#and y’all best already know I am hype as hell about the scenes that bring us back to New Mexico

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

#bnha 313 #midoriya izuku #lady nagant #bnha meta #deku meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

[realcube]

random kisses w/ the haikyuu!! boys hcs 💋

characters: tsukishima, akaashi, kenma, iwaizumi & noya 

thank you to anon for the amazing request :3

IWAIZUMI & KENMA’S ARE AGED UP

tw// swearing, sexual references, mentions of kinks, mentions of choking

Kei Tsukishima

tsukishima was always very hesitant to kiss and hug tbh

the only thing he did freely without overthinking was hold your hand but even then, he’d immediately pull away if he thought his palm was getting the slightest bit sweaty (from his nerves)

also, he’d get really tense when ever he saw you lean in for a kiss bc he was always afraid that he’d mess up something 

like what happens if he sneezes exactly when you’re about to connect lips?- he’d die, that’s what would happen. 

anyway, when you first began surprising him by placing kisses on either the back of his hand or the nape of his neck, he’d become a blushing , irritated mess

like, he thought it was so cute and sweet so of course he’d blush but then he’d get mad bc..you made him blush! how embarrassing for him, tsk.

but although he’d be annoyed and hiss things like ‘you’re so weird’ or ‘that’s simp behaviour’ he would never tell you to stop bc deep down he knows that he enjoys it lol

and surprisingly, he wasn’t in denial about it at first either 

like mans isn’t stupid 

obviously he liked it, why else would he blush?

since he was aware that he liked your lil’ random kisses, he began to pretend to be invested in activity bc he realised that if you thought he was preoccupied with something important/stressful, you’d be more likely to give his neck a lil’ peck

for instance, if he’s just on his phone or whatever then you text him saying that you’re coming over, he immediately rush to gather his backpack and bring out his notes so he can sit at his desk to look like he’s studying lmao 

then you walk in like ‘awh bb you’re always working so hard 🥺 kithes’

and he’s just got the most cunning smirk on his face which he’s trying his very best hide to conceal

then you gave him a kiss on the cheek and he was just like ‘gotcha bitch ( •̀ ω •́ )✧’ 

anyway, when he’s just deadass being lazy he can still tell when you’re about to kiss him bc he’s very observant etc etc

(also bc you always have a cheesy grin on your face before you kiss him lol)

so after a few years of dating, they become less of ‘random kisses’ and more like just regular kisses for tsukki but he always tries to act like it’s surprising 

whether that be jumping slightly whenever you peck the back of his neck or inhaling sharply as you pressed a sudden kiss to his forehead

it’s just bc he loves to hear your giggles at his reaction 🥺 he thinks it’s so cute

Keiji Akaashi

this all began when he was lying on the couch, reading a book while looking absolutely scrumptious so you just had to give him a lil’ peck on the forehead and he’s been addicted ever since

he especially likes it when you sneak up behind him, wrap him in a hug then plant a kiss on the nape of his neck - he thinks it’s so cute and he always cuddles your arms to his chest so you don’t let go 

OMG AND YOU DID IT AT SCHOOL ONCE AT THE END OF PRACTISE, IN FRONT OF ALL HIS TEAMMATES AND HE JUST- MALFUNTIONED FJBFVBGRAFD

deadass he just stood like a statue while you cuddled up behind him, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide 

bokuto thought it was adorable and was like ‘awwwhhh!! #couplegoals!! 💖💕🥰’

(yes he does say the hashtag aloud)

while the rest of the team are wondering if akaashi is okay. i mean, mans looking pretty stiff

but dw he’s not dead y’all, he’s just ascended  👼

like seriously he loves it so much 

sometimes he tries to give you random kisses by just grabbing your face while you’re doing something and lean in to place his lips upon yours but he always gets distract by how gorgeous you are, so he’ll spend a little too long admiring your face which will lead to you having to awkwardly muttering something along the lines of

‘i love you too, akaashi. but, erm, my toast is burning.’

Hajime Iwaizumi

iwaizumi already did something kinda similar to random kisses but not really yk?

like whenever he saw you really invested in an activity that you didn’t like doing (cleaning, laundry, studying, chores etc) he’d plant a firm kiss on your cheek which would end up trailing across your face, to your lips - just to boost your spirits lol :)

but they weren’t really surprising or ‘random’ bc he would always announce something to grab your attention before kissing you, like ‘babe’ or ‘wow’

also, imo ‘random kisses’ gives off a ‘sweet lil’ smooch’ sorta vibe but the kisses he gives you are far from ‘smooches’

like they are unintentionally sensual as hell 

and he doesn’t even realise how erotic they are so he just suddenly pulls away to leave you with your chores ✋😔

anyway, you first gave him a surprise kiss while he was cooking dinner and whispered something jokingly in his ear along the lines of ‘woah, husband material.’

damn, if iwa knew that all he had to do for some kithes was be a hubby then he would’ve done that sooner like geez 😳

istg after that day iwaizumi would be in full maid-mode whenever you were in the house (bc he apparently doesn’t know the difference between the duties of a maid and a ‘husband’ lol)

‘yes i do the cooking, yes i do the cleaning’ - nicki manaj, hey mama -iwazumi hajime after being told that’s he’s husband material

so know you feel obliged to give him kisses and praise him whenever you see him doing chores/cooking/gardening bc you know he’s only doing that to please you lmao

so you just give the man what he wants i mean, he’s trying so hard

and he puts in so much effort to make sure he looks hot while doing it

like if he’s cleaning the bathroom room, he’ll oil himself and get out the Mr Muscle spray to make sure that his chest is shinier than the bathroom tiles

then you’ll kiss his forehead and tell him how he’s doing a great job blah blah blah

honestly, the kisses are hardly ‘random’ anymore since iwaizumi sets up a whole scene just to get you to peck his cheek but whatever

anyway, you helped him realise that he had a domestic and servitude kink 

and for that, he’s forever grateful 🥰

Kenma Kuzome 

pov: you’re sad so you play stardew valley and your s/o notices and they pounce on you with their love and affection 🥺

and you cry bc you love them so much but you’re not good at expressing it 😔✌

- ok, end of pov -

that was kenma’s pov btw ^

but like seriously, it’s his absolute favourite when you give him kisses while he’s playing video games

and you always give exactly the right quantity - it’s like you can read his mind or something  

like, if he’s in a the climax of a round of any first-person shoot/rpg and you happen to walk by, you’ll just place a brief yet caring kiss on the side of his head then leave him alone

or if he’s on stream and you walk into the room - but don’t wanna be on camera - you’ll blow him kisses and he’ll smile like an idiot then discretely blow one back

then his chat is like ‘omg he can smile?’, ‘why is he smiling?’ ,‘is he sending air kisses? SIMP!!!’

but when he’s down, blaring lo-fi music from his cat speakers and playing animal crossing, nintendogs, stardew valley or tomodachi life (etc), you’ll shower him with all your cuddles and kisses 

ngl tho, when you scuttle up to him while he’s playing any game and press a lil’ kiss on his ear as you absently rub his shoulders, he literally melts 

he just kinda sits there and stares at the screen but not even a fraction of his mind is dedicated on the game, it’s all just ‘(y/n). i love them so much. i hope they know that. wow, i got so lucky, i hope they never leave me. (y/n), if only you could read my mind.’

and to show that he likes it, he purrs!!!

not voluntarily, it kinda just escaped his mouth the first time you were giving him a massage and since you insisted that it was the cutest thing you’ve ever heard, he continues to do it - but v quietly

but- there is one thing he likes more than random kisses 

and that is random cuddles

or random lapping-sitting yESSS

he is a simp so if you’re feeling needy or whateva and sit on his lap while he’s playing, he’ll literally just quit tbh- 

that’s one of the only times he’ll not use the excuse ‘i’ll do it when this round ends’ so use it wisely and sparingly

but that’s only if you sit facing towards him bc he realised that if you sit like that, he’ll get some cooch 

but otherwise, if you just sit on his lap for the sake of sitting on his lap, he’ll either jokingly push you off or continue playing his game by looking over your shoulder

Yū Nishinoya 

you stole it from him lol

he’s the OG random kisser  ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ 

let’s recall how on your first date with him, you were worrying that he might’ve stood you up as you waited on the picnic blanket for him to arrive and then he jumped out from one of the hedges and attacked you with kisses

like mans got a lot of energy so i can just imagine him attacking you with affection whenever he is bored

and he does it regardless of what you are doing at the time

studying? kiss attack.

cleaning? tickle attack.

sleeping? cuddle attack.

hotel? trivago

he goes into that shit with a strategy too like ‘if i kiss them on the neck first they’ll move their head and arm which will give me access to their chest so then i’ll plant a kiss there too and depending on whether the jerk to the left or right i can then go in for a kiss on their n--’ etc etc

so imagine how hyped he is when you sneak up behind him in the school corridor and peck his cheek

AND IT WAS IN FRONT OF HIS FRIENDS TOO, IT WAS AWESOME

he was so triumphant about it, as if he had just won some sort of award lol 

‘yes, i am the coochieman. and what about it?’

then he bought you lunch for ‘being the best s/o ever’ 🥺

but don’t think you’ll ever beat him in the random kissing game bc while he was feeding you the lunch he bought (he does that sometimes, playfully though, whenever he is feeling like a simp) he’ll lean in and steal a lil’ kiss which will lead to you choking on your rice 

‘hey babe, plz don’t choke. otherwise i’ll have to give you mouth-to-mouth, ahaha.’

meanwhile, you’re turning red

#hq tsukishima #tsukishima x y/n #tsukishima kei #tsukishima fluff #tsukishima headcanons #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima x you #haikyu x reader #haikyuu!! #haikyū!! #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x gender neutral reader #haikyuu x gn!reader #akaashi fluff #akaashi hcs #akaashi x reader #akaashi x you #akaashi x y/n #iwaizumi x you #iwaizumi imagine #iwaizumi headcanons #iwaizumi haikyuu #iwaizumi hcs #iwaizumi hajime #iwaizumi fluff #iwaizumi x y/n #iwaizumi x reader #kenma x reader #timeskip kenma #kenma x y/n

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 6

Bitches Be Shopping

What is up y’all. A little late but let’s jump in with episode six of The Seven where our girls have just received a LOT of information, Sam most of all who got put into a little vision coma that she’s just now waking up from.

She explains the vision to her friends (as she interprets it, the other Eidolons didn’t die, just became part of the natural forces of the world) and then the bear that Penny made on a whim last episode (who is Russian, named Koda, and somehow a trained circus bear) gets into a fight with Katja with their friends buffing the two to make things more interesting because these are still idiot teens, life or death situation or no. Yelle decides to be the adult and tells them to knock it off and get back on mission.

That means Katja needs to call her dad since he’s knows the guy who’s the best lead to getting to TK ( Talcidimir Tallbreeze who I’ll call Tal). She actually manages to get her dad this time who is inside a giant snake on his hell mission. Katja asks what he knows about TK and he says she’s a sorcerer but also has a spell book so maybe she’s multiclassed. Sam and Ant desperately want to know if they boned and Katja absolutely is not interested in that knowledge. Yelle decides to just ask which makes her dad a little annoyed since he’s kind of in the middle of something (literally) and that annoys Ant, Ost, and Sam who--respectively, accuse him of gaslighting Kat, cast Command on him, and cast Bane on him to aid the Command spell. 

Mr. Cleaver fails the save and Ost commands him to tell Katja the truth. He admits that he did hook up with TK and he regrets it (note: it wasn’t like he cheated. It was just a casual hookup that wasn’t fulfilling it seems). Ost demands he apologize for not being there for Kat and Sam berates him for being at the top of the world and not lifting up his daughter too. For his part, Kat’s dad seems genuinely apologetic and promises to do better. 

“You don’t need to be the best father, you just need to be there,” Katja says, making her dad break down crying. 

Yelle, who has no daddy issues, is a bit less aggro and says that everyone makes mistakes and he can start making it up right now by helping with the Tal situation. She also gives them the tip that a cold spell will probably get them out of the snake lickety split.  She is on the money with the snake tip and Mr. Cleaver gets them all invites to a masquerade ball Tal is hosting. It’s being held on the Rumbosa which is this city-sized leisure ship. Mr. Cleaver says he’ll be back as soon as he can and, in the meantime, she should take care of her friends, “even the first 2 that were terrifying to me.”

The girls give Katja the axe they took as a birthday present (it was apparently her birthday the day before which Rekha just decided and Ost/Izzy refuses to accept without a fight because she *knows* Kat’s bday) which is identified as the Axe of Sundering (it can shatter objects, people, and sometimes concepts like halving movement). The two unnamed potions Yelle found are also ID’d as a Potion of Fly and a Potion of Gaseous Form. She distributes the Heath Potions to people without heals. Ant’s new arrows bypass some resistances and let her treat whatever she hits with the first one like it’s her favored enemy. 

According to their invites, the ship they need is docking in the city of Gravalvia soon (a very old city in the Baronies) so they need to figure out a plan. They have some downtime, during which:

Zelda tries to hype up the team.

Zelda tries to see if Ost is OK wrt dad stuff and Ost has a Full Breakdown after badly pretending she’s fine. 

While Zelda, Ost, and Penny are being Emotional and Sam is trying to literally cool them down with her powers, Ant and Yelle keep watch and experience emotional stability as the Adults Of The Party 

Anyway, after a night of rest, they head to the golden city of Gravalvia which is this very cool, very pretty city with mosaics and fountains and I assume columns. They get there and there’s a dramatic fight happening in the square which is halted when one of the fighters realizes that the country he’s fighting for doesn’t exist anymore. And now, it’s time for what we’ve all been waiting for. Shopping Montage! Let’s go girl by girl.

Katja and Ost

Kat asks for help from Ost with getting fancy for this gala since she’s never really done anything dressy before (and she had no mom to help--Kaaaat) and Ost is happy to oblige, dressing them both like “Jersey trash”. Kat, of course, still wears her Khakis underneath.

Antiope

Ant decides to get a vibe for what people here wear and picks something that will blend in but be forgettable so she can be stealthy. Classy blue dress and mask.

Penny

Penny...OK, I absolutely cannot describe what happens here in any way that will do justice to the scene. I am going to tell you what matters to the plot. You have to watch this yourself if you want to see the entire table have a collective breakdown. 

While looking for a costume, Penny runs into a halfling who is a member of the Society of Shadows--Laertes. He wants to know why she hasn’t responded to their invitation yet. She says she’s really eager to join, she just wasn’t sure how to respond (and also, she’s kind of in the middle of something). He says she can join by just messaging back and then her loved ones just have to sign waivers to have their memories wiped of her and she’s good to go. Say what now? asks Penny. She didn’t realize this was like a full Men in Black situation. 

He says it’s ultimately her decision and leaves.

Of course, I left out the parts where he ate a handful of Candy Heart’s remains, became violently ill, almost projectile vomited into Penny’s mouth, and she tried to kiss him despite him being a full adult. It’s A Lot, ok?

Also, we don’t find out until later but Penny picks a sexy duck costume for reasons that make more sense if you watch the scene but not *much* more sense. She also burns one of the healing potions on this dude as he is bar

Danielle

Danielle tries to get some info on the guests at the party and gets the names Lawrence LaDuc, Princess Autumn, and Duston who is the playboy cousin of Tal. She also hears some dude saying some colonize and plunder the earth BS and casts Heat Metal on him, fully mercing the dude. Ice cold. 

She tries to play it off like it’s the Curse of the Forest and when that doesn’t work and people start coming for her, she wildshapes into a dragon wyrmling and starts roasting people, killing 1 and dropping 2 to zero. 

Unfortunately, one of her party members is a known dragon hater and uses her new arrows to snipe her right out of the sky. Ant is horrified once she realizes what she’s done but Yelle says it’s all good. It’s NOT all good, says Ant, I STABBED YOU. You’re allowed to be mad! Yelle says she’s just really good at compartmentalizing but what Ant’s getting here is that Yelle doesn’t really believe that her feelings matter which echo the fears of her moms. 

Sam

Sam uses a combination of Mantle of Inspiration, glamour magic, performance, and good old flirting to get herself some killer clothes and also start a spontaneous musical number Giselle style.  

Brennan says she looks resplendent and, honestly, when does she not?

They reconvene, Zelda in a classic hoop skirt. Yelle realizes she never got a costume and just whips out a Met Gala level, autumn themed, Queen Mab-esque costume with Druidcraft which she could have done this whole time so I guess that’s why she was cool spending her shopping time getting gossip and playing Poison Ivy. 

They get to the ship and the way this works, everyone has to make an entrance and the really rich people (including Tal) are on a dais up top watching everyone come in. They all have to give fake names for the night since it’s a masquerade and they have to do Performance or Persuasion checks to see how impressive they look going in. 

Before they go in, they plan a little. Penny wants to look for TK. Sam wants to find Dunston. Ost wants to talk to the bouncers. Yelle wants to see if there are plants she can manipulate (there are btw) and for any exits. 

A quick rundown of how these all go:

Katja aka Mere (which means both mom and horse): 16 

Ant aka Midnight Huntress: 18 

Penny aka Penny Duckstone: 13

Zelda aka Madame Goodparty: 2 (Poor Zelda)

Sam aka Songbird: 22 (but she takes a hit to entrance save Zelda from totally flaming out)

Ost aka Stanley Gucci: 13

And Danielle, who never hogs the spotlight and is embarrassed to admit that maybe she does want to be the center of attention for once in her life with a Natural 20, gets a 29, absolutely bringing down the house as Empress Anima. As she walks forward she feels a voice say to her, “You got this. I love the name. You wear it well.”

Tal seems very impressed by her and a lady in a rabbit mask (Coeliabranca who I’ll call Coel if she comes up more) comes down to bring her up to the top with the high rollers. As she leaves, Sam casts Fly on her, just in case and holds the Concentration. 

Ost and Kat go talk to the bouncers and Kat decides to pretend to be her mom to get access to the area Yelle is. She rolls low and is told, “Hey, aren’t you already up there?” Kat is like, fuck and Ost saves her by using her charm earrings to get an entourage of guards who will let them through and do what she says. Once up there, Kat doesn’t see her mom which I can imagine she has mixed feelings about. 

Sam finds Dunston who is talking about Fantasy Bitcoin and seems like a real “Step on me mommy” type you know? Like, I feel like he’s into findom. Anyway, Sam charms him and his hangers on and learns about a procedure called a Phlebectomy that involves something going into their nose and then they feel better. Sam is rightfully horrified because, as I said, she is Most Likely To Survive A Horror Movie and can sense BS when she sees is. It’s apparently all the rage with the rich people here which is, como de dice, concerning seeing as they’re surrounded by them but we’ll get to that. Sam takes advantage of Dunston’s proclivities and gets him alone, knocks him out, steals him clothes, and pretends to be him (a *very* good scene by Sephie). 

Penny sees a gnome gnome boy (Lysander Higgins) shining shoes and finds out from him that there is a copper earth genasi woman here. In a very Cinderella move, she asks what shoes she was wearing. Then, she makes out with him which like, sure. At least it’s not a grown adult man this time. Before she gets her kisses in, she does tell the group what she learned. 

Up with the rich people, Yelle is introduced to Tal’s friend who is into Eidolons because of the name she chose. Between the shoes and her knowledge, they confirm that it’s TK! Yelle asks what she knows about Eidolons and she says that 7 is a very powerful number.

We cut to Ant who is patrolling the room as the sun sets and she suddenly hears a little beeping. It’s coming from a small crystal that was in Preston’s shirt (which she still has on her because???). Guests start dripping goo from their noses and transforming into monsters. Ant realizes that some kind of spell is happening triggered by midnight and this beeping. Hope these costumes are battle ready cause it’s fight time baybee!

Superlatives 

Danielle: Most Likely to Be on The News for Murdering Fantasy Jeff Bezos

I cannot imagine what was running through Yelle’s head when she decided that, having just rolled into a foreign country, her next move was to start using lethal force on anti-environmentalist colonizing capitalists. Like, she’s not *wrong* per se but she is wild--in all senses of the word.  

Random Thoughts

Kat keeps saying yesterday was her birthday which Ost/Izzy (and the rest of the group to a less vocal degree) are simply not having because maybe her dad would forget her birthday but her girls absolutely would not.

“You’re great because you stayed,” is the other killshot Kat line to her dad.

At a certain point Sam says, “This is so unhealthy,” to I think Yelle and like, if SAM is telling you your coping mechanisms are unhealthy, get thee to therapy.

OK, so someone, presumably Anima’s spirit, talks to Yelle as she makes her grand entrance which seems like info they should get to Talura ASAP, right? Cause that’s evidence they’re not dead-dead, just changed in form. But also Anima, girl. Don’t talk to Yelle. Talk to your rampaging sister!

"That's my secret, I stay in initiative."

Just a process note, notes are taken for the next ep and I am working on getting that recap up ASAP. As a battle ep, it will be in the abbreviated style that I did for last battle ep. 

In this episode, Penny rolls a Nat 1 (which she rerolls) and one of Brennan’s NPCs rolls a Nat 1. Ant rolls 2 Nat 20s, Yelle rolls 1, and Brennan says that one of his NPCs gets a 20 which sweeps him entirely into Sam’s dance number. 

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #the seven #the seven spoilers

[jellicle-jemmy]

Here is part 2 of my CATS (2019) thoughts that I wrote when I watched the movie for the first time 2 years ago!

Beautiful Ghosts

Francesca you’re doing wonderful sweetie

You’re obviously not a trained singer, but for the purpose of your character’s plot point and reason to be singing it fits so perfectly

Though the arc of beloning with the jellicles came too fast and too soon in the film

She should’ve sung verse 1, chorus, verse 2 and maybe another chorus now and then the bridge later in the film

Moments of Happiness

Judi Dench no

Bring in Syllabub

That is all

Dialogue Interlude

Okay I didn’t mind this bit

However Victoria had already had the arc that she belongs with the Jellicles so her apprehension didn’t make sense

Gus The Theatre Cat

Does ALW suddenly have something against duets?

God Bless Ian McKellen but this number was really quite bleh

I did notice Skimbles putting his tap shoes on side stage

Would’ve been cuter if Misto did the duet with him

Magic Misto boy was cute at the end tho

WHY SO MUCH YOWLING THO??!!

That “I could do it again” comment was a nice nod though

I’m still not entirely sure how Macavity makes Gus disappear but alright then

Skimbleshanks

This is another number that I really enjoyed

Munkymoo again ur doing so good

Also ur little duet with your daughter syllabub - I saw that and I loved it

Tap dancing skimbles is not something i thought i’d like, but I did really like it

It was a really fun number

How they got to the traintracks, idk but ya know what who cares

Thinking about it now, the transition from the tracks to carriage, I’m just imagining like several minutes of awkward silence as they all shuffle onto a carriage and then “5, 6, 7, 8-″ and the number continues

Plato and Socrates being the guard asking about the tea was adorable

It took everything in me to not shout “WEAK OR STRONG”

Also not totally hating on Skimbles redesign

Deadass though, 2019!Skimbles X 2019! Jenny wouldn’t work

But yeah this is a fun number

OKAY NOW SKIMBLES IS A FAIRY FLYER OKAY THEN

He Jay Jay Jetplaned right up there huh

All the other kidnapping, Macavity put actual effort, but Skimbles just went fwoop fwoop fwoop up into the sky

Macavity The Mystery Cat

Okay

Okay then

Here we go

Taylor Swift

This number would actually be good if the CGI didn’t look appalling and Taylor Swift wasn’t singing like that

It’s so breathy and weak wtf

Are you trying to be sexy? That ain’t sexy hun. That ain’t it cheif

Low key want a bedazzled thing that says catnip ngl

This choreography is really.... somethin’

Honestly, the best thing about this number was the cinema’s horrified gasps when nakey nakey macavity showed up

Listen listen, mac’s appearance wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t look like he had oil on him, rather than fur!! longer fur please i beg of you

shortest short hair in the history of the world

ALSO DRUGGING OF THE CATS

WTF

The catnip looks like fireflies from hell

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer being Bomba’s assistants? Gold. Love it

Why didn’t you do more with Griddlebone? Why didn’t you do more with Griddlebone?!

I never needed to see Taylor Swift and Oiled Up Idris Elba as cats dancing, let alone up a staircase straight from a 1940′s Broadway Musical

Kidnapping Interlude

Dooch (Old Doot Dench) really just said “access denied”

“I judge a cat on his soul” “he has soul!” “i’ve got plenty of soul”

The way that Lonz (???) and Munk all but flying over to M&R - fuckig superb you funky protectors

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer you wonderful chaotic dumbasses what did you think was going to happen

All of the contestants tied up? Yeah okay. Skimbles looks like he’s suffocating and everyone else is just fine with it I guess?

“Walk the plank”

Magical Mr Mistofelees

In case y’all haven’t heard, Laurie Davidson aka Mr Mistofelees is babey

Who is biting on Misto’s hat?

Also Syllabub you are so into this and I love it!

I’m about to say something controversial please don’t come for me - I think it worked that Munk and Misto were singing Mr Mistofelees

Who needs a hype man when you’ve got the Jellicle Tribe?

Cass’ face is a mood and a half and I high key want a gif of it

Victoria’s faith in him is beautiful

Oh no I’m shipping them

oh no

that wasn’t part of the plan

Syllabub you are literally the most fascinated out of the whole group and I adore you so damn much

The summoning attempts went on maybe a little bit too long and there wasn’t as much theatrics about as I had hoped

The happiness on the Jellicles faces is wholesome as heck though - especially Munk and also Tugger

And then misto flew and honestly I am so proud of him

He is my son! Look at my son go!

Also the ending bit with Vic and Misto dancing together in the middle for some reason gave me flashbacks to the end of the Greatest Showman

But very cute

Memory (Reprise)

Let’s first of all address the elephant in the room: I am still furious that they gave Syllabub/Jemima’s roles to Victoria and that definitely showed while I was watching it BUT-

I don’t think it would’ve worked in the film if Syllabub sang those bits

Syllabub works in the show, not the movie

Ummmm why is Victoria touching Griz before the “touch me” line???

Everyone’s - especially Munk’s - distaste for Griz as Vic leads her in was just really good and I liked it

The reprise is better than the original

The way that Cassandra’s expressions and actions change, especially during this number really makes it seem like she is the daughter of Griz and deadass I’m here for it

Still mad about Syllabub’s not getting to sing her but but it’s fiiiiiiine i guessss

Also there is a shot of Syllabub and Demeter together somewhere during this scene and I 1) don’t care that they don’t look anything alike and 2) don’t know who I have to sell my soul to but I will find it and treasure it

MUNK CRYING HURT MY SOUL AND HEART OF HEARTS

THAT’S NOT OKAY

NOT AT ALL

MY HEART IS ACHING

Macavity Battle

What the heck is this? It’s epic music that our pal Munkystripes uses to fight Mr Macaroni but it’s... a comedy?

“Don’t mess with the crazy cat lady” Rebel why

Also why did jenny unzip herself again i didn’t like it the first time, why is it even worse in the second but

oop Macavity’s not there

Ahh the use of the Firefrorefiddle line to scare Growltiger off, I genuinely adore

Journey to the Heaviside Layer

Ughh those harmonies always get me going

Again I am all eyes on Sillabub

I wondered how they were going to do the ascension into the heaviside layer

Not like that

Not like that

Chandelier and hot air balloon............oooookay then

All the cats on the lion being happy to see their kidnapped pals was genuinely sweet

Also Syllabub got to stand with all like the other named cats, and not with the ensemble which makes my heart happy

Macavity wtf

The Addressing of Cats

God, I really do ship Mistoria in this film huh? Was the plotline rushed? Yes. Does my hopeless romantic heart care? Nope!

Dooch really just went 😐 huh

I hate it

No

Nope.

The adressing of cats should be a final part of the ceremony not a fucking fourth wall break jesus christ

Okay, but Munk’s reaction when Dooch started talking about food

hhhhh Babey

Though if Dooch could stop staring into my soul, that’d be appreciated

“I believe you are a Jellicle Cat - a dear little cat”

I liked that line for two reasons. 1) It is a nod to the origin to the phrase “Jellicle cat”. 2) It makes me think that that is the only true qualifications to be a Jellicle, making Victoria undoubtedly a Jellicle because have you seen her??

Was that final shot of the balloon necessary?

#cats the musical #jellicle cats #cats musical #cats 2019

[artemisunicorn]

Naruto Shippuden Openings Ranked

Aight y'all, I said I would do this months ago, so here we are.

Just like my last ranking post, I have no real reasons as to why I like this OP over that one. They're just poor reasons and explanations that I'll probably change my mind about after posting.

But yeah, this is gonna be a long post, so let's get to it.

Also just a disclaimer- I had a very difficult time ranking the openings, especially at the bottom. Just note that I like and enjoy every OP except one.

Actual ranking is below the cut because yay I can use my laptop to make posts now :D

Number 20 - Tsuki no Ookisa - OP 14

I always thought this was called “Size of the Moon” or something like that

This OP

Oh boy

I used to just hate this one with a passion

And I still do!

Okay not literally, but it’s still my least favorite

I see what they were going for

Red, black and white vibes

It’s….okay?

And the song

Yeeesh

It just doesn’t make me feel anything but the huge urge to skip it

I’m so sorry if you really like this OP but goodness I really don’t like it

It’s one of the only ones I don’t like vs don’t mind

I will say

The end though?

Where its showing the freeze frames of everyone

That looks great

Itachi at the beginning looks great

It definitely has its moments, but just not enough to make me really enjoy it

Number 19 - Hotaru no Hikari - OP 5

Or as I like to call it

SHA LA LA-

I already know y'all but to come for me on this one I'm sorry

This opening is,,,okay…

Now that I’ve seen all of them, I kinda have this bias of “I know what the next opening is and that’s a whole BANGER” so I kinda sleep on this one

But its not bad

I always love the Naruto and Sasuke parallel shots

Just not up there for me

Number 18 - Guren - OP 15

Another OP I lowkey just disregard after watching all of them because we all know what follows this one

But it’s not bad at all

I love the split screens

And then it all comes together

Kakashi and Obito’s split screen looks amazing

Actually, all of their shots look amazing

The song goes well with the visuals

I love the colors they used

Seeing Madara is always a treat

The shot of the hokage is good

But uhhh

Yeah that’s about all I got

Number 17 - Newsong - OP 10

Don't kill me plez

A lot of people don’t like this OP

I can see where they’re coming from

But it's goofy and wacky, and honestly not so bad

It ain’t nowhere near top tier, but I can enjoy it more times than not

The part where they’re running and do a lil jump

That took me out when I first saw it

The animation is supposed to accompany the wacky feel, and I feel that the animators had a lot of fun with this one

Overall, I don’t dislike this OP like most

I actually like it

But admittedly, it’s not strong

It’s very cute tho

It makes me smile

That team jutsu though

What the hell

I don’t know how I feel bout that

Also B falling

That was a nice addition

Also also Sasuke refused to be a part of this wacky ass OP which I love

Number 16 - Niwaka Ame ni mo Makezu - OP 13

This OP is fine

It doesn’t really do anything for me until the 5 Kage are shown fighting Madara

Which looks great by the way

But also gives me storm 3 war flashbacks

It’s pretty overall

Like all the parts with Naruto look really good

The individual shots of the 5 Kage and Sasuke are meh

I don’t really care for that part

Overall, ehhh

Number 15 - Moshimo - OP 12

I’m not gonna lie

I totally forgot about this OP

It’s fine

Nothing really excites me

I do like 2 parts though

Where Ay tries to punch Minato and he gets out of the way to fist bump baby B

And when Naruto is in the middle and it zooms out to show Kushina and Minato behind him

The song is good

Overall, okay opening

I was torn over whether to put this one above or below OP 13, but I decided above because I like the ending part more

Number 14 - Toumei Datta Sekai - OP 7

Another OP I really slept on

A lot of people really adore this one but I just don't see it??

It takes a second to kick off

It really only gets started for real when we see Pain and the trio’s flashbacks

After that, it’s pretty good

The music picks up, the visuals start getting quite interesting

And that Pain v Naruto moment where they just stare at each other and it shows both faces

Looks amazing

And of course, Kakashi brings some spice into the mix

It’s always a great time when we can see him in action

Makes me wish we got the girls v Konan though

But yeah, the shot with Naruto falling in

From then on, it's incredible

Number 13 - LINE - OP 18

From here on, these OPs are just the ones I love

This OP is a major breather

The song is very slow and nice

Visually, I love the choice in focusing on one thing at a time

Once character at a time

It looks very nice

The little destiny shard flying around

And I love how there’s variants in who interacts with the shard at the very end

My favorite is Itachi because he gives the shard to us and I’m not crying you are

It’s really pretty too

Not much to say here

I just really like it

It’s not top tier, but it’s a great OP nonetheless

Number 12 - Closer - OP 4

THAT SHOT AT THE BEGINNING

Where everyone is looking back

I absolutely love it

I absolutely must know if the budget was actually blown on Hidan spinning his scythe

The shot looks great though

Another vibe kinda opening

The ending is so cute with Naruto jumping in the air

they did that to cover the gaping hole in our hearts

ASUMA WHY

Also I completely forgot there was a second version until I saw it while pulling up the link

First version is better

Number 11 - Lovers - OP 9

That beginning part with the camera cutting and focusing on the three

Yeah that right there is great

And the explosion behind Killer B

Love that shit

They really went all out for the aesthetic kinda look

And it really pays off because the OP looks very very good

The song is pretty good too

But I probably wouldn’t listen to it outside of what’s in the OP

Every shot with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura on the divide is really good

Number 10 - Blood Circulator - OP 19

Ah the top 10

Another song that is hype asf

I honestly prefer the third version with Naruto and Sasuke

But even still, this OP is pretty great

It’s a lot better visually in the second version because there’s not a lot of lingering shots

I love the shots of Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Itachi and Iruka

But I also love that the whole first version is summed up in no time in the second and we move onto better shots

But the third version is the best visually

With the fights and flashbacks

And the ending with Sasuke staring and Naruto crying and then they fight

That rasengan is great

But even still, all versions look pretty good

I really don’t have that much to say about this one

I enjoy it quite a lot

Number 9 - Hero’s Come Back!! - OP 1

Everybody and they mama be dancing to this I swear

It’s a bop and a half

Honestly what a great way to start the series

I’m bopping every time it comes on

And that shot of Gaara holding out his hand before he don’t feel so good

My heart

I mean, what else can I say about this one

It’s just great

3..2..1 MAKE SOME NOISE

Number 8 - Totsugeki Rock - OP 11

First things first

THE SONG????

IT’S A WHOLE BOP

EVERY TIME I HEAR IT

I GET SO HYPE

Naruto’s face at the beginning caught me off guard the first time I saw it

Visually, this OP isn’t bad at all

I actually really enjoy this OP a lot

It makes me dance and headbang lmao

I would say the song carries this one, but nah

The visuals really go well with the song

I really don’t have much to say about this one

It really is just so fun and hype

And I really love it

Number 7 - Kaze - OP 17

This OP is very pretty

It’s another one I slept on

It’s animated so well

All of the freeze frames we see are stunning

And it’s animated very well

Also long Kakashi segments always get extra points from me

And this one is gorgeous so even more points

I love the kinda traditional style they were aiming for with the textures

The cuts to the hand signs are good too

Also in sync with the music which y’all know I love

The aesthetics in general are just so lovely

NIGHT GUY YESSSS

HE LOOK AMAZING IN THIS STYLE

This OP has some of the best visuals in all of the OPs

I can’t even express how beautiful it looks

And seeing Minato and Rin slowly fade by as Obito falls and Kaguya is revealed

So good

The song goes well with the visuals too

The song in general slaps

Overall, very good

Number 6 - Distance - OP 2

YOU ARE MY FRIEND

Okay SUE ME, I’M A BITCH FOR DISTANCE OKAY

I just love this mcfuckin opening so much

It caught my attention when I first started watching Shippuden

And it’s very pleasing to look at

Also that “Thank you my friend”

Hits me every time

And overall it’s a vibe kinda opening

The walking scenes are the best

Not a lot going on on the eyes, but it still looks really good

Honestly, it’s probably my favorite OP, but it’s not the best OP

And I’m a sucker for the emotions

And this OP brings it hard

It’s definitely ranked higher than most would put it, but I can only put it so low

I love this OP so much

Number 5 - Karano Kokoro - OP 20

Holy fuck

This OP

Damn near brings me to tears every time

This OP was,,,,well,,the end

This was the conclusion of the story

And my goodness y’all

It still hits me in the feels

The visuals with this one carry it on home

It hits hard seeing everyone growing up

Let’s talk about the visuals shall we

Starting right from the beginning

Shikamaru just sitting as the music comes in

By the way, the music fits so well with everything

But yeah, seeing him just look up with this soft music just warming your heart

And then it cuts to the shogi board so we know exactly what he’s thinking about

Then to Sasuke

Sasuke

With everything that’s happened with him, just seeing him be able to just breathe

It’s everything y’all

And then we get to see Naruto’s stone face up there with the rest of the hokage and then to this lovely vibe

Naruto and Sasuke doing the hand sign that saved the world

"Tell me the story of your life"

That shit right there

They knew what they were doing when they chose this song y'all

InoShikaCho eating some barbeque

Kiba being loved to death by Akamaru and Hinata smiling

Do y’all see why this just makes me so happy yet?

Free Kakashi points

The shot of Naruto as hokage

That part got me good when I first saw it

And even a little now

Lee, TenTen, and Temari showing that they’ve still got it

The zoom in on InoShikaCho to Ino saving Sai

THE WHOLE EVOLUTION OF NARUTO AND SASUKE

THE HIGH FIVE

THE P I C T U R E

HOW ARE Y’ALL NOT CRYING

The story has finally come full circle

And there's finally peace

It’s just overwhelming happiness

I really love this OP so much

Number 4 - Blue Bird - OP 3

HABATAITARA MODORANAI TO ITTE

Blue Bird slaps

Visually, it’s absolutely incredible

Like that one part

Y’all know that part I’m talking about

Where Sasuke and Naruto do that parallel switch

*chefs kiss*

It’s just so good

AND THAT’S ONLY ONE PART

THE WHOLE THING IS JUST SO PERFECT

AND IT REALLY GOES SO WELL WITH THE SONG

Y’all better know by now how much I love the visuals synced with the music

And this song delivers on that

I know I have so much to say about this one, but I’m not gonna remember to say it until after I post

I prefer the second version (even though it’s just the same animation from Closer)

MEZASHITA NO WA

AOI AOI ANO SORA

Number 3 - Diver - OP 8

Let me get this out of the way

I LOVE Diver

It’s another OP that just always got my attention from the get go

They really calmed down with the visuals on this one

Instead opting to have the very pleasing gentle visuals that match so well with the song

And then he gets blasted out of the water and it gets SO GOOD UGH

All the hidden gems you don’t recognize until you rewatch it after seeing everything come together

I love that

And then Sasuke coming in to get all up in Naruto’s personal space just to fuckin chidori the shit out of him

It’s quite sad

But then his friends just lift him up

My heart

Then he wastes no time just rushing in to save Sasuke in the same 30 seconds as when Sasuke attacked him

It really shows his character

But also it was a whole direct reference to how Sasuke was looking over him back when he first left in the rain

That’s the subtle little hidden gems I love to see

Also the music just slaps so hard???

Like hello??

Who told y’all to make something so good????

And did I mention that I just love the visuals??

Number 2 - Sign - OP 6

EVERYBODY SHUT UP THIS IS MY SHIT

I REALIZE THE SCREAMING PAIN

HEARING LOUD IN MY BRAIN

BUT I’M GOING STRAIGHT AHEAD WITH THE SCAR

*drums going ham and guitar absolute shredding*

CAN YOU HEAR ME

CAN YOU HEAR ME

CAN YOU HEAR ME

SO AM IIIIIIIIIII

Okay now that that’s out of the way,,

THIS SONG FUCKING GOES HARD Y’ALL

IT’S SO HYPE

I am ashamed to admit that I used to sleep on this OP

Wait….

Both Sign and Silhouette have people turning to look at the camera-

And they’re both so good…

Dare I say…

Is this a….SIGN

I’ll leave now..

The opening part with Jiraiya and Naruto and then Sasuke and Itachi

My heart y’all please

AND THEN THE CHORUS

AND THE VISUALS

Y’ALLLL

ALL THE SHIT WAS GOING DOWN IN THIS ARC

AND THE VISUALS STILL GET ME HYPED TO THIS DAY

EVERY MOMENT IS JUST GREAT

There really isn’t a single second where I wanna look away

I can’t gush about this OP enough y’all

It’s so damn good

Also y’all know I gotta mention the hair whip

I’ve never felt pain like I did for Jiraiya and Itachi

It still hurts

But the OP

It’s just amazing

It still gives me goosebumps

UGH OKAY OKAY I’M DONE GUSHING

OR ELSE I’LL GO ON FOREVER

OKAY ONE MORE THING

But as I’m rewatching all of the OPs for this, I just fell all the way in love with the show again because of this OP

Number 1 - Silhouette - OP 16

Speaking of silhouette

We all been knew

From the get go, it’s just a blast

The song and visuals are a match made in heaven

Oh, and don’t think I won’t be gushing about them individually

Firstly

The song

KANA-BOON need to chill bruh

This song is SO GOOD

A BANGER

A BOP

WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT

THEY WENT TOO HARD ON THIS SONG

I DON’T UNDERSTAND

AND THE LOOK OF THE OP???

STARTING WITH EVERYONE TURNING TO THE CAMERA ONLY FOR OBITO TO SHATTER IT WITH HIS LOOK

TO THE WHOLE SERIES RECAP UP TO THAT MOMENT

IT’S AMAZING

I CAN’T EVEN PUT IT INTO WORDS Y’ALL

The colors pop

It’s so pleasing to the eye

All of the transitions and smooth animations

Like Obito and Madara aging up (and down)

The quick flash of baby Kakashi and baby Obito before we even see Madara’s aging transitions

Y’all know I love the camera focus/glitch effect and it’s used a lot here

Naruto’s aging up while running

The switch between the static look to the smooth look

And the pencil drawn kinda look

They really went so hard on this OP

MADARA’S BREAKDANCE MOVES AND FLIPS?!?!??!

Everyone getting the cloak

That shot of Rin spinning in time with the music

ALL OF THE FAST CUTS OF WHAT’S TO COME AS THE GUITAR FINISHES UP THE SONG

Everything is always synced perfectly with the music and it really just makes it so much better

Especially because the song is so fast paced

To match up the visuals with individual words and not just full measures or half measures

Like just one example

Obito walking and him aging up

All synced with the music

Y’all

I can go on about this opening FOREVER

It’s a true masterpiece

Right, well that's my ranking. Took many hours but I'm pretty happy with it for now.

My ranking will be completely new by tomorrow morning

But yeah please hit me up if you disagree/agree with the ranking. I love discussing these kinds of things with people!

This is starting to sound like a youtube outro

Also unfortunately no gifs to make the post pretty this time ;-; I'm having technical difficulties.

#naruto #naruto uzumaki #naruto shippuden #sasuke #sasuke uchiha #ranking #long post #naruto spoilers #kakashi hatake #kakashi

[kitten1618x]

GoT Afterthoughts ep. 08x01 ‘Winterfell’ (Part 1)

Whew! I’m sorry this has taken so long. I’ve got two munchkins home from school with a stomach bug, and they’ve been cutting into my rewatch and write-up.

~

So, a few things before we kick this bad boy off... I have not read or interacted much with anyone (except writing up that post yesterday about the opening creds) and I have avoided the discord server (even though I’m DYING to gush) as to not skew my own perception of the episode. Those of you who follow my blog know that I am partial to political!jon, but here’s your heads up for anyone else that just stumbled onto this recap. And with that...

~

We begin the journey of our last season similarly to the way we began our very first: An excited Winter Town boy frantically scrambling to find a better view of the royal retinue marching on Winterfell—complete with the same musical score. Let’s call that strike one against Jon and Dany, as we all know what a farce that first royal couples’ relationship was.

~

This boy, as he shimmies up a nearby tree, very much reminds me of a combination of both Arya and Bran in the pilot — Arya even spies him and smiles, as she stands watching with the smallfolk (a nice book nod). Her face at initially seeing her big brother Jon makes my heart skip a few beats, and I kind of got the feeling she was going to call out for him, but changed her mind. She looks down then, and I’m honestly so worried for their reunion because they have both changed so much, and Arya isn’t the same little girl he remembers.

~

Her smile fades as Jon and Dany pass her by, and the Hound comes into view. Her feelings with Sandor have always been complicated, but we don’t have much time to dwell on that, because Gendry rounds the corner and there’s a different kind of smile lighting up Arya’s face now—and I’m so stoked for their reunion, because it’s what I deserve. WE ALL DESERVE THIS OKAY?!?!?!

~

And what do we have here? Ahhhh yes, the typical D&D ‘cock’ and/or (in this case) ‘balls’ banter via Varys and Tyrion as they once again travel together in another wooden box. You know, we damn well better get the payoff to the jackass/honeycomb/brothel joke this season, or I swear by the old gods and the new that I’m blowing up the Sept of Baelor... oh wait.

~

Missandei looks visibly uncomfortable at the impassive stares of the Northerners as they ride by. However, Jon did warn them about the North—which he reiterates to a rather annoyed looking Dany, who no doubt expected a much more warmer welcoming for coming to “save the North”—but it’s pretty clear there will be no Myhsa crowd-surfing here.

~

A screeching overhead sends the Northerners frantically running for cover as a smug-looking Daenerys smirks proudly at the fear her dragon children instill when they split the skies above. Let’s be real here — that was no coincidence. Remember this?

Dany is in complete control of Drogon, and let’s call a spade a spade: this was a cheap intimidation tactic driven by spite. And I honestly can’t even say I blame the girl, but it’s probably not the best way to make new friends, either—especially when they are all of the mindset that “a Targaryen cannot be trusted”. Just sayin’, Dany girl.

~

And we have Arya’s reaction to seeing Dragons for the first time as they soar high up over Winterfell and Sansa, who watches from the ramparts. Sansa’s reaction is quite similar to Cersei’s—as in, she really doesn’t have one. Someone please cue My Chick Bad by Ludacris!!

Jon and Dany enter the courtyard and Jon springs from his horse to bring Bran in for a signature Stark squeeze and a forehead kiss (another season one callback). He proudly admires how Bran has grown and is now a man, only for Bran to answer with some vague and emotionless three-eyed raven shit, before staring down Daenerys while Jon moves to Sansa’s open arms.

~

*Perhaps no one informed Jon about Bran going all sentient-being?

~

I’m sure most of you already noticed that while this is supposed to be the same hug scene we were shown in the HBO teaser, it’s not the same shot, nor the same angle. In the teaser, Jon makes this soft face and goes straight to Sansa’s arms...

But in the actual episode, Jon goes straight to Bran’s arms, and his expression is quite different...

And in the teaser the hug is much longer in duration, and Sansa doesn’t look up at Dany until the end—still not relinquishing her hold on Jon.

However, in the episode, we get a shorter version and a different angle, while Bran and Sansa simultaneously stink-eye Dany the entire time.

*please note Jon’s expression isn’t the same as it is in the hbo teaser—which begs to differ WHY they chose such a romantic shot of these siblings to hype the final season? I mean, I know why... do you? 😉

~

Annnnnnd moving right along. Jon asks where his darling baby sister Arya has gotten to, as to which Sansa replies “lurking somewhere” — which is an odd response, but I’m not gonna lie, it did make me chuckle a little. If I had to make a guess on this odd dialogue (other than the D’s just suck at dialogue sometimes), I imagine it serves the purpose of leading Jon to assume that the girls still have the same strained relationship of their youth.

~

Not one to stand by idle while getting eye-fucked from all directions (and not in a good way), Dany sashays over to be introduced to the stunning redhead Jon was hugging on, to learn she is (only) his sister (whew!), and the Lady of Winterfell. And with that said, I need to take a moment to address something to all the antis who will probably hop on this post (cuz I know y’all are there): Jon is NOT the Lord of Winterfell. Winterfell does NOT belong to him, not even as warden of the North, not even a little bit. He has no say, no ownership, no NOTHING on Winterfell. The only way he becomes the Lord of Winterfell is if he marries his cousin, Sansa Stark — which is just ONE of the many reasons WHY a marriage between them is advantageous. Tell your friends.

~

The tension kicks up a notch as the introductions proceed and Dany feeds Sansa platitudes of how beautiful she and the North are. Perhaps her words are meant to be kind, but after all she’s been through, Sansa is not here for the bullshit — remember how nice Miranda was in the beginning too? Besides, my girl’s jealousy is so thick, she’s almost GREEN. So, giving Dany a full-bodied once over, she haughtily replies “Winterfell is yours, Your Grace.”

~

Annnnnnd...

Before a full-blown catfight ensues, Bran throws some ice on the situation—and by ice, I mean ice dragon (harr harr harrrr). The wall has come down, and your dragon is one of them now, he informs Dany—whom of course is horrified by the news. (And probably by Bran too, as I assume she, like Jon, did not get the Bran is the 3ER memo).

~

We move into the Great Hall where we learn that Sansa has already made the intelligent decision to call all their banners to retreat to Winterfell as soon as they knew that the wall had fallen. Little Ned Umber isn’t really sure whom he’s supposed to address or how (bless his little heart), but in any event, he’s getting the horses and carts he needs to safely bring the rest of his people back to Winterfell. Jon tells the maester to summon the Nights Watch as well.

~

And of course you know little Lady Mormont has some shit to say. She’s not pleased with the turn of events and wastes no time voicing her opinion and stirring the ire of the Northerners. But hey,

(Sorry, I couldn’t help myself).

But more on that later, because Jon looks really nervous as little Lyanna throws shade — and his first instinct is to turn and share a look with his sister, errr wife, cousin!, Sansa.

~

I feel like he was looking to her for support, but she’s got none to offer at the moment. So, he pulls himself together and tries to calm the dissent by giving another rousing ‘we need allies and I brought them’ speech, and he actually says something VERY interesting here: “I had a choice: keep my crown or protect the north. I chose the north.” I mean, he ain’t lying, and the best place to hide something is right in plain sight, after all—and of course nothing about that statement sounds political or off at all, does it? I mean, because the Dany stans/jonerii insist that Dany agreed and was FULLY onboard to come north before Jon bent the knee, so why would he say that, then? Go on, tell me...

~

Tyrion decides to throw in his unwanted .02 — simultaneously backing up Jon and feeding Dany’s savior complex (the greatest army blah blah blah — gods, I cannot wait until everyone sees how useless the dragons will be against the NK, especially when using them to roast the wights puts their own soldiers at risk). His words aren’t met with any gratitude when he also drops the bomb that another enemy house of the North is also on its way to Winterfell.

~

Sansa is taken aback but recovers quickly. Armed with her signature snark, she asks how they’re expected to feed the ‘worlds greatest army’ — something she did not prepare for — chased by a sassy, “what do dragons eat, anyway?”

But wa-wa-wait, HOLD UP. Did Dany just— Did she just throw down the gauntlet?

~

Why, I believe she did, my friends! jskslkdlsksjsklslsljsllsl 😂😂😂😂

~

I can’t even with this episode, guys. It’s like I’m watching a medieval version of Melrose Place (google it, youngin’s) with Jane and Sydney throwing shots by the poolside!

Okay, okay, but all joking and snark aside, Sansa has got a valid point. She isn’t prepared to feed all these extra mouths PLUS two fucken huge dragons. I mean, winter is here, and where could they possibly find enough food to sustain everyone? It’s almost as if the show is making it a point to remind us about the lack of food and where did we last see wagons loaded with food? Oh right, I remember...

Put this one behind Northern Independence on the list of ‘Petty Things That Won’t Matter Because the AotD is Coming’ — you know, because who needs food to survive? And who the hell wants independence, anyway?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

~

Moving right along, and holy mother, maiden and crone, this is getting long and I’ve barely scratched the first 15 minutes of the show!

~

You know what? Nevermind, I’m just gonna go ahead and publish this, and post the rest tomorow when I finish it — I know y’all are thirsty anyway. lol Forgive the sloppiness, as I did this ALL on mobile, and my paragraph breaks kept disappearing and arrrrrghh tumblr!

~

*Some gifs/images mine. The others were taken from google. Thanks if it’s yours!!

#got afterthoughts #got s8 #jonsa #political!jon #anti jonerys #anti targaryen restoration #anti daenerys #(not really but just being safe) #melissa rants #long post

[mrsrcbinscn]

Script Excerpts: Franny’s Top Albums of 2019

[playlist]

tl;dr: A selection of script excerpts from a video on Franny’s YouTube channel called “My Favorite Albums of 2019″. Pretend I finished this in December like I wanted to and that January isn’t nearly over okay

Her channel doesn’t have a super regular upload schedule. She doesn’t feel like adding ~~~youtube personality~~~ to her long list of wikipedia page job titles. And she keeps her social medias (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram) firmly in the “this is for fun” part of her mind. She doesn’t make any sponsored videos or posts on social media but when the mood strikes she’ll upload videos about music, music history, current trends in the industry she’s noticing and her thoughts on them, album reviews, and her favorite content to make is videos where she signal boosts several lesser-known artists in one video and fangirls over how much she loves them and why y’all should, too. 

INTRO: Susadei*, hello, and welcome to my channel, where I, Franny Sor Robinson, share my pesky lady opinions about music on the internet.”

*susadei is the informal way to say hello in Khmer, Franny’s first language

TOPIC INTRODUCTION: It is almost Christmas, which means! It’s time to talk about my favorite albums of 2019. As always, this list is in no particular order, because I believe that especially when talking about multiple genres of music - which we’re going to today - music isn’t something you rank on a linear bad, worse, worst, good, better, greatest scale. 

RULES: Now, the rules!

The album can’t be one I had a part in “And I don’t just mean not a Franny Sor Robinson, Seoul Hanoi’d, or Dara & Danny album. I am an active songwriter and composer even durin’ years I don’t personally release an album. I have co-written substantial amounts of, or entire tracklists, on several albums where I don’t sing or play an instrument on the recorded album, but I’m all over the credits. I think I do enough shameless self-promotion leading up to, and shortly after, the release of anything I work on. So as much as I loved working with Sariya Ibekwe - who is a fabulous Nigerian-American jazz singer - on her debut album this year, I co-wrote a good amount of that album. But, I’ve already talked about Sariya’s album extensively this year, and will link to it in the description box below anyway.

The album can’t be by a close personal friend of mine “I would spend these videos talking only about my friends’ releases if I didn’t have a strict no cronyism rule in these yearly roundups. I hype up, like, Daniel, Vanessa, Yulia, Delia, Lora, Andreas’s, and so on’s stuff whenever anything new drops, so they already got their signal boosts.”

Beyond those two rules, that’s really it. So without further stalling, let’s get into it.

Traveling Mercies by Emily Scott Robinson

The first album I want to talk about is Traveling Mercies, by North Carolina singer-songwriter Emily Scott Robinson - no relation, but oh my god, I wish. I’d love to just meet her, once. She’s so talented, I just - ugh! Anyway.

Emily Scott Robinson is a country singer whose first album, Magnolia Queen, came out in 2016 but I didn’t come across it until after I fell in love with Traveling Mercies. Daniel Maitland - the other half of Dara & Danny - sent the Spotify link of this album to me, and I just ate it up. Her songwriting gets me good, y’all. Her imagery is somethin’ else, her voice has the clarity of Alison Krauss, and her ability to deal with some very heavy themes poetically without sort of...glorifying? or trivializing? them is unreal. 

I should trigger warning this upcoming bit for discussion of sexual assault, so if you’d like to avoid that, I’ll put a timestamp right here [points] for you to skip to. I’ll give you oooone more second to skip, and...okay. 

I had a hard time listening to The Dress at first, because whenever I consume any media that deals with sexual assault, I have to mentally prepare myself. Even the song I wrote about my own experience with it, I don’t - I don’t perform it. Very rarely, I will. It was a write it, record it, release it for your healin’, and try to be done with it kinda thing. But once I psyched myself up to listen to it, The Dress pretty much immediately became one of my favorite songs on this album. I do sometimes have to skip it if I’m not feelin’ up to it mentally, but it. It is a beautifully written song about a very ugly thing, and I think- I think its a wonderful thing that she wrote that song.

[...] and then there’s my favorite song on this entire album, the one that honestly gave me a moment of “oh. OH, she went there.” Pie Song. It starts out by literally, she’s literally singin’ about how to bake a pie, and it made me so nostalgic for home, because I remember being taught by my friend’s mom to make a pie just like that. Don’t skimp on butter for the crust, add a little moonshine, but then she just, the next line goes right into the chorus and its, “but nothing you can make, can make you good enough, if you’re cooking for a man that doesn’t love you.” When I first heard that shift in the song - honey, when I tell you my chest just [both hands go up to her chest] it was powerful. Even though it isn’t the saddest or heaviest song on the album, it’s my favorite. The clear imagery - I could smell the pie she was singing about, I could feel the flour on my clothes - , the plot twist. 

Among the songwriting circles I’m in, this album is pretty popular with them for her songwriting. We go absolutely bananas for it.

Her songwriting is gonna take her places. I really can’t wait to see what she comes out with next. I’m a fan. I love her. SO much. 

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO? by Billie Eilish

This is probably the most quote unquote, mainstream album on this list. Billie’s undeniably a known name, and rightfully so! 

This album, y’all? Amazing. Flawless. True art.  I’m always hesitant when my son tells me what the Kids TM are listening too, because I usually- mm. Far be it from me to gatekeep music, to say what’s good and what’s bad, so I’ll just say that it. Usually isn’t. My, uh, my thing. It doesn’t appeal to me, and that’s fine!

But I- the first couple seconds of ‘bad guy’ got me payin’ attention, at ‘all the good girls go to hell’ I was just like Wow, capital W, and ‘bury a friend’ had me floored. Billie Eilish’s album is probably one of the most interesting, unique, and complex albums I’ve ever listened to. I really- I love this album.

Walk Through Fire by Yola

We’re back in the underground country music scene because of course we are! Yola is a fantastic singer from Bristol, England. On iTunes this album is classified as rock, but her EP titled Orphan Offering was under country, and her music has a very americana-indie-country feel.

Yola’s voice is the best part of this album but that’s not to knock on the music and the songwriting because they are also amazing. I can’t talk about this album and not talk about Yola’s voice, specifically, though. Her voice is like a warm cup of ginger tea on a cold day. It’s husky, and bluesy, on some songs kinda jazzy, and the musicality she displays on the album is really dynamic. She’s soft and smooth, then she’s belting out some high notes, but she’s not spending the entire album hittin’ you over the head with her belting. She really gives you a sampling of what all she can do on this album.

My favorite song off this album is Shady Grove it’s just - it’s - I love everything about it. The string section. The sitar sound. The gentle percussion, and ohhh my good god, the melody is just beautiful. It makes me wish this album was out when my son was little, because [pouts] its a song that reminds me of the song I used to sing to him when we first adopted him, and I’d just kinda hold him in my arms ‘n sway and sing to him. It’s such a beautiful song, it isn’t even the deepest or most profound song on this album but it is the most beautiful song to me musically. And I was want to hold a baby and sing it to the baby, so bring me your babies. Gimme.

Seneca by Charles Wesley Godwin

I’m going to get into this album in a second, but first. We all know I am a slut for odes to one’s roots. I made a whole video talking about how despite its memeability, John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads is actually a masterpiece. The short film I co-wrote and co-starred in with the director Lydia Viravong, a Lao-American I grew up with, is filmed and set in our hometown and based on our mothers. The Dara and Danny album ‘Progidal Children of Clayton County’ is a loveletter to me and Daniel’s hometown in Clayton Count, Georgiay. 

And that’s exactly what the album Seneca is. Seneca is an album about West Virginia. Charles Wesley Godwin grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia, a coal minin’ town. The Seneca Creek ran through his back yard, his daddy was a coal miner, mama’s a schoolteacher - he had a very quintessential coal mining town upbringing. And you know, your upbringing shapes you and this album is all about his love for where he comes from.

The imagery in his songwriting is just [chef’s kiss] perfection. And as someone whose affection for her roots is just as strong, I really - this album made me emotional as all hell. A lot of it is really sad, if I’m being honest, but that’s also because its so honest. For example,  the song Coal Country, tells the story of how West Virginia’s coal industry was the lifeblood of the West Virginia mountains, praises the union heroes of the Battle of Blair Mountain, and laments that in place of prospects for West Virginians, there’s now only food stamps and opiod addiction. 

Seneca Creek...the full version is beautiful, but the acoustic version gives mechills every single time. He wrote it about his grandparents’ love story from when they met in ‘49 to when his grandmother got sick and died in ‘94. It reminds me of Holly William’s 2013 song Waiting on June. It isn’t the happiest song, but even after the verse where the wife’s passed away, the chorus following it isn’t sorrowful. It just goes 

We built a home by Seneca Creek And raised ourselves a family I worked on the farm, you worked the store We had everything we'd ever hoped for

The narrator of the song is just talking about how he lived a simple life with the love of his life. That’s what the song is about, ultimately. And that’s beautiful. It makes me really, really feel lucky to be married to my husband when I listen to it, because for me, that’s what being married to him is like. 

Strawberry Queen is ro-man-tic as HELL! It’s about his WIFE, and as someone who is also trash for their spouse and writes way too many cheesy-ass love songs about him....I love it. It’s beautiful. I cried a little but don’t tell anybody I have emotions.

The last sad one I want to mention is Sorry For The Wait. It is a beautiful song where the narrator’s been killed in a mine explosion and he’s telling his wife not to cry for too long, that he’s buried in the clay and so will she someday, and he’s sorry for the wait. The third verse gets me bad. 

When you miss talkin' at me, holler t'wards the mine It's amazing how your voice echoes inside When the winter breeze tugs at your hair Jus know that it's me with a grin standing there

I’m not! Okay!

 HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

Before I talk about the final album I want to gush about, I do want to mention four albums that I truly enjoyed but in an effort to not make this video go on forever and ever, I didn’t write a whole explanation about why they’re so great. But I really do think deserve a shoutout!

LOVE + FEAR by Marina

Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent by Lewis Capaldi

Closer Than Together by The Avett Brothers

Wildcard by Miranda Lambert

Farmland by Gabe Lee

I can’t believe I haven’t plugged this guy yet because Gabe Lee’s album is fuh-king amazing. Gabe Lee is a country singer from Nashville whose sound you can tell has been influenced by classic country, modern americana, and like classic singer-songwriter types like Bob Dylan. It’s hard for me to interpret 100% of the time what his lyrics are about because at times his writing is pretty abstruse - oooh, pull out your thesauruses, kids - but the imagery in vivid. Its easier for me to talk about what this album makes me think of and how it makes me feel than to outright tell you what its all about. Farmland makes me think about drivin’ out in the woods in my high school boyfriend’s pickup to makeout and drink beer under the guise of deer hunting; or trying to sneaky-clean my muck boots after cuttin’ school to go fishin’  with my brothers; or pulling into a gas station in the middle of nowhere and handin’ some cash for pump one to a clerk that looks like he’s been there since the invention of petrol. There’s this grit to it that’s plain at the same time. Like there’s nothin’ particularly rebellious about skippin’ school to catch some fish, but it’s gonna get you muddy and sweaty. 

The music is very simple and that’s one thing I like about it. It doesn’t feel overproduced, it just feels very classic. Like this album would easily have been made in 1979, 2009, or 2019. The standout song on this album, to me, is Last Country Song. Daniel [the other half of the bluegrass-folk-americana duo Dara & Danny] thinks its Eveline, which is another one of my favorites. The most fun song on this album? Lyra, for sure. I have a lot of feelings about this album, I love this album, and I really hope you give it a listen.

Also, y’all know that as an Asian woman in country music - well, kinda. I got one foot in jazz, and one foot in bluegrass-americana-country-southern-folk, and then I got a hand in indie - [jump cut] LOOK, genre is a social construct, okay? I make whatever music I wanna make and you can like it or hate it. What was I talking ab-- oh! Gabe Lee!

Right, so, y’all know, clearly you can see, I’m very Asian. [*gasp*, puts on a generic American accent] What do you mean you’re not white? [normal voice] Shocking, I know. I like to highlight other artists of color as often as possible, but of course I’ll signal boost whoever I think is fantastic. But whenever I come across another Asian artist in these [air quotes] “white people” genres, I get really excited. And Gabe Lee is Asian-American, which again, we don’t see very often in country music, or like, other genres that we consider “Americana.” So yeah, I think that’s really cool.

#&&...hc

[kateofthecanals]

For The (Not)Watch: Episode 7.2

Exposition Theatre Presents...

Apologies for the lateness of this recap, I assume many of these topics have already been covered elsewhere, but I have things to say nonetheless!!! The episode was far from the worst, though far from the best. Inoffensive for the most part and even included some rather nice moments (if you ignore the broader context... so, you know, the usual). Let’s start at the beginning...

It was a dark and stormy night. Tyrion was regaling the Dragon Queen about the circumstances of her own birth, which was a treacherous omen of things to come. Dany and Varys then decide to have a conversation that should have happened before he had even stepped aboard her ferry to Dragonstone. She confronts him about plotting to assassinate her back in Season 1 and he’s just like “whaddayagonnado?” and she makes him swear that he’ll actually tell her she sucks before actually betraying her. I’m sure that’ll work out swell. Varys assures her...

And Tyrion vouches for Varys because he’s “an excellent judge of character.”

Then Grey Worm has some kinda psychic episode and suddenly jumps in to tell Dany that Melisandre is in da house to say welcome to the neighborhood. Dany is cool with her being there because apparently the red priests helped bring “peace” to Meereen (really? when did that happen?) and Mel starts speaking to Dany in High Valyrian.

**We interrupt this program to bring you a prophecy that should have been mentioned 7 seasons ago. Had D&D realized this was actually an important plot point, they would have seeded it earlier. We now return to your regularly scheduling programming.**

Dany’s bummed that she’s not the Prince That Was Promised because she’s not a “prince”, then Missandei interrupts to tell Dany, WHOSE FIRST LANGUAGE IS HIGH VALYRIAN, that her interpretation of the prophecy is wrong -- the PTWP is totes gender-neutral, y’all! Mel won’t confirm or deny if Dany is the PTWP because even she is apparently skeptical of her own bullshit; instead she just tells Dany that she NEEDS to hook up with this cat Jon Snow, who “defeated” the Boltons and became “King in the North”. Dany’s like...

So is Tyrion, tbh. He jumps in and vouches for Jon too (remember, Excellent Judge of Character!) and because Dany has no opinions or thoughts of her own and can’t even properly translate her own mother tongue, she’s like okay cool, send a raven to Jon (where did they get ravens?).

Well, it must have been a FedEx Express Overnight™ raven cuz we cut immediately to Winterfell where Jon is already reading Tyrion’s letter. Sandra questions whether or not it’s really Tyrion but Jon says it’s legit because he included a Book Quote from the first season. And even though Jon got to know Tyrion pretty well on their journey to the Wall, he decides to be Condescending Ally and asks Sandra her opinion. Sandra then fulfills her “Tyrion’s such a nice guy!” quota for the season before Davos strolls up to finally deliver some dialogue. He has a “eureka” moment when he realizes that dragons can kill white walkers. Jon asks if he thinks he should meet with Dany as she Tyrion requested, and Davos says no, it’s too dangerous, but they should keep that shit in their back pocket for future consideration...

Then we hop to King’s Landing... Side Note: not only do all the main female characters dress alike this season, they all sound alike too. Seriously, watch these first three scenes with your eyes closed -- they all sound exactly the same!

Anyway, Cersei is in the throne room addressed Randyll “What Sword?” Tarly and some leftover Tyrells to try and convince him to join her cause against Dany, and Randyll doesn’t seem at all bothered by being ordered around by a woman. (So, I guess it’s cool for Arya and Brienne to be retconned as misogynists, but actual canon misogynists like Randyll Tarly are suddenly super cooperative and tolerant? Okay.) Cersei then starts throwing mad shade at Dany and her dad: “You remember the Mad King and the horrors he inflicted on his people...” <-- says the woman who literally did the thing that Jaime KILLED Aerys for only THREATENING to do. At this point, I began to wonder if it was actually common knowledge that Cersei blew up the sept; I guess there’s some plausible deniability, but Cersei herself doesn’t exactly seem like she has anything to hide in that regard...

After the meeting breaks up, Jaime takes Randyll aside and introduces himself to Dickon, who seems to be played by a new actor now. (BTW, how many times do you think D&D giggled like 10-year-olds at the name “Dick-On”?) Jaime questions why they even came, and Randyll says, “If my queen summons me, I answer the call. And I’ve heard what she does to those who defy her.” Which answers my question above -- he DOES know about the sept. Yet, just like kinslaying and Guest Right, terrorism is just NBD anymore. Randyll then waffles in his allegiance to Cersei and Olenna Tyrell, and I’m just.... Please. If Olenna, who is not even a Tyrell by blood, was really the only Tyrell left, do you REALLY think Randyll wouldn’t bounce at the first opportunity?? Then Jaime makes Randyll an offer he can’t refuse (Warden of the South) because the King’s Landing plot is basically The Godfather now.

Down at the Citadel, Archmaester Slughorn has a terminal prognosis for Jorah and he suggests that he just fall on his sword and get it over with. Jorah, I assume, is too busy wondering how he’s gonna make sweet love to Khaaleeesiiii with a stone wang...

Then we jump back to KL where Qyburn and Cersei are taking a little stroll through the dungeons where the dragon skulls are. Cersei says that Robert would come down there sometimes to look at them, or to band random whores, which seems extremely unlikely since Robert had an aneurysm every time the Targaryens were even mentioned. Cersei questions how they’re actually gonna be able to defeat Dany’s dragons, and Arnold Qyburnegger insists that “If it bleeds, we can kill it.” He then reveals his TOP SECRET MASTER PLAN!!! A really big crossbow. Somewhere Daryl Dixon just got the most massive boner...

Then we’re back on Dragonstone where Yara and Ellaria are yelling at Dany to just attack Dragonstone now while they have the opportunity and the forces. Tyrion’s all, “I got this, babe” and proceeds to lay out Dany’s plan for Dany (is it even Dany’s plan?), because why should the supposed leader and aspiring Queen be the one to give her troops their marching orders herself? The few lines she did have were just direct quotes from Tyrion. Anyway, Dany Tyrion tells Yara to escort Ellaria back to Dorne for some reason I don’t remember and I couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t think of this before dragging Ellaria and Olenna all the way to Dragonstone just to send them back south again. BTW, D&D thought this scene was super Feminist because 4 women were in one scene together. I’m not making that up...

Then Dany and Olenna have a one-on-one in which Olenna delivers the first meme of Season 7: “You’re a dragon! Be a dragon!” T-shirts are now available in the HBO store. (Yes, I’m serious.)

We then take a break from “Game of Thrones” to bring you a very special episode of “As the Grey Worm Turns”. So, blah blah blah, Missandei visits Grey Worm in his quarters, whines about him leaving, he calls her his “weakness”, kisses her, she immediately disrobes -- seriously, that shit came off QUICK like

...and then he goes down on her. SIGH okay look... Yes, it was a lovely scene in and of itself, and I know this was D&D’s attempt at something “sweet” for a change, and YES it was the first CONSENSUAL sex scene we’ve gotten since, what, Season 3? But here’s the problem... First of all, there are so many other actual CANON romances in ASOIAF that have gone completely or virtually unexplored on this show, so for them to just invent this “romance” between a eunuch and a character who is actually supposed to 10 just feels utterly inane. Let’s be honest, guys, this scene happened for 2 reasons: (A) they wanted to see Nathalie Emmanuel naked again, and (B) penises are for sexual assault and comic relief ONLY on this show.

So, back at the Citadel, Slughorn is droning on about one thing or another when Sam says he found a couple of recorded cases of greyscale being cured, but Sluggy says don’t believe the hype because the procedure is too dangerous and risky and was outlawed. But... you guys... greyscale is like Westerosi AIDS, so even if the procedure is “risky”, don’t you think it’s worth maybe EXPLORING at the very least??? Anyway, I’m sure you can already guess what’s gonna happen next...

Yes, Sam sneaks into Jorah’s quarters with an assortment of paraphernalia, and the same dude who spent a solid 5 minutes last episode dry-heaving over some turds has suddenly decided he’s now Doogie Howser. He offers Jorah some rum to drink to dull the pain, since apparently milk of the poppy was outlawed while we weren’t looking, and it turns out that the cure for greyscale is to just scrape it off like an old paint job. Huh.

BTW, what the hell is with this new obsession with juxtaposing bodily fluids with food all of a sudden?? New fetish?? Anyway, that pie looked AMAZING. We’re not at what I assume is the Inn at the Crossroads where Arya is chilling waiting for her meal, special delivered by Iron Chef Hot Pie! She begins to eat and drink like a pig in the manner of her soulmate The Hound and makes a joke about baking one or two pies (BECAUSE SHE’S THE MARIE CALLENDER OF MURDER PIES GET IT); there’s also another brief reference to Briennebowl (sigh). Turns out, even fucking Hot Pie knows about Cersei blowing up the sept, ffs. He also knows something else that, for some reason, Arya doesn’t -- that the Starks took back Winterfell from the Boltons. Arya is SHOOK and frankly so am I because she spent 2 whole weeks at the Twins and NO ONE mentioned this?? Even the Lannister soldiers from last episode never brought it up?? Anyway, Arya’s like “oh shit I gotta go” and Hot Pie tells her that he prefers her as a girl because she’s “pretty” and OH how I wish she would have gotten more of a reaction from that, but then again this is GoT where only “idiot” girls would respond to being called pretty... When she leaves the inn, she hangs a louie north instead of south, having decided to keep her murdering more local.

This actually wasn’t that bad a scene, to be honest. I liked how Arya looked genuinely detached as she casually made references to murders she committed or would be committing... and then how she completely snaps out of it when she hears that Jon is in Winterfell. I think the success of this scene rests solely on Maisie’s shoulders though.

Speaking of WF, we then cut to Jon who is doing the thing where the scene opens on someone just staring blankly at a map. Maester Whatshisnameagain comes in to deliver Sam’s raven, cuz the Citadel is cheap as fuck and only uses UPS Ground. We then IMMEDIATELY jump to another council meeting where Jon announces Sam’s “news” that Dragonstone is lousy with dragonglass, and that this info has confirmed his decision to answer Dany’s Tyrion’s summons after all. And because Jon can NEVER seem to clue Sandra in on his plans BEFORE meetings, he blindsides her once again, prompting her to ONCE AGAIN speak up in defiance. Yes, it’s all just lame, manufactured, forced tension on D&D’s part, and what makes it even more infuriating is that it frames Sandra as a brat Every. Time. Though, in this case, everyone else in the room seems to agree with her, including Feminist Icon™ Lyanna Mormont -- Jon is their King and should NOT abandon them when winter is upon them. Jon’s like, “Hey YOU guys are the ones who wanted me to be KiTN, I never asked for it!” Which is a super cool thing to say in front of the rightful heir whose claim you stole. But hey, all is forgiven I guess when Jon oh-so generously declares that he’s leaving WF in Sansa’s hands while he’s gone. Hey, I kidnapped your child, would you mind babysitting for me for a bit? So, basically Jon abandons the North like he did the Night’s Watch, and aren’t we so glad that Sansa’s claim was completely ignored in favor of this super reliable dipshit?

Before he leaves, Jon ducks down into the crypts to meditate in front of Ned’s effigy when Littlefucker rolls up on him like a creep and Jon’s just OVER IT before it’s even begun...

LF then declares that he “loves” Sandra (cue every puking gif ever), and Jon immediately knocks his gross ass into the wall and tells him he’ll kill him if he ever touches his sister. Frankly, LF seemed kinda into it... ;-P

Jon then leaves and mounts his horse, waving goodbye to Sandra from her permanent perch on the walkway, and she’s all

Out in the woods, Arya’s building a fire when she notices her horse acting freaked out. She suddenly finds herself surrounded by VERY BAD BOYS snarling and growling at her when a huge figure comes up behind her and then...

Yeah, I admit it, I straight up cried seeing Arya and Nymeria together again. Of course, this is GoT, though, and we can’t have nice things, so it was shortlived. Yes, in the grand tradition of D&D reintroducing forgotten characters just to kill off/get rid of them again, I present: NYMERIA. So I went from tears to rage in less than a minute. These fucking assholes are more concerned about $$$$ than the VERY CRUCIAL FACT that the Stark kids are bonded to their wolves FOR LIFE and are GODDAMN WARGS, period. I hate them so much.

The next scene was filmed through a dirty coffee filter and I couldn’t see a damn thing, but horrible accents + cattiness = must be the Sand Snakes! Oh joy! I dunno what those fucking accents were; they sounded like fucking Apollonia when she first learned English, and I wanted to kill myself. Things just got worse from there when we jumped to another part of the ship (oh yeah, we’re on a ship btw) where Ellaria and Yara are cozying up to each other in front of Theon and begin to taunt him by feeling each other up and MAN I can’t wait for these bitches to die. The gropefest is mercifully interrupted then by the ship getting rammed, and they all run outside to see Euron’s sails in the firelight. Euron Both-Hands himself then makes one helluva entrance before getting down to some good ol’ murderin’. It’s a complete clusterfuck that’s not very well lit but I could see enough to know that he killed Obara and Nym...

PRO TIP: If you’re trying to establish the next big villain on your show, don’t have him kill off 2 of the most universally despised characters.

Not surprisingly, they spare Ellaria and Tyene “Bad Pussy” Sand (AKA the one Sand Snake most willing to take her top off), meanwhile Euron and Yara face off against one another. Euron gets the upper hand and is holding a knife to Yara’s throat as he calls to Theon. Theon looks back and forth between his shitperson sister and his psychopath uncle and decides mmmmmm NOPE

I’ve seen plenty of people criticizing Theon for this, and I think it’s utter bullshit. Like, I honestly believe that scene was intended to show us that Theon was still highly traumatized and triggered in that moment, much like Sandor during the Blackwater. I do not think that we, as viewers, were meant to look at that and come away thinking that Theon was being shitty or a coward. BUT HERE’S THE THING: you cannot spend 6 seasons conditioning your audience to believe that experiencing genuine trauma is a “weakness” or “foolish” and then expect everyone to be all cool and understanding when you suddenly decide to go for “realism”. Especially when last season featured a scene in which Yara told Theon to either get over it or just kill himself and it was framed as LEGITIMATELY GOOD ADVICE (which D&D even confirmed as such)!! So yeah, a retcon in which Theon’s trauma is addressed in a very logical and meaningful way is obviously going to receive backlash. This is the same show where Sansa had to be raped in order to be “strong”, so clearly a male character who’s experienced similar trauma should just “get over it” too, right? THAT is the lesson GoT is teaching its viewers, so it stands to reason that they would revolt when a character has a genuine PTSD episode. Not to mention the fact that Yara totally did not deserve Theon’s help or protection after the way she had treated him. Not to mention how SHE left HIM behind with Ramsay!! And later blamed HIM for it! Shit, I would leave her ass too. So, yeah, this scene was, I believe, intended to show that, no, Theon is NOT over it, because yelling at someone to just stop being sad about their trauma is not a magical cure. But it’s too late for this show to try and be sensitive about these sorts of things, because your viewers have been programmed NOT to accept it. So the one time D&D&Co choose to be authentic, it falls on deaf ears. No surprise there.

Quite a note to end on, for sure. Next week looks to be more of the same, so I’m stocking up on Red Bull now...

#got #got shit #shame of thrones #for the (not)watch #got spoilers #got season 7 #got episode 7.2 #stormborn #daenerys targaryen #varys #tyrion lannister #melisandre #jon snow #sansa stark #davos seaworth #cersei lannister #jaime lannister #randyll tarly #dickon tarly #samwell tarly #jorah mormont #qyburn #arya stark #hot pie #nymeria #theon greyjoy #yara greyjoy #ellaria sand #grey worm #missandei

[middleeyt]

Latin Headliners, International Billings... and Idris Elba?

The lineup is finally out in much anticipation and with a better build-up than past years. Coachella teased on the afternoon of January 2nd a handful of artists over their social media and at 8:25pm released the full list of artists heading to the Coachella Valley this April. This will be the 20th year of the festivals running (technically 19th) and so to many of us, the hype was real to find out how the heck Goldenvoice was planning to top last years roundup.

So About This Lineup:

Now first thing is first though, let’s address the elephant in the room. According to a number of sources Kanye West was actually supposed to make appearance at the Coachella venue this year, but allegedly dropped off the lineup due to disagreements with Goldenvoice over his stage setup. Kanye, according to some publications, apparently claimed the current Coachella Stage design to be “artistically restrictive”. (Beyonce added bleachers and a long ass strip... now I'm just wondering what the hell he was trying to turn the stage into?)

This year will mark my 6th attendance to the Coachella Valley (shit, just did the math… that’s a fuck ton of money) so to be quite honest, a large number of these artists I have already seen perform in past years. To any newcomers this lineup offers just the right balance and touchpoint for a variety of genres, but to me it just seems... well... “ok”. Every year Goldenvoice makes a point to grab at least one headliner that will cause some conversation, this year… they’re all just….”ok”. Although Ariana Grande has an amazing voice, and this past album has offered a number of bangers, I just don’t see her as a headliner... just yet (She did just get dubbed as the youngest person to headline Coachella though… dammit thought that was going to be me). Childish Gambino is one that I am actually kinda stoked about, he’s an artists who dedicates great thought into his craft, and this being his last runthrough with the “Childish” stage name, it might make for an epic performance.  Tame Impala… well, that one once again… is just “ok”.

A number of the second tier artists were also a little predictable. It seems that year after year Coachella has swayed in the direction of radio and streaming trends, as more and more “mainstream” artists make their way into the lineup… I’m afraid soon enough the festival might turn into a 97.7 radio artist roundup (shoutout to my 760 locals...wow that came out lame as hell) People like Khalid, Ella Mai, Mac DeMarco, and Billie Eilish I am juiced to see, don’t get me wrong… but they were lowkey guaranteed to be there due to the popularity they've recently gained, and that’s the problem. The one thing that I have always enjoyed about Coachella is the opportunity it offers to catch a large number of underrated artists who you can bank will make some moves in the years to come, or who you might not have heard of and end up loving. This year it just seems like I have heard a good number of these people in some shape or form.

The one thing I will say this lineup does well, is in giving homage to a lot of indie, R&B, Latin, Asian and female artists for the first time in a long while (Ok, now I see where the hype is at!) This line up includes a couple Latin headlining artists (J Balvin, Rosalia, and Bad Bunny) and not one, not two, but THREE international Asian billings (BLACKPINK, Hyukoh, and Perfume) The lineup is also stacked with a good number of women, and I am sure this list is going to give me plenty of opportunities to get in my feels with the number of lyricists in attendance. 

As a friend put it this year is going to be a “chill ass year”. I’m not mad about the lineup but neither am I super excited about it, I am... indifferent. As I have always said, the people make the music, as long as you’re vibing with a good crowd Coachella is going to be a great time come this April.

My Top Picks for 2019:

Now most of us tend to sleep on a good number of artists, like literally… a ton of y’all don’t even head to the venue until like 4pm (wtf). So to help you find some will to hit the venue bright and early, here's a list of my top (tiny name) artists to go give a listen to this year:

Friday:

Tierra Whack- She is nothing but “whack”, the Philadelphia native offers a totally unique and theatrical vibe to her contemporary rap and R&B, if you fuck with 6LACK you'll totally dig Tierra.

JPEGMAFIA- A villain or satirist who knows where he's at. JPEGMAFIA’s music is uncomfortable not going to lie, his lyrics are dark and humours at the same time, but the amount of power each of his songs carry is heavy. Give him a listen and try to figure out where you stand, it's tough and that’s kinda what’s dope about his sound.

RAT BOY- Reflecting millennial fears, Jordan Cardy better known as RAT BOY sings about what everyone my age feels, from fucking around to the prevalent political and socio-economic topics we often think about but don't speak for.

88GLAM- The newly created duo comprised of Derek Wise and 88 Camino gives me Migos and NAV birth child vibes… if you know what I mean.  

Bakar- The cyclical nature of the music scene, and Bakar’s smooth sound help put indie back on the map. Straight out of Virgil Abloh’s debut runway show as Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton, Bakar brings such a dope blend of rap and indie melodies.

Dvsn, Jaden Smith, SG Lewis- I put these all in one cuz if you haven't heard of them I don't know what the fuck you’ve been doing, and if you have this is just a reminder that I’ll see you at their tent!  

Los Tucanes De Tijuana- Now if you're Mexican… you know this shit is about to be lit. You’re going to be singing all the songs your mom used to make you do Saturday chores with, and y’all already know your non-mexican friends are going to vibe hella hard when “La Chona” comes on.  

Saturday:

Mr. Eazi- Y’all know I love my Afrobeats, if you're ready to get down to some fucking vibes join me for some booty-swaying club smashes with Mr. Eazi.

Sabrina Claudio- R&B songstress Sabrina Claudio is why my Saturday word of choice “VIBES”. Her 2016 EP Confidently Lost released over SoundCloud gained her a ton of momentum with over 3 million plays before it was even commercially released. 2018 became the release of her 8 track album No Rain, No Flowers, and I'm just saying y'all best not sleep on her!

Smino- If 2018 was the year where you went through a lot of “adult shit” well then Smino is the guy for you. His most recent project NOIR reflects on what it means to take experiences as growth and that growth as our reward.  

FKJ- Image what French Kiwi Juice (FKJ) would sound like. Now that’s not only what Vincent Fenton goes by but it legit is what he sounds like (y’all think I’m crazy hu?) With a blend of mellow electronic and R&B this is what Coachella is about right here.

SiR- Can something be soulful and mellow at the same time? It sure can. If you fuck with Frank Ocean (and I mean who doesn't) SiR is the guy to watch.

Soulection-  Independent music platform, radio show, and artist collective with an incredible fucking roster, Soulection is bound to serve us a damn good show!

Sunday:

Clairo- Lo-fi singer/ songwriter Claire Cottrill gives us some intimate and dreamy vocals, if you're ready to get down to the carryover of Saturday’s vibes, come join me.

Shallou- I got to see this guy and his incredible drummer a few months ago, he is one of the few people that I am super juiced to see again. His sad lyrics combined with happy beats make for a dope sound. If you were ever in the car with me within the past 4 months you probably heard his song “Lie” a good 30 times.  

Emily King - Pop-soul singer Emily King is total goals. A year ago she stepped out of her comfort zone by moving from her hometown and taking the NYC scene, that change and chance gave birth to the album that made her career: Scenery. Her story and lyrics tell it all.

Dennis Lloyd- You’ve probably heard his song “Nevermind” somewhere. This guy gives me Hozier vibes, if Hozier was a producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-intrumalist… I mean he might be, but I fuck with Dennis more.

You’ve made it to end! As a gift check out this playlist I made with all the need to know songs by the artists on this list! See ya at Coachella! 

Also checkout the all encompassing Coachella 2019 collaborative playlist and add your picks for the year! https://spoti.fi/2FUWzHz (playlist cover art by @madebyjuhie)

#Coachella music festival #Coachella #coachella2019 #artists #playlist #middleeyt #lineup #coachellavalley

[lifelibrariesandlemontrees]

Book Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin (Spoilers)

Okay. It’s here guys. And I’ve got a lot to say about it. Let’s begin.

Finally! After a year of waiting, the final book in Sarah J Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series is here. I was super hyped for this book you guys, SO HYPED. How could I not be after the wonder that was the first two. But now the question is: Did the book live up to the hype?

Before I tell you, let me just reiterate that there will be spoilers in this review. I know, I know, usually I don’t. But I can’t help it, I had a lot to say and I want to get specific. So: If you haven’t read the book, you should probably turn back now. Get the book, read it, and when you’re done, come back and see if our opinions match up. Try it, it’s fun!

Okay. Are they gone? Has everyone here finished the book? Awesome. Let’s get started, shall we? (P.S: This is gonna be long) (And unorganized) (I apologize now) (I will put a Tl;Dr at the end, if you don’t want to read all of my unorganized rambling)

Did the book live up to the hype? I’m a little undecided, but as of right now I have to say...no. It was good, and I enjoyed it, but I think it was my least favorite of the books which honestly disappointed me a little. I went in with such high hopes, and maybe that was my mistake, but to be fair, the first two books were perfection. I had no reason to expect this book to be anything less. 

But...I had some issues. For one thing, something about the characters just felt a little...off, to me. Not always, but enough for me to notice. Take Feyre, for example. I was expecting to LOVE the beginning, to LOVE Feyre being a sneaky spy, taking down the king of Hyburn from inside the Spring Court. But when I was reading it? Well, for one thing it seemed too easy. I mean, I wanted her to succeed but like...the Spring Court basically rolled over and let her ruin them. 

But getting back to Feyre, I understand that this is supposed to be kick-ass High Lady of the Night Court Feyre, and she’s supposed to be super-cool and stuff, but she is still supposed to be Feyre. What I mean is that she’s still supposed to have her human heart, that’s what’s supposed to be special about her. She’s a high fae, with all the powers, but a human heart. In the beginning, I didn’t see too much of that. It was a lot of clever manipulations that always seemed to work out practically effortlessly. At one point in the book, Lucien says that she is a better friend to him than he is to her, but I’m not sure how true that is, considering that she used him in most of her manipulations. Need to make a point to Tamlin? Use Lucien. Need to make a point to Ianthe? Use Lucien. 

I didn’t hate all of their interactions, and I really loved the ones that felt genuine. But like, the scene where she put on a skimpy nightgown and pretended to have a nightmare just so Tamlin could find her with Lucien? What the hell was that? Like, kudoes to Lucien for trying to be a good friend but like, she didn’t need to do that. I get that she is still mad at Lucien for not helping her when he could have, for not standing up to Tamlin and for trying to bring her back.

 All I wanted when I went into this book was for Feyre and Lucien to bond again, be BFFS, have Lucien come over to the Night Court and for everyone to be happy. I love Lucien and I love their friendship. I wanted them to work out their issues. I didn’t sign on for all of this weird manipulation, because while I’m down for her fucking with the rest of the Spring Court, can she just not with Lucien. And sure, I might be playing favorites here, but Maas wrote Lucien to be such a conflicted, complex character, she made the readers love him, so to see him being used like this by the protagonist, just kinda sucks. 

Like I said before though, I did really enjoy the scenes where their friendship felt genuine. And I’m so SO glad that she risked messing up her escape plan to save him from Ianthe. And honestly, after all of that, I’m glad he questioned whether or not he knew who she was, because frankly Lucien, I wasn’t sure I knew who she was either.

I’m pretty sure Maas was trying to emphasize the changes in Feyre, portray her as a stronger character who is capable of making the hard calls, but there’s a balance, you know? And I’m not sure she managed it. 

It wasn’t just with Lucien. I mean, I care about Lucien the most because he’s one of my favorites, but what about that guard? The innocent one who was whipped for something Feyre manipulated him into doing. And she let it happen, for the sake of winning over the guards. That is a scene that I don’t completely disagree with, because THAT’S the kind of thing I think of when I think of having to make hard-calls in wartime situations, but just the way she thought about it. Feyre mentioned that she felt bad, but every other thought was something manipulative. Like how she went down to check on him. Maybe Feyre really was worried, maybe she really did do it because she cared, but in her mind she made  a point of mentioning that neither Tamlin nor Ianthe bothered to do so and it just so...manipulative. I expected to love the whole beginning, but I had a hard time loving it as much as I should have, because I tended to feel like I was reading about a different character. 

Something I LOVED was that Lucien came with her to the Night Court. Because that was something I wanted. And I love that he recognized the Night Court as the kind of court he thought the Spring Court was going to be, back when he first moved there. 

Also this book was funny. You might not think so, being as it’s about war, and maybe it isn’t AS funny as the other ones, but it has some good lines. Azriel, for example, was an absolute delight of sarcasm and dry wit. I loved any time any of the Night Court had to fly Lucien anywhere because they were always so stiff and uncomfortable, like men at the urinal in the public bathroom- Take care of business, look straight ahead. No eye contact, no conversation. 

I ADORED meeting the other courts. I would have loved to have seen Alis again, in the Summer Court, because I’m a little concerned about her sons in the attack. Also, Alis was just wonderful in the beginning, seeing through all of Feyre’s lies, and I just love her. Regardless, the other courts were wonderful. I’m thrilled that Tarquin no longer hates the Night Court, and Vivienne and Helion were both amazing. I love, love, LOVE that Helion has been trying to have a threesome with Azriel, Cassian and Mor. And I love that he’s Lucien’s real father because frankly, my poor little fox deserves better than Beron. 

Okay...now back to my issues. Can we talk about the sex? And how much there was, and just how unnecessary it felt? Maas got her start writing fanfiction, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, that’s what most of these sex scenes felt like. Fanfiction sex scenes that are just there to keep your readers interested while you move the plot along. There were maybe 2 that needed to be there. And sure, there were sex scenes in the previous two books, but they felt needed. They were there for character development, relationship development. But Feyre and Rhysand are already in the relationship, and even if they have sex all the damn time the book doesn’t necessarily need to show us. I appreciate the sex scene when they first got back, and the one right before the war. Those felt important. The rest just felt like fan service. 

I feel like Maas is good at initiating relationships, but not so good at maintaining them. There were times when they felt like their initial chemistry was lacking a bit. Not often, but there were times, and they were usually followed by sex, as if she was aware of the flaw and attempting to fix it. Like, look, the can’t keep their hands off each other. That fixes everything, right? 

Just a little piece about Feyre being out of character, she brought Lucien to the night court and then basically just...left him there? She said she would show him around and then never did. Ever since Feyre and Rhys reunited it was almost as if anything that wasn’t Rhys, her sisters, or the Night Court didn’t really matter, and frankly that’s just a little annoying. 

You know what I wanted to see? Feyre in Velaris again, interacting with her subjects. Talk to the shop keepers, like the lady who made the food at the restaurant in the last book. Go out for a night, just Feyre, Mor, and Amren. Little things like that. And I know there is a war coming, but they had time. And don’t say there wasn’t room in the book, because if you took out some of those sex scenes, there would have been room y’all. 

I don’t know how I feel about the side pairings in this book. Any of them: Cassian and Nesta, Lucien and Elain, Mor and Azriel. I don’t know. 

In regards to Cassian and Nesta, I guess I just...can’t figure it out? And I was excited for this one too, because I could feel it in the last book. Nesta was still bitchy, but she was a softer sort of bitch. Just a little. After being thrown into the cauldron she seemingly lost any softness and she was just a bitch. Like... Amren was grumpy in a lovable way. Nesta was just an asshole. I tried so hard to like her but I had a lot of trouble, and I couldn’t really understand why Cassian was so in love. I could see him being attracted, see him thinking she was hot, see him flirting and trying to get a rise, but I don’t understand the adoration. 

Lucien and Elain. I don’t quite understand what Maas is trying to do here. On the one hand, she set us up for this pairing. She made them mates. But then she gave us that conversation about how Azriel and Elain would be better together. Throughout the story, characters have talked about the mating bond, and how it’s flawed. In that respect, I can appreciate her giving us an actual example of a mating bond that isn’t between the best possible candidates. What I don’t understand is why she would do that with Lucien. Yes, I am biased. I fully admit to it, and if you haven’t figured out that I love Lucien to tiny tiny little bits, then I don’t know what you’ve been reading. But even putting my own feelings aside, from a narrative standpoint it just doesn’t make sense to me. 

Hear me out. I’m not the only person who loves Lucien. I’m on Tumblr a lot guy, I know he’s pretty popular. He’s supposed to be. She’s made us love him, made him a conflicted and sympathetic character, made us someone we can root for. She’s given him so much pain, that when the mating bond clicked into place, I though “Ok, Lucien is going to get something good.” From a feminist standpoint I’m forced to object, because that puts Elain as a prize to be given to Lucien in return for his suffering, and women should be more than that, but I feel that the implication is that they will be good for each other. I wanted to watch him help her accept her new fae self, to watch them slowly fall in love, and in the end they’re both happy. I don’t know how much I care about Elain being happy (I’ll get into that later) but that’s what I wanted. What I got was something completely different.

I like that Elain doesn’t care about him at first. That would have been unrealistic, and I wasn’t expecting her to. but I wanted them to bond. And it’s not strictly because they’re mates, but because I find it hard to believe that with the exponential amount of shit that Maas has heaped upon Lucien already, she would also give him a dysfunctional mating bond. Like I’m so glad that she wants to show one that doesn’t work, but she could have gone about it in so many ways. Cassian could have found his mate, for example, but maybe she is married and he’s in love (for some reason) with Nesta. Something. Anything. But from a literary standpoint, I just don’t think it’s a good move to make the readers love a character, and then never give him anything good. AND THEN, at the end. there’s Feyre nudging Elain and encouraging her to ask Lucien to stay in Valaris and like... is Feyre in support of this pairing now? Why? What changed fro the scene where she was questioning the mating bond, because Elain and Azriel seemed like such a good match? What is this? That’s an actual question, because I legitimately don’t understand. 

I am interested to see how HELION BEING HIS FATHER!!! plays out. I’m super interested in that, and I was hoping it would come into play later (Psst. It never does) (That’s also something we’re going to discuss later)

Anyway, let’s talk about Mor and Azriel, shall we? I love them each, and shipped them, and thought they were going to be a thing. And yeah, I couldn’t quite figure out why Mor was dragging her feet, but then she dropped that truth bomb and just...wow. I’ve gotta say, I didn’t see that coming. And you know what, I’m totally in support of it. One of the biggest criticisms I’ve heard about Maas is the lack of LGBTQ characters in her books, and I guess she heard it too because this book is full of them. There was one of the high lords (I don’t have my book in front of me, I can’t remember which one. Not the ice one, or Helion, or Beron, or Tamlin, or Tarquin, or Rhys. I think it was the High Lord of the Dawn Court?) with his male mate, and there was mention of a woman and her wife in a story someone was telling about past events (I feel like they’re important characters but I’ve binge-read this book exactly once, during finals week. I read th end at like, 2 AM. I don’t remember this bit) and then there is Mor. So yeah, its a step forward in regards to representation.

What I don’t appreciate is Mor leading Azriel on for 500 goddamn years. It was pretty late at night by the time I got to this portion of the book, and I need to re-read it, so I don’t quite remember her exact reasons for never telling everyone that she’s more into women, but she straight up said she knows that her friends wouldn’t care. And if that’s the case, if she told no one else, she should have at least told Azriel. He’s going to be hurt whatever happens (though he may potentially move on with Elain???) but if you love him at all, you don’t let him pine for 500 years. I still love Mor to bits and want her to find the lady of her dreams, but come on. That’s not being a good friend. Even if you don’t tell him the exact reason, at least be honest with him, and break it to him that it’s never going to happen. Just do something. 

Getting back to Nesta and Elain, however. I’m trying to bond to them, but I just can’t. Elain is perpetually made out to be this good, sweet person but like...she isn’t? Not really. Both Nesta and Elain treated Feyre like crap, and I don’t feel like that was something that was ever fully resolved. Like...yeah, they started to in ACOMAF, and I thought for sure that it was going to continue here. And it kind of did, with Nesta (a little), but Elain? Everyone just loves and protects her and it’s as if shenever did anything wrong. I love that her sisters are getting to be part of the night court, and I love that Feyre is loyal to them, but I just wish that someone would acknowledge that they never really made up for their behavior. Not in my opinion anyway. 

And while we’re on the subject of Feyre’s dad, what was even the point of him? I hated that whole little situation to be honest, where Lucien just goes off to find the Swan Queen (I can’t remember her name, and I lent my book to a friend) I guess because Maas got sick of writing him? I don’t know, that’s what it felt like. Anyway, I was expecting him to show up in the final hour with this awesome army, and his stupid family is forced to watch him be awesome. I just imagined that in my head and it was glorious. But that wasn’t what happened at all. Instead, the army shows up and Fey’re is like, “Lucien?” and is told “Oh him? No. I mean, he was there, he hurried us along. But the real credit goes to YOUR FATHER OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE!” Like, 1, why even give Lucien that task in the first place? I don’t mean Rhysand, but Maas, why do that? It just reads like an obvious red herring, something to throw us off the trail, only she didn’t need to do that because I don’t think anybody was on that trail. I certainly wasn’t anyway. If you’d ask me who was going to show up in the final battle, ‘Feyre’s deadbeat father” wasn’t even a contender. 

Nevertheless, when he did show up I was amazed. I was totally there for it guys. her father finally fucking did something, he’s helping. I was expecting there to be some big reunion. Some moment. Some PURPOSE. But like...there wasn’t. Lucien COULD have been the one to bring the Swan Queen (I wish I remembered her name) for all the difference it would have made, because her father didn’t do a damn thing. He was there for two seconds, got held hostage, and then died. I don’t think he ever even said anything. There was NO PURPOSE to him. If she wanted Elain to kill the king, she could have simply had him fighting Nesta, Nesta is overpowered somehow, and Elain steps in. Like...there was no point to their father, and what I’m pretty sure was meant to be a touching, emotional scene, just came off as a little gimmicky to me. 

AND WHILE I’M COMPLAINING (I swear to God, I really did like this book) What’s up with the deaths in this book? Let me explain.

I’ve never read to the end of a Sarah J Maas series before, so I didn’t know what kind of author she was. Was she the kind to kill off major characters? The kind that doesn’t kill off anyone? Well...she’s actually somewhere in the middle: She kills people, but never makes it matter. Which was...disappointing.

She killed the Suriel. She killed Rhysand. She killed Feyre’s father (What even was his name?) She kind-of-killed-but-didn’t-really- Amren. And ultimately, not one of those deaths mattered. In fact, only 2 of them stuck, and neither one needed to happen. Rhys came back to life. Amren became fae. Only the Suriel and Feyre’s father actually died, and I feel like their deaths were just in there to say someone died.

Just judging from what it feels like, I think Maas wanted to have the war be meaningful, and risky, and for the stakes to be high. Like in Game of Thrones, when anyone could die, so you’re perpetually worried about everyone you care about. Only she couldn’t bring herself to kill her darlings, so she killed characters she wasn’t as attached to, like the POOR SURIEL! 

I loved the Suriel. I lived for his friendship with Feyre. And here’s the thing: He didn’t need to die. It wasn’t really a motivator for anything. It was just sad, and I think it was Maas attempting to raise the stakes in this war. But she didn’t want to kill any of the Night Court. Except Rhys, but she brought him back and honestly that was so disappointing.

Not about Rhys. I love Rhys to tiny little pieces. I cried at his death, even as I failed to believe he was going to stay dead, because it was just so sad. No, what I’m disappointed in is how low the staks actually felt. My favorite series (Game of Thrones, The Farseer Trilogy, etc...) kill off beloved people all the time, so the danger feels more real. And it hurts, and I hate it, but I think the constant panic adds something to the reading experience. At no point during this book did I feel that, because I just didn’t believe she would kill off anyone beloved. And aside from my LOVE FOR THE SURIEL, she didn’t.  

That being said, while I feel like the Suriel’s dath wasn’t quite as traumatic for the main character as, say, one of her friends would have been, and it was a bit of a cop out, IT DEVASTATED me. I love the Suriel so so much! FyreXSuriel is my forever bro-TP and to have him die. To admit that she was spcial, and kind The Suriel was a dreamer..... He never needed to die, dammit!

Fuck, Amren wasn’t even dead. It would have been sad, because she would have forgotten her friends, but it felt right. It was an awesome scene, when she is set free to take her rightful form, she kicks Hyburn ass. I love Amren, but I didn’t want her to come back, because it was sad that she would forget them, but that also made it a more powerful scene. As happy as I am that she isn’t gone, I feel like the fact that she isn’t...cheapens it.

Also, wtf was with her relationship with Valdrin (IS that his name? Probably not. You know who I mean.) That was like....left field. Maas loves to hook up all of her character but they don’t all need to be hooked up. Amren seemed pretty content with just her friends, and I know there was that line about how he taught her something about love but like...there are more than one type of love. I’m not actually that bothred by it, it just didn’t seem like it needed to happen. 

Now Tamlin... What to say about Tamlin. I couldn’t never get a feel for him. He’s an asshole, but a decent guy, but an asshole, but a traitor, but not really? Idk. I was actually pretty happy with the portrayal of Tamlin, and he had every right to be mad at Feyre for destroying his court. Actually, in retrospect, why did she destroyed his court. Like...I know it was so he couldn’t team up with Hyburn, but that didn’t actually hurt Hyburn at all and backfired spectacularly. Couldn’t any of the centuries old warlords have maybe forseen this turn of events? Maybe?

Finally, all the loose threads. So many loose threads. What happens next? Who ends up with whom? What are all th new chracters going to do? Who is the mysterious magician in control of the curse on Swan Queen? What is the point of these characters. Aside from the obvious, defeating Hyburn thing, most issues wren’t resolved. And I know that this is because she is continuing the series, just following a different character, but I still find it irritating. Even if it isn’t the end of the series, it’s the end of the trilogy. I can’t even use the loose ends to determine who the continuation will be about because there are so many that at this point it could be about anyone. Thats probably just a personal issue, but I found that annoying. 

Tl;DR

I liked this book a lot. No, really, despit my PARAGRAPHS worth of issues, I really did enjoy it. I did. I just also had a lot of issues, mostly with characterization, the overload of unessecary sex scenes, some aspects of the plot that just did’t need to be there (Her dad) and all the loose threads at the end. Overall, I find that the whole thing feels a little rushed, which is crazy to say for a 700 (aprox) page book but...it did. I think she could have spread this out over 2 books and had more time for characterization and the like.

Overall though, I did enjoy this book. It was great to see the characters again, and even as I was complaining, I was hooked until the very end. 

Rereadability: 4/5

Rated: 3.5/5

#A Court of Wngs and Ruin #ACOWAR #Sarah J Maas #A Court of Wings and Ruin Spoilers #ACOWAR Spoilers