#i feel like 2024 is gonna be a massive year for her | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pokepalsarchive · 9 months

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New Years, New plans +Thank you note to everyone

Hey guys, Admin Mega here, happy new years PokeAskblog community! Hope this year has been wonderful for all of you, even if it had troublesome moments! As 2024 is on the horizon I wanna talk about the resolutions me and OG have for the blog and what to expect in the near future. Regarding Activity: I'll openly say this, I haven't been that active in the community lately which is unfortunate, but starting 2024 I'm hoping to get right back in and finish all the asks that have been left unattended. This means I'll try and participate in, aside from asking other blogs, community events hosted by anyone like the sinsibgala and bad end AU event. The Characters: As of typing this resolutions post, Skarla is undergoing a redesign as I feel somewhat unsatisfied with her current appearance, alongside an art style change that doesn't heavily utilize the Pokemon art style and just stick to the art style I have, something that's unique to me without always going on model for others like I have in the past. For new characters, while they haven't been unlocked yet we have teased quite a few and we still have some behind closed doors that me and OG would love to reveal one day! A w.i.p preview of Skarla's new design:

About the Blog: Previously stated, activity for the blog has been very slow due to a multitude of reasons, such as dealing with problems in real life, lack of motivation and direction, bogged down by other activities, etc. Story and lorewise me and OG are at work fleshing out the entirety of the Pokepalsverse, that being important moments in it's history, relations between humans and Pokemon along with the main cast, the aforementioned background organizations, and deities that would be present or have an important role in the world. On a side note, given that this blog is essentially a miniblog it doesn't have many benefits compared to a main blog, so me and OG are in talks of possibly rebooting the askblog, meaning that we'll have to start over on a new blog format and delete this one. Possible sideblog?: During my long hiatus writing for the askblog, an idea popped into my head about starting a sideblog that revolved around the company that Skarla works with and the many shenanigans that go on in the organization. Maybe it might happen, maybe it wont, who knows! But in the meantime keep on the lookout. What to expect in the future:

When activity kicks back up, we'll try and focus on making more art of the characters, make some minicomics detailing their history and backstory, possibly many more. But before I can close this post off, I'm gonna give some thanks to some of the community members that I like, admire and influenced me.

Many thanks:

Nori (@harmonia-university): Thank you for being the main askblogger that aspired me to become an askblogger myself. I'll never stop saying this, your cast of characters and world setting is very unique and I love everything about it! You're also a very wonderful person to watch and talk to, and I wish I can spend more time with you and the others! I look forward to what you have in store for the Harmoniaverse. Mikey (@askdeoxys): You sir are a driving force of encouragement, you have brought an entire community together and you have hoped for the best for many askbloggers, including us! Your words are extremely aspiring and it helps us strive to bring our askblog to the potential it deserves, and I couldn't thank you enough for that Mikey. You are awesome! Aro (@ask-the-shiny-pokemons/@aro-pokeverse): You are the first big follower/fan of our askblog the moment we opened up. Thank you for sticking with us and this blog, you're a cool person and I appreciate your company! I look forward to seeing more from the Virbank Baddies and other cohorts your world has. Migmog (@ask-the-royal-absol/@singularity-and-co): A massive shoutout to you for your great worldbuilding and colorful cast of characters. It's fun having chats with you during your streams on discord and watch you draw out your panels! Thank you for making a very intriguing world that leaves people wanting to see what happens next! Edge (@casteliacityramen): Thank you for the advice on some aspects of the lore, I really appreciate it! Like everyone I've mentioned, I hope to interact with all of you more in 2024, get to know all of ya better! Jean (@ask-casteliabounce): Another blog worth checking out, thank you for the further drive and inspiration for upcoming works for the blog! I really like Max, he's a cool cat weasel. Oh and one more thing, a final word from OG: "Thank y'all so much for the great 2023! Without y'all, askpokepals would just be a mere concept, lol. You guys are swag, epic and amazing in that order! Here's to 2024!" And that's pretty much all I have to say. Thank you for reading this, and thank you to the wonderful PokeAskblog community for it's chill atmosphere and positivity. See you all in the new year! With love, MegamanNick, Co-Admin of the blog.

#pokepals #new years

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thesinglesjukebox · 8 months

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SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR - "MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR" (2001) (2024)

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23 years on and this groove's still got some life in it...

[7.11]

Thomas Inskeep: Sophie Ellis-Bextor should've been the next Kylie — and for a couple years, almost was. Her 2001 debut album Read My Lips spun off a trio of top 3 singles in the UK, including this one, which has over time become her true classic. Dua Lipa's entire career was birthed in this single, the dictionary definition of ebullient dance-pop. (It's fitting that Lipa's "Houdini" is currently the most-played song on UK radio as this single is re-ascendant.) SEB has never gone anywhere: she's still making music, touring (based on her 2022 Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Kitchen Disco (Live at the London Palladium), she still sounds great), and is now a DJ on BBC Radio 2. She just didn't become the massive pop star she deserved to be. Now, thanks to its placement in a climactic scene in Saltburn, her greatest single is getting its flowers, climbing back up to #2 in the UK (so far — my fingers are crossed it can make it that final notch higher). "Dancefloor" still sounds fresh, certainly fresher than the glut of '90s-sampling dance-pop dominating the UK charts. This single sparkles, SEB giving a knowing wink as she sings, especially on the line "gonna burn this goddamn house right down." She knows what she's doing here: making magic. [10]

Edward Okulicz: I bought this on single back in 2002, which tells you something (other than that I am old): it was an irresistible bit of sparkly disco radio pop back in the day. Move it forward or backwards a few years and it might have been an indie rock song for someone else, a filter house record, or (gulp) a Ronan Keating record. Fortunately that never occurred, and it's a delight to see a classic gain new fans from age groups and territories that didn't get it on saturation rotation. Part of it's the solid song by Gregg Alexander, who at his best was a master craftsman of a much-maligned form. Another part of it's the much nimbler, slinky production compared to the rest of his soft-rock oeuvre. And a very, very large part of it is the Debbie-Harry-but-English pose of Ellis-Bextor, too cool to do anything but be filmed dancing from the waist up while she stomps her heel into your eardrums. "Murder" really has everything — a catchy chorus, the tinniest guitar solo ever, hooks that fall as much off the words as the melody — and so is perfect for every occasion, even a movie I am never, ever going to see. [10]

Alfred Soto: Like the Pet Shop Boys' "Rent," waaayyyy too good for Saltburn — perhaps Emerald Fennell thought their incandescence would rub off on her as if it were glitter. Part of a vanished climate of French house-inspired crossover pop like Kylie Minogue's "Love at First Sight," Sophie Ellis-Bextor presages Katy B's regular-person anonymity: she surveys the strings and rhythm guitar licks like a party hostess keeping an eye on the band while sipping her prosecco. [8]

Alex Clifton: I haven't seen Saltburn and frankly have no interest in it, but this film has led to the Sophie Ellis-Bextor renaissance which is a net good for society. "Murder on the Dancefloor" is just brilliantly composed and produced; it feels as fresh today as it did twenty years ago. There are so many thrilling little moments from Ellis-Bextor's vocal delivery: the way her voice curves into "about your kiiiiiind," the little rasp in "there may be others," the little trill of "dancefloor" in the bridge. I feel so biased writing this review because I've literally been listening to this song since I was a kid, but I'm so jazzed about "Murder" finally receiving the love it deserves. [10]

Ian Mathers: How can you not love pop music when it'll randomly do things like this, suddenly giving us a song to review from before the earliest days of the Jukebox, that is here purely because of its use in a movie that I have not seen but am informed was probably picked on the basis of Ellis-Bextor's plot arc in the music video. And if I'm not willing to go to bat for it quite as hard as I would for "Running Up That Hill," I did love "Murder on the Dancefloor" in 2001 and it still sounds great now. I don't find myself having any reaction more complicated than happiness at hearing it again and that particular joy of people liking something you like. [8]

Nortey Dowuona: If you told me this came out in 2021 and Emerald Fennell asked Sophie to use it in her movie set in 2001 because it was just that on point in depicting the time, I would agree. Then after taking out my phone, I'd be punched in the face and meekly give up my phone. Then, after watching you sprint into a nightclub, I'd immediately thank goodness you didn't ask for the passcode and run like hell for the closest subway. I am three stops from home before I remember this did not actually come out in 2021; there are other Sophie Ellis-Bextor songs and jailbreaking is a thing now. [10]

Leah Isobel: RIP Mark Fisher. You would've written a hell of a blog post about Saltburn. [7]

Mark Sinker: Necessary digression 1: heraldry as a science in Europe is roughly 900 years old, a bright and stylised easy-read guide, highly rule-bound and policed, to class and land and title — which is to say to material history (its jargon-field is still mostly words not otherwise used in the UK since the 14th century; even property law is less lousy with extinct Norman French terms). And like many very aged things, it has necessarily also passed through phases and fashions, as technologies of display arrive and depart. In fact the first inkling I had that I wasn’t going to get on with Saltburn was the typeface chosen for the title on-screen at the outset. It’s a font with a fairly specific ill-set ungainliness to it: it wants to have the weight of "pleasingly and weirdly old; not how we do things now," but it might just as well be some off-the-peg super-modern studio confection — or even (though I slightly doubt this) something custom-fashioned purely for the film. There’s no discernible care to the choice. Necessary digression 2: back in the late '70s when Peter Saville was busily and insouciantly borrowing from this or that actual-real document or design, of such-and-such era, part of the point was the severity of the decontextualisation — except there was a rigour to the carelessness. The item was being supplied with an iconicity (the very word) pulling you in towards whatever the item was that Factory Records was then placing on the market. The surface glamour of the original was to be funneled through in such a way that its weight amplified only the new relationship. In fact (in its stylised easy-read way) Saville’s work was ruthlessly the opposite of heraldry, so very good at managing the ambient melancholy that suffuses the wider Factory moment; all the blocks and counterspells necessary to conjure here beyond the end of creative time as the context for the music to have presence. Anyway, long story short (lol) Saltburn – which would love to believe it has accessed the aura, for example, of the cover of New Order’s Technique — is attempting to juggle the same double burden. It wants to conjure a play between the decontextualised pull of 24-hour-party-people hedonism and the real ineluctable unremovable weight of actual history and actual class and actual land and actual title. Except for its story to work it needs both dimensions (hedonism and weight; heraldry and careless scribble) to register, as Saville absolutely didn’t. No block, no counterspells, nothing to dampen the disturbances — so when poor old Sophie EB’s voice and poise are scalpeled out of their 20-year-old chart context and abruptly c/p-ed into whichever late-stage scene it is, well, here they are, as a clumsy synopsis (calculation, side-eye, dancing, death) the structure really shouldn’t require, in a role the song is the wrong mood (a faintly gauche trifle, a chirpy hustle) to deliver. The movie never works out where it gets its deep reveal from, or what shape its politics are (if politics is even a useful word here). Ill-set ungainliness all over again: the carelessness floods back into the borrowed adornment, and breaks it in pieces. I don’t even love this song that much but I hate how it gets what value it has so gracelessly driven out of it. [2]

Jacob Satter: At the risk of killing the groove, this is a pretty boring choice for a manufactured revival track. Call me back when the kids discover "It's In Our Hands." [4]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I'm glad everyone's having fun here but the more I try to enjoy this — either on its own terms or as an icon of nostalgia — I get nothing. Unremarkable in any year. [4]

Lauren Gilbert: It was a [10] in 2001, it's still a [10] now. [10]

Katherine St. Asaph: The thing about it being 2024 is that in the intervening 20-plus years since "Murder on the Dancefloor" came out, approximately ninety million more disco-revival tracks came out. Some of them are by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, even. And so many of those tracks are smooth where this is stiff, magisterial where this is timid (and not in a winsome Katy B kind of way; Katy got better arrangements), charged where this is inert and just generally unmurderous. It's actually startling how inessential this sounds by comparison. [3]

Oliver Maier: Even as a youth, before my brain was burdened with indulgent critical vocabulary, I felt like this song just didn't work. I can't pin down whether "Murder" is knowingly a little chintzy (dare I say camp?) or if it's just cheap tat trying sincerely to sound boutique. Benefit of the doubt granted or not, Ellis-Bextor sounds like she's doing karaoke off the sofa. [4]

Michael Hong: When Ellis-Bextor pauses, it's easy, like a quick and graceful end to a conversation rather than the expectant response to her more spirited word choice. She's committed to this casualness, easily slipping away at the hint of a faux pas, which makes the occasional lingering word more charming. "About your kind," she sings, as if looking you up and down, wondering if she's got it wrong this time; the word "others" is trailed as if she's daring you to eliminate the competition. In that way, "you better not kill the groove," delivered with such nonchalance, becomes a fervid instruction. [7]

Will Adams: It's cute, Sophie is ever-charming, but there's real problem when you've got songs in your catalog with titles like "Bittersweet" and "Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer" that offer way more palpable drama than the one with the word "Murder." [5]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Every other line is threatening here. “Stay another song,” “Don’t think you’ll get away,” “You better not kill the groove.” Sophie Ellis-Bextor isn’t demanding fear, though. That’s what makes “Murder on the Dancefloor” so irresistible: she sounds like a friend, albeit one who’s deathly serious about having a good time. When you hear her, you believe it can be this good for you too. [8]

Taylor Alatorre: Wow. They were allowed to make these slick disco-pop reimaginings with actual guitar solos back then? We must retvrn. [8]

Tara Hillegeist: It feels like a time capsule from another era in pop music entirely, because it is. There was a time when Ellis-Bextor's stately, imperial, nigh-inhuman precision of a delivery felt like nothing so much as the edifice within which pop star royalty could be crowned, particularly in the world of UK pop; it's still hard, even now, to deny the simple pleasures of someone who knows what her job is and then executes it flawlessly. But it's been over two decades since this song originally bowed, and it must be said that it was the impact of songs like, yes, "Murder" itself that raised pop music's skill floor high enough that such icy professionalism now feels like the most tiresome part of it — Dua Lipa does this regularly, after all, and with equal anonymity. No, what saves it, and ensures the song remains nothing so much as a delightful diversion (conditions of its resurgence be damned, I say), are the sampled whoops that come in beneath the guitar solo; notwithstanding that such a slice of controlled disco can credit itself with having a guitar solo to begin with, but the canned hype is such a stupendously goofy touch. It humanizes the song instantly, stripping the archness of its artifice aside to reveal the awkward smile underneath. The moment passes, of course. But the smile lingers. [7]

Anna Katrina Lockwood: I've been waiting 20+ years for an opportunity to issue a dissertation on the songwriting genius of Gregg Alexander and by god am I ready. Though it's hard to imagine it in a different form, "Murder on the Dancefloor" was apparently a cast-off single for Alexander's New Radicals debut, replaced by the equally glorious "You Get What You Give" — like, imagine being such a talented songwriter that you can just cast off a song like this, knowing you've got an equally great one to replace it with! "Murder on the Dancefloor" is just perfection in Ellis-Bextor's hands, with a galaxy of terrific choices in its production to go along with the amazing melodic structure. I still can't help but burst out laughing at the initial vocal hit in the intro on occasion, a perfect, delicately harmonized coo of "Murder!," cutting through the disco instrumental setup occurring all around. It's as great a moment of pop songwriting as I'm aware of — setting the expectation of the song's vibe from the outset. Ellis-Bextor's lyrics are outstanding, cleverly arch but not too shiny, in the thick of it yet also gliding past suavely. The song is incredibly detailed, a carefully calibrated piece — it lopes by with a relaxed stride rather than a reckless dash, a well-tailored Savile Row suit as opposed to an H&M tunic, cut to the millimeter. Yet it's also very clearly of the disco, built for singing along, difficult to avoid dancing to when it comes on. It turns on its heel at moments' notice, with layers of melody playing off each other throughout. Matt Rowe's efforts in production also deserve notice — this song sounds great, so distinctive that it is still eminently listenable 23 years on. I honestly have not a single thing to criticize about "Murder on the Dancefloor," and it's been a long time that I've considered it to be one of the truly great pop songs of my lifetime. It feels like incredibly just desserts to see it garnering so much praise now. [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#sophie ellis-bextor #saltburn #music #pop #pop music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

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linaket · 8 months

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Monthly Update (Feb 6, 2024)

It has definitely been... a January. This year, I had a lot of plans and goals relating to my writing, but a lot of them are already not going through. One was to do weekly or monthly updates, kind of like when I did weekly updates while working on TS. But, it's still early in the year, so I figure its better late than never. Also still early in the month even if I didn't manage to get this out there at the end of January...

My personal life has been a bit hectic. First thing was that some major projects in the house I planned to have completed last year were finally finished this month--I have all new windows installed in my house now, and a new door, and while I didn't personally do the windows (I did install the door, though) it takes a lot of time to prep before and clean up after reno projects and get the house back in order, so I've spent the last two weeks on this. Additionally, I'd applied for a promotion at work, and then was coated in stress waiting for the results... (which I received a few days ago... and I got it! Been a long time coming, really.)

So this is the first one of these... just gonna throw things out here and decide on a format as they go.

Books Read

Finally completed The Fifth Season trilogy by N. K. Jemison. I wanted to finish this one last year, but the last book lingered into the new year.

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

The Dead Take The A Train by Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey

Important Posts

I shared a summary of my 2024 writing goals/wips on instagram. I meant to bring this over to tumblr and do a bit more on it but... didn't. Maybe this month?

Shadow's Prey: Act 1 wip intro here on tumblr

Writing

30k on Mortal Teeth. 15 chapters done of.. ?? a lot probably. 40 something, at least, if not 50-60 range. This completed the second major arc/goalpost (there are about 5 of these at the moment)

Shadow's Prey: Act 1 formatting is moving along well, and so it's still on time for a March release. I may aim more for mid March, depends on how quickly I'm able to finish up the extras and get some promo in. I really wish I could figure out exactly what size image it takes to make a full-page image in ebooks, but I think I'm going to have to settle for the title page not being... perfect. Which. Does not make me happy. But there really isn't a way to appease every e-reader, as they are all different sizes, so I am finding there is only so much I can control here.

Favorite Excerpt

I wrote a lot of things in Mortal Teeth that I was proud of this past month, but one of my favorite things I ran across when writing was realizing that my writing has improved... massively. It's been a while since I've had a leap of growth that I can easily pinpoint, but the extra I planned for SP Act 1 was partially written, and I needed to work on it. I kept getting stuck on continuing because something about it felt off/forced when I tried, so I did the classic open a new doc and retype/rework as I go... and quickly realized why I was having trouble working on it. My style had shifted dramatically....

This isn't a major point in the short, but I wrote the beginning of this around the middle of last year and it went from this:

Whereas Kanna actively ignored Masao’s approach, Ira glared at him in challenge. “Here,” Kanna said, drawing Ira’s attention by offering Amon’s reins as a lead. “Find someone to tend him, and get me a count of the survivors.” Masao’s voice at her back carried a smirk she could feel between her shoulder blades. “What about the casualties?”

to this:

While Ira glared at Masao in challenge, Kanna actively ignored him. Though she was coated with the blood of those she’d killed, her hands to her wrists to her elbows with it, Masao delighted in his stain. Even here, with the smell of death in the air and the unholy silence that followed battle, he smiled. The joy he radiated amidst destruction unsettled her, something deep inside of her flinching from it. Kanna gathered Amon’s reins, drawing Ira’s attention by offering them. “Find someone to tend him, and get me a count of the survivors.” Masao’s voice at her back carried a smirk she could feel between her shoulder blades. “What about the casualties?”

Final Thoughts

I was excited to get through another phase of MT in writing, but I don't think the time I've allotted to finish the draft is going to be enough. This stresses me out a bit, because I gave myself a pretty tight schedule for the year with all the releases (there are 4 ebooks, and I was considering restarting Act 4 in the serial which would be 5 releases total....)

I'm actually... thinking once again that I won't go back to serial posting for SP. Tapas was/is my primary platform for it, and I am simply... no longer a fan of the platform, and not really interested in others, either. So that might be one of the things in the "coming this year" that ends up pushed to next year or later this year, depending, as it will likely be an ebook release instead of serial and... I'm still working on drafting the teeth wip and I don't see it taking a backseat for a while, until I'm truly stuck.

I've been trying not to beat myself up about not doing the things I said I'd do at the start of the year (daily journaling, more updates here and other platforms, etc) because it's simply... not great for me. And really, I'm not sure I would have had the aforementioned improvement in my writing if I'd continued to stress myself out about writing itself, on top of doing all these other things that I'm supposed to do. I took it pretty easy last year after a massive disappointment, shutting down a lot of my online presence and focusing on reading and writing for myself, and I think that's what allowed me to become comfortable again and led to growth. I don't want to feel as defeated as I had that time, because its the kind of thing that would have led to me completely giving up in my younger years, and I also don't want to get stagnant because I'm trying to do too much that isn't... the actual writing. So... I guess we'll see how this goes?

#linaupdates #writeblr

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vicekillx · 8 months

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UPDATE: 2024

Usually I make these kinds of post around New Years, but this year I didn't really have anything to say. But now we're a month in and I definitely do.

I feel…different, this year. In a good way, I think. I feel like I'm tired of being complacent and riding coattails. This month has been a whirlwind of getting my shit in line. So far I:

handled two serious family crises smoothly and picked myself back up quickly from both

called my health insurance (phone calls have historically been an hours-long meltdown-inducing debacle for me) twice to switch my PCP because the previous one was consistently booked 3-6 months out and she just forgot to mention the inhaler I pulled out of my bag to show her at my first appointment so I couldn't get a refill on it or my nebulizer when I had COVID; that's been getting put off since August of last year

made an appointment with said new PCP for Feb 1, and I'm hoping they'll be able to refer me to a dentist and optometrist because I desperately need both

got back into therapy with an autism/ADHD specialist who can help me manage those specifically after my previous therapist didn't understand why I couldn't just Do It™; also have assessments lined up for both to get diagnoses

pay more attention to my health in general, including diet and exercise. I'm already down about 10 lb

restructured my planner to include a mood tracker and sleep tracker, and have been better about staying on top of it

got Trello up and running and so far it's working really well for me

have been doing my house chores more consistently, namely cleaning litter boxes and taking care of my snakes and tarantulas (roommates have been picking up my slack but they shouldn't have to, they're my animals)

am able to work more consistently on my designated work days; before it was a lot of chipping away and putting things off rather than sitting down and making actually decent progress

am finally starting a tattoo sleeve I've wanted for a very, very long time as a belated birthday gift to myself

am consistently filling stream sketch slots, which means I can actually make money and pay my bills on-time (and a huge, huge thank you to everyone who signs up, I'm pretty sure this is the primary reason I've been able to pull myself out of the hole. Financial stability is a hell of a drug)

This year I wanna try really hard to keep the train moving along this track. If things keep going the way they are, I could potentially make some pretty big changes in the not so distant future. Some things I'm brainstorming:

UnholyFans

merch other than stickers (seriously I have so many designs in mind, I just haven't had the drive to work on them or the upfront capital to order inventory)

more monster/demon adoptables

I would really like to collab with some other artists, it's been too fuckin long

website restructure

picking up my side business (I did literally zero pieces for it last year oof), ideally with a rebrand

get back into conventions and try some new crowds: reptile/exotic expos, tattoo conventions, oddities expos, sex conventions, BDSM groups…

push the stream setup to be more professional

rekindling the spark for my personal stories and headworld projects

more I have written down somewhere but can't think of off the top of my head

And to be clear, I'm optimistic, but also a realist. I know from experience that shit changes and I could hit a massive depressive slump in a month or two and be back to where I was for most of last year. I'm still not going to promise anything I'm not confident I can deliver. However, that doesn't mean I shouldn't try.

I already got sidetracked with this post, so I'm gonna make a second to get to my original point and I'll come back and add a link to this one when I do. But suffice to say I want to try - again - to breathe some kind of life back into my SubscribeStar. I have some ideas in mind, but I want to hear yall's opinions on it too.

Watch this space ♥

#vice says #update

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trolagygirl2022 · 11 months

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Yang hyunsuk has been imprisoned for 3 years sooooooo we're possibly being fooled again with the debut news because my gut says its 2024 due to ygs business tactics as it is the BP disbandment rumours have been going around and his own legal case if messing up the image of the company like dude we heard the same things a month or two back about them debuting in September and we got nothing.there is gonna be a MASSIVE change in the group which will prolly lead them to once again plan shit properly for them,when that happens there will possibly be success and the girls will be fine.

The tarot cards I got were death,the world,wheel of fortune, hermit,10 of pentacle, patience.

You can write your observations about my cards too if you want to.

Your opinions on this.Can you do a reading on this?

I'll just do a general reading on BabyMonster

Knight of Swords, Cups and Wands. The Lovers, Judgement rev, Ace of Pentacles, The Fool, Nine of Swords, Page of Wands, Ten of Wands, Six of Cups.

They are working hard on the debut, adding some finishong touches but the Judgement rev is giving me a bad feeling. A possible scandal may happen. When I asked about the Judgement I got Six of Cups so it's something someone did when they were younger or it's one of the younger members (or a water sign).

What is this scandal? The fool, Nine of Wands, Ten of Pentacles rev, Temperance, Six of Pentacles (when I asked about this Six of Pentacles I got: Three of Cups, Knight of Wands and Two of Cups). King of Cups rev (I asked more about the KoC rev and I got: The Hanged Man, The Hermit, Ace of Pentacles, Nine of Swords.

Ok.. I lokey feel someone payed their way into the group (allegedly for entertainment purposes only). Or that some money is involved. So the person represented by the Six of Cups is the King of Cups rev. This person is pretty bratty, emotionally immature, snarky and probably pretty sensitive. They are like more withdrawn and hidden then the other members (I'm picturing if everyone else were to take a picture she would have an attitude and sit in the corner, I'm also imagining the members being like "what's up with her/ what's her problem".) She may have anxiety or she is causing issues in the group. With the Hanged Man she doesn't gaf because she's all like " You can't kick me out because my dad/family funds this company, blah blah blah". She most likely has connections with YG. I feel that the others are working really hard meanwhile behind the scenes she's all like "whatever" and doesn't give in as much as everyone else does leaving everyone frustrated. The energy is quite rocky here and it seems to be causing some issues. This person may be doing risky things or being immature (picture everyone at Niagra falls right, everyone is staying where they are supposed to be meanwhile this one is walking over the fine rop, silly example but that's what I'm getting here.) Very bold idgaf energy.

#kpop tarot #baby monster tarot reading #babymonster tarot

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redsixwing · 4 days

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Trick or Treat 2024

Hello and thank you for participating in Trick or Treat! I'm excited to see what this year will bring. For general preferences: I am always down for LGBTQ headcanons, sweet things, spooky things, dark and scary things... My preferences are broad and if you enjoy creating it, odds are good I'll enjoy receiving it. Smut is welcome but never required. DNW: scat/vomit, omegaverse dynamics, pregnancy fic. Scroll down for individual fandom prompts and flailing :)

John Wick

If we matched on John Wick: I'm interested in the whole spectrum. Campy action? Superspy antics? For artists, intense color or character study? John and Charon both faked their deaths? Charon taking care of John's dog? Winston reminiscing about his favorites?

(Compilation of) FFVII

If we matched on Final Fantasy VII, you'll have already noticed that I like the Turks ;) There's a lot of quiet horror inherent in FFVII - we have technology that consumes the essence of reincarnating life. We have magic that is a stealable, loseable bauble. We have a massive corporation that uses its hired guns to do its ruthless will.

Reno bothering absolutely anybody. Elena receiving her first mission? The Turks as a whole being themselves; extra bonus if Rufus is also there. Rufus and the Turks being friends; Rufus and the Turks being intense together. Or on a sillier note, the Turks handing out candy to Midgar, in celebration of Spirits' Night (or whatever other Halloween analog you feel like?)

Elden Ring

If we matched on Elden Ring, you have found my current intense interest. /ahem I'd love fanwork about Mohg (I omitted Miquella from the tags because I would prefer him not to be the focus of the work, but of course it's fine if he is there! Feel free to use SotE material or not as you choose. My only fandom-specific DNW is that I'd rather nobody be portrayed as a wholly innocent victim here.) The Lord of Blood fascinates me, from his escape from the Shunning Grounds to his actions with the Formless Mother. Why did he choose to build under Caelid, of all places, and what was his reaction to its destruction? What if Ansbach and the Tarnished really DID restore him? Works about Marika and Radagon, Marika AS Radagon, how they bounce off one another, how he longs for perfection, how she embodies everything he can't have and must defend. Works about the Carians: I'm awfully fond of these moon ladies and their terrible Order boyfriends. Rennala/Radagon or Rennala/Marika is very welcome, as is Rellana/Messmer, sweet moments or spicy moments or character studies or random bits of plot. Extra points for weaving in references to in-game worldbuilding or your headcanons!

Art of absolutely any of them :)

Machineries of Empire

If we matched on Machineries of Empire, I'm open to all sorts of shenanigans, particularly those involving some form of A Jedao. Jedao One, Jedao Two, fox kit Jedao.. you name it!

I'm extremely fond of the Fox Kit Trio (Jedao/Yeren/Ruo). I'd be extremely gleeful about fanworks pairing Jedao (or Cheris? hoo hoo) with Kel Gized. That could be sweet, but we all know it's gonna be doomed in the end.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

If we matched on FMA:Brotherhood, I'm happy for any tone. On the treat side, they could give out candy for a celebration or enjoy a pleasant evening, alone or with friends; on the trick side, FMA has a strong core of horror. From the nightmares of the Ishbalan campaign to the grotesque results of alchemy, make 'em scream.

Thank you again - as you can see, I have broad tastes. I hope you enjoy creating whatever it is you're inspired to do!

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deadcactuswalking · 1 month

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/08/2024 (Chase & Status/Stormzy)

It’s a new #1 the second week in a row, as Chase & Status of all acts launch their hit “BACKBONE” with Stormzy to the top of the UK Singles Chart, it being the first for the drum and bass duo and the fourth for the MC. Perhaps unexpected but an ultimately exciting shake-up, it does not reflect the rest of this dull week. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: celebrities complaining

Rundown

As always in this series, we start with our notable dropouts, those being songs that exit the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to “you look like you love me” by Ella Langley featuring Riley Green and “Pour Me a Drink” by Post Malone featuring Blake Shelton which may rebound given the album’s release, as well as some bigger hits like “LUNCH” by Billie Eilish and “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas which lasted longer than it ever should have.

As for our returns, other than Noah Kahan’s “You’re Gonna Go Far” re-entering at #74 after peaking at #63 earlier this year - it often just bubbles under like this - we have a big resurgence at #27, as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” gets a boost from being featured in the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack. It was the pop icon’s sixth #1 and stayed at the top for three weeks back in 1989, thanks to firstly being a fantastic song as well as having a controversial, larger than life music video that angered the Vatican… like all great artists have at least once. Whilst a classic, it’s not exactly my ultimate favourite of Madonna’s hit but with a catalogue like hers, that’s inevitable, and naturally, the track has seen success in several cover versions. Trbute act Who’s That Girl! released a version alongside “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” that reached #88 in 1997 and Miley Cyrus reached #79 with it in 2022, though between those were the biggest versions in the UK, the first being from Eurodance outfit MadHouse who took their “Like a Prayer” all the way to #3 in 2002, when Darius’ “Colourblind” occupied the #1. In 2010, the cast to the musical sitcom Glee created a Madonna tribute episode that obvioussly had to contain “Like a Prayer”. It reached #16 in 2010 on its debut week, the same week that Roll Deep debuted at #1 with “Good Times”.

And now that history lesson’s over, we also have a few notable gains, those being “Double Life” by Pharrell Williams at #56, “Carry You Home” by Alex Warren at #51, “Black Friday (pretty like the sun)” by Lost Frequencies and Tom Odell at #50, “Sailor Song” by Gigi Perez at #43, “I Love You, I’m Sorry” by Gracie Abrams at #38, “Big Dawgs” by Hanumankind and Kalmi at #21, “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy and D.O.D at #19, “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv and Malachiii at #11 and finally, “Angel of My Dreams” by JADE at #10 thanks to a new version. I honestly can’t complain about much of that batch.

As for our top five, well, “BACKBONE” is at #1, we know that, but otherwise we see “Stargazing” by Myles Smith at #5, “Guess” by Charli xcx featuring Billie Eilish slip off the top to #4, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan at #3 and just pipped at the post once again is, also Billie Eilish, with “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” at #2. Now we have a small batch of new songs, but it seems we’ll actually be starting where we started and will be ending. If that wasn’t too convoluted.

New Entries

#72 - “Gunfinger (Salute)” - IRAH featuring Chase & Status

Produced by Chase & Status

So Chase & Status have naturally gotten an algorithmic push they didn’t really get before the massive success of “BACKBONE”, which has not only boosted their back catalogue but also this bubbling track they just produced with a feature credit for IRAH, an MC who hass worked with the two before, most notably on last year’s #5 hit “Baddadan”. I generally like the jump-up intensity of Chase & Status production, and “Gunfinger” feels pretty traditional with IRAH’s deep-voiced intimidation and the reggae sample starting off the song, later warping into a rolicking drum and bass clatter decorated with a sparse, windy atmosphere, stray vocal samples and an array of alarming synths. Whilst I appreciate the details in the drum fills and sound design here, there is a certain emptiness to this that really is evident from IRAH’s general incapability to make much of an impression, sticking to a pretty basic, unmoving delivery that could really do with being more energetic when the production is going to try and rally for minimal intensity over anything. It’s fine, I just wish there was something more to it.

#59 - “Why Why Why” - Shawn Mendes

Produced by Mike Sabath, Shawn Mendes, Eddie Benjamin and Scott Harris

The in-demand Mike Sabath seems to be the go-to for pop singer-songwriters who wish to go for a more serious and ambitious direction, since it worked so well with RAYE, and I can’t blame Shawn Mendes wanting that same level of control and detail given how much of his earlier output was nearly insufferably manufactured. A song like “Stitches” plays out much more like a Disney star’s song than the maturer side Mendes has been wanting to show since at least “In My Blood”, and whilst he has been hit-and-miss in that like he has his entire career, he at least has the dignity to not flail out into failed hyperpop experiments like the ex-partner who I have no doubts he’s still writing about because I know she is too. In this new comeback single, Mendes is constantly thinking of his ex-partner, waking up in a sweat having visions of her naked, and just asking… “why”.

So the song has a general focus on a hopeless state of mental health, but plants ideas without ever expanding on them: the anxiety he feels on tour, the over-dramatic relationship drama and feeling writer’s block all coalesce into that one hook of “I don’t know why”, over a more organic, reverb-drenched folk instrumental that feels very blatantly a trend-chase, even if it does make sense for the acoustic-focused Shawn Mendes to hop on the sound. The bridge makes the childlike confusion Mr. Mendes even more transparent: as soon as he thinks he can be a father, he getss the grounding realisation that he is still a child inside and sometimes even pleads with his mother for help, though does not seem to really do anything to help or prevent any of this? In fact, the only problem resolved is that he “chose himself” instead of his ex-partner, which may be telling that the only recurring problem in his life he can entirely dismiss is those close to him, as everything else described in the track is either cyclical or unresolved entirely, hence his clueless wandering through those underwritten choruses and wow, this is insufferable. For once, I think he knows, and that restless whining about problems is undoubtedly intended to be further frustrated by his refusal to, or maybe even no awareness to how he can, fix those issues. It’s just also not something I really care to hear from, well, anyone. It doesn’t display any temptation to fix his problems, the lyrics aren’t poetic in expressing such, and half of them are informed by his accessibility to experiences I simply cannot access. A self-obessed wobble or spiralling down through the woes that come with “more money, more problems” would be interesting if there was actually any clear progression or detail, but Mendes and co. seem much happier in just leaving the song as is: an unneeded yet unspecific venting session from a wildly successful musician wherein you’re left in the dust to core elements that could actually resonate, and justify the frankly dumb writing. This new lead single ultimately just shows a disconnect that isn’t particularly worth caring about, and I’m not even sure Shawn wants us to, given this sonically has “fulfilling my contract album” kind of written all over it. I’m sure this will be nice for the diehard fans, but to me, this is just useless.

#58 - “Active” - Asake and Travis Scott

Produced by Sarz and MIKE DEAN

Nigerian singer Asake, best known on the UK charts for “Lonely at the Top” and its recent single “Wave” with Central Cee, has released his newest record, Lungu Boy, which has landed on the UK albums chart at #15. I have yet to listen to that full album yet but Asake has impressed me before with their bright, melodious take on Afrobeats, and this new track is actually very interesting, using a sample of fellow NIgerian Jazzman Olofin’s “Raise da Roof” and cutting the vocal off into a stuttered riff against the almost 90s house groove that quickly tumbles into a tighter, minimal bass that feels so full in the mix, to the point where the cowbells and vocal loop end up kind of extraneous to just how good that bassline is. Asake’s melody seems somewhat out of place in his verse given how percussive the production is, but it plays off really interestingly off the busier drums in its second half, and that chorus is so simple yet worms its way into my head, especially when surrounded by the pitch-shifted vocal loop that is just as sticky. If I have a problem, it’s Travis Scott, who once again confuses laziness for being interesting, cutting off elements of his vocal take for no functioning reason other than sounding awkward and “different” for a few bars before quickly dipping into typical flows he has always used to flex vapidly and take me out of just how fun the song should be, though he quickly disappears after. Frankly, both artists do end up disappointing in the core part of the song, even if I have no expectations for Travis other than substanceless garbage nowadays (“fetish for the money”? Seriously?), as both fail to truly make the best use of the instrumental possible, I think becaue Travis is useless and Asake just needs more space to go for the melodic approach, and is given so in the outro, where that rushed vocal loop is placed against smooth, spacey keys that Asake can croon and riff off of. I wouldn’t be surprised if that beautiful section is what MIKE DEAN contributed to the beat, but even with that, it feels like it was tacked on to grant the song more depth than it needs, and I end up pretty much torn damn near 50-50 on it despite a great instrumental. Maybe this would just be better-served by other artists, and not even because of talent dsparity, just because the limitations of the production would fit more frenetic artists than two Auto-Tune crooners. Overall, I do think I’m teetering positively on it, but I wanted to enjoy it way more given what Sarz and DEAN cooked up.

#1 - “BACKBONE” - Chase & Status and Stormzy

Produced by Chase & Status

Now this is how to go for pure intensity: there’s a screeching lead synth, a heavily elevated build that relies not on the instrumental to gather its swell, as Stormzy is much more of a unique presence than IRAH, mostly due to his switches in flow and cadence that convince you on his smug flexes and macho posturing which is honestly mostly just dedicated to defying “you” - not the listener, but an imagined sense of authority to rebel against and insult. That kind of relentless energy in the content may not translate perfectly when he’s still flexing materialistically, but it’s easier than ever to ignore the less populist elements of Stormzy’s bars when the intensity is just this high. The spiralling synth in the build wires down into a canvas of thumping bass tones in the drop, with the drums jumping off of pitch-shifted vocal fragments and stretched backing strings propelling from the back of the mix. The song refuses to commit to a copy-paste structure, with Chase & Status adding great, small details like the break fill before the second verse, the brief but absolutely cavernous, industrial-sounding drums behind Stormzy prior to the final drop, and those horns bursting with not just bombast but a real sinister tone by the end that helps bring back some of the immersion. This is honestly a really simple song structurally, especially lyrically, but the execution is so powerful it trumps the need for anything all too complex, and that probably would have ruined its chances at #1 anyway. It’s exactly the kind of straightforward banger you’d expect the trio to make and whilst like “Guess”, the other likeably obnoxious, arguably garish EDM collaboration to debut unexpectedly at #1, I don’t see ths lasting too long at the very top, I’m sure it can find its space below, and whatever run it has doesn’t take away from that initial spark that gave the production duo a long-overdue reign on the singles chart they’ve called home for over a decade now.

Conclusion

This should be the easiest episode ever for you to figure out who gets what. Shawn Mendes takes the Worst of the Week for “Why Why Why”, “BACKBONE” by Chase & Status and Stormzy gets the Best of the Week, we’ll probably see the new Bruno and Gaga collab shake things up next week alongside Hozier and Post, but we’ll see. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy and I’ll see you next week!

#uk singles chart #song review #pop music #chase & status #backbone #stormzy #shawn mendes #asake #travis scott #irah

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cantcompetewhereudontcompare · 2 months

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Larries are so out of this world absurd I cannot cope. Since before Harry's tour ended they have been pedaling that he's gonna take a long break to let Louis "shine." Some of them have even become so cuckoo that they think he's flat out retiring, forever.

This Larrie, in particular, is unhinged.

She's talking about the first time she said this weird ass thing (Harry walking away from his career to be with Louis) and how the comments called her delusional. "How are we feeling now" ... because it's been a year since his last show and he... IDK? Hasn't come back yet?

Hmmm. Last show of Live On Tour was July 14 2018. Was Harry active in July 2019? NO. He was still on a break. No news of a new album. He hadn't even been seen in a studio since 2018.

This is Harry with his producer Kid Harpoon about a month ago (June 2024) in Rome

He was also seen with his creative director Molly in Civita about 10 days ago (multiple people saw her there). His assistant Luis was seen hauling a suit over his shoulder and both of his photographers, Lloyd and Anthony were there.

I know Larries, for all their attempts at portraying themselves as knowledgeable, never actually know anything. They don't pay attention to this sort of thing because it doesn't involve Louis, so they're not interested, but Harry is working on his fourth album. This isn't even speculation, Billboard reported on it.

Harry takes 2.5 years between albums, he has done that twice already. But I sincerely doubt he's gonna release an album at the 2.5 year mark this time because the US election is in November and it's gonna drown absolutely everything. It's the reason so many artists released music at the beginning of the year. Most likely scenario he's gonna wait for the dust to settle on that, and release in the spring again, making it 3 years instead of 2.5. But he is working on that album. Rob Stringer, head of Sony, was hanging out with his producer and sister just two weeks ago at Stevie's show.

This woman then goes on to say that someone is "messing with her" implying that it's someone in the know telling her stuff. And she doesn't know if this person is seeing if she's trustworthy and won't speak or if this person is using her to speak.

Honey, no one in the know is talking to you. You're a delusional grandma with no life who has focused her entire existence around a relationship that was never real between two people who have not interacted publicly in almost a decade. No one is testing you, no one is feeding you info. Someone equally as bored and lifeless as you is literally messing with you, but just for the fun of it.

"They told me HS4 was coming and I was like, really? I didn't get the vibe." No shit. He's never released albums this close together. Why would he start now?

I just don't understand how these people who act like they pay such close attention can't look at past release dates and do some basic math. In fact, if you're supposedly experts on all things 1D and management and whatnot, how can you not know that the main thing Harry objected to in terms of 1D's schedule is that they released albums too close together. Actual literal quote from Harry "five albums in five years is pretty crazy, huh?" In the shadiest voice, when talking about something else entirely. He just felt the need to tuck that comment in.

He talked about how he didn't want to exhaust the fanbase. He saw it happening in real time with 1D, which went from big (UAN), to bigger (with TMH) to big but slightly lower than before (Midnight Memories) to a slump (Four). He saw concert tickets have to go out on Groupon, their singles barely cracking top 10, and the enthusiasm all around dropping. Because they released too much music too soon and toured too much too close together. He's not gonna make that same mistake. He LITERALLY talked about it in his Rolling Stone interview. He used the sentence "we didn't want to exhaust the fanbase."

Harry went through some massive years, and he didn't get a proper break in the minds of people during his actual break (2020/2021) because he exploded during the pandemic and his songs became huge hits. He took his usual break, disappeared, didn't perform for a long ass time, but he KNOWS he was still very present in people's minds. And then he had two huge years in 2022 and 2023. So yeah, he's gonna disappear for a little longer, but there is literally no indication that he's retiring.

In fact, during his last show, where people used parts of what he said out of context ("when the time is right" is a big one), he made sure to over and over say that he was coming back and it was just a break. Something he never did with 1D, mind you.

When the time is right was absolutely warning that he was gonna take a proper break. The man was probably exhausted. But he was seen with his producers in September 2023. Mind you, Tyler lives in Nashville and Kid lives in California. They were seen with Harry in London, blocks away from RAK Studios, which is where he recorded his last two albums. Do you think his two producers who live across the ocean, happened to travel to London at the same time and hang out near his usual studio for what reason? Fun? They both have kids and wives back home lol. Like, lady, you're full blown delusional.

Remember the pic I posted before? This one?

There's a third man in it. Who is it? This man. Nikolai Haas.

Where did that photo come from? The Harry's House photobook. Where was it taken? Italy. The man is legitimately wearing the same fucking sandals lol.

In fact, Molly was seen in Civita, remember I just said that? Well, here are Harry and Molly in Civita for Harry's House booklet

So while you're going off "vibes" I'm going off factual evidence.

"I rewatched clips of him on stage. That man was saying goodbye." Lady, you're convinced that he's been in a secret relationship for ten years with someone he doesn't even tolerate. And I will touch on that in another post right after this one. Your instinct is completely wrong in every sense of the way.

Whatever "vibe" he had (according to you) is irrelevant when the words coming out of his mouth contradicted that. But I know Larries aren't known for listening to what he says, so I shouldn't be surprised.

"Ultimately we want him to be happy" no you don't. You want him to be happy in the specific scenarios you created. If he dares go outside of them you won't support him anymore. Y'all have made that very clear. You literally repeat constantly that if he's not with Louis then he's not a good person lmao. You perpetuate this idea that he'd be a womanizer if he was actually into women. You have to believe his entire life is a lie or you don't like him.

But I guess more fool me for trying to debunk and argue with someone who says "I can feel him a little bit." Claiming to actually feel what he feels. Like, this is beyond normal levels of conspiracy theory delusion. This is the level of having you institutionalized deranged.

"I do have lots of tea." Yeah, grey earl tea. NOBODY IS TALKING TO KAREN FROM IOWA.

I don't know how to break this to y'all but I've been a part of this fandom in one way or another since 2012 and this type of person has always existed. They always have some "tea" they always "know someone" and they're always hinting at something that will happen "soon." And then they move the goalposts for a while, "something changed behind the scenes" or a new contract popped up, or someone did something that changed something else, etc. There's always an excuse as to why all the "tea" doesn't end up happening. Until eventually they realize they were lied to and just drop out of the face of the planet. That is if they weren't making it all up in the first place.

"If you take a look at Louis Tomlinson's career currently *smug smirk* where's Harry? Not in the spotlight. And while they were both touring, people were going to Harry's shows mostly, but if they had the time and in between they wanted to go to Louis' shows. They wanted to go to both."

Absolute bullshit.

"And I really feel strongly that they felt 'If Harry is not touring people will go to Louis.' His crowds have tripled, since Harry left. Ok? T R I P L E D."

No, they have not?

I mean, you guys...

Louis in Argentina had sold 25,957 tickets in 2023 "while Harry was touring. (Harry sold 123,942 tickets in the same country)."

In 2024, Louis did Argentina again and this time he chose the same stadium 1D had performed at back in 2014. 1D did two shows in that stadium and the attendance was 80,622. So each show was roughly 40,000. So already we're not at "tripled" territory, because triple 25,000 is 75,000. But alright, it's a boost isn't it?

Wrong. Turns out he couldn't even close to sell out, so they "virtually" sold out the upper stands so people would buy tickets elsewhere, then didn't even open them and made fans go to lower stands or floor. A bunch of people also got in for free. And even then the floor wasn't even close to full and neither were the lower stands. It's all on twitter and there's pictures and video of it if you want to look it up.

If he even repeated his 25,000 crowd I'd be shocked. But he definitely didn't grow this audience. It was as small as before, at best.

And this is an example of him somewhere he's loved. He also did Allianz Parque, which is a stadium as well, but he cropped the stadium to fit only a fraction of its normal attendance.

This is Allianz Parque for Harry

This is Allianz parque for Louis

Harry had three shows in Allianz Parque which had a combined attendance of 137,009. Each show roughly 45/46K. That is a third of that stadium. And Louis did not sell out, there were tickets available in all sections right up until the moment the show started. Louis had one show. You can see the empty seats in multiple videos on Twitter. Meaning, Louis' attendance was at best 15K. That is, once again, the same exact audience he had for his previous tour.

Not tripled, not double, not even grown! Same audience.

What his fans gloated about the most was a show in Mexico and people use this aerial pic to show the audience and be like "oh wow"

Those... those are seats. Every single person in that picture is sitting down (or at least has access to a reserved seat). It is indeed a lot of people, particularly for someone who can't write music (admitted by himself), writes trite lyrics, can't sing, and can't play instruments. But that's not "70,000." You have to be particularly bad at gauging crowds to believe it is.

This is a standing, crowded audience of 83,000 (Harry at Slane). Not only is the physical space already much, much bigger, but people are standing up, elbow to elbow. Not sitting down ON A CHAIR.

How is it possible for this fully GA crowd in a much bigger space to be only 13K more than a sitting down crowd in like half the space? You guys defy the laws of physics at this point. I know perspective might kick your ass, but look at the size of the stages to compare, look at how tiny Harry's looks because of how far away the picture was taken. You can see the roof of the stage in Louis' show in the picture above.

The 70,000 number came from a fan and people just ran with it, particularly multiple Spanish speaking blogs who aren't very reputable. The actual attendance was 32,000. I know there's a source for this but I didn't save it, it was an official Mexican news outlet who spoke with the organizers.

That is a lot of people! But it wasn't sold out, and once again, his attendance in 2023 wasn't far off? It was 23K.

And that is because harry being active or not has no impact on Louis' career. Harry's fans by and large do not GAF about Louis.

Harry has 63,890,885 monthly listeners on Spotify. Louis has 2,513,662.

And btw, his two most popular songs are collaborations, meaning most of those monthly listeners don't come from actually listening to him, but from listening to those two songs with two other artists. Bebe Rexha has 42,805,994 monthly listeners. Her collab with Louis is not in the top 10 of her most popular tracks, it is the most popular track for him. Steve Aoki has 13,765,900 monthly listeners, and his collab with Louis is also not in his top 10 most popular tracks. It's Louis' second most popular track.

Of course, Louis' fans (mainly Larries) believe the world is conspiring against him and Spotify is actually forging these numbers, for some reason. Even though his actual number of streams fits perfectly with this. And he gets paid from those streams, so that number gets audited and reviewed by lawyers. Spotify can't just claim whatever lol.

This is a festival (Arre in 2023) on the same ground as Louis' show with actual 70,000 attendance, but it's not seated, it's GA.

Presumably this is where they got the number.

Here you have an entire Wikipedia article about the difference. Seated capacity tends to be roughly half of standing capacity. So half of 70,000 is... 35,000! Which is what organizers said was his actual attendance (32K actually, I remember that number vividly, I wish I had saved the source, but I'm sure we can find it if we actually look for it, I just don't speak Spanish).

Anyway, no, his crowds didn't triple. They didn't even grow. He has the same captive audience as always and it's mostly just conspiracy theorists. In the US and Europe his attendance was low as ever.

#louis tomlinson #louis #harry styles #harry #one direction #1d #larry #larry stylinson

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the-black-mage-of-phantasm · 10 months

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Envenomation: a Sucy Manbavaran fanfic

Art by the wonderful Pili BlueBerry on Instagram!

Ao3 Link to Story, FFN Link to Story

Summary: Sucy Manbavaran wasn’t the most “open” person. Aloof most of the time, sarcastic the rest, and always sadistic, she knew a lot of people thought she was nothing but the scariest witch in the room, and she was more than happy to let them think so. But even witches like her had fears. Ones she never liked to think about, and ones that gave her nightmares that had become far, far too real.

Current Chapters: 5

Current Length: 67,092 words

Updates Monthly. Next update, January 2nd, 2024

Hello there! It’s been about four months since I promised to update this story. And it’s been just as long any story for that matter. Yeesh.

So, to give a TL;DR about why I’ve been gone and what took this chapter so long: my mom got into a car accident on like day before I was going to upload this, and while she was fine, dealing with insurance to cover the accident has been a nightmare. I had to take more shifts at my job and work more hours to cover the bills while dealing with them, but, eventually, I got them to fork over the money.

After like three months of that, I started editing the draft for this chapter, and there were certain things I didn’t like, and certain plot points I wanted to change, which led to a massive rehaul of certain scenes here. And then like in the second week of November, I got a really bad flu (surprisingly not COVID) that left me feeling like crap for the rest of the month, especially since I couldn’t take that many days of work, so I had to work while sick.

And this was all on top of dealing with the fact that the one year anniversary of my best friends death came and went, reminding me she isn't hear, and dealing with all the grief that brings.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to these last few months. And yes, that was the summarized version.

I’m really sorry for the delay. And I’m afraid I have some more bad news: because of how busy I’ve gotten at my job, I’m gonna have to move this story to a monthly release. Sorry, but I don’t want to sacrifice the quality of this story by giving out incomplete works just to meet a deadline that I can push back.

But anyway, I do hope this chapter was worth the wait. It’s quite long (over 21,000 words, the longest chapter to date!), and there was a lot of talking here, but trust me when I say there were certain moments here that heavily foreshadow key plot points for later down the line. Also, I did my best to make the dialogue, especially between the red team and Ursula, feel authentic to them as characters, as well as doing the emotional moments here justice, and I hope that it made for an enjoyable read. And now, I’m gonna work on the next chapter and try to get it out by January 2nd!

And with that, these notes come to a close. Don't hesitate to tell me what you liked and/or didn't like about this chapter!

#little witch academia #lwa #sucy manbavaran #lotte jansson #akko kagari #lwa jp #diana cavendish #envenomationlwa #lwa fanfic

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ofthecrowsandcranes · 9 months

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thoughts of the week

i went into this intending to write a reflection on the grimoire challenge for this week but ended up thinking more about general reflections of my practice instead, so, thoughts:

like i said in this reblog, i'm using this challenge (and a bunch of other stuff) as frameworks, because i haven't really written down much of my practice. most of it lives in my head. i have (2) partial grimoires, one that's evolved into just a notetaking notebook and another that was digital that i don't really use because even though digitization makes it easier to organise, there's something about paper that i really, really like.

so my goal/intention for this challenge is to practice consistency. attempting the prompts that make sense to me, even if for some of them i know they're going to be a rough draft of what my practice ends up being. for the spellwriting 101 one, i haven't even done enough spellwork to know what process works best for me (consequences of being more pagan than witch for the past few years), so i took notes from @breelandwalker's how to write spells post since her process is concise and feels like a good checklist of "did i consider this aspect? am i being specific enough or not?" obviously my methods may change as i do more practical work but having a good starting point is what matters the most

one of my general goals for 2024 was to just Do things, and worry less about the finished product and more about the process. so some of my pages are messy and i don't have a specific order for things. i'm filling in the index/table of contents last so i can use it as a "where did i put this" list instead of a "this will go here" list. in the future, i'll probably use a binder or something with easily insertable pages/entries as a formal grimoire, but for now, i'm recording and practicing and that's what matters most for me, since i haven't done that before. despite four years of doing stuff on and off.

i'm gonna put a cut here because otherwise this post will be Massive but i'm gonna go into more detail about some of the pages/things that i did for reference.

monday

name your book: done! i just called it my spiritual lab notebook, since that's what it is.

definitions (ritual and spell): done! very UPG, but to me a ritual and a spell differ because a ritual is to affect the Now and a spell is to affect the Later. also rituals have more broad intentions vs a spell which has very specific intentions

Study herb: bay laurel! i did a bay leaf wish ritual on new year's day with my family and my mom asked why bay leaves, and i was like "hm, i don't know the specifics of why they're associated with wishmaking" so i added them to my herbs list so i could find out, and then learned it's because they're fucking bay laurel. i feel extremely stupid for not making that connection but! now i know!

tuesday:

outline: done! it's blank, i won't fill it in until the notebook is full

study gem: not done, still trying to decide how to substitute this. i might do tarot spreads instead.

spellwriting 101: done! discussed above

wednesday:

common tools: done! i really only put three things for now, but i'll probably go back and add things as i remember/find new tools. so far i've got tarot cards, embroidery thread, and candles, but in writing this i've remembered bells and jars and beads also

year outline/calendar: done! added the Big 4 (solstices & equinoxes), samhain, lughnasadh, and christmas (since my family celebrates it). will definitely be adding more as i go, but that's what i want to celebrate (or do celebrate) for now

Practical (tool usage): done! did a 3 card pull with my elemental power tarot, since i want to use it more as a reflective tool.

thursday:

altar design/workspace: done! sketched a layout of my current altar + wrote some wishes/dreams for when i have a different space.

practical (cleansing): not done yet—around this part of the week my chronic illness stuff started to flare up, and since cleansing involves actual cleaning for me, i couldn't really do it while resting. it's on my backburner for later.

friday:

personal practices: done! did a quick journal entry in DayOne

and that's all! if i can get to cleansing today i'll do it, but i have many other things to do also, so i'll get to it eventually.

#he speaks #2024 grimoire challenge #grimoire challenge: thoughts & reflections #thoughts of the week

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notcatherinemorland · 9 months

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things that are new with me, o! tumblr diary

holy shit i didn't think the death of my grandma would hit this hard

watching frasier with my mother. she used to watch it with my dad. we have the same bark of laughter. i feel very bad for my mother

no literally my mum is having the worst 2 months of her whole goddamn sodding life and i am just stood here like 'i gotta write about jane eyre, stay alive until february please'

i have an ear/sinus infection and want to rip my face off. also the antibiotic schedule has massively retriggered a really specific anorexia behaviour i thought i'd kicked for good. i am not vibing, quackidee

ive depression session watched 5 seasons of cop show ninty nine. its surprisingly funny. ive also started writing a fanfic that is several layers of absolutely demented choice. but it could be funny. (fake dating undercover case fic!au and it's got a whole op ed about asexuality in there. its gonna be insane if i finish this)

bought 100 faber castell pencils bc they were 55% off and therefore a stunningly good deal. they aren't lightfast / artist pencils, but im going to draw my dnd oc with them and have a fuckin ball about it

i am one poor week of health away from walking up to a&e and sitting there until they tell me whats wrong with me. aside from the sinus face removal thing.

there is also, like, so much more going on with me, to be clear, but contrary to my portrayal of myself online here, i do actually have boundaries. but like holy shit. 2023 was the worst year of my fucking life, but 2024? it's day 5 and it can already rot in hell. jesus fucking a. somehow it is worse and bad also!

#me meta #[screaming]#ok im done time for cup of tea now :)

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lorenlily · 2 years

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What are your thoughts on doctor who? Never seen the show but all I know is time travel

well since you haven't seen the show I can't really elaborate on all my thoughts because spoilers but it's a good show it's good sometimes it's GREAT sometimes it's just no don't do that then it's good again and I'm very very excited for the new special and series

i've watched it since nuwho started back when the first episode rose aired in 2005 so there have been many times where it's just been an event the kind you had to be there the feeling of certain moments have always stuck with me so i'm always gonna watch it always looking forward for it just a massive constant in my life and its really enjoyable (definitely not sad or heartbreaking it's definitely not traumatised me at all hahahahahahahaha)

since you haven't seen it and incase you do want to watch it i'll just give you a rundown of it below (although something's aren't necessarily the full truth because spoilers)

so it's a BBC show originally from the 90s then it stopped and they decided to revive it back in 2005 and it's been going strong ever since (there's been 13 seasons and many many specials) this year in november it's the 60th anniversary since the first episode aired!!

so it's about the doctor, who is a timelord from a planet called gallifrey and he steals a tardis to go travel in time and space, he generally travels with a companion who's human and wherever he goes there's always some kind of danger

as a timelord he doesn't die he regenerates into a new version and that was the appeal really and why its gone on for so long because you could change actors and still be doctor who

(but a timelord has only 13 regeneration cycles before he actually does die die)

so when they revived the show in 2005 they made the premise that it's still the same doctor just a new regeneration (it was the 9th one) but what had happened was a great time war in which gallifrey and the timelords were all destroyed so now the doctor is the last of the timelords

so with doctor who you have the seasons and then christmas special which is generally when the regeneration happens (sometimes there's other specials too)

I would say you have to watch in order but you can categorise the show into different eras based on the actor playing the doctor and the showrunner at the time

Christopher Eccleston = S1

David Tennant = christmas special, S2, christmas special, S3, christmas special, S4, christmas, few other specials, then christmas and new years 2 part special

^ this is the rtd era (russell t davies) who was the showrunner and oversaw the story

Matt Smith = S5, christmas special, S6, christmas special, S7, ‼️, christmas special

Peter Capaldi = S8, christmas special, S9, christmas special, S10, christmas special

‼️ is the 50th anniversary special which was a crossover of david tennant and matt smith

Jodie Whittaker = s11, new year's special, s12, new year's special, s13, 2022 specials

^this is the steven moffat era as he was the showrunner

and now rtd is back as showrunner so for 2023 we're gonna have the 60th anniversary special which brings back david tennant and then in 2024 there a new series with ncuti gatwa as the doctor it's very exciting!!

^this is the chris chibnall era as he was the showrunner

OH there have also been spin offs so there's:

the sarah jane adventures 😭 its about sarah jane and her son and she's a companion from the 90s (same actress) they did a crossover during david tennant era but she sadly passed away so the show stopped

there's also torchwood which is based in cardiff and it features a team by captain jack harkness (companion from season 1) it was good then it wasn't but it might be getting a revival

and there was class it was one season I forgot what it was about lol but I remember liking it

making a list of the companions is even longer so I'm gonna stop here but if I've confused you I'm sorry pls come back and I'll answer anything I can or if you want any trivia lol that too :)

#the 60th anniversary is in november so you kinda have until then to watch it all if you wanted #but im not a binger myself tbf #what becomes of curious minds*#nonnie :)

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clovemerablog · 1 month

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Song Analysis: Kylie Minogue’s “My Oh My” is a passable Frankenstein’s club bop wielding the artist’s recent hits and aging musical trends

Analysis by Clove Mera, 13 August 2024 Single released 11 July 2024 Track written by: Ina Wroldsen, Tove Lo, Steve Mac Liberator Music

Thanks to 2023’s viral hit “Padam Padam”, Kylie Minogue has been enjoying a level of visibility in the pop culture landscape which she hasn’t seen for decades, perhaps since 2001’s Fever and its breakout hit “Can’t Get You Out of my Head”. From the perspective of a lifetime fan of Kylie, I’m so excited to see the heightened success it has brought her, from a Vegas residency to her new music being visible on Apple Music playlists, and new single “My Oh My” reaching the peak of her Top Songs on the same platform. Releasing a single in July, ten months after album “Tension” is also astute timing, as it prolongs her momentum. In fact, she even performed the song with its featured fellow pop stars Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo to a crowd of 65,000 people at BST Hyde Park 2024, according to Left (2024).

The string like synths which lead the sparser more tranquil sections of the song possess a powerful, punchy, bass. They emerge pretty much right away, and truly they take proper advantage of a decently bassy speaker. The song knows that it wants to be heard in a club, where the bass is pounding, and a multi sensory experience does a lot of favours for the song.

Another asset to the song is its infusing of Minogue’s playful personality into the song’s lyrics. If you watch Minogue in any recent interview, you will shortly see how lighthearted her demeanour can be. Minogue, Rexha and Lo each perform a refrain similar in nature, transcribing a flirtatious exchange, with Minogue singing,“When you asked, "What's your name?”/ "What's your sign?" I'm Kylie, it's Gemini/ What's your drink? Let me buy/ You had me when you said, "Hi”/" followed with an actual spoken, “Hi”.

Lyrically, “My Oh My” is similar in concept to “Padam Padam” in two different ways. The stories told in either song are pretty much about seperate sides of one intimate relationship. Where “Padam Padam" was framed around the anticipation while meeting someone, “And I can tell you how this ends (padam)/ I’ll be in your head all weekend (padam)”, the tapering flush of infatuation is explored in “My Oh My”, “Yesterday was just a day/ I didn't know my life was gonna change/ Yesterday, light years away/ You came in here, now, nothing is the same.” Something I regret is that certain imagery is very similar between the two songs. In the former she sings, “You keep me up at night/ La-la-la-la/ I’m feelin' fireflies” and in the latter she sings, “Shivers and butterflies (padam)/ I get the shivers when I look into your eyes (padam)”

This is part of the overall concerns I have about “My Oh My”. The track feels like a by-the-books attempt at crafting another successful hit, with its ingredients pulled from obvious references. Earlier, I mentioned Minogue’s massive hit “Can’t Get You Out of my Head”. It is not difficult to recognise the interpolated “La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la” refrain, even with its slower pace, higher pitch and heavy autotune effects.

The kicks in the chorus remind me of Tiësto’s moderately recent signature flare. For example, Tiësto’s 2021’s song “The Motto”, deploys a deep punchy bass as its leading danceable element. Typically bass is a subdued element, hidden yet a powerful presence in the soundscape. But Tiësto really subverted the way bass is programmed, with high cutoff, low attack and quick release, turning it into the main element like the lights in a laser show. Tiësto is one of the enduringly dominating names in techno music, and is often with or ahead of the curb on music trends. If Kylie’s team wanted Tiësto, why not hire him for a truly current beat?

But if this song is borrowing from the sound and subject matter of the recent Tension era - while being a seemingly seperate single with a dissonant visual aesthetic in the music video - then I am unable to gauge whether Kylie’s upcoming releases will be an extension of Tension or something new. The ambiguity makes it hard to get excited. Are we to anticipate something new, a pivot from country to disco to techno like we got with her previous three albums, or are we going to linger in the recent and successful sound of Tension?

With its similarity in musicality to 2023’s album Tension, and its dissonantly themed music video, it is difficult to gauge where “My Oh My” stands between her projects. Is it an after shock from the previous era, or an indication of what’s coming next? Am I to expect another genre shift, akin to the shift from country to disco to techno in Minogue’s previous three albums? A big contributing force in Kylie Minogue’s successful decades-spanning career is her ability to reinvent herself, and though I do enjoy “My Oh My”, I hope she doesn’t forget that lesson and remain chasing the high that “Padam Padam” gave her. All I know is, whatever Minogue does, I’ll listen to it.

“My Oh My” is available to stream, the music video is linked below

youtube

Reference list

Left, B. (2024). FESTIVAL REVIEW: ROBBIE WILLIAMS – BST HYDE PARK, LONDON, 06/07/2024. [online] When The Horn Blows. Available at: https://whenthehornblows.com/content/2024/7/9/festival-review-robbie-williams-bst-hyde-park-london-06072024#:~:text=The%20Horn%20Blows- [Accessed 13 Aug. 2024].

#Kylie Minogue #tove lo #bebe rexha #tiesto #techno music #padam padam #club music #music #Youtube

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