#suckerpunch world tour
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芥见下下你这熊孩子，这星期葫芦里卖的到底是什么药？！
Note: MANGA SPOILER for JUJUTSU KAISEN. The length of this ramble should also spot a warning.
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Two things happened this week within the same damn hour on that very storied Wednesday.
One, my Tumblr account got terminated for no fucking reason. It just happened. Shits that had been on it--saved for those archived by reblogs--were gone. One could almost say my blog got an off-screen death.
Two, Gojo Satoru got terminated, not for no-fucking-reason, but done in such a contrived way it was bordering on a colonoscopy procedure. All the build-ups from previous chapters seem to be for nothing. One could definitely say it's an off-screen death.
Now that I'm making a new account (because I really need an outlet for my garrulous ass; I think the people in my physical vicinity are getting sick of me), the first entry in this new garden is gonna be about my opinion on Chapter 236, based on the unofficial fan-translated chapter.
Look, I get it. Satoru needs to be taken out one way or another so that the rest of the cast, especially Yuji, "has something to do." I completely support having Satoru out of the game for the good of the story and its characters, and yes, death is one of the ways to take him out... and many other ways, you know? Fatigue. Grievous injuries. Complete Curse Energy exhaustion. Side-effects of his risky plays. Gets suckerpunched by Yorozu's gift. Suckerpunched by Sukuna's hidden technique(s). Kenjaku's intervention. Completion of the merger ("Ahaha! That battle was me using Sukuna to stall your time, after all, Gojo Satoru!" said Kenjaku calmly). The ways to do it are just so, so plenty.
And even if death is the one you want, there are many ways to execute it. Begin Round 3 of the battle and have Sukuna deliver pressure to Satoru again. Show Sukuna gradually testing out his new epiphany once or twice while masking it with his "real techniques" (there isn't any real indication that Cleave and Dismantle are not his "real" techniques; his possessing other techniques aside from those two is a very reasonable bet though). At the same time, Satoru realizes this is some new and very dangerous shit he might not have any counter for. Have Satoru scrambling for a new plan to counter Sukuna's "real techniques" or even Yorozu's gift. Then, at that moment, POW! Sucker-punch Satoru with a successful execution of Nuh-Uh Take This Space-Slicing Cut, Bitch! technique.
You can even slice him on his waist again! "I didn't know I would be successful this time, or I would have aimed for the head!" said Sukuna calmly.
That was just me cooking... And I can't cook shit. I suck at it. But if there's any meager understanding I have regarding story-writing, it's this: you do not show a guy as "the strongest," with quick reflexes and thinking, incredible battle intelligence and creativity, and a purpose larger than himself--just to unceremoniously kill him off-screen and regal us with an "afterlife" dream that is also riddled with unsatisfaction (more on that later), and then tell us "yep no Sukuna is better all along."
You don't create a character shown with a plethora of jujutsu tour de force, who has an important connection to many of its characters and events, plus an outsized, established significance to the setting of your story like "modern jujutsu society's honored one" and "his birth forced the world to change"... just to execute his end like he was a side-character who has a day in the limelight for a fight that is ultimately "just filler," because not much has been achieved after all.
.-. . … -
Many have already pointed out the power-scaling issues. There's this glaring problem of how Sukuna—greatly weakened and significantly punished—managed to one-shot Satoru, whose stats were basically refreshed from his consecutive Black Flash + possessing an insane ocular gift in the form of the Six Eyes.
If Sukuna's coup de grace was a fucking reality cut (he would have cut our manga pages and bitch-slap us if he could) such that not even the space-manipulating ability of Neutral Limitless could win, then how is anyone else going to do anything? How are they gonna jujutsu their kaisen?
Previously, we could at least point to Sukuna being significantly weakened by Satoru as a boon for the rest of the cast. Perhaps the only way to win this is a battle of attrition, gradually wearing Sukuna down or even forcing him to reveal his cards until it was Yuji who faced him. But how can "a weakened Sukuna" even be a gained advantage, if Sukuna still managed to kill Satoru (with refreshed stats!) in that very state? It means Nuh-Uh Take This Space-Slicing Cut, Bitch! technique is neither dependent on Sukuna's stats nor Sukuna's bodily fatigue. It means a 6 Eyes user as adept as Satoru can't even avoid that cut. It means even with refreshed stats and displayed insane reflexes, Satoru couldn't dodge this shit.
This isn't just OP—it's story-breaking.
Side note: Yes, its OPness is comparable to Neutral Limitless, where no one can get close to Satoru physically. The thing that marks the difference, though, is that pre-awakened Satoru could get progressively worn out when he activated it without rest. Post-awakened Satoru no longer suffers from that because he learned how to keep his brain fresh with Reversed Curse Technique, 24/7. That's a gained skill and one he practiced after his awakening (albeit the manga did not show us a training montage). Sukuna's Nuh-Uh Take This Space-Slicing Cut, Bitch! existed between Chapter 235 and Chapter 236. The next time we come back to the fight, he's already executed it successfully and killed Satoru off-screen.
.-. . … -
Oh, but power-scaling isn't the one I wanted to talk about the most. All the other brains who give a damn about these things have articulated and explained their puzzlement and displeasure in more clarity and detail than I could ever, and I'm sure more are to come unless Gege's next chapter retroactively makes CH236 make sense (I'm doubtful on this one; Kashimo is already flying in for the fight).
The one I want to talk about is how this poor execution has fumbled the character—this specific dissatisfaction is less addressed at the time of this writing.
.-. . … -
I didn't like Gojo at first. I thought he was as shallow and cocky as the memes made him out to be. I thought he was beloved because he's gorgeous, has a VA with known fanbase, and he's the OP motherfucker setting the ceiling. I love watching people simp for him because it's fun, but I thought he just wasn't someone I wanted to pay attention to. I gleefully partook in Gojo Slanders, especially since I always thought it's fun to riff on characters who are cocky as fuck.
What changed my perception was two things:
I rewatched JJK with my non-anime-watching best friend this March. She needed someone to explain things to her (since she has no prior anime knowledge and trope to help her, and JJK can be a bit hard to get sometimes), so I did. As I explained, I noticed and understood more about the story and Gojo himself, and my tone likely changed without my own awareness. It was noticeable enough that she asked, nonplussed, "Why the hell do you hate Gojo so much? You two share similar beliefs and even some traits!"
Satoru vs Sukuna in the manga. I got into the manga side once I heard he's been released from the Prison Realm; I was soon treated with THIS. And Satoru was just... amazing. The things he pulled off were so cool and shrewd and clever and fun, that it didn't matter when Gege sometimes fumbled and Picasso'd his good looks--he just looked better and better in my eyes.
Both these things combined made me look at him differently. I started reading up on his character analyses—which delighted me because there are so many Gojo analysts out there—and everything I know about him just made me like him more. Just like that, he became my favorite character in JJK, overtaking even Yuta and Nobara and Megumi and Yuji.
I've become completely invested in this motherfucker's character arc and the themes he represented. Most of all, though, I adore him the most when he's acting human. I have a glaring weakness against the Human Alien (the other white-haired character very high on my adoration meter would be To Your Eternity's Fushi), especially when their humanity is one of the focal points.
This means CH236 should have appealed to me. And it really could have. Satoru is being human! He's being vulnerable to his friends! He's even deprecating himself, which is (reasonably) decried as a massive case of OOC—and yet I didn't hate that at all. I always suspect that Satoru is wiser than he pretends to be and that he knows himself better than we were let on. He's cocky because he knows himself that well--and because he knows himself that well, he's secretly not cocky. He knows he always loses at the most important battles. He knows his strength doesn't translate to his goals being met, or his things going his way.
I think Satoru tries to do things he's not expected to do—teach as an educator; save folks, be it sorcerers or normies; protect the weak (one example: look at what he did prior to being sealed. Glorious!); try to be a reformist instead of just leading a coup; tries not to kill anyone who disagrees with him (he let those higher-ups live for quite a while)—because all the things he went through allowed him to know himself, including how little him being good at fighting can achieve. If he doesn't, then he really had no reason to do anything other than fight for the kick of it, right? He would have believed he could achieve anything via pure strength. So him doubting himself? I find it believable. It's nice to see Satoru finally letting his hair down and freely admitting this. It's... well, endearing. Cute, even. /...slaps my own face
Him doubting himself after all the demonstrated feats against Sukuna?! Get the fuck out of here. The fuck is he saying?! Sukuna was the one under pressure the moment they both lost the ability to perform Domain Expansion. Sure, he was banking on Ten Shadows to help him and so he employed risky tactics. Doesn't negate Satoru's tour de force in the slightest, though!
Had it been written more like an uphill battle—instead of Satoru delivering Sukuna's ass so hard the dude had to be denigrated into King of Frauds with Malefunctioning Shrine who repeats the "Mahoraga come oonnnnnnnnn!" tactic for weeks—then few of us other than the most stubborn stans would dispute Satoru for saying something like this. But that wasn't the case. Satoru's "voltage kept rising" even when he felt nervous at one point. If Sukuna had been holding back, and that was why he was so constantly on the verge of defeat, then all it really means is that these two really were equal. NOT one of them being "weaker" than the other. Why would someone who's shown to be enlightened on both his strengths and weaknesses, and is known for being a good judge of character and skills, suddenly be this wrong?
.-. . … -
Then there's the implication, mentioned by Haibara, that Satoru never had any loftier goal than to fight for kicks. Nani the fuck is that?! If that's really all he wanted, then man really went all that unnecessary steps just to do the simplest shit. The fuck is he wasting his time as a teacher? Why did he give a damn about saving normal folks back in Shibuya, instead of just going Unlimited Void and killing all of them, cursed spirits, transfigured humans, and normal people alike? Why did he set his duel with Sukuna at a later date and follow that schedule, instead of, you know—jumping at him right away when Sukuna was only at 15 fingers' strength? Why the need for an unknown-but-months-long preparation?
And of course, why did he call the Principal out in his "afterlife"? Because the latter once mentioned how jujutsu sorcerers all die with regrets? Is Satoru implying that he had no regrets? 'Cause I find it hard to buy.
Is the failure to save Megumi, your adopted son in all but name, NOT a regret?
Is the inability to properly bury Suguru and mourn him NOT a regret?
Is the inability to witness your students becoming stronger and better-than-the-old NOT a regret?
Is the inability to see a reformed jujutsu society—or a world—that has drastically progressed beyond the shadow of the traditionalist and conservative establishment, NOT a regret?
Is the fact that you're leaving an unbeatable monster, who now learned how to cut reality (gee, thanks, Gojo sensei), in the world where your students and surviving colleagues + friends are, NOT a regret?
你满足个锤子啊你 What's there to be satisfied about？！
The reason why I couldn't love the afterlife fluff, despite how appealing Satoru's humanization is to me, is because so many little things in it go against what I know about this character and his progress. What is being said is clashing with what has been shown to us. I just can't wrap my head around it. Suddenly all of those things I thought I knew were wrong or didn't matter. I suddenly find many of the story beats and themes JJK presents transfigured, and I no longer recognize or understand what's being explored here.
Have I been admiring a Gojo Satoru that never existed? Or is CH236's Gojo Satoru the pretender? Is this the sort of effect Mahito's transfiguration inspires in his victims? Because I think I know how it feels now.
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If I were allowed to cook...
Yuki's dream comes to fruition, and Curse Energy is no more. Satoru's personal ending would be him losing all of his Cursed Energy and techniques along with everyone else. He can keep his eyes, but they sparkle no more.
He can no longer keep things and people at a distance from himself, but it also means that the gap between him and other people has never been smaller. He has experienced being insufficient when it comes to fulfilling his goals, but now he experiences the actual weakness of being "a normal guy". What then is his strength? What will he be good at? Spinning pens? Becoming an idol? Does he already know what his strengths—apart from his now-gone-jujutsu—really are? Or is this the self-deprecating moment he's supposed to have? "Ya know, now that I'm not the strongest, maybe I've got nothin' after all. Heh!"
And it will be up to us readers to judge if he's right.
...
......
...Well, good thing I'm not the cook, because I don't think I did a good job at all, haha! But hey! This isn't my job or my story.
And that's why I'm not hating on Gege.
Maybe the next chapter justifies this chapter. Maybe the future chapters retroactively make this chapter a step in the right direction. Maybe Satoru isn't even dead—maybe he's just temporarily taken out (oh, I've got a lot of copium). Maybe we're gonna witness another Satoru awakening, which I'll enjoy yes, but! Maybe it's Yuta's awakening! Or Yuji's awakening! Why wouldn't it be? These are two of the most selfless characters in JJK. And dude, these two awakenings will be so dope. Wouldn't it be cool if Yuta were the one who awakened so hard he healed his sensei from being 2.5jo Satoru back to 5jo Satoru? Wouldn't it be cool if Yuji awakened so hard that he... became the King of Black Flashes!
And even if Gege did none of that and the whole story moved on from the death of Gojo like it's just another Wednesday or something, and even if JJK just kinda nosedive from there... It's still his story. He can fuck things up in the end and it still won't change the fact that he was the one who created Satoru and those characters we care a shit ton about. I had a lot of fun and brain farts from this series for years, which is even why CH236 is capable of making me feel genuinely disappointed. I'm pretty damn grateful that Gege created this story in the first place!
But that is that, and this is this. I don't want to defend terrible execution in story-writing, and I don't want to rationalize shit as having more depth than it really is. I don't wanna partake in any "why this subversion of expectation is actually genius and you're just too stupid to get it" change-the-narrative campaign. I really don't like how it was executed.
It's not that the character I like died. It's the way it happened.
Thank you for reading my ramble.
#damn this length#I have always been wordy but this is the longest ever yet!#after a night sleep I finally feel like this post needs a bit editing#jjk#jjk spoilers#manga spoilers#jjk gojo#gojo satoru#jujutsu kaisen#jjk 236
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°1824
*Below is a sample of the press I have collected during my time at °1824.
beabadoobee in New Releases by Sydney Blodgett for UNHGND Magazine
Interview with Crawlers by Good Noise Podcast
Meet renforshort And Her Imaginary Friend, Amelia by Sarah for Scrunchie Zine
Meet August 08: Your New Shoulder To Cry on by Sarah for Scrunchie Zine
Allison Ponthier in Queer Artists For Your Playlist by Sydney Blodgett for UNHGND Magazine
CRAWLERS Cement Themselves As A Voice for the Gen Z Scene by Weronika for Scrunchie Zine
Chelsea Cutler: "When I Close My Eyes" Tour by Stephanie Siau for Hazze Media
Mabel social coverage for ROARA Magazine
Rina Sawayama playlist add by Allie Bennett
Dylan playlist add by Allie Bennett
Renee Rapp track social placement for Bri's Now Playing
WARGASM: A Cathartic Release for Those Seeking a Change in the World by Holly Arend for Hazze Media
Maggie Lindemann: Brings Edge To Her Debut Studio Album SUCKERPUNCH by Lauren Sanchez for Hazze Media
Em Beihold tour photo coverage for Off Record Blog
Aiden Bissett track social placement for Bri's Now Playing
Album Review: Inhaler - 'Cuts & Bruises' by Matthew Caslin for When The Horn Blows
Review: Fletcher's "Girl Of My Dreams" for Brew Music Friday
Joywave And IDKHOW Welcome The Metro To Hellvetica by Weronika for Scrunchie Zine
August 08 track social placement for Bri's Now Playing
Meet Dreamers And Their Nostalgic, Dream-Fueled Pop Landscape by Weronika for Scrunchie Zine
Joywave Cleansed Concertgoes At Emo’s in Austin, TX by Jacqueline Fierro for Off Record Blog
We Saw Blu DeTiger In Seattle And We Are Glad We Did it. for The Wandering Ear
The Power of Music with Zoe Wees for ROARA Magazine
Taylor Swift playlist add by Allie Bennett
Taylor Swift playlist add by Marty
Sabrina Carpenter social post by 1SAD
Maggie Rogers social post by 1SAD
Interview: James Bay by Katya for Music Is The Home For Your Pain
Lauv social post for Bri's Now Playing
Lauv track coverage for Good Noise Podcast
James Bay’s New Album “Leap” Refreshes Our Belief In Tomorrow by Weronika for Scrunchie Zine
Allison Ponthier Processes Gloom And Glamour On “Shaking Hands With Elvis” by Weronika for Scrunchie Zine
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Maggie Lindemann – Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO – March 30, 2023
Following the release of her debut album, Maggie Lindemann brought the Suckerpunch World Tour to the Bluebird Theatre in Denver, Colorado on March 30th. Most might recognize the Texas-born singer from her bright, 2017 pop single “Pretty Girl,” which has amassed over 800 million streams on Spotify.
In recent years, Lindemann has changed her tune to a darker, edgier style. Pop-punk and rock are the main influences of her music, the best examples being her 2021 EP “Paranoia” and her first full-length album Suckerpunch, released in September of last year.
Joining Lindemann on tour was Kailee Morgue, an alternative-indie artist from Phoenix, Arizona. Her clean vocals accompanied by energetic drums, played by Molly Rose, made for a strong performance to start the night off with. After Morgue had finished, you could feel the energy in the room rise as fans stared at the empty stage in anticipation.
Maggie Lindemann began her set with the heaviest track off Suckerpunch titled “Take Me Nowhere.” Bathed in moody green light, she danced around the stage as the crowd erupted. She followed up with the songs “Scissorhands” and “Self-Sabotage,” carrying the high-energy momentum brought by the opening track.
Dressed in camo pants and a white t-shirt that read “No Homie Discounts,” Lindemann dazzled the audience from start to finish. Bluebird Theatre was not the only venue she managed to pack full of adoring fans. The majority of dates on her World Tour were already sold out before she even got on the road. It is clear that fans, especially in Denver, have a special place in their hearts for Maggie Lindemann. She smiled widely between songs, gazing down at the crowd in admiration as they cheered for her.
As the night came to a close, fans continued to jump, cry, and sing loudly along to their favorite songs until the house lights came on. My personal favorite tracks of the night were “Self-Sabotage” and “Hear Me Out” which she performed back-to-back. These two songs in particular require a strong vocalist and Lindemann delivered. The next time Maggie Lindemann comes to your area, I would recommend getting tickets as soon as possible. This is not an artist you’ll want to miss out on.
Lexi Caiola
Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: April 1, 2023.
Photos by Lexi Caiola © 2023. All rights reserved.
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The Big Moon - Here Is Everything
London based four piece climb to new heights with their best album to date.
Album releases post pandemic can be a curious thing. It feels a lot of artists were forced back to the drawing board. Tours were cancelled, records due for release were shelved rather than on shelves. However for The Big Moon it would seem that going back to basics was a genius move.
“Here Is Everything” serves as a love letter to lead singer and principle songwriter Juliet Jackson’s pregnancy and subsequent birth to her child. Jackson might have started lockdown teaching fans how to play guitar on Zoom to help pay the rent, but she ended it as mother to a super little human being.
The album is also an ode to friendship and survival, it soars on tracks such as “Wide Eyes” a song that genuinely made me stop in my stride and listen to it intently when it was first released. “I want to dance and I want to cry” sings Jackson, if you’ve been a parent it is a refrain you can completely relate to. That excitement fuelled with fear and elation, it is some cocktail of emotion, this song describes that feeling perfectly.
“This Love” has a wonderful early 80′s R.E.M feel to it, guitars chiming in the background, the song feels incredibly warm, as does “Suckerpunch” a song laden with beautiful harmonies and a driving beat, this one is absolutely going off live.
“Trouble” has one of those sing-a-long choruses that just get you hooked in, “never thought love would be like fear, I’m scared for everyone I hold dear” is such a brilliant lyric. That fine line between two fierce emotions, blossoming in a wonderful song, has to be one of my favourites of the year.
The pandemic hit just after “Walking Like We Do” the bands sophomore album was released, and threw their plans up in the air. Taking your time isn’t always a bad thing though, and it feels like third record was a labour (in one case quite literally) of love. It ends with the stunning piano led “Satellites” a joyous song about the realisation of parenting being on the horizon and how your whole world changes and becomes mapped out. It closes as it started, with a gentle piano line to take us home.
Releasing a third album can be quite a daunting thing. You’ve had all your life to release your first and if successful you’ll ride that crest of a wave into album number two. It is often the third that becomes a matter of sink or swim. I’m happy to say that “Here Is Everything” not only swims, it gets an Olympic gold medal for the butterfly. You should dive in.
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About a month ago, it was a certain someone’s birthday, and it took me that long to write this, BUT I would like to use the two weeks of being flagged as a perfectly valid excuse for no writing at all, thank you very much yes 😌
So, to dearest @jimhhawkins,
You’ve already read some of this, but here’s all of it! The ending is not what I had in mind originally, but I am not in full control of where it goes; I simply follow the flow of the story and so... well, enjoy 💝
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“Sometimes I just want to fucking punch you.”
“Then go ahead, pretty boy; hit me, if you dare.”
It’s been a few months since their “official meeting” at Tina’s party, and it is ardently clear to any one person that spends even a minute in the same room as these two, that what’s happening between them burns hotter than the sun, a blistering heat that can’t be extinguished, yet whether it’s hatred or passion is up for discussion.
Steve’s fist curls tighter. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. Whatever is going on between them, both in public and in private, is painful - broken hearts and broken noses, things that they both crave for viciously, and when being friends is too dangerous, too close, a useless rivalry suddenly doesn’t sound that bad. At least it still brings them together.
Like now. The snow lies heavy on the grass surrounding the Harrington mansion, the dark woods shielding them from the rest of the world as they stand frozen here together, within reach, the tips of boots just touching.
Yes being friends would make everything too hard to conceal, the truth behind their anger would be too obvious then. So Steve dares.
And Billy laughs, bent slightly forward as red spatters across the white snow, like rose petals scattered to set the mood, and Billy is fucking laughing, maniacal and wild, as he whips up again to let the stream from his nose run uninterrupted down his lips, drip from his chin onto Steve’s winter boots.
“Better?” he grins.
The ache in Steve’s fist spreads till his hand feels restless, the urges of his heart upon seeing Billy bleed rushes down quick.
“Not yet,” his response a lurid groan of wanting, and with a hand strong at Billy’s neck, pulls him in to taste the coppery hatred, the sickly need.
Billy doesn’t punch back, doesn’t have a witty remark, doesn’t call Steve disgusting names for any of this. No, he lets his so-called rival do whatever the fuck he pleases; pulling their bodies flush, lapping up the blood, biting and pulling at his lips, grinding their growing lust together.
“God- shit, I wanna fuck you so bad,” Billy growls out with exposed canines, hungry, craving, as he grabs Steve by the jacket, pinning him against the BMW, grinding harder till denim starts to hurt.
It takes a few brutish thrusts together with Steve whining at the friction before he finds his voice again; “Get inside then.”
-
This isn’t the first time Billy’s been inside the Harrington’s home, and it definitely won’t be the last, but just like on any previous occasion, he doesn’t get to look around - no tour of the dozens of rooms, no offers of beer or food, no chance to stare at family photos that might or might not hang on the walls, all he knows of is the carpeted stairs going up, and the horrible plaid walls of Steve’s bedroom.
It’s neat and tidy as always, doesn’t really look lived in at all, more like a showroom of a model home than a teenage boy’s bedroom. At least the sheets are green now rather than blue, so that’s something.
Steve looks better in green anyways, Billy notes, as his pale, naked body lands on top of the covers, dark hair spread out on a pillow beneath, the moonlight caressing his dotted skin, perfectly highlighting the day old bruises that’s been bitten, kissed, punched, sucked across every inch of available flesh, leading in a clear and practiced pattern down to where he’s needy for attention the most.
As if they don’t have all the time in the world for this, Billy tears away his own clothes and nearly throws himself at Steve again, settling in firm between spread thighs. He kisses along the collarbone, tastes his prey’s heartbeat as he licks down his chest, nipping at oversensitive buds that haven’t had time to heal proper since last, and he can’t help but grin at the pained hiss that’s followed by a roll of hips - the leaky head of Steve’s full dick rubbing against Billy’s stomach.
“Fuck, Billy,” Steve moans with a fist in golden curls, pulling him down, demanding that he go further, oh so impatient to have those lips do what they do best.
And Billy doesn’t resist that, for as much as he loves teasing Steve till he’s on the verge of tears and begging, his own steely cock has been pulsating to the beat of his heart since Steve suckerpunched him outside.
He presses his nose deep into the wiry hair that leads from the navel to Steve’s long erection, inhaling his sweaty scent, musky and strong with just a hint of soap from the morning, to which it all escapes Billy again in a stuttering breath.
In this moment, nothing else in the world exists but the smell of Steve, the taste of Steve, the sound of Steve, as Billy lets out his tongue, wet and flat, to run up the length of his throbbing dick, base to tip, and the moans that echoes out as Billy closes his lips around the head to suck it clean of pre is like an angel’s choir to him, heavenly and desirous.
Legs tremble closed around his head, over his shoulders as he slowly sinks down, swallowing every single inch he can, gag reflex shot to hell by now from frequent use. He’d never dare admit this to anyone, especially Steve, but every day Billy thinks about choking to near death on Harrington’s cock, eager to feel it in his throat, hit against the back and leave him breathless and hoarse with a dull pain for hours to come. The weight, the taste, the touch. It might be the one thing that brings him the most shame in his life, but also the most joy.
By now he can go till his nose is buried in dark pubes, and stays there to revel in the constrictive feel of Steve’s head blocking out most air, pushing hard back against those hips that buck up, the hand in his crown keeping him down as Steve twitches in his mouth, and Billy can’t help but hum at that, enticing and deep.
“Mmh, fuck, Billy, you feel so good,” Steve moans out low, pulling at those golden curls to lift Billy up, just to push him down again.
Blue eyes vanish behind lids as they flutter closed. Billy relaxes, melts into the sheets, focuses on how the tip of Steve’s cock runs along his palate, past his uvula and into his throat where he swallows around the hard flesh.
Steve’s fingers slip loose, falling to choke the sheets beneath them, allowing Billy freedom to go faster, setting a sloppy pace, loud and obscene, spit running down his chin, his throat, a scene straight from top shelf porn if Billy were to brag about it, and the other guy can only concur - gasping out, calling Billy’s name over and over, mixed with curses of fuck and shit, occasionally praises of that feels amazing and a dozen yes’.
“I-I’m close, ah-” he moans out and lifts off of the bed, seeking more to bring him to bliss, making Billy gag at the movement - a sound that brings another deep groan out from above.
At that, Billy makes a sound that would have been of euphoria if it wasn’t muffled by a mouthful of cock, his own steely prick leaking where it’s caught between his stomach and the bed, each abusive little thrust into his mouth makes his body kick against the soft and expensive fabric.
He stills all movement as Steve bucks his hips again, fucking into Billy’s wet heat, whose eyes roll back, toes curling in a struggle to restrain himself from cumming all too soon, oh how easy he is under King Steve’s command.
And from many times before, he recognises the urgent breathing and rising volume of Steve’s elated cursing that comes with him emptying out into Billy’s throat, so deep in that not a single drop can be spilled, to which Billy gladly swallows everything that Steve offers him.
He hollows his cheeks as he moves off, gasping for air and he lets Steve’s flaccid cock slap wetly onto his stomach, who’s fighting for air all the same with an arm thrown over his face.
“We’re not done yet, princess,” Billy growls, kisses his way up abs, through the patch of chest hair, moving till his own lonesome dick rubs along Steve’s, making the brunette hiss and grab on to Billy’s shoulder, digging in fingers.
Steve bites into his lower lip, staring down at Billy as he keeps grinding them together, the soreness of being so oversensitive overshadowed by how lustful he remains.
“Y-You know where the- ah- the lube is,” he says with a wavering voice.
Billy doesn’t even have to look when he reaches for the drawer in the bedside table, proving just how often he’s done this- how often they have done this. His thumb runs along the lid of the tube, ready to flick it open any coming second, but he’s thriving - throbbing from the way Steve’s whining about the roll of his hips, how it’s just not enough, not what he brought him here for in the first place.
Then there’s a fist in his mullet, yanking him away from where he’s been sucking and biting on Steve’s neck, angling him up till their eyes meet.
“Are you gonna fuck me, or should I call somebody else?” he threatens with a frown, brows drawn together all serious.
But Billy is always up to challenge that.
“Oh yeah?” There’s no grin, no smile, just his tongue licking across his lips. “And who else would fuck you so readily?”
“I know Charles in algebra is willing to do my homework if he also gets to do me. Joe in Spanish is so eager to teach me all the right words, and he knows how to use his tongue. Or maybe Tommy Hagan, hmmm,” Steve hums in contemplation at that name, smiling because he knows what the thought of him and Tommy together does to Billy and his intense jealousy of Steve’s first guy. “It’s been a while since I let him fuck me good from behind.”
“I fucking hate you, Harrington,” Billy huffs out harsh with teeth bared, ready to bite and tear, convincing enough in his tone, but the way a jealous rage pulsates through him begs to differ.
“And what are you gonna do about that?” Steve tilts his head back, exposing his neck, daring Billy to do what he so clearly craves.
Then he’s gone, crawled away, and before Steve can even question it, he’s flipped onto his stomach, legs pushed apart by Billy’s own, now a fist in his dark hair where he’s pulled back with an all too loud moan.
“Ain’t nobody ever fucked you like I do,” Billy snarls directly into his ear.
He angles himself proper till his steely cock slick with pre-cum lands in the crevice of Steve’s cheeks. There he rocks his hips, all the way till his balls slap against Steve’s ass, then back till the tip tickles and teases to go between.
Steve breathes with elation, keening, both hands choking the life out of a pillow.
“If I ever find out you went back and fucked Hagan, I’ll beat the living crap out of him, got it?”
An ever so deeply satisfied moan and an obedient nod is all Steve can manage to respond with.
“Good. You’re mine now, and I don’t do well sharing my toys.”
The cap pops open, and Billy releases his hold on Steve to instead lube up his digits, guides the hand between them and down to mercilessly push the middle finger all the way in, making Steve’s back arch beautifully.
“F-fuck, Billy!” he calls out as his head lands heavy on the pillow, Billy’s thick finger driving in and out with fervor.
A devil’s worth of a grin cracks across Billy’s face as he listens to Steve’s moans. The lube gets tossed aside, the hand instead going down to wrap around Steve’s filling cock, making the oversensitive brunette practically cry out at the touch.
“Mmmm look at you,” he rumbles deep like a bassline, “I’ve barely even managed to swallow all of your cum and you’re hard again already.”
That one digit pushes in deep, curls at all the right spots, as is evident by the loud and abrupt, “A-ah! Shit, yes! There- God-” feeding into Billy’s self-confidence that already rests high above any other person’s ideal.
“Yeah, you like what I do to you?” He thrusts in a second finger, Steve fighting back his every sound, yet Billy feels his lust in the way he clenches and trembles around the two thick digits pumping in and out. “Mmmh, fuck you’re so tight - always such a good little hole for my big cock.”
Steve moans heavy into the pillow, trying not to sound as pliant and easy as he is in the hands of Billy - trying to keep some semblance of self-respect perhaps, keep up that wall that still separates them. But giving in with no inhibitions is so much easier.
“Gonna fill you up, baby,” Billy breathes ragged and wanton as he adds a third finger, adoring the way Steve curses all muffled. “Fuck you into the mattress so hard you won’t be able to sit right for a week.”
At that promise, Billy feels pre leak onto his fingers, slicking up the motion he consistently strokes along Steve’s long erection.
And he chuckles like thunder behind immaculate pecs. “So wet for me, princess. You’re such an eager little whore.”
“I swear to God, Billy, if you’re not gonna fuck me instead of just talking about it, I’ll hit you again,” Steve speaks as he raises up on elbows, glancing behind to watch Billy’s self-satisfied grin falter, a storm brewing in his eyes, clouding the blue skies there.
Then the hand around his throbbing dick is gone, grabbing a fistful of hair instead and shoving his face back into the pillow. Billy pulls out his fingers again, smearing the excess lube all over his own veiny cock, palming at the head as he stares at Steve’s impatient ass clenching at nothing, waiting and waiting and waiting.
“Just when I start to tolerate you, you go being such a dipshit, Harrington.”
Billy strokes himself for longer than necessary, moaning with just a slight bit of exaggeration, egging Steve on, and if his frustrated sounds are anything to go off of, it’s working.
“You only barely make up for it by being such an easy lay.”
He brings the blunt head of his shaft to the hole he’s hungering for, running it up and down the puffy ring, listening to Steve whine for it.
“I just have to look at you and you’re hard.”
Pushes in, just the tip of it, just enough to have Steve let out a long sound of annoyance, a pleading little moan as he leans back, chasing the euphoric stretching of his body, but a firm hand on his ass keeps him at bay, as Billy pulls away just a bit, before dipping in again, like he’s testing the waters, grinning at the reaction he’s getting.
And Steve knows what he has to do for it, hates it, a clear blush spreading across his pale shoulders, washing down his back.
“Billy, Billy please,” he mewls, trying to struggle against the warm palm squeezing a cheek; not in an attempt to wrestle free, but to give Billy what he’s asking for, without so many words. “Please just fuck me, I-I need your cock so bad, so so bad, Billy.”
Billy could absolutely cum from just this - hearing Steve beg like a common whore, stroking his pained erection and giving nothing more than the tip to that willing hole. All he needs is to know he’s needed like this, and he’s finished, but the pleasure of unravelling King Steve this way…
With one brutish thrust, Billy sinks into Steve with such fervor that his knees slip on the bed, spreading him further till he lies flat on top of the covers, breathlessly stuttering out pleasure of being trapped beneath Billy’s forceful weight. Every little sound Steve makes is undeniably euphoric, and Billy stills all movement to enjoy how Steve’s body takes a chokehold on his fat cock, sucking him in like he’s been missed and waited for for years.
“That what you wanted?” Billy drawls out and leans down to bite at the shell of Steve’s ear, his dick twitching and pulsating deep inside, moving his hips to draw tight circles, making the other gasp and moan mindlessly.
Steve eventually manages a hopeless, “Y-yeah,” lying limp and filled and satisfied, when Billy angles his head; turning him enough to share a kiss, to pry lips apart with his tongue, to swallow the little whines that spills as he starts a shallow and agonizingly slow pace.
“Billy, ahh…” Steve whispers, tries to catch on to the rhythm, grinding himself against the covers; lube dripping from his hole mixes with his pre cum, wetting the fabric till it’s slippery and nice against his aching dick.
Then Billy raises off of him - keeps him caught against the mattress, a warm and heavy hand on his back like an anchor, fingers spread out between shoulder blades, the other reaching up to tangle fingers in dark, soft hair, pulling there just enough for Steve’s mouth to be forced open, enabling every lewd little noise escape, moaning and keening, begging.
He pulls all the way back till the head is barely inside still, revelling in the way every muscle clings to him with desperation, watches in the darkness how pale hands strangle a pillow, feels his body tense with irritation beneath his palm. The shift of it all is immediate when Billy pushes back in- shoves his steely cock to the base and out again, loving the perfected melody of skin slapping and Steve crying out loud with the pleasure that Billy gives him, pounds him, fucks him like he’d die if he didn’t.
“Fuck, Billy,” a pathetic, needy, elated whine.
When Billy’s hand lets go of dark locks, Steve’s head lands on the pillow, his body limp and unmoving as Billy uses him like he truly is no more than an expensive toy - a favorite toy. His toy.
“Shit that’s good, arrh-” Billy rasps out.
He rakes one hand down Steve’s skin, across the dimples at the small of his back, down till he grabs a soft cheek with a firm hand, squeezing and pulling it aside to grant him a perfect view of where he fervently thrusts into Steve’s hungering body.
“Come on, get up on your knees, Harrington,” he demands with a voice deep and thrilling, as he pulls out and inches away a bit to make room for how frantically Steve shuffles to get up on his knees, ass in the air, back arched, head turned to gaze back at Billy.
Who licks his lips before biting down as he dives back in with no warning, earning him a lascivious, shocked moan. He grabs on to Steve’s hips as he fucks him with a rapid pace, digging in his fingers till it should hurt, but anyone having the pleasure of listening to Steve like this knows he’s brimming with heat. The curses, the moans, the groans, the pleas - Billy whips his head back to lose himself in it all, an endless symphony of eroticism and animalistic urges and unadulterated wanting.
“B-Billy- Billy, I’m close, ahh-” Steve can barely manage coherent speech, “Please, touch me- fuck, Billy, please!”
Fuck if hearing Steve’s mindless begging doesn’t push at Billy’s insides, waves of lust running hot like lava on the edge of spilling out, but Billy grins all wicked and chuckles hoarsely.
“Nah pretty boy, you wanna cum again, you’re gonna cum untouched,” he growls and slams in harder to emphasise his unfair statement.
Steve dares to defy, bringing his own hand down, but seconds before he’d have been able to jerk himself to completion, Billy takes a punishing grip around his wrist.
“What did I just fucking say?” there’s barely even a hint of jesting to Billy’s tone at that. “Give me your other hand.”
With no hesitation, Steve does as demanded - angles his other arm behind to where Billy wraps his strong fingers around both wrists before pressing them against his back, Billy’s whole body weight on top of it, rendering Steve completely helpless.
Helpless, powerless, completely at Billy’s mercy, skin burning where he strangles his wrists, fingers digging into his hip, a perfectly orchestrated plight that ignites fireworks; a colorful barrage with tensing muscles and a wild cry as Steve cums, feet lifting off of the mattress with the curl of his toes, the release of it all ruining his sheets.
“Holy shit- fuck- Stevie-” Billy barks out rough as he pounds vigorously till his thighs and hips stings, Steve’s body like a vicegrip around his steely cock, burning hot, slick and velvety.
It takes no more than a few brutish thrusts for him to come undone, filling up Steve’s hungering hole with all that he is; an electric charge detonating in his gut that bends him over, sweaty locks falling around his stilled face like a curtain, his entire body pulsating and throbbing as he grinds his last bit of energy against Steve’s flushed ass.
As the world returns with the cooling of his body, all to be heard is both their labored breathing, ragged gasps and wet swallowing.
Billy kisses every mole across Steve’s upper back, shoulder to shoulder, grip softening around Steve’s wrists, but neither of them pulls away. His other hand rubs soothingly at where he’s been viciously holding on for dear life.
He doesn’t want to pull out, move away, end this. This… warm feeling, limp dick buried in Steve, something else buried in Billy’s soul, his mind knows what it is yet still fumbles to unlock it. With help, perhaps, it would see the light of day sooner, but that would require for him to find the courage to reach out.
And Billy always finds himself a coward in the wake of his heart.
With a sigh that hopefully sounds more tired and satisfied than dejected and hopeless, he lifts off of where he’s been resting his forehead between Steve’s shoulder blades-
When the soft and pale body beneath him twists around, Steve reaching out to cautiously grap Billy by the arm, a softness in his eyes where they meet through the darkness, and with flushed cheeks and battered breath, the request comes gingerly,
“Wait, don’t… don’t pull out yet.”
Perhaps even Billy’s heart stops with the rest of him.
“Can we… lie for a bit?”
Well that’s… something new, and the shock of it shows in the wrinkles of Billy’s brow. But when Steve gives his bicep a beckoning squeeze, gaze unwavering, Billy’s more afraid of saying no than yes.
#Harringrove#my writing#Jimhhawkins#lemon#happy belated birthday#happy ending#fluff#somewhat rough#jealousy mmmm#8 goddamn pages
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Pitch Me your thing!
HELLO HELLO MY SUNBEAMS. For most every category, there was an impressive turn-out for pitches, so I thought we’d utilize the weirdness of this year’s GIFTENING to give something new a try. The popular vote winner for each category will happen on the first day, but on the second, the winner will be chosen from YOUR PITCHES. Mostly those pitches will be to me. The exception is in Miscellaneous, where you’ll be pitching to my family, because what I want to do and what is most entertaining isn’t necessarily the same thing.
So! How will we do this thing? GLAD YOU ASKED. I’ll link you to a form in a minute with space for one pitch. Once you fill it out, you’ll be asked if you want to do another. There’s no limit to the number of pitches you can send in! But remember that if you submit multiple entries for the same category, you’ll basically be competing against yourself.
NOW WE’VE GOT SOME RULES FOR DOING THIS (which I mostly stole from Holligay, because I have no creativity this year). Please read them carefully! I’ll toss pitches that break any of these, and I’d rather your hard work not go to waste.
Pitch Me is open for your submissions from RIGHT NOW (22 December) through the very last day of this hellyear (31 December) at 11:59pm MT.
The thing you pitch must have come from what was nominated for THE GIFTENING 2020. (Full list of those nominations in every category below the cut on this post.)
Entries must be unsigned! I’m looking to chose based on the pitch alone, regardless of who submitted it.
The pitch itself must be 100 words or less. HAVE PITY ON ME I CAN ONLY CONSUME SO MUCH.
If you’d like to get some help, ideas, feedback, all that good stuff, the Discord is a FANTASTIC resource I encourage you to use.
HERE IS YOUR PITCH SUBMISSION LINK
And, as promised, below the cut you’ll find the list of all the nominees in every category you guys sent in this year. IT’S A LONG LIST HAVE FUN WITH THAT
Anime
A Place Further Than The Universe/Sora Yori mo Toi Basho
Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban)
Action Heroine Cheer Fruits
Aggretsuko
Aho Girl
Air Master
Akuma No Riddle
Alien Nine
Angel Beats!
Angelic Layer
Appare-Ranman
Aria
Aria the Animation
Arrietty/ The Secret World of Arrietty (Ghibli film)
Ascendance of a Bookworm
Azumamga Daioh
Baccano!
Beastars
Black Cat
Blood + (the series)
Bloom Into You
Blue Drop/Tenshitachino Gikyoku
Bodacious Space Pirates (starting right where you left off)
BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense
Boku no hero academia
Bubblegum Crisis
Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card
Cardcaptor Sakura
Castlevania the Animated Series
Cells at Work
Chaos; Head
Chihayafuru
Code Geass
cowboy Bebop
Cyborg 009
Death Note
Death Parade
Deca-Dence
Demon Girl Next Door
Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba)
Diebuster: Aim For the Top 2
Dog Days
dorohedoro
Dot Hack//SIGN
Dr. Stone
Elfen Lied
Erased (Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi)
Escaflowne
Excel Saga
Fantastic Children
Fate/Zero
Flip Flappers
Fresh Precure
Fruits Basket 2019
Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood
Ga rei Zero
GaoGaiGar
gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun
Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex
Ghost Stories (dubbed)
Girls' Last Tour
Great Pretender
Hoseki no Kuni/ Land of the Lustrous
House of Five Leaves/ Saraiya Goyou
Inari konkon koi iroha
Interviews with Monster Girls
Inuyasha
Isekai Izakaya "Nobu"
Jellyfish Princess/ Kuragehime
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
Kaguya-sama Love Is War
Kaleido Star
Kannazuki no Miko
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Kemono Friends
Kiki's Delivery Service
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You
Kino's Journey/Kino no Tabi (2003)
Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni)
Little Witch Academia
Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files EP0 {"A Grave Keeper")
Love is Hard for an Otaku
Love Live! Sunshine!!
lupin the 3rd part 4
Madoka: The Rebellion Movie
Magic knight rayearth
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
March Comes in Like a Lion
Mardock Scramble
Master of Martial Hearts
Mawaru Penguindrum
Megalobox
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
Mob Psycho 100
Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)
Monster
Mushishi
My Bride is a Mermaid (Seto No Hanayome)
My Love Story!!!
My Neighbor Totoro
My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom
My Roommate is a Cat
NANA
Naruto
Natsume’s Book of Friends
Neon Genesis Evangelion (hateblog)
New Cutey Honey
Nichijou
Ōban Star-Racers
One Piece
Ouran High school Host club
Outlaw Star
Paranoia Agent
Perfect Blue
Please Save My Earth
Pop Team Epic
Pretty Cure Fresh
Princess Jellyfish/ Kuragehime
Princess Mononoke
Princess Principal
Princess Tutu
Project A-Ko
promised neverland (/yakusoku no neverland)
Psycho-Pass
Ranma 1/2
Re: Cutie Honey
Re:Creators
Read or Die (OAV)
Red Garden
relife
Revolutionalry Girl Utena
Rose of Versailles
Ruroni Kenshin
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon (viz dub)
Samurai Champloo (english dub)
Sarazanmai
School Days
School-Live!
Scum's Wish
Senki Zesshou Symphogear (listed as just "Symphogear" on Crunchyroll.)
Serei no Moribito (Guardian of the Spirit)
Shin Sekai Yori (From The New World)
Shirobako
Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
Smile Pretty Cure (Japanese original)/ Glitter Force (english adaptation)
Snow White with the Red Hair
Sound Euphonium
Strawberry Panic (yuri)
Sweetness and Lightning
The Devil is a Part-timer
The Devil Lady
The disasterous life of saiki k (saiki kusuo no Sai Nan)
The End of Evangelion (movie)
the Promised Neverland
The Twelve Kingdoms
Tiger & Bunny
Tokimeki Tonight
ToraDora
Tsubasa Chronicle
Umineko When They Cry
Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid
Vinland Saga
Violet Evergarden
Whispered Words (Sasameki Koto)
With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun
Yona of the Dawn
Yu Yu Hakusho
Yugioh Duel Monster
Yuki Yuna is a Hero
Yuri Kuma Arashi
Yuri On Ice!!!
Zoids: Chaotic Century
Zombie Land Saga
Non-Anime Animated
Adventure Time
Amphibia
Animainiacs (Original)
Animaniacs (Reboot)
Archie's Weird Mysteries
As Told By Ginger
Barbie Life in The Dreamhouse
Batman the Animated Series
Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot
Big Mouth
Bob's Burgers
Bojack Horseman
Bravest Warriors
Captain N: the Game Master
Carmen Sandiego (1994)
Carmen Sandiego (2019)
Castlevania (Netflix)
Cats Don't Dance
Coco
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Craig of the Creek
Cyber Six
Daria
Darkwing Duck
Dragon Booster
Dragons: Riders of Berk
DuckTales (2017)
Exo-Squad
Fern Gully
Fillmore!
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Futurama
Gargoyles
Glitch Techs
Godzilla: The Animated Series
Green Lantern the Animated Series
Hedgehog in the Fog (Ёжик в тумане)
Hey Arnold
Hilda
Infinity Train
Iron Giant
JEM
Kim Possible
Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts
Legend of Zelda animated series (1989)
Legion of Super-Heroes
Liberty Kids
Magical Girl Friendship Squad
Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart
The Legend of Korra
Moominvalley
Motorcity
My Little Pony (Classic, NOT FiM)
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks
Onyx Equinox
Over the Garden Wall
Over the Moon (2020 film)
Owl House
Primal
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure
Redwall
Rise of the TMNT
Roco's Modern Life
Rugrats
RWBY
Samurai Jack
Seis Manos
She-Ra (1985)
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Sonic Boom
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea
Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Strange Magic
Super Mario Brothers Super Show
Superman: The Animated Series
Teen Titans
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo
The Animals of Farthing Wood
The Dragon Prince
The Hollow
The Legend of Tarzan (TV series)
The Magic School Bus (1994)
The Mysterious Cities of Gold
The Pirate Fairy (Disney Fairies)
The Powerpuff Girls (1998)
The Real Ghostbusters
Thundercats (1985)
Thundercats (2011)
Transformers: Prime
Tuca and Bertie
Twelve Forever
Undone
Venture Bros
Wakko's Wish
Wakfu
Wander Over Yonder
We Bare Bears (TV)
Winx Club
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
X-Men Evolution
X-Men: The Animated Series
Xiaolin Showdown
Live Action
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
28 Days Later
3rd Rock from the Sun
A Series of Unfortunate Events
American Horror Story: Asylum
Babysitter's Club (2020)
Batman (the old Adam West version)
Better Call Saul
Black Mirror
Blackbeard's Ghost (Peter Ustinov)
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Boys Over Flowers
Bromance (Taiwanese tv series)
Brooklyn 99
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Cadfael
Cagney and Lacey
Charmed (2018)
Chopped
Cleopatra 2525
Cloak and Dagger
Clue (1985)
Community
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Dead Like Me
Dead To Me
Deadwood
Death Note (Netflix)
Derry Girls
Dimension 20 - The Unsleeping City
Doctor Who (New)
Doom Patrol
Dracula's Daughter (1936)
Escape to the Chateau
Farscape
Fingersmith
Galavant
Godzilla (2014)
Gokushufudo (2020 Japanese TV drama)
Golden Girls
Good Omens
H20: Just Add Water (somewhere in seasons 1-2)
Happy New Year
Harley Quinn movie
Hateblog a REALLY STRAIGHT soap opera.
Haunting of Bly Manor
His Dark Materials (HBO series)
Holes
Hot Fuzz
House
Inception
Inside No. 9
Iron Chef America
Joan of Arcadia
Julie and the Phantoms
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Kamen Rider Build
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Kamen Rider Fourze
Killing Eve
Knives Out
Letterkenny
Leverage
Little Women (2019)
Lucifer
Matlock
Majisuka Gakuen
MASH
Merlin
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol
Money Talks (1997 film)
Motherland: Fort Salem
Murder She Wrote
Mythbusters
Nailed It!
Never Have I Ever
Once Upon a Time
Orphan Black
Pen 15
PGSM
Pi (1998)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018)
Pride and Prejudice: A New Musical
Puppy Bowl
Pushing Daisies
Rome (hateblog)
Russian Doll
Sabrina
Sense8
Sera Myu: Un Nouveau Voyage
Shameless
Sierra Burgess
Smallville
So Weird
Star Trek: TOS (or their films)
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Stargate Atlantis
Suckerpunch
Supernatural (out of context speedrun the last three episodes)
Sweetheart
Switched at Birth
Tall Girl
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Addams Family (1964)
The Big Flower Fight
The Booth at the End
The Bride With White Hair
The Crown
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
The Good Place
The Kissing Booth
The L Word
The Librarians
The Magicians
The Muppet Show
The Pregnancy Pact
The Room
The Steve Harvey Show
The Stranded
The Untamed
The Witcher
The Wolfman (1941)
Torchwood
Twilight Zone (original)
Twin Peaks
Ultraman Nexus
Umbrella Academy
Van Helsing
Warehouse 13
Warrior Nun
What We Do In The Shadows (tv show)
Will & Grace
Wynonna Earp
X-Men 2: X-Men United
Xena: Warrior Princess
Miscellaneous
Alpha Flight #41-62
Anime music dance party, the logistics of which are to be determined!
Ask Hot Pocket and/or Mina-pup
AskSharknado: Giftening Edition
Attempt to make French macaroons
Commentary on old Goggles
Critical Role
Crowdsourced: A Black Mirror-style day where Jetty has to ask what her choices are of the audience for everything! I give you a menu, you decide what she has for dinner? What does she wear? Does she walk on the track or do the eliptical? Does she go to a movie with Doc or play a video game with Mike? Can be done alongside other stuff.
Doodle Day
Dramatic readings of fan fiction!
Drunk History (or whatever your favorite subject would be) with Jet Wolf!
Drunk Sailor Moon
Exorcising Closet Ghost
Fic Prompts Day
Figuarts Day! (Not specifically freeing anyone, just various fun poses and such)
Guess the plot of a show based on its opening
Her Shim-Cheong (manhwa)
House of X/Powers of X
Hubby's Choice
IDW Jem comics liveblog
Intros Only (watch show openings, give commentary, guess what show is about, etc.)
Jackbox Games
Jet Wolf paints along with Bob Ross
Jet and Doc go to Heaven/Hell, respectively: Jet gets to write reams of words about the awesomeness of Rei Hino and Doc has to read all of them and say ONLY NICE THINGS.
Jet does Tiktok dances
Jet Liveblogs Holligay: A Nature Documentary
Jet Ranks Sailor Moon Image Songs
Jet Reads Goosebumps
Jet Reads Legion of Super-Heroes
Jet redesigns the Wolf and Gay offices!
Jet shows off her knitting
Jet Wolf attempts to recreate scenes from Sailor Moon with Mina and Hot Pocket and/or whatever is in the house
Jet Wolf reacts to Sailor Moon tiktoks (in blog form)
Jet Wolf reads Love and Rockets.
Jet Wolf reads the Jem comics by IDW
Jet Wolf reviews her old top 100 Sailor Moon moments list
Jet Wolf talks about Archie Comics
Jet Wolf talks about each cel she owns and why they are so awesome.
Jet Wolf writes Poetry
Jet Wolf's Top 5's
Jet, Hubby and/or family play board games
Jetty Rants and Raves
Jet Wolf tries to crack the Gravity Falls Codes
Kiwi Blitz on Hiveworks
Let's Play on Webtoon
Liveblog: Favorite X-Men comic book arcs
Livestream Pathfinder one-shot
LOONA (Collection of music videos with an ongoing story/universe about GIRLS who are FRIENDS and SAVE THE UNIVERSE)
Lore Olympus on Webtoon
Mike regales us with "the story of your love" while you get increasingly embarrassed
Mina and Hot Pocket day - liveblog like a nature documentary
Mister Tsukino Does His Taxes and the Household Budget (Sailor Moon fan comic by Shadowjack)
Nancy Drew: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
Not So Shoujo Love Story on Webtoon
Pitch Mishaps for Untitled Senshi Game (it is a lovely day in Juuban, and you are a Horrible Minako.)
Pitching hubby's favorite media at (readers/holligay/jill/momigay)
Playing with dolls (because how could 3 women not have any dolls between them)
Re-Take By Studio Kimigabuchi (All Ages Version)
Real or Fake Anime (people submit descriptions of anime you guess if it is an anime that actually exists or not)
Reviewing succulents
Scavenger hunt! Not entirely sure how it would work, maybe folks could send in asks for you to show things like your favorite Rei Hino object, or the thing that's been with you the longest, etc.
sewing/knitting/baking tutorial
Share or rant about a Roman history topic
Sleepless Domain on Hiveworks
Talking to Docholligay 2: Doc Harder (basically you talking to Doc's future womb evictee while still in there and telling them stuff like say the greatness of Rei Hino)
The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess (manhwa)
The Polar Bear Plunge--I take Jetty to our finest Lake Elmo in January, and she jumps in! Note: THIS IS NOT DANGEROUS, WORRYWARTS. I'll bring a life preserver, I've done it before, and I would do it with her if I weren't pregnant.
The Senshi Helpline--The Senshi, taking your advice questions, here and now!
The World of Moral Reversal
Virtual knitting/crafting circle! Let us craft and chat with you!
What-If #24 Gwen Stacy Lived
Worm the web serial
Write an explanation for a drawing we send you!
Yuri Hell's Kitchen
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Like We Used To
There were spots starting to encroach on the perimeters of his vision from how long he’d been staring at the photo that had somehow wormed its way onto his Instagram feed: A golden blonde girl with a floppy hat and sunglasses, staring up at a brown-haired boy that had an arm slung around her shoulders. Both of them wore swimsuits, the backdrop a gorgeous expanse of turquoise sea. Turquoise that would match her eyes perfectly had they not been covered.
The last time he had seen those eyes they had been bloodshot with tears spilling over the rims, leaving nothing but black, watercolor mascara marks down her cheeks. The time before that he had been gazing at her from the doorway of his bedroom, her eyes closed while she sighed in a content sleep. It had been quick, the way she had gone from his to not his. Of his list of things to do that day, losing Aelin Galathynius hadn’t been one of them.
On that morning - one year, two months, and five days ago - Rowan Whitethorn had woken up with her cold toes wiggling under his legs. He had groaned, which only made her laugh and send the warmth of her breath over his neck that set goosebumps erupting over his skin.
“Gods above, woman,” he had said, reaching down to wrap his hot hands around her feet to warm them. Another quiet laugh from the woman he loved had him grinning as he rolled onto his side and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. It was still dark out, neither of them needing to be up for hours, and she had nuzzled her face back into his chest and swiftly fallen asleep to the beating of his heart.
Now, though, she was with someone else. Someone who was quite the opposite that Rowan himself was, and he hated that he was now scrolling through her Instagram feed stewing over the heart captions that Aelin had left below picture of her and this man. Chaol. A man who absolutely wasn’t worth a single second of Aelin’s time — Rowan could tell just by looking at him. His jaw clenched at a photo of the two curled up on the couch together, Aelin’s face pressed into his neck with a smile on her lips. Four months with this one, she had captioned it, complete with heart emojis. That photo had been posted two months ago. Aelin had now been cuddled up in the arms of another for six months, the last photo of the two posted two weeks ago.
Rowan was unable to stop himself from wondering if this new man did everything that he had - if he had let her quote the movies she no doubt begged him to watch with her. If he sang along with her to music he didn’t care for just because it brought her an inexplicable joy while she danced around the living room, using all that ballet training she’d ditched after eighteen years.
More importantly, did he comfort her through the nightmares, did he hold her while she cried about lost love and her parents untimely and violent deaths? Had she felt comfortable enough to even confide in him? Was he making sure she saw her therapist once a week? Did he go out of his way to make her laugh, even when they were fighting, if she looked too close to breaking? Did he do any of that? Did he make her happy?
“Rowan, man, you’ve got five minutes to curtain,” Fenrys said, poking his head through the door to the greenroom. Rowan locked his phone and ran his hand down his face, willing away the tears that pricked at the edges of his vision.
“Yeah,” with a head nod was all he was able to muster and his head of security frowned as he stepped into the room.
“You okay?”
“Yeah just…” Rowan shrugged, scrubbing at his face with his palms.
“Did she…?”
“I knew she was probably seeing someone else by now but seeing it on her page suckerpunched me about eighteen ways I hadn’t expected. Not that I blame her. It’s my fault. All of it is my fault. I couldn’t do the one thing she asked me to do.” Sighing, Rowan got to his feet and grabbed a bottle of water out of the ice chest by the door before they started walking down the hall toward the stage. “It just gets worse every time I’m back in Orynth and I have to go back to my stupid fucking apartment alone.”
“We could go out after,” Fenrys suggested with the shrug of a shoulder. Rowan contemplated, offering his friend a nod just as he hopped up onto the completely black stage. The part of the night he always hated was when the opening visuals started firing off with a version of one of his songs he’d mixed just for Aelin. It started slow until it built to an epic peak with his stage name - Hawk - flashing on the screens behind his head. He’d never been able to get himself to change the opening song, though. Couldn’t be bothered to drop the stage name that she had helped him pick out. His friends claimed that he was pining.
He was.
The longer his set went on, the harder it was to keep his eyes from scanning the crowd. Just in case she had shown up with her friends like she had so loved to do. Aelin had been his biggest fan his entire career; she had been there from the very beginning and if she was able to make a show, she was there. She had gently forced all of his music down her friend’s throats, had blasted it in her car, had requested it on radio stations not just because she was dating him and wanted him to succeed. But because she genuinely loved the music he put out into the world, because she was so proud of him that she wanted everyone to know how talented she thought him to be.
A flash of golden hair in the crowd had his fingers slipping on one of the buttons he was moving to press but he didn’t care. Another head of blonde hair with lips pressed to her beau’s had his heart faltering all together. It wasn’t Aelin, but that didn’t keep his mind from wandering while his hands stayed autopilot, carrying him through the set.
One year, two months, seven days ago. Rowan, down on one knee with a glittering emerald custom created just for her, Aelin with sparkling tears in her eyes while she pressed a thousand kisses to his mouth while murmuring the three letter word he had been hoping for against his lips - yes. It hadn’t taken him long to have her pressed against the window of the balcony, to be buried inside her with whispers of his love and affection for her dancing across her skin. Even the next morning, despite their lovemaking having moved to the bed, the fingerprints and smudges left perfect evidence of what he’d done to her against the glass. They had laughed about it.
Now she was likely tangling in his sheets. It shouldn’t be someone else’s hands on her skin. It should be Rowan’s, like it was supposed to be. Rowan’s hands on her skin, Aelin’s hands on his heart.
Still, despite his feelings, he found himself hoping that she was happy, that he made her feel as loved and cherished as Rowan had always tried to. That this other man would tell her multiple times a day that he loved her. That he told her with words and with flowers, with silent actions and huge gestures. He found himself hoping that if this was the man she was supposed to be with, that nothing would lead her to throw it away. Because despite himself, Aelin deserved everything. She deserved the world handed to her on a diamond platter, to be happy, to be loved. And regardless of the way his heart ached when he thought about her, he so desperately wanted her to just be happy.
By the time his show was over, his mind was wandering aimlessly over memories and moments he’d shared with the woman he would never stop loving. To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure how he’d ended up back in his greenroom with his phone in hand, staring at old photos they had taken together. The photos they had taken days before she broke up with him of her crying happy tears over the ring on her finger.
“Another tour? Are you fucking - we talked about this last week, Rowan.” She was livid, the golden core of her iris dancing like lit flame as she shouted at him. “The one thing I asked. I asked you to take a break. To spend some time at home with me, to take off the long distance strain. That’s all i asked you to do.” By then, she was already working the emerald ring off her finger, so quickly he hardly had it processed before it was knocking him in the forehead.
“What are you doing? Fireheart, I -”
“I’m going to go find someone that actually wants to spend his fucking time with me Rowan since you clearly don’t. What do you even see when you look at me? A joke? Because it clearly isn’t your future,” she hissed. By that point, mascara was tracking down her cheeks and she was sobbing - horrible ripping sobs that cracked Rowan’s heart in two. Everything had been fine this morning, everything had been -
“Rowan?” His eyes shifted from his phone to Fenrys’s face, who had a slight smile to his lips. “You’ve got a VIP, man.” Rowan nodded once and stood, shaking out his arms and running his fingers through his hair. He didn’t particularly care that his face was red and feverish, or that his hair was sweat-soaked. Not until he opened the door anyway.
Before him stood the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid his eyes on, her eyes a bright turquoise ringed with gold. Eyes he had spent five years looking into, five years memorizing. Her hair tumbled down her back in golden waves, one side pinned back by numerous pins. The outfit she wore was simple, but a favorite of his: black jeans, white tee, black leather jacket. A necklace he’d bought her dangled between her breasts. The longer he stared at her, slack-jawed and in awe that she stood before him, the more her eyes began to fill with tears of their own.
“Rowan,” she said softly, her voice breaking in two. “Hey.”
@musicmaam @starseternalnighttriumphant @myfeyrelady @kandasboi @tinywolfofeyllwe @empire-of-wildfire @nalgenewhore @shyvioletcat @the-regal-warrior @city-of-fae
#rowaelin#drabbles#like we used to#a rocket to the moon#songfic#rowan whitethorn#aelin galathynius#throne of glass#tog#aelin ashryver galathynius#lwut
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Hello my dear! Random ask for you: please tell me your opinion on the song where do broken hearts go
the world was not fucking ready for that song. it’s my favorite from FOUR. i haven’t listened to it in a while because i can barely handle it even six years later (six years omfg no). there are certain 1D lyrics that just suckerpunch you in the gut and “So I built you a house from a broken home” as well as “Shadows come with the pain that you're running from” still make me for feral to this day. that song was ahead of its time, I think you could put that song in any of the last four decades and it would transcend time and it would SMASH. and you know what I think. they should have written with teddy geiger more cuz between that one and little black dress, the songs they wrote with her fuckin SLAPPED. and their live performances of that song were like out of body experiences whether you saw it in person on tour or on tv, like holy fuck,,,,, hoLY FUCK that song is. probably one of their top ten bests
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🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
1: I can’t afford to make a trip to the world’s last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon but I can afford to buy some of their merch. Which I did. Idk when my hat will get here but I can’t wait.
2: I have one Pez dispenser. It’s Charmander.
3: I like playing games while my partner watches through discord and I’ve been struggling for weeks trying to figure out how to stream Sly 2 for him. First I tried using Wine and bootcamp to run PCSX2 on my my macbook. Then I tried looking into video capture cards, and it turns out the only one that really works for mac is [really fuckin expensive]. Then I tried running PCSX2 on the craptop; a 4-5 year old laptop I only used for some games before giving to my brother before borrowing it again for more games. On super low settings and a cut framerate, I actually managed to get the game running (note that PCSX2 is hard to run even on beefy computers and Sly 2 has always been a ‘problem game’ for the emulator), but as soon as I tried streaming thru discord it kept crashing. This week I’m gonna try recording my TV the old fashioned way: with my phone. Here’s hoping it’s not complete shit.
4: I have 8 coasters on my desk right now because I like drinks too much.
5: One time some years ago I found a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, put the ingredients in a list and my dad went to the store to grab them before letting me make them. Instead of little mushrooms he grabbed these massive portobello mushrooms. I tried to work with them anyway but as they baked all the cheese and whatnot just sort of melted into a mess that stuck to the whole cookie sheet. We ate them in silence anyway and my dad still said they tasted good because he loves me.
6: I’m worried about my plant, Elizabeth. She’s a succulent but leaves and even stems keep drying up/falling off.
7: This is gonna sound mean as hell but my mom thought the string on my little brother’s worm on a string was hair and she snapped it and my brother was all upset and mom said she’d buy him a new one and he screamed ‘I LIKE JERALD’ and I had to leave the room because I needed to laugh.
8: I recently watched the movie Suckerpunch and I have complicated feelings about it but I liked it more than I hated it.
9: Twice today my cat was lying across the stairs and when I asked her to move out of the way she pulled her whole body to one side to let me pass.
10: I only just found out today that Adam Gontier joined Breaking Benjamin on an acoustic tour like two years ago and yesterday the Breaking Benjamin channel on youtube posted a collab of them both performing Dance With The Devil and I don’t care how cringe anyone thinks it is I’m still not over it these guys were my two fave singers through highschool.
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ViVii Is Stockholm’s Effervescent Light that Shines Through the Darkness [Q&A]
While Stockholm seems to be the Mecca of dream pop righteousness, the charming trio known as ViVii is certainly making waves for Sweden’s indie appeal. ViVii is comprised of a married couple, Emil and Caroline Jonsson, and their good friend, Anders Eckeborn, who produces ViVii’s emotive discography. Their hushed soundscape has been compared to the esteemed Lana Del Rey, but where they differ is found within ViVii’s ability to draw listeners in with every romantic note.
ViVii is still a young project as the talented trio released their debut single, “Siv (You and I),” in 2018. But don’t let their limited discography fool you because ViVii encompasses the maturity of the most experienced musicians with an added touch of deep personal connection. Their self-titled debut record features uplifting instrumentals and captivating vocals that are just too wholesome to pass up, and this is only a tiny glimpse of what ViVii has in store for the future.
Stream ViVii’s self-titled debut album below and catch them on tour this fall:
Ahead of their upcoming US tour, we recently chatted with ViVii about their self-titled record, special show rituals, and their musical inspirations.
OTW: Emil and Caroline, you met each other as carefree children at summer camp in what feels like a lifetime ago. At what point did you both realize music would be lined up for your future?
ViVii: Well, since the beginning of our friendship we’ve been doing music together in different shapes and forms. And there has always been a notion about us doing something more with it. But I guess we knew that we had to do something about it when our daughter was born; that was our cue. And when we later on met up with Anders, everything fell into place.
OTW: You pull inspiration from late 80s vinyl records and indie pop jams that truly speak to you emotionally. Who are some artists that influence your timeless sound?
ViVii: That list can be made very long… but the three of us listen to a lot of instrumental music, all the way from classical to electronic music. Fleetwood Mac, Demis Roussos, Dolly Parton, Stephan Bodzin, Sufjan Stevens, and ABBA -- to name a few that we really like.
OTW: You released your self-titled debut album earlier this year, and fans across the world are absolutely loving it. Can you share a bit about your creative process for this record?
ViVii: It always starts with us sitting with a guitar and from there it all grows into whatever it needs to be. The true happiness of the three of us just being able to make music together in a studio where we could try different things without anyone looking over our shoulder telling us what to do or not to do. That was something that really sparked our creativity.
OTW: Is there a particular track on ViVii that you resonate with the most?
ViVii: Well it depends on who you ask, but I think we all agree that ”Savant” will always resonate with all of us in a very special way. That song was the lighthouse of our album and of our sound. After that song was made, we had the ”code” for the rest of the songs.
OTW: Which song was the most difficult to write on ViVii?
ViVii: I guess it was ”Suckerpunch." Some friends were involved with writing that song and that equals a lot more opinions… that made the whole process very tricky -- to say the least.
OTW: What are you most looking forward to in regards to your upcoming US tour?
ViVii: We are looking forward to EVERYTHING! I mean, just sitting on a tour bus talking about nothing seems great and to perform every other night for three weeks in a row seems super dreamy. And not to mention the food and to meet friends.
OTW: Do you have any special show rituals?
ViVii: Doing breathing exercise a la the Wim Hof method. And then slowly increasing the volume on the speakers while listening to “Blue Giant” by Stephan Bodzin.
OTW: If you could perform a headlining show anywhere in the world, where would you pick? Who would be your openers?
ViVii: I think we would go for Red Rocks in Colorado. Our opening act would be the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and they would back us up on two songs at least.
OTW: Who are your Ones To Watch?
ViVii: The very talented JOSIN and Viagra Boys.
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Taylor Swift - Folklore
Surprise release of the eighth album from the pop artist produced by longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff and The National's Aaron Dessner
10/13
Eavesdrop on any Twitter thread between creatives during the last few months, and you’ll inevitably find conversations about artistic paralysis—and self-immolation derived from artistic paralysis. After all, while stories abound about how creativity is flourishing despite the global pandemic, that’s not a comfort to those who can’t stop doomscrolling or find themselves awake at 3 a.m. with crippling anxiety. Not everyone has the capacity at the moment to come up with a great novel or hit song; sometimes a successful sourdough starter is more within reach.
Taylor Swift is one notable exception to this rule. “Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen,” she wrote on Instagram on Thursday: an entirely new 16-song album, folklore, written and recorded in isolation and unveiled to the world with less than a day’s notice before release.
That Swift would be able to create a fully realized body of work is no surprise. Her work ethic has always been admirable, largely because it’s so immune to outside distractions. As a songwriter, Swift is unflappable, her observational faculties razor-sharp and keen, even when dealing with serious stuff: harsh critics, traumatic breakups, personal anguish, family stress, and now a pandemic.
But it’s clear being forced to alter 2020 plans compelled Swift to jettison precedent. While she again worked with long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff on folklore, she also teamed up with several intriguing new creative partners. These include Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, who co-wrote and sang on “Exile,” and multiple members of The National. Aaron Dessner co-wrote or produced 11 of folklore’s 16 songs, while his twin brother Bryce contributed occasional orchestration, and drummer Bryan Devendorf and touring member Ben Lanz also took part. The album’s credits reveal even more collaborators, who contribute strings, horns, and other lush, luxurious instrumentation.
Unsurprisingly, folklore is a different album from what we’ve heard from Swift before. Although honeyed piano is prominent, gone are the brash beats and rainbow-hued textures of recent vintage. Instead, songs incorporate shivering strings, hushed synthesizers and keyboards, and subtle splotchy grooves. Songs echo other artists—the dreamy haze of Cocteau Twins (“august”) or Sarah McLachlan’s glacial piano work (“epiphany”)—and exude majestic orchestral-folk vibes. But it’s not correct (or fair) to say this is Swift fronting The National, or her releasing her own Man Of The Woods. If anything, folklore often feels like the photo negative of 1989, an album that also possessed a cohesive sound and a vision driven by texture and atmosphere.
This direction makes a lot of sense for Swift. The most striking tracks on her previous two albums—the introspective piano ballad “New Year’s Day” and the dusky, watercolor-tinted “Lover”—were relatively unadorned and lyrically vulnerable. On Lover especially, Swift refined the always-precarious line between personal confessions and universal sentiments. “Soon You’ll Get Better,” a tearjerking song about her mom’s cancer, was an emotional suckerpunch with both broad and specific appeal.
This songwriting progression paralleled her personal evolution. Both Lover-era interviews and the 2020 documentary Miss Americana found Swift becoming more comfortable finding a balance between her public and private lives. “I needed to make boundaries, to figure out what was mine and what was the public’s,” she told Rolling Stone. “That old version of me that shares unfailingly and unblinkingly with a world that is probably not fit to be shared with? I think that’s gone.” Yet as her increasingly vocal social media posts underscore, she’s choosing to speak up when it matters—and is now making it even more explicitly clear what matters to her.
Swift also brings her usual sharp-eyed specificity to “exile,” on which a protagonist eviscerates a jealous ex: “I can see you staring, honey / Like he’s just your understudy.” And she weaves in personal details as bread crumbs throughout the lyrics, referencing her Rhode Island residence, Holiday House (“the last great American dynasty”), notorious reputation (“Cold was the steel of my axe to grind / For the boys who broke my heart / Now I send their babies presents”), and carefree youth (“Before I learned civility / I used to scream ferociously / Any time I wanted”).
In this way, the Dessners are the perfect foils for Swift’s ideas on folklore. For all of their ornate arrangements, the brothers’ collaborations exude the kind of sonic intimacy that centers vocalists, and gives them the space to stretch out. For example, Aaron Dessner recently collaborated with former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe on “No Time For Love Like Now,” a brittle and gorgeous song with nuanced, delicate singing. On folklore, this approach appears on the ornate standout “invisible string”—a gorgeous folk song with stair-step acoustic riffs and heart thump-steady vocal backbeats—a variety of colors (green grass, a teal shirt, gold leaves) come together to explain a great romance.
With references to an “American singer” and a dive bar, it’s tempting to view “invisible string” as being about her long-term relationship with the British actor Joe Alwyn. However, folklore’s protagonists aren’t necessarily perfect analogs to Swift herself. “In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness,” she wrote about the songwriting. “Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory.” folklore’s songs are about widows, love triangles, the indelible imprint of young love, infidelity, Swift’s grandfather. Taken together, they resemble someone flipping through snapshots housed in a yellowing photobook.
In this way, the Dessners are the perfect foils for Swift’s ideas on folklore. For all of their ornate arrangements, the brothers’ collaborations exude the kind of sonic intimacy that centers vocalists, and gives them the space to stretch out. For example, Aaron Dessner recently collaborated with former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe on “No Time For Love Like Now,” a brittle and gorgeous song with nuanced, delicate singing. On folklore, this approach appears on the ornate standout “invisible string”—a gorgeous folk song with stair-step acoustic riffs and heart thump-steady vocal backbeats—a variety of colors (green grass, a teal shirt, gold leaves) come together to explain a great romance.
With references to an “American singer” and a dive bar, it’s tempting to view “invisible string” as being about her long-term relationship with the British actor Joe Alwyn. However, folklore’s protagonists aren’t necessarily perfect analogs to Swift herself. “In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness,” she wrote about the songwriting. “Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory.” folklore’s songs are about widows, love triangles, the indelible imprint of young love, infidelity, Swift’s grandfather. Taken together, they resemble someone flipping through snapshots housed in a yellowing photobook.
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https://music.avclub.com/taylor-swift-writes-her-own-version-of-history-on-folkl-1844498450
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TMR TALKS TO... VIVII | The Most Radicalist
In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet.
This time we speak with Swedish dream-pop trio ViVii.
ViVii mesh moments from their everyday lives with their celestial dream-pop sound to effortless effect. This impression most likely has something to do with the easy, mutually respectful chemistry between the three band members. ViVii is composed of married couple Emil and Caroline Jonsson, alongside friend and fellow musician Anders Eckborn. On March 15th this year, the band released their debut, self-titled album. The record is typified by timeless songwriting and layered, otherworldly instrumentation, as heard in tracks ‘Siv (You and I)', ‘Suckerpunch’ and ‘And Tragic’, plus many more auditory gems. This album has a strange, familiar quality to it, traversing topics of love, worry, health and the encounters we make along this journey called life. Without further ado, here’s our interview with ViVii on their highly accomplished first album and what they’re up to this year.
TMR: A debut album is a monumental occasion for any artist, as it often covers the entire musical journey up to that point. For ViVii this was a five-year process, how does it feel to be finally at this moment?
This feels almost unreal. For a very long time we didn’t think that we would ever reach this point. I know that people around us have been wondering what on earth we've been doing, but now we have something to show for it. And that feeling is, to say the least, very satisfying.
TMR: Can you tell us a bit about the process of writing the record and why it took five years to perfect?
The three of us started working together five or six years ago. We made a lot of music, but it really wasn’t until the song ‘Savant’ came alive that we knew what direction we were heading towards. After that, it has been really easy making songs. Sometimes it takes ten minutes and sometimes a couple of days, but as soon as the three of us meet… we get inspired to make music.
TMR: ViVii began as a duo but more recently became a trio with musician Anders Eckeborn, has this changed the dynamic of the songwriting process? How so?
Anders has always been a part of the group, it just took a little time for him to realize that. Our workflow is very fluent like it has been all along, nothing has changed about that.
TMR: Your debut single 'Siv (You and I)' features a zither gifted to you from the former babysitter of your children. It’s a wonderful sound and a wonderful story. Are there any other hidden gems of this nature on the album that you’d care to share?
A lot of our songs have some kind of story to it, and often in a very personal way. For example: Emil just got diagnosed with fibromyalgia through a phone call while we were in the studio working. After he hung up the phone with his doctor something sparked to life and a couple of hours later the ‘fibromyalgia’ track was done. Things like that.
TMR: Your children were also something of a motivation in writing and recording the album, what advice would you give for other parents looking to make music as well?
Never give up and live close to your parents!
TMR: Another song on our radar was ‘Suckerpunch’, as we just loved to the otherworldly production, which almost seems at odds with the everyday lyrics about fast food and career progression. What’s the story behind this track?
Well, music for us is a very dreamy state of mind and “out of this world”. And we really love to make tracks with an emotional theme where you can dream away. But at the same time, we have our daily lives and the lyrics in this particular song were really all about that. Dreamy music with a connection to this life.
TMR: As a couple, you spent a lot of time in New York, how did that experience influence your music?
In the process of making music, I think NYC will always shine through in the way that city makes us feel. Like a freakin’ sucker punch or the notion that anything is possible if you work hard at it, or just the fact that you are a big loser. It is a rich color palette of emotions.
TMR: Now you live in Stockholm, what’s the music scene like there? Do you have any favourite local bands or artists?
We have a rich music scene in Stockholm. And there are of course a lot of great bands here, but with the risk of sounding boring we mostly go and see classical music when we get the opportunity. Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra or Stockholm Cathedral choir, for example.
TMR: For those yet not lucky enough to see ViVii live, how would you describe your live show?
Dreamy, atmospheric, ambient but still very intimate. We really love playing live!
TMR: Do you have any live dates, festivals or other plans coming up this year?
We are doing our first headline shows in Holland and Sweden early next month and then we’ve got festivals coming up over the summer. And in September we are going on tour... can’t really say where to yet, but it is gonna be sweet!
http://www.themostradicalist.com/features/tmr-talks-to-vivii/
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Dutch symphonic metallers DELAIN have spent the last year celebrating their tenth anniversary — from the release of their fifth full-length album, "Moonbathers", and an anniversary edition of their debut disc, "Lucidity", to extensive headline tours across Europe and North America to gracing some of the world's biggest festival stages — and are about to cap it off with the release of their first-ever live DVD/Blu-ray package. Due on October 27, "A Decade Of Delain: Live At Paradiso" was filmed at a sold-out gig at Amsterdam's legendary Paradiso on December 10, 2016. DELAIN was joined on stage throughout the evening by Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), Liv Kristine, Burton C. Bell (FEAR FACTORY), and many other special guests and collaborators. The setlist for the evening showcased songs spanning DELAIN's entire decade-long existence, including everything from the sing-along singles to cuts from the band's vault that are rarely played live. On top of the full live concert, the package includes an exclusive documentary about the band, titled "We Are The Others - A Decade of Delain", a bonus live performance of "We Are the Others" from Masters Of Rock 2015, and the "Suckerpunch" music video. CD / DVD / Blu-ray: 01. Intro (The Monarch) 02. Hands Of Gold (featuring Alissa White-Gluz) 03. Suckerpunch 04. The Glory And The Scum 05. Get The Devil Out Of Me 06. Army Of Dolls 07. The Hurricane 08. April Rain 09. Where Is The Blood (featuring Burton C. Bell) 10. Here Come The Vultures 11. Fire With Fire 12. The Tragedy Of The Commons (featuring Alissa White-Gluz) 13. Danse Macabre 14. Sleepwalkers Dream (featuring Rob van der Loo, Sander Zoer, and Guus Eikens) 15. Your Body Is A Battleground (featuring Marco Hietala) 16. Stay Forever 17. See Me In Shadow (featuring Liv Kristine and Elianne Anemaat) 18. The Gathering 19. Pristine (featuring George Oosthoek) 20. Mother Machine 21. Sing To Me (featuring Marco Hietala) 22. Don't Let Go 23. We Are The Others DVD/Blu-ray bonus content: 01. We Are The Others - A Decade Of Delain (documentary) 02. We Are The Others (live at Masters Of Rock 2015) 03. Suckerpunch (official music video) "A Decade Of Delain" is available for pre-order in a 2-CD/DVD/Blu-ray combination package or on silver vinyl via PledgeMusic. In late October, DELAIN will embark on the "Danse Macabre" tour, featuring special guest and frequent collaborator Marco Hietala from NIGHTWISH on all dates. SERENITY and CELLAR DARLING will provide support. DELAIN will follow the "Danse Macabre" tour with a string of dates in South America in late 2017 and a full North American tour with KAMELOT and BATTLE BEAST in the spring of 2018. Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/delain-to-release-live-at-paradiso-dvdblu-ray-in-october.html#oGxswFgCepLTktOH.99
#delain#symphonic metal#charlotte wessels#female fronted metal#marco hietala#alissa white-gluz#burton c. bell
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