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pear-pies · 3 years

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Placebo in Rock & Folk magazine - April 2003

Words by Jerome Soligny, photos by Carole Epinette

Wonky translation under the cut:

These three did it all. Shot with the QOTSAs and posed with Indo. They survived "Velvet Goldmine" and the Top Bab. They come back after the ordeal of the fourth album. Danger interview: “Jerome, what if you came out?” They ask our charming reporter.

"We do not regret anything"

Everything begins again with "Bulletproof Cupid", a punky instrument that pulls everything off. Then "English Summer Rein", mechanico-depressive spinning punctuated by twisted keyboards, and "Sleeping With Ghosts", the lament which advances while blistering during cooking, confirm the tone. Against all expectations, because you never know how will age the groups that the previous album installed at the Top, Placebo took over. And stuffed it in an iron glove. Further on, "The Bitter End" tumbles through yapping guitars which would stick to the hatches the thickest of the sailors. Be careful, Placebo is on the way out of being one. At the end of the record, Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt do not even run out of steam. The cows. They drop a "Centerfolds" which frolic like a cynical top under a shower of saving doubts. What augur still other perspectives.

The fourth album: a horror for all who have faced it. Often a stupid trap. Returning from the Gothic directly inherited from the glam of pageantry and from these hasty and harmful certainties which congest the face and the veins, Placebo publishes its first real great disc. Oh, not the marvel of wonders, not the album from the third millennium, but something very strong, compact, tenacious in listening, which proves that the future is indeed there, in front, where the light is most blinding. Calfeucée in their Parisian hotel (the Costes, of course), our three lads do not make the blow of the revelation, of the luminous questioning. Simply, they now think with their heads, a good plan most often Likewise, reality no longer frightens them, and it is probably she who is hiding behind this "Sleeping With Ghosts" which relates the sorrows only for the better. melt into hopes At the moment when rock brings us back to life and when we just want to ask them everything, the Placebo have decided to say everything. Not even in a hurry, they settle down on the couch, ready to talk like never before. Despite new batteries embedded in the carcass, the Panasonic barely a Brian Molko: Hey Jerome, you came to talk to us this time when you had not come to the previous album ...

Rock & Folk: Uh yes but I was there for the first two, that says a lot, right?

Brian Molko: Certainly, I also believe that over time, we finally appreciate the true nature of the problem: we were mainly criticized for the sound of the previous album, which I can understand but, paradoxically, it is the one that brought us to the Top.

R&F: Legitimately, we have the right to expect a lot from the people we love: while "Black Market Music" sounded a bit like a sequel, this new record is all about a renaissance.

Brian Molko: Actually, we were finally able to live a little. After having existed in a small bubble for a very long time, we forced ourselves to take an eight-month break. The album-tour rhythm put us on the sidelines: we no longer had normal contact with anything. We were losing ourselves. We have fully lived the old cliché which claims that we spend the first years of our life writing a first record and six months on the second. It turned out to be very true. We had to get back to the situation of the first album, see friends, go shopping, look at the buildings in our city.

R&F: So the freshness would come from there ...

Brian Molko: Yes, and it was essential spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Steve Hewitt: We had to be in tune with reality again.

Brian Molko: In fact, we find ourselves in a bit of the same state of mind as when we released "Without You I'm Nothing", although "Sleeping With Ghosts" is a lot less gloomy. The heroin has since stopped leaking. In fact, I feel like I've pulled myself out of what I consider my second teenage years, between twenty and thirty. I conquered the self-destruction, exorcised some demons, understood what had happened to me. I held on to what I had learned. As a human being, I am now able to continue living, to try to answer the big questions posed by existence.

R&F: Maybe that's why the melodies are needed this time. It took me four records to get a favorite Placebo track.

The whole group in chorus: Which one?

R&F: "Protect Me From What I Want", of course ...

Brian Molko: The most paradoxical is that this song dates from the end of the "Black Market Music" sessions. I was not married at the time, but I was trying to get out of a particularly vicious divorce.just started. Then we wait for the lyrics, which don't arrive, it's rather intriguing. We especially wanted to avoid the big Rican producer side, we needed someone who shakes us up a bit. Jim could do that because he comes from dance and his pedigree is impressive. We have all his records at home, Bjôrk, Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps and especially DJ Shadow. It is believed that guitar rock can only evolve by incorporating new genres, this is the only way to remain a modern rock band. At home, we practically only listen to hip hop.

R&F: Still, he didn't betray you.

Brian Molko: No because he actually brought out our rock side, which I'm particularly proud of. In fact, because we always wanted to control everything, it was not easy to be forced, to do certain things backwards, to walk on the head. But in truth, that's what we wanted: yes, there was some tension in the studio but we all took advantage of it. The challenge is necessary and it is also valid for the public. We opened up and rediscovered ourselves.

Stefan Olsdal (emerging from his chair): We found ourselves in front of the mirror, at the foot of the wall: someone had to kick our ass.

Brian Molko: Jim was like, "Why are you doing this?" We would answer him: "Because we always do it like that!" He would say: "All the more reason not to do it."

Stefan Olsdal: On the first day, he messed up all the demos, changed the tones, the tempos ...

R&F: Like Brian Eno ...

Steve Hewitt: Yeah, but with a lot more compassion. Eno is a bit (silence) ... We don't really like being told our actions, but at the same time, we are still young, still absorbing. Jim knew how to preserve us while making a modern sound.

R&F: Modern and rock'n'roll at the same time, a characteristic which does not necessarily apply to all the young groups in The which recycle the past gently but are convinced to have found the virus of the AIDS.

Steve Hewitt: Placebo doesn't belong to any current, has nothing to do with fashion.

R&F: You always pose as outsiders.

Brian Molko: It's the only way to survive.

Steve Hewitt: These bands, like The Strokes, play the nostalgia card.

Stefan Olsdal: And what happens next? I would not like to be in their place.

Brian Molko: If you want good New York pop, you better listen to Blondie.

R&F: In 2003, 11 seems that you have abandoned all the androgynous paraphernalia, sexual ambiguity, glam references ...

Brian Molko: I think today everyone knows what there is to know. Our sexual inclinations haven't changed, and we still wear makeup. It is just more expensive and better applied. We are ourselves, in our music and in private. I went through my travelo period (in French in the interview - Editor's note), and I understood that being androgynous was not wearing skirts. It is a way of being on the spiritual plane. It is not an image but a state of mind.

Steve Hewitt: It's like being punk, it's an attitude.

Brian Molko: At the same time, I don't regret any of my eccentricities. I grew up in the spotlight and it all kind of makes me smile.

Stefan Olsdal: People still talk to us about certain outfits or positions, as if it still shocks them.

R&F: Yes, and particularly in France, a particularly homophobic country which bumps heartily on gay artists.

Brian Molko: And you, coincidentally, you still hang out with.

Stefan Olsdal: Jérôme, it's coming out time (laughs) ...

Brian Molko: All that has to change, that all of France becomes gay (laughs)!

R&F: "Protect Me From What I Want" precisely, here is a title heavy with meaning. What was the idea behind this song?

Brian Molko: For me, it's a study of the pathological need people have to copulate, the search for meaning in copulation. As if bachelors or monogamists were aliens. As if we were only one when we were two. The song is about the fact that one relationship has destroyed me but I can't help but look for another ... why do I keep coming back to this?

R&F: Wow, we're bathing in philosophy here!

Brian Molko: Yes and it's the same elsewhere in the record: in "Plasticine", I insist on the fact that you have to be yourself above all while asking myself all these questions. Why do we have to do a lot of forbidden things, bad or harmful?

R&F: It's therapy in public.

Brian Molko: At least I find some balance in it. These are not songs about compassion or self-pity. They came out like this because it was vital for me. I am in this privileged situation where I can express myself and the world hears me. Otherwise, I would be really frustrated and I would have suffered a lot more in the last fifteen years.

R&F: Music saved your life.

Brian Molko: Sure.

Steve Hewitt: Everyone: I think we can say that. Without Placebo, we would not be not even alive.

Brian Molko: Spitting it all out is not necessarily the right solution. There are things with which to live. In fact, I've always been afraid to go see a psychiatrist ...

R&F: Yet, listening to you speak earlier, you could have the feeling that Jim Abiss acted a bit like a shrink with you.

Brian Molko: That's right. You could say that.

R&F: At a time when Bush and Blair want to play World War III, what attitude do you adopt? What do you think of these Englishmen who left for Iraq to constitute a human shield?

Brian Molko: Let's say we stand together. We participated in the March for Peace on February 14th with Damon Albarn and 3D from Massive Attack. We were also surprised that so few groups mobilized, which increased our desire to participate tenfold.

R&F: Do you consider that it is the role of the artist to give voice in such circumstances?

Steve Hewitt: Yes, in the sense that we can help with general motivation.

Brian Molko: I'm very interested in seeing if Blair is going to let Bush bomb Iraq with the British present on the soil of the country. If he ever allows that, the consequences will be dire.

R&F: It will only be one more religious war, in the name of oil and money ...

Brian Molko: It seems absurd that we can still fight for that. And curiously, nobody speaks more, or almost, of Bin Laden. Wouldn't it all come from him, by chance, as a huge consequence of September 11? On the other hand, we have such a feeling that Bush wants to finish the job that daddy started. Its image is so bad that it needs at least one war to restore its image.

Steve Hewitt: And reinvigorate its dying economy.

R&F: The method is lamentable, deceitful. Like those employed by the recording industry which claims to be doing well by selling pop in damaged boxes to ignoramuses.

Brian Molko: The ability of this job to ingest people, bribe them and then spit them out is impressive. This is what happened here at Canal +.R&F: Business is the beast.

Brian Molko: All these pre-made artists are young and naff ...

Steve Hewitt: They'll all end up in a labor camp for ex-pop stars.

R&F: Warhol was talking about fifteen minute glory, we're brutally passed to fifteen seconds.

Brian Molko: We should have called them Karaoke idols from the start.

Steve Hewitt: And it only works because of the TV ...

R&F: Who washes the poor, helpless brains.

Steve Hewitt: You can tell how much people want to think less

R&F: And spend less. For many, music should be free: one in five thirteen-year-olds doesn't know that a disc doesn't have to be a computer-burnt puck. Some are flabbergasted when they see a cover for the first time.

Stefan Olsdal: And those who don't buy records put pressure on those who have them to pass them on at all costs, just long enough to copy them.

R&F: Exactly.

Brian Molko: That's why we blame Robbie Williams so much. Scooping 80 million pounds off EMI and then declaring that pirating music is a fantastic thing just makes him want to stick a chunk in his face.

R&F .: And then piracy is not a matter of environment. It's not a suburban thing. There are rich kids who find it normal to burn 80 CDs during their weekend and sometimes sell them to their friends ...

Brian Molko: What do these people believe? That we are there, the face in the stream with a syringe stuck in the arm singing "La Vie En Rose"? And who will pay for our children's school? Not them, anyway. Our mentality is quite different: we always want to buy records from people we love, from our friends. Personally, we are partly out of the woods, but it will be particularly difficult for new groups to make a living from music in five or ten years.

R&F: Come on, we're not going to leave each other on this, a little humor won't hurt anyone. If you were to be banned from any of these three things, which would you choose: making music, making money or making love?

Steve Hewitt (almost tit for tat): I would stop making money, without hesitation. It's because I love music and sex too much. And then, well, you have to choose.

Brian Molko (completely overwhelmed): Oh damn, that's not true. What a dilemma!

R&F: No Brian, that doesn't count, make an effort (laughs).

Brian Molko: Ah, I don't know. And then if. I would stop making money and get on well with someone super rich.

R&F: Or you would be pimp ...

Brian Molko: Yes, that's it. Good plan.

Stefan Olsdal: Stop making love does not mean to stop loving ...

Brian Molko (preparing his shot): And we can always masturbate (general laughter).

Stefan Olsdal: OK then, I would stop making love.

R&F: Okay, it will be written in black and white for all eternity.

Brian Molko: Will we live long enough to regret it? This is the real question.

*COLLECTED BY JEROME SOLIGNY

[Inset, Trash Palace]

Already present on the first album by Trash Palace which he had adorned with his presence one unhealthy recovery of "I Love You, Me No More "in duet with Asia Argento, Brian Molko is coming to re-stack. This time he cosigns directly "The Metric System " with Dimitri Trash Palace Tikovoi, an electro saw boosted to bleeps fundamentals available in two remix and its clip on an enhanced single recently published at Discograph. The result is particularly (d) amazing and sounds good logical, like of Placebo cyber.Placebo in Rock & Folk magazine - April 2003

#the cows.#placebo #brian molko #stefan olsdal #steve hewitt #the metric system is so chaotic i love it

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gingerteaonthetardis · 5 years

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19, with Eight and Rose?

Excuse me, ma’am — did you order some fluff with a side of more fluff? Thank you for your patience with me, Thinky, I hope you enjoy. (P.S. I listened to La Vie En Rose while writing, so prepare yourself.)

The TARDIS hummed, and so did he.

It had been a good day.

A very good day, actually. They’d escaped the Louvre with only a few bumps, a smattering of bruises, and an exorcised “demon” ensconced in an entirely unremarkable alabaster funerary urn, which he’d stowed away while Rose washed off the dust and changed into her normal clothes. There had been a good deal of running, and sneaking through narrow passages, and more agreeably, a fair bit of Rose giggling into her gloved hands. He could easily recall the sound of her laugh echoing over the high ceilings of the museum, ghostly sounds though their source stood right beside him, her cheeks pulled wide with grinning.

Yes, he hummed. A very good day.

He began to circling the console, nearly dancing to the tune of La Vie En Rose, which, to his great amusement, the TARDIS had begun to play. Edith Piaf sang, drowning out the sound of his own aimless hum.

“Where to next?” he mused, flipping through his mental catalogue. There were so many options. Abydos, the Lotus Nebula, Pen Haxico 2, Kantra, San Kaloon, the Other Paris… Hang on. Why am I thinking of—?

All around him, the words echoed, “Quand il me prend dans ses bras, il me parle tout bas…”

He heard Rose before he saw her — “…je vois la vie en rose…” — her voice twining with a woman who hadn’t been born yet, or had already died, or who was, perhaps, at this moment, wonderfully, beautifully alive. The strange synchrony of it all filled his hearts with a familiar ache.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar laugh echoing around the console, every bit as musical as the melody itself.

“Doctor, is the TARDIS feeling sentimental?”

“Perhaps,” he replied. “Why d'you ask?”

“The music.” Rose paused. “That and she put rose petals in my bath just now.”

He shrugged, fighting back a grin. Soft old thing. “She always enjoys our trips to Paris.”

“Why don’t we stay, then?” When he glanced up, Rose looked… hopeful. Her eyes sparkled in the low light of the time rotor, rid of their usual makeup and brilliantly warm. Her hair was damp and hanging around her shoulders, leaving dark patches on pale pink cotton. He loved these small reminders that her home was here, and nowhere — adrift, with him, on this ship. But his brow furrowed. Stay?

She hurried to add, “Just for an evening? I haven’t visited Paris in… oh, ages.” Her voice turned wistful as she spoke about her lone, ill-fated trip to the City of Lights. “We had a school field trip, when I was in Year Eight, maybe? My mate Shireen and I, we were supposed to go to the Louvre, you know, with the rest of the class. But we snuck off.” She bit her lip, a smile threatening to spill out. “What did I care about… old paintings by dead men, and statue after bloody statue? So, we took the train to Parc Asterix instead.”

“Quite the vagabond!“ he said, shaking his head in amusement. "And were you apprehended?”

“Of course we were caught,” Rose scoffed. “Two teenagers who didn’t speak French? The police found us right off, waiting in line for the Menhir Express. We were up next — they didn’t even let us on the ride first, the cheek! We’d been waiting for thirty minutes!” Once again, her mirth filled the cavernous console room. The TARDIS lights gave a little flash, as if in shared amusement. The Doctor shook his head. Look at the pair of them.

“Well, we can stay,” he conceded, “but we’re in the wrong time period for a ride on the Menhir Express, I’m afraid.”

Rose’s grin grew impossibly brighter. “I think I can live with the disappointment.”

He’d never been in Paris after dark without some sort of… purpose. But the Doctor found he quite liked wandering through the city with Rose. Finding a late night café where her clothes wouldn’t draw so much attention, they ordered more rich food than was good for them, sighing at the delectable dishes that they didn’t have the time or the stomach to try. Rose then led the way from street act to street act, tugging on his hand in impatience, but always dropping a few francs into a hat or an open case. Lamplight streaked against cement and cobblestone, water and windows — over bodies in motion, capturing slices of lives before releasing them back into the warm night.

Fairy lights bled out over the water of the Seine, tempting Rose time and again to pause on bridges and look out over the dancing display.

"Why does the TARDIS like Paris?” She spoke without looking away from the water, which reflected back on her face like some sort of impressionist painting. Paris in Shades of Rose, maybe. He thought he could paint it, if he tried.

“Because I like it, I suppose.”

“You like it everywhere we go,” Rose laughed. “Why here?"

He looked at her like she was a bit mad. "Because it’s Paris. Doesn’t every tourist dream of coming here? Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers… or is that just me?”

Amused, she asked, “She charged us double?”

“Double and a half, actually.”

“Blimey.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Well, I suppose that’s off the list, then,” she said, her voice conversational and far too bright for the dark, sultry night. “What’s next? Kissing strangers?”

The Doctor felt the shift before it even entered her tone — before she even thought to allow it to. He felt the heat rising off of her hand, where it lay next to his on the railing, and felt the intent that was always hiding somewhere within that human body of hers. The potential energy, gathering.

And if that wasn’t enough, there was the small matter of her eyes, which had at some point turned their full weight upon him.

He liked kissing, in this body. Liked it quite a lot, actually. He knew it, and Rose knew it, but knowing it wasn’t the same as doing it.

He wondered why he hadn’t already done it. Why he was only just now thinking of it, in Paris, in 1905, under lamplight that made his companion glow like something out of the vortex itself, like the heart of his timeship.

“Doctor.” There was a pressure on his hand — hers. “I was joking.”

His eyes darted to her lips, and back up again, quick enough that he could plausibly deny doing it. He wouldn’t need to. Rose wouldn’t mention it, because she never did. It was one of the things he loved about her, along with all of the everything.

She’d only been with him for a few months, but it felt as if he’d been ducking around the drop in his gut, the light-headed tingle of her touch, the urge to just kiss her already for much, much longer.

If I wait, take her to Abydos, I can kiss her in zero gravity, floating in a pool of starlight.

“You’re not a stranger.”

Or we can go to the Lotus Nebula. They’ve got kissing techniques I haven’t tried yet. I could test them on Rose.

Her brow furrowed. “No, I guess I’m not.”

What about San Kaloon? We could climb the great glass pyramids and kiss at the top of the world, the top of the whole star system.

“I’ve kissed strangers. It’s not as fun as it sounds.” His voice sounded dull in his own ears.

The Other Paris… it would smell better than this, probably, and be ten times as beautiful. I should take her there, and then kiss her.

“Doctor?"

His hearts raced. He was running out of places to run to.

The fact was, if he kissed Rose, it would mean something, and he never knew what to do when something meant something. That is, he knew what to do if he could point his sonic at the something, or give a grand speech at the something, or think his way out of the something. But when it came down to right here, and right now, he wasn’t sure what he’d do with all of the meaning. But he had to do something.

"Doctor,” she was saying, with her mouth.

It wasn’t until he was already moving that he realized he’d made up his mind.

“Rose,” he spoke, trying to interrupt himself. But his head seemed to droop, drawing nearer to hers. “I think I might prefer… not kissing strangers.”

“Me too.” It wasn’t spoken, so much as breathed into their mutual airspace.

He suddenly felt quite out of his depth. The space between them was insurmountable, but Rassilon, did he want to cross it.

Still, he hesitated, eyes moving between her mouth and her eyes and the cobblestones. Why wasn’t he already kissing her? It wasn’t Other Paris, but it was a Paris — her Paris — and he really, really thought he might like to kiss her here, and also now.

She rose, just onto the balls of her feet, just enough to bring her lips to his. Just enough for the smallest brush — first contact, timid. A meeting.

Soft, she definitely was, and human-hot. Like her hands always felt, only much more — much better. Much closer to the source of what made her look and smell and feel like Rose. Much closer to her, he thought, disjointed. You should be. He touched her cheek, drawing her nearer. Her bottom lip cradled his. More, still.

For him, giving into a kiss was usually like scratching an itch. But this was like realizing he’d never feel anything like an itch again. It would just be soft lips and Rose forever.

But it wasn’t forever. It was now, and just now, Rose was pulling away — cheeks flushed, bottom lip already pulling between her teeth. Her cheeks were flushed, and he wanted to hold them in his hands and feel the radiant warmth.

“Definitely preferable to strangers,” he said, trying hard not to clear his throat. What a stupid and unnecessary mechanism, yet he felt the impulse nonetheless — to break apart the silence, only it wasn’t a real silence because they were surrounded by people and noise and the gentle lapping of the Seine at its banks. It was a quiet that existed only between them.

“Definitely.”

The Doctor felt that there were only so many ways to describe Rose smiling. But this smile — the one she gave to him now, open-hearted and shy — was her just-kissed smile, and most assuredly his new favorite. He thought, maybe, he might like to see how it tasted.

#abbey.txt #thanks for the prompt!#ficlet #eight x rose #rose tyler #eighth doctor #doctor who

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bluerosesburnblue · 6 years

Text

Liz Liveblogs Bravely Second: Chapter 4

Seems like I was right. Time for a short one with Chapter 4: He Who Would Change the World. Two liveblogs in one day? Pretty good, considering the extreme gap between past ones

Why on earth did we take Lotus and Sakura with us to dock on the Skyhold? Lotus has a son! Sakura is really just our kindly bath mom! They shouldn’t be coming with us to the gate between dimensions!

They’re not coming into Skyhold with us, but the Rubadub’s still attached! If the Skyhold goes down, you two do, too! I don’t want to risk the lives of our boat mom and airship dad!

Skyhold has an actual name, Diamante. And it’s gorgeous. Like a palace of blue diamonds

Kaiser, Anne, and Janne are already aware we’re here. Subtle, this party ain’t

“I really want to see my dead - No... I really want to see my living parents.” Janne, hey, maybe instead of changing the past you could... get therapy? How far back are you guys gonna go to change things? One change effects many things. Is the Kaiser’s change gonna eradicate Janne’s family, thus invalidating Janne’s whole quest? Does anyone know how causality works in this empire?

Kaiser, at the very least, seems willing to save Janne’s parents should Janne be unable to

My guide says there’s a summon this chapter and it ain’t on the Skyhold, so we’re just gonna jump off the side and spit in the face of Gho Gettar’s dreams by snagging Amaterasu. Worst. Timeline. WORST! TIMELINE!

I have no idea how anyone is intended to find this spot in the far northeast of Eternia, and then also figure out that the cutscene only triggers if you slam your face into a very specific cliff

This poor Anchorite really got the short end of the stick. The other guys get to hang out in buildings, but they stuck this guy on a remote island in a freezing blizzard. The order he belongs to must really hate him

Oh I just realized I have Tiz as an Exorcist. This battle against a healer is gonna go GREAT now that I can just... undo those

Oh yeah, Exorcist was the real MVP job of that fight

My party is gonna waltz onto the deck of the Skyhold covered in blood and wielding the goddess of light and no one can stop us

We’ve found Agnès’s cell, but she doesn’t seem to be in it

BUT MAGNOLIA’S POSSESSED. Of all people, why did it have to be the one who can summon?

She’s acting like a bratty five-year-old. Is there a child ghost here? I’ve watched a lot of ghost hunting shows, can I appease you with a toy or something?

“I’ll make you pay for what you did to my daddy!” Well, the only dad Edea’s murdered this game is Geist, so I guess you’re Rev, then

If we killed him, then he should also be a ghost and therefore able to see his ghost child, though, right? Like, just pass on kiddo. Your dad’s waiting

Yeah, Revenant Grace. Fittingly, both father and son are named after types of Ghosts/Undead. Which begs the question of what Geist’s parents were thinking when they named him, and why he felt the need to give his son a name with heavy “return from the dead” connotations

I don’t think the Princess Bride reference was really necessary. “My name is Revenant Grace. You killed my daddy. Prepare to die!” just... doesn’t have the same kick to it

Okay, Rev’s possessed armor is really cool. And apparently, he died and Geist pulled a Fullmetal Alchemist and bound his soul to the armor. So there’s that

Edea’s trying to tell Rev that Geist was going to kill a kid just like him... but Rev’s, like, five, he’s not listening. He’s literally yelling “LA LA LA NO HE DIDN’T”

Geist went away on a trip, and some monster lurked on the boat that came back, where Rev was waiting. It killed him

I’m so glad I read about the trick to this fight, because it’s almost poetic. You set someone to Geist’s Exorcist asterisk. Let Rev posses one of his teammates, which sets his own HP to zero. Then it’s just a matter of attacking that teammate to kick Rev out of possessing them and back into his own body, then Undo HP to the last turn, where Rev’s body had 0 HP, thus killing him instantly using his father’s abilities

Also, we Exorcised a ghost. That’s neat, too

Rev’s monologue says that Geist was happier after he was revived and then he mimicked Geist’s psychotic laughter. I think the poor kid misread the situation. Geist broke when he lost his son, and if his last words were any indication, he regretted bringing Rev back

Edea just passed on those words. Rev’s grateful. He’s not a bad kid, just scared and stuck in a bad situation

Time to pass on and see your daddy, kiddo. He’s waiting

Yew’s entry in the journal states that the last name, Grace, is given to Orthodoxy saints and others who did extraordinary service to them. So Geist was either a holy man, or the descendant of one

And since it seems everyone in the Kaiser’s inner circle wants to “undo” something, I believe that Geist must have joined up to undo either binding Rev’s soul, or Rev’s death entirely

Agnès wasn’t there, so on to the next location

I’m almost baffled by how few named characters have died in this game so far, considering last game killed A LOT of people, to make the “redo” aspect feel fulfilling, and then pull the wind out of your sails when you realize that you didn’t redo anything. They stayed dead. (And then this game undid all those deaths because they were beloved characters who got a lot of development postmortem)

For FUCK’S sake, Janne, get lost! And especially don’t attack me mid-dungeon!

Janne “I Refuse to Die Until Yew Geneolgia, Specifically, Kills Me” Angard, is back for YET ANOTHER round

Oh god he’s Kylo Ren. “I was on this big revenge kick, so I befriended you to kill you! But then I liked you and that made me mad so now I’m going to kill you because I’m a child who can’t figure out my emotions!”

I’m... not that big a fan of Janne. He just comes off as a bratty teenager that they keep trying to make sympathetic, but he never stops being an ass about literally everything

“You were a true friend.” Yew, he really, REALLY was not

Rev works for me, because even though he acts like a brat, he’s acting as a reaction to his father’s death. Once you calm him down, the kid’s perfectly civil, and even thanks the party for passing along his dad’s last words. And that’s some stunning maturity for a kid

Janne, on the other hand, is older and should know better. But instead he lashes out, constantly brags that he’s the best, and even in the last fight he’s being petty. He thinks he can get away with betraying his friends, but as long as he tell them “Hey, good shot” as he’s dying, then he’s absolved. Janne has done a lot of REALLY AWFUL things. He has no intention of atoning because he can’t see past himself and what he wants out of this: his parents back. Rev’s a brat because he doesn’t know better. Janne’s a brat because he’s conceited and wants to delude himself into being superior

I’m gonna rip the Kaiser’s sword right out of his dumb metal hand

Yew is legitimately anticipating death. And blames himself for not stopping the Kaiser when he came to kidnap Agnès. That’s Yew’s undo moment. And I know for a fact we’re gonna make. That. Happen.

Edea’s pep talk about trying again and succeeding now that you’re stronger and wiser is something I think a lot of people need to hear. If you mess up, you shape up and do better

Wait, “Bravely Second” is an in-game term for something other than the hourglass? It’s moon for “the courage to try again.”

So the title of the game is, more accurately “The Courage to Try Again: A World With No Future”

Ooop. Just kinda slid into the Holy Pillar there. Okay

Kaiser’s robo-arm must be pretty tough if he can carry Agnès with it like that

I can’t believe I get to watch Leonardo the Ninja Turtle kick the ass of Leonardo the Ninja Turtle

Dude, stop saying the word “deny.” It’s gotten to be at least once a scene, we know. You deny, you deny, you deny, maybe accept that I’m gonna kick your ass?

Where the hell do you get the idea that only those who know sin can change the world, so you became a literal evil emperor to become a big enough asshole to fix time. Where... the hell do you get that idea? Was it Anne?

Wow. We just LET him do that. Nobody made a move while he went back in time with Agnès

...did Anne just imply that we sent the moon to another dimension?

Oh, no. She just sent the moon to another dimension. And Magnolia’s trying to call her people, but the moon just ain’t there

And here’s the scene I know about. The big reveal that, yes, Anne is Airy’s sister, she knows about you, the player, and now she’s gonna repeat her scene from the start of Default just to make sure you know that you. Messed. Up. You helped her stop Airy, and now she was able to do this. Aren’t you proud, player? You’ve done everything she asked

This boss music is amazing. A combo of Spanish guitar and Wailing guitar? Hell yes

And the butterfly battle background is gorgeous, even if it’s greyscale thanks to the moon’s disappearance

Well, shit. Anne’s hard. Attack one of her fake copies and she’ll basically insta-kill you. Group attacks are not recommended. They’re what keeps killing me

Not bad once you start playing more defensively. Resurrection Mist was a pretty decent idea for that fight with the way Anne can one-shot part members, but Magnolia’s Promethian Fire Arrow was the real damage MVP

Time to escape to the flying bath boat

I just glanced at the bestiary and Anne doesn’t have an entry. Also, it looks like all entries are locked, because the completion markers are faded. I think we’ve hit the end layer

Oh that’s nuts. It looks like time is frozen. All of the flames around the Skyhold stopped moving

“I know the feeling of losing your home” Actually, that raises a good point, Tiz. Are we ever gonna stop by Caldisla or is that just not relevant, since there’s no crystals there

A world without time. A world that both has no end and is the end. The final layer of all reality. The end layer

The Moon “created night from day.” As in, the Moon controlled time, much as the Crystals controlled the elements. Without it, there’s nothing left flowing or moving

This isn’t the first game with a Frozen Future apocalypse that I’ve played. Let’s see how this one stacks up against Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers. A leaf gecko hasn’t come to kick our asses, so it can’t be that bad yet

Ohhhhh shit I just got chills. Tiz said that we never got to fight the Kaiser once, and Yew realized something. He turned to the camera and said “If you’re out there, watching over us... hear my plea.” Yeah, buddy, I can hear you. “Not once?” I remember one time we got him on the battle screen. Just once

(I used up all my SP in the Anne fight, I hope that won’t be a problem)

Tutorial says that Altair has disappeared, so we can’t add entries to the bestiary. Is... the party not capable of writing without Ghost Dad? Did he steal our literacy or something?

It recommended talking to people, but also New Game+. Let’s see this timeless world, then make sure it never happens again

Not much different in Ancheim. Some worried citizens, a child who’s excited that they can play forever because it’s always day, a mom who wonders if she has to cook dinner now, and a man who’s acting like there’s always been no movement to the clock or sails

Al-Khampis seems to be a mix of panic and contemplating the scientific repercussions of this new world-state. One interesting tidbit is that one scientist detected an anomaly traveling through time, but not to the past. If it WAS the Kaiser, then he went 200 years into the future, instead. Rifa gave us similar dialogue to end layer guy in Sagitta, and then a message appeared saying I unlocked New Game+, so maybe it doesn’t unlock unless you talk to people

Florem is... Florem. Girls wondering if this means there’s not gonna be another festival, but at least the flowers don’t wilt. I can’t help but notice “Alternis” isn’t here anymore. The real interesting thing is Sylvie and the Matriarch

Sylvie: “...Miss Edea. ...So many tears, so many cries you will come to know from now on. So much evil... So much blood... But even so... Even so, that great ship will take to the sky once more...! To the world, bound in the sky, where Lady Agnès is held...!” I suspect we’re going to have to hunt down the Kaiser using the Buster Ship

Matriarch: “Sylvie would like me to tell you this... ...Edea Lee. ...A time is coming for you to come to a decision, no matter how difficult it may seem. You must tell your friends, then you must lie to the people, deceive the world, make yourself out as a tyrant in word and deed... Let yourself be attacked and blamed. Go after the friends you have lost. Take that glimmering ship to the sky once more! And that world, bound in the sky... Well, I’m afraid that this old lady has no idea about that.” Is this what the Kaiser was told? The sin he mentioned? To change the world, operate the shining Skyhold, he had to become the tyrant. And now it seems Edea will have to make the same decision

Though given her decision making track record in the sidequests... boy, she may already be a tyrant. We’re gonna fix that this time. Speaking of, there’s some people from the sidequests who reference a few of them hanging around, though I can’t say any of them won with a frozen future

Every person in Sagitta is just stuck repeating “Bravely Second... The courage to try again...” over and over, except for the guy who first introduces you to the end layer, who notes that this must be it, and the elder, who unlocks New Game+ just like Rifa did when I spoke to her

Gathelatio’s full of people screaming about the end times and divine retribution, and kids who hear all of this going “Are we gonna die?” And ominous cats

That... one Crystalguard guy whose name I can’t remember screams at us for not stopping the Kaiser, then apologizes and unlock New Game+. Hey, jackass. Do you want to go into the pillar of light and get one-shot by a fairy? No? Back off. I’m gonna fix it once I hit up the last few towns

Eternia has... a goat. Has that goat always been there? Well he didn’t break the moon. Just eats paper. Mm-hmm. And more worried citizens, a doomsayer, and one brilliant mind who wants to solve the moon problem using the white magic cables

I guess those taxes don’t matter now, do they, Grandship? Otherwise, not much here. An old lady who doesn’t care because she’ll die soon anyway, a guy who’s getting drunk for the apocalypse, and a kid who’s wondering where Alternis went

Yunohana’s pretty basic. Ominas is there trying to get Bahamut to fight off a Ba’al, but the little guy doesn’t look so good. The Lord of Bath tells us we have enough to uncover our feelings and unlocks New Game+ yet again

Maybe picking Ominas for the bad future was a good idea. Femto Flare could deal with the Ba’al outbreak that everyone’s talking about but I have yet to see

Visited the girl and her grandpa from the Eisen quest. Holly’s there trying to protect them, but she’s not enough and can’t find Barras (oops?) and the grandpa wishes he’d just sold the house so his granddaughter could’ve had a little luxury before the world ended

Goodman and his crew are holding down Eisen Bridge, but his soldiers back in Hartschild aren’t so confident. The people just want him home

I also checked on Sakura and Lotus. Sakura just warns us not to stay in the bath for too long now that there’s no time to keep track of, and Lotus is concerned at the appearance of Ba’al. Everyone keeps mentioning Ba’als, and I’m scared to turn encounters back on just in case they may be roaming

I also don’t think I ever mentioned it, but since the start of the game there’s been one person in each town who sings a different verse of the Tale of Sétana. They have to be important, but I suspect it’s relevant to the Yōkai quest, since it’s the only non-cameo-fight quest I’m aware of

*Edit after the Fact* I’m an idiot who can’t read. It’s Sétanta, as in the original name of the Irish mythological figure, Cú Chulainn. As in, the guy from the Prologue. The songs are his backstory. Setana is an area in Hokkaido, Japan. I knew that, I just can’t read, I guess. Wouldn’t be the first time I did something like this (like misreading the Harry Potter spell “Rictusempra” as “Rictumsempra” until I heard it said aloud while watching someone’s playthrough of the Order of the Phoenix game)

YEAH I TURNED ENCOUNTERS BACK ON AND THERE’S JUST BA’AL WANDERING AROUND AS RANDOM ENEMIES. Heyyyy, Urchin! Been... been a while?

Okay, the “next plot event” marker was on the “To Title” entry on the menu so I’m just gonna... gonna return to the menu. No point fighting Urchin if Altair won’t write a bestiary entry on it

Welcome to Bravely Second: Send Player. No more of this “End Layer” nonsense. I’m here, and I’m gonna help these kids take back their future

Back to the beginning. The fight where nothing seemed to work, but this time, I can help. Let’s get the team back together and RIP. THAT. SWORD. OUT. OF. HIS. DUMB. METAL. HAND!

Well, future Yew just kinda possessed his own body, and a good thing, too, because I don’t think past Yew even knew why he used the Bravely Second in the first place

“You, who would deny the past and present have no right to shape the future.” HE SURE DOESN’T, KIDDO. RIP HIM APART

“The future will be forged by those who accept the world they live in, and still fight for change!” I love Yew, and I’m so glad that I’m his extradimensional patron, in a meta sense

The chapter has ended. No cryptic monologues, no “Great Distance”. Just us, the Kaiser, and our Coup de Gravy!

#bravely default #bravely second #liz liveblogs bravely second

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amplesalty · 3 years

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Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

If I can make it there, I’ll make it anyhwere...

We’ve just had another Friday the 13th so it’s time to dust off the old slasher franchise for my ongoing attempts to make it all the way through the series. Let’s see where we left off last time, 6? Well, that’s not strictly true. I did watch 7 last November but never bothered posting about it. Which, I probably should have done because for once it actually bucked the trend with these movies and I actually kinda liked it? Just try to imagine ‘Jason vs Carrie’ and that’s basically it. Kinda takes the whole thing in a slightly different direction which is a welcome change after so many chapters of ‘Jason stabs camp councilors...again’. Maybe I’ll revisit it in more detail some time.

This movie isn’t quite that far out with it’s gimmickry there’s definitely an element of that with swapping the shoes of Crystal Lake for the neon lights of Manhattan. At least, that’s what the title of the movie would have you believe. It doesn’t exactly play out that way though.

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The opening of the movie seems to be going that way as it takes you on a guided tour around the dark city streets, with steaming sewer vents, shady alleyways complete with muggings, subway rides, diner coffee orders and a shot of Times Square. It’s all set to the stylings of Metropolis and ‘The Darkest Side of the Night’. I dig the song, has a very 80’s rock vibe to it, like something by Survivor that you’d get in a Rocky movie but it just seems a little out of place here.

Wait a minute, is that the Batman symbol?! Forget Jason vs Carrie, give us Jason vs Batman. Don’t tell me DC wouldn’t go for that, they seem more than happy to license out the Caped Crusader. I mean, we did just have crossover movies with Scooby Doo and the Ninja Turtles in recent years.

The requisite awakening of Jason takes place, this time jolted into life by the 1.2 gigawatts of electricity running through an underwater cable next to his watery grave. From there, we bumps off a couple of kids making whoopee in a house boat before stowing away on board as the boat slowly drifts into port where a high school pleasure cruise is about to set sail.

And it’s here that the bulk of the movie takes place which...isn’t the worst idea in the world? Would have that same sort of idea behind Alien where you’re trapped on board with this killer, not quite as extreme since there are some ways off a ship if need be. The movie touches on it to a degree, there’s a sense of paranoia and claustrophobia that develops but it doesn’t feel fleshed out.

You could throw in a sort of moral element to it, like the characters coming to terms with there being no escape and no way to eliminate Jason so they ponder whether to destroy the ship and sacrifice themselves so Jason doesn’t make it to land. Then you have the obvious sequel bait of him actually surviving and finding himself a whole host of new victims.

It just feels like a bait and switch. Just look at the poster, how awesome is that? You’ve got one of the most iconic skylines in the world and home to some of the tallest and most famous buildings but yet Jason looms over each and every one of them. And the subtitle ‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ conjures up all these images in your head of Jason rampaging through the streets like when the T-Rex gets loose in San Diego in The Lost World. I guess ‘Jason Goes Boating’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Jason being in the big city is a novel concept which hasn’t really been explored in the series up to now. Sure it starts to move away from just being confined to the camp grounds but it’s still a pretty rural area so to go to this level of widespread panic would be interesting.

At first I thought the movie might be trying to be a ‘best of both’ worlds and the ship section was just to explain how he gets to the big city. It kinda gives that impression the way it starts rattling off all the people on board and starts killing them off quicker than it can introduce them. This one rock chick is in all of two scenes and the second one is her death. They’re characters done with very broad strokes so it feels they’re doing the bare minimum to give you some context before Jason kills them off, just to keep the pace up before we get to the real meat and potatoes of the action in the big city. It’s almost like The Breakfast Club with all the stereotypes we have on show; the jock, the nerd, the beauty queen...

We even get elements of the controlling father of EMILIOOOOOO’s character with young Sean Robertson who’s own father is the ships captain and seems quite keen on Sean taking up the family business. Are you not taking things a little too seriously to be in full naval uniform and ribbons for the sake of some exaggerated high school graduation party?

And don’t forget basket case Rennie who has visions of a young Jason drowning. Except, her dog spends this scene looking at the port hole in a very worried manner as well before getting freaked out and running away so apparently he has these visions too?!

Rennie clearly isn’t too popular amongst her peers as the bitchy, popular girl promptly hip checks her off the deck, sending her flying through the air and into the icy waters below. Have the people who made this ship not heard of a guard rail?

I’m not sure what the deal is with Rennie and all these weird visions she has, like blood coming out of a tap or young Jason bursting through the mirror and gooziling her. The movie never really explains what the link is between the two of them, at most it seems to be this mutated childhood trauma where she nearly drowned, mixed with warnings she had back then that she needed to learn to swim lest she end up drowning like that Jason Vorhees boy. It’s just like the puritan origins of those urban legends, clearly all along Jason Vorhees was just a means of scaring kids into taking water safety seriously.

Still, as unexplained as it is, it still adds some enjoyable moments to the movie and I’ll gladly take the writers throwing a bunch of weird shit at the wall to see what sticks over some of the earlier movies.

I love the moment when the core group of survivors eventually make it off the ship, taking refuge in the life boat, rowing day and night to try and find some sort of sanctuary before eventually seeing a torch on the horizon; that of Lady Liberty. One of the most iconic images in human history, a great symbol of hope to the tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free that made their way to her shores. Like those that came before them across the seas, finally their nightmare is over.

Or, at least it is for all of about five minutes before they get promptly mugged by two street urchins. Not just muggers mind you, given that they usher Rennie away with disturbing plans in mind for her.

Which, say what you will about Jason, he does stop an attempted rape in this movie. Probably not going to tip the karmic scales in his favour after the hundreds of grizzly murders at his hands over the years but still, it’s a start. Plus, this is doubly puritan as this guy injected Rennie with heroin or something so Jason is taking a stand against drugs as well.

We also get one of the characters standing up to Jason on a rooftop and trying to use his boxing skills to good use by giving him a series of right hooks and body blows. Only, Jason has been following the Homer Simpson school of boxing as he just stands there and takes it before the other guy gets too fatigued to carry on. At which point Jason literally knocks his block off like a Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em robot and the guys head rolls away into a nearby dumpster which then slams shut in a very satisfying manner.

Rennie and Sean end up in the sewers but need to get out again as the sewer system is about to flood with toxic waste. Lucky that they just have buckets of that lying around that Rennie can just throw in Jason’s face. He then removes his mask in what I can only assume is a loving tribute to The Phantom of the Opera to reveal the mutated freak beneath. Maybe this is another Toxic Avenger origin movie?

Then lightning strikes The Statue of Liberty because...symbolism, I guess?

And Jason succumbs to his one weakness; drowning. Only this time in the aforementioned toxic waste so it’s nice to have a bit of variety. At which point he turns back into child Jason because...I have no idea. Maybe it’s another one of their visions, or they’ve somehow exorcised the demons of zombie ghost Jason and now the spirit of child Jason can rest in peace?

You know what the most amazing thing about this movie is? Other than the fact that Rennie’s dog shows up again at the end because it seems to have the homing skills of one of those animals you read about in the papers who travel across country to their old house, these characters have been through the innards of a manky old ship, been lost at sea for however long, trudged through the shift encrusted sewers and tussled with a decaying monster and still manage to come out without a speck of dirt on them.

Maybe I’ve just been going into these last couple with super low expectations but I’m actually beginning to enjoy them now? Like I said before, I found the old ones really boring so changing up the formula is refreshing and they’re tickling my ‘so bad it’s good’ senses with all the weird shit going on.

Like, amongst all those images in my head of what a Jason in New York movie would be, funny wasn’t one of them but it just seems to really ramp up in this finale. You have individual moments like when a bunch of thugs are listening to music from their boombox which Jason storms past and punts in the air. They don’t too kindly to this, pulling out chains and switchblades to threaten him, to which he calmly lifts up his mask and causes them to flee with their tails between their legs.

But there’s also this broader idea which serves as this sort of amazing anti climax that having Jason turn up in New York is not the cataclysmic event you think it would be. It’s like no one outside of Crystal Lake has even heard of him so no one bats an eyelid when some 7ft behemoth goes by in the street or on the subway at 1am. I mean, who’s going to notice another freak around here? When Sean and Rennie storm into a diner looking for help, their cries of a maniac being on the loose and trying to kill them is met with a rather quizzical look by the waitress who simply replies ‘Welcome to New York...’.

Then Jason bursts through the wall like the Kool Aid man and the cook just shakes his head and walks out to confront him. He does it so nonchalantly as if he’s had to deal with his a hundred times already, like it happens so often that it’s lost all meaning. This whole movie has a pretty damning outlook on this city, maybe the true horror in our lives isn’t playing out on TV or on the big screens of our local cinemas. It’s a call to arms that the true horror is the violence and crime taking place on our city streets every day and the systemic issues going unchecked that give rise to it.

#Friday the 13th #Friday the 13th Part VIII #Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan #Jason Takes Manhattan

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luzintheattic · 3 years

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A story by my Zeide Moto

My maternal grandfather's name is Mario, but since I can remember, everyone has called him Moto. He once told me that this nickname came from his days as a biker in the pampas, but my grandmother said it was because he was like a motor, always working. He was one of those men who got increasingly handsome with age with his dark skin, rectangular glasses and distinguished nose; he looked like a man from another era, one of the last true gentlemen.

He, in his role as the distinguished Doctor Markelis, was a serious and severe man, but as my Zeide Moto, he was always making up stories for his grandchildren, entertaining us for endless hours. Before starting his stories, he asked us a series of questions: did we want fiction or nonfiction? princesses or cowboys? In Spanish or English? With or without monkeys? Short or long? Most of the time, no matter what he asked, we ended up choosing our favorite Moto tale, the most popular of all his diverse oeuvre, his magnum opus, The Farting Horse. The story has changed through the thousands of times that my grandfather has told it, but as far as I remember the story of the Farting Horse goes like this:

“Once upon a time, there was a kingdom in the middle of the Arabian desert. It was an impressive kingdom, with magnificent castles of gold and high walls which converted into a kind of huge amphitheater. It had gardens that, according to some historians, were even more beautiful and fragrant than those of Babylon, and mosaic murals decorated every corner. Although the beauty of this kingdom was reputed throughout the Middle East, what made this kingdom legendary was the way in which the kingdom worked together in harmony, from the poorest peasant to the great and powerful Sultan. There was no disagreement that could not be solved by critical and creative thinking.

The crown jewel of this kingdom was the little princess, the only daughter of the sultan. Her wit and charm were contagious: she could make the most curmudgeonly person laugh, involve the most isolated person, interest the most apathetic person. The beauty of her mind found its only rival in the dulcite tone of her voice.

Countless wiser and more qualified men have tried to communicate the quality, the tone, the spectacle that was the little princess's voice to no avail. Every morning, as true as the sun rising in the east, the little princess came out on her balcony at seven sharp to sing her song. The melody of the song has been lost in the sands of time, but the lyrics endure in those who are strong of soul:

No te des por vencido, ni aún vencido,

no te sientas esclavo, ni aún esclavo;

trémulo de pavor, piénsate bravo,

y acomete feroz, ya mal herido.

Ten el tesón del clavo enmohecido

que ya viejo y ruin, vuelve a ser clavo;

no la cobarde estupidez del pavo

que amaina su plumaje al primer ruido.

Procede como Dios que nunca llora;

o como Lucifer, que nunca reza;

o como el robledal, cuya grandeza

necesita del agua, y no la implora…

THHBPPPPPPPP

Suddenly a loud and disturbing noise replaced the sweet voice of the little princess. Out of shock, she paused for a moment. No one had ever tried to play instruments while she sang, especially such an atonal one. But, as the little princesses embodied the kind and collaborative spirit of the people, she thought that it was a good thing that the music would be something communal. She continued cautiously.

trémulo de pavor, piénsate bravo,

y acomete feroz, ya mal...

TTHHHHHHBPPBPBPBPBPPPPPPPPPPPPPPBBBPPB

This time the little princess realized that whatever she was making that noise could not possibly be an instrument. It was deafening and annoying, something no one could have possibly done on purpose. Not one to be easily discouraged, the small princess tried to sing her song again.

Ten el tesón del clavo enmohecido

que ya viejo y ruin, vuelve a ser

THBPPPPPPBPP

It was in vain, nothing could be heard, except this new awful noise. All day long, the noise rang out, bouncing off the walls. The pleasant perfume of the gardens was also replaced by the smell of manure. Without the princess's song and her inspiring message, the people of the kingdom could not get up on time and all arrived late and disoriented to their work. The subjects, due to the constant and disturbing presence of the noise and the smell of manure, began to fight amongst themselves about insignificant things. No one could sleep, talk, sing, or focus, on anything but this new noise and smell.

The sultan, concerned about the subject’s discomfort, as well as his own, immediately formed a voluntary committee to find the source of the noise and silence it. The morning after the noise was first heard, the entire kingdom searched in every ornate corner the source of the noise. After a few hours of searching, the noise was found at a small farm on the outskirts of the kingdom. The cause of so much trauma, so much chaos, the origin of all the kingdom's problems was a small horse that couldn't stop farting.

The sultan, when he heard the news that they found the origin, immediately went to the farm accompanied by the little princess. At seeing the flatulent horse, the little princess could not contain her laughter. She was half impressed that such a small horse was responsible for the downfall of a kingdom that, until yesterday, functioned in perfect harmony.

Little by little, a crowd of subjects entered the farm, making it even louder and more stinky. Trying to reestablish the collaborative atmosphere that existed before the farts, the sultan asked for suggestions to solve the horse problem. The first suggestion, made by a butcher, was simple and straightforward: kill the horse. The whole motley crew packed into the sweltering stable thought it was a great idea, minus the little princess. Although she was moved by the fate of the horse, the little princess knew that logical reasoning was the only way to convince the mob present. After thinking for a moment, the little princess asked

"And what will happen when we are faced with a problem that we cannot kill?"

The audience began to murmur in protest but after a bit of discussion and debate, they recognized that the princess was right and that death should only be used when there is no other option. A gastroenterologist who was present suggested some pills that could alleviate the horse's farts. Everyone present thought that they should try this prescription, but after a few days of being monitored by the doctors, the situation only got worse. The pills made the farts even louder and stinkier. The kingdom began to deteriorate and everyone became ill as they could not sleep from the sound or eat from the smell.

After the gastroenterologist's failure, an abundance of cures and solutions reached the sultan's golden gates. The architects built houses to contain the sound and smell of the horse, but each one was destroyed with just one fart. Nutritionists changed the horse's diet in every way possible, but it only made the farts worse in one way or another. Religious leaders of every sect tried to exorcise the demon of farts unsuccessfully. Therapists talked to the horse for hours, but, even though he resolved his problems with his absent father, the farts continued. None of the solutions worked and the frustrated and discouraged Sultan decided there was no other way, they had to kill the horse the next morning.

Defeated, the sultan dragged himself down the carpeted hall until he reached the little princess's room. He was about to tell the bad news when he realized that the princess was not in her room. Scared and exhausted, the sultan began to cry, until his own sobs covered the sound of farts and he fell asleep in the little princess's bed.

The next day the sultan rose to the voice of the little princess ringing from the balcony of his golden castle. He was so happy listening to the sweet voice of her daughter that he did not notice the soft melody that accompanied it, nor the lack of the sound and smell of the farts. When the princess finished singing, the sultan ran to the balcony.

"My daughter, how did you do it?" the sultan asked, barely containing his joy.

“It’s simple, papa” replied the little princess “I put a steel flute in the horse's rectum. Now the farts can be heard as if they were the dulcet tones of my songs. What's more, the steel and shape of the flute filter the farts, which makes them not smell bad. "

"What a clever daughter! What ingenuity! You've saved the kingdom, you've saved your people, and you've saved your daddy. How, I beg you to tell me, did you think of this perfect solution? " the sultan begged

"It was easy, Dad" replied the little princess lovingly, "no me di por vencido, aun vencido."

And with that answer the sultan finally understood. It was only in embodying the hard-working, loving, creative, collaborative, and tenacious soul of the kingdom that problems could be solved. Little by little, the kingdom returned to its former glory. People again roamed the streets, went to work, ate and slept. The smell of the gardens was the only thing you could smell and the light was the only thing bouncing off the stone walls. The sultan, the little princess, and the kingdom lived happily after

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fiftyeightminutes · 7 years

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The Curtains Close On a Kiss A Blueski Fanmix

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Tracklist below because as with my previous fanmix, I wanted to write a bit about each song choice.

1. Sleepsong by Bastille (gif credit)

Oh, in the strangest dreams, walking by your side It is the hole you impose upon your life When you're out, loneliness, it crawls up in the ground It's what you feel, but can't articulate out loud. Oh you go to sleep on your own and you wake each day with your thoughts And it scares you being alone It's a last resort

When we first meet them, Will and Riley are both haunted by their pasts. With Will we see this immediately, the episode starting off a memory of Sara Patrell overlapping with his visions of Angelica. With Riley, we don’t know about her past, but there is an obvious sadness to her. Neither of them want to be alone, but through circumstances beyond their control they have found themselves that way. Riley has lost so much, her mother and husband and daughter all dead back in Iceland. Will’s father is a shadow of his father self, and he never believed Will about Sara Patrell.

2. I See the Light from Tangled (gif credit)

And at last I see the light And it's like the fog has lifted And at last I see the light And it's like the sky is new And it's warm and real and bright And the world has somehow shifted All at once everything looks different Now that I see you

Then Will and Riley see each other for the first time, and everything changes. After so long being emotionally isolated, they instantly feel an affection for each other. They are in love at first sight.

3. Gasoline by Halsey (gif credit)

Are you insane like me? Been in pain like me? Bought a hundred dollar bottle of champagne like me? Just to pour that motherfucker down the drain like me? Would you use your water bill to dry the stain like me? Are you high enough without the Mary Jane like me? Do you tear yourself apart to entertain like me? Do the people whisper 'bout you on the train like me? Saying that you shouldn't waste your pretty face like me?

Riley doesn’t want to open up to Will about her life at first. She doesn’t want to get him involved in her world, even though she witnessed a shootout and knows she is being followed because of the drugs and money she accidentally took. Even before that happened, she was already in a dark place. Although talking to Will makes her happy, she also doesn’t want him to see the side of her that numbs herself to the pain with drugs.

4. Cough Syrup by Young the Giant (gif credit)

Life's too short to even care at all oh I'm coming up now coming up now out of the blue oh These zombies in the park they're looking for my heart oh oh oh oh A dark world aches for a splash of the sun oh oh If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away To some fortune that I, I should have found by now And so I run to the things they said could restore me Restore life the way it should be I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down

Unfortunately, Riley doesn’t have much of a choice about Will getting involved. Nyx finds her, trying to kill her when she tells him she doesn’t have his money. Even though they have just been reborn as sensates, Will feels Riley being attacked. He saves her. But London is no longer safe for Riley, and she knows it. She wants to go back home to her father, but she believes returning to Iceland will put the people she loves in danger. While she is grappling with this choice, Will is dealing with the consequences of helping Nomi. He is suspended from his job as a cop, something that is a core part of his sense of self. When Riley arrives in Iceland, she visits with Yrsa while Will is visited by Jonas. They finally admit to each other that they’re not as alright as they’ve wanted the other to think.

5. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri (gif credit)

Time stands still Beauty in all she is I will be brave I will not let anything, take away What's standing in front of me Every breath, every hour has come to this One step closer I have died everyday, waiting for you Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more

When Riley is taken by BPO, Jonas is right to say that the first thought in Will’s mind is getting on a plane to save her. From the moment they met, they’ve been constantly on each other’s minds. It has only been a couple of weeks, but there is no hesitation from Will. He does everything in his power to get to Riley. But in the process, he makes eye contact with Whispers. They get as far as they can from him, Will driving to the top of the mountain. But Riley is struggling with her flashbacks. With her new sensate abilities making her relive the day of her daughter’s death over and over, Riley is in an unbearable amount of pain. Will can feel that pain. With Whispers on their trail, Jonas and the memory of Angelica are telling him the only way to save the rest of their cluster is to kill himself. But Will knows this would doom Riley to death as well. He has just found this amazing woman, and he realizes in that moment that he loves her. He loves her, and he refuses to give her up. Will confesses his love to Riley, giving her the strength to save them both.

6. Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men (gif credit)

There's an old voice in my head That's holding me back Well tell her that I miss our little talks Soon it will all be over, and buried with our past We used to play outside when we were young And full of life and full of love Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right. Your mind is playing tricks on you my dear 'Cause though the truth may vary This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Riley is reliving the worst day of her life, sure that she was supposed to die on this mountain. But she can feel the strength of Will’s love for her. Through her pain, Will’s love gives Riley the strength to save them both. To live. Riley drives for the first time in years, bringing them to Sven’s boat to escape safely. They don’t know what the future holds in store for them, but Riley and Will know that together they can make it through.

7. Where Do We Go From Here? From Once More, With Feel (the Buffy musical episode) (gif credit)

Where do we go from here? Where do we go from here? The battle's done, And we kind of won So we sound our victory cheer Where do we go from here?

The cluster have won their first battle with BPO, saving Riley and escaping from Whispers. But Will looked Whispers in the eyes, and their war has only just begun. He has to live in a state of semi-consciousness, hiding from Whispers while still trying to gather information on him. They’re starting to run out of options. Will’s body is slowly succumbing to the heroin. For a while, Riley has to have faith that Will can pull through this. She believes in him, but there is no clear plan. Their future is uncertain.

8. Heartlines by Florence + the Machine (gif credit)

We will carry We will carry you there Just keep following The heartlines on your hand Just keep following The heartlines on your hand Keep it up, I know you can Just keep following The heartlines on your hand 'Cause I am

Whispers finds Will’s father on Christmas. Seeing his father struggling without him is too much, and Will admits to Riley that he’s not sure he can win. He has been strong for his cluster for months, but because of his savior mentality he felt like this was his burden to carry alone. Riley reminds him that he is never alone anymore. He doesn’t have to fight Whispers by himself - they will defeat him together.

9. All The Small Things by Blink 182 (gif credit)

All the small things True care truth brings I'll take one lift Your ride best trip Always I know You'll be at my show Watching, waiting, commiserating Say it ain't so, I will not go Turn the lights off, carry me home

Together, the cluster gets one over on Whispers. But it doesn’t take long for Whispers to come back into their lives, driving Will and Riley back into hiding. When they realize that there must be more sensates out there than any of them thought, Riley makes a decision. She is tired of hiding. She decides to take Vincent up on his offer to do a last minute show. Will is worried, but he trusts and supports her decision. Likewise, Riley feels and understands Will’s worry. She gives him her strength and love, and her speech at her show is largely directed at telling him just how much he has given to her in their time together.

10. Colors by April Smith and the Great Picture Show (gif credit)

I'll wear your colors my dear Until you're standing right here Next to the one who adores you Whose heart is beating for you Like a lighthouse guides a shipwrecked sailor safely from the sea I'll wear your colors til you come back home to me I'm hoping you return the glow I'm just making sure you know That no matter how, no matter when You come back to me

Riley’s plan works. They find more sensates, the first of whom is The Old Man of Hoy. They ask for his help, and he and the Archipelago agree to give it. But they have one condition - Riley has to go to Chicago alone. It is the first time Will and Riley have been separated since they met in person, and it is extremely hard on both of them. Will is especially worried, considering Riley is taking a huge leap of faith in trusting Mr. Hoy and the Archipelago. This could easily be a trap. When Will’s father dies, it gets worse. Will struggles. But they hold strong for each other over the distance.

11. Learn To Let Go by Kesha (gif credit)

Had a boogeyman under my bed Putting crazy thoughts inside my head Always whispering, "It's all your fault" He was telling me, "No, you're not that strong" I know I'm always like Telling everybody, "You don't gotta be a victim Life ain't always fair, but hell is living in resentment Choose redemption, your happy ending's up to you" So I think it's time to practice what I preach Exorcise the demons inside me Whoa, gotta learn to let it go

Will is struggling with the death of his father. Whispers has been doing everything in his power to make the loss as painful as possible for Will. It reverberates through the rest of the cluster, and Capheus is almost hurt when Will is unable to pull himself out of his pain. He has been strong for the rest of his cluster for so long, always encouraging them when they need it. Will has especially been there for Riley through her pain, helping her recover and lending her his strength. But is is hard for him to do this for himself. When Capheus is taken after the rally, the cluster confronts Will. They feel his pain, and they don’t blame him. But Riley tells him that they need him. Capheus forgives him instantly, but Will decides in that moment to work through the pain. He has helped Riley survive hers - they can do this.

#riley blue #will gorski #blueski #blueski playlist #blueski fanmix #sense8 playlist #sense8 fanmix #sense8 meta #my stuff

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thisisthetyty · 7 years

Text

COMING OUT TO KEN

I came out to several people before actually ever saying the words ‘I’m gay’ out loud. The several friends I told were all told through text messages; a technological development that wonderfully enabled my anxiety. Something about telling this person was different though.

Ken was the youth pastor at my church. Now don’t let your mind wonder to scary places that involve him trying to exorcise the gay out of me in a dungeon by candlelight or some shit. He was my friend, and a totally postmodern type church pastor. We went out to eat with him (we even dine and dashed once by accident), talked to him about girls (I’m still waiting for my Oscar to come in the mail) and farted in his presence. He was a big part of this extremely confusing time of my life as a source of advice, comfort and support.

I set up a time to talk to him in private after a sermon one week. The day of, I put it off as long as possible. I talked to the stragglers after the service. Even after Ken’s wife came and told me he was set up in this room whenever I was ready, I hung around a few more minutes. He was in the production booth in the auditorium. He was recording two of our worship leaders sing a few songs up on stage. When I ran out of people to talk to I bit the bullet and went. We made small talk for a few minutes. Then I was silent for the several minutes preceding the words.

We were in a big room full of many distractions. There was a mixing booth in front of us. If you’ve never seen one, it’s a huge booth full of endless knobs and dials and lights and labels. There were hundreds of empty seats in front of us. There were curtains and spotlights hanging from the ceiling. There were huge panel windows looking out on to the busy street. There were the two people on stage singing to their guitars. There was plenty for me to look at while postponing saying the words I had been waiting my whole life to say.

“I’m gay.”

He didn’t say anything immediately. He couldn’t. I wouldn’t shut up. Saying it opened the floodgates. I had classic Cady Heron word vomit. I told him when I knew, that it wasn’t my fault, what I wanted to do going forward, who I had told, who I hadn’t told, why I hadn’t told my family, how afraid I was to tell my family, how it effected my faith; everything. He sat in silence, and just listened as I rambled on for the longest time. After stoning him with my life story he finally had the chance to talk. He didn’t postpone his words. He told me he loved me, that nothing had changed and that he would be there for me for whatever I needed from him. When I stood to leave, he stopped me.

“You’re not just leaving after that.”

He pulled me into one of the top five hugs of my entire life. Several years removed I can’t recall the exact words said that night but I remember the feeling of that hug perfectly. In that embrace I felt acceptance like I hadn’t before. In all of my previous coming outs I had never felt that. They were all words on screens: cold, calculated and callous. This was the coming out I needed. Can we just pretend like this was my actual first coming out? Kay, thanks!

Which made the blow that much harder when two months later he informed the high school congregation that he was moving out of the state. It was devastating. The few months that followed featured me crying, cutting school to go home and cry, fleeing church sermons to run to the bathroom and cry, etc. I think that time of my life and when Taylor Swift’s Speak Now came out are tied for the times of my life where I’ve cried the most.

The timing of his departure also proved to be detrimental to me over the years. It was junior year. If you’re familiar with the American schooling system you’ll know that is one year before senior year, which is one year before you leave for college. Up until that point I had been visiting Christian schools with my plan being to go work for a church. And then God ‘moved’ my friend and pastor to move to Kansas for a church there. Those were Ken’s words: he felt “moved” to go to this other church. Needless to say, I was turned off by God’s ‘plan’ at that exact moment.

Out of bitterness I couldn’t fathom going to any Christian school. Time was ticking however. Enrollment deadlines were approaching. Plans had to be made. Where was I gonna go to school? What was I gonna do with my life? Those were the decisions I had to make in the aftermath of one of the biggest heartbreaks and game changers of my life. What could go wrong?

Around that same time my life had also been changed by the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. That is not a joke. But you are allowed to laugh. That award show changed my life. I was by no means sheltered growing up; we listened to Britney Spears in my house. I just never really paid attention to pop culture. Then that award show came on. Let me give you a brief recap just in case this broadcast didn’t have as lasting as an impact on you as it did on me.

·Madonna gave a speech about the recently deceased Michael Jackson, and I was apparently the only one that found it touching

·A tribute performance to Michael Jackson, featuring Janet Jackson and my tears

·Russell Brand, a man who’s vernacular and accent I’ve always been envious of, hosted (he’s also the reason I know the meaning of the word vernacular)

·Beyoncé performed ‘Single Ladies;’ what more can you ask for?

·The infamous beginning of Kanye West and Taylor Swift’s treacherous relationship that haunts Facebook’s trending news stories to this day

·Beyoncé invited Taylor back on stage and completed her transformation into a higher being far better than us petty mortals

·Jay-Z (whose name was still hyphenated at the time) and Alicia Keys got stage bombed by Lil Mama, of ‘Lip Gloss’ fame, while performing

Clearly, this wasn’t your mom and pop’s award show, folks. So for the second time in my life I related to Lil Mama (my lip gloss also caused some “jocking”). She was so inspired by the spectacle in front of her that she had to stand up and join in. That was my plan. I wanted to join that world. Being the seemingly talentless hack that I am though, meant I would not be up there singing, dancing, playing an instrument or in any way be performing. I could get around that. I enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University to graduate with a degree in Music Business. Because of the 2009 MTV VMAs. And everything worked out great. Sooo great.

#writing #VMA #vmas #mtv #coming out #gay #Gay Christian #funny meme #blog #personal essay

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