo Attano & The Outsider (+probably Emily Kaldwin; Dishonored series)

5) Steve Grant Rogers & Bucky Buchanan Barnes (Marvel)

6) Tony Edward Stark & Peter Benjamin Parker (Marvel)

7) Handsome Jack & Rhys (Borderlands video game series)

8) Damon Salvatore & Elena Gilbert (TVD Books & a tv show)

9) Batman & Joker (in every universe, really)

10) Adam Jensen x Francis Pritchard (Deus Ex video game series)

1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6?

I believe it didn't hit me before Spider-Man: Homecoming. Civil War was about Steve & Bucky for me, but when I saw that growing up Peter with Tony, their dynamic, chemistry. Tom & Robert are really just like that.

2. Have you ever read a fanfic about 2?

Lmao. I've read like 50% of the tag on AO3, I wrote my own & started a few wips on them. They are amazing. Plus, with that shitty canon? We didn't get enough of them & they deserved better, so it's only logical to save yourself with fanfiction.

3. Has a picture of 4 ever been your screen saver/profile picture/tumblr screen saver?

I was living with The Outsider icon on my twitter & tumblr. That one is still my Google profile picture I believe. Don't remember about having an icon with the two of them. Also had The Outsider as my lockscreen on my smartphone for a while.

4. If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be?

Funny how it fits canon, lmao. Rhys literally tried to erase Jack's AI in TFTBL, so I guess another day on Pandora, nothing new. They torture each other, they kiss each other, they kill other people in the process. It'll be fiiine.

5. Why is 1 so important?

I love them since the first time I met them, which was much more than 10 years ago, I don't even remember when. At some point they were the reason I was waking up & forcing myself to eat just to read more fanfiction & feel something. Even if I was drowning in pain (I was extremely depressed), it was still something. I read every fic I could find at that time. The depression that Harry went through, all these feelings, his love for Sirius. I was living through it, I could relate.

I'm currently drowning in these two again, though in a much healthier & happier state. I see their flaws & I know as much as I can. I see them differently as an adult. They saved me, they keep being my number one, I still consider making a tattoo of Padfoot/Sirius or of both Harry & Sirius together. I have many headcanons, ideas, I write fics about them. They are everything, you see? They were my choice when there was nothing, no one. They are HOME.

6. Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship?

Both. There goes the dynamic of Jack & Rhys: torture, fighting, flirting, a lot of trauma. I'd definitely say that they are wild and comical sometimes, but they are definitely serious. With the Asylum, the mental health issues. There is so much more to it, the complexity of their relationship. The struggle of loving who you probably shouldn't (but hey, when does it work like that?) Thinking about Tettlate's Batman, about Batman: Europa & how Joker was: "You must be crazy, putting me in charge of the plan, letting me decide. Okay, well..."

Nah, they are entertaining, but this is a serious ship.

7. Out of all the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry?

Are you kidding me? They are all the definition of CHEMISTRY. I'd say 5, but then go 2, 6, 7, 8. Come on. I'm not choosing. Most of they are WILD.

9. How many times have you read/watched the 10’s fandom?

The fandom itself? Idk. I found one of my favourite artists through this fandom. If it's about the characters themselves, I played the first game with the DLC from start to beginning, looking around every corner. Spent more than 60 hours in there. Watched a second game (my laptop can't run the game) and the DLC (obviously), since Francis is in the DLC & not in the main game. I have a tag for them on tumblr, I read fanfiction, I tried to write my own. I still follow Elias & want a third game. Elias liked my tweets about Adam and Jensen being an actual couple a few times. I'd say I interacted with all of this a lot? Still do, actually.

10. Which ship has lasted the longest?

5. Best friends since childhood, fought & died for each other, still found their way back to each other. "It would break your Captain's heart, to see what they did to you." That only the MENTION of Steve can pull Bucky out of this brain washing(ed?) state, distract him in the middle of a fight. When Steve died in the comics because of Sharon & Tony sent Natasha to take Steve's shield from Bucky because even Tony knew how much Steve means to Bucky. And Bucky was like: "Oh, I see what he did. Not happening!" Fought Natasha (that is his ex in the comics) & kept going for Steve's sake.

Well, you see the point, I can go on and on.

11. How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up?

They're not actually canon so none? They had a few fights: In Civil war (the comics), in Homecoming (the movie).  That only means that they’ve got history & love each other.

12. If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8?

As fierce Grace is, they wouldn't stand a chance against Damon & Elena. Those two had to deal with worst thing than brainless stupid zombies. On the other hand, if there were no alive humans to drink their blood... It's either an animal diet that Damon hates so much or I don't know? Still, they're faster & more powerful. Their bodies have advantage of healing the wounds as well.

13. Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason?

From some people, yeah. Don't tell Athena, don't tell Vaughn, don't tell Fiona. Though Rhys wasn't very subtle about it & Jack just doesn't give a fuck. You will probably end up dead if you disagree or bore him, or if you're useless.

"I can take you to the top, but you gotta know where the top is" & Rhys doesn't tell anybody until Jack makes him the President for like whole 20 minutes lol.

Fiona & Sasha: "This can't be happening." Sure it can, darling.

14. Is 4 still together?

I have a headcanon about The Outsider finding Emily & Corvo after Billie frees him from the Void. He doesn't have anybody & they are his only friends aside from a potential friendship with Billie. And if we don't consider TOTO dlc, they definitely are! The Outsider visits them both when they sleep & takes them to the void sometimes. How could he not?

15. Is 10 canon?

Not really but also sort of? Let's say that they really care about each other in canon, despite Adam pushing Francis away because of his trauma & fear that Megan caused him. :/

16. If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win?

Can you imagine wizards fighting extremely powerful vampires? Superheroes with venom in their bodies that make them super strong with people that made a deal with the Devil himself (hi Le Bail)? 5000 y.o. God and his lover that share his powers and an augmented human protecting his tired IT guy? Combine mental health issues to that, Jack and Rhys with Batman and Joker. Corvo & The Outsider would probably slay them all as Corvo and Emily did in both games with entire islands, though it will still be a slaughter anyway.

17. Has anybody ever tried to sabotage 5’s ship?

All the fucking time, lmaooo. I’m not even talking about it.

18. Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond?

I feel like I already did with Steve & Bucky after many Marvel movies (we're not even mentioning Endg*me, I fucking died & was dead for full 4-5 months).

19. Do you spend hours a day going through 3’s tumblr page?

I used to do that a few years back, but not anymore. There is not much content since the trilogy is finished.

20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink?

1 already went through it & fandom lives, so I'd say maybe 7? Rhys will find a way to bring Jack back & they are both so wild. It’s what happened in canon anyway. Jack kidnapped Lilith & forced her to do Angel's job, so I'd like to see that witch try at first. Jack is an immortal bastard. <3

Now that I think about it, Corvo would also deal with her in seconds as she waits to curse them.

As a conclusion: no one breaks up forever, we're killing the witch.

I tag: @ianmillkovichgallagher​ & @aledbr​

Whoever else wants to join the game, please do.

#otp #me #tumblr #harry x sirius #delena #corvosider #rhack #tony x peter #batjokes #jensard #steve x bucky #ready or not #drakecest

[pussymagicuniverse]

American Horror Story Seasons Ranked from Best to Mediocre

Practically every TV series has a season that you don’t feel overjoyed about. Very few shows that have multiple seasons will impress you every time, unless you’re a super fan that finds no wrong even in what you love. It doesn’t make you less of a fan to critique and notice what could have been done better.

With American Horror Story it’s a different experience in regards to critiquing each season because it’s an anthology series. Despite American Horror Story: Apocalypse’s crossover with American Horror Story: Coven – every season has its own theme, plot, and characters. That alone brings on a plethora of possibilities each season, especially when we’re given weird teasers and minimal information.

Despite my love for AHS, there have been seasons that were quite sloppy or just not my speed. Below you’ll find my own personal ranking and if you’re a fan then you’ll understand all of what I’m saying.

1. Coven (2013)

While it may not seem like it, this season gets bashed on occasion. Some arguments on why it wasn’t the best were valid, but not enough to change my mind about this season.

Was it perfect? No, but nobody can say this wasn’t a nail-biting season. Not only did it have bad ass witches but Angela Bassett (Marie Laveau) and Jessica Lange (The Supreme, Fiona Goode) stole the damn show! A lot of the memorable moments featured one or both of them. Unless Stevie Nicks’ cameo appearances are more your speed. Which, in my opinion, were iconic and can’t be touched.

All in all, the season explored racism, what it’s like being black and a witch, depictions of Marie Laveau, Madame LaLaurie and the Axeman, as well as other topics. In my opinion, this season deserves better treatment than it’s received.

2. Murder House (2011)

This season was the perfect one to rope us in for this anthology series. It gave us the right amount of drama and plenty of horror. Of course, Jessica Lange (Constance Langdon) was stellar in this season, but the performances from the rest of the cast were on point as well.

The Harmon Family, which this season focuses on, keeps us on the edge of our seats throughout. Not many things will have you saying “totally saw that coming,” from the twists and turns to what transpired in that spooky ass mansion. While there were a handful of things that still disturb me, it’s still a top season for me and is undoubtedly a successful one within the series.

3. Apocalypse (2018)

Having Murder House and Coven crossover is something I have to applaud Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (the show creators) for. Not only that but casting Cody Fern as Michael Langdon (aka the Antichrist ) was a big thumbs up. His performance throughout is no joke and it held me til the end, even when his character had me unimpressed, which unfortunately happened more than I’d like to admit.

Some parts of this season were dragged out to me and some characters felt pointless by the end. And that’s just some of what could have been done better in my opinion. Nevertheless, seeing my favorite witches again and witnessing many explicit scenes and having certain gaps filled helped the slow parts of the season.

4. Roanoke (2016)

Weird as hell. That’s the easiest way to describe the overall vibe of this season. In the beginning it seems confusing because of the set up. Though soon enough you come to the conclusion that it’s a TV show within a TV show.

It starts off being about an interracial couple, Shelby (Lily Rabe) and Matt Miller (André Holland), Matt’s sister, Lee (Adina Porter) and their experiences in a farmhouse that’s situated on the land where the Roanoke Colony disappeared in the 1580’s.

It was an interesting way to explore a real-life mystery and bring something new to the table for the series. What can be considered memorable is how many times Matt’s name is said from start to finish, the crazy ass ghosts, Scáthach or that British accent from Sarah Paulson in the final few episodes.

5. Hotel (2015)

This season is one that you either really didn’t like or you liked for the most part. For me, it’s re-watchable and holds my interest every time, even with the jacked up and bizarre happenings that occur in the Hotel Cortez. Though, I’m one for weird and batshit crazy stories, so maybe that makes me slightly biased in this instance. Mostly the season focuses on serial killers, supernatural occurrences and beings and a whole lot of mystery.

Lady Gaga, who had never appeared on the show before, gets to show off her acting chops as The Countess, a vampire who’s endured decades of the Hotel Cortez, and it’s creator. She can’t be compared to Jessica Lange but she wasn’t a disappointment either. Essentially she brought a different flavor that you either like or don’t. Regardless, it may not have been amazing but it wasn’t the worst either.

6. Asylum (2012)

This season does way too much and it overall feels like the wrong type of chaos. Whether it’s the alien abduction, “Bloody Face”, the consistent bullshit Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) endures, Briarcliff Manor overall, the demonic possession, or the other craziness within this season.

I just can’t bring myself to actually consider this season the best one. Meanwhile, other fans most certainly will give it that title. The cast does help keep the season afloat and that does help save the season for me. Without a solid cast, this season would been a huge dumpster fire, which is the short way of saying it. If anything, it’s very much memorable for “The Name Game” scene, as well as watching a possessed nun act high-key explicit.

7. Cult (2017)

Ahhh, the results of the 2016 presidential election. I despise thinking about the rigged and undeniably corrupt results. The same ones that made that orange fool the president. We already deal with this reality and the horror of it all. So having this season be so realistic was... awful.

Instead of wacky serial killers, vampires, possession, bad ass witches, ghosts, or anything else that American Horror Story has given us – we get the horrors of our present day, such as: violence coming from Trump supporters and the right-wing in general to how progressives are painted as too radical and sensitive. In addition to how even white progressives can flip.

Not much about this season is unrealistic, which made it hard to watch. Normally I would be all for symbolism and realistic aspects, but Cult wasn’t as gripping as previous seasons. Not even Evan Peters (whose character I really hated in this season) helped.

8. Freak Show (2014)

Unfortunately there’s not much to take away from this whack season. Yes, the title should have given it away. Though it was given the benefit of the doubt and became a let down.

Maybe the first episode showed some potential, yet from there it was just a weird chain of events within the plot. No one was prepared for a choppy story or the most irritating character that is Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock).

This season is indefinitely my least favorite and not even a few re-watches can change my mind. Not even the gay content within this season made it any better, which is saying a lot. So it makes the bottom of this list, will stay at the bottom, and won’t crawl up from the abyss.

Vanessa Maki is a queer writer, artist & other things.

She’s full of black girl magic & has no apologies for that. Her work has appeared in various places like Really System & others. She is also forthcoming in a variety of places. She’s founder/EIC of rose quartz magazine & is involved in other literary spaces as well. 

Follow her twitter & visit her site.

#american horror story #american horror story analysis

[hoodnaito]

the story of HIROMU HATERS *gun sounds* *flex bombs*

SURGICAL SUMMER.

LOS INGOBERNABLES WORLD DOMINATION.

You’ve got El Idolo y Zelina. Singlehandedly landed the big money deal for Smackdown just because they were added to the roster. THAT’S A BILLION DOLLAR COUPLE.

Then you’ve got RUSH who will main event the biggest Mask vs. Hair main event since...well...okay therewasthatpsychoclowndrwagnerjuniormatchbut THERE WAS NO SWAG in that match and Triplemania was TRASH. Vampiro was a SIDEKICK with his own show. *flex bomb*

Back to Rush tho, LA BESTIA DEL RING and TERRIBLE are once again headlining Arena Mexico packed to the rafters to see Los Ingobernables cash out a legend, L.A. Park. Crazy how everyone knows the eventual outcome but still question if L.A. Park will go through with this. Shoot, CMLL has this bag SECURED. L.A. Park has the whole family coming through getting a payday getting to look good next to the best stable in Mexico. *kicks an invisible football across the office* *admires it’s sail across the office*

So then there’s Naito, who’s going to make his journey into the G1 going ESPALDA CON ESPALDA (get used to it, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr) by stepping over the washed sucka ass CHRISTOPHER JERICHO. CHRISTOPHER JERICHO followed orders from angry god Kevin Owens and went back to New Japan after failing to win the GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE to be held under an oppressive regime. So CHRISTOPHER JERICHO decides to come at the set? really? Making cute ass bootlegs like you live at the swap meet. You thot. Wearing fashionova to New Japan press conferences, I saw you doggy. Naito’s coming away with an easy win. I hope that IC belt is in Yoshitatsu’s crib. Then you have EVIL and SANADA who made Beatlemania look like the common cold. Europeans of every accent mumbled something unintelligible before fainting at the feat of the best tag team in the world. *gun sounds* yeah young bucks, get ready for that fight. You can’t just come through with the wild superkick and think you’re gonna be champs just like that. Better recognize kid, The set is keeping those titles. Done deal.

BUSHI? My guy, what an effort. You beat Ospreay so at least there’s a title shot waiting for you. Nothing to be ashamed of. There’s riches for you yet in the junior tag division.

Let’s talk about Hiromu. I see all of you on twitter talking that head just ASSUMING KUSHIDA is going to sail on through to the finals. *sigh* *drinks fiji water* *contemplates* You forgot one thing.

D.

Hiromu has adopted a nasty effective triangle choke that will catch that marty mcfly wanna be and send Hiromu into the finals LIKE I SAID HE WOULD against Taiji Ishimori. I predict that this will be the juniors match that sets the damn standard in the division. It doesn’t have to be crazy like Hiromu/Dragon Lee, it doesn’t have to be a Zack Sabre Jr. match, but it’s gonna be tough, it’s gonna be hype and you’re gonna see a thing or two you haven’t expected. Trust me when I say go ahead and give all of your energy to Hiromu Takahashi to beat KUSHIDA and then again to be Taiji Ishimori. Do it and I will bless you with the best Dominion you will ever see. After party at the House of Chicken and Waffles in Jack London Square. I’ve never seen so many people go out of their way to praise such a washed album by Kanye. I put on “Black Skinhead” when I need to kick the doors in and make shit happen. “Heard Em Say” is my favorite song. I love Kanye and know more about Kanye than 99% of the people who follow up my criticism with “oh, but are you a fan, or...” listen, I’m a Kanye historian. Respect your OG. This Kanye album in terms of music is funny because Kanye will never lose the ability to use vocals, music and funny lyrics to create an enjoyable vibe. But! Does that make it a good song? Take “I Thought About Killing You” for instance. The second half of the track has this serious Suicideyear type vibe that kanye hits a few licks off of and it’s a cool sensation, it’s a cool sound. But this isn’t something you’d think the guy who made “Late” or “Flashing Lights” would put out in the world. The theme goes on throughout the album. Lots of almost or good enough to make your headnod, but it’s certainly not worth all of the hype people are putting out there. Especially waiting around looking at beautiful wyoming scenery waiting for an album drop. lol i slept and i woke up and i put the shits on and then i had a burrito. take it easy stans.

lol the same people who dissed drake for wearing blackface in a photoshoot are the same dudes who are saying Kanye’s politics don’t matter. *smh* what a world to live in.  

jr smith was always gonna be jr smith which includes taking the blame from George Hill who was the real choker. jr smith was just as shocked as we all were that George Hill was a choke artist. we need those george hill “damn, thanks brotha for taking the heat off me” memes to come through. warriors in 5. party at lake merritt. pusha’s daytona is better than people give it credit. the whitney photo was mad disrespect but the bars are insane. “if you know you know” should be right there with jay rock’s “win” as the theme to NXT Takeover Chicago. nxt definitely needs more hip hop themes. and not from wack ass hip hop, let’s get some freddie gibbs and madlib or if you need rock, lets get TRASH TALK. That would be tough.

bought my ticket to the WE WATCH WRESTLING live podcast taking place just right around the corner from popeyes chicken on geneva avenue and more importantly just a mile down the road from the cow palace where that G’D up Special takes place in the 415. after the announcements for pwg’s threemendous at the Globe, I was pretty dead set on going down but I’m thinking about just doing the G1 special since it’s here in SF and then putting all of my chips and holiday cash into BOLA. Threemendous is a great card, but i’d rather really save hard and do it up for BOLA. That’s going to be at least $250 for all three days together in GA. Shoutout to all of the front row ballers.

[rndyounghowze]

Rejection Hearts and Other Lovely Things: Punchline Loading Shares the Love (and Laughter) This V-Day

You can follow this group on insta at @punchlineloadingcomedy

By Ricky and Dana Young-Howze

New York, New York

Venmo: @rndyounghowze

Review 202

Oh look it’s our anniversary and tasked with reviewing slew of Valentine’s Day Shows. That’s okay because to start off we watched XOXO by Punchline Loading. We have seen a couple works by this remarkable comedy troupe before so our bar was pretty high. Not only did they exceed our expectations they promoted us to raise the bar again. They have never ceased to surprise us so far!

These comics have seriously upped their game since the last time we saw them. We will talk about writing in a minute but for right now let’s focus on the acting. Each face became twenty different characters turning a small group into a cast of thousands. Paeton Chavis has been on our radar for a while and we loved her recurring bitter role in the show. Saturday Lawson and Kevin Gonzalez are a premiere acting couple and they may soon become the next Jack Benny and Mary Livingston (Dana would like me to tell you all that I’m old as hell). Dana would compare them to Mila Kunitz and Ashton Kutcher (yeah because they’re hella relevant). These lovelies are always funny and a very big reason why we keep coming back.

The sketches were much cleaner and precise with laughs coming at us a mile a minute. Tragedy is a blunt force object but comedy is a laser. These sketches were much more finely tuned and aimed straight at us. There were more than a few times we were cut by their razor sharp wit. We both responded well to the rejection hearts sketch. In fact we need that rejection heart merch yesterday! Still there were some sketches that still needed a fine tuning.

The one thing I’ll say is that I couldn’t shake the sinking suspicion that these wonderful comedians could be even funnier than they are now. If I were them (and I’m not) I would start thinking about what kind of sketches will highlight their particular talents better. Don’t get me wrong they are ridiculously funny now. I’m talking about the kind of punch up that will take them from ridiculously funny to making their first sitcom pilot. Call me a softie but when I find great artists like these so want them to really succeed.

I’ve been shoving with love a lot in 2021 but it’s because with artists that we’ve seen and gotten to know what they’re capable of we see the greatness in them. If this is how they start their year we can’t wait to see what they do next. Circle the wagons and start planning the next thing. Write and rewrite and workshop and edit. We want to see much more from y’all!

Their next show live-streams at 3 pm. Check the Show Out For Yourself Here

*****A Word From Our Sponsors****

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#comedy #theatre #nj #theatrelives #nj travels #theatre review #youtube #saturday lawson #paeton chavis #kevin gonzalez #punchline loading

[13623]

My 100 favorite memories of Jonghyun

Hi, my name is Gui. This is my personal gift for my beloved SHINee World, a community I've been a part of and truly felt safe and appreciated in for over 7 years now. I've compiled a list of my personal favorite 100 memories and stories about Jonghyun, which will be listed in no particular order. I hope these videos, photos and words of our precious Jonghyun will make you smile and remember all the gifts he gave us the years we got to spend with him.

My sincere wish is for the world to remember his music and how much of a bright, intelligent, caring, silly and all around beautiful person he was. Below the cut you'll find the list with links to see or read the mentioned picture/video/tweet/etc, all with their corresponding english translations (if I was able to find them).

Thank you, Jonghyun. God knows how much I love you and how much I'll miss you. You were a blessing to me and so many people, I'll remember you forever. You've worked incredibly hard. And thank you again. 

1- For whatever reason, the first thing that came to mind was that time you and Key wore masks of Kate Middleton and prince William while walking around an airport. You two have always been silly on your own, but together you were something else entirely. [link]

2- How you always wished for the members' health at every opportunity you encountered. [link]

3- Your satisfaction every time Yoogeun obeyed you or showed you affection [link]

4- That out of respect and to keep a sense of unity among the members you based the design for the cover of BASE in that of ACE's. [link]

5- How sincere and genuine you always tried to be before the world. [link - trans in comments] 

6- Whenever you engaged fight mode and showed the furious and volatile aries boy you were on the inside. Variety shows didn’t deserve you love! [link]

7- Those days you showcased your fansites' names on your body with so much pride during Internet War performances. [link]

8- KRUMP!! KRUMP!!!!!!! [link]

9- How fucking cheesy you were. We all know Minho is probaby the cheesiest man on Earth but you somehow managed to overdo him from time to time. [link] 10- The love you had for your sister and how your face lit up whenever you talked about her. [link]

11- The birthday you spent here in Argentina. I remember thinking you looked a bit out of it during the concert, a bit sad even until the very last talking break started. I remember the moment when they brought out the cake and you put your hands together to make your wish (that was, of course, for the members to stay healthy), that was the first time I thought you looked genuinely happy that night. I feel so so so honored to had been able to design the support banners we held up during that last speaking segment so you could read them and smile. For so many argentinian shawols that was the best day of their lives. I hope you know that. [link]

12- That time you asked the staff to turn down the lights so you could see how bright and beautiful the pearl aqua sea looked that night. [link]

13- Your inconditional love towards your fans. “Thanks to SHINee World I can breathe” [link]

14- How in One fine day you were the first one to celebrate the fact that you were all travelling alone, but also the first one to admit you missed the other memebers [link]

15- Your infinite love for your trusty sidekick Roo, all the pictures, videos and tweets you've done with and about her through the years, bullying and all <3 And the fact that your bond was an inspiration while writting "End of a day"! [link] 16- That moving message a fan with synesthesia sent you during a Blue Night broadcast in which they talked about the fact that your voice looked "golden" to them~ [link]

17- How you were always the first one to volunteer and show interest in any game or competition that was happening. [link]

18- Your cute exchanges with Key during Hello performances <3 [link]

19- The fact that you were A LIVING MEME [link]

20- That time you bought a birthday present for Key and he was so excited he recorded the whole thing LMAO [link]

21- How you respected your own feelings, especially the not so positive ones. You didn't ignore them, instead you let them stay with you while you processed them and until they could finally left your heart. [link] 22- Your enthusiasm when it came to dressing up for SM Halloween parties, and the costumes you decided to wear like the freaking weeaboo you were [link]

23- Speaking of weeaboos, I also remember your kid-like excitement when you saw Gundam action figures and attractions during your trip in Japan [link] 24- The Hello Baby skits and your... excelent? acting and narrating skills [link]

25- Your tweets asking fansites to send you HQ pictures whenever they uploaded previews you liked (or found hilarious) [link]

26- Your interest in fashion, most likely started by Kibum, that resulted in that cool and characteristic style of yours [link]

27- The absolute adventure that was getting your first bike and learning how to ride it [link]

28- Your adorable height complex, especially in relation to Minho and his 3 meter-long legs [link]

29- Speaking of your height, remember that time he asked to sat down between two tall MCs? [link]

30- Your (attempt at a) message for your mom the day of your debut, that not-so-surprisingly ended with you crying. Key has said he regrets not hugging you and comforting you back then... not because he was interested in making you feel better or anything, but because this video is always shown at events and he feels like it makes him look bad [link]

31- Your sensitivity towards smells and your love for scented candles [link]

32- When you all won the 2013 Melon Artist of The Year award and ran holding hands towads the stage (which was obviously your idea, that's how cheesy you were). You cried so much you dumbass, it was so incredibly adorable and endearing. What a year 2013 was for SHINee GODDAMNNNN [link]

33- The absolute gift you had when it came to pouring your emotions into songs, and the respect that caused in so many members of the industry [link]

34- Lollipop!Jonghyun which caused many a heart attack to members of the fandom back in 2011 [link]

35- Your genuine happiness when japanese fans came up to you to ask for autographs while walking around Tokio, something you weren't used to - no even in your home country [link]

36- How you were "Taemin's firs mom". So proud of our maknae always! [link] 

37- Your visual support for the LGBTQ+ community in a country and society so retrograde in so many ways. And whenever you fucked up you always acknowledged your mistakes, apologized and tried to make things right. [link]

38- The fact that you promoted SHINee 24/7... like that time when you came up to a foreigner presenting yourself as a member of SHINee, and it turned out that dude was actually world famous actor Jack Black. [link]

39- When you asked to stop the van you were on because you recognized the stadium in which SHINee made their debut in Japan, and you wanted to get out and see it again [link]

40- The fact that your #fitspo back in the day was Taylor Lautner in Twilight LMAO [link]

41- That time you became The Listerine Dude™ [link] and the aftermath of all your free promo... [link]

42- Your strange need to bite everything and everyone at all times for no good reason [link]

43- Your, uhm... art skills? [link] [link]

44- When you voted for Taemin through text messages and asked !!with urgency!! for the SHINee World to do the same [link]

45- Your legendary meme battle with Minho on Twitter [link]

46- This live performance, which is my absolute favorite performance of my favorite SHINee song, Sleepless Night. I remember watching the video of the first interpretation you did of the song over and over again... I fell in love with the song instantly. You liked making me cry, didn’t you? [link]

47- When you went to comfort Key after seeing him cry only to end up crying yourself. After that, you hugged each member individually in such a genuine and caring way... you absolute angel...  [link]

48- When you finally realized the mole in your chest was a national treasure and you started showing it more and more in your selcas [link] [link]

49- How much you loved your beautiful omma! [link]

50- "As always, I need you" [link] [link] 

51-  That time when, after receiving many homophobic comments and threats following the first Internet War performance, you decided to silently change your twitter profile picture to one of that performance, and you didn't change it for the longest time. An iconic moment in music history. Truly revolutionary. [link]

52- Your love and respect for all the other SM artists [link]

53-... but especially, for your girls f(x) [link]

54- When you read and commented on tweets from shawols that were doing live commentary/translations of shows or events the other members were taking part of and you couldn't attend [link]

55- I’m sorry but these pictures??? this entire video???? I don’t think you’ve ever looked softer in your life dear [link]

56-  "I look like a monster" [link]

57- The fact that even when in moments when you were surrounded by love and affection, you never forgot about those going through difficult times [link]

58- "IS THIS THE REALITY YOU WANTED!?" [link] 

59- That time you casually killed us all with this goddamn selca [link]

60- When you found out about those pictures Key and Minho took of you while you were asleep, and decided to have some fun yourself [link]

61- And speaking of trolling, your response to the reveal of the cover for Misconceptions of us was absolute gold [link]

62- This live performance of Selene 6.23 which is absolutely breathtaking. You worked so hard, gorgeous. [link]

63- When you refused to accept the fact that you looked like a dinosaur, saying that you looked like a... a puppy-saurus...? [link]

64- When you randomly invited a group of korean shawols in Japan to take pictures with you, to stand close to you and yell from excitement together [link]

65- When you voted FOR YOURSELF to win first place and bragged about it on twitter [link]

66- The infamous ugly face competition you five had a few years ago [link]

67- That time you literally dedicated a song called "I hate them" to couples in love [link]

68- The absurd song you wrote about the fact that even cockroaches have a significant other and you don't. Am I... sensing a theme here... [link]

69- How you weren't afraid or embarrassed when your emotions were too much for you and you felt like crying. How you challenged the way people thought males should express their emotions.

70- Your sweet and charming voice in She is, my favorite solo song of yours [link] 

71- Knowing how much you enjoyed and how much it helped you being a DJ in Blue Night Radio, a space where you could share other people's stories as well as your own feelings and personal projects [link]

72- When you drew a layout of your brain during an episode of Hello Baby, including the small but key element of "Insignificant Choi Minho" [link]

73- That time you mentioned having watched all star wars films (prequels and all oh dear) and that you were failing to understand Anakin's heart the entire time. Me too Jjong, me too [link]

74- When you quickly made a pun while having to immitate/act like Jinki, the most Jinki-like thing you could've ever done [link]

75- This particular performance of A-Yo! I remember watching it over and over again when it was originally uploaded on youtube and feeling happy just from seeing you all smile and have fun together [link]

76- Your appreciation for fanart and fanartists! [link]

77- How you had to pet and take a picture with every goddamn dog you came across

78- How you would look after your fans and tried to make them feel better about their everyday struggles. You were a being made of light, so incredibly sympathetic - which was probably my favorite personality trait of yours. [link]

79- Your beautiful voice and sIcK aCTing SkillZ during that intro you did for the acoustic Juliette performance back in 2009 [link]

80- How badly you actually wanted to date and have a girlfriend. You were desperate in the cutest way possible. [link] [link]

81- I remember my jaw dropping to the floor (... and swearing a lot afterwards) the first time I saw this picture of you from the Everybody photoshoot. Did you know you were hands down the prettiest human on planet earth to me? Did you? [link]

82- Whatever the hell this was...  [link]

83- That dream I had a few years ago, where we were listening a band play live at some sort of outdoors music festival. I was sitting down in the grass and you were lying down with your head on my lap. It was quite a short dream and it didn't have a meaningful ending to it or anything, but I remember feeling a weird sense of peace and serenity when I woke up. That's what your presence has always made me feel and what it continues to.

84- How beautiful your voice sounds in One for me, another one of my favorite SHINee songs of all time. I sure fell for you whenever I first heard that song 7+ years ago, it’s one that fits your pretty voice very well. [link]

85- How you wanted to be able to play every instrument under the sun; your love for music and the music making process. You haven't received so many compliments and gained so much respect from people in the industry for nothing! [link] [link]

86- That time you practically threw youself at Big Bang's Seungri while SHINee were accepting an award [link] 

87- How hard you tried to sing LLO with an MJ flavour but Jinki wouldn’t stop teasing you about it [link]

88- How you behaved during fansigns, the way you always listened patiently and with a warm smile to what your fans wanted to say. [link]

89- The extent of your trust in shawols, and the few moments when you really pushed those limits resulting in some of the sweetest moments ever between SHINee and SHINee World [link]

90- Your love for videogames, something you talked about multiple times throughout the years and an activity that truly made you happy [link]

91- How introspective you were and how you always thought on ways to better yourself and learn from your mistakes [link]

92- Those instances when you decided to take a short break from making fun of the other members and made fun of yourself instead [link]

93- How perfect you and the rest of the members sounded in this live performance of Moon River Waltz [link]

94- I’ve lost count of the amount of times I've seen this video of you guys singing in the car throught the years... [link]

95- When the five of you encouraged shawols to sing along the last bit of Replay, and their singing was so loud and overwhelming you couldn't help yourself and went ahead and cried a lot (again) [link]

96- That time you said the most important part of the choreography for Everybody was literally "your face" [link]

97- How passionately you sang even in the earliest days of your career. Anyone can tell your voice was made for singing balads dear [link]

98- When you and Minho were annoying the heck out of Taemin and completely stole the show during an episode of We Got Married [link]

99- The moment I found out SHINee was going to hold a concert in Argentina on your 25th birthday. We worked so hard for all of you to come here, I was so excited, my god... Turning back time isn't something I'm particularly interested in but I do wish I could've done more for you that day. For all of five you. I sincerely hope you enjoyed your concert here and that it wasn't too exhausting or that much of a burden to you.

100- How deeply it moved you when Minho showed up as a surprise guest during your last day as a DJ for Blue Night Radio, and the lovely words you two exchanged. [link] 

I hope looking at these can help some of you get through difficult times and remeber who Jonghyun truly was, how complex of a human being he was and how much he loved his members, his family and us shawols. May he rest in peace. We love you Jjong, you did well.

#SHINee #Jonghyun #you did well #i love you so much

[septicquest]

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

Attention: This is not a Septic Quest page. Rather this is just an announcement that relates to why I have not been posting here for such a long time. idk what will happen to SQ after this and idk how far this thing is going to go. I won’t blame you if you hate me for being hesitant on the matter or if you unfollow me for such an action. But if you do want to participate in this new project of mine, I will love and appreciate the shit out of you even after I die, I swear. Please don’t hate me. Thanks.

So I’m sure ya’ll are aware of this web series thing I’m doing called “Allister & Melody” right? With all the voice acting and the original story and music and stuff? Well if you didn’t know and you’ve been wondering why I haven’t gotten to doing things like Septic Quest and Jacksepticeye, there’s your answer. It’s cuz I’ve been working on an original story with...pretty much everything I just mentioned.

If ya’ll need a little hint about what it’s gonna look like, - here’s a link to the promo. -

However, I have hit a slight dent in the road. Here’s the story.

So who here was here from the very beginning of Septic Quest? You know, like BEFORE Jack started reblogging some pages?...I see a few hands out there. Well anyway, I made a HUGE mistake when I started making this comic. What was it you ask?

I was working on it ALONE!

Which is probably the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life.....okay, maybe not the biggest, but it was a kick in the ass nonetheless. You see, this comic was supposed to be a really really REALLY long story. Like, it had three volumes worth of story. Don’t get me wrong, I love every moment of this story and I wish I could get it out to the world somehow someday, but right now just isn’t the time. However, it is still kinda cannon to the story I’m currently writing. (and don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you can’t accomplish anything big on your own, it’s just really really hard on your physical and mental health if you bite off more than you can chew. Especially if you’re someone like me.)

Why am I telling ya’ll all of this? Well....honestly I’m not really sure myself. idk if I’ll continue the story as a comic or if I’m going to hand if off to someone else anytime soon. My mind is actually focused on Allister & Melody at the moment. So if ya’ll really followed Septic Quest specifically for the Jacksepticeye story, this is pretty much goodbye for another long while. And ya’ll can stop reading at this point and go off on your day. Thanks for listening. ^^

...Still here? Oh cool, hopefully that means you care. Thanks! Although I’ll warn you a second time, from this point on it’s all an announcement about Al & Mel and how I need help on it.

                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STILL HERE!? Man, you’re persistent...I like that in you. ^^

Alright fine, no more nonsense. I NEED HELP! I’m on a hunt for awesome artists and/or animators for my thing. I’m hosting an audition for artists to join my rank to make this story come alive! ....uh..speaking of story, maybe I should explain that first before I go any further, shouldn’t I? ^^’

Ya’ll remember Allister, right? He was that tall guy dressed in black in the SQ comic? Leader of Tutopia? Right, that guy. Well that’s him right in the middle of the pic there, and this is him AFTER Septic Quest.

The story is he’s stuck on Earth for unknown reasons (to the audience that is) and is forced to live on Earth with humans and limited powers. Along the way, he meets a young little girl named Melody (the little cutie blond dressed in green) who is strangely an angel almost just like him! Except this little girl is being hunted down by an organization called the Child Protection Agency (CPA) where they take care of lost kids in the streets. Lately, they’ve had their eyes on her because of the powers she has. Allister, being the only one who has actual knowledge of her powers, sees it upon himself to take care of Melody and keep her from any humans who may want to take advantage of her. Along the way, he meets some strange new friends as well as old enemies, and shenanigans ensue thus creating an opportunity for a little show to create!

So there ya go, that’s the synopsis of what’s going on. Now for info on the show itself. Like you saw in the promo (if you clicked it, if not, here it is again), it’s going to have original everything: original voice acting, original score, original animation. But it’s not FULLY animated since that would take WAAAAY too long for just one animator. This is where I need help. I made the mistake of not asking for help when I first created Septic Quest, and so I don’t intend on making that same mistake here. If any of ya’ll are interested in being part of this project along side me as an animator/artist (and/or if you’ve got nothing better to do), this is an opportunity for you!

However, this IS an audition. You are going to have to live up to my standards of art in order to be on this team. You won’t necessarily need to learn how to animate. You’ll mostly need to know how to draw some....complicated poses. All of the art is gonna be done like you see in the promo. I figured that was just the easiest way of doing this. Also, this is all voluntary work, so unfortunately you won’t get paid....I probably just lost a bunch of you just saying that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So here’s what you’ll need!

1. Pen Pad/tablet (or whatever you wanna call it) 2. Any GOOD art program you own, like Photoshop, Flash, SAI, ect. Stuff like MSPaint or sketchbook drawings won’t due. If you draw on a mobile device, I’ll have to look at it and approve it cuz that’s always up in the air. 3. A way of exporting files/images to me. A lot of this pics I’m going to want in PNG format, but JPEGs are also fine in some cases. 4. A Skype or Discord to keep in contact with me just to make things easier. If you’re one of those younger kids who have parents who don’t trust you on the internet (you know who you are) then PM me via however you can, weather it’s through this blog or my main blog, my twitter, my DA, my email (if you can find that one), or anywhere else I guess. But preferably, I would like to have you on Skype or Discord.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you have these things and you’re STILL interested in helping out, well then here’s how you’ll audition.

The way you’re going to be animating this is I will either give you a shot or a character or even a whole scene to animate depending on where your skills lie. You are first going to give me 3-5 pics of your best art as well as a pic or two of whatever character you want to animate (choose however many you want from the pic above). If you can draw that character well, then I’ll add you to the team. If not, don’t feel bad. I’ve got a special place for ones who try ;)

After that, there’s gonna be more info about how I’m going to separate ya’ll into drawing what. There’s gonna be deadlines for these things, so be prepared for that world of pain. In fact, the deadline for your auditions will be sometime after I get back from Bronycon (August 11-13) where I’ll be part of a panel featuring a sneak peak of the first episode all drawn by me. You can submit your auditions through tumblr submissions cuz idk how to work other internet things that involve submitting things. Submit them with your contact name and who you want to draw. It can be as many characters as you want.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, just a brief review of auditions cuz I know I’m gonna get questions later:

1. 3-5 pics of your best art. 2. One or two pics of whatever Al & Mel character you wanna animate (can be as many characters as you like. *refer to the pic up top*). 3. No MSPaint or sketchbook picture taken images. Only good digital art. 4. Have a Skype or Discord for contact purposes. 5. Submit to my tumblr @luximus with your pics along with your contact name. 6. Deadline is August 19. I’ll give several heads ups along the way.

If you have any more questions, ask me on my main blog. DO NOT ask in the Septic Quest blogs cuz these are unrelated to SQ. If you do, I won’t be able to answer them for you, so you have been warned. (watch as it happens anyway -_-) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

aaaaand I think that’s about it. Don’t be afraid to submit your stuff early. The earlier, the better! Thanks for listening, happy drawing! ^^

#not a page #announcement #Al & Mel #spread the word!!!

[houseofvans]

ART SCHOOL | MICHAEL C. HSIUNG (LOS ANGELES) | VANS US OPEN OF SURFING 2017

Last, but certainly not least, we’re stoked to announce Michael C. Hsiung as our fifth and final muralist at this year’s 2017 Vans US Open of Surfing! You may know Michael for his intricate line work and bearded characters, but Michael is not just one thing. In fact, he’s the House of Vans Art Editor— creating magic on this blog every day. We’re so excited to turn the tables and interview Michael for a change to find out how he first got interested in art, and what project he’s most proud of. Keep your eyes peeled as he transfers his art onto the biggest canvas of his career at the Vans US Open of Surfing!

Photographs courtesy of the artist

Introduce yourself My name is Michael C. Hsiung. I’m an artist/drawer who was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, where exposure to skateboarding, heavy metal and Dungeons & Dragons fueled my imagination. Fun fact: My middle name represented by the letter “C” is actually my Chinese given name that refers to “the Unicorn,” from Chinese mythology! How perfect is that hah.

What’s your medium of choice? My favorite medium of choice has to be pens like Microns because first and foremost I was a doodler, and there’s something about having my hands and elbows press down on the paper that gives me comfort.

Have you ever created anything in a space as large as the skate bowl at Vans Us Open of Surfing? I’ve never have painted anything as large as what I’ll be painting in the skate bowl at the Vans US Open of Surfing. I’m excited, nervous, and just ready to get at it. I’m also super stoked that Vans gave me an opportunity to paint this year alongside so many talented folks like Lauren Asta, Jack Graydon, Andrew Pommier and Teddy Kelly!

How did you first get interested in art? Are you self taught or art schooled? I was drawing and coloring with my talented older sister, Pearl, for as long as I can remember. Drawing was our activity as kids –from drawing our own food to play with to drawing illustrations for our own newspapers!  

While my sister went to art school, I really just thought my drawing talents were more of a hobby.  I never really thought it was something for me to pursue.  It wasn’t till after I graduated college and moved back to LA that I actually started revisiting drawing.  I got lots of positive feedback from friends and folks, so I just kept it going and here I am.  It’s basically been on-the-job training for me the last 8 years or so?

What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever created? One of my favorite things I’ve ever created was for Blunt Umbrellas in New Zealand.  We had worked together with an agency to create three unique and detailed illustrations for their artist umbrella and ad designs!  It was just so fun to make something and then have my name attached to it.  We released all my designs on to limited umbrellas, and I still get lots of cool emails or comments about them, which is so cool. We even won a Gold (New Zealand’s Best Graphic Designs) and Silver (Spike Asia) for the designs!  

What was the first piece of artwork you ever sold? I think the first piece of artwork I sold was a drawing at the first show I ever was in at a space in Echo Park called Echo Curio.  Two talented guys I worked with at a museum opened the space and invited me to participate.  Pretty sure the drawing had something to do with mermen, a favorite subject matter of mine. Gosh I think that was in 2006.

Many of your pieces feature a mustached, bearded man. Who is he and what does he represent? As long as I can remember (I have old drawings as a kid), I’ve always kind of drawn mustaches on people for some reason.  Probably some weird early obsession, but it was something that just sort of happened with characters.  I guess sometimes I thought their faces were too plain or needed more character, so I’d add these features which allowed me more room for detail, pattern and etc. Sometimes they represent old San Fernando valley hippies (I grew up around Topanga) and sometimes they’re just hermity looking people.  Sometimes it is to add a bit more dimension or personality, but occasionally I’ll draw a goatee or something hahah.

Would you say your personality reflects your work? I think whether or not it is on purpose, my personality is reflected in my works.  Usually folks will say that my sense of humor peeks through, and I like to think that I’m a fairly lighthearted person in that aspect. I like to laugh, and I like to make folks smile and laugh through my art.

What project are you most proud of? The project I’m most proud of is the recent work that was selected for Metro LA’s Through the Eyes of Artists poster series 2017!  My illustration and digital collage for the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook was chosen and will be on placards for select Metro buses and trains in LA!  It is my proudest project so far because it’s for Los Angeles and for the public transportation system, two things I support!

What’s the most used tool/item in your studio? Books.  By far my favorite tool and item because I can find inspiration in the old books I’ve got on costuming, scrimshaw, mythology or etc.  I love old illustrations and flipping through books and reading them - I always find an interesting tidbits or stories that can turn into a drawing or I can sort of re-tell in my own weird way.

What are the most challenging and rewarding parts of being the Art Editor for the House of Vans Blog? I think the most challenging and rewarding part of being the Art Editor for the House of Vans Blog is keeping up and staying on top of all the talented artists! It happens to also be the most rewarding part too.  Through the blog, I’ve got to interview so many amazing folks and support the work of artists who I’ve always been a fan of–being able to get their story and art out there is something I’m very stoked on.   

Top 3 songs to listen to while creating: 1. Children of the Grave | Black Sabbath 2. Rainbow in the Dark |  DIO 3. And Classical music from public radio! I KNOW total opposite! ha

What is the last exhibit/show you saw? The last show I saw was the Twenty One group show at Subliminal Projects in LA, celebrating 21 years of Shepherd Fairey’s gallery and studio.  I was lucky to be a participant, and it was filled with so many artists that I personally look up too and respect.  Their next show will be Todd Francis’ Worst of the Worst, the Anti-Hero retrospective August 5th will be killer!

How are you “Not Just One Thing?” First and foremost, while I might be an artist, I’m also an amateur cook / baker, avid reader, art writer, and now I’m a mineral pusher with my wife, Rachel Pitler.  We’ve just recently opened our online mineral / crystal shop called Crystal Habitats which I help to manage and run, while she curates and features stones!

Follow Michael C. Hsiung Website |  www.michaelchsiung.com Instagram | @michaelchsiung Tumblr: @michaelchsiung-blog Twitter: @MichaelCHsiung

#Art #vansusopen #vans art #Michael hsiung #drawing #art school

[vrheadsets]

VR vs. Holidays

“Oh hey, I’ve been keeping up with your Op-Eds.”

“Op-Eds?” I found myself echoing back at the speaker of the statement tiredly.

My sleep is notoriously bad as I’ve mentioned previously. Indeed, it is 3:30am as I write this and whilst very tired indeed I am unable to find rest. Which over time really does not help how you feel. I was ‘fresh’ off the back of a very rough night in a hotel I was staying in with a friend with whom I had travelled down south to Portsmouth the day prior for an annual gathering of pals. Unfortunately, I was feeling every one of the 48 hours I had been awake for prior to that. The 48 hour thing has become quite the regular companion. So much so I had begun joking with friends that I was now following the day revealed as the galactic standard in the film Men In Black. On checking just now I find that it was a 37 hour day in the film, thus meaning I’m even out of sync in that fiction. Damn.

I blinked forcibly trying to bring my friend into focus. “Op-Eds…” I repeated, trying to get the cogs to turn. Or at least the teeth on them to mesh. That’d be a good start.

An artist’s impression of the writer’s state at the time.

After what felt like forever but was probably only half a second it suddenly dawned on me that he meant this. These. He meant VR vs. I immediately felt slightly embarrassed as he works in the games industry. I’m always very flattered when professionals in ‘the biz’ tell me they read my work. That now a couple of friends in the industry had been following my writings – something I wasn’t aware of – I was, frankly, a bit touched.

“They’re….quite something.”

“Quite something?” Ah. I laughed. “Well they’re certainly unlike our usual output yes. But that’s deliberate. I don’t claim to be an expert, I just give the low-down on things as I see them as a Regular-ish Joe. I just claim to be me, silly pop culture references and all.”

“They are a bit silly.” He smiled.

“Good!” I leaned a bit back in my chair. “If you’re gonna ask me to write a weekly column you shouldn’t be too surprised that it’s me who writes it.” I winked…. and then I changed the subject as quickly as I could. You see I have been notably absent from here for the last couple of weeks as I took a small holiday to burn up some extra time that I had accrued. By the time Gamescom is over I will no doubt have a bunch of accrued time again. Such is the way of things. Usually I get dragged back in for one reason or another, mostly my own desire to help out in a pinch. However, for my own good I decided this time I wanted, no, needed to just get away from everything. I wanted to go virtual reality (VR) cold turkey. The industry could just get along and do what it needed to do for a bit. I on the other hand was going to do some me things. I was going to play games, edit videos I’d been meaning to. Read a book. I’d even bought a bunch of painting equipment and was going to give oil painting a go. I’ve somewhat failed on that one, having only managed to sort the easel out yesterday afternoon. Still at least I have everything I need now.  The point is that at the time I was very happy in having nothing to do with VR.

How hard could it be to avoid, right?

Breakfast followed, as per tradition, at a local cafe where the 50% of the group up in the morning took it upon ourselves to lay waste to an unfeasible amount of sausages, eggs, hash browns, beans and bacon. When a conversation about VR kicked off. I wasn’t quite sure why but two of my friends began discussing the pros and cons of the tech – for gaming, naturally. Strangely I played no part in the conversation occurring. It just… happened. I remember thinking that was probably notable for some reason, before doing my best ostrich impersonation and stuck my head in the sand (or breakfast in this case) and pretending it wasn’t going on.

No. I vowed. I am not going to be drawn into things.

The talk came to its conclusion soon enough and before I knew it we were off into town, dodging a surprise rainstorm and making our way through part of the city centre to chill out at the park. That was the idea but then I saw the gang gravitating to some sort of tented area in the middle of the pedestrianised area where people were playing video games. I was rather surprised to rapidly discover that they weren’t just any games either. There were four PlayStation 4 units setup with the PlayStation VR courtesy of GAME. Gaggh.

Two of the more curious members of the group quickly had an HMD on their heads, experiencing Battlezone and another title I didn’t quite catch. Was VR just following me around? I took a couple of snaps for the VRFocus Twitter account (I could hardly ignore it could I?) and then sat down on a bench, my head still feeling kind of fuzzy as I offered some suggestions for systems and games for those who had expressed an interest. Quick as a flash though we were on our way again, and this time into GAME itself where my friend (and host) worked, specifically in its Belong gaming section. Something that for some reason I keep thinking is Beyond and not Belong. Of course, along with an eSports gaming setup it also has an HTC Vive people can try out for various sessions. I should have known, of course. It was discovered the Vive now possessed Superhot VR and before you could say Jack Robinson my friends were queuing up to take out virtual bad guys.

I’ll be honest – most of them were bloody terrible. But the point was that not only was everyone in the group enthralled it was getting an audience in terms of people in the store. People were entertained and intrigued. I passed on joining in the bottle throwing and gun shooting and by the end several of my friends were mulling over the best systems again. I chuckled ruefully. It seems I had failed in my bid to escape VR because the shadow of the damn thing was following me all around town. Which made me wonder; as much as the press talk about VR ‘becoming mainstream’ what does that mean? Because you could, theoretically anyway, argue that a judgement as to when something is mainstream is when it is everywhere and you just can get away from it. On that basis VR was certainly mainstream that day.

Talk about the tech kept popping up throughout the day but soon the day was at an end. Laying back on the bed I stared up at the ceiling and contemplated things. I had been defeated by VR. But at the very least I had seen that it was because it was resonating with people so much. That people of all ages were still learning what VR can do and were fascinated to see the magic in action. Still. At least now I could put thoughts of it to rest and, finally, get some rest myself. I let my mind slowly drift away.

“Hey.” The friend I was staying with said from the bed next to me, looking up from his tablet. “There’s a VR Ready PC here that’s designed like a Borg Cube and-”

Ah nuts.

  from VRFocus http://ift.tt/2w9CxnM

#VRFocus #vr #virtual reality #canada

[podcake]

Podcast Teatime: Big Data, Bigger Questions

Happy April!

It’s been a warm and welcoming spring filled with great weather, blooming flowers, and plenty of podcast pollen up the nose. The perfect time to relax and chat with a good friend.

And today I’m having tea with Ryan Estrada, the mastermind behind the mystery comedy crime spree, Big Data. With a complete first season and plenty of stars on set, let’s see what he has to say about his work.

(The following is a direct copy-and-paste from the email)

Question One: What made you decide that the internet would be the foreground of Big Data?

As soon as I learned about the seven keys to the internet, I could not believe no one had ever turned it into a heist story before. See, to make sure that no one person or country has too much control over the internet, a company called ICANN has placed seven people from seven parts of the world in charge of seven physical keys that they must use in elaborate ceremonies to keep things running. That's a real thing!

I knew that it would allow me to tell fun crime stories that took place all over the world... and that I would be able to approach important ideas about security and hacking without focusing on someone at a computer typing. It just sounded like so much fun!

Question Two: You've managed to get a lot of big names for your show, including, but not limited to, Lauren Shippen, Cecil Baldwin, and Felix Trench. Was getting them to work with you difficult?

The people you mentioned were all amazing and super easy to work with. It was more like "Hey, will you be in my--" "Sure!" Audio drama is a small, tight knit community, even the big shots are friendly to everyone, and we are all more and more becoming BFF.

With the Hollywood names, like Felicia Day, Paul F. Tompkins, Jemaine Clement, Samm Levine, Amy Stoch, and others, it was a bit more complicated but equally awesome experience! For each person I simply did my research on how best to contact them. I reached out through agents, assistants, Twitter, Kickstarter accounts... I had a lot of people say no, but I just kept being persistent. I convinced a lot of people simply by respecting their time and paying them for it.

I worked very hard to make sure that the impact on their time would be small for great reward. I wrote guest star spot to be either over-the-phone conversations or news clips, so that they could record on their own with their own equipment. I had their entire arc written in advance so that they could do it in one sitting. Some actors only had to put 20 minutes of work into it, but ended up having a major impact on the entire season!

Question Three: I tend to ask this a lot when it comes to shows with large casts of characters, so I wanted to know if managing all of the actors and giving them meaningful roles ever becomes a struggle.

It was a blast! The cast is huge (73 actors in season one!) because it is half recurring story and half anthology show. Each episode has a stand-alone heist with its own cast of characters, while the investigation scenes have recurring characters that tie it all together.

And working with so many people was SO MUCH FUN. It was basically a wish list of people I wanted to work with. Every moment was different and it was great giving everyone a place to shine. I loved every moment!

Question Four: What do you consider the strongest selling point for Big Data? What is it that makes your show unique?

I think what makes it stand out is that it's dealing with a lot of really big important issues... the role of the media, information security, hacking, journalistic ethics... but using them to tell a fun weird nerdy heist story.

The biggest thing you'll notice.... you never know what to expect.

Question Five: Big Data is a fairly authentic and grand project though I must ask if there were any other stories, be it podcast related or not, that acted as a muse.

I tried to take my three favorite types of podcasts... audio dramas, rambly improv comedy shows, and nerdy in-depth educational shows, and Frankenstein them into one big thing.

Shows like Radiolab are definitely where my love of inserting things like the musical version of the true story of the first tech hack in there. Shows like How Did This Get Made where the tangents are the best part is what gave me confidence to keep the weird improv tangents in there. I hadn't discovered most of my favorite audio dramas until after writing the series, but I was inspired by tv shows like Black Mirror.

Question Six: You've done a lot of artistic work, but what exactly motivated you to try out making a podcast? Would you consider audio drama an art form in itself?

I usually make comics. Which is great, but is usually a solo endeavor. I became part of a great artistic community here in Busan South Korea, and started working with Shakespearean actors, stand up comedians, musicians, slam poets, radio anchors, and lots more. I wanted to make a project that I could use to collaborate with all of them.

It started off as something I thought I'd do in a weekend. It ballooned to take over two years of my life, but I loved every moment.

BONUS: You've already concluded your first season and are making arrangements for season two. Without going into spoilers, what can listeners expect?

Bigger Data is in the works! It's a continuation, but also works as a standalone thing. While Big Data took crime stories and made them nerdy, Bigger Data does the same to adventure stories.  There are takes on things like Jules Verne, Jack London, ancient Greek myths... but all with super nerdy twists. And some amazing software pirate shanties!

Thank you very much for the delectable answers, sir! It was an honor to talk about such a unique piece of audio drama. Get to know the show and the creator on http://www.bigdata.show/ and read what Ryan Estrada is drawing on his website http://www.ryanestrada.com/. 

This is PodCake, logging out.

#big data #big data podcast #ryan estrada #lots are things are big in my life... #that was a dirty joke if you couldn't tell #q&a #podcast teatime