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Drag. Drag never ends, Drag Race never ends, but it's a new year and it's time for the return of the mothership! Yes, welcome to the Drag Race thread for 2024!!! We'll talk about any and all drag media here, from Drag Race to Dragula and anything inbetween! But first... Previously, on Drag Race 2023: Is that Sasha Colby? Should we go home now? Season 15 opened with 16 Queens, the largest number in a main line season to date, but it was honestly over before it started. Sasha Colby, a G-O-D-D-E-S-S of the drag world, strode into the room and demolished the competition. I mean, look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6tz4jXYIGg Sasha was in the bottom once the entire season (for the standup challenge) and never had to LSFYL. While her crowning was evident all season, she’s also the perfect reigning queen for the current political climate. Planned or no, having a strong, stunningly beautiful trans woman as the face of your franchise opposite all the bullshit bills trying to be passed everywhere is a rebuke to all of the haters. Condragulations, Sasha Colby, and long may she reign. This large cast was also hampered by a decision by MTV to cut episodes back to an hour so that they could air a new gay-themed reality show between the episode and Untucked. It failed spectacularly, and the show went back to its traditional 90 minutes leading directly into Untucked once it ended. Look, I get what MTV was doing and I liked the idea in theory, but there’s no reason to split up the flow that we’ve been used to for so long. I expect we’re back to 90 for Season 16. Please? Thankfully, the season was still a joy despite MTV’s tinkering. We walked out of this season with so many potential All-Stars queens added to the queue. In the premiere we were all shocked when Irene Dubois (rightfully) went home after a horrible talent show performance when it looked like she was going to be a main character for the season. The twins, Sugar and Spice, were more than just a gimmick and while they couldn’t lipsync they did provide killer looks and were both endearing and hilarious. Loosey LaDuca “Let Loose” into our hearts as the season’s punching bag. Her talent show song became a fantastic meme, her attempt to include mini-challenge wins in track record was one of the most amazing moments of the year (only topped by Canada’s Drag Race, but more on that later), and she fell just short of the Final Four. I can’t wait for her to grace our screens again in a couple of years. Points to Salina EsTitties for an amazing name, killer interviews, and a series of outfits that both had a clear point of view and also completely unpredictable. Marcia Marcia Marcia was a successful musical theatre artist that arrived with the performance skills but a more subtle drag aesthetic that marked her as an also-ran in production’s eyes. Really, eliminate her before the Rusical challenge??? She had the performance chops and gave us the best LSFYL duel of the season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxMvZ7OeXYc (That should have been a double-save.) You’ll notice that all of these clips include Anetra, and well deserved. She destroyed all of us with her talent show performance, she navigated the contest with ease, and always slayed when it came time to LSFYL. When she and Sasha went head-to-head in the mid-season Lip-Sync battle… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yq1BvYib9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2ttvsNk_YM&t=1254s (I was one of those gays losing their mind in the bar when that happened.) I mean REALLY. A respectable second place. Rounding out the top four was Luxx Noir London and Mistress Isabelle Brooks. Luxx was young, full of confidence, and had the chops to back it up. Her conversation with Sugar and Spice about the power of social media drag and how it’s a great starting point for young queens who can’t or don’t want to get involved in the bar scene was enlightening, and Ru obviously saw a version of herself in Luxx. It was great when Ru almost cried talking to Luxx during one of the critiques, we rarely see real emotion. Mistress was the pot-stirrer of the season, able to both throw and take shade from everyone in stride. She wasn’t a villain, but she made the show more fun. She was also the standard bearer for old-school drag for the season, and we’re better for it. Eventually, 90-minute versions of the shrunken episodes were released. I haven’t gone back to watch them yet, but I should give the rest of the cast some more air time. Robin Fierce, we haven’t forgotten you even if the producers did. God Bless Alexis Michelle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ4BZYYdgFQ All-Stars 8 was going to be a let down no matter what they did. It’s impossible for them to follow the brilliant All Winners season, and seems like they decided to not try. Instead, they brought back a… varied cast of recent queens including both queens we’ve been waiting to see on All Stars, and a few that made you say “Huh?” Add the return to regular All-Stars rules and it was a fairly disappointing time. Then as the season started some of the fan favorites were quickly sent home. Darienne Lake and Mrs. Kasha Davis were eliminated earlier than expected, while Heidi N. Closet walked out after not being happy with how both production and how the cast was acting. This happened over three successive weeks! It got to the point where Ru made an unscheduled visit to try and get the rest of the cast back in a good headspace. The season wasn’t a complete waste. Jaymes Mansfield and Kahanna Montrese were able to far exceed their original runs, LaLa Ri shone on her return visit, and a whole new generation got to experience Jessica Wild. But the “heart?” of the season was Alexis Michelle. Alexis came into the season ready to bring the drama. She cried, made dramatic statements, cried some more, flirted with LaLa Ri, THEN ELIMINATED HER, AND THEN FLIRTED WITH HER EVEN MORE. I MEAN REALLY! So good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5-sJmj5ocw The season came down to Kandy Muse vs Jimbo, and while Jimbo is not a threat in a typical LSFYL they destroyed the weekly challenges and eventually won her spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame. It’s well deserved, as she destroyed the competition. I mean, look at her Snatch Game performance! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGFXDm2ljcM&t=418s Amazing. Points to Kandy for being fun all season, and showing her amazing dress design skills. And All the Rest… At this point there are so many series released each year it’s hard to keep up. We’ll talk about all of them here, so if you like one talk about it! If you don’t care for a season, drop it! Watch what gives you joy! I’m going to solicit additional reviews and add them a few posts down, but I need to talk about a couple of series that deserve attention. Surprisingly, both have a couple of weeks left at the start of this new thread: Canada’s Drag Race: HOLY poo poo this season has been great so far. There is a new rule, the Golden Beaver, where three queens were placed in the bottom each week and the winner of the challenge got to save one of them from the LSFYL. I wonder if this was a trial for an All-Stars replacement, but it was so successful in bringing the drama. I don’t want to spoil it, go watch Season 4, Episodes 4-6 to see things POP. OFF. The Beaver has gone away after that arc, but it helped them chew the scenery so it did its job. Dragula: The Boulets fully took over production and it shows. The floor shows are even more focused on showing the work of the Monsters, production shows a bit more of the design process, and they added a turntable, so we get an even better view of the finished product. The artistry of the top queens is so high, we’ll see who goes forward into the Top 3 (or 4), and the rest have had some iconic moments. They also are lampshading the fake “OH NO WE’RE OUT OF TIME” siren so hard now it’s hysterical. SUPPORT LOCAL DRAG That’s it. Support your local Queens, not just the people on TV Bring on 2024! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6jSe1CixGQ -- "We are not here to judge your drag. Drag is art, and art is subjective. What we are judging you on is your drag as it relates to this competition" – The Boulet Brothers “I don’t want to see any loving H&M!” – RuPaul Pinwiz11 fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Jan 5, 2024 |
# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 05:09 |
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# ¿ May 22, 2024 14:45 |
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What is RuPaul's Drag Race? I've never watched it. RuPaul's Drag Race is a competitive reality show where Drag Queens compete in a series of challenges to prove that they have the Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent to be crowned the Next Drag Superstar and win a lot of money. Episodes are pretty typical for the format: The girls may complete in a mini-challenge that may gives the winner(s) some kind of advantage, a main challenge which can be anything from building costumes to acting to putting civilians in drag, and finally a runway show. The judges pick a winner, and then the Bottom Two queens battle it out in the Lip Sync... For Your Life! Ru judges the LSFYL and the loser goes home. We can nitpick the show, talk about how there are too many series each year, and how the overall experience is very cookie-cutter now but when it’s on it's a joy to watch. The important thing to keep in mind is that these girls are professional Drag Queens. They know (for the most part) how to speak, put on a show, throw shade, and give us the cutting one-liners in the confessionals that we expect. The best prize is to make it on the show as the exposure gives them a chance to make a living off of their art, and a chance at $100,000 doesn't hurt. Even being the first one kicked off (example: Miss Vangie) can work for you. We're not watching some teenager thinking that they can sing or model, in theory, these Queens have the goods necessary to make it on the show and the thick skin necessary to make it work. Challenges include: - Singing challenges, including the Rusical - Designing/performing/failing at Choreography - Dress construction - Acting challenges - Makeup challenges and Makeovers - Excuses to show hot guys in underwear - Etc. The final in-studio challenge is typically writing/recording/performing individual verses for Ru song. Much more palatable than previous Ru-related challenges, and occasionally we get gold like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep1k7ZHi0mQ&t=180s The main Drag Race ends with a "live" finale where the remaining queens Lip Sync... For The Crown and while it's started to have diminishing returns I think it's better to have a final duel and "live" coronation in front of a crowd than a crowning away from public eyes. "Live". When available, make sure you stay tuned for Untucked after the main episodes for that extra backstage drama. The Judges RuPaul Charles The leader of the merry bunch, we thank Ru year after year for coming up with the tasty weekly confection that is RuPaul's Drag Race. What else is there to say? Okay, let's be real. The winner of the show is picked by Ru. The person who is kicked off each week is picked by Ru. This is Ru's baby. It exists to give glory to Ru and help sell her albums (now on iTunes). You thought it was bad to ignore Tim Gunn? DON'T IGNORE RU. Yes, Ru has been problematic at times. No one denies this, and she deserves to the called out when warranted (and the lack of openly trans queens on the show gets more maddening each season), but she has also helped to create this show that lets these Queens make a living doing Drag and has really influenced the culture. The show is great, Ru is great, and Ru says stupid things reasonably often. It's a contradiction wrapped in an Epstein Parker suit. Fracking. The rest of the main judges: Michelle Visage (That picture still is everything forever.) Every once in a while I remember that Michelle wasn't an original judge on the show and I have to pause and collect my wits. The show started to take off once Michelle replaced Merle. Coincidence? If Ru is the Mother, then Michelle is the stern Aunt. Michelle wants all of the queens to reach their potential, so she's willing to be harsh but it always comes from a place of live. She's been friends with RuPaul forever, co-hosted with Ru on her VH1 talk show, has been a more than welcome addition to the judging panel since the third season, and is the one who really goes on the road with the queens to help push the brand. She's fabulous. Carson Kressley https://twitter.com/dvvidmurray/status/858288639238909952 Carson's perfect for the show. Fashion advice, snarky comments, good play with the rest of the judges. Ross Matthews A Drag Race superfan, Ross came in a couple of times and guest judged and was so good that they brought him in to rotate the judges seat with Carson. He knows his stuff, he knows how to provide good reality TV, and his pun game is excellent. Plus, he's more than willing to disagree with Michelle. TS Madison https://twitter.com/RuPaulsDragRace/status/1604880810691420160 The Icon TS Madison has finally joined the Drag Race Judge family! So happy for her! The Pit Crew Eye candy, props, set movers... you call them and they'll show up in their skivvies. RACERS, START YOUR ENGINES AND MAY THE BEST DRAG QUEEN WIN! Pinwiz11 fucked around with this message at 05:12 on Jan 5, 2024 |
# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 05:09 |
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So much drag race and other shows, so let's hear from you! DRAGULA alf_pogs posted:this season of Dragula the floor shows have been a bit less edited; this is a bit of a bummer for me, because i loved how each of them was basically a high-def smash cut videoclip. it really differentiated itself from drag race. now you get a bit of slo-mo but not really the full smash-cut quick edit extravaganza that we got in s3 and s4. Pinwiz11 fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Jan 5, 2024 |
# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 05:09 |
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LET'S MEET... OUR QUEENS! Amanda Tori Meating - 26 - Los Angeles, California Dawn - 24 - New York City, New York Geneva Karr - 30 - Brownsville, Texas Hershii LiqCour-Jeté - 31 - Los Angeles, California Megami - 33 - New York City, New York Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige - 34 - Miami, Florida Mirage - 29 - Las Vegas, Nevada Morphine Love Dion - 25 - Miami, Florida Nymphia Wind - 27 - New York City, New York Plane Jane - 24 - Boston, Massachusetts Plasma - 24 - New York City, New York Q - 26 - Kansas City, Missouri Sapphira Cristál - 34 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Xunami Muse - 33 - New York City, New York Pinwiz11 fucked around with this message at 05:47 on Jan 5, 2024 |
# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 05:10 |
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Because there's so much drag race (and other non-drag race franchise shows!) now, there's no way to cover it in a single post. If you liked a particular season from last year, write a brief summary of it and make the case for watching it! I'll add it to the testimonial post above! Now let's do this! Pinwiz11 fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Jan 5, 2024 |
# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 05:11 |
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Also, Drag Race releases the first act of each episode on Wednesdays. Here's a taste before tomorrow! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soBVqx6bDbE
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# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 05:36 |
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Pan Dulce posted:Sapphira Crystal's image is wrong. UGH! I haven't done that in years. e: It's also a different size from the site I pulled it from compared to the others... but she does say that bigger is better so...
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# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 05:48 |
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Pan Dulce posted:Does anyone know where the new US season will stream in the US? I'd assume e: Apparently the free pass can be found here: https://www.mtv.com/live-tv/xzq4o4 There's also other streaming packages that have live MTV. Pinwiz11 fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Jan 5, 2024 |
# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 15:03 |
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I'm watching the end of last year's finale and... Spice is sitting behind me, isn't she? Season 16 is a go!
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# ¿ Jan 6, 2024 02:00 |
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It's definitely a solid start, and giving out an immunity idol for each part of the split premiere is a good idea. We'll see how Rate-A-Queen fares once all 14 are together.
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# ¿ Jan 6, 2024 03:33 |
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I am absolutely #teamSapphira, and while I know she's not going to last long I'm loving Amanda. (Also, as a former Kansan I feel Q deeply.)
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# ¿ Jan 6, 2024 06:31 |
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Wonderful, and you know Katya loved every moment of their role.
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# ¿ Jan 7, 2024 01:33 |
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The only queen I'm not feeling right now is Morphine, and that's solely based on her performance and runway look in the premiere. The mug is great, I love a fierce confessional, but she didn't live up to the game she was talking before the going first on the Main Stage. But, that's a mild complaint and she has plenty of time to step it up.
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# ¿ Jan 8, 2024 05:22 |
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None of this is new, but a good watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eurpLojLz7w
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# ¿ Jan 9, 2024 03:35 |
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I didn't watch the Dragula reunion, can someone answer if the Finale is going to be Top 4, Top 3, or we'll find out next week?
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# ¿ Jan 9, 2024 17:32 |
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Orunitier posted:Top 4 Thanks! Also, the first act of tomorrow's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6RUW2RRj78
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# ¿ Jan 11, 2024 17:37 |
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These Derrick Barry cut-ins over the last two weeks are sending me. e: Okay Derrick getting slimed and almost falling down made it all worth it. Pinwiz11 fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Jan 13, 2024 |
# ¿ Jan 13, 2024 02:57 |
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I don't know what I think of Jane. I love an unapologetic villain on the show, and she has the goods to back it up... we'll see how it goes the next couple of weeks.
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# ¿ Jan 13, 2024 16:43 |
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Shneak posted:
True, but Team Tia Kofi
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# ¿ Jan 13, 2024 18:44 |
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jimmydalad posted:I know Twitter is a hell site but the number of “Plane Jane is just a worse Jimbo” takes I’ve seen is too high. The sentiment is even being talked about on the Pit Stop. I can see where it comes from, but Jane can actually win a LSFYL so...
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# ¿ Jan 13, 2024 23:20 |
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Spoiler Alert For some reason, the Dragula Finale is out there so be careful with your internet searches.
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# ¿ Jan 15, 2024 19:45 |
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cake bunny posted:I'd assume the reason is because the episode has been up all day. I'd like to thank them for letting me get to bed at a regular hour tonight! Dragula Finale: Nio deserved that crown, no arguments, but Throb definitely put up an amazing fight. Props to Blackberri for that wonderful Horror idea and Org looking their most "human" in the Glamour section. lolwut moment of the episode: The royalty-free music that I know best form Jelle's Marble Runs playing when the Boulets were wrapping up their deliberations.
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# ¿ Jan 16, 2024 02:16 |
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Week 3's preview is up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeKnEZDysDM As I expected, it's an Immunity Idol-type situation.
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# ¿ Jan 17, 2024 22:57 |
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Nihonniboku posted:I'll watch on Friday, but on that point, does it have to be played before the lip sync for your life? Or can it be played after? All we know so far is that you can save yourself or someone else. I expect we'll get the actual timing after the runway on Friday.
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# ¿ Jan 17, 2024 23:07 |
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blizzardvizard posted:Holy poo poo ~~Nymphia~~ I watched the episode in a bar and the place erupted during her runway.
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# ¿ Jan 20, 2024 05:50 |
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I look forward to Amanda's eventual All-Stars glowup. Until then, I'll just enjoy her while she's still on the show.
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# ¿ Jan 21, 2024 00:38 |
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Never forget... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9tK8rJCxAQ
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# ¿ Jan 24, 2024 02:51 |
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Week 4 - Act One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpGN41u6hnw
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# ¿ Jan 24, 2024 20:27 |
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The full Meatball as Megami performance: https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7326105994772155690 (Love that Megami is going along with the gag.)
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# ¿ Jan 26, 2024 20:00 |
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I'd assume that DR has more than enough applications to not need to worry about pulling Dragula people in. I don't see Meatball trying out for the show at this point, especially being in the MOM suite of shows.
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# ¿ Jan 26, 2024 21:54 |
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The drama already
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# ¿ Jan 27, 2024 02:11 |
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(she's at Roscoe's tonight I can only imagine the reaction)
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# ¿ Jan 27, 2024 03:28 |
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This season is. BRINGING. IT.
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# ¿ Jan 27, 2024 03:34 |
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Did Mirage ever explain why she didn't know the words? I think someone said it was mentioned in Untucked but I had it on in the background and wasn't really paying attention after Mirage chugged her drink. Not knowing the words... you can't get away with that. It's one thing if they just left you in the moment, but unless there's another Cher song in the LSFYL Battle episode I expect that the song selection wouldn't be a surprise. (I should just pay the $2 for early access to the Roscoe's video, I expect it was covered after the episode. I fully admit that when the guests were Amanda and Mirage I was sure Amanda was going home this week...) e: Also, Mirage has her All-Stars storyline ready to go.
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# ¿ Jan 28, 2024 07:41 |
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Combed Thunderclap posted:…the thing about Jinkx and Ru: Jinkx is IMHO specifically a vaudeville queen, a form of crass, rough around the edges, popular theater that’s much more in Ru’s wheelhouse than the polished BFA theater queens ever were. I never thought of that, but it makes so much sense. I feel like we got the same vaudeville vibe from Willow as well.
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# ¿ Jan 30, 2024 06:01 |
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First part of tomorrow's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCgF_uEFUhE ICONA POP!!!!!
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# ¿ Feb 1, 2024 19:10 |
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You win a copy of Ru's book! Also $2000!
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# ¿ Feb 3, 2024 02:11 |
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Apparently Jaymes is going to do a recreation of Maddie's wig now This is so much actual fun instead of drama cringe I love it
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# ¿ Feb 6, 2024 04:17 |
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Maddy also was the creative force behind her team's fake trailer, which was great.
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# ¿ Feb 6, 2024 22:08 |
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# ¿ May 22, 2024 14:45 |
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Preview time again! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc0BHocLnyM CHARO
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# ¿ Feb 7, 2024 22:17 |