Theatre labeled

Actors in college undergrad

2024.05.16 01:48 Timely-Matter2340 Actors in college undergrad

When making your actor’s resume, what do I label the college productions as? Does it go under the Theatre category or do I have to specify that it’s a college production?
submitted by Timely-Matter2340 to Actors [link] [comments]

2024.05.12 11:02 PesAddict8 What kind of movies do your parents like?

I often take my parents to watch movies in theatres and have noticed this thing: They aren't very fond of movies that can be labelled 'slice of life', 'feel good.'
For eg: Premam, Bangalore Days, Njandukalude naattil oridavela, Charlie, Kumbalangi Nights, Maheshinte Prathikaram, Koode, Thanneermathan Dinangal- in short, 'the good vibes' movies that are generally well regarded. They end up saying these movies are 'Kadhayillatha padangal (movies with little to no story).'
I think they are more into movies with heavy melodrama and less subtlety. My mother wants to watch movies with family elements while my father is a big fan of action flicks with firebrand dialogues. They also like comedies it seems. Some movies that came out in the last 10 years they liked- Ennu ninte Moideen, 2018, Malikappuram, Aadujeevitham, Nna than case kodu, Jana Gana Mana, Neru, RRR etc.
My father openly hates action movies where the hero either dies or loses in the end. That was the only problem he found with RajuA10's 'Kaapa' for some reason. Also, he expects every action movie to have a big action sequence between the hero and villain in the finale. We were watching Allu Arjun's 'Pushpa' one day when it came on TV, and he was confused why Allu and FaFa didn't fight out in the end. I had to explain to him that it is an set up for the sequel.
What's the situation in your household? Are they enjoying the latest films?
submitted by PesAddict8 to MalayalamMovies [link] [comments]

2024.05.11 18:59 PercyPistolero8 First big gig,need your guys help

Hi!i dont know if this is the best place to ask this,but ill go on anyway.So,me and my band will have our first gig in a well known theatre in my country,so far we have only played in bars and clubs,but this is our most important gig.What i want to ask you guys,based on experience,is should i be somewhat risky with my setlist,change order of songs and add some transitions.Or should i stick with the traditional setlist and play it safe?Most of the crowd that will be there will be new audience,and there will be probably people from labels. I know this at the end has to come from me,but i still wanted to know your guys thoughts and what would you do.If something is not clear feel free to ask! Thanks!
submitted by PercyPistolero8 to musicians [link] [comments]

2024.05.11 18:27 _mortal_chaos_ My boyfriend has gone to a movie with his girl best friend at 10pm that’s rn and it’s hurting me

For context, my boyfriend (23 M) and I (22 F) have been together for almost a year now. Things are going amazing and we are definitely sure about getting married as soon as we are settled in life. He has had a close group of 3 friends out of whom 2 are guys and the other one is this girl. They are extremely close and have known each other for a couple of years now. She has dated one of the other guys in the group and they broke up due to religious reasons.
My boyfriend has mentioned about this girl, let’s call her A, since the beginning of the relationship. Has been transparent about how much she means to him but nothing more than a friend. His justification was that, if he liked her, he would have dated her or hit on her anytime in the years that he has known her even before me. Second was that he never saw her that way because she was his best friend’s girlfriend. Which I found convincing enough tbh. And I have also begun to maintain a friendship with her independent of my boyfriend and she is not the kind of person to run in my face about how much longer she’s known him and how much better she knows him. She has been sweet and understanding about everything.
So coming to what happened today. I wanted to meet my boyfriend today because I missed him. I told him that. My boyfriend is preparing to write GRE and said that he can meet me only in the evening after 3:30-4 as he wants to study. So I go to meet him around 5pm and we go shopping and have fun and whatnot. He had to drop me near his place from where I planned on taking an auto(kind of a taxi) home. I live with my parents and I have a curfew of 9:00pm. It takes me 45mins to get home from his place. And the shopping place we went to was 45mins from his place. And otw back to his place, this best friend A lives. By the time we were done shopping, it was 7:30pm. I was talking about going back near his place, having some snacks and me leaving to go home. He then suddenly tells me A wants to meet. I said it’ll be touch and go. It makes more sense to see her tomorrow. He texts her that and she feels bad. Then I asked him if he had made plans with her beforehand to which he replies yes. I didn’t know this and I obviously was not very happy about making him cancel plans with her because of me. So I just agree to go meet her but leave after 15 mins. Once we get there, she says that she’s in the salon close by and will come back only after 15mins. I’m starting to get tensed at this point because I have a strict household and I’m running late. So I just wait at her place while my boyfriend goes and picks her up. I was starving so I just ate some food and booked an auto directly from A’s place to leave after she came back.
Honestly I didn’t care much because I just wanted to get home and I talked to him about being transparent about his plans and making sure he doesn’t double book himself. I get home all fine. Then he calls me and tells me he impulsively decided to go to a movie with A. Only the two of them. I trust him and everything but this really fucking pissed me off and hurt me. One , because he told me he’ll drop me near his place which would’ve costed me 1/4th the price I paid to get home. And the entire time I was there, he kept talking about how he can’t stay long and had to leave to go home whenever A asked him to go somewhere else. And I’ve suggested to go to a movie with him on multiple occasions and he would keep cancelling because he doesn’t have patience to sit through a movie and now all of a sudden he wants to go to a movie? And no matter how much I trust him, I just don’t feel comfortable with him going to a movie alone with a girl.
I want to tell him all this rn but I don’t want to ruin his time. It’s just eating me up from the inside. Am I being toxic? It’s really hurting me . How is that justified if I’m being toxic? I would never go to a movie alone with a guy unless it’s with my dad or my brother. Even if I do tell him rn he can’t just leave from the theatre right? And even if he does, I’ll be labelled toxic from her end.
submitted by _mortal_chaos_ to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]

2024.05.11 07:29 Stopsignwizard What type am I?

Hey
I'm looking to see based off the info I'm about to provide although random if anyone could point out what type seems closest to matching it.
RANDOM INFO
submitted by Stopsignwizard to MbtiTypeMe [link] [comments]

2024.05.10 05:47 latherdome Does anybody else feel dirty?

... reading the Flavacol box marketing copy? Pimping the profit potential of artificially flavored and colored salt to poor, hard-up movie theater franchisees whose livelihoods depend on selling popcorn? Meanwhile selling the same salt out the back door on Amazon to us Netflix traitors at home gaming the system, making much better popcorn dirt cheap even before weapons-grade seasoning?
Flavacol doesn't even supply iodide, a necessary nutrient! The "Premiere" variety is at least colored with synthetic vitamin B2, intensely bitter and yellow, that per food labeling laws doesn't compel disclosure as an artificial coloring. So they can charge more for it to franchisees who don't also buy the popcorn bags from them that disclose the artificial Flavacol coloring to moviegoers ultra-discreetly. To keep clear of the popcorn labeling police.
That’s right, only Flavacol is certified both Kosher AND Halal, removing all conceivable obstacle to Jew, Gentile, and Muslim alike snacking together in sweet sweet peace in your theatre while delivering you up to NINETY FOUR PERCENT PROFIT$$$!!!
Flavacol boxes occupy the psychic coordinates antipodean to Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap labels, redolent of 60's culture war between hippies and petit bourgeois business interests in artificially flavored popcorn marked up probably 5000% to support public exhibition of such classics as Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
submitted by latherdome to popcorn [link] [comments]

2024.05.10 05:15 spiralingmentally How do i create official rooms?

Thanks for reading if you do, i’ve been playing habbo since 2010, i’ve spent quite a few dollars over the years and lots of searching in coin shops and have made some pretty remarkable rooms (in my opinion) FOR EXAMPLE, a whole movie theatre with diner and arcade, a nice looking salon etc. im wondering HOW do i get these groups to be labeled official so they’re being used and not going to waste under the roleplay tab? is this possible? thanks in advance!
submitted by spiralingmentally to habbo [link] [comments]

2024.05.09 20:17 redditduk [MEGALIST] SG Concerts Gigs Raves - Till Vesak Day (10 - 23 May 2024)

Update 16 May: Added Friday

10 May, Fri

Esplanade - PESTA RAYA Malay Festival Weekend

 

Event Nights & Parties 10

 

Dance Club Guest Performers 10

 

Sat, 11 May

 
 

Esplanade Pesta Raya Festival 11

- ES Kids storytellling: Tales from the Nusantara: The Legend of Hang Tuah and the White Crocodile by Malay Heritage Centre & Hafiz Rashid, PIP's PLAYbox 1145, 115 3pm, free

 

Events & Parties 11

 

Club Guest Performers 11

 

12 May, Sun - Mother's Day

Esplanade - Pesta Raya Malay Festival Last

 
 

13 May, Mon

 

14 May, Tue

 

15 May, Wed

 

16 May, Thu

 

Other Arts Events

 

17 May, Fri - Start of Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA 2024)

 

Esplanade

 

Event Theme Nights

 

Club Guest Performers

 

Saturday... Soon

I am on telegram: search sg music chat or visit t.me/sgmusicchat
submitted by redditduk to singaporemusicchat [link] [comments]

2024.05.07 17:44 acocoa Trip Report: April 28-May 4 Disneyland and DCA

Trip review (without budget; Budget report lower down in the post)
Fly in Sunday April 28, fly out Saturday Saturday May 4; Disneyland and DCA Monday-Friday park hopper tickets; Party: 2 families of 4 with neurodivergent children who qualified for DAS (kids ages: 3, 6, 6, 13). One support worker from Sunday-Wednesday. Had Genie+ on two of the adult tickets. Stayed in two rooms (Parlour A and C) at Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. My mom (grandma) was supposed to come but she had some medical issues arise right before the trip. My mom kindly pixie dusted my sister’s regular support worker with her hotel room, flight and park ticket and we then paid her food and wages. She was a great asset for us and if you have multiple neurodivergent and/or disabled kids with differing needs, I recommend a higher adult to child ratio.
Flew Air Canada YVR to SNA. I enjoyed flying here instead of LAX. I didn’t notice the harsh/quick landing that others have mentioned.
Transportation from SNA to Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. We scheduled EVE for 12:30 pm pickup and bought tickets. The app kept changing the pickup time and pushing it further out. By 1:15 pm the 4 kids were done (and so were all the adults). It was too late to wait even 5 minutes for an Uber so we got 3 taxis to transport everyone and their luggage. We could have fit in 2 taxis but one of the kids needed their own space at this stage. The dysregulation was high! We brought car seats for the kids. I am not at all happy about EVE and now have unused tickets and it certainly put a damper on the start of the trip. If we ever do another trip we plan to get taxis right away.
Motel: Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. Our rooms were not ready early, so they stored our luggage while we walked down the street for food. We had Walmart grocery deliver some food to the hotel. The rooms were plain but worked for us. The beds were firm but not as hard as some I’ve experienced. One of my kiddos used the pull-out couch and slept well. We brought out rain makers for sleep, so the outside noise wasn’t too bad (except the fireworks were very loud). The windows have slats, not curtains so light filtered in easily. It was dark enough at night, but naps were more challenging for settling my youngest. Each day our support worker gathered some basic foods from the breakfast buffet for us for the following morning, so our kids didn’t have the extra transition to the buffet room. One issue for us is that the food kept changing (the oatmeal flavour), cereal type, which we were relying on as a safe food for our kids. We had even called ahead to ask detailed questions about the food, and it was different than what we were told. Had I had the correct information I would have been able to adjust my Walmart order. The bread was stale which unfortunately was a no-go for one of my kids. So, if you have sensory eaters this buffet is not reliable. It also doesn’t start until 7 am but we always wanted to be walking out the door by 7 am for rope drop.
Parks: We switched parks after our mid-day motel break on a couple of the days (star wars nites). Even with 5 days we couldn’t get everything we wanted done. My kids could rope drop but our mid day breaks were long from 12-4ish and then my kids couldn’t really make it past about 7 pm in the park so it was more like “half” days worth of activities in the park. The kids were ride-focused and didn’t seem interested in environment entertainment. Our last day we all enjoyed the Magic Happens parade at 5:30 pm. We sat on the ground at about 5:05 pm near small world and ate dinner while waiting. I think you could have arrived at 5:15 and still found seats for a small group. Favourite ride for the kids in Disneyland was Big Thunder Mountain and Radiator Springs Racers in DCA. My partner and I had to pay the ILL for Rise of the Resistance. I wore ear plugs and my kids wore noise defenders most of the time in the parks. We mobile ordered most of the time. On our last day we had breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn at 10:20 am. The best thing at that breakfast is the waffles with bananas foster on top. I want to reproduce that at home! My kids really enjoyed the characters and shocking us all my little one asked for a hug from Tigger after Pooh gave him the best hug. I wish that Minnie circulated at the tables with the photographer. Her interaction was the poorest because it was so quick, and my kids were still getting warmed up to the environment. My 3-year-old decided to start potty training the week before we went on the trip and insisted on going to the bathroom SO MANY TIMES. And of course, the kids could not seem to coordinate their bathroom breaks so I think I spent half my time in all the bathrooms in the parks! Definitely something I hadn’t considered when I was organizing this trip.
Highlights for me: my 3-year-old squealing with joy riding Big Thunder. My 6 year old telling me this was the best vacation ever but also that she knows I love her and I don’t need to pay for things to show her my love (that was said about the character breakfast) but also she wants an Olaf bubble wand. LOL. My favourite ride is Indy and it didn’t disappoint me. I was proud of myself for suggesting the Chewy mode on Smuggler’s Run to a group of strangers (I was single rider with social anxiety), and they all agreed though I’m not sure they had the best time. I loved it! My partner did not think he’d like Disney that much, but he made many surprising comments about how great everything is. He loved Galaxy’s Edge and got really into the story of ROR. Overall, it was a successful Disneyland trip and I sure hope I get to do it again someday.
Ideas for neurodivergent kids/adults: ear plugs, sun hats, portable personal fan, airtags (we used ankle straps to secure the airtag over the sock so the strap didn’t touch the kid’s skin – sensory nightmare!)/tile on kids, parent contact info on a sticker mailing label stuck to the back of the kid’s shirts, leash/strap for elopers, mid-day hotel breaks/naps/screens, pack or buy safe foods. Unfortunately, even foods that are “safe” at home in Canada didn’t translate to the Walmart order with US brands. My biggest struggle on the trip was trying to keep the kids fed. If I did it again, I might bring a suitcase full of food! If you qualify for DAS, this allowed us to access attractions that we otherwise couldn’t. Rope dropping was a must for the kids to get on rides without the DAS. I found the park to be much louder than I remember from 15 years ago. I think there are numerous places that Disney could reduce the volume to give us sensitive auditory processors more of a break. Even with noise protection, my kids could not sit at the Fantasyland Theatre while the Pixar Fest photo op was going on. The music was deafening. I think the volume could be significantly reduced across the park without harm to neurotypical auditory processors and allow a much more accessible experience for neurodivergent auditory processors. The oldest kiddo eloped at one point through the park and her dad followed at a distance using the airtag. However, we all discovered that the airtag is not real-time enough to actually find a person at Disneyland. When Dad talked to Security they recommended the Tile for providing more real-time location data.
Ideas for Canadians/International guests: We used the Wise visa debit card with 0.5% currency exchange fee (this is compared to the typical 2.5% exchange fee on most credit cards). The Wise worked well for all purchases in and out of the park. My husband only had one situation where tapping with his phone Wallet didn’t work and he had to use the physical Wise card for the purchase. I purchased a 7-day 1GB data only US plan esim from Airalo that worked perfectly on my Google pixel phone for our trip. For the Walmart Grocery order we used the hotel as the billing address since it doesn’t accept Canadian addresses. My sister’s credit card was rejected (even though it worked in the parks) and I think she would have needed to call her bank and approve the US funds before putting in the Walmart order. Instead, we just used our Wise card for the order and it was accepted.
​
Trip Budget Review: April 28-May 4, 2024
This is a follow up post to my trip review post from earlier. This is our vacation cost for our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids), 6 nights at Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. Flights from Vancouver Canada to SNA. 5-day tickets, park hopper and Genie+ on the two adult tickets only. Tickets were purchased from Undercover Tourist. Hotel and flights were booked direct. I’ll report subtotals in USD and total trip cost in both USD and CAD. Costs do not include my sister’s family and the support worker fees.
I used ChatGPT prior to the trip to help estimate costs. ChatGPT (with a 10% increase for inflation and low food cost estimates) gave an estimate of $10 000 CAD.
From my previous post, we did have a support worker for some of the time and my mom ended up gifting her flight, hotel and ticket to said worker and I have not included any of her costs in this budget review.
Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites, Parlour A room, 6 nights (Sun-Sat): $1404
Tickets: 5 day, park hopper, 2 adults, 2 kids, Genie+ on adult tickets only. Purchased from Undercover Tourist: $2312
Transportation including flights YVR-SNA and taxis to and from airport on both ends of the trip: $1542 (flight only was $1152). Note: we brought our own car seat and booster on the flights and installed in taxis.
Mobile esim for data only US plan, purchased from Airalo: $4.50
Grocery delivery from Walmart: $132
Character Dining Breakfast with Minnie at Plaza Inn: $157
Souvenirs (kids were allowed to pick one item on the last day; adults did not buy anything): $78
Individual Lightning Lane for Rise for 2 people: $52
Food including airports, Harbour Blvd, Downtown Disney and in the Parks: $839
Total cost of trip for our family of 4: $6521 USD ($8761 CAD)
Happy to answer any questions :)
submitted by acocoa to Disneyland [link] [comments]

2024.05.06 21:45 ChimkenFinger Unsure if my doubts have to do with my own identity or other people their reaction to it

Tw: self harm and suicide
Hello detrans community. I am in the process of seeming appropriate therapy relating to my gender struggles. I would like insight in my above written question, so i’ll write out my personal history for context.
My issues with myself and viewing myself as my birth sex go back to around age 7, when i was firmly told i was and will grow up to be a woman. I still recall some kind of desperation and deel sadness that i have never been able to label. Ive always been bullied for my non-conformity and the older i got the more i learned how to behave. I always wore pants and shirts and refused skirts, but recall deep sadness and an uncomfortable feeling of wrongness when forced into dresses for church and theatre plays. I understood from a social perspective to conform is to avoid clashing with others. I did however enjoy interests in both masculine and feminine fields, and did not feel the urge to particularly dress as a “boy”. My hair was long and i was content with a pink tshirt as much as a blue one. I do mention i grew up around a bunch of metalheads, so that probably formed my perception too. Ive also always been really close with my dad and feel like i still am.
As soon as puberty started i started showing severe behavioural issues. (Rapid mood switches, depressive episodes, social withdrawal, self destructive tendencies) I immediately understood i was sexually and romantically attracted to both men and women, (even before puberty) and faced backlash for it. Both by family (even though they now managed to get around and not speak of it so much) and by my peers (i faced physical and verbal violence and attacks, luckily with decreasing amounts as time went on). Though, puberty brought on severe self harming and suicidal tendencies, i assume this was only a result of a life long of dissociative behaviourism and issues with my peer group and body (i for a long time assumed i just thought i was ugly in the back of my head, which i even believed for a little as a child when i got bullied, but i’m not, i would say i’m a quite conventionally attractive woman if i try. Which i did anyhow, because i thought thats what i needed. My first few teenage years i tried my best to look like a girl and in those years i attempted suicide two times and gained a history in self harm. I did feel happy, in this weird stomach-achey way, when i would get complimented. I really put on the femininity role THICK). I’d specifically seek out self harm after instances of same-sex attraction, and comments about my perceived body and womanhood, or when i would contemplate my future and the idea of disappointing the people i knew in different ways. I felt like i had not control. I could not grasp why it got at me this way.
Also, as a young child all the way to now, i’ve always done (tabletop) roleplay games as male characters. OR as hyper-feminine female characters (which eventually always fell to the background, while i focussed on the male characters). Ive read this was a stereotype so i’ll just write it here. Do i have to add i tend to hide this part from me from people? Only close friends know. If i tell anyone about this hobby i dont mention the fact i always interact as a man.
Online i always present male too. Even over call people believe me to be a cisgender male and i do not correct them. I always felt “wrong” having to “come out” for actually being a woman, even if its technically the truth.
At age 12 i came in contact with non-binary people on sites such as tumblr. I agreed with them, i did not enjoy womanhood. But i could absolutely not understood how well they coped with their bodies. (From what i saw). At about age 14 i found out about trans male youtubers and i felt HEARD. I had already sought for ways to hide my chest and stop my menstruation before ever seeing these people! Though, seeing this, i was ashamed. I didnt tell anyone until a year later (two close friends) and i still hide it away.
I now present myself as a very masculine woman, and i took up a nickname that seems male. I am muscular with short hair and get mistaken for a man at times. I don’t have a desire for children, but when i think about it, i would have liked to father children if i was born male. But this still doesnt scratch an itch for me. When i think of transitioning, or a future as a man, i do feel happy. Ive really tried to find sexual and social gratification as a woman (yet, never tried PIV, and was even born in such a way that makes it impossible for me to ever do that. I am happy with this. Ive never let anyone come near my sexual organs in such a scenario anyhow.) and to possibly write off these wants as trauma or self-image problems, but the thing is: i have a good bond with both my parents and great role models in both sexes. I have only had healthy romantic interests and relationships, and have no sexual trauma. I had a good youth outside of bullying at school. My loneliness really only came from my internal self, the shame i felt, without being able to name it. Not being able to tell anyone.
So now i wonder, if you made it this far! Do you believe i am just afraid of being trans, and coming out for it? Or is it maybe social contagion? And what kind of therapy would be beneficial in the process of figuring this out. Therapy is a requirement where i live to get trans medical care anyhow.
Thank you for your efforts in advance!
submitted by ChimkenFinger to actual_detrans [link] [comments]

2024.05.06 10:00 AutoModerator Check Out Our FAQ: Netflix FAQ & Known Alterations - May, 2024

Welcome to our series of posts highlighting information and resources available within our subreddit. In this post, we introduce our FAQ and our KDRAMA 101, which contains some of the most commonly asked questions and other basic information about kdramas. This post will focus on a selection of questions about Netflix, check out our Netflix FAQ for even more information.
If you have any additional questions about the information in this post or our FAQ, feel free to leave a comment with your question/feedback.

What is Netflix K-Content?

Previously known as The Swoon, Netflix K-Content channel on Youtube is Netflix's official social media handle for Korean content on Netflix. Be it K-dramas, K-movies, K-variety or K-celebs that's where you want to go for official goodies from Netflix.
(It's also the only acceptable source of previews/teasers for Netflix productions.)
What is the difference between "Netflix Original" and "produced by Netflix”?
Netflix Original: Netflix will label any drama they have exclusive streaming rights to in a certain region as an Netflix Original in that region even if Netflix is only licensing the content and was not part of the production process.
Produced by Netflix: these are dramas that Netflix financed and produced (examples include Kingdom, Love Alarm, My Holo Love, Extracurricular).
Quick tip to distinguish between a licensed Netflix Original and Netflix production:
All episodes released on the same day worldwide = Netflix production
vs.
Episodes released weekly concurrent with its airing schedule in Korea OR the drama finished airing in Korea but is still unavailable on Netflix = a licensed Netflix Original
For more info, check out Netflix’s Help page on licensing and the article The Four Types of Netflix Originals.
Why isn’t [drama] available even though it’s airing in Korea?
We don’t know, we’re not Netflix. When (if ever) a drama comes to Netflix for any given region depends on the licensing agreement Netflix has. For more info, check out Netflix’s Help page on licensing
When is [drama] coming to Netflix for my region?
We don’t know, we’re not Netflix. Netflix tells you to keep browsing the New Arrivals page and looking out for its announcements via Press Releases.
How Good Are Netflix's Subtitles?
Not great: they often skip over nuances in the language.
Common example of subtitle inferiority include use of the name of a character throughout no matter what that character is being called in the dialogue. This can at times be a spoiler if the dialogue was being purposely vague.
Another very common complaint is that due Netflix subtitles often contain more cursing/profanity in comparison to what is actually being said in the Korean dialogue. This has been speculated to be attributed to Netflix's choices for localization of subtitles. So just be aware that cursing in kdramas, especially ones broadcast on any of the free to air channels (KBS, MBC, SBS) are relatively rare and mild.
Which Dramas Are Dubbed?
Based on user feedback, it seems that Netflix offers dubbing only on Netflix productions. See the Netflix help article on How to use subtitles, captions, or alternate audio to change your options.
What's with the music?
Background music in kdramas may be altered on streaming platforms in comparison to original broadcast due to copyright and licensing issues. Streaming sites will replace songs with generic choices if they do not have the correct licensing. In general, the songs being switched out are not original songs created solely for the drama, instead they are pre-existing songs.
Longer Answer
Note: The explanation below is a very simplified look at a very complex legal issue. Use it for reference, not authority.
In terms of licensing, each individual song can be thought of as having two sets of legal rights associated with it: publishing rights and recording rights. Publishing rights refers to the rights of the songwriter (or the publishing company that now hold the rights). Recording rights refer to the rights of that specific recording/performance (usually held by the recording company).
Example to illustrate the point:
Think of the Auld Lang Syne song.
The melody is an old Scottish folk song so no songwriter can claim publishing rights for it. People all around the world can use the melody without having to obtain its publishing rights. In fact, it was used as the tune of the SK national anthem for a few years.
Now imagine that some Singer X made a recording of a specific performance of the song Auld Lang Syne. This specific recording would have recording rights associated with it but no publishing rights associated with it.
If someone wanted to use this recording made by Singer X in a drama as part of the soundtrack, they would need to license the rights to use this particular recording (recording rights). They would not need to obtain publishing rights since no songwritepublishing company has those rights.
Now for kdramas:
The music used in kdramas can be one of three types:
  1. Previously existing songs,
  2. A specific recording of a previously existing song made just for the drama (such as a remake), or
  3. A new song written and recorded specifically for the kdrama.
Of these three types, only types 2 and 3 are included in the kdrama’s OST (original soundtrack) because they were originally created for the kdrama.
And of these three types, only type 3 songs are easily licensed for worldwide distribution because both the publishing and recording rights are recently created and generally bundled together with the drama licensing rights.
For type 2 songs, while recording rights may be relatively easy to obtain since the recording was made specifically for the drama, publishing rights may be hard to obtain, especially for worldwide distribution.
For type 1 songs, both publishing and recording rights have to be obtained, making it even harder. Especially if the song is an existing kpop hit song whose international distribution rights are already held by different companies in different regions.
Now why does Netflix often switch out songs:
Because the songs switched out are often pre-existing songs that Netflix cannot (or has chosen not to) obtain international licensing rights for. Keep in mind that Netflix is available in a lot of markets internationally so if they want to license a song, they have to license it for every single market in which this drama will be streamed in.
So if this drama will be streamed in 20 countries, then Netflix has to obtain song license rights in all 20 countries in order to use it, which can get really expensive really fast. For songs written and recorded specifically for dramas, licensing is feasible because the song rights are likely bundled with the drama streaming licensing rights, but is near impossible if the song is a pre-existing song with existing distribution deals in different markets.
A Hypothetical:
Fire by BTS was used as the intro song by a character in Fight My Way (쌈 마이웨이).
To stream the drama with this song in the USA, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and Brazil, Netflix must obtain the licensing rights for this song in all five countries. If Netflix cannot obtain the correct licensing rights for even one of these countries, then the easiest way to deal with the problem is to switch the song out for some generic tune that they do have the rights for.
For a big act like BTS that definitely has different distribution deals in different markets, getting the licensing rights is probably a big challenge (and expense) and likely not worth it from a business standpoint for Netflix. The result is background music being replaced with generic tunes.
And in case you were wondering, the music problem is not limited to kdrama content, see this Vox article explaining how music licensing rights are a huge headache for older shows now being released on streaming platforms.
Known Alterations to Kdramas on Netflix
We have a list compiled from feedback by our community about the type(s) of changes that were made to specific kdramas as they were broadcast on Netflix versus original SK broadcast. Subtitle issues are not included. This list is provided for reference and has not been verified in any manner. If you wish to add anything to the list, please leave a comment or send a modmail with the subject: Netflix FAQ.
Another Miss Oh
Music changes. Background music in a baclub scene was removed.
Music changes. The song that Park Do Kyeong sings as a child and subsequently records for Oh Hae Young is removed. The scenes remain with the corresponding dialogue but there is no song.
Coffee Prince
Cut Scene. Episode 17 scene where Han Gyul (Gong Yoo) sings I Love You by Han Dong Joon is removed.
Fight For My Way
Music changes. A character's entrance song to matches was Fire by BTS in the SK broadcast.
Cut scenes. In Netflix the first scene was the teacher getting mad but other sites show a scene before the teacher got mad.
Goblin
Music changes. Eun Tak sings Meet Him Among Them (그 중에 그대를 만나) by Lee Sun Hee (이선희) at the wedding.
Blurred scene. They are watching Gong Yoo's Train To Busan in the movie theatre.
Hotel Del Luna
Cut scene. The part wherein the ghost of a cancer patient sings BTS' 'Fake Love' was removed (although the cancer patient's call scene remains intact). It's on Episode 11.
Cut Scene. Episode 9:The part where Gu Chan-seong sang 'Baby Shark' to a little girl was removed.
I'm Not A Robot
Music change. Jo Ji-ah's ringtone (from the song 'Please Don't Be Sad') is replaced with a generic ringtone.
Let's Eat
Cut scenes. Karaoke scene was cut.
Mr. Sunshine
Cut scenes. A meeting with the prime minister of Japan has been cut out in episode 1.
My ID is Gangnam Beauty
Music changes. FL dances to New Face by Psy in original broadcast.
My Love From Another Star
Epilogues for some episodes were cut.
Reply 1997
Music changes. When Si Won goes to Seoul and she is on the bus, original version starts to play "Without You"; on Netflix ver. there isn't a song.
Reply 1994
Music changes. Different background music for funeral scene.
Cut scenes. Some episodes on Netflix differ in length to broadcast episode, users believe cut scenes were of minoside plotlines.
Shopaholic Louis (Shopping King Louie)
Music changes. Episode 2: sauna scene: 'A Whole New World' was replaced with generic instrumental music.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (Strong Girl Bong Soon)
Music changes. In ep 4 when Bong Soon carries Min Hyuk, they removed the Whitney Houston song and added some generic romantic music.
Cut scenes. In Ep 1 there's scenes of the bus driver singing and they cut those out.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
Cut scenes.
Welcome to Waikiki
Season 1
Ep. 5 Cut scenes. Baby Sol watches the Baby Shark song on TV.
Ep. 5 Music change. Original scene of Seojin slapping the driver. JTBC Drama Channel YT clip
Season 2
Ep 1: Cha Woosik (Kim Seonho) sang the wedding song JTBC Drama Channel YT clip
Ep 6: Cut scene. Sooyeon's performance. JTBC Drama Channel YT clip
What's Wrong With Secretary Kim
Cut scenes. The Netflix version doesn't have the scene where the Vice Chairman's driver sings This Is the Moment in one of the team dinners.
If you have any Youtube links for the broadcast version from official Youtube channels or further details for the alterations, please leave a comment.
submitted by AutoModerator to KDRAMA [link] [comments]

2024.05.05 19:33 acocoa Trip Review: Disneyland, DCA Apr 28-May 4

Trip review (without budget, will do a separate budget breakdown when I get all the costs organized)
Fly in Sunday April 28, fly out Saturday Saturday May 4; Disneyland and DCA Monday-Friday park hopper tickets; Party: 2 families of 4 with neurodivergent children who qualified for DAS (kids ages: 3, 6, 6, 13). One support worker from Sunday-Wednesday. Had Genie+ on two of the adult tickets. Stayed in two rooms (Parlour A and C) at Anaheim Dessert Inn and Suites. My mom (grandma) was supposed to come but she had some medical issues arise right before the trip. My mom kindly pixie dusted my sister’s regular support worker with her hotel room, flight and park ticket and we then paid her food and wages. She was a great asset for us and if you have multiple neurodivergent and/or disabled kids with differing needs, I recommend a higher adult to child ratio.
Flew Air Canada YVR to SNA. I enjoyed flying here instead of LAX. I didn’t notice the harsh/quick landing that others have mentioned.
Transportation from SNA to Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. We scheduled EVE for 12:30 pm pickup and bought tickets. The app kept changing the pickup time and pushing it further out. By 1:15 pm the 4 kids were done (and so were all the adults). It was too late to wait even 5 minutes for an Uber so we got 3 taxis to transport everyone and their luggage. We could have fit in 2 taxis but one of the kids needed their own space at this stage. The dysregulation was high! We brought car seats for the kids. I am not at all happy about EVE and now have unused tickets and it certainly put a damper on the start of the trip. If we ever do another trip we plan to get taxis right away.
Motel: Anaheim Dessert Inn and Suites. Our rooms were not ready early, so they stored our luggage while we walked down the street for food. We had Walmart grocery deliver some food to the hotel. The rooms were plain but worked for us. The beds were firm but not as hard as some I’ve experienced. One of my kiddos used the pull-out couch and slept well. We brought out rain makers for sleep so the outside noise wasn’t too bad (except the fireworks were very loud). The windows have slats, not curtains so light filtered in easily. It was dark enough at night, but naps were more challenging for settling my youngest. Each day our support worker gathered some basic foods from the breakfast buffet for us for the following morning so our kids didn’t have the extra transition to the buffet room. One issue for us is that the food kept changing (the oatmeal flavour), cereal type, which we were relying on as a safe food for our kids. We had even called ahead to ask detailed questions about the food and it was different than what we were told. Had I had the correct information I would have been able to adjust my Walmart order. The bread was stale which unfortunately was a no-go for one of my kids. So, if you have sensory eaters this buffet is not reliable. It also doesn’t start until 7 am but we always wanted to be walking out the door by 7 am for rope drop.
Parks: We switched parks after our mid-day motel break on a couple of the days (star wars nites). Even with 5 days we couldn’t get everything we wanted done. My kids could rope drop but our mid day breaks were long from 12-4ish and then my kids couldn’t really make it past about 7 pm in the park so it was more like “half” days worth of activities in the park. The kids were ride-focused and didn’t seem interested in environment entertainment. Our last day we all enjoyed the Magic Happens parade at 5:30 pm. We sat on the ground at about 5:05 pm near small world and ate dinner while waiting. I think you could have arrived at 5:15 and still found seats for a small group. Favourite ride for the kids in Disneyland was Big Thunder Mountain and Radiator Springs Racers in DCA. My partner and I had to pay the ILL for Rise of the Resistance. I wore ear plugs and my kids wore noise defenders most of the time in the parks. We mobile ordered most of the time. On our last day we had breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn at 10:20 am. My kids really enjoyed the characters and shocking us all my little one asked for a hug from Tigger after Pooh gave him the best hug. I wish that Minnie circulated at the tables with the photographer. Her interaction was the poorest because it was so quick and my kids were still getting warmed up to the environment. My 3 year old decided to start potty training the week before we went on the trip and insisted on going to the bathroom SO MANY TIMES. And of course, the kids could not seem to coordinate their bathroom breaks so I think I spent half my time in all the bathrooms in the parks! Definitely something I hadn’t considered when I was planning this trip.
Highlights for me: my 3 year old squealing with joy riding Big Thunder. My 6 year old telling me this was the best vacation ever but also that she knows I love her and I don’t need to pay for things to show her my love (that was said about the character breakfast) but also she wants an Olaf bubble wand. LOL. My favourite ride is Indy and it didn’t disappoint me. I was proud of myself for suggesting the Chewy mode on Smuggler’s Run to a group of strangers (I was single rider with social anxiety), and they all agreed though I’m not sure they had the best time. I loved it! My partner did not think he’d like Disney that much, but he made many surprising comments about how great everything is. Overall, it was a successful Disneyland trip and I sure hope I get to do it again someday.
Tips for neurodivergent kids/adults: ear plugs, sun hats, portable personal fan, airtags/tile on kids, parent contact info on a sticker mailing label stuck to the back of the kid’s shirts, leash/strap for elopers, mid-day hotel breaks/naps/screens, pack or buy safe foods. Unfortunately, even foods that are “safe” at home in Canada didn’t translate to the Walmart order with US brands. My biggest struggle on the trip was trying to keep the kids fed. If I did it again, I might bring a suitcase full of food! If you qualify for DAS, this allowed us to access attractions that we otherwise couldn’t. Rope dropping was a must for the kids to get on rides without the DAS. I found the park to be much louder than I remember from 15 years ago. I think there are numerous places that Disney could reduce the volume to give us sensitive auditory processors more of a break. Even with noise protection, my kids could not sit at the Fantasyland Theatre while the Pixar Fest photo op was going on. The music was deafening. I think the volume could be significantly reduced across the park without harm to neurotypical auditory processors and allow a much more accessible experience for neurodivergent auditory processors.
Tips for Canadians/International guests: We used the Wise visa debit card with 0.5% currency exchange fee (this is compared to the typical 2.5% exchange fee on most credit cards). The Wise worked well for all purchases in and out of the park. My husband only had one situation where tapping with his phone Wallet didn’t work and he had to use the physical Wise card for the purchase. We used the hotel address as the billing address for our Walmart order. Additionally, my sister's credit card was rejected likely because she had to call the bank and approve a US dollar cost. Instead we used our Wise card and it worked fine (with the hotel billing address).
Happy to answer any questions!
submitted by acocoa to DisneyPlanning [link] [comments]

2024.05.03 18:38 Cheap_Philosophy5491 Syzygy of Three Amazing Female Leads = One Unexpected Adventure, formula to KE's success, and not about the book

I stumbled upon “Killing Eve” when researching for a trip – kudos to the location scouts. As if spellbound, I cruised through first season, craving more. How did that happen?
Spy thrillers can be predictable, strong female leads are no longer original, and don’t get me started on secret organizations with killer-dolls from Russia, blah... Where did the characters get their sparks? I looked up the original book that inspired the show, with high anticipation. To my disappointment, Luke Jennings is a skilled writer, but he tries too hard. Too many minute details, inner dialogues, rainbow coloring, neither here or there. Then I realized the brilliance of the show, came from the trade craft of good old theatre: put the best actors in interesting roles, then get out of their way.
The show is not about LGBTQ+ identity, or gender struggles, or any ideology – at least not in the first 2 seasons. Even the moral rights and wrongs get blurry as the protagonists traverse through their arcs. The blur creates dramatic tension and plot twists in the most organic way. The three female leads are glorious, drawing power from their angels and demons. A great play transcends identity labels, because human emotions have more depth and fluidity. On some level, we are all “Rainbow in beige boots”.
In the end, what we remember are the one-liners from my favorite spymaster Carolyn:
“Humans are like a mezze board. The best of them have a little bit of everything.”
“So many people are just bags of gas, expelling air when they’ve nothing of any great worth to say.”
“We have no time to react to that… so don’t feel that you have to.”
submitted by Cheap_Philosophy5491 to KillingEve [link] [comments]

2024.05.03 14:20 rorzri It’s maybe not as much as others have but I didn’t think I had this much D.C. Black label stuff

It’s maybe not as much as others have but I didn’t think I had this much D.C. Black label stuff
Couple of them were originally vertigo. i do have all issues of riddler year one and did have strange adventures for a brief period as well
submitted by rorzri to graphicnovels [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 21:13 Razoupaf The War of the Worlds: France - Review [Comboteur Fou]

You might find the review easier to read on my website, Comboteur Fou. Especially since, given the long nature of my reviews, I must cut the presentation, pros and cons, rules and artwork, and how to play parts.
[...]

IV – The wall of text (a.k.a. the Comboteur Fou’s opinion)

Gameplay

Invaders Must Die
Following DVG‘s trend of releasing several slightly tweaked versions of the same game system with close to no information as to the actual components and variance implemented, The War of the Worlds comes in four versions, with the tripods landing respectively in France (technically, Italy and Spain), England, Japan, and the East Coast of the United States of America. True to the source material, each game sees the player fighting the tripods and trying to fend them off until, ultimately, they succumb to germs their defensive system was not prepared for, wiping out the threat with the most menacing and effective killers the world has ever known: microbes. Offering a tight package, light on rules, phases, unit types, and playable in under two hours, setup and teardown included, can The War of the Worlds: France still pack as much punch and depth as heavier solo wargames, while staying true to its theme?
Incised before I’ve ceased
War games remain a genre of their own, where things that wouldn’t get a pass in a boardgame, such as lower component quality and severely dated artwork, are more easily tolerated. Long sessions, full of tactical and strategic decisions with myriads of moving pieces, vast and totally open information, deeply ramified outcomes, are often the norm, and many a boardgamer will feel lost upon entering that world.With a simplified ruleset and a small set of unit types—9 to be exact, 3 of which really matter in combat—WoWF attempts to tie in the two worlds and make for an easy-to-get-into wargame, full of moving pieces and decision but low maintenance.
The absence of a clearly defined player turn/AI turn structure initially renders the flow of a round counterintuitive, and fully interiorising the rules proves longer than such a light game should warrant.Yet one of WoWF‘s most interesting points has to be its round structure. Chaotic randomness lurks at each step’s corner, taking the form of events which contribute to make each play completely unique.Both sides’ contribution to the war effort is brilliantly emulated through a back-and-forth between factions, as Tripods never act during phases granting control to the players, only being permitted to act during the Devastation, Martian and Assembly phases, and occasionally, the Battle phase instead.
The player is encouraged to think ahead, in order to maximize their efficiency each round, by small subsets of rules for each of the phases comprising said round. Especially when they aim for a Battle. Battles are automatically triggered when at least one tripod shares a zone with a gun at the start of the Battle phase. Considering gun movement naturally occurs during the Human Action phase, which takes places after the Battle phase during a round, and before potential tripod movement, the player must either pay resource points during the production phase to move their units and ensure a Battle takes place, should they desire it, or plan movement and balance the odds in advance to save on their precious resources and let the Battle trigger by itself. Additionally, Cavalry units are able to lure tripods toward a desired zone, facilitating the process, at a cost.Units accessible to the player are divided between two categories: metal-based weapons of mass destruction, and organic bi or quadrupeds weak fleshlings, in the form of refugees, infantry and cavalry. The latter two, if they can enter battles, are not able to inflict damage upon tripods, but make up for it with their capacity to act directly on the country map. Infantry can perform one of two actions during the Human Action phase, both of which can preemptively weaken tripods. The odds largely play against the human unit in both cases, and an Infantry cannot perform an action if they move during the Human Action phase, forcing the player to, once more, think ahead and spend resource points during the Production phase to move them to best benefit from the unit.The first Infantry action is to plant a Powder Kegs in their current zone. Said keg can damage a tripod entering a zone in which they are planted. Planting a keg requires a die roll, detonating it another one. Failure to plant and detonate can result in a lost Infantry or production point. With a requirement of three random conditions to succeed, Powder Kegs reward the player with one damage on a single tripod, which can quickly be negated by a Repair roll, and are thus best ignored.Their second ability proves more interesting, as they are able to destroy tripods still in their landing pods, before it is turned into an active wave by the handling machine. The ordeal is no less challenging, as the Infantry needs first reach the landing zone across the map, before taking the action and rolling the proper colour. Here, too, the odds largely play against the human unit, as the handling machine needs merely roll the right colour during their own roll, taking place at the end of each round. Destroying more than a single tripod this way requires heavy dedication and luck with little to no payoff. In which it still proves a superior action to Powder Kegs.The last flesh and blood unit, but not the least important, is Refugees. They can be considered both a liability and a resource, as their sole use is to sway points in favour of either the Martians, should they be captured, or the humans, should they successfully escape by sea. They only act during the Human Action phase and Escape phase. Their goal is to reach a seaport from which to elope before being captured by a tripod. Anticipating tripod movement is rewarded by denying the Martians points for capturing refugees. They are yet not able to move anywhere without limit: a zone can only shelter as many Refugees as cogs are depicted on their production token. Aside from Paris, which can have at most three Refugees, each zone can have either one or two Refugees at the end of a phase. Excess Refugees are then captured by the Martians. Devastated zones, seaports and regular zones become progressively weaker as the game progresses and tripods lay down ruin, and managing Refugees efficiently itself becomes more and more challengingBut their role does not end there. Should they successfully hop on a ship, they still have to make it off the coast to the high seas without alerting or being captured by a tripod roaming the shores. And these prove amphibious.Each Refugee at a seaport must perform a die roll to attempt to board a ship. Once each Refugee has made an attempt, should one succeed, the player then must roll a die again to determine whether the ships, of freighter class, leave the coast without raising the tripods’ attention, or if they must face one or two of the mechanical hunters in naval battle.
The Cry of Mankind
The initial wave’s and landing pod placement are both determined randomly out of three possible locations, by a die roll which also influences probability, Rennes being the most likely, but also the most difficult to overcome because of its proximity to Paris, while Italy and Spain are more likely and easier to survive initially. On the other hand, Rennes is also where the landing pod is the least likely to be assembled into a wave during the assembly phase, the likelihood of which being one chance in six. Which is not to say it will not sometimes be immediately assembled into a wave ready to spread fire and death.
The first enterprise the player is most likely to invariably undertake is the construction of four factories. A small undertaking by itself, as they cost a mere 2 resource points (RP) apiece, and start paying off in two rounds by their +1 RP contribution to the Production phase. In fact, they’re such a mandatory step that it’s a wonder why they are not already built in with smaller turn 1 income, as said turn 1 becomes rather repetitive as is.WoWF, on the player’s side at least, is a game of attrition where the humans are regularly confronted to resource losses with no compensation. The best way to mitigate those losses is to minimize them preemptively, while the Martian threat constantly increases and grows ever more pressing.As such, establishing a strong presence and defending key zones in the first rounds is crucial to the establishment of as efficient an offensive army as possible..
Considering how the first round is likely to most often result in the same actions and that initial setup can only result in six slightly different configurations, not accounting for the scenarios, which have their own section in this review, replayability has to rely on highly prevalent randomness, to which the aforementioned events and the quasi systematic dice rolls contribute.
Human frailty is evident throughout a game. The France version units, at least, are highly unreliable, both in and out of battle, and tend to fall like flies in front of the tripods. It has already been proven how ineffectual Infantry units are earlier.Guns go down with a single hit, while proving as resilient as goombas under a tripod’s foot. Once placed at the start of battle, they can no longer be moved. Unless the battle takes place on a hill, Martian units are placed after Human units, and the tripods move according to random card draws, thus being completely unpredictable, so the odds of being squished underfoot are extremely high.Firing isn’t their strong suit either. Unless directly adjacent to a tripod, an extremely perilous situation, they have a one-in-two chance of hitting. At range 2 or 3, the likelihood drops steeply to one-in-six. Tripods require 2 hits to take down, and can and often do repair themselves or call for reinforcements. The closer to a gun they are, the higher the chances they have to land a hit.Even a single tripod can prove deadly for a small squad, able to wipe them before they land a single hit if the dice don’t comply, as experimented with variants.
Losing guns without leaving a single dent in the invaders, and gaining any footing from a battle, is in fact so easy that interacting with waves early should not even be considered, whereas building a sizeable army in a single chosen location before luring in the enemy and disposing of them as the mob would in back alley, allowing the enemy to perform unavoidable devastation in the meantime while ushering out as many escapees as possible to generate victory points, often is the best way to operate for the first half of the game, there again severely impacting the game’s replayability by limiting the player’s ways of approaching the game.An alternate victory condition is to destroy each wave currently on the map, as well as each landing pod. But doing so is so unlikely, the game naturally coming to a conclusion by itself a round or two after the final wave appears, that achieving said condition should be considered a achievement in itself more than anything, and, in France at least, this condition is anecdotal.The main condition, reaching ten victory points, is only impacted by land battles throughout the reduction of tripods, thus either lowering the damage output of a wave, or its complete disappearance, more likely in the second half of the game, ensuring more longevity to the different production zones and thus less points lost during the devastation phase and more points during the escape phase. Battles matter but are not the main focus of the game, and by themselves do not give the player any benefit from being won.A game can be concluded, in a win, with three mere battles taking place. In France, at least.Destroying a wave will effectively negate a whole round of destruction for the Martians, who can control five waves at most. An unlikely occurrence.
Grind
For a game labelled by its publisher as a wargame, the low amount of actual battles is surprising. Even more so when putting a focus on actual battles is a sure way to waste time achieving very little. Managing chits on a board is at the game’s heart, but most of said chits are not battle-related: refugees, waves, handling machines, production tokens form the majority of the board clutter, while tripods only enter the board on battle tactical maps, and guns are only used in battles as well, though they do move on the map.
Battles themselves are simple affairs, driven by card draws and dice rolls.The absolute stillness of human units, unable to move at all during battles once guns are placed, with severe limitations—a single horizontal line being allowed, while cavalry and infantry units are relegated to the bottom line— during the first step, make battles themselves extremely simple to manage, but also frustratingly random, and severely limit decision space for the player, who is reduced to firing a gun or not while they are covered, and in which order to fire them and against which target once they no longer are.A player might consider not firing a gun if they have an Earthwork counter. Firing the gun would discard one such counter. Earthwork counters are added during battle setup if it takes place on a zone with hills, or by infantry units if they succeed at a dice roll—failing the roll resulting in the Infantry’s destruction. Those counters prevent tripods from firing at a gun until they are all discarded, either when the gun fires, or when the tripods successfully use the Detect action, which is resolved the same way they would fire. Considering how inefficient the French guns are at anything but point blank, the player may want to make them invisible as long as possible, until a tripod gets close enough to grant a 50% chance to hit per die. The risk of destruction remains high, as Earthworks do not protect the gun from being stepped on by a tripod and immediately destroyed, and their movement remains unpredictable. Abstaining from firing is therefore even more perilous than actually firing and play the odds, actually making use of the gun before it meets its inevitable doom. Squished guns are probably more common than guns melted by death rays.
In itself, the battle system is ingenious.Initial tripod placement is determined by flipping a battle card and placing the tripod colour group in the corresponding lettered Hex. Each turn, Tripod actions are determined by a new card and their colour. AI is low maintenance, battles require little upkeep or management, the player simply has to go down the card and resolve tripod actions, then decide whether or not to fire guns and on which target, and repeat until the battle is over, either because all units on side are destroyed or because all the tripods left the battlefield by simply going away.Unfortunately, the absence of movement on the human side, again, rarely let battles become satisfying and more than simply random. The ease with which tripods dispose of guns, often before they get a chance to fire, the extremely low odds of actually hitting a tripod, also contribute to the feeling of unease. Which is not to say that battles are entirely desperate. Winning a battle simply requires a lot of preparation. Units are expensive, and, a common theme in this game, resources spent on them are too easily lost without having any kind of impact on the game, because no roll succeeded or because they are destroyed before acting.Any battle initiated with less than six guns and/or a couple of battle plans against a 4-tripods wave, the standard amount in a base game play, is akin to suicide. Damage successfully inflicted on tripods is highly likely to be immediately negated by a Repair or Arrival battle result, fully replenishing their forces straight away while the human resources are depleted with no impact. This is one of the game’s main issues as far as randomness and pacing are concerned: on paper, lost battles still seem to gain the player ground as they slowly deplete the enemy’s forces and thus hinder their ability to spread devastation across the country. In reality, though, reinforcements and repairs occur so frequently that the benefits from a lost battle are negligible, and thus, resources spent are lost with no benefit. Which is also true for Infantries lost while trying to operate or battle plans which result in failure. The player should reasonably expect any spent resource to somehow advance their plan against the Martians, when in fact, any resource spent is a simple double-or-nothing style gamble which will more often than not result in empty-handed losses.Unit types across the various theatres of the DVG War of the Worlds series remain the same, but their costs and efficacy vary. Due to the publisher’s persistent refusal of releasing complete information about their product, accessibility to said various costs and roll result is restricted. In a nutshell, the French units are terrible and rather expensive for what they do. Enjoying battles and gaining positive results require large armies, as alluded to above, but decisions remain limited. The player is at best able to better decide which gun Martians fire at first (usually the least expensive ones) and which ones to preserve (usually those rolling two dice and thus able to hit twice per turn). They also get the opportunity to prioritise which tripod they want to disable or take down, with the added benefit that damaged tripod cannot perform a second action in the action of A+B, or special actions such as summoning reinforcements.The only way the player can turn the tides of battle directly once it has begun is through battle plans. Battle plans are expensive, at 5 resources a random one and 10 resources a chosen one, but can be made more affordable by sacrificing a Cavalry unit, although once again, the result depends on a dice roll. Battle plans give the player welcome luck mitigation, allowing them to reroll, double up on results, or even to discard a catastrophic battle card and draw another instead. They remain subject to randomness, and it is perfectly possible that a battle plan is spent without benefiting the player, because their roll resulted in a failure for instance.
Waves in the base game systematically start with four tripods, unless Infantry successfully destroyed some before the handling machines finished their jobs. They therefore require large armies to be faced, as stated above. The scenarii let the player face smaller waves or even individual tripods. For the purpose of this review, early battles were waged against waves comprising only a few tripods, manoeuvering but a couple of guns. The results were invariably catastrophic. Guns were destroyed without inflicting any damage to the Martians, putting the player in a much worse position than they were initially by stripping them of time and resources without gaining any ground on the enemy.Scenarii to be expanded further down this review.
The Grand Experiment
Battles and setup are no great providers of replayability, as established above. What is, though, are events. Counterintuitively, and despite having different card backs, every event is shuffled in one big event deck, to be drawn from when the card back matches the current phase at the start of said phase. The rules fail to indicate whether multiple events can be drawn per phase, which tends to happen relatively often, as the deck contains nine cards each for the seven different phases.Absence of events for nearly two complete rounds are also bound to happen with such a system, and so the rhythm at which events do trigger is never exactly the same twice. Ideally, events trigger every other phase, or twice per round, but in reality the odds are unlikely.Events can benefit either side. Effects range from putting a special unit in play which allows the player to perform extra actions during their phases, to one-time effects changing the initial disposition of the battlefield, should one occur that round. Some event cards can be saved until their conditions are met, for instance allowing the player to temporarily negate an effect; others will give a resource points outlet, usually requiring a high amount, in exchange for an effect. Although rarely will the player be able to meet the requirements when those one-time effects cards are drawn, as spending resources immediately to build up forces is preferable to saving them for potential events.Whether the player is allowed to spend the resources only at the start of the phase, when the event card is drawn and resolved, or throughout the whole duration of the phase, is not explicitly stated. Although it only matters in the Production Phase, the one during which production points are generated, three of the nine cards give production points outlets. The Production phase is the one the player is the least likely to have leftover production points at the start of, making these cards feel like wasted opportunities more than anything. Should the player save on production points instead of recruiting army, they will have missed a whole movement round (forced movement during the Production phase and natural movement during the Human Action phase), therefore never being worth the trouble, especially when the pickings are incredibly slim.
Permanent effects, in the form of France-specific characters such as Monet, the Eiffel Tower, not named the Iron Lady although it would have made more sense if it is to be cast (see what I did here?) as a character, are the most likely to shape the player’s strategy on the long term. Yet only five of these are present in the game and only Monet and Dreyfus are really worth investing to, Monet because he is the only effect able to effectively repair zones by restoring workforce, Dreyfus because he makes Infantry actually worth it, turning each roll they make into a sure success for two production points per roll. If he shares a zone with them. A lot of work but well worth it. The Eiffel Tower makes each Industrialisation token produce +2 production points instead of +1. For ten production points itself, the effect needs three rounds to start being worth it by itself (not accounting for the initial cost of such tokens), and will only be worth it if drawn in the early game. The card does not specify if the player is allowed to keep it until they can afford the ten production points cost, or if they must spend it immediately upon drawing the card, which, considering it’s a Human Action Phase event, is unlikely to happen.Many of the effects that favour the Martians are absolutely devastating for the player, while those in favour of the player are mildly positive. The Battle Events are the worst offenders in that regard and can and will utterly gut the player’s forces with little window for reaction: getting the tripods and the guns closer to one another at the start of battle is a sure way to have guns be switched, while red having additional Fire each turn and blue additional Move each turn are sure to create massive havoc. On the other hand, giving initiative to one or the other side is a really minor change. In either case, once the event is drawn, the player can no longer opt out of battle.As a general rule, events during a Human-oriented phase are mostly positive, with a couple of really strong events such as Terran Germs being able to give or take a full ten victory points, and some really terrible events such as Governmental Action; while events during a Martian-oriented phase, or a shared phase, tend to globally be tiered toward the Martians. Cards do not feel balanced, with the power level difference alluded to above not being an outlier but more of the norm. Too many player-centric events turn out to be anything but worth investing into, while a few of them are so defining that one can but hope they will be drawn each game, and a well-timed Terran Germs can flat out end the game.An interesting idea in theory, then, though better playtesting could have yielded more interesting results.
Sea of Sorrow
A few Devastation phases into the game and refugee tokens abound on the tactical map. Refugees, while merely defenceless units, are able to quickly sway point values for each side, and the player needs to quickly control and manage them if they want to rack up some victory points while denying them to the Martians.Mere escapists, refugees tend to die easily as they are removed from the board if they share a zone with a tripod after a wave’s movement, but also when they exceed their zone’s gears, which for regular zones are between one and two, and for Paris can go up to three. Many a refugee will thus bite the dust over the course of attempted colonisation, and the more the game progresses, the more of them will be captured, as zones they can shelter in shrink and seaports get inaccessible or destroyed. Devastated zones are off limits for these units, as humans are not yet able to sustain themselves on red weed and human corpses.The only way to save refugees is by seeing them off the coast on freighters taking off seaports, of which France contains four. French harbours are expensive in France, but are handpicked instead of randomised as they are in other versions, giving the player the opportunity to set some refugees up before they dedicate to a harbour.The way a round is structured only allows refugees to attempt escape after checking for captures in excess of the zone’s capacity. Which means that, at most, under the base game rules, two refugees can attempt escape per harbour per round.Said escapes are symbolised by two successive dice rolls, the first one for each attempting refugee, who has 4 in 6 chances of getting aboard a freighter, followed by a collective roll for each freighters of a given harbour, with a 50% chance of escaping unnoticed by a tripod. In effect, said attempts frequently result in one or more refugees being left on the shore and the other one being shot at by a tripod. Odds and stuff…
Should freighters escape unnoticed, they simply are removed from the game after giving the player a single victory points. Should they fail, though, the main game pauses and the player has to set up and play through a naval battle. For each refugee that is part of the attempted escape, the player must put a freighter on a naval battle board, and up to two tripods. Warships and battle plans are then available, at four production points apiece for the ships and full price for the plans.Naval battles can potentially take place four times per round, every round, but are even shallower than the already fairly shallow land battles (and much shallower than the sea they take place on). Their stakes are lower, as they will at best yield two victory points and at worst give the martians said two victory points, while not reducing either side’s forces, unless the player spends resources on warships and battle plans. And why would they, for two mere points? The tripods are of a special type, and not part of any wave, so destroying them will have no lasting consequences on the tactical map, and four resource points spent on a warfighter are four resource points lost to no avail. Still an unlikely scenario, granted the ship is as ineffective as a regular gun, and the tripods still require two hits to bring down.As such, naval battles quickly become an annoying waste of time where the player ends up merely moving one or two freighters down and flipping a card to see whether the tripods catch or shoot them successfully. To drastically cut playtime down and ease up on the tedium, simply rolling another die to determine whether a freighter reaches the bottom of the map unhindered is sufficient.While on paper the prospect of fighting at sea as well as land is alluring, in effect it represents no more than a mere, repetitive distraction never worth the time or resources.Absence of depth and impact on the overall game is unfortunate in light of the allocated components: 5 additional tripods; a whole naval battle deck complete with unique keywords, but only about as half as many cards as land battle, although sea battles occur much more frequently; freighter unit tokens which each stand for a single refugee token and thus only serves for aesthetic purposes; warship tokens; paragraphs in the rules and cheat sheet.Naval battles feel like they should have taken a bigger place in the game but were never pushed to their full potential, for lack of time, resources or playtesting perhaps. They do become more interesting in a given scenario, which will be expanded upon later in this review.
Wrath Monolith
Considering all the challenges listed aboves, winning the game should be extremely challenging.And yet, it manages to play itself into a corner and to defeat itself with little help from the player, making each play of WoWF feel frustratingly inconsequential.Even after the player ploughed through a one-sided war of attrition, setting up and minimising losses as much as possible to only start rising to reliable power by the endgame, finally gaining some sort of control over the course of events, a mere couple of rounds are enough to result in a conclusion, awarding a win out of nowhere… to the player.Games where none of the Human side actions left a mark or a dent, in which every action failed, no wave was wiped, no battle was won, still resulted in the germs taking over and destroying the invaders. To the point where letting the game pit itself against itself and watch the events unfold into a win with zero player input has been given thought.Thematic? As far as the source material is concerned, adequately so.Rewarding? Absolutely not. More like a slap in the face and a total waste of time.True for other theatres? Inspiration to acquire other versions was hardly stirred, so this reviewer will never know.
As the base game fails to deliver any sort of challenge or let the player have an impact on events, do the scenarii/variants deliver?Without a doubt they do. Too much, perhaps.
Each war theatre comes with its own unique optional challenges in the form of variant rules. France has three, and they drastically modify the game, mostly during setup, but with impactful ramifications all throughout the play.And do they up the challenge!
The Ironclad Martians puts a heavier emphasis on land battles, pitching the player against five waves containing three tripods each from turn one. Devastation takes a much more prominent role from the early game on. On paper, since waves are smaller, focusing on dispatching them as early as possible and before they swell in numbers sounds sound, but not only do the ineffectual French units turn early failed attempts futile, as they do with the base rule, they also render them harmful, any gun lost still translating into a pure resource loss with no gain to make up for it. Then it all goes downhill from there into a quick loss as waves destroy zones and thus cut resource income down.Should the player not focus on dispatching waves early, which can prove challenging as they retain their tendency to move out of rage, the inevitable victory points gathered by Humans bring them reinforcements earlier than the player can build a sufficient number of guns to stand a chance against a wave, making things spiral out of range quickly.The scenario is interesting, if only because the game proves challenging at last. Unfortunately, the lack of initial randomness—setup is fixed—also drastically lowers replayability, making this scenario feel like a puzzle to be solved rather than a highly rule variation. Bets are still on early wave annihilation, with a heavy dose of luck. Should RNG not comply, then the game might as well be reset, opening the way to a whole new level of frustration.An interesting alternative, which would have benefited from more randomization to be played anything but sparingly.
The Handling Machines is an interesting twist in that, instead of being restricted to five waves at most, the Martians tripods can now venture on the map as single units or as part of smaller waves, spreading havoc more wildly and rapidly but with lower consequences, and making battles more frequent and easier to prepare for; but also forcing the player to spread their forces further. Infantry’s support role is made more immediately useful as there are more handling machines they are able to tackle and destroy. Provided they manage to reach them first. Because a new downside is the tendency tripods have to destroy zones they are assembled in extremely quick. Units remain unable to enter devastated zones, translating into Infantry quickly becoming incapable of reaching handling machines at all since they now reside in a devastated zone, and thus becoming useless, in that regard at least, by default, since they are now unable to prevent the machines from adding Tripods to the map. Which in turn means the player is now no longer able to fulfil the alternative victory condition of destroying them all. A surprising oversight.With many more rolls to make per round to check for potential new tripod spawns during the production phase and the assembly phase, this scenario is more fiddly than the base one and asks the player to better track which machine they have rolled for or not. Not a dealbreaker, but noticeable.The additional early and mid-game randomness occasioned by the high amount of rolls and tripods give this scenario increased replayability over the previous one, though it does suffer from the same snowballing issue in case of early lost battles. French guns do not receive any improvement, so the issue of dealing with tripods while they are weak remains.
Refugees is the best variant to ease a player into a low amount of changes, and if the variant were listed by additional rules complexity, it would have been placed first. Merely modifying the initial setup, this scenario sees each zone start with three refugees (and interestingly, the game does not come with enough tokens to actually perform this step). Throughout the game, a couple of other changes occur: in the devastation phase, each workforce loss results in an additional refugee per point lost; in the human action phase, the player is allowed to spend a resource point for each refugee they wish to keep in excess of a zone’s workforce value.Small changes, but very impactful on the strategy. While in the base game, production points are merely used for units and barely relevant in any other phase, managing them now becomes more tense and requires more thought, as not only can they allow massive sea escapes, they also make sea battles interesting, and warships relevant, as there can now be more than two mere freighters escaping at once.Land battles drop down the priority scale, not that they were very high to begin with but they remained the main resource points outlet; while points will heavily swing for both parties during phases in which refugees are saved or captured.While the challenge is not necessarily higher than in the base game, the game feels more varied, more tense, and options more interesting and satisfying. Protecting zones, especially ones with harbours, has a whole different impact on the game. Rather than simply ensuring regular production income, the player now shelters refugees and tries to prevent pouring all their resources into their survival.Saving resources from one phase to another becomes more of a priority, spending them to create large groups of refugees cluttering at harbours for large evasion attempts that finally makes it worth investing into freighters and battle plans, and making naval battles transform into what they were probably meant to be all along is very satisfying.Aside from a free harbour each turn, a minor addition, the rest of the game, remains unaltered. Having the initial wave land in Rennes proves devastating, though not enough to cost the game, because of the harbour in that zone. Similarly to the regular game, the player can have every battle and outcome turn wrong, and still win the game.
The League of Terran Nations, being played over multiple theatres, hasn’t been tested for this review.

[...]

Conclusion

The War of the Worlds: France is a tragic miss. Ripe with interesting and novel ideas, the game is an accessible, relatively easy to learn introduction to wargames, flows smoothly with a lot of back and forth between Martians and Human phases, has potential for replayability… And ultimately falls miles away from the mark, because of poor marketing decisions (breaking the game into four different theatres), development mistakes (using an inhouse designer rather than the original designer for the non-England versions, lack of playtesting). None of the player’s actions really impact the game’s outcome in the long run, due to the extreme randomness, lack of reactive mitigation, and more importantly, the game playing itself into a corner. Research on other theatres’ forums lead to the belief that the other versions are more challenging. Too much, perhaps. England seems to be the most popular war theatre.

Strong potential and novel ideas marred by a questionable balance

The War of the Worlds: France belongs to DVG. A huge thank you to DVG for providing Le Comboteur Fou with a review copy.
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2024.05.02 19:12 JayCoww [SPOILERS] Panic! at the Disco References in Jennifer's Body ft. Some Additional Trivia

For those who haven't seen the movie and don't intend to, or watched it and missed some P!ATD references, here is a list of the things I noticed:
In one of the opening scenes there's an arrangement of posters on a wall. Band posters of a similar genre are featured throughout the movie. This was because the soundtrack was produced by Fueled By Ramen who were one of Panic! at the Disco's record labels. Other FBR artists on the soundtrack include All Time Low and Hayley Williams of Paramore. The screenshot is small and blurry, but there's a familiar quartet right at the top. The poster is from the Pretty. Odd. era. Jennifer's Body premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on the 10th September 2009 which was only a few weeks after Ryan and John announced the band's divide (6th July 2009).
Pretty. Odd. poster
Crop
Enhance + Zoom + ENHANCE[!] (original)
As a teen horrocomedy there were plenty of opportunities for cheap humour - a clear dig at the bands on the soundtrack and the industry in general.
Self-awareness 1/5
Self-awareness 2/5
Self-awareness 3/5
Self-awareness 4/5
Self-awareness 5/5
The moment we've been waiting for: "New Perspective" playing on a radio in the background of a scene - an interesting choice of shot.
\"New Perspective\" on the radio 1/3
\"New Perspective\" on the radio 2/3
\"New Perspective\" on the radio 3/3
The only other mention we get of Panic! is in the credits.
Credits
Most of you may already know the story behind how "New Perspective" came to be on the soundtrack. An explanation can be found here on the Wiki:
New Perspective (song) - Wikipedia)
The first time "New Perspective" was played live was at San Diego Comic Con on the 23rd July 2009. This was an important show not only because of the new song, but it was also P!ATD's first show since the split. Spencer didn't participate. Brendon was noticeably nervous and it reflected in his performance.
P!ATD @ San Diego Comic Con 2009.
On the 16th September 2009 Jennifer's Body was released in theatres in the USA. The event included live Panic!, complete with Dallon, Ian, and Spencer.
"New Perspective" at Hollywood & Highland
submitted by JayCoww to panicatthedisco [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 14:30 pillowcase-of-eels [Book/Music] Emilie Autumn's Asylum, pt. 3 – Retconned friendships, abstract deadlines, eternal returns: author's endless tinkerings cause delays and aggravate fans

[Thumbnail🪞]
Welcome back to this write-up about a complicated artist's complicated book.
Don't be absurd, of course you have time!
Part 1 Part 2
Now that we've established what the book is about, let's take a look at The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls' rich publication and re-publication history. I promise, it's more scandalous than it sounds.

“HER SPEECH IS NOTHING, YET THE UNSHAPÈD USE OF IT DOTH MOVE THE HEARERS TO COLLECTION” (HORATIO, ACT IV SCENE 5)

As I've mentioned in the last installment, TAFWVG has been released multiple times, in multiple editions – four of them, to be precise. And I wish I was exaggerating when I say that three of those four releases have been veritable masterclasses in testing your audience's loyalty. In case you're wondering: the secret is to alter your source material in strange and unpredictable ways, while also constantly messing up on the customer service front.
Most of this installment condenses and combines these two excellent write-ups, which contain most of the receipts: TAFWVG: A History / The Bloody Crumpets: An Inconsistent History. 🔍 Anything that isn't sourced with links is in there. While there were only minor differences between the first and second pressings, the third and fourth editions came with significant alterations to the structure of the book and the story itself, notably the cast of fictional Asylum inmates... a handful of which had, in fact, been obvious avatars of EA's IRL friends and collaborators.
It turns out there are good reasons why most fiction authors don't do real-life inserts so overtly – but in EA's case, it did make sense, and was warmly embraced by fans upon release. When the book first came out, some of these people had been familiar to the fanbase for years, frequently appearing in candid pictures on EA's blog and leaving comments on the forum; some were also involved in her music and show. Recognizing that one character's name was a pun on So-and-So's username was a nice Easter egg for veteran fans, and newcomers got to learn about fandom lore; it brought the story to life and the community closer.
One side character, for instance, was named after EA's best friend from Chicago, whom many fans had had direct interactions with: she co-ran EA's online stores during the Enchant years, and acted as admin, main moderator and EA-liaison of the forum throughout its near-decade of existence.
One crazy girl who thinks she's a pirate is 100% OC... but her description and illustrations 🪞 were explicitly modeled after pictures of Bloody Crumpet Vecona (one of EA's back-up performers), who became the first stand-in pirate character 📺 in the live show. Captain Vecona was also celebrated as the “Asylum Seamstress” 🪞🔍: most of the iconic early Opheliac costumes were her design. She had a following of her own, even prior to touring with EA, for her professional costuming work and her collaborations with German photographer Angst-im-Wald. (Shitty archive link, sorry - most of those badass photoshoots seem to have been lost to time. But if you were a European goth in the mid-2000s, search your old hard drives: I promise you, you've downloaded some of those pictures.)
Inmate “Veronica”, a cabaret girl diagnosed as a nymphomaniac, was a doppelgänger of her namesake, burlesque dancer Veronica Varlow 🪞 – the ride-or-die Crumpet, whom EA often lovingly called her “husband”, saying they had been lovers in a previous lifetime. Veronica was part of every single tour post-Opheliac release and developed a solid fanbase of her own, which she maintains to this day.
Even the brave and well-mannered talking rats (oh yeah, there's talking rats in the Asylum story) were named after EA's real-life pet rodents, who had featured in glamorous photoshoots. (Slight NSFW for sideboob.)
You get the general gimmick by now: EA turns her personal life into art, which she turns into a fictional world, which she then prompts the audience to inhabit with her. The whole Asylum concept was essentially an open invitation to self-insert parasocial fanfic: “Here's this very personal world that I've created, in which I, the artist, exist as a fictional persona, alongside all these quirky inmate characters that you've seen in my stage show, and who are avatars my real-life friends. Come on in, make it your home, and populate it with your own zany Victorian alter egos.”
And it worked, to an extent: like I've said, most fans were on board before they'd even read the book, and the Asylum became “real” in that sense.
But it can get a bit disorienting to find your place in a fantasy world, when said world keeps changing based on the author's shifting feelings about her story, her target audience, and her friends... plus, you'd love to read the book, but the darn thing still hasn't shipped.

ROUNDS 1 & 2: THE HARDCOVERS

\A MINOR ADJUSTMENT\
TAFWVG was first teased in spoken-word bonus tracks 🎤 on a 2007 EP. In spring 2008, EA started reading excerpts from her upcoming book at live shows. Early excerpts from the Asylum narrative featured a character named “Jo Hee” 📺; in the story, she is a cellist from “the Orient” (love that Victorian geography) and Emily's childhood confidante.
In real life, Lady Jo Hee, Center of Happiness, was the OG Bloody Crumpet. 📺 She had been there since from the very first Opheliac show in Chicago in 2006, accompanying EA on the electric cello – the only instrumentalist ever featured in the line-up besides EA herself.
In August 2008, Alternative Magazine ran a feature about the upcoming book.🔍, teasing some of its pages. Fans were quick to spot a very sisterly picture of EA and Jo Hee 🪞, borrowed from a fan-favorite photoshoot of the two. (An aside: this specific picture also became famous in the fandom for another reason. At some point, someone made an edit replacing Jo Hee with Amy Lee from Evanescence; for a while, it kept making the rounds in alt/goth internet circuits, casual onlookers kept getting excited about it, and Plague Rats kept having to step in and disappoint them.)
Anyway. For reasons undisclosed by either party, Jo Hee quietly left the Crumpets after that tour, never to be mentioned again.
By the time the book came out in late 2009, the character of “Jo Hee” had been renamed “Sachiko”. (I guess it didn't matter whether the one non-white character in the story was meant to be Korean or Japanese.) Jo Hee's face had been edited out of the (still clearly recognizable) photograph, and eerily replaced with Nondescript_Asian_Woman_023.jpg from Shutterstock.🪞
You'd think that the switcheroo would have raised more eyebrows, or at least some awkward chuckles, among fans of an artist whose better-known lyrics include “If I Photoshop you out of every picture, I could / Go quietly, quiet - but would that do any good?”. Yet to my knowledge, it did not. Possibly because, by the time people got around to reading the book, some fans had been waiting for their copy longer than Jo Hee had been a Crumpet.
A ROCKY RELEASE
Although the book seemed just about ready for publication at the time of those 2008 readings, the initial release was delayed by technical difficulties (some data had been lost during the editing process). And then delayed some more when, a year later, EA cancelled the US leg of a tour and slammed the door on Trisol, accusing the label owner of exploitation and embezzlement (he was allegedly selling fake tickets to her shows on a phony website). In August 2009, she signed over to The End Records, and we were back in business, baby!
Not only was The Book on its way to the presses, but the long-awaited release would coincide with a “Deluxe” re-issue of Opheliac, with new cover art and bonus tracks. For $100, you could pre-order the “Ultimate Book/Album Collection”, which included the revamped album, the book, a t-shirt, a tote bag, a recipe booklet and some bonus digital downloads, to be shipped in October. Or, for a more up-close-and-personal experience, you could purchase a VIP bundle for her upcoming shows in the fall: $50 plus ticket price would get you the book, a swag bag, and a meet-and-greet. (VIP tickets were capped at 20 slots per show; from what I gather, informal interactions with fans at the merch table were becoming overwhelming on previous tours. Again: fast-growing audience.)
Alas, due to printing issues this time, the making and shipping were soon pushed back to December. VIP ticket-holders were assured, at the start of the tour, that their copies would be shipped first as soon as the books were printed, with handwritten dedications from EA. Purchasers of the “Book/Album” bundle would receive theirs shortly thereafter. This seemed like a reasonable trade-off for a minor delay, and no one was too upset. (Well, some might have been, but at that juncture in Asylum history – for reasons that will become apparent in a later installment, when we get to EA's altercations with her fans – I guess they knew better than to get mouthy about it.)
The bundles came first... and in many cases, “bundle” was a generous term, because they arrived incomplete. When the t-shirt or tote bag weren't missing, they were printed the wrong colors. Many digital download codes had to be requested via email. The book itself was beautiful, but poorly bound, typo-ridden, and missing entire pages. (This was largely fixed in the second hardcover release.)
As far as I know, everyone who complained to the distributor got their money back – and I imagine it was a nice surprise when some items showed up, inexplicably, months after they had already been refunded. But it was still a bit of a “sad trombone” moment for many loyal fans, who had to request a refund on the Ultimate Super-Cool Preorder Exclusive Bundle to purchase the book and album separately.
As for the VIP package books, those didn't start shipping until late 2010 – a whole year after the official book release, months after less invested fans had already received their non-preordered copies. Worse: none of the books were signed, much less lovingly adorned with a personalized handwritten note as EA had promised. (And had tweeted about doing during the year-long shipping delay!) After enough fans meekly expressed their intense disappointment, EA's BFF-forum-admin mailed out signed bookplates that people could stick in their book in lieu of a personalized autograph. No real explanation was given. As far as I know, this particular let-down didn't cause a mass exodus of disappointed fans – but, in the midst of other goings-on, it certainly contributed to eroding many fans' trust in EA's word.
EA TAKES ON HOLLYWOOD
The 2011 release of the largely-identical second edition was better planned and overall uneventful, which gives me time to catch you up on contemporaneous events – like the reason EA ditched the Opheliac red and went platinum blonde. 🪞
Around that time, EA got herself a supporting role and a solo number 🎵📺 in The Devil's Carnival, Darren Lynn Bousman's psychocircus-themed movie musical. (If you're scrambling to place the name: depending on what kind of deviant you are, DLB is either the guy who directed half of the Saw movies or the guy who directed Repo! The Genetic Opera.)
If you've clicked the last link: see the bad boy greaser she's dancing with at the end of the song? That's the titular “Scorpion”, played by Marc Senter, and they were totally hitting on each other while shooting this. 📝🪞 They've been an item for twelve years now, in what appears to be a loving and mutually supportive relationship, and they seem besotted with each other. That's only marginally relevant to the story, but it's nice to know that at least one nice thing worked out in all this mess.
Back to 2011. Through her friendship with DLB and the Devil's Carnival cast (a motley crew of top-shelf B-listers 🔍 that included Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino, the chick from Spy Kids, and the clown from Slipknot), EA also made a bunch of new industry connexions. That's how she came to decide that TAFWVG was meant to be more than a book, more than a live show: it had to become... a musical. Full company, full orchestra, big names, the works. Her 2012 album, Fight Like a Girl, was written and recorded with this project in mind, with most songs narrating events from the book and EA singing as various characters – which turns love duets into finger food for Dr. Freud. 🎵
Shortly before the album release, EA announced on Twitter that the Asylum Musical was scheduled to debut in the London West End, under the direction of Bousman, in 2014. "Casting calls to be announced soon!" (They were not.)

ROUND 3: THE AUDIOBOOK

2014 came, and brought... another TAFWG re-release announcement.
But wait – this time, it was going to be an audiobook! EA had been teasing one since before the original release, so people were quite excited. (It also sounded like a more achievable goal for the calendar year than a West End debut.) In early 2014, recording was well on its way, and the 6-CD boxset was due to ship in May.
PLEASE STAND BY, YOUR ASYLUM WILL BE PROCESSED SHORTLY
First, EA discovered “a new microphone ... that, upon testing, produced a recording of far greater beauty and expressive quality”, which naturally meant the whole thing had to be re-recorded. Two month's delay. No biggie. Our girl is a perfectionist.
But our girl also had to write, coordinate and rehearse her upcoming “Asylum Experience” – an afternoon-long interactive theater event, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, which would be performed at five dates of the Vans Warped Tour in August. (It's not exactly the West End, but it's a start! 🔍) And then she had to prepare for the filming of the Devil's Carnival sequel in the fall. So, obviously, the July deadline was not met. When she finally gave an update in late 2014, the ETA was basically “we are ever so close, but the audiobook gets there when it gets there; feel free to ask for a refund if you're not along for the ride”.
And then she signed with a literary agent. TAFWVG was going to be made into a “real” book, that readers could purchase in stores for a normal price and request from their local library – big event! (More for EA, I think, than for her fans. By that point, the second edition could be purchased as a PDF, and I believe most people who pre-ordered the audiobook had already read the story.) But this involved tailoring the narrative to a more general audience, which meant portions of the book had to be re-written... which meant further delays.
...Besides, and let’s have a teacup of “honesty time” here, if the new Asylum becomes an internationally best-selling novel, not only can we enact more change for good, but the Asylum Musical takes over Broadway faster, the Asylum Movie takes over theatres faster, and YOU are all dressed up as rats/inmates in said movie, you guessed it, faster (“Asylum Audiobook Announcement from EA”📝)
Well, you know what they say in show business: if you can't make it in London, there's always New York.
As EA assured her fans, their patience would be rewarded with a brand new, professionally polished version of the story – and in due time, I guess, a role in the movie. (“Let's hope she doesn't find another new microphone!” 🐀)
From that point on, there seems to have been an ever-widening gap between EA's enthusiasm and fan expectations. When audiobook snippets 🎤.mp3) were released, many fans were unimpressed by the oddly flat, overproduced recording (turns out a microphone can be so good it's a problem! 🐀), which highlighted EA's stilted, uncanny diction and not-quite-transatlantic accent. That caught everyone off guard, because she didn't use to read like... that. Even die-hard apologists had to concede through gritted teeth that, tragically, it was giving William Shatner. (If you're curious, you can find more previews here 🎤📝, along with EA's captions.)
Fans weren't just getting irritated with the various delays and excuses: they were baffled, angry, and embarrassed. When EA clapped back “U know U can just get a refund, right? That is totally within your power to do” on social media, and it came out that requests for refunds had been getting ignored for weeks or months 🐀, seasoned fans were like “Yeah, that tracks.” The whole never-ending ordeal was just starting to feel silly.
All told, the audiobook took two years to complete, with little to no new music in the interim. Two years is a long time for a young-leaning audience! Fans who had preordered at the end of their sophomore year were graduating high school by the time it came out. Others who had been in the middle of undergrad were now looking for full-time jobs. People had gotten pregnant, given birth and potty trained, or had houses built from the ground up. Genuine ultra-fans of the book had had time to... presumably, read other books. (“I wonder how many people passed away waiting for this shitty audiobook to be finished?”)
When the audiobook came out, many long-time Plague Rats had defected, either lamenting the misguided decisions of their favorite artist, or just calling EA a money-grabbing fraud and a lying liar. And a number of patient and unbothered fans had, quite simply, grown out of their EA phase.
Your humble servant, for one, ordered the audiobook the week it went on sale, and stuck with that preorder through five address changes and two graduation ceremonies. Now, bear in mind: through all the ups and downs, even as the charm dispelled, my taste in music evolved, and my perception of EA herself changed, I never formally stopped considering myself a fan. (Mama didn't raise no quitter.) To this day, and to my profound embarrassment, I give enough of a shit that I'm taking the time to write this story at all, and that I was able to draft most of itfrom memory.(Mama didn't teach me how to prioritize.) Well, get this: I have never once listened to the audiobook. I remember unwrapping the signed boxset (minimal artwork, flimsy cardboard, no liner notes), thinking “this could have been an email”, telling myself I'd get around to it for old time's sake... and then I never did, because it was ten hours long, and I just couldn't force myself to care about that story anymore. I was not an isolated case.
In light of this, I apologize in advance for any potential errors in the following paragraphs; others listened so posers like me wouldn't have to 🔍, and I'm going off of their word. The new and improved edition was, indeed, a different book – in that a bunch of things that felt meaningful to fans had been either reworked or excised.
THE AUDIOBOOK EDITS
The hospital narrative had been shortened in favor of the asylum story, and the controversial “Drug / Suicide / Cutting” diaries had been scrapped. Part of the fanbase applauded this decision, but others were disappointed 🐀, as they had found the diaries to be the most (some said only) personal, authentic, and insightful chapters in the book.
Curse words, some abuse, and all mentions of abortion had also been purged. It made the book tamer, but not by much... because Emilie's age had been changed from 27 to 17. Apparently, the literary agent had suggested this to make the book more marketable to a Young Adult audience. No other biographical detail had been altered, so the main narrator was now a 17 year old girl with no parents but an established music career, who checks in by herself into a high-security adult ward, no questions asked. (I'm still perplexed by this one. Did they not expect YA readers to know how hospitals work...?)
The pirate captain, formally known by her “mass of tangled black hair”, was now... a blonde. According to EA, this was a purely aesthetic change: it made the three main Asylum girls a redhead, a blonde and a brunette, which would look better in the stage adaptation. Between the lines, it also distanced the character from its original dark-haired muse: Vecona, who had left the Crumpets in 2008 after a rumored falling-out with EA over unpaid costume work.
The minor characters based on EA's old Chicago friends had been discarded entirely. Which likely made sense for EA – she hadn't lived there in years, the friend group had drifted apart as friend groups do, and by that point, there no longer was an EA forum to administrate or comment on – but not so much for her readers. Some fans had grown fond of these fictional inmates (wasn't that the point?), and weren't too happy to see EA symbolically treat them as disposable. Others were saddened that EA would just scrap these remnants of her old life, and of what felt like simpler, happier times in the fandom. Either way, children, this is why you shouldn't get a neck tattoo of your first boyfriend's name, OR openly base the “good guys” in your career-defining book on friends you made in your early twenties.
To compensate for the loss of... most named inmate characters, Veronica was given a much more prominent role in the plot. Namely, instead of being best friends, Veronica and Emily were now... in love! Lovers! Lesbian lovers! Which naturally meant that Veronica had to die. 🔍 Besides, fans famously love it when you pull a gay ship out of thin air between your two main characters, and then kill one of them off so that the other suffers more.
One last one, because I find it especially goofy: a scrappy teddy bear named Suffer, given to Emily by the talking rats, was replaced with...a Very Large Spoon, which gets its very own number in the musical. 🎵 The rationale was that Emily could use the spoon as a weapon in the climactic uprising against the Asylum doctors. Which, fair enough... except that, prior to being a cute and anachronistic 🔍 MacGuffin in the fictional Asylum story, Suffer the Bear had been a beloved mascot🪞 from the early Opheliac live shows. Some still remembered when EA had raised HELL, even starting a #FREESUFFER campaign on Twitter, because she thought someone had stolen Suffer from the stage (it later turned out that he had been misplaced in a flight case). All that noise back in the day... and now Suffer didn't matter anymore? The nerve. “She made shirts and everything!” 🐀
All this to say, reception was lukewarm. EA hadn't performed live since 2014 and the Devil's Carnival sequel had failed to make a splash (despite decent reviews, the franchise and main collaboration fell apart before the end of the promotional tour 🔍). People were checking out. There was only one way to correct this. A true paradigm shift. A fresh start – a new theme?
Hell no. It's another edition of The Asylum for Revisionist Tortureporn Friendfictions!

ROUND 4: THE E-BOOK & THE QUEST FOR THE SPOON OF ROYALS

In 2017, about a year after the audiobook release, EA self-published a digital version of TAFWVG through Amazon. The literary agent hadn't worked out in the end: publishers were put off by how dark the book was, even after the audiobook edits. EA explained that she hadn't been comfortable with some of the alterations in the first place; she respected the agent's input and had tried to give it an honest shot, but in the end, she wanted to do it the way she wanted to do it, solo... and this was it.
EA had reverted a number of the audiobook cuts (including swear words, mentions of abortion, and the narrator's age), but kept most of the changes to the Asylum narrative – namely, the omission of Former Friends Characters, and the romance between Emily and Veronica. In the newsletter announcement, she mentions being in the process of “re-recording the few little bits of the audiobook to reflect the current text version”. Not sure where we're at on that front; it's never been brought up again, and I don't think anyone's checked. (I assume most fans had war flashbacks when they read the word “re-record”, and instantly repressed that part of the communiqué.)
The “Drug / Suicide / Cutting” diaries were still omitted in the first release of the e-book, but re-included as a coda soon after, by popular demand, under the title “Evidence of Insanity” – with fantastical “doctor's annotations” like“W14A seems to have disassociated her own identity, episodic, each lasting for a longer period of time. We suspect she will continue further in this – stronger medication is needed, schedule electroconvulsive therapy.”
A physical paperback edition was released a few months later; in anticipation of this, the e-book was a stripped-down, text-centric version of the story. (Honestly not a bad call, because the digital version from 2012 was a scanned, non-searchable, 1.3GB PDF behemoth – not super Kindle-friendly!) No elaborate backgrounds and color photographs in this edition, but the pages were still illustrated with inserts of rats, keys, teacups, and... hold on... ciphers??🪞
As always in the Asylum, history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. In a throwback to the prelapsarian days of the Enchant Puzzle (remember? the one that no one ever managed to solve?), the e-book illustrations contained puzzles, which formed the master-key to... a scavenger hunt! And in keeping with tradition, the grand prize was an extravagant adornment hand-crafted by EA: the “Spoon of Royals”.🪞📝 Oh my!
Some of the puzzles are simple anagrams that can be solved for keywords. A clickable word within the adjacent text takes you to a password-protected link, which takes you through to an audio file – a song or an atmospheric instrumental that goes with that moment of the story. There are also more complex ciphers that decode into riddles. Each key depicted in the book has a number or letter engraved on it. The total number of rats in the book is apparently significant. One link takes you through to a blank page whose source code contains a list of coordinates from various bridges around the world.
Oh, it was a whole thing. When the book came out, you could send a picture of you doing EA's signature “rat claw” hand sign🪞 to request admission to a private Facebook group (the “Striped Stocking Society”) where people could help each other solve the clues and EA would occasionally pop in for a chat. There was also a series of mysterious newsletters in early 2018, culminating in a Los Angeles event where EA showed up in person to pass on extra puzzle-solving material to a handful of lucky fans (although said material raised more questions that it answered 📝).
Overall, it was a great idea! Although the fanbase was generally smaller and less active after four years without a new tour or album (and a fair amount of other drama, which we have yet to get into), the e-book puzzle did pique people's interest in purchasing yet another version of the same story.
Unfortunately, once again, EA overestimated either how intuitive her fans were, or how invested they would remain. After months of collaborative efforts across multiple platforms, a number of puzzles had been cracked 🔍, but it was still unclear how the individual anagrams and numbers and riddle-solutions all fit together as scavenger hunt clues.
EA kept up the hype for a while, but the few hints that she gave on social media only revealed yet more encryption factors without really helping fans connect the dots. One cipher remained unsolved on Instagram for days and days before EA caved in and hinted at which key to use. She did helpfully specify that if you didn't know how to read music, you'd better start learning. (...Was this a fun puzzle, or a prep school admission test?) The in-person LA event had also sown some confusion as to the rules and constraints of the game: would winning involve traveling to a physical location? That didn't seem very fair. EA had mentioned physically burying some items – but could you solve the puzzle from a distance? Is the Spoon of Royals literally just buried under the Shakespeare Bridge in Los Angeles, California?? 🐀
I'm just saying: if this had come up in 2008? People in corsets and platform boots would have been out there digging.
But this was 2018. As we've mentioned, the core of EA's active fanbase (a lot of whom had been teens and young adults when she was touring Opheliac) was fast aging out of the years when most folks have the spare time, dedication, or desire to essentially do super-involved homework out of love for their favorite singer. Uncovering new songs was a fun perk the first year – but after the new album came out in 2018, none of the passwords led to exclusive material anymore. It felt a bit lacklustre for something so labor-intensive.
(The new music itself wasn't a rallying point either. Behind the Musical was, quite literally, an intended vocal guide for the Asylum musical – so, basically a collection of demos. The sound was VERY Broadway Revival, somewhat Phantomish 🎵, in a way that's either good or bad depending on who's saying it. The violins, to fans' chagrin, sounded all-MIDI; no sign of actual instrumental recordings. EA sang all the parts herself, as she had on her previous album. I'm not saying there's no merit in a one-woman Andrew Lloyd Weber tribute. Many old fans enjoyed the new material well enough, some even really liked it – but most agreed that it just didn't hit like her earlier stuff used to, and that it felt rather unfinished.)
Unlike with the Enchant Puzzle, the prize itself was not much of an intrinsic motivation. While the Faerie Queen's Wings were a straightforward concept that evoked EA's own signature stage costumes, the Spoon of Royals was... a large spoon attached to a necklace, community-college-art-teacher style. It looked impractical both as a spoon and as a necklace, and more importantly, I'm not sure how many readers felt a deep emotional connection to the spoon in the story. The spoon that had usurped Suffer the Bear, no less!
In short: people gave up on the game because it was too hard, it came too late, and they had other things to do.
Thus, the Spoon of Royals remains unclaimed to this day, and I doubt I'll see anyone crack the puzzle in this lifetime. The Striped Stocking Society FB group was terminated in 2020, around the same time a bunch of fansites folded and EA closed her Instagram comments for the first time. By that point, both EA and her fans had bigger rats to skewer – but we have a ways to go before we reach that part of the story.
I would encourage you to give the puzzle a shot for the hell of it (in case you're a cryptography nerd and currently under house arrest or in a full-body cast) but... I just tried a bunch of the links, and the passwords don't work anymore. So I guess that's that. To quote old Bill by way of conclusion: “Much ado about nothing”.

ROUND TOO-MANY: I'LL SEE YOU ON BROADWAY OR I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL

So, what now? Well, not much.
By the late 2010s, what kept many fans semi-invested – if nothing else, because it clearly meant so much to EA herself – was the prospect of an upcoming stage musical adaptation. The way EA talked about it 📺, it was very much a “when”, not an “if”. Sure, ten years on, we were still collectively stuck in the Asylum, but it would at least be a new format – and a return to EA's main field of expertise, ie songwriting and performing. Not only did the core fanbase long for new music and new shows, but Fight Like a Girl and Behind the Musical had brought in small influxes of new fans who were very eager for any chance to see her live. So whether it was out of genuine enthusiasm for the project, or out of “let EA have her musical so we can maybe finally move on”, the fanbase was overall supportive.
Even though people still joked about the 2012 announcement of a “2014 West End debut” (seriously, what was she thinking?), EA had really buckled down in the intervening years, and it looked like the project was plausibly well underway. As in, we had more than just EA's word to go on: the involvement of other people, who did not reside in the Asylum, seemed to confirm that the musical was a thing.

[CONTINUED IN COMMENTS because Reddit is being ridiculous about the character count. I swear I was under 40,000!]

submitted by pillowcase-of-eels to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]

2024.05.01 23:12 Viper8Sniper Todays Pickups

Todays Pickups
What do you guys think of Seven Soldiers? Big Morrison fan but never read it before.
submitted by Viper8Sniper to OmnibusCollectors [link] [comments]

2024.04.29 01:01 kielaurie What is the distinction between pop and rock? In other words, what makes pop Pop?

The title is the question, but here's some context
My colleague is a metal head, and we were discussing different genres and what separates them, as I am notoriously bad at labelling metal sub-genres. We came to Power Metal, and he very quickly wrote it off as "just pop music with metal guitars" and... Whilst I would debate it and say there's more to it than that, I can't deny that it's certainly on the end of the metal spectrum that theatre kids would enjoy. But that then inspired the question of "what makes it "just pop"?" The main answer was that it was easy to listen to and had a pretty standard structure, the old verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus line. Except that most rock songs follow that same structure. So we went through pretty much everything we could think of, from instrumentation to vocal style, and every single thing you can fit into both pop and rock music.
So what do you guys think? Where is the distinction? What makes rock separate from pop?
submitted by kielaurie to LetsTalkMusic [link] [comments]

2024.04.28 19:19 pillowcase-of-eels [Music] Emilie Autumn's Asylum, pt. 1 – How one alternative musician got tangled in her own fantasy... and a decade-long passive-aggressive feud with her own fanbase [Hobby History - Long]

General Content Warning for this entire write-up, so everyone can have a good time: - Extensive discussion of topics related to mental illness, including self-harm, suicidal ideation, mania / bipolar disorder, distortion of truth, medication, involuntary hospitalization, medical abuse in a hospital setting, and romanticization of mental illness. - Non-detailed mentions of domestic violence (implied abuse by intimate partner and parents) and sexual / gender-based violence (including rape, child sexual assault, grooming, sex trafficking and torture). These last few items feature prominently in one installment, pertaining to a work of fiction; descriptions may be a bit more specific/detailed in that segment, but not graphic. - Mentions and quotes of unchill bigoted behavior, including ableism (mental and physical), white nonsense / white fragility / racism, fatphobia, prejudice against drug users.
Additional CWs may be added at the beginning of specific segments when relevant. While these are heavy topics, the tone of this write-up is generally light-hearted and aims to entertain. If this approach sounds uncomfortable or trivializing, this may not be a good read for you; please trust your gut!
*
Picture this: it's the early 2010s, somewhere in the western world. Instagram is a novelty, Harvey Weinstein runs Hollywood, almost no one on Earth leans one way or the other about RNA vaccines, and Donald Trump is that one real estate guy you vaguely remember from Home Alone 2. New player Lady Gaga is the most interesting thing to have happened to pop since Madonna, and the whole industry is attempting to catch up; Miley Cyrus is the chick who used to be on Hannah Montana; Melanie Martinez hasn't hatched yet. The time of Oddball Concept Divas is dawning just below the horizon.
You're a Bowie-loving student who skipped goth night at the club to tag along with your art school friends for a very special evening. You're a giddy sixteen-year old rocking cat ears, purple Wet 'n Wild eyeliner, a polyester petticoat, and a coffin-shaped backpack. You're an effete theater kid who sewed his own waistcoat for the occasion, but won't dare wear it to school the next day. You're a buff, bearded dude in a Venom shirt who's trying not to look too excited, since your girlfriend supposedly had to drag you here. You're a slightly bemused parent leaning against the back wall of the venue, sipping a warm half-pint, wondering if this isn't all a bit dark for a tween. (“It's called 'Victoriandustrial', mom,” you've been told in the car, “and it's not dark, it's art.”)
On stage is a pink-haired woman, with red porcelain-doll lips and a heart painted on her cheek. Among a set of antique consoles, twee tchotchkes, teacups and plastic rats, she pounces and twirls in glittery platform boots, tattered striped stockings, and a tightly laced crystal-studded corset that looks like it's splattered in blood. This is ostensibly a concert, but there is no live band. Where one would expect a drum kit or a bass, three bedazzled burlesque vixens act as back-up singers and dancers, with the occasional vaudeville act – a fire-twirling number, a fan dance, throwing pastries and spitting tea into the audience. Lots of wholesome girl-on-girl kissing, too. The music on the backing track is a genre-bender of clanging beats and beeps, lofty orchestral strings, and the frantic hammering of a MIDI harpsichord, as the pink-haired frontlady sings of heartache and betrayal and drowning. Think if the Brontë sisters had invented industrial rock.
The audience gasps in excitement when the lady whips out a vamped-out wireless electric violin. With rockstar cool and virtuoso poise, she leans into the instrument, touches the bow to the strings, and tears out a single plaintive, impeccably distorted high note. Then her fingers go wild, and for a few seconds, everything is perfect suspended animation. Uncannily perfect, almost. Just behind you, you hear someone whisper: “Wait, is she miming it?”
*
Forgive the theatrical intro, but I had to set the stage for... the drama. And I do mean drama in the thespian sense of the term! This, ladies and gentlemen, is a Shakespeare play: wordy and confusing, but it's neat how the main character's opening lines foreshadow the tragic climax. It's a Greek tragedy for the digital age – if, instead of killing his dad and banging his mom, after becoming king, Oedipus was doomed to becoming uniquely obnoxious. It's The Rocky Horror Show under the grim direction of Samuel Beckett. Like all good theatre, this story is about how fiction bleeds into reality – through the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, and how all the world's a stage and all that.

WHO IS EMILIE AUTUMN, AND WHAT'S THE DRAMA?

Here's the Broadway Weekly blurb, so you can decide whether the show is worth your time: Emilie Autumn, also known as EA, is a US-American alternative singer-songwriter, author, and actor. She became known in alt circles in the mid-2010s for her violin skills, unique fashion, outspoken stances on feminism and mental health advocacy, and the way she dramatized and sublimated her own life story in her art. In 2009, she self-published a semi-autobiographical book that became a sort of bible to her creative universe and fandom. She toured extensively and enjoyed niche, but considerable success until the mid-2010s – with hordes of devoted fans adopting her fashion sense and lingo, and crediting her music for getting them through dark times.
For the past twelve years or so, EA has mostly been focused on adapting her book into a stage musical, releasing two more albums of songs intended for the libretto. At the time of this write-up, it has been six years since the last album and a decade since the last live show. Although she still talks about the musical as an ongoing, Broadway-bound project, in recent years, she's often gone dark for months at a time on social media. There is no forum, no large Discord, no active community to speak of; comments are restricted on her currently-inactive Instagram and blog.
Who is she hiding from, you ask? Why, you've probably guessed it: the hordes of devoted fans whom she infuriates every time she does anything.
And what are they furious about? (Or frustrated, flummoxed, or plain ol' flabbergasted?) Well, it depends who you ask. For some, it's disappointment in her artistic and marketing choices (what are fans for?). Others cite unkept promises or absurd release delays. For others yet, it's the AliBaba merch sold at jaw-dropping markups with three paragraphs of purple prose in the product description.. Or maybe it was the angry rants on Twitter? Okay, it's the casual bigotry that she staunchly denies or dismisses. It's the criticism she can't take. It's the fact that she won't stop lying about her own life! Either way, I don't personally know of any fanbase that has been so consistently exasperated, for so many years, and for such a diverse array of reasons, by their favorite artist.
In truth, each individual mini-scandal isn't all that juicy or scandalous. Nobody died, no one got sued; nothing of significant value, other than time and sanity, was taken away from anyone. What I find interesting here is the years and years of bizarre parasocial codependency (and antagonism) between a fragile woman who became addicted to her own poppycock, and an obsessive fanbase who cared way too much not to take it personally.
Before we even get to EA's relationship with her fans, you're going to need some lore about EA herself. A “Hobby History” of sorts. Strap in! There's romance, tragedy, laughter, character development, variety numbers, numerous costume changes, (actual) celebrity cameos – and based on how long this OpenOffice doc already is at the time of my writing this, we're probably going to need several intermissions too. This write-up is link-heavy, both with receipts and with additional watching and listening material. Not all of them need to be clicked in order to understand the story; I'm merely providing the rabbit holes. I've tried to make things more easily navigable by including a little glossary about the nature of links; one emoji-indicator carries over the next link until I use a different one.
🪞 = picture / visual 🎵 = music 📺 = video 📝 = primary source / receipt 🔍 = press article / write-up / further reading 🎤 = song lyrics / spoken word audio 🐀 = anonymous fan confession 🦠 = reaction / meme

BAROQUE BEGINNINGS: THE VIOLIN YEARS

VampireFreaks: Do you ever smile to yourself knowing your old music teachers might be seeing your success? EA: I smile to myself knowing they might be dead. (Long-lost interview, late 2000s)
Born in Malibu in the late 70s, Emilie Autumn, often known as EA, was originally trained as a classical violinist.
By her account, she started playing the violin at age 4, and was homeschooled at age 9 so that she could focus on her instrument. After stints at various performing arts colleges, some rather prestigious, she dropped out of formal schooling in her mid-to-late teens to embark on a solo violin career.
In 2001, after disappointing experiences with major record companies, she created her own label, Traitor Records, and released a EP of chamber music, with minor success. The stuffy industry of classical music didn't “get” the twenty-something manic-pixie-fiddler, who played Bach just a bit too fast, but with electric stage presence – wearing period corsets, combat boots, and the occasional fairy wings. But EA evidently knew that there was an audience for that somewhere.
And that somewhere – drumroll – was Illinois.
VW: What do you most hope to accomplish? EA: Everything. (‘Virtual World Radio’ Interview, 2002 📝)

ENCHANT ERA: BRUSHES WITH FAME ON FAERIE WINGS

What if I'm an ocean, far too shallow, much too deep? (...) What if I'm a siren singing gentlemen to sleep? (“What If”, 2003 🎵)
Soon, EA relocated from her native California to Chicago. There, in between odd jobs, she veered away from baroque and began performing her own “fantasy rock” stylings at piano bars, holiday fairs and local venues – and building a decent following through her LiveJournal, website, and IRL friends. People loved the whole renegade genius thing, loved the violin, loved the nightingale voice, loved the fairy wings and costumes🪞, loved the handmade merch and general disdain for The Business, loved her deadpan humor and bookish nerdiness. In 2003, she released her first LP, Enchant 🎵 – an ethereal, introspective indie-pop joint, born under the sign of Imogen Heap, with a moon in Fiona Apple and Tori Amos rising.
Everything about EA's act was exquisitely DIY, personal, and intricate. For instance, the Enchant booklet folded out into a Masquerade-style puzzle of her own design.🪞 The first person to solve the puzzle would win “the Wings, Ruff, Fan and Scepter of the Faerie Queene herself” – all lovingly handmade by EA, and depicted in peak 2003 graphic design on the booklet. For months, YEARS after Enchant came out, people poured over the cryptic metaphors and literary references, the historical symbolism and visual puns of the artwork, looking for hints and patterns. They read every fan chat, every interview, every relevant Shakespeare play, hoping to decipher the inner workings of EA's mind and find new keys to the puzzle. Sure, it's been two decades now and no one's ever managed to crack the damn thing 🔍, which is by now widely assumed to be flawed and unsolvable; still, it's the kind of zany, brainy, immersive experience that tends to cultivate a niche but hyper-invested fanbase.
So it makes perfect sense that underground aficionada and internet frontierswoman Courtney Love (she haunted public AOL chatrooms as early as 1995! 🔍) would take an interest. Just a few months after releasing Enchant, EA was off to southern France to record violin and vocals for Courtney's new solo album; a few months after that, in early 2004, she joined Courtney's band on a brief tour to promote the record.
Alas, no cigar: America's Sweetheart flopped. Maybe because most of those summer recording sessions were ultimately lost to an engineering oopsie; maybe because Courtney was having an especially rough year – and going through all the “rock-bottom moments” that she would discuss in group therapy, later that fall, when she began her sobriety journey at court-ordered rehab. EA, a former homeschool kid who had never done drugs, seems to remember the tour as a generally terrifying experience; she later stated, with some bitterness, that the experience was not worth the time it had taken away from her own solo career.
But it was a good year for TV appearances! Here she is on the David Letterman Show in March 2004, rocking out on a perfectly inaudible violin as C-Love fades in and out of her own body. 📺 She also landed a cute tutorial segment on HGTV's Crafters: Coast to Coast, making sushi-shaped soap and fairy wings. In December, she accompanied Billy Corgan for a Christmas song on a Chicago station.
All of this was chronicled in quirky, wordy posts on her blog – interspersed with late-night musings about casual misogyny in the media 📝, including against Courtney, handmade crafts and clothing auctions, candid pictures of outings with friends in Chicago... as well as periodic updates on the progress of her next opus: Opheliac.
God, too much to even begin to tell right now, and I’m recording anyway, but I can give you this update: I just finished yesterday recording violin parts and backing vocals for B. Corgan’s first single (...) More later, recording piano for my new track “GOD HELP ME”…why do I torture myself with my own self-inflicted drama…or is it a way of exorcizing…yes, I’ll go with that one for now…☠ (“Whirlwind...”, December 2004)
By that point, EA was starting to be more open about her conflicted relationship with what would later be diagnosed as bipolar disorder. The galaxy-brain moments, the trance of creative frenzies, the liminal high of going three days without sleep, the magic... the crippling sensitivity, the restless anxiety, the Zoloft that one both needs and hates, the ever-lurking suicidal thoughts. As EA gradually revealed over the course of 2004, Opheliac would be an exploration of the “mad woman” archetype. The title was a medical neologism for “the syndrome of Ophelia”, as in the tragic character from Hamlet 🔍, driven to insanity and ultimate self-destruction by the fuckboys who rule her life. Here's EA explaining it in her own words. 🎤 The album would dive into how psychiatry and romantic relationships are governed by old misogynistic tropes, and how the “mentally ill” label is used to silence and downplay the justified anger and hurt of abused women.
In a striking case of life imitating art (are you picking up on the theme yet?), this concept was about to become more painfully relevant than ever to EA's personal existence.
CW: implied partner abuse, suicidal ideation.

DISENCHANTMENT: A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

In the lake, you will find me Behind your house, behind your house (...) My ocean is bluer than the heart you had to break My sea is deeper than your lake (“In the Lake”, 2005 🎵)
Where were we? Ah yes, the Christmas song with Billy Corgan at the end of 2004. Around that time, EA was also recording violin parts and backing vocals for his upcoming solo album. 🎵 They had presumably connected through Courtney, they both lived in Chicago, I guess something clicked.
In January of 2005, EA abruptly went off of her meds, broke up with her live-in boyfriend-slash-bassist, packed up her violin and corsets, and moved into Corgan's mansion. In March of 2005, she posted very melancholy lyrics about drowning in a lake to haunt a deceitful lover. The post was entitled“In The Lake (The Zoloft is calling my name...)” 🎤📝. Later, after the song was released as a B-side, EA disclosed that it had been intended as a public suicide note 📝.
Blog entries from that time touched on a “whirlwind of action and emotion”, “changing residences” and feeling like “you're falling through the air, but you don't know if you'll hit the water or the rocks” 📝. But, EA being an expert vague-poster, her posts remained very elusive about what was going on, who was involved, and how it impacted her. (The specifics were pieced together years later, by fan-led forensic efforts – which, obviously, involved ascertaining the existence of an actual body of water in Billy Corgan's backyard 📝).
Whatever happened over the course of those months was never disclosed explicitly by EA, but is widely assumed to have inspired songs such as “Liar” 🎤, “Misery Loves Company”, “Let the Record Show”, and “I Know Where You Sleep”, , recorded that same spring. A solid quarter of the Opheliac tracklist – which was shaping out to be decidedly darker and grittier than Enchant.
You can lie to the papers, you can hide from the press (...) I know your tainted flesh, I know your filthy soul I know each trick you played, whore you laid, dream you stole I know the bed in the room in the wall in the house Where you got what you wanted and ruined it all I know the secrets that you keep I know where you sleep
Even as her personal blog posts grew more somber, nihilistic, and generally fed-up in the face of what she called “the worst breakdown of her young life”, even as the songwriting process had her rummage through traumatic memories [CW: CSA] 🎤, and even as the Corgan-adjacent trauma was compounded by various rushed moves and broken friendships over that summer and fall, EA remained remarkably (some might say frantically) prolific.
Other than progress on Opheliac, 2005 saw multiple violin collaborations with alternative bands, numerous auctions of, mh, visually strident “punktorian” fashion pieces 📝🪞 (“STRESS COUTURE!” 🦠📺), and an updated re-issue of her 2001 poetry collection, complete with audiobook. ("...The book has been selling like crack in a limo with Courtney Love (and believe me, I know)." - Ooooof, EA. Low-hanging fruit. 📝)
In October, she started recruiting:
WANTED: Hot goth bitch to join touring band of other hot goth bitches. (...) Must be able to: sing backing vocals in a wide range with excellent pitch, growl à la Kittie, handle minimal keyboard parts, push buttons/turn knobs with killer attitude, be extremely comfortable on stage in bloomers and a corset, reside in the Chicago area, know the difference between a crumpet and a scone, have at least one hidden talent. 📝
By winter, most of her blog post titles were written in THIS FORMAT!!!!!!!! In December, she announced that “Emilie Autumn and the Bloody Crumpets” would preview Opheliac live at the Double Door in Chicago, on Friday the 13th (ooh!) of the following month. “We are coming to destroy your world,” the post threatened enticingly. "Miss it and suffer. We really don't want to hurt you.” The flyer advertised a dress code:
Masquerade, Ophelias, green girls, Victorian insane asylum escapees, princes of Denmark, bloomered harlots and rogues – general burlesque ribaldry!
Exit diaphanous butterfly wings and elven tiaras 📺, enter the haunted murder-doll with the blood-red heart on her cheek; out with Elizabethan chamber-pop, in with Victoriandustrial. The fairy had to die to make way for the iconic, the sublime, the tragic, the ridiculous, the positively bananas...

OPHELIAC ERA: LET THE RECORD SHOW

EA: What's more interesting, and what's more fun to watch, than a crazy girl's self-destruction? Nothing. Nothing in the world. (The Opheliac Companion, 2008 🎤)
If I'm going down Then I'm going down good I'm going down Then I'm going down clean (...) The prettiest broken girl you've ever seen (“Let the Record Show”, 2006 🎵)
CW: mania, self-harm, abortion, suicidal ideation, hospitalization.
If you haven't gathered as much by now, what fans were witnessing in real time on EA's blog, without necessarily seeing it, was the ebb and flow of a months-long manic episode. That's not me armchair-diagnosing: EA herself has discussed penning and recording a lot of her best material in a trance-like rush, “when you're writing on the ceiling because there's not enough paper to contain your thoughts”.
...Once I became stable and healthy, I realized that I had no memory of how a great deal of my music had been created. I had written and even programmed most of my best work in a similar manic state, and, when stark raving sane, I didn’t know how to do it anymore, because the part of me that really composes never needed to know how to do it, it just did. (2019 Instagram post 📝)
It's not an uncommon experience for artists with bipolar disorder. Before you burn so hot that you wind up in the back of an ambulance, and/or before the pendulum swings back towards debilitating depression, the boundless energy, heightened sensitivity, and unexpected thought patterns associated with mania can lead to periods of prolific and effortless creation.
Mania also has the potential to lower your inhibitions, making you more bodacious, more quick-witted – more dazzling, more fun at parties, more dramatic. All traits that are valued in the entertainment industry, especially one that, with the rise of social media, was coming to rely increasingly on parasocial engagement and “personal branding”. Why would you refrain from oversharing, overreacting, overworking, overpromising, overcurating a fantasy image of yourself... when new industry models reward exactly that?
My point is that, in retrospect, “the end was built into the beginning”: all the things that would make fans go “What the hell, Emilie!” in subsequent years were brewing below the surface before the album even dropped.
In the summer of 2006, EA said goodbye to her Chicago friends and returned to California, where she moved in with her new beau, another Illinois-born guitarist with an impressive forehead: Brendon Small, of Dethklok/Metalocalypse quasi-fame. (If you're into that sort of thing: the orchestral strings on “Detharmonic”? Yep, that's EA! 🎵📺)
In September, Opheliac was released into the world. Expectations were high... And many sources agree it was a goddamn banger. It was ultrafemme, ultradark, unhinged, hilarious and deadly and brilliant. It had gnarly kitchen-sink drums layered under angelic string harmonies, fauxperatic swells, and guttural screaming. It had sarcastically self-aware double-entendres that were also literary references that were also musical notation jokes. You get the idea: it was the album that a small, but sizable demographic of tormented millennial teens had been waiting to obsess over. Some time in late 2005 or so, EA had signed with German label Trisol Records, which gave her access to better promotion, press coverage and touring opportunities in Europe when the album came out in the fall. By winter, she was on the cover of alternative mags, and the talk of the town on underground music webzines. Within a year, she was embarking on the first of three almost-back-to-back European tours.
It was around that time that EA started giving her fanbase a more defined, aesthetically on-brand identity. EA, funnily enough, disliked the term “fan” due to its proximity to “fanatic”, and started calling individual supporters “muffins” or the "Bloomer Brigade". (After The Book came out in 2009, they would become “Plague Rats”. You know how pets get weird if you re-name them too many times? I wonder if the same is true of fans.) Meanwhile, EA's fanbase as a collective – as well as her home, her recording studio, her online forum and her inner brainspace... – became canonically known as “The Asylum”. Cue infinite jokes about her fans being “committed.”
And they really were, in a slightly more intense way than your average indie-alternative fanbase. Many fans enthusiastically adopted facets of EA's mannerisms and lingo, which gave the fandom a definite LARP-ing bend; and the official forum did, in fact, offer a subforum for Asylum-themed role-play. (In a number of ways, the Asylum was basically Juggalos for socially anxious theater goths. Substitute the clown facepaint, Faygo, and hatchets for cheek-hearts, Earl Grey tea, and obsolete medical tools.) While there was always some side-eye at the embarrassingly candid, often very young Plague Rats who took the Asylum thing too seriously (always speaking in character and worshipping the ground Mistress Emilie walked on), a lot of people were quite thrilled to play romantic Victorian madhouse with their new favorite artist. Live shows were like costume balls. The forum thrived.
It was like Opheliac had opened a portal to this vibrant and inclusive alternate dimension, which the community was now bringing to life in the real world. And each tour brought more inmates (muffins, Plague Rats, you get it) to the Asylum. “Spread the Plague!” was the name of the game.
So, on paper, in the three years that followed Opheliac, EA kind of won the high-concept-indie-artist equivalent of the lottery. After going through her own personal hell of abuse, major upheavals and serious mental health crises, she had decided to gamble on a radically different tone and musical direction. She came out the other side with critical acclaim for her soul-baring record, tons of live shows with a badass girl squad, photoshoots so iconic they pop up on random Pinterest boards to this day, snazzy corporate sponsorships (including Manic Panic and RockLove Jewelry), and an exponentially growing fanbase who couldn't get enough of whatever she had to give. And she gave quite a lot!
Within those three years, in between tours, EA released A Bit O' This & That 🎵 (a compilation of demos and back-catalogue curiosities), Laced / Unlaced (a full-instrumental double album - one side was the baroque recordings from her late teens, the other was demented, distortion-heavy classical-prog), and three EPs packed with new songs, covers, remixes and bonus content. There was also a deluxe reissue of Enchant, without the puzzle, but with a brand new booklet of handwritten lyrics and marginalia. All came in lovely inter-matching digipaks that really made you want to collect them all – much like the handmade merch 📝🪞 that EA still sold on some legs of her tours. She spent time with the fans at most shows, eventually holding meet-and-greets and private showcases for VIP ticket-holders. She also released “The Opheliac Companion”, a kind of “director's commentary” of the album – roughly 10 hours worth of lyrical deep dives, microphone specs, tangents within tangents within tangents, and whacky (tipsy, sometimes unintelligible) banter between EA and her sound engineer🎤. On top of all that, she wrote, designed and self-published a fully illustrated 200-page coffee-table book, the first print of which sold out within a year. Not bad!
Of course, things that seem to good to be true usually are: at this stage in the story, EA is never as enthusiastically prolific as when her personal life is falling apart behind the scenes.
In the three years that followed Opheliac, along with soaring success, EA got to experience: more rapid-cycling between manic phases and the pits of depression, multiple harrowing medication adjustments, an very-much-unwanted pregnancy followed by a traumatic abortion, a suicide attempt, at least one inpatient stay, and a break-up in the aftermath of it all. There were also a few physical health scares that required hospitalization. On one occasion, she had to go off all her meds cold-turkey when they were confiscated at the EU border right before the start of a tour. In some pictures from her summer 2007 festival appearances, you can make out faint self-harm scars on her thigh through the layered stockings. (Obvious CW, for the morbidly curious.🪞(But if you weren't, would you still be reading?))
So yeah. EA was not doing great.
She didn't share any of these struggles with her fans in real time; her posts were all droll banter and updates on tours and releases. Most of what I just listed was disclosed in late 2009, in the autobiographical part of The Book. (The Book gets at least one instalment of its own. Bear with me, there's a LOT to unpack.) And The Book, while never specifying a timeline, kind of really made it sound like the Bad Stuff (the abortion, the suicide attempt, the hospital stay) had taken place a while back, before the release of Opheliac. In fact, EA plainly stated as much, citing “getting locked up and being put in the asylum" 📝 as the reason for the shift in sound between Enchant and Opheliac.
She repeatedly referred to herself as “stabilized” and “now properly medicated” in interviews. As far as the fanbase was concerned, she had triumphed over her abusers, turned trauma into beauty, and lived to pass on her story of survival. And now she had found balance and community and true acceptance of herself, all that good stuff – and all was fine and dandy within the Asylum. On stage, she sang about blind rage and all-consuming despair and general hopelessness, but she didn't actually feel like that – not anymore, right?
This narrative was both inspirational and quite convenient for the fans. We love our Mad Hatters 🎵📺, our Rainmen, our manic pixies. We love and celebrate “crazy” when it manifests as outside-the-box brilliance and/or bubbly eccentricity. But in my experience, even in spaces that ostensibly focus on "destigmatizing mental illness", positivity and support can quickly turn to rejection and awkwardness when your “quirks” manifest in more challenging ways – like through erratic decisions, aggressive or dishonest behavior, or increasingly untethered beliefs about yourself and the world. No matter how much people claim to “embrace the madness”, it just isn't that fun or in good taste for a large group to play-act ~ whimsical insanity ~ with someone who is for realsies mentally falling apart.
Before time has had time to do its thing, "revisiting your trauma" is just called ruminating. And it's rarely good for you, even when you commit some of greatest art in the process.
I think fans had to assume that there was some critical distance in EA's act, that these extreme negative emotions were all theater – because if they weren't, then the Asylum wasn't an empowering performance about healing from past hurt. It was more like a years-long reality show in which a woman picked at her wounds publicly, again and again, in real time, to the cheers of oblivious strangers who thought they were watching a play.
All I'm saying is that EA was essentially still in the thick of raw trauma when she became a poster-child for overcoming it; that the last thing a person needs, at such a vulnerable stage in their life, is an intense parasocial relationship with sad goth teenagers, let alone one centered around romanticized retellings of their own darkest moments; and that if more people had declined to actively engage in pretend-play that toed the line of self-harm... there is a chance that things might have turned out differently. Maybe EA would still be a successful musician whose career isn't plagued by conflict and mutual disappointment, and maybe some fans wouldn't have wasted years getting red in the face at an over-exposed mentally ill woman for not getting her shit together.
OKAY, THAT GOT HEAVY (and preachy), apologies and thank you for your patience. I will now quit my soapboxing, resume telling the story, and let you draw your own conclusion as our dark plot unravels.

EPILOGUE: DEAD IS THE NEW ALIVE

A quick taste of the poison A quick twist of the knife When the obsession with death, the obsession with death Becomes a way of life ("Dead is the New Alive", 2006 🎵)
I am still over-glorified My reasons to live Were my reasons to die But at least they were mine (“306”, 2006)
In summation: becoming an overnight success thanks to your darkest trauma will do things to person's mind.
As EA kept hyping up how much her fans meant to her, and what an amazing and inclusive and free-thinking motley crew the Asylum was, she was also growing more and more controlling of her increasingly large (and opinionated, and overall rather young) fanbase – and more generally, of the way people ought to talk to and about her.
It was during the Opheliac era that she started reveling in made-up stories about her own life. Then came the habit of losing her shit on fans that she perceived as ungrateful or disrespectful. It was also then that massive kerfuffles became routine on the merch and planning front, and EA's creative output started to routinely fall short of her promises. The more fans started raising legitimate complaints, the more defensive and uncompromising EA became in her public interactions. The more people expressed weariness of the Asylum theme, or started questioning EA's hot takes on mental health and feminism, the harder she doubled down on the Asylum lore and fictional universe. Which is where the drama really starts.
Alright, the time has come. Let's talk about The Book.
...Actually, let's not. I'm nearing my character limit, and you could probably use a break and a stretch after making it this far. This is our intermission, and we'll get to The Book in our next instalment.
Thank you for reading! Stay tuned if you're interested in how it all comes tumbling down.
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2024.04.27 07:16 wsppan Today In Phishstory - April 27th

# Today In Phishstory - April 27th Brought to you by tiph-bot. Beep.
All data extracted via The Phishnet API.

Phish

Phish, Tuesday 04/27/1993 (31 years ago) Concert Hall, Toronto, Ontario, , Canada
Gap Chart, Tour: 1993 WinteSpring Tour
Set 1 : Buried Alive > Poor Heart , Foam , Bouncing Around the Room , Rift , Stash , Guelah Papyrus , It's Ice > Sparkle > David Bowie 1
Set 2 : Golgi Apparatus , My Friend, My Friend 2 > All Things Reconsidered , Maze , The Lizards , Big Ball Jam , You Enjoy Myself , The Horse 3 > Silent in the Morning , Hold Your Head Up > Love You > Hold Your Head Up , Cavern
Encore : My Sweet One , Amazing Grace
1 Oom Pa Pa and Simpsons signals in intro. 2 Beginning featured Trey on acoustic guitar. 3 Trey on acoustic guitar.
Jamchart Notes:
You Enjoy Myself - Another strong entry from Spring '93. Trey latches onto a catchy swinging theme in the jam which also teases "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Sundown" by Ontario's own Gordon Lightfoot.
Show Notes:
The Bowie intro contained Oom Pa Pa and Simpsons signals. The beginning of My Friend and all of The Horse featured Trey on acoustic guitar. YEM included Sundown teases in the song and quotes in the vocal jam. The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald was teased in the YEM vocal jam, teased (with lyrics) in the intro of The Horse, and quoted at the end of Cavern. Cavern also contained a brief Stairway to Heaven tease from Trey. Getting in Tune was teased and quoted before Love You.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Saturday 04/27/1991 (33 years ago) The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1991 WinteSpring Tour
Set 1 : Sweet Adeline , The Asse Festival > Runaway Jim , Cavern > The Landlady > My Sweet One , Reba , Llama , The Lizards , Suzy Greenberg , Stash , Golgi Apparatus
Set 2 : The Curtain > Possum , The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove , Fluffhead > Tweezer > The Squirming Coil -> Wipe Out 1 -> Tweezer Reprise
Encore : Bouncing Around the Room > Good Times Bad Times
1 Performed by Fish on vacuum.
Jamchart Notes:
Possum - Great intro and a nice and different jam with cool staccato picking by Trey.
Tweezer - Very strong early version. "Dr. Q" on the bass! Trey teases "Sweet Emotion."
Show Notes:
Tweezer contained Sweet Emotion teases and an introduction of "Dr. Q" on bass. Fish performed Wipe Out on vacuum. The Aquarium Rescue Unit was the opening act.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Thursday 04/27/1989 (35 years ago) Strafford Room, Memorial Union Building, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1989 Tour
Set 1 : Golgi Apparatus , Jam 1 , The Sloth > Divided Sky , Sanity 2 , I Didn't Know , Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues > The Lizards , Whipping Post
Encore : Contact , David Bowie
1 Often referred to as "String Changing Nature." 2 Fast version.
Jamchart Notes:
Jam - "String Changing Nature" jam is a jazzy one featuring Page, Fish and Mike, plus some Trey while he tunes his guitar.
Divided Sky - Machine Gun Trey aptly named. Great early and seriously rocking version.
Show Notes:
The Jam, which is sometimes labeled String Changing Nature, arose while the band tuned their instruments and included some funny stage banter. This version of Sanity was the fast version. This show was sponsored by the UNH Outing Club.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, 1988-04-27 Gallagher's, Waitsfield, VT, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/phish-april-27-1988-gallaghers-waitsfield-vt-usa.html
Tour: 1988 Tour
Show Notes:

Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio Band, 2019-04-27 College Street Music Hall, New Haven, CT, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-april-27-2019-college-street-music-hall-new-haven-ct-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes: Strange Design through Chalk Dust Torture were performed by Trey solo acoustic.
Trey Anastasio Trio, 2018-04-27 Civic, New Orleans, LA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-april-27-2018-civic-theatre-new-orleans-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes: Every Story Ends in Stone was performed for the first time since June 8, 2003. Alaska ended with an Also Sprach Zarathustra tease. Waste was performed by Trey acoustic. Waste and Clint Eastwood featured Jennifer Hartswick on vocals. Mozambique and Clint Eastwood featured Hartswick on trumpet. This show was webcast via LivePhish.
Trey Anastasio Band, 2006-04-27 The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-april-27-2006-the-tabernacle-atlanta-ga-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes: This show featured the debuts of “If You’re Walking,” “Shadow” and “A Case of Ice and Snow.” “Burlap Sack,” Mr. Completely,” “Plasma,” “Cayman,” and “Simple Twist.” featured Russell Remington on saxophone. During “Heavy Things” Trey pointed out that the real Mary (from the song) was in attendance.
Trey Anastasio Band, 2005-04-27 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-april-27-2005-ryman-auditorium-nashville-tn-usa.html
Tour: TAB - 70 Volt Parade Spring 2005 Tour
Show Notes: Trey performed "Back on the Train" and "Wilson" solo, acoustic. Les and Skeeto did not play on "Love That Breaks All Lines." This show featured the debut of "Gloomy Sky" and the TAB debut of "Dig a Pony."

Mike Gordon

Benevento/Russo Duo Featuring Mike Gordon, 2005-04-27 The Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/mike-gordon-april-27-2005-the-georgia-theatre-athens-ga-usa.html
Tour: Mike - The Duo Feat. Mike Gordon Spring 2005 Tour
Show Notes: The 50 minute version of Foam featured a Lengthwise tease from Marco and was released through Livephish.com. Cars Trucks Buses featured Foam, Frankenstein, and Lengthwise teases, all from Marco.

John Fishman

Pork Tornado, 2001-04-27 Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/jon-fishman-april-27-2001-tradewinds-sea-bright-nj-usa.html
Tour: Fish - Pork Tornado Spring 2001
Show Notes:

Page McConnell

The Meter Men with Page McConnell, 2013-04-27 Republic New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/page-mcconnell-april-27-2013-republic-new-orleans-new-orleans-la-usa.html
Tour: Page - The Meter Men w/Page McConnell Spring 2013
Show Notes:
Vida Blue, 2002-04-27 The Orpheum Theater, New Orleans, LA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/page-mcconnell-april-27-2002-the-orpheum-theater-new-orleans-la-usa.html
Tour: Page - Vida Blue Spring 2002 Tour
Show Notes: The New Deal opened.
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2024.04.26 22:24 EclosionK2 Ollo's Race [Part III]

I - II - III - IV
The fleshy centers in both of Teresa’s palms were starting to bruise.
Diggs’ spiel had somehow transported them outside the Entodome, out to an open field not far from the facility parking lot. He was now directing her attention to the mobile “Dragondrone hangar” (which still looked more like a barbecue than anything else), where Cesar held his hands above the latch.
“Now this. This is one of my favorite parts.” Diggs smirked, his arms held behind his lab coat. “It’s what fills seats at every expo.”
Teresa fought the urge to groan. Oh, just get on with it. She watched as Cesar opened their little “hangar” and unleashed a cloud of bewildered dragonflies into the air. It was a mass of confused movement.
Well, here goes. This is where they all fly off. Bye Bye.
But to Teresa’s surprise, The dragonfly horde swirled into one precise shape, unifying and shooting forward like a directed puff of smoke.
Diggs stepped in front of the now-empty barbecue. “You see that pole they’re aiming for?” He pointed at a metallic pylon in the distance. “They’ll be upon it shortly. We program their transceivers to fly back and forth between these two points.” He motioned again to the barbecue. “It allows us to perform some baseline inspection. Quality control.”
Teresa nodded slowly, not really in awe, but in a bemused sort of devastation. How on earth could this be sustainable? The enemy might as well release children with fly swatters. Or frogs. She tried to think of something to ask, to convince herself this afternoon hadn’t been a huge waste of her time. She turned to Cesar with an open palm. “So … how long do they live for?”
The assistant clearly hadn’t been expecting to talk. “Um. Well it depends,” he said. “Most of them? Twelve months.”
Only a year? Teresa bit her tongue. “Can they handle extreme climates?”
“Well, it depends.” His eyes stared at the ground. “What kind?”
She fought the urge to face-palm. We’re fighting in the arctic, what kind do you think?
Devlin quickly intervened. “We can breed them to survive near anything. And the beauty is, they’ll always feed themselves! Infinite battery power.”
Teresa’s mind kept finding more holes to poke. “And if there isn’t any food? What then?”
“Oh they’ll hunt anywhere,” Diggs said with a certainty. “Flies and mosquitoes exist on every continent, which makes our Dragondrones extremely versatile. All terrain.”
Is he trying to sell me a car? She turned before her annoyance could show and pretended to watch the line of insects returning from the shiny pylon.
On second thought, a car wouldn’t be so bad. I could drive it straight to the airport, instead of waiting for the courtesy vehicle after this flea circus.
***
“Use your wings!” Flax yelled, swaying the tail that Ollo gripped. “It only works if you flap in tandem with me!”
Ollo tried, but he was having trouble synchronizing his muscles. He panicked as they sputtered awkwardly, beginning to plunge. The shadows of the three Envoys stood tall and still in the distance: judging on behalf of The Ancestor.
Oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no.
Ollo focused and very quickly discovered his panic doubled as an effective metronome.
Oh - no. Up - down. Oh - no. Up - down.
“Keh! That’s more like it!” Flax yanked them toward the tail-end of the racers. They lined up behind a pair of large duskhawkers, whose freckled wings cut through the air. Suddenly, the endeavor became much easier.
“Oh wow,” Ollo said, “have I gotten better?”
“No, we're in their slipstream, dullard. They’re breaking the air for us.”
Ollo raised his feeler and could indeed feel a displaced draft.
“Just don’t tail them too closely,” Flax said, “or they’ll switch and slipstream us.”
They kept at a following distance, and Ollo used the moment to catch his breath and admire this new universe. He couldn’t believe it. He was here. The Outside.
There were rocky immensities in the distance and vast fields of green. The atmosphere contained a breeze that contoured all flight, and an open humidity that filtered freshness into his being. Ollo took a deep inhalation. This is what adulthood is supposed to be.
“It tastes good, right?” Flax said, mostly gliding now.
“It does,” Ollo admitted. “It’s incredible.”
“For me, the racing doesn’t matter half as much as just being out here,” Flax said. “That’s all the reward I need.”
“You’ve never ranked well?”
“How can I? See these hairs on my thorax?”
Ollo looked beyond the tail he gripped. There flailed hundreds of tiny black fibers.
“Too much drag. Not to mention an entire body frame that’s off-balance.” Flax flexed his front two nubs. “No, I’ve accepted that I’ll be bringing up the rear for the rest of my life. But there are advantages to last place; you’ll see. Plus, it’s better than being stuck in that pond, am I right?”
Ollo nodded, though he was unsure if he agreed. Suddenly, the two duskhawkers ahead of them shifted.
“You want to stay away from where their wings shed air,” Flax said. “Especially during this turn. It’s easy to get caught up in vortices.”
Ollo watched the duskhawkers pull a U-turn around the shiny pole ahead of them.
“Steady,” Flax said. “Steady …”
The lights in Ollo’s vision swam, beckoning him to turn. The lights gently abated as he rounded the beacon carefully.
Dozens of small air cyclones dithered around Ollo. The shed vortices felt weak where they were in last place, but Ollo saw one of the duskhawkers spin out of control.
The poor duskhawker’s wings had twisted the wrong way, and he spiraled down to the earth. Ollo wasn’t sure what had happened, but he could swear, in the periphery of his vision, that something exploded.
***
“What was that?” Teresa asked. Blue sparks popped among the line of dragonflies like a firecracker.
“Oh yes: if they swerve too far from alignment, we can self-destruct their transceivers.” Diggs whirled his hand around a touch-device. “It’s a quick way to weed out any mistakes before the mission starts. It’s also how we prevent valuable flyers from getting into the wrong hands.” He shot Teresa a look that said: bet you didn’t think of that!
She didn’t like his bizarrely jovial attitude, especially considering these bugs were meant to be used for conflict areas. His whole sales approach seemed to forget that she was with the Air Force, not Amazon.
“Now, I know what you’re thinking.” Diggs walked backwards, pocketing his device. “These flyers are all very well and efficient, but how can I see them in action? True recon missions travel great distances over several days, do they not?”
Teresa didn’t say anything, She followed at half speed towards the parking lot, where Cesar now sat inside a golf cart.
“Well in honor of your visit, Sarge, we’ve prepared a little surprise.” Diggs gave a thumbs-up and Cesar bumbled the vehicle over the curb, pulling it onto the grass.
“Hop in.”
Good lord. What more is there to see? Theresa tried to think of something to end this joke. This carnival ride. But her mind was too encumbered by annoyance. A military rep could not be seen as weak.
She sat in the rear two seats, wondering if Diggs could read her resentment. The director leaned in from the front. “We’ll be going uphill, so buckle up!”
She grabbed a ceiling handle. He can’t read me at all. Or maybe he just doesn’t care.
The car throttled up a knoll, and the lack of shocks became evident as the wheels bounced over every pebble and crack.
Christ, what was the Major thinking when he sent me here?
She could hear his old, French cadence jabbering in her head. “It’s a showcase of living drones, Zhao! Made a huge splash at the expo. One of us should be there—and I think it should be you. It’s the forefront of its industry, and it needs someone of your expertise.” But all Teresa could see at this ‘forefront’ was glorified gnats: bird food. How could he have taken this all so seriously?
Then it occurred to her. Maybe he hadn’t.
Maybe she had been sent here as a farce. The more she thought about it, the more the whole visit began to reek of the same passive-aggression that had lingered since her days as a drone pilot: where lieutenants would assign her the latest night shift, or somehow leave her with the rattiest equipment or chair.
Could they be pranking her now? Some petty jab for becoming sergeant in place of someone else? Christ almighty. Even now, at the turn of the 22nd century, the military is a petulant boys’ club.
She watched the two scientists navigate their golf cart, its two-wheel-drive struggling. How much longer am I expected to sit through this? All afternoon? All night?
Being senior air force, Teresa did have access to an evac order. It was something she could theoretically request. But calling it here would be absurd. Wouldn’t it?
No more absurd than being sent to watch bug theatre.
She considered the idea. Wouldn’t it be funny? If they were going to waste her time, she could waste theirs. With her cellphone’s GPS, dispatch could locate her without a hitch. The request would only be a text away. A twenty-year official should be treated with respect.
The golf cart wheezed to the top of the neighboring hill to reveal a large, stylish-looking gazebo. Cesar pulled the E-brake and stopped in front of its glass entrance.
“What’s this?” Teresa stared.
“Oh, you’ll see.” Diggs stepped off the cart and lit a long, thin cigarette. “We’re just getting started.”
Upon approach, the doors slid open, revealing blue-glowing screens. A padded interior ushered comfort, and Teresa could soon hear the familiar hum of something refrigerating. The room contained several monitors that hung below a beautiful, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the valley. It felt newly renovated, but old enough to have a few mugs lying around.
Diggs smoked outside as Cesar rapidly began tapping on the screens, activating icons and plotting lines across some kind of map. The map kept resizing across the monitors, and as Teresa glanced back and forth, she could faintly see the shine of other metal pylons across the valley. Their placement corresponded to the markers on-screen.
“What is this? Some kind of watchtower?”
Diggs faced away, taking a drag with one arm on the door to prevent it from closing. “Well, you saw our little NASCAR warm-up where we started, right?”
Teresa looked at the field they had left, where a thin oval of dragonflies still circled.
Diggs exhaled. “Well, let’s just say from now on, we’ll be watching Formula One.”
His ember pointed at the cushy seats in the center. Teresa gawked at the chairs, but couldn’t bring herself to sit. Just when the bar on absurdity has been set—it somehow manages to skyrocket further.
***
On their fourth lap, the lights in Ollo’s head began to shimmer, beckoning a new trajectory. Before the colors turned piercingly bright, Flax broke from their path, pulling Ollo to the right.
“Finally,” the damselfly said, “prelim’s over.” In front of them, the linear plume of racers all travelled north, away from the established circuit.
“Wait … what’s going on?” “Can’t you sense her lights? The race has officially started, Ollie. And it looks like a new course.”
“It’s only started now?”
“That’s right. We’ve never flown north before. Lady Meganeura has carved us something special.”
Ollo gripped Flax’s tail and focused on his tandem wing-work. They had entered a steady rate of acceleration, with their wings fluttering in near-perfect opposites.
“Keh. Keep this up and we won’t need to rely on slipstreams.”
Ollo’s mandibles flashed a smile. He enjoyed seeing the grass blur quicker than before. Perhaps this racing does hold some purpose...
The lights guided them far away, towards a strange dirt field. It was strange because it was home to dozens of evenly-dispersed pillars, all about the height and size of an Envoy. They were white, square-shaped, and as Ollo passed the first row, he noticed a beaten, wood-like texture to them. They were full of dents and scratches, as if the pillars somehow rose and bumped each other from time to time.
“What are those things?” Ollo asked.
“Like I said, new course. No idea what Mega’s thinking.”
They flew straight and trailed behind the plume of racers, watching their shimmering wings toss blades of light. As they flew in deeper amongst the white pillars, a muffled buzzing grew louder from all directions. Ollo noticed the hairs on Flax’s thorax grow stiff.
The shimmers up front stopped progressing, and instead oscillated in circles. The distant racers then dispersed around the monoliths.
“Slow down,” Flax said.
“What’s going on?”
“Something’s not right.”
Out from the pillars came flying blue shapes, all buzzing loud and fierce. Thick streams of them gave chase to the racers ahead.
“We need to disengage,” Flax said.
As Ollo let go, they both witnessed one of the racers return their way: it was grey flatwing. The poor dragon was screaming, chased by two blue insects who dove in and out, taking bites of his tail.
“Get offa me! Get off!” The flatwing rapidly turned, tossing vortices at his assailants. The spinning air was powerful enough to sway Ollo and twist the blue bugs’ wings.
“Scramble!” Flax revved his thorax and dived into the cover of the weeds below.
Ollo watched the blue flyers steady their flight, lifting their black-and-blue striped bodies. Each of their abdomens ended in a long, black barb. Ollo had seen a few of these above the pond: bees.
***
“You’re making them fly through your bee farm?” From the window Teresa could no longer make out the drones, but she saw the little hives in the distance. Like tiny white bricks.
“Yes, well, earlier you were asking how they might feed.” Diggs rose from his seat and opened a mini-fridge. “I thought I’d let the drones snack on some of our other products. Like our signature blue bees.”
He grabbed some glass bottles that contained a gold-ish liquid and placed them on the side. “This makes for a nice segue actually—I’d like to introduce some of our artisanal mead, derived from those very bees. It’s smooth, not-too-sweet, with a unique, tangy aftertaste.”
The sergeant glanced from the off-topic drink to the screen Cesar was manipulating. This hive complex was labeled Marker Two on the very large map.
Marker two out of thirty. Good lord.
“The bees are one of the main branches of our company.” Devlin raised his glass and offered the others to Teresa and Cesar. “We are a self-sustaining business, after all, and invested in pollination, which, as you may know, is an extremely profitable endeavor. Our bees are among the few that can still do it.”
So he’s pitching his bees now? It seemed like this Diggs truly lived in his own reality.
“I know you probably assume some grants might’ve paid for our facility”—Diggs giggled—“but grants wouldn’t allow for such extravagance.” His fingers drummed along the gazebo walls, the tops of two monitors, and then the on-screen hive icons.
“It is our bees—which we’ve bred to be a bit more aggressive than others—that ensure we stay on top of the market. It’s what funds our dragonflies, our silkworms, our termites...”
Teresa could not handle whatever this was turning into. There was no way she could stomach hours of this derailed demo and keep a straight face.
Damn you, Major. Never again.
With her hand in her pocket, Teresa sent the text she had prepared. Screw it.
Emergency evac requested. If she was going to have her leg pulled all day, she might as well pull back.
Diggs continued to sip and gasconade, mead swirling in his hand. Teresa nodded along, grabbed her own glass and allowed herself to drink.
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