#eli jacobson

[fallingblueroses]

For @willows-adventures-in-words . A continuation of their fic that can be found here .

Trigger warnings: kidnapping, trafficking, mentions of torture.

Eli lay on his side in the back of the moving truck, his hands cuffed behind his back, his ankles tied together, a blindfold over his eyes and a gag tied over his mouth. He wasn't alone; some time ago--it was impossible to tell how much--the truck had stopped and something had been unceremoniously thrown in next to him. When it had moved he'd realized it was a person. He'd heard the deep grunts and felt long hair as the person struggled and realized it was Geoff. He'd managed to get Geoff's attention and now the two of them lay close to each other as the truck moved on to who knew where.

Eli knew Geoff had to be remembering the other times they'd been kidnapped just as Eli himself was. He kept trying to tell himself that they'd gotten out of the other situations and they would get out of this one too, but the unknowns and what-ifs were driving him crazy. Would Layne and Cesar be taken this time, or had they been already? What did their captors want with them this time? Twice the captors had just wanted to use them for their musical talents...then there had been the time the captor had wanted them dead. Eli still had nightmares about that...

Finally the truck stopped and the door slid open. Eli heard a rough male voice. "...won't like that we're breaking the set."

A younger male voice. "Celia said she'd handle it. And I ain't passing up a cut of five hundred grand."

So this time their kidnappers wanted money...Eli had to struggle not to vomit as the rough voice talked again. "All right, then. Which one they want?"

"That one."

Eli stiffened and felt Geoff tense up as boots clomped towards them on the metal floor. A second later Geoff grunted as he was yanked away from Eli.

"No!" Eli tried to scream. "Let him go!" It came out as pitiful gibberish through the gag. He could hear Geoff struggling as the boots walked away, then the rough voice chuckled. "Here. Catch." Geoff cried out. "Aww. You didn't catch him."

"Idiot! You could have hurt his face." Eli's breath came hard as he heard gravel crunch, then the door slid shut again and he was left in silence with only the cold horror that was blooming in his stomach.

He screamed again as the truck started up and began to move again. "NO!" He screamed his denials until his throat and chest hurt. Gone. Geoff was gone, being taken who knew where to suffer who knew what...Break the set...Even if by some miracle he and Layne and Cesar managed to escape or were rescued, Geoff would still be...

Eli broke down into sobs, not caring who heard him cry. Pride was useless now.

***

Layne and Cesar's wrists were still chained to the floor, but they had managed to move enough to take their blindfolds off. Not that that told them much. They were in a room with dirt-streaked blue walls, and the only window had been boarded up with plywood. A bare light bulb hung from the ceiling and kept them from being in darkness. The only other things in the room were two more sets of chains on the floor, the hooks arranged in a square with the hooks for their own chains.

There hadn't been much conversation. They had tried to get out of their bonds for a while, but now there was nothing to do but lean against each other for comfort and wait. Layne had given Cesar some advice: "When they get here, don't argue. Don't fight. They want something from us, but that doesn't mean they won't hurt us."

The look on Layne's face had sent chills to Cesar's very bones. His voice had been shaking when he'd asked "Did...did you get hurt?"

"Nothing too bad. Took a good beating once. A couple of taser shots. The worst was when this one group made us watch..." His voice trailed off and he looked away. "Never mind."

Cesar hadn't asked, even though his mind had screamed Made you watch what?!

After what felt like an eternity, Layne lifted his head. "I think I hear someone coming."

After a couple of seconds Cesar heard the heavy footsteps too. The door swung open, and a large, muscular man whose appearance and clothes shouted "redneck" came in dragging Eli by the back of his shirt. "Hey. They got their blindfolds off."

A smaller, slighter blond man in jeans and a t-shirt came in. "Who cares? Just chain him up."

Cesar watched as one of the floor chains was attatched to the cuffs on Eli's wrists. The two men left, and in the silence Cesar heard Eli crying. "Eli?" He was able to scoot a little closer.

"Eli," Layne said. "Eli, it's us. Can you move over here?"

An icy knife stabbed Cesar's stomach. "What?"

Eli managed to move close enough to where Cesar could tug off his blindfold and gag. Eli's wet, bloodshot eyes met Cesar's. "He's gone."

"He's gone. Geoff's gone. They sold him." Eli choked on a sob. "They were bringing us here...the truck stopped and they pulled him out. Said they were getting half a million for him..." Eli rested his head on the floor. "God damn them...God damn them!" He curled up on the floor and kept crying.

Cesar turned and looked at Layne's pale, horrified face before turning back to Eli to comfort him however he could. Tears stung his own eyes, and he could hear Layne begin to cry as well.

[writedreamlie]

MUSIC REC TIME

It's been a hot minute since I was a menace about VoicePlay here, have a new song that was supposed to be a short but they didn't want to chop it up for YT and dropped it as a whole video instead 💙

The bit is: One song, five genres. And yes, all of them slap.

Aaand the music-only version for those who aren't into acting, antics, or a cappella singers doing "the hand thing"

[haethealhell]

My new hobby: Reading the premier YouTube chat LOOSE IT

and geoff and layne and VP interacting are probably not helping very much, as funny as it is

i have screenshots of all of them being idiots and

these are just from Valhalla Calling

The Dragonborn Comes

VP was also just shouting OMAR a lot

im about to go through Drunken Sailor

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals - Party Of Your Lifetime

Man I'm so happy to have one more video to visually dissect and delve into before the year ends! I really do enjoy making these posts!

VoicePlay's cover of Party Of Your Lifetime was released on the 13th of December, 2024 (or the 14th of December if you live somewhere like New Zealand, or Australia like myself). This was done in collaboration with the developers of the videogame Warframe, who reached out to VoicePlay after seeing and loving their cover of Sleeping In The Cold Below, another Warframe song. This song, however, is not a space shanty like SitCB was, but instead a song "performed" by the in-universe 90s-style boy band "On Lyne", whom VoicePlay are basically portraying for this video!

Many other things to say, (and if you wanna wanna hear my thoughts on just the vocals/arrangement/music, go HERE), but it's time for me to rewatch the video and start grabbing screenshots! Lets Get Into This!

I wasn't prepared for the "ad" at the start, ngl 😂

(Also in case you don't know the On Lyne band members, Geoff is Zeke (and Zeke is Geoff), Eli is Packet, Layne is Harddrive, Omar is DJ RoM, and Cesar is Drillbit)

"BIG BYTES PIZZAAAA!" (god they're such dorks, I love them)

Actually I might as well spend a bit of time talking about their clothing now, since there's gonna be even more costuming (and makeup) stuff to talk about quite shortly.

Geoff is wearing a key around his neck again! (Idk whether it's got any story significance or just meant to be a 90s fashion thing, but this is like the third or fourth time Geoff has worn a key necklace for a video if you count both VoicePlay's channel and his). Eli's got glasses on again! (First time since 2022 if you don't count Jingle Bell Rock or the Jump In The Line Mini). Also I like Cesar's necklace! (It's part of the character look)

(Also I kinda love the "a memory in every byte/bite" tagline)

I'm a little sad that the CDs they're using have the original On Lyne visual graphics, i.e. before Zeke's design got updated (to look more like Geoff), but oh well.

...I'm Sure It's Fine. Nothing to worry about, guys!

(Also fun fact: part of that was done in editing of course, but part of that was also just done by Kathy off to the side flicking the light switch off and on again! 😆)

Now we get to the bit that was seen in the teaser video! (And man I hope I don't hit image limit!)

It does bug me just a tiny bit that there are four spotlights in the back and not five, but oh well, teensy nitpick, it's not really that big of a deal.

Actually, while I'm talking about lights, I gotta shoutout Eli as usual, but also a guy by the name of Anthony Baldwin for both working on lighting design!

Lights up! I'll get to costuming again in a moment, but let's talk about set design!

I didn't actually fully register it until I was watching the BTS, but the floor is wet! (Or like a thin layer of water mopped over it anyway). Like with VP's Running Up That Hill video, it gives a cool (and even creepy/otherworldly) vibe to the scene thanks to the reflection effect, but I guess it also helps with some of the footwork, like doing easy spins and stuff (but be careful not to slip!)

There's also empty pizza boxes strewn around (shoutout to Kathy for doing a lot of work with those!), and there's even a metal lighting rig(?) thing at the back left of the shot that's tipped over in a way that implies that stuff has been wrecked!

(Oh boy getting clear screenshots from this is gonna be a Challenge huh).

Okay so like all of the guys' outfits are visibly dirtier and "tattier" than they were in the intro clip (more indication of whatever infection/infestation they've fallen victim to). But like while the others have clothes that are like moth-eaten, or have small holes, or rips in the hem and sleeves and stuff, Mister Geoffrey Castellucci has now had his shirt ripped open all the way down to his midriff/stomach area. I literally had to pause a couple of times to be like "wait are my eyes deceiving me?" No. No they were not. (definitely a "new record" for a YouTube video!)

Anyway the design thing on his forehead is cool, if you look past the fact that it makes it look like he's got no eyebrows!

Oooh I like this shot. Also maybe the four background spotlights are alright after all without needing a fifth.

This video was directed by both Layne and Tony (Tony helped out a lot with choreography and stage direction during the shoot), and Layne also did the arrangement for this one (though Eli is also credited with "additional arranging", funnily enough)

Even when infected/infested, Cesar continues to slay! Love the lipstick, love the fishnet arm thing! Also his left eye looks kinda purple in this shot and I'm guessing it's just the lighting, but it could be a contact lens, idk

Look how cool Eli looks! He had a relatively simple outfit compared to the other guys, but I guess that just means more to work with for the "post-transformation" stage! Look at the things on his shirt! (Claws? Plant tendrils? Alien things? Idk!) And the designs on his head!

Here's where I give credit where credit is due to Rick Underwood and Renette Feren, but also a woman named Jacqueline Coleman, as all three of them helped with makeup and prosthetics for this one! And of course Rick and Renette always do a stunning job.

The very first hint that any of us got pertaining to what VoicePlay was up to was when Omar posted on his Insta story when he was getting this makeup/face stuff put on him! Some people thought it looked kinda dragon-y, and yeah it still does! Like half a face of dragon scales! Cool!

Cool brief black-and-white "glitch" with distortion effect!

Okay but why does that picture low-key have such a vibe to it honestly

And can't forget a couple shots of Layne! He's got a kinda sorta "dragon-scales" thing on his face too, but yellow and wrapping from one cheek to another, up over his forehead (and blocking his eyebrows like with Geoff's face thing)

Oh I like that shot actually

(He's not getting a "he's so pretty" for this one, but I will give a heart emoji! 💜)

"DJ spins the track!"

Eli going over to Layne as Layne imitates being a "disc jockey" and doing the kinda record-scratch movements was honestly kinda cute? Also funny because the "DJ" of the group is DJ RoM, who's being portrayed by Omar, but of course Layne is your best bet for being able to make all those turntable noises by himself!

Omar does a very smooth spin on "the boys are in sync...", and in fact you can briefly see a bit of water 'splash' out from his feet as he does so!

A better shot of the side of Cesar's face! Also lighting colour change for the bridge(?) section!

Omar still has his portable CD player that he had in the intro clip, love that.

Also this is a better shot of some of the dirt, rips, and tears in some of the guys' clothing (but no one got a super low v-neck except Geoff, pfft)

...Alright fine, he's so pretty!!

I guess once you've seen videos like Thriller and Classical Chaos and Kidnap The Sandy Claws and stuff, makeup looks like this really aren't too hard to "get used to". (Also is it weird of me to say that the yellow-green stuff on his forehead kinda brings out his eyes a little bit?)

(And I can tell by the glimpse of the two necklace chains I see here that Geoff is, as always, still wearing the necklace that he always wears as well as the key necklace! <3)

Okay that's definitely a coloured contact lens

Does this count as an old-timey video effect? I think it does - I'm gonna have to start a running tally for VoicePlay videos honestly (and/or an idea for a new screenshot compilation maybe?)

Wait is Geoff doing air bass guitar?

And the screen closes back in for the end pose! (Also rip Geoff being the one most in shadow)

And that's Party Of Your Lifetime! Honestly it's just a really fun video with a really upbeat, energetic song, and I'm so happy for VoicePlay that they got this cool opportunity! They deserve all the recognition and more!

Got plenty more stuff lined up for this blog before Christmas, but in terms of visual analysis, that's it till January at earliest! Until next time!

[masterredakai]

Geoff: Let's do a cover of this classic song. César: Perfect, but can we change the tone? Layne: And add percussion with the mouth. Eli: And a legendary bass solo. Geoff: …Is there anything left of the original song? Eli: The title.

[willows-horde]

Pancake Challenge

To the Death (loser swallows hot coals)

Winner: It was a Tie!

Current Score: Layne: 3 Geoff: 3

Loser swallows hot coals...

[yoursinharmony]

THRILLER - Michael Jackson (acapella) VoicePlay ft. J.None #halloween

This is scary good 🤯🧟 Might be my new favourite thing by VoicePlay, or it's certainly way up there. The arrangement, make-up, production, acting??? There could not be a more perfect cover of this iconic classic. I'm a little in love 😍 Speaking of, Geoff's take on the Vincent Price monologue??? That should not have been as sensual as it was 😅 Man knows how to put a purr into his voice. Run, don't walk to a good pair of headphones or sound system and treat your ears to this spooky brilliance!

[willows-adventures-in-words]

This prompt forced me to write this scene. Honestly, this was one of the first scenes I had thought of when I had decided to turn this idea into a story. Now we get to see the ability/not ability Layne ends up getting...

Whumptober prompts 27: Voiceless laboratory | muzzled | “I have no mouth and I must scream” word count: 1,133

~-~-~

They started walking. Finally, continuing on their trip to his home. Part of Layne was annoyed that they stayed so long at the store. But that was just anxiety and concern. They still had most of the day. He looked up at the sky. It didn't look like it was even noon yet. At least they'll be out of the city today. Honestly, he had no idea how long it would take to walk there. Since clearly that was never something they had to do. There were cars, so there wasn't a reason they ever had to walk from city to city.

Layne let out a sigh. How far did all this reach? The power outage, electronics and cars not working, no water. It couldn't just be here. “Are you okay?” He looked over to Eli.

“Yeah.” His voice rasped and he grimaced. He paused walking and opened the water gallon to get a drink. Was he getting sick? His throat and voice have been off all morning.

“It doesn't sound like it's getting better.” Layne cleared his throat, trying to feel better, then ended up drinking a little more before closing the bottle. “Maybe you're getting sick?”

“May-” He was trying to say 'maybe' but the word caught, and he started to cough.

They'd only been walking for about a half hour. Maybe a little longer. “Do you want to stop and rest?” Layne stubbornly shook his head. “If you're getting sick we should take it easy.”

Layne opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a wheeze. The words catching. He felt panic rise in his chest. It was like this morning. When he couldn't get the words out. The tightness in his throat. He thought it was a fluke. “Layne?” Eli spoke with concern. I have to calm down, Layne told himself. He swallowed and went to speak, to reassure his friend he was fine. There was nothing. He tried to force the words out. But the harder he tried, the worse it got. Throat closing. No air got out. Couldn't breathe. His panic got worse. He stopped trying to talk and it cleared up almost instantly. “Layne, what's wrong?!” He shook his head. Panic started to override his senses. He crouched down, breaths coming sharp. Dropping the gallon he lifted his clammy hands to his head as he stared down at the ground.

Eli crouched down in front of him and rested a hand lightly on his bicep. Layne was shaking. He had no idea what happened to cause his panic attack. At least last time he knew and tried to help accordingly. This time it seemed to come out of nowhere. “... I don't know what's wrong,” he spoke softly. “But I'm right here, Layne.”

“Hey, is everything okay over there?” Eli looked up. A couple people were looking over at them from the other side of the street.

“Everything's fine,” he called back.

The man turned to the woman and spoke quietly. She looked back to them. “Are you sure? He doesn't look like he's doing well.”

Eli glanced to Layne as he heard him take a sharp breath before his hyperventilating continued. “It'll be okay,” Eli told him softly. Then turned back to the people across the street. “We'll be fine! Thank you for stopping to check on us.” They spoke to each other briefly before they continued walking. Eli noticed the woman glance back at them as he turned his attention back to his friend.

Layne could hear Eli talking softly to him but wasn't focused on what he was saying. The only thing going through his head was that he couldn't speak. And he had no idea why. It took some time before he felt himself start to calm a little. “I'm right here.” Layne heard his friend say. He tried to slow his breathing but it wasn't easy. “It's alright. Deep breaths. You got this.” Finally, after what felt like an exhaustingly long time, he got his breathing in order. His heart-rate hasn't calmed completely yet but even that was settling down. “... Are you okay?” Layne let out a shaky breath. Then lowered his arms and shook his head. He moved to sit down on the ground and Eli joined him.

They sat quietly for a couple minutes. Eli wanted to know what was wrong. What had happened. But he found himself hesitant to ask. “Layne?” He looked at him. “... What was wrong?” Layne was quiet. Finally he lifted a hand and held it to his chest for a moment. Then removed it and pointed to his mouth and shook his head. Eli was confused. He couldn't understand why Layne didn't just say what- Wait. Was he...? He went through his motions again in his head. That can't be right. Eli pulled the backpack off his back and opened it. They had paper. Why do it the hard way.

Layne stared at the paper and pen that Eli was handing him. Was this it then? Was this how he was going to communicate from now on? “Does this help?” Layne took the items. With the paper on the sidewalk, he pressed the pen down but stopped. He let out a breath and wrote; I can't talk. I don't know why. I just stopped being able to. Layne stared at the words for a second before pushing the paper over to Eli. He picked up the paper and stared at it. “That... doesn't make sense,” Eli said, confusion evident in his voice.

His heart was pounding again as he held his hand out for the paper and Eli handed it back. Layne didn't really want to put it into words. But he felt he had to. He started to write again. If I try its like my airways close. I

“Layne.” Layne stopped writing. Eli pulled the paper away but didn't read it. “Let's just, stay here for a bit. Okay?” Layne didn't respond. Not verbally, which was obvious given the circumstances, but not physically either. “Do you want to move out of the sun? Find some shade?” Lifting his head, Layne looked around for a second before he pointed out a tree not far away. They got up and walked over to sit in the shade it provided. “Did you want anything to eat?” He offered after they were seated. His friend shook his head. Eli was trying to get a conversation started but realized that that would be difficult to do. He let the silence fall. They both had things to sort out. Best to leave it be for now.

[ambular-d]

VoicePlay A Capella Premiere ft. Anthony Gargiula: Human

[fangirl-of-music]

Let's talk about Voiceplay's cover of Hellfire from Hunchback of Notre Dame

I know they've done snippets of the song before, but this full length masterpiece of acting and vocal parts combined NEEDS to be talked about.

(For those of you who haven't seen it, GO WATCH IT)

This song is such a good choice for Geoff and for basses in general since the role of Frollo in the Hunchback musical was written for a bass and Patrick Page does spectacularly. The role is very dark and deals with mature and intense subjects like lust and desire and the character handles it very very poorly. But that's what makes him interesting. We love to hate Frollo, and giving him a low bass vocal part is perfectly suited for a character with such a dark and twisted character.

Layne has arranged the song perfectly, allowing Geoff to have all the time he needs to portray the character's thought process. The character turns from piety to fear of the monstrous feelings growing in him and what God will do to him should he sin, and then he gets angry and turns his blame on Esmeralda, claiming that she is to blame for his sinful thoughts. Geoff portrays Frollo's descent into obsession perfectly. Eli's intense rock belt is so powerful and lends to the song's intense tone. Cesar's breathy and frantic "It's not my fault!" perfectly displays Frollo's desperation as he fights his lust and then turns any blame away from himself by saying that he could never have fought this evil off when "if in God's plan he made the Devil so much stronger than a man".

Geoff's low notes are especially good and powerful in this song (thanks to Layne as I stated in my last Voiceplay post) and his acting make this probably my favorite Voiceplays song EVER. I have always loved Hunchback's music, and seeing Voiceplay perform this song so well has only made me love it more. And while the low notes do seem to bring Frollo closer and closer to Hellfire (or the Devil), Geoff's growly high notes also bring out Frollo's determination and ravid mannerism the song and the idea of Esmeralda has brought out in him. The high notes are unexpected, but anyone who saw the video knows they are insane and crazy and beautiful and a little scary.

Thanks for listening to my rambling.

[jules-has-notes]

interview — The Avid Indoorsmen podcast — Movie Game Night with VoicePlay!

[Spotify] ● [Apple Podcasts] ● [Podbean] ● [iHeartRadio]

Long before much of the world was forced to hunker down in their homes, there were indoor kids. But even those of us who prefer to stay at home and amuse ourselves need to interact with other humans sometimes. Join hosts Rob and Buegs, and their buddies from VoicePlay for some socially distanced movie trivia games and lighthearted banter.

Details:

title: The Avid Indoorsmen — Movie Game Night #7 — VoicePlay!

hosts: Rob Lundquist & Eric "Buegs" Buegler

guests: Geoff Castellucci, Layne Stein, J.None, & Eli Jacobson from VoicePlay

release date: 3 September 2020

Trivia:

This podcast was half of a two-part collaboration. The other half is the "Aca Top 10 – Movie Themes" video featuring Rob that VoicePlay released the next day.

The first two Movie Game Night episodes earlier in the year featured Rob's Home Free bandmate Tim Foust, and Seggie Isho from Straight No Chaser.

Their guests for the next Movie Game Night a month later were the guys' fellow Sing-Off alumni The Filharmonic, who were on the 2014 tour with Home Free and VoicePlay.

[fallingblueroses]

Inspired by a YouTube clip.

Yes, I know it wouldn't work like this.

***

Cesar hummed to himself as he rummaged through a large wooden crate in PattyCake Production's staging area, then straightened out with a megaphone in each hand. "Hey. Look what I found!"

Layne glanced over from the shelves he was looking over. "Oh yeah. Tony ordered those a while back."

"What for?" Cesar put the megaphones down and went back into the box.

"Some girls were wanting to make a cheerleader video."

Geoff frowned a little from where he stood next to Cesar. "Oh yeah. Kath told me about them. She said Tony threw them out for being weirdos."

Layne nodded. "Mm-hmm. That's one way to put it."

Cesar pressed a button and brought a megaphone to his mouth. "Testing. One. Two." His voice echoed through the staging area, and he grinned at Geoff. "Works great." He sang into the megaphone. "'Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream...' Come on guys, join in!"

Eli sighed from where he was working on a light as Cesar handed Layne and Geoff each a megaphone before starting to sing again. The other two men joined in, and it on for a few verses before Eli interrupted them. "Excuse me, but am I the only one planning on working today?"

"Yes," Geoff said.

Eli rolled his eyes as Layne looked at the bullhorn in his hand. "Hey, anyone remember that scene from The Simpsons with Bart and the megaphones?"

"Oh yeah," Cesar said. "I wonder if that would work?"

"No," Eli said. "It wouldn't. It'd blow out the speakers."

"Well obviously it wouldn't work with how many he used," Layne said. A grin came to his face. "But it might work with four."

Cesar's eyes lit up. "Let's try it."

Eli sighed. "Guys..."

Cesar gave Eli an exaggerated pleading look. "Please?" He punctuated the look with a few eyelash bats.

Eli sighed and shook his head. "All right. Fine."

Cesar quickly handed Eli a megaphone as Layne looked around. "Who's going to try it?"

"Let Geoff," Cesar said. He looked over at the bass. "Maybe you could hit the E1?"

"Or the B-zero," Layne mused.

"Yeah!" Cesar nodded as everyone got in position. "What say, Geoff?"

"I think I can hit that," Geoff said. He held up his megaphone to join the line as Eli, Layne, and Cesar braced themselves. "All right. B-zero in three...two...one..."

***

Tony was sitting at his desk with Kathy looking over his shoulder as they went over some editing on Tony's computer. They looked at each other and rolled their eyes when they heard VoicePlay's amplified voices, but didn't pay it much mind.

Eventually Tony felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle, and glanced to the door as he realized. "Uh-oh. They got quiet."

Kathy sighed but nodded. "We'd better check."

Tony got up and Kathy followed him out of the office. They were halfway to the stage area when there was a loud, booming noise and PattyCake seemed to move underneath their feet. Tony fell against the wall and slid down to the floor, and Kathy cried out as she fell to her hands and knees. The noise only lasted for a few seconds before cutting off with squeals and screeches like speakers blowing. When the sound stopped Tony could hear what sounded like several car alarms going off in the parking lot.

He sat up and looked at Kathy. "Are you okay?"

She gingerly touched her ears. "I think so."

The shock began to wear off and anger took it's place. He helped Kathy up and they ran to the stage area, where VoicePlay was still lined up with the megaphones, bracing themselves.

Cesar was the first to open his eyes and raise his head. "That was awesome! Do it again!"

Eli was next. "I think the megaphones are broken." He said "Testing" into the one he held, to no effect.

Geoff tried the megaphone in his hand with the same result. "Maybe I should have gone a little higher..."

Tony exploded. "What are you people DOING to my studio?"

Layne held up a finger. "Our studio."

"Okay then, you can take care of arranging for the structural engineer to make sure this place is still safe! What were you doing, anyway?"

"That thing from The Simpsons," Layne said.

Tony gaped at him. "What?"

Kathy spoke up from behind him. "Well then. Maybe a Simpsons-appropriate punishment is in order."

The four of them looked over at Kathy, and Tony quite enjoyed the sudden nervousness on their faces.

***

Tony stood on guard just inside the door to his office as Kathy handed paper and pens to VoicePlay, who was seated around Tony's desk. Layne spoke to Cyndi on the phone as he took his paper and pen from Kathy. "Go ahead and eat without me. I'll be late. Kathy's got me writing sentences again. Yeah. I'll explain when I get home. Love you too. Bye." He hung up as Eli finished a similar call to Ashley.

Once everything had been handed out, Kathy joined Tony at the door. "Geoff, you're going to write 'I will not sing bass notes into megaphones'. And you other three are going to write 'I will not encourage Geoff to sing bass notes into megaphones'. One hundred times. And no one leaves until they're done."

There was some grumbling, but the men settled down to write. After a few minutes, Cesar looked up. "Hey, Kathy? What can we encourage him to do?"

Geoff and Layne snorted back laughter as Eli kicked Cesar's leg, making an "ow" sound come out of the younger man. Cesar pouted at Eli as the tenor growled. "Shut up and write your sentences."

Cesar mumbled under his breath but turned back to his paper. Kathy and Tony exchanged wry looks, and Tony shook his head as they watched over the others.

[writedreamlie]

Good morning, I am so ready to not be normal about this at all ✌️

[haethealhell]

watching Party Of Your Lifetime rn

47 secs, what

what is happening

ELI???? WHA. WHO DID THAT FUCKING METAL SCREAMMM???? IT HAS TO BE ELI, RIGHT??? jesus CHRIST OMAR C5 mix i think

Just gotten starrteedd okay breathy wow

Cesar i love you also nice necklace

oh god geoff

lifeTIME F1 sub. sure.

geoff sub at 2000 degrees

It's just the beginnING Bb/A# chest

ELI HIGH NOTES GOD

fuck this is just fun

KNOWWWWNNN C5 again? pure chest

now what is geoff doing

Join us, embrace us, don't ever erase us. ... you could also just say that i'm not leaving the fandom

OMAR RIFF FFS

WOOOAAAA IS THAT GEOFF ON THAT FUNKY VOICE EFFECT?? AT 3:33??? SERIOUSLY??? 333??

"The beat is strong" correct

cesar you don't have to do the come hand gesture i would follow you into a pit of starved bull ants

OKAY SO IT IS ELI DOIGN THAT METAL SCREAM HUH

this is just, ridiculously fun

[acaplaya-musings]

VoicePlay - Oogie Boogie's Song vs Be Prepared

When you've got two covers of Disney (or at least Disneyish) villain songs, and both come with a "full-production" video with makeup, costuming, and set design, and both of them feature Geoff on lead vocals, well, you should probably expect a few notable points of comparison. I noticed a decent handful of random interesting similarities between these two videos, and I wanted to share them!

Geoff first appears on-screen by walking out from behind part of the background setpieces

Layne portrays a character not originally in the scene (or he simply isn't a confirmed character at all) and stays completely separate to the other three vocalists

These other three vocalists act as the trio of 'lackeys' associated with Geoff's villain character

Geoff actually interacts with Layne (not common in any video where everyone is standing up and/or positioned in a straight line, because typically Geoff and Layne are placed at opposite ends in such cases)

Use of green lighting and red lighting!

Not actually a visual thing, but both songs mention "stew", and given that the latter case comes from the original rap bit that Layne wrote for the Be Prepared cover, I figured I might as well mention/include it.

This is more of a contrast than a comparison, but I wanted a specific one for Eli too, and this is good enough!

This

(Also I'm not showing it in screenshots because it'd be better with gifs, but Geoff does a spin in both videos too!)

Both videos end with the villain characters silhouetted in red and laughing/cackling evilly!

(My full visual analysis of Be Prepared will be coming tomorrow!)

[masterredakai]

Geoff: Eli, can you tone it down a little? Eli: [lowers voice to a frequency that only dolphins can hear] Layne: I don't know if he's singing or if there's an earthquake. César: I only feel that my internal organs are vibrating. Eli: [in a normal voice] Perfect, right? Geoff: I don't know, I didn't hear it, but I felt it in my soul.