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tyttamarzh · 5 months

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Just some late night thoughts.

For some reason January 21 is a special day in many ways for Missa Cubito…

21 de enero de 2023

Missa death in MCExtremo. In that series he had great character development, at first he was just a scared baby who didn't know the world, everyone had to take care of him, because with the slightest carelessness he would die (literally, they were distracted for a second and Missa looked at an ender and died, because he "did not know what it was"). He spent the first few days very scared, locked up at home, until after dying and reviving due to a bug, he decided that it was time to live that life to the fullest and decided to leave his crib and go out to face danger. He learned to fight being trained by none other than Spreen and Shadoune, learned to water bucket clutch with Rubius and became brave when facing mobs (sometimes recklessly). His new way of approaching life scared Q (it even cost him a life to him to this one) but for Missa it was very effective, because after losing practically 3 lives in 2 days being a scared guy, he managed to survive until day 5 with his brave attitude (even if he survived that day, he was able to reach the final) he was so full of confidence when fighting and decided that now that he was no longer the smallest of the team he was going to protect his friends, especially Q, who was the fearful one of the group now… and that's how he took too many risks and ended up dying, being something very shocking not only for his team but for everyone in the series and for the viewers, really, Twitter was flooded with fanarts and people crying about his death (even Missa said that an aunt called him because she thought something had happened in the real life).

That was very important because before that series almost no one knew Missa Cubito, he was just "the guy who died too quickly in Dedsafio" or "The funny guy who hopefully managed to get too far in siqud craft games". But in those 5 days (5 days of consecutive streams, it was heaven for the missaurios), he won over the internet with the story of his growth and death (Even today people say that the best thing about that series was having the "team vacio legal" and Missa was the heart of that team). I think that was the moment when Missa cubito separated from Missa Youtuber and became her own character.

But that was a sad day, because that day Missa Cubito lost the first family he had found.

This was the moment he died, fighting like a warrior:

January 21, 2024

Llegamos al día de hoy.

Missa wakes up in the QSMP prison and reunites with his family, it was the first time that Missa, Philza and Chayanne were together at the same time since April. Not only that, but he now officially adopts Tallulah as his daughter. Despite the adverse circumstances, his family has finally been reunited and grown (although Missa already considered Tallulah his daughter, now it is official and she calls him dad).

Despite being another universe, Missa is still the kind boy who wins everyone's hearts. Missa behaved politely with the guards, being mannerly when referring to them by saying "please and thank you" and greeting everyone very kindly.

He was very nice with the eggs, even with the ones he didn't know, and he refused to hit Dapper even though he was hitting him, Missa just said: "I'm never going to hit you or do anything to hurt you."

Missa was very happy to spend time with Phil, when he spent a long time losing sight of him, he would ask where he was and look for him.

The moment of the kiss (or the kisses) was something WTF I really didn't think that one day they would kiss and definitely I imagined many scenaries, but in no way I believed it would be that way, but that's what makes it special. They are not an ordinary couple, whether platonic or whatever they called it, whatever they have is special and I guess that was a special way for it to happen. Phil probably would never have dared to ask him to kiss him in another context and that's fine, because it seems like that would be the only way for it to happen (even if they both wanted it, I don't think it would have happened in another context).

It is worth mentioning that the moments of Philza being jealous and him reaffirming that he was married and being loyal to him was something I really didn't expect. After so much time apart, they still have that unique dynamic.

The day in prison was filled with so many things, but I can say that for the first time in a long time, Missa felt fully loved, not only by being with his children and his husband, but also by all those friendly interactions he was with others and that he could not have before on the island, because the first days he was extremely shy and did not separate himself from Roier and the friends he knew and after he only connected sporadically, meeting Foolish, BBH and rarely Philza.

Something curious that Missa Himself mentioned was that the previous times he was with Phil it was more of "ohh I miss you" but they didn't amount to anything more and today he was very happy because they were able to hang out together and do more things bonding with his family.

When he and Chay freed the turtle it was adorable, then the 4 of them doing the tasks, that was a unique moment and he was very happy singing for his family (being so nervous that he forgot the words to his own songs).

His bond with Phil strengthened and they didn't have to do much, that simple moment of the two of them talking about tacos and memes was something very cozy that they needed to do a long time ago. Just as the moment when they took the children for a walk with the llamas was something so sweet for this family that they almost forgot that they were in a prison, because it seemed more like a picnic in the park.

It really was a great advance, probably what happened today will help Missa a lot to grow and leave his self-esteem problems behind. He is important, he is loved and he is useful to his family.

Missa was a trend today, as it was last year, but the big difference is that this was a happy day because somehow, today he got his family back, that big family that he hadn't had in a long time and that he wanted so much and deserved.

The parallel of how he left today:

He is happy, laughing with his husband and children :')

#qsmp #deathduo #pissa #qsmp missasinfonia #missa #philza #missasinfonia #chayanne the egg #tallulah the egg #death duo #death family #Missa is with his family and I am so happy!!!!#january 21 #Minecraft Extremo Missa's death

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valeriehalla · 1 year

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just saw a post suggesting that if you want to avoid your art getting fed to an AI training algorithm, you should reduce the quality. the example image they produced was a 780x1200 pixel, quality-60 JPEG. jeez!? not to put anyone on blast at all, but that's a pretty big image still! the datasets these AIs are trained on are likely full of images that size or smaller. it depends on the specifics of the algorithm, but it's rarely an issue to the neural network that an image is too small -- more often it's the opposite problem.

incidentally, 60 is a pretty low quality, especially for a jpeg. this is up to every artist to decide for themselves, but it feels pretty "the terrorists won"-style dystopic to compromise the human viewer's experience of your art for fear of theft. the fact of the matter is that these bots are already vacuuming up tiny low-quality JPEGS off every website that'll have them and slapping them onto t-shirts and into training datasets -- that's the backbone of their diet!! the goal, for the bots, is quantity, not quality.

personally, i'm always looking for ways to post my images as close to raw as possible. 8-bit PNGs, carefully-tuned lossless WEBPs, anything that can get the filesize small enough without impacting the image quality. does this make my art easier to put on a coffee mug? i would argue no, because nobody who's buying autogenerated print-on-demand trinketry off amazon gives a hell's shit about the DPI to begin with. this only really makes art easier for humans to steal, because humans are the ones who care whether an image looks like shit or not. it's easy to forget that that's still a problem in this robotic dystopia, but for me it's enough of an "enemy I know" issue that I'm comfortable taking the risk. again, though -- up to you to decide for yourself!

#text #uh... art advice...???#robotic dystopia advice???

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wasflypaw · 2 years

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Dream doesnt seem to like his character losing, which makes me wonder Why he did the Exile arc and whether he thought of the Long Term Effects of it

This has Always been a theme, back during season 1 he won the L'Manberg war And had arranged it so Tommy would have to give him a Disc back if he lost which would Continue the Disc War because he Didnt like that Tommy won against him the last time (just Barely, Tommy managed to get the discs in the Enderchest SECONDS before Dream shot him). He didnt lose Anything in the Pogtopia arc by betraying Pogtopia, because he came out on Top with the Revive Book and didnt Actually care about his allies.

Season 2 wouldve gone Fine, I wouldve had No Issues with it, had he not made the Disc War Finale staged. It was set up so this antagonist character who we have never seen lose before, FINALLY got his ass kicked and locked away after so long. And it turns out..... it wasnt a win at all for his victims? Because he staged it? And we never got to find out WHY he staged it?

He loses his friends, yes, but that was also Because he Willingly Chose that path. He decided to give up his "attachments" on his own, nobody made him, nobody pushed him to that, it was all his decision.

In Season 3, even though he's in Prison, he doesnt Lose anything worthwhile on screen. He, while Locked Away, still has FULL access to a whole ass Revive Book, he torments the Prison Warden with info about what he did to Tommy, he manages to send c!Ranboo into Enderwalk mode using Sapnap, he manages to Kill someone And revive them, he manages to kill Another Guy and Revive Him...?

Then we get the Torture Arc. Finally, something that has c!Dream actually Lose something And.... we Dont see it. We see 2 very short clips on screen (one of c!Quackity first entering the cell, another of c!Dream cowering and going "Yes Sir") but That's. It

Literally the Lowest point c!Dream was in throughout the entire series and we Barely saw it, leaving me struggling to feel sympathy for what happened. I watched something last night that tackled a similar topic and I felt Bad for the person in question cause their "punishment" (Psychological Torture it was in the show) happened On Screen. It doesnt work as well when a characters lowest moment is Mostly Off Screen.

This would be similar to if the entirety of Exile Arc was off screen and we just had a clip of c!Tommy going "Sorry Dream" or something along those lines. Last time I said this I had weird anons going "You want to see torture on screen?" and I'm like. They're playing this in Minecraft, theres Limits to what they can Show. This is how the Exile Arc managed to show an abusive dynamic while also sparing the Bloody Details (which we know were there by scenes of Tommy shouting in pain)

And After the Torture arc, c!Dream's behaviour did not change. At All. He stayed the exact same dude he was before it. He didnt get Worse (he literally murdered his abuse victim Before the torture arc).

After escaping the prison he didnt need time to recover or wander around without armor or food needing to start over again, he conveniently had an ally outside and was able to get into full netherite armor within ONE stream and was Back to tormenting people, specifically c!Tommy.

Dream likes playing a character that Always comes out on Top regardless of what happens to him, (and when he loses something it's either off screen or he CHOSE to lose that thing) and it Worries me because making that character abusive doesnt Work with that, as viewers will be rooting for the Abuse Victim to Win and Upset when he Loses Yet Again to him.

#abuse tw #torture tw #discourse

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euroquision · 9 months

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Creative or Copycat: The SloMo Dancebreak

Three countries came to the 2023 competition with a SloMo-inspired dancebreak to share with the world. Whether you're a fan or not of these songs, my question applies to all of them: Are these dancebreaks a creative take on Chanel's trend? Or are they lackluster copycats? Let's find out in the latest EuroQuision essay!

Written and Researched by Beatrice Quinn

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. I, for one, consider large sums of riches or compliments about my cheekbones more flattering, thank you. In Eurovision, however, sharing truly is caring as it is no secret to anyone that trends, ideas, staging elements, and even songs themselves are imitated amongst countries the following years – for better and for worse. Should any country pull off anything impressive that manages to have a lasting impact on the viewers, be prepared to see redo’s, redux, and remixes of that very same idea. If you thought the visuals of Mans’ ‘lil balloon child army was “neat,” be prepared for one loud Russian man to get sent hurtling through the depths of space while somehow still inside an arena in Sweden. If this reference means something to you: cool! Please stick around for a later edition of this series where I talk about how 2016 was plagued with “Heroes”-VFX ripoffs. For this first edition of “Creative or Copycat,” we’re gonna watch some dance moves in slow mo-mo-mo, and decide whether the decadent dancebreaks of Eurovision 2023 were creative or copycats.

Where were you when Chanel first performed “SloMo” at Benidorm Fest on January 26th, 2022? After having had access to the songs for Spain’s golden goose egg of a National Final since Dec. 21st, 2021. In that month, fans were treated to early standouts like Tanxugueiras’ “TERRA,” Rigoberta’s “Ay Mama,” and Rayden’s “Calle de la lloreria.” Of the 14 total songs, there was a dembow pop gem called “SloMo” by debut-artist Chanel. Previously a regular face in the Spanish musical theater scene, the Cuban-born singer’s song was catchy, fun, and quite the earworm. However, the song itself sonically didn’t stand out as other selections. Without visuals, it was easy for many fans to overlook Chanel’s potential. By no means did people hate her song – until she did well in Eurovision, but that’s a different essay – but it simply didn’t get as much “hype” as some other songs did. That was, until the first live show…

Chanel takes to Havana-esque stage and begins what can only be described as a meticulously staged, choreographed, and executed ensemble dance routine to what is still just a solo female pop song. As she interacts with the drop-dead-gorgeous dancers around her, we launch into the first chorus. As we’re hit with the “mo-mo-mo” of the chorus, the lights strobe to create an attempt at a “slo-mo” effect before the dance resumes with impressive synchronicity. Chanel continues to dominate all corners of the stage, letting her hair down and repeating the same dance routine as the second chorus hits us. Now remember: for the last month we had only been hearing this song where the second chorus just repeats the same words identically once more; not a very creative direction, but it’s fine, I guess. So as the song gears up to continue as expected, Chanel’s jacket comes off and the music drops. Before you have any moment to prepare, Chanel and her dancers whip their entire upper bodies to the floor and back up as the most impeccable, well-oiled, show-stopping dance break captures our attention and doesn’t let go until Chanel has gone from shaking every angle of her body, collapsing to the floor, high-kicking, flipping her hair some more, and getting back up before singing the rest of the motherfuckin’ song.

So. It was unsurprising when Chanel won the jury vote and ended up winning Benidorm Fest and taking “SloMo” to Eurovision. But now there was an issue presented: Chanel surprised us by saving the dancebreak until the last minute, ensuring that people who had already been listening to the song were surprised with something new, while the dancebreak on its own was still thrilling enough to capture the attention of first-time viewers. But now everyone has seen the dancebreak, and really I mean seen it. Every ESC Pre-party, on Instagram, TikTok, Chanel’s publicity team was going nutso in the buttso with this dance. How was it still going to impress come the night of the Grand Final? Surely would it not have worn itself out? Lucky for the viewing audience, Chanel proved to still have more to give on the night of the final. No, it sadly wasn’t a super-secret-surprise 2nd dancebreak, but there were sparks falling from the ceiling, a fan being tossed across the stage, a new vocal run, and new choreo for Chanel herself where she proceeds to do another vocal run while being dipped.

Naturally, this impressed juries and televoters alike and placed it right up on the podium with a flashy bronze medal. And the success didn’t stop there: on Dec. 31st, 2022, “SloMo” dethroned “Euphoria” [SWE’12] at #1 on the Eurovision Top 250 – the annual radio show where everyone around the world votes on every ESC song in existence – which hadn’t placed lower than #1 since its victory in 2012. So why am I using two full pages and some change of my article to sing the praises of Chanel like she was the second coming of Christ? Because she may as well have been! Spain went from colonizing the Americas to colonizing the Bottom 5 of Eurovision finals ever since they started qualifying for said-final. Out of the 19 editions of ESC Spain has been in since the introduction of semis, 12 of those were in the Btm. 5, with one being dead last in ‘17. Compare that to their Top 10 finishes: a whopping 3. Then: in a brand new National Final format, a Cuban-born singer takes her debut single to ESC and get Spain on the podium. Spain couldn’t even get back in the Top 10 for nearly a decade without getting an artist from a land they colonized, performing a song in a genre of the country Spain colonized–

"Hello!"

"My name is Lynda Woodruff, and I’m the official spokesperson of the EBU. I’m here to remind you all, along with Ms. Beaches Quilt, that Eurovision is a non-political song contest. Now, back to EuroQuizzin– EuroQuestion– Quision! EuroQuision."

Sigh.

Lynda, you get a pass because you’re universally loveable. But we’re not gonna pretend that an international song contest with audiences and artists from countries that have significant histories of geopolitical conflicts, while also at most times actively having geopolitical conflicts, sometimes with other competing countries, is somehow “apolitical.”

However, Spain and colonization isn’t what we’re here for. We’re here to remind ourselves why this is called The SloMo Dancebreak. This is by far not the first dancebreak in this contest’s history, but this song’s dancebreak is associated with a legacy, a redemption after taking a risk and crafting an amazing live performance featuring a stellar new artist. And on top of that, what did we get in 2023? A whopping three acts that contain what we can qualify as a SloMo Dancebreak, and thus we get to decipher: was it creative or copycat?

Ok I promise: I’ll shut up about SloMo after this and talk about 2023. You’ve been so great and so patient, get yourself a treat. I’ll give you a sec.

*waits patiently*

Got a snack?...Great! So the last thing we need to get in writing is what actually “characterizes” the SloMo dancebreak. Like I said, people have danced here before. Other than the legacy and why people like it so much, what’s unique about the SloMo dancebreak/what rules a SloMo or non-SloMo dancebreak? And this is what I love about the concept of “rules” in Eurovision is that there are none – other than the legal ones and ones the producers make up and other rules thereof. But in a spiritual sense, there are no “rules.” Therefore, some rules can be bent and reconstructed. Anyway, my general rule about what makes a SloMo Dancebreak is its essence, and the execution of said dancebreak is up for interpretation. If we were to look at the SloMo dancebreak structurally and how it works in the song, the break itself occurs around the metaphorical 3/4ths point of the song. That is, typically: after the 2nd chorus and either during/part of or in place of the bridge, all occurring before the final chorus. Performance-wise, a SloMo dancebreak is when the lead artist is the unobstructed focal point of the dancebreak. Additionally, the dancebreak is intended to be a noticeable break from lyrics/lead vocals, as Chanel performs no “vocals” during her break. Another important note is that the SloMo dancebreak was not a solo, even though Chanel was the focal point. She had her heavily-involved backup dancers all up in her business from start to finish; her dancebreak was like the one moment where it was just mostly Chanel herself in focus. What comes with this is a certain attitude about the dancebreak – remember how this is more essence than execution. SloMo’s dancebreak commands attention, performing choreography that at minimum looks very impressive to the Eurovision audience, and typically carries a sense of “Should I stunt on the hoes? I think I’m gonna stunt on the hoes.”

So! Are we all agreed on why this dancebreak is significant and what qualifies it? Amazing! Then let’s get to our three acts in question. The SloMo Dancebreaks of Eurovision 2023 are, as I’m sure you already know:

“Solo” [POL] by Blanka

“Unicorn” [ISR] by Noa Kirel

“Future Lover” [ARM] by Brunette

And while I hope this reminder goes for every article I publish, keep in mind I will genuinely attempt to be as objective as possible. In theory, that’s what all of these articles are about: objective deconstruction of Eurovision songs/acts. While I can and will happily share personal opinions where I think appropriately/most comically advantageous, the topic at hand is one that I think merits detail, context, and scrutiny no matter my personal preferences. With that being said, we’ll start by going alphabetically by country. So let’s all decide to be good, do good, and look good with “Future Lover.”

PART I: FUTURE LOVER

After 2022, where a simple folk pop song that finished 20th landed on the fast track to soon hit a billion Spotify streams, Armenia had quite the shoes to fill. Instead of trying the same thing twice, “SNAP” and “Future Lover” are jarringly different songs, especially in the case of composition. Even compared to the 2023 line-up as a whole, Brunette’s dynamic ballad about the anxieties, insecurities, and passionate wants about love is scored with an orchestra that creates a truly dynamic journey through just three minutes. Chilling vocals over a solitary piano soon becomes a soundscape of strings, light percussion, and a noticeable build that ends up thrusting us into a spoken-word verse. Not only is this a unique song for 2023, this is unique in comparison to many Eurovision songs of recent years. On top of this, Brunette is alone on stage while singing atop of a flat, angled, white pane as projected lights and graphics transform the pane into a morphing panel or lights and images. All of this put together creates a truly unique and memorable Eurovision entry, but I know what you’re thinking:

"Where's the dancebreak?"

Well don’t worry! Even though the song in studio/the music video was released without any such dancebreaks, so when Brunette put down her microphone and the song momentarily dropped, audiences were in for a surprise as she began what I personally describe as an abstract contemporary dancebreak. Important note: while I do my best to take it upon myself to research the cultural relevance behind many Eurovision entries, I am not an expert on everything! So, if there’s any cultural context behind Brunette’s choreo, anyone who knows more than myself is free to let me know!

Whether or not you were wondering, hoping, or jonesing for a dancebreak, we got one! Let’s compare and contrast, shall we? Brunette’s dancebreak is similar to Chanel’s in its location in the song, at about the 3/4ths marker. It contains no lyrics (other than amorphous “Oh-oh’s” we’ve already heard) and served to us by Brunette with a distinct “Stunting on the hoes” vibe from her commanding eye-work and fluidity in her routine. Her moves also bring her from standing positions, down to the floor, and back up by the end, similar to Chanel’s choreo. Taking another page out of the dancebreak handbook, Brunette’s dancebreak was kept a secret until the live performance, which we didn’t see until Eurovision itself as opposed to Spain’s NF. The dancebreaks of each song are even the same length: 8 measures of music/8 counts of 4. Of course we can’t overlook the glaring differences. Noticeably, Brunette is all by herself on stage with her emotional-support ambiguous white panel. No sexy backup dancers are there to lift Brunette off the ground and perform other such tasks that Chanel’s team did for her. Brunette’s dance also does not come after a 2nd chorus; “Future Lover” has a slightly unique form in that the song goes Verse - Chorus - Verse - Dance/Bridge - Final Chorus, so simply there’s no 2nd chorus to be found. In my opinion, putting a dancebreak into a song that already has an unconventional structure and exists in a genre that’s much more ethereal ballad than pop power is a risky move, despite it being an enjoyable dancebreak regardless. Another risk Armenia took was the fact that there’s multiple instances during the dancebreak where the screen goes dark and obscures Brunette’s dancing; something that “SloMo” does not do.

Perhaps this is what kept Armenia away from a higher result overall. Coming 12th and 13th in the jury and televote, respectively, this may not have had the same success as Spain had the year prior because “Future Lover” by all accounts is just so much more unconventional for the choices it’s making. It already exists as a song that’s hard to dance to, and doesn’t seem like it would be enhanced by a dancebreak. This is one of the biggest factors as to what makes this dance creative or copycat: does it enhance the performance in any meaningful way? It’s also very important to note that something doesn’t need to be “necessary” to enhance the act. This is Eurovision, people; if we start asking “But is this necessary?” we’ll undo the very fabric of Eurovision. Australia has a DeLorean on stage, Austria is singing about Edgar Allen Poe, and I have seen more elderly Croatian men in their underwear than I ever anticipated seeing in my life; none of this is “necessary,” and that’s why we love Eurovision. Moving on.

“Future Lover” is a very hard one to decipher. A good result does not make one dancebreak better than the other if we’re just trying to judge the dancebreak itself and how it functions in the song/performance. In the case of Armenia, I would argue Brunette’s dancebreak is a creative interpretation of the SloMo Dancebreak. Nothing about Chanel’s performance felt like it was copy-pasted into “Future Lover,” and Brunette herself is clearly a capable and confident dancer. The song already being unconventional can be a risk to appeal to juries and televoters for different reasons, but that didn’t stop Brunette from adding some creative and unexpected flare to the performance. In my thoughtful opinion, I could’ve seen Armenia finishing Top 10 with juries, but alas, the points given have been given. Ultimately, what I think saves “Future Lover” from being a copycat dancebreak is the fact that it is a song that attempts to create a dancebreak unique to the song and performer; there aren’t many other songs and dancebreaks that sound/look like “Future Lover.”

RESULT: CREATIVE!

PART II: UNICORN

Free Palestine.

Anyway! With the important business out of the way, let’s talk about Israel’s song. And no, I’m not gonna waste your time asking you if “you wanna see me” talk about my Eurovision hyperfixation for another essay. You’re already here, you’re already on part two, I know you wanna see me talk about Eurovision. However, if I were to ask you three times if you wanted to read my article, I wouldn’t be surprised if you just said no. Anyway, I’ll touch on this lil bit soon. Let’s talk about the song!

I need to begin by talking about the musical horse in the room which is the fact that “Unicorn” is clearly three different songs stitched together, three songs I call “DNA,” “Watch Me,” and finally “Unicorn.” These songs exist within three different parts of the song. “DNA” are verses one and two, including the earworm of “Phenomen- Phenomen- Phenomenal.” “Watch Me” is my nicer name for the dancebreak section, as the first draft name “Black Pink Is Calling Their Lawyers” was too wordy. Lastly, “Unicorn” itself exists in the chorus where the lyrical simile of “stand[ing] like a Unicorn” occurs. While the dissection of “Unicorn” could/probably will be an essay all on its own, I promise you this is important. To give you the SparkNotes edition, here’s what makes me think “Unicorn” is three different songs:

Musically: the instrumentation of the verses, choruses, and dancebreak are all almost completely different. The verses have an electronic composition beat with crisp, punchy music that has no connection or transition into the sudden power ballad it becomes in the chorus. This difference is especially jarring considering that “real” instruments are used in the chorus primarily, whereas the verses have some percussive string instruments here and there as embellishments. The dancebreak is the most egregious offense where this sudden electronic build comes out of nowhere and uses a meter/beat that we haven’t yet heard and could not sound more different from the chorus if it tried. The song jumps genres and compositions with no connecting motifs or callbacks.

Lyrically: We start by singing about our DNA and if you’re gonna do it (spoiler: don’t do it). Then we start singing about…unicorns? And how they stand? And the power of said unicorn? My point here being: the lyrics of the verses and the chorus literally have nothing to do with each other. In verses about writing a new book and how phenomenal it will be, we go back to these comparisons to a unicorn that don’t really mean anything. “I got the power of a unicorn.” What “powers” does a unicorn have? Jesus I’m tired.

So what does this have to do with the dancebreak? I’ll finish explaining once we do a quick compare and contrast. These two dancebreaks are more similar than “Future Lover” was to “SloMo.” No main vocals, a small costume change/reveal, lead act supported by attractive and skilled dancers, the hoes and their impending stunting, and many dance moves that involve impressive stretching and posing of various limbs. However, “Unicorn” goes to numerous lengths to differentiate itself from “SloMo” by doing things such as announcing the dancebreak before it begins; again, the offer seems pretty hollow given the fact that you’re probably gonna start dancing even though I’ve given you a clear “NO” in response. The dancebreak also falls at a notably different point in the song: the end! When you look at the time stamps of the song, Noa stops “singing” at 2:15, meaning the last 45 seconds of that 3-minute Eurovision window has her not singing at all. 45 whole seconds! So where the SloMo break lasts 8 counts of 4, “Unicorn” (starting from “Watch me” and not “You wanna see me dance” because, well, she’s not dancing yet) lasts a whopping 16 counts of 4; literally twice as long as the break in “SloMo.” The routine itself, once you’ve watched it upwards of twelve times like I have (because I take my research seriously, dammit!) you begin to notice these dance moves are more akin to…poses?

Roll with me here: the dancebreak starts, Noa hits that impressive backbend into a frontwards drop, bringing her to the stage floor. So naturally, her next set of moves consist of a backwards roll, some yoga-like poses where she continues to impress with her control by lifting her legs and kicking, then whipping her hair in time with the beat of the song. Up to this point, I’m genuinely impressed. Then, she hits what is literally a downward-facing dog position, and then goes back down onto her knees and slides to the floor to do the splits over her own body. So I don’t think it’s totally unreasonable for a viewer to at this point start to think “Yeah this is really cool, but like, there’s not so much dancing going on.” Then once poor Noa is finally allowed to stand upright, her dancers join back in and they perform a series of synchronized moves to the “U-NI-CORN!” blasting into our ears. So why are we suddenly in this new genre with a new rhythm, new instrumentation, and new pacing while Noa performs a series of admittedly challenging moves but are ultimately glorified “poses.” Also: an assisted backflip at the end? Another thing I didn’t ask for.

So as you can see, “Unicorn” is not an easy one to pin down. Going back to my analysis of the song and how disjointed it feels, I think the dancebreak itself is the most alienating way to end this song, especially because we don’t hear Noa sing literally anything else after she starts dancing. The fact that we’ve just dealt with two sets of verses and choruses that sound like two different songs, this Black Pink homage dancebreak looks flashy but doesn’t actually provide character or flavor to the song as a whole. It brings ah flavor, yes, but I don’t know what I’ve been tasting for the last 2 minutes and 15 seconds, I don’t know what I’m tasting now. Therefore, I shall be labeling “Unicorn” as a hybrid creative copycat. It is definitely creative in the sense that it didn’t attempt to do the same exact thing “SloMo” did in terms of execution, song style, dance style, etc etc. However, what makes it also part copycat is the fact that I don’t know why or how this dancebreak even made it into this song. To me, it almost feels as if the dancebreak was something they knew they wanted to do from the beginning, but then wrote a song that didn’t have natural space for a dancebreak. So they then compressed the verses and choruses to the first 2/3rds of the song and slapped the dance in at the end and called it a day. This reads as fairly inauthentic and ill-considered. Compare this to “Future Lover” and how yes, that song also didn’t “need” a dancebreak, but remember: necessity does not dictate something working or not working. “Future Lover” carved out a natural space and time within the song to create a dancebreak that sonically fits in with the rest of the song and provides a solid build of momentum to the final chorus. “Unicorn” and their K-Pop-influenced dance (which was more posing than anything) sticks out like a sore thumb and attempts to distract from that by being incredibly flashy.

RESULT: CREATIVE COPYCAT

Anyway, creative copycat is what I’m stickin’ with. I’ve already wasted enough of my own time listening to and watching this song several times over. Please tell me I don’t have anything worse waiting for me after this song—

PART III: SOLO

Son of a BITCH--

“Solo” is a song. By definition. And I too found myself asking the wrong question of “Why is this dancebreak here? Was it really needed?” a couple times. And in full transparency, yes: Poland is 37th in my ranking of 2023. However! Let the record here and now show that I will attempt to give this dancebreak a fair shot just as I did for the two prior. In fact, let’s start with a guessing game! I’m going to list out some key characteristics about a dancebreak, and it’s up to you to guess if I’m talking about “SloMo” or “Solo”! Ready? Go! GUESS! THAT! DANCEBREAK!

This dancebreak in question starts with a costume change/reveal and the lead performer flips her hair vivaciously. The music of this dancebreak is nearly entirely percussion; drums, rhythmic clapping, and maybe including one or two musical highlights that exist elsewhere in the song. There’s a quick one-two beat where the dancer thrusts a part of her body in time with the beat, the dancebreak lasts for 8 counts of 4, and it ends with the lead performer being handed her mic from a backup dancer. So now you guess: which dancebreak am I talking about?

…Got a guess? WRONG, it’s: both of them. Here’s the thing: initially I was going to start with a compare and contrast list like I’ve been doing, but I quickly realized that this is all “compare” and no “contrast.” The only thing that might noticeably be different is that Blanka is doing significantly less dancing than Chanel was. This is not an attempt to say that Blanka can’t dance or wasn’t dancing at all. I saw her up there in those heels hitting some moves, she definitely danced. But did she stunt on them hoes? While Chanel was going from upright and down to the floor and back up again, Blanka had no moves that were anywhere near as complex or physically demanding as Chanel. Meanwhile, everything else seems lifted right out of “SloMo” and given an off-orange coat of spray paint and messily slapped together. For fuck’s sake, one song is called “SloMo” and the other is “Solo.” The names literally rhyme and use the same letters, minus a singular “M.” I know, I promised I would be fair and objective about this analysis, but I’m also genuinely just working with the information I’ve been given. If I close my eyes and just listen to the dancebreak, it sounds like I’m listening to a demo of “SloMo.” And if I open my eyes to the onslaught of on-screen effects Poland is treating me to, I see what I interpret as an intermediate backup dancer version of “SloMo.” This dancebreak is almost unapologetically a copycat of “SloMo.”

RESULT: COPYCAT

I’m almost sad that this is the shortest section of the three analyses, but sadly it’s just the most obvious offender. I’ll end this section by sharing two things. First: I don’t harbor any hatred or resentment towards Blanka, she’s just a performer doing what I’m sure is her best. My disappointment is at the greater picture of Poland in Eurovision and how I feel they have incredibly unique things to offer, just like they have in the past. We don’t need this kind of thing from Poland or any other country for that matter. Second: in the second verse, I had always heard the lyric “Bet you regret how” as “Bet you’re a Grey Hound” and I didn’t realize that until the writing of this essay. In my defense, the next line goes “What goes around comes around” which actually rhymes. Whereas “how” and “around” are near rhymes, “hound” is a perfect rhyme, that’s all I’m saying.

PART IV: CONCLUSION

So there we have it. Three different dancebreaks, three different results. I think it would be most helpful to end this essay with re-examining why this question of “creative or copycat” exists, specifically in relation to something like the SloMo Dancebreak. Trends and the recreation of them have always been and forever will be core to the essence of Eurovision. In the process of uniting Europe through music and participating in a cultural exchange, countries trying to put their own spin on successful trends will be inevitable. So let this certainty be a reminder that simply trying to emulate a trend or anything of the sort is never an inherently bad thing. It is not something to be looked down upon or just labeled as unoriginal without thought or consideration. Inside every Eurovision song and performance exists artistic value and intention, to varying degrees, and that is what should decide whether emulating a trend is a positive or negative thing.

If I could somehow magically communicate this message to the artists and delegations of not only Armenia/Israel/Poland, but to all Eurovision competitors, it would be this: Following a trend will simply never be enough. What proves most effective is doing something that elevates and enhances the performance. Despite the fact I think Israel’s dancebreak is a “creative copycat,” I also can’t deny that it objectively did its job the best out of the three we’ve discussed here. But this is also another flawed line of thinking: If a song got a good result, that must mean it did everything creatively, right? Not always! One day when I make a “Unicorn” deconstruction essay, I’ll elaborate on my theory that the song did so well because it’s the most “Eurovision Movie”-sounding of all the 2023 songs, but I digress. Until that essay, thank you for joining me in another EuroQuision think piece! Truly hope this one was phenomen- phenomen- phenomenal for you all to read.

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mononokehunters · 2 years

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Interview with Kenji Nakamura and Koji Yamamoto on the upcoming Mononoke movie

Google translation of the article below the cut

It was announced the other day that the movie version "Mononoke", which will be a completely new episode of the TV anime "Mononoke" broadcasted in the late-night anime frame "Noitamina" of Fuji TV in 2007, will be released in 2023, and it has received a great response. called. Kenji Nakamura, who has worked on "Mononoke" and is also the director of the new work, and Koji Yamamoto, the first editor-in-chief of Noitamina and the representative of the twin engine in charge of the production of this work, when announcing the animation after 15 years. Conducted a direct hit interview. We asked him about the circumstances at that time, the path leading up to the announcement of the new work, the thoughts he put into the new work, and the reasons for sticking to the new work.

　This work is the story of a mysterious man, "Pharmaceutical Seller," who has a sword that can slash the Mononoke by identifying "Makoto," "Ri," and "Shape." It depicts the terrible tragedy created by human hearts and Ayakashi, cut off by drug dealers and swords of demons who travel around the world.

　A topical work that combines CG processing such as the texture of Japanese paper to create a novel image that has never been seen before. In the 2005-09 production division), it won the first place in a dignified manner. Fifteen years after its broadcast, it is still very popular.

■ The idea for the new production was right after the broadcast at that time-At the event held the other day, the animation of "Mononoke" was announced for the first time in 15 years. please give me.

[Yamamoto P] The story "Why don't you do a new work of Mononoke" was mentioned every time you planned the next work of director Nakamura. It was often talked about between the two, but when I consulted with them several years ago, Mr. Nakamura refused (laughs). It wasn't established for various reasons, but this time it was finally realized.

[Director Nakamura] At that time, I was making another work and the timing just didn't match (laughs). I've always wanted to do it someday, but it's been 15 years since I realized it.

――How did the new work become the movie version?

[Yamamoto P] Inevitably, it became the movie version. Originally, "Mononoke" was a series of 3-4 episodes in the TV format, so I was arguing that it would be put together as a single ghost story movie rather than being released as the first, middle, and second parts on TV. I will make it with. "

■ I am convinced that the timing to create a new episode while maintaining quality has arrived

――What was the deciding factor for making this time?

[Yamamoto P] Mr. Nakamura is originally a person who wants to make a "real new work". I also want Mr. Nakamura to do a completely new work, so I thought it would be better to do that while I had something I wanted to do. Rather than stopping, it feels like the timing wavelengths didn't match exactly. This time, when launching a production team with Mr. Nakamura as the director with Twin Engine, Mr. Nakamura will make a sequel while talking about several projects in parallel, whether to do a sequel to "Mononoke" or a completely new work. He chose that.

[Director Nakamura] That's right.

[Yamamoto P] The engine is already running, but Mr. Nakamura is easy to think about until he decides what to make. That's because I'm thinking about various things, so I really need time, including customer needs, market trends, and themes. So when I started the team, I was promised "I'll definitely do" Mononoke "somewhere" regardless of the order in which I started.

--I see. It means that you made something like a prospect or a path in consideration of Mr. Nakamura's personality. What was Mr. Nakamura's thoughts about that?

[Director Nakamura] "Mononoke" is a very difficult work to make in many ways because it requires depth and various kinds of quality. I don't want to betray the expectations of those who saw the old work, and I wanted new viewers to enjoy it, so it was difficult to calculate whether I could do it. It's just one word, but I had a lot of thoughts.

――After the situation where various feelings are coming and going, is it now at the stage where you can issue GO both in terms of timing and feelings?

[Director Nakamura] That's right. I think that will be the case.

■ Atmosphere of the production site that has changed drastically due to the response from the viewers The response from the bulletin board is a response.

――Looking back on it now, the quality is high, and I think it was highly evaluated by the fans at that time, but is there anything that remains strong in the response at that time?

[Director Nakamura] At first, more than half of the staff were worried that it was overkill, and about 30% of the staff were forcibly pulling. After the broadcast of the introductory curtain of "Mysterious ~ ayakashi ~ Kaneko" was over, there was a reaction on the Internet bulletin board etc., and the uneasy staff seemed to feel "accepted" after seeing the reaction of the customers. The air has changed.

――The touch of the pattern is an unprecedented impression, and some people were worried whether it would be accepted in that sense.

[Director Nakamura] Nowadays, it is normal to use 3D CG, but at that time there was no such full-full full-cut 3D work in the TV series. It may have been a big change in terms of work and workflow.

――It's challenging to change your workflow, isn't it?

[Director Nakamura] Since the order of work changes, I asked "Is it okay?" Rather than "a feeling of refusal." I feel confident that I was saved by the people who saw me. The most memorable impression is that you have backed it up.

――It was such a challenging or experimental work, but how did you take it?

[Yamamoto P] I felt that "Bakeneko" was overwhelmingly superior as a picture and as a director, and I thought it was a work that will remain in history. Of the three "Yotsuya Kaidan," "Tenshu Monogatari," and "Bakeneko," the other two were good, but the audience rating for "Bakeneko" was missing. Of course, I didn't intend to make a sequel at first, nor did I make it as a pilot for the sequel. However, I remember thinking that only "Bakeneko" should be treated differently.

■ Director Nakamura, the pressure on the new work is "not mysterious"

――It seems that you talked about it at various times, but as a result, do you feel the high expectations and pressure of the fans for the resurrection as the time has opened?

[Director Nakamura] It's not strange. When I started preparing, I had a lot of hesitation, and there may have been a bearish time until I decided on a path. Now that it's over, there's no hesitation because it's decided how to make it better and how to make it interesting.

I would say it myself, but to be honest, I thought that everyone remembered "Mononoke", so it was rather good that I had high expectations. I thought it was okay to make it because of the response. If there was no response, it would have been messed up, and I think he was telling Mr. Yamamoto, "Let's stop."

――Is the bearish time overcoming because your thoughts have matured, or is it overcoming after a certain amount of time has passed?

[Director Nakamura] Isn't it both?

[Yamamoto P] In making the sequel, there were endless choices as a director, such as what to leave and what to change, and there were some parts that could not be decided without seeing them. As a director, I'm worried or confused when I think "Is it possible to make the right choice?" It means that there is no such thing.

[Director Nakamura] This work is scheduled to be a rare type of content. How you feel depends on the user, and in a sense, I think that the individual's impression is the "correct answer." Doing my best is the most important thing right now, but I'm afraid I'll run out of time (bitter smile). If there is pressure, there. And the bigger the echo, the more powerful it is. I think that will deliver better things to everyone. It's a synergistic effect (laughs).

■ "Mononoke" episode "H × H" newly published "strong sense" corresponding to the present era

――Re-editing and re-animation have become one of the trends in the anime industry in recent years. Is there any reason for sticking to new works?

[Director Nakamura] I didn't think about re-editing from the beginning. If anything, I felt that it was more important to increase and add to the content of the work "Mononoke". As the times have changed, the awareness of problems in the world has changed, so I also had the desire to create works that corresponded to them.

[Yamamoto P] From the planning side, "Mononoke" is easy to update, or it is easy to do because the format is solid. I would like you to continue the new work while adding and replacing, and updating each time in the future.

[Director Nakamura] Actually, I thought "I should have made more series", so I have a strong feeling that "new issue" was released as a series. For example, like "HUNTER x HUNTER", users are happy to see the continuation. I think we have to put it out.

――The expression “new episode” has come to me. With that stance, it seems that the flow will continue.

[Director Nakamura] I realized that I should continue to publish new publications, even if I found it difficult to create a new work for "Mononoke", so I didn't hesitate. I think there are various possibilities, so I hope I can take good care of myself while listening to the opinions of many people. Of course, it is most important not to betray the users.

■ I want to make something that does not deteriorate over time

――After 15 years, it is difficult for all the staff at that time to gather together, and it is said that it is a new production with new “blood”, but what is the core of the work that cannot be handed over?

[Director Nakamura] It's difficult, but I feel that the overall balance and this is in the hearts of the users.

――Is it something like the “dark part” or “karma” that people have in their hearts?

[Director Nakamura] That's right. Also, personally, I think it's important to stay in people's hearts for a long time. I'm sure some people will see the old work for the first time, but it's important that they see it and cry. I want to make something that does not deteriorate over time.

――It's true that the previous episode still sticks even now. I think there are many commitments, but please tell us the most important points in the production process.

[Director Nakamura] It's all about the meaning and color that enriches the theme that can be read from the entire screen, the mysterious and mysterious sound, the unique static and dynamic tempo, and the charm of the acting of the voice actor who does not fit the standard. It's different from the current animation trend, but I'm going to add a sense of update while keeping it steady. I am particular about various things.

--looking forward to it. Lastly, I would like to ask those who are new to "Mononoke" to see the part that I would like to see with this announcement, and the highlights that do not disappoint those who saw the previous work, as far as I can tell at this time.

[Director Nakamura] It's a catharsis when slashing the Mononoke. The work contains various elements, such as mystery-like horror, hero-like, and a little era-like. It's simple to look at, but I want to keep the fun of the complicated part as I get closer, and I think that users can think "Is it my story?"

Anyway, if you can see the coolness of drug sales. He's very playful and cool, so if you follow him, the work will be interesting. Please look forward to it.

Interview / text: Masaki Endo / Editing: Takeaki Sakurai

Oricon tie-up special feature

#mononoke #kusuriuri #mononoke movie #mononoke 2023

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the-somewhat-rambling-reviewer · 5 months

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Love for Love's Sake EP1

I’ve only watched episodes 1-3 so far.

Given the opening scene, I’m worried Yeo Woon is actively suicidal.

Tae Mayung Ha adapts really quickly to this how possibly being in a virtual world thing. I always have trouble with premises such as these, because, I know if too much time is spent on the main character struggling, it’ll turn viewers off, but I also know someone like me would not last long at all if I suddenly found myself in a different world or what have you. I would question my sanity hardcore, and assuming I decided I was still sane, I would likely kill myself in the process of trying to reverse what had happened.

Did his author friend do this to him?

It’s interesting how I haven’t seen anything online about how a 29-year-old is actively pursuing an 18-year-old. Granted, virtual world (possibly), he’s in a 19-year-old body (possibly), and even in the real world, I don’t think there are any countries where a 29-year-old being with an 18-year-old is illegal, nor do I think it should be illegal, either. But also, if an 18-year-old loved one of mine was with or being pursued by a 29-year-old, I would not have good feelings towards this 29-year-old.

This said, it being fiction, I’m not counting myself as hypocritical for the fact I’m shipping Sang Won with Mayung Ha.

Sang Won reminds me so much of Jang Jaeyoung from Semantic Error.

And unfortunately, it seems I’m the only one shipping these two right now.

I don’t dislike Yeo Woon, but I honestly don’t understand why everyone is cooing over him, either. I feel bad for him. I do think people aren’t taking his grandmother’s death into consideration at all and that he should be given time, and possibly, counselling, to actually mourn her. But other than feeling sympathy for him, I don’t see what makes him so appealable to both the audience and Mayung ha

Back to Mayung Ha waking up in the classroom, the teacher’s reaction was milder than I expected, and in this circumstance, sending him to stand in the hall was likely best for Mayung Ha, but a good teacher would actually be trying to find out what caused such a bizarre reaction in a student.

So, Mayung Ha finds Yeo Woon, and it was smart convincing Yeo Woon that he was close to Yeo Woon’s grandmother. All the same, there are more plausible answers to the question of missing her funeral than, oh, sorry, I was so late that I didn’t even make it.

Speaking of grandmothers, I no longer take cultural or generational differences into consideration when it comes to abuse. Mayung Ha’s grandmother is a horrible person. Parents from 1950s movies and Thailand BL series and so on who lay their hands on their children are terrible people.

Onto non-horrible people, I love that Kyung Hoon is basically Mayung Ha’s teddy bear. It’s not scary to see when he physically stops Kyung Hoon, and in later episodes, he’ll openly cuddle him multiple times.

Speaking of adorable, bedsharing!

I do find it interesting how Asian shows tend to make much less of a big deal about two boys/men sharing a bed when there’s no romantic relationship in play. Which they should. I’m going to squee over most instances of bed-sharing regardless of whether it’s parents co-sleeping with kids, a couple, or just two or more friends, but I don’t find it commentary-worthy in and of itself when two male characters who aren’t in a romantic relationship end up sharing a bed.

I know Yeo Woon and Mayung Ha will almost certainly end up together, but couldn’t it just be a case of Mayung Ha helping this depressed kid be happy and maybe Mayung Ha ending up with Sang Won?

I’m not sure this new format is doing much better at helping me present my thoughts in a coherent fashion, but I’m going to try it a few more times.

#love for love's sake

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darkmasterofcupcakes · 1 year

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Total Drama Changes: Island and TDI Special/Between Island and Action

Since at least one person was interested, I decided to do a little list of things I’m planning to/will change in “my version” of Total Drama, going from Island to All-Stars (Pahkitew is going to be an...interesting case). Keep in mind that this isn’t going to necessarily cover everything in detail, just stuff that I remember really feeling like a turn-off for me as a viewer, or just things I feel would be an interesting enough change. I’ll also include stuff that happens between seasons, since my eventual stories would cover that stuff, at least somewhat. This will also likely be a fairly long post, and I’m going to split it into a post per season, plus the specials when applicable and transition period.

To start with Island

All of the contestants are aged up by 2 years, so the average age for all of them is about 18, though some are just shy of their birthdays when they come to the Island (though in those cases, they have their birthdays shortly after arriving) and DJ had actually just turned 19 when the first season begins.

“Who Can You Trust?” takes place between “Phobia Factor” and “Up the Creek”, with Gwen and Trent reconciling there instead of in “No Pain, No Game”. Sadie is still eliminated in this episode, since she basically did nothing after Katie left, and I can’t deny not being able to think of anything for her to do.

Duncan and Courtney’s elimination order is switched, with Harold still rigging the votes, but this time to get rid of Duncan since he was the actual person Harold had issues with.

As I’ve mentioned before, Gwen is more...consistent with whether she thinks certain people are “okay” or not, and in her ending speech, she does include Geoff and Trent as among the “sane” campers, though she does admit that she took time to start seeing Geoff as a friend.

During the events of “Search and Do Not Destroy”, Trent does try to confront Gwen about what Heather told him, but Heather and her alliance (somewhat unintentionally on Izzy’s part) keep them apart until after the votes had been cast, so even though Gwen and Trent make up and solidify their relationship before the ceremony, Trent still ends up eliminated because the votes couldn’t be changed and nobody knew the truth until too late.

In the finale, both Trent and LeShawna help Gwen, not because either of them has anything to prove to her, but just because neither thought it was fair that so many people were helping Owen simply because they wanted to go to his party (especially when Gwen had already said she was going to split the winnings if she won, and Owen still could have thrown a big party with 50K) and they wanted to help even the odds.

Now for the changes regarding the special and some stuff between the events of Island and Action:

First off, Owen doesn’t actually give up his 100K to compete in the “challenge” for the special. If World Tour can still happen despite Beth/Duncan being implied to have gotten their million and used it, Action can still happen with Owen (or Gwen if she wins) keeping the 100K won from Island

Harold and LeShawna don’t break up here, though they do agree to try and take the relationship slower now that they can actually spend more time together

Courtney isn’t quite as “ruthless” about winning the million here, since in this version of Island, she was voted off not only fair and square, but much later into the competition

Most of the people who make it onto Island are the same, but Tyler and Cody also get pulled in, since they were still attached to Owen and DJ when they fell into the water. Courtney is also in the next season from the start.

The time between the end of Island and the start of Action is about 2 months, with Owen’s party taking place a week after the events of the “special”.

Not too much happens during that time besides the campers going home to prepare for the next season, and keeping in touch with their friends from the show (and handling various degrees of long distance relationships in the case of the couples).

The biggest thing that happens that relates to the next season is that, while they’re spending time together, Trent actually tells Gwen the story about how the number nine is his “lucky number” and how when he was stressed, he’d sometimes do little actions that many times or just count to nine to help himself calm down. So, when Action starts, Gwen already knows about why the number is important to Trent.

#Total Drama #Fanfic Stuff

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 year

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John Cuneo, Mar-a-Lago Sewage :: [Robert Scott Horton]

* * * * *

Trump's spiral staircase: down, down, down he goes, where he stops, nobody knows

LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT IV

JUN 20, 2023

Who knew that the name of a two-bit spray-tanned Fox News hack would be destined to be mentioned alongside the David Frost interview of Richard Nixon as a classic of the genre, but it appears that is where yesterday’s Bret Baier “Special Report” interview with Donald Trump is headed. Well known celebrity interviewer Frost asked Nixon whether the president could do something illegal, such as taking action against certain anti-war groups “if he decides it’s in the best interest of the country or something,” to which Nixon infamously responded, “Well, when the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.” Forty-five million television viewers watched that night, a record for the largest audience for a political interview in history.

A much, much smaller audience was watching Fox last night when Trump claimed, for what must have been at least the thousandth time, “First of all, I won in 2020 by a lot, okay? Let’s get that straight.” Baier, holding a sheaf of paper that appeared to have lists not only of questions, but of facts, pushed back by reciting a long list of evidence to the contrary: “There were recounts in all the swing states. There was not significant evidence of fraud,” to which Trump replied, “We were trying to get recounts, real recounts, not just numbers of votes cast.”

Baier forged ahead: “There were lawsuits, more than 50 of them, in front of judges you appointed, that came up with no evidence, no evidence, and they looked at every potential case of voter fraud in six battleground states, and they found fewer than 475 cases.” Trump, babbling over Baier the whole time: “You know why? They weren’t looking at the right things. They were counting ballots, not the authenticity of ballots. The ballots were fake ballots. This was a very rigged election.”

But it was when Baier got into the meat of last week’s indictment of Trump for improperly removing and then mishandling top secret government documents, that the interview really went off the rails for Trump. Baier asked him when he was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice for the documents he held at Mar a Lago, “Why not just hand them over then?”

I wish you could hear Trump’s tone, which resembled nothing more or less than the voice of a little boy who had been caught with a rock in his hand standing on the lawn of a house with a broken window: “Because I had boxes! I wanted to go through the boxes, and get all my personal things out…(sputters)…I don’t want to hand that over to NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) yet, and I was very busy, as you have sort have seen.” A B-roll of the indictment appears on the screen as Baier tirelessly presses on: “But according to the indictment, you then tell this aide to move [boxes] to other locations, after telling your lawyers to say that you had fully complied with the subpoena when you hadn’t.” Trump looks frantic: “Before I send boxes over, I have to take all of my things out. These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things��uh…golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes…there were many things…”

Baier manages to intersperse a short question, “Iran war plans?” Here's Trump’s face as he hears the question: “Not that I know of! Not that I know of!”

Baier then turns to the Iran war plan document referred to in the indictment in the transcript of a recording of an interview with ghost writers for Trump’s final chief of staff, Mark Meadows, made at Trump’s Bedminster golf club in 2021. “The Iran attack plan. You remember that. You were recorded.” Baier continues, reading from his typed notes: “The indictment says, the recording and the testimony from people in the room say you showed it to people in the room there, that day. You say on tape, that you can’t declassify it, so why have it?”

“There was no document,” Trump asserts. “That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things. And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories, and articles.”

“I’m just saying what the indictment says, there were people in the room, who testified…”

“These people are very dishonest people. They’re thugs. They’re thugs. If you look at what they’ve done to other people…”

Tobias Barrington Wolff, the Jefferson Barnes Fordham Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, Carey School of Law, posted on his Facebook page a primer in the law, describing exactly what happened in Trump’s interview with Baier. Helpfully referring to Trump as “the grifter,” Wolff explained: “The only way the grifter's own spoken words could be forcibly used against him at trial is if he chose to do exactly what he is now doing: talk obsessively about the charges against him on camera at rallies and in interviews, hoping that his weaponized narcissistic bluster would once again allow him to escape accountability. Your Fifth Amendment right protects you against being ‘compelled’ to incriminate yourself; it poses no barrier if you want to bull your way in front of a camera and insist on doing so. And one of the main exceptions to the hearsay rule is a statement made by the party himself, which is helpfully referred to as an ‘admission’. The category of admissions is a broad exception to the hearsay rule. It means that other witnesses, like his former lawyers or Walt Nauta, could testify at trial to the things the grifter said to them while executing the conspiracy to obstruct justice. And it means recordings of the grifter's own out-of-court statements can be used to establish the elements of his offenses. It is just that, in a normal criminal trial, the prosecution does not have video of the defendant's own incriminating statements. But the grifter is helpfully providing those video admissions with every campaign speech and every interview he gives to a right-wing news outlet.”

The Florida magistrate in the case against Trump issued an order earlier on the same day of Trump’s interview with Baier forbidding him from disclosing “the Discovery Materials or their contents directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense, persons who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other persons to whom the Court may authorize disclosure.” The magistrate went on to warn that disclosure of discovery material “may result in contempt of court or other civil or criminal sanctions.”

It is unknown at the time of this writing if any of Trump’s interview, particularly the part involving the Iran attack plans, amounted to disclosure of “discovery materials.” It is known, however, that pretty much the entire interview, from beginning to end, may one day end up as evidence in trials of Donald Trump in the classified documents case as well as any potential case the Special Counsel files against him for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

#Robert Scott Horton #John Cuneo #Mar-a-Lago #political cartoon #bathroom storage #Lucian K. Truscott lV #Lucian Truscott Newsletter #TFG #Bret Baier #the grifter

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where-theres-smoak-2 · 2 years

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HOTD Episode 1 Review/Analysis (Spoilers)

After the disappointment of the GOT finale I was somewhat hesitant about watching HOTD but the allure of seeing more dragons on screen finally won out and I bit the bullet and just binge watched all three episodes. And I am so glad I did because this show is far from a disappointment, I have enjoyed the plot, the characters are interesting and complex and I love the dragons, in particular I love that each of the dragons we have seen so far all look different and you can clearly tell them apart, one of the critiques I had of the og show was that I found it hard to tell Daenerys’ dragons apart from each other because they all just look similar. But there is no way you could mistake Syrax for Caraxes and all of the dragons so far have looked so beautiful I have squealed in delight during pretty much every one of their scenes. Originally I was just going to talk about all three of the episodes in this one post seeing as I just watched them all together, but it was clear it was going to be too long, apparently I have alot of thoughts, but I will be posting reviews for the other two episodes soon, I’ll come back and edit this post with links to those other two reviews once I’ve written them for anyone who wants to read those too. As a bit of context I have only watched the show and have not read the book Fire and Blood that the show is based on, I own the book I just haven’t gotten around to reading it yet and I’ve decided I am going to at least wait until the end of the season before I do. Obviously there are spoilers so the rest is under the cut.

Opening Scene

I think they did a really good job with the opening scene for this episode. It set up the foundation for the show and explained well what the situation was and where we were in the timeline. The King is getting old and he has no clear heir so to avoid a dispute after his death he holds a vote. Despite being a more direct descendant the council decides the King’s granddaughter, Rhaenys can’t be heir purely because she is a woman, it did not matter whether she would have been a better ruler or not. We are shown, not just here but as the episode continues, that this world really is a patriarchy where many consider a woman’s worth to lie in strategic marriages and in providing heirs and not much else. One thing that I did notice that I thought was a clever touch was during the great council, as the camera pans over the crowd gathered, the focus is primarily on the women that are present showing that whilst this is a patriarchy the show is going to be focusing on and exploring the women in this world, such as our lead Rhaenyra.

I also think Harrenhal looked amazing, I don’t remember if we saw Harrenhal’s great hall in the og series but I can’t deny that I did pause the video so I could take a good look at it, it just looked so grand but eerie, seeing where the dragons had melted parts of the stone and where parts were being held up by scaffolding is that subtle reminder of just how powerful the dragons are, and how dangerous, I also really like the symbolism of the great council happening at Harrenhal which, much like the Targaryens once were, was believed to be undefeatable, until Aegon and his dragon literally melted it leaving it in ruin. I think it plays nicely into that foreshadowing of the only thing that could tear down the house of the dragon was itself. Like Harrenhal, come the end of the Dance, house Targaryen is left in ruins, a shadow of its former power.

I also really loved that transition into the viewer being up in the clouds and then you see Syrax and Rhaenyra soaring in and over King’s Landing. They knew we were all here for the dragons and they didn’t make us wait for it, which I am real happy with. I also think the Dragon Pit looked really cool sitting over King’s Landing, the interesting thing about seeing the dragon pit is that it is a landmark we have seen before in GOT but it was in ruins then. Now we are seeing it in all its glory, which again really highlights that we are at a moment in time when the Targaryens were at the height of their power.

The Childbed is Our Battlefield

A large part of this episode was all about the King’s new heir and his desire for a boy but also on the role woman play in bringing the next generation into the world. Queen Aemma’s story is a tragic one. She has tried over the last ten years to provide the King with an heir and it is clear that she has felt a lot of pressure to give him a healthy son, my heart broke for her when she apologised for failing to give him a son. We also learnt that she had lost five children by this point, one in the cradle, two stillborns and two miscarriages. In the scene where she is talking with Viserys about how this is the last time you could see how tired she was, there was also a sense of foreboding when she said it was the last time and for me that’s when I knew she wasn’t going to make it out of this episode alive.

The scene between Aemma and Rhaenyra was interesting. It was clear that there was alot of love between mother and daughter but that they have very different views on the role a woman can play. Rhaenyra doesn’t see why she can’t go to battle in glory and ride her dragon and explore the world whereas Aemma seems to have accepted that her role is to carry children and that is how she can best serve the realm. I liked how she described the childbed as a woman’s battlefield as it shows just what woman went through during childbirth, in those times childbirth was as dangerous as a battlefield.

One of the most shocking and graphic scenes of this episode was the childbirth scene, I think it was kind of genius of them to intercut the scene of Aemma’s labour with the tourney to really highlight this imagery of the childbed being like a battle. There was also a lot of symbolism in one particular sequence which is where Prince Daemon jousts against Ser Criston Cole. There is alot of ups and downs in this sequence which I think parallel not just Daemon’s journey in this episode but Viserys’, Aemma’s, Rhaenyra’s and the house of Targaryen as a whole. In this scene we see Daemon get hit by Criston’s lance and then grind against the rail, this moment is an uncertain one as we are left wondering what will happen? Will he fall or will he recover? This can be paralleled with Daemon’s uncertainty about whether he will remain heir or whether the Queen will give birth to a son that will replace him. The same can be said for Rhaenyra and her uncertainty about whether her mother will deliver a son that will overshadow her in her father’s affection but also her concern over her mother’s safety during the childbirth. It represents the uncertainty for the Queen as well, will she finally give the King a son and the realm a clear heir? Will she safely make it through her battle in the childbed? It can also represent Viserys uncertainty on whether he will finally have a son, something he has longed for.

The scene right before showed Viserys faced with a decision, whether to put his wife through a horrific death in the hope of saving the child. I think the moment we see Daemon fall from his horse symbolises Viserys making that decision and the moment when Aemma’s fate was sealed. We now know that she will not be able to recover and she will die. But we also see Daemon continue his battle when he calls for a contest of arms and I think this not only shows that even though her fate is sealed Aemma’s battle isn’t over yet but also the fighting chance the child still has. It represents that little glimmer of hope Viserys still has that although he will lose his wife he may still have a son and heir. At the start of the contest of arms it looks like Daemon is struggling and losing the battle, these moments are intercut with Aemma and we see her struggle and how she is losing her life in a violent, painful and bloody way.

Then comes the moment when Daemon overpowers Criston and raises his arms in celebration as the crowd cheers which is intercut with the moment that Baelon is pulled from his mother and begins to cry. Obviously I think this represents Viserys triumph at finally having a son, for a moment it seems as if Aemma’s sacrifce is worthwhile and that the realm will know stability under a clear heir. But the moment is short lived. Daemon has let his guard down and is then blindsided when Criston attacks and knocks him down while Daemon’s back is turned leaving him no choice but to yield. I can see this representing a few things. The obvious being how Viserys risks everything for a son and in the end he loses his wife and his son who only lives a few hours. It could also represent how Daemon thought after the death of his nephew he would be heir again only to be replaced by Rhaenyra. In regards to Rhaenyra (and there is a spoiler for episode three here so beware if you are reading this after only watching ep 1) I think this could also foreshadow her journey over the three episodes in that she loses her mother and brother but is finally seen by her father and is named heir. But then she is blindsided when her father decides to marry her closest friend Alicent and they have a son together which leaves Rhaenyra feeling like her position is threatened.

I think the most disturbing thing about the birthing scene though is the lack of autonomy Queen Aemma has. The decision to do the c-section is made by the men in the room who want to save the son. You could maybe understand why the decision was made as they were both going to die anyway and at least a c-section would give the child a chance but I can’t forgive the fact that Aemma, the woman, wasn’t included in the discussion or given a choice at all. They didn’t even explain to her what was going to happen, they took control over her body and she was held down against her will despite her expressing her fear. It was a truly disturbing and horrific scene and you could feel how much pain she was in. It was truly heartbreaking.

Rhaenyra My Queen!

I am trying my best not to compare characters from this show to characters from GOT but I can’t deny that I was getting some Arya Stark vibes from Rhaenyra in that she just wants to explore the world and wants to be a warrior who will ride into battle, also the way she keeps showing up late. The scene where she comes in late to the tourney while her father is announcing the Queen’s labour has began reminded me alot of when Arya shows up late when the King is arriving in the pilot of GOT. But even though I do see those similarities I think Rhaenyra is an amazing character in her own right and I have instantly fallen in love with her.

She goes through quite the journey in this episode. It is quickly established that she has alot of love for her mother but that she also has concern for her about her pregnancy. As mentioned above her mother has lost 5 children and its likely Rhaenyra witnessed these losses and knows how it has effected her mother and father. Yet she seems hopeful as well and we hear how she went to choose a dragon’s egg for her new sibling’s cradle and that she specifically chose one that reminded her of Vhagar, the oldest and biggest dragon living at that time. I think she feels overlooked by her father and like she is not enough for him because she is not a son, yet despite this it seems like she genuinely hopes for a brother for her father’s and mother’s sake. A brother would make her father happy but also would mean that there would be less pressure on her mother to go through another pregnancy.

I also very much get the impression that Rhaenyra feels somewhat trapped in King’s Landing. She finds an outlet by going dragon riding despite protests from her parents and her guard, who do not seem keen on her riding but I don’t think that is enough. In the scene with Alicent under the Weirwood tree she talks about how she wants to explore the world and I think this is what creates the close bond she appears to have with her uncle. I think she feels very out of place in her world, everyone expects her to be the typical lady and get married and have children and leave the fighting and politics to the men, but she doesn’t conform to the ideals of her society and neither does her uncle. I think they are very similar, they both feel overlooked by Viserys and want to prove their worth. Neither of them really follow the rules and roles expected of them by the court. The first scene we see of them together in the throne room on the surface it could seem like they are being unpleasant with each other but it is clear that they have this banter between them and it actually comes across as very playful. He also brings her a gift, one that has meaning as it is a part of her ancestry but it is also something that links her to him, as he says now they both have a piece of their ancestry. I won’t lie I did sense, umm lets call it vibes, from these two. Any other show I’d have gone that’s crazy he’s her uncle, but this is a GOT spin off so I wouldn’t be that surprised if their relationship were to turn romantic at some point, the Targaryens are known for marrying each other to keep bloodlines pure and all that.

One scene that really did make me feel for Rhaenyra was the funeral for her mother where she is talking with her uncle and wondering whether her father knew happiness whilst her brother had lived and how she will never be enough for her father because she will never be a son. You could also see how much grief and pain she felt when she had to give the command to Syrax to burn the pyres of her mother and brother. That must have been a heavy burden for her to carry but it was clear that Viserys couldn’t do it.

Rhaenyra does get some recognition from her father come the end of the episode when he decides to name her heir and tells her the prophecy about the long night. He recognises that he wasted the years wanting a son and that he overlooked her. I think this might have been the first time Rhaenyra felt seen by her father. I did enjoy that scene at the end where we see Rhaenyra all decked out in her finest like the Queen she is as all the lords knelt and swore fealty to her as the heir. This was likely the first time a woman was ever named heir and the first time the lords of the realm had knelt and sworn fealty to a woman. I am very excited to see where Rhaenyra’s character goes from here.

The Heir For A Day.

Ok next I want to talk about Daemon. Not gonna lie I think Daemon’s character is deliciously complex. He might even be tied with Rhaenyra as my favourite character. He’s very messy and I don’t think he’s bad or good he’s kind of both which is what makes his character so interesting to me. He is clearly a very bold person, the first time we see him he is sitting on the Iron Throne which could be seen as treasonous. I also feel like he enjoys shocking people. Like alot of the things he does this episode seem to be just to get a reaction out of someone, mostly Otto. For example him choosing Otto’s son as his opponent was clearly just to wind up Otto, as was him asking Alicent for her favour after. I mean the guy is a dick but at the same time I can’t help but like him and those scenes where he is just being a petty drama queen are highly entertaining to me.

He definitely has some dark moments in the episode like with the city watch. That scene is very ambiguous to me because on one hand if the people he rounded up were criminals that you could make the argument that Daemon was just in his actions against them, as brutal as they were. I can also understand the reasoning behind this being a one off show of force to let the criminals of King’s Landing know that lawlessness would no longer be tolerated in the city. From what was said at the council meetings it does seem like Viserys was kind of turning a blind eye to the rising crime in the city and it had gone unchecked for a while. It is possible that Daemon was being sincere when he said he was trying to make the city safe for everyone. However it was very brutal and it did seem like Daemon enjoyed the chaos of it all and it isn’t made clear that they were definitely criminals, it could just be that Daemon wanted to make that show of force and so just rounded up some random people and falsely charged them with crimes. One thing I will say about Daemon is that he does seem to be a get sh*t done no matter the cost kind of guy. Like he might cross some lines but he will get the job done. Also I did find it kind of funny, and again bold, that he showed up to the small council meeting still in his armour and with blood and a smirk on his face.

There was another ambiguous moment in this episode and it was a big one as it is what lead to Viserys replacing Daemon with Rhaenyra as heir. The whole ‘Heir for a day’ debacle. We don’t know whether Daemon did say this or not as it cuts away from the scene and instead we see Otto telling Viserys that’s what Daemon said. I could see three different scenarios here. It could be that it’s exactly as Otto said, that Daemon really did call Baelon the ‘heir for a day’ and that he was glad that his nephew had died and that he got to remain as heir and that he rented out the pleasure house so that he could celebrate his own rise. However I personally don’t think this is very likely. During the funeral scene you could see that Daemon was genuinely grieving the loss of his sister in law and nephew. He felt bad for his family and he felt their pain along with them. He might be a dick who likes to wind people up but he does love his family so I think it would be highly unlikely that he would be so disrespectful by throwing a party to celebrate his nephew’s demise. Also during the scene at the pleasure house we see Daemon looking very melancholy and withdrawn from those around him. It is also worth noting that I do think those around him were celebrating the fact that Daemon was still heir as it is in their best interests that he remain Heir. The gold cloaks owe their station and reputation to Daemon and they are fiercely loyal to him, the more powerful he is the better it is for them. It’s the same with Mysaria, it is more of an advantage for her and her position is more secure if Daemon remains Heir. However Daemon himself did not seem to be celebrating, he wasn’t partaking in the activities, he was sitting quietly by himself. So another scenario could be that he said it but not in the context that Otto is saying he did. Not in celebration but in sorrow, when he says ‘to the king’s son’ he does sound sincere and there is a look of sadness on his face, its possible that he said it in recognition that for one day Baelon had brought joy to the king and the realm and to recognise how painful it is that his life was so short. The third scenario could be that Daemon never said it at all and Otto made the whole thing up. The question to ask here is why would Otto make it up and if he did then why didn’t Daemon deny having said it when Viserys asked? Well as far as Otto goes I do think he has been manipulating the King for some time. It does seem like Otto speaks for the King, an example being when he tells Corlys that his concern has been heard and will be taken under advisement. It very much seems that Otto is the one in control during the small council meetings. This gives Otto alot of power, power which he does not want to lose. Whilst it seems he can manipulate and control the King it is obvious that he cannot do the same with Daemon. I think he feels threatened by Daemon and wants to get rid of him. Replacing him as an heir would be to Otto’s advantage. I think the reason why Otto wants Rhaenyra to be the heir is because he mistakenly believes that because she is young and female she will be easy to manipulate. He is able to manipulate his daughter into visiting the King’s chambers and it seems like he has been manipulating her a long time. It’s possible he believed that as Alicent and Rhaenyra are friends he could use that friendship to manipulate Rhaenyra and keep her under his control too. However Daemon would be a problem here too due to the strong bond between him and Rhaenyra. I think Otto wanted to separate Daemon from both the King and Rhaenyra. During the scene when Otto tells the small council that Daemon called Baelon the heir for a day we can see how much this hurts Rhaenyra. So I do think Otto had a motive to lie about it and he chose something that he knew would turn both of them against Daemon.

So the next question is if he didn’t say it why didn’t Daemon deny it? Well I think the answer to this is because he was angry that the King would even think he would say it. I think he can see what Otto is doing and is angry that his brother is so easily manipulated by Otto, in his opinion it just reinforces to him that Viserys is weak. I also think some of that anger comes from jealousy, he is upset that his brother seems to favour Otto over him. He clearly feels overlooked by his brother and like his brother is always trying to send him away when all Daemon wants is to be at his brother’s side and for his brother to see his worth. In my opinion Daemon seems to be a ‘cut off his nose to spite his own face’ kind of guy. Even though denying it might make things better Daemon doesn’t because he doesn’t want to have to deny it, he wants his brother to know he’s not capable of saying such a thing in the first place. Daemon is petty and spiteful so I think he has that attitude of well if you are going to think I am capable of saying it then I’m not going to correct you. Another thing that I think is worth noting that might be a clue as to whether he did say it or not is that whilst he doesn’t verbally deny it right before he says ‘we all have to mourn in our own way’ he slightly shakes his head. I personally saw this as an instinctive non verbal denial, I mean Viserys says ‘did you say it’ and Daemon’s immediate, and what seemed to be involuntary, reaction was to shake his head no. I could be looking too deeply into this but to me that makes me think that he never said it at all.

I do think Daemon was surprised when Viserys told him he was naming a new heir. Up until this point Viserys, like with alot of things, seemed to just look the other way whenever Daemon did anything wrong, he always defended him to the others at court and so Daemon got used to this and just assumed that Viserys would look the other way this time too, this could also have played into why he doesn’t deny saying it, maybe if he knew how severe the consequences would be he would have tried explaining himself but he just didn’t think he would face any consequences. But I also think Daemon was really hurt by Viserys replacing him and ordering him back to the Vale. Honestly I did feel kind of bad for Daemon in this moment as he had just expressed to his brother how he felt like he was always sending him away and then in response Viserys replaces him and then sends him away again. I do think it was interesting foreshadowing that right when Viserys sends Daemon away we see him cut his hand on the throne, that definitely doesn’t seem like a good omen.

Little Nods and Foreshadowings

I did notice some little nods and some foreshadowing to the og series which I thought was entertaining so here are some of the things I noticed.

1) When Rhaenyra and Alicent were under the Weirwood tree they are talking about Nymeria, this was who Arya named her direwolf after and it could also be a nod to how Arya herself travels to explore new lands like Nymeria did. Also as I mentioned above I got a lot of Arya vibes from Rhaenyra so it was fun to hear her talking about the person Arya’s wolf was named for.

2) The Baratheon knight asks Rhaenys for the favour of the Queen that never was and Otto tells the King he could have his tongue for that. Viserys replies that tongues would not change the succession. I found this very ironic considering it is a baratheon that eventually replaces a targaryen and changes the succession. What is even more ironic is that we then see the Baratheon defeated in the joust which could be a nod to how they too are dethrone.

3) When Viserys is talking to Rhaenyra about the prophecy of the song of ice and fire, he mentions the terrible winter gusting out of the distant north and then we cut to Rickon Stark swearing fealty to Rhaenyra. It reminded me of how Arya Stark was the one to kill the Night King but also of how Starks and Targaryens stood together to face the long night.

Overall Thoughts

Overall I think this was a strong pilot. It set everything up well and left me wanting to watch more. I think all the characters are well fleshed out, complex and interesting. The dragons look amazing and I’m excited to see what will happen next. I will be posting my review for eps 2 and 3 soon and then from here on out I’ll post a review after each episode.

#hotd #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen

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aeoki · 1 year

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Grand Slam - The Blood-Vomiting Beast: Chapter 8

Location: Yumenosaki Grounds (Sports Festival) Characters: Ritsu, Sora & Natsume

Natsume: Well, in any caSE, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and continue to steadily maintain our victoriES. It’s still the first dAY, there’s no need to push ourselves too much to pull ahead of the otheRS.

It’s not just thAT. If we’re winning by a landslide, the viewers might not be curious about what happens in the end and they might stop watchiNG.

As an idol performing in this “show” called the “Old-Fashioned Sports Festival”, we’ve got to leave a sense of thriLL.

Ritsu: Amazing. You’re an exemplary idol. …I can’t help but wonder if you were always such a good boy, though.

Natsume: What do you know about mE?

Well, we’re both fellow brothers of the saME “Nii-san”, so I think that’s something we share in common, though…♪

Ritsu: Huh? What’re you talking about? None of your “big brothers” have anything to do with me, though?

Natsume: (Phew… It seems the magic has somehow workED, I suppose I’ve dodged most of the follow-up statemenTS. If I bring up a topic he dislikES, he’ll distance himself all on his oWN.)

(BuT. As expected of the younger brother of Rei Nii-san, the leader of tHE “Five Oddballs”.)

(The brains behind the veteran unit “Knights”... I don’t know if he’s doing it on purpose or by instinCT, but he just smoothly touches upon the dangerous topiCS.)

(As eloquent as I am competeNT, I shall manipulate the strongest here – “Knights” – and fulfil my goal.)

(In order for that to happEN, I can’t have them become wary of mE, so I cannot act any differently than I normally dO.)

Sora: Master~...? What’s wrong? You’ve got a scary look on your face~

Natsume: It’s nothiNG, Sora.

Our current situation is, well, not that bAD. I’m glad I told Mophead to put your name forward during the "Summit” when they were deciding on the leaders yesterdAY.

You prioritise harmony and happiness over victoRY. As long as you’re holding up a brocade flAG, even the attitudes of the other teams towards us will softEN.

There aren’t that many humans who will kick a small, affectionate and soothing animal with all their migHT. Although, I can immediately name a few who would do such a thiNG.

If the leader was me or someone from “Knights”, we would’ve unintentionally won so many evenTS, the people around us would probably come to hate uS.

Sora: Yes! It looks like Tsuka-chan loves fighting and winning, after all~♪

Natsume: YeAH. But since the “Old-Fashioned Sports Festival” is a re-enactment of an ancient ceremoNY, negative feelings and danger go hand in haND.

Sora: Yes. It’s a ceremony to cleanse the “bad thing”, but if ill feelings and hatred are gathered in one place, then that would be upside-down thinking instead~

Sora knows it might be too late for this, but we can’t explain that to the others? We can’t work together, make it a fun event and drive away the “bad thing”~?

Natsume: AhaHA. “Something” stained with evil that drives the humans of this land crazy is swirling togethER.

In order for us to cleanse thAT, we need everyone’s happiness and positive feelings, don’t wE?

Those who assert that with a straight face and, in turn, questioned whether they’re sane or not is what we call modern socieTY.

Magicians, aliens and people with ESP don’t exist in this worLD. Those sorts of occult things are simply a fantasy that should be told as a joke to pass tiME.

Sora: HeHe~♪ Master~ You’re saying things that would make people come to their senses like it’s a catchphrase of yours~

But, in reality, Master~ wants to believe in “those” actual things the most, correct?

Natsume: …You see right through mE, Sora.

YeAH. I truly believe it would be nice if “that” exists in this worLD. Something supernatural that we humans cannot fully comprehend nor contrOL…

I think it would be great if “that” could be an ally to humaniTY– No, I wish they were my alLY. With that, life would be much more comfortable and simpLE.

That is the mentality we’ve bore in our hearts since the very beginning of tiME, one where we seek god’s salvatiON – a religious beliEF.

Sora: Hmm~? Master’s speeches are very educational as usual!

Natsume: Fufu. It’s because you’re here listening very intently that it makes it all the more worthwhile to sAY.

(But even so, there are things I cannot tell hIM.)

(If there were some sort of wisdom that would befall humanity, it’s a magician's job to monopolise that and use it for our own gaiNS.)

(Therefore, those existences are the enemy of religious belieFS; in other words, they were hunted down because they were the enemy of all humaniTY. That is the grim history of humaniTY.)

(I cannot make my precious Sora “humanity’s enemy” so, in the end, I must be the one to eradicate thAT “bad thing”.)

(As for whether or not I’ll be able to obtain the power to destroy it or something that will be usefUL, I’ll have to ascertain its quality firST. The “Old-Fashioned Sports Festival” will be the perfect and worthwhile testing ground for thAT.)

Sora: (On second thought, does Master~ actually like the occult? But he must~ Otherwise, he wouldn’t call himself a magician!)

(I’m glad! Sora likes it too! Sora is happy knowing Master~ likes the things Sora likes!)

(That’s why! Sora wants to show Master~ the thing he wants the most!)

(It looks like Sora is the only one who can see it right now, so Sora has to think of a way to allow everyone else to see “it” too~)

(To do that–)

(Hyaa! Hmm!?)

Natsume: ? Sora, what’s wroNG? Was there a moppy piece of Mop-Glasses in the lunch box we got from the agenCY?

Sora: That sounds like a blessing if that was the case~♪ But it’s not that. Sora just got a message on “Hallhands”.

Natsume: A messaGE?

Sora: Yes! It’s a message about the next event? But there’s something fun scheduled to be happening soon during the lunch break?

Natsume: Something fuN…?

Sora: Umm? The thing that they often have at sports festivals. A cheering contest~♪

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#grand slam

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