#shes so real for that. like best part it its even the same thing (singing) (if i remember right. its about her thinking kohane is better-

[waywardsummoner46]

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Sink Into the Darkness, My Light | Two | ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

──•~❉ ᯽ ❉~•──

"Join us, my Light."

Two centuries ago, the ruler of the Light disappeared, plunging the universe into chaos and disrupting the sacred, unspoken balance of the universe.

The eight rulers of the Darkness never stopped looking for her; their obsession never once waning since she vanished.

Recently, they've sensed something. Never around long enough to pinpoint but so euphoric that it sings within their veins. And since meeting you, well... slowly they begin to understand why.

"Sink into the darkness with us."

──•~❉ ᯽ ❉~•──

「✦」 PAIRING - yandere ot8!ateez x (?)reader

「✦」 GENRE - ancient gods!au, fantasy!au, magical powers!au

「✦」 WARNINGS - mind control, gaslighting, dom/sub, subspace (of a sort), temporary amnesia, manipulation, YANDERE AND DARK THEMES

「✦」 WORD COUNT - 4,863

「✦」 A/N - You're all so lovely. Thank you for the reception part one received. We meet another of the members in this chapter, enjoy.

「✦」 TAGLIST - Let me know if you'd like to be added :)

──•~❉ ᯽ ❉~•──

• one • two • three • four •

──•~❉ ᯽ ❉~•──

It was roughly 17:49 when you had another phone call. This time, it was Jee-Won’s caller ID that greeted you, not Ji-Ah’s. A picture of her kissing your smiling cheek and you with your eyes scrunched up. Funny how the picture held so much happiness but its motives caused you nothing but dread at whatever crazed things she wanted to discuss with you now.

  You sighed long and deep; your food was ready and you’d just sat down to begin digging in. How utterly stupid of you to assume that you could simply eat your food in peace. 

 “Hey, Jee-Won,” you said, masking your mild frustration. Speaking to her before you were going out was slowly tearing down the mental preparation you’d been working on. Dealing with her now was seriously reinforcing the recurring thoughts of simply not going… but you’d promised Ji-Ah. You couldn’t back out now (despite how much you wanted to).

  You loved Jee-Won dearly, you and her had been friends since you were very young. You knew basically everything about each other and could trust each other with everything. The fact that your personalities differ so greatly only made that friendship even stronger as one could offer outlooks and perspectives the other couldn’t. Through your care for each other, it was obvious you always had each others’ back.

  Doesn’t mean she doesn’t grate your nerves sometimes though.

  Jee-Won let out an ungodly squeal on her end of the phone and you had to pull the phone away from your ear, wincing. 

  “Happy birthday, my beautiful best friend! How are you on this gorgeous day?” Contrary to your mild vexation, her bubbly energy never failed to make you smile. This was something you could mirror, being practically all smiles yourself.

  Picking up your chopsticks, you began to twist the cheap store-bought noodles absentmindedly. “I’m wonderful, thank you. I’ve had a very… interesting day so far, but it has been genuinely good. How are you doing?” 

  Interesting was one word for it - neither Yunho nor Yeosang had left your mind all day. Thinking about them was natural and your best efforts were no match to their lingering effect on you. 

  Some selfish part of you wanted to go back to ‘Life Rose On’ right now just to see Yeosang again. Yunho you had resigned yourself to the understanding that you’d probably never see each other again (a fact that saddened you much more than it should’ve). Perhaps you were being childish in your hope that they knew each other. 

  It made sense; stumbling into two new pretty boys in the same shop on the same day. Couldn’t be entirely coincidental that they were in such close proximity with one another. Alas, the unknown was killing you and your unexplainable longing for the two handsome strangers remained. 

  And it was unexplainable. 

  Meeting and interacting with those two today felt so intense, so real. Somehow, talking to them was easy and could be done with the familiarity of long-time friends. After the initial hiccups (stumbling over your feet and words), when Yunho spoke to you it felt like every one of your senses was being stroked so sensually and lovingly that it made you shiver. When Yeosang had tucked that breathtaking purple rose behind your ear, that same shiver and unrestrained emotions of rightness returned. 

  … it bothered you. 

  Never in all of your years of living had you let anyone have such an effect on you. Nor were you one to be swayed by good looks alone so easily. Admittedly, both men were incredibly kind and friendly which enabled you to talk to them for longer, in addition to their angelic appearances.

  The effect that they’d had on you troubled you for a reason you couldn’t quite understand and, simply put, you were uncomfortable with it, especially after one meeting. 

  In conclusion, it wasn’t them that made you uncomfortable but rather the effect they had on you that did. Or did it? Oh, you didn’t know. These feelings confused you and only gave you a headache. 

  Realistically, you’d never see Yunho again and you’d probably see Yeosang once or twice more considering he worked in the florist you regulared. There you go, done. No need to dwell on it anymore. Nope. Not. At. All.

  “Hello? Are you still there?” Jee-Won’s mildly concerned voice startled you and made you realise just how far you’d sunk into the ocean of your thoughts. 

  You massaged your temples. “Sorry, Jee-Won. I didn’t sleep well last night, is all. What were you saying?”

  You practically taste her fond exasperation on the other end of the phone. “Are you sure you want to come out tonight? You know Ji-Ah won’t take it personally.”

  That snapped you to attention. 

  “I know that but I genuinely want to go, I promise.” Hoping your tone of false conviction was believable enough, you glanced at your watch. 17:54. Two hours and six minutes before you had to be there.

  “Mhm. Yeah, absolutely. I believe you one hundred percent.” Apparently, you were not as convincing as you’d once believed. “I won’t force you not to come because I know that despite how much you don’t want to go, you’ll go for the sake of other people. But please, if you need to go home early, please, please do. I know you don’t like it when everyone starts to get pissed.”

  Well, she wasn’t wrong there. The easy way out was like a weighted security blanket around your shoulders. A sense of grounding that you hadn’t realised you needed. Of course, Jee-Won noticed. Jee-Won, for all of her flaws, was a good friend. One that you wouldn’t replace for the world. 

  “Curse you and your eternal wisdom,” you said and laughed. Then in a quieter voice added, “And I will.”

  A muffled snap could be heard from the other end. “I know what will help.” Oh dear. “Getting our hair done together!”

  You supposed that the night was never destined to start on schedule; who knew that it would begin during your ramen?

──•~❉ ᯽ ❉~•──

 “Uh, Jee-Won I hate to burst your bubble but I think we’re in the wrong place. This looks like someone’s house, not somewhere where we can get our hair done.”

  “We are very much in the right place, my beautiful sunchild.”

  Your face twisted in immediate distaste. Sunchild? 

  You repeated it silently to Ji-Ah behind Jee-Won’s back and she mirrored your baffled expression. That certainly was a new one.

  Both of you turned to look at the building that was allegedly where you’d be getting your hairstyles for tonight. You didn’t necessarily see why Jee-Won had put so much emphasis on your hair in general, let alone praise this place to buggery and ultimately drag you two there against your will. Heck, you’d have been happy curling your hair or simply braiding it so at least it differed from your typical style.

  This place was huge. When she had said hair stylist, you expected a dainty little corner shop surrounded by similar establishments relatively close to ‘Life Rose On’. Everything was around there. The mansion that you beheld in front of you was on a whole new level.

  Never in your life had you seen a building like this, forget anything else. It was a truly impressive piece of architecture; there seemed to be multiple layers to the mansion and different areas with varying spires and towers. 

  The three of you stood on the entrance balcony. Beams of a rich brown supported the canopied roof and each were delicately hugged by the richest, healthiest clematis you’d ever had the honour of seeing in your life. Jung-Hee’s abilities to nurture plants was impressive but the owner of this fantastical building had powers akin to the Gods. Each beam seemed complimentary to the gold-lined, rectangular windows that were on either side of the main oak door, and the patterns on them made that of an intricate hourglass - one half stained a deep black and the other a blinding white, slowly being tainted by the darkness. Or at least, that’s how you saw it. Perhaps ‘The Hidden War Within’ was turning you into more of a poet than you thought.

  Removing yourself from the balcony temporarily, you strained your neck to ogle at the rest of the building. The roof the balcony on the ground floor was seemingly the foundations of the first floor as you saw that a set of glossy black rocking chairs and a dazzling coffee table sat atop it. This time, blood red roses wrapped around the fence bordering that area and worked as a nice contrast to the lighter purple of the clematis. 

  Of what you’d processed of the building so far, it was a double-layered abode with a relatively square shape. Then you looked to the right and it was more reminiscent of a castle than anything else for a circular tower merged into the rest of the building and had a spire at the top of it. It reminded you of a fairytale you read as a child. 

  Beyond that, there were two further layers to the house. Each topped with the traditional Korean dancheong roof, the building truly was like something out of a novel. 

  Quite peculiarly, there seemed to be… trees? Growing from some of the open windows? The picture it painted was exquisite but you wondered with unrestrained curiosity how on Earth the owner managed to achieve such a thing. 

  You’d have to tell Jung-Hee all about this mystical house next time you saw her. The fact that the mansion itself was well out of the way of the main road and surrounded by an incandescent forest was just feeding your slowly spiralling feelings of awe.

  As Ji-Ah and Jee-Won bickered by the front door, you took your sweet time to observe every sheltered nook and every single captivating cranny of the house’s exterior… when you caught a glimpse of something in the tower window. Squinting your eyes, they promptly widened once more when you realised it was a someone and not a something.

  Just as quickly as they’d come, they had disappeared. You blinked rapidly, trying in vain to see if you could catch a glimpse of the dark figure in the window. 

  From what little you had seen, whoever it was was male and looked relatively tall. His face was wholly covered by the shadow the lighting gave him but you could’ve sworn you saw the slightest hint of a smile.

    A shiver ran down your spine and you shook your head to recompose yourself. The day was catching up to you - getting to your head. You needed to breathe and stay grounded rather than let your head wander, especially in a place as isolated as this.   

  You were just about to go towards Ji-Ah and Jee-Won when something wet hit your nose. At first, the shock made you freeze momentarily but reaching up to touch the droplet you found it was only rain. Then, a booming clap echoed through the forest and then the rain began to pour down with a vengeance. 

  Running for the balcony, you avoided trampling the delicate pathway the owner had laid out. Ji-Ah and Jee-Won looked as though they were struggling to hold back their laughs and you raised a soaking finger at them.

  “Listen-”

  “Oh, you must be freezing!” A kind voice said from behind the two of them. All three of you looked at the mystery voice immediately and the breath left your lungs for the third time that day. “Please, do come in,” he said and gestured for you all to follow him through the front door.

  The man must’ve been a God because the urge to drop to your knees and worship him with everything you had was suffocating. 

  His hair was the first thing you noticed about him; silky raven locks lay gracefully across his forehead and framed his face perfectly, like a dark angel. You hadn’t had ample time to examine (appreciate) his face before he turned around but you saw his outfit.

  Long, dark tailored trousers hugged his legs. Flaring off towards his feet, you saw that the man wore glossy black heeled boots that only added to his intimidating aura. There was something so divine about a man confident in his appearance and this man was an example, not an exception.

  Embracing his torso was something akin to a black waistcoat except there were no sleeves nor were there any shoulder coverings; it came up to his chest and gave way to a bright white blouse whose sleeves hung from his muscular arms like decorations and a button up collar that gave the man an impression of elevated status. The cherry on top of the cake was the brief glimpse of an expensive silver necklace you noticed decorated his neck.

  You could basically hear the wealth and power screaming from his form as you followed dutifully behind him and through the mansion’s winding halls. Nothing around you was being processed, your attention wholly centered on the man you trailed behind.

  “You’ll catch flies if you don’t shut your mouth,” Ji-Ah’s smug voice said. Your attention was immediately directed at her, scandalised that she’d say something like that as loudly as she did.

  An inquisitive hum was heard from in front of you and your knees nearly buckled when seeing his face for the first time. 

  (Perfect, chiselled jawline. Perfect, sharp nose. Perfect, full lips. Perfect, piercing boba eyes and, undeniably, one of the most handsome faces you’ve ever seen.)

  One of his eyebrows were raised in question but lowered once he saw the two of you. “Ah, the architecture is rather impressive, isn’t it? This was built by my great, great grandfather during the nineteenth century.” 

  Letting out a subtle breath of relief at his misunderstanding, you subtly nudged Ji-Ah’s side with your elbow. She almost landed you in one of the most humiliating experiences of your life. You never would have forgiven her if he’d picked up on why your jaw was actually dropped.

  “Forgive me, I never did introduce myself,” he turned once more and bowed deeply. He straightened and made eye contact with you. 

  Perhaps you were delusional. Perhaps you were just seeing what you wanted to see. But the way he was looking at you made you feel like he was picking apart the very linings of your soul.

 “My name is Park Seonghwa, but you may call me Seonghwa.” 

──•~❉ ᯽ ❉~•──

  Eventually, Seonghwa led the three of you to what looked like a dining room.

  The walls altered between pink and white marble with streaks of gold complimenting the foundation colour. There were old sconces laid evenly across the walls of the gigantic room and they all lit up a long table, the key feature of the room. An impressive chandelier dangled from the ceiling and the scarce rays of light bounced off of it in a faint imitation of falling stars.

  What truly caught your attention was the painting on the opposite side of the room. It covered the entire wall; black and white paint entwining with each other to give the picture frame a misty effect and the same hourglass patterns from the windows lay in each corner of the frame. 

  Nine people were in the painting. Eight men and one woman. Each man wore an outfit straight from a fantasy novel, completely covered in black clothing. Some donned a cloak, others were clad in onyx medieval armour and one with a crown made entirely of black metal and dangerously glinting gemstones. Quite fascinatingly, the one with his hand on the girl’s shoulder wore a dark half skirt and black trousers that were connected to a torso of gold, floral patterns dusting a glossy tunic.

  In a certain light, it looked as though their eyes were following your slow movements around the space but you disregarded that thought as soon as it entered your head.

  The girl, on the other hand, well… the resemblance she bore to you was uncanny. She lay across the floor in front of the eight men and wore a white dress that could only be described as having the consistency of a cloud.

   “Hey, that’s kind of freaky,” Jee-Won said from behind you. She was also looking at the painting and was alternating her gaze from the painting girl and your face. 

  “Jee-Won, don’t be rude,” Ji-Ah scolded from her side. 

  “I am not being rude, I’m making an observation.”   “Could you try and be more polite about it next time then, please?” Ji-Ah returned, equally as sassy as Jee-Won had been. 

  You shook your head fondly at them. Since becoming a trio, it had been a constant battle between the two of which was right and which was wrong. Ji-Ah had a better understanding of social situations and standards whereas Jee-Won’s unfiltered opinions were something that both benefited her and were to her detriment - like right now. 

  Seonghwa entered your peripheral and placed a calming hand on each of your friends’ shoulders. “Now, now, there’s no need to argue, is there?” There was a power in his words that had the girls quieting down instantly. You were surprised at the look of sheer embarrassment that was on their faces; and you thought you were bad. 

  Seonghwa gave them each a pleased hum and crooked a pointy, gloved finger for you all to follow him. He sat down on a cream-coloured chaise longue, posture entirely straight, and patted the seat next to him as he made direct eye contact with you. 

  You gulped but did as he wished. Tension rendered your body immovable and prolonged eye contact was impossible. 

  Contrary to Yunho and Yeosang, Seonghwa had an effortless motherly energy to him and a deep part of you didn’t want to risk tarnishing that with any hesitance or inclination to disdain. Because you were very much not disdainful of Seonghwa, the exact opposite actually. 

  Watching as Ji-Ah and Jee-Won sat down on the two individual lounge chairs opposite you two, you remembered that you’d all come here to get your hair done. Nothing in this mansion seemed equipped to give you those services nor did you think that you’d have enough time between now - 18:40 - and when you had to be at the night club - 20:00. 

  Seonghwa might look like a miracle but you doubt he could perform them. 

  A clap and all three of you snapped to look at him. He held his entwined hands to his chest and smiled softly at you all. 

  “Firstly, I would like to welcome you to my home. I trust you’ll respect it as it will you during your time here.” The three of you nodded.

  “Excellent. Now, I understand each of you are here to have your beautiful hair styled to perfection for the birthday girl’s night out,” he gave you a wink and you felt your heart stutter in your chest. “Unfortunately, due to the late hour, my… colleagues will be taking two of you whilst I give my undivided attention to another.”   You all seemed to have a silent conversation with each other. His words and logic made sense but his implication that you would all be separated had you grimacing mildly. There wasn’t an issue, you were all grown women - you’d just thought that you could enjoy each others’ presence before the night out when you’d be swarmed by drunkards and junkies. Much fun. 

  The conspirational smile he gabe you all made you aware that he was privy to your mild displeasure. “My sincerest apologies, ladies. I simply wish to maximise time and efforts.”

  “It’s no trouble at all, thank you so much for even accepting us in on such short notice. You’re a lifesaver,” Jee-Won practically gushed. You raised your brow, short notice, huh? She’s acting as though she hasn’t had this planned for the better part of a week (you’d overheard her and Ji-Ah talking).

  Seonghwa raised a hand. “No need to thank us. We’re always happy to help, aren’t we, Yongbokie-dear?”

  A short man with pretty silver hair entered the room. He looked young, only mildly younger than you. “Of course, we are.” His deep voice contrasted his innocent features, much like Yeosang’s had but to a milder degree. He met Seonghwa’s eyes, “We’re ready now, Seonghwa-hyung.”

  “Have the three of you decided who will stay with me?” Seonghwa questioned, looking rather intensely at you. 

  You got so caught up in his eyes that you nearly missed Ji-Ah’s comment. “Jee-Won and I will leave you two to it. Thank you again, Seonghwa-ssi.” The look of unbridled horror on your face caused her to stifle a laugh and you prayed to whatever god was listening that Seonghwa didn’t pick up on it. 

  Seonghwa merely smiled in goodbye as they followed Yongbok out of the room… leaving you alone with a man who compromised your ability to talk.

  Being alone with Seonghwa was worse than being alone with Yunho or Yeosang. You didn’t know why but you genuinely felt as though words were beyond you right now. 

  As though approaching a frightened deer, he extended his hand slowly for you to take. Your eyes darted rapidly from his own and his hand, struggling to comprehend what he was asking of you, why you were reacting like this and just what was going to happen now. 

  “Shall we, darling?” Is it possible to melt into the floor? Because that’s how his voice made you feel. 

  With a new found determination, you took his hand and allowed him to bring you over to a window seat you hadn’t noticed on your way in. Lengthy, silk curtains obstructed it from the dining room’s view but once Seonghwa guided you through them, it was like being embraced by shadows. 

  Very little light penetrated the area for the curtains were dark enough to block the sconces from the dining room and where a window should have been there was only dark marble.

  Seonghwa gently sat you down on a chair in the centre of the area. You remained as silent as he while he rummaged through whatever was behind you. 

  Despite how many times you reflected on the whirlwind that was today, you still couldn’t completely comprehend any of the turns it had taken.

  An hour glass was placed on a previously unseen table in front of you and you jumped at the unexpected movement. Dark sand dominated the most of it and only a slither of white sand sat atop it. It seemed to be some form of bioilluminescant sand as it was glowing in the darkness. How, you did not know. You didn’t question it though, it was beautiful. 

  “Seonghwa-ssi? Excuse me if this is rude but I was wondering how you were going to style my hair in this lighting?” Your meek voice permeated the blanket of silence that had settled over you two. 

  His rummaging halted momentarily as he chuckled lowly. “Not rude at all, little one. A perfectly sound question.” You jumped slightly when you felt his hands in your hair, removing any accessories you had in and detangling the biggest knots. “I work better in the darkness, you see. I find home in its existence and security in its embrace.”

  Your gaze remained fixed on the hourglass in front of you as you absorbed his words. You couldn’t understand how anyone could prefer the darkness to the light. The darkness was stifling and clung to you like a parasite, always had done, always will do. The hourglass was a direct representation of that; it was practically crushing the white sand and reducing it to the thinnest grains possible all in order to rid its presence entirely.

  Seonghwa began to part your hair, separating the top of your hair from the bottom. “What do you think of the darkness, dear?” He asked, and you could sense the genuine curiosity behind his words.

  “I don’t dislike it. I just prefer the light,” your words gained a few ounces of strength with every sentence you spoke. It shouldn’t be as substantial as it was but having been rendered speechless so many times today, the ability to talk was relieving to have once more.

  “How fascinating,” he whispered. Both hands were focused on the top half of your hair now; you felt two pieces of hair tickle your cheeks in what you assumed was him using them to structure your face. He parted your hair down the middle once more except this time it felt as though he was going to braid them. Going off of that assumption, you followed his hand movements as best as you could without actually seeing them as he begun to manoeuvre the right side of your hair. 

  “If I may ask, why do you prefer it?”

  It was a good question. The answer was as natural as breathing. “It’s… safe. It’s hope, it gives everything life and through that gives them happiness.”

  His hands finished the plait he was working on and he rested them tactfully on each side of your head, gently stroking the soft locks as he thought of an answer. “Wouldn’t you agree that without the darkness, there is no light? Similar to without death, there would be no life?”

    You hummed, digesting his words. Secretly, you were rather entertained by this turn in conversation. It was very reminiscent of ‘The Hidden War Within’ with the discussion of dark and light and their codependency on each other to survive but also how they consistently defy the other’s existence. 

  You started off slowly, choosing your words. “Alright, well… take a flower, it is inevitable that they will fall to the darkness and death that swallows it. But there’s always a light that shines down on it and through that light there will be a new bud that will be protected and nurtured by the light until the darkness once again claims that life.” 

  The white sand seemed to glow brighter all of a sudden and you paused in your words. How ironic. 

  “Finish what you were saying, dear. I am enjoying this immensely.” The sand dimmed and you found your head tilting at its loss.

  “Right, um. I think through the existence of light, darkness must consequently exist too. They need each other to balance the other out, that’s simply the way of the world. Too much of one thing - like overpopulation or war - can have a detrimental effect on that balance and that’s why the world is in so much discord today. Because that balance hasn’t existed for a long time. So to answer your question,” you could feel how your gaze was glued to the hourglass.

  For reasons you couldn’t explain, it was magnetic and you were hopeless to resist its pull. The more you spoke, the more the sand looked fluid; it began to twist and weave through and around one another until it mirrored the universe, stars filling in its vastness and only reminding it of its mortality. It was morbidly beautiful. 

  “I believe that without the darkness there would be no light. And I believe that, somewhere, there is a place where light and darkness meet and the distinction between good and evil is no more because there is only existence where morals and nature don’t have a sway.” 

  You reached for the hourglass and turned it over, watching as the sand glided across itself. Nature’s river, caught in a glass prison. “That is how we will find true peace. When war is over, when selflessness works alongside selfishness, when the line between love and hate isn’t so thin after all and instead becomes one.”

  Seonghwa had finished styling your hair minutes ago. He simply stood behind you, hands gently caressing your locks of hair as he listened intently. Even after you finished, slightly breathless, he remained silent as though taking in every last one of your words to heart and committing them to his memory.

  The curtain was ripped open and light spilled in the dark space you’d settled into. Inquisitively, you turned to look at him and your mouth dropped when you saw there were tears in his eyes.  

  “Oh, my - are you alright?”

  He burst into sobs, and hid his head in his hands as collapsed onto the chaise longue from earlier. You stood frozen, completely baffled at the turn of events and even more reluctant to approach him since you were sure you had caused it.  

  “Seonghwa-ssi, I am so sorry. I really-”   “No,” he raised his hand, stopping your apologies before they became ceaseless. He seemed to be struggling to compose himself if his long, deep breaths were anything to go by. 

  You stood, fiddling with the hourglass absentmindedly as you waited tensely for him to make the next move. 

  Seonghwa took one final deep breath and stood on shaky legs. He began walking over to you with such intent you stumbled back slightly. Before you realised what was happening, he grabbed your face in his hands - his teary eyes meeting your wide ones.  “You… are perfect.”

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 2, Match 1 WEAKNESS vs. THE PURGE MARCH

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for WEAKNESS:

"This is definitely more of a personal anecdote. However, I’m neurodivergent (like Haruka) and struggle with knowing it causes quite a bit of disappointment for my mother. I cry about it a lot. But I find that putting on Weakness is soothing for me. Knowing that there’s a character out there with the same issues…. I don’t know. Just my experience."

---

"why weakness should win over umbilical: - THE SINGING THE HIGH NOTES - this song set the tone to what to expect for the trial songs to come (or what we expected) - the part where the song gets all slow paced and then picks up louder at the end it just done beautifully - it's haruka. - the singing sounds like a mix between of course singing and crying. the 'AHahA' sounds like manic laughing until the end when he's crying and it almost feels like he's sobbing while laughing. - the guitar and the drums complement his soft/sad-ish voice perfectly, especially at the beginning - very emotional, even if you didn't see the music video you can tell he's crying and mentally unwell I'm bad a propaganda, but vote for WEAKNESS!!!!"

Propaganda for THE PURGE MARCH:

"Despite the shorter length, the Purge March has several distinct sections in its structure.

It starts with a rolloff, and then… they don’t follow it. Amane isn’t here to follow the beat.

There’s the spoken-word intro and the upbeat first verse listing the tenets. The prechorus (“dou shiyou mo nai…”) has an amen break. The most-sampled four-bar drum beat. Well, there’s half of it. Is it supposed to mean something? Can I get an amen?

The chorus is so, so cheerful… unless you’re actually listening to the lyrics (“I’ll crush your throat too”) or watching the video. And it’s super catchy. 

The second part of the verse dials things back. Now we’re in reality. This is how Amane breaks her tenets. All the while, those tenets are spoken into both ears over the singing. Get some good headphones. She sounds different in each ear.

The music picks up again with the amen break as Amane happily strolls back home, and then-

Oh.

The somber second chorus, with Amane’s lower singing voice and mournful spoken words, leads into the final chorus, with new lyrics and a more forceful tone. The once-meaningless chanting now has real words. “You’re sorry? I don’t care! Please go ahead and die already.” You can hear Amane’s anger despite the cheerful melody. She harmonizes in the final phrase, as if to say “we’re in this together, me and my little color guard troop.” And finally, it’s just her. Speaking. "Oboetemasuka?" Accompanied by only a single drum.

She is both Amane Momose and not. She upholds the doctrines that she was raised with, but she can’t."

---

"Purge March is geniunaly one of my favorite pieces of fiction both in and out of the context of trauma. Its fantastically directed and composed. The batton twirling is spetacular and energetic, the set and character design of Amane conveys a lot about the world she’s in and the story she’s telling. Purge March contextulizes a lot of Magic in both expected and unexpected ways (insert the entire cat symbolism thesis here) Purge March casts Amane in the role of a scary child. The glowing eyes, the framing of Amane as Above the viewer, the brutality and catharsis of it all. It seems tailored made to make you Scared of her. It’s a continuation of the cycle of abuse that we the audience repeated in T1 when we gave her that verdict. A red flashing warning sign about the Inhumanity and Monsterous qualities of Amane Momose. But Amane as a monster is fufilling and freeing. Again, its deeply cathartic. I would write more if I wasnt so sleepy at the moment but its just some Fantastic work overall. Purge March is also just fantasitic vocally and also hids electricity sounds in the instrumental which I think is evil and awesome."

---

-Amane’s vocals and how they slowly get more and more off the deep end is both really sad and cool to watch.

-The symbolism of the marching band and the flags. Ifykyk

-The beginning where it sounds like a propaganda TV show… really shows just how far Amane’s thinking is rooted in her cult and how that’s shaped her perception.

-The LYRICS. They work so well but it’s also creepy AF considering it’s a child who’s singing it.

-“So there is no second time, I’ll give back the judgment that you gave to me!”

-The overlapping part… gives me chills everytime.

-Building off the last point, the last “I’ll crush your throat too.” Ouch.

-“Remember MY cries, MY repents, MY words of “I’m sorry” that I said to you?”

-The song also does a great job of showing how much the guilty verdict messed with her.

[acotar-taylorsversion]

Another Rant

I think its funny how people will say that Sarah has had this series planned since 2015/2017 and convince themselves that this means elucien is endgame because they are already mates on page because she said "not much has changed" and that this must mean that gwynriel is real, too.

Like I'm pretty sure it only started out as the first 3 acotar books and the novella anyways. "Not much has changed" means that she didn't go with mor/az and elucien. You can literally see the moments in acowar where she changed this. And please don't forget about acofas. The one where Sarah said that we would have an idea about what Elain would do with her bond. And then in acosf when she literally made Elain and Lucien's only moment together so incredibly awkward. That moment was so telling. And do I really have to go into detail about all of Elain and Az's moments? By the end of acofas I was convinced of elriel and acosf only confirmed it for me. That bonus chapter confirmed that both Elain and Az are attracted to each other and were willing to explore that.

Like first Lucien was meant to be with Nesta and then she realized that wouldn't work out cause Nesta would have destroyed him if he ran up to her after she was turned and told her he was her mate, so she stuck him with Elain. I believe she did this to keep Lucien in the story for one little part of the koschei plot and she has done absolutely nothing to prove that Elain will ever be happy with him. Like I don't honestly see anymore how Lucien could be important anymore. I used to think that he would be this vital thing for the koschei plot but when you think about it, they really don't need him. The only thing he could do is realize his spell breaking powers and free Vassa. That's it.

And Gwyn? All signs point to her being a lightsinger and I don't know why people can't realize that. Az AND Nesta both react to her powers in almost the same way. His shadows reacted to her powers, her music or singing. They also danced to the music that was played off of Bryce's phone so I can't believe that his shadows dancing is a sign that Gwyn and Az are mates. I do not see any kind of attraction or hints of gwynriel. If anything, I think Gwyn just wants to prove herself to everyone around her, especially the one who rescued her and seen the horrible thing that she went through.

And whoever thinks that Nesta would not be happy for Elain and Az because it would "leave Gwyn alone and without a love" clearly do not understand Nesta. Elain is her sister, her favorite sister, and Az is quickly becoming her best friend. She supposedly "hated" Feyre and look at what she did for her at the end of acosf. Feyre, Rhys, and Nyx would literally be dead if it wasn't for her. I can only imagine what she would do for Elain. Yes, she has found true friendship with Gwyn and Emerie, but Elain is her sister, her blood. I believe that Nesta would be ecstatic for Elain if being with Az is truly what she wanted. She would support it. The last time we seen Elain on paper was when she was walking basically arm in arm with her sisters on a happy stroll in Velaris. And I want to know why everyone thinks that Gwyn is ready to be in a relationship anyways. She can't even leave the library yet. And I highly doubt that the first man she will be with is the man that saved her, like that would be a constant reminder of that night for me. And what's to say that she is even interested in men? Like why does everyone assume that she just has to be with Az?

And yes, I know these are characters and not real people. Yes, I know Sarah will write whatever she wants. And yes, I know I could be completely wrong, but based on what she talks about, who she talks about, and what/how she has written things, I can only believe that she is going to make elriel endgame.

That's it for my rant this time. I kinda rambled on in this one lol.

And by the way, HAPPY ELRIEL MONTH 💜

[fishsticksloser]

Hello, Can i request rottmnt platonic hc of mom reader (she's co-parenting with splinter and they're relationship is platonic) and enjoys spending time with her teenager turtle kids?

Like she likes to talk about science stuff with Donnie, she praises leo and boost his confident, she sewing for raph teddy bears and cook with mikey.

But i guess her only down part is whenever she gets kidnap by anybody she immediately pull out her album and show her kids's pictures to other villains, mostly big mama, that's why the kids try to save her faster before their secrets are exposed 😂😂

Mom!Reader

RotTMNT + fem!reader

Warnings: platonic fluff, movie stuff mentioned, vague mentions of nightmares and injuries

A/N: Could you imagine if they had a mom? Donnie and Mikey are 100% a mama's boys and you can't tell me different. Each parent gets a twin (me and my twin are much the same)

Previous | Next

Donnie

Nicknames: DeeDee, Donato (the real name of the artist), Galileo, Aristotle, Archimedes, and much more.

You once called him Grimace when he was upset and he never forgave you

You are the only one allowed to hang out around Donnie's lab

You are the only one who listened to his info dumps

If the others actually listened, they might find it interesting

You might not understand all of what he's talking about, but seeing your son so passionate makes you so happy

You are the one he goes to when he has a nightmare

Donnie enjoys you singing him to sleep, its peaceful

It reminds him of when things weren't off the rails

He installed multiple trackers on you because last time you were kidnapped you showed Hypno pictures of the Turtle Tots

It made Hypno a little nicer, but there were some embarrassing memories

He once threatened to destroy your camera because of you showing the album to anyone near

Leo

Nicknames: Len, Lenny, Blue Belle, Cookie Monster, Ace, etc.

You are his biggest supporter

He goes to you when he needs help, when he's not feeling his best

When he was younger, he often bunked with you and Donnie

He just didn't like being away from his twin

He didn't come to you often when he was little

In fact, he doesn't go to you very often as a teen

Opting for Splinter

But you can't be everyone's favorite, you knew that Leo needs Splinter like Donnie needs you.

Leo isn't embarrassed by the pictures in the album, in fact he looks at it quite often

Mikey

Nicknames: Lino, Angi, Michi, Goldie, Firecracker, Giorgione, Caravaggio, etc.

Cooking with Mikey was always a blast

He was energetic, but serious

Music would be playing while you 2 worked

You could also be found painting with Mikey

Whether it was on the walls of the skate rink or if it was on canvases in his room

Mikey always comes to you for advice

Splinter and his brothers have a tendency to underestimate and protect him, but he knows you won't

You were the person he ran to about his hands after he saved Leo

He cried, but you showed him how strong he was

How even with shaky hands, art can still be made

Why would he be embarrassed by the album? He helped make it

Raph

Nicknames: Rafa, Alfie, Ray, R.J., Bubs, Cuddles, etc.

You and Raph grew apart as he got older, but you still make him sweaters and outfits for his bears

He loves you, he just feels like being 17, he needs to stop relying on you and Splints

When he was younger, he would watch you make him teddy bears

You'd let him name them, write their names down on a heart shaped piece of fabric and place it inside (like Build-A-Bear)

He still had those bears

Although he didn't sleep with them in fear of destroying them,

They sit nicely on the shelf across from his bed

So they watch over him

Absolutely goes nuts when you get kidnapped, knowing you're probably showing whoever it is baby photos of him

He was a cute kid, but not everyone needs to see that!

[angelicdevil]

Commission info || Ko-Fi || Redbubble

So I’ve been busy making some TADC OCs, and I’ll probably be drawing their dynamics with other characters and each other. Info on each under the cut

Ash is of course my self insert. They’re a witch and an artist that tries to look out for everyone and be kind, a compassionate face can make things easier. They’ve also thrown Jax from one end of the map to the other. He’s one of the strongest members despite being part of the shorty squad. They’re deeply in love with both Ragatha and Pomni, and their poor best friends (Gangle and @snowmiserboio ‘s Tommy) have to deal with this nervous schoolgirl crush routine until Ash makes a move.

Midnight Moon is a TADC version of my favorite Sonic OC. The clowns are a pretty tightly knit group so they all get excited when a new clown shows up, like Pomni. Midnight is cheerful and energetic, and so so fast. He likes to do tricks and often does prat falls, cracking the ground with her helmet often. Considering its skill but also all the unexpected obstacles that get in xir way, it’s not always clear if these falls are on purpose or not. Fae is also taller then Jax.

Flip and Iron are also versions of my Sonic OCs and also sisters, so they entered the circus pretty close together. Not at exactly the same time but it was clear one was following the other. Haven’t decided what order though.

Flip is an acrobat and I decided to do a boot off an angel motif cause it’s cute. She’s also friends with Ash so they’ve don’t angel and devil routines for fun. They are incredibly sweet and best friends with Midnight. Though it can’t always match his energy, it always enjoys his company. She’s graceful and beautiful and can actually fly with the wings on their bow. It’s also very kind to the NPCs.

Iron is of course a strong man with a costume that’s the wrong compaction, but those muscles really do work. She’s also good friends with Midnight and Primma too. She’s also protective of her sister, who in turn is protective of her. She also loves her hair, especially her mustache, and her muscles too. She has a lovely singing voice. Her main taste in women are butches.

Dim Dim is a very friendly clown with a skirt that can produce anything. So she often pulls out game models in order to play games or build something. It tries to provide distractions for when people don’t have the energy for an adventure. She also has a thing for cowboys. It is also part of the tightly knit clown group of course, and is probably the friendliest member. It uses its hair as a third hand as practically as one can use a giant hand.

Primma Donna is a tightrope walker that’s also completely full of herself. Hard not to be when you’re beautiful, elegant, and have the most beautiful singing voice of the cast. She often gets on everyone’s nerves, but being self absorbed is how she copes. So it can be hard for her to admit when she wrongs others, but she has apologized. She doesn’t WANT to cause others true pain, she’s just scared and is in turn scared to show that she’s scared. She fucking hates Jax though, she’s hit him with her parasol before.

Rosa Felt is probably one of the most irritable out of the group, only beat by Zooble. He likes most of the others, she just tends to have a short temper. Partially because he’s not allowed to smoke. Or have a real gun most of the time. She probably wouldn’t use it on anyone but he thinks they’re cool. So she has to settle for a tooth pick and several water guns and whatever shooting related carnival games are available. He’s an excellent shot, though. And has the Duke Nukem sound effect. He has had to build up a tolerance for nonsense, but folks like Jax can easily tip her over the edge into anger.

Florita is the youngest at 20 years of age. And acts even younger. She of course spends a lot of time doing plant related stuff, gardening and such. They’re very cheerful and make flower crowns for their friends, and show anyone that needs or wants to how to care for the plants. Her favorite is a little baby monster “Venus flytrap” (the kind that don’t resemble real ones) that she’s named “Audrey III” for their favorite horror musical. She’s also not too fond of Jax and has straight up kicked him before.

Thread is believed to be related to Ragatha, but no one is sure how. She is VERY sweet though and crafty, often using her needle fingers for cutting and sewing. She also loves cats. She’s one of the few people that likes Jax, taking his assholishness as jokes. She’s best friends with Dim Dim and Rosa, and likes to mess with the NPCs is harmless ways. She just likes to see how they react by the boundaries of their programming.

[deke-rivers-1957]

Paradise Hawaiian Style Review

This is the final Elvis film that takes place in Hawaii. In fact, this could be considered one of the first Elvis film "remakes" as it's been claimed Colonel Parker wanted to recreate the success of Blue Hawaii. Similar to Blue Hawaii, real locations in Hawaii were featured during the film such as Coco Palms Resort and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

We immediately jump into the action by having Rick Richards on a flight. He was fired after flirting with a flight attendant. Since he has a bad reputation, he was only able to get a job in Hawaii. We immediately get the titular song, Paradise, Hawaiian Style over the opening credits. It's a quintessential song in any Elvis travelogue movie.

I absolutely love the shots of Hawaii. You get the idea that this actually has relevancy to the plot. Danny, played by James Shigeta, is actually Hawaiian. The use of a mixed race couple is accurate for Hawaii. There was no law against it, so it wouldn't have been controversial for Danny to marry a white woman.

While Rick is playing with Danny's kids, we get the next song, "Queenie Wahine's Papaya". This isn't Elvis' best work, but at least there's an established relationship with Danny's daughter, Jan. She actually gets to sing along with Elvis and does a pretty good job of keeping up with the fast paced song.

We get to see more shots of Hawaii that reflect the use of air travel. Even though Elvis himself doesn't fly the plane, we do see interior shots of the plane and Rick landing it. Unfortunately there are times where you can tell Elvis isn't on location. He just doesn't blend in with the background compared to on location shots.

One thing that shocked me is how this movie seemed to openly talk about how Hawaii is seen by Americans as such a tourist attraction. The natives who lived there would've had to appeal to these big businesses to make money. Even though this cultural talking point isn't the focus of the film, you can still see its influences by having Rick and Danny go into business themselves.

When they get to the club, I swear Marianna Hill playing Lani is dubbed by another woman. Her audio just doesn't sound like it was recorded at the same time as Elvis'. Also when she duets during "Scratch My Back (Then I'll Scratch Yours)" she doesn't sound good. The song in general just isn't good and grinds the film to a halt. I know Lani works at a club, but she just sings one song and then leaves with Rick. You can cut that whole song and nothing would be lost.

So by now we've established that Rick loves women in a distracting way. I admit that I appreciate how they made that such an integral part of his character that it actively influences the plot. If he didn't have such a bad reputation of flirting with flight attendants on the clock, he would've never been in Hawaii. It's unfortunate that he doesn't have any real character arc that addresses that.

It's clear that he wants to only hire a secretary because she's hot and not because she's qualified. Danny hiring Judy is a clear sign that he actually believes in her skills and wants Rick to stay focused. Danny cares about his business and wants to have people who can actually do the job.

More shots of Hawaii and this is the best part of the film. We get vocals from the Polynesian people as Rick travels. You really get the idea that Hawaii is important. You couldn't get these shots anywhere in the continental US. Of course there are goofs such as dialogue being clearly dubbed in. Like so bad that Rick is waving while saying "Hi" with Elvis clearly not moving his lips.

That being said, you immediately stop caring with the best song in the entire movie, "Drums of the Islands". My god. The visuals of Rick on a canoe just riding along the river as he sings is just beautiful. The land/seascapes are prominent and the Polynesian culture is heavily featured. Elvis isn't shoved in front of the performers. He's integrated into their act and letting these people perform an art that's been passed down for generations.

"A Dog's Life" is a song that exists. I have no idea how Elvis could possibly lip-synch all this having those dogs jump on him. Easily one. of the most stressful scenes in an Elvis movie. He lets go of the controls so many times, the dogs jump right in his lap as he's singing. A completely chaotic moment. If this wasn't a movie, these characters would most likely be dead. In universe, it's actually a testament to Rick's piloting skills that no one did die. Not just the passengers but literally everyone on the ground.

Naturally the one time Rick flies recklessly, he runs into the car of a government official in charge of aviation. Regardless of what actually happened, this guy's well within his rights to complain about what happened to him and his wife. These dogs weren't properly contained and that helicopter likely wasn't suitable for Rick to transport all of them anyway.

We get a Red cameo at the restaurant and a pointless fight scene. The tourist flirting with "Friday" was bad, but Rick sticking up for her makes no sense. Based on his actions in the movie, he's not that morally upstanding to be above unwarranted flirting.

As of this point, he has no actual chemistry with any women. He has more of a relationship with Jan (who is a child) than anyone else. Unfortunately, their 2nd duet, "Datin" is awful. It feels weird to watch a grown man explain dating to a child that isn't his. And in general, Jan's singing isn't that great compared to their first duet.

Not long after they land we get to yet another song, "House of Sand". If we cut "Datin" and went to this that would be fine. Unfortunately, this happens barely two minutes apart from each other. It feels so shoved in now because of how badly spaced they are. Also a problem with these types of songs is that they have no build up. There's no reason for these songs to be made other than fill up a quota. Elvis just bursts into songs at the most random intervals. If you cut them from the film literally nothing would change. With "House of Sand" you go right back to Rick flying in the air with one of his "love interests".

So we get a swimming scene where Elvis is conveniently covered up by a towel. It's so weird how he's covered up when both of the girls aren't. It's almost like the producers wanted to hide something. Yeah, it's obvious at this point that Hollywood wanted to hide Elvis' weight. The way they try to hide it is just so bizarre as you can still see his stomach anyway.

I hate Lani's character. She actively decides to mess up Rick and Jan's lives by throwing away the key in the sand. Lani literally got them stranded on an island with a child. If they never found the key, and Danny never knew where they ended up, they could've died. Rick's womanizing ways on top of her individual actions could've literally killed them. She is lucky that Danny didn't charge her and Rick with the endangerment of a child.

Sure she didn't know she would lose the key that way, but that was such a dumb and dangerous decision just because she wanted some sugar. As for Friday sticking up for Rick, I have no idea why she would do that. She knows first hand what his flirting ways are like. Just because he stood up to one tourist doesn't negate the fact that he's irresponsible. Danny if anything is the reasonable one and has the patience of a saint that he didn't press charges. They were out overnight and could've easily been out for longer if he didn't rescue them.

Friday chastising Rick is well deserved and if anything serves a bigger reason as to why their relationship makes no sense. Rick wanting to rescue Danny and risk losing his license for good, isn't enough of a reason to think that he's changed. As much as it shows that he can think of others it still doesn't change his womanizing ways. Compared to the dog scene from earlier, this rescue doesn't feel so tense.

All helicopters should have a first aid kit in the event that there's a crash, so it makes no sense for Danny to not have one. Even if Jan's only a child, he can still tell her how to make a splint. If this was such a tense moment as the movie wants it to be, the danger would be greater than this. There's more instances of dubbed in dialogue with 0 lip movement such as the end of this hospital scene.

Jan's solo song "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" is easily her best song. It's quite refreshing to have someone who isn't Elvis get a song all to themselves. And again Rick's flirting ways is getting the better of him. Even if he wants to be with Friday (which he never indicates more than any of the women he was with) he still needs to show that his flirting ways are over.

"Stop Where You Are" while shot differently than most Elvis songs, is also visually a nightmare. If you're watching this movie on a buggy site like DailyMotion and watch this movie for the first time, you wouldn't know if it's pausing on purpose or if it's the lag. I also have no idea why Rick's singing anyway since if he wanted to hide from the women, he did a terrible job. He was right on stage front and center. Naturally Rick's flirting ways catch up to him. He only gets away with it by paying them off. What a wonderful message/s. If you get in trouble with women you just promise to pay them off. Why does Friday like this guy?

We get an unedited shot of the different acts at the Polynesian Cultural Center and I love it. If a film was given permission to use that building, actually use it and the people who belong to that culture.

I also love how the government official is portrayed as a reasonable man. He knows that Rick saving Danny was necessary and is willing to make an exception. Now him being with Friday at the end makes no sense. It was so rushed that I don't think they even kiss at the end. The actual romance felt like so much of an afterthought almost like they knew we wouldn't care because the ending songs would be our last impression of the film.

"This is My Heaven" is a song that perfectly depicts Elvis' love for Hawaii. It's so beautiful and when combined with a reprise of "Drums of the Islands" makes it one of the best ending scenes in any Elvis film. The showcasing of the actual Polynesian performers will never get enough praise from me.

Like we actually get a break from Elvis singing to listen to them sing in their language. It's so beautiful to see them depict their culture without seeing Elvis shoehorned in the frame. The wide shot of the entire entourage performing is just so beautiful. It showcases that Elvis at this point isn't important, the people of Hawaii and the island nations are.

This film is so visually stunning that it makes the production errors even more noticeable. That being said, the amount of effort put into showcasing Hawaii and the Polynesian culture is incredible. Hawaii is an island state that doesn't have a White majority. For the movie to showcase this demographic breakdown in such a casual way for the time period is impressive.

There are flaws with this film that can't be ignored. However, when you have scenes that fully embrace the Hawaiian culture, that's a sign that this film actually tried. Because of those efforts, I'm giving this film a 7/10. If you like Elvis films, I would recommend watching this independent of Blue Hawaii so you don't compare the two. Even if you're not an Elvis fan, this movie still serves as a good insight of how Hawaii was viewed by Hollywood at the time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you so for much to @georgefairbrother for requesting this review. I know you also requested that I review Clambake as well and I will do that next. If anyone else would like to request an Elvis film or a film in general, please send them in.

[iwasbored777]

so ur trolls posts got me to watch trolls world tour again. i remembered liking it but i couldnt remember why, but now i know for sure

I FCUKING LOVE TROLLS WORLD TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE INCREDIBLE WRITERS WERE SECRETLY ON TROLLS 2 !!!!!!’n

I CANT TBINK OF A SINGLE FLAW IN TROLLS WOULD TOUR!!!!!!!

i was NOT expecting a brilliantly written masterpiece about colonialism, but thats what i got, and its going in the greatest of all time hall of fame in my brain forever.

im not gonna sit here and regale you on the message of the movie. they only said fax, no printer, and its an important message to send kids. alot of the messages kids get about races and borders is “we are all the same 😚” but they came in with the “we are NOT the same and that is both good and bad, both exciting and dangerous so you need to be aware of dangerous ideas of “harmony”” and thats so real. kids need to understand differences are OK.

i love how they backed off the “chosen one” vibe poppy had in the first movie and talked about her flaws as a leader. while her stubborness was a good thing in the first movie to contrast branches pessimistic nature, it wouldnt have worked here, and i can see a cheap writer (like m*chael w*ldron) either insisting she gets away with her selfishness and carrying on with the happy ending anyway, or pretending that wasnt a character trait at all (because w*ldron doesnt watch the first movie and writes a sequel anyway)

my favorite scene is the bubble scene and the woods right after they leave funk where branch confronts poppy. do i even need to tell you why?

i just want to mention it because im pretty sure branch sings a cover of “girl crush” by little big town, which is a country band, and branch said he likes country music earlier and that slays. but when poppy comes in, what they sing is definitley not girl crush, and i cant tell if its giving “trolls can mix music” or im completley wrong and its a different song alltogether. but i cant tell if that song is homophobic or is super gay, so if im wrong thats prob for the best.

the only flaw i can think of is the country music, as a midwestern i can confidently say that was an affront to real blue grass country music. i guess born to die “works” but it didnt represent country as well as the other genres did. theres alot of controversy in the country music fandom with alot of singers who sound exactly the same and produced like its a factory line. but even if people still think miranda lambert and carrie underwood arent true country singers, their songs wouldve worked better than born to die. also the country trolls shouldve been on a self sufficient farm instead of the wild west. that wild western jazzy piano and country music isnt the same.

the only bad part about the movie is that it ended and barb ATE. SHE LEFT NO CRUMBS WITH THAT INTRO. send ask.

Lol I love your review. I love Trolls World Tour a lot too and all their other movies. Great stuff.

And yeah I love Poppy and how she can accomplish A LOT but she doesn't make it on her own, she needs character development and help from others just like everyone else. Characters are surprisingly realistic.

Barb really was goat, the best antagonist in the franchise. I love parallels between her and Poppy, how both had different intentions (Poppy wanted to help and Barb wanted to conquer) but Poppy's method was also wrong and both Poppy and Barb and everyone had to make compromises for all tribes to live in harmony because no one has to change their lifestyle for that to happen, all they have to do is accept that they're different and that's perfect. Just be yourself and let others be themselves.

That song in the end (Just Sing) slaps hard (and so does Can't Stop The Feeling btw).

P.S. Tiny Diamond fucking slays 🔥🔥🔥

[kxmikomrade]

JJK Characters with a Venti!reader

Characters: Itadori Yuji, Fushiguro Megumi, Kugisaki Nobara, Gojo Satoru Genre: FLuff, Crack, Can be read as romantic or platonic (completely platonic on Gojo's) Gn!reader Pronouns: Y/P [Your Pronouns] Type: Headcanon Warnings: I think just a bit of swearing Waiter's Notes: I wanted to try out a new twist, feel free to drop by and order if you like it! ^^ Author's Notes: Back to my jjk phase, and i noticed how there werent much 'character!reader's here and i really enjoy those so i just took it into my own hands. My reqs are always open!

•Oh my Archons

•i cant with you two neither can Megumi tbh

•You're like two kids on a play date or smth

•He mostly doesnt understand your songs/poems so you're gonna have to dumb it down

•Tho he does like the sound of it

•He thinks your curse technique is the coolest thing ever like he has sparkles in his eyes every time you use it

•The way you control wind and make things fly is just so fascinating

•Please use ur anemo shit to make him fly. Bby has been dreaming of flying ever since he could eat weird solid food

•Sukuna would be so annoyed by you, and Yuji uses it to his advantage LMAO

•Though Sukuna prob knows who you are from a thousand years ago and just stays quiet about it because Yuji would definitely also use it against him

•Man, give this guy a break, he already has to deal with Gojo and the one braincell duo

•He would describe you as loud or annoying but he actually tolerates you just because you can be calming sometimes

•He likes listening to your poems or songs, helps him sleep

•You go knocking on his window at 2am in the morning to sing him a song when he cant sleep 💀

•How you know about it? no idea. You just reply with ''The wind told me''

•Yeah he definitely needs sleep

•Same thing with Inumaki, Megumi doesnt sincerely respect you because of your antics. But he does admire you for your skill

•Esp the way you hold the bow and use attacks with no unnecessary movements

•He overall just likes your company if u just keep ur damn mouth shut unless ur gonna sing

•To be quite honest with you, i think that she would think of you as a dumb potato aswell

•But she likes your beauty lets be real

•LIKE- YOU'RE SO GENDER

•SO?? WHY?? WOULDNT?? SHE?? TAKE YOU??? ON SHOPPING SPREES????

•I'd like to think that you both get along well

•ESPECIALLY IF U COMPLIMENT HER

•THEN HER FASHION SENSE

•THEN FOR THE CHERRY ON TOP, WRITE A POEM ABOUT HER

•Shes your aggressive best friend now

•Ready to kick your ass and to kick ass for you.

•Someone insults your hairstyle? No problem, theyre already hammered to the wall

•Gonna perform a song? your makeup is done, go slay it!!

•Oh my Archons part 2

•He was very amused when he found out your cursed technique could manipulate wind

•Listen listen, you're probably his favorite student with how much u side along his pranks and goofiness

•NANAMI, MEGUMI AND IJICHI ARE SO DONE WITH YALL LMFAOO

•u basically took 20 years off their lifespan

•Like during winter, Gojo could dunk cold water on poor Megumi's head and u would send wind in his way 💀💀

•Is he considering murder? yes, definitely

•Gojo isnt even worried about you because you tend to use long ranged attacks and even if it comes down to short range, you're ready to beat your opponent up and summon your badass Black hole and start shooting them with your arrows that they end up being a porcupine

•IMAGINE HOW SICK IT WOULD BE IF YOU COMBINED THE BLACK HOLE WITH GOJO'S HALLOW PURPLE

•He occasionally brings candied apples for you when he comes back from missions

•smh favoritism

•He would get SO smug when u write a song/poem about him

•He brags to everyone and anyone about it 24/7, they first thought it was cute, now its getting so annoying

•IF you're like 1000+ years old like Venti then expect this man to go *insert surprised pikachu* when he finds out

•I honestly have no idea what his reaction would be if he finds out you're a literal god 💀

(626 words)

[daintylovers]

omg ily your amazing bumpy brain has the best hcs!! ty for sharing them with us 🥺

can i ask for your thoughts on a guitarist!mike in a band with the party, and his supportive gf reader?

lmfao- bumpy brain took me out for some reason🤭

- alright so, guitarist!mike is a dream in itself

- i mean, getting the chance to see those slender fingers strumming the strings could get anyone hot and bothered pretty quickly

- your guys first date was kind of an accident

- you had spilled your drink on him by accident after running into each other at a party

- coincidentally this was the same party that his band was going to play at, exactly five minutes after you spilled your drink on him

- you were apologizing profusely, swearing up and down that you would do anything to fix it

- and he was just blushing and telling you it was alright. he was more excited that he was talking to someone as pretty as you

- with a final say of its alright, you guys parted ways

- only not quite, cause a few minutes later, mysterious mess boy was onstage playing guitar with his hot friends

- oh fuck, you had spilled on a member of the band

- as if you couldn’t be more embarrassed, he made it worse

- after their first song, mike walked up to the mic (lmfao mike walked up to the mike is what i wrote originally) and gently pried it out of wills hands

- then he brought it to his chapped lips and asked if the pretty girl who spilled her drink could come up to the front

- you were bright red, but how could you not??? he was mad fine and asking for you.

- so you did as he asked and once you were in his sights, he told you that there was one thing you could do to fix his ruined shirt

- with a quick “what is it lover boy?” (i mean come on, you have to be playful with him if he’s gonna do this in front of a crowd) he told you that he would like to take you out for pizza after his set

- after saying yes (cause duhhhhh) the band continued playing, but not without a few whistles and hollering from both the band and the listeners

- the pizza was great, and you guys exchanged numbers

- he promised to call the next day, and sure enough he did

- you guys talked for hours until he said he would have to go to practice with the band

- that was the start of becoming the first groupie for “will the wise and his merry crew” (i know it’s a long name but it’s so fun)

- and the band loved you so so much

- they were excited that someone genuinely liked their music, cause let’s be real it fucking hits

- wills vocals are stellar, and it’s even better when max joins in

- with mike on bass, it gives the band enough sex appeal for days

- max generally drums if she isn’t singing, and lucas does keyboard

- dustin is in control of all the special effects that goes into their shows

- and el is in charge of all the outfits. she got the job because she doesn’t stick to traditional clothing styles at all so it gives the band a very unique look

- tbh they are the coolest “merry crew” you could ever hope to stumble across

[kai-and-their-mess]

Please Don't Go ('I Would Never' Ending)

kai again!!!! this picks up exactly where the main story left off so if you havent read that yet please do!!! same warnings apply.

Mizuki never was one to just… blindly obey. It had gotten her in trouble countless times. she would much rather get in trouble again. She was supposed to be an angel, how could she turn a blind eye to someone's suffering? someone's untimely demise? So once Yuki had closed his eyes, she wrapped him up in her wings. She abandoned the lyrics to the song she was singing in favor of pleas.

If she could just influence one thing, just- just this. Maybe she'll feel less like a failure, or a bystander. He was so young, it was unfair. She holds him close to her, fervent in her wishes. "...Please… it's not his time. He can't go like this. I refuse to let him just become…. space debris..." she sniffles, tears falling over Yuki's form. Its hopeless. There's no way she could change his story, not on her own, and no one else was willing to help her either.

As Yuki's time draws to a close, Mizuki starts to feel different. She opens her eyes; her wings were changing color. Mizuki feels her heart break at first, but she understands. She squeezes Mafuyu's hand in hers. "Hey…you really are going to make it. Help is on the way." She's not sure if he can hear her, but she knows his heart is still beating.

She plucks one of her still white wings before it can change color with the rest, pressing it into his hands. "I will stay with you, until I am no more" she smiles. This was her price to pay; the only choice she had left. She watches their surroundings, silently listing off facts about space to pass the time. By time the spaceship comes into view, there's not much time left. Not for her or for Yuki.

She places a hand on his chest. "I'm going to give you the last of my life force… so that I won't break my promises." she hesitates for a moment. She's never really given her life to someone before. She didn't know what to expect. oh well. She focuses on her life force and Yuki's heartbeat, trying her best to imagine and merge them into one.

When Yuki wakes up, he's in a hospital, an oxygen mask attached firmly to his face. Where was he...? He slowly turns to look around. Seems like he might be in a space station? He can see Shiho in a different bed, though he seems to be asleep. Fuyu feels…. exhausted. He just wants to find out where he is. As he starts to see if there's a nurse nearby, he notices a white feather in his hand. He's not fully sure why but the sight of it makes him cry; his heart overflowing with joy.

'Thank you, for staying with me.' he thinks, hoping that somehow, Mizuki will hear it. if she's real, that is. Though Yuki has a feeling that the angel he met will always be a part of him.

(thank you for reading until the end! i take constructive criticism even if it takes me forever to read it. this was hard to write, emotionally, but i really enjoyed it. please like if you enjoyed. in this ending its implied that the ship was able to find yuki and then they went to a space hospital where they all got patched up! called this ending 'i would never' cuz a part of mizuki now permanently lives on inside of mafuyu, kinda like they got soul merged or smth idk i also physically couldnt finish it until i thought up a happier ending)

[winterrhayle]

rank all of snow angel including bonus tracks

snow angel - one thing about me is if i see the word snow im THERE bc i lovveeee the winter (hayle) season and this song really has that energy w the super clear vocals and imagery n stuff, and im obsessed with the absolute whiplash of this song going from that to the REALLLLY LOUD PART W THE ELECTRIC GUITARS SO GOOD. her vocals here are so impressive bc its really difficult to go from singing really soft like that to the really really loud belting and she can even do it live like on SNL which was SUCH A GOOD PERFORMANCE OMG. im currently in my schools silent library listening to it and im so paranoid that people can hear it through my airpods (if they can then tbh theyre blessed) also also the way she sings gives church performance in the best way

pretty girls - sapphics and bubblegum pop???? this is so mecore its like this song was chemically designed for me to enjoy it 100/10, IT SOUNDS SO SPARKLYYY AND ‘i like a straight jacket but it feels like its a little tight’ <- relatable content

wedding song - this is such a depressing song to have about an ex rip but the melody SLAPPSSSSS

i wish - ever since u introduced me to the acoustic sessions version of this ive gotten really attached to it, its really calming and kinda disney-esque ‘oh the older we get / the colors they change / hair turns to grey but the blue stays the same’ shes good some really good lyrics on here

gemini moon - i was thinking that this is so relatable and i dont believe in astrology but apparently reneé is actually a PISCES moon and so am i (sun and moon actually) so theres that !!!!! 1000000000 / 10 vocals as usual and i like her really personal songs

tummy hurts (specifically the coco jones remix) - first line of verse 2 is so real, this needs to be talked about more😔✊🏽

poison poison - this song is really funny and good and also all i can think of when i hear it is that one performance when people were comparing her to a goose or something☠️

so what now - the intro to this is so asmr <33333333 i have no strong thoughts on this song but

talk too much - i loveeeee her voice memo things in this she speaks the same way as me only american

i do - im choosing to interpret this as queer girl in love w straight best friend bc </3

messy - this took a couple listens to grow on me but i love it now !!!!!! it really picks up in the second half

23 - really good lyrics, this will move up in my rankings when i can relate in approximately 5 years

willow - this song is so chill im gonna add it to my sleep playlist rn, and i like how clean the vocals are and i like the finger snaps and the bell synth thing in the back

swim - also very chill i like it, and ik i wouldve ate this up in lockdown bc its produced like the songs i really liked back in the day 😫😫

i hate boston - i think i like this one but i genuinely can’t remember the melody of it when the song ends😭 concept is good, rip to bostoners tho

there actually isn’t a single bad song on this album :DDDDDDD yyayyyyyyyy

[bonesandthebees]

ello bones hope youre doing good

just found even more cool songs thanks to you, how do you always have more???

also WE COULDVE HAD YOU DOING ASL??? aw man :( (/lh)

anyway, I just turned in my paper that ive been working on for the last few months (yay, finally, it ate like all of my free time and energy) and suddenly I have too much free time and not much too read or watch (I had saved so many fics I cant manage to read anymore)

any coming of age books (or fics) or movies recommendations? (I need me some honey and tangerines vibes yk? ive been listening to the playlist too much again. one day I think ill read that fic again, but today is not the day)

much love to go you all in the ask box, eli <3

I'm doing pretty good! went to a yoga class tonight and I'm seeing the tommyinnit live show tomorrow so it's shaping up to be a pretty great weekend!

I actually filmed a video to post here on language day and everything but I wanted to redo it so my face wasn't fully in frame but then I just didn't get around to it :( oh well next time

OOO congrats on turning in that paper!! that's a huge accomplishment, I hope you get a great grade on it. and yay for free time!

oh boy ok coming of age recs I can do this. I haven't read any coming of age books since I was a teenager though so keep in my my memory of these are all hazy

books:

the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky - hallmarker of the coming of age genre, read this when I was 16 and cried, even if you've seen the movie I highly recommend the book

aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire saenz - literally was one of my favorite books for so many years. I read it when I was 15 and became obsessed with it. I still look back on it so warmly it's just such a great book

it's kind of a funny story by ned vizzini - also read this one when I was like 16ish. I remembered enjoying it but not as much as the other two I've listed here. still very good though!

movies:

cha cha real smooth (2022) - actually one of my favorite coming of age films I've ever seen. it's a coming of age film about a guy in his early 20s instead of in his teens which is refreshing in its own. it hit particularly hard for me because I saw it when I was 22 and freshly graduated from college unsure what to do, the main character is 22 and freshly graduated from college unsure what to do. it's also a very unique setup and I really loved how they pulled it off

the edge of seventeen (2016) - this might be a controversial pick because the main character is actually pretty insufferable in this, but that's part of why I enjoyed it. the character is meant to be insufferable. she's a teenage girl dealing with the hell of being a teenage girl and she sucks! it's an intentional thing and it does it very well! I would say it still falls flat in some areas, but I'm mainly recommending it because it's so refreshing to have an mc genuinely be a shitty person

sing street (2016) - I count this as a coming of age movie but it's also kind of a music movie? it's incredibly fun no matter what. the songs are so catchy, the characters are all great, and the relationships are just all very well done

the kings of summer (2013) - genuinely why do I never hear anyone talk about this movie. I haven't seen it in so long but I remember it being incredibly funny with a great dose of summertime whimsy

hunt for the wilderpeople (2016) - tbh I never thought of this as a coming of age movie and it might be a bit different than most of the films on here but I was looking up lists of coming of age movies to try and remember which ones I've seen and I saw this one mentioned a few times. if you're a fan of taika waititi films, in my opinion this is his best one hands down. it's hilarious but also incredibly sweet and heartwarming at the same time

moonrise kingdom (2012) - very charming and storybook esque in the way all wes anderson films are, but with a really sweet story between two kids at its core. again, different from most of the ones on this list, but definitely an enjoyable one all the same

hope this list helps!

[hasdrubal-gisco]

eurovision '24 semifinal 2 early review

content and spoiler warning for albania, armenia, austria, czech republic, denmark, greece, malta, switzerland, belgium estonia, georgia, israel, latvia, the netherlands, norway, san marino, france, italy, spain

albania - opening witha good and strong song. would have been better if it was in albanian, but albania always brings the heat. albanian and serb are brothers because they are son of same bitch (many are saying this !)/10

armenia - absolute banger. singer doesn't have the classic hayastani spade face which must have hard for her growing up. genuinely This is what eurovision is about. may you drop thousand bombs on baku/10

austria - (watching music video) i liked display of aryan man masculine power energy, sweat dripping down his chest. how this make you feel ? song ? generic, forgettable, this will score no points without mr schutzschtaffel flipping tires. you will never regain lost glory/10

czech republic - Yes i am deadnaming this country. i do not recognize these silly zoomer pronouns like "czechia." NOT REAL ! song is relatively good on its own but to me it its not a eurovision song. it's giving pale waves without the production by mr the 1975 whatever his name is. i think this will be well received by juries but it's not fun in the way we expect from battle royale evropa edition. props to the czech republic for sending a russian girl in these russophobic times. i will not mind hearing this on the radio in the car in the coming year/10

denmark - she's technically white seeing as she's very obviously ethiopian (amhara, not those COLORED varieties). good singer but the song is nothing. relatively dignified considering the scandinavian's propensity for cringe/10

greece - she gave cunt she served she died or whatever it is you kids say these days. it's giving noa kirel if we're being honest. in my top 3 i'd say. no wonder greeks invented civilization/10

malta - for this one my opinion is colored by the fact that going into it i know she's some commercial real estate magnate's daughter who paid her way into the competition. when will people learn, war criminals' nieces are simply better than investor's daughters. don't even thing about being a talentless hack if your uncle isn't exterminating minorities. only positive is the tooth gap/10

switzerland - european college student is not immune to american they/them disorder. if he sings the hard parts well, this could save some of it musically but culturally it's a L. go back to sending kosovar albanians/10

belgium - european man in his 30s is ALSO not immune to american they/them disorder. this is nothing, but we must always keep in mind only a few years ago a good third of the contestants would send ballads so. belgium has no reason to exist, think about it/10

estonia - MICHAEL VSAUCE ?? estonian pitbull be like mr balt-wide. it's above average in an extremely poor year/10

georgia - rising from the ashes like a phoenix is actually referencing the historical period during which georgia did not exist on the map, like poland, but re-emerged as a sovereign state. and this is what they did with it. also the bizarre sour food. below average in an extremely poor year/10

the illegitimate fascist ethnostate of isnotreal - the best of this variety of song we've heard, largely because the music is more subtle and she can in fact sing. this will either get high or no votes from the general public depending on prevailing sentiment on the holocaust du jour. thee mathematical average in a poor year/10

latvia - na-baron, house harkonnen does not know what's coming for it. bro the lisan al gaib's fedaykin are coming for ur bald ass ! this is nothing/10

the netherlands - i will confess this is not bad. TO ME it is a quirky and lighthearted version of a stupid eurovision song, with some self awareness that the finns (both this year and last) sorely lack. unlike other TREASURED MUTUALS i do not consider this man SEXUALLY ATTRACTIVE. i will let the senatus populusque tumblorus draw its own conclusions based on the notes of this post. MAGNA EVROPA EST PATRIA NOSTRA/10

norway - i can recognize there is an audience for this and that audience is not me. is it good ? i'll have to ask them. i think this may get an unusually high amount of votes from juries for some reason. feels like the kind of song that would play for a super epic and dramatic ( :I ) final scene in vikings (tv show). eeeh/10

san marino - you can tell she thinks she's quirky from the facial expressions. if i wanted sexy skeletons i'd have played undertale. this sucks, you're san marino you have no identity, genuinely this should be a vehicle for importing flo rida or something. this sucks/10

france - incredible voice. getting a lot of dune princess vibes from the outfit (<- guy who just watched dune). this will get panned because it's france, and somehow american warships have secured total anglo victory in the cultural thousand year war (the hundred year war). liberté, égalité, fraternité/10

italy - i had not heard this as i abstained from san remo, but this is pretty good, it's very ethnic, it's sexy, it has hot blood coursing through its veins. top few (final ranking pending)/10

spain - relatively okay beat/instrumental that's wasted on a nothing singer. send basque opera singers next time. i'm ready to go to sleep/10

final conclusion - there were more good entries than in the first semi, i'll come up with a final list and rough ranking of who i'd like and hate to see go to the final for any undercover jurors reading the die karthagische zeitung. feels like the entries that are good are really good, and there's a lot of blah, but at least we're skirting by with very few ballads. pee breaks speckled in for those of us who have bladders like old women who have somehow had babies (not me tho).

[larrikin-is-a-himbo]

My thoughts on Russian Doll: Rewatch Edition [Part 1]

I had forgotten how unexpected and jumpscare-y the first time Nadia dies is.

RUTH MY DARLING. HOW I MISSED YOU.

I could be at the best party of my life, surrounded by the people I love and who love me, and yet I would spiral into a sadness dissociation. Nadia is just like me fr. (I know the trauma was very recent but you get what I'm saying)

I love that homeless guy so much you don't understand. I don't care about the ex though.

Nadia, why are you sitting in such a vulnerable position when you've already died once?

It's actually so much interesting to see the people around Nadia slowly lose their sentience as the universe continues collapsing their reality. A great example of it is Maxine. You can see how much this timeloop affects everyone, best through her. There's subtle changes (maybe this needs a post of its own)

Love that she still thinks it's the drugs and not just the misfortune of being the victims of universe's educating spree.

I think something worse than dying again and again is dying in the same way multiple times. These goddam stairs.

Imagine being Maxine and your friend is just acting full on CRAZY crazy.

Giving new meaning to "It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to"

Going to the Rabbi. I think I would start going to priests/pandits/any other terminology used for them, if I was going this insane as well. I can't figure out if she's Jewish me or not though. As much as I can remember from my first watch, she's not. (I don't want to repeat the part.)

My favourite thing about Nadia, as a protagonist, is that she's not a saint, she's not likeable all the time. She has a lot of fuck ups, even if she's suffering at the whims of the universe. Normally, female characters aren't allowed to be raw and messy and human is such manner. Really shows you the difference in a show made by a woman and a show made by a man.

MY MAN IS HERE. Boy, you have a lot of loser energy but I love that so come here, baby.

"Like, if you weren't paying me, I never would've spoken to you" Wow. That wasn't even said to me and it stung so bad.

He has this deep sadness in him. An aching to keep his life in control, to be understood, to keep things as they are. It's an impossible thing to do, to accept that you can't avoid change.

"You fucked the gingerbread man?!" "Don't call him that." "YOU CALL HIM THAT." BAHAHAHA

Love the way Nadia finds Alan's name. Just based on the fact that he's uptight and way too routine oriented.

I HAD FORGOTTEN THE DOUCHEBAG NADIA MEETS ON THE FIRST NIGHT WAS THE GINGERBREAD MAN.

Death by electrocution. Jesus fucking Christ. That's horrible.

YES, MY BOY. Go completely unhinged. [<- Just threw his stuff like a normal person instead of rearranging it like a serial killer]

"Okay, check it out. I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me I'm a bad person. Nobody did it because I fucking rule, so... there goes your theory." This is going to be my mindset for the rest of my life. Impostor syndrome who?

I love the little details since Ep1 of how this loop is affecting the real world. The people disappearing, the food rotting, the animals disappearing.

Going the route of making the main male and female characters a Weirdo duo >>>>>>>>>>

"I don't know who the fuck you are, I don't know what's going on here, but either you two suck each other's dicks or get the fuck out of my apartment." MAXINE THE QUEEN YOU ARE.

WHEN NADIA DIES BY RUTH'S HANDS IS THE SADDEST ONE SO FAR. I HATE IT SO MUCH.

"Nobody chooses me. I'm the hole where a choice should be." This hurt me. Hit too close to home.

The way Nadia is slowly being consumed by the grief of this reality of hers. Seeing John have his heartbroken again and again. It's just. Your grief just doesn't affect you, it affects everyone, it consumes everything around you. (I wish I could articulate my thoughts and feelings better. I struggle to even form coherent sentences these days)

"You created an impossible game with a single character who has to solve everything entirely on her own. That's stupid." "Watch and learn, baby face." This is what we call foreshadowing.

"I can fuck you better than Mike" My boy you need to be awake first.

It's about community and love and connections. And how we as social beings need other people to survive and thrive and be safe. In every way, the physical, emotional, we need people. We cannot be loners. That's not a viable way of living. The moral of the story is let others help you, believe that the world is a better place because you're in it.

Not just that but a sub plot (the building block to the major plot in S2) that no matter how much you suppress your inner child, no matter how much you try to forget them, they're still within you. You cannot take care of your present self or improve things for your future self until you acknowledge the child.

It's just, how beautifully it is shown the importance of human connection, loving and caring for others, why it is the utmost responsibility as humans to keep each other safe and well. Humans didn't come all this way without that love and compassion, and this recent trend of hyper-individuality has really fucked us over.

[marciabrady]

What were your thoughts on the Disney live action version of The Little Mermaid??

It's a live action Disney remake and they're known for being creatively bankrupt for good reason. At worst, live action remakes ruin the original and at best they dilute the brand so it isn't as if it's going to be a good movie, but I think a lot of people are surprised it isn't as bad as we've come to see with other movies? Which, I will say, it isn't as bad as Cinderella 2015 (could anything ever be lol) and I would place it more in the shot by shot remake category of BATB and TLK. Over all though I wish they did their own thing with it (it's tricky though because it was a copy and paste in some respects, but then they left certain things out too that I thought was odd given how identical the plot is and how the absence of aforementioned dropped material weakened certain characters and storylines). I'm someone who holds original content dear to my heart (I haven't even seen the Broadway iteration because seeing someone who's not animated Ariel/Jodi be referred to by that name or singing Part of Your World just makes me sad, I even limit the park performer content I take in and I don't watch the sequels at all) so I did feel a little disheartened to see how much they copied and ripped from the original. Like the opening scene we see of her is taken directly from the animated movie, down to the dialogue, how they copied Part of Your World, even with the shot of her reaching toward the surface at the top of her Grotto, the waves splashing behind her on the rock, just everything and I don't know, it just makes me sad because it's done on such a higher budget now and people are saying it's "so much better than the original" and obviously this movie JUST came out and there's a way higher budget so it's going to appeal to modern audiences more but. It just feels like they carried everything over from the original to this film's detriment? Like...you can say the 1989 movie takes from the original story too and isn't original, but that production gave the mermaid the name Ariel and it gave her red hair and a green fin and a best friend named Flounder that was a fish and a crab named Sebastian and created the song 'Part of Your World' and a Prince named Eric, etc etc etc, and this movie copies it to the point where it doesn't even make sense? (Like even the new face character, who they market as a different person, is brushing her hair with a dinglehopper and is talking about her friends Sebastian and Flounder and it's like how is this different? lol why not give Halle's mermaid new or different friends or just something that set her apart and allowed the story to be original to Halle)

Like Sebastian and Flounder were invented for the medium of animation, so to put them in this photorealistic world just doesn't make sense. Why not make them merpeople and adjust their characters, or replace them with new characters that are humans/real actors? Also, why does her name have to be Ariel- why does she have to sing the same songs? Why can't she be her own character, why can't this film its own thing? (Also, Melissa and Halle both imitate the original at times heavily so that, even in the same scene sometimes, when there's a line that wasn't in the original movie and they don't have that vocal reference to go off of, they sound completely different than they did a few seconds ago; Naomi Scott's Jasmine does this sometimes, too) Because this movie is just going to suffer unflattering comparisons to the original- the Grotto destruction scene makes me feel nothing in this movie, the performances are flat and uninspired, the singing isn't anything to write home about. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that most of the cast didn't really fit the roles they were given- Melissa and Javier admitted to texting the director, begging for a part- and the director's openly shown that he doesn't understand a lot of the original movie so, if you don't understand the source material, it could never be adapted well. The first rule in Hollywood is never bash the movie you're remaking and the director did this many times (every live action Disney movie does). But, like I said previously when discussing BATB, maybe if it was its own thing, it would be passable because we wouldn't constantly be reminded by the superior version that already exists? I don't think Emma's Belle would've been that bad if they didn't make her an interpretation of the animated character? She doesn't need to be named Belle or have a garish yellow dress or sing the songs from the animated. They should've readapted the story and gone from there. Brandi's Cinderella is a perfect example- she doesn't dilute the original and, while there are parallels, she's totally her own performance and both can coexist peacefully without being at odds or making the other worse. She doesn't steal the original's dialogue or songs (I know she's an adaption from the stage show) and she brought forth her own portrayal that isn't copying or stealing anything from any other ones. I see a universe in which Ilene's Cinderella would exist without Brandi's and in which Brandi's Cinderella would exist without Ilene's.

Also, I don't really want to get into it, but I do think that this film presents us with really questionable ideals when it comes to how we depict women and there's so much in that movie that's genuinely problematic/reinforces negative stereotypes and I hope people will realize and push forth for better representation and artistic integrity moving forward. However, unlike really bad live action films where nothing good comes of it (Cinderella 2015, Maleficent), I do like how much positivity has surrounded the fandom because of this movie and I think viewing this film as a star vehicle for Halle fares much better than treating it like an interpretation of an animated film. I also hope this is a step in the right direction for better diversity and more people of color finding leading roles and that our casts will be more diverse in front of and behind the camera moving forward, because they were only scratching the surface here with what could've been done and it still ultimately reads as a very hetero/white production.

[manysmallhands]

FearOfMu21c #1

Lana Del Rey - Mariners Apartment Complex

Released - September 12, 2018

Highest UK chart position - #79

Spotify streams to date - 191,434,509

Of all the artists in this list, Lana has been the biggest pain in the arse. Despite being one of my favourite singers of the last decade, it has proved nigh on impossible to pin down the perfect Lana single. There are obvious choices to be made here but ultimately they don’t feel like mine; elsewhere there are fantastic albums that seem to work best as a whole, or where their best tracks are tucked away in the folds rather than placed out front. But just as I was ready to settle for something that wasn’t quite right, or maybe not even bother at all, a chance listen to Mariners Apartment Complex made me understand that the right song had been staring me in the face all along.

The first single off of what would eventually become Norman Fucking Rockwell casts Lana as mythmaker, one of the things where she truly excels. This is the beginning of her era as 70s revival queen, with the soft focus, soft rock vibes recreating a world of Laurel Canyon grandeur that almost existed but which somehow feels not quite the same; the production is just a little bit Disneyfied and there are even elements of clear cut, on the nose hokeyness which perversely only seem to heighten the impact. Lana herself is in commanding form: when she sings “You lose your way, just take my hand”, in effect she’s offering a manicured grip out to all of us, wrenching us back across the decades to a time when rock and roll still ruled and romance was the American way.

As is so often the case with Lana, it’s hard to know how seriously yr supposed to take it all but then that’s entirely the point: the artifice is part of what makes it convincing but without some sincerity at its heart, the song would be a hollow shell. Norman Fucking Rockwell was an album that took these apparent contradictions and ran long distances with them; Mariner’s Apartment Complex is just the best example of her creating something that’s even better than the real thing.