#for the 2022 releases post it can be something that's already out it just needs to have come out this year

[hs-is-loml]

Still Love Him More. (t.b)

Pairing: Tom Blyth x Co-star!Reader, mention of Past!Charles Leclerc x Reader

Summary: some fans can't get over your past relationship with a certain famous ferrari driver while others are obsessed with your new boyfriend.

Type: Social Media AU! face claim is Rachel Zegler

Warnings: toxic fans? mentioned a slightly unhealthy past relationship with charles leclerc. (literally only mentioned and not pictured...), few grammar mistakes in the twitter threads. not a warning but tom blyth being the standard. UNEDITED

a/n: this was inspired by @sofs16 's jealousy, jealousy! + i'm deprived of charles since the f1 season being over rn so maybe i'm a little harsh with him in this... (written in 3am because why not)

masterlist

instagram

y/nupdates has posted

liked by y/nl/nsources, blindedbyblyth, 1ucygrayba1rd, and 26,936 others

y/nupdates y/n with rumored co-star boyfriend tom blyth at the knicks basketball game tonight!

tagged yourusername and tomblyth

view all 571 comments

y/nsidelove rumored? haven't they been dating since last year?

→ peetaspastry i think we all just assumed with the amount these two are together!

→ articarabella they are definitely dating! a few weeks ago y/n went on live and it was pretty much confirmed by them! they also mentioned how tom and her searching for a new place in new york

y/nforlifeee honestly, i don't know how people didn't figure it out sooner

thatonebakucorner who is this man and why is he with y/n😀

→ protectthewags it's her new love interest in tbosas

→ thatonebakucorner so what he's the her new love interest in her life too??!

twitter

instagram

blythandl/nnews has posted

liked by y/npleasegivemeachance, snowbairdsfall, fellforthebuzzcut, and 19,017 others

blythandl/nnews more pictures of y/n and tom during the tbosas

tagged yourusername and tomblyth

view all 236 comments

y/nintbosasera she found an european man with some height to him🙏🏼🙏🏼

→ finnicksspear not the shade to the vroom vroom ex😭

→ welovey/n people need to get over the fact y/n and charles have been broken up for over a year already...

blythfilms something about them just make sense

nevergettingoverthem i've never seen a photo of y/n looking so happy!

→ y/nineverymovie maybe it's because her ex's fans used to belittle her and criticized her on anything she did?

valntynemade i should've known that the f1 girlies would find this

→ staystrongy/n they never miss when y/n is spotted with someone

twitter

instagram

tbosasmemories has posted

liked by y/nupdates, th3hungergam3s, and 32,658 others

tbosasmemories behind the scenes pictures of y/n l/n and tom blyth while filming tbosas!

tagged yourusername, tomblyth, and thehungergames

view all 459 comments

lovelyy/n the casting and sets of this movie are impeccable

unfairodair only tom blyth would make people attracted to a murderous man with a buzzcut

→ watchingforthem the same thing happened with drew starkey playing rafe cameron

soundofsnowlanding the more pictures are released of tom and y/n, the more it makes sense why they fell in love with each other!

→ y/nineverymovie she always seems to laugh more when he's around

livingfory/nreputationera the best thing that happened to y/n and her mental health was getting away from her ex. not to mention how she can actually focus on her career now

→ carlosconfusion i don't get why everyone hates charles so much? what happened between him and y/n?

→ wagsforlife charles and y/n were together from around late 2020 to early 2022. during the relationship, y/n was receiving a lot of hate from charles' fans and took a break from all social media and acting until the press tour of west side story started. many fans still love them but as separate people and not a couple!

→ oneforthewags exactly, that! even though y/n isn't a wag anymore, we still love her and support her work!

tomblyth has posted

liked by yourusername, hunterschafer, mrsamclaflin, and 985,973 others

tomblyth to my favorite person who breathed life into this movie. i will never be able to thank the world for sending you into my life. you are the light in the darkest scenes. i am truly the luckiest person for having you by my side every day. you are beautiful, angel.

tagged yourusername

view all 89,342 comments

yourusername i love you

→ liked by tomblyth and 510 others

→ tomblyth and i endlessly love you.

songbirdsandsnakes snowbaird lives with you two

hunterschafer you guys are too cute!

variety hollywood's favorite couple ❤️

lunasteeples gorgeous girl

thehungergames two incredible leads

jesperjones a cast made up of the loveliest people :)

yourusername has posted

liked by tomblyth, vaughan_reilly, tchalamet and 1,041,109 others

yourusername i cried to him last night about how proud i am of him. he is so wonderful in this film. you will all love him as much as i do. but i still love him more.

but i also wanted to say that i came to adore this man through long days, fun nights, in-depth talks, and silly inside jokes. i spent every day with him and got to know his heart, his sense of humor, his charm, and first and foremost, his immense talent.

my sweet tom, you are unbelievably wonderful in every way. goofy, sincere, and lovable in every moment we have. i love working with you, but beyond that, i love knowing you.

view all 121,054 comments

tomblyth you forgot to mention that i also cried with you last night.

→ tomblyth besides that. i have never met anyone else that is as perfect as every aspect of you. no one will ever have my heart the way you do.

→ liked by yourusername and 649 others

→ yourusername you have me forever.

lilymhe loved the movie! and the amazing chemistry between the two of you!

vogue favorite on and off-screen pair

alyciajasmin beautiful people 🤍

nickkbenson biggest smiles

→ yourusername always!

florencepugh adore you both

[babyspacegay]

Armandaniel rec list

Hello freaks and freak-adjacent! I thought it might be a cool idea to put together a little rec list of IWTV fics that I feel could be a good intro/primer to the Devil's Minion pairing for people who are fans of the show and Armandaniel-curious.

Of course my preferences won't be universal (I'm not a major gore/heavy angst girlie), so feel free to reblog with your own recs ;)

Here's my two favorite post-Dubai fics, with what a lot of the fandom imagines happens with Armand's disappearance/Daniel's turning/book shenanigans:

you ate me right up (you spit me back out) by oceaniads (M, 6.6k)

In the aftermath of Louis and Armand’s explosive divorce, Daniel manages to leave the Dubai penthouse unscathed and very much human. Now, the only thing he has to worry about is releasing the damn book and stopping people from calling it fiction. It is not fiction. There’s also the matter of the vampire following him around America, because apparently he needs a bodyguard and Armand is the right guy for the job. That’s just something Daniel will have to roll with.

eighty proof and a lifetime by doztoevsky (M, 11k)

It’s just - anticlimactic. New York Times Bestselling Blue Balls of a conclusion to the Armand of it all. He can picture the pierced graduate students at his indie bookstore readings now; their dubious, unsatisfied frowns of so, what, he just sat there? And you just left?

Here's a Daniel character study that I just really like:

krapp’s last tape by zoop (E, 4.5k)

It’s 2022, he’s in Dubai, and Daniel Molloy’s life is flashing before his eyes. Mostly, he’s irritated by the goddamn cliché of it all. The indignity not only of dying, but of having the whole of his life laid bare, his memories to be perused at the leisure of the sick psychotic fuck currently pinning him to the floor.

And finally, my actual favorites, two incredibly formatted social media fics that are absolutely amazing and hilarious (and canon as far as I'm concerned):

bloodsucker, famefucker by brewrosemilk (T, 3.7k)

☁️✨ (@babymoonlight): i’m so sorry i ever made fun of you mr vampire lestat lesander de lioncourt i love u i hope louis kisses ur lil head and tucks you in under a blanket u deserve the world idc ama 🍣 (@lilsushiroll): he should still die imo vamp stan idc 🦷 (aloevampita): he’s already dead keep UP you look like an idiot someone already went nom nom on his neck centuries ago you’re too late

The Great Daniel Molloy Discourse of 2024/25 by Siria (T, 3.5k)

The internet has opinions about Daniel Molloy’s Interview with the Vampire (2024).

[kanmom51]

Like Crazy - new insights

*This is a reposting of my latest reblog due to issues with that specific post.

***This has been sitting in my drafts since April 2023!!!

This is the post I reblogged and the basis to my own post.

Yep. I had some of a post written way back in April 2023, but the pieces just didn't come all together for me.

After Muse's release and specifically after the BTB yesterday where JM discussed Who, Muse and the lyrics, we also saw the change made to Who's lyrics from "you" to "she" things started to clear up for me. But then, a friend also shared a picture of the original lyrics of Like Crazy, which were subsequently altered before recording. We discussed these changes and I now feel that this is it! This is the missing piece to my post.

I mostly left what I wrote over a year ago in tact, adding the missing pieces to this puzzle that makes this post with what I feel is a little more insight into Like crazy.

Needless to say, these are my opinions, how I see the lyrics, the ones that made the cut and the ones that stayed in JM's lyrics journal.

So, let's get started:

Here I was thinking I'm the only one who was seeing this...

I do hope I'm reading this right, before going off motormouth about something that maybe isn't what is being said, but to hell with it, this is something I've been thinking too and I'm just gonna come out and say it.

We're all over 18 here right?

This is a subject we can talk about?

The more I listen to this song, the more I think it to be true too.

First of all, before starting off, I want to link this ask:

**Shock and awe... "she" wasn't part of the original lyrics for Like Crazy . Colour me surprised to learn the same is true with Who (even though JM didn't actually write the song himself). Oh, and if we are on that subject already, how not surprising to see the process of writing the song with John Billion, who happens to be one of the writers of SNTY as well (me sitting here thinking of several words and references that could have been somehow suggested and inserted into the song. No idea who (nah, I'm telling lies, I know exactly who). How shocking (NOT) to see that the artist actually had input with the song lyrics of which he is not credited in writing.

Again, the depth of the song, the layers to the song and the multiple interpretations too.

JM told us this song is about him struggling. He told us he was going through a period where he was drinking too much. He was finding fulfillment in ways other than performing, as performing is part of him, he is a performer, someone who needs the stage to express himself. The stage is where he is at peace, the stage being a piece of him that he was missing.

We saw his outburst of emotions in the first day of MOTS ON:E (that was my first experience of BTS and he literally broke my heart - and later seeing him being mocked for it infuriated me).

This was October 2020, around 6 months into the pandemic. The uncertainty. This is their first online performance and from there until Muster another 9 months go by. We know from Festa 2022 that the pandemic screwed up all of their plans. The uncertainty, working on and releasing BE and then Butter and PTD everything leading up to the PTD online concert, a year after MOTS ON:E. For those that performing is their life, standing in front of an audience and giving it their all, it's a hard pill to swallow. The unknown, if they will ever get back to perform on stage in front of a live audience, when this is who they are, their essence, it can be unbearable. JM wasn't the only performer to go through this. It's just that he shared this with us. He showed us his pain and vulnerability and was mocked for it by many. Shame on them!!!

So, again, JM told us with Like Crazy, that he was filling in that hole. Alcohol was mentioned by him specifically. But listening to the song, I think it's quite clear that sex was a very big part of it as well. Looking for that rush, that high. It's clear as day, for me anyway, in the lyrics.

(I think we could last forever I'm afraid that everything will disappear Just trust me)

[Verse 1] She's saying Baby, don't think about it There's not a bad thing here tonight Baby, you can leave it Stay with me until today

[Verse 2] Watch me go Wet me all night (Away) And morning too Don't come if you're drunk

In this loud music It fades me It's a drama-like story I'm get used to it Have you come far to find me that you used to know? Yeah, I know You know, I know (Ooh)

[Chorus] I'd rather be Lost in the lights Lost in the lights I'm outta my mind It holds to the end of this night Every night You spin me up high The moon that embraces you Let me have a taste

[Post-Chorus] Give me a good ride (Oh, I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin') It's gon' be a good night (Oh, I'm fallin') Forever you and I

[Interlude] Mmm-hmm Yeah, hey Mmm-hmm Ooh-woah Mmm-hmm Mmm-hmm (Forever, you and I)

[Verse 3] Me reflects in the mirror I'm going crazy without hesitation I'm feelin' so alive, wasting time

I'd rather be Lost in the lights Lost in the lights I'm outta my mind It holds to the end of this night Every night You spin me up high The moon that embraces you Let me have a taste

[Post-Chorus] Give me a good ride (Oh, I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin') It's gon' be a good night (Oh, I'm fallin') Forever you and I

[Outro] This will break me This is gonna break me (Break me) No, don’t you wake me (Wake me) I wanna stay in this dream, don't save me Don't you try to save me (Save me) I need a way we (Way we) I need a way we can dream on (On, on, on)

Those are the lyrics he recorded.

But you see, there were changes made to the lyrics he was working on originally, and we got to see some of them.

This specifically:

Reading this draft and the final ones there are a few things that just fall into place for me (and I'd think for anyone that reads them), loud and clear:

First of all, obviously JM is singing about drinking too much alcohol. If the final lyrics hinted to losing himself in alcohol, the draft lyrics are ever so clear regarding that point.

Second of all, the sex. I think JM was pretty straight forward using the wording he was using. "Give me a good ride" can be other things, if you twist it around to try and explain it away, but bottom line, those lines within the context of the lines in the draft, like "just go turn off the light, you and me..." not to mention the whole chorus, to me the reference is obvious.

Next, I talked about the many references to JK in this song in this post:

This is all also relevant when it comes to my next point being the fact that to me it's clear that JM wrote this song referencing a special someone with whom he shares a high level of intimacy. A special someone that was there by his side when JM was struggling. A special someone that was struggling seeing JM going through everything he was.

To that person JM wrote (in the draft): "oh baby don't you cry, just wanna see your smile..."

These lines, they were too much. Too obvious. Too intimate. And they were left out probably because of just that.

So JM went with other lines. A little less obvious perhaps, and yet still very telling. The finale of the song:

No, don’t you wake me (Wake me) I wanna stay in this dream, don't save me Don't you try to save me (Save me) I need a way we (Way we) I need a way we can dream on (On, on, on)

Now, you could claim that the song is about an inner struggle. JM struggling with himself, talking to himself, and yes, that could very much be part of the message JM, the king of layering, is going for. But see, that's exactly the point. JM is the king of layering, of having several meanings and messages within his lyrics and creations. And this is not different. There is no mistaking the reference to another person, not JM himself, in the lyrics. The way he uses the "you" in the lyrics, at times could pass as you being the alcohol, at times the you being himself in the mirror, but at times it's clearly a third party he is talking to. Especially in that finale to the song, that someone that wants to lift him out of that stupor he is in, to wake him up, to save him, when he is unwilling, not ready to accept that help just yet (same person he asks not to cry, knowing that he is making them sad). There are also the clear JK references in this song. The "you are me I am you" being the loudest of them all.

But JM being JM, he showed us in his own way what this song was about, opening up and allowing us to see his drafts.

And then he gave us Letter. Hidden, and private and intimate. Addressed not to us, but to that person that was always there by his side, that person he addresses in Like Crazy telling him "forever you and I". Now, in Letter, being in a better, healthier place, he can repeat the sentiment of them together forever. A sentiment JK had mentioned in the past (omg, that was so very awkward).

And now using lines like : "I sincerely hope we are forever" and "But don’t forget that we’re always together"...

The lyrics, the sentiments, the drafted lyrics that never made it, like the use of "Dangshin", I have talked about it all. Letter was for JK. Period.

When seeing Like Crazy again, the lyrics, the struggle, the person by his side, the intimacy, and Letter, I'm kind of thinking that not only is Letter a love ode to JK. That is stating the obvious. But it's also JM's acknowledgement and thank you to that person that stood by his side in his most difficult of times.

JK.

Bottom line:

Like crazy is about JM struggling and self medicating with alcohol and sex.

It's personal about himself, his struggles, but also includes a person that is there by his side, one he is highly intimate with, one who is there with him together. That person is there, spending the nights with him, in that escape world JM created for himself. Sad seeing JM struggle, trying to find a way to help JM out of that pit but being unable to do so, staying by JM's side all the same.

We know who that person is.

Same person he addresses Letter to.

[glossamerfaerie]

This is obvious, but bear with me.

2020: publication of Crescent City 1, which introduces the concept of the four Houses of Midgard and how the series titles will mirror them.

2021: A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES (Nesta’s book with Cassian as love interest)

2022: CC2 releases. We find out about upcoming crossover.

2024: HOUSE OF FLAME AND SHADOW (CC3 crossover in which Nesta and Azriel are the main ACOTAR characters)

Double meaning: Nesta is Flame and Azriel is Shadow.

2025 (?): upcoming ACOTAR title. Extremely likely to be A COURT OF [ADJECTIVE] SHADOWS. (Azriel book with Gwyn). The phrase could also be “SHADOWY + NOUN” but I think that looks messier. Nesta’s book also used the plural noun with Flames.

***

Assuming that my 2025 guess is correct, HOFAS is literally bookended by two ACOTAR books with the ✨exact same title word as HOFAS.✨

“But wait,” you say, “this is just a coincidence. HOFAS is named after a House of Midgard, the one with the reapers and necromancers. CC1 was published way before these ACOTAR books. Flame and shadow are super common words!”

I think these titles and book order have been planned for a long time. It’s possible that SJM had shifting ideas when she wrote ACOFAS in 2017, but by the time she wrote CC1 (which clearly introduced multiverse concept with Bryce’s tattoo) in 2018/2019, SJM knew that she wanted Nesta and Az to be the prominent characters in CC3 and the upcoming ACOTAR protagonists. The crossover details may have changed over the years, but Nesta and Az prominence didn’t.

Definition of House of Flame and Shadow: “Daemonaki, Reapers, wraiths, vampyrs, draki, dragons, necromancers, and many wicked and unnamed things that even Urd herself cannot see.”

There is literally no reason why this House HAD to be named Flame and Shadow. The other Midgard houses have elements (Earth, Sky, Waters), but why use the word FLAME specifically? It could’ve been Embers, Blaze, Inferno, etc. SJM could’ve also used “Fire” — it didn’t need to be fancy since House of Many Waters just used Waters.

Same analysis with Shadow. What about that creature classification necessitated the word Shadow? There are lots of natural phenomenon associated with darkness and death and wickedness — the use of Shadow is a deliberate choice.

I genuinely think that this fandom overreaches with the theories. It’s like Taylor Swift — Swifties overthink every Easter egg, but sometimes the answer of the album title is just a giant billboard in a music video.

HOFAS is that giant billboard. SJM is not a complicated writer re: worldbuilding or foreshadowing. It is as simple as “the next ACOTAR books are Nesta and Azriel — what if I represented them in CC3 with the crossover title?” It’s obvious. Setting aside foreshadowing in the actual story, the answer can solely be found in the title.

I love Elucien and know it’s been a long wait, but I’m afraid that the wait is going to be longer than some people hope. I know people think Elain’s book is next but I really don’t see how that’s the case. Not interested in debating or explaining the Gwynriel ship rationale since there’s a million other posts out there.

Re: Azriel’s title being A COURT OF [ADJECTIVE] SHADOWS. I’ve seen people on all sides of the ship war suggest that the adjective be related to the heroine (Gwyn or Elain). I really don’t think so. The title will solely focus on Az, just like how SILVER FLAMES solely focused on Nesta. It could be MELODIC SHADOWS or WHISPERING SHADOWS or something else. But the adjective will fit an ability that we’ve already seen from Az’s shadows (we know they whisper to Az and can sing). Similarly, Elucien book title will solely focus on Elain. Cassian and Gwyn and Lucien are extremely important characters, but they won’t be represented in the title.

[chirpsythismorning]

I think what really puts into perspective the likelihood of ST5 premiering in 2025 (I’m gonna predict March 21st for fun), is that a year from now is just barely Summer 2024, and yet as of now, they have not even started filming.

Are fans really expecting them to have season 5 filmed, fully prepped with marketing and promo ready, with everything ready to be released within one year from now (roughly speaking, give or take a couple months)?

In all honesty it's very much the norm for Stranger Things' to have promo leading up to an upcoming season last for months. And I'm not talking like 3-5 months I'm talking a year+.

This isn't like s1 where they put out a trailer and a release date and some low budget marketing roll out on social media, which is something they do for every new Netflix show. This is a $35 million + budget per episode series and thats just to budget for the literal episodes... There are dozens of partnerships they have going on with merchandise and things like that which are discussed and planned for months/years. There are music rights negotiations which go on for months upon years. Shit, post-production has the capacity to take, at the very least half of the time it takes to film, and in some cases as much time or even more. This shit takes time!!!

The build up to a new season is so huge, that each month leading up to it, there are different things dropping, creating the hype that guarantees millions of fans engagement for a long time.

Like 1 year up to the 6 months before the release, promo starts heating up officially. The main accounts for the show will start posting stuff, initially it'll be cryptic using old footage to kind of recap the characters and get us refreshed on where we left off. This time could have some really awesome surprises, but it's mostly casual. If we're lucky we can count on Atlanta filming paparazzi bc those people are insufferable...

6 months up to the one month mark is when it starts to get more real. At this time we're likely to get an episode list announcement, along with sneak peeks and teasers that are quite short, being that they're still likely in the editing process when they are releasing these so it's very much in part them trying to tide us over and keep us interested.

The final 3 months leading up to it is when it gets REAL real. This is at the latest when we'll get a release date announcement, but that's a worst case scenario. I feel like it took so long for them to announce s4, and not until like Feb 2022 bc they wanted to be certain certain. And that could apply to s5 as well. The state of the world isn't like awesome I would say... Look what happened last time? Like it sucks to be the person to say that but I think also considering delays in general, for any reason are a possibility, is also what contributes to my open mindedness about an early 2025 release.

And so based on what we should be expecting for marketing, that means that assuming s5 would somehow premiere in summer 2024, means we are already close to the one year mark, which means promo should be ramping up right now, with literal content to share? And yet we have nothing filmed...?

A lot of people have this idea that s5 is going to take as much time to film as s1 took, which is just not the case. Not saying it will take as long as s4 took, however it's still going to take a while. One of the main factors for this is an in demand cast with conflicting schedules. In a perfect world, everyone would be available all the time throughout the entire production run. Instead what you have is certain actors not available at this time, and so you have to overlap those that need scenes together and schedule according to all of that. And so even if it wouldn't take more than 7 months to film literally, adding another 4+ months might be necessary to accommodate everyones schedules so that they can have these A/B list actors be able to film scenes together.

And then there’s editing and VFX to account for, happening during filming yes, but also with them needing months to focus on AFTER filming is complete. S5 is arguably going to have more VFX than any other season, as most of the season is expected to be surrounded by UD conditions and with the final battle being pretty epic with a 3 headed dragon potentially. Editing is more likely to be 7+ months post filming AT LEAST, vs. like the 4 or less, which is what I think everyone is imagining and telling themselves.

This is also the last season and so they obviously want to focus on the quality, not their ability to churn it out as fast as possible. Rushing for a quick release is just setting themselves up to flop.

The story is over forever after this (excluding spin-off prospects). It would make sense for them to give themselves the wiggle room to make it perfect (the stakes are so fucking high you guys), as opposed to rushing the entire time just to have it release as early as possible.

This also reminds me of what Noah said when asked about s5 premiering in 2024, where he basically just deflected and said that they want to focus on quality… essentially hinting at the fact that it’ll probably not be soon as we’re expecting, but we’re better off for it bc it gives them time to ensure it's the best that it can be and also is just realistic in terms of considering potential unplanned delays.

And then there are the strike implications. While I think the ST production is lucky in that they wouldn't be impacted as much as other productions, that doesn't mean the solidarity won't impact other parts of the production beyond just the writers. This is an industry where people are extremely overworked and underpaid, where a strike could be on the horizon at any moment. And we’re out here telling them hey i know the conditions are horse shit, but I'm gonna need you to step it up and experience even worse conditions bc I need s5 asap... which is just, it’s asking too much if I’m being honest.

Not trying to rain on anyone’s parade here. I know it sucks hearing that it could be another 1 year and 10 months. But lets be serious right now.

All the action that happens in the fandom, building up to the release is arguably just as exciting as the actual premiere and I think we overlook that. Again, once it premieres, it's over. So being so hellbent that it comes as soon as possible, is built on this idea that getting it is the only worthwhile part of this experience, which couldn't be further from the truth. Hiatus and all of the activity that happens during that time is what makes this experience so unique and without it, none of us would be here.

I think realistically, the timeline for s5 production is likely to look something like filming taking place from May 2023-Feb 2024 (giving them AT LEAST 10 months, but if you ask me srs i think it'll take 12...). We should get an announcement post from the official Netflix/ST social media accounts the very day filming starts.

As time passes and they're filming more and more, we will start to get teasers and sneak peaks from the little bit they have filmed from the earlier episodes in the season. Technically they can't spoil that later stuff too much in promotion, so it does work out for us in that sense.

But in all honesty, well planned out and detailed promo is likely to not start getting official until this fall when they’ll actually have at least (hopefully) over half of s5 filmed, and be planning ahead plenty in advance so all of the promo leading up to the release is well thought out.

I won’t rule out Fall 2024. But there are no Friday dates in fall 2024 that ring any bells to me as being the perfect day? Maybe Winter 2024? Or like January/Feb 2025?

The problem is Netflix loves ST for their summers... But summer 2024 is too soon and Summer 2025 is too late imo...

So what it will likely come down to is them trying to be realisitic about their options, and how to ideally get it to match with the setting of the show, which is something they have tried to do with s2-3, but couldn't in s4 (for obvious reasons), and so I definitely see them thinking ahead to try to bring back that approach for s5 if they are able to.

So filming, best case scenario, ends maybe Jan-Feb 2024. If we give them at least 7 months, which is still arguably rushing to me, that lands them in September 2024.

BUT if they were smart they would be realistic and just plan for late 2024/early 2025 so that they don't have to keep delaying... also why they haven't announced a date/year... if it was for certain going to be 2024, they would say it. But they aren't. That alone should tell us they are not willing to make that commitment bc it's not something that can be made when there are so many impromptu factors at play.

I imagine a scenario though honestly, where it takes them a year (12 months to film), so they won't be done until May 2024, which means that they would have until January 2025 to edit with 7 months for that strictly. And that just honestly feels realistic to me to look at instead of hoping that everything just is swift and fast as possible.

Not to mention ST5 2025 just fits.

However, I don't see anything wrong with hoping for late 2024, since as of now I think it is still possible.

But I also think, keeping all of the factors in mind, most notably a potential strike and also them ensuring quality over a speedy release, I think 2025 is something people should also be prepared for as a possibility.

The good news is that we'll know eventually as s5 starts filming and as time goes on.

If filming is complete in 2023 then we could definitely hope for a fall 2024 release. If filming isn't complete officially until early/mid 2024, then pack up your duffel bags bc we're going back to spring break...

[wongyuseokie]

Relax | h.j.s

Summary: You and Joshua try role-play. He’s not very good at it, but he’s hot, so it works out anyways.

☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff | ♕ smut | ♥ completed works

Word Count: 558 words Age: 18+

Pairings: Hong Joshua x Female Reader Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: Smut, PWP. Established Relationship Content Warnings: None? Just a sexual massage. Smut Warnings: Fingering, female orgasm, role play, sexual massage. Authors Note: Thank you as always to the lovely @here4btsfics for helping me to beta this fic and help me pick a member for this fic too!💕

Banner Credits: @classicseffects

Cross Posted to AO3 © wongyuseokie 2022. All rights reserved.

“Miss, once you’re comfortable, please change out of your robe and lay on your front on the massage bed,” you nodded at your incredibly attractive therapist’s instructions and then the handsome man left you to your devices. You almost hated how attractive your massage therapist was. How the hell would you refrain from getting aroused? You picked up the sheer disposable panties you were provided with and scoffed. “This isn’t going to do anything,” you muttered as you stripped and laid down on your front.

“Miss, may I come in,” he asked.

“Yes,” you replied, but your voice was shaky. You immediately felt dizzy as you heard the door open and close, the man was barely touching you, and you were a mess.

“So you said that your main concerns were your thighs?” You mumbled a ‘yes.’

The masseuse gently parted your thighs and placed a towel over your back. You could hear him squirt oil onto his hands and put them on your thighs. He worked slowly, increasing the pressure gradually, undoing all the knots from your thighs. You felt yourself grow wet as his hands moved along your body.

“Miss, I’ll need to massage your inner thighs a little. If you feel uncomfortable at all, please let me know,” he spoke, and you simply mumbled a yes, as his fingers slid up your inner thighs dangerously close to your cunt. His fingers barely grazed your throbbing core, but you had already let out a soft moan.

“Is that good?” He asked, and you could only moan in response. The therapist kept massaging you. Every so often, his finger would graze your cloth-covered cunt, and you’d be in ecstasy.

“Miss, you’re moving around a lot. Is it uncomfortable?” He asked, and you shook your head, lifting it slightly to speak.

“No, it just feels good,” you responded. “Is there any other tension I can help you with?” The man asked, and you smirked but realised you couldn’t ask him that. You simply shook your head and placed it down again.

“Miss, my job is to ensure that you leave here feeling good,” the therapist reiterated, making you clench.

“I guess I have more internal pressure, tension?” You replied as you laid back down.

“Miss, I can release that tension for you in the interest of your well-being. Would you like that?”

“Miss, may I remove your underwear? They are soaked,” he commented, and you mumbled a yes, shyly at the mention of your obvious arousal.

You felt the therapist pull your underwear off and spread your thighs apart again. You felt him slide two fingers down from your entrance to your clit, and he rubbed at the swollen nub. His fingers were rubbing harshly, making you whimper in pleasure. You felt your breath hitch when he interested two fingers into you. His movements made you lift your head and moan as he fingered you, you were close, and he knew it.

“Come on, princess, cum for me,” he encouraged as you came on his fingers, shaking as you did so. You rode out your orgasm and glared at your ‘therapist.’

“Seriously, Joshua? If we’re going to role-play a massage therapist and client, you cannot call me princess,” you scolded, and Joshua simply shrugged as he grabbed you and flipped you onto your back.

“Okay, princess. Next time I’ll listen. Now let me fuck you. You said something about tightness?”

[accio-victuuri]

There are some things you don’t think about till someone else points it out. This is an example of that. So we can predict now that when it comes to XZ and his team, the usual pattern is post photo sets and then a behind the scenes of that will be shared by the studio’s Douyin later on. I think it’s the same ( probably ) for other celebrities but you know what I mean — even yibo official are known for it. Now there are specific events when this did not happen. Those “events” also have something common. It’s times we CPN that Web is there. Either at the same event or close by ( meaning he is waiting for GG at the hotel where he is staying ).

Let me show you the details.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

✅ - event follows the usual content release

❌ - no behind the scenes video

I will start with 2020, specifically after 227. Around that time we already speculate that there are times when they visit each other at work. For example, ZZ at SDC3 recordings.

❌ - 102520: GG performs in CCTV 3 Brightest star in the night sky. Tho this one is not exactly a live show, XZS still shared a photo set from the event. No behind the scenes. This was a pretty shut-in recording and no one said anything till it was aired. We CPN that WYB was there in some capacity because the TTXS bros mentioned this song. More about that here.

❌ - 120520: GG performs live on the show “Actors please..” & sings ‘Running To You With All I Have’. Photo set only. Again, this was a closed set. He was announced only hours before the guesting and very few fansites were able to get in. There was a Douyin video released days later + XZS shared a behind the scenes of how the DY was made. Another angle of it. They cannot release the actualy bts of the photoshoot because wherever that backstage was, WYB was allegedly there. You may see a pattern that Web tends to be present when it is a closed set.

XZS also released a video with him playing for a hotpot with the same clothes. This video shows more the potential that WYB is there.

❌ - 122020 : Tencent Starlight. Do I even need to explain this? Same stage. They were missing from the audience. They were allegedly hanging out together in one room backstage. No photoshoot BTS. Only a douyin post shared by GG. Which we think was shot by WYB.

✅ - 123120 NYE stage ; they were at different station celebrations.

✅ - 011521 IQIYI scream night

❌ - 011921 Douyin night. Another same event attended. XZS released a photoset only.

✅ - 020521 DC press con. A solo and work related event so XZS gave is everything. Obvs, WYB has no business being there.

✅ - 021221 BTV and Dragon TV Spring Festival. There is no photoshoot bts but both stations released behind the scenes content which makes up for it. They might have wanted it that way so the stations will have bonus content to share.

❌ - 022821 -Weibo Night. You guessed it. No photoshoot BTS because they were in the same place and event.

053121 BTV & JD 6/18 night. This is my outlier because there were no same city CPN. No BTS but there was a Douyin post. What stands out to me with this day is his hair that was dyed dark blue. He was also using the custom red mic.

✅ - 060721 Tencent Video 10th anniversary event

✅ - 091021 2022 Asian Games Hangzhou Countdown

✅ - 101621 Jackie Chan International Action Film Week

✅ - 020222 China Internet AudioVisual Annual Ceremony

✅ - 113022 Weibo TV & Internet Video Summit

I didn’t link everything because I truly just want to make a list. I won’t elaborate on the CPNs for those marked X as i’m thinking those who will read this will have an idea. Same thing as the DY/Photosets shared by XZS.

They have the footage, of course they do. We’ve seen how it works. Someone takes the photos and then one of his staff takes the video. It’s easy. Then someone else edits it — it’s all part of the job. There might be other reasons why the behind the scenes is missing in the events mentioned but it’s some kind of next level coincidence that what they have in common is yibo’s alleged presence. I’m thinking WYB is there, hanging out and they can’t have him show up in videos. Or when they are together, WYB will take douyin videos of him and that’s what XZ decided to share instead. 🤍

This is all speculation. Take it or leave it. ☺️

source: mentioned by this bxg, then i decided to go through all of gg’s events.

[butididntpourthewhiskeys]

I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life Songs

1. DENIAL 🫣

💜 Lavender Haze: just confirms what I thought since Joever happened and I started to look at Midnights a bit differently. I literally think she was in denial that him staring at the ceiling with her and not talking much, not reading into her feelings was NOT a good thing or the sign of a healthy relationship 🙃 also, her trying to convince herself that she doesn’t want to get married, she doesn’t need the 1950s shit of having a ring on her finger, having babies, feeling SAFE…. just screams denial and delulu lmao

❄️ Snow On The Beach: Ouch. Big ouchie. When she released this song in Fall 2022 I remember thinking… wow why is she so obsessed with the beginning of their relationship and keeps on writing about it. I feel like we now have an answer and it’s that this is what she kept holding onto when things had already hit the fan 🥲

🚫 Sweet Nothing: NO song screams more denial on Midnights than this one. Her posting the Linda and Paul McCartney thing had already told us that she wrote this because she loved the idea of this love yet it wasn’t actually what she was going through. Also, it’s so interesting that she and Joe wrote it together.. again, it’s giving massive ‘i will do anything for him to be 100% in again’ aka she tried to recreate something with him that clearly wasn’t there anymore at the time

🗑️ Glitch: Falls into the same category for me as SN. Things had gone to shit but she was so obsessed with the idea of the two. And being honest, so were we??? Sometimes I wonder if she just LOVED the narrative of Taylor and Joe, victim and savior, Burton to this Taylor….she loved what was there, she kept on holding onto this dream of him from back when she was shipwrecked. I literally think she thought she could just hold onto the memories and him and things would work themselves out again

❌ Betty: Honestly, this song coming up in that playlist makes me SICK to my tummy for obvious reasons. A massive red flag that Joe came up with the idea for the song… but lets talk about this in greater detail on April 19th (aka WELCOME HOME CHEATER)

❤️‍🩹 Lover: BIG BIG Ouchie. She thought this was forever. She thought she could just go wherever he goes but, clearly, she was in denial, overseeing so many signs telling her that it won’t always be enough. I think Lover was this idea of “but what if it does work out” even though her gut feeling was telling her that this love won’t be forever

🚩Cruel Summer/False God: Have ALWAYS been such red flags when it comes to a relationship dynamic. Cruel Summer is all about them playing games in the beginning and her suffering from it. False God is the idea that if communication doesn’t work, you can just have sexy time instead and they would get away with it?? Both signs of a very unhealthy rs dynamic and it makes me feel so validated that she sees that now

🙃 Ours/Superman: Girlie knows she’s always been a lil delulu… lol

👑 Bejeweled: SUCH a wonderful way to end this playlist. This is literally the beginning of the end of being in denial. That song was a direct warning, an awakening that she’s NOT okay in the rs and that things are NOT going to be okay anytime soon if he doesn’t put in the effort.

[aurora-daily]

Maybe this is a silly question to ask, and I know the people who run this blog are very busy, but I was wondering what your thoughts were!

Aurora has said each album she plans on making is going to be different from the things she's made before. It SEEMS like she's getting ready for her next evolution!! Different styles of clothes worn in shows. New merch drop with the weirdos and warriors! Do you have any thoughts on where we may be headed? Any theories or things you hope happen?

Thank you guys so much for all the hard work you do keeping us up to date here. Love you!!

Hello, lovely warrior!

It's actually a very good question and I appreciate the way you treated my time here and overall your consideration! <3

I have already answered a question on Step3 last February [link] but everything that went on since then and the newer interviews made me think of other speculiations.

It might still be Step 3 in a way how suddenly Step 1 and 2 are re-released + new redisign still has hints towards these eras + her current outfits hint more towards the past + new merch style might be a hint + the long ago pinned post with the dragon might be a hint as well. I can't understand for sure whether it was Step 3 that she referred to as an album for dealing with the grief with a song ‘A Different Kind of Human’ being a hint towards the direction (and I would personally need such album the most after what I have been going through) but either way the mood of the upcoming album will be opposite:

“It is crazy […] that our worth is defined by something we can measure in numbers. Like our fortune, our followers or our weight or our height. It’s just crazy how we let these numbers decide so much, when they are so meaningless. I’m heading towards this direction on my next album again. So my fifth album… or fourth… is this my third? (laughs) Well, my next album is going to be inspired by this. And this album now ("The Gods We Can Touch") is kind of a bridge over to that. It’s about reminding ourselves of the value we have within us, about the powers we have. Love, and also it’s all about the small, simple things. It has nothing to do with our phones, with success, even with God. It’s just you and me, right here, right now. We’re just floating on a rock in space, so it doesn’t matter if I have a pimple on my cheek today. Because – who cares? It’s about thinking really big and really small at the same time (laughs).”

- AURORA on her next album in the interview for FastForward Magazine by Gabi Rudolph (January 27th, 2022)

It will be a really fun album *smiles widely*.”

- AURORA on her next album in the interview for ba.no, translated by aurora.puppet (February 2nd 2022)

“A Little Place Called The Moon" is the perfect ending. You have to wait so long for the final release where I finally come in again. I like the patience of it, it offers you one last breath before it all ends and disappears into the sky. And it’s a really good bridge to my next album. No [I can’t tell a bit more about it]!

AURORA on a significance of “A Little Place Called The Moon” as the connection to the next album in the interview for Official Charts (January 26th 2022)

"People like, or aliens like, I don't know myself... Ok, creatures like yourself that sing together in harmony, it's very gorgeous isn't it? I have started my next album! It has a lot of people's voices."

- AURORA before performing "The Innocent" @ Paradiso, Amsterdam (September 3rd 2022)

And there's something very interesting about a possible on that album song:

"I have a song out there I think that has taken me 10 years, this is the longest. It will be on my next album, it has taken so many years. But finally I've gone through what I wrote about. For the first time, so I understand the song more, as from the inside it was easier. So one song for my next album."

- AURORA in an open interview session with Bergen Bibliotek filmed by abaddonna (November 3rd 2022)

It is certainly connected to the song she has already described in 2016:

"I have a song now that I've been working on since I was 16, but I haven't found the right words to finish it. I know it will be a good song when it's perfect, but I'm just looking for one line in the fourth verse to complete it. And in four years, I haven't found that line yet."

- AURORA in an interview for Vice (March 11th 2016)

Whatever AURORA has in store I'm impatiently looking forward to this, I believe and see her artistic growth and that excites me a lot!

- Nikol

[curio-queries]

FRI(END)S : THE SONG

This post is part of a series of my thoughts on this release. It's time to finally get these out of drafts and posted before Hobi's release. Here are links to the other posts:

QUICKCOMBO: Continuation

QUICKCOMBO: Termination

The Song (this post)

The Music Video

The Promo

First, if you haven't heard the song yet, please give it a listen and make your own impressions.

Initial Thoughts

The night this was released, I was having some sudden internet issues and was slightly panicking about being able to work the next day so I was admittedly a little stressed by the time I got to listen even though I stayed up specifically for it.

Usually I would listen to it first on Spotify before watching the music video but I was able to get the mv to load first for some reason. My first impression on the song itself was actually a little bit of confusion as to how long the track actually would be given all the 'non-song' space in the mv.

When I did finally get Spotify to work, I definitely thought it was too short but I was so excited that I was vibing with it as much as I did. V's solo work is very hit or miss for me, with most of LayoVer being a miss. I don't think the album was bad, I just had a hard time with it since none of the tracks really appeal to me. But Fri(end)s? I liked on the first few listens. Which is kinda funny because I was actually wondering pretty early on if Fri(end)s would work as part of LayoVer...more on that later in this post.

I still think the song is too short. I realize that's the trend these days as it's more of a marketing tactic but that doesn't mean I have to like the trend. Especially with the extremely clear folding of the song into two parts, it's pretty obvious to even some casual listeners that there's something missing. Not enough to make it a bad song but it just feels slightly unfinished.

Performance

If you haven't already watched the Live Film, I highly recommend it.

I know it's kinda a flex in music communities to value live versions over studio releases but I rarely fall into that camp. (I honestly think it has something to do with a sensory issue I have and extra noise that is often present in such recordings...anyway back to V). This performance is so great! It perfectly embodies both Tae's personality and the energy needed for a song like this. I honestly just felt so good listening to him sing this because he did it in the exact same way I do when I sing along to music; adding extra little rifs and bits just for the fun of it and avoiding the typical notes that all of the members leave out of most performances.

I'm not qualified to comment on the musical technique needed for this song but there are definitely some fun challenges that make for a satisfying singalong once you've nailed them!

LayoVer

If you haven't listened to the complete album in a while, here's a link. Always a good idea to give an album a complete top-to-bottom listen every once in a while, especially this one with how Tae agonized over track sequence of his solo work as mentioned during Festa 2022.

So, if you just list the key words of the lyrical themes and musical elements of both Fri(end)s and LayoVer, you'd think they'd be an easy match but the more I investigated, the less I think so.

First, I'm not really a music researcher when it comes to credits or following specific contributors but from what I can tell, there weren't any of the same individuals listed between the two projects except Tae himself. Which honestly surprised me.

Just going off of memory, I thought it'd fit in smoothly either before or after Slow Dancing but after trying it out, it just doesn't land for me. It absolutely deserves to be its own single and I'd initially wondered if it had been ripped out of the album as the track to tide us over during this chunk of ms but I really don't feel that way at all.

It honestly reminds me a little of how JK released 3D as a separate track. That song (as much as I don't love it) does stand on its own without the support of an album. Maybe Fri(end)s was one of the other songs Tae found during his search for LayoVer but that team didn't have enough material for a cohesive album? He didn't want to lose it so kept it as a single to release later.

I want you all to know that I wrote the above before seeing this video...thanks for proving me right V!! 😆

More thoughts on some of the meaning(s) of the song in my mv post!

(Sidenote, if you haven't seen the full set of the gif at the top of this post, I highly recommend checking it out. It's gorgeous! Absolutely astonishing work @kimtaegis 😍)

[jaime-brienne-fic-exchange]

JB Festive Fest 3: Fest With a Vengeance

You asked and we answered...

Signups are open for the JB Festive Fest!

Now in its third year, the JB Festive Fest is an opportunity for Jaime x Brienne fans to close out the year with some lovely gifts. It's a low-key, inclusive exchange meant to celebrate our favourite knights! All fanworks are welcomed (and encouraged!)--art, fic, fanvids, any creative endevour!

Already convinced?

Sign up here!

Need more information? Read on!

Important Dates

Signups: November 23rd - November 30th Assignments out: December 1st Posting Window: December 23rd - January 1st Stocking Stuffer Prompts Released: December 23rd Last date to check in: December 28th NEW THIS YEAR. In order to simplify the knight writing process, you must begin posting or check in with us by this date, or we will assign a knight writer. If this happens, you can still post, we just want to ensure everyone gets a gift!

Rules

1. You create one (1) fanwork, and receive one (1) fanwork. 2. If you can't complete your gift on time, please let us know as soon as you do! Life happens, but the sooner we know the easier it is to deal with. 3. For recipients: no specific, detailed scenario prompts, only a list of general likes/tropes/vibes and your squicks and triggers. For gifters, any detail you want from your recipient you’ll need to sleuth on your own, or guess. 4. Have fun! 2022 was hard for a lot of us, and this is meant to round out the year with a little extra joy.

FAQ

Who can participate? Anyone! Artists, writers, vidders, poets, interpretive dancers! This is an inclusive exchange – whether it’s your first or hundredth, you are welcome!

What do I need to do? When you sign up, you’ll provide three general ideas of what you like--tropes, vibes, nothing too specific!--for your creator to work from. Once sign ups close, you’ll be assigned someone and you’ll need to create a fanwork for them based off the information they provided. It could be a short fic, a piece of art, a poem, a vid, an interpretive dance, whatever you like! There are no minimum requirements, but as a rough guideline, think of it as something that would brighten your day if you received it.

When do sign-ups open? They’re open now, and will close on November 30, at the end of the day for you, anywhere in the world.  

What if I can’t finish something in time? Please send us an email at jbficexchange@gmail.com to let us know and we’ll do what we can to either let your recipient know you’ll be a little late, or organize someone else to backfill.

Does my fanwork have to be festive themed? Definitely not. You’ll just be sharing it between December 23rd and New Year’s Day.

Will my prompts be private? No, they will be released to everyone on December 23rd to allow for the Stocking Stuffer exchange (details coming later in the month). This will be open for anyone to contribute to, not just the people who participate in the main exchange.

When is the posting window again? Between December 23 and January 1. If you have not begun posting by December 28 and have not contacted us, the prompts will go to a knight writer to make sure that everyone receives a gift by New Year’s.

Important Notes:

You must have an AO3 account to participate. If you do not have an AO3 account, you can either request one via the AO3 website or email us at jbficexchange @ gmail.com

If you have any questions, please email us at jbficexchange @ gmail.com. This will be a tight turnaround for signups–about a week–so get in quick if you’re interested!

Click here to sign up!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

In the last twelve months, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to see/hear a bunch of 2023 Edinburgh comedy hours. I’ve enjoyed following the process over a year, going from early WIPs, to previews, to stuff done in Edinburgh, to post-Edinburgh tours. A fascinating yearly cycle that we don’t have in North America, but I wish we did.

However, I see why it’s difficult to maintain. A lot of the shows I’ve seen/heard run together in my mind, so many variations on similar concepts, taken in so close together. It can be really hard for any one comedian to distinguish themself. I feel like I understand better than ever why people make such a big deal about USPs and stuff. They really are all just competing to find some tiny bit of ground that everyone else hasn’t covered a million times before. And if they do find any, they’re not allowed to stick with it for more than a year because that’s called recycling material, so they’ve got to walk across Scotland or some shit just to have something new to say. I think you get fewer comedians walking across a country for material in North America, where they don’t have to write a new hour every year and then have it directly compete against the new hours by every single other comedian in the country.

But I always enjoy a good competition, so I’ve liked getting to hear the different entries this year, compare them, root for them like sports teams. I already posted, at the end of August this year, that I felt like my favourite team had just won the championship when the 2023 Edinburgh award went to Ahir Shah’s show Ends, which was the one I’d rated the highest out of all the ones I’ve heard. I still think it’s the best 2023 stand-up show I’ve heard. Honourable mentions go to:

Adam Kay’s Undoctored, Andrew O’Neill’s Geburah, Paul Foot’s Dissolve, Ian Smith’s Crushing, Pierre Novellie’s Why Are You Laughing?, Laura Davis’ Well Don’t Just Stand There Dancing, Milo Edwards’ Sentimental, Robin Ince’s MELONs, Tom Ballard’s It Is I, Zoe Coombs Marr’s The Opener, and I’d probably have Mark Watson’s Search on this list if I weren’t currently mad at him. Daniel Kitson’s First Thing doesn’t count as stand-up, but obviously that too.

I made that list by going through my spreadsheet of stand-up shows I’ve seen/heard, sorting it by year, and picking out the ones I really really liked from the 2023 section. But that also showed me some 2022 shows that I have marked as 2023 on my spreadsheet, because I've heard a version of it from 2023. And I can’t end that list without giving honourable mentions to the best of those as well: Grace Petrie’s Butch Ado About Nothing, Josie Long’s Re-Enchantment, Hari Kondabolu’s Vacation Baby (I’m actually not sure when this one started, but it was released on YouTube in April 2023 so I’m guessing it was performed in 2022), Mae Martin’s SAP (see note about Hari Kondabolu), Paul Foot’s Swan Power, James Acaster’s Heckler’s Welcome, Huge Davies’ The Carpark, and Shelf’s Hair. Frankie Boyle’s Lap of Shame would probably be on this list, if I’d actually heard it during its first run, rather than hearing it after I saw the last New World Order season so I’d heard most of the jokes before.

Okay, now that I’ve done that, I can’t go on with this post without going through the 2022 section of my stand-up list and naming my favourites of the 2022 shows of which I actually heard a version from 2022: John-Luke Roberts’ A World Just Like Our Own But…, Rhod Gilbert’s The Book of John, Kiri Pritchard McLean’s Home Truths, Mark Watson’s This Can’t Be It (that one started in 2021, but it was performed at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival so counts as a 2022 show), Tim Key’s Mulberry (I think that may actually be a 2021 show as well, not sure when it started), Nick Helm’s What Have We Become, Sam Campbell’s Companion, Daniel Kitson’s Outside, Nish Kumar’s Your Power Your Control.

Also, I need to mention that Nish Kumar didn’t do a proper Edinburgh hour in 2023, just messed around with WIP stuff, but from having heard some of the stuff he’s messing around with at the moment, I can already say I think he’s building toward a good shot at my favourite show of 2024. Also, Andy Zaltzman has just announced that he’s preparing to soon do new stand-up for the first time in a bunch of years, and I think the last new show he did may have been his absolutely brilliant 2019 year in review, so I can’t wait to hear that (hopefully they’ll release some of it on The Bugle, they’ve done that before).

Stewart Lee’s Basic Lee needs to be on my list of favourite entries in the 2022/2023 season, even though I’m also a little bit mad at him these days.

Anyway, this post wasn’t even supposed to be about that. It was supposed to be about the show I’ve just heard, but then I got caught up in talking about how it fits into my hobby of following the competitions for the best Edinburgh hour like it’s a sports championship. Any time I have the chance to see or hear something that was nominated for the main Edinburgh award in any year, I like to do that. Because whether or not it ends up being good, I find it interesting to learn what gets considered good by those standards.

In 2023, I’ve heard a few of the shows that were nominated. Ahir Shah’s Ends was absolutely incredible and I thought entirely deserved to win. Ian Smith’s Crushing was streamed on NextUp, and I thought it was great. Really well written and well delivered, definitely deserved to be nominated even if I didn’t think it was better than the one that won (he was on The Bugle a few weeks ago, getting affectionately mocked by Andy Zaltzman for being the Edinburgh Comedy Award loser, though by the end even Andy had to drop that long enough to acknowledge that getting nominated is impressive and he did well).

NextUp also streamed Phil Ellis’ show, which… I don’t get it. I don’t mean I don’t get why it was nominated (though that’s also true), I mean I literally did not understand the show. Maybe it’s the sort of thing that’s only funny if you’re in the room. I kept wondering when it was going to start being funny. It is clearly a type of comedy that I do not get.

I’ve also heard Kieran Hodgson’s Big in Scotland, and I think I did get that one, but I also don’t see why it was on the nomination list. It was pretty good, I enjoyed it. But when listing the best stand-up shows I’ve heard from 2023, it wouldn’t occur to me to include that one. It was well written and well put together. It had a good underlying message about romanticization of Scotland, and an interesting take on the subject. It wasn’t all that funny. It just didn’t seem special, it’s one of those shows that gets lost in the blur of all the other hours like it in my mind.

Anyway, I’ve just heard another show that was nominated but did not win that award this year, currently on a post-Edinburgh tour, Ania Magliano’s I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This. And that is what this post is actually supposed to be about. I wrote all that other stuff because I was trying to say that this is another one that rises above the blur of hours with a theme, I think it’s going to stick in my mind and should be added the list of shows I liked best from 2023. I definitely see why this one got nominated.

I normally drop spoilers liberally on this blog, and only occasionally remember to add a “spoiler alert” a few words before the actual spoiler, as I operate under the assumption that if you want to avoid spoilers for a show, you shouldn’t read my post about it. But as this one is still touring, I’ll try to avoid going into too much detail about the actual content. Spoiler alert: it’s got more depth than it appears to at first. Surely that’s not too big a thing to reveal, as that’s the case with every Edinburgh show ever made (well, every Edinburgh show tries to do that, not all succeed).

I just thought it came together really really well. All these different stories and observations, connected fairly loosely but you can see the way they all relate to something central. There was a theme, a quite serious one but covered with the lightest possible touch, and it worked. A lot of the individual bits were funny, the way they connected was satisfying, the message was resonant and felt earned by the end.

What I’d meant to say at the beginning of this post was I’ve heard a lot of Edinburgh hours, and most of them have some theme or other, and it often feels like they started with a few stories, found some tenuous thing that links them, then made that their theme and contrived a few other stories that could possibly fit around it. That doesn’t always make for a bad show, but I find it often makes for an un-memorable one.

This rose above that so nicely. It felt like everything was in it because it was something she actually wanted to say, not just because she needed to fill an hour. And not every bit was of deep importance to the world (though a few were), but every bit was funny and/or well observed enough to be worth wanting to say anyway. Nothing felt tacked on.

People make jokes about an Edinburgh hour with a sad bit at the end, which this sort of had. But the sad bit was also sort of there underlying the whole thing, but also, it never took a break from the humour to cover that. I’m always impressed with a show that manages to blend the funny bits and the sad bits not by going back and forth between them, but by doing both at the same time. Ania Magliano managed to be funny about the serious stuff, nothing felt compartmentalized away from comedy.

Also, she seems to be 24 years old. What the fuck? No one should be allowed to be that good at anything when they’re 24 years old. No one should be able to craft things that well, to express themselves that clearly, to cover their topics with that much nuance.

I’m pleased to say she was a Footlights member, though. Normally I wouldn’t be glad add yet another person to my List of Footlights Comedians I Very Much Like, because there are too many people on that list already, given that I am supposed to be a socialist who does not glorify the elite classes of society. But I also dislike that my List of Footlights Comedians I Very Much Like is almost entirely a list of white guys (with some exceptions, all due respect to the reigning Edinburgh champ Ahir Shah, also Perkins and Toksvig, and I might have added Ayoade’s name here if I were not currently mad at him), so at least I’ve diversified now!

Anyway, add one to my list of things that are done well in this world. And this one is not by a man whom I have reason to be mad at. Hooray for diversity!

[mylifeincinema]

My 25 Most Anticipated Films of 2023!!

No intro this year. Just, y’know, here they are...

PHOTO ONE:

1. Infinity Pool (Brandon Cronenberg) – 1.27.23

Haaaave you seen Possessor?!? Plus, that trailer!!

2. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Peyton Reed) – 2.17.23

Bring on Kang...

3. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Chad Stahelski) – 3.24.23

I’ll never not be excited to see Keanu kill the shit out of people.

4. Renfield (Chris McKay) – 4.14.23 

Nic Cage as Dracula... I repeat, Nic Cage as Dracula!!

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (James Gunn) – 5.5.23 

The trailer alone has me more emotionally invested than anything I saw in 2022, period.

PHOTO TWO:

6. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Dos Santos, Powers & Thompson) – 6.2.23

Haaaaaave you seen the first one?!?

7. Asteroid City (Wes Anderson) – 6.23.23

Wes is one of my very favorite directors. Enough Said.

8. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (James Mangold) – 6.30.23

If you’re actually questioning why this is here, you clearly did not know how obsessed I was with Temple of Doom and Last Crusade as a little kid.

9. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One (Christopher McQuarrie) – 7.14.23

Cruise can do no wrong... until he does... but even then the footage of his death will be a fucking blockbuster, and all his fans will give him the exact sendoff he’s apparently begging for. Can’t wait to see how he almost dies, this time.

10. Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan) – 7.21.23 

So very excited to see Nolan take on something more dramatic... plus, look at that cast!!!

PHOTO THREE:

11. Barbie (Greta Gerwig) – 7.21.23

Margot and Greta... enough said. Oh, but I’ll say more... we live in a world that will soon be home to a Barbie movie co-written by Noah Baumbach!! That’s beautiful.

12. Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve) – 11.3.23

The first felt too unfinished to not be excited to see where Villeneuve brings it next.

13. Wonka (Paul King) – 12.15.23

Really couldn’t care less about Chalamet, and this project is totally unnecessary. But... I’m a die-hard Roald Dahl fan, and this is directed by the man who gave us Paddington 2, so... yeah.

14. Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese) – TBD 

C’mon... It’s Scorsese!

15. The Killer (David Fincher) – TBD  

C’mon... It’s Fincher!

PHOTO FOUR:

16. Napoleon (Ridley Scott) – TBD 

I love Ridley Scott... and Joaquin Phoenix looks like he’s going to murder this role.

17. Maestro (Bradley Cooper) – TBD 

The theatre geek living deep down within me is enough reason. But then I also want to see if A Star Is Born was a fluke.

18. Ferrari (Michael Mann) – TBD 

Michael Mann directing a movie about Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver... why aren’t you excited about it?!?

19. Beau Is Afraid (Ari Aster) – TBD

No clue what we’re in for... but I’m certain it’s going to fuck me up for a week or two.

20. Peter Pan & Wendy (David Lowery) – TBD  

David Lowery... enough said. I mean, seriously, have you seen A Ghost Story or Pete’s Dragon?!?

PHOTO FIVE:

21. Lee (Ellen Kuras) – TBD  

If Kate Winslet wasn’t enough... well, it is... it really is.

22. Blitz (Steve McQueen) – TBD 

It’s McQueen doing a WWII drama starring Saoirse Ronan...

23. Megalopolis (Francis Ford Coppola) – TBD  

I’m hoping it’s as wild as those set photos have been...

24. The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick) – TBD

Malick does Jesus...

25. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wes Anderson) – TBD

 I doubt this is actually going to release in 2023, but it is already in post, so in case does, I really need you all to know just how excited I will always be for new Wes Anderson.

There they are!

As for My Best of 2022, once again all of the major lists will not be getting posted until mid/late January, but I’m going to try to get some of the early lists – such as Posters, TV & Non-2022 Films – sorted and posted over the next week or two. Please Feel Free to Follow Along So You Don’t Miss Anything!

Stay Tuned!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[offender42085]

Post 0403

Alexander Kraus, Wisconsin inmate 713278, born 2002, incarceration intake at age 20, sentenced to Life;  received into DOC control on 09/08/2022

Intentional Homicide

A Neenah teenager who shot and killed his grandparents at their home in Grand Chute, Wisconsin in 2019 will serve at least 40 years of a life sentence.

Alexander M. Kraus, aged 20, showed little emotion in court as the Outagamie County Judge sentenced him to life in prison and ordered that he serve at least 40 years, minus the 3½ years he's already been in custody, before he can petition for supervised release.

"Obviously, the severity of the offense is significant," the Judge said, "as horrible of a crime as we have. Mr. Kraus killed his grandparents, and he killed both, one right after the other, and it was without mercy, and it was with intent, and it was well planned out."

Kraus previously pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicidein the deaths of Dennis Kraus, 74, and Letha Kraus, 73.

"I loved my grandparents," Kraus told the court before sentencing. "I'm so sorry."

The mandatory penalty for first-degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin is life in prison, but the Judge was empowered to decide when Kraus would be eligible for supervised release.

He set that at 20 years for each count and that the periods run consecutively for a total of 40 years.

The Outagamie County District Attorney recommended that Kraus be sentenced to life in prison without release. She said the killing of his grandparents was part of Kraus' larger plan — developed over 18 months — to carry out mass murder at Neenah High School. Kraus was a junior at the school.

"I do not believe the community is or will be safe with the defendant in it," the DA told the court. "I also believe significant punishment for the horrific murder of two wonderful people in our community is not only appropriate but is expected."

"In light of this investigation," the DA continued, "I believe the murders of Dennis and Letha Kraus saved the lives of countless students at Neenah High School."

Gregory Petit, an attorney for Kraus, requested eligibility for supervised release after 20 years, which is the minimum under law. He said Kraus' plan for a mass shooting at Neenah High School "was so delusional, there was no way that would have happened."

"This wasn't a case of an evil person," Petit said. "It was a kid with mental health issues that did something horrible."

During a June 2021 trial, Kraus tried to convince a jury that a mental illness kept him from being able to understand what he did was wrong, but he wasn't successful.

Kraus had been awaiting sentencing ever since because, two months after the trial, the Judge determined Kraus wasn't competent to proceed to sentencing and ordered him to get treatment until his competency was restored.

After three separate evaluations, the Judge ruled that Kraus was competent to proceed.

Kraus was 17 when he called 911 shortly after 11:30 a.m. April 14, 2019, telling an emergency dispatcher "he had just killed his grandparents and needed to be arrested by the police," according to a criminal complaint filed two days later in Outagamie County.

That same day, police found the bodies of Dennis and Letha Kraus at their home on Edgewood Drive in Grand Chute. A police officer who searched the victims' home found a backpack with a folder inside that contained Kraus' typed plan for killing his grandparents.

2o

[toonpunk-game]

Road to 2nd Edition

Hey everybody. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted something here—because, simply put, there was no more that needed saying. Toonpunk went out the door, it was a very modest success, I posted some lore updates, and then I turned my attention towards other things. I’ve kept myself very busy the last few years in many ways, including a slew of game design projects—some of which already saw publication, and some of which are so ludicrously expensive that a modest success just isn’t gonna pay for em. I didn’t want to go back to kickstarter, so making money for those is most of what I’ve been doing.

Since the debut of the original toonpunk I made a few little content modules for my own use, in line with my original vision for a product line. And, starting about a year ago, I had a pretty shocking realization: as much as I loved it when it came out, the me of 2022, doesn’t like the game I made in 2017. There were a lot of little things that I felt were lacking, or insubstantial, or not very funny, or maybe a little clumsy mechanically. Plus, its politics stank with the naivite of a 21-year-old liberal who hadn’t yet discovered the golden path to Marxism. So, I started work on a simple project: integrate a lot of the modules I’d made for my own amusement, get some more art, rewrite the flavor text, and release the package as Toonpunk 2nd Edition. 2npunk, if you will.

I’ll be keeping a dev diary here to let you all know how it’s coming along. To fill you in on the new stuff. I’ll be posting the whole finished product here one day, and here’s the first piece of news: it’s going to be absolutely free at point of purchase, with a pay-what-you-want option if you just really feel like you gotta gimme some money. Maybe pessimistically—I say realistically—I’ve just given up on the idea that this game is ever gonna make a dime. But I think it can keep a lot of people entertained, so that’s what I’m gonna angle towards. More on that after the break.

So on that note I’d like to talk about one of the smaller changes I made, that’s also turned out to be one of the more expensive and creatively satisfying ones. In the original Toonpunk book, there’s a list of example player characters near the back. These include statlines and gear recommendations for people who want to play specific kinds of characters. It was—to put it generously—done with the resources I had at the time, and it shows.

Look at that. Very humdrum. There’s a fair bit of information there but it all kinds of blends together and it doesn’t really grab the imagination. One of the first things I learned, selling this book store-to-store across America, is that—simply put—people like pictures. For whatever reason I didn’t realize how important illustrations are to making an idea seem tangible in the reader’s imagination. So I knew, going into this,  I wanted to splurge a little bit and make the player character templates really sparkle. I wanted each one to have more space, more items, and most importantly more style. So, without further ado, here are 5 of the 9 that are included in the full game.

Each one is dripping with style and character. With almost all of these — notable exceptions being the field boss and the big guy  — I basically just handed the archetype description and a few notes (needs to be carrying this kind of weapon, needs to have this kind of build) to the artist and told them go apeshit. That’s why there’s all these diverse and exciting styles on display here. The only overriding artistic decision I came down really hard about is that I wanted them all to be in monochrome. I like grayscale art, a whole helluva lot; I think it lets a line artist’s work really shine. Plus, you can color it in however you want.

I’ll be back later to talk about some of the changes to character progression —which now involves managing your character’s growing reputation, to get a bunch of special perks. If you like what you’ve seen so far...stay tooned!

[truthdogg]

As I read the post linked below, it reinforced for me just how much media has changed in the past ten to twenty years. The post itself is a great snapshot of what’s required to understand a news story, and it demonstrates why most news media today is simply not working.

I don’t watch tv news, and haven’t for probably a decade. We have a subscription to the New York Times, but the login rarely works for me, and we’ve let our Washington Post subscription lapse. I get my news from a variety of online newspapers, npr, websites, blogs, and podcasts, and usually do an internet search for anything that sounds interesting or that I want to understand better.

This is a pretty terrible way to keep up with things. It takes a lot of time, and it requires a general knowledge of the ideological slant of the news outlet I’m reading. That means I either have to remember or look up who owns the company and who runs their editorial board, which takes up even more time.

I could save a lot of time by going to one source that not only spells out what just happened, but also tells who loses and who gains, what the impacts will be and how to process it, and perhaps even include links to speech transcripts and legislation for us to read on our own. Good newspapers used to do more of that, but they don’t anymore; instead they simply share the latest quotes about the subject at hand. (“He said this thing, she said a different thing, so you decide for yourself who’s telling the truth. What is truth, anyway?”) So now we need to piece full stories together from multiple sources, just like tumblr user @yiffmaster does above.

It takes a genuine interest in what you’re reading to spend the necessary time that on that. Otherwise all you’ll see are stories about how there’s a new hire at NLRB from SEIU and that upset somebody, or something about the Joy Silk doctrine that makes no sense on its own, or (most likely) that Biden spoke to a worker or two on a picket line somewhere but so did Donald Trump so both parties claim to support workers. It’s all meaningless individual trees standing on their own until you can step back, study, and see the forest.

That’s not to say we never get important dot-connecting well-researched articles. We absolutely do, and there are still plenty of amazing hardworking journalists, but the landscape is so fragmented that it’s hard to know where those articles will come from, whether they can be trusted, or often even how to find or access them. Often they don’t even have dates, so it’s hard to know just how outdated the information even is.

I would love to find a news source that organized its articles by topic and provided outside links. Every story could provide links to relevant info and source material, instead of offhand references. But such a broad news site doesn’t really exist among the sources I read. (TPM might get closest at times, but it’s a tiny company.) instead, an article gets published, it’s out of date a week later, and it remains the top search result for its subject matter for weeks, months or years. Try looking up what the Biden administration did to help rail workers after they went back to work at the start of December 2022, to see what I mean. It’s possible, but you have to already know what you’re looking for. Otherwise all you can find is that they let workers down by forcing them back to work, which isn’t remotely the whole story—what came after that was a very big deal.

But there’s a workaround to all of this that a lot of Americans use to feel they have the full picture. It’s a cable network that does connect all the dots. It ties stories back into an overarching narrative, and explains to viewers how each news story reinforces its narrative. Its viewers tune in for that narrative; they know who is blocking the programs they’re told are good or bad, and who supports the other ones. It’s called FOX News of course, and it’s complete garbage propaganda. It’s also genius in how it works.

There is no good way to deprogram a FOX viewer who’s sucked in, because there is simply no alternative that fully describes the stories that they follow. They’re in an alternative universe of facts that have bits of the real world thrown in for color. The stories that multiple reliable sources do provide cannot counter that narrative on their own, because they simply don’t explain enough. If anything they have the opposite effect, because the FOX viewer is arriving with a set narrative in their mind, and the small story that simply presents arguments with no conclusions will include the argument they’re familiar with. For them to come out of that well of ignorance will require research into multiple sources that they’re simply not going to ever do.

A liberal propaganda outlet to counter it is more than useless—most people who lean left find those annoying and and no one on the right would believe a word of it.

No, what we need is news for today to be organized completely differently, almost like a current events Wikipedia. Publishing a newspaper or making a newscast and sticking them online is borderline ridiculous. They’re only snapshots in time, and without a tree of links to accompany them—perhaps via a link back to a topic main page where that tree of links resides—they often become misinformation fairly quickly.

Many news outlets have taken some baby steps toward something like this, but only with major stories (“Follow our impeachment coverage here!”), and only with their own articles. This relegates other important news (like what the Biden Admin is doing with labor) to a lesser status and keeps these outlets as news gatekeepers, and it undermines their own credibility among doubters by presenting yet another closed system.

We need news sources that are much more comprehensive and committed to providing a full picture if we ever hope to undo the damage and division that propaganda is creating here. I’d love to know if any of you have found such a thing. I haven’t.