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#very slightly based on the End of Z version
okanra · 2 years
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“The Spar - part 2”
The second and last part of a 2 parts comic. The first part (and previous chapter) is in here.
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⚠️ Warning: May contain more texts than usual. Proceed with cautions if you’re not the fan of reading and prefer actions more.
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If you’re new here, visit this comic first for more information.
---> Next pages
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molagboop · 2 years
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I'm going to be making several posts about Experiment Z-57. In this first post, we'll be taking a good look at its corpse. In the next post, we'll look at the boss, and an entirely different boss will be covered after that. I'll analyze things even further in a fourth post (Edit: Five posts. I'm writing five posts). I'm going to add a little list for navigation down below and update the links as things are posted:
Dissected Creature
Experiment Z-57
Corpius
Comparisons, Part 1: Let's Talk About Legs
Comparisons, Part 2
2023 Update: extras
Metroid Dread spoilers beneath the cut.
The first time you see this thing, it's being prodded by lasers in Dairon. If you come back after the X have been released, you'll find that its corpse is missing, and that Experiment Z-57 has freed itself with a good deal of force. You need to fight it in Cataris during a story event. I was going to provide screenshots to demonstrate this, but I'll have to put that off because Tumblr only allows you to attach ten images to a single post.
Something fun to note is that the lasers are included in this creature's .bcmdl file. The textures for the lasers are not, at least in the version of the file I exported. You could probably bundle them with it using a script or a slightly different exporting method than I did. In any case, I know where the textures for these lasers are located, and I did not bother exporting them with the dissected creature. We won't even be looking at the lasers.
Onto the good stuff! I should preface this by reporting that the dead experiment is labeled "Dissected Creature" in the files. This becomes very apparent if we peer into its open chest cavity.
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I can't say for sure exactly what any of this mushy stuff is. This is an alien organism, so resemblance to any Earthly organs may or may not be superficial. In any case, we can see a cyan twisty tube towards the abdomen that looks like real world intestines, a pair of blue discs that form a heart-shape in their adjacent position (possibly lungs?), and above those lies a bright red bulb.
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Here I've flipped the creature over to get a better angle for screenshots.
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Here's a shot of its ribs and its right hind leg. Z-57 has six legs, with three on each side. The front legs are connected at the base of the neck, the middle legs are on top of the open ribcage, and the hind legs are located at the junction between the creature's torso and abdomen. Below, we can see the segments where each leg is connected to the torso.
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The front and back legs each have four toes armed with curved, bony talons, while the legs in the midsection each have one toe. Close to the body, the legs are almost purple, but their pink hue becomes more apparent in the middle of the limb. The further back you go towards the abdomen, the more orange pigmentation we can see in Experiment Z-57's legs. The front legs are almost devoid of yellow. Its legs grow darker as we get further away from the body: the hard scales on its feet are black.
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And this is the head. Its eyes are small and round, and its skull becomes dark and discolored the closer it gets to the flesh of its neck. The neck doesn't appear to be in good shape; this may be an indicator of how long Z-57 has been dead, but I'm also not an expert in the changes in color (and other physical traits) that occur in flesh as it decomposes, so I couldn't say for certain. Large lumps appear to have formed in scattered clusters, and its veins are quite prominent. The eyes are a dull yellow-orange.
The bottom half of its jaw is split down the middle.
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(It's very tempting to make comparisons between this thing and Corpius, but I'll get to that after I've expended this post's image limit.)
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Its back is protected by a hard, black carapace. Z-57's spine is arched. It's positioned as though it's curled up like a dead bug, and the fat abdomen paired with the six legs and the stinger makes it look kind of like a wingless wasp.
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Did I mention it has a stinger on the end of its abdomen?
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The soft underside of its abdomen is orange, and grows redder as the flesh draws closer to the shell.
That concludes the bulk of our initial exploration into Experiment Z-57's corpse. I'll write about its modifications and the differences between its corpse and its X-form later. I might have to make a fifth post just to compare and contrast corpse-57 and X-57.
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Hollywood’s Old Studio System Is Still Found Alive Today
Aaron Epstein
Hollywood’s way of making and producing movies is very different from how it used to be. The American studio system maintained a stable but flexible set of genres which could be inflected by different studios based on their budgets and talent under contract. Genre films were also shaped by social and political events because genres grow based on what audiences want to see. People want to see something that relates to their lives, whether it is realistic to the world at the time or something that is a discussion in current events. While this system of filmmaking that controlled all of Hollywood has certainly lost its momentum over time, it is not completely dead. 
A perfect example of a movie that is part of a genre created by the old studio system is Black Angel. This drama and noir film fits into the Universal Pictures genre of dark noir films. As the noir genre was growing exponentially, more and more noir stories were being made. Stories in Hollywood have always been recycled and reused in different ways, and the noir genre during the 1940s was no different. Since noir films like The Maltese Falcon were so successful and considered instant classics, studios and filmmakers decided to attempt to recreate those successes with similar stories but slight variations to keep bringing in large audiences. The stereotypical noir story about how the hero chooses to follow a mystery which ends up leading to the discovery of much more can be found in most noir films that were made by Hollywood at the time, such as Black Angel. Universal Pictures also used the same actors and filmmakers for this movie that were in other dramas and noirs of the time. “In choosing between films A, B... Z, they are revealing ex ante a preference for particular product characteristics such as star, genre, and/or directorial values.” (Sedgwick and Pokorny pp. 9). This keeps the final product safe to the studio as they know it will be another one of the same in that genre and can be at least somewhat successful with a small chance of being a huge blockbuster.
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  Universal Pictures may have used the studio system and the noir genre to generate big audiences, “however, it would be the studio’s stylish horror movies that they’re best remembered for today.” (pre-code.com). Once the horror genre became popular and successful, Universal went all out and started releasing many horror films that were all slightly different, but still recycled many stories and ideas from earlier horror movies. A good example of one of these films is Murders In The Rue Morgue. This was one of the films a part of the sub-genre “monster movies” that took over the box office for Universal Pictures. “Universal’s Dracula sets up a structural template that the other Universal horror films would follow: the monster as outside of normative culture, seen as a threat to social/patriarchy/gender roles, and needing to be destroyed in order to disavow chaos and restore order to ‘bourgeois/capitalist ideology’” (Smith pp. 8). This film received a big budget because the studio knew that due to the popularity of the new genre at that time, the movie would be a success as long as it followed the same basic storyline and themes as their other monster movies had.
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  While the system of reusing the same talent under contract to create many similar films one after another is mostly gone, some of those sub-genres that were created still exist and thrive today. Monster movies are still very much relevant and hold a huge audience. This is seen with Kong: Skull Island, a contemporary version of a monster film. The genre still exists in cinema today, but it has definitely evolved over time with the addition of new filmmakers and new technology, although deep down the stories are still the same.
Past genres have evolved into a newer version of themselves due to audience demands and world events, whether it be combining multiple genres to make a new one or just changing the approach to how a story may be told. Superhero and comic book movies didn’t just replace every other genre. They may have limited the amount of genres that are seen in cinema today, but there will always be room for other types of stories to be told.
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buymobilenz · 1 year
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valueoffline · 2 years
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Tmnt 4 move list
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Continued abuse of our services will cause your IP address to be blocked indefinitely. Director: Steve Barron Stars: Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Josh Pais, David Forman. Please fill out the CAPTCHA below and then click the button to indicate that you agree to these terms. Four teenage mutant ninja turtles emerge from the shadows to protect New York City from a gang of criminal ninjas. If you wish to be unblocked, you must agree that you will take immediate steps to rectify this issue. If you do not understand what is causing this behavior, please contact us here. If you promise to stop (by clicking the Agree button below), we'll unblock your connection for now, but we will immediately re-block it if we detect additional bad behavior. Overusing our search engine with a very large number of searches in a very short amount of time.Using a badly configured (or badly written) browser add-on for blocking content.Running a "scraper" or "downloader" program that either does not identify itself or uses fake headers to elude detection.Using a script or add-on that scans GameFAQs for box and screen images (such as an emulator front-end), while overloading our search engine.There is no official GameFAQs app, and we do not support nor have any contact with the makers of these unofficial apps. Continued use of these apps may cause your IP to be blocked indefinitely. This triggers our anti-spambot measures, which are designed to stop automated systems from flooding the site with traffic. Some unofficial phone apps appear to be using GameFAQs as a back-end, but they do not behave like a real web browser does.Using GameFAQs regularly with these browsers can cause temporary and even permanent IP blocks due to these additional requests. If you are using Maxthon or Brave as a browser, or have installed the Ghostery add-on, you should know that these programs send extra traffic to our servers for every page on the site that you browse.The most common causes of this issue are: Works in my M.U.G.E.N ver 2002.04.14 game. (4.Your IP address has been temporarily blocked due to a large number of HTTP requests. Leo (barany1027) : Based on Pioupiou Leo and MvC Mike. Raph (barany1027) : Based on Pioupiou Raph and MvC Mike. (319.7 KB)ĭon from TMNT-TF (NES Version) (Matti) : Donatello from TMNT-TF NES it's available now!ĭ,D, a - Special (-100 power). Leo from TMNTTF (NES Version) (Matti) : You always wanted to play "Leo" from TMNT-TF NES Version?ĭ, D, z - Ball Attack (1. . *He has a pallete problem when he attacks and when. . Added intro, winning, hit and death sounds. Leonardo (Tamago Kanten) : Tamago Kanten's arrange Leonardo (ver,0.80) (523.2 KB)įoot Soldier (edit) (Cenobite 53 and Dr.) : Info: Updates for this character. Hothead (ver 5.1) (Matti) : Updated to 5.1.įrom Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES) (894.0 KB) S_slash (Malovka1) : X/image.png j/image.png (8.51 MB) If you want a good Leo for your Mugen go grab Kamekaze's version. (279.8 KB) This is here for collection purposes. (222.6 KB) If you want a good Karai grab Kamekaze's version. Karai (The Great Matsutzu) : Poor version.
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Dome (Shadowtak) : From TMNT Tournament Fighters (276.5 KB) The Rat King (6 Button) (DarkSide Joe, Sookie) : The Rat King by DSJ, remapped, resized, recolored, and MvC arranged. (2.94 MB)Īpril O'Neil (Pioupiou) : April from the Genesis TMNT fighting game. (224.1 KB)Ĭ. Michelangelo (Pioupiou) : For TMNT genesis (109.8 KB) Karai (Pioupiou) : For TMNT genesis (97.0 KB)ĭonatello (Pioupiou) : For TMNT genesis (105.5 KB) (Press A to select) Animations also slightly edited. Edited skin to look like Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden. Shredder (Ninja Gaiden edit) (Dcat Power) : Shredder by Dcat Power. She was ripped from the Japanese version. What's new?_ _ _Įvery thing, dummy! This is the first release. Rat King (Darkside Joe) : first beta (4.25 MB) Mini Krang (O Ilusionista) : Mini Version with great sprites (1.03 MB) Slash (malevka1 and.) : its pretty horrible (4.19 MB)Īpril O'Neil (DarkSide Joe) : displayname = "April O'Neil" Robot (storm0062) : Robot found in turtle in time (148.0 KB) SEASON ONE: February 8th, 2003 (26 Episodes) SEASON TWO: November 1st, 2003 (26 Episodes) SEASON THREE: October 2nd, 2004 (26 Episodes) SEASON FOUR: September 10th, 2005 (26 Episodes) SEASON FIVE: February 16th, 2008 (12 Episodes) SEASON SIX: July 29th, 2006 (26 Episodes) SEASON SEVEN: September 13th, 2008 (14 Episodes) NOTE: Season Five was. A former fireman who unwittingly unleashed an ancient Samurai dragon's spirit. Hothead (old) (Matti) : Hothead is a character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters for the NES.
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flecks-of-stardust · 2 years
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[image description: a picture of my headcanon for hallownestian script. the writing is divided into three columns, with one line of text across the top. the top line of text is a note on what phonemes are present in the hallownestian language. the phonemes are separated by a vertical bar. to its left is: ah, ee, oo, uh, ai, ay, oh, au/aw, eh. to its right is: ch, c, z, s, l, m, n, p, k, f, g, d, b, j, h, t, th. 'c' is crossed out.
the first column has the vowel sounds of the script. from top to bottom, the corresponding sound, and then the relevant symbols are: ee/i/y: a circle. next to it in brackets is an indication that this character is sometimes written as a spiral, roughly resembling a circle, but with the top right part of it broken into a small swirl. ai/i: the number 6, slanted to the left, with an extra protrusion connecting to the circular part of the number. an alternative to this symbol is a slightly clipped version of it, trimming the top part of the '6.' ah/a: the number 6, rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise. oo/o: one line comprised of two sections. the top half is a curved line, striking from left to right, curving out towards the top right. it connects to a sideways, laterally flipped 's' shape. an alternate way to write this character is to extend the 's' shaped part of the character back into itself, so it creates a loop. ay/a: two half circles, interlocked at their zeniths and tilted so the open ends face the upper right and lower left. a note next to it remarks that they may be symmetrical oh/o: reminiscent of a simple bird leg, with the toes facing the top left. it is also comprised of two half circles, but less curved than the previous. this character is sometimes written with the curves accentuated, so it looks like a laterally flipped c embedded in an upside down u. eh/e: a slightly slanted number 6, leaning to the left. sometimes this character is written with an extra curl at the top, giving it the appearance of a stapler clip. au/aw: an 's' rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise, with the top part of the letter curling in on itself to form a circle. the shorthand of this character is written more loosely, so the character does not form a full circle. it also remarks that it is similar to an arcleomen letter. uh/u: similar to the letter 'g', with an extra curl at the base. the shorthand of this character is the letter 'g.' oi: the number 9 with a laterally clipped c intersecting its stem. schwa: a dash, or a dot. the text next to it remarks that sometimes it is written with a circle on top of a dash for easier recognition. ih/i: the number 3, stretched with a loop in the center, with a circle attached to its right side. text at the base of the column notes that there is no c or r in the script.
the second column has the consonants of the script. from top to bottom, the corresponding consonant, and then the relevant symbols are: l: a slightly curved line, bowing out to the right, intersecting the top of a circle. the shorthand for this character is a very stretched out number 3, with the top section straightened out. p: a c intersected by a laterally flipped number 9, tilted slightly to the right. sometimes this character is written so the 9 intersects a straight line. next to this row is a note that adding a dot to this character alters it so it produces the b sound. n: similar to a slanted capital J, with the stem poking out the top of the letter. a note next to it remarks that some may abbreviate the character to having the curved stem only and replacing the horizontal line with a dot next to it. a note below that indicates that adding a dot to this character alters it so it produces the m sound. ch: lower case d and c pressed together. an alternate way to write this is a loosened lower case d, more akin to a spiral, with a circle pressed into its side. t: a widened c with a circle set into the hollow of the letter. a stylistic way to write this character is to put a circle inside of a larger circle. k: three quarters of a circle, cut open at the top left, intersecting the middle of a circle. a stylistic way to write this character is to draw two interlocked circles, one on top of the other. f: one line comprised of two sections. the lower part of the character curls, then strikes up. the upper part curls in on itself, swirling around to form a circle. it is not always connected into a full circle. next to this character is a note that indicates adding a dot to this character alters it so it produces the v sound, though it is more like a harsh f. s/z: a laterally flipped c intersecting with the number 6 at its zenith. the shorthand for this character is the number 6, with a tick intersecting its stem. below it is a note that adding a dot to this character alters it, making it a stressed sound, similar to the z sound.d: a c intersected by a circle at the base of the letter. a note next to it remarks that it is similar to the character for t h: a tilde, stretched and pulled slightly upwards on the left. sometimes the character is rotated 90 degrees, so it is a vertical line with two curves at each end. g: two lines, somewhat similar in appearance to the number 6 flipped sideways and elongated with a tick through its stem. the base of the character has an extra protrusion connecting to the loop of the 6, similar to the character for ai/i. a note next to the character notes that some may abbreviate it to a spiral, slanted to the right, with a dot next to it. j: a curly w. a note next to the character notes that some may write it as a regular w from the english script. w: similar to a cane, with an uptick at the top end of the line. alternatively, the character may be written like the lower case c, with an uptick at the top end of the line. y: an upside down u, with the left stem attached to a circle. the shorthand for this character is similar to a curly number 2, stretched and leaning to the left. th: a laterally flipped capital S, with the end of the line attached to a circle. a note next to it remarks that it is a blend of t and h. sh: a laterally flipped capital S, with the curved part attached to the zenith of the lower case c. the c has a circle attached to the lower end of the line. alternatively, the character may be written so the c and the circle are joined on the same line, forming a slanted spiral. it is somewhat similar to a mixture of s/z and h. r: a capital S superimposed on top of a circle. the shorthand for this character connects the circle and the S, so the character is written with one unbroken line, appearing like a mix between the capital letter S and a curly number 3.
the third column is a test column, where i try out the script on the names of some of my characters. from top to bottom, the names used are Aulen, Lyzi, Teoda (phoneticized as Tayoda), Solice/Solise (phoneticized as Solis), Ghost (phoneticized as Gost), Hornet (phoneticized as Honet), Orchid (phoneticized as Okid), Glimmer (phoneticized as Glime(r)), and Lheki (phoneticized as Leki). all names have a small circle to the lower right of the name; Aulen's name, at the top of the column, has a note pointing to it that indicates that the circle is used to denote importance. with the exception of Glimmer and Lheki's names, all names have a cursive counterpart underneath them, which is an interlinked and slightly messier version of the name. Ghost's name has a disjointed, rougher looking version underneath it, using some of the shorthand versions of the symbols. end image description]
oh yeah that was really fun to transcribe, if you were wondering /hj good god thats the longest id ive ever written and i hope it makes sense
adventures in conlang-ing?? i Guess?? because thats something i do now???? i actually need to add the r back into the hallownestian alphabet because i realized a few somewhat cursed things would happen if i Didnt have the r phoneme, but im not going to get into that. as it stands now its pretty comprehensive, and its pretty. bite me. askjdfghkjs
i always knew that whatever script i would use for hallownest would be very curly and circle based, because thats how i think hallownest works? also i know hallowscript exists, and i respect the hallowscript team immensely, but that alphabet is Not practical for writing purposes, for several reasons. and it wasnt round enough, so i made my own.
i also knew from the start that i wanted hallownestian to be more phonetics based? so thats whats going on with column one with the vowel sounds. because english! is bullshit! dont know if youve noticed! /s i actually looked up english phonemes and the most commonly used sound and shit so hopefully its at least somewhat realistic. again, i dont have a background in linguistics and i have no idea what im doing, but i am really good at spending way too much time and effort doing shit like this, so theres probably some basis.
so with the exception of the r character, whatever thats going to look like (and when i get that done ill probably update this post), here. hallownestian script, mostly au specific, but general use works too. fucking tada.
i keep making more work for myself.
edit: r has been added. whee
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thewakingcloak · 3 years
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April 2021
Alright, so I’m a bit late here, haha. April had a good start but ended kinda crazy. Our two-year-old got sick for a few days (just a cold, not the ol’ COVID-19), which wiped us out, and then she had a lingering “mood” for the rest of the week, lol. General exhaustion made me more interested in playing games than making ‘em (currently playing Rune Factory 4, which is a good time!). So no fancy images and stuff this time. Hope y’all don’t mind a bit of text.
Anyway, here are the news.
When playing with a gamepad, I’ve noticed the eight-directional movement feels really clunky with the stick. This clunkiness happens in a lot of older games too, for both eight- and four-directional movement. For example, on NES Online and SNES Online on the Switch, I can’t use the joystick at all. I have to use the d-pad.
In the first two ProtoDungeon episodes, I mitigated some of the issue by tinkering with some of the thresholds, but when I started testing a gamepad for Episode III again, I realized this was still not ideal.
Juju, who wrote my old input system, is working on a new open source input system. I haven’t contributed code, but I did give my input (hehe) very early on. Now after coming back to look at it, it seems to be just what I need. So I spent the first week of April swapping out input systems (which isn’t as easy as you might expect if you’ve never done it before, BUT it was way easier than I expected). Then I modified the movement code to use the new input_direction(), which gives much finer control to the stick.
But that much fine control--fully omnidirectional--was actually fairly nauseating. It was difficult to walk in a straight line. I ended up rounding the input direction to the nearest 22.5 degrees, meaning we were now at 16-directional movement. It feels really good! And as I played more over the month, I tweaked it further to lend more weight towards the ordinal directions (north, south, east, and west), in addition to scaling the speed slightly based on how far you’re pushing the stick. In my opinion, it’s now preferable over the d-pad or arrow keys (though don’t worry, I do the majority of my work with the arrows, and they are very functional and fun.)
The new input system also gave me an easy way to set gamepad axis thresholds, which is something a few people have already asked for. This is a setting in the behind-the-scenes file, but probably not an option I’ll add in game yet since that requires some rework on menus.
Then on a whim, I threw in gamepad vibration! This wasn’t related to the input change... I just wanted to do it, lol. It was a small thing that took me about 30 minutes but adds a surprising amount to the game. I can choose the intensity of the vibration based on what’s going on, and I added a setting for players to control the overall intensity (or turn it off). There’s no menu option for this yet, either. Hopefully I’ll get time for that in Episode IV.
I created a free GMS2 extension out of my vibration system called Good Vibes! It can do all kinds of fancy stuff using animation curves, and it handles some of the weirdness of GMS2's vibration functionality too.
Next, I created a Linux virtual machine to allow me to export stuff to Linux! I tested this successfully with the current version of PD3. Tried to immediately export PD1 and PD2, but those projects don’t exactly work anymore--I’ll need to do it from the current project after I go through and apply engine changes to them (current project always contains all episodes, don’t worry, nothing is lost).
Finally, I ended this month’s changes on two separate things, neither of them finished: true borderless window toggling and proper depth sorting.
Borderless window toggling in Windows isn’t something possible with vanilla GameMaker. I got a small DLL from a friend, though, that can force the toggle. The only reason this isn’t finished is because the application surface gets stretched weirdly, and I haven’t figured out how to offset it properly yet. This one isn’t required to go live at all, so not sure when I’ll get back to it.
Depth sorting IS required, though, and that’s what I’ve been wrapping up. My z-height system is pretty complicated, and the old depth system didn’t always work--and when it didn’t, there wasn’t much that could be done about it. Occasionally you’d get weird overlaps where the player was under the ground tiles and so on. I did come up with a depth method that would’ve resolved it, but unfortunately it would’ve gone past the supported min and max depth that GameMaker can handle. So I switched to a simple grid sort system, where I can basically just chuck everything into a ds_grid, sort it, and then trigger each object’s draw event in order by iterating through the grid.
There are a few kinks to iron out. First, I need to fix cliff sprite generation. Cliffs create their own sprites based on the tiles beneath them--this way they can be properly sorted so the player can either walk on top of them or behind them. Currently there are some bugs with the generation so that the sprites are too tall and they don’t properly handle animated tiles.
Second, I need to get enemy sorting working too, which will be much easier when I’ve put enemies back in the game. :) The old way was to manually set their depth based on the player position, but that won’t work anymore. That said, with the new grid sorting method, this may not be an issue at all. We shall see.
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Some Light Christmas Fun
i saw a bunch of my posts had been flagged as inappropriate by tumblr and appealed all of them so they now can show up. even the one about my obsession with psylocke. one i couldn’t appeal though (because it was a reblog) was a reply trying to identify all the characters depicted in The Raft as candidates for the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #155.
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So now I am going to repeat some of what I said, add some more thoughts and try and identify them all.
This is actually one of my favourite past-times working out what stock background space fillers could reasonably be established characters. Let’s be honest, most of these were probably not meant to be anyone and were just people Kev Walker drew to fill up a room. But, within the story itself, they all have to be established super-villains who would be considered as applicants for the Thunderbolts. For identifying these, there are a few things to refer to here - the characters who are ultimately chosen to join the team are probably there, the next issue identifies some of these people who don’t make the cut, there was a poll featuring a vote for who you wanted to join the team (Shocker won, i voted for Madame Masque), some of the characters appear in other issues of Thunderbolts, some star in a preview story in Enter the Heroic Age and then in Heroic Age: Villains, Steve Rogers proposes several inmates of the Raft as potential future recruits for the Thunderbolts - some shown here.
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1. Bison (Billy Kitson) or Man-Bull (William Taurens) Bison is a Thunderstrike enemy who later showed up on Crimson Cowl’s Masters of Evil in Kurt Busiek’s run on Thunderbolts. What we can see here is that it is an orange furred man, but the face cannot be seen. I am inclined to say that this would be Bison since Steve Rogers recommended him as a potential addition to the Thunderbolts in Heroic Age: Villains. This would be slightly off-model for him and it seems we should see his horns poking out here, but Bison is confirmed as being at The Raft and has that reason for being there. Alternatively it might be Man-Bull who is later shown to be at the Raft in some issues of Hercules. Then there is also Griffin (John Horton) who was a poll choice but like Bison’s horns, we should be able to see his wings, so I am definitively removing him as a possibility here..
2. Shocker (Herman Schultz)  Shocker joins the team next issue and is depicted with this hair. I’d lock him in as a definite.
3. ? We don’t have much to go on here besides a sort of faux-hawk hairdo. I’ve ran down the list of who could be there and turned up squat. Maybe in prison, Badd Axe grew a mohawk style. Badd Axe was another of the characters Steve Rogers proposed as a possible team candidate. Blizzard is confirmed as being there next issue - maybe he shaved his head like this to try and look more tough in prison.
4. Bloodshed (Wyndell Dickinson) Bloodshed is a Spider-Man baddie and another member of Crimson Cowl’s Masters of Evil (there’s a lot of them here). He’s apparently grown a goatee but I’d be confident to lock him in as another definite here. He was another of Steve’s candidates from Heroic Age: Villains.
5. Grizzly (Max Markham) I am a bit obsessed with shoving Grizzly into the background of this run. It’s not without precedent, he is depicted in Enter The Heroic Age as being at the Raft, Steve Rogers nominates him as a team member and before this run he was a full-fledged member of the team. This character design mostly suits being Grizzly, he’s the right size and has his soul-patch. The one thing stopping me from saying it’s definitely him is he appears to have some form of faceplate on him. Maybe this was an inking or colouring error? Maybe - just maybe - it is bandages from when Ant-Man climbed into his ear and beat up his ear-drums in Thunderbolts #143. That’s really reaching, especially considering Grizzly had appeared since without his ears being wrapped, but I really want to say this is Grizzly.
6. ? This character receives a fair amount of dialogue bullying pre-transformation Mr. Hyde in the next issue. Possibly trying to deflect their own lack of power by bullying Mr. Hyde when he thinks that Mr. Hyde is a weak timid guy worse off than him. We have a very generic black-haired guy who would bully a weakling, so who could it be?
7. Mr. Hyde (Calvin Zabo) This is kind of how he is depicted next issue when he is in his non-Mr. Hyde form. A small man with black hair cropped at the sides. He is also shown in front of 6 in a line and is bullied by him for looking weak and nerdy. Here he is shown stood in front of 6 again, so this would make sense as being Mr. Hyde.
8. Amazon (Katrina van Horn) or Titania (Mary MacPherran) I want to say this is Amazon, formerly Man-Killer, as she is an ex-Thunderbolt who despite only being on the team briefly always kept showing up in the book. She was again recommended as a possible Thunderbolt in Heroic Age: Villains and while her hair has grown a bit longer here, this would make sense as being her. I’d still hazard a bit to say lock this one in though because, alternatively, it could just as easily be Titania who is seen as an inmate in Thunderbolts #144.
9. ? This one has been bugging me for a while. I so know this character. Has black vertical lines on the eyes, right? Or it might be Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez) which someone seems to have identified as being in this issue on terrible website ComicVine (I think they just confused 11 with Armadillo though). He’d be a good choice to be here though.
10. ? There is a few characters this could be. Next issue depicts a character with a hairless head with a less human face which might have been the intention here but it’s in the back so never required this detail. If we’re going with that one, the guess would be Headlok (Murray Singleton). At the other end, if you want to say he’s wearing a mask and again it’s the result of lack of detailed, Scarecrow (Ebeneezer Laughton) - next issue shows his mask as being biege. He was a poll choice and actually receives dialogue next issue.
11. Blood Brother The survivor of the two Blood Brothers, we saw this character in Enter The Heroic Age and in Thunderbolts #156 he is identified and given dialogue. He is depicted speaking to 6 and Mr. Hyde (7) next issue. There’s no area of debate this isn’t Blood Brother.
12. ? Short guy with long hair. This seems like it could be an easy one but I’m coming up empty. Dare I suggest this could be Grizzly again?
13. ? A tall woman with nice black hair. Possibly Titania again. Otherwise, the best I can think of is that Moonstone acknowledges Black Mamba as being there next issue. It’s maybe a bit too built for her but it’s also the one that looks the most like Black Mamba. 
14. ? I’m pulling this one out of nowhere but this could be Asp. The hair matches and she is Black Mamba’s bff, so it’d make sense they’d be near each other. 
15. Powderkeg (Frank Skorina) Powderkeg is a real Z-list villain fodder guy. He is confirmed as being a Raft inmate in Avengers Academy #4 (a light crossover issue with Thunderbolts) and I want to say this is definitely him even if it requires a little bit more footwork.
16. Super-Skrull (Kl’rt) Confirmed next issue.
17. Skeleton Ki (Alisher Sham) One of Steve Rogers’ picks and this one is wearing a skeleton face mask so it seems quite evident it is him. Lock in Skeleton Ki as number 17.
18. ? This character is also depicted next issue, stood behind Blood Brother and 6 during the Mr. Hyde bullying scene. Based on that, it’s clear he is a male with long hair.
19. ? Absolutely no idea. Woman with corn-rows.
20. Dark Beast (Hank McCoy) AOA-verse evil version of Beast. Jeff Parker originally wanted this character to join the team but was blocked by the X-offices. Centurius filled his role instead. Dark Beast is shown on the cover to #156, was also one of the poll choices and him being drawn a bit poorly here might have been a last-minute alteration to try and change it to NOT be Dark Beast. This is definitely meant to be Dark Beast though.
21. Poundcakes (Marian Pouncy) Poundcakes is shown as a inmate of the Raft in Thunderbolts #159. The body type is a match and the hair is consistent with how she is shown in #159. Lock her in.
22. Boomerang (Fred Myers) He joins the team next issue. This is another case where this is obviously the character. 100% definite here.
23. Ox (Roland Bloch) Member of the Enforcers (and briefly the Thunderbolts Army). This is how Ox was drawn in Enter The Heroic Age. The colour of his hair has slightly changed but put him in the definite machine.
24. Mandrill (Jerome Beechman) This is Mandrill. Easy.
25. Troll (Gunna Sijurvald) She joins the team. This is undebatably her.
26. Bushwacker (Carl Burbank) Bushwacker is a former Daredevil and Punisher foil. This is definitely him. He was depicted exactly like this in Enter the Heroic Age. Definitely lock him in.
Here’s the bit in issue #156 which features some roll-call with not necessarily the character models depicted. 
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Of those I can’t identify the first one (Blizzard because she mentions him? Really, any number of other bad guys listed below can fit this design), the next one is either 6 or 7, then up-front in that mask is Scarecrow (confirmed next 2 panels). Next that would b Bloodshed/4, and then possibly a miscoloured Ana Kravinoff, and finally Headlok and Super-Skrull.
Extra notes: - Centurius (Noah Black) is not depicted but joins the team.  - Blizzard (Donnie Gill) is confirmed as being there in this room as seen above but I don’t see any character that could really really be him. - Scarecrow (Ebeneezer Laughton) is as well but he’s been speculated all over the place. - Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy) likewise. - The leftover Steve Rogers’ suggestions from Heroic Age: Villains are Absorbing Man (Carl Creel), Answer (Aaron Nicholson), Badd Axe, Hydro-Man (Morris Bench), Lady Stilt-Man (Callie Ryan), Mad Dog (Buzz Baxter), Redeemer (Shep Gunderson), Ruby Thursday (Thursday Rubinstein) and Vector (Simon Utrecht). Some of them like Ruby Thursday are clearly not there. - He also recommended the Young Masters but none of them were ever even arrested. - The cover to issue #156 also features Abomination (Emil Blonsky), Absorbing Man, Batroc (Georges Batroc), Ana Kravinoff and Sandman (William Baker/Flint Marko) - none of these appear to be there and Abomination had been dead for a few years by that point. - I can’t find the poll itself, I can find a link to it but it just redirects to Marvel.com, and other than the winner (Shocker) and who I voted for (Madame Masque), the other choices are sourced from a forum post. Absorbing Man, Batroc, Brother(s?) Grimm, Dark Beast, Doctor Demonicus (Douglas Birely), Griffin, Ana Kravinoff, Living Laser (Arthur Parks), Madame Masque (Whitney Frost), Mr. Hyde, Sandman, Scarecrow, Shocker and Other. Noticeably nearly all the ones on the cover to #156 were listed. Other allowed you to write-in a choice but they shouldn’t really count towards this. Of these ones, Absorbing Man, Doctor Demonicus (deformed face with horns), possibly Griffin, Ana Kravinoff, Living Laser (stuck in energy form), Madame Masque and Sandman are obviously not there. - Some other confirmed Raft inmates at this time from other Thunderbolts issues include Axe (Jerome Hamilton), Corruptor (Jackson Day), Mr. Fear (Alan Fagan), Mo Money, Purple Man (Zebediah Kilgrave) and Titania. #159 gives us 3 previously unseen characters: Big Roy (a Walrus monster man), Man-Mountain Mario (Man-Mountain Marko’s cousin) and Indali (a normal looking woman who is the Queen B of the women’s wing of the prison). In other books we see Basilisk (Basil Elks), Blackout (of the Lilin), Crossfire (William Cross), Griffin, Hecate, Man-Bull, Vermin (Edward Whelan) and probably much much more but those are the ones that come straight to mind from Avengers Academy #4, Hawkeye and Mockingbird and a Hercules story. - While Crossbones (Brock Rumlow), Hyperion, Nuke (Frank Simpson) and Norman Osborn are all being held at The Raft, they are not eligible for the team.
Feel free to contribute or ignore this.
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gra-sonas · 4 years
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Rainbow Crew is an ongoing interview series which celebrates the best LGBTQ+ representation on TV. Each instalment showcases talent working on both sides of the camera, including queer creatives and allies to the community.
Today we're speaking to Carina Adly MacKenzie, the show runner and overall mastermind behind Roswell, New Mexico.
Buckle up cowboys, because Roswell, New Mexico just ended season two with one hell of a cliffhanger.
After working through their romantic drama, Max took Isobel and Michael to a secret tunnel where they freed the alien described in Tripp's diary... and he looks exactly like an evil version of Max.
Fans are going to have a lot of sleepless nights over that big reveal, and without Maria's ability to see the future, season three feels like a long way off.
Thankfully, showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie beamed down from Roswell to discuss what happened while teasing what's in store for "Malex" (Michael and Alex) in season three.
What a way to end the season! Obviously you don’t want to give too much away, but could you talk a bit about the stowaway, and what that big reveal means for the future?
I can’t say much. I’m trying really hard to spend the next year of my life not talking about the stowaway.
But I will say that we underworked Nathan Parsons at the beginning of this season. And then, you know, he spent a lot of time floating in a pod, and so we figured we would give him double the job for the next season.
So we're very excited to explore who Mr Jones is. Through his eyes, we’re excited to explore the truth about the other planet, where the aliens came from, and why.
Will the idea of Max being a "saviour" tie into that?
We’ll dig into Max’s destiny, and also what the future holds for Michael and Isobel, too. I think there’s been a lot of talk of Max as this central figure, and as this inherent leader.
But we’re also going to ask questions about where that leaves Michael and Isobel, and their role in the future of this planet, and of different planets too.
Lots of key relationships went through huge changes in the finale. What can you tease about Malex's future specifically now that Alex has hooked up with Forrest?
I think that Alex has never really had the opportunity to just casually date, especially in a space where he feels safe, and he feels proud of who he is. And so we’re excited for next season — Forrest is going to definitely be a part of Alex’s journey.
The thing that I really like about the end of the season is that Michael started this year saying that hope is the worst thing in the world; hope is the thing that hurts you the most.
At the end of this season, he says that he needs to end his story with Alex, because maybe there’s a new story for the two of them to start down the line. And I think that’s the most hopeful that we’ve seen Michael in a really long time.
So we’ll be telling a slightly lighter love story next season for Alex.
You've mentioned before that Isobel’s next love interest will be a woman. Could you talk more about that and how this will impact her in season three?
My intention when we started writing the show was always for the aliens to reject typical gender constructs. These three aliens were raised here, so they have very human perspectives on gender and sexuality. But Isobel’s entire arc this season was about exploring who she is at the base of herself, outside of any influence.
So I think we’ve been building to this idea for a while that maybe the aliens aren’t necessarily bound by the same rules and ideas about gender that the rest of us have.
But yeah, Isobel’s next love interest is going to be a woman, and I’m really excited about it.
Queerness has always been such an integral part of Roswell, New Mexico, ever since the pilot ended with that first Malex kiss. Why was it important for you to explore queer experiences in small-town America instead of the usual big city stories?
I’m always raring to see more queer characters  on TV. But I was seeing things that either reflected a reality that I don’t know— a reality that I think is a little bit idealistic, as far as what the world looks like right now.
I think a lot of people look at Gen Z as this post-homophobia generation, and I don’t know if that is realistic, especially in small towns in the middle of the country. So we wanted to take a look at a lot of different experiences of discovering your sexuality on this show. And I think that Alex’s story, with his father, and Michael’s story with his family, it’s not the only story to tell.
Obviously, Isobel’s experience of coming out is a lot different from everyone else’s experience of coming out.
I really wanted to acknowledge the sort of barriers that are still in place, and that we like to pretend they don’t exist.
From day one, there's been a huge fandom around Malex in particular. Did that add extra pressure for you?
No. The fandom that built around Michael and Alex wasn’t a surprise to me in any way. I knew that people were going to love them, because I love them.
In the end, I’m making a show that I would want to watch. I’m my target demographic [laughs]. So it wasn’t a surprise at all, and it hasn’t changed the way that we’re telling the story.
Just as much as we see people rooting for Michael and Alex, we’re also seeing a groundswell of support for Maria this season. I think that that story is important to tell, too. And I’ve been really proud of our writers and of our actors, and the way they’ve navigated it.
You've said before that you don't want to the show to ever fall into harmful queer tropes like "bury your gays". What do you do in the writers room to ensure that doesn't happen?
I feel a big responsibility to tell a story that doesn’t involve harmful tropes. That said, I think it’s also really important to not fall into a space where we’re telling a story about perfect characters.
If you spend too much wanting the representation to be exactly perfect, and wanting every bisexual audience member who watches Michael to find themselves in every decision that he makes – I think that you end up telling a boring story.
So while I’m very proud of the representation, it’s really important that we make the queer characters just as nuanced and flawed as the straight characters. And that means, sometimes, that they make mistakes. And they veer off into the wrong direction.
It’s a story about people figuring out who they are, and making a mistake, and then righting the course.
I’m very proud of it. I think it’s not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, but I remember when any gay character on television wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea. And so, the more we find ourselves challenged in the writers’ room, the more I feel like we’re doing a good job, and we’re telling a story about two men, and their experience – and not trying to tell the story of everyone perfectly all at once.
Now you’re two seasons in, what's been the most challenging thing about this whole experience so far?
[laughs] Learning how to pace the season properly. I feel like with both season one and season two, I’ve gotten to the end of them and been like, "Alright, I’ve got so much more story left to tell."
I cut my teeth on The Originals, where we started off having 22 episodes a season. Figuring out how to put all my story into 13 episodes has been my challenge. Which is why you get these super action-packed penultimate and ultimate episodes.
But I think I’m learning! [laughs] I think we’ve got the pacing down for season three. But it’s weird. This is my first time doing this. It’s been an adventure trying to learn on the move, and to adapt to what’s going on.
But I’m really proud of the first two seasons. We leave a lot on the table at the end of season two. There are some questions dangling through season three that I think are going to be really fun to explore.
~ DigitalSpy
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purplesurveys · 3 years
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1111
Something a little bit random and silly for my 1111th, just because.
survey by joybucket
List three things you love that start with each letter.
A: Art and most forms of it; anchovies, in most cases; and Angela.
B: Burgers, Beyoncé, and buffets.
E: Escargot, the name Eloise, and elephants.
F: FISH, Friends, and some folk indie.
S: Sleeping, signing off work at the end of my shift, and all kinds of seafood.
T: I’m obsessed with tteokbokki; trying out new food; and table tennis.
Q: I like the quiet time I occasionally give myself; quail eggs, especially in the form of kwek-kwek; and quattro formaggi pizza.
R: Rainbows, the rain, and riding planes.
O: Old movies, the ocean, and Okinawa milk tea.
List a phrase including an adjective, noun, and verb for each letter. Examples: "angry artist anticipating", "rude rascals running", "dirty dogs dancing", or "empty elephants eloping." Have fun!
A: Adorable animals appearing.
F: Fabulous fingers frolicking.
C; Chummy classmates cooking.
S: Suspicious self salivating.
R: Rambunctious raccoon running.
T: Tired turnip tumbling.
Q; Questioning quail quipping.
J: Joyful joggers jamming.
I: Inquisitive igloos imagining.
L: Luxurious lemonade luminescing.
Z: Zesty zebras zoning out.
E: Ethereal eagles embracing.
List three different occupations starting with each letter.
O: Orthodontist, oceanographer, opthalmologist.
E: Engineer, equestrienne, elementary school teacher.
F: Firefighter, flight attendant, farmer.
S: Scientist, singer, seamstress.
T: Talent agent, tricycle driver, tennis player.
I: Illustrator, inspector, IT technician.
E: Economist, editor, electrician.
L: Lawyer, librarian, lifeguard.
A: Accountant, actor, architect.
Y: Yoga instructor, youth pastor, yogurt maker?? if that counts, lol. Otherwise I got nothing else.
List three adjectives that begin with each letter.
A: Affable, abrupt, adequate.
B: Broken, blunt, bleary.
C: Crazy, clear, clingy.
D: Daunting, delirious, dark.
E: Existential, enraged, exemplary.
F: Fantastic, far-flung, flavorful.
G: Ghastly, gentle, gigantic.
H: Harrowing, healthy, hopeful.
I: Intelligent, identical, impervious.
J: Jovial, jaded, joyous.
List three nouns that being with each letter.
K: Kangaroo, keychain, kiwi.
L: Lemonade the album, lemon the fruit, and Liz Lemon.
M: Mall, maple syrup, and mop.
N: Nightingale, nest, napkin.
O: Ogre, olive, orange.
P: Piano, panini, and pizza.
Q: Queen, quill, quilt.
List three verbs that begin with each letter.
R: Running, raking, reliving.
S: Singing, sailing, surfing.
T: Tricking, tossing, teeming.
U: Understanding, urging, unwrapping.
V: Villifying, venerating, vaccinating - get vaccinated, folks.
W: Wandering, washing, wriggling.
X: I don’t know if there are any and I can’t bother to look it up.
Y: Yawning, yelling, yearning.
Z: Zipping, ziplining, zapping.
List three...
girl's names you love: Olivia, Mia, Emma.
boy’s names you love: Mason, Jacob, Lucas.
girl’s names you dislike: Karen, and our local versions of Karen, Marites and Marivic.
boy’s names you dislike: Chad, times three.
things you hate about summer things you hate about winter things you hate about spring things you hate about fall things you love about spring things you love about winter things you love about fall things you love about summer Crossing these out because my Southeast Asian ass can’t relate, but if you do decide to take this survey feel free to un-strikethrough them!
things you miss from your past: Having more freedom to make mistakes; not having to worry about the future; and friends I’ve since lost.
people who have really hurt you in the past: Gabie, my mom, Marielle.
names of people you have had crushes on: Gabie, Andi from 5th grade...and that’s it, really.
names of people you have gone on a date with: Only Gabie. And I guess maybe Mike? Since he asked me to go with him to his ball as his date.
places you've been and would love to go again: Sagada, Jeju, Bali.
places you want to visit before you die: Morocco, Spain, Thailand.
items on your bucket list: See Times Square, live in a condo, plan a solo trip.
health conditions you have: Scoliosis, lactose intolerance, and very possible depression.
health conditions you've had in the past but don't anymore: Dehydration, UTI, and some kind of weird low-platelet-count thing that was just that, and never diagnosed as anything.
things you are allergic to: Possibly some types of grass, and maybe face masks. Idk how to confirm it really; I just know my skin gets irritated around them sometimes.
youtube channels you love to watch: Good Mythical Morning; the KBS YouTube channel mainly for clips of Return of Superman and 2 Days 1 Night; and Binging With Babish.
favorite drinks: Water, coffee, Long Island Iced Tea.
favorite foods: Sushi, chicken wings, pizza.
favorite desserts: Cheesecake, MACARONS, cupcakes.
favorite holidays: The only one I care for and get super excited about is my birthday, if that counts. Christmas is fine, but I only get the excitement for it on the actual day itself.
favorite colors: Pastel pink, white, maroon.
people you would like to meet: Ysa and Bea, my teammates at work. I’ve met them only once before, and I wish we can be allowed to report to the workplace physically soon so that I get to see them more often and strengthen my relationship (both working and personal) with them. I’d also love to be able to chat and chill with Hayley Williams even for just 30 seconds.
people you want to meet in Heaven: I don’t believe in that, but I’d love to have met my great-grandfather on my maternal grandfather’s side. Also, Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana.
good names for a dog or cat: Depends on their personality.
reasons why you get up each morning and keep on living: Because I’ve been able to see myself get better, and why stop all the progress?; because I’d want to be able see if the future will get better; and because I’m afraid of what will happen to/who will look out for my dogs if I’m suddenly gone.
For each name, think of three people you know with that name, and list their occupations.
Amanda: I only know one Amanda, and she’s a friend of my ex’s younger sister. She’s only in senior year of high school. I know an Amandine which is close enough I suppose?? and she’s a dentistry student.
Sarah: She’s a media contact and I’m constantly in touch with; she’s the editor-in-chief of a local magazine. I think she’s the only Sarah I know.
Ashley: Also a media contact. I’m not sure about her title, though.
Beth: @bionic-beth is a teacher! :) But I don’t know any Beths in real life, I think.
Katie: Well I know Kate, and I’ll sometimes playfully call her Katie. She works in a government agency and she’s one of their PR people. The HR person who recruited me to come work at my current employer is a Kate, but I have never and have no plans to call her Katie.
Matt: That’s too foreign-sounding a name where I live.
Emily: Don’t know any Emilys, either.
Chris: Media contacts. They run blogs or news sites of their own.
Mike/Michael: The one Mike I know is currently a med student. Not sure if he’s working on the side - I think he is, since I saw him post about a job update on his Facebook a few months ago; but I can no longer remember what he does, or if he’s still doing it.
Jessica: I went to high school with a girl named Jessica but I don’t follow her on social media, so I have no clue what she’s up to now.
Becca/Bekah: Rita’s sister is a Becca. I think she is currently a grad student.
For each name, think of three people you know, and list one adjective to describe each person. (Skip if you don't know anyone with that name.)
Laura
Michelle: Hilarious.
Victoria: Strong.
Tessa: Friendly.
John
Claire: Influential; motherly.
Briana/Brianna: Bitch.
Vanessa
Brittany/Britney, etc.
Allison/Allie/Ally, etc: Kind. 
Olivia
Jordan
Jo/Joe: Ambitious; pretty.
Corey/Kori
Sophie: Sweet; quiet.
Mitch/Mitchell: Tall.
Madison/Maddie/Maddi
Out of all the people you know or have met, list three...
redheads: Yeah, you’re not going to find them in most of Asia. West Asia and some parts of East Asia, probably, but definitely not for the rest.
tall people: Jo, Chesca, and Shaun.
people with really curly hair: I know Kleo has naturally curly hair from her Aeta roots, but it’s been straightened for a very long time now. I think Chesca also has curly hair, albeit slightly. There is also Liana.
sets of twins: My sister had two sets of twins in her high school batch, but I can no longer remember their names. I also had an English class with a pair of twins named Ardy and Thirdy.
of the cutest babies you've seen on social media: My workmate’s baby. My friend Jar has a super squishy niece/nephew pair of twins as well.
people you miss: Angela, Kate, my grandpa.
people with beautiful eyes: I can only think of my ex.
people with nice hair: God I have not been around people for so long, I can barely think of anyone for this.
people who are the same height as you: Aya, Hannah, Tina.
own one of the same clothing items as you: Angela since we went to the same high school and have several of the same school shirts; Laurice since we share a college org and we have our own trademark polo shirt; and my brother and I have our own pairs of Nike Cortez shoes.
make you laugh: Andi, Hans, and this girl I had a couple of history classes with, Rose.
List three celebrities who...
are the same height as you: Lady Gaga and AJ Lee are the only ones who are coming to mind. I wouldn’t call AJ a celebrity though.
have the same hair color as you: Mila Kunis, Kelly Rowland, Dita Von Teese.
look like you: Only based on comments I’ve gotten in the past and not because I necessarily claim these for myself, Lucy Hale, Anna Akana, and Kakie.
List three....
adjectives to describe you: Timid, stubborn, sensitive.
academic courses you enjoyed: Philippine social history, international relations, anthropology.
words you always forget how to spell: Rhythm, committee, accommodate.
things you wish you were better at: Singing, dancing, drawing.
things you are really good at: Writing, reading people, and knowing the best things to order at most restaurants hahahah.
jobs you'd like to have: Ideally, a lawyer or doctor. But realistically, I’d love to have a leadership position in the PR sphere.
jobs you've considered having: ^ Again, lawyer and doctor. Also a journalist or news anchor, back when I still thought I was passionate about journalism.
jobs you'd hate: Journalist, an LTO clerk, an assistant to an asshole celebrity.
things you miss: Being a student, many parts of the past, and deceased family members.
names your mom considered when naming you: Ariel, Kathleen, Katrina.
things people call you: Robyn, Byn, Bynbyn.
*Bonus*: what is your name? (first and middle)? I always feel like just sharing Robyn.
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smokeybrand · 3 years
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Mutiny
I’m not a fan of Joe Rogen. I find a lot of what he says to be problematic as f*ck but the way he says it, is FAR more damaging. Dude pushes some wild, dangerous, nonsense under the guise of “free speech”, disingenuous “debate”, and insidiously leading questions. Rogen is the Frat Boy version of Tucker Carlson in a lot of ways and that sh*t just doesn’t appeal to me. Beta males who think too highly of themselves listen to this due and take him seriously. These are people who are not self-actualized, who’s entire personality is based on their car or their sneakers or some other superficial bullsh*t they confuse for a personality, and that’s what Rogen’s entire show is; Superficial bullsh*t. So when he pushes dumb-f*ckery like “Don’t get the shot if you’re young and healthy”, these idiots who are either teenagers or have the mentality of teenagers, f*cking listen and we have a spike in cases. Because Joe Rogen said so.
The other day, this asshole bought into that whole “White Fear” sh*t, talking about how the Straight White Male is the most persecuted demo in America and i just groaned. This is the same exact sh*t Carlson does on his show, verbatim, just slightly less racist. It’s the current strategy of what is fast becoming the American Fascist Party, Republicans. It’s hypocritical f*cking nonsense and i hate it. How the f*ck would Joe Rogen, a Straight White Male with a whole ass podcast, be silenced or censored or persecuted/ He’s a multi-millionaire with one of the most popular platforms on f*cking Spotify. How the f*ck would any White person, especially Straight White Males, get silenced in the US? The bones of this country are built to uphold a very specific form of White Supremacy. Hell, cats talk about all these rights and liberties but, in the very beginning, those rights were only extended to White Male Landowners; basically Rich White Men, and guess who the f*ck Joe Rogen is? The constitution had to be amended to include every one else which means this country was designed to be a haven for objective White Supremacy. The fact that they replaced Straight with Rich is just a misnomer used to broaden that division and you have assholes with real audiences buying into that dangerous bullsh*t, disseminating that poison to their followers. And they just drink that persecution complex kool-aid, up. It’s f*cking absurd.
The irony in all of this is the fact that the country is getting younger and browner. Statistically, by the time Gen Z’s kids come of age, we’ll outnumber White people. The margin will be slight but they’ll be the overall minority in this country and that’s why we have all of this fear-mongering and treasonous tantrums. That system the Founding Fathers built to protect their power, is falling apart. It's all a matter of time. Why do you think they're fighting so hard to keep DC and Puerto Rico from becoming actual States? I can guarantee those cats who signed the Constitution never anticipated the influx of melanated people over the years, interbreeding with their lily White sensibilities, or the homogeneity desegregation would bring to society or the way Black culture ended up shaping the entire American zeitgeist or how the Internet just blew the doors off any illusion US citizens had about our true status in the world at large. I was born in 1984. Ten years before i existed, the South was still heavily segregated. My generation, the Millennials, were the very first to be completely free from the social consequences of the Civil Rights Movement. We were far enough removed from that to just see people, not race. I was exposed to so many more cultures, religions, and people, as a kid, than my ma had been when she was young. It wasn’t like, all of a sudden, we were singing kumbaya together, but it was definitely a start, one that has only gained more and more momentum as the Generations who came after mine, started coming of age in a world whose borders are just ceremonial at this point because of the Tech age.
I met my chick and made friends across the globe in a chatroom. One of my closest friends lives in New Zealand. Another stays in Finland. My birthday twin lives in England. She’s a year older than i am and has a beautiful family. My Puerto Rican sister met her dude around the same time i met my chick. He’s from Alabama. She moved from the island to be with him and they've settled down in Georgia where they share a beautiful daughter. My best friend became so close with an Asian girl from Australia, that he adopted her as his own sister. They spoke at least twice a week for the next fifteen years, all the way up until he passed away. The world is much smaller, much clearer, than it has ever  been before, and it turns out that it’s full of color. Color these Straight White Men are, apparently, terrified of. That’s got to be it. That’s got to be why they’re throwing these big ass tantrums and constantly fear-mongering about it. I don’t understand. When Brie Larson said what she said, it was the truth. There are THOUSANDS of films about White dudes you can watch. The entirety of film history is Straight White Males. What is so bad abut getting some chicks or People of Color or some LBGTQ representation in a few leads? Why can't we have strong Black performances in movies where we don't play the “magical Negro” or f*cking Slave? Why can't we have an all Asian cast when the principals aren't constantly fetishized? What is so terrible about giving a role to a Muslim that isn't linked to some ridiculous terrorist trope? Who’s really offended by this and why are they so goddamn fervent about it? Straight White Males, bud.
It’s because their grip on the reins is slipping. The power and the privilege they’ve had for so long, too long, is started to tip in the other direction. The playing field is, ever so slowly, evening out and these Straight White Males are losing their sh*t. They’ll talk about “being racist against white people” and “it's fine to interview everyone but hire cats who are qualified” with one breath but then absolutely savage voting rights directly focused on crippling the Black vote and desperately cling to the idea that 45 still deserves to be president, even though a steady stream of his criminal incompetence has been flowing out of the the White House since he’s left. The level cognitive dissonance is f*cking hilarious. It’s as bad as the GOP complaining about “cancel culture” while literally silencing Liz Cheney. Are you f*cking kidding me? I gotta sit here and listen to a very vocal minority complain about the direction of the MCU because they’ve decided to add a plethora of female and POC roles going forward into Phase Four. They keep asking “who's this for?” and it's obvious it's for everyone, not just Straight White Males. That, to them, means it's going to be bad. Just because the focus has shifted from three White dudes in leading roles, suddenly the MCU has lost it's way. It’s like, all of a sudden, just because the MCU wants to represent their audience as a whole, not just a narrow and shrinking part of it, we’re not supposed to trust in Feige anymore. Are you kidding me? The Green Knight is slated to be another massive hit for A24. The cat who wrote that film was bounced from studio to studio because he created that story specifically as a vehicle for Dev Patel and no major studio wanted to make it with him in the lead. Dev Patel is a f*cking Oscar winner and a brilliant actor but this movie, draped in surreal and beautiful imagery, driven by a visceral, bloody, focus, wasn’t going to get made because the lead this plot was specifically written for, happens to be brown. But Straight White Males are the ones being silenced? Okay, bud.
Joe Rogen is a symptom of a greater problem and it’s the problem of White Fragility. White Fragility fuels the worst of our society. It's the genesis of racism and bigotry. It drives Nationalism and is fertile ground for cults of personality which blossom into whole ass dictatorships. These motherf*ckers are in they’re feelings and will burn this country to the ground if it means they will stop getting their way. Brie Larson calls out the ridiculousness of the race bias in Hollywood? They attack. Arizona flips Blue because Indigenous people and Black folks come out to vote in droves? Voter fraud and four recounts, one months after the election has been called and Biden has already taken office. Jordan Peele says, out loud, to the entire country, that he’s not interested in telling stories with White people in the lead? Shadow banned from Hollywood. Dude was the toast of Hollywood after Get Out and Us. He said what he said and cat's been trapped behind the camera as a Producer ever since. It’s nuts because these people complaining about how hard it is to be and how unfair the current social climate is to Straight White Males, have called Twatter NPCs whiny, SJW, children, for years. Bro,you’re the same, just racist! You are the Trump to their Obama. You are the thermodynamic reaction to their Civil action. You assholes are arguing the same merit, just on the opposite ends of the spectrum so, if they’re whiny assholes, wouldn’t you have to be, too? The only difference is that the Twatter assholes have a zeal for inclusion while you Rogen Bros have a penchant for White Supremacy and, given the choice, I'd have to agree with the Blue Checkmarks in this regard.
Straight White Males have had the run of this country since before it was a country and look what they’ve done with it. Look where we are, right now, in the year of our lord, 2021. This is as far as we have come under their stewardship. It’s time for a new captain, i think. Sorry if that hard truth hurts your feelings. Now please steer us away from those very obvious rocks. I’d rather not violently crash into that reef and sink into a watery grave before we can get our hands on the wheel to right this ship, all because you assholes are in your feelings, thank you.
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sentientpaperbag · 3 years
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So this not only ended up being longer than I meant, but most of it is lore related because I changed some stuff involving the lore of magic in this universe. So you get to learn about Dark and Light Husks a little more
Also i might have gone on a bit and rambled in the tags, whoops~
Under the cut!
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Zonta was tired. She’d gone a little overboard with the spellcasting practice. She just desperately wanted to get her spells right without causing too much trouble. She knew using Dark Magic was dangerous, and usually using it as much as she had would result in some form of permanent change in her appearance or even becoming a Dark Husk.
But... she hadn’t had any side effects. She was actually, weirdly enough, good at it. To her knowledge, every witch had a specific form of magic that they excelled in. For example, Zonta knew a nice girl who lived outside of town in the forest, and her specialty happened to be plant based, although she usually used mostly fungi.
Zonta, however, learned pretty quickly that she was very good with Dark Magic. It wasn’t necessarily forbidden, but it was frowned upon to use this kind of magic, due to the very dangerous consequences of overuse.
Zonta supposed it could be worse. She could be in the cult of Light Magic. Or she could be a Light Husk, those were far worse than a Dark Husk, and Zonta decided long ago that if she ever turned into a Husk, she’d go for the less depressing Dark version. At least that way she knew people would leave her alone.
“What exactly are Light Husks again?” Markus, who had come over to help her as best he could with her practice, had absolutely no idea how magic worked. Zonta liked being able to explain things to her friend, even if he didn’t really get it. She supposed it was only fair, however. After all, she hardly knew how werewolves worked and he had done his best to explain that all to her.
“Light Husks are people who used Light Magic. It’s far more powerful than Dark Magic,” she explained, “It’s also more unstable. If you have to use any kind of frowned upon or illegal magic, it’s better to use Dark instead of Light, even if people seem to be more scared of the former.”
“So since it’s unstable it’s easier to turn into a Husk, right?”
“Mm-hm,” Zonta sat down on the long couch in her living room, propping her feet on her friend’s legs as he sat down beside her, “Light Magic, being incredibly unstable and dangerous, usually tends to turn a person into a Husk pretty fast. You get like… the weirdest God complex, too. I went to a gathering with some other witches one time, and there was a Light Husk there in this like… I wanna call it a tube but it wasn’t really one. Anyway, they were in this anti-magic container thing, because if a Light Husk got loose, the world would probably be in a shit-ton of trouble. Light Husks have a whole cult following, cuz they’re usually thought of as godlike. It’s… really creepy, actually.”
“Yikes.”
“Exactly. Anyway, this Light Husk was a woman, probably like… three, four years older than us, and she’s all glowing and ethereal and it’s absolutely terrifying. But like… these people are coming up to the container and they’re asking questions and she’s answering them and her voice is absolutely mesmerizing. Really echo-y and unearthly. Honestly if she looked more like a horrifying creature made of eyes and flaming wheels and wings she could have passed as what people thought angels looked like. I don’t like it. People are obsessed with Light Husks.”
“I hope there’s not that many out there…,” Markus looked a little worried for a moment. Zonta smiled reassuringly at him, shaking her head.
“Nah, there’s like seven. After the seventh person turned into a Husk, people kinda realized that hey, this shit is dangerous and probably lethal, let’s not turn ourselves into ethereal beings of light and energy.”
Markus frowned, lost in thought for a moment. Zonta glanced out the window behind them, silently thinking her own private thoughts, mostly about how grateful she was that the two of them were comfortable with one another to talk about the less appealing sides of their abilities.
“What about Dark Husks? Are you worried about becoming one? If you use your magic too much, I mean,” Markus finally said.
“I mean, I used to worry about it. But I usually can feel when I’m going a little too far and I think that stops me from going overboard. So it should be fine, as long as I remember to take breaks and stuff. Gotta let my magic replenish or I would definitely turn into a Husk.”
“What do they usually look like?”
Zonta shuddered, thinking about the depressing forms she once saw roaming the countryside, “They look like ghosts. Or at least what I think ghosts look like. To my knowledge, Jason is the only one who can see the dead, and I’m too afraid to ask if they look like Dark Husks.
“But they like… they have hallow eyes and sunken cheeks, their bodies are usually thin and bony. Their whole body takes on a monochromatic color scheme that matches their magic. So, for example, if I turned into a Husk, my body would turn different shades of purple,” she explained, shrugging slightly.
Markus tried to envision that for a moment, furrowing his brows together. Zonta thought he looked cute when he tried to imagine something she explained. He usually looked very serious like that.
“You keep furrowing your eyebrows like that and you’ll get a crease in between them,” she teased. He relaxed his face, a small smile forming.
“I think you’d be a pretty color, but I also think you’d look scary if that happened,” Markus said.
“You think my magic color is pretty?” Zonta tried to stay calm, her heart fluttering. Usually her magic color bothered people. Magic usually was a bright color, but hers was a darker purple, almost an indigo of sorts.
“Well yeah. I mean… I think your magic is cool. And the color is kinda nice, it suits you.”
She smiled, “Thanks dude, that means a lot to me. Usually when people find out my magic color, they freak out. And then, when they find out I specialize in Dark Magic of all things, they start thinking I’m like, evil or something.”
“Do you know what kind of magic your dad did?”
She shook her head, “My mom said she can’t remember, and he left before I was born. She told me she just remembers what color his magic is. It’s red. I’ve never seen that color for magic before, it’s kinda unique. Like the dark purple for my magic. Guess weird colors run in the family.”
“Maybe he did Dark Magic like you and that’s why you’re good at it.”
“Haha, maybe.”
Zonta fought the urge to yawn, her eyes heavy. She wanted to keep talking to Markus, but she had really worn herself out practicing.
“You look tired, Hummingbird,” Markus said softly, “You should probably rest.”
“Nah, I’m.. fine,” she mumbled. She knew she needed to rest, she just didn’t want to.
“At least close your eyes. You can still talk to me, but with your eyes closed.”
She complied, closing her eyes. It was fine for a moment until she felt fingers gently brush across her face and her eyes shot open.
Markus looked embarrassed, “Ah, sorry. Should’ve said something. You had a stray hair in your face and it was bugging me. You can close your eyes again, I won’t do that without asking next time.”
She chuckled, shutting her eyes again. She tried not to think about how soft his fingers had been when they moved across her cheek.
“Your accent popped out for a minute there,” she said, laughing when Markus replied, “Howdy, ma’am,” in the most Texan accent she’d ever heard.
“Hey... If I fall asleep, don’t let me sleep too long. I have to make dinner for my mom when she gets home in a few hours. The flight she was supposed to work on next got cancelled or something, so she gets to come home for a few days,” Zonta mumbled, her words slurring a little as she felt sleep start taking over.
“Or, you could sleep and I could make your mom something. She knows you practice a lot and wear yourself out, I’m pretty sure she’d be fine with my cooking.”
“She liked that one thing your mom made,” Zonta replied, opening one eye slightly, “Those tamale things. They were really good.”
Markus grinned, “I told you. You didn’t wanna try them.”
“I didn’t wanna end up not liking them and disappoint you.”
“You could never disappoint me, Zonta,” Zonta felt her face heat up at how sincere he sounded. She opened her eyes fully, sitting up a little more and moving slightly so she was closer.
“That’s nice to know,” she said quietly, wondering if what she was feeling was genuine or just because it’d been so long since she’d dated that any form of kindness from a cute guy sent her into a romantic frenzy.
He smiled gently at her, pushing her slightly on her shoulder so she was lying back down, “You need to rest, Z. Close your eyes again.”
“Fine,” she mumbled, “Hey, you think you could you try teaching me Spanish again sometime?”
“Only if you try teaching me how to dance.”
Zonta snorted, “You have two left feet.”
“And you can’t roll your R’s.”
“That’s fair,” she laughed.
Her mind started wandering as she felt sleep start drifting over her again. Her mind drifted to thinking about what holding Markus’ hand would be like. It was such a specific thought, and she was fairly certain it was because she was a little touch starved, but she just wanted to hold his hand sometimes.
She was half tempted to say something, but felt herself grow nervous at the thought of asking, instead opting to stay quiet.
She felt herself drifting off to sleep, and she swore she heard Markus say something, but her mind was foggy and she was pretty out of it. She felt herself growing limp as sleep overtook her, and she hoped that maybe she’d have a decent dream for once instead of the weird and sometimes frightening dreams she commonly had.
Markus quietly and gently moved her so her legs weren’t on him anymore, and he found one of the small blankets she kept around the house, covering her with it. He smiled softly at her and walked into the other room to go find something to make for her and her mother when she returned home.
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radramblog · 3 years
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Pokemon Legendary Themes Ranked
I saw a video of a youtuber I like doing this tier list so I thought I’d get my own opinions in first so I’m not biased by theirs. This list is a little incomplete- there’s a few things I know are missing, most pointedly side game stuff, but I suppose they can’t win em all. Thus, here are my objectively factual opinions, no nostalgia bias here surely. Here’s a link to the list in case you want to do the same.
(Tiers are sorted in increasing quality right to left)
D Tier
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Mewtwo (FRLG): Y’all know Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres also use this, right? It’s just a marginally more dramatic version of the regular wilds music, so it gets the fail from me.
Mew (Emerald): This is the same as the last one! Except it gets the edge because it is slightly higher pitched, and because it’s in a game where it’s not a remix of a song you’ve just heard dozens of times.
Mewtwo (XY): I just really dislike the soundfont XY uses for most of its themes. This sounds like a shitty youtube remix from the late 00s with like 300 views, and most of them are the same person who really likes the song for some reason. Am I just biased against the kanto wilds theme? Maybe.
Regis (Crown Tundra): Narrowly dodges being the worst Regis theme since the Platinum one exists (It’s not on this list though). I think a lot of the more recent versions of older themes suffer since they were designed with the lesser hardware in mind. It is a shame because I do really like some of the additions to the theme.
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C Tier
Dynamax Legend (Crown Tundra): Mewtwo is already back for his last appearance on the list. It’s just a remix of the max raid theme, which I don’t really care for- especially after hearing it over and over and over again grinding Lairs for shinies.
Calyrex (Crown Tundra): This song being dramatic makes no sense in universe- the player knows this is the big legendary, but the character sure doesn’t- but it ultimately feels hollow. This is deliberate, since it’s actually just one half of another song.
Steeds (Crown Tundra): h o n s e theme is the other half of that song, and it’s the better half, but its still incomplete.
Aura Trio (X/Y) and Solgaleo/Lunala (S/M): These two get lumped together because I always get them conflated, which signifies to me that neither has made a strong impact. Listening to both again, I think I like the latter more, but it’s narrow.
Regis (ORAS): It’s just not the same without the horns. My gen 6 bias is showing, but I don’t really like the soundfont.
Deoxys (ORAS): similar to the Regis, this is held back by the soundfont (why the fuck is there an organ in this??) but also by the fact that at this point, the Deoxys theme just isn’t special anymore. And that’s kinda sad.
Calyrex 2 (Crown Tundra): The full version of this theme is much better, obviously, sounding suitably regal for the king of the tundra, but it overall lands at a meh. The percussion sounds like it’s trying to rip off the Weather Trio’s, which is a big no-no.
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B Tier
Eternatus 1 (SwSh): We are now entering the songs I like zone. Eternatus 1 goes in a lot of different directions, and despite how 13-year-old me would balk at it I actually enjoy the dubsteppy bits of it. Sorry to disappoint you, you edgy fuck.
Ultra Beasts (SMUSUM): I don’t know why these are separated, they’re the same theme. I really like the UB theme, but the thing is it isn’t really a legendary theme- it had to be a bit less bombastic seeing as you can just encounter a bunch of these bad bois. And while it sounds suitably alien, I still think it doesn’t belong on this list.
Weather Trio (ORAS): Why is this listed as this, its just for Rayquaza. Extremely dramatic, but a retread of one of my S-tier picks (spoilers oops) and not different enough for the remaster to make it worth it.
Primals (ORAS): the same as the previous, but I do like this much better, what with the song “reverting” to the original every so often. This should probably be higher, but I don’t want to separate it from the “full” version.
Eternatus 2: It’s kind of a shame how little time you get to hear this, because it’s a big ol “you’re fucked” and that’s pretty great. There are bits of this that sound like they’re sampling Kirby Super Star, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.
Galar Birds (Crown Tundra): While I know everyone used to adore this one, I think the honeymoon phase is over for me at this point. I still like it, but at the end of the day it’s still a Kanto Wild remix.
Legendary (BWB2W2): This is really good! The way the tempo shifts around the song is a really nice touch, and that build section is excellent. Just a solid overall theme.
Tao Trio (BW): Reshiram and Zekrom’s themes are slightly different, but even Game Freak forgot that one. Kyurem’s is the same but where they have different SFX it just has dead air, which while fitting is a bit less good. I adore the beat this one has running, almost a throbbing bit going on there.  Edit: Ok on relisten I’ve heard Kyurem’s a bit closer, and it’s a little different with some record skips, but they’re pretty unecessary imo.
Zacian/Zamazenta (SwSh): This is one I kinda wish was less dramatic, considering it’s not as oh shit as the situations their other themes have. I kinda hate the opening to this, but the rest of it makes up for it I suppose.
Eternatus 3: Yeah this is a Z/Z theme not an Eternatus theme let’s be real. A suitably triumphant third act to the climax of SwSh’s (lackluster) story. This is kinda just a banger, very much appropriate for the beatdown it accompanies.
Dialga/Palkia (DPPt): Closing the tier with a song that I actually love, but it’s occurred to me that it’s a little odd sitting next to some of these other ones. I mean, it’s mostly built around this very pretty little piano line, which makes it feel less weighty than the competition. It’s a classic, and hasn’t aged poorly or anything, but it’s less of a climax than I would expect. With that in mind, I shudder to think of what would happen to this in a potential remake.
 A Tier
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Mysterious Being (SwSh): This is getting carried here by that bass alone. The rest of it is ok I guess.
Arceus (DPPt): Ah, the track no one ever got to hear. I really love how sparse this is, being basically only percussion most of the way through. I think the Arceus event is something we should have actually gotten to experience, I’m pretty sure it would have blown little me’s mind.
Lugia (HGSS): HGSS, the games where every legendary got its own theme. Bring this back please, I’m begging here. I understand the reason this sounds the way it does is because it’s based on the Shadow Lugia theme from XD, but I haven’t played that one, so I can’t comment. I’m sure not complaining, though- considering Lugia’s other main appearance (in the movie, of course) I wasn’t expecting such a menacing theme.
Legendary (DPPt): For a “generic” theme (fucking Rotom gets this btw) this has a lot going for it. The animation that plays when you start a fight with this music is burned into my brain. It’s fast, it’s tense, and it sounds great.
Lake Trio (DPPt): Unlike Mysterious Being, while the bass slays here, it’s not alone carrying the song. This track was always my favourite out of Diamond and Pearl, and those games have a fucking great soundtrack, so.
Black/White Kyurem (B2W2): I really love that this is a remix of the (also very menacing) theme you hear when you boot the game up- you’ve heard a version of this while staring at the fucker, now here’s the real version for when you have to fight it. The references to the regular Tao Trio theme are well placed, but this more bombastic version sounds like Kyurem is here to fucking kill you, which to be fair, it kinda is.
Legendary Beasts (Crystal/HGSS): I’m lumping these together since, although HGSS gave each their own remix, they’re basically the same theme. This was the first Legendary music ever written for the series, and it still holds up really well. As for the HGSS remixes, I don’t think Entei’s slower rockier version works as well, but I really like the punchy percussion on Raikou’s version.
Regis (RSE): Hella bass and Hoenn Horns? What’s not to love? I do think the original version of this theme is by far the best one, being an ample payoff for the puzzle that was getting to it in the first place, and it makes hurling balls at the golem’s much more tolerable. I literally never caught Registeel as a kid so I could go back and listen to this whenever I wanted.
Tapus (SMUSUM): Again, why are these separated. Considering this game has literal aliens in it, the Tapu theme in SM is somehow the most messed up sounding one, but it works extremely well. The surprise vocalisations work really well with the… I’m hesitant to say tribal, but I don’t have another word for that vibe to be honest. It does feel like you’re doing a transgression with this song, which you are (why the fuck are you allowed to catch these things in universe lmao).
Ultra Necrozma (USUM): Probably the most climactic song in the entire franchise, and it makes sense- this isn’t just the climax of those games, but the finisher to the entire 3DS era of the series. The church organs, therefore, are pretty justified. This song sounds like a Big Deal, and the organ getting pretty jazzy when it gets to some of the less intense bits is a really nice little touch. And then the percussion picks up again and oh fuck here we goooooo. A fitting track for arguably one of the hardest fights in the entire franchise.
 S Tier
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Dusk Mane/Dawn Wings Necrozma (USUM): Haha oops I like this one more than Ultra. I think it’s just the unstoppable percussion that opens this that does it. I don’t think anyone who went in blind saw this moment in the games coming, and the intensity reflects this- its like a prelude to Ultra but it doesn’t have as much of a low point, with the onslaught of noise fitting the sheer OH FUCK that is seeing everyone’s favourite bag-dodger getting bodyjacked out of nowhere.
Weather Trio (RSE): Anyone who understands my bias is gonna understand this one. It’s almost entirely carried by nostalgia, but I just love this fucking song. Compared to some of the other things on this list, it feels nearly minimalistic, seeing as it’s pretty much just the drums, horns, and that bell, but that’s all it needs. It’s the first song in the series for a proper legendary, and it suits that fact.
Deoxys (FRLG/E): By contrast, the Deoxys theme is pushing that GBA soundfont to its absolute limit. You can hear some of the best of both the FRLG and RSE soundtracks in this song, with the Kanto percussion and the Hoenn horns both doing their part, but whatever instruments the rest of this is going for are absolutely not slouching either. It’s somewhat telling that the best soundtracks for FRLG romhacks (e.g. Clover) sound more like this than like the other themes in the game.
Ho-Oh (HGSS): Oh fuck is that a koto I love kotos. By contrast with Lugia, Ho-oh is a more relaxed track that takes a lot from traditional Japanese instruments, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t dramatic- far from it. The groove in this makes it sound like it comes from another series entirely, being so incredibly different from anything else the series had to offer at that point. That main riff is so fucking perfect, man.
Giratina (Platinum): I remember having my mind blown when I first heard this. Giratina went from the generic DP legendary music (which is obviously still good) to this chaotic energetic power play, and I was sold on Platinum immediately (like everything before XY, Platinum came out in Japan some months before in other countries, so I heard this well before the game dropped). This song has so many different lines, so many different builds, and yet none of them feel out of place. I almost feel like this song is what started me down the path that would lead to me being a prog fan. After the haunting ambience of the Distortion World, this sheer energy is such a shock to the system, and the climax of the song hits harder than any individual moment on any other song in the series. It’s my number 1 pick, and I love it to bits.
 Thus, the full list is as follows. If you end up doing your own, link me up, I’d love to see how wrong you are your opinions.
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quite-a-sketchione · 4 years
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Hey, I almost forgot! You mention a lot in Bea-ing a Sister that there are different dialects spoken in different parts of Galar- do you have headcanon accents for each character? I know the UK has a bunch of variety with Irish, Scottish and Welsh accents, but which one goes with which area, and are there other variants? (As an American, sometimes they just mush together in my mind....)
PART 1 OF 2
What a great question, thank you dearly ^_^
I’m going to do an accent breakdown of every major character that’s appeared in ‘Bea-ing a Sister’ but I’m going to go one better: I’m doing it WITH EXAMPLES!
I appreciate that just telling someone ‘they sound like X or Y or Z’ isn’t too helpful, so there will be links to videos in part 2 with examples of the accents I’m describing!
Bea: Her accent has a baseline with its roots in the Yorkshire accent, given Stow-on-Side’s location. However, her parents efforts to model her into an ideal pupil have caused certain inflections to appear when she speaks which aren’t present in a typical Yorkshire.
Specfically, her voice is tinged with Received Pronunciation (RP). Words like ‘My’ and ‘I’m’ are much closer to ‘Mah/Meh’ and ‘Ah’m/Eh’m’ in the usual accent, but Bea says it almost exactly with the ‘I’ sound. Also compare ‘Yorkshire’ for RP and ‘Yorkshare’ for the standard accent.
Allister: Since he was found at a young age, he’s instinctively copied Bea as he’s grown up and sounds considerably like her. However, his accent appears far stronger to outsiders given his tendency to mumble or speak quietly in general.
His original accent from before he met Bea isn’t known, and has been overtaken with the heaviness of the Yorkshire dialect.
Melony: Circhester is based on Bath, so naturally Melony’s accent follows that path. Has a greater emphasis on A sounds in words: Words like ‘remember’ turn into ‘remembarr’ and ‘No’ turns into ‘Nao’ (though it isn’t as 50/50 balanced for shorter words like No, the O sound still takes precedence over the invasive A).
Amy Williams, Olympic gold medalist for Skeleton sounds a lot like I’d expect Melony to sound. Words ending in L like ‘Medal’ become twisted into W sounds to make ‘Medawl/Medaw’ depending on how good of a mood she’s in.
Gordie: Same story but he’s actively tried to distance himself from his mother so pronounces things slightly more posh than she does. Think more Simon Pegg, who’s from Gloucestershire, instead of Bath which is in Somerset. They’re close but not identical.
Nessa: Hulbury is based on Liverpool, the influences are very clear. Nessa has two versions of her voice, one for her gym leader persona, and one for her modelling persona. Both are very clearly Liverpool accents, just to varying intensities.
Another northern accent, words like ‘Future’ can corrupt into ‘Fyuch-ah’ if Nessa gets excited or pumped up. She’ll try and keep it under control when she’s doing interviews but her natural voice is the slightly rougher gym leader persona.
Milo: Slightly against the grain but it’s my headcanon Milo and his family moved a couple of generation ago from the equivalent of Wales in Galar. No not just because they’re sheep farmers ^_^. The Pontypridd area, just north of Cardiff, fits the bill for me.
Words like ‘Level’ change to ‘Leh-vel’ with this accent, and ‘out’ really emphasises the W sound to become ‘Owwt’.
Oleana: A prim and proper Received Pronunciation...mostly. It’s almost Queen’s English, with every word pronounced like a computer reading a dictionary. If she loses her temper, however, it’s a different story.
From her upbringing comes an outburst of East London slang, she basically becomes a chav. Think Billie Piper in ‘Doctor Who’. It’s not a pretty sight (or sound). Just don’t disrespect the Chairman or win a battle against her and she’ll stay indifferent and monotone.
I’ve seen some ‘accent headcanons’ which look like they’re not done by someone who lives in the UK. Most egregious examples include someone Googling “Black british accent’ for Nessa and going with the first comedian or actress they find.
That’s lazy and you know it ^_^ PART 2 will be up shortly with examples so folks can better grasp what I’ve written!
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thequirkdetective · 4 years
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Investigation 9 (21/8/2020): Compress – Atsuhiro Sako
Atsuhiro Sako, villain name ‘Mr Compress’, has the ability to trap a large spherical area into a small marble-like object. Immediately, questions arise. Do the trapped objects stay the same mass? If not, where does the excess mass go? How are the objects compressed, and what state are they in whilst compressed? It’s time to find out.
Right off the bat, there is no way for the quirk to compress and expand an object without causing a large amount of damage. Being able to change the size of an object only through touch is impossible, and changing the volume of a space so drastically cannot be done without some way to increase pressure drastically, which would have intense heating effects, as well as requiring vast amounts of time and industrial machinery. The quirk’s main effect cannot be explained scientifically, which leaves us looking at not the mechanics of the quirk, but instead the effects, both intentional and accidental.
There are two mutually exclusive options as to how objects are stored whilst the quirk is in effect, and both are shown to occur at one point or another in the anime. On the one hand, Compress can hold the marbles in his hand and even on his tongue[1], showing they weigh much less than their expanded counterparts. On the other hand, people who are compressed by the quirk are conscious and can make decisions and move around, shown by Mr Compress’s ability to use his quirk on himself [1], and then cancel its effects whilst he is compressed. This means his brain at least is intact, and thus the objects are somehow just squeezed into a smaller area, with all their atoms intact.
Lets look at each of these possibilities in further detail. At the end of the Shie Hassaikai raid, Mr Compress uses his quirk to tunnel through the ground, excavating multiple spheres of concrete and earth to create a tunnel around 5m (15ft) across[2]. The marbles are about 1cm (0.4 in) in diameter, meaning the volume of the earth was reduced by 500 times. This means the volume was decreased by 125 million times, and thus the density increased  by the same number. If the quirk conserved mass, then the marbles would have a mass of 163 metric tonnes, and exert a pressure of  16 tN/m2 (16 teranewtons per square metre), the equivalent of 235 thousand hydraulic presses. Suffice to say, these marbles could not be held on the tongue.
Another explanation then, is some sort of delayed teleportation similar to Star Trek. Theoretically, Mr Compress could store the positions and states of every atom within the volume to be ‘compressed’, and then turn all the mass into energy. Then, this energy could be turned back into mass when the object is ‘expanded’. We can figure out the energy needed by looking again at the most significant use of the quirk: tunnelling into concrete. Mr Compress creates at least 5 marbles, each holding a 5m radius sphere of concrete and earth. Using the famous E=mc2 we find that this generates 7.3 zetajoules, or 7.3x1022 joules of energy. This is the energy of 7.8x1018 AA batteries, and if these batteries were laid end-up in a square, that square would measure 12 km on each side. It’s safe to say that this Star Trek method requires unfeasible amounts of energy storage, as well as some way of converting energy to mass and back again incredibly precisely and completely efficiently.
If we move even further into the realms of science fiction, (i.e. less emphasis on the ‘science’, much more on the ‘fiction’),  we can postulate on the quirk’s use of wormholes, pocket universes, or other similar theoretical physics terminology takes wildly out of context. Essentially, the quirk could transport the matter to an enclosed point in space, into a pocket universe, along a new dimension, or any other way to move the sphere of matter from the here-and-now. Before we continue, this is not possible under current understandings of physics, and is essentially sci-fi jargon with a thin façade of relativity and theoretical physics to cover it up. Theoretical physicists, if for some reason you’ve read this far, feel free to skip the next 6 paragraphs and replace them with the phrase “Mr Compress’ quirk is impossible”.
First, some terminology. Pocket universes are a possible explanation of the rough homogeneity in temperature across the whole universe, even in sections so far apart light should not have been able to travel from one to the other. The theory states the universe is constantly and rapidly expanding, and that certain regions stop inflating, and instead the energy within them condenses into matter. These new populated regions of space are called pocket universes.
Wormholes (often called Einstein-Rosen bridges to sound fancy) are theoretical structures that link two defined points in space time, and could allow travel between those two points.
In everyday life there are three spatial dimensions; x, y, and z. Relativity explains the universe with an extra dimension; time. However, it is possible that the universe, or certain sections of it, contain extra dimensions. Indeed, standard string theory requires 10 spatial dimensions for mathematical consistency, and bosonic string theory needs at least 26. Even stranger, some or all of these dimensions may be ‘closed up’: coiled in on themselves so much they essentially disappear.
Now, for some incredibly theoretical ways to explain both sides of Mr Compress’ quirk. It is possible wormholes could connect different universes or pocket universes. It is also likely the entrance to a wormhole is a sphere, in the same way that the entrance to a cave in a cliff is a circle (or similar), except in one more dimension. Therefore, if Mr Compress’ quirk creates a wormhole to a pocket dimension, then the matter would be transported into a different universe, unable to interact with our own. The matter also would not be able to escape the universe due to its expansion. The good news is that the sphere has about enough air for a trapped person to survive two weeks before carbon dioxide poising sets in. This is much less time than it takes to starve, so food is not an issue, but if the universe does not contain water the person would dehydrate in about one week. Another issue, although more a minor inconvenience, is that without a light source the inside of the universe would be pitch black – the blackest black possible, since no light would exist there.
However, we still haven’t explained the presence of the marbles. It is theoretically possible that a pocket universe could form around another pocket universe. It thus may be possible to force the formation of a pocket universe inside another. If this is the basis to Mr Compress’ quirk, it functions as follows. 1: A pocket universe is created within our universe. This pocket universe appears the size of a marble. 2: A wormhole is created, with one end centred on a point in our universe, and the other in the pocket universe. 3: The matter enclosed within the opening in our universe travels through the wormhole to the pocket dimension. 4: The wormhole collapses, and the transported matter is trapped within the pocket universe. 5: The pocket universe’s boundary is impassable, so it acts like a marble, with a completely reflective surface. 6: Another wormhole is created, and instead of transporting matter both ways, the pocket universe is collapsed. The implications of collapsing universes is slightly too maths-filled and strange to explore here.
And that is a possible explanation to Mr Compress’ quirk! Theoretical physicists, if you’re reading this, I’m so sorry. Non theoretical physicist, and any of this interested you, I would encourage you to research it yourself and debunk all the falsehoods crammed into this explanation.
Finally, I would like to look at some strange effects of the quirk, namely large gusts of wind. When an object is compressed or wormhole-d, it leaves a 2.5m radius sphere of empty space (hi theoretical physicists -I just mean a vacuum, not the absence of all the weird particles you’re so cagey about). This would be rather quickly filled with air, creating a large rush of wind inwards. The speed of this would vary significantly based on altitude, humidity, temperature and other factors. Once the space has been filled, there are a few possible options. If the air is going relatively slowly, then there would be a slight compression, and a small wave of pressure back outwards. If it is going faster, that small wave of compression becomes a supersonic shockwave. Faster still, and the air compresses, heating up the centre of the blast area. Faster still, and this heating causes nuclear fusion and a nuclear detonation.
A similar, if less drastic, version of this problem happens in reverse when the quirk is used again, and the matter is returned to its normal size. In this case, a volume twice atmospheric pressure is created as the trapped matter overlaps with the matter in the destination. If a person was transported, then this would cause air to become present within their body, a very unpleasant experience similar to what occurs when divers surface too quickly. Gas bubbles form in the blood, as if the person was a newly opened bottle of coke, and symptoms range in severity for joint pain, to rashes, to seizures, coma and death. This would be accompanied by a rush of wind outwards, though one much less severe than the shockwave when the object is first compressed.
In summary, Mr Compress’ quirk condenses matter down into a small area, most likely through the forced creation of a pocket universe within our own universe. The instantaneous creation of a wormhole transports a sphere of matter into the universe, where it is then trapped. When the object is ‘expanded’, another wormhole transports the contents of the marble universe into our universe, and the marble universe collapses, disappearing entirely.
[1] Season 3 Episode 45: What a Twist!
[2] Season 4 episode 76: Infinite 100%
If you liked this investigation and want to have a say in the next one, then make sure to send a recommendation for which quirk I should investigate!
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amphtaminedreams · 4 years
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S/S 2020 Fashion Month: A Basic, Uneducated Fashion Heaux’s A-Z of Everything Noteworthy (Part 2/3)
Hi to anyone reading,
Back at it again with the giving my unsolicited opinion on 2020′s spring/summer offering, I’m gonna hop straight into part 2 of my fashion month review!
Sorry to start with an underwhelming few but my compulsive tendencies are making it really hard to break out of this alphabetical structure (cry laughs whilst thinking about how long it took me to face up at my retail job last night because it would give me vaguely homicidal urges and make my fingers tingle every time a customer moved something slightly out of line), so I’m gonna whizz through a handful of collections. First up, Halpern:
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Not much to say but I’m envious of the heavy liner (my hooded eyes could never) and I like the colour scheme. As for the 80s style metallic pink dress?
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Helmut Lang:
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And Hermes:
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Of these 3 collections, Hermes is definitely the most interesting. I like the colour scheme and the utilitarian shapes and the tan coloured jackets are an absolute shoot. This is how you make safari look fresh, D&G take note.
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Isabel Marant was okay. It’s cute, sure, reminds me of something Mary-Kate and Ashley would’ve come out with/worn in the 2000s, and there’s definitely some things I would wear, but I wouldn’t say it looks all that luxury. Pricey, sure, but like, Free People pricey, not designer pricey. As a collection, it’s not all that conceptual, unless the concept is L.A girl does a Starbucks run after her bikram yoga class. What I will say though is that some of the S/S 2020 commercial trends are becoming clear: white cheesecloth pieces, peasant blouses, cowboy boots, scrappy sandals, neutral tones, and bandana print. 
Now onto the darling of high fashion Twitter: Jacquemus.
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As far as presentation goes, this has to be one of my favourite set-ups of the season; a hot pink runway running through a lavender meadow is as canny and serene as those who sing the praises of Simon Porte Jacquemus would have you expect, and the clothes were easy, breezy and beautiful, even if there is an element of getting dressed in the dark going on with the styling which put me off including a few otherwise gorgeous pieces. It might not be 100% my style but you can tell this is a brand of the future which is only going to go from strength to strength.
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And everything was beautifully and purposefully crafted on the runway with J.W Anderson this year. The pieces are graceful and timeless whilst still easy to envision as something a modern woman would throw on to (very fashionably) run some errands in the city. This was also one of the handful of shows (IIRC! This might be a case of extreme deja-vu!) where we saw the sandal straps tied over the trousers, I’m guessing to accentuate the ankles, and...I’m surprisingly here for it? Though in a sense it kinda resembles when I accidentally get my work trousers tucked into my slipper socks, it’s an interesting touch and adds a bit of a shape to otherwise billowing bottom halves.
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Following Jacquemus’ lead (or vice versa, I’m way too deep into this fashion month haze to work out who went first at this point), Lacoste also put on a co-ed show. Otherwise crisp and preppy as per, the neckerchiefs (even if seeing them all next to one another does give off a bit of a Disneyland Main Street barbershop quartet vibe) and vinyl/wet-look/PVC/I’m still not sure what differentiates the 3 coats were an out of the box touch for them and I really liked it. It’s athleisure, but more like something Hayley Bieber would’ve worn as part of her Princess Diana inspired shoot than anything I’d wear to the gym.
LMAO, as if I go the gym. But you get my point. Next, Loewe:
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Delicate, feminine and all around delightful, the S/S 2020 Loewe collection is up there with Chloe and Brock when it comes to most spring appropriate. More chiffon, lace and doily-like detailing, please, the old woman in me lives for this kinda thing made fashionable. Like with J.W Anderson, you can tell the design team wanted to do something different without just throwing shit onto their pieces for the sake of being wacky, and so we end up with these dramatic, slightly geometric waistlines and almost angelic Victorian nightgown inspired dresses that kinda make me wished that 1). ghosts existed and that 2). I lived back in that era so I could die some tragic death wearing any one of the dresses on the left in the top 3 rows and then haunt the shit out of everyone. That would really be an iconic fashion moment. Also wonderful, imo, was Louis Vuitton:
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The mix between 60s and Edwardian I never knew I needed, as opposed to Gucci’s forward thinking take on the former decade, Louis Vuitton takes it back even further and throws in late 19th/early 20th century structures and references. I adore the what seems to be a mix between brocade and paisley print and the exaggerated collars are a very cute touch. The jacket on the top left is a highlight, a more neutral version of the similar catsuit seen at the Longchamp show (I couldn’t personally pick enough highlights from that to include it), and I now more than ever really want to try and pull off a sweater vest. The shoes might not be the most exciting thing ever but they’re also a personal favourite, from the knee high boots to the loafers with the LV moniker.
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Maison Margiela was very cool and again, I’m in love with the shoes and just the accessories in general, ESPECIALLY those hats. I don’t know if I’m way off base here but this show is almost a modernised, fashionable version of a 1940s period drama about WW2 pilots and evacuees. Yes, maybe I am just getting that solely from the trench coats and the naval influences and the exaggerated collars but I think with that list I made quite a case for that perspective, right? Right.
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And completing this holy trinity (appropriating the term I usually reserve for Emma Watson, Emma Stone and Emma Roberts is not without careful consideration) is Marc Jacobs. One of my ultimate favourites of this season, this collection is absolutely EVERYTHING: kitschy, dream-like, whimsical, over-the-top, and totally appropriate for your slightly eccentric aunt who always drinks too much wine and talks a lot of shit every time she comes over for dinner. I really feel like I walked into wonderland looking at this collection, and in the best way possible, it gives me a female Russell Brand in the 2000s’ wardrobe on crack. On the one hand we have these insanely beautiful and ethereal chiffon floral dresses but then we also have fricken top hats. Basically, it’s everything I love about fashion and I don’t know if anything can top it. Periodt (and I type that with a totally straight face). 
Next, onto another personal fave, Marchesa:
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Which is as always, beautiful. I was going to write that if Disney princesses came to life and lived in the modern world (so, in other words, Elle Fanning), they would be wearing Marchesa and then I remembered that the film Enchanted exists and had a lightbulb moment and thought OH MY GOD IF THEY REMADE THAT IN 2019, THE DRESS ON THE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE ROW WOULD BE A PERFECT LEVELLING UP OF THE CURTAIN DRESS.
Anyways, favourites of the favourites are the bottom row; I would die for that feather trim. 
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BUT where Marchesa is everything opulent, overly ornate and err-ing on “fussy”, Margaret Howell’s S/S 2020 collection is completely stripped back and just as effective, if not as to my taste. Very cool, very current, and altogether effortless (in a good way!), with this show Margaret Howell made mid-20th century utilitarianism relevant. I never thought I’d be praising the combination of bermuda shorts, crew socks and a beanie and yet here I am. Character development.
Next is Marine Serre:
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Which I really like! The bottom row isn’t really to my personal taste but I can acknowledge that if I saw somebody wearing any one of those outfits I’d think they looked sick, and as for the first two rows, those mesh tops and the slightly chintzy florals are right up my alley.
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Marques Almeida put out a really strong collection, imo. The blending of luxurious silhouettes and fabrics with street wear inspired prints and styling is a really interesting and unique contrast and if Billie Eilish ever decided to stop wearing those tweenie clothes and wanted to actually seduce somebody’s dad (I LOVE BILLIE EILISH AND I KNOW WHY SHE DRESSES THE WAY SHE DOES, IT’S A JOKE, PLS DON’T HATE ME), I’d love to see her wearing something like this. It’s a blend of punk, urban, and 2019 e-girl and has the kind of edge that Topshop has lost over the past couple of years that used to make it so aspirational to my 13 year old self. Of all the shows, it also probably has the most personally wearable accessories, and a shit tonne of cool make up looks I’d love to try if it weren’t for my lack of visible eyelid, lol.
Make up looks were a highlight of the Max Mara show too, for me anyway.
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I otherwise wasn’t hugely keen on the collection, it being a little too matronly/Miss.Trunchbull-esque for my liking (wild card fashion inspiration of 2019, apparently?). The light paisley print dresses are very dreamy, though, and I can never resist a good suit. 
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As for Michael Kors, dare I say it, but the basic bitch in me loved it. I know as a designer he’s not held in very high regard by the fashion community and I'm not saying it’s at all original but it did what it set out to do well; I mean, it’s quite fitting that he cameo-d in an episode of Gossip Girl because every outfit would be perfect for the Constance attending incarnation of Blair Waldorf, which is probably why I like the collection. Like yeah, it’s a bit of a Polo Ralph Lauren/Lacoste rip off but it’s daintier and more feminine and so I’m not gonna lie, I’m on board with it. 
Next, Miu Miu.
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One of the collections I was most excited for, I was a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the collection, but I have never once disliked anything Miu Miu and I usually love it. There are things I love about this line too: the cream, floral lace-up boots, the off-the-shoulder cardigans, the houndstooth oversized coats and of course the fur-lined gilets. My mum used to buy me similar ones when I was a little girl and so they give me childhood nostalgia in the best way possible. I mean, the collection is as girly and eccentric as ever. I think it’s just a little too on the primary school librarian side for me, this time round. Sorry Miu Miu xoxo
Now I’m just gonna speed through a couple, starting with MM6 Maison Margiela, the younger sister to the more expensive regular Maison Margiela line:
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And Monique Lhuillier:
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So that I can get to one of my other ultimate favourite collections for S/S 2020: Moschino.
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Oh my god, where to even start. Firstly, I might be reaching, but if this show is even remotely to thank for art nouveau mesh tops showing up in the Urban Outfitters new in section, then a very sarcastic thank you to Jeremy Scott. You just made ethical shopping a lot harder. HOW am I supposed to not buy an Alphonse Mucha top? HOW!? I mean, I’m sure I’ll manage (I’m on month 3 without a shopping spree I can’t actually afford now and yes, I am very much patting myself on the back), but HOW!?
But on a serious level, if renaissance was the print of 2019, which I’m still very much into BTW, bring on modern art as its 2020 replacement. The Pablo Picasso inspired show not only livened up a generally pretty predictable fashion month but it’s also got me searching up other times art has met fashion on the runway and thrown me down a particularly aesthetically pleasing wormhole I’m not sure I ever want to escape from (https://frontrowmagazine.ca/art-inspired-looks-were-all-over-the-runways-of-fashion-week-a74e8bc7ff0d and https://www.vogue.com/article/spring-2017-ready-to-wear-fine-arts-trends are good starting points!).
Mugler was also up there with the best of them, imo:
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See, if the Moschino collection was all about dabbling in art class, Mugler’s S/S 2020 collection is its more mathematically inclined sister, all about sharp lines and deconstructed silhouettes and symmetry all whilst looking hot as fuck. So very Mugler, basically. 
Now, this reference might be slightly off because I haven’t actually SEEN Ex-Machina yet but I imagine if Kim Kardashian were to channel that movie for a costume party she’d end up wearing something from this collection. That sounds like a roast because Kim has worn some questionable outfits but I blame Kanye for most of that and I’m referring to her on a good fashion day, alright!?
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As for Off-White, it’s obviously a lot more commercial than most of the lines I’ve reviewed so far. Like, I can see a lot of these outfits on a mannequin in Urban Outfitters (no, I am not being paid to namedrop them, about 3 people in total read this Tumblr so any kind of sponsorship money would be severely wasted on me). That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and I love all of these looks; it just seems unfair to compare them to the the Mugler or Moschino collections, for example. 
The stand outs for me are all on the bottom row: I would buy the utility vest, leather blazer and the all mesh turtleneck under washed-out tie-dye on the spot if I saw them in a high street store. Unfortunately, I feel like that’s kinda where they belong. You just expect collections to be a bit more conceptual, and this one is a little watered down, as much as it’s my style.
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Oscar de la Renta was beautiful, of course. Not like I’m shook by how beautiful it is but kinda just what you’d expect from a brand with a name as poetic and fun to say as Oscar de la Renta. The silhouettes are dreamy and the details are as fit for a fairy princess (lmao) as ever. Plus can I just say how happy I am to see butterflies on dresses for adult women again!? And dresses worn by Blanca Padilla nonetheless!? Very here for it.
Next up is another on one of my fashion month highlights: Paco Rabanne.
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LOOK AT THIS SHIT!
I mean, don’t get me wrong, something about this collection (I’m pretty sure it’s the knee high coloured socks) is giving me primary school teacher vibes, but I'm not mad about it. It’d be the kind of teacher who’s actually really good at their job and has loads of cool hobbies and a really hot boyfriend or girlfriend or wife or husband who you secretly want to be then you grow up/and or have a huge crush on. 
Like with Marc Jacobs, there’s obvious flower child elements here, and whilst on the whole the former took my breath away slightly more, this is a lot more wearable. My favourites are the paisley print dress and cape on the left in the very bottom row and all the chainmail pieces (which remind me of the dress Naomi Smalls wore in that whole club ninety-sixxxxx skit on drag race), plus that floral cut out dress with the trailing flute sleeves, which is absolute PERFECTION. 
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The 70s influence was clear in Peter Pilotto’s S/S 2020 collection too from the abundance of tie-dye to the knit v-neck dress, zany colour and print being the very on-brand focus. That being said, this is definitely more of a street-style inspired collection than usual and whilst the floral suits and dresses on the 3rd row down are very typical Peter Pilotto, the tie-dye corset and combat trousers on the far right, second row from the bottom, are very Jaded London. As for the reoccurrence of the bucket hat, I’ve remained steadfastly against them for several years now (even when our Lord and Saviour Miss Robyn Rihanna Fenty started wearing them) but the way they’re done in this collection even I could definitely get behind; all in all, the show surpassed my expectations.
The same goes for Ports 1961, which was a lot more eccentric than I gathered is the norm from a few google searches. Honestly, I hadn’t really heard of the brand which, upon reading up on it, I feel very dumb for considering it has been around since (in the shock twist of the century) 1961.
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Yes, I know how that sounds! But forgive me, I’m still learning:)
Anyway, the fishnet detailing alone pretty much sold the looks I picked out. Seriously, I got a pair of those bloody tights, like, 2 years ago when they became a thing again and now any outfit where I have my legs out feels incomplete without them. 
Next is Prabal Gurung, which, as far as presentation goes, was fucking STUNNING:
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I mean, you could say that I’m easily impressed and that the presence of the bouquets won me over (and you’d definitely have a point there), but it’s also this year’s Givenchy haute couture-esque feathers, the trailing pearl necklaces, the exaggerated shoulders, the dreamy colouring, the everything looking like it could’ve grown off a very fashionably-inclined tree. Like, there’s a lot to love here, from the naturalistic elements, to the context behind the show, an ode to American fashion history and those cast out of it (and the notion of “being American” in general) for so long. 
Going from a high to a (personal) low, however, next we have Prada:
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I don’t know, I get that it’s supposed to be simple and stripped back and dignified and whatever and I like the looks I picked but it’s just a bit blah for me. The bonnets that kept cropping up just didn’t do it for me and almost ruined what is an otherwise nice skirt suit (top right). Nonetheless, I like the silhouette of the sheer black dress and the the brocade print suit is really luxurious looking, even if the pattern is a *little* Wetherspoons carpet. 
Anyways, here’s a quick overview of Rag and Bone:
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So that I can stop moaning and get onto a collection I REALLY liked: 
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I am of course talking about Ralph and Russo. See, this is kinda what I expected from, like, Chanel and yet it’s Ralph and Russo that delivered. Also, it gives me Alessandra Rich vibes which is very much a compliment considering how much I love her designs. I mean, if Valley of the Dolls were to get another film remake in 2019, this is exactly what I’d like to see the female leads wearing, from the pastel suits to the satin kaftan style dresses. The yellow feather trimmed dress is practically a copy of something Marchesa has already done but it’s cute all the same. In my top 10 collections of the season, for sure.
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Rick Owens was another strong collection; it goes without saying that it’s not the most wearable but that’s not really what Rick Owens is known for, so I wouldn’t expect anything else. If you want fashion on an alien planet, or something Lady Gaga would’ve worn in 2010, he's your man.
Next, Rodarte:
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Obviously the dresses are beautiful and the set is magnificent, BUT...I’m really not a fan of the whole celebrities filling in for high fashion models thing. I like Lili Reinhart and I adore Kirsten Dunst, she’s been in a load of my favourite films, but in a similar vein to Dolce and Gabbana’s influencer show, it’s just distracting from the actual garments, if even worse because I don’t WANT to be distracted here (the same can’t be said for the D&G show, lol).  If anybody has read this far, let me know your thoughts! 
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Roland Mouret was nice, and I always like a coed show, especially when a designer isn’t afraid to blur the lines of masculine and feminine. It’s fresh, lightweight and luxurious looking, Cannes film festival street style eat your heart out, and I love the colour palette.
Similarly, colour was my favourite thing about Sally LaPointe’s S/S 2020 collection. 
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I would never think that teal and burnt orange would work together, let alone in some kind of faux leather, and yet here we are. Orange is in itself always an interesting colour choice, perfect for the summer with a tan, and I really love monochrome outfits, even though they’re something that ends up being quite pricey to put together; slight differences in tone are okay but if you just randomly throw together a few things and they’re too off, it really doesn’t work and you’d have been better off wearing contrasting colours. For that reason, I’m just gonna admire that all-pink outfit from a distance. 
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As for Schiaparelli, it’s one I always look forwards to for the sheer weirdness. RTW isn’t quite as kooky as haute couture but still, the interesting choices are still there; what at first glance appears to be flame print is actually coils of hair, and paired with a water print suit is a sequinned jacket emblazoned with a paradisiacal mirage. Ornament-like facial decorations as seen in the over-exaggerated glasses worn with the pony hair suit are also one of my favourite new things to happen in the high fashion scene in the past couple of months and I can’t wait to see how they get watered down to become more approachable for us...regular, non-structurally blessed folks who can’t pull off anything and everything.
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Simone Rocha was STUNNING. Romantic and ethereal, it’s druid goddess crossed with upper class Victorian woman of leisure, equal parts delicate and grungy, like a modern, fashion version of Lady Gaga’s Scathach in the Roanoke season of American Horror Story. You know, in the flashbacks, not in present day when she was all gross and like...scalping people and shit. Each dress is so ornate and has such an interesting structure, and the fabric choices give off an organic kinda vibe that create a handmade feel; the collection is, imo, really worthy of being shown under a haute couture heading. When it comes to my favourite element of the show, I’m torn between the petticoats and the hair accessories. I’m just gonna give a cop-out answer and say both. 
Stella McCartney on the other hand, is very much a clear ready-to-wear collection. 
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It’s pretty, for sure. The pastel blazers paired with delicate white mesh tops underneath are a gorgeous combination for spring and I like the reoccurrence of the chain glasses (Gucci, right?). But I mean, when you go from Simone Rocha to this, it’s a bit anticlimactic. Plus, if I’m honest, kaftans are always going to remind me of Honey Mahogany from season 5 of Drag Race. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure she’s a lovely person but her runway looks aren’t really ones I look back fondly on, and you’re lying if you say you enjoyed them for anything other than meme purposes.
Temperley is equally meh, though the return of the Erdem-style boating hats is getting me excited that high street retailers might actually pick up on the trend and bring out some cheap ones for me to embarrass myself by wearing. 
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I also love a good 70s suit, the neckerchiefs are cute and there are some really delightful prints here that are a more unique approach to florals for spring.
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Coming towards the end now, next is Thom Browne:
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I LOVE this. Like, don’t get me wrong Rick Owens was cool but I adore how on the nose the concept is here; time to bring back all the Marie Antoinette puns I didn’t get to use in my Versailles Instagram post. I don’t know if it’s the history buff in me or the Sofia Coppola Stan but I will always be willing to sign any kind of treaty for anything related to the excesses of the 18th century French monarchy, and this is that turned up to 1000 infused with a dash of the Teletubbies, which sounds like a nightmarish concept, I know, but as high fashion it WORKS.
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Tory Burch was very commercial, seemingly half inspired by Monterey yoga moms and the other half by Hamptons socialites. 
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And then there was Valentino, which was fucking exquisite, imo. LIKE, CALLING DOCLE & GABBANA: THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE TROPICAL PRINT INTERESTING. YOU MAKE THE VELVET MONKEY’S ARM THE FRICKEN WAISTBAND. 
Seriously, though, I am enamoured with this colour palette; all the whites and golds are angelic and fr, I didn’t know until now that you could make neons this elegant. I’m also getting an almost clerical feel from a lot of these looks, with the plaited waistband on the black dress that’s 7th row down in the middle, the stunning red cape and the multitude of exaggerated neck ruffs. I think I’ve mentioned before but I always love religious references in clothing-I don’t think I’ll ever get over the 2018 Met Gala-and so whether I’m reading too much into it or not, this collection really did it for me.
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Whilst it’s probably as far removed a collection from Valentino’s S/S 2020 contribution you can get, I also loved Vera Wang this season. It might purely (I PROMISE THIS IS MY LAST GOSSIP GIRL REFERENCE) be because it gives me Jenny Humphrey vibes and *controversial* she did have my favourite style of any of the main characters, but sue me, this is just the right amount of late 90s/early 2000s grunge. Deconstructed trashy goth it girl is an interesting concept to see on the runway and I completely support it. 
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Versace on the other hand was very hit or miss. The looks I picked out I really loved but ultimately, for one of the household name brands, a lot of the actual garments were a bit pedestrian. I will say though that for me, it’s a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The slicked back mermaid hair and the pops of colour in the makeup and the interesting necklines meant that when it was good, it was GOOD. However, overall, still a bit too 80s Miami businesswoman, and please GOD, can we leave that hideous J-Lo dress in the past, it should really not be the climax of the show in 20-fucking-19!
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As for Victoria Beckham, I liked it, but it’s a bit of a Gucci copy, no? And no way near as interesting?
And on that note, I’m gonna have to cut this off. Super annoying but with only 5 collections left that I want to talk about, Tumblr is being a little bitch and will not let me add anything more to this post. So, see you in 5 for the final post!
Lauren x
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