#we’re doing SO WELL WITH STREAMING AND SALES

[mapofthesoul20]

I don’t likeee sugar rush ride, but I am obsessed with it so rip me I guess lol

[txtaetertots]

hi all.

i’m hoping to get back to updating soon. it’s something i dearly miss and cannot wait to get back to when i have time. ive been putting a lot of my focus lately into not only my last semester of grad school but also into action for palestine. it’s more important to me to invest the little free time i have into doing what i can to push the fight for a liberated palestine. i refuse to sit here and act like everything is okay when millions of people are suffering a genocide.

hybe is complicit in this ethnic cleansing as well whether you want to accept it or not. they’ve allowed scooter braun to have the power and influence to spread zionist propaganda. scooter braun has always shown himself to be a despicable excuse for a human being, and if him being a zionist on top of all of that isn’t enough for you to consider his termination a crucial goal to work toward.. you do not truly care about palestine.

palestine cannot be free if we allow zionism to become normalized. it’s our duty to call it out and shame zionists out of our spaces! they are not and should not be welcome ANYWHERE. which is why i’m one of many moas who have made the decision to BOYCOTT HYBE. i refuse to put money in the pockets of these greedy, capitalist pigs who don’t care about anything but squeezing every penny they can out of fans. it’s not about the music anymore for bighit. all they care about is how much they can get away with because they know we’re willing to spend anything if it means getting content and merch. i don’t want to hurt txt’s comeback, but in my opinion, a comeback isn’t more important than a fucking genocide. plain and simple. i refuse to give hybe any more of my money through streams, album sales, tickets, or merch until they get rid of fuckass scooter braun.

if you don’t want to boycott, that’s fine. that’s your choice and i don’t blame you for not wanting to. as long as you’re doing what you can to help palestine in other ways, i see no shame. but i still do encourage you to consider boycotting as well. if not, but you’re able to buy multiple albums and concert tickets? i think you can also donate to palestinian aid and families as well. i just ask you not say you care about palestine yet do nothing to help their resistance.

that being said: i hope you don’t shame fans who do choose to partake in this boycott, because you need to understand this isn’t an attack on txt or any other hybe group. i’ve seen so many people attack boycotters and accuse us of wanting our idols to fail. it makes my blood boil because that couldn’t be farther from the truth. you must be truly out of touch and thick headed to think this is a personal attack on them. there are more important things than a comeback. especially when one of the songs (the killa) on txt’s new album was produced BY AN “ISRAELI”!! this is what we’re talking about when we say scooter braun is playing a huge role in welcoming zionism to hybe. people are losing their homes, their land, their families, their LIVES.. this is about removing the facilitators of genocide from positions of power in every industry they leech on. and if you somehow can’t seem to understand that, you’re a zionist too. chart positions, views, album sales, whatever are not more important than the liberation of indigenous people. choosing to believe otherwise is cruel and evil, and choosing to argue with us over this makes you no ally to palestine. it makes you complicit to the normalization of zionism which is the primary force in the oppression and dehumanization of palestinian people.

i encourage you to download the songs elsewhere (so many google drive links and free streaming apps exist (for example: musi)). don’t stream the killa. refuse the normalization of zionism. make zionists UNCOMFORTABLE! they don’t deserve to experience peace when palestinians are living in constant fear because of the barbaric attacks by that illegitimate state trying to forcibly steal palestinian land.

below i’ve attached graphics from twitter made by palestinian fans and allies who are leading the boycott against hybe. if you would like more information i will link other important twitter accounts you can check out for more. you don’t have to follow the whole list but they ask we at least adhere up to priority 3!

i’m open to providing any other information you need. thank you for reading.

- yuri

important accounts/threads:

hybe boycott priority list thread

ARMY4PALESTINE

Music Lovers for Liberation

Zionists in Music

HYBE Boycott Update

Care for Gaza

[breannasfluff]

Multicolored Rabbits

Flufftober 3: You love me?

AO3 link

Legend and the rest of the Chain return to the house where the Ravio colors have taken over. This time, it seems like they are settling in to stay for a while—at least longer than the scant hour of last time.

Gold is in the shop, helping a customer when Legend tromps in, followed by the other heroes. “Hi, Ravio—why is your robe yellow?”

“It’s gold.” He turns back to his customer. “Apologies, sir. Now this fine wand will save you time lighting fires! It’s not so powerful that it will damage an enemy, but candles, fires, and cookware alike will benefit from its steady stream of flame!”

The man frowns at the small rod. “I guess my wife would like it.”

“Yes, yes! Think how happy she’ll be when she saves time making you dinner!”

Legend edges closer and tugs on Gold’s sleeve. “Hey. The robe. It’s different.”

Gold rolls his eyes and pushes the vet away. “I’m busy! And I like this color!” He aims a blinding smile at the customer. “This can be yours for a steal! Just 299 rupees! If you buy the ice wand as well, I’ll throw in a discount!”

“299!” The man shoots him a look. “This isn’t worth more than 50!”

“50!” Gold doesn’t have to feign his horror. “I’m an honest salesman! I need to put food on the table for my family!”

“You’re just trying to scam me!”

Legend edges around the two, waving the other heroes to follow him. “I call the bath and then I’m taking a nap. The rest of you, get settled. Ravio, mind finishing that sale and putting on something for dinner? The other heroes went to Kakariko for supplies, but they will be back later.”

Gold ignores him. “I don’t scam! I have fair prices! It’s called supply and demand, and I have the only supply.” His smile has the customer taking a step back. “Where else are you going to buy a fire wand?”

The customer finally leaves and Gold counts his rupees before carefully noting them in the book. Purple may owe him for watching the shop for the afternoon, but Lolia, it is always good to make rupees.

~

Purple hums as he hefts his bag of goods. Kakariko is a nice place to visit and it’s good to get out of the shop for the day. Gold will probably complain about how much he spent, but there was a good deal on carrots! Combined with the honey saved in the pantry, they can make some nice roasted carrots for dinner.

“Ravio!”

Purple fixes his smile in place on pulls on the Ravio persona—mostly himself with Gold’s wheedling. It’s good enough to make it through short conversations without arousing suspicion.

However, the people approaching are not customers. Are those…the heroes that stopped by before? The youngest waves energetically. “Mr. Rabbit! You’re Ravio, right? We met last time we stopped by!”

Does this mean Link—Legend is back? Purple hurries over. “Hello, heroes! Are you heading back to Mr. Hero’s house?”

“Yeah! We’re stopping in town to restock on supplies and then heading back.”

“Oh, what do you need? Maybe I have it?” Purple pulls open his bag and looks at them expectantly.

“Ah—” Warriors waves the offer away. “I don’t think we want to make a deal—”

“A deal!” Purple clutches the bag to his chest. “If you need something, I want to help you! It wouldn’t be fair to take advantage of you!” Gold’s voice screeching about rupees echoes in his ears. “I, ah, save that for the…customers?” It comes out a question more than a statement.

Warriors gives him a squinty look but shrugs and lets it go. “Okay, we need to pick up some health and stamina potions.”

Purple dives into his bag, pulling out the bottles he’d picked up to restock their supplies. “Here you go! Now, what else do you need?”

~

Cyan stares at Four. The smith stares back. Their sword, almost a replica of the one Ravio found gleams from its sheath.

“You seem…different.” Four squints at him. “Weren’t you wearing a yellow robe earlier?”

Cyan blinks at him. Gold would be disappointed to hear them get the color wrong.

“Did you change?”

When will the others get back? Actually, where’s Gold? Wasn’t he in the front shop?

“Is this some sort of item? Can you…duplicate?”

Cyan would like to see the sword, but logically it makes more sense to wait for everyone before explaining. No need to do it multiple times.

“Did something curse you from talking?”

Where does the hero come up with these theories?

“Can you understand me? Do you know hylian? Sign? …words? Speaking? Anything?”

The color blinks slowly and continues to stare at the small hero. Throwing up their hands, Four stomps out of the room, muttering about weird rabbits under their breath.

~

Pink comes inside after finishing organizing the cellar to find strangers in their house. Two of them are hiding in the hallway, peering into the kitchen. This is strange—besides the fact that they are strangers—so Pink pauses to watch for a moment.

There’s a rhythmic thud in the kitchen where Pink left Gleam chopping vegetables.

White cape nudges wolf pelt. “Twilight. Why is Ravio in the kitchen angrily chopping a carrot?”

“I’m more concerned about the fact that he’s glowing. But sure, Sky, let’s focus on the carrot.”

“The glowing is weird but, you know, potions and stuff.”

Silence as they watch. Pink watches them. They seem nice, even if their names are odd. Purple mentioned those names before when he told them about the heroes. Maybe they’re back? Oh, Legend must be back as well!

Sky nudges Twilight again. “How long has he been done with that carrot?”

“A good couple of minutes.”

Pink edges closer so he can see past the heroes. Gleam is where he was left and, after dutifully finishing his pile of vegetables, continues to chop the air on the empty board. Well, Pink did promise to come back with more veggies and he did get caught up organizing the cellar…

“It’s creepy!” Sky hisses.

Gleam isn’t creepy! Sure he’s…odd, but he just needs a friend. And directions. Very clear directions.

Twilight’s ears flick back at a particularly loud chop. “Do you think he’ll murder us before dinner?

Well! That’s enough of that! Pink pushes past them with a sniff. “Gleam is perfectly nice.” Then he turns his attention to Gleam. “Hi, Gleam! Sorry it took me a while to get back, I got distracted in the cellar.”

He dumps his armful of supplies and vegetables on the counter. “I got some potatoes—no!” He slaps Gleam’s hand away when he reaches for them. “Remember, we need to wash them first. In water.” A pause. “Without soap.” See? Pink learns from experience! And the complaints of three colors about soapy food.

“Ravio?” comes a tentative voice behind him. It’s Sky, edging into the kitchen.

“I’m Pink!” he offers before scooping the potatoes into the sink.

“I can…see that.”

He passes a potato to Gleam and turns to smile at Sky. “No, I mean you can call me Pink. This is Gleam.”

Sky looks between the two, then turns back to Twilight. “You got anything?”

“Don’t look at me. Magical weirdness is Legend’s domain.”

Pink perks up. “Is Mr. Hero back with you?” Gently, he nudges another potato into Gleam’s hand and takes the clean one before the skin is rubbed off.

Twilight doesn’t answer, but he leans back into the hallway and bellows, “Legend! Sky is stealing your stuff!”

“No, I’m not!”

For a second, there’s silence. Then, a door slams, and the vet pounds down the hall and barrels into the room. “Don’t touch my—Ravio! Multiple Ravio’s! Din’s Tits, did you get into the cursed rings?”

Sky looks from one to the other. “You have one that does that?”

“I’ve got one that does everything. Seriously, Rav, what’s going on? And why are you…glowing?”

Before Pink can answer, Gleam turns and chucks a wet potato at Sky, who squawks and ducks. “What was that for?”

Gleam stares. “Don’t. Steal.”

“I’m not stealing! I’m not touching anything!”

Gleam points to where Sky’s feet are on the floor.

“That doesn’t count!”

Before the situation can devolve further, the front door bangs open. “Hey Ledge!” Wind shouts. “We met Ravio out shopping and brought him back with us!”

“Did you now.” Legend’s brows are scrunching in so much Pink wants to smooth it away. “Funny. Because Ravio is already here.”

“What? No, he’s right…here.” Wind trails off as Purple bumps into his back.

“Oh.”

The vet is seething as he rounds on Purple, who likely looks the most like Ravio. “Why are there clones of you? What did you do?”

“Hey now—”

Gleam throws another potato at Legend. “Don’t yell.”

“It’s my house!”

Pink pries the rest of the potatoes away from Gleam and nudges him further from the knives. Just in case.

From down the hall, comes Four’s voice. “I know you can hear me! I see your ears twitching! I heard you talk early!”

Blue squeezes past Legend to grab a glass from the cabinet, ignoring the tension in the room. Pink is in front of the sink but takes the cup with a smile and fills it.

The color takes a sip and looks around. “Looks like everyone’s here now. Four has a sword that looks identical to the one we found.”

“You do talk!” Four, for all he’s short, manages to gain inches in height. “Why were you ignoring me—wait.” He deflates and rocks back on his heels. “What do you mean about my sword?”

More heroes crowd into the doorway and everyone shuffles, trying to accommodate the extra people.

Time puts down the supplies he was carrying. “Four? What’s going on with your sword?”

“I don’t know!”

Legend points at all the colors. “Which one of you is Ravio?”

Silence.

Then, from the hallway, Gold bellows, “Did you fucking forget about me?”

Blue blinks placidly. “We’re missing Gold.”

~

By the time everyone is sat down and explanations are traded, Four is clutching his head and Legend is banging his on the wooden table.

“Four. This feels like your fault.”

“I’m not dealing with this again! Especially not—him!” He points at Gleam.

“Hey!” Pink moves next to the color and squeezes him in a hug. “Gleam is nice!”

Sky edges behind Twilight. “He threw a potato at me.”

“And me,” Legend says.

“Yeah? Well, he didn’t throw knives!”

The vet’s head meets wood again. “The bar is so low.” Then he glares at the colors. “Figure out how to fix this. I’m not living with multiple Ravio’s.”

Four seems truly miserable as he raises a hand. “I can probably…help with that.”

“Cyan,” Purple says, “why don’t you go talk to Four? The rest of you can help me make dinner.”

The color goes, as does the smith, even if he is hissing like a tea kettle.

Pink shifts. The tension in the room makes him itchy. Why can’t everyone get along? All he wants to do is give Legend a hug. He’s missed him! And if Pink misses him, everyone else does, too.

The heroes file back out of the room and spread through the house, but Legend stays. “What were you thinking? Cursed swords in Lorule? That’s your idea of treasure?”

Purple steps forward. “Where do you think your items came from, Mr. Hero?”

“Don’t you ever learn? You could have gotten hurt! You are—split! What if it’s not reversible?”

“That’s a risk we took when we went looking for treasure! We can’t change it!”

“Well, I wish you did! Of all the idiotic, truly goddess-blasted things to do, you had to do this while I was gone! Wait—” He steps forward and nearly snarls at Purple. “You were acting weird when we visited last.”

Purple shrinks back slightly. “Ah…the others were gone and, well…there wasn’t a good time to tell you?” It ends in a squeak.

“You lied? You lied about being a person?!” The vet is yelling now, face flushed red.

“We are people!”

Pink whimpers and burrows into his scarf. Why is everyone so angry? This isn’t how it was supposed to go.

Gleam looms behind Pink and wraps his arms around him, pulling him into an awkward hug. Pink pats his arm in thanks.

The yelling continues. Purple is at the end of his rope and Legend long ago lost his. Pink watches the back and forth, cringing with each cutting word.

“You should never have left!” Legend shouts.

“Stop it! Just stop!” Pink’s scream silences the room and they all turn to stare at him. He’s crying, but it doesn’t matter because everyone is mad and he never got a hug. “I’m sorry you h-hate us, but don’t yell at Purple!”

Legend opens his mouth, closes it, and then tries again, softer. “Hate you?”

With a nod, Pink rubs his sleeves against his eyes. “I’m sorry Mr. Hero. We can…well, Cyan will fix it.”

The vet is still stuck on the previous words. “I don’t hate you, Ravi. Any part of you. I love you, even if you're a freeloading pain. I’m just worried! And I don’t…deal with worry well.”

Pink stares. “Wait, you love us?”

“I always have. Jeez, you think I’d let you crash here otherwise?”

Purple picks up the conversation, but Pink tunes out. Legend…loves them. He loves Ravio. He loves…all of them?”

Something warm settles in his heart at the thought. He’ll need to discuss it with the Colors later—or maybe they’ll be Ravio again. Legend loves them.

Maybe he’ll get his hug after all.

[jimin-updates]

🚨🚨🚨We’re about to have a Deezer problem, too 🚨🚨🚨

Jimin is still doing very well on Deezer, so don’t lose hope! By taking action now we can easily course correct.

To start, Like Crazy is spending an unprecedented 52nd day at the top of the Global charts:

And in America, Like Crazy is back at number one on the chart:

But our Deezer points are decreasing rapidly. And only four of Jimin’s songs are charting globally, down from his entire discography just a week ago.

Deezer is our best performing premium platform for Jimin and the surest way we currently have to keep Jimin on the Billboard 200 and Billboard 200 Excl US charts.

When PJM2 comes we have no way of knowing if sales of the album will be treated fairly. So premium streams are our most important way to support Jimin’s art.

Please stream for Jimin on Deezer if you are able!

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE - Episode 29: Re:Formative Experience

Taichi: “I’m baaack! Nii-chan, Luciano, I brought my friend!”

Juza: “Friend?”

Azami: “Hello.”

Taichi: “This is Angelo! We work at the factory together!”

Banri: “Angelo?”

Juza: “... Hey.”

Banri: “What’s your last name?”

Azami: “Hm? It’s Montare.”

Banri: “... We’re takin’ that job.”

Juza: “You serious?”

Banri: “We ain’t gonna leave Benjamin’s friend like this, are we?”

Taichi: “Something wrong?”

Juza: “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Izumi: Let’s stop here. We’ll continue at 1 after a lunch break.

Taichi: Playin’ Picaresque after so long is so fun~!

Sakyo: Right. It’s kinda like meeting old comrades again.

Omi: I get what you mean.

Juza: Feels like I’m back at MANKAI Company. In lots of ways.

Azami: This is our starting point, after all.

Banri: Looks like we had no reason to worry ‘bout burning out.

Izumi: Right. Everyone’s having fun. Also, ticket sales are going well.

Izumi: Just like with Spring and Summer, Masumi-kun has been helping with promotions.

Izumi: Since there’s been a lot of articles about Taichi-kun and Azami-kun online, he asked the sites involved to include a link to the streaming ticket distributor…

Izumi: Sakyo-san’s guest performance as a voice actor, and Banri-kun and Juza-kun’s performance with Hyakka were also promoted a lot.

Izumi: We’ve had more sales thanks to those promotions.

Sakyo: Usui’s promotional skills have been gradually improvin'.

Izumi: He’s grown to be quite reliable, hasn’t he?

Izumi: (All that’s left is for the performance to be succesful…)

Banri: Everyone’s expectations are higher ‘cause of that, so we gotta give it our all.

Juza: You don’t hafta tell us twice.

Taichi: Now that we’ve broken out of our shells, there’s nothing that could stand in our way!

Omi: Right. We’ll be fine.

Azami: We’ll crush it.

Izumi: (As far as I can tell from the practice sessions we’ve been having, everyone’s got so much more fire in them than they used to.)

Izumi: (They respect each other’s growth, and that’s why their feelings of not wanting to lose to one another are so palpable.)

Banri: By the way, Omi, did ya start re-studying action scenes from the ground up in preparation for the second workshop?

Omi: The first workshop made me realize just how important the basics are, and I can’t say I know them well enough to teach them to anyone just yet.

Azami: The second workshop’s next week, yeah?

Omi: Yeah. Keiku’s coming again too.

Sakyo: Didn’t think he’d start workin’ as a live-in part-timer in Gentiana just like that.

Omi: Zen-san also contacted his parents.

Juza: What a caring guy.

Sakyo: Lots of first gen are like that.

Taichi: Is he gonna join the show’s cast too?

Omi: I think he’s been taking some lessons as a performer when he’s not busy with school or helping out at the store.

Omi: I think it’s because he saw the play, but he said he wants to learn from Banri and Juza.

Banri: Sure hope he won’t start kickin’ with no warning again.

Omi: You don’t have to worry about that. It seems he’s become seriously interested in theater thanks to you two.

-

Omi: We’ll be starting the Second Action Workshop anytime now, so please gather here.

Keiku: …

Towa: Ah, you were here last time too! Do you remember me?

Keiku: Nop.

Towa: I’m Towa! With the To from peach, and the wa from peace!

Keiku: …

Towa: I asked you last time too, but are you an actor?

Keiku: … I was just interested in people that fight it out on stage.

Towa: Ahaha, you mean like sword fights? I’m a fan of MANKAI Company! I like everyone, but Masumi-kun’s my biggest fav!

Towa: I saw the Spring Troupe’s performance live a while ago and got SO moved that I wanted to try acting myself and made my own troupe!

Towa: I haven’t been on stage yet, so I’m not actually an actor, more like an aspiring actor. But that’s why I look up to the Autumn Troupe’s sword fighting so much–

Keiku: Yapper, LOL.

Towa: …

Towa: Haaaave we met before? Not during the first workshop, but before that…

Towa: This doesn’t feel like our first meeting.

Keiku: (... He’s gotta be.)

Towa: Do you know me?

Keiku: Nop.

-

Omi: That concludes our second action workshop. Thank you for attending.

Keiku: …

Banri: You’ve got a knack for this, dude. You’re comin’ to see our performance, yeah?

Keiku: Heard you’ll be fightin’ again, so.

Banri: It ain’t a fight… is what I’d like to say. But I guess you could call it a fight where no one gets hurt.

Banri: I’ll give you a formative experience, and you will come and watch.

Keiku: … A formative experience?

-

Banri: Ohhh, these are kinda nostalgic, but also cooler than last time.

Sakyo: These are costumes Rurikawa could only make because of who he is today.

Taichi: A-chan’s makeup also plays a huge part!

Azami: Duh.

Juza: I’ll surpass my past self with this costume and makeup.

Omi: You all seem pretty fired up.

Sakyo: You got any words for us, Boss?

Banri: … Each of us overcame our own pain and became greater actors than we used to be.

Banri: The day I handed y’all the script, I was a little worried about whether we’d be able to create something that surpasses our impulses and formative experiences from back then.

Banri: But I’m sure now. We can definitely surpass our past selves.

Banri: We’ll recreate even our formative experiences, and turn them into formative experiences for everyone watchin’. That’s the kind of opening day performance we gotta put on.

Banri: —— Autumn Troupe, huddle!

Banri: We’re definitely surpassin’ who we used to be back then!

Juza: Yeah!

Taichi: Yeeaaah!

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

[jujumin-translates]

[A3!] ★ Main Story | Act 14 - DREAM CATCHER | Episode 25 - Full-Power Advertising Campaign

Izumi: (Opening day is finally this weekend, and the ticket sales are…)

Izumi: Hmm…

Izumi: (We’ve sold more since the last meeting, but things are still kind of iffy on the weekdays.)

Izumi: (It’s a little worrying that even with Tenma-kun’s popularity, we still haven’t sold out…)

Izumi: (There are more announcements for not only performances but also events and streaming too, so variance like this is inevitable.)

Izumi: (At this point, what we need is publicity. I’ll talk to Masumi-kun about this too.)

Izumi: (And since we’re aiming for the New Fleur Award, I’d like for us to get some more exposure on social media too--.)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Flashback*

Ibuki: I sometimes post longer videos with legit editing ‘n stuff, but nowadays people like watching shorter videos and those ones do way better too.

*Flashback end*

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: --.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Kumon: Ah, there’s an article about our dress rehearsal!

Kazunari: Everyone works fast, as always~.

Yuki: The contents of the performance seems to have been generally well received.

Misumi: …It’s almost time to start, Gramps.

Muku: It’s nice that you can talk to Hakkaku-san whenever you want.

Misumi: Yeah!

Izumi: Do you have a sec, guys?

Tenma: What’s up?

Izumi: Sorry for this being so last minute, but I need you guys to film a promotional video in your costumes to post on social media.

Kazunari: Sure thing!

Kumon: What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?

Muku: U-Umm, umm, how about some funny one-liners or something?

Kumon: What about impressions?

Misumi: We should do somersaults!

Tenma: And you think that’s gonna get us publicity? We should show off the highlights of the play or something.

Kazunari: The more movement, the more attention it’ll grab~.

Yuki: Then why don’t we do a reenactment digest showcase?

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: Yeah, that’s perfect! I’ll post it soon. Thanks, guys!

Misumi: You’re welcome~!

Izumi: I hope this’ll encourage more people to visit the theater, but… There’s still inevitably a lot of competition.

Kazunari: There’s been people advertising same-day tickets all over Veludo Way like every day lately~.

Kumon: Ah, then why don’t we--.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Tenma: The opening day for “Water me!! ~The Promise of Year 333~” is today!

Muku: We’re MANKAI Company! Please support us!

Izumi: I never thought we’d be handing out flyers right before a performance…

Kumon: I think it’s a great alternative to how we usually warm up~!

Kazunari: Plus it’s nice that we stand out more ‘cause we’re wearing our costumes~.

Yuki: Remember, you break it, you buy it.

Kumon: We’ll be careful…!

Misumi: “Water me!! The Promise of Year 333~” is opening today~!

Passerby A: Oh, it’s starting today.

Passerby B: That reminds me, I just checked and totally forgot to get a ticket!

Passerby A: There are so many things I wanna see, it’s like I’ve gotta put together a puzzle to fit them all into my schedule.

Izumi: We’ve still got seats available on weekdays, so please considering get one for then! 

Passerby B: I’ll book one online right away--.

*Passerby B bumps into Misumi and flyers fall to the ground*

Passerby B: --Gh.

Misumi: Are you okay~?

Passerby B: I’m so sorry, your flyers…! I’ll pick them up!

Muku: We can get them, so don’t worry about it.

Kazunari: Take care~.

Passerby B: I really am sorry! Do your best with your performance!

Kazunari: Thanksies~!

Misumi: Some flyers flew over there, so I’ll go pick them up~!

Izumi: Thanks, you go do that.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Paper rustles*

???: …A flyer?

???: MANKAI Company…

Coffee Shop Owner: Ahh, good morning, Kureha-kun.

Coffee Shop Owner: I’m going shopping for a bit, so I’ll leave the shop to you. There aren’t any customers right now.

Kureha: Understood.

Coffee Shop Owner: Good luck.

*Coffee Shop Owner walks away*

Kureha: …?

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[solarwynd]

I'm glad we managed to keep sgmb on charts for around 3 weeks and the goal was to get it 100M till or before the album release and today we have done that as well. It's actually fastest korean song to get 100M ig.

Really hope they drop some remixes like they did for LC. Don't want tens of just few good ones cause the song actually deserves it, so that I'd not have to loop and to help us chart higher

WHO is predicted to chart top 60 on hot 100 based off of first day and for me that cannot stand. That song is too good to not get at least a top 20. So I also hope they drop remixes and the prediction rises throughout tracking week. And they usually drop them on Sunday. But that’s going off the typical JK appointed schedule 🥴

What’s really amazing is that WHO is said to do 8-9M streams with one version while LC did 10M and that’s with 5 versions combined, so we’re honestly doing great we just need to push harder. Especially with sales.

[starjxsung]

I feel bad for stray kids, honestly. I personally listen to K-pop because it's not wrestren music because the wrestren music, in my opinion, has went down hill (don't get me wrong I still listen to the music I have an connection but I no longer listen to the new stuff unless I'm in a car)

I know kpop idols don't have much freedom and I know stray kids loves and cares for stays but I don't want to boycott them just the artist that they're in the video but....skz might also take it as a sign that stays don't love them anymore which I hope they'll never feel.

Idk if they have too much say in it either esp considering it’s not produced by 3racha, but candidly I think skz will understand why the single will flop if it does. Felix apologizing for Coca Cola on his recent live proves they’re very well aware of the backlash they’re getting for supporting these brands, and considering his own sister had a link to donate to Gaza in her bio, I’m sure he’s also on the right side of all this. Even Chan’s sister stated in her recent live that she dislikes Charlie Puth and won’t be streaming the collab (and we all know Hannah is a real one) so they will very well understand why stays will be mad at the collab and choose not to participate.

Skz are also at a point where if just one single does poorly, it doesn’t mean they won’t continue on the upward trajectory of their career. I don’t think they’re really looking at feedback about their stuff online and me personally even if they feel like we’re being unfair by boycotting it, I just don’t care considering there’s a literal genocide happening and Charlie Puth is in support of it. That will never ever get me to support his work even if it involves skz. They might feel bad about us boycotting one song of theirs, but I feel bad that they’re working with a horrible person.

Skz know we love them regardless and I’m sure they’re seeing it in all the sold out shows, album sales, the millions of followers they continue to get, etc ! One song doing badly won’t hurt them and I think it’s more of a lift for Charlie Puth’s career anyway since it’s not produced by skz

[orgyupdates]

orgyofficial: New interview in The Spill Magazine with Jay, in regards to the upcoming tour & all things OrgyMusic

Link to interview [x] Interview behind the read more

A CONVERSATION WITH JAY GORDON OF ORGY I recently had an opportunity to chat with Jay Gordon, lead singer and founding member of Orgy about the vinyl releases of Candyass & Vapor Transmission, their co-headlining 2024 North American Tour with Cold, Horizon Theory and I Ya Toyah and some of Gordon’s thoughts on the current state of the industry.

In discussing the re-release of Orgy’s first two influential albums, Candyass & Vapor Transmission on vinyl, Gordon admitted that besides the approval he had no part in the mastering of the albums but added that “…at some point I’m definitely going to remaster my first two records”, which should excite the fanbase. When asked if the sales of these albums could determine future vinyl releases like Punk Statik Paranoia, Gordon doubted its release but didn’t rule out the possibility.

Moving on, I inquired about hitting the road for a 38 stop co-headlining tour, preparations, and challenges of touring. “Touring is always a good thing, whether it’s the 25th anniversary of Candyass or not. We’re just gonna play a lot of the first record which I’m excited about, but also not that excited about. You know? I want to move forward and play a lot of this newer stuff that we’re doing right now. But it’s cool. It’ll all come.” It is understandable, especially if it’s been in the past for a while. It may be one of those things that shouldn’t necessarily be dug up. Gordon added “It’s fun. Touring is always fun no matter what version of Orgy we’re doing.”

Gordon went on to say “Seeing the fans, knocking the dust off. Just seeing old faces, new faces and getting to play all that stuff for people. We’re gonna play a lot of the new material, too. We’re just gonna have to do it. And (in) a weird way, like where it feels more Candyass-ish than anything.”

Elaborating on the tour line up Gordon said, “It’s a co-headlining thing where it’s Cold one night, Orgy one night, that kind of thing. So, it’s cool. Scooter’s a cool guy. I love those guys. You know, they’re cool people.”

Gordon went on to state that Horizon Theory was brought on by Scooter that they are “some homies of his and he really likes them. They sound pretty good from what I’ve heard.”

When asked about their preparations for the tour Gordon replied, “We’re excited to get out there. I do my usual wind up for tour, you know, like hiking a lot, stuff like that. We’re gonna be ready. I think we’re pretty well rehearsed with a slight difference with a drummer change, but I think that it’s going to be conducive to a great Orgy. I’m more concerned with my kids while I’m gone and things like that. I’m a trooper. I’ll hang in there and handle it.”

When asked if any members of the original lineup were contacted for reunion on this tour, and if not, would he ever be up for it, Gordon was forthcoming in saying “…anything’s possible. I don’t ever say no to stuff. I just say right now. It is what it is. I respect everybody that was in the old band. People grow apart and just do their own things. I’m not closing the door on the opportunity.”

Touching on the state of the music industry, streaming, and the prevalence of singles over full length albums. Gordon explained, “I don’t think anybody really does much of that anymore. I mean, it’s cool when they do. I love seeing people that do full records. But you know what? There are so many directions that I change into or turn into or take. I think you’re going to see just blocks of songs. Just singles is the way go. I do love a band that puts out a good record. It’s just, we don’t really rehearse like that. I stay in the studio, and I make music and then I get people to come in and play on it. It’s always been that way since day one. A lot of contributions happen along the way.”

Despite the proliferation of streaming which seemed more conducive to his creative process and working style, Gordon went on to say, “I don’t know, bands have always had a hard time, and it just doesn’t seem to get any easier for us along the way. But, you know, the fans enjoy it. That’s all that really matters. And you just gotta suck it up and, you know, deal with it. Because honest to God, you know it’s never been about money. I mean, look at Spotify. They pay artists nothing. But Joe Rogan gets a $250 million contract, you know? Yeah, nothing against Joe Rogan, but like, man, it sure would have been nice if they would take some of that money and paid bands with it.”

I made mention to the fact that I am reading a book about the music industry and it’s fascinating to me. Gordon interrupted, “Fascinating until you’re in it and you’re just like, Holy fuck, right?” I continued, “That’s what I mean, it’s fascinating that the fact that it’s, it’s there’s so many…” “Caveats?!?” he exclaimed. “Yeah, caveats and idiosyncrasies and just weirdness that is so unnatural from even from an outsider’s perspective.” I finished. Gordon went on. “It’s quite barbaric in a lot of ways. Right? I mean, I’m not one of those, crybaby artists at all. I’m just saying, you know, artists get fucked over.” I replied, “Do you feel like there’s like the scales of power are shifting more in the artists favor in terms of the negotiations with labels and the industry.”

“I don’t see how, unless I live under a rock, which I don’t think I do. No, I don’t, I don’t see it tipping in the artists favor at all. We just make less and less money and somebody makes a lot of money. I’m optimistic that could happen again at some point, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.” Gordon explained.

Many fans are always in the artists corner regarding getting fair compensation. The vinyl and nu-metal resurgence and more people getting out to live shows ends up putting more money in artists pockets overall. But with the ticket scalping, bots, and more it’s difficult to see that as a fan. From the artist’s perspective, what’s the best way for fans to support a band or an artist these days? “That’s a tough question for me.” Gordon replied. “Merch definitely helps. That perpetuates a lot of, you know, what keeps us floating. We’re going to be coming out with a hell of a lot more of it, I can tell you that much, because that seems to be the only way you can, like, make it happen. That and going to the live shows.”

We’re seeing a wider variety of merchandising, licensing, and partnerships hitting the marketplace. All the best to you and Orgy.

Inquiring about if content from Entropy will be featured on any releases in the future, Gordon responded, “Entropy never really happened. There are songs that have ended up on Toxic and things like that, and then songs that are ending up in, you know, this era. So, in that respect, there’s some of the material around.”

“Thank you very much for having me and I really appreciate you. I just hope everybody comes out to the shows and we have a good, good time. I want this tour to be successful.”

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

TH had almost more streams in Thailand than they have active Spotify users. Does that sound organic? 20% of Slow Dancing’s entire day one streams came from Thailand. 20%. Almost a quarter of his streams came from one country, a country that has a small Spotify user base. US has the largest amount of Spotify users. I think like 80mil? Whatever it is, it’s a lot. SD got like, 380k streams from the US and then dropped off the charts day two. The US is the biggest music market, with the highest number of Spotify users, and he couldn’t even stay on the charts more than a day, with a debut lower than Jimin’s b-side.

And let’s not act coy and pretend like a lot of SEA fans aren’t widely known as monster streamers. It’s not a big deal. A lot of ARMYs appreciate and rely on those streaming methods for good debuts and longevity, and obviously it’s not all or even most SEA fans. All fans are equally valuable and appreciated. But if we’re having a conversation about how successful TH’s debut was, I think it does matter that he underperformed in the biggest music markets, and it’s relevant the bulk of his streams came from places known for their aggressive streaming methods, and that a third of his albums came from a single country known for bulk buying.

Also longevity? Dropping a whopping 4million streams on day 8 aside, Taehyung’s debut just showed he completely failed to break outside of the ARMY bubble (which is the same for most of them tbf). And actually, I wonder if all those loyal tkkrs are even watching his ‘super amazing’ tiny desk performance looking at the views. Literally no one outside of ARMY cares about his “live�� performances because no one is even watching them, so what does that have to do with longevity? And maybe the fact that the majority of his fans are shippers could explain why his music seems to have tanked on all relevant charts. And I hate billboard and I wish it didn’t matter because they suck and this competition with numbers is stupid. But it’s what the company is paying attention to, aggressively marketing towards, and obviously BTS cares. Remember how they reacted to their first #1? The way they flexed all the #1s that followed? TH did fine, but he definitely didn’t gain any substantial achievements that made his debut stand out. And if you’re going to talk about album sales, then you better be saying that Stray Kids and Seventeen are bigger than BTS.

And Jimin will be just fine. He gained so much prestige and clout from that bb#1, as well as his big and surprising success in the UK and other charts. And the way he did that without major company push? Just the bare bones rollout they all got (with the expedition of JK)? For an album that was more of a personal project for him than anything else, with just a small in-house team from BH? Yeah. And then look at the kind of impact he had on their stocks, an impact that was directly attributed to him. No one cared about the stupid encore outside of kpoppies who all have LC on their playlists anyways, or antis who are always desperately looking for things to drag. Now every time Jimin does something he has that highly coveted bb#1 artist attached to his name, and that’s a huge boon for him and his solo career, as stupid and obnoxious as billboard is. Not to mention how incredibly pleased his fans were by his music and performances, which is the most important aspect. I’m sure there are TH stans who really love his music but… well… we all saw the ARMY reception to SD vs LC. TH's music is divisive at best, and no, that doesn’t mean he has more artistry or whatever you want to say. Because Indigo was also more alternative and niche, but had a completely different and more positive reception. Also R&B is an incredibly popular genre.

And let’s not even get into a conversation about artistry. Taehyung’s lyrics literally had no depth, he didn’t have a single credit on his album, and he didn’t even have choreography to add any layers to his performances. His MVs were pretty, but weren’t even interesting. One of his gimmicks was literally having his dog walk out on the stage? It was very cute and I love how much he loves Yeontan, but artistry? When we were decoding German poetry and talking about philosophy, gender identity, escapism, psychology? Interpreting lyrics and choreography and even the name of the album and the promo material? It’s not even close. Tell me what was Layover even about? What was the story? What in there was personal or meaningful to him? Nothing wrong with just doing fun, shallow music sometimes, it can be awesome and I hope JM dabbles in that, but KTHs are the ones trying to spin this whole narrative about artistry to put down other members and feel better about an album that got a lukewarm reception and actually has little to no depth. It’s just surface and visuals and aesthetic. Not to mention the actual music aspect where JM tried and explored different genres, experimented with his voice, and pushed himself as an artist... All my respect to TH who did just fine, who did amazing by any non-BTS ML standard, all that should matter is if you like the music at the end of the day, but let’s not pretend his debut was something it wasn’t.

I'll just post this because you wrote so much 😅 but it really shouldn't have been turned into such a big deal because it wasn't. Like crazy also gets "bots streams" accusations and I'm surprised a Taehyung fan wouldn't know that, since it was actually them who spent years saying pjms bought streams for Jimin.

And one more thing I'll say is that I live in a 3rd world country. We've had more than 100% inflation rate this year so far, and the year isn't even over. A dollar costs 70 times more than our money, and Spotify cashes us in our local money, but it's the equivalent to the price in dollars. Add to that the government taxes, which is the price in dollars + 65% of it in taxes only. It ends up being a lot. I only have one family premium Spotify account that I share with my cousins and siblings.

So I didn't take their pity party seriously because 1) they were rude for no reason instead of trying to have a conversation about it 2) I obviously never meant it that way and I would never make fun of underdeveloped economies since I'm literally living in one lmao

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Do you know if they will upload the audio where the guys talked about their beach vacation plans at twst fest? :0

I’m keeping my eyes and ears peeled, but I don’t know if TWST will upload any of the pre- and post-TWST fest content. In fact, I don’t think they will because if they wanted it to be streamed to a wider audience then they would have. If they haven’t posted the pre- and post-TWST fest content by now, then it’s likely they won’t.

For the live script readings specifically, maybe they’ll be repurposed into future audio dramas for sale. Of course, they’ll probably upload the full version of Piece of My World… eventually. Not sure about the live 3D concerts, though 💦 I know of one similar “fest” that has live 3D concerts, but the venue just streams it so it’s readily accessible to view. Since TWST fest didn’t stream the initial thing, I think we’re kinda out of luck with that. I’m sure it was amazing for the people able to experience it though!!

I wouldn’t hold my breath about someone who attended live recording and uploading it either; many Japanese events prohibit recording performances and Japanese people in turn, observe those rules well.

[clovercoin]

YAY SEPTEMBER, CLOVERCOIN IS BACK!

[ Original Patreon Post ] Phew, almost forgot the life updates after doing all those art packs in the other post. So let's catch up with what's happening with CloverCoin! Life has been very very busy since I got back from my mom's funeral. Our dog Junior (rottie) had a previous elbow injury that wasn't healing over and when I got back home we decided to take him to the vet for a second look since the pain meds they gave us ran out. Turns out Junior had big swollen ball of cancer in his elbow and he was never going to regain function in that arm again. He was in so much pain we were really apprehensive on what the right course of action was. But the vets all worked with us since they knew Junior so well from all his previous visits, with their help we managed to get an extra fast amputation surgery scheduled for the infected arm. It was extremely expensive but it gave our dog immediate pain relief while we figured what treatment plan we were going to do next. Originally we all thought it was bone cancer and that he would likely need to be put down to avoid further pain in the very near future even with his amputation. With further testing and investigation of his cancer arm, we found out it was actually a type of blood cancer of his white blood cells. We all assumed if it's blood and fluid that must mean it's everywhere, right? We were wrong AGAIN! Wither further scans we found no further signs of cancer growth in his body, lymph nodes, or organs. With this new information we made the decision as a family to pursue oncologist for Junior and get him chemo / cancer treatments. It drained the rest of our savings account that we've been working so hard for to buy a house next summer... But Junior himself has completely bounced back to the happy dog he's always been. He's eating again, learning how to run and play on his one foreleg, and just excited to still be here. So while it did cost all of my savings, I have to say it's been worth it. With his reviewed case, he went from less than 6 months to live to possibly living 2-3+ more years now. So we're all so happy and grateful to still have our service boy still with us. Now that we're on a routine with Junior and his chemo treatments, I'm also getting back to work on my end! CloverCoin Patreon is back online for September 2024! We're so excited to see so many patrons stuck around and how excited you all are for more art! Thank you!!! I'm currently working on setting up a Bigcartel shop page with all of our stickers and postcard goods. I'll be sure to announce the shop's grand opening here soon as it's all ready. Thank you so much for all of my patrons testing out merch every month with me so we can make this possible! Last big to-do on my list now is that my current desktop Cintiq is not working for me. We had an original Cintiq 22 HD from 2014. But that poor thing died last year. We ordered a new tablet on super sale from amazon but.... We're very unhappy with the product and it doesn't work with my desk or work station. So we'll be taking it down and trying to resell it to get our money back. However this means I still do not have a desktop tablet to work with for online streams and recordings. REALLY BUMS ME OUT! I'm very fortunate that I still have my ipad and it's been working great. So I'm not totally without a tablet for work. But Prov and I will now be making an effort to replace my Cintiq tablet with a new one maybe before the year is over. Ouch my poor savings account, it's already taken such a beating from all the vet bills and now I have to replace very expensive hardware? yuck! So... Lots of money being spent. But overall we're very lucky and we're so happy. I'm just so grateful to have my happy dog recovering really well. I'm glad my ipad works great even after being beat up for past 7-8 years?? Woah! Good job lil buddy. Just... A lot has gone wrong this year. A lot of bad shit has happened. And Prov and I are so damn lucky to be here and have everything we do. So I'm going to keep working VERY HARD to get all this updated, shop posted, commissions completed, and make back every single dime of my savings!!! OR SO HELP ME! >:0 Thanks everyone for sticking it out while we're figuring out every bump in the road. We really appreciate all your patience and kindness. You're all the best and I can't wait to share even more art with you all! AJD . ART

[therealcocoshady]

It would be nice if he just flat out said he ain’t doing another album anymore but I honestly don’t think that’s his style. Partly because I don’t think he’s even sure of what he wants to do himself. Because he’s doing all these features but no album. Doing producer work but no album. But then he hat if he wants to make an album after saying he wanted to quit? Like I feel like maybe he’s unsure of himself and where he wants to go next, if he wants to go anywhere at all. But I can’t speak for him.

And yes a lot of people shit on us younger generations (me being included in that bc I’m 21) but like… we have done A LOT for the industry already. TikTok/social media is blowing people up and bringing all these old school artists back to life because of US. Because we using it like crazy, driving them sales, money, streams, deals etc. I mean take songs that blew up on tiktok for example. They skyrocketed peoples career, music, and numbers like crazy in days, months, and weeks like never seen before. Take streamers like Kai Cenat for example who literally reacts to music on stream then everyone goes and listens to that music. I mean the man literally had been asked by major record labels to make some sort of promotional deal because he’s helping them out so much by doing a simple and honest reaction… So to say that this generation doesn’t know anything about Hip hop, rap, the music industry, and should just shut up is crazy. 🥱💩. Like sweetheart, we’re the future. Then old heads can only keep you relevant for so long bedsore the next generation comes and names who’s hot and who’s not, who’s getting a Grammy and who needs to sit this one out. Like yes, you have the legacy, you know the game, but hey, you need to be able to keep up at the end of the day.

And Marshall did voice acting in 50 Cents game way back it was so cool and had a lot of traction. I think it’s a missed opportunity too and people would’ve loved it. I mean GTA6 is already deemed as a crazy game for its storyline and trailer alone and it hasn’t even be n released yet. I think he would been perfect for it. Especially since he almost was featured in one previously but it fell through.

Yes I agree ! I think he will still be producing for a long time (and I hope so because he is so good at it). When it comes to actually put out albums… I feel like the end might come soon. Idk why, it’s just a feeling I have ☹️. Hopefully he still has one or two albums in him. But no matter what, even if he stops putting out music for 10 years and decides to change his mind, people will be there for it ☺️.

I feel like both generations (old and young) have stuff to learn from each other and I am so tired of them being at each other’s throat. Also, GOATS like Em (well his team too) have stuff to learn when it comes to the digitalisation and platformization of the music industry, especially in hip-hop. Shady Records would do better if they actually put some effort towards that 👀.

[tomorrowxtogether]

How’s TXT doing on the Billboard charts?

The group reached number one on the 200 and Artist 100 at the same time

2023.02.20

For the week of February 11, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s album The Name Chapter: TEMPTATIONdebuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Sales for the first week, which ended on February 2, totaled 162,000 units, made up of 152,000 physical albums and 13.24 million streams (the equivalent of roughly 9,000 copies). The majority of sales were CDs, which accounted for 149,000 units; the album wasn’t released in any other formats like vinyl or cassette. Fourteen different versions were sold, including special editions at Barnes & Noble and Target, a limited edition from Weverse and signed copies from the group’s official US website.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER has so far had all seven of their albums placed on the Billboard 200. The best performers were The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE (number five) and minisode 2: Thursday’s Child(number four), but now TEMPTATION has gone on to be their first number-one album. Excluding their two Japanese albums, every album has charted higher and faster than the previous.

Physical album sales are still important for the Billboard 200 other than with genres that see particularly strong streaming performance like hip hop. That’s especially true for K-pop groups, who have loyal fan bases. TOMORROW X TOGETHER has been number one on the Top Album Sales chart with every release since Blue Hour, but it takes something more to go beyond that and top the Billboard 200. A look at the weekly sales figures behind the group’s number-one albums show the journey they took to get them there: Blue Hour sold 18,000 copies, FREEZE sold 39,000, Thursday’s Child 66,000 and TEMPTATION 152,000. What we’re basically seeing here is a numerical representation of the size of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s fan base.

The competition they were up against for number one was SOS by SZA and Gloria by Sam Smith. SOShad been the biggest hit of 2023 to date, sitting at number one for seven weeks—until last week. It fell to second for the week of February 11, still selling an impressive 100,000 copies. If SOS had managed to hold on to number one for an eighth week, it’s very likely it would’ve gone on to become the first R&B/hip hop album to top the chart for nine weeks since Drake’s Views. Gloria, meanwhile, was one of the most talked-about albums in January on the back of the hugely successful single “Unholy.” Other than that song and the newer single “I’m Not Here to Make Friends,” however, the album didn’t perform particularly well where streaming is concerned. In the end, it came in at number seven with 390,000 copies sold.

That same week, TOMORROW X TOGETHER was number one on the Artist 100 chart—a first for the group. The only other K-pop artists to top the Artist 100 have been BTS (21 times), BLACKPINK (twice), SuperM and TWICE (once each). For reference, the Artist 100 chart aggregates sales using a similar method to the Billboard 200—counting album and track sales as well as radio airplay and streams—but measures an artist’s overall performance rather than an individual album. People usually talk about the Artist 100 and Billboard 200 together, but it’s extremely difficult to top both at the same time. There’s also the Hot Trending Songs chart, which makes its list based on Twitter buzz, where the five tracks off TEMPTATION hit numbers one, three, five, seven and 15.

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 14: DREAM CATCHER - Episode 25: Full Power Ad Campaign

Izumi: (The performance is finally opening this weekend, but ticket sales are…)

Izumi: Uhhh…

Izumi: (They’ve increased since our last meeting, but weekdays are still are over the place.)

Izumi: (It’s honestly kinda scary that we can’t sell out, even with Tenma-kun’s clout…)

Izumi: There has been an increase not only in announcements for performances, but also special events, and when you add streaming into the mix, there’s no avoiding dispersion.

Izumi: (Since it’s come to this, we’ll definitely need an advertising campaign… I should consult Masumi-kun as well.)

Izumi: (I’d also like to increase our social media exposure for the New Fleur Award–)

[Flashback starts]

Ibuki: Sometimes I take long videos, edit them and upload them, but nowadays, most people mindlessly scroll through short videos, so they’re all hits.

[Flashback ends]

Izumi: — —

-

Kumon: Ah, there’s an article about the dress rehearsal!

Kazunari: Everyone got the job done as fast as always~

Yuki: Looks like it’s mostly well-received.

Misumi: … Grandpa, it’s almost time.

Muku: It must be nice to be able to talk to Hakkaku-san any time you want.

Misumi: Yup!

Izumi: Everyone, could I have some of your time?

Tenma: What’s up?

Izumi: I know this is very last minute, but I’d like for you to shoot a promotional video wearing your costumes.

Kazunari: Alrighties!

Kumon: What’re we doing? What’re we doing?

Muku: Uh, ummm, uhhh, some kind of one-shot?

Kumon: Imitation?

Misumi: Somersaults!

Tenma: Would that even count as advertising? It’d be better as a highlight.

Kazunari: More people are gonna want to look if there’s movement~

Yuki: Then how about a highlight digest?

-

Izumi: Yeah, this is perfect! I’ll upload it ASAP. Thanks, you guys!

Misumi: You’re welcome~!

Izumi: I hope this will get more people to come to watch… But there sure is a lot of competition.

Kazunari: Everyone’s been promoing all over Veludo Way lately~

Kumon: Ah, then–

-

Tenma: The opening performance for “Water me!! ~The 333-Year Promise~” is today!

Muku: We’re from MANKAI Company! Thank you very much!

Izumi: Never thought we’d be handing out flyers right before the performance…

Kumon: I thought it’d be a good warm up!

Kazunari: And we stand out since we’re wearing our costumes~

Yuki: If they get dirty, you’ll be cleaning them up yourselves.

Kumon: We’ll be careful…!

Misumi: “Water me!! ~The 333-Year Promise~” begins today~!

Passerby A: Ohhh, this starts today.

Passerby B: Oh, I checked it out, but forgot to buy a ticket!

Passerby A: There’s so many I want to see lately, making plans is like trying to make puzzle pieces fit.

Izumi: There are still available seats for weekdays, so feel free to buy a ticket!

Passerby B: I’m making a reservation online as we speeeaak—

[Bump]

Passerby B: —*gasp*

Misumi: Are you okay~?

Passerby B: The flyers…! I’m so sorry, I’ll pick them up!

Muku: It’s okay, we’ll gather them all.

Kazunari: Be careful~

Passerby: I’m really so sorry! Good luck at your performance!

Kazunari: Thankieees~!

Misumi: I’ll go pick up the flyers that went that way~!

Izumi: Thanks, I’ll leave it to you.

-

???: … A flyer?

???: MANKAI Company…

Café owner: Ah, good morning, Kureha-kun.

Café owner: I have to go shopping real quick, so can I leave the shop to you? We don’t have any customers at the moment.

Kureha: Alright.

Café owner: I’m counting on you.

Kureha: …?

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[denimbex1986]

'Don’t be a stranger, All of Us Strangers!

There are plenty of fans who love certain films and are ready to buy physical copies of those projects. In this current state of video-on-demand where movies constantly switch up streaming services and are sometimes completely erased from a streamer’s catalog, fans have become even more protective of the films they enjoy and make it a point to purchase physical copies on DVD or Blu-ray.

To be clear, All of Us Strangers is currently available for streaming on Hulu. You can also buy a digital copy of the movie via Apple TV or Amazon. But as huge stans of such a beloved queer film like All of Us Strangers, we’re not sure if it’s ever getting a physical copy for sale.

On Feb. 13, X account @TheFilmStage shared some unverified information that reads:

“Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers will not receive a physical disc release (via @AJYeend).”

The source used by this X account is Adam J. Yeend, a features writer for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences digital publication. Though we’re unable to identify the original report or social media post from Yeend that was used as a source for this X post, he did respond to AOUS fans asking about physical copies of the film, writing:

“[Parent company Disney] continually shows a lack of reverence for the Searchlight and 20th Century titles, which are often mostly just dumped on streaming. They don’t know what to do with films like this. They’re a branding company first, and a studio second.”

The discourse about Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures movies not getting physical copies stems from a reported agreement for “Sony to take over all of Disney’s physical media production going forward,” which was detailed on The Digital Bits and confirmed on Variety.

The specific concern related to All of Us Strangers is happening between social media pages and blogs, as reported on World of Reel, which directly alleges that “the latest Searchlight film, Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers, will not be released on physical media.” And yet, the source used for this particular tidbit of information is also not found.

If you don’t understand why Disney and Sony are involved, here’s the tea: All of Us Strangers was released by Searchlight Pictures, formerly known as Fox Searchlight Pictures, which was acquired as part of the Disney deal to buy Fox. In turn, Sony (the parent company, not the movie studio) is the largest manufacturer and distributor of physical DVD and Blu-ray discs.

Generally speaking, the move to slow down the making, distribution, and sale of physical discs is something that is happening to the entertainment industry as a whole. In Oct. 2023, for instance, Variety broke the news that Best Buy will phase out sales of DVDs and Blu-ray in brick-and-mortar stores as well as online, starting in early 2024.

All things considered, small-budget LGBTQ+ movies that were potential award contenders but didn’t get as much love from voters as expected are now all at risk of never even getting physical copies so that dedicated fans can purchase them.

It’s a sad reality for fans of physical copies of movies that they love, and a genuine concern in terms of titles being removed from streaming services seemingly out of nowhere. Hopefully, we’ll get new updates concerning physical copies of All of Us Strangers… but things aren’t looking great right now, let’s just say that!'