#here is another homage to one of my favourite characters

[suaimhneas-gairid]

Vax'ildan, Champion of the Raven Queen ⚔️⛓️🐦‍⬛

#I'm so happy with how this turned out #vax is just a character that's meant to get tied up in chains and leather I suppose #it just makes sense #he's far to slutty a character to not #and liam plays him VERY openly #which i love #a lot #ANYWAY #here is another homage to one of my favourite characters #vax'ildan #critical role #critical role fanart #cr1 spoilers #campaign 1 spoilers #champion of the raven queen #liam o'brien #i know it's not exactly him #but he's definitely inspiration for the details #his armband and tattoos #and his d-

[604to647]

Fics that Live in My Mind, Rent Free (Pedro's Version) - Part 1

Happy NYE! 🥳🥳

I read so many wonderful, hot, gut-wrenching, unforgettable, inspiring Pedro Pascal character fanfics... and I haven't been reblogging them 🫣 (it's me, hi, I'm the problem it's me). Don't hate me please - reblogging gives me so much anxiety, and I'm not even sure I could articulate why if I tried - and I see a lot of the discussion/discourse/posts re: reblogging and I truly understand all perspectives although it just seems to elevate my nerves about even more.

However, I understand the impact and moreover, I want to do it for the writers that bring me so much joy and inspiration, so I endeavour to try. I want to make it clear that this is a personal hang up of mine, and I have 100% absolutely no comments on how anyone else engages here; reblog/comment/like or don’t per your own preferences and you have nothing but love from me 😘

So it will be a 2024 personal goal of mine to be less shy about reblogging, but while I work up my courage/practice, I wanted to go back and compile a list of some of my fave Pedro boy fics; I think of each and every one of these fics often and have revisited them all (i.e. Exactly the fics I should have reblogged when I read them). I went deep in my likes so some of these fics are quite old; you may have already read them all! If you have or haven’t, I hope you love them as much as I do!

Din Djarin (The Mandalorian, GOAT)

Boxer!Din AU by @djarinsbeskar (Boxer and his masseuse, who relaxes him in more ways than one. I've mentioned before that this is the first Modern Din AU I ever read and it's cemented itself as one of the best. Making Safest with You Din an ex-boxer is my humble homage.)

Freu(Din)an Slip by @saradika (Is there space porn in the SW universe? Yes.)

Bare by @charnelhouse (part of an AU between Din and bounty hunter!reader; other favourite instalments include Come and Conquer and Din's Ex)

A Bond to My Soul by @whiskeynwriting (King!Din and reader, with a battle just outside the doors)

Mine also by @whiskeynwriting (Jealous Din, no need to say more)

Beloved series by @groguspicklejar (Din falls in love with Cyare; mind the tags - the writing is rich and the emotions deep)

Courting by @writerlyhabits (another Mandalorian tries to court you and Din's having none of that)

Hold me down by @starlightmornings (Din as your weighted blanket)

Be Mine by @spacecowboyhotch (Glove kink)

Save a Speeder, Ride a Mando by @sprout-fics (I love fics where Din is jealous of Cobb)

Helping Hand and Did you miss me? by @mellowswriting (Din smut and fluff; they're in love, okay?)

Fix you by @roguetonorth (Comforting Din)

Rough Day by @no-droids (I think everyone knows about this fic; Sweet Girl!Reader holds a special place in my heart)

Take me to Church by @frannyzooey (Western AU; seriously one of the hottest and most romantic series I've ever read. I cried several times 🥹)

Flowers & Sex by @221bshrlocked (Din and innocent!Reader)

Show me by @moralesispunk (A bounty gets mouthy)

Patience by @oscarseyebrow (Starts with cockwarming)

Close Quarters by @absurdthirst (One bed/bunk)

Reunion by @heybluechild (Breaking in the N1)

Significant by @softlyspector (Din calls Reader "Riduur"; I love, love, love Mando fics with lots of Mando'a; so much care is always taken by the writers to translate and weave the words into the story)

Din takes out his frustrations by @ourautumn86

Javier Pena (Narcos)

Burn for Me by @theshireisburning-so-mordoritis (Reader teases Javi; it backfires)

Use me by @toomanystoriessolittletime (Javi is frustrated)

Needy by @wheresarizona (Reader is going to be late for work 🤭)

Reader brings Javi dinner at work by @forthetears

Joel Miller (TLOU)

Bad Girl by @seventeenpins (The first in a hot stepdad!Joel Miller series)

The Boss' Bunny by @talaok (The first in a series about QZ criminal boss Joel and his insatiable bunny)

Help! I'm Stuck! by @nosesitter (Oof! Father-in-law!Joel Miller and his OF daughter-in-law; 2 in the series so far)

Stripped by @thot-of-khonshu (Mr. Miller goes to a strip club)

Stay in Bed series by @psychedelic-ink (Neighbour Joel, pre-outbreak)

A Man Like Him by @valerinaswriting (No one should question Joel's abilities)

Mine by @toomanystoriessolittletime (Reader wears Joel's shirt on accident)

You Are My Cinema by @itgetsdark-x (Camgirl!Reader)

An Afternoon with Your Dad's Best Friend by @elvinaa (I mean, it's in title 🤭; I actually always secretly wish for a sequel to this one)

Come and get your love by @sunflowersteves (Sunshine!Reader)

Francisco "Catfish" Morales (Triple Frontier)

Kinktober 2022 - Erotic Photos by @moralesispunk (Reader gifts Frankie a Polaroid camera)

Thirds by @haylzcyon (Reader visits new boyfriend Frankie at work)

Grass is Greener by @haylzcyon (Frankie mows the lawn)

Kinktober 2022 - Overstimulation by @flightlessangelwings-updates (This was my introduction to pussy eating king Frankie)

Cabin in the woods by @guess-my-next-obsession (The cabin is spooky but Frankie is there to take care of Reader)

Double Feature (and all of the Box Set Universe) by @frannyzooey (Frankie and Reader love movies)

Pero Tovar (The Great Wall)

Little Red's Shadow by @littlemisspascal (Werewolf!Pero 🥹)

In my dreams by @toomanystoriessolittletime (Princess falls for a mercenary)

Tim Rockford (Merge Mansion, all 48 seconds)

A Sight for Sore Eyes and Sir by @ozarkthedog (Semi-public sex)

Anything you say can and will be held against you by @jksprincess10 (Workplace rivals)

An Important Appointment by @boliv-jenta (Sex worker!Reader)

Marcus Moreno (We Can Be Heroes)

A present by @radiowallet (Lingerie prompt; Cat writes some of the best Marcus Moreno fics on here imho. This one is my personal fave)

First Date by @absurdthirst (Workplace FWB)

The Date by @wardenparker (Professor!Marcus but also Marcus on a motorcycle)

Part 2 of list

#fic rec list #fic rec #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal characters fanfiction #din djarin #din djarin fic #din djarin fanfiction #javier peña #javier pena fic #javier pena fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #frankie morales #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales fic #tim rockford #tim rockford fanfiction #tim rockford fic #pero tovar #pero tovar fic #pero tovar fanfiction #marcus moreno #marcus moreno fanfiction #marcus moreno fic

[door]

Knives Out Reference Guide

hello it’s your friendly neighborhood obsessive murder mystery fan here. the knives out films are delightful for a number of reasons, one of which is that rian johnson is a huuuuuge movie nerd and loves to include references and hat tips in his films. i have had great fun recognizing those references, so here is a little guide! some of this is based on things johnson has said and some of it on my own observations. i’ll indicate which is which for the purists.

first off, if you’re not interested in having these pointed out to you but want a viewing list, here it is! i’ll put everything else under a cut (which will have glass onion spoilers, so beware). these are great movies for knives out reasons but also for normal film reasons, and i highly recommend them.

Sleuth (1972) Death on the Nile (1978) The Last of Sheila (1973) Evil Under the Sun (1982)

First off: Benoit Blanc himself.

Blanc is very clearly meant to be an homage to gentlemen sleuths of the past, and Johnson even gives us a clue as to which gentleman sleuth he was thinking of with Blanc, with his Southern gentleman amidst the Northerners aping Hercule Poirot’s Belgian-amongst-the-Brits. Johnson has also said that Peter Ustinov is his favourite portrayer of Poirot (fun fact: he was also Agatha Christie’s!--not that she lived to see David Suchet take on the role), and personally I think having Blanc direct the questioning from the piano in Knives Out was an echo of Poirot at the piano in a similar scene in Death on the Nile.

That said, I think there’s a lot of Miss Marple (and Jessica Fletcher, who is herself a modern Miss Marple) in Blanc. The way he has a tendency to observe while deputizing a younger assistant to do the actual snooping for him is very Jane Marple. And he weaponizes the lil-ol’-me Southern gentleman act in much the way Marple made use of the assumptions people in her day and age had about retiring spinsters.

now let’s get into the FILMS. the first one is easy, because it’s really just Sleuth. (1972. i cannot stress this enough--Sleuth 1972.) it does not share a plot, but Knives Out is clearly paying a lot of tribute. Sleuth is a film in which two men, one older and richer and laurence olivier and the other younger and poorer and michael caine, attempt to outwit one another in order to win the woman they both love but who we never see (and yes it’s very very homoerotic). (fun fact: Sleuth was originally a play by Anthony Schaffer--who also wrote the screenplay for Death on the Nile!--who based the elder character in part on Stephen Sondheim, who loved to play games.) it’s set entirely inside the rambling manor house belonging to olivier’s character, a mystery writer, and it’s full of figurines and automatons, and otherwise weird old shit. you seeing how this lines up?

there’s even a very direct tribute in the form of the sailor you see almost immediately in the film.

however, aside from the setting and the blueprint for harlan’s character, there aren’t a lot of similarities between Knives Out and Sleuth. Knives Out is much more a play on general mystery tropes than it is a specific mystery movie.

Glass Onion is very much the opposite.

(FROM THIS POINT ON, GLASS ONION SPOILERS ABOUND)

Glass Onion is playing very deliberately on The Last of Sheila. The Last of Sheila (written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim name a more iconic duo i’ll wait) is about a wealthy and powerful man who invites a group of old friends onto his yacht (”Sheila”) in order to play a series of games (i see u Stephen) and perhaps solve a mystery? (the mystery is who killed his wife, Sheila.) The friends all come in spite of misgivings because they all need something from their host.

Glass Onion is about a wealthy and powerful man who invites a group of old friends onto his private island in order to play a game and solve a mystery (the mystery is who “killed” him). the friends all come in spite of misgivings because they all need something from their host.

so you see what’s he’s done there.

it’s a very loving tribute, and johnson has put his own distinctive spin on it, both with the addition of a detective who nobody expected to be there, as well as the inexperienced assistant whom he’s deputized. but unlike your typical watson and very like marta’s character in Knives Out, helen in Glass Onion has a huge personal stake in solving the mystery. also, of course, Miles is a very specific, recognizable piece of shit.

but door, you might be saying, because you have very closely read this post for some reason, what about Evil Under the Sun? oh, i am so glad you asked!

Evil Under the Sun is another Ustinov Poirot mystery, set in a resort on a private island. The trappings of Glass Onion owe much to it, from the luxury getaway setting (complete with swim fits), to the opportunity to have your characters dress for cocktails, to the “hourly dong” (based on Evil’s “hourly gun”). oh, and i know this was deliberate:

so! that’s what i’ve got! if you noticed other things i missed (i’ve only seen Glass Onion once at this point), please let me know! 

#here it is ashleigh! #enjoy! #knives out #glass onion #glass onion spoilers #murder mysteries #rian johnson be my penpal challenge

[that-ari-blogger]

Chekhov's Gattling Gun, Part 2

Usually, the climax of a story is the climax of someone's life. Right? There will be moments afterwards, but this is the main thing to happen to the protagonist, and they will spend the rest of their time winding down.

And yet, life doesn't work that way. Happily ever after can happen, but its usually more complex. New problems come into being and old ones might fade without every really being addressed. So, what if there was a climax to a story that mirrored this? How would that happen?

It would probably be about how to move forwards. It might suggest that there will be more trouble ahead, you just need to bear this with a smile and move on with your life. Push through to a greater tomorrow.

Maybe the antagonistic force is centred around regression? Maybe they want to preserve the past at any cost, even killing those whom they claim they want to protect.

You might end up with something like The Trial, from Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Stray Gods pays homage to a ton of Ancient Greek stories. The Odyssey is a notable one, as Adrift is a reference to Odysseus and his journey. But this moment is, at least in my eyes, reminiscent of the Orestia.

The Oresteia details the death of Agamemnon after the Iliad (because he was a wanker), and the consequences thereof. You can see the theme of choice and consequences pretty boldly there. The story is named after Orestes, the exiled son (it's complicated) of Agamemnon, and the murder spiral that leads to the invention of the Athenian justice system at the hands of Athena. Overly Sarcastic Productions has a fantastic video on the subject.

In any case, the story's climax decides how Orestes will go forwards, specifically alive, because of a murder he committed in revenge, because its technically a tragedy. This is reflected in Stray Gods, with the climax featuring a trial, with Athena serving as a judge, over a murder that the protagonist "committed".

The difference here is Athena's position in this. Because Calliope was killed on Athena's orders, in an attempt to preserve the past. This is a complete heel face turn from the Oresteia. Now instead of changing the world for the better, Athena is trying to keep it the same. But I would argue this isn't out of character.

There is another theme at work here, and I will get there in a moment.

Before that, however, the callbacks. My favourite is Freddie's moment, because it is Freddie, not Grace, that is Athena's antithesis. Grace falls in the middle of themes, unable to choose, unable to decide. She gets swept up in a murder plot, in which everyone is thinking grand scale, and wrapped in complex relationships with the past and future. Athena wants to control the future to hang on to the past, for example.

And Freddie doesn't care about that. Freddie is there for Grace, that's it, she's concerned with the little things. She believes that life will find a way, and you just have to ride the waves. It is notable that this is a version of the song where you, as Grace, have very little say in the events. Grace has relinquished control and will do as Freddie says. She will make her move, and await the result.

"Only, if only you knew

that you can't force the future"

I also love that little look at Grace as she says that, I take it as acceptance and forgiveness, momentarily, for the revival against her will.

But I also find the wording fascinating. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, and yet the response to her is "if only you knew." Wisdom should have gotten her this far, but something is holding her back.

Look at Apollo's body language here. This is the tune of Phantom Pains, a song notable for its deeply morose atmosphere, and now Apollo sings the tune with a bit more oomph, but his posture is... relaxed? He stands there, chest bare, heart open, holding out a hand to Athena.

And look at Athena's response to it. She's expecting a fight, something to stop her. But instead, Apollo is calm, and quiet. He's reassuring in posture, in contrast to what he's saying. Apollo means no harm here, there's a care for the enemy there that I really like.

"You're lost, little boy.

You've lost all perspective

You're ready to throw this away,

You call that wise."

For a woman who's whole thing is reason and debate, Athena's response to Apollo's question is fascinating. She doesn't answer it at all. Apollo asks if she is still a voice of wisdom, and Athena's response is an insult.

I think she knows she's losing it, and like Apollo does earlier in the musical, she is lashing out. "The best defence is a good offence" is a sentiment with debatable success in war, but in conversations like this, it is foolish.

Pan represents living in the moment. He is a smooth talker, here for the dancing type of character. But if you linger around a beach long enough, you will probably get an idea of what the waves are like, and what might happen when the wind changes.

"I'm here for the dance,

But I don't want to dance

with blood on my hands."

Athena is trying to keep everything the same, to crystalise a singular moment in time, and while all the other idols are suffering, so the obviously don't want to stay motionless, Pan is the truest embodiment of what Athena is trying to protect. Athena wants the carefree life of dancing, and that moment personified looks back at her and calls her out for destroying it. The dance isn't fun when people are being killed.

"Lost little girls, they dream up a future.

They're sure how they feel, sure their vision's true"

Who, exactly, is Persephone talking about here? Because it could fit Grace, as a compliment, to say Grace is sure of herself. Or it could be directed at herself and Athena.

Persephone was a character who saw everything as a threat and a weapon to be used against her, she tried to get back a past that was lost. But here is Athena, dressed in armour for a trial, ready to fight at the slightest hint of trouble, trying to hold on to a moment that has long passed, if it ever existed at all.

This reading is made even more apparent by Persephone's words in a different version of the song.

"A great shiny throne, but still in the darkness.

Kill her today, and Athena... that's you too."

The fact that they're standing in front of Hades' empty throne is poignant, because its a symbol of an empty ambition. Persephone has brought Athena to a baren kingdom and effectively said "this is what I wanted, you are the same as me."

I mentioned another theme in effect here, and that would be trauma. Athena has repeatedly taken the fall for the idols, over and over again, for hundreds of years. And she may be an idol, but she is very human. Of course, she is going to slip up from time to time, but she has internalised it in a martyr complex.

When Athena is challenged on her views, the screen goes red to mimic her blind rage in possibly the least subtle metaphor in the entire musical.

I wouldn't exactly call this a cycle of abuse, but it's not spontaneous either. Athena is lashing out at those closest to her, because she is scared, and she can't get through to them. Athena is lost, and the rest of the idols are getting caught in the crossfire of her own mind falling apart on itself.

"This lost little girl,

she's got a few tricks now.

She's taken some punches,

she's made some friends."

Once again, this melody comes back, now accompanied by a drum to hammer home the anger and the betrayal. The power of the muse has always been to empathise, not merely to make people sing. The music is a gimmick, this is what a muse does, and this is why Grace was chosen. Grace takes all of the pain and fear and throws it back at Athena, calling her out for it.

But the repeated wording here is important. Grace knows Athena is lost, and is trying to talk to her, maybe to help her, maybe not. But there is that recognition there. Grace has empathised with Athena, and is weaponizing that.

This is backed up here, in another version of this segment. It's a call back to The Ritual.

"I won't have you dying for me.

That's not how this should work,

I need you to see,

That you're lost in a moment, lost in a song"

I love that Athena is represented in the same way Ares was. All red (Ares had a bit of orange, but you get the point), and where Ares held Aphrodite in his hands, under his control, Athena now holds all of the idols. Their fate is up to her, and they're begging her to not destroy them.

The moments when everyone comforts Grace is cathartic for a number of reasons. First, up, it is a relief from all of the red and horror movie soundtrack of Athena's delusions. But more importantly, this is the moment in which you realise what you have achieved here.

You have saved Aphrodite and Eros from self-destruction. You have brought Asterion and Hecate together. You have made Apollo and Persephone get over themselves. And, maybe, just maybe, you have reconciled with your oldest friend.

You have made everyone in the trial room a better person by your actions, and now they stand up to help her in return. And this fading reveal that they are all still there, still behind Athena is empowering.

It doesn't matter how much the matron of the idols can posture, they have all changed. And now they are offering that aid, that chance to change and be better, to Athena. This is not a story in which everyone gets a good hit in on the villain before they are dramatically killed by the hero or fall from a great hight; this is a story about healing, and it would be callous to not extend that healing to Athena.

I love all the little callbacks in this one scene, the eye is Medusa's thing, the lighthouse for Apollo. I don't need to point them all out. What I want to talk about is the general mis en scene. There is a distinctly storybook aesthetic that these characters are holding onto. In contrast to Athena.

You would think that Athena, the person trying to get back to the past, would be associated with this aesthetic, but no. Athena has been cast out of this idyllic world by her own hand, and everyone else is trying to get her to see that.

"My Olympus is gone,

And you're all looking on,

At a stranger wearing my face.

My Olympus is gone,

now I'm some other one.

Just how long has she been in place?"

This is the Adrift tune again. I think that's so cool. This is Athena in the same place Grace was at the beginning of the musical. She's lost, and she knows it, and she doesn't know what to do.

Athena is in a rut of her own actions, and it's heartbreaking.

Look at the scale of Athena here. She is dwarfed by her own statue, and her own helmet. She is fragile, and small, next to the enormity of her image. And that image is covered in enough blood to drown someone. All of this serves as a fantastic metaphor to show just how crushed Athena is by her own guilt.

"I was wrong and now I don't know what the right thing is.

I leave it up to you what to do with this."

"I forgive you, Athena"

Final Thoughts

Bloody hell, this was long. Thank you for reading this far.

I really love this song, and while I think The Ritual is my favourite, The Trial definitely wins my award for being the most technically impressive, both on a musical level, and on a storytelling and visual level. There is so much cool stuff going on here that I didn't have the brain capacity to talk about in full.

Which brings me to my final thing. I would like to know what you think of Stray Gods, and I would like to create a little collage of opinions other than my own. So, send me a message or comment on this post your analysis, or even reblog this. It could be of a single line, or an entire song, or the entire story. And in two weeks time, when I put up my own final thoughts on the musical as a whole, I will show some other views as well, as a kind of collaborative discussion.

I'm going to be using It's Time to frame my analysis next week, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #character analysis #what's so special about...? #greek mythology #stray gods #stray gods the musical #stray gods grace #greddie #grace #stray gods spoilers #stray gods the roleplaying musical #stray gods athena #stray gods the trial #part 2/2

[spinningerster]

idk if the newsies fandom is still active on here bUT I saw the new London production on Saturday (Dec 3rd) and need to share my thoughts bc THIS SHOW -

apologies in advance for the amount of fangirling i'm about to do. also this will probably be very long so prepare yourselves

so newsies is my absolute favourite musical and I actually can't believe I got to see the first professional UK production - not only that, I also got to finally meet my best friend who I met through the show! we also made a new friend whilst in the merch line - and another two at stage door after the show. it was so cool to be around other fans of the show!

and wow - I was completely blown away. guys, the choreography for seize the day and king of new york is out of this world, I was in awe the whole time. and the end of once and for all, oh my god. 3 standing ovations as well! (two in seize the day, and during the curtain call/bowsies)

the talent in this show is unreal; michael ahomka-lindsay and bronté barbé were really great as jack and katherine, I really enjoyed their portrayals of the characters and they both have great voices. moya angela was amazing as medda, she wore this beautiful outfit during 'thats rich' that matched what the bowery beauties were wearing, which I really liked, and she had a really nice voice. matthew duckett was great as crutchie, and yes letter from the refuge made me cry. my favourite character portrayal was probably ryan kopel, there was just something about how he plays davey that i loved, and he understood the assignment with poor guys head is spinning which made me very happy.

there were also three swings performing; bradley trevethan as elmer, jordan isaac as romeo, and zack guest who made his finch debut, and they were all amazing!

honestly I could watch those boys dance forever.

the cast made great use of the large space they've been given, there were some walkways that were used in various parts of the show, such as during brooklyn's here with the different boroughs, and the cast going into the audience (such as going up/down the main stairs) makes the show really immersive.

brooklyn were all girlsies. and they had a dance break during brooklyn's here. there was one brooklyn girlsie who had her arm in a sling and her name was splint.

new things they added/details I noticed and really liked were:

• les was actually involved in king of new york

• katherine wore a lady liberty crown made out of spoons at the end of kony which I loved

• race's cigar actually smoked

• there was a little bit at the start of the show, before santa fe prologue, which showed the newsies trying to sell papers

• jack had a small photo of santa fe in his pocket which he was looking at during santa fe prologue, it was a small detail they added that I absolutely loved

• during the 'world will know' scene where they're going on strike, katherine is on one of the walkways (the one closest to where we were sat) watching, which I really liked as her then wanting to help the newsies made more sense as she watched them declare their strike

• there was (at least to me) a small homage to the 1992 movie - during seize the day, they knocked over one of the newspaper carts and started ripping up the papers

• jack did a full on like tarzan swing from a rope (that seemed to appear from nowhere) during the fight scene, les went to do the same thing but davey was like 'um no get down'

• jack was in the seize the day dance break, and he was really good!

• he gave katherine a newsie cap in the finale it was so cute

the newsies were used for a lot of scene changes, specifically for when props needed to be brought on stage. my favourite one was when katherine said 'thank you' to the two newsies who brought her desk and chair on for watch what happens. (sidenote, if you're sat in manhattan, you walk under the stage and get to see all the props which was so cool)

we stage doored after the show and it was so cool, we met michael & bronte (who we actually also met before the show), matthew and ryan, and they were all so lovely!

the best piece of live theatre i've ever seen, it was like nothing i've ever experienced.

#newsies #newsies uk #west endsies

[sitp-recs]

Kept in Cages by @sweet-s0rr0w

Artwork by @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm

Harry/Draco (2022, Explicit, 77k)

Deep in the heart of the Ministry lies the Beast Division: a hidden room where ancient beasts roam, and winged creatures soar, and grumpy giant ferrets eat all your biscuits unless you keep them well hidden. Draco Malfoy would know – he’s been working there for five years now, after all.

Meanwhile, on Level One, ex-Golden Boy Harry Potter is stuck in another interminable policy meeting, completely unaware of the mysterious comings and goings just three floors below. But when a giant snake emergency requires the assistance of a Parselmouth, Harry finds himself thrust, unprepared, into Draco’s weird and wonderful world – and naturally, he can’t keep away…

“All these creatures, and you. You’re not… bothered, you know? They’re all pretty powerful, but you know exactly how to handle them. You’re not scared of them, or anything like that.”

Behold everyone, the magical creature fic we all deserve!! Forget Fantastic Beasts, I would give anything to see this incredible journey on the big screen. From a moving plot to lush visuals, impressive world building and a poignant slow burn, this has all the elements that would make for an incredible movie, and a award-winner at that. The amount of care that went into every tiny detail, the brave decision to explore Harry’s loneliness and deteriorated mental health, plus Draco’s breathtaking characterization and arc, the unique creativity surrounding the magical creatures and their lore! This fic is so rich and detailed it even pays homage to other beloved Drarry works and I had so much fun trying to identify the little references. It’s very clear this was a labour of love and I’ll try my best to make it justice highlighting my favourite elements that deserve some extra appreciation.

First and foremost, the plot. This is NOT your usual “down and out Draco & depressed Harry” meet-cute kind of story. Having Draco secretly work with creatures was such a clever and inventive plot point, he has a quite devastating background and I love the mystery surrounding his post-war life that we slowly puzzle together alongside Harry. The first chapter is a banger and immediately captured my attention with Harry’s chaotic and loud routine as opposed to the quietness of Draco’s Beast Division. You’ll find yourself immersed not only in their main story but also in a brilliant side plot involving politician Lucius in the Muggle world. It was so well-thought, intriguing and original, I loved it!

The pacing also deserves a shoutout, for a long fic this was such a smooth read that I basically devoured in two days. The narrative is a mix of intriguing, funny, heartbreaking and romantic. My kind of long fic! The slow burn is absolutely impeccable, charming and organic, realistic but also full of UST (whoever thought a pet bathing scene could be THAT sexy? SS is showing her devotion to Suds here 😏). And omg this Draco is delicious, competent and stubborn with his dark overalls and tough, capable look (we get it Harry, that’s just your objective assessment!!!) and his single-minded, no-bullshit but gentle approach which is exactly what Harry needs to spark his curiosity. They both start this story so lost and lonely and it’s a privilege to see them find themselves (and each other) along the way. Their personalities complement one another beautifully and we notice all the nuances of Harry’s improving mood as he finds a safe haven and a new purpose working with Draco.

Here you’ll also find INCREDIBLE creatures and complex side characters, yes please! I cannot handle adorable Pandita, hilarious Potter the Jarvey, the baby Mooncalf!!! They have quirky and vibrant personalities bringing Harry and Draco’s funny and tender sides to the surface. I’m also very much here for this fascinating Muggle Narcisa and Ministry boss Hermione. This fic is a magical, heartfelt journey and getting to see Harry and Draco’s “happily ever after” was so satisfying. Each boy broke my heart in different ways but they get to heal together and they get to stay together and oh my heart, but they’re so good together. I love the idea of them exploring the wildlife in blissful domesticity afterwards, with bonus points for those sexy times full of scar worship and fat appreciation (done in a very thoughtful, gentle way!). And speaking of smut, I love that Draco’s pride and confidence counter-balances his inexperience, and Harry’s thirst for him is so relatable and adorable “your bloody arms and all the scars, ugh just leave me alone!!!” same Harry, same 😂

I had a blast discovering this wonderful world SS created for them, her genius mind and love for the ship present in every scene. It warmed my heart and made me appreciate even more all the hard work she put into telling this story. The world building is rich and well executed and I didn’t want it to end. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Draco and Harry and those lovely creatures but the healing journey was so special it felt earned. Lastly but just as important to mention as this is an essential part of the story: we have the absolute privilege to contemplate sixteen (!!!) mindblowing art pieces by the one and only Joy and they’re so full of heart and meaning, I felt truly spoiled. The mooncalf dancing scene, in particular, will be forever imprinted in my mind. This is the best read to indulge tonight or tomorrow to celebrate the weekend, go ahead and treat yourself!!!

Read on AO3

#drarry fic rec

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

hello everyone, the annoying spaniard is back to rant about the cultural references i'm seeing on my pokemon scarlet playthrough! here's my previous post in case you want to check it out :)

i have many thoughts about zapapico cause it's most likely based on almería and granada and my family is from there and yeah... anyways

the house design of that town, with them being excavated in the stone like that, is definitely inspired by the house-caves of guadix (granada) [pics 4-6], cuevas del almanzora (almería) [pics 7-9], and many others (those are just the ones i know about / been to). the sourrounding landscape reminds me of almería and its tabernas desert but, based on its location and the fact that there's another more likely desert in the other side of the region, i would say all of that area is based on los monegros desert (aragón) [pics 10-12], the other extremely arid area in the country.

and now i wanted to talk extensively (i'm sorry) about probably my favorite part of the game so far... team star poison squad.

to start, let's talk about the location. tagtree thicket is based on the oma forest in the basque country (i sadly forgot to take more pics of the location in the game so you only get this screenshot of my team before entering the base)

this might be a reach, but oddly enough i think it might be also at least partly inspired on sierra morena. i genuinely only got this connection cause at the entrance to the forest an npc (once again i forgot to take a screenshot of it) tells you to be wary of the forest, as the area is full of bandits and rascals and whatnot. that reminded me of the bandolero culture and the romantization of it, which flourished in sierra morena and other mountainous areas of andalusia. in particular there was a legendary bandolero called curro jiménez that got his own tv show (he was basically a spanish robin hood). there's even a cartoon in andalusian tv about a ragtag group of bandoleros with a bomb opening song. this is not actually too far off of the characterization of the leader of team star's poison team (my new favourite character ever)...

where to start with atticus?? (btw why is that his name in english?? in spanish he's named henzo which makes much more sense imo) let's start with the obvious: he's a ninja (which actually is an incredible design choice i'm kissing the pokemon team in the lips rn). but apart from that, everything else is heavily spanish inspired. basically, all of his persona is taken straight out of what's referred to as the spanish golden age (more or less the 16th and 17th centuries). i imagine his speech patterns and personality are an homage to shakespeare in the english version, but in the spanish one he speaks just like don quixote and actually has a lot of similarities to that character. for those of you who don't know much about don quixote, it is known as the greatest literature work in the spanish language ever and was written by miguel de cervantes (to help you situate all of this, he was a contemporary of shakespeare. in fact, in school we learn they died on the same day but on different calendars or something like that, it's a whole thing). in the novel, alfonso is a noble who spends all day reading chivalric romances to the point he at some points loses his mind and thinks of himself as a medieval knight that has to defeat evils and save people and whatnot. don quixote's speech patterns are mocked within the novel for sounding antiquated (just like atticus' speech sounds old for us). other direct references to don quixote are the fact that in the flashback the fairy dude comments on how atticus is a nerd of ninja and epic novels [pic 1], and the fact that during his presentation atticus says he is a 'desfacedor de entuertos' [pic 2], the same expression don quixote uses (it would kinda translate to 'problem solver' i guess?).

apart from don quixote, there's also references to playwright calderón de la barca, most noticeable through atticus' dramatic attitude (his first words are 'jumping to scene' [pic 1] and in his picture he is bowing to you [pic 3]), as well as one particular line after you defeat him where he says an extremely calderonian line [pic 2]

and that was all!!! sorry for the wall of text, i had many thoughts™️ for this one lol

here's next post !!!

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon sv #pokemon spoilers #pokemon sv spoilers

[colourfulgreyscales]

The Forest From the Trees

So finally here is the fic that I had in my mind for a while, product of both as a homage of my two favourite actors and my frustration of a truncated queer character. And what better than an actual queer cowboy played by my other favourite actor, who also happens to be named with a variation of Silas' name, to give Silas the true expression of his queerness as he deserves. Remember also that this is an Alternate Universe fanfiction. The characters are not mine. And there might be aspects and characters of both Slow West and A Strange Way of Life, but not so many that deviates from the fic. Also another reminder: Silva is a surname and as far as I know, Almodovar didn't put a first name to him, which, in my alternate universe, gives me an opportunity to give him a name also related to Silas: Saul. One of the reasons is revealed as you read this first chapter. More answers will come if you send me the questions. I plan to send a new chapter of the fic every weekend.

Happy reading.

Two lone wolf gunslingers, Silas Selleck and Saul Silva, get united for a mission, only to realize that the mission will give them a lot more than they were bargaining for...

A/N Alcohol Use, Violence, Possible smut (If I am pleased with the scene).

Pairing: Silas Selleck/ Silva (called here Saul Silva for the purposes of the fic)

Chapter 1: Naming Names

Lord Northrup hair sat at the desk at his luxurious living room with red walls, several paintings and heads of animals hanging, watched by a pair of brown eyes and another pair of pair blue-green eyes. “The reason the bounty is the piece of art, is because it is rumoured to be stolen by a network of undesirables.” Lord Northrup quipped. “There has been a lot of robberies like that around here.”  The blue-eyed man, spoke with his Irish accent.  “But why did you pick a lone wolf like me to go with someone else?” “Two lone wolves.” The brown-eyed man interjected. “You are two of the most feared gunslingers around here.  I understand you both usually work alone, but for a piece of art work that was stolen the way it was, the force of you both combined will be good to take it back.  I understand this is not the usual way you both work, but this is the most priced art in my collection.  I also know you both know how to deal with bands of desperados.” Lord Northrup replied. “How do you suggest we divide the bounty?” The Irishman asked “We will discuss that as soon as you both complete the mission.  Until then, you shall have each other to rely on.  Unless one of you decides against taking the job."

The two gunslingers in front of Lord Northrup looked at each other, and they nodded in complicity.

“I’ll take it.” The Irishman said. “So will I,” the other gunslinger added. “Very well.”  Lord Northrup nodded.  “I shall send you both on your way.” The gunslingers shook Lord Northrup’s hand and put their heads on. Minutes later, the two men walked to the barn with one of Lord Northrup’s pageboys in order to get the horses.    “Do you have any idea about where to start?” The brown-eyed gunslinger asked to his colleague. “I have some ideas.  The bands of desperados that like that kind of art tend to go out west to the California territory.” “Hopefully you know this part quite well.” “Don’t you?” The Irishman looked at his colleague with some irritation.

“I am from the New Mexico Territory.  I’ve not visited often this part of the Utah territory.” “I take you are better with the desert than with the forest.” “I used to be good with the forest when I was younger.  But I have been only back in this business for a year and I have been mainly worked in the New Mexico area until now.”  Both gunslingers stopped at the door of the barn as the pageboy announced that he was going to take their horses back to them. “By the way.”  The brown-eyed gunslinger said looking at the Irishman, “I don’t think Lord Northrup introduced our names.  I am Saul Silva.”  Silva extended his hand. “Silas Selleck.”  The Irishman extended it back, surprised at how easily he said his own name to a stranger when he was usually guarded. Silva looked at Selleck as if there was something about his name that he either knew or was fascinated by, which made Selleck feel slightly annoyed, but not enough to anticipate any ill will towards his fellow gunslinger. Both men shook their hands.  The pageboy gave each their horse and as they got on their animals, Silva told Selleck: “You lead the way.”

“You didn’t strike me as someone good at following,” Selleck quipped. “I don’t think I have much of a choice.” The two gunslingers parted from the nobleman’s house. Selleck and Silva rode for a few hours well into the forest until they saw a river.  The men got off their horses and took them to the shore so they could drink water.  They squatted to do the same. “Do you believe in destiny?” Silva started talking as he and Selleck stood back up. “I believe life is about surviving. Everything about life is random.  Why?” “There’s more to life than surviving, you know.” “Someone from my past told me that once.”  Selleck caressed his own horse.  “What's with this destiny talk?” “Do you know what your name and my surname have in common?” “The first three letters.  And an A afterwards.  I know how to spell.” Selleck looked at Silva with annoyance. “Easy, Selleck.  I am not an Englishman like Lord Northrup.”  Silva chuckled. “There's something else my last name and your first have in common.  A meaning: Both have the root in the name Sylvanus.  The God of the Forest.” “Sylvanus is also a variation from Silas in the Bible.” Selleck observed. Silva smirked at Selleck, not out of hostility, but out of intrigue.

“What?” Silas frowned. “I took you for a brute, but you know some things.” “Catholicism is everywhere in Ireland.  I had to see that in the Bible.  Silas was a companion of Saint Paul, by the way.” “And ironically enough, the original name of Saint Paul was Saul.  My first name.” Silva said with a smug expression. “Are we gonna start to be Christian preachers now?”  Silas asked with irritation. Silva laughed. “Well, if things get difficult with the desperados, we will send them to heaven.  But with bullets instead of gospels and epistles.”

At least he makes fun of religion.

#au fanfiction #alternate universe #silas and silva #silas #silva #silas selleck #saul silva #slow west #a strange way of life #pedro pascal characters #michael fassbender characters #gay cowboy #pedro pascal #michael fassbender #canon divergence #queer fanfiction #the forest from the trees

[stagefullofentertainment]

Wishlist for Hazbin Hotel Season 1 (And Later)

With half year left till the series officially start (hopefully!), I would love to share my thoughts and opinions about what could happen in the story regarding characters and plot. They are all just my guesses and some wishes, headcanons if you will. Without further ado, let’s go!

CHARLIE

We have to start with the main character, don’t we?

Charlie being smarter than we all expect. Please, give a moment or situation where she outsmarts Alastor! Maybe another deal or bet?

Seeing more of her demon powers!

Charlie’s attempts to spread the news about the hotel and getting a couple of sinners who are willing to try it out, making them third plan characters.

Charlie and Vaggie being a sun and moon couple.

Flashbacks to Charlie’s teenage/early years living with her parents.

Charlie in the office doing manager/boss/director of this place paperwork. Unless she knows what she’s doing from similar previous experience or she’s been taught management and business, I expect to see her struggling with it. Some angsty moments when legal issues happen (at least, Hell’s equal of legal). I would love to see her parents give her advice or send her a professional to help with this. Speaking of which…

Screentime for Lucifer and Lilith! Perhaps a phone call or something small at first where they would actually interact with Charlie for starters. Oh! How about this? Somewhere near the end, like few episodes left till the season’s finale, we could see a shot where all Hell’s royalty attends an annual gala or some formal and regal event (perfect opportunity to make Paimon, Stolas, Asmodeus or another HB cameo). I’m imagining that someone from those royals could, in a mocking way, mention to Lucifer and Lilith that they probably are so proud of their daughter’s endeavors. (Charlie would not attend that event for it being too preposterous to her). Then we cut to Lucifer saying to Lilith “How about I pay our daughter a visit?”. After that, Lucifer would appear in the season finale, being one of the last shots. For instance, Charlie hears a knock on the hotel door and opens it, seeing her father, who smiles and says “Hello, Charlie” or something cooler that I cannot think in the moment. Then we cut to black and end the first season. That would not only be a great homage to Alastor’s arrival in the pilot but could stir some mystery. Will Lucifer accept Charlie’s intentions? Will he wish to close and demolish the hotel for making him seen pathetic in other demons’ eyes, hence the sin of pride? Did Lilith tell Charlie about Lucifer’s arrival beforehand? That would be answered in the start of season 2.

VAGGIE

Let us add the badass love interest who shines her own light.

Vaggie being in charge of the hotel more so than Charlie.

Seeing her fight and use her weapon capabilities.

Her being a protective gf while Charlie is oblivious, for example, moving a wire so that Charlie wouldn’t trip.

Vaggie constantly bickering with Angel and Alastor. As the season goes on, she finds it to be more fun than annoying.

Flashbacks to her live before death. What was her life, what did she do to be in Hell and how did she die?

Story of how she and Charlie met and fell in love with. Plus, what was she doing before the hotel?

ALASTOR

 My favourite overlord, what I have in store for you.

I want to see him making that Jambalaya!

Alastor being a corny/dad joke kind of guy throughout the whole season.

Seeing snippets of Alastor’s radio show.

Alastor’s development in compassion to Hazbin and it’s residents. Bit by bit, he would start to care about Charlie, Vaggie, Angel, Husk and Niffty (others not so much), catching himself in the middle of the season like “Goodness my! Why do I care if she’s sad?”. Then Alastor would heighten his guard up and become cold hearted, similar to pilot. Perhaps he would make some sort of terrible decision regarding hotel or Charlie which he would regret by the end of the season.

Him and Vox making fun of each other, having little battles here and there, their score being equal.

Seeing more musical numbers from him!

Seeing Alastor struggle with modern media references. Could be a gag about someone mentioning something like “Instagram, Iron Man, Twilight” and so on while Alastor pretends that he understands it/doesn’t care. Imagine explaining Twilight to him…

Flashbacks to his live before death. Why did he become a murderer, what was his family like (importance of mother), how he found his passion for radio?

ANGEL

Well, here we have a comedic yet tragic character to discuss.

His whole season arc could be about chilling in Hazbin while still being under Valentino’s control. With each episode, he would have a harder and harder time between choosing Hazbin (new friends, possible redemption and zero need to be over sexual) and Valentino (job and setting that he’s familiar with, some sort of fame, no need to change himself). By the end of the season, Angel would be at a crossroad of which path to embrace now.

Flashbacks to Angel’s live before death. Was he that involved with sex, did he have a partner, what was his family like?

I would love to see Angel teasing Alastor about all kinds of dirty stuff and surviving. The whole season he would remark on various sexual topics while Alastor can’t kill him because he promised that to Charlie. Seeing Alastor freeze or blush would be a highlight not only to him but to us.

Angel being a fashion icon. “Girl, those earrings with that top? No no no, we need to change those”.

Angel being besties with Cherri.

Seeing Angel’s alone moments when his “funny, dirty, charming” façade drops and he struggles with his life decisions.

Although he died only about 10 years later than Al, he would know all the up-to-date pop culture/media references, usually being the one to make them.

MISCELLANEOUS

Category where I decided to put characters that I don’t have much to say…yet!

Would love to see the reason why Husk and Niffty are in debt to Alastor. (Plus, how many poor souls like those two are there?)

Husk being a grumpy father figure to all. (I think he is supposed to be older than all of them, besides Charlie, in years?)

Niffty being a happy go lucky clean freak.

All of Cherri’s backstory, how did she befriend Angel.

Sir Pentious’s development from cartoony villain to an ally of Hazbin.  

Seeing more of Hell’s TV, Internet and apps.

Seeing Hell’s live from different kinds of livers there (sinners, overlords, royalty).

Learning more about Heaven, the percentage of goodness to be accepted there, how do angels work.

Seeing Vox, Valentino and Velvet in action and their powers.

Overall, exploring new locations.

That’s all, folks! A share of my hopes for the series. If you would like, I could make more parts in the future. Of course, I would love to hear your thoughts! Have a fantastic day, my friend!

#headcanon #hazbin hotel

[hey-have-you-heard]

Hey, Have You Heard These 50 Tracks from 2023?

Another year comes to a close and the music lover pulls up their trusty spotify playlist to document the high points of their year in music. You know the drill by now but in case you're new here... Songs are in alphabetical order (there is no internal rating to the 51) but if I had to choose a single song for everyone to listen to, it would be "Why Am I Alive Now", please listen to that track if nothing else. A Spotify playlist of the included songs is linked below for your listening pleasure

Fontaines DC - ' Cello Song Kicking things off with the only cover song on the list, Grian Chatten and band spin Nick Drake's song into something entirely their own, paying homage to Nick Drake's songwriting whilst pulling in the intricacies of their own unique sound and appeal.

Boygenius - $20 Screw star-signs and wizard school houses, which member of Boygenius do you align yourself with? I'm a Julien Baker stan but I adore them all, especially when their voices and styles are weaving in out of each-other in rapturous noise like this.

XL Life - Baby Steps Hardcore and punk has had a great year, a really great year, and XL Life have been a standout part of that. Backed up by a guest verse by Bob Vylan's own Bobby Vylan, Baby Steps is bursting with soul and emotion, driven by breakneck drums and heart-on-sleeve positivity

100 Gecs - Billy Knows Jamie 10,000 Gecs (the much anticipated follow up to 2019's 1000 Gecs) truly gave us the as-promised 10 times as many gecs, if a Gec is a unit of measurement for what can only be referred to as wild-genre-fuckery. Billy Knows Jamie gives us full on Bizkitesque nu-metal, including record scratches, a bass line Fieldy would be proud of and a rapid descent into utter chaos.

Algiers, Billy Woods, Backxwash - Bite Back Bite back is a masterpiece of ever-building tension, Carpenterian synths weave the track together as one musical idea gives way to another. With every new phrase and trade-off between vocalist, the threads pull tauter and tauter. The switch up at 3:10 still gives me chills every time I hear it.

Glass Beach - the CIA My favourite theatre kid emo's are back and doing what they do best, which is whatever the hell they feel like. You know when all the 70s prog rock bands fell into the 80s and needed to get radio-play so they fell into this weird sort of choppy watered down down art-pop sound (e.g. Yes)? This feels like that, but there's no actual need to conform, so Glass Beach are still free to get as weird with it as they want, whenever they want.

Blood Command - Decades Deccades is a very bad representation of Blood Command as a band (at this point I'm unsure if a good representation of the band exists), but it's a very good song. Hardcore and "Death pop" is out, R&B is in. Reverb soaked synths and horns, skittery hi-hats, layered vocals and lyrics about lost love and the Heavens Gate cult.

Liturgy - Djennaration I'll be the first to admit that Liturgy are an acquired taste (the first time I saw them live it made me feel physically ill), but if you can put on some headphones, turn up the volume and lose yourself in Liturgy's "Transcendental Black Metal" there is no other feeling quite like it in music.

Kesha - The Drama The continual evolution of Kesha's sound has been a fascinating thing to watch ever since Tik Tok put her on the brat pop map back in 2009, each album cycle has seen her stripping back elements of character, delivering ever rawer and more honest depictions of self. The Drama pulls away from pop almost entirely, what starts as a Lorde-like slow ballad tumbles into a nightmare-collage of upbeat synths, a circus show of theatrical excess as Kesha's desparately laments on a loss of faith in humanity and self. The song ends on an absurd mix of housecats and Ramones, oh the drama of it all.

Fever Ray - Even It Out Even It Out may not be the technically best song on Radical Romantics, but the idea of Karin Dreijer teaming up with Trent Reznor to make a gleefully unhinged song about violently attacking a child is just too funny to me. The rest of the album is also incredible and well worth a listen.

Follow You - Saint Agnes Oh, hey, speaking of Trent Reznor, Saint Agnes channel Nine Inch Nails on the massive distortion drenched choruses of this stand out track from Bloodsuckers. Lead singer Kitty's vocals soar over wailing guitars and crunching bass, this is the sound of a band triumphing through adversity.

Johnny Booth - Full Tilt I remember seeing a comment when this first released that summed up how ifelt about it perfectly. "This has slap fucks". Yes, selppin2, I couldn't of put it better myself. Johnny Booth have been consistently hitting it out the park for the past few years and this is no exception, absolutely brutal stuff.

Creeper - Further Than Forever Creeper's Sanguivore is an album to be devoured in it's entirety, I couldn't choose a single song so this is merely a goth-punk-opera overture. A nine minute long homage to the theatrical tendencies of Jim Steinman. If you enjoy any part of this, Sanguivore is a must listen for you.

Crosses - Ghost Ride Chino Moreno swaps out the rumbling wall of guitars of Deftones for pulsing bass synths and sparse electronic drums with the second album from his side project with Far's Shaun Lopez. Ghost Ride is a sultry slow build that crashes into industrial-pop(?) choruses.

Idles - Grace Idles (to my surprise) were my most listened to band of last year, and if Grace is a sign of things to come on Tangk, they're in with a shot for 2024 as well. Grace finds Joe Talbot swapping out the political battering ram of a growl he's employed previously for a soulful tone, a message of peace and love, and its hauntingly beautiful to behold. No God, no king, love is the thing.

BENEE - Green Honda You may remember BENEE from tiktok's 2019 supahit Supalonely, she's still writing bops. Two middle fingers up, leave you in the rearview, bops.

Free Refills - Grounded What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good bassline, and this is a great bassline.

Pendulum, Bullet For My Valentine - Halo (Matt Tuck Rework) On his rework of Halo, Matt Tuck keeps all the energy of the original mix but ups the aggression. This is the sound of Pendulum at their heaviest and best.

Tokky Horror, Scottish Gabber Punk - HAMMER 2 THE FACE (Scottish Gabber Punk Remix) Speaking of energy and aggression... it doesn't get much more energy and aggression than this, hammer 2 the face is a fitting title for the brutality of this track.

MSPAINT - Hardwired MSPAINT are a hardcore punk band with a notable lack of guitar, the instrumentation instead filled out with colourful synths. The result is a unique and engaging sound unlike anything else in the genre.

Empire State Bastard - Harvest ESB are my kind of supergroup, formed of Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil, Oceansize's Mike Vennart and Slayer's Dave Lombardo (yes, you read that right). Simon Neil is delivering career best vocal performances, Mike Vennart is stirring up unholy hell on guitar and Dave Lombardo is doing what Dave Lombardo does best.

Alice Longyu Gao - Hëłłœ Kįttÿ I didn't think we could get more unhinged than last years MONK, with it's thrash metal guitar and vib ribbon solo, but here we are in the year of our lord 2023 and I'm listening to car clown horns. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM.

Bob Vylan - He's a Man Do y'all remember the Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday movie? There was a great song in it called Take Me Away... anyway, I forget why I mentioned that, but this song is really fun.Great cheeky lyrics and love that guitar riff.

Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Like A Grudge This may just be a nostalgia pull, but that intro transported me back to hearing Dance, Dance for the first time. Hold Me Like A Grudge does a masterful job of pulling together elements of FOBs classic sound and their more recent poop sensibilities that has had me enjoying their sound in a way I haven't since Infinity On High

Evie Enby - Homies Oops, how did this get in here? Please appreciate the one note guitar solo.

FIZZ - I Just Died My general lack of enthusiasm for The Beatles is fairly well documented by this point, but one of the best things they did for pop music was use the clarinet on When I'm Sixty Four. Well good news, I no longer have to listen to The Beatles to get my clarinet fix. Now that the Beatles reference for this year's list is done.. I just died is a song about an absolutely mortifying experience delivered with great mirth. It's a fantastic, sing-along-in-the-shower bop, and have I mentioned the clarinet solo?

CLT DRP - I Put My Baby To Sleep (It's pronounced Clit Drip) What can I say, another explosive, genre defying, track by one of the best bands in the world. Now go listen to the entirety of Nothing Clever, Just Feelings.

Orla Gartland - Kiss Ur Face Forever Joyous, peppy and "let's play a game of emotional monopoly, in the name of monogamy" may be the best couplet I've heard this year. It's just fun, so much fun.

Bring Me The Horizon - LosT When LosT first dropped, I referred to it as the geccification of BMTH, I meant that in the best possible way. I really enjoy how the hyper-pop elements lift this track up. "The next time that I open up to someone will be my autopsy" is one of the finest Oli Sykes-isms we've had in a long time.

Swans - No More Of This Okay, so the actual Swans track that should be on this list is The Beggar Lover (Three) but apparently putting an uncompromising, nigh impenetrable, 43 minute long epic in the middle of a playlist is terrible for retention, and I'm a coward. But if you have a spare 50 minutes, go give it a listen.

Pupil Slicer - No Temple Pupil Slicer continue to prove themselves to be one of the most exciting bands in Mathcore. Pushing against the boundaries of genre in a genre where pushing against boundaries is a core philosophy, No Temple is, according to the band, the heaviest song they've ever written. The bass guitar work is an exceptional standout for me here as it pushes against the rest of the song.

Carly Rae Jepsen - Psychedelic Switch With every CRJ album project comes a B-sides album, and with every B-sides album comes an absolute banger. Psychedelic Switch is undoubtedly this for the Loneliest Time/Loveliest Time project. You'd be forgiven for thinking Daft Punk themselves reunited to produce this french disco flavoured bop.

Soft Play - Punk's Dead Who the fuck are Soft Play? Sound like a bunch of lefty snowflakes. I've missed these boys, doing this kind of thing. The Robbie Williams feature is inspired.

Chappell Roan - Red Wine Supernova Red Wine Supernova is sexy, self-assured, feel-good, sapphic fun. It's a testament to how good a song is that lyrics like "I heard you like magic, I've got a wand and a rabbit" doesn't detract from it, but actually elevates it's effortless charm.

JAAW - Rot JAAW are an industrial metal "supergroup" formed of members of Therapy, Three Trapped Tigers, Sex Swing and Biglad. That is likely mostly gibberish to the average music listener, but to a niche few, it's a very exciting prospect. What it sounds like is swelling, tumultuous walls of noise, tortured screams, screeching guitars and pulsing distorted bass. Catharsis through noise.

Better Lovers - Sacrificial Participant More supergroup! Greg Puciato teams up with ex-members of Every Time I Die and Will Putney (of Fit For an Autopsy). I was devastated by the split of ETID, (off the back of the phenomenal Radical adn jsut before I was due to see them live), but Better Lovers is one hell of a silver lining. Puciato's energetic vocals bounce wildly off of the erratic musicianship that was the cornerstone of ETID's sound. It's a perfect match on record and is even better live.

Architects - Seeing Red Bless Architects. They're a band that are truly a victim of their own success, as they've tried to pull their sound and ethos in new directions it's been met with a huge amount of negativity from their own fanbase. Seeing Red is a reaction to this. "You want heavy? Here's heavy. Are you happy now?". Blegh.

Teen Mortgage - Sick Day Sick Day is a 2 minute punk blitz about how you are worth so much more than your labour and how having a cute cat you want to look at is a perfectly valid reason to stay at home. Capitalism 0 - Cats 1.

Purity Ring, Black Dresses - Shines Purity Ring and Black Dresses are both Canadian electronic duos and that's about where the similarities stop, but that just makes this collaboration all the more interesting. There's so much going on here, the chaotic harsh frenetic noise of Black Dresses, Ada Rook's screams, the twinkling synths of Purity Ring and sing-song melodies of Megan James. Somehow it pulls together to create something of true beauty in its own weird way.

Dream Nails - Sometimes I Do Get Lonely, Yeah Dream Nails take on the rising issue of incel culture and red-pill ideology, with grace and empathy. Pointing fingers not at individuals but at the systems and powers that enable and create these pipelines to hatred and bigotry. It's a bold and challenging idea, executed superbly.

Baby Dave - Sounds Good When a fan sends you an unhinged voice message out of the blue offering you a bite suit and dogs to shoot a music video, obviously the thing to do is make a song out of it, then take them up on their offer and use it as the video for that song. There's a great OPM era The Streets vibe to this track that plays off nicely of the grounded reality of its subject.

Sleep Token - The Summoning Sleep Token do the impossible, they make prog-metal (the unsexiest of all genres) , undeniably sexy. Nowhere is this clearer than on The Summoning, a 6-and-a-half minute epic of a track with multiple time signature changes and tonal flips, that somehow still oozes with a swaggering sexuality throughout it's runtime. The out-of-nowhere funk switch up on the end of this track is perfection.

Lambrini Girls - Terf Wars Love those Lambrini Girls, they say what I'm thinking, and they say it loud.

Ezra Furman - Tether This one had me in floods of tears from the first listen. A classic string-laden piano ballad about inescapable pasts and the desire to cut yourself free from who and where you've been.

The St. Pierre Snake Invasion - That There's Fighting Talk This track does two things it builds and it STOMPS, like real "put on your heaviest boots and then strap lead weights to them because they need to be heavier" stomps. An industrial-mathcore floor-filler, the song crescendoes then continues to crescendo into ever greater insanity. Get Stomping.

Calva Louise - Third Class Citizen Calva Louise's sound has evolved so much since I first fell in love with the band listening to their 2017 debut single Getting Closer. Third Class Citizen has elements of Muse in it's bass-lines, stadium-sized guitar riffs and fizzing production. The vocals and lyrical content make it something altogether its own though, the palpable fury in vocalist Jess' voice as she demands "Respect, motherfucker" is real and visceral.

HEALTH - Unloved Off the back of their genre spanning, multi-release collaboration project, DISCO4, RAT WARS sees HEALTH back in a focused mode and delivering their heaviest album to date. Unloved is a moment of relative respite on the album though, a Depeche Mode tinged track, soaked in 80's reverb and ready for the goth club. HEALTH pull you into their world of misery and beauty with catchy hooks and pulsing bass.

Anohni and the Johnsons - Why Am I Alive Now This year saw the release of "My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross", Anohni's first studio album with her band since 2010's Swanlights. The abrasive electronics of her solo albums are traded in for warm soulful tones and a raw almost live-feeling instrumentation. It's a beautiful, deeply emotive, and incredibly present sounding album. Feeling as if you are being drawn into the recording process itself, Why Am I Alive Now? is an existential lament on finding purpose in a purposeless world, in navigating through suffering to find hope and love. On learning why to be, when it feels like the world is set on stopping you from being.

HMLTD - Wyrmlands THE WORM IS HERE! Wyrmlands is an example of one track on an album that should be listened to in its entirety. The Worm is a concept album at its most conceptual, eschewing genre and at times structure entirely in favour of narrative and ~vibes~. It's a dizzying disorientating listen, that will leave you' with more questions than answers, but thankful for making an attempt 're mind awash with unanswered questions and fresh ideas.

Billy Woods, Kenny Segal, Danny Brown - Year Zero Year Zero refers to an apocalyptic cultural reset. Society has reached a breaking point and we must start from scratch, everything before was for nothing. Billy Woods and Danny Brown play two different sides of the same coin. Woods, stony faced and deadly serious "My taxes pay police brutality settlements" is the herald of the end "Burn it down with us inside". Danny Brown, the manic joker, revelling in the freedom of a new world, rhyming Good Will Hunting with Cool Runnings and dropping bars about ice cream machines. It's a compelling way to deliver a narrative.

#music #2023 #Spotify

[lohstandfound]

Aotearoa [Mostly Poetry] Books I Am In Love With

Some I've included a little review, some I haven't. I still love them. I will probably add to this as I read more

Thorn Boy by C T Dickons

Thorn Boy is a fantasy short story anthology featuring arch demons in hell, the house at the end of the dock, a boy who blends in like a lizard, guardian of the stars, and more. It's a wonderful and imaginative collection refined over years. (Also the cover is gorgeous)

Crude Common Denominator by Max and Olive

Hera Lindsay Bird and Sincerity/Irony by Hera Lindsay Bird

Echidna by essa may ranapiri

A mashup of mythologies: Greek, Māori, and Christianity. It is wonderful and experimental and incredibly queer. This poetry collections follows titular character Echidna as they grow up, punctuated by Maui and Prometheus' tragic love story. It pays homage and is in conversation with many other poets from Aotearoa

Super Model Minority by Chris Tse

The Surgeon's Brain by Oscar Upperton

Poūkahangatus and Rangikura by Tayi Tibble

Meat Lovers by Rebecca Hawkes

From growing up rural to moving to a big city, another lens of the queer experience, Meat Lovers was another favourite. I love a poetry collection that also tells a story.

Biter by Claudia Jardine

The modern and the classics are woven effortlessly together in Jardine's collection with scatterings of Greek epigram translations. As a lover of the classics and a lover of poetry, this is perfect

Black Marks on the White Page edited by Witi Ihimaera and Tina Makereti

A stunning collection of Oceanic writing. Have I read all of it? Not yet, but there are some wonderful pieces in here and this was one of my first true introductions to Oceanic writing. 'Pitter Patter Papatūānuku' remains my favourite.

Transposium by Dani Yourukova

The reason I made this post. A mashup of poetry and dark academia and philosophy and classics. Queer longing, philosophy rambles, thinly veiled Les Mis fanfiction.

Out Here: An anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ writers from Aotearoa edited by Emma Barnes and Chris Tse

Exactly what the title says. This is the first of it's kind in Aotearoa and it is an incredibly beautiful anthology.

Scathing: A Horror Anthology by Sam Wyss

Fucking creepy. I wanted to throw my book across the room because it made my skin crawl (and I would have had I not been at work). But wonderful. 24 short horror stories set in the fictional town of Scathing. From moon mania to murder to spontaneous human combustion, to weird deer creatures. Sam is a bloody talented author and I am 100% biased in saying that.

Ship of Horrors: A Manifest of Nightmares

Just like Scathing, it was bone chilling. Made my skin scrawl. I wanted to through my book across the room. This is a collection of a variety of local authors who all had the same prompt: The UCF Carcosa has been found adrift in space, the ship's only communication is a single repeating plea, 'leave us be. For god's sake, run away'. Killer plagues, graphic depictions of spaghettification, evil plants, eldritch monsters. And I am also 100% biased in saying this one as well. (If you've seen my posts about Spores)

#lohst.txt #poetry #book recs #this is probably something better suited for main but oh well

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digiweek 2022 Drabbles/Ficlets - Red Shades Filling Up My Heart

One year ago, @dutchforstrangers​​ had decided to dedicate the entirety of Digiweek to a lovely little polyamorous OT3 fanfiction with the title “Shades of Red”. Even if I went into Digiweek 2022 pretty much unprepared, I’m still aiming to pay homage to the story by taking a look at how things may have developed afterwards...

🧡💜❤️  

Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Chapter 3: Humour

Summary: Upon coming out to their families and during their visit at the Yagami residence, Koushirou and Sora discover that both Yuuko and her son have a thing for very silly fruit (and vegetable) puns.

Characters: Taichi Yagami, Koushirou Izumi, Sora Takenouchi, Yuuko Yagami, Susumu Yagami

Ship: Taikoura

Main POV: Taichi Yagami

Genre: Romance

Rating: T (for harmless puns that could be read differently if you had a mind like that)

Wordcount: 591

„Well, I’d say, the bigger the family, the more people will be able to take care of all the grandchildren, so you’re having my full approval!”

 Hearing that, Sora was the only one who broke into a chuckle (“G-grandchildren, huh…”), whereas Taichi just looked like he was about to sink in between the couch cushions. Koushirou had already been through this kind of talk and attempted to exchange a rather sympathetic glance with Susumu, who – just like Taichi himself – couldn’t believe what his wife had just said.

 They had decided to come clean to their families one after another, starting with, assumably, the easiest and ending with the most difficult one. The Izumi family had been both delighted – in Masami’s case – and ecstatic – In Kae’s case – to see their son in a fulfilling relationship, reassuring both Sora and Taichi that, regardless of what and how their own family model would look like, they would always have their full support.

 Before approaching the Takenouchi family, they were now sitting in the Yagami residence – Hikari had obviously already known about it all, just like the rest of their friend group did by now. And judging by the way Yuuko was beaming at them right here, she must have had her own ideas about her son’s love life and preferences.

 “It sure is a bit surprising, seeing how this is a rather… Unusual arrangement?” Susumu smiled a crooked smile, just to have Yuuko patting his shoulder, still in a rather excited mood.

 “I absolutely don’t see any problem here, dear, if you like a variety of fruits in a basket, you wouldn’t just pick the peach over the cucumber if you can enjoy both, would you?”

 This time, Taichi couldn’t suppress a laugh himself, still attempting to stop it with a loud “Pfffff”, but absolutely couldn’t keep it in. The mental image of that comparison had been just too vivid – and as silly as it was, he actually couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed a laugh that liberating, setting free a lot of tension in his stomach and chest. Meanwhile Koushirou had tried not to choke on his water and Sora looked like she was wondering whom exactly their boyfriend had inherited his humour from.

 “Yuuko-san, cucumbers aren’t-,” Koushirou coughed, still recovering – just like Taichi, who was unable to stop grinning –, but Yuuko was already on track again, waving her hand apologetically.

 “N’aww, don’t worry, I don’t have a single doubt that you three will be good for each other – Taichi has always been very vocal about his favourite fruits in the basket after all.”

 “M-mom…”, Taichi started, lips still curled into that ridiculous grin, so he could feel both Koushirou and Sora nudging him from each side, with the latter whispering slyly:

 “It is a fitting analogy, and she’s taking it with a lot of humour, that’s nice, isn’t it?”

 “Yeah, hilarious, pfff…”

 “I guess what we’re trying to say is…,” Susumu interrupted, collecting himself before giving them a gentle look. “Know that you are always welcome here.”

 “And please always come to me when you have a problem!,” Yuuko added eagerly, “Really, Sora-chan, Koushirou-kun, I have missed you two around, Taichi has never been a picky eater, but if I had known how much he was struggling, I would have intervened much sooner.”

 “Mom, really, that’s not necessary…“

 “Well… One could say we were all on a diet to some degree,” Koushirou mused – causing Taichi to break out into another laughter, while Sora patted his thigh with a sigh.

#digiweek #digiweek 2022 #taikoura #my drabbles #fanfiction #digimon #i could totally understand if this was seen as inappropriate #but it really is just taichi having a very silly mind yuuko doesn't mean it like that #she's too pure for that #taichi yagami #sora takenouchi #koushirou izumi #yuuko yagami #susumu yagami

[hoellenwesen]

X (2022) Dir. Ti West

Didn't know much about this movie going in, going out I am experiencing euphoria. What a love letter to 70s slasher. In every aspect. The attention to the small details is what really got me with this one. The setting itself, so obviously reminiscent of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we immediately know what to expect, we immdiately know what kind of film we are watching. And yet these characters and this setting still feel fresh, allthough we have seen it done so much in the past. It never felt like Ti West was trying to copy formulas that worked in the past just because, these nodges to the classics of horror are done with such masterful intend I can't help but be excited to watch a movie by someone who clearly loves the genre so much and is willing to innovate.

Recent original slashers as well as modern sequels/remakes of the classics have been disappointing me more and more, probably also the reason I didn't give this one a watch way sooner. It wears it's inspirations on it's sleeves, yet still manages to be it's own original thing completely. What I really love about slasher movies from the golden age is their willingness to take their time. Modern movies have this rush to get to the action, the violence, the chases. the iconic kills and killers. On the way sacrificing the thing that drives the slasher movie in the first place. The characters. We need to care about the survivors, we need to feel intrigued by the killer. And X really takes it's time to have us spend time with these people. By the time the action starts we are part of their group, we spend time with most of them seperately, we've seen them on the job and we've seen them winding down from a day of work. Modern slasher suffers so much from annoying and unlikeable survivor characters, but X, allthough featuring characters that have the potential to be just that, managed to make me feel for them, root for them to survive and be disappointed when they don't. While not as iconic design wise, Pearl is such an interesting Killer figure. The glimpses we get of backstory are so inticing and interesting, you just want to know more, you want to know what is up with this lady and I am very excited to watch 'Pearl' soon as well to see what she is all about. Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega were stand out performances in this, with Ortega really making me feel her fear and desperation in this. Her acting in Scream 2022 was a highlight for me and in this she is just as great. I can't wait to see her in more horror and slasher movies. Another thing I really noticed was the film making style here, some of the cuts in this were phenomenal and underlined some very very cool and impactful kills beautifully. I couldn't help but smile noticing the small homages Ti put into this movie. The van, the screendoor, the hallway with the picture frames. You're home, back in Texas. The small dock, the lake, the group of young adults, the cabin in the middle of nowhere and the hushed whispers interwebbed into the killer score just like back in Crystal Lake. Probably my favourite modern slasher, an absolute gem in the genre and I can't wait to see what 'Pearl' has in store as a prequel. First time watch on 28/9/22.

#movie talk #slashers #x movie #ti west #i was so excited watching this aaaaaaaa #such a great film #movie review #horror movie review #slasher

[spongebobafettywap]

... Oh. Ooooh. Okay sorry I got confused here my bad. It's been forever since I've seen the Venture Bros and my last memories go back to when me and my pals made henchmen ocs (don't judge) hence me asking which one was your favourite. I can't believe I've mixed up fanon with canon... Since my last ask was completely useless, here's another one: What's your favourite character and organization?

Wasn't a bad question its just unfortunately we only have a handful of major Henchmen: Speedy, 1/0, 21, 24, Tim-Tom and Kevin so naturally the one with the most character development and competence comes up on top. Favourite characters well to be honest overall it has to be Phantom Limb, I loved his design, the way he homages The Phantom is awesome he's one of my favourite heroes, and his power of electricity is amazing, I love his origin story and connection to Professor Impossible, also the fact that he's a descendant of Fantomas really adds to his backstory and the overall Venture Bros Lore. I loved it when he and Professor Impossible created their own Supervillain organisation, just a shame it didn't result in more storylines with that group. Favourite organisation is probably the Guild of Calamitous Intent, they've got such an old school Legion of Doom feel to them and I loved how varied the members of the Council of 13 were, its a real shame after Gargantua 2 they never had a full roster of 13 again although I did like the new members and more involvement from Dr Z, and Red Mantle and Dragoon are always a great duo. I also like how many supervillains are part of it so whenever there's a large event we get to see a whole bunch of awesome character designs hanging around together. It is kind of odd that instead of a united large Superhero front we have the OSI who has their own agents being basically GI Joes who do count as superheroes in their own right and they do handle Superheroes and Superscientists and other protagonists as associates. Just think its kind of odd there isn't like a large scale Justice League type organisation we've seen smaller groups like The Super Gang, Crusaders Action League, Order of the Triad and Team Venture.

#Maz answers #Venture Bros #Guild of Calamitous Intent

[ixcaliber]

Cool Games I Played May 2022

My time on twitter somehow convinced me that posting on tumblr is only worth it if i have a small novel to write so here’s a new something i want to do more often

1. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (2010)

I already spent a couple of thousand words saying, essentially, that the game’s plot had some wasted potential. I missed the open world, even though there wasn’t really anything to do in it, having it there added a sense of scale to the world that simply wasn’t present when you were always just a second away from any location that you had to go to.

It’s not the worst suda51 game i’ve played (Shadows of the Damned), it’s just sort of okay. Squanders its potential and some of the fights are really annoying but it does have the best cat massaging animations in any video game I’ve ever played.

2. Bugsnax (2020)

Bugsnax is a really good game. I love the cute creatures. I love repeatedly saying Bunger to Forgie. The characters are neat, nicely varied and well voice acted. Eggabell and Lizabert are great I love these gay girls. I may or may not have gotten a little emotional with some of the background film reels you can find and relating a little too hard with Eggabell and anxiety. Floofty is also really great, I love the game’s absolute non-issue with them being non-binary. It’s cool and good. I did eventually turn them entirely into Bunger, but I eventually did everyone dirty like that it’s just the nature of the game.

The puzzles are sometimes kind of frustrating though, usually in the way that, you know what you need to do but managing to execute on that can be really tough, especially when the hot and cold elements start coming into play.

I won’t go into the story but like maybe skip ahead if you’re not interested in very vague spoilers. I was also really impressed how the game did eventually address the innate body horror of its premise. It was way past the point where I thought that the game was going to actually address any of that. Part of me wants to make an argument for the game secretly being a horror game, that even the cutesiness of the premise is an intentional malicious camoflauge. It’s obviously not that, but it is fun to think about how easily, how just a little redesign on some of the bugsnax at that key moment and tonally it would fit.

3. Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (2019)

My favourite suda51 game is Killer7. I love the inherent weirdness, the strange characters who recur with strange, idiosyncratic dialogue. A lot of people did not enjoy Travis Strikes Again from what I understand, but for me this game is the closest any suda game has come to recapturing the things I liked about Killer7.

And hey, the gameplay is fluid and fun. The only real downsides for me is how padded out the game feels and how little variation there is from one game to another.

And hey should I be including little summaries as to what these games are? Okay so Travis Strikes Again is a side game in the No More Heroes series. Renowned assassin Travis Touchdown is in hiding. The father of one of his victims is given a Death Ball; a thing which is simultaneously a video game to be played in an extremely discontinued games console the Death Drive, and also a mystical artefact capable of summoning a dragon and granting the user a wish. Collect the Death Balls, play the games on them and bring Bad Girl back to life.

With the premise involving going into different video games I was sort of hoping that the gameplay would be wildly varied from game to game. It isn’t so much. Each game has a slightly different structure but only the racing game offers a variation on genre.

Also the game, in the final level, doesn’t so much homage Hotline Miami so much as attempt a full on crossover. I was just sort of weirded out by that whole part of the experience. I never really know how to feel about Hotline Miami in general after that game’s sequel.

Aside from the crypticness, the amount of worldbuilding detail spent explaining the Death Drive, its creator and her goals and beliefs, the other thing that I really love about this game is, it’s a bridging of so many Suda51 games. There’s so many cameos; an entire level which is a full on sequel to Shadows of the Damned, Mondo Zappa from Killer is Dead appears, an implied grown up version of Juliet Starling from Lollipop Chainsaw, a bunch of people I don’t know because I’ve never played The Silver Case. Even a character from Killer7, even if it is a character I don’t care for.

Overall it’s not a perfect game but I got to put Travis in a Disco Elysium shirt and I think that’s pretty fun.

4. Supraland: Six Inches Under (2022)

Premise: Essentially set in an enormous sandbox populated by tiny living meeple figures, this is a sequel to Supraland (2018). A great cataclysm has come to the land. You are plunged into an underground world where class disparity and capitalism must be overcome before you can return your people to the surface. Mechanically it’s a difficult one to place. Sort of open world sandboxy but most of your interactions with the world are puzzles to solve and slowly you amass an arsenal of different tools that allow you to solve different puzzles and to progress along the game’s narrative.

I would absolutely recommend Supraland, and who knows this game might even be better. Its certainly more focused in on its puzzles and exploration. Combat is at a minimum as compared to the first game and it’s sort of a blessing and a curse. The combat was the weakest part of the first game it makes a lot of sense to pare it back, but it leaves you with a problem; I was always broke. Never had enough coins to get all the upgrades I wanted, even into the post-game. In Supraland I’m reasonably sure that any coin shortage was solved by going and finding a room full of enemies, and the same just isn’t available here.

There’s also a lot more post game content to puzzle your way through, and weirdly that sort of put me off. I 100% completed Supraland because by the end I was just mopping up the few remaining things I hadn’t been able to get my hands on earlier. In Six Inches Under I felt I’d already experienced a conclusion and didn’t have the patience for the amount of content still remaining.

And, one weird personal preference but the order in which the upgrades are given to you in this game kind of irritated me. The first upgrade from the first game is the last thing you get and by the end I really wanted that cube.

I sound pretty down on this one, but honestly the puzzles are good, the sense of humour is extremely silly and often reference based but you’re likely to get some chuckles out of it at least. I guess I was just a little underwhelmed only in comparison to the original.

5. A Juggler’s Tale (2021)

Premise: The game is presented through a puppet-show. Abby is a juggler at a cruel circus. They keep her in a cage when she is not performing. It’s weird. She escapes from the circus and is finally free, however the ringmaster and hired goons pursue her. She must fight for her freedom. Mechanically it’s very much like a Limbo, or an Inside or Little Nightmares. Easy to fail 2d platforming with emphasis on hiding, evading, simple physics puzzles.

The thing about this one is that

Well I kind of really hated this one. Its such a waste of its own premise. Skip ahead if you’re averse to spoilers because I’m just going for it.

Part of what’s interesting about this game is that the puppetry isn’t just an aesthetic of the game. It has a gameplay purpose. Abby cannot go underneath certain objects, her strings get stuck, so you have to find some way to navigate around this obstacle. And it has a narrative purpose.

This game has a narrator who early on emphasises how free Abby is once she’s run away from the circus. It immediately put me in mind of The Stanley Parable (2013), a game with an incredibly voiced narrator which is entirely about choice and the illusion of freedom in video games. Immediately I feel as though this is going for a similar idea; Abby is technically free of the circus but not free of the narrative. As the game progresses Abby gets recaptured and as the narrator gloats about how foolish she was to try to run away she eventually snaps her strings and she is free. Here the narrator turns full on antagonist and you play out the rest of the game escaping from a hunter under his control before going back to free everyone at the circus from their strings.

1) This game isn’t about juggling. If you idle you do a juggling animation. There’s no reason this should be a Juggler’s Tale specifically.

2) The comparison to the Stanley Parable is unfortunate because the voice actor for the narrator in this cannot hold a candle to the voice actor for the narrator in the Stanley Parable. I know that’s a particularly high bar, it’s an unfair comparison but the game is invoking the same ideas in the same ways I can’t help that my brain made this connection.

3) Also every line the narrator says is in a semi-rhyming couplet. Except they more often than not don’t rhyme even slightly. Just like a similar sound maybe. And the attempt to bring them into this rhyming scheme creates the most disjointed and unnatural sounding sentences. God I wish I remembered some examples here but it was really distracting. It was distracting enough that I was debating turning the sound of the narrator all the way down and only didn’t because I could tell it was going to become a vital plot element.

4) The metaphor falls apart when you continue to control Abby after her strings are cut. She has no palpable difference in her own freedom, her own agency before and after they are cut. Before and after she is under your control, still under the control of the narrative, not the narrator’s narrative but the structure of the video game. For this to really work, to really click, either the game has to end when her strings are cut, or you have to take control of someone else.

The game has her running from a hired hunter at this point and the much more interesting version of this game would be you are now forced to play as the hunter by this furious narrator and maybe there’s a way that this part could be structured so that you could play it straight, play your role as intended and capture Abby, or you could intentionally play in such a way that ends with her cutting your strings too. There was such potential here. Such a clear and direct metaphor for control in video games and it was so frustrating to see it underutilized.

6. Pokemon Shining Pearl (2021)

You have to complete the entire national pokedex before the game will even let you see an eevee. Not recommended.

7. Patrick’s Parabox (2022)

It’s a sokeban puzzle game where the boxes you push around can contain entire rooms and it takes this concept and exhaustively works through every possible permutation of what it could mean, what could be done with it. Every set of levels pushes the concept in some new direction, or toys with some aspect you may not have even considered up until that point. It’s probably going to be one of my games of the year just based on how thoroughly and effectively it explores its own premise.

8. #AkiRobots (2020)

#AkiRobots is a simple puzzle game about guiding a robot through a side on 2d level to an end point. It has growing complexity with different kinds of robots introduced that follow different rules.

It's kind of a disservice to have played this one immediately after Patrick’s Parabox. It’s a fine puzzle game, but it doesn’t have as concise or unique a mechanic as Parabox. It iterates on its own mechanics well enough and it has the added complexity that you control all of the robots in a level at once, requiring you to think more strategically about your moves. It’s neat but its not the puzzle game I would recommend this month.

9. Lost Nova (2022)

Premise: Ami is something of a workaholic, her best friend Quinn desperately wants her to take a vacation and suddenly she crash lands on an alien planet. She must repair her spaceship to leave, making friends and learning how to relax as she does so. In terms of gameplay it’s mostly exploration and resource collection focused. There’s no combat, just a fun little world to explore and lots of characters to meet.

It’s a really cute and chill game. It wears it’s themes pretty openly and manages to tie it into the narrative in a pretty neat way. I enjoyed it quite a bit and also by the way in the post game you can get a cute little axolotl friend. I love them so much.

10. The Room Two (2013)

Premise: There’s some kind evil black goo that your friend A.S. found and it’s making you solve puzzle rooms forever but maybe you can escape? God I do not even pretend to know the plot of this game series. It’s all told through little documents and seems to assume a baseline of knowledge that maybe I would have if I’d played the original recently but my memory is atrocious and I’m not actually convinced I ever really acquired the knowledge the game expects of me.

The point of the game is to solve intricate little puzzle boxes. To manipulate switches and push buttons and occasionally find a code elsewhere and find a place to input it. The strange arcane set dressing is sort of unnecessary to the experience. As inpenetrable as the plot is it does provide a variety of interesting locales for puzzle solving.

The worst part of these games is the moments where you missed some small hidden compartment and the puzzle solving grinds to a halt for a minute as you have to comb over the entire room looking for the next spot you need to interact with. There is a hint feature that does at least point you in the right direction but the pixel hunting is definitely a problem.

The best part of these games is simply the intricate nature of the puzzles, sliding open secret compartments, unfolding elaborate contraptions. In writing this I learned that they were originally made for ipad and that makes a lot of sense to me. The focus on the tactile seems like it would be pretty well served for touchscreen devices.

11. The Room Three (2015)

The first two games in this series are very similar in pacing, in fairly incomprehensible narrative, in mechanics. I was expecting pretty much the same experience here, I was taken by surprise to find that the puzzles in this one were a lot more intricate and involved and that the story was a lot more approachable.

The big improvement mechanically is the ability to walk around between multiple set locations. Imagine Myst. It’s that. It was playing this game that I suddenly noticed the similarities to Myst. Lots of puzzles involving complicated machinery, and a plot I generally had a bit of a difficulty getting a handle on, delivered primarily through notes dotted throughout.

It’s not one to one though, Myst games are usually fairly sprawling with puzzle elements sprinkled around its world, here the puzzles are very condensed, just a couple of rooms per chapter. Also this game doesn’t present the same kind of beautiful otherworldly environments you might want from a Myst.

One of its other new mechanics is an upgrade to your looking glass that allows you to shrink (?) or if not actually shrink then somehow project yourself into a metaphysical space that exists within certain objects and machines. Allowing you to manipulate a puzzle from the inside. It’s essentially just another screen you can go to but it is used well to create some memorable moments and puzzles.

I was genuinely surprised how much The Room Three did to elevate itself. I don’t know if I’d suggest skipping the first two, they’re not bad they just lack some of the complexity.

#ix plays video games

[windholm]

LOST GIRL PROJECT #10

Hi everyone, and welcome, to another Woodend!

For whoever's back, so glad and thankful you returned. For whoever's new to it, thank you for joining this """""little""""" fanfiction project, and please be sure to check out the introducting post for everything you have to know about it and to read its prologue, or Foreword, just as both the previous posts.

Hey there! Sorry if it took me some time to put this post down, but I'm so very busy... I actually can't tell if I'll be able to submit another paragraph in a month, either...

But until then, here we are. This paragraph took me quite some time: every time I looked at it, the less it convinced me. I tried so hard to fill it, and fill it... but in the end, I preferred to take the easier path, and made it simpler than I thought (she should even have seen Miranda, at some point in the writing process, but it felt so confusing...)

One thing I really would like to point out is: while I was writing this, I took a lot of inspiration from "... And Then There Were None", my favourite novel by Agatha Christie. Especially, from the scene where Vera Claythorne can't remember the last verse in the poem, and so she keeps wondering how does it go. Here, I tried to do the same thing (though insisting more on it) with Ms. McCraw being baffled by the silence.

You know, Ms. McCraw really is an enigmatic character, in all of the Picnic at Hanging Rock's versions, so I hope the reasons I gave her for what she's about to do will make sense to you as much as they did to me... anyway, thanks for stopping by. See you (hopefully) in a month!

WARNING: I do not own Picnic at Hanging Rock, nor any of the other movies/series/books/songs this fanfiction was inspired from. Again, this is just a fanfiction, and a homage to many of them.

#fanfic #au #fanon #historical #early 1900s #1903 #victorian education #australia #victoria #hanging rock #picnic at hanging rock #ms mccraw #children rights #fantasy #bear with me #lost girl project