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watching-pictures-move · 2 years

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Dispatches from TIFF #4

Hey folks, after two long years, I’m doing TIFF again, so I figured I’d make a little diary out of it with reviews and other thoughts.

The Hotel (Wang, 2022)

I found Sick's attempts to channel the particular anxieties of the early pandemic period a little flatfooted, frequently undermined by the punchline-heavy style the movie opted for. This movie doesn't have any genre marks to hit, but I do think it does a good job of capturing that particular mix of boredom and uncertainty from when restrictions started to kick in but the actual threat posed by the virus felt abstract more than anything (if you were fortunate enough at that point to not be directly impacted, at least). The stillness of the full frame B&W cinematography is a nice way to capture that inertia, and I appreciated the low key handling of the different relationships. I don't have much patience these days for plot-lite low key arty dramas, but I didn't mind spending time in this.

Also, I won't profess to be an expert, but I understand the Chinese film industry is subject to a pretty convoluted and restrictive censorship system, so it was startling to me at least that this expressed some ambivalence and skepticism towards the official party line regarding the government's response. Most of the news broadcasts we hear actually cite the US government.

So this was working for me for like 99% of the runtime. And then at the last minute, it throws in a bananas twist that is technically set up by preceding conversations, but is so baffling that you can't understand why a seemingly sensible movie would ever go for this. You could feel the air being sucked out of the room when that reveal happened. Sadly, there was no Q&A after my screening.

Project Wolf Hunting (Kim, 2022)

Now, this is pretty awkward when it tries to incorporate flashbacks, and has a few too many characters for you to really invest in their fates, and the ratio of male model types to grizzled uggos is out of whack for an action-horror hybrid (this last problem is at least addressed by the escalating body count). But you gotta hand it to a movie whose sole raison d'etre seems to be resolving every confrontation in the grisliest way possible. Kudos to the gore FX people and foley artists who must have worked overtime to make every blood splash, bone crunch, organ squash and metal clang pop without fail. Fun stuff.

On a side note, as the festival has wound down, I've noticed that certain traditions seem to be in decline, namely the clapping along to the ads and the pirate noises during the anti-piracy disclaimer. Granted, the Paolo Sorrentino Bulgari ad with Anne Hathaway and Zendaya isn't the most intuitive to clap along to, but I think I was the only one going "Arrrr!" when the disclaimer flashed before this movie. Perhaps others have had a different experience. I haven't done any proper midnight showings and I understand those crowds tend to be more enthusiastic.

Pacifiction (Serra, 2022)

This review contains mild spoilers.

I had bemoaned the apparent decline of certain TIFF audience traditions in this year's festival. So I went into this, my last screening of the festival, determined to make a last stand, determined to make the coarsest, most swashbuckling, freebooting, buccaneering "Arrr!" I could muster when the anti-piracy disclaimer came on screen. And when it finally happened, I was deeply moved to hear at least one other person in the audience partake, weeping internally from this show of moral heroism and respect for tradition. (Not weeping literally, just to be clear. That would be weird unless you've had an actual traumatic pirate-related experience, a la Captain Phillips. Or if someone reported you to the FBI for downloading a movie, which was one of the more notorious incidents that took place on a now defunct internet forum I used to post at.) So even if the movie ended up being shite, my week would have ended on something of a high note.

I'd had reason to worry about the actual movie for a number of reasons. I'd glanced at a few reviews earlier and saw the phrase "Slow Cinema" come up, which is something I've struggled with in the past. In short, I haven't gelled to the low key default mode of modern arthouse cinema, and generally prefer movies where things happen. There was also the runtime of close to three hours, which would definitely be a challenge given that I slept like garbage the previous night and was leaning on a can of Starbucks Tripleshot Cafe Mocha (complete with fancy ingredients like Guarana, Vitamin B...uh, Guano? I think that was one of them, should have read the label more closely) to keep me awake. So I was pleased to find that not only did I not fall asleep during the movie (although the caffeine started to wear off towards the end), but it ended up being my favourite thing I saw from the festival.

The movie takes place in French Polynesia, where a representative of the French government played by Benoit Magimel who essentially tries to keep the peace, helping locals manage their problems. This is something he generally does in open and benevolent ways, although he's not afraid to apply a firm hand. (A pair of early scenes have him agreeing with the locals who want to keep the casino open to keep youth out of trouble, and then casually threatening the priest to buy out his church if he doesn't drop his fight against the casino.) This is cool guy who everybody seems to like (Magimel's easy, nicely worn charisma plays well into this), and we see this infatuation most clearly through the perspective of a character played by Pahoa Mahagafanau. (This is apparently her only IMDb credit, but she's quite magnetic in the role. Eager to see what she does next.) Unfortunately, this peace doesn't seem destined to last, as the increased naval presence and rumours of plans to resume nuclear testing begin stirring up tensions on the island.

The description on the TIFF website calls this a "political thriller", but that's a little misleading, as the movie seems more concerned with relating its story through shifting rhythms than charting concrete plot points. Notice an early scene where the hero goes out by boat to observe a group of surfers, and the tidal waves are captured less as action than an extension of the landscape, part of the rhythms and movements of nature. Then later you see him peering through binoculars at around sunset, and the water seems eerily still...right until he notices the top of a submarine protruding unnaturally from the surface, its manufactured geometry completely incongruent with its surroundings. I think there's a similar dynamic with the hero's appearance. I always like an opportunity to bring up wardrobe, and you can see the hero moving around with ease in the early scenes, his white summer suit blending nicely into the casual, peaceful ambience. But it feels more and more out of place as the movie progresses and he grows less assured of his grasp of the situation. (One scene has him frantically waving a flashlight around in the middle of the night trying to find the submarine again, his white suit sticking out blindingly against the pitch black surface of the water and the night sky.)

These eerie rhythms culminate most powerfully in a scene near the end at a nightclub, where everyone is bathed in cold blue light, and the beats keep going and going, as does the dancing, and an environment that was once welcoming now begins to feel almost purgatorial. (The dancing of the diminutive admiral brings to mind Michael J. Anderson's moves in Twin Peaks, and the monochrome veneer of this scene evokes the Black Lodge.) The digital cinematography is definitely a boon here, as the island initially seems beautiful but never quite inviting, and as things grow more sinister, the coldness of the cinematography nicely complements the hero's increasingly unmoored feeling. (This definitely contrasts with another recent viewing, Goodbye Emmanuelle, which has a certain warmth in capturing its island setting from being shot on film.) And then there's the closing speech by the admiral, which is hard and threatening when so much of the dialogue in the earlier sections had been soft, accommodating or at worst innuendo-laden. The movie never quite explodes, but it's an appropriate note to end on, given the escalating apocalyptic quality that had built over the runtime. (Interestingly, or maybe inanely, the weather changes in the movie roughly matched the circumstances of my screening, as it was sweltering when I entered the theatre and raining as I left.)

If there's a thesis here, it's that colonial rule, no matter how well intentioned or benevolently executed, is bound to conflict with the interests of the colonized. But despite a glib early gag (a French woman cartoonishly practices a bird dance in front of the mirror), I think the languorous approach taken by the movie helps you "feel" this dynamic in a way that never feels didactic. The fact that it takes the perspective of the Magimel character helps as he's caught between the conflicting factions, and his ability to carry out his job is undermined by the institution he serves, so he's best situated to demonstrate how these things would actually play out. There's also an interesting element of queerness here, which I'm probably not that well equipped to address but I'll try anyway. I'll note that Mahagafanau is trans and her character seems to fit in as easily as the hero, while other characters like the admiral and the aforementioned French woman are somewhat covert about their homosexuality. The nightclub features scantily clad staff (male and female) so blatantly that it barely registers, yet the scenes with the most overtly heterosexual gaze (an obese man roughly fondling a topless woman, another topless woman robotically gyrating as she DJs) have a strangely unsettling quality. It's definitely something I'd like to see somebody better unpack.

Anyway, that’s all folks. See you next year.

#film #tiff #tiff22 #movie review #the hotel #project wolf hunting #pacifiction #wang xiaoshuai #kim hong-seon #albert serra

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swagcolorloverwombat · 1 year

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Dad, Mom, I Made It - How Social Media Provided A Big Break For These Journalism Students

Aristotle once said that man is, by nature, a social animal. It was only natural, therefore, that when the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed in different parts of the world, we flocked social media platforms in attempts to fill the consequent social gap. At a time when the world was humming with anxiety and tension, social media became a social lifeline that distracted us from feelings of loneliness, boredom, and lethargy. It also became the most accessible and popular medium of communicating new information about COVID.

Moreover, it was during this dark period that social media platforms provided light at the end of the tunnel for young creative minds, and still do.

A study conducted by GeoPoll in 2020 ranked TikTok as the 5th most popular sharing site in Kenya. The platform, however, hasn't fallen short of presenting us with the most popular celebrities we can't get enough of. Banking on creativity and relevance, these journalism students jumped into the turbulent social media waters with both feet, and the waves have indeed been kind to them.

1. Elsa Majimbo

During the 2020 lockdown, Majimbo was an 18-year-old journalism student happy to chill at home and binge on Netflix movies and TV shows. This, however, took a turn for Hollywood success when she began sharing satirical monologues about her lockdown experiences on her Instagram. Her relatable and mocking monologues resonated with millions, and her signature laugh topped off with chic 1990s sunglasses ensured we went back for more.

Despite societal expectations, Majimbo quit her studies and boldly set out to challenge the belief that legitimacy can only be attained through education. And boy did she prove society wrong.

Her videos went viral on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram, and she became what many have called an overnight celebrity. She skyrocketed right to the top, and earned herself ambassadorial deals with powerhouses like Valentino, Fenty Beauty, and MAC Cosmetics, along the way. She cemented her international success when she won the 2020 People's Choice Award for Favorite African Social Star, a title she'd already earned in the hearts of many. What started in her bedroom at her home in Kenya has made its way to Comedy Central, Steve on Watch, Netflix, Forbes Africa 30 Under 30, and more.

Since then, it's been an upward spiral for the now 21-year-old comedienne as she continues to live true to a statement in one of her viral videos - "It's not about who you are, but who you can be".

Now residing in Los Angeles, California, Majimbo owes her success to consistency, surrounding herself with the right people, and trusting her intuition. Netizens still visit her social media platforms for a dose of humor and optimism, even as we continue to adjust to life with COVID.

2. Azziad Nasenya

The crowned "East Africa TikTok Queen" was just a girl with childhood dreams and teenage enthusiasm before she ascended to being a social media darling for millions. Having started acting since she was little, Nasenya was already on her way to being her own star when TikTok suddenly opened doors for her at age 19.

She'd already been creating content on TikTok for a while, with some of her videos garnering over 4.1 million views. But as fate would have it, a video of her dancing to Utawezana by Femi One x Mejja was what put her in the spotlight and jump-started things for her.

Her acting career went from working with Hearts of Art Theatre Group to making her debut on the popular local show, Selina. She went on to co-host a documentary and musical show titled Concert Nyumbani alongside media personality Mwaniki Mageria; the show aimed to celebrate heroes who had emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. Being a journalism student at Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, Nasenya later secured a job at SoundCity Radio as a breakfast show host for #WhatsUP254.

Her online presence and influence steadily grew to international heights, earning an elated 21-year-old Nasenya a nomination for E! People's Choice Awards in the African social star category. She emerged second after Zimbabwean comedian Tyra Chikocho aka Madam Boss, but her international influence was irrefutably established.

Like many social media influencers, Nasenya has had her fair share of ambassadorial deals with leading international organizations. As the official global ambassador for the Save Our Future campaign, she advocates for access to inclusive and quality education after the health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, she has recently become BIC's Miss Soleil brand ambassador where she encourages women to be comfortable in their own skin.

Azziad Nasenya has her eyes set on Hollywood, and with the unwavering passion which has brought her thus far, her future is bright.

3. Moya David

Who can resist a dashing suitor and a guaranteed happy ending? At least not Moya David's millions of followers, myself included!

In the spirit of promoting songs through TikTok challenges, Moya David went one better and decided to include unsuspecting fans in his videos while giving them momentous, romantic surprises. Capitalizing on Mi Amor by Mario x Jovial, the 25-year-old street dancer has established himself as "The King of Smiles" both on the streets and online.

As we struggled to adjust to the loss and economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Moya David set out to spread joy, love, and good vibes in the marketplace and bus stations. The catchy song coupled with his sensual moves made him an irresistible sight, but it was the tears of joy and the happy endings that appealed so keenly to millions of social media users. His venture has since progressed from a non paying personal mission to a lucrative and enviable service, but it's message of joy and love still stands.

Although dancing comes naturally to him, Moya David admits that it has taken him ten years to establish himself and profit from his childhood passion. He pursued a diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication and engaged in martial arts stunts before he eventually fell back on dancing and made a career out of it.

Boasting over 3.5 million followers on TikTok, Moya David is considered one of the top influencers in Kenya. His fanbase, however, extends beyond the borders of Kenya as he admits to being invited to perform in other countries like Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. The launch of the Moya City Spa is testament to his continuing success and a glimpse into the glamorous and enduring future his life is headed to.

Is Going Viral All It Takes?

Although viral videos are what put these social media influencers on the map, those videos simply marked the beginning of tumultuous trajectories for the talented journalism students. Believe it or not, going viral is the easy part; taking advantage of that opportunity and turning it into gold is, quite frankly, all it takes.

For Elsa Majimbo, Azziad Nasenya, and Moya David, content creation is inherently personal. They are inspired to create content based on personal experiences or driven by personal goals. This has in turn made each moment a lesson in vulnerability and indifference as they embrace both the positive and negative sides of being social media influencers.

The lockdown period cultivated a culture of increased reliance on social media platforms, and the last two years have seen the landscape shifting and changing with new trends, new challenges, and new stories. The above-mentioned celebrities, therefore, have capitalized on relevance, consistency, and creativity to ensure that their lights don't flicker into insignificance.

#social media #celebrities #elsa majimbo #azziad nasenya #moya david #kenyan #lockdown #TikTok

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lili-ehart · 2 years

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Critiquing Social Media

In this snippet of a podcast where Mohsin Hamid discusses his book “The Last White Man” with Ezra Klein, Hamid begins by describing how the Industrial Revolution made humans less human. By breaking jobs down into more specialized tasks, people became isolated and more machine-like. Turning humans into machines, and thus humans against humans, was a direct result of new technology shaping daily lives. Hamid compares this phenomenon to what we see happening in the digital age we are in right now as well.

In terms of social media, Hamid believes that technology has turned us into predictable beings addicted to sorting. But it goes both ways. By sorting our likes and dislikes, algorithms become smarter, predicting future likes and dislikes. Therefore, just as our likes and dislikes shape our algorithms, our algorithms also shape our likes and dislikes. We often outcast those who do not share the same likes and dislikes as ourselves. He goes on to say this makes us basically victims to consumerism, as these algorithms influence and target our opinions on things as basic as clothing to as complex as political affiliations.

Hamid especially discusses the addictive and performative nature of social media platforms. Hamid explained that he was aware of the downfalls of social media and had stayed away from it for those reasons. That is until his team recommended with a new book coming out, he should use social media to promote. He personally felt himself be absorbed into what he called the “self-promotional” side of social media and went as far as to say he saw it bring out the worst in him. Ultimately he chose to delete his social media only a few months after starting them.

Overall, I would say I completely agree with Hamid. Although I do have social media now, I too believe they are generally more evil than they are beneficial. Growing up I was actually not allowed to have a smartphone even when everyone else my age had one since they were around 12-14 years old. I begged my parents every year to let me have one because I felt that alienation Hamid described in the beginning of the podcast. I even felt embarrassed sometimes. I didn’t get a smartphone until I was 17 and I was so excited I could finally take part in what was going on on the internet. But alas, my parents said although I could have a smartphone now, I was still not allowed to have social media. I was furious, but I abided by their rules.

It wasn’t until the pandemic hit, and my high school asked that we utilize social media to participate in the end of the year senior activities, that I downloaded Instagram. Then, for my freshman year at OU, snapchat group chats were made for the class of 2024. Being that classes were all online, I saw it as one of very few opportunities to make friends in college. So I got snapchat as well. And then of course the craze that is tik tok took over, so I downloaded that too.

Never in my life have I had a greater realization that my parents were not being excessively overprotective, but actually had great reason to not allow smartphones/social media. In fact, sometimes I wish I had never gotten social media after years of begging for it. In the 1-2 years of being stuck at home during the pandemic, I became heavily addicted to my phone. I worried about how many followers and likes I had. I only posted things that make me look good or seem funny. It eventually made me wonder why people are so afraid of individuality?

The second I felt a twinge of boredom I hopped on tik tok for hours as an antidote. They purposely design apps with the scrolling method to keep you on the app. I definitely relate to the performative and addictive nature Hamid discusses.

And in relation to the sorting and algorithms, I’m sometimes terrified of the things it predicts from my shopping habits, to my ad experience, to my entertainment interests. It’s very scary to me how much social media knows about you.

Although I did eventually learn to use social media for myself and stop caring what others thought, I am still addicted to using social media. My weekly screen time is way too long. I wish I could bring myself to delete my social media as Hamid did, but it being such a large part of my generation’s culture makes it a difficult decision for me.

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reniescheromaci · 2 years

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Beat Self-Isolation Sadness With These Activities!

First, here is my experience with the first lockdown: After 3 weeks of being stuck inside my tiny studio flat — and becoming painfully aware that my (noisy) neighbours were also stuck inside theirs — I felt like I’d got the hang of quarantine. During the first week I did nothing at all. In fact, I slipped into a deep depression where I did nothing but sleep and eat just enough to stay alive. Before the world shut down, I was in the middle of getting my life together, as I’m sure a lot of people felt they were. I had been getting up early, eating big cooked breakfasts, dressing up everyday whether I had somewhere important to be or not. I was doing all my chores, seeing my favourite people at least three times a week and even making plans for the future; applying for jobs and college courses and going to therapy. I threw away my routine the first week. The second week I tried to get my shit together. I went grocery shopping, did some housework, although not as much as usual, and started video calling with a couple of friends. It was a start… But it didn’t last long. By the third week I’d gone back to doing the bare minimum. I didn’t want to text or call anyone. I didn’t want to get dressed or put on makeup, or cook a proper dinner, and I really didn’t want to do housework. There were a couple of days that I managed to pick myself up enough to do something, like playing guitar or cooking, but overall I felt myself slipping back into that dark, quiet place where I find myself exhausted, not from doing too much, but from overthinking. Now the second time around, I’m determined not to ‘’let myself go’’ again. I’m working as a carer in a nursing home part time and doing university and college classes online. I facetime my therapist once a week and have even gone back on medication, after I swore to myself I’d never go near it again. Point is, I’m doing the best I can. No one wants to slip into a ‘’funk’’, as it could stick even after the pandemic is over, and we all know how hard it is to break bad habits. Hopefully some of my suggestions will help curve your boredom over the next couple of weeks! Here are some things that have been motivating me to get out of bed the past couple days (besides work and homework). These aren’t all exactly productive, but they keep me relaxed and stop me from thinking too much. > First, try to connect with someone. Text, call, video chat, or even join a thread of comments on Instagram. Just TALK to someone. > Express yourself. Write a poem, blog post, song, story or in your diary. Paint a picture. Sing, dance or play an instrument. If you have to (and I say this with tears in my eyes) make a TikTok. > Cook something. Actually COOK, without using a microwave. As long as you eat though, anything’s fine. > Deep clean your whole place. Organise all your stuff and donate/throw some things out. > Deep clean your phone. Delete your enemies numbers, any apps you don’t use, old photos etc, and wipe it down while you’re at it! > Give yourself a spa day. Do a face mask and put some on your hands too. They need it after all the washing. Exfoliate and moisturise your whole body. Paint your toenails. Light some candles, put on some soft music and meditate. > Exercise. Go for a walk by yourself, do yoga or jump rope. > Like to support good causes? Whilst you can’t volunteer in a charity shop or join a protest while the world is on lock down, you can still send texts and sign petitions to support campaigns happening around the globe. A good place to start is www.change.org. (Keep in mind that any money donated to Change goes to their organisation, not the petitions). > If you’re in school, do some revision. If not, pick up a new language and try to perfect it. You could be multilingual by the time we’re out of self isolation! > Watch TV/a streaming service. Some of my favourite shows at the moment are Outlander, The Haunting of Hill House and Peaky Blinders, all available on Netflix and Amazon Prime. (Yes, I know they’re old… If you want to suggest some new shows for me I’d really appreciate it). > Read a book, article, or research a topic you’re interested in that you never had time for before. > Plan some great outfits for when this is all over! These can all be done whether you live alone or with others. I hope they help keep you sane during this strange, trying time and since most of them don’t require technology, they’ll give you a break from all the screens! I recently purchased a Rubix cube and a dart board to cure my boredom, and I’m loving playing with them! Although it’s difficult, it’s important to keep some sort of routine during quarantine, or at least to relax/have as much fun as possible, especially for those of us with mental health issues. Hopefully my suggestions will help!

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madamevirgo · 2 years

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One In A Million

Pairing: Sarah Paulson x reader

Summary: What are the odds of Sarah picking you to go live with her on Instagram?

Warnings: fluff, boredom, ?

Words: 1086

A/N: So I’m still procrastinating and ended up watching her ‘Shut Up Evan’ podcast which made me miss her pandemic lives, which led to me rewatching a couple of them. They got me thinking and I just couldn’t focus on any of my assignments until I wrote and posted this. What would you do if you ever went live with her? Is that something you’d want? Also, this is like my fourth time posting in less than a month?! What’s happening? I’m out here writing like Alexander Hamilton, slowly making a dent in my requests/ideas - but also not really because I just keep getting new ideas, lmao. Bref, Check out my hashtag ‘MadameVirgoWrites’ to keep up with/see what I write.

Several tasks required your attention and could have easily cured you of your boredom, but the idea of getting up and doing something was not at all tempting. So you just laid there, a movie you had seen too many times to count was playing in the background so you'd feel less lonely, as you alternated between the different apps on your phone. None of them captured your attention for long.

With a sigh, you closed your phone and dropped it on your stomach as you closed your eyes. Maybe sleeping would help. The day would end faster, and tomorrow you could have another filling day of doing nothing. What a drag. You were about to fall asleep when you felt your phone vibrate with a notification. Annoyed, you picked it up to check.

‘@MsSarahCatherinePaulson is going live’

That was a better way to spend your time, you thought as you sat up and clicked on the notification which led you to the live. A smile soon made its way across your face, at the actress’ silliness. You watched as she went on and on about her current project and whatever else her mind could think of. People were enabling her with their comments and you were soaking up every second of it.

“How about I pick a couple of you to join me? God, you’d think I would know how to work this thing by now. Okay, never mind, send me requests and I'll pick a couple of you to chat with while I wait for my pizza.” she says as she pulls up her sunglasses to hold her hair to the top of her head as she decides on a lucky fan.

This was not your first time watching one of her lives as she had taken to doing them during the start of the pandemic when everyone was quarantining. You never got picked, and you never sent a request to be on her live. For many reasons, the first one being that you didn’t think you’d get picked - I mean, what were the odds? The second was you probably wouldn’t know what to say or how to act. You’d rather live with the fact that Sarah never knew of your existence than embarrass yourself in front of her and a couple of thousand people. No, you simply enjoyed watching her rant and interacting with her fans; trusting that those who did get lucky enough to join her on the live would voice their love and appreciation for all of you stans.

“Hi Honey! What's your name? Where are you from?” Her excited voice pulled you out of your trance and you laughed softly at the girl on the screen freaking out and Sarah reassuring her that she too would be a mess if she had to interact with someone she admires.

You watched as fans after fans appeared on the lower part of your screen and as Sarah gave each of them her undivided attention, acting like she’d known them all her life. She probably didn’t even understand the impact she had on us, you thought briefly. You were so distracted that your phone fell out of your hand, and as you scrambled to pick it up, your fingers slipped and sent her a live request. You honestly didn’t pay it any mind as you put your phone down on your stomach and tried to fix your position to get comfortable once again, because what were the odds of her accepting?

They were pretty good apparently.

“Hello? What’s going on? I can’t see you!” said her voice in confusion.

You froze. Because there was no way, absolutely no way that you were now live with Sarah Paulson. Except her voice kept asking for the person to show herself, and with a breath, you picked up your phone and framed it to your face.

“Oh wow, your face is beautiful!” she exclaimed as heat rushed up to your face

“Not as beautiful as yours,” you replied. Your voice came out breathy, making you clear your throat in embarrassment as she laughed and made noncommittal noises.

“So, I didn’t catch your name sweetie,” she says as she pulls up her sunglasses to her hair, letting you see her eyes.

“I’m Y/n. Nice to meet you, Sarah,” you say with a shy smile.

“What a beautiful name! Tell me everything Y/n! What’s your name? Where are you right now and what are you doing or want to do in life?” You tried to not focus on the way your name sounded coming out of her mouth so you could answer her questions.

This whole ordeal was simultaneously your worst nightmare and all you’ve ever wanted. Since you had failed to exempt yourself from this situation, you were determined to make every second of it count, and not embarrass yourself in front of her. You quickly put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ as messages from your friends and acquaintances started flowing in. Sarah deserved your entire attention.

You soon found out that you and her had a lot in common, and as the conversation went on, you got more comfortable. You were still keeping track of what you were saying, not wanting to offend her or anyone else; or god-forbid, come off as a crazy fan - but you felt good enough to crack a few jokes, making your heart skip a beat every time you would make her laugh without restraint.

Eventually, her pizza did come. And she had to go.

“I guess I have to go now. This was fun! I missed you guys and I enjoyed talking to you, Y/n.” she says with a sad smile. You reciprocated the feeling, and the next thing you knew, you were staring at your reflection on the black screen.

You were glad that you had just spent the last couple of minutes talking to her. Longer than any other fan had, but the conversation left you feeling empty and sad. Nothing could ever amount to that.

Your phone lit up and you glanced at it, thinking it was another one of your friends spamming you with the recording of your conversation with the actress. It was, but a particular notification caught your attention and you quickly clicked on it.

@mssarahcatherinepaulson: Hey.. I hope you don’t mind me sliding in your DMs, but I had fun talking to you and would love to get to know you more. You seem like one in a million :)

#sarah paulson #sarah paulson x reader #billie dean howard x reader #cordelia goode x reader #ally mayfair richards x reader #madamevirgowrites #billie dean howard #ally mayfair richards #cordelia goode #sally mckenna #audrey tindall

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liam-93-productions · 3 years

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This weekend it’s the UK’s biggest event on the entertainment calendar, with the 74th EE British Academy of Film and Television Awards taking place at the Albert Hall with guests and nominees attending virtually for the first time, thanks to Covid-19. And while the awards promise to be as exciting as possible in these unprecedented times, on Sunday night we will also be treated to another exciting world-first in the form of Liam Payne being beamed into houses up and down the country while performing for the opening of the ceremony.

Yup, if you’ve ever fancied the former One Direction crooner serenading you at the end of your bed, on Sunday you can make your dreams a reality – or augmented reality – as Liam has joined forces with the EE network to create a 3D avatar hologram of himself that can be beamed through the app ‘The Round’ (available on any mobile device) as he performs at the Albert Hall. Super fans can also get to experience the avatar in their homes, or on-the-go, ahead of the performance, if they tune in via the app at 6.45pm, 15 minutes before the hologram joins real Liam on stage to perform.

GLAMOUR caught up with Liam to discuss this sci-fi sounding excitement as well as hear how the past year has treated him. In a wide-ranging chat with the ever-charming Liam, we covered all things from the struggles of lockdown and coping with his mental health to his former bandmates, burgeoning acting career, new music (...).

Is the fact that you're performing at the BAFTAs a sign that your acting career is on the rise?

I've done a lot of auditions, a lot of tapes. The thing about acting somebody told me, it’s very much like: are you right for the part and is the part right for you? I think it takes a lot of talent, luck and judgment going into acting to actually get into a job. I mean, hat's off to anybody who does it because it's a long process. I seem to get through to like the final five or final three people for every role and then not quite get it. Which is frustrating but, you know, that’s how it goes. I've had a fair few auditions and I was lucky enough to get into the final five again for one audition that I got to meet Steven Spielberg [a couple of years ago] on my 25th birthday which was quite amazing. But it's been fairly slow through the pandemic obviously.

And what about music? Have you been writing anything, or even been in the studio?

I'm going to the studio later on today actually, to record something for the first time in a while. Which is quite weird to be traveling back into London to go into work. I've been doing some stuff from home as well, which has been quite interesting. Zoom sessions don't really work out all that well, it's very difficult. I'm sure a lot of musicians will agree. So, it's been kind of hard to work properly during this half of the pandemic. The other first half of the pandemic, I just did these live shows, which was really amazing to play live and do them online, which was kind of strange... It's been difficult in terms of the creative process for me.

The past year has been challenging for absolutely everyone, no matter their circumstances. How has it affected you on a personal and a professional level?

In the first half of it, I was so busy that I didn't really notice it as much, except for having to do a lot of stuff myself without crew and learning to do hair and makeup was kind of a weird experience. But then this second half, I stopped working and I had a full, proper month off [and that was] really hard. And it was all a bit dark for me for a little bit and I'm sure many people experienced it. Just not being able to go anywhere, not be able to do anything. It really, really hit home. And I just found myself sat in the same place day in, day out. And I was like, okay, I really do not know what to do with myself.

You’ve bravely spoken about struggling with your mental health in the past, and you say now that you did go into a bit of a dark place recently, how have you coped with that?

I think it's an ongoing experience. For me, learning to relax has always been quite a hard thing to do because I feel like if I'm not moving forward, then I must be going backwards. And I think that's something that I've always struggled with. So, in a way it's kind of a blessing in disguise, as this has all kind of taught me to relax a little bit more. And to not be so worried about that, like the world is not going to fall over if I don't do something today. So, it's been nice in that respect. But I think for a lot of people it's difficult, and I definitely took for granted how much I miss my family. I'm used to being away from home, I'm used to being abroad and not seeing very much of them. But I'd always see them at a show or at something once a year. And then now that that's all been taken away, it's been a lot to not see my family and realise how much they actually ground me.

So, what have you found helpful or supportive during the past year? Have you turned to anything to get you through these dark times?

Friends that are there for you... [talking to] one of my managers that I'm quite close with. I think a lot of guys struggle to talk about what the hell is going on a lot of the time. And for me and him, actually we're quite heart on our sleeves sort of people, so we talk a lot about different things. But I think if I didn't have that, someone to share that with, I think I would have struggled a hell of a lot more.

Like a mental health mate?

I mean, we literally talk about everything. We're probably too honest with each other! But I think it's important that everybody has that person. I'll be honest, at the start of this, drinking definitely became a lot more of a thing because there just didn't seem to be any boundaries. I wouldn't say I drank too much, I'd say I drank too often. Just through the boredom, I guess. A lot of people were going through that though I think - there was so many funny, great memes about it I saw friends of mine put up. But it can be quite dark at times. I think the only thing that's really helped me through that is just learning to work out again and learning to put boundaries in for myself in terms of what food I'm eating. As a pop star, I think you're always quite weight conscious. My job has always been about having to work out, doing underwear modelling and all that sort of thing, it makes you quite body conscious at times. It was nice to be able to just sit and eat pizza and chocolate, I really enjoyed that. But getting myself back into the habit of working out and then having a cheat day put in place, so that there was more boundaries in line, I think has definitely helped me.

I'm quite fortunate that I don't put a stack of weight on, although I have gone up rather a lot in size over this time. But I think it was more about routine for me than anything. And I always say, having a small victory before you get into bed at night time. Or life just gets depressing. Whether that small victory is making sure you've spoken to a family member, you've worked out, or whether you did learn to do something today, just something small. There's one task that you literally can't be arsed with, you should get done just on the day, so that you feel good about yourself when you get into bed.

That's so important. So, do you almost have a checklist before you go to bed?

I think as long as I make the gym and I've done that bit and I've taken care of my needs, just cooked some nice food. That's mainly it for me, really. And then I feel good about it. (...)

(...)

Moving on to social media, you've obviously got such a massively positive fan base, but how do you cope with the negative side of social media and the impact that can have on your mental health?

I struggled with it for a long time. I argued with people. I was aggressive on their points trying to fight my own side. And I think for some people you are talking to a brick wall, you will not win and there's no point trying. And also, the more you talk about it, the worse it gets. So, I just shut up and put up a lot of the time. I think it's the Queen that says, "never complain or never explain." And that's something I think myself I do live by because it's just like, with some people it gets worse having the argument and trying to explain yourself. But all of it, it's like five minutes of your life for somebody who doesn't know you, it's just a bit pointless.

You have so much intense public scrutiny on you all the time, how do you navigate keeping something back for yourself, and how have you managed to maintain that sense of privacy over the years?

I think this has been one of my biggest struggles this whole time. Because, I'm very much a heart on the sleeve sort of person. I didn't actually realize this for a long time, but I often give a little bit too much away…But it's definitely a difficult one to flick the two people apart. So that you're on stage, you're a certain type of person, and at home you're a certain type of person. That's always something I've really struggled with.

And you've been famous since the age of 16. How did you manage growing up in that sort of public glare?

Never did! [laughs] My friend was [recently] talking about how he’s got a teenage son that he was really struggling with at the moment. And I was thinking, "oh my God, imagine how much people would have struggled having five teenagers, rowdy boys in a band. It must've been terrible, there's no getting through to them!" And for a while, it probably was. I think we all go through that awkward teen phase where you're finding yourself. And most of us, we get to get away with it. And they're funny family photos for later on; here was your emo phase or whatever you went through! And for us, we never got away with being awkward or annoying at points. It was kind of out there for everyone to see; the awful haircuts and we’re talking terrible clothes, it was all out there.

What has your career taught you about the idea of success and the idea of failure?

I think it's taught me lots about how you would measure success. I came from a family that weren't very well off. We didn't have a lot. My dad was in debt actually when I started. So, success for me always meant a monetary thing to start off with. But then as I got older, I realized I don't really buy all that much. I don't really spend a hell of a lot of money. So, it can't be about a money sort of thing. And it's more now become more about happiness and experiences. And the one thing I always say about my job, no matter what, and everybody gets annoyed at their job sometimes, it is what it is. But for me, at least I get to put a smile on someone's face.

Yes, you do! And what has it taught you about failure?

That's a really good question. It’s taught me I think that perseverance will always prevail in that sense. Because it doesn't always go exactly to plan. We were really lucky when we came up, we absolutely skyrocketed. And then, it's been hard to follow that ever since. But you know, measuring a failure as well. What is a failure? And people will look at this and, for us sometimes getting a 100,000,000 streams isn't quite what we aim for, but it's still 100,000,000 streams….you have to kind of get a hold of yourself. Everything is about perspective at the end of the day, isn't it? That was something I struggled with for a long time, because of how well it went [for the band.]

So you had such high expectations for everything?

Yeah. And it's like, time to give that a break really. And Louis from my band has always been quite great to sit with me and talk with me about stuff. And if I'm feeling a certain way. We've been quite good with each other, actually in that respect and helping each other out, which has been nice.

And finally, if you could sit down with the Liam who was starting out in One Direction in 2010, what advice would you have for him?

I think just have more fun and relax a little bit. I think I was a very serious child, one of those man-childs, I was a man in a child's body pretty early on. And I think I would have avoided that stage, to be honest with you. To enter One Direction as that difficult, because it just meant that I got completely a different job to everybody else.

You were the grown up one?

That was it. And it was boring. I should have just larked around and thrown plates out the window and stuff!

More rock and roll?

Well, I mean at the start, and then later on a bit less rock and roll [laughing.]

Well, thank you so much, Liam. And we look forward to seeing your performance on Sunday at the BAFTAs.

I'll see you wherever you want me in your house, I guess.

Liam Payne is performing an exclusive EE BAFTA AR real-time music performance, ahead of his 5G-powered opening show at the 2021 EE BAFTA Film Awards. Download ‘The Round’ app to enjoy the live AR experience through your mobile phone, wherever you are, this Sunday 11th April 2021 at 18:45pm BST.

#liam payne #liam's interviews #glamour uk #ee baftas #07.04.2021

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let-me-luve-you · 3 years

Text

Sugar Rush

Tom Holland x Sister

Summary: You go on a sugar rush and convince Tom to do an Instagram Live.

Warnings: I don’t think there is any. This is full of fluff.

A/N: This is short but Tom is a good brother in this.

MASTERLIST

Tom decided to stay home tonight while all the other boys went out to Harrison’s parents house. He called you to see if you wanted to spend time with him. He was sent home from Germany just a few days ago due to the pandemic. He had yet to see you because you were trying to figure out your school work. Being 16 wasn’t always easy, so when Friday night came along, he called you to come join him for dinner and a movie night.

You didn’t see Tom before he left for Germany due to school and work. But now that you were let go, you only had school to worry about. You and Tom were always close, so when he called you, you quickly agreed.

When you walked into his house, you could already smell the food. Since it was your favorite dish and Sam cooked it for you often, you knew Sam had cooked it before he joined the others.

Tom smiled as you walked into the kitchen dropping your overnight bag. “Hey Y/N/N! How’s my favorite sister?”

“I’m your only sister you goof.” You said as you rolled your eyes. He laughed as he walked around the counter to give you a hug. “Missed you.” You whispered in his chest. He kissed your head and squeezed you tighter as he whispered he missed you too.

After dinner and a few movies with movie snacks, you were wired. You couldn’t help being hyper after eating multiple bags of candy and chugging soda like it was water. It was nearing 1am when you asked, “Tom can we do a live stream? Maybe have some fans to give us an at home challenge or questions we have to answer? Because I'm really bored.”

Tom laughed, “It’s the middle of the night Y/N. No one will watch.”

“It’s still waking hours in the states. They’ll watch. Please. I’m bored and I need to burn some of this energy.” You begged. Putting your hands together and pouting your lips while giving him the puppy eyes.

Tom sighed and pulled out his phone. You sat next to him and watched him pull up Instagram.

“Wow it’s weird being live this late at night. Or early morning I should say.” Tom laughed as he watched his numbers go up. Once he hit a few thousand in a matter of seconds, he started talking again. “Hey guys! I’m here with my sister Y/N and she had too much sugar during our movie night. She wanted to do a live just to see what you were up to. And she wants to ask you something.” Tom turned the phone towards you.

You smiled, “Hi everyone! I’m like super hyper right now.” You said dragging out the super part. “I’ve talked Tom into answering some questions and doing challenges. What’s an at home challenge that we can do in our living room?”

Both you and Tom looked at the comments that rolled in. One caught your eye. It said to do the TikTok dances. “Oooh let’s do this one. We already know how to do a few of them.” You said standing up to stand in the middle of the living room. You pulled up the songs on your phone. “Come on Tom. Let's do the Savage one.”

Tom got up and set the phone down on the TV stand. He backed up and got into position as you hit play on your phone. Both of you dancing with no care in the world that thousands are watching. When the dance finished you both laughed and picked another dance to do.

After a few dances, Tom grabbed his phone and sat down on the couch to answer questions. You sat next to him placing your head on his shoulder so you could see the screen too. Thirty minutes of joking around and answering questions, you started to doze off. Tom didn’t notice and kept telling a story from when he was on the Devil all the Time set. Tom looked over at you and noticed you were asleep.

“Well guys, it is late and I lost my streaming partner. Thanks for helping our boredom. Until next time.” Tom said as he went to shut the live off. “Every time. How do I..? Ah there it is. Bye everyone.”

Tom put his phone down and turned towards you. Thankfully you were already in your pajamas from watching movies all night. Tom gently moved you from his shoulder and stood up. He turned and picked you up and carried you down to his room to put you in his bed. He smiled down at the peaceful look on your face. He was grateful for the little time he got to spend with you.

#tom holland #tom holland fanfic #tom holland imagines #tom holland one shot #tom holland fanfiction #brother!tom holland #tom holland x sister #tom holland x sister!reader #brother!tom holland x sister!reader #Tom holland sister #tom holland x reader #holland!sister #holland!reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x holland!reader #y/n holland #tom holland rpf #tom holland imagine

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jesswritesthat · 4 years

Note

hey babe! i love your writing so much!!! so i recently watched kaguya-sama: love is war and i was wondering if you could do a headcanon of kuroo, bokuto and atsumu where their crush gets sick and they visit her and she drags them into her bed to sleep with them? you can decide how it ends. thank you so much in advance if you do end up writing this! i love you and take care of youself💞

Hello lovely! Thank you so much for this, I’ve never seen Kaguya-Sama but it sounds really cute. Also take care of yourself too and I hope these are okay! Much love 💕

Summary: Bokuto, Kuroo and Atsumu checking up on their sick crush headcanons

>>>>—————————>

Bokuto Kōtarō:

• Has felt like he's been missing something all day but couldn't quite decipher what it was until Akaashi mentions how you're off sick.

• Thats when your phone is bombarded with ‘urgent’ messages inquiring about your wellbeing to the dramatic extent of:

[ Kou: (N/N)! You haven't answered me yet, are yOu StiLl AliVe?! ]

[ (N/n): no ]

[ Kou: Aw, can I have your cool headphones then, since you won't be needing them anymore? 😁💕 ]

[ (N/n): Wow Kou, I'll haunt your dumbass at Volleyball games for that. ]

[ Kou: Even in death, your support means everything to me. ]

• Despite his nonsense he kept updated with you throughout the school day by sending memes in hopes of raising your spirits. The most peace you got was during Volleyball Club time - the Ace too invested to message you at that point.

• At the end though he calls his team for a serious discussion and they're all expecting major improvements on their gameplay ready for Nationals.

But no.

"What can I get (N/n) to make her feel better, this is crucial. I need only good ideas!"

• They all knew about his crush on you, he wasn't exactly secretive about it but you were none the wiser. Even so, Fukurōdani offered what advice they could to their friend because like him, they cared about you too.

• "Akaashi picked up your schoolwork." Bokuto says as he walks into your room, waving the papers and placing them on your side.

"And you didn't think to take notes for me?"

"Nah, I wanted to bring you good stuff."

"Fair point."

• Bokutos likely brought everything he could find once he went home and changed/showered - he's got flowers, your favourite snacks, drinks, medicine and some movies to cure your boredom. Like how much do I owe you???

He's says it's fine though, in return you have to be better by tomorrow.

That's not how it works Kou.

• You're both seated on your bed watching some shitty movie when you start getting a bit sleepy and you just want warmth.

"Can you give me a hug Kōtarō? I just need a hug, I know how weird that sounds..."

• Doesn't even think twice about it, he practically tackles you onto the covers which elicits lovely giggles from you - the potential of him getting sick too isn't even considered, he's just focused on being with you and making you feel better.

• His arms are so warm and they’re beautiful, you forgot how toned he is and you grow so comfortable in his embrace. He’s also really relaxed about it and is calm enough to ramble on normally - except when you nuzzle against him during a cold shiver. Bokuto full on freezes mid sentence, releasing a cautious breath prior to changing the subject.

• It’s obvious he’s content with you though, and surprisingly falls asleep first which makes you laugh. Kōtarō keeps a strong but delicate hold on your body and is subconsciously receptive enough to your every move. You adjusted yourself slightly which stirred him, his voice is much huskier than before due to sleep but remains concerned.

“Can’t you sleep (Y/n)? I can-“

“I’m fine, you’re keeping me warm.”

• With a nod of understanding he’s gone again and you follow shortly afterwards, the both of you unintentionally making the nap a sleepover. Which you only realise the next morning - still in his arms even if the position has changed. You take a few minutes to enjoy it.

• Miraculously doesn't get sick, his immune system must be immortal as he's brimming with energy once he gets up. His radiance is actually contagious as you feel much better in yourself too and his vibrant attitude really motivates you for the day despite being physically exhausted from beating the flu.

• "Your partner is going to be blessed if you bring them breakfast, I mean talk about amazing." You comment as he brings up a plate that he’d crafted in your kitchen, which is surprisingly decent. You suppose he must keep his body fit somehow.

"My crush will have to do for now."

"Wait I - ah, you have a crush on me?"

"Hah, didn't you know? I never tried to hide it or anything."

Kuroo Tetsurō:

• Notices your absence immediately, he's observant by nature but especially where his crush is concerned and he isn't afraid to contact you before class starts.

• "Hey (Y/n), it's Kuroo, are you running late today?"

"Hnn, I'm not gonna make it. I tried but I feel awful - Sickness: 1, (L/n): 0." Already by the grogginess in your voice he can tell you're under the weather and winces at the sound of you stifling a cough.

"Ah geez, go to bed would you? And drink plenty of water, I'll inform the teachers and everything."

"Thanks Tetsurō, I owe you one."

• Will message you at regular intervals throughout the day regarding your health with cute little reminders. You were on his mind frequently, he’s lowkey worried okay?

[ Tetsu: Drink water, and eat breakfast if you can. ]

[ (Y/n): Yeah yeah I have, go learn something. ]

[ Tetsu: Why are you replying? Shouldn't you be sleeping it off - I don't want your germs. ]

[ (Y/n): Sharing is caring. ]

[ Tetsu: Oya? It took a cold for you finally admit you care, so is it gonna take a pandemic to say you love me? 😏 ]

[ (Y/n): 🖕🏻]

• Is actually considerate enough to tell you he'll swing by after practice, and asks if you want anything from the shop so you give basics like water and tablets. Comes equipped with the extra notes he's taken from all of your shared classes and requested papers from teachers in those you don't, so you're not falling behind.

• Aside from the bare minimum you requested, he chucks your favourite snacks on your desk stating that it’s important to keep morale high too. Liar. He just wanted to do something nice for you.

• Checks your temperature despite your protests of not being a child, he only does this because it vexes you and Kuroo finds that cute. As a silent apology for teasing the Hell out of you, he’ll make you some tea and you both get lost in conversation.

• Notices you’re starting to doze off, rest you should’ve had instead of texting everyone - but ensuring everything is fine, he’s about to stealthily exit until your fingers grasp his wrist and tug him back slightly.

"Stay Tetsurō..."

"You'll likely regret that request once you wake up."

"S'ok, it's you."

• The strength you have when tugging him into bed with you catches him completely off guard and he’s actually blushing - doesn’t know what to say but knows he has to at least maintain some composure.

“So uh, never knew you wanted me this badly.”

“Ugh shut up dumbass, I can feel your rapid heartbeat from here.”

“Right...”

• Kuroo goes all shy, you’ve wrapped your arms around his waist and are comfortably leaning against his side and he absentmindedly runs his fingers soothingly up and down your arm to settle his own nerves.

• It’s peacefully silent, simply enjoying one another’s company before he hears your muffled sniffles indicating you’ve fallen asleep and a soft smile graces his lips. If you were his, then he’d definitely kiss your forehead, and lips to be honest, but the fact you aren’t leaves him with a disappointed sigh.

• You both end up taking a nap, waking up wrapped in each other’s arms and noses practically touching which startled the Captain - Kuroo literally falling off of your bed with a yelp much to your amusement. Afterwards, he departs suggesting you get more rest, get better soon and he’ll see you at school next week.

• At least that was the plan, which altered with the text exchange the following morning.

[ Kuroo: Sharing is not caring, I wanted your snacks not your sickness! ]

[ (Y/n): RIP us. 💀 ]

[ Tetsu: You owe me one remember? I've got the house to myself this weekend so would you like to suffer together? I have blankets, entertainment and food. ]

[ (Y/n): Beats sniffling alone, I'll bring the tissues and drugs. ]

• So, you went over with a trail of sneezing in your wake and ended up snuggled with Kuroo under a blanket with a variety of games gracing the TV as you skilfully passed around the tissues. Aside from being ill, spending time like this with him was perfect.

• "Sickness: 2, (L/n) and Kuroo: 0..."

"No, Kuroo: 1.”

"How so? You K.O. a sneeze or something?"

"I got to spend the day with you didn't I? That counts as a win in my book."

"Tch careful, anyone would think the Scheming Captain cares~"

"I do smartass, I care about you a lot (Y/n)..."

Miya Atsumu:

• Atsumu wasn't one to act needy in any way, the only excuse for him to contact you in regards to your absence was to do it with a remark and hope you'd elaborate.

[ Atsumu: Yo, are ya ditching me to survive English on my own? That's cold (Y/n) 😭 ]

[ (Y/n): Sorry 'Tsumu, I'm too busy dying to care rn. Have a fun missing me loser. ]

[ Atsumu: Hah you wish, you alright tho? ]

• You're good friends but he's never really expressed genuine concern about you before, not verbally anyway. You thought the final "K" after you'd told him you were gonna rest would be the end of it.

So you were beyond surprised when he rocked up to your house later that evening.

• It took everything you had not to mock him for his embarrassed stature, solely flustered by the fact you'd seen him so considerate. Admittedly you were also exhausted and probably couldn't think of a snarky reply anyway.

• "What's up? Was there homework or - ugh, or something?"

"Huh? Oh I dunno. But uh, I got 'Samu to make you some Okayu, and a Umeboshi Tea since it's good for colds and stuff."

• Totally pestered Osamu all day to help him make you something and had to do stupid favours in return but Atsumu will deny it if you ever ask.

• “I love how you don’t care what you look like when you have guests over.”

“Take your stupid backhanded compliments and shove them up your pretty litt-“ You bite back, flipping him off in the process while Atsumu remains proudly victorious.

“Nah ah, is that any way to speak to the man who brought you dinner?”

“It’s the way to speak to the man whose currently annoying me.”

“You’re welcome, this is revenge for ditching me in class gorgeous~”

• Despite how irritating he could be, Atsumu stuck around for a bit to make sure you ate everything he’d brought and taken the appropriate medication.

• “Oh yeah, I brought that movie you were talking about the other day. Figured it might pass the time a bit.”

“Thank you! I’ll give it back once I’m better - thank you so much ‘Tsumu.”

Your excitement was endearing, and he had to collect himself a bit since admiring such little quirks was out of the question - his crush was bad enough as it is.

“Wanna watch it now? I haven’t got anything to do so I can give you spoilers.”

“Sounds good - and not a word!”

• You spent the afternoon watching the film and playfully wrestling the blonde in order to shut him up whenever he made an attempt to spoil it - he would never, but provoking you was too funny.

• You settle down later on, putting on a mindless tv show for background noise before collapsing onto your bed with groan. Atsumu raising a smug brow at your exhausted state as he threw his jacket on.

• "Wanna sleep with me?" It was innocent, at least you didn’t think much of it then.

"Do I what now?" He was smirking, thankful that your panic left you oblivious to the blush crawling up his neck at the mere insinuation alone.

"Sleep wit- ohh I did not think that through! I meant sleep in my bed, next to me, to help me drift off. Maybe it's the sleepiness or medicine but I really want you Atsumu..."

"Not helping your case at all." Again he smugly responded, dropping his jacket to the floor with a sly smile.

"Stop smirking and just hug me okay? Then you can leave and tease me about this later."

• Atsumu isn't awkward about it, subduing his nerves enough to pull you into his arms as he sits up - dutifully ignoring the butterflies in his stomach due to your close proximity and the intoxicating smell of your hair.

• Atsumu becomes unintentionally soft, his fingers slowly begin to glide through your hair and he hesitates when he feels the hum of contentment you release before continuing. Your whole body just relaxes against his and he subconsciously does the same, not even realising he was this tense around you - was his body always like that in your general presence?

• As you start quietly talking about nothing and everything, he notices a weakness - you’re a lot more open when drowsy and god he wants to take advantage but knows you’ll remember the questions he asked and murder him for it when you’re able.

• Intead he attempts to protect any dignity he thinks he has left with you - jokes on him, it’s absolutely none. You guys are way past that level and he knows it.

“You better get healthy quick, not that I care but English is really borin’ on my own ya know?”

"The people you truly care about must be really lucky to have you 'Tsumu..." The mumble is enough to make him roll his eyes, but he waits until you’re asleep to reply.

"Yeah... you are..."

<——————————<<<<

[ Masterlist ]

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make-me-imagine · 4 years

Text

Headcanons: Being stuck in quarantine with Dean Winchester

Requested by: Anonymous

Pairing: Dean Winchester x GN!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of Covid19

Taglist: @luciferseclipse aka @kaashi (let me know if you still want to be tagged); if anyone else wants to be added to the taglist let me know!

Notes: This is the request that won the poll to be written first. Also, I hope you are all still being as responsible as you can, wear your mask, sanitize, stay 6 feet away from people, etc! We are still in the middle of a pandemic, it is not over!

♱ Dean is one of those people who can choose to be stay at home and completely lazy whenever he wants, but when he is forced to stay home it drives him crazy

♱ At first he was all for quarantine, it was a well needed break for all of you, and a break from the hectic outside world

♱ But when 6 weeks turned into 5 months he was just pissed

♱ “Ya know, I’m really starting to wish this whole thing was caused by something supernatural so we cold end this bullshit” he would grumble one day, while tossing his mask onto the table, and dumping the contents of his grocery bag onto the counter “You know how many middle aged women I saw refusing to wear masks?” he scoffed.

♱ Dean is one of those people who is not afraid to confront someone for endangering another person, no matter how much Dean hates wearing a mask, he’d rather do that than get someone sick.

♱ You were both tired of being cooped up all the time, so you, along with Sam and Castiel on occasion, would take quick road trips to nearby isolated areas just to do something, like camping, hiking, etc.

♱ Otherwise, when you were stuck in the bunker, you’d make up games, scavenger hunts, quiz nights, movie or game nights, etc. just to kill the time

♱ You re-arranged the bunker every couple of weeks, partially out of boredom, partially out of the amusement of frustrating Sam with small changes only he would notice

♱ About 2 months in, Sam took off to go on some retreat for himself, while you and Dean stayed at the bunker

♱ On occasion, you and Dean would not see each other for most of the day, both of you needing some mutual alone time. Though, you often found yourself cuddling on the couch or bed by the end of the day.

♱ Dean had noticed that the quarantine had been taking a toll on you emotionally and mentally. So he decided that he wanted to do something for you

♱ You went out to get some essential groceries, and while you were gone he laid out every pillow and blanket he found in the bunker in the main room, along with some food, games, and movies.

♱ When you got back to the bunker, seeing the pile of pillows and blankets, complete with a goofy smiling Dean with arms open and a excited “Surprise~” you broke into a grin

♱ “What is all this?” “Date night!” he’d grin as he walked up to you “I figured we needed to something new, and I thought, well, why the hell haven’t we done this?” he said while gesturing to his surroundings

♱ “Why the hell haven’t we...trashed the place?” you asked amused “No! Made a pillow fort!” “Ah, right” you laughed

♱ After about forty-five minutes and one pillow-fight later, you had turned the main room into a large plush fortress.

♱ You would end up leaving the fort up, having no real need to take it down, as you’d just camp out in it almost every night from this point on. Even Sam got a kick out of it when he got back.

♱ During the quarantine, you two took up multiple hobbies, sewing, crocheting, drawing, painting, origami, etc.

♱ Dean wasn’t really good at most of them, but he did get really into building miniature boats for some reason

♱ If your birthday happened during quarantine, Dean surprised you with breakfast in bed.

♱ And during the day, you went out for a walk, and Dean, Sam and Castiel set up a little surprise party.

♱ When you returned, you found Dean, Sam and Castiel surrounding the kitchen table, around them, balloons, cake, food, and some presents.

♱ You were taken off-guard, as you had told them you didn’t really need to celebrate, but of course they would, they had to do something.

♱ On May 2nd, you did the same for Sam, as that was his birthday.

♱ A few times throughout quarantine, you got hits on a monster nearby, and would venture out to hunt it.

♱ These hunts actually proved to be quite simple, as there were less people to avoid or less you needed to interview.

♱ Sam made sure that all of you got tested every few weeks, and the two of you made custom masks for each other and Dean

♱ Whenever you or Dean got frustrating and stressed by everything going on, the two of you would always try your best to help the other

♱ When quarantine started, you were afraid you and Dean might argue or fight when tensions got high.

♱ And though there were a couple small arguments, they were the sort than would end with sarcastic jokes and laughter.

♱ You and Dean never actually fought, and instead found solace in the fact that the other was always there when you needed them.

♱ By the end of quarantine, you and Dean would have an even deeper bond than you had when it started, which the two of you actually didn’t think possible

- - - - - - - - - - -

Please consider reblogging, as it helps to spread creators works past their followers. Likes are appreciated as well! :)

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arcadia-city-stories-if · 3 years

Note

what made you want to write this? i've been following your blog for a while now and you don't really seem the type?!?

😂😂😂

I'm just gonna assume this is the same person lol.

I mean, I don't really know what to say lol. I don't really know what you mean by type? But I think it's definitely fair to say I'm very new to pretty much all of this. I only started reading IF, or spending any real time on the internet to be honest, during the first lockdown when I was just starved for things to do lol.

Not to get too Debbie Downer about the whole thing but I moved away from home a little under two years ago? Not for the first time or anything but still kind of abruptly, I just left and moved 200 miles away to stay with a friend who had a spare room while I got over a bad break up, it was never meant to be a long term situation but then the pandemic hit and I've been stuck here ever since lol. I haven't seen anyone from home in nearly two years, not even my mother, and I'm gonna be honest and say being so isolated has been pretty brutal on my already kind of janky mental health lol.

So finding these IF's and giving my brain something to really focus on, that then went on to actually inspire me to do something I never would have done otherwise, also led me here to this lovely little community of people who not only put up with my nonsense but are genuinely helping and encouraging me do something that it turns out I really love doing lol.

So to answer your question, as cheesy as it sounds? At first, boredom. Now, joy.

#apologies #didnt mean to get sentimental on main #im sure thats not the answer you wanted lol #i shoulda come up with something more interesting #im feeling kinda awkward about posting it now tbh #but to delete it feels dishonest #soooo

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astrovian · 4 years

Audio

Richard Armitage interview on BBC Radio Kent for Uncle Vanya (26/10/20)

Full transcript under cut

Now the multi-Olivier award nominated play Uncle Vanya filmed at the Harold Pinter Theatre will be shown in cinemas from tomorrow. It stars Richard Armitage from The Hobbit as the local doctor, Astrov, in a production which was halfway through a sold-out run when the Coronavirus pandemic forced theatres to close. The cast have come back together again with strict Covid-19 protocols to perform the Chekov story.

[Clip from Uncle Vanya trailer]

Watching this, I just thought ‘Huh, you couldn’t make this even more prescient for the times’, there’s a real feeling of it. Even just the opening of the – the filming, with the cast coming back into that theatre.

Interestingly, I wasn’t able to be part of because I’d just flown in from America, so I was in two weeks of quarantine. So I had to join the rehearsal at the end of the week via. a Zoom, where they set up the computer on a little stool on the stage-

*Laugh*

-*Laugh* and we had a read through with the cast. I – I, I mean it was awful to sort of not be there, but weirdly kind of appropriate for the doctor, who would’ve been elsewhere at the beginning of the play. But um, I sort of had to come back in cold and sort of reignite the play, but it was uh, certainly an unusual experience.

And the – the performance itself, if – if we think of that Chekov play, that idea of the opening up of a house, and all that. That really does have a feeling, I think we watch it with different eyes, don’t we?

Yeah, and even y’know, in the last week of performing, when Broadway had closed down and y’know, it was this – this thing was coming towards us and we were still playing to full houses, they were all in masks, and y’know, one of the doctor’s first speeches in the play is talking about, um, he’s been away in the North, dealing with an epidemic and losing patients, and him being traumatised by it. And I was thinking about all of the NHS staff that were-

Hmm.

-dealing with it. And you could feel the play take on a completely different resonance to the audience in front of them, y’know, they were sort of gasping with disbelief that, y’know this was written over a hundred years ago, and there are – there’s, there’s huge sections of it which are kinda about preserving the environment, in order that these things don’t happen. And you – it, it just was uncanny that, that y’know, the subject that Chekov was discussing. So y’know I – I hope audiences aren’t still too traumatised by the events to – to not enjoy this. But I think they’ll – they’ll understand it.

[Clip from Uncle Vanya trailer]

Astrov makes a – a really key point, doesn’t he, about that. Early – early on in the play about the environment and how he’s understanding his place within it, and – and that says something very much wider.

Yeah, and he’s also trying to on it, y’know trying to do something about it, y’know as a single person that could – that gets out and plants some trees because he’s seen this sort of re-, reduction in the natural habitat and he – there really was a movement at the time which understood what happened when deforestation occurred. Y’know, that – that, uh, the environment was softer or y’know, became harder and – and became more difficult to live in, which I think is what, y’know, we’re experiencing. It was interesting that people thought these views had been crowbarred into the play, um in our – in our retelling of it, but it – it was there absolutely in its entirety at that time.

That’s what I think is interesting about the – the language of the play. I think the feeling of the – the characters too, y’know, you – you have this ideas of families being in one place and, and those uh, associated members, the extended group of friends. And just the personalities as well, I think it’s wonderful in this how y’know, there– it really does tap into that kind of like ‘Oh, that person’s a bit like that, okay, we’re gonna have to look after that person a bit more than the other.’

Yeah, I mean the play starts in the heat of summer, and these people are all kind of in this house right the way through the autumn and into the winter, and – and they are going out of their heads with boredom and frustration with each other, and y’know at the end of the play, and – and really the sort of nucleus of the play is about a man who’s about to lose his entire livelihood because it’s gonna be snatched away from him. And I feel like with – y’know, there are quite a few people that maybe are – are sort of in that situation right now that are feeling the fear of it. But actually, y’know the final words of Chekov through the voice of Sonya is this idea of, um, of hope and of work, and y’know once we’re given something to work on we can kind of retain our sanity, and I think I – I, I’ve used that idea so many times, y’know actors are very, very frequently out of work and we feel like we’re – we’re sort of not valid without something to do, and so we’re quite good at finding something to do. And that tool has been quite useful in this – this period. Certainly for myself.

There’s a richness in it too, there’s a – there’s a, ah, the human emotion side, but there’s also comedy, isn’t it? That kind of quick, sharp-witted bite-back from characters.

Yeah, I mean I – I don’t know how you term it; I suppose there’s a sense of black comedy, or – or gallows humour, but it’s these – y’know, the Russians, and I think Chekov certainly uh, was, was very good at um, finding the – the quips and foibles of human behaviour and so we – y’know, even in the depths of tragedy these people do find time to uh, enjoy each other in a way. And so, that uh, that’s always a surprise in Chekov, ‘cause you think it’s gonna be doom and gloom but it’s not; it’s – and I, I understand why the, the Brits are very good at kind of tapping into that aspect of Chekov, ‘cause even in the darkest of times we’ll still find something to kind of have a chuckle about.

I’ve seen the NT Live productions, many of us have during lockdown and since, but this is nothing like that – this, this really does feel filmic, it – it’s done really well, the soundscape of it too just really hits you the moment you start watching.

Yeah, I mean I guess it’s – we’d call it a hybrid ‘cause we, we worked with six cameras in the audience that were shooting at different angles and extreme close-up, and then the crew were able to come on stage with hand-held cameras and really get inside the play, which is not possible when you’re working with an audience. So even though we didn’t have a live audience watching, we gained something else because y’know, the – the, the viewer can come into the – into the play with us, which I think even people that, that saw the play live will - will get something extra from seeing it on film.

And knowing that, y’know, it did close, cut short by the lockdown, to give it another life now, for all of you, it must be - it’s not just about y’know, uh, being paid, it’s also presumably about just thinking ‘Oh, you know it’s such a shame that we had to cut’.

Yeah. I mean, in a way uh, the payment was sort of the last thing on everyone’s mind, I think it was just that ability to be able to go back to work, y’know, to have somewhere to go and um, you could see it, it was – it was amazing to re-gather and sort of see the crew again, see all of the people that work in that building, the stage door guy, the – the dressers, and realising that they’d all been sat at home as well. And there was this energy uh, in the building of ‘I can’t believe we’re getting the opportunity to do this’.

People are starting to go back into theatres to do things like this, but also film-work and sets are, with Covid-friendly uh, measures, are happening. What’s it like for you, Richard? What’s happening with you?

Well, I mean on a social level, I’m – I’m now back in New York, but when I was in London I – I went to the theatre, and I went to the cinema, and it’s, y’know, if you take the right precautions and y’know, play by the rules, it’s a – it’s a perfectly normal, comfortable experience and I would encourage people to, to do it. But um, for me personally, I’m – I’m still beavering away recording audiobooks, um, I’m starting a new Netflix show next year, and I’m also developing material, um, for screenplay, and uh – y’know, stepping one foot towards producing.

It’s been really good catching up with you, thank you so much for being with us and uh, thank you for bringing us this play with an – with an amazing cast. They’re – they’re all fantastic. You are brilliant in this. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Nice to talk to you, Dom.

#richard armitage #uncle vanya

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dustedmagazine · 3 years

Text

Dust Volume 7, Number 5

Sarah Louise

A week or two before this Dust’s deadline, we got our first tour announcement by email in more than a year. It was the first of deluge, as live music looks to be coming back with a vengeance starting this summer and really picking up steam around September. Meanwhile, we celebrate our newly vaxxed (or for our Canadian correspondents half-vaxxed) status with tentative steps outside. Your editor had her first beer at a brew pub in mid-May, and it was stupendous. Also stupendous, the onslaught of new music, which has, if anything, accelerated. This month, contributors include all the regulars plus a few new people: Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Patrick Masterson, Ray Garraty, Tim Clarke, Andrew Forell, Ian Mathers, Bryon Hayes, Jonathan Shaw and Chris Liberato. Happy spring, happy normal and happy listening!

Amulets — Blooming (The Flenser)

Blooming by AMULETS

Like a lot of us, Portland-based noise artist Randall Taylor discovered the solace of long walks during the pandemic. His work, which has always used tape degradation to explore the intersection of time, loss and technology, shifted to incorporate another source of decay: the natural world. So, in opening salvo, “Blooming,” alongside blistering onslaughts of eroded guitar sound, it is possible to hear the sounds of a fertile garden — birds, insects, air movement. You can nearly smell the flowers and feel the sunshine on your skin. “The New Normal” explores sounds of creaking, friction-y word and metal, alongside pristine chimes of synthetic tone. It is uneasy, with skittering string-like squeaks and swoops, but also deeply meditative; it shifts from moment to moment from anxiety to provisional acceptance, much as we all did last year, staring out our windows. Overall, the tone is elegiac, gorgeous, but Randall does not hesitate to introduce dissonance. “Heaviest Weight” thunders with frayed bass tones, a weight and a threat in their subliminal pulse. The contrast between that ominous sound and purer, clearer layers of melody, makes for unsettling listening—are we at war or peace, happy or sad, agitated or calm? And yet, perhaps that’s the point, that the past year has been swirl of feelings, boredom alongside anxiety, hope lighting the corners of our listlessness, the smell of flowers pleasing but faintly reminiscent of funerals. Blooming decocts this mix into sound.

Jennifer Kelly

Astute Palate — S-T (Petty Bunco)

Astute Palate by Astute Palate

Astute Palate is a hastily assembled group of rockers summoned to support David Nance in Philly on a date when he couldn’t bring the David Nance Band. Participants included Richie Records proprietor Richie Charles, Lantern’s Emily Robb, Writhing Squares/Purling Hiss/all around Philadelphia regular Daniel Provenzano on bass and, of course, Nance himself, all huddled together in Robb’s recording studio for a weekend together. None of this origin story does justice, however, to the pure liquid fire of this one-off musical collaboration, dominated by Nance’s viscous, distorted blues-inflected guitar wail, but knocked sideways by brute force drumming, wild hypnotic bass lines and the ritual incantation of Nance (and later Robb) singing. The long “Stall Out” does anything but, rampaging free-range in unbridled Crazy Horse/Allmans-style abandon for close to ten minutes without a single sputter. “A Little Proof” is somehow simultaneously heavier and more country, spinning out the soul-blues jams like a younger, unrulier cousin to MC5. “Treadin’ Schuylkill” gives Provenzano the spotlight, opening with a growling bass solo soon joined by heavy psych guitars (a nod, perhaps, to the illustrious locals in Bardo Pond). If Nance et. al. can pull stuff this fine out in a stray road warrior weekend, what are the rest of you doing with your lives?

Jennifer Kelly

Axis: Sova — Fractal (God?)

Fractal - EP by Axis: Sova

Axis: Sova is a combo of three Chicago guys plus one drum machine, which had already been inactive for two or three seasons before the initial COVID lockdown. This digital EP is their way of clearing up some business that could no longer remain undone. The title tune, “Fractal USA,” is a remake of a song from the early days, when the “band” was Brett Sova’s solo project, to full-on, no your pants aren’t tight enough rock band. They just needed you to know about the evolution, you see, so go ahead, do some scissor kicks and gurn while they windmill away; you have enough money saved up from not seeing live music to pay the inevitable chiropractor bill. “Caramel” hypothesizes that a Cluster song that’s played twice as loud and twice as long is twice as good; not sure if I agree, but it’s still not bad at all. Maybe you got a little weird after a few months of putting on your best mask for your daily trip to see if the stimulus check was in the mailbox? The Brenda Ray-meets-Old Black mash up, “(Don’t Wanna Have That) Dream,” is proof that while you were alone, you weren’t alone. If you’ve made it this far, you don’t need to have the fourth track described, so let’s just say that it’s longer.

Bill Meyer

Mattie Barbier — Three Spaces (self-released)

three spaces by mattie barbier

While perhaps best known as half of the trombone-centric new music duo RAGE Thormbones, Mattie Barbier is a member of several other combos and a sonic researcher under their own name. Three Spaces, which is a single, album-length sound file, has the air of experimentation about it. “What do I do,” one can imagine Barbier asking themself, “when I can’t play with other people?” Make music at home, and out of what’s at home, is the obvious answer. But doing isn’t the only point here; the outcome also matters, and while what Barbier has accomplished with Three Spaces sounds quite different from the RAGE Thormbones live experience, it registers quite strongly. Barbier has combined long tones and melodic fragments played on euphonium, trombone and reed organ, that were recorded both inside and outside of their home. Carefully layered, the source material combines into a sound rather like a bell’s toll, which over the course of nearly 39 minutes swells and recedes, but never quite decays; it ends with an imposed rather than natural fade-out. The sound is as deep as it is expansive, inviting the listener to let themselves fall ever father into its realm.

Bill Meyer

Beneath — On Tilt EP (Hemlock Recordings)

On Tilt EP by Beneath

One of the more pleasant surprises this year is the resuscitation of Untold’s Hemlock Recordings imprint. A vital voice in the post-dubstep fracas at the turn of the ‘10s thanks to releases from Hessle Audio’s Pearson Sound (when he was still Ramadanman) and Pangaea, James Blake, FaltyDL and Hodge to name but a handful, the label went dormant following a Ploy 12” in 2017 before the surprise announcement of Londoner Beneath’s On Tilt, which sounds every bit the sensible alliance in practice it looks on paper: These are low-end rumblers with irregular rhythms and spare melodic tics that worm their way into your brain in the best bone-humming fashion (see “Shambling” or “Lesser Circulation” for a good example). Who knows how long the return will last, but for a certain stripe of DMZ-damaged devotee and pretty much no one else, it’ll feel good to have some Hemlock in your life again. Tilt back, pour in.

Patrick Masterson

Black Spirit— El Sueño De La Razón Produce Monstruos (Infinite Night Records)

youtube

More metal comes from South America than Spain, but these Europeans clear the high bar set by Latin America scenesters. The album’s title states that it was inspired by “El Sueño De La Razón Produce Monstruos.” That can testify both to lasting influence of Goya’s art and to the laziness of the current culture which seeks inspiration only from the most popular pictorial art of the past. The track “Ignorance and The Grotesque” perfectly captures the whole mood of the disc: it balances ignorant speeds, undecipherable vocals and grotesque parts with piano interludes and doom-ish atmosphere. It would be better without the grotesque, but that’s probably part of the baggage.

Ray Garraty

Burial + Blackdown — Shock Power of Love EP (Keysound Recordings)

Shock Power of Love EP by Burial

You might worry, occasionally, that Burial was becoming a victim of diminishing returns. Here, as ever, he uses a narrow palette to create tracks that few can emulate. However, even though the music has its rewards, it doesn’t clear the very high bar that his previous work has set. Thus “Dark Gethsemane” rides a 4/4 beat, angelic murmurs, vinyl crackle and a tightly ratcheted build that morphs into a sermon led by the repeated invocation “We must shock this nation with the power of love.” As his vocal samples become more explicit, the mystery of his music fades. This is all promise and no real resolution. “Space Cadet’ likewise sounds both gorgeous and minor with its soul gospel refrain “Take Me Higher” over an old-school jungle beat. At six plus minutes it would have been enough. It continues another three with an almost cartoonish second movement that lacks the subtlety that characterizes Burial’s best work.

Andrew Forell

Colleen — The Tunnel and the Clearing (Thrill Jockey)

The Tunnel and the Clearing by Colleen

While COVID messed with most people’s lives, it was both an endgame and an opportunity for Cécile Schott, the Frenchwoman who records under the name Colleen. She was just coming out of a series of health and personal dislocations, which resulted in her being newly healthy but alone in a new town just as the lockdown came down. Clearly, this was not a time for half measures, so she selected an entirely new instrumental set-up and settled in to make a record that reflected what she’d been through. Out went the viola da gamba and melodica that have figured prominently on her last few albums; in came a Moog synthesizer, a Yamaha organ, a tape echo and a drum machine.

Colleen’s voice, of course, remains the same. Airy and precise, her delivery doesn’t match the gravity of the experiences her songs describe. But that sense of remove is, perhaps, a reflection of one of adversity’s lessons; if you don’t stay stuck, you can wind up somewhere quite different. Between the keyboards’ cycling melodies and the drum machine’s fizzy beats, the music on The Tunnel and the Clearing imparts a sense of motion that carries her light voice along for the ride, dropping painful sentiments and letting them fall behind.

Bill Meyer

Current Joys — Voyager (Secretly Canadian)

youtube

Nick Rattigan has been releasing music under the name Current Joys since 2013, and Voyager is his latest offering. It’s a dramatic and often brilliant collection of songs, bringing to mind the urgent rhythmic drive of Spoon, the dour grandeur of The Cure and the unapologetic emotional heft of Bright Eyes or early Arcade Fire. On Voyager’s standout, “American Honey,” a simple strummed backing and Rattigan’s vocal delivery are potent enough, but it’s the string section that proves devastating, cycling around for multiple punches to the gut. While more stripped-back songs such as “Big Star” and “The Spirit or the Curse” offer some respite along the way, Voyager does prove a little unwieldy. With 16 tracks clocking in at nearly an hour, the album’s execution doesn’t quite live up to its ambition. The wonky tom-tom rhythms of “Breaking the Waves” are more distracting than interesting; a serviceable cover of Rowland S. Howard’s “Shivers” feels more like an acknowledgment of influence than a striking interpretation; and the combined six minutes of the two-part instrumental title track may have worked better as shorter interludes. Nevertheless, plenty of Voyager’s tracks demonstrate Rattigan’s knack for a raw, emotive indie-rock tune.

Tim Clarke

Ducks Ltd — Get Bleak EP (Carpark Records)

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Toronto duo Ducks Ltd celebrates signing to Carpark with an expanded re-release of their 2018 debut EP Get Bleak. The pair — Tom Mcgreevy on vocals, rhythm and bass guitars and Evan Lewis on lead guitar — bonded over a shared love of 1980s indie bands. Their intricately constructed guitar interplay carries the DNA of Postcard and C86 over meaty bass lines that evoke Mighty Mighty as much as Orange Juice and McCarthy. The sprightly music belies the miserablism of the lyrics that focus on FOMO, poor decisions, screen induced isolation, the corrosive impact of gentrification and gig economies. Mcgreevy and Lewis don’t wallow, however. Their jaunty jangle is a paean to the joys of jumping about and singing along with those new favorite songs that suddenly mean everything and will stick with you long after the world’s shit slopes your shoulders.

Andrew Forell

Field Music — Flat White Moon (Memphis Industries)

youtube

It’s easy to take Field Music for granted. Since 2005, the Brewis brothers have been making smartly composed and tightly executed guitar pop with obvious debts to The Beatles and XTC, and all their albums have fallen somewhere along the continuum from good to great (my personal favorites are 2010’s Measure and 2012’s Plumb). Album number eight, Flat White Moon, features the usual balance between Peter’s more pensive, bittersweet numbers with greater focus on piano and strings, such as “Orion From the Street” and “When You Last Heard From Linda,” and David’s funkier, more staccato cuts, such as “No Pressure” and “I’m the One Who Wants to Be With You.” Twelve songs, 40 minutes, tunes for days — what’s not to love? If you’ve yet to get acquainted with Field Music, Flat White Moon is as good an introduction as any.

Tim Clarke

Gabby Fluke-Mogul/Jacob Felix Heule/Kanoko Nishi-Smith — Non-Dweller (Humbler)

non-dweller by gabby fluke-mogul, Jacob Felix Heule, & Kanoko Nishi-Smith

With Non-Dweller, we have a trio of Bay-Area improvisers who certainly do not reside in one place for very long. There is an agitated freneticism about their interactions here, the performers acting like electrons seeking to release energy and break out of orbit. Each player brings a unique collection of timbres to the party with their implement of choice. Heule is a percussionist by trade yet focuses on extended techniques — mainly friction-based — as he wrests an unholy wail from the maw of his bass drum. Fluke-Mogul’s violin sways between tone generator and noise source. Nishi-Smith is a classically trained pianist who here is bowing and plucking the koto, or Japanese zither. The trio spend most of their time in sparring mode, their energies unleashed with synchrony as if in an elaborate dance. It is clear they have collaborated before. Heule and Nishi-Smith have been at it for over a decade; Fluke-Mogul joined the party in 2019. The most gorgeous moments happen when all three players are focused on friction: Heule slides across his drum, Fluke-Mogul soars with their violin and Nishi-Smith gracefully bows her koto. The energy is focused and particles collide, creating waves of tone. The players wrestle intensity into submission, and the ensuing sonorities are unmissable.

Bryon Hayes

FMB DZ — War Zone (Fast Money Boyz \ EMPIRE)

youtube

Ever since FMB DZ got shot and moved out of Detroit, he has continued to release angry music. (He may not be more productive after the assault, but he’s certainly not less so.) War Zone is his latest effort, along with The Gift 3 and Ape Season, and DZ is back in his paranoiac mode and ready for vengeance. That’s hardly unusual in this type of music but DZ stands out because he’s a bit angrier, a bit more pressing and a bit more gifted than the next man. He doesn’t outdo himself in this tape, but rather mostly follows the blueprint of Ape Season. The standout track is “Spin Again.”

Ray Garraty

Ian M Fraser — Berserk (Superpang)

Berserk by Ian M Fraser

Ian M Fraser is kind enough to provide details about how he created and edited Berserk, although relatively few listeners are going to really know what “nonlinear feedback systems and waveset synthesis” are, let alone “sensormonitor primitives auditory perception software”. And fewer still will be able to focus on what that might mean while Berserk is actually playing, because the output of those programs and systems is immediately, viscerally clear. If a computer were actually capable of going rabid, feral, well, berserk, the human mind might imagine it sounds something like this. Over four shorter tracks and the relatively epic 8:26 of “The Cannibal,” Fraser either coaxes or allows (or both) his tools into the equivalent of something like what someone who knew very little about both genres might imagine is like a power electronics act playing free jazz or vice versa. It is absolutely viscerally thrilling (albeit probably easier to repeat at this length of 16 minutes than, say, 50) and will do the track the next time you feel like your brain needs a good hard scrub.

Ian Mathers

Human Failure — Crown on the Head of a King of Mud (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

Crown on the Head of a King of Mud by Human Failure

It’s tough to figure out if the band’s name is meant specifically to apply to D. Cornejo (sole member of Human Failure) or to the general field of human failure, which grows ever more capacious. Whatever the intent, Human Failure makes thoroughly unlovable music, pitched somewhere on the continuum that runs from the primitivist death metal to stenchcore to harsh noise. This reviewer is especially fond (yep, somehow that’s the only word for it) of the title track of this 10” record: “Crown on the Head of a King of Mud” sloughs and slogs along for two minutes, sort of like one of the ripest zombies in Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985), wandering about and slowly falling to pieces in Florida’s tumid heat. Just as that last bit of flesh is poised to slide from bone, the song unexpectedly breaks into a run. Where is it going? What’s the rush? No one knows. Things eventually bottom out into “Disassembling Morality,” a static-and-distortion laden electronic interlude that might squeak and spark for a bit too long — but then “Your Hope Is a Noose” shambles into the frame. That zombie seems to have found some equally noisome and truculent friends. They djent and pogo around for a while, and the song has a lot more fun than seems called for by the band name. Cornejo might be pissed off by the myriad manmade disasters and outright catastrophes that burden the earthball (he’s sure angry as heck about something…). But the record ends up being sort of successful, if deafening, grinding, growling stench is on the agenda. All things considered, why wouldn’t it be?

Jonathan Shaw

Insub Meta Orchestra — Ten / Sync (Insub)

Ten / Sync by INSUB META ORCHESTRA

Ten / Sync was recorded in September, 2020; not exactly lockdown time, but certainly not out of the pandemic woods. It’s no small task to keep any 50-strong orchestra going, let alone one devoted to experimental music. So, if you already have one, then having it perform during a pandemic is just another challenge among many. So, the Swiss-based orchestra assembled three groups of musicians, numbering 31 in all, and assembled their contributions during post-production. While this did not provide the social experience that IMO’s gatherings usually impart to participants, an outcome that just isn’t the same seems awfully representative of the time, right? And since one Insub Meta Orchestra subspeciality is making music that sounds like it was performed by many fewer players than were actually present, this collection of sustained chords concealing tiny actions and apparently disassembled passages is actually very representative of the ensemble’s music.

Bill Meyer

Amirtha Kidambi & Matteo Liberatore — Neutral Love (Astral Editions)

Neutral Love by Amirtha Kidambi & Matteo Liberatore

With her own group, the Elder Ones, and in Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, singer Amirtha Kidambi shows how far you can take a song while still giving the meanings of words and the boundaries of form their dues. But Neutral Love, like her two tapes with Lea Bertucci, explores the territory outside the tower of song. The main structures for this improvised encounter with electric guitarist Matteo Liberatore seem to be a shared agreement to exclude certain options. Song form and overt displays of chops are right out; the patient manipulation of sounds is where it’s at. Liberatore opts mostly for swelling and subsiding resonations, while Kidambi spends a lot of time finding out what’s hiding at the back of her throat, drawing it out, and then tying it into elaborate shapes. Patient and eerie, these four tracks find a place adjacent to Charalambides at their most abstract, and make it their own.

Bill Meyer

Kosmodemonic — Liminal Light (Transylvanian Recordings)

KOSMODEMONIC - LIMINAL LIGHT by KOSMODEMONIC

NYC outfit Kosmodemonic is among the recent wave of metal bands attempting to effect an organic-sounding synthesis of numerous subgenres: a slurry of sludge, a bit of black metal, a dose of doom, and a hit or two of the lysergic. When it works — as it does on a number of tracks on the band’s long new cassette Liminal Light — it’s an exciting sound. Songs like “Moirai” and “Broken Crown” manage to couple tuneful riffs, dirty tone and a muscular bottom end in ways that feel thumping, groovy and pretty weird. You’ll want to bump your butt around even as you’re looking for something to break. But the tape is pretty long, and the further afield Kosmodemonic gets from that mid-tempo groove, the more middling (and sometimes muddled) the material sounds. “With Majesty” can’t quite find its rhythmic footing in its more technical passages, and the song’s sludgier sections feel like compromises, rather than interesting maneuvers. But the record begins and finishes with really strong songs. Both “Drown in Drone” and “Unnaming Unlearning” embrace scale, letting their big riffs rip. When “Unnaming Unlearning” slips into complex sections of blackened and distorted dissonance, the drama surges. Formal experiment and manipulation of mood fold into each other. The song gets interesting, even as it’s reaching for a peak. And then it ends, suddenly, violently. It’s pretty good. Your impulse is to flip the tape and hear it again, which is just what Kosmodemonic wants you to do. Well played, dudes.

Jonathan Shaw

Sarah Louise — Earth Bow (Self-Released)

Earth Bow by Sarah Louise

Asheville-based songwriter Sarah Louise wants to be your personal nature interpreter. The titles of her recordings, from her debut Field Guide through Deeper Woods and Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars are like planetary signposts pointing to a more intimate relationship with our planet as a living organism. With each successive release, her music has also become more and more organic sounding, culminating with Earth Bow, in which Louise herself is arms deep in humus, communing with birds and insects. Recordings of creation feature prominently; katydids, spring peeper frogs, a creek and various birds are credited as providing additional singing, augmenting the artist’s own mellifluous voice. For a recording in which the track titles and lyrics are focused on nature and Louise’s experiences therein, there are a lot of digital elements. Her 12-string guitar is prominent in places, but synths are everywhere: in the background, bouncing around like shooting stars, and mimicking the various fauna that they accompany. Yet the earthly and the machine-made are not juxtaposed, they are blended. The vocals, which center the recordings, tie both elements together nicely. Earth Bow is a tasty concoction, in which a variety of ingredients are married in botanical bliss.

Bryon Hayes

Le Mav — “Supersonic (Feat. Tay Iwar)” (Immaculate Taste)

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Nigeria’s alté scene has been bubbling for a couple of years now on the backs of guys like Odunsi (The Engine) and Santi, and Gabriel Obi bka Le Mav is no stranger to the fray, having produced Santi’s “Sparky,” Aylø and a recurring favorite of his, singer Tay Iwar. The two have already collaborated at length (for songs off Iwar’s debut album Gemini in 2019, as well as the entirety of last year’s Gold EP), so the comfort level here is established. It shows: Iwar’s smooth-as vocals match Le Mav’s breezy piano descent and gentle rhythmic shuffle in an easygoing song that matches anything you might hear coming from Miguel, Frank Ocean or the Sun-El Musician orbit. “If it feels right, touch the sky,” Iwar suggests early on. Well, don’t mind if I do.

Patrick Masterson

Sugar Minott — “I Remember Mama” (Emotional Rescue)

I Remember Mama by Sugar Minott

At some point after Lincoln Barrington Minott had left Kingston and his early dancehall and lovers rock legacy with Studio One and Black Roots behind for cooler climates and the old world of London, he ran into producer Steve Parr at the Wackies offices. Story goes that the two decided to start up Sound Design Studio with the intent to record and mix for ads, film and music — but scant evidence of this idea exists beyond “I Remember Mama,” released on 7” and 12” in 1985 and reissued for the first time since via Stuart Leath and his long-trusted Emotional Rescue imprint. Parr does most of the work on the recording (Andy MacDonald shines on tenor sax and Paul Uden guitar in the original credits), but it’s all about the sweetness Sugar brings to the table: With backing from two accomplished performers in their own right, Janette Sewell and Shola Phillips, Minott’s naturally relaxed delivery shines through on this. “Sound Design” is a dubbier instrumental version that retains Sewell’s and Phillips’ vocals, and Dan Tyler (half of Idjut Boys) provides an even spacier, handclap-laden 11-minute remix, but while both variants are excellent, the boogie of the original is unassailable. Look for the vinyl to hit in July.

Patrick Masterson

Jessica Ackerley — Morning/mourning (Cacophonous Revival)

Morning/mourning by Jessica Ackerley

It makes sense that Wendy Eisenberg wrote the liner notes to Morning/mourning, since they and Jessica Ackerley are bound by a shared commitment to string-craft. Both have a deep idiomatic foundation in jazz guitar, but neither is willing to be confined by what they’ve learned. In the case of Morning/mourning, that means that patiently paced ruminations upon Derek Bailey-like harmonics sit side by side with frantic but rigorously scripted forays that sound a bit like Jim Hall might if he input the contents of his French press intravenously. This album’s nine tracks observe passings and new beginnings, since Ackerley pulled the recording together while in quarantine, shortly before leaving Manhattan for Honolulu, and titled some of them in tribute to a pair of guitar teachers who were taken by 2020. But in their attention to tone, harmony, velocity and structure, these pieces, like Eisenberg’s records, speak as much to intellect as to emotion.

Bill Meyer

Nadja & Disrotted — Split (Roman Numeral Records)

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It makes a certain kind of sense for Nadja and Disrotted to tackle a split together; although both bands traffic in a particularly foreboding strain of doom metal, they also share a weird sort of comfort. There’s a sense more of horrible things happening around you than to you, like you’re in the eye of the storm or maybe in a bathysphere plunged to crushing depths. There is a precision to the menace, a measured quality to the noise. And they get there when they get there; as Dusted’s Jonathan Shaw pointed out in his review of Disrotted’s Cryongenics, “Pace seems to be the point.” This excellent split doesn’t shy away from these commonalities while still highlighting the distinct timbres of each act, with Nadja settling into and then returning to one of their indelibly titanic bass riffs throughout the 19-minute “From the Lips of a Ghost in the Shadow of a Unicorn's Dream” and Disrotted somehow conjuring the feeling of a massive structure corroding and collapsing on the 15-minute “Pastures for the Benighted”. When the latter slams to a half, one last hit echoing away, the listener may find themselves feeling equally relieved the onslaught is over and kind of missing both sides’ pulverizing embrace.

Ian Mathers

Nasimiyu — POTIONS (Figureight)

P O T I O N S by nasimiYu

Nasimiyu’s songs bounce and shimmy with complex rhythms, her background as a dancer and percussionist for Kabells and Sharkmuffin coming through in the intricate interplay of handclaps, breathy beat-boxing, rattling metal implements, all manner of drums and, not least, her lithe, twining vocal lines. “Watercolor” blossoms out of a burst of choral “la”s, each note allowed to flower briefly before behind cut off with a knife-edge; these are organic sounds shaped with mechanical precision. Against this background, Nasimiyu herself enters, her voice fluttery and syncopated, a bit like Neneh Cherry. The mix is full of separate elements, the backing vocals, a synthesizer working as a bass, handclaps, Nasimiyu’s singing, but the song remains light and translucent. “Feelings,” sings Nasimiyu, “I am in my feelings,” and so, for a moment, are we. Nasimiyu is half Kenyan and half Scandinavian-American, and you can hear a bit of East Africa in the surging sweetness of choral singing on “Immigrant Hustle.” But there’s a post-modern gloss over everything, as the singer brings in sonic elements from jazz, electronica, dance, pop and afro-beat. Yet however many layers are added, the sound remains bright and clear, a bead curtain of musical sensation whose elements click faintly as they brush together, but remain essentially separate.

Jennifer Kelly

Carlos Niño & Friends — More Energy Fields, Current (International Anthem)

More Energy Fields, Current by Carlos Niño & Friends

Multi-instrumentalist and producer Carlos Niño latest album which straddles and largely crosses the line between spiritual jazz and new age ambience features friends from both worlds including Shabaka Hutchings, Jamael Dean, Dntel and Laraaji. Niño, who plays percussion and synthesizer, edited, mixed and produced the album from recordings made in 2019 and 2020 in a variety of settings. The results are largely low-key soundscapes designed to assist meditation on the fields and current of the title. Much evocation of the natural world, chiming eastern influenced percussion and layers of acoustic and synthetic keys that are lovely but tend to lull. It is the slightly disruptive reeds that prick the ears here, Aaron Hall’s plangent tenor on “Now the background is foreground,” Devin Daniels’ alto phrasing on “Together” and Hutchings’ expressive duet with Dean on “Please, wake up.”

Andrew Forell

Shane Parish — Disintegrated Satellites (Bandcamp subscription)

Disintegrated Satellites EP by Shane Parish

The normally ultra-productive Shane Parish didn’t put out a lot of music in 2020, and none of what did come out was recorded that year. It turns out that he was busy giving guitar lessons via zoom and moving from North Carolina to Georgia, but we’re well into a new year and he’s back in Bandcamp. This three tune EP doesn’t declare a new direction, of which Parish has had many, so much as an integration of his interests in American folk music and far Eastern tonalities. Simultaneously familiar and alien, but above all propulsive, it serves notice that the time for reflection has passed.

Bill Meyer

Séketxe — “Caixão de Luxo” (Chasing Dreams)

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The thing that gets your attention about Séketxe is… well, everything: how many of them there are (i.e., how you can’t really tell who’s in the group and who isn’t), how they’re all propellant, a musical bottle rocket bursting out of your speakers, confrontationally in your face on camera — and how much fun it looks like they’re having. Somewhere out there beyond the reaches of kuduro and Mystikal lie the Angolan barks and rasps of this youthful sextet, who trade verses (and a soothing harmony drizzled right across the madness at around 1:40) among one another over an Eddy Tussa sample on a beat by producer about town Smash Midas. What are they on about? My Portuguese is nonexistent, let alone my Luandan slang, but even I can tell that title translates to “luxury casket.” Anyway, it’s bonkers and if you’re looking for a jolt your morning joe doesn’t deliver anymore, Séketxe oughta do it. You’ll never catch me thanking an algorithm, but I guess it’s true the maths can serve it up right every once in a while. Séketxe is the proof.

Patrick Masterson

Tōth — You and Me and Everything (Northern Spy)

You And Me And Everything by Tōth

The title of Alex Toth’s solo debut, Practice Magic and Seek Professional Help When Necessary, alludes to his belief in music as therapy — that there’s an alchemy in the process, yet one that can’t necessarily be depended on to pull you out of an emotional hole when that hole gets too deep. On his new album, You and Me and Everything, all of his recent personal struggles are out in the open. There’s the tale of when he was so fucked up he couldn’t play trumpet at a family funeral (“Turnaround (Cocaine Song)”); there’s leaning on songwriting as a means to process the pain of heartbreak (“Guitars are Better Than Synthesizers for Writing Through Hard Times”); and there’s his ongoing battle with anxiety (“Butterflies”). While such heavy emotional terrain could prove hard-going, Toth approaches everything with a playfulness, a lightness of touch and a gentle haze to the production. Plus, he gets a helping hand from Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Flock of Dimes), who lends backing vocals to standout “Daffadowndilly,” which taps into the woozy gorgeousness of prime Robert Wyatt.

Tim Clarke

Mara Winter — Rise, follow (Discreet Editions)

Rise, follow by Mara Winter

For people with busy performance schedules, 2020 posed a problem; how do you stay busy and creative when you can’t do what you usually do? Mara Winter, an American-born, Swiss-based flute player who specializes in Renaissance-era repertoire and instruments, used it to forge a new creative identity. In partnership with experimental composer and multi-instrumentalist Clara de Asís, she began exploring the commonalities between early, composed music and contemporary approaches and developed a platform to disseminate documents of that research into the world. Rise, follow, the inaugural release of Discreet Editions, is an hour-long piece for two Renaissance-style bass flutes played by Winter and Johanna Bartz. The two musicians played long, overlapping tones with contrast attacks, pushing on until they grew so tired from hefting those woodwinds that they just couldn’t play anymore. Effectively the performance unit is a trio, since the two musicians had to accommodate or collaborate with the reverberant acoustics of Basel’s Kartäuserkirche. The church’s echo threw sounds back at the player, turning pure tones into blurred timbres. While the instrumentation is antique, the ideas about sound combination and endurance have more to do with Morton Feldman, Phill Niblock and Aíne O’Dwyer. The result is music that is simultaneously meditative and as heavy as a bench-pressing competition.

Bill Meyer

Wurld Series — What’s Growing (Melted Ice Cream)

What's Growing by Wurld Series

Some reviewers of What’s Growing, the second album by New Zealand’s Wurld Series, have managed to avoid making Pavement comparisons, but it’s hard to fathom their restraint. Brief opener “Harvester” feels like you’re being dropped mid-solo into a random Wowee Zowee track; the guitar tone on lead single “Nap Gate,” on the other hand, sounds like it's nicked straight from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. And while singer/guitarist Luke Towart doesn’t attempt to match Malkmus’ flamboyance in the vocal delivery department, their voices and wry lyrical observations bear a distinct resemblance to one another. “Caught beneath a dull blade / What a mess that would make” he sings on “Distant Business” before the song reaches its finale where guitar solos blast off from atop other guitar solos in an array of complementary textures. But besides being a ridiculously fun guitar pop record, What’s Growing is also threaded through with a British psych folk vibe replete with Mellotron flute — and the two styles blend seamlessly together thanks to Towart’s partner in crime, producer/drummer Brian Feary (Salad Boys, Dance Asthmatics). So, whether you're looking for a great summer indie rock record or you’ve ever wondered what the Fab Five from Stockton might’ve sounded like if they’d stuck to short songs and had more flutes, this one’s for you.

Chris Liberato

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