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jtownraindancer · 9 months

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The Burn Collection

Hello friends! I've been hunting down Burn Gorman's works (film, screen, and radio) over the past few months, and since sharing is caring~

Audiobooks

Arkham County- From within the walls of Arkham’s asylum, reclusive writer Randolph Carter tells the story of orphan Violet Flintock, who arrives in Arkham County in search of her own history only to be instantly greeted by the bloody realities of this small town, whose foundations are built from the lore and mythology of HP Lovecraft. Horror; mature themes. 2020. Ensemble cast. Wilbur. [complete]

Torchwood: Everyone Says Hello- Across Cardiff, ordinary people are behaving in odd ways: saying hello to complete strangers, and going out of their way to greet one another. Torchwood discovers that an alien communications field is gathering strength in the area. The team must find the device responsible and shut it off - before civil unrest engulfs the whole city. 2008. Narrator. Owen Harper. [complete]

Torchwood: Slow Decay- A friend of Gwen's has recently done an impressive bit of slimming, thanks to a new Cardiff weight-loss clinic with an incredibly simple system, and now Rhys wants to give it a try. Elsewhere in the city, an ordinary woman with superhuman strength and a extraordinary hunger is attacking people and eating her victims. 2007. Narrator. Owen Harper. [complete]

Films

Agatha Christie's Marple: Ordeal By Innocence- Old wounds are reopened for the Argyle family when a man suddenly turns up after being abroad and claims that the black sheep of the family could not have murdered its tyrannical matriarch. 2007. Ensemble cast. Antagonist. Jacko Argyle. [complete]

Cemetery Junction- In early 1970s England, three friends spend their days in banter, drinking, fighting and chasing girls. Freddie wants to escape their working class world but cheeky chappy Bruce and kind-hearted slacker Snork are happy with life the way it is. When Freddie gets a job as a door-to-door insurance salesman and bumps into his old school sweetheart Julie, the gang are forced to make choices that will change their lives forever. 2010. Ensemble cast. PC Renwick. [complete]

Color Me Kubrick- The true story of a man who posed as director Stanley Kubrick during the production of Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), despite knowing very little about his work and looking nothing like him. 2005. Period typical -isms. Ensemble cast. Willie. [complete]

Crimson Peak- An aspiring young author travels to a remote Gothic mansion in Cumberland, England with her new husband and his sister. There, she must decipher the mystery behind the ghostly visions that haunt her new home. 2015. Ensemble cast. Mr. Holly. [complete]

Dalziel and Pascoe: A Death in The Family- When a transit depot is robbed of £600,000 in used banknotes, the thieves left one thing behind: a dead security guard. The victim is revealed to be the inside man and telephone records lead to Steve Pitt, found dead in his restaurant. 2006. Ensemble cast. Jerry Hart. [complete]

Enola Holmes- Enola is the youngest sibling in the famous Holmes family. She is extremely intelligent, observant, and insightful, defying the social norms for women of the time. Her mother Eudoria has taught her everything she needs to know to be strong-willed and independent. But on her sixteenth birthday, Enola wakes to find that her mother has disappeared. 2020. Ensemble cast. Linthorn. [complete]

Fred Claus- Santa's bitter older brother, Fred, is forced to move to the North Pole to help Santa and the elves prepare for their big night in exchange for cash. But what started out as an easy way to make money soon turns into a desperate attempt to save Christmas. 2007. Cameo. Elf. [complete]

Guernica- "Listen, George. Here's your damn war story. Twenty-six April, 1937. Gernika. Don't give a damn if you use my name or you have someone else sign it. But it's the story I want printed. Ready? A very small town in the north of Spain is about to become very famous, but for all the wrong reasons." 2016. Ensemble cast. Soviet Consul. [complete]

Imperium- A young FBI agent, eager to prove himself in the field, goes undercover as a white supremacist. 2016. Mature content. Ensemble cast. Morgan. [complete]

In A Valley of Violence- A mysterious stranger and a random act of violence drag a town of misfits and nitwits into the bloody crosshairs of revenge. 2016. Ensemble cast. Priest. [complete]

Jimi: All Is By My Side- [coming soon!]

Johnny English Reborn- Johnny English is retired in Tibet and in disgrace in MI7 after a washed-up mission in Mozambique. Summoned unexpectedly by MI7 to stop assassins from killing Chinese Premier Xiang Ping. 2011. Ensemble cast. Agent Slater. [complete]

Love is Not Enough- DV Indie filmmaker due to shoot promo for unsigned Welsh pop group takes the money and uses it to finish the film he's been working on for 5 years. 2001. Mature content. Period typical -isms. Slurs. Ensemble cast. Al Weisberger. [complete]

Pacific Rim- As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse. 2013. Ensemble cast. Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. [complete]

Pacific Rim Uprising- Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots against a new Kaiju threat. But this time, the threat comes from somewhere much closer to home. 2018. Ensemble cast. Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. [complete]

Penelope- Penelope Wilhern was born with the snout of a pig due to a curse that was placed on her family by a vengeful witch. The only way to break the curse is for "one of her own kind" to love her. 2006. Ensemble cast. Larry Bunter. [complete]

Ransomed- A young diplomat is assigned the task of carrying the ransom money to rescue an abducted diplomat in Lebanon, and a local taxi driver accidently gets involved in the mission. 2023. Ensemble cast. Richard Carter. [complete]

Red Lights- Psychologist Margaret Matheson and her assistant study paranormal activity, which leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic who has resurfaced years after his toughest critic mysteriously passed away. 2012. Ensemble cast. Benedict Cohen. [complete]

Sex, The City and Me- Jess, a high-flying banker, is sidelined in her job by her Machiavellian boss when she returns to work after having a baby. She decides to sue the bank and ends up risking everything, including her marriage. The drama is inspired by in-depth interviews with women who have fought major cases in the City. 2007. Ensemble cast. Lawrence. [complete]

The Curse of Steptoe- Aspiring stage actor Harry H. Corbett jumps at the chance to star in a television comedy show 'Steptoe and Son'. The show's success proves to be a poisoned chalice, thwarting his stage ambitions. Wilfrid Brambell, the actor playing his father, is a gay man in an England where homosexuality is still illegal. Both, in their own way, feel that they have invoked the curse of Steptoe. Ray Galton. [complete]

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: In Divine Proportion- While investigating the murder of an interior decorator, Inspector Lynley and Sergeant Havers quickly learn there is a connection between the victim's murder, and the death of her sister 15 years earlier. Mature themes; references to rape & suicide. 2005. Ensemble cast. Billy Verger. [complete]

The Oxford Murders- At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try to stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols. 2008. Ensemble cast. Yuri Podorov. [complete]

Undergods- A dystopian anthology set in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The breakout film of director Chino Moya, "Undergods" offers a prophetic warning that we will be the instruments of our own undoing if we refuse to address rising authoritarianism alongside growing inequality and scarcity of resources. 2020. Ensemble cast. Tim. [complete]

Up There- Martin (deceased) is stuck in a dead-end job, welcoming the newly departed into the afterlife. All he dreams of is going 'Up There'. But his plans are thrown into disarray when he has to team up with the relentlessly chirpy Rash, and together they lose a new arrival. 2011. Ensemble cast; protagonist. Martin. [complete]

Walking With The Enemy- A young man, separated from his family in World War II, disguises himself as a Nazi S.S. Officer and uncovers more than just his family whereabouts. 2013. Ensemble cast. Lt. Colonel Otto Skorzeny. [complete]

Watcher- As a serial killer stalks the city, Julia -- a young actress who just moved to town with her boyfriend -- notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street. 2022. Ensemble cast; antagonist. Watcher; Weber. [complete]

Guest Appearances

A Lark Rise in Candleford: Season 4, Episode 3- Thomas is euphoric when he lands the job of organising the church bazaar. But his joy soon evaporates when the vicar falls ill, and the controversial and free-thinking curate Reverend Marley takes charge. Thomas is convinced that Marley is evil incarnate, and when he comes across a snake on his postal rounds, he sees it as a sign that the devil is indeed amongst them. 2011. Ensemble cast; guest star. Reverend Benedict Marley. [complete]

Coronation Street- 1998. Ensemble cast; guest star. Ben Andrews. [coming soon!]

Forever- Dr. Henry Morgan is a New York City medical examiner who studies the dead for criminal cases, and to solve the mystery of his own immortality. 2014. Ensemble cast; guest star. Lewis Farber/Adam. (Appears only in episodes 11, 14, 18, 21 & 22, but all episodes are here!) [complete]

Game of Thrones- [coming soon]

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: Flowers For Charlie- Charlie being used as a test subject for a new intelligence pill that makes him smarter and more aware of his messed-up life, causing him to quit his janitor job. Meanwhile, Dee, Dennis, and Mac try to do Charlie's work but get sidetracked and high on gasoline; and Frank tries to bring Charlie back to his dimwitted self. 2013. Ensemble cast; guest star. The Scientist/Science Bitch. [complete]

Lucky Man- From the mind of comic book legend Stan Lee comes a bold new action crime series about a brilliant but flawed police officer with the power to control luck. 2016. Ensemble cast; guest appearance. Doug. (Featuring only the three episodes in which he starred.) [complete]

Merseybeat: Coming of Age- Sgt. Gentle decides it's time for a change and decides to go out on the beat with PC Traynor, and the pair investigate a burglary at the home of an antiques dealer. Meanwhile, Ch. Insp. Oulton tries to help out an old friend who has found himself on the wrong side of the law. 2001. Ensemble cast; guest appearance. Sean Finnigan. [complete]

The Man in The High Castle- In a dystopian America dominated by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, a young woman discovers a mysterious film that may hold the key to toppling the totalitarian regimes. 2015. The Marshal. (Featuring only the two episodes in which he starred.) [complete]

Miniseries

And Then There Were None- Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated rock near the Devon coast in southern England. Cut off from the mainland, with their generous hosts mysteriously absent, they are each accused of a terrible crime. As members of the party start to die one by one, the survivors realize that one of them is a killer and start to turn on each other. Mature themes. 2015. Ensemble cast. Sergeant Detective William "Bill" Blore. [complete]

Bleak House- Jarndyce and Jarndyce is an interminable law case in the Court of Chancery, concerning two or more wills and their beneficiaries. Eventually, after several decades, a verdict is finally reached, but not without a surprising number of twists along the way. 2005. Ensemble cast. William Guppy. (Video formatting issues in a couple episodes- i.e. fuzzy and/or black borders on sides in several sections. Full picture still visible, just with weird borders.) [complete]

Cheat- What starts out as what appears to be an open-and-shut case of academic dishonesty, soon spirals out of everyone’s control, proving there’s far more to the story than just a plagiarised essay. What lies behind the shocking events and tragedies that unfurl? Mature themes. 2019. Ensemble cast. Ben Jarvis. [complete]

Spies of Warsaw- A military attaché at the French embassy is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw. 2013. Ensemble cast. Jourdain. [complete {with Portuguese subtitles}]

The Hour- 2011. Ensemble cast. Thomas Kish. [coming soon!]

The Offer- A series based on Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy's extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making "The Godfather." 2022. Ensemble cast. Charles Bluhdorn. [complete]

The Runaway- Cathy Connor and Eamonn Docherty are childhood sweethearts who are desperate to escape their East End roots. When Cathy murders her Mum's pimp in self-defense it changes their lives forever. Mature themes. 2011. Ensemble cast. Richard Gates. [complete]

Wuthering Heights- Based on the classic novel by Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights is a story of love, obsession, hate and revenge. The protagonists, Cathy and Heathcliff, form a love that is dark and destructive and affects the lives of everyone around them. 2009. Ensemble cast. Hindley Earnshaw. [complete]

Podcasts & Radio Dramas

Curl Up & D.I.- Gemma and Andy are two feckless coppers patrolling the mean streets of Slatby, a faded North Yorkshire seaside town with an unsolved murder problem. With conventional leads exhausted, local hairstylists, gossipmongers and armchair crime-solvers Yacky and Reuben are enlisted, and their salon unwittingly becomes the beating heart of all ongoing detective operations. Welcome to the murky hinterlands of soft perms and slaughter. Mature content. 2022. Chief Steve "Wendy" Concern. [complete]

Doctor Who: Timelord Victorious: Echoes of Extinction- Trapped, a haunted monster waits to consume new victims. It needs help. It needs a doctor. Unfortunately, it also needs to kill whoever it meets. Thrust into immediate danger, and on the back-foot, it will take all of the Doctor’s ingenuity to triumph. Two interlinked adventures. Two Doctors. One foe. 2021. Ensemble cast. The Network. [complete]

Glad To Be Back- Opera-loving Lezzo is on home leave for the weekend. His prison term is due to end in four weeks' time, and he is looking for a little innocent enjoyment. His friends have other plans in mind however, and his mother has some worrying news. 1999. Ensemble cast. Norman; Various. [complete]

He Died With His Eyes Open- A detective in 1980s London investigates a brutal murder, but has little to go on except for the victim's cassette diaries. 2013. Ensemble cast; narrator. The Detective. [complete]

King Trash- Mike Hodges adapts King Lear in a gritty retelling following KT, an 80-year-old criminal despot who owns a landfill site in the outskirts of London, and his daughter Honey, who is anything but sweet. Mature themes. 2007. Ensemble cast. Clint. [complete]

The Babington Plot- During the reign of Elizabeth I, a group of Catholic gentlemen conceived a plan to assassinate the Queen. The story of the failed conspiracy, told in documentary fashion on its one-year anniversary, is revealed via the different perspectives of several participants in the events. 2008. Ensemble cast. Robert Poley. [complete]

The Battersea Poltergeist- A paranormal cold case, re-investigated through a thrilling blend of drama and documentary. The true story of one of Britain's strangest hauntings. 2021. Ensemble cast. Wally Hitchings. (includes original adverts.) [complete]

The Mayor of Casterbridge- Michael Henchard spends his life trying to atone for the terrible action that led to the loss of his wife and child. But his past refuses to be buried, no matter how hard he tries to conceal it. Dark themes. 2008. Ensemble cast. Abel Whittle. [complete]

The Reckoning: The Death of Christopher Marlowe- In London, 1593, playwright Christopher Marlowe, a young writer, is stabbed in a disagreement over the bill, and the authorities find that Marlowe was killed in self-defence. History says it was just a drunken quarrel, nothing more. But Charles Nicholl thinks it was murder, and an unsolved murder never grows old. 2022. Ensemble cast. Robert Poley. [complete]

The Spy- Henry Wharton, a young British soldier, sneaks into No-Man's Land in civilian clothing in order to visit the family he hasn't seen in over a year. But the happy reunion is cut short when he is captured by American soldiers and must stand trial as a spy. 2012. Ensemble cast. Harvey Birch. [complete]

The Taming of The Shrew- Petruchio, after collecting money from both her younger sister's suitors and a dowry from her father, is ready to marry Katherine, even against her will. Have Katherine and Petruchio learned to love each other? Or is the marriage based on terror and deception? 1998. Ensemble cast. Grumio. [complete]

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- When a tornado strikes her farmhouse in Kansas, young Dorothy is lifted to the magical world of Oz where she embarks upon a perilous journey to find her way back home. 2009. Ensemble cast. Tin Man. [complete]

Unauthorised History: The Killing- Four men have rented an upstairs room in a tavern to have a "meeting". Sometime later, a violent commotion is heard, and only three of the four men come out alive. The coroner rules that Christopher Marlowe, contemporary of William Shakespeare, was killed in self-defense. One man is not so certain, and he's determined to uncover the truth, no matter where the trail leads. 2010. Ensemble cast. Robert Poley. [complete]

Television Series

Halo- Aliens threaten human existence in an epic 26th-century showdown. 2022. Ensemble cast; antagonist. Vishner Grath. [complete]

Jamestown- 1619. Alice, Verity, and Jocelyn are among several women arrived from England, duty-bound to marry the men who have paid for their passage to Jamestown. Also arriving from England are Governor Yeardley and his wife Temperance, who will quickly discover the difficulties in both running the settlement and preventing a Company Secretary from undermining his position. 2017-19. Ensemble cast. Virginia Company Secretary Nicholas Farlow. [complete]

Torchwood- [coming soon!]

TURN: Washington's Spies- Long Island farmer Abe Woodhull bands together with a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies, The Culper Ring, who turn the tide in America's fight for independence. 2014-18. Ensemble cast. Major Edmund Hewlett. [complete]

Torchwood Audios

Corpse Day- PC Andy Davidson is very excited. It’s Corpse Day – the day when the local constabulary get help on dead cases from Torchwood. This year, he’s volunteered to act as liaison, and he knows he’s going to have a brilliant time. For Dr. Owen Harper, today’s just like any other. There’ll be bloodshed, screaming and murder. At the end of it all, he doesn’t care. After all, life’s just for the living, and he’s long dead. 2017. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Gooseberry- Andy has a girlfriend. She's called Caite, and she's utterly lovely. And then she meets Owen. Owen finds out that Caite has a secret. One that he's desperate to understand. But the more he discovers, the more dangerously close to Caite he becomes. What's going to happen when Andy finds out? 2021. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Iceberg- Dr. Owen Harper gets a call from an old friend in the middle of the night. She's got a ward full of coma patients, all of them checking in with a dead relative as their imaginary friend. Is it mere coincidence, or have they discovered a bridge between the living and the dead? 2020. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Lease of Life- 3 bed, 1 bath, shared house in a vibrant area with easy access to Cardiff city centre. Has a real lived-in feel. Note to interested parties: There is a small spreading mould issue, and an investigation is being undertaken on site. Those worried are advised to contact the Council's Mould Expert, Dr. Owen Harper. 2021. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

The Hope- Megwyn Jones is one of the most hated women in Britain. She used to run a home for troubled children in an isolated part of Snowdonia called The Hope. For a long time there were rumours about what was happening there, and then one day it was realised that the children had gone missing. The years have been long and hard, but now Megwyn’s dying, and she’s agreed to go back to The Hope, to reveal the horrible secret she’s kept all these years. 2019. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

The Last Beacon- A signal in a Welsh mountain is calling an ancient battlefleet to Earth. Owen Harper and Ianto Jones head up into the Brecons to stop it. The problem is - Ianto really loves camping. Owen? Owen does not. 2018. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

The Three Monkeys- Andy Davidson's been ordered to watch over a local businessman, and he's suprised when Owen decides to tag along on the stakeout. Andy knows it can't just be coincidence- Owen knows something- the businessman's attracted Torchwood’s attention. Tonight, the two of them are going to take him down. But will luck be on their side? 2020. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Torchwood Special: Believe- The Church of the Outsiders believe that mankind is about to evolve, to reach out into the stars. Owen Harper believes that Torchwood has to do whatever it takes to stop them. Mature content. 2018. Main cast! Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

*This post will be updated as I find more content. **Quality may not always be the best due to age and/or limited availability. Will do my best to clean audio/video up, and will hopefully be able to find better quality replacements in time.

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floof-writes · 4 months

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Sorry, frightened anon.

Thanks for sharing the whole rant with Sephie/Sam, I couldn't agree more. I'm trying to stay out of The Seven tags for spoilers so I didn't actually know she was a fan favorite. But I have to say Sam/Sephie are my least favorite at the table. Sam being outright antagonistic about Antiope/Penny's things is really upsetting and immediately put a bad taste in my mouth. Her "why are we celebrating?" In ep 3 was another small moment. I'm only at ep 6 so maybe she brings it back and apologizes to everyone, but I don't know if that'll really make up for it.

I couldn't put it into words before but I think I have the same problem with Sam/Sephie taking bits too seriously, with both the fast food celebration and the viral video thing. Also I never feel like we see Sephie smiling/laughing along with the others? Or at least we super rarely do. Sam's whole thing just feels super "main character syndrome" to me. I don't know Sephie outside this but it feels like the assignment that comes with DND was kind of missed to me? Like everyone's the main character, this is an ensemble cast, that's how it works.

Those are my thoughts on the whole thing

God I'm so glad someone else agrees!!! As far as 'fan favorite' goes, I've just noticed that in the tag Sam seems to get the most stand alone art, and quite a few headcanons in relation to non-7 characters. This is at least partially due to the fact that she appeared more extensively in Fantasy High than any other PC member of the 7, but she definitely gets people's brains spinning. "Main character syndrome" is a great way to describe it concisely! And Sephie has a very calm resting face that she rarely breaks for sure, which makes it hard to connect with her. (The problem with 'knowing Sephie outside of this' is that D20 was her first credit. I checked, because I wanted to see what industry she came from, figure out if she's just better at something else. But she had no work in/on the internet, box office, or television prior to The 7. She must've worked on stage or something? She's been in a few other actual plays since.)

I don't want to hate it but I still haven't finished episode five because of how much it bugged me. I've heard great things about (MINOR SPOILER)(****) Ostentatia's religious arc serving as a great foil to Kristen/D20's other takes on religion and I was excited! I love Erika and wanted to see more from Aabria before I watch MisMag and CoFaF. Becca was fucking killing it as Penny, in character every second!! And I loved TaleSpire! There's only 5 more episodes but I hate that I'm going to have to 'get through it' instead of enjoying it.

#ellie speaks #d20 #fantasy high #sam nightingale #the seven d20 #dimesnion 20 #sephie valentin

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uhohitsdorian · 1 year

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Assembled cast line-up version 3! I didn’t anticipate this becoming a (near-) complete redraw that took me nearly a year to the day, but I think it looks so much better for it. The page about them over on @magic-mitchell has been updated with the new faces and recent info too!

Image description under the cut, since it’s a very long one!

[Image: a digital drawing of the artist’s main D&D characters, both PCs and NPCs, in a simplified style, in front of a striped background with character-corresponding colours. From left to right: Anser, a drow rogue, holds her mask in one hand and glances over her shoulder toward the others, her body turned away. She is very short and lean, with a few sparse, white freckles, and wears a black assassin’s uniform. Heaven, a tiefling-vampire sorcerer, looks haughtily and playfully down at the viewer, wielding her glass stave. She is tall, with ice-blue skin, long, dark hair adorned in an elaborate headdress, and wears a long, pristinely white gown. Crocus, a drow-tiefling blood hunter, kneels in front of Heaven, on guard, weapons drawn to defend her. Her face is nigh-on shredded with scars, and she has one prosthetic, brass-coloured eye. She wears a uniform highly reminiscient of Anser’s, though more brightly coloured, with wine-red leather plates and gold accents to match the crocus flowers in her hair. Opportunity, a wood elf rogue (both dubious descriptors), stands in profile, caught mid-purposeful stride, examining a revolver in his hands from under his signature magpie-skull mask. He has a waifish figure, with long hair drawn back in a high ponytail that appears to have faint stars visible in its sheer darkness, and wears a rich, pine-green tailcoat. Providence, an orc-scourge aasimar barbarian, stands back to back with him, gazing upwards at a small moon that floats in her hands. She is tall, fat and strong, with dark blue skin covered in delicate markings and hair made of swirling storm clouds, and wears a short, mint-green dress covered in flowers. Solace, a drow bard, looks upward with anticipation, a spell swirling at his fingertips, and a troubled expression on his few unobscured features. He is tiny, covered in white freckles, with lowered ears and a mop of choppy hair that hides most of his face. He wears a navy-blue cape coat and a matching peaked cap, supporting his gaunt frame on a gnarled wooden cane in one hand, with his familiar, a copperhead snake, draped over his shoulders. Mitchell, a drow wizard, stands front and centre, holding a spyglass in one hand and his wand in the other. He is also tiny and covered in white freckles, with hair tied into a braid over one shoulder, and wears a robe that fades from teal to dark blue, over a maroon shirt. His familiar, a pipistrelle bat, hovers above him, and he looks upward with an expression of anxious, hesitant hope. Cato, a drow warlock, folds his arms and looks down toward where his sister is petting his familiar: a fluffy, blue-pointed cat. He has very curly white hair shaved short on one side and huge hoop earrings, and wears a dark, intricately-patterned ensemble that complements his chubby figure. Malcice, a drow rogue, is knelt down to pet her brother’s cat (who very much seems to be enjoying the attention) with a wide smile. She wears leather armour and small, round pince-nez glasses, and her impressively long white hair is box-braided and pulled into a loose ponytail behind her. Maxim, a “human” paladin (deeply unconvincing), stands with his longsword in one hand and whip in the other. He is very tall, and wears a heavy black hood, through the slits in which emerge an impressive pair of curling horns, with heavy gloves, a chainmaille shirt, and assorted pieces of metal plate. His face is covered by a very ornate helmet, which is ivory-coloured and painted in blue with delicate plantlife and birds. His legs have short auburn fur and cloven hooves, and a matching, tufted tail swings behind him. Ferrindale, a half-elf/half-gnome bard, is posed grinning, apparently shredding on a small, stringed instrument. They are very, very small, and have bleach-blond hair with brown roots and streaks, chunky earrings, and very brightly coloured clothes. Piper, a scourge aasimar sorcerer/warlock, is ducked and ready with their meteor hammer, looking upwards as if towards some unseen opponent. Their hair is made of strands of coiled, shiny copper, styled in an undercut with a rattail, and they wear a teal vest over a dark blue jacket, with loose, patterned green trousers. Effie, a changeling fighter in guise as a tiefling, has anxiously drawn their rapier and buckler. Their body is broad and brawny, with delicate unguligrade legs and cloven hooves, and a short, tufted tail. While their clothes and armour are dyed in muted colours, their features are, from head to toe, alabaster-white, with blank eyes, a neatly curled moustache, a thick, wavy ponytail, and a single, centred spiral horn. San, a human child, stands faced away from the viewer, entirely indistinct. They wear a hooded blue cloak and carry a wooden stave with one spiral end, onto which is hooked a metal lantern that glows with a gentle, blue flame. End ID.]

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utilitycaster · 1 year

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The problem with a lot of discussion of actual play is that to have valuable insights, you really need to come in with an understanding of both the medium (actual play almost always means an improvised ensemble cast game with a random chance element) and the genre (depends). It also really helps to understand, at least on a high level, the game system in use, which works in tandem with both medium and genre; and the setting, which is often but not always related to the genre and game system and might deliberately be chosen to contrast with them.

For example:

A Court of Fey and Flowers is Actual Play, using a hybrid of D&D and Good Society, and is based in a Regency-era style that's sort of comedy of manners, and is set in the Feywild. Therefore, you should be expecting:

The normal unpredictability of actual play as an improv medium and the expectation that all PCs are main characters

The specific focus on RP and interpersonal relationship choices pertaining to one's reputation, with an emphasis on rumors, from Good Society

The random chance element, expectation of combat and skill checks, and magic usage of D&D

The conventions of a regency romance/comedy of manners which are also the conventions that Good Society is playing with, eg, inheritance, nobility, trying for a good marriage, commentary on the social order; relatively nonviolent, typically

The conventions of the Feywild (mythology of the fey: mercurial, otherworldly, bestial or natural yet organized into a rigid hierarchy).

In practice what this means is that the TPK in Neverafter, for example, is a shock, but is not unexpected, because of the conventions of horror and Grimm's fairy tales. A TPK in A Court of Fey and Flowers, however, would have been completely misplaced and bizarre, in the same way that a horde of undead swarming the manor in Emma would be.*

*yes I am aware of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; the whole point of that is that the juxtaposition of the conventions of an Austen novel with the conventions of a zombie story is allegedly funny. Also the title makes it very clear that there will, in fact, be a horde of undead swarming the manor. Which isn't to say you can't pull off a genre twist either! It's just that you really better know what you're doing.

#next time on STEM person extrapolates from high school level English/lit education: adaptations or how to be normal about TLOVM #on actual play

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buttclench-ryugazaki · 2 years

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good society is really working for acofaf because it facilitates (and even forces) one-on-one pc/pc or pc/npc interaction, which is really great for witnessing the characters' different facets that only show depending on who they're with. ensemble casts are great but, imo, kind of wasted if you don't get to see all the various possible dynamics between the characters, and showcasing them through epistolary and visitation phases is so effective

additionally, giving pcs secret motivations and implementing mechanical elements to social encounters colors them differently; some bonds you pursue or avoid because you have an ulterior motive with a defined thing to gain or lose, others are genuine and earnest but perhaps they are at odds with your goals resulting in internal conflict, and then sometimes you willingly fraternize with people detrimental to your status which can be a strategic move in itself, or maybe you just like to self-sabotage for fun (or for love)? watching a bunch of trained improvisers roleplay is already great internet tv, but then applying long-term goals and lasting consequences to their rp is a perfect way to give those interactions and decisions mechanical and narrative weight

#dimension 20 #a court of fey and flowers #acofaf #good society #having thoughts about a clever system!#you can do things for flavor and you can do things because they benefit you mechanically and you can do both and you can do neither #what a good introduction to a wonderful indie rpg #i love mechanics! mechanics are good!

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tiredtiresias · 5 months

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So, a consequence of casting a closeted trans woman to play male roles is those are all eggs now, because that’s the only way I know how to play men.

I got cast as eight “men” during my time as a student actress (not including little reads, bit parts, nameless ensemble-members, and study scenes, and I guess not including my own self lol). Here they all are; I gave them the freedom I myself have found, as it only seemed fair.

The Lady of Death, Once On This Island - she’s a being beyond mortality, humanity and gender, I feel like she can probably change at will. Also: deeply weird choice of musical for our majority-white middle school

Gianna “Rump” Palazzese, Grease - moved far away for college, earned the same nickname by circumstance because that ass is fat

The Stewardess, Into the Woods - still a huge bitch, but now we get to stan womens wrongs

The Baxter, Into the Woods - yeah idk what it is about this character but directors love to give it to trans girls, based on some jokes I’ve seen online. I’ve played her TWICE, and was also a baker in Rats! With all of that internal (and external) misogyny worked through, and idk some kinda potion, now she’s the lumberjack lesbian of our dreams!

Princess Audacia, Once Upon a Mattress - she’s not gonna be afraid anymore! Also she and Fred are t4t; idk Fred’s gender but no matter what they are t4t

Zelda Frietag, The Last Night of Ballyhoo - of all the deadnames to ditch, she is surely the most justified lol. Also, a reason why she has survived whatever kills men slowly when they live in that house

Melody Stimson, Our Town- womanhood could have saved her. Also, the thing about the 1910s is you can show up and be like “I’ve actually been a girl the whole time, I have a condition that makes me grow facial hair, and I was afraid.” And what, are they gonna make you prove it? With all that Lutheran propriety? Are they gonna Google it? No

Arryn Frove - the first full-length dnd campaign I was in I got kind of backdoored into playing a longterm NPC who the dm kind of made my pc over time. Coincidentally(or not? Idk that dm hated my guts), it was a male halfling rogue who preyed on all my biggest insecurities: an incompetent little man who no one would ever count on or trust. I can’t make other peoples’ characters trust or count on her, but by letting her be who she wants, maybe she can come to count on and trust in herself

I’ve drawn these 8 like this two years in a row now, and plan to do so again next fall. Maybe in the meantime I’ll liberate my bit parts and ensemble roles, idk. This is one of the most cathartic drawings I’ve done so far, both times.

#trans thoughts #transfem #trans headcanon #project egg liberation #traditional drawing #musical theater #theater kid #trans girl #transgender #art therapy #trans pride #our town #once upon a mattress #into the woods #grease #dnd character #dnd art #former theater kid

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tsuki-sennin · 7 months

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Two years have past since the end of the war with the Bugnarok Empire. Under the guidance of its new King, Jeremy Brasieri, the Bugnarok are now recognied by the other five kings as their own sovereign nation. However... centuries of pain cannot be undone so soon. Not when the world faces ever greater peril.

And... after that... Freaky Friday x 3.

Spoilers, I guess...

-Oh.

-He dead.

-Kamejim's an alien, huh?

-Ohhhhhhhh, that's a lot of bugs.

-Well, his majesty King Gira certainly looks older.

-Everybody seems to be resting on their laurels.

-Rita would be ashamed.

-"Oh... I see... Well, that's not the least bit surprising."

-What the hell happened to our worldwide government?

-"Please stop crying, it's not your fault! D:"

-The aliens are coming! We've been compromised!

-"I do, yeah!"

-Dugden Dujardin...

-"Right, here's the deal. You're all gonna hand your planet over to me.

-THEY THREW THEM IN JAIL?

-WHY THO

-RITA YOU RUN THE JAILS HOW-

-"Hey buddy, you lied to me, y'know?"

-Ohhhhhhhhh

-Holy shit

-This guy is just Bug-type Evolt.

-Oh my God.

-Y'know, I can't say I expected intergalactic genocide from this show.

-"Wow, you're right! I am mocking you."

-I have to say, the green screen halos add a lot to how surreal and terrifying he is.

-Hey, wait a fucking second, that's America on that earth model!

-All that with a flick.

-He nearly destroyed all of America.

-Racules you motherfucker

-Gira says "Up yours, Dugdump."

-Whoaaaaaaaa, who is that?

-J

-Jesters.

-Gorma...

-Man's got his own roster.

-Jimmy, of course, was here the whole time.

-I suppose God's sitting this one out.

-The Tyrant King returns.

-Ohsama Sentai! King-Ohger!

-Lovin' the new hair, Yanma.

-Kaguragi seems just about the same as he always is.

-Ran, on the other hand... Absolutely serving.

-Oh, short hair Rita. Love it.

-Rita's one gray eye...

-We are so back. ...even though really it hasn't been that long.

-"Freeze, stinkbug."

-Oh great, Jimmy slipped away.

-Oh

-Oh my god.

-What kind of fucking PC needs global power siphoning?

-HIMENO CAUSED A WILD FIRE

-KAGURAGI CREATED A FARM TANK

-RITA WOULDN'T FUCKING TAKE A VACATION

-Yes, kings are back, I saw last episode.

-Intergalactic clown bugs.

-We traded Dezzy for this jhkhkl

-Gorma's already come up with a perfect scheme~!

-Kaguragi's a flasher I see.

-Oh wait, no Himeno???

-Goddamn, Kaguragi's living it up.

-Yanma, you're in the middle of a tundra, why the hell did you take Rita's shoes off?

-There is literally no episode premise better for an ensemble cast like this than a Freaky Friday plot.

-Ohhhhh, I noticed that Rita covered Yanma's eye. It must be blind.

-The actors are absolutely nailing each other's mannerisms, holy crap.

-I'm glad Kaguragi and Jeremy are enjoying themselves :)

-Himeno's still absolutely serving in Kaguragi's body.

-"Yanma... please... hurry up, I need it."

-"Dude, c'mon, you're already making yourself home in my body, at least-"

-"GIVE!"

-My current theory as to why Rita covers their mouth so much is because they have an oral stim they view as particularly embarassing. I imagine it must've hurt a lot when Gira laughed so hard.

-It is so weird hearing Rita's voice speaking so casually.

-Apparently Ran's not built enough for Kaguragi's liking.

-"Oh, trust me, Mantis Lady! You gotta knead your dough and feel the burn to make a nice, extra crispy bread."

-Gorma Jumpscare.

-Gorma Rosalia...

-Ninpo! Body Swap Art!

-"Beat me, and you'll be heading right home."

-Ohgai Busou!

-Oh, right, just because the minds switch around doesn't mean the authorization does.

-Nin!

-Oh, Rita smiled, that's nice :)

-"Jeremy, you're thinking a little too generously..."

-And this is Gira saying this, so you know this is gonna be a geopolitical nightmare.

-Jesus Christ Himeno jkjhjkmnhl

-Well at least Kaguragi's employing a bit of aid.

-SEBAS WHAT

-"No fighting."

-C

-Cross-brained fox.

-"I'm arresting each and every last one of you bastards!"

-Yanma, Yanma, Yanma, Yanma!

-Aw, Jeremy :)

-Not the least bit surprising that Gira and Jeremy are taking this the best.

-"Whaaaaaaaat? Nooooo, nooooooo, I don't think the Bugnarok are responsible for this, nooooooo!"

-Huh

-I have to disagree Jeremy, that was insanely quick, considering.

-Heat stroked out.

-Having a bit of a wild day.

-"Suppose we've spent a bit too much money on healthcare..."

-There's a certain elegance in Kaguragi's interpretation of Kamakiri Ohger.

-That's a really cool way of tying the body swaps into the fight scene though, I won't lie.

-They mad.

-Bang!

-That's our Jeremy.

-We won! Technically!

-Now to remove the Ninja

-OH FUCK

-Ohhhhhhh, you're one tricky son of a bitch, aren't you Gorma?

-Oh man, shit's getting real now.

#Rejoice O Swarming Evil! You're My King!#ohsama sentai kingohger #king ohger #kingohger #ohsama sentai king ohger #king ohger spoilers

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satoshi-mochida · 9 months

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Musical 3D platformer Billie Bust Up to be published by Humble Games

Gematsu Source

Humble Games will publish Giddy Goat Games-developed musical 3D platformer Billie Bust Up for PC via Steam, the company announced. A release date was not announced. It will be playable at Gamescom 2023, which will run from August 23 to 27 at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany.

Here is an overview of the game, via Humble Games:

About

A showstopping 3D platforming musical. Embark on a magical, musical odyssey in Billie Bust Up, a 3D platformer inspired by your favorite timeless, tuneful, and imaginative animated films. Play the lead role as an adventurous and headstrong young goat named Billie on a quest to follow in her long-lost father’s hoofsteps and reclaim a powerful magic. Alongside your mystic axolotl mentor Aristotle and playable pet fox Oscar, you’ll explore strange realms, take on showstopping villains with their own unforgettable songs, master incredible magical powers, and discover a darkly fantastic world where skillful gameplay and memorable music are harmoniously intertwined.

Key Features

Move to the Music – Put your platforming and musical talents in the spotlight in fun, challenging rhythm-based battles. Attacks drop to the beat, and lyrics clue you in to what’s coming next.

An Enchanting Ensemble – Ghosts. Feline smugglers. Puppets. Adventure alongside a charming cast of brave heroes and sinister villains, each with their own complex backstories and personalities.

For the Young at Heart – Fanciful fantasy with thrills, humor, pathos, and heart. Discover a tale of friendship, family, and the shadowy secrets that sometimes lurk behind the most vibrant exteriors.

Showstopping Songs – Each main character has their own signature song revealing their personality and motive. Bust out your own vocals with an optional sing-a-long mode for every song!

Incredible Magic Powers – Tap into a symphony of awesome abilities to take on the world’s challenges. Glide over obstacles with your umbrella wand. Conjure shields, ice, and distracting decoys.

A Welcoming World – Accessibility features like user interface color and sizing options, assist modes, and options for visual and audio cues help ensure more people can join the fun.

View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

#Billie Bust Up #Giddy Goat Games #Humble Games #Platformer #Steam #Gematsu

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eccentric-nucleus · 2 years

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so i keep thinking about progression fantasies as a genre

it's not a genre i really like but i keept reading them (tho i have been just reading tmnt fanfic recently, which is a profound step upwards in quality. sigh i keep meaning to read water margin but instead i keep reading genre trash. genre trash is more fun. also gayer.) but it's like, one of those train wreck things, where i can't really pull myself away.

but i think i've identified part of what the issue is, which is that... okay, so, a work comes with some expectations, right? both on the author's side, expectations of the reader, and also on the reader's side, expectations of the work. so like, "genre" is an expectation, right? if something is billed as a detective story, you expect some level of mystery and puzzling, etc. if something is children's media, you expect maybe not a lot of sex and violence. whatever.

so part of my issue with progression fantasy as a genre is that one of the genre expectations is pretty much explicitly "nothing bad will ever happen to the main character". and like, that's mostly true in many stories; stories where there's a defined main character and they get killed off midway through and replaced aren't unheard of, but they're not like, a primary mode of story arc really. ensemble casts will sometimes winnow down their characters but even then, usually the characters that get the most narrative time will end up surviving. so it's not common, but it does happen, and there's a certain level of tension when reading something because you never really know for sure that it's not going to pull an unexpected twist. but with a progression fantasy, nope. that entire area of narrative tension, gone, because explicit in the "progression" part of the genre label is that the character will stick around to get more powerful. so that's like, boring, right?

i was reading, uh. 'blue core', which is a dungeon core harem progression fantasy. it's extremely straight even though the main character is a amalgam mind of like thousands of people. he's still a guy and he's still straight and he sprouts tentacles to have soft-bdsm sex with sexy anime foxgirls etc.

anyway at one point after he's collected a half-dozen harem members one of them gets killed. and that was the point i was like, huh. this is interesting. because given the genre constraints i absolutely do not believe this character is staying dead. so the real question is, "how long will this character stay dead", and "what is the impact their death+resurrection will have on the narrative". like, pretty reasonable questions, i think? "what is the nature of this character's arc and how is it impacted by this other character's death"

the answer was: they're resurrected at the end of the next chapter. there's a year-long timeskip while they're reborn, and in that time the main character goes into a fugue state. the primary impact of the character's death is to provide a justification for a timeskip, & neither her nor the main character meaningfully change due to her death.

this is exactly the kind of shit that bothers me! like oh okay you threw aside any character development in favor of a purely mechanical advancement of the plot state. you wanted to advance a clock so this is the justification. any time these stories accidentally stumble into a setup that could be used to actually make a character arc that changes a dynamic. nope. gotta avoid that.

so it's like, i don't think i've ever read one of these stories where i'm invested in the characters as characters, as opposed to as some faux-mechanical pc avatar, just because... the characters do not have arcs and they don't develop. they're never in danger that i take seriously as a reader. they just get more powerful. there's not really any potential to change. they don't have complex motivations, since in the vast majority of cases the motivation is "get more power", and the entire genre is basically about never having to recontextualize your relationship with power even as you get more of it.

one of the other ones i'm reading involves the main character being the son of an exiled noble, who grew up in a desolated farming village unknowing of his royal heritage, etc. and now he's gotten magic powers and is running into nobles, and he just ran into his uncle + cousin who inherited his father's noble title, but they don't know who he is. and his cousin is a spoiled noble kid who's squandering his father's fortune, etc. and he's like, oh no my cousin is involved in illegal dealing of goods! those should be my goods!

and like, for me the very obvious story beat is to establish a symmetry there? to be like, actually, main character, if you were raised with that fortune maybe you'd be just like your spoiled and arrogant cousin, and it sounds like that's something you wouldn't like. so why are you still wanting your father's former fortune in that specific possessive mode? like, recontextualize the thing they were desiring, change motives, character growth. you know, character 101 stuff. but i have the sneaking suspicion that this story will play it completey straight and be like, the main character is gonna steal back the goods his cousin is trying to sell! so now he's recapturing his secret fortune!! because that's the step that leads to the most progression.

there's also an issue which i think is a more general 'problem with serials', which is that it's very possible to structure a story so that you have a goal introduced during the setup, and then you can't really resolve that without ending the series. my understanding is one piece does this: once the crew finds the one piece, that's kind of the end of one piece. so they can't really make meaningful progress towards that goal, despite it being the instigating event, so you end up with this huge dangling plot hook as unrelated arcs happen over and over. which is fine, i guess, so long as you know what you're getting into, and that the unrelated arcs are interesting enough.

another set of progression fantasy books i've read has been 'the wierkey chronicles'. the setup there, introduced during the prologue: guy in his 20s is sucked into a magical world via car crash. a mysterious patron gives him materials and teaching to become a hero, & he travels all across the 'seven worlds', a series of seven different planets that are interconnected via magical portals, collecting party members & learning magic. eventually their travels take them to an unknown planet with a barren, moon-like landscape and a pure-white sky, full of bizarre, impossibly-powerful demonic entities. his patron shows up to betray him, and he and all his party members are killed by demons. he's rubberbanded back to earth, having spent two years in a coma due to car crash, and he devotes the rest of his life to figuring out a way back to the seven worlds, and eventually tears a hole through when he's like, 70, only to end up in a body that's him from his 20s, identival to his first visit. several hundred years have passed since his first visit. so he sets out to try to figure out what's up with the mysterious patron and the unknown world beyond the edges of the seven worlds.

then, the next four novel-length books totally ignore all that in favor of detailing how he levels up a bunch. there's actually a bit that really reveals what the audience of these things is after, which is that... okay so the magic system in these books works by people building a house in their souls. you touch some magically-aligned materials in the real world and you can suck them into your soul, which is a weird pocket dimension that starts out as just like, a field of grass. a magic pebble becomes a boulder in your soul-world; a splinter from a magic tree becomes a huge tree-trunk, etc. you use these materials to construct a series of chambers that structure & channel mana, and periodically you "push up" to construct new floors, which is very explicitly a process of levelling up. each time you level up, it makes it much harder to revise the lower floors; they're kind of 'locked in'. so the main character, the first time, built a kind of shoddy house, and this time he's remembered/designed this Perfect Build that will make him a solar paladin, so he's like, i'm gonna do that. and so he prepares and prepares and he gets this artifact that he can spark in his soul to construct a false-sun that will power his abilities, and when he tries to infuse it to create the sun the process goes haywire and it destabilizes and explodes and coats his soul-home with a layer of like, blackened and burnt obsidian. and he's like, fuck, this is going to totally ruin my plans.

and apparently this plot development got the book review bombed extensively, with people being super mad about it. the author was like "trust me i'm doing something here, please don't leave a bad review". (the thing was the main character is no longer an idealistic hero so his soul can't really genuinely handle the kind of self-assurance the sun represents. instead he becomes a black hole mage b/c he's old and bitter and grimdark. tho the mc being 70 doesn't stop him from basically acting like a 20 year old all the time; the actually-70 thing mostly just comes up to justify him being bitter and uncaring and selfish.)

and just like, oof, if your reading audience is reading your work that shallowly that having a minor down beat is enough to make a significant portion of them get angry for like, tricking them into reading about a person failing... i don't know. it seems real bad. but a lot of authors understand what the reader/author dynamic is, and so they avoid ever having bad things happen to their main characters.

(tho, shoutout to 'tower of somnus', which is the only multi-book series i've read where each book has a meaningful character/plot arc that leaves the main character in a different position & caring about different things, while also maintaining a longer, series-wide plot arc that's slowly contributed to in each book. it's basically the only thing on royal road i've read that has felt like something that i could actually find in a book store.)

i mean i guess that's a lot of words for a conclusion of "i don't like this genre b/c the writing in it is bad", but, sometimes you gotta actually dig down to get a satisfying answer.

really my takeaway here should be "i should stop reading progression fantasy", which is also true. it's a very grim genre.

#progression fantasy junk

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ziracona · 1 year

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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ♥️

Awww, thank you!

I don’t know how to answer this though. I mean, I think like everyone who knows me for fic knows me because of In Living Memory. Easily my most popular or influential work. I’ve written several other fics for DbD I really liked too, especially From the Earth of No Return, because I had to learn to write a dead language for that and it was insanely intensive and fun. But if I try to only pick one per fandom, ILM wins. It’s an ensemble cast kind of epic about Philip and the survivors attempting to escape the realm together. Lots about trauma and growth and healing and humanity and love. Really loved it. Got to do so much character work, and it really turned out in a way that made me happy. It’s a little bitter sweet, because I originally wrote it for someone it was finished too late for, but it makes me happy sometimes I hear someone say it meant a lot to them. Like organ donation for a story. That one will always be special for me.

The Nuclear Reaction wasn’t technically the first fic I wrote. I used to write AE’s for the Nancy Drew PC games, and I wrote one Heavy Rain fic on da fiction.net before it, but I still kind of think of The Nuclear Reaction as my first fic, because it was the first I’d tried to do that sort of long-form, and that makes it special in my heart. It’s a Fallout 4 fic about Deacon and Preston and the other companions working together to take down the Institute after Sole’s death, with some meta about video game play styles and my first work making my 3rd person narrator a specific character but not the ones doing things on screen being narrated, and exploring the role of the narrator a lot. I didn’t finish it, because back then I took a break to write ILM and got sucked into that, but I do intend to. It’s early and has typos and is so much from my heart. I really liked it. Also, we deserve more FO4 centered on Deacon and Preston having a relationship bc they didn’t get the chance in-game but by god those two would have been best friends given half a chance.

Weirdest one on this list, but I wrote some fic for this obscure as hell tumblr game like 12 people in the ND pc game fandom played. It was like the show Mafia but you made stories for it to fit ND characters into, and I got to run the like…4th? 5th iteration? And included elements of the card game mafia (like Dr. and Sherrif skills etc) hence mine was called WhodunnitMafia. We were all in college so it died a few rounds before the end, but I wrote a finale for my friend who had played the killer (and was fucking excellent at it) and it had spanned this…just enormous role play contained in many personal chats and live blogging events. Anyway, I wanted it to have /an/ end, so I wrote one as pros, and like, I don’t think even Austen (my friend) ever read /all/ of it, and it’s so niche only like 6 people in existence max would ever maybe be aware it existed and have any interest even maybe in readying it, but regrettably that niche thing I swear to god produced some of the single best writing I have ever done, so periodically I re-read my own stuff for mafia and go “holy shit this is amazing why the HELL did I use my best writing on something designed for literally an audience of ONE” and I suffer. Love it though. (Parts 2 and 5 are especially *cheff kiss* like not to toot my own horn but holy SHIT WHY DID I WASTE SOME OF MY BEST WORK HERE???)

God it’s hard to pick between my own writing. Like right this second, I’ve been doing shorter form Batman and Spider-Man stuff and I like both a lot because it’s what I’m super into right now, but they’re really short so does that count the same? I don’t know I liked one more than the other either. Ahhhhh I…guess I’ll say my Harvey Dent one makes the winning cut? Because of very personal reasons, and I wrote it with Chase who I’ve never written with before, but he did an excellent job and it was a very cool experience. Significant to me. No official name for it yet. It’s Batman, Catwoman, and Two-Face fighting someone with mental powers and ending up trapped on a mind plane, and mostly character and relationship exploration with the Harvey Boys/the personalities in Harvey Dent’s head all split up into their own bodies temporarily while on the mind plane.

I really like all my stuff, and I know I’ve kind of plugged my Heavy Rain and one of my DbD fics without ‘picking’ them haha. Uhhh. I’m very bad at choosing amongst my own works. I feel like I /should/ say The Kid, because it’s fun to write something so different, and I was in a really bad place when I started it, but I also want to give the fifth slot to Isolation, because I am proud to be looked on with solidarity by some and hatred by others for being a champion defense attorney for my client Michael Audrey Myers. That is technically kind of an official tie-in for ILM so it’s sort of on here already though? So I guess for variety and for the time I was told by someone the way I write Amadeus reminds them of Lestat, The Kid. Which is a FGO au fic, about an alternate timeline of events for Ritsuka and Dr. Archaman leading up to the events of the original Grand Order set of arcs, only things don’t go how they should. Ensemble cast, but the main two are Billy the Kid and Ritsuka. Very fun. And I really need to get back to writing it…

Anyway, thanks for asking! I’m bad at answering because I’m bad at favorites with my own work, but it’s still fun to talk about. : )

EDIT: AH! I forgot about Half-Life!! Ahhhh war is hell how do people pick favorites?? Im not gonna change my answers now but I do want to publicly apologize to Anna for that one

#ask #subjectsix #me writing #I’m really bad at picking any kind of favorites for my own work

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halflingkima · 3 months

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My Favorite Books of 2023

My book bracket did help me narrow down my actual favorites of the year. It wasn't an exquisite reading year, especially compared to the couple prior, but I did still read quite a few good books. I'll give mini-synopses and brief reviews below the cut, but I've also linked my storygraph reviews for each with their star ratings.

9. This Must Be the Place by Kate Racculia (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): When Arthur's wife Amy dies suddenly, he finds himself in her hometown, boarding at the inn run by Amy's childhood best friend Mona and Mona's daughter Oneida.

This was just a right book, right time for me, I think. There's a lot going on in here about motherhood, [best, female] friendship, the selfishness of love, the nebulousness of personhood. I don't know if this would've hit as hard if my best friend hadn't just had a baby, but that's the beauty of it – I'll never know. There was also a focus on art and artistry that I really liked, and I'm a sucker for an ensemble cast. I also appreciated that even though there were intended "reveals" or "twists," they were written as more authentic secrets than as if trying to be a thriller.

8. The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): From the afterlife, a group of women from popular superhero stories tell their sides of the tales.

This book is structured as a short story collection, but there's a worldbuilding throughline; the women are having a night together at a bar in the afterlife. I'm not a comic book fan, but even I could discern which characters were were talking around (mostly DC properties). It's more of an exploration than an outright critique of the fridged trope. After all, a character's death is always meaningful: How did she die? Did she deserve to? Was there any other choice? All these women died for valid, viable reasons, could only be saved at the expense of the world, but – that does not make them less of a person. Even as a mere creative writing exercise, I really enjoyed this one.

7. Die: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen et al. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): A group of highschoolers in the 80s create a ttrpg that comes to life, literally disappearing into it for two years; now, when they're established adults with families of their own, they're summoned back.

Honestly kinda hard for me to justify putting a single volume of a comic collection on my favorites but... this slapped. As a D&D enjoyer, it brought the best elements of post fiction and RP together; the "real" characters are complex and rounded 40yos with families and lives, but they're as invested in their "PCs" as humanly possible – having had to actually be them for years. The second one went to kind of a weird place, so I reserve judgement on the series as a whole, but volume one is impeccable.

6. And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): An epidemic sweeps the world, manifesting in the infected people hallucinating that all non-infected are zombies; at a rehabilitation center, a cured man tells his story.

This one's hard to convey my thoughts about. The most powerful element in this book is the nuance – of morality, of belief systems, of perceived reality. This isn't strictly a zombie story, but it effectively utilizes the best parts of one to provide a sort of narrative foil to the genre. There's quite a lot of social commentary in the guise of perception-altering disease. I'm certain I didn't pin it all down with one read. Definitely on my re-read list.

5. Our Dreams at Dusk [quartet] by Yuhki Kamatani (⭐️|⭐️|⭐️|⭐️⭐️): When Tasuko Kaname fears he's been outed at school, he flees, contemplating suicide until a mysterious "someone-san" leads him to a community center full of peers and mentors.

I hunted this down on recommendation from Julia Drawfee and was impressed my library has it. I can't resist a short manga series and this is a beautiful one. Seeing as the majority of my manga reading days were in the 00s, I was expecting a subtler story & was extremely impressed by the nuance and diversity of queerness in this story. The whole series is beautiful and wonderful but the kicker was weeping through the entirety of the final volume.

4. Kill the Boy Band by Goldie Moldavsky (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): A group of teen girls – superfans of the boy band The Ruperts – accidentally kidnaps a band member, and events quickly spiral out of control.

It's 👏 camp 👏. God, I'm tempted to stop there. There is a very specific reader this appeals to, and having been solidly in the One Direction fandom, I'm afraid those readers are few and far between. The vibe is, essentially, boyband slash RPF reader/writers that do not genuinely believe the boyband is secretly dating. You have to have genuine passion (peak boybandom obsession) and realistic reason (the boyband is truly just some dudes). And the distance to poke fun at yourself while genuinely empathizing. God this vibe is so difficult to describe. It's my own boyband fandom white whale lmao.

3. Husband Material by Alexis Hall (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): Luc and Oliver are still in love and very happy, but as a number of their peers get engaged, tie the knot, and otherwise build families for themselves, the couple feels pressure facing their future.

I can't believe I read this this year. My only apprehension with this one was that of any sequel – it wouldn't be as good as the first book. And the stakes were high, since Boyfriend Material is one of my favorite books ever. Stakes doubly high because I wanted to reread it first and feared it wouldn't live up to my memory. But they both knock it out of the park. Husband Material's ending glides over some nuance, but I agree with the stance and it's in the UK so I'll let it slide. It's not a "why does this exist sequel," but actually a sequel with something to say which I really appreciate. Right onto my favorites shelf, and can't wait for the rest of the series.

2. Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): In a world of courtly vampires, Remy is a Reaper (vampire hunter) while rumored to be half-vampire himself. When a mysterious vampire disease begins sweeping the nation, he finds himself reluctantly investigating with a vampire lord and lady from a neighboring empire.

I love vampire books. I love zombie books. Hence: zombie vampire book??? With canonical bisexual polyamory??? I've not seen anyone dislike this, but I've also not seen many people at all reading it. Much like Rin Chupeco's YA fantasy series The Bone Witch; I think they're just a criminally underrated author. This series is giving very similar vibes to bone witch – deep, rich worldbuilding, diverse characters, unique lore – but clearly and intentionally aged up – graphic gore, explicit sex. Which is all to say it's everything I loved as a teen reader, but built out to satisfy me as an adult with wider life experience.

1. The Radiant Emperor Duology by Shelley Parker-Chan (⭐️⭐️|⭐️⭐️⭐️): Zhu Chongba usurps her brother's destiny of greatness and passes herself off as a man from her childhood in a monastery to her adulthood on the battlefields of Mongol China. When her Mandate manifests, she moves to challenge the Great Khan himself, while a number of other political players have their own plans.

Hey this???? Altered my brain chemistry. I'm cheating and lumping the two together because that's how duologies work in my mind; greater than the sum of their parts. But Hoo Boy did these drive me insane in discrete and unique ways. I can't say much about this series without waxing on forever, so I'll keep it to this: I had heard this pitched as a fantasy Mulan retelling and it most certainly is not. It is a historical ensemble saga about duty, identity, and personhood, with some minor magical realism. I can't find it for the life of me but that post about how being aro and/or ace gives ppl access to new relationship flavors, shrimp-color-style? I think this duology might do the same. It felt like the author had hacked into my own genetic code and started braiding something in there.

#maddy's reads #oho i did it. i've done it. less than halfway thru the new year call that a WIN

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lazyajju · 2 years

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Marvel - SkyDance - Official New Untitled Game Teaser

Marvel & SkyDance Officially announced a new untitled game. Coming soon to PC/Console

Four Heroes. Two Worlds. One War. In collaboration with Marvel Games, Skydance New Media is proud to share the first look at new AAA game with an ensemble cast and original story set in unique Marvel Universe.

Black Panther & Captain America two major cast confirmed in the game.

Coming soon to PC/Console

#UntitledGame #FourHeroesTwoWorldsOneWar #AnnounceTeaser #Superhero #Action #War #GamingInfoAndNews #Gaming #Marvel #SkyDance #Lazyajju

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socialwicked · 2 years

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The Rings of Power Cast Interviews

Trystan Gravell as Pharazôn in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Photograph : Matt Grace/Primary Video clip

In advance of everyone experienced gotten a glimpse of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Electricity , it turned very well-known that the Prime Movie sequence experienced a staggeringly massive spending plan . Now that the show’s pretty much in this article , it’s apparent where a great deal of that funds went: producing an amazingly detailed earth that delivers Middle-E arth to lifestyle on display screen.

It’ll be very the spectacle for audiences once Rings of Energy premieres in a couple months, as the actors in the enormous ensemble who have been virtually immersed in the series’ lavish entire world-building can attest. At a latest Prime Video push working day, io9 asked Charlie Vickers (who performs Halbrand, a human character developed for the series ) and Trystan Gravelle (Pharazôn, King of Númenor ) what it was like currently being there in person.

“It was overwhelming at instances due to the fact everything’s fully interactive,” Vickers stated. “For the established in Númenor, we sailed a boat into a harbor and they developed a harbor for us to sail the boat into. And then we bought off the harbor and walked into the town. That was seriously, really incredible. ”

Gravelle agreed. “It was a genuine immersive encounter. When you have been walking via the marketplace, there was the hustle and bustle and the incense burning, and individuals with all the fruit and the fish marketplaces and almost everything. It was an unbelievable knowledge. It was no creativeness required. It was all there for you. You have been in that world,” he claimed. “I assume Númenor was like an incredible city centre that you walked into as if you’d like to reside there, but you may well not be able to pay for the lease. You know, it’s a pretty delighted put.”

Charlie Vickers as Halbrand in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Energy. Graphic : Matt Grace/Prime Online video

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On a show filled with fantastical elements and even more fantastical creatures, Vickers and Gravelle are both playing humans. Still, Vickers thinks Halbrand brings an important point of view to the story. “ Hal’s from the Southlands. They’re very humble,” he told us. “ They’re living in a society that doesn’t have much technology. It’s because of their ancestors, they basically fought on the wrong side of the war and they’re being punished. They’re being ruled by the Elves. So it’s a really simple, hard life in the Southlands, actually. I think it brings another dimension to a world that is in a lot of places—in Lindon, in Númenor—a world that’s full of riches. So it creates a scope within Middle-earth.”

While Númenor has long been an important part of Lord of the Rings lore, Rings of Power will be the first time we see it really come to life, something that Gravelle is extremely jazzed to be a part of. “It was a huge honor. And I’m bursting with pride, to be quite honest,” he said. “I’m always full of a nervous energy every time we mention it, or every time I walk past a poster or see something about it. It was an incredible honor.”

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres September 2 on Prime Video.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s up coming for the DC Universe on film and Television , and everything you need to have to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Electrical power .

https://socialwicked.com/the-rings-of-power-cast-interviews/

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josephsen72field · 2 years

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900+ Louis Vuitton Bags Concepts

Outfitted with a leather or chain strap, the Pochette Accessoires is giant sufficient to suit a Zippy Wallet and different small essentials. While you can still store this bag on the Louis Vuitton website, this style is a highly sought-after vintage piece. Thus every bag you buy has an actual leather-based tag that has a number and their signature. Last summer season I purchased the Louis Vuitton speedy 30 in Damier ebene. This bag was originally made for champagne vintners to transport bottles. Soon thereafter, the Louis Vuitton Speedy bag was launched . In 1936 Georges Vuitton died, and his son, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, assumed control of the company. For six consecutive years (2006–2012), Louis Vuitton was named the world's most dear luxurious model. In 2013, the valuation of the model was US$28.4 billion with income of US$9.four billion. The company operates in 50 nations with more than 460 shops worldwide. wikipedia handbags [newline]Many bag rental websites are full scammers, but Bagdujour.com isn't on that list. Supursetyle.com is another trusted designer bag rental company that provides 10 percent for first time customers. Supursestyle.com has a proven track document of success with 5-star rankings on Facebook and on Google. Another "home icon," the Capucines bag was named after the Rue des Capucines in Paris, which is where Louis Vuitton first opened his shop in 1854. Crafted from full-grain Taurillon leather, crocodilian leather, or gentle lambskin, this bag is luxury at its finest. The BB, PM, and mini Capucines are all in style among the style set. Frankly I don’t know the way they'll produce such huge portions with out having China someplace within the production line. I suspect they do a lot of chopping there, particularly the coated canvas components for the cheaper merchandise. They should produce hundreds of thousands of Speedys, Neverfulls, key pouches, pouchettes, wallets, etc. Hmmm… I wonder if those buyers who want on their purchases made in France and are offended by luxury products manufactured in China will react to that. Each item passes by way of a rigorous review from a group of expert authenticators with years of expertise shopping for and selling pre-owned luxurious items. From the supplies and craftsmanship all the way down to the minute details of the stitching and serial numbers, if an item is reviewed and accredited, it's one hundred pc genuine. But want to see a Grand Metis, an enlarged version big enough to carry a laptop computer and so on. It appears like it may make a really cool work bag in that measurement. You can now order over the telephone with no earlier sales history. Shop with confidence, excitement, and peace of mind figuring out each item is 100% authentic, 100% of the time. But what actually sets this bag aside is its namesake padlock and key function, which grew to become a fast favorite of the elite. Yet another extremely sought-after piece, the Pochette Accessoires bag has regained loads of recognition because of the comeback of traditional 90s-inspired kinds. One of the latest of Louis Vuitton’s traditional bags is the Pochette Metis crossbody bag. Released in 2012, this bag became a hit in 2014 because of its popularity with celebrities, bloggers, and Instagram influencers. Audrey Hepburn and Sarah Jessica Parker are two celebrities who've been known to use a Speedy bag. In May 2017, media reported on alleged mistreatment of Louis Vuitton exclusive model Ulrikke Høyer who was to look on a Louis Vuitton cruise present in Kyoto. The 20-year-old mannequin, who, on arrival, measured ninety one.5 cm around her hips, was told she was "too bloated" and "too huge" for her ensemble and instructed to drink solely water for twenty-four hours. The model stated that she has "received tons of of messages from fashions" who have skilled similar mistreatment from the same Louis Vuitton casting director. The casting director denied the allegations and defined the directions concerning intake of water as a misunderstanding, that the model was instructed that her consumption of liquids was to be restricted to water. Now, you may be questioning, what’s the procedure of purchasing for a pre-owned designer bag? All you must do is, select a product which you wish to buy and after including it to the cart, checkout and pay online by cost options given. Your product might be free shipped to your given address. On 7 April 2014, Edouard Schneider turned the top of press and public relations at Louis Vuitton under Frédéric Winckler, who's Vuitton's communications and occasions director. As of September 2013, the corporate hired Darren Spaziani to guide its accessory assortment. Certified genuine, but if you're unhappy together with your bag you can return it in two days for a full refund. Bags can be found to rent in one-month durations, so this service allows you to continuously change up your purse picks. https://phoenet.tw/blog/post/get-the-best-louis-vuitton-replica-bags Your bag's authenticity is assured inside a 30-day return period and there's free shipping on all home orders. Colored variations together with Framboise, Plum, Magnolia and Silver fetch as a lot as £1,500 at auction, and limited edition pieces such as textured monogram at £2,000, as nicely as exotic leathers, which sell up to £10,000. I feel like prices have gotten insane however apart from Hermes or Chanel or unique leather-based the brands owned by multicorporations have turned style into a manufacturing facility. Atleast with Hermes and Chanel products seem scarce as totally different, countries , shops promote some various things. By 2001, Stephen Sprouse, in collaboration with Marc Jacobs, designed a limited-edition line of Vuitton baggage that featured graffiti written over the monogram sample. Certain items, which featured the graffiti with out the Monogram Canvas background, were only available on Louis Vuitton's V.I.P. customer record. Jacobs additionally created the appeal bracelet, the first-ever piece of jewellery from LV, throughout the similar yr. As evidenced by value alone, designer handbags are for life.

#louis vuitton replica #best replica louis vuitton bags #replica louis vuitton

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