#Am I the only fan of Ever After High in 2024?

[andthisisdia]

Sniper what are you doing here

(Why are my special interests connected to each other? ... somehow...)

[driverlando]

✧.* SIXTY-NINE

synopsis - y/n is a singer and Lando is the muse for her latest single

before you continue: this is suggestive so minors dni!! if you enjoyed then pls reblog and follow! it means a lot <3

EXCLUSIVE: Pop Sensation Y/N Spotted Leaving Monaco Hideaway Early Morning — Allegedly After Spending Night with F1’s Lando Norris, Says Fan

Monaco – May 10, 2024:

In a shocking twist of events that has sent the rumor mill into overdrive, international pop superstar Y/N was seen slipping out of a discreet building in Monaco early this morning. The singer, known for her chart-topping hits and glamorous lifestyle, was caught by an eager fan who managed to snap a few candid photos, sparking a frenzy of speculation.

Y/N, dressed in an oversized denim jacket over her black dress and carrying an overnight bag, seemed keen on keeping a low profile as she exited the building at around 6 AM. However, her attempt at stealth was thwarted by a die-hard fan who happened to be in the right place at the right time. The fan, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared the encounter with our reporters, providing exclusive photos that reveal the singer’s unmistakable figure.

The buzz doesn’t stop there. Sources close to the scene suggest that Y/N wasn’t alone in the luxurious abode. The same insider hinted at the presence of Formula 1 star Lando Norris, fueling rumors of a budding romance between the two high-profile figures. Lando, who recently competed in and won the Miami Grand Prix, was reportedly seen entering the same building the previous evening.

Speculation has been rife since the two were spotted chatting intimately at an after-party for the Grand Prix. Their undeniable chemistry and shared laughter did not go unnoticed, prompting whispers among attendees. This morning’s sighting has only added fuel to the fire.

Our source disclosed, “Y/N looked like she was trying to keep things under wraps. She was very cautious, but it’s hard to go unnoticed when you’re that famous. The fan got lucky with those photos, and it’s clear that Y/N wasn’t expecting any attention at that hour.”

While Y/N’s management team has yet to comment on the situation, fans have taken to social media to express their excitement and curiosity. “Y/N and Lando? Didn’t see that coming!” tweeted one fan, while another wrote, “They would be the ultimate power couple!”

Lando Norris, known for his charm and talent on the racetrack, has also remained tight-lipped. The British racing driver has previously been linked to a few high-profile personalities, but this is the first time rumors have connected him with the pop icon Y/N.

The Miami Grand Prix weekend has always been a hotspot for celebrity encounters, but this year seems to have outdone itself. With both Y/N and Lando being at the peak of their careers, their possible romance is sure to capture headlines worldwide.

As the day progresses, fans and media alike are eagerly awaiting any statement from Y/N or Lando. Will this be the start of a new celebrity power couple, or just a fleeting moment of intrigue? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.

—

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yourusername

liked by landonorris and 13,479,683 others

yourusername back in the studio ✨

view all 6,425 comments

user1 are you going to be singing about a particular muse? 🤨

user2 not lando liking , they’ll be the it couple once they make it official

↳ user3 leave them alone

user4 this best be the juiciest song ever

↳ user5 right?! I need ALL the details 🤭

user6 everyone say it with me now, thank you Lando Norris!

user7 the queen is back in the studio!! can’t wait for new music

—

landonorris

liked by yourusername, oscarpiastri and 533,689 others

landonorris can you stay up all night?

view all 1,682 comments

user8 the caption 😂 are you referring you your night with y/n?

↳ user9 he must be lol

oscarpiastri for you, i obviously could

↳ landonorris wasn’t talking to you

↳ user10 he definitely meant the caption for @/yourusername

yourusername dripped out💧

↳ user11 SHE COMMENTED!!

—

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, landonorris and 12,562,728 others

yourusername So what you doing tonight?

view all 6,252 comments

user12 for you I’ll clear out my schedule

user13 SHES IN ENGLAND!! IS SHE MEETING LANDOS FAMILY?

↳ user14 yall love reaching

user15 I feel like the caption is a lyric 🤔

landonorris doin’ you right

↳ user16 KSJAJJA NOT LANDO REPLYING TO THE CAPTION

↳ user17 y/n and lando talk to eachother through the captions confirmed

↳ user18 GUYS I FEEL LIKE WERE NOT REACTING ENOUGH TO WHAT HE JUST SAID

—

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EXCLUSIVE: Pop Star Y/N Set to Drop Steamy New Single “34+35” Inspired by Night with F1’s Lando Norris

In a sensational twist that’s bound to send fans into a frenzy, international pop icon Y/N is reportedly set to release a brand-new single titled “34+35,” inspired by her recent night with Formula 1 star Lando Norris. This exciting news comes hot on the heels of rumors surrounding their burgeoning romance, which have captivated the media and fans alike.

According to insiders close to the singer, Y/N penned the provocative track following her secret rendezvous with Lando in Monaco. The song, which is said to be both sultry and playful, delves into the intimate details of their night together, promising to leave listeners blushing.

A source from Y/N’s inner circle revealed, “Y/N was absolutely buzzing after her night with Lando. She went straight into creative mode and wrote ‘34+35’ in just a few hours. The chemistry between them has clearly sparked something incredible musically.”

The title “34+35” has already stirred intrigue and speculation, with savvy fans quick to decode its risqué implication – the sum of the numbers, hinting at a rather suggestive theme. This clever play on words is characteristic of Y/N’s bold and unapologetic style, which has earned her legions of dedicated followers.

Y/N took to social media earlier today to tease the upcoming release, sharing a cryptic post that simply read, “34+35 Midnight EST. Yall aren’t ready for this one” alongside a sultry photo of herself. The post has since gone viral, racking up millions of likes and comments as fans eagerly anticipate the drop.

Lando Norris, who has remained coy about his relationship status, added fuel to the fire by retweeting Y/N’s post and leaving a cheeky comment: “Can’t wait to hear this one 😉.” His playful interaction has only intensified the buzz, with many speculating about the depth of their connection.

As the clock ticks down to midnight EST, the anticipation for “34+35” is reaching fever pitch. Fans across the globe are gearing up for what promises to be one of Y/N’s most talked-about releases yet. Given the star power of both Y/N and Lando, the single is expected to top charts and dominate playlists within hours of its release.

This unexpected collaboration between the world of pop music and Formula 1 has everyone talking, and it’s clear that Y/N knows how to keep her audience on their toes. Whether this sizzling track will reveal more about her relationship with Lando or simply offer a tantalizing glimpse into their night together, one thing is certain – “34+35” is set to be the summer’s hottest hit.

Stay tuned for the drop at midnight EST and prepare to be captivated by Y/N’s latest musical masterpiece.

—

yourusername

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris and 4,572,792 others

yourusername 34+35 out now!! Give it a listen, it’s a juicy one 💋

view all 8,628 comments

user19 HELLO THAT WAS THE MOST PUSSY CLENCHING SONG EVER AND ITS ABOUT LANDO?!

↳ user20 it’s not confirmed

↳ user21 an insider from y/ns team confirmed it in a recent article

landonorris Grammy when?

↳ oscarpiastri you don’t deserve to be the muse of a song

↳user22 someone’s jealous

user23 everyone pls thank Mr Lando “doin you right” Norris

↳ user24 they were teasing the song 😭

user25 THE EARTHQUAKE LYRIC, YALL NASTYYY I LIKE IT

↳ user26 and the go till the sunrise lyric 😭 she was hinting at her leaving his place in the morning

—

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EXCLUSIVE: Y/N’s New Single “34+35” Drops, Sends Fans into Frenzy – Provocative Lyrics Hint at Night with Lando Norris

June 1, 2024:

The wait is over, and pop sensation Y/N has delivered once again. Her highly anticipated new single “34+35” dropped at midnight EST, and it’s already taking the music world by storm. Fans and critics alike are abuzz with the song’s steamy lyrics, which seem to directly reference her rumored night with Formula 1 star Lando Norris.

The provocative track has left no room for subtlety, with lyrics that paint a vivid picture of their encounter. The lines, “Started at midnight, go till the sunrise,” hint at Y/N’s early morning exit from Lando’s Monaco apartment, an event that was captured by an eagle-eyed fan and ignited widespread speculation.

As the song progresses, Y/N doesn’t hold back. The chorus boldly states, “Can you stay up all night? Fuck me ’til the daylight,” leaving listeners blushing and confirming the nature of her rendezvous with the racing driver. The line “You drink it just like water (water) / You say, ‘It tastes like candy’” adds an extra layer of intimacy, further fueling the scandalous narrative.

Within hours of its release, “34+35” skyrocketed to the top of the charts, with streaming platforms reporting record-breaking numbers. Social media exploded with reactions, as fans dissected every lyric and speculated about the details of Y/N’s night with Lando.

One Twitter user wrote, “Y/N really said NO SECRETS with ‘34+35.’ This song is 🔥🔥🔥,” while another commented, “I can’t believe she actually wrote a song about her night with Lando! #34+35 is a bop.” The hashtag #34+35 quickly trended worldwide, with thousands of tweets and posts flooding in.

Adding to the excitement, Lando Norris himself commented on Y/N’s Instagram post announcing the song with a cheeky “Grammy when?” His playful remark has only intensified the buzz, as fans eagerly anticipate further interactions between the two.

The song’s boldness and raw honesty have been praised by many, with some calling it Y/N’s most daring release to date. Music critic Jenna Martinez noted, “Y/N has never shied away from expressing her truth through music, but ‘34+35’ takes it to a whole new level. It’s a fearless, unapologetic celebration of passion and connection.”

Industry insiders suggest that “34+35” could be a contender for Song of the Summer, with its infectious beat and headline-grabbing lyrics ensuring it stays on heavy rotation. The music video, rumored to be in the works, is expected to drop soon and promises to be just as sensational as the song itself.

Y/N’s daring approach has not only captured the public’s attention but also solidified her status as a pop icon unafraid to push boundaries. With “34+35,” she has delivered a track that is as catchy as it is controversial, proving once again why she is at the top of her game.

As the world continues to buzz about Y/N and Lando’s possible romance, one thing is certain: “34+35” is more than just a song – it’s a cultural moment. Fans will undoubtedly be talking about this release for a long time to come, eagerly watching for the next chapter in this tantalizing story.

—

taglist: @iheartmonaco @orgasming-caterpillar @thearchieves

[a-d-nox]

astro hypothesis: why i think the astro community is the way it is?

ever notice how a lot of us can't let go of grudges/drama in this community? what about the supposed cyberstalking? the fake accounts? the bullying?

i've come to blame our individual placements instead of our shared synastry. gathered in one place online there is likely an usually high amount of 8h/12h people. its a spiritual community after all - 8h loves taboo things, the occult, the unknown, dark aspects of the self, etc. 12h loves spirituality, hypotheticals, learning about karmic cycles and fate, etc. neither one is a fan of secrets and prefers to look behind the veil. myself included in that - i have 8h sun, moon, and mercury AND 12h uranus.

but 8h people are often obsessive and struggle to let things go if they aren't working with their placement(s). 12h placements are our "hidden enemies" - i realize a lot of us know who is who behind the "fake account" but often we only have another username to connect to the secondary (tertiary, etc) account and no actual real life names. neither can stand not knowing what someone is likely saying about them, so they peak at those who blocked them or who they blocked with another account.

we (humanity) hate not having control - that's why a lot of us are on here in this community to begin with. we seek understanding and making the unconscious conscious. the hunger for control is what drives a lot of people, but often 8h/12h people seek it the most. we seek it because at some point we lacked it (in terms of "trauma responses"). these placements are well known in the community for going through hardships and struggles in life - that's why a lot of us react the way we do. personally, i withdraw. i am someone who struggles to say no. i will shut down and say/do whatever i must just to survive fallout - survive the day or weekend and not get yelled at or bullied. i'm not a fan of sides - i'll pick myself if i must, as imperfect, immature, etc as i can be.

social media gives this illusion that we know each other more than we do. even when it seems like someone here has it more together than another person that doesn't make it true. we have all gone through something - we all have personal stuff going on outside of this community. no one is going to always have a perfect and mature response - it's just not how life is.

no one is perfect; we are all learning as we go. at some point, if we can't forgive and grow together, i have to wonder why we are here to begin with. this community doesn't get bigger it only gets smaller when we are picking sides, blocking each other, etc. do what you have to do to protect your peace, but let's stop perpetuating hatred with anons and multiple accounts. give grace. be kind.

thanks for listening to me ramble.

-a.d.

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© a-d-nox 2024 all rights reserved

[multi-kpop-fanfics]

half past five high - prologue: when we met in venice (teaser)

pairing: photographer!Joshua x influencer fem!reader

genre: fluff, comedy, smut, strangers to lovers!au, non-idol!au - minors dni.

smut warnings will be added in the actual fic (this teaser has no smut scenes!)

summary: In the world of fashion, social media and influence, you’re one of the game changers. But you never knew that a smaller player in the form of a freelance photographer would be able to change you.

Author's note: hiii <3 this is the teaser for the SVTHUB World Tour Collab by @svthub AND a feeble attempt to revive the hpfh series with some backstory 😭

©multi-kpop-fanfics, 2024. No reposting allowed. No translations allowed without permission.

“Is this what you do on first dates?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I follow.” Joshua smiles awkwardly.

“Are you always such a gentleman towards women?”

“It was never a question to begin with,” he opens the menu and takes a brief look at it, “I firmly believe that women are beautiful creatures who deserve our love and support, no matter how independent they are.”

Your laugh is short and mixed with a heavy breath, your face briefly averted from Joshua’s gaze.

“You’re really serious about the whole gentleman thing, aren’t you?”

“Not to make assumptions about your private life, but it seems to me that you haven’t met a lot of romantic partners who were…..romantic towards you.”

You’re taken aback by the man’s bluntness, but you do your best to not show it.

“I don’t think you know me that well, Mister Hong.” You take a sip from your wine glass.

“Isn’t this the purpose of this dinner? To get to know each other?” He mirrors your movements.

“Depends on how well our personalities will blend throughout this dinner.”

“Given the fact you’re an influencer with such an intriguing personality, I think getting to know you will guarantee me a great time.” Joshua smiles again.

“Not to make assumptions about your private life, but I feel like you’re a little too biased against influencers.” 

“Is it really my fault if they are shallow in nature?”

A gasp escapes your lips as his statement leaves you baffled, but the harsh truth of his words turn that gasp into laughter that nearly makes you fold in half.

“Dear God, you really are more than a handsome nobody.” You fan your face with your hands and it’s Joshua’s turn to be surprised at your choice of words.

“I suppose compared to you, I am a nobody,” he scoffs, “Although after that stunt you pulled in the after party, it’s safe to say that both of us got a lot of attention - for worse or for better.”

“It was only for the worse.” You look him in the eye dead serious, “For me, at least.”

“I still believe it would have been avoided if you hadn’t put up the ‘stuck up bitch’ facade.” Joshua responds while waving at the waiter to come over.

“And I believe that the gentleman thing is your own facade, judging from how bitchy you are right now.” You drop the menu on the table, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

The raven-haired man laughs out loud and he leans forward, just enough to block the rest of your eye field.

“Ever thought I could be trying to match your vibe?”

“I thought you wanted to see if our real personalities match well.”“I do. But I also want to find out who you really are. Because I am not buying the entire bitchy act.”

[jilyawards]

The Jily Fandom Rec List 2024 is a compilation of Jily stories our readers want to keep an eye on for this year's awards.

SEPTEMBER

all the king's horses, all the king's men (completed, 7.1k) by @jilyss. Rated G.

As queen, Lily Evans faces the suffocating weight of isolation and loneliness that comes with the crown. The only constant in her life is James Potter, her loyal and ever-watchful royal guard.

it's brighter now (WIP, 21.6k as of 30 Sept 2024) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated T.

“Oh, come on," James says, grinning. "I know you know who I am.” Something strange flashes across her face. “Is that so?” He drops into the open seat across from her and gestures toward his face, smiling widely. “This doesn’t ring any bells?” “Your…face,” she clarifies slowly.

Raising A Kid With My Ex (completed, 74.5k) by @wearingaberetinparis. Rated M.

James Potter and Lily Evans, two Phoenix Radio employees who had secretly admired one another from afar, pretended to be fake exes for their show “Shout Out To My Ex”. When Lily fell pregnant with James’ baby – after a whole lot of drama, disbanding “Shout Out To My Ex” and a breakup – the soon-to-be parents started a new show, named “Knocked Up By My Ex” in which they documented their pregnancy. Now, baby Harry has been born and Lily and James have to learn to navigate the challenges - major highs and some surprising lows - of parenthood together, despite the fact that they haven’t even been together for a year. A whole lot of chaos combined with a whole lot of love makes the perfect recipe for a new show: “Raising A Kid With My Ex”. Their fans’ well-intended advice, of course, might just be the cherry on top (even though some of it is truly completely bonkers). Yet, as James and Lily navigate parenthood together, they have to battle unprecedented forces that are making their journey as new parents a lot more difficult than they had anticipated. A Jily Modern AU inspired by Rachel Lynn Solomon’s “The Ex Talk” and sequel to “Shout Out To My Ex” and “Knocked Up By My Ex”.

crossbow, gun, and magic (and other stories) (oneshot collection, 12.8k as of 30 Sept 2024) by apalapucian. Rated T.

a collection of unrelated stories ft. james, lily, sirius, remus, and (occasionally) peter. so far: i. james, sirius, and lily; modern au ii. in the universe where sirius is the first to know; jily; hogwarts iii. blackevans (old fic rewrite); hogwarts; jily iv. james's last thoughts (old fic rewrite); jily; canon compliant v. order mission at a pureblood party; jily vi. zombie apocalypse au (old fic rewrite); jily vii. lily drunk-proposes to james (tumblr prompt) viii. james gets caught by death eaters (tumblr prompt)

Surface Pressure (completed, 1.3k) by @eastwindmlk. Rated T.

Lily dealing with the weight of her own expectations in 7th year

Partners (completed, 1.3k) by @ohmygodshesinsane. Rated T.

James is the last person Lily expects to visit when she's ill in the Hospital Wing, but the new Head Boy has more than one surprise for her.

Literary Sophistication (completed, 2.5k) by @andromedabooks. Rated G.

A quick Jily bookstore AU from my Tumblr

let me make it up to you (completed, 3.4k) by @kay-elle-cee. Rated E.

Two weeks ago, James left for a mission in the middle of the night without saying a word. Now he's is back, and Lily's not so quick to forgive.

speak now (completed, 1.4k) by @firefeufuego. Rated T.

The fuse has been lit. Lily can almost hear the crackling hiss of it, feel the building burn of it in the air as Sirius takes the reins of the conversation, as drinks are bought and poured down newly dry throats, and eventually as last orders are called and the four of them are standing outside and saying farewell with kisses on cheeks. Sam and Sirius apparate away. Lily and James do not. They stand, eyes fixed firmly on each other, ready to ignite. ‘Not forever, you said?’ James asks, his voice deep and quiet in a way that’s never been hers to hear before now. Follow-up to the lovely kay-elle-cee's 'silence and patience, pining in anticipation'.

crafting chemistry (completed, 4.8k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated T.

“Is there something that needs to be discussed between the three of us?” Minerva prompts, her eyes narrowing sharply. Lily’s face betrays her first. A bright flush creeps slowly along her cheeks, blooming from her neck upward, as though her skin can’t hide the emotion simmering underneath. She keeps her eyes stubbornly trained on the far corner of the office, anywhere but James. Minerva notices James’s hand, the one that had been habitually running through his hair, freeze mid-motion, his fingers tightening slightly.

under the influence of loss (completed, 2.1k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated T.

“Like what? You fancy me! Kiss me.” Each time she says it, it’s like a new bruise blooms around his heart, her words pressing on all of them at once. “I can’t!” he shouts, the frustration cracking through. “Because I’ve been drinking?” she demands, a bitter laugh escaping her. “Your chivalry is duly noted, Potter, but I’m giving you a pass here. Just—” “It’s not about that,” he interrupts.

common ground (completed, 3.8k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated G.

Lily pauses, suddenly aware of James’s intense gaze. “What? Why are you…” Heat rushes to her cheeks, and she hates it. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Nothing,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s just…it’s a good look on you, Evans.” “What is?” she asks, self-consciously. His grin widens. “Mischief.”

sidewalk chalk, covered in snow (completed, 8.7k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated G.

She didn’t mean to get used to any of them. [or: Lily Evans is strictly anti-Marauders...until she isn't. one by one.]

Till Death Do Us Part (Let It Be Quick) (WIP, 39.1k as of 30 Sept 2024) by @wearingaberetinparis. Rated M.

“Till death do us part,” she concluded, all air sucked from her lungs. Her fate signed, sealed and delivered. As the priest spoke his final words, she found herself ensnared in her adversary's gaze, trapped by the weight of it, her mouth opening as she spoke under her breath - almost subconsciously: “Let it be quick.” A Jily Arranged Marriage AU in which Lady Lily never imagined she would fall for the husband she was forced to wed. Inspired by My Lady Jane.

Check out the previous months' recs too: January, February, March || April || May || June || July || August

[brimleysbears]

(Featured media: Burl Ives and Rock Hudson - from The Spiral Road, 1962)

"Fan" fiction erotica - "Hollywood Confessions: My Date With Big Daddy"

Post 4 of 4

Epilogue:

A Horny Old Bull

To conclude, I was in fact on the pill, after all, it was 1963; therefore no, I didn’t begat a cute little chubby Ives child, although sometimes I wish I had. Although that man could be a bit of a creep at times, like most men I suppose, I’ll never forget that night with Big Daddy. In fact, as much as it was embarrassing, there were other reasons why I kept that story to myself after all these years. I admit, that was the most fun I’ve ever had with a man. Sometimes I question whether I was head over heels in love with that big old brute.

As much as I wanted to see him again, I found out soon afterwards that he had actually scheduled all of those men to see him that night with the intention of not telling me, while planning on having sex with me, in order for the meetings to coincide with his coitus. I never found out exactly why he did that, and if it was his intention to use me or not. I was angry for a season and never wanted to see him again after that, but looking back, I regret not seeing him more times. I would have liked to get all of his seed in me and looked at him face to face the entire time that he had his climax. I would have liked to try other things with him, and maybe even be his mistress when he was working in Hollywood. The more I learned about what probably did happen, was that he was proud to seduce a young dancer like myself, and although I don’t like to be someone’s ‘bragging rights’, in a way I felt honored. One of the older ladies at the Manhattan cocktail party said, “sounds to me like he was just trying to get those businessmen off his back and find ways to taunt them.”

As I spoke to my girlfriends late that night, finishing my story, one of the women remarked that, perhaps that lonely old man being away from home needed a special companion, and not another ‘high-profile figure’ like himself? As we talked, one of the more educated ‘uptown’ ladies said, “if you ask me, like a lot of men in show business those days, he was desperate to try to prove that he was a heterosexual; in a similar way they constantly had to deliver proof they were not some kind of communist as well. After all, Mr. Ives worked closely with a lot of queers like Tennessee Williams and was even filmed naked along side a half-naked raging fag, Rock Hudson, just a year or so before your ‘encounter’. Although I might say there’s probably a little pink in his blanket, Big Daddy sounds like a man who was not ‘light on his feet’, in fact, quite heavy handed like your story implied, which I found to be most intriguing. I think you’ve not only made a believer out of all of us in the room, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of us are going to start chasing after men like Sebastian Cabot – you’ve certainly piqued my curiosity about a kind of man I would have not previously considered and for that, I am indeed charmed.”

But it was another lady who might have had the best explanation: “did you ever consider the fact that although Big Daddy was a bit of a sex symbol in the 50’s, that Burl Ives in the 60’s was starting to get typecast too much in children’s and family shows to the point where the public was referring to him as asexual? If I were him, I’d want to prove to my collogues that I was a fully functioning sexual person with sexual needs and abilities. After a while, no matter what he said, chances are, his peers didn’t believe him until he found a way to show proof that he had a thriving sex life.” Maybe they were all correct. Maybe he was just another creep. Maybe he was someone really special. I do cherish those memories, and I still keep his private calling card with me in my purse all these years.

The End.

Copyright 2024 BrimleysBears

Feel free to share posts, however please copy only with permission, thanks, BB

Part 1

https://www.tumblr.com/brimleysbears/743973229412106240/featured-media-burl-ives-from-the-spiral-road?source=share

Part 2

https://www.tumblr.com/brimleysbears/743962348439666688/featured-media-burl-ives-from-the-spiral-road?source=share

Part 3

https://www.tumblr.com/brimleysbears/743868840199536640/featured-media-burl-ives-from-the-spiral-road?source=share

Part 4

https://www.tumblr.com/brimleysbears/743867190420307968/featured-media-burl-ives-from-the-spiral-road?source=share

[edgarbright]

Caleb = Sylus theory

And if that turns out to be incorrect, then renamed as:

My thoughts on Caleb and Sylus!

tl;dr my heart wants Caleb back as a LI and my brain continues to report that Caleb being Sylus makes a lot of sense

General spoiler warning for any game content released up until June 18, 2024. Long post is long and has pictures.

So first things first! I’m going to need everyone to think about Caleb beyond being just our sweet and teasing childhood friend. Because if we viewed the other male leads as plainly as Caleb is often viewed, then Zayne is just a workaholic doctor, Xavier is just a narcoleptic hunter, and Rafayel is just a playful-personality artist.

But we find out Zayne has done work in battle zones as a military medic and we hear how his morals and ethics are held high when organizations like Ever Group try to recruit him. We discover that Xavier is an immortal who has flown across the galaxy in a spaceship and regularly goes toe-to-toe with criminal syndicates and wanderers alike. We learn that Rafayel is a Lemurian, the God of the Sea, and an assassin who carefully and cleverly deals out bloody revenge.

While we don’t have a lot of Caleb content in the first eight chapters and side pieces, there is still a lot of information to work with! Because we know he has been around for years and must be doing something with his time when he’s not talking with MC about coming home.

And one of the clues we’re given is that he is a busy guy. In the character notes, we read that MC doesn’t see Caleb outside of holidays after he became involved with the Aerospace Academy at Skyhaven. He has since become a pilot for the Deepspace Aviation Administration. Then there is their last argument about how they are adults now and they don’t need to keep secrets from each other. But just when Caleb is about to open up, he locks it down. And then he’s gone.

The End? Except I don’t think that’s where his story finishes.

I. Official game descriptions

Caleb: "My childhood friend. Grandma took us in when we were young. Now he works as a fighter pilot for the Deepspace Aviation Administration. Ever since he went to Aerospace Academy in Skyhaven, we don’t often see each other. But we always visit Grandma during the holidays. While he loves teasing me, he’s actually a reliable person whom I trust."

Sylus: "The leader of Onychinus is said to have built his empire on illegal Evol weapons and Protocore deals. He’s the most influential, dominant figure in the N109 Zone. However, he hasn’t been seen for a while."

II. Caleb as a love interest: Brother vs childhood friend

Stating the obvious to get it out of the way: that Papergames had to give Caleb a completely different relationship role with MC in the English-speaking market is akin to a public statement that he is going to be a love interest. They would have saved themselves the trouble by leaving him as brother if he was never going to play a more intimate role with MC.

III. Caleb and MC's lingering connection: the necklace

The “When U come back,” apple-and-dog-tag necklace picked out in a style MC really liked as a present for Caleb before he left for Skyhaven.

The necklace where, in chapter 4.06 ‘Saying Goodbye,’ MC and Caleb share a Kindled moment as we take the necklace from his hand and he leans forward to let us put it on him.

The necklace that Caleb was wearing under the bulk of his jacket when he entered Grandma’s house before the explosion.

The necklace that is nowhere to be seen after the explosion, but suddenly appears on the ground in front of us when MC looks back down. Caleb was wearing that necklace when he entered the house, but here it is now, completely intact. MC’s hands are covered in dirt and ash while the necklace is in clean condition.

Caleb is alive in one way or another. And the necklace, now back in MC’s possession, is a tie that still binds them.

IV. Official Announcement of the Next Male Lead

(Disclaimer: I am only able to go off the English fan translation and google translations so my interpretation is at the mercy of missed nuances from word choice and mis-translations. But we’re just here to be delusional have fun, so play nice!)

During the CBT in 2023, Papergames released this announcement:

Then on February 24, 2024 as part of an apology post to angry Chinese players, Papergames provided a follow-up and official confirmation that hunters will get to meet the next love interest, Qin Che/Sylus, in the next big story update coming this July 2024.

This February announcement does not mention Caleb, but then the original Q&A was clearly only referencing a question regarding a single pre-mentioned person. So between CBT and now, my understanding is that we have only ever been promised one new male lead to top us off at a quartet.

And in that initial announcement in CBT, it continues to strike me as strange that they talk about this mystery man Sylus and then they bring up Caleb. They first talk at length about someone we don’t know at all and then about someone the CBT players were already interested in: our doting brother/childhood friend, someone who clearly likes us, someone whom the MC obviously likes in return, someone with a unique personality from the other LI, and someone we have lost and grieved over and want back.

But the official name of the next male lead is Sylus.

“His identity and your relationship to him,” however, could also suggest that the name “Sylus” may not be his true name. Is there just some guy named Sylus walking around Linkon City or does he become Sylus when associated with Onychinus and when he enters the N109 zone? After all, his identity is a question, it is a mystery, he is mystery, and our relationship to him is a question. Our true relationship to him is in question, because perhaps it is someone we thought we knew but didn’t truly know at all.

V. Sylus: a powerful persona in the N109 zone

As the main story plot progresses and MC sets her sights on entering the N109 zone, she learns that the acquisition of a bold fake identity is a key part to her safety. By the sound of it, even someone like Xavier doesn’t enter as Xavier, but instead as Lumiere as it was Lumiere who was rumored to have caused a mess there recently.

Therefore I’m further encouraged that the name “Sylus” could just be a new identity for someone we already know. Even more so, once ‘Caleb the fighter pilot from the Deepspace Aviation Administration’ has officially been declared dead, the only identity left to him is Sylus.

But strangely enough, after Caleb is gone, even the character description states Sylus hasn’t been seen for a while, either…

VI. Symbols: the jacket and the crow

Caleb is wearing a Deepspace Aviation Administration (DAA) jacket before he begins attending the Airspace Academy at Skyhaven, as seen in the flashback scene. He is still wearing the same jacket on the last day we see him in chapter 4.

Of interest, in chapter 3, we see a crow in the forest watching MC and Xavier after they destroy the developing Aetherwyrm and taking Onychinus's modified Protocore.

Note the diagonal orange bars on the mechanical feature on the crow’s left wing and the design on the jacket on Caleb’s left chest:

The bars mirror one another. The crow seems to have four bars but only three are full whereas the jacket shows four full bars.

Note as well on the jacket's left arm: the crow-like head triangle with the curved wings.

With MC currently entangled in tens of thousands of years of history with three other men, I don’t think this is a game that deals with mere coincidences.

But considering this crow symbol existed on the DAA jacket before Caleb went to the academy teases all types of connections and, most appropriately, spacetime considerations rooted around the Deepspace Tunnel.

VII. The Deepspace Aviation Administration

After completing his training at the Airspace Academy, Caleb rose up to become a pilot in the Deepspace Aviation Administration. His whole job involves flying around and near the Deepspace Tunnel.

The same Deepspace Tunnel that the Linkon broadcaster speaks of so frequently regarding possible Wanderer appearances.

The same Deepspace Tunnel that appeared at the time of the catastrophe.

The same Deepspace Tunnel that Xavier and the Backtrackers took to travel from Philos to Earth.

Just as MC is learning new and weird things about the world while working as a hunter, surely Caleb has come across some new and weird things, too.

MC states that the DAA is secretive but Caleb takes it a step further: it’s not just secretive, it’s spooky! It’s creepy! It’s mysterious! It’s shadowy!

Whatever the DAA is dealing with isn’t, necessarily, normal!

Because while the DAA is of course focused on the Deepspace Tunnel, we have also heard that some of their interests lie in the Lemurian ruins…

So we shouldn’t take the Deepspace Aviation Administration at face value. Honestly, nothing in this game appears to be as good and pure as it seems! It’s suspicious that MC works as a hunter in the Unicorns division when Unicorn was also the code name for her as an experiment. The public face of Ever Group has them seeming to work medical miracles and conducting revolutionary science, but we know they conducted cruel experiments on MC, we have clues they experimented on Lemurians, and it’s revealed they have dark dealings with the Backtrackers.

Note that while Sylus is the leader of Onychinus and built it up as an empire, that doesn’t necessarily mean he is the founder. The Deepspace Aviation Administration could easily have criminal ties of their own or be a cover for a front for their true reason to exist.

But whatever is going on with the DAA, Caleb has been involved in it for many years and has kept it secret from MC this whole time.

VIII. Male Lead Introductions

It feels too strange to think that Sylus will be an entirely new face because not only would that put him at a disadvantage, it would neglect a lot of clues and game features laid out for his association and arrival.

For starters, Xavier, Rafayel, and Zayne are all introduced to MC in the very first chapter. They get faces and little encounters to go along with them.

Meanwhile Caleb is faceless. He is just a voice in chapter 1. But to the MC, it’s the familiar voice of someone she obviously knows and loves and is excited to see again. She has history and memories and a developed relationship with this person.

But even through the teasing affection shared between MC and Caleb over the phone, his face and expressions are left in the dark. He is a mystery to us.

Except… maybe we do see a face of Caleb? In the face of the all-seeing-eye of Onychinus that appears a moment after MC gets off the phone with him.

So, going back to that CBT announcement, Papergames asks if the players found any clues regarding Sylus in the main story… right before they bring Caleb into the conversation, who for all intents and purposes is dead? Whether they were making a hint or not right there it’s too suspicious.

IX. Lore: The Eye in the Sky Watching Over MC

We spot the red eye watching MC on at least three occasions:

[Top left image] At the end of chapter 1: After MC has completed her first day as a hunter and Caleb bids her goodnight after their phone call, she sees the eye for a moment outside her window as the weather begins to turn bad.

[Bottom left image] In chapter 3: MC recalls a reoccurring nightmare when her 7-year-old self was running blindly in pain and fear during the Chronorift Catastrophe. While she initially thinks it is the moon, when she wakes up she realizes it was actually the same eye she saw in chapter 1. Of interest, notice how her description of the eye’s arrival is portrayed rather positively:

Rusty-red rain falls from the sky and seeps into every nook and cranny of the city. I step over the puddles, running away. I sense a powerful force. It's about to burst from my heart. Then the moon appears. Magnificent, it descends before me. It flickers. It seems to be blinking at me.

[Right image] At the Nest in chapter 8: the eye is in a robotic contraption watching events unfold on Hunting Day and when MC is captured.

So it seems this eye has been with her since she was seven years old and it found her before even Xavier did. As an observation vessel, however, it was not able to help her. All it can do is watch. So the question is who has been watching her from the other end? Ever Group? Onychinus? The Backtrackers? Caleb in some form?

X. Caleb is never doing what MC expects

On the phone call in chapter 1, MC thought he would still be in-flight, but he brushes it off by saying they finished early. He uses this surprise “free time” to call her right when she returns home and asks how her first day as a hunter went.

When MC arrives to Grandma’s house in chapter 4, she thought he wouldn’t arrive until the next day at the earliest, but he was already home. He uses this surprise “free time” to cook and have dinner ready for her right when she arrives.

He just always seems to be a step ahead of the MC… for the sake of doting on MC!

But it’s still rather odd that lower-level military personnel would get early clock-outs so conveniently when activity in the Deepspace Tunnel and appearance of Wanderers are on the rise…

And what is he doing that is making him so sleep-deprived?

XI. FM News vs Caleb: Deepspace Tunnel Activity

For the record, all of chapter 1 takes place over a single day. MC starts her morning by receiving her badge; spends the day hunting Wanderers, meeting Xavier, and getting her placement in alpha team; spends the evening with Tara before she meets Rafayel; rushes to her 6pm check-up appointment with Zayne; has a nighttime phone call with Caleb; and spots the eye outside her window before bed.

And from morning to night, the news report and Caleb’s report are complete opposites.

“Hello, Linkon City. DPSC FM here to greet you on this early morning. Did you sleep well last night? Weather's nice today with winds at 5 km/hr. Certain areas have a higher Metaflux index due to the Deepspace Tunnel. Expect Wanderers to appear more often. We would like to thank the hunters in the city for allowing us to live a normal, peaceful life. Next, a detailed report for each district. Areas that are at a "high risk" of being attacked by Wanderers-- All medical personnel, today is going to be another busy day.”

Compared to

MC: "Did you guys encounter any Wanderers in the Deepspace Tunnel? Was it dangerous?" ... Caleb: "All right. It's been peaceful. The field within the tunnel is as stable as it can be. Very few Wanderers. Don't worry." MC: "Really? Every time you tell me not to worry..." Caleb: "Everything else is top secret. My lips are sealed."

Now, it’s entirely possible that he’s lying about the danger in order to make MC feel better, but if he was lying and the situation was more severe, he wouldn’t have gotten off work early and been able to call her.

Which also brings up the question: is he even at Skyhaven or with the Deepspace Aviation Administration at this time...?

XII. Theory Speed Bump: the Exploding House

During the phone call in chapter 1, Caleb sounds very relaxed about MC having become a hunter on her first day. He asks her how it went and when she starts talking about having had some trouble, he teases her to stop--because he knows she did well! They go on to tease each other about when he’s going to next visit and he says a very sweet good night. He doesn’t sound worried for her safety or anxious or anything of the like.

The visit at Grandma’s house in chapter 4 is a little different. He seems more worried.

Caleb shows up a day early—and if he is Sylus, leader of Onychinus who are wildly in-the-know, obviously his connections would have alerted him to the moving activity posing a danger toward MC and Grandma. But considering how well Xavier stays off most radars, the other Backtrackers are quite good at moving in secret, too. Knowing there is danger isn’t the same as knowing where or when exactly it will hit.

From the World Underneath files, Ever Group appears to have lost track of experiment subject “Unicorn,” but they still had tabs on Josephine as one of their former researchers. The files the Backtracker acquired after the explosion that he delivered to the Ever Group’s Raincoat appears to be their confirmation on MC’s identity. Although we’re left listening to the lackey’s discussion, it doesn’t appear that Ever Group intended to do MC harm just yet, but that doesn't mean she couldn't have accidentally been caught up in the explosion, too.

While MC and everyone are at the table eating, the story about the multiple metaflux explosions are shown on the TV.

When MC excuses herself from the table in order to go scout the neighborhood, Caleb, who just voiced concerns for her safety, jumps up and follows her.

Caleb very obviously lies about going shopping (my guy has empty hands when he reappears). He continues to follow her, albeit from a distance as he is not quick enough to get involved in MC’s encounter with the sneaking Backtracker (note how the MC observed that the man sounded much older than he looked).

Although it’s interesting how, after Caleb knows she was attacked and how he stuck by her side as often as he could while they were outside, he enters the house first and leaves her alone outside.

But the only reason he entered the house first and alone was because MC told him to go inside first. He was the one who suggested they return home before Grandma got worried. Whatever danger Caleb was on high alert for, I’m left conflicted if an exploding house was something he considered since it was his idea to return.

His necklace magically appearing in front of MC after the explosion, however, suggests he was involved in the necklace placement in some way.

Also we don't know what his Evol is exactly. Some players have suggested telekinesis or gravity based on how he was able to take the necklace from MC in the flashback. Magnetic force should also be considered, I think, but I won't open that can of worms here. The question is still: how deep does this rabbit hole go? Was Caleb caught in an explosion he was prepared for and escaped or is another force at work here? We know there have been many Rafayels and Zaynes in the timeline. Maybe there are many Calebs, too.

XIII. Grandma's records have no mention of Caleb

Before she took in MC, Josephine states in the World Underneath files that she has never had children before. Meaning Caleb was not in the picture before MC.

In the game character notes, MC says Grandma took both MC and Caleb in when MC was seven years old.

So where did Caleb come from? And what made her take him in, too?

When we are at Grandma’s house, we also see just one picture frame. The only ones in the picture are MC and Grandma.

In all of Grandma’s notes, there is not one mention of Caleb. There is just one instance where it looks like his name ought to be, but the notes trail off instead with an ellipsis.

Did she herself exclude him from her records or was his name purposefully removed?

Nonetheless, I'm sure the leader of Onychinus would value such anonymity, if it were him.

XIV. "A decisive man as always"

At the family meal, MC expresses concern regarding Grandma’s health. Caleb speaks up and shares that he has taken care to see that Grandma is cared for.

When MC, a little peevish-sounding in English, asks him the when and why, all Caleb does is let out a small laugh and goes back to eating.

Grandma notes that she didn’t know about this plan either. "A decisive man as always," she says with a troubled expression.

And thus Grandma has thrown an interesting character trait into the mix as Caleb always seems so laid-back with MC like he’s simply going with the flow of things. Except it’s clear he’s decisive, determined, and taking care of things behind the scenes. And surely that includes taking care of MC.

XV. Sylus's Character

We have two points of concrete information about Sylus.

The first is the game description, which I’ll repeat here: “The leader of Onychinus is said to have built his empire on illegal Evol weapons and Protocore deals. He’s the most influential, dominant figure in the N109 Zone. However, he hasn’t been seen for a while.”

The second is an observation made by Captain Jenna in chapter 3:

"We speculate it’s not about money, given Sylus’s track record," she says.

So Sylus "is said to have built" a whole empire on illegal sales but apparently he’s OK with his sales taking a loss because it’s not about money. We see in several news reports in-game about the amazing medical progress made due to the use of Protocores. Modified Protocores, especially such revolutionary ones made by Onychinus, should easily be worth more than their weight in gold. The one that MC and Xavier take from the forest is even powerful enough to start the revival process of the strongest type of Wanderer.

So we have this mysterious Sylus who has prioritized power and influence over wealth, but what can he possibly do with those if he’s gone AWOL…?

But such a decisive man who has gained authority over the N109 zone likely has everything under control, right?

XVI. Grandma Josephine vs Caleb

In chapter 4 under the title “Secret,” in part due to the mysterious locked box MC receives, we the player (not MC) learn that Grandma had entrusted MC to Zayne if the “worst-case scenario happens.”

But what about Caleb? We know that he is away from home very often so it’s highly unlikely anyone should consider something bad happening to both her and him. The “us” she uses could mean them both, but it seems more likely she meant Zayne’s promise to Grandma and MC (as MC is the beneficiary).

Let’s go back to that family meal conversation and see the follow-up reactions that show some interesting motives:

We have Caleb taking responsibility for family matters, MC and Grandma caught by surprise—then look at what Grandma does: she doesn’t argue with his decision, but instead turns to MC and immediately encourages her to get back in touch with Zayne.

Caleb’s response to that in turn is to suggest that instead of Zayne and MC meeting alone, Zayne should come for a family dinner. Caleb’s reaction feels rather sarcastic with the emphasis on “looong time.” Zayne is given the treatment of, rather than being a family friend, he is more like that kid they used to know back in grade school. Which is true. Zayne has been absent in MC and Caleb's lives for the past 10 years. Zayne hasn’t been in the picture since MC was about eleven years old and it’s been Caleb looking after MC as her childhood friend/brother this whole time.

So it’s no surprise when MC and Caleb are walking back home together that their conversation turns out like this:

"If not me, who could you possibly turn to for…" he begins, then stops. He smiles bitterly, shakes his head, and plays it off.

Is this him choking up on his yearning? Is this him realizing what Grandma tried to do earlier by bringing up Zayne, and realizing there are other people MC can turn to? Is this him realizing MC is right, that he really can’t protect her forever? Is this him realizing he can’t protect her as just Caleb? Or is there something else going on in that head of his?

It seems to me that not only are Grandma and Caleb not working together at this point, despite them both prioritizing MC's safety, Grandma might not consider Caleb outside of being the family cook!

What does Grandma know about Caleb that would make her turn to Zayne instead?

XVII. What Onychinus knows about MC's Aether Core (spoiler: everything)

Summary: This all happened in the immediate aftermath of the Chronorift Catastrophe. Dr. Noah was bought into the picture shortly after Grandma took MC into her home. Around that same time, one of the researchers who experimented on MC joined up with Onychinus. From that point on, all the other researchers started dying or disappearing—except for Grandma Josephine.

Grandma, however, is eventually killed by the Backtrackers hired by Ever Group, who had been looking for details about their missing Unicorn.

MC notes that Grandma didn’t leave any work files at home. Therefore Caleb wouldn’t have learned anything at the home.

But because Onychinus knows everything through that researcher, Sylus also knows everything that happened to MC. He knows what Josephine did. He knows about MC’s condition. He knows about her special heart. He knows about the Aether Core. He knows what dangers might pursue MC.

And what is Onychinus’s main project? Modifying Protocores.

MC learns that the frequency of her heart matches that of the modified Protocore she found in the restricted zone with Xavier. Both her heart and that modified Protocore had been effected by an Aether Core.

The crucial part I’m getting at is that Onychinus already knows about MC before she ever went to the Nest. They have known about her for around 15 years and during all this time Onychinus have never, ever approached or harmed her!

In this Sylus = Caleb scenario, he already has MC (trust me! he pleads), he already has her Aether Core, and he's trying to keep it secret, he's trying to keep her safe.

The other researchers had to die to keep her safe, because the knowledge they held of her would die with them.

"If not for me, who could you turn to for..." Caleb had once started to say, because if not for him, who else could have protected her all this time? Who else would work so tirelessly and decisively to do what needed to be done?

XVIII. Onychinus is not our enemy

One of the reasons I love Love and Deepspace is because the world building and lore are incredibly interesting. But we must use critical thinking because they are also deceptive. So many characters keep treating Onychinus as dangerous, as deadly, but we not only don’t know their true motive, we have no information on what bad things they’ve actually done besides existing outside normal society.

Both Jenna and Xavier tell us that Onychinus's most famous achievement is modifying Protocores. There is no word of Onychinus ever doing direct or indirect harm using these modified Protocores. We don’t even know to whom, exactly, they sell these Protocores—and we know that it’s not about money.

Onychinus is a mystery! What anyone knows about them is all speculation!

Ever Group, meanwhile, has conducted experiments on Lemurians as explored in Raymond's situation and experiments on MC when she was a child. These actions directly resulted in the "death" of MC numerous times and the probable death of at least one Lemurian if not more. In the World Underneath we discover that Ever Group also knows about the Backtrackers and about Philos. Ever Group hired the Backtracker that destroyed MC’s family. They also use Xavier and are plotting to, for lack of a better word, enslave him once they figure out the chemical compound of the medication he and the other Backtrackers use as injections.

It’s not a mistake, however, that Ever Group is praised by the public for their ingenuity and medical advances for the sake of a better society while Onychinus is treated as dangerous renegades.

Then there is also the Deepspace Aviation Administration who are "unraveling the unknown" at the Deepspace Tunnel while fighting Wanderers.

XIX. I promise you’ll see me every day when you wake up ;)

For the longest time I read Caleb's final promise at face value. He was coming back home to visit, so every morning when MC wakes up at Grandma’s house, she’ll see Caleb.

And I know I’m not the only one who shouted OBJECTION after the explosion (All Men Do Is Lie)!

Except waking up doesn’t have to be literal.

In the pre-registration announcement video released November 1, 2023, Zayne says the following line:

“When you and the world wake up, I hope we do not meet again.”

Perhaps MC just needs to wake up to the truth—the truth of what happened to her before she met Caleb and Zayne and Rafayel and Xavier, the truth of what Grandma and the scientists did to her as a child, the truth… of what she might find in the N109 zone, where Onychinus is, where the question to Sylus and her relationship with him will be answered…

When MC learns the truth, when she opens her eyes to the real world, she will see Caleb again.

(She will get to see him every day just like he promised.)

XX. Theoretical consideration: we’re in a time loop with possible time travel

If there are multiple timelines, it’s possible that the Sylus-Caleb we eventually meet isn’t the Caleb who entered that house before the explosion. They could be the same but different. Perhaps Caleb in one timeline died in that house while a Caleb in another timeline did not. Perhaps the necklace we picked up belonged to a different Caleb.

Because let’s be real, everything is a bit of a mess now: Dawnbreaker and Zayne sharing dreams, Xavier as an immortal alien on a completely different planet, and Rafayel has a millennia of emotional baggage to unpack and a lost civilization he has yet to revive.

There are also the rhythms in which the characters are living in their respected timelines. We have Xavier the immortal who has witnessed the many lives of MC living and dying tragically and being reborn again and again. We have Rafayel who is in a matched reincarnation cycle with MC where he seems to meet her in each life, but she has forgotten him while he may or may not have forgotten her. We have Zayne who is in an unmatched reincarnation cycle with MC where he may or may not meet her in each life, but he sacrifices himself for her sake at each end.

Let's not overlook the possibility of an actual time traveler with Sylus. Perhaps even one who has been looking for a timeline where he can keep MC safe. After all, coming late into the game, Sylus will need to have a new spin to his myth and connection with MC if he's going to compete!

Plus Caleb is also represented by the apple, the forbidden fruit: take even the smallest bite and be banished from paradise. But a bite of the apple also wakes one up to the truth, to the sense of shame, to desire, to sin, to love…

"I promise you’ll see me every day when you wake up," he said.

(And I’m a fool who wants to believe him 🍎)

[gvenevera]

Kuroshitsuji Musical ~ 寄宿学校の秘密 (Secrets of the Boarding School) 2024 ~ VERA’S REVIEW!

Yes you read that right! I’ve had the most fateful chance to watch the very first performance of the newest Kuromyu in Hyogo last Saturday, so I figured I’ll eternalize some of my best memories here.

Before we begin: the LIVE STREAMING is available for the LAST PERFORMANCE, September 29th 2024, HERE! For only 3800 yen, you’ll get to watch it live at home, or watch it later for up to 1 week (October 6th)! Apparently you need a Japanese VPN though, if anyone knows how to navigate the site, please do share.

A few disclaimers from me:

*Anti-shippers DNI. This post barely has any shipping content at all but I don’t like people who harass others over fictional preferences. I’m a shipper, I can’t help being biased for my OTPs.

**Since photos were prohibited in the venue, I’ve included stage pictures featured in official news websites or accounts.

***This is by no means a critical review but merely a fangirl’s ramblings, and I often drew comparisons to the original stage play Kuroshitsuji Musical: Secrets of the Boarding School (2021). For reference, I suggest you watch it first! I intentionally avoided rewatching the 2021 version close to the airing date though, so my memories may not be accurate. Also my Japanese is mediocre so I apologize if there were important dialogues I didn’t catch.

Introduction

I know, sorry for the dilly-dally intro. But I’d like to first stress that ever since I started following Kuroshitsuji in my first year of university (like 9 years ago now lmao), I’ve ALWAYS dreamed to watch the stage musical live in person. When 2024’s performance was announced immediately after the last episode of the anime, I was overjoyed to see that our old cast was coming back.

And it was fate that gave me the opportunity - my scheduled work program this year was set to be in Kyoto AND during September! Needless to say, I had the Kuromyu ticket bought and reserved first, before my confirmation with the Kyoto office or my visa and plane ticket. Priorities, right?

Quick remark on the ticket process: I hit a snag right in the beginning because the ticket reservation website Eplus required a Japanese phone number to sign up. I contacted multiple people (middle school friend whose brother used to work in Japan, another who was quarter-Japanese, several dealer websites with high rate exchanges), until I settled on my roommate’s friend from high school who was currently working there. Many thanks to her and my roommate for the help!

She took care of registration for me - even so the advance sales was a LOTTERY ticket! We fortunately got the lucky draw - I saw many Japanese fans on X who were not so lucky, while others bought in bulk to sell later. Then, I used the online barcode to exchange for a paper ticket when I arrived in Japan on September 1st. That’s when I get to know my seat number - 3rd floor, 2nd row B. A very far position from the stage, but it’s alright because we’re here for the atmosphere anyway!

The performances for the first 2 days were set in Hyogo Performing Arts Center, KOBELCO grand hall. I’ve honestly never been to any kind of music performance (or even concerts) in my life, so I was blown away by the sheer size of the venue.

By 10 AM, the audience was trickling in. I was in awe of the fact that you can tell who was coming in to watch kuromyu - beautiful women dressed in black-and-white tones, many even sporting gothic lolita bows and dresses to keep up with the Victorian England theme. In fact, it felt like the whole of Ikebukuro were gathered here in this very building!

We were ushered into the hall entrance at 11 AM and let me tell you, the crowd was suffocating! In front of the theater, there was a goods section for Kuromyu merch. I’m so glad I took the time to queue up because it seems some of the merch were starting to sell out by the second day. The booth clerk looked perplex to see a non-Japanese customer here though. Here’s how the line looked like, and this was still early before most of the audiences got in:

(We’re not supposed to take any photos but I saw the warning signs too late…Here’s a view from where I was sitting on the third floor.)

I realized then as we were settling in that some ladies around me had binoculars!! Well how was I supposed to know you could bring those here, instead of trying to find those fancy opera glasses!?! Ah well, I was lucky that I’d recently had my prescription glasses updated and the seat to my left was vacant, so I could lean in to see the center better.

The Performance

While it is true that you can barely see the actors’ faces from the balcony seats, it was the grandness of the performance itself that blew me away. For the first time I could see the stage in all its entirety, all the actors dancing in synchronization, and the special effects…oh it had improved A LOT from 3 years prior!

The stage sets for Weston may look a tad “crowded” in the still photo, as compared to the original where they used white backgrounds but in reality, it blended in so prettily with the flashing stage lights. The middle section was a rotating floor and one of my memorable scenes was where Ciel and Sebastian were discussing their plans while crossing the rotating stage, to give the illusion of “strolling across the school grounds.” Sounds like a simple trick but if looked amazing from above.

On to the story itself - the execution actually barely changed from the 2021 rendition, which for me, was a relief! Now I know, some would argue a rerun should add in different elements, because who would want to see the same thing twice right? From past experiences with Kuromyu, the reruns tend to be hit or miss - different actors, different song remixes, voice changes, and so on. For this performance, I could barely tell that the cast (apart from Ciel, Sebastian and Undertaker) were all new members. Everyone got into character flawlessly!

The story of course followed the entirety of the Public School Arc. The script and choreography was almost identical to the 2021 stage musical version. If you would remember, this Kuroshitsuji arc was the first to be portrayed on stage before the anime adaptation - same as previously, they seemed to take inspiration from the manga only rather than the anime.

Some key moments from the play:

The opening sequence was again a recap of the previous arcs - Jack the Ripper (Lycoris that Blazed the Earth), Book of Circus (Noah’s Ark Circus), Book of the Atlantic (Tango on the Campania). I’ve always loved this part because you could tell they slipped in iconic themes from the past musicals.

Perfect Black: the main theme, and my favorite from this stage! I’m so happy to have heard it live! *swoons* Thank god they didn’t do anything weird to remix it. The whole cast dancing together was beautiful! However I thought 2021 did it better with the dramatic light focus on Sebastian during the chorus drop.

Ciel’s Earl of Phantomhive outfit was changed from the glittery blue suit to a blue-green checkered coat this year. (I’d have bought his Earl photoshoot set if I knew it beforehand) Yana-sensei later tweeted that she was the one to re-design it, to better match Eito. Then Eito Konishi himself replied, saying he was honored to play as Ciel Phantomhive, to which Yana-sensei praised his singing and called him “Eito-bocchan” …boy was he fanboying hard over that. He’s one of us!!

Arrival at Weston: I don’t have a comment on the P4 in particular, they were all straightforward from the manga. I think I like Redmond’s character the most here, he looked very pretty with the side-ponytail and while he was a show-off still, he wasn’t as annoying or arrogant as I somehow expected.

A notable interaction: Violet forcing Greenhill to pose for him at the swan gazebo. Greenhill’s actor really looked strained trying to keep an upside down bridge pose (Edward was supporting his back, but kept getting distracted). When he broke the pose and got up, Violet hit him over the head with his sketchbook so hard that the thump echoed through the hall.

As for the Prefect’s Fags: Edward and Cheslock were giving off some suspiciously gay rivals-to-lovers vibes over here. Which I kinda vibed with, I hope they kept the energy into the Blue Cult Arc!

One important thing: they kept the ALL the Fag lines! Which in Japanese accent also kinda sounded like them repeatedly calling each other “Fućk”. Oh how I wish the anime had kept those!

Soma Asman Kadar: now this guy deserves an ovation just for himself. Not only did he kill the role, he was also the funniest! Soma’s song was greatly improved and lengthened with catchier music and dancing - when his troupe “arrived” at Weston, he even dragged Ciel and Clayton to join in. I can’t do it justice, you have GOT to see those two English gentlemen crack the Indian dance moves! His pestering of Maurice Cole was hilarious and he kept exasperating Ciel out of his character, their chemistry was wonderful. I really didn’t expect to get hooked by Soma in this arc out of all people! Too bad Agni wasn’t here.

Maurice Cole’s miniarc - Flawless. Sometimes I wonder if he was an easy character to play just because his character trait is so extremely over-the-top lol.

The library kabedon scene and sebaciel burning Purple House scene didn’t exist. Another scene cut off from the last musical was where Clayton and the Blue House kids were congratulating Ciel on his fag duties and Sebastian took the chance to blend in with them. Sadly that was one of my favorite adlibs.

Ciel’s dream sequence: this was originally in the 2021 musical. After a talk with Macmillain made him revisit his past trauma, Ciel “dreamed” of the cultists, and Sebastian’s close call with Undertaker in BotA. I actually forgot about this part when I watched it in theater - the highlight was sebaciel reenacting the scene in BotA where they reached for each other, the enactment surprisingly gave me the impression of Ciel’s “worry” over Sebastian’s “vulnerability” here. Unlike the 2021 version though, Undertaker didn’t pull Ciel into a bridal carry or referenced the R!Ciel wake-up scene as clearly.

The second half after the break was the long-awaited Cricket Match. Like the previous version, there was no scene of Ciel jumping into Master Michaelis’ arms, but I think they just couldn’t fit that one into the sequence. The cricket songs were mostly the same as the original - with an improvement being them cutting out Red House’s random beauty pageant contest. It actually felt like the cricket match went by faster this time, which was a win in my book. I’ve heard people complain of Kuromyu 2021 being a “Prince of Cricket” musical, hence the bad reviews back then.

The laxative meat pie scene was hilarious. From Sebastian faking it as a student complete with Red House’s uniform, to the team’s diarrhea horrors. Redmond stole the show again, as he was going to help Harcourt in the middle of the field, but tragedy struck which made him deadpan: “Oh. Someone get Harcourt.” Then immediately left the stage lol. The Blue House kids lifted Harcourt out.

The Green vs Purple house battle was the same as last time. I always felt bad to see Cheslock being the only Purple kid doing his best because without any support member cast while Violet was sitting in the grass. But this time, he gave Cheslock a tree sculpture of his bust as a good-job reward! Good for them.

Lastly Green vs Blue. They incorporated the rotating stage again in the last batting when Greenhill accidentally hit Ciel. The end of the match cut straight to the Thames Boat Ride, then they did the Blue House cheering scene after. Sebastian finally got to do his signature bridal carry, awww.

Midnight tea party: the setting was even more beautiful than last time. Undertaker letting his hair fall from his hat was iconic as usual. I was impressed with Master Agares’ fight scenes because his actor looked quite older than his 2021 predecessor. I always liked how they did Derrick Arden’s death in the musical, it felt more anguished from the P4 POV while in the anime, it just felt like a gruesome horror scene.

Final musical number was Ciel-Sebastian-Undertaker chorus during their fight in the garden. Music and choreography seemed to be similar, EXCEPT they somehow changed the iconic “Your life is my priority” scene!!! 2021’s version had me hold my breath as Sebastian had his arm possessively hooked around Ciel and took off his glove with his teeth (seriously, you have to see it yourself). This time they had Sebastian and Ciel reenact the scene on the highest stage instead of front and center, and I didn’t feel as much suspense nor was there any glove-removal from what I could see. It was also a weird placement because they were so far away, and Undertaker should’ve been the one on the top as he did his goodbye pose holding the moon.

We end the story with Sebastian recapping the aftermath with Weston’s students, and finally sebaciel’s conversation back at the manor. Again, Ciel reiterates that Sebastian is the only one who could never lie nor betray his trust. Perfect Black came on as an outro, and I got chills when Sebastian ended the last verse on a raised note!

The curtain call was the experience I’d waited for. Somehow I only realized just then that the actors would do the full call during their finale performance, which was what we got to see in the recordings! That day, after the cast bowed twice, the exit announcement immediately came on but guess what? The audience, including myself, kept clapping all the way through the announcement, it went for so long that the cast actually came out to take another bow! As they returned on stage, most of us also stood up for a standing ovation - according to twitter this doesn’t seem to be a regular occurrence outside of the finale. It felt like a truly wholesome “welcome back” for the troupe and for Kuromyu, especially after the rather harsh criticisms from the previous stage (due to major cast and style changes, even I took a while to bring myself to watch it) and the long break due to the COVID years.

Overall summary

Kuroshitsuji Musical 2024 was a faithful rerun of its predecessor. They succeeded with the musical numbers, new cast, overall adaptation of the story. The settings, props and special effects were wonderfully upgraded. The original cast carried the show: Eito Konishi’s singing felt greatly improved and I thought he carried himself as more mature than his last performance as Ciel. Sebastian’s Toshiki Tateishi had a mesmerizing voice the more I listened to him, he never went out of breath even while dancing or fighting - truly vocals fit for the troupe leader. Kandai Ueda did well as his own Undertaker too, even with Undertaker’s peculiar accent.

My few complaints: I felt like the P4 cast (bar Redmond) could do to have more distinction in their tones and movements. It felt hard to distinguish who was talking at times. The performance seemed to have a faster pacing this time around, and you get less absorbed in certain conversations between the characters, so I wished they’d added in slow scenes here and there. And of course I miss the signature sebaciel moments that I’ve mentioned - granted, this manga arc had always been my least favored because of the lack of sebaciel interactions anyway! So I’d say they did the best with the source material.

While I enjoyed seeing my favorite production performed live with the music blasting through my eardrums, it was the atmosphere that truly made the experience for me. Sitting in the 4-storeys grand hall full of some 2000 Kuroshitsuji fans really pulled me back in time, especially during the standing ovation. I’m so happy to see my favorite series so loved after all these years. I’m sure Yana-sensei could feel it too.

I wish a successful performance for the cast going forward to Tokyo, and hopeful for many more musicals to come!

[pinkisthenewangst]

°`🍨: Haikyuu x GN! Reader/ Ryujin Nippon x Reader

°`🍨: Spoiling it by saying something stupid like "I love you"

When you stepped on the court, you took my breath away. As if time stopped, I was only able to look at you. Your smile, your trembling lips from the nerves you probably felt before the match and your shining eyes from excitement, made my heart beat faster. It felt like it bumped as fast as one of your spikes, hitting your opponent's field, scoring an important point for your team. The screams from pure joy you released with your fans while bumping the air, made me shake in my seat as if your joy was infectious. Your chest always looked wider when it swelled with pride. Even if you lost your match, you stayed humble while salty tears stained your cheeks. It didn't help that I always feel like falling in love all over again, sitting near the court watching you living your dream. From the day I met you, I knew I got hit by cupid's oh so stupid arrows straight through my heart. My cheeks burned in a glowing red when you smiled at me. Your cheeky remarks when I tried to help you train even if it was your day off, where you should have rested, made butterflies fly wildly through my stomach. I never once have felt disappointed for giving you my heart in secret through small gestures until my chest was empty. Only a black hole remained, but I was satisfied with it. I only wanted to support you, be there when you held the gold in your own hand for the first time, hug you when the pressure got to you and smile proudly when I talk about you to my other friends. Friends knew how I felt, but only you weren’t able to see it. My eyes going soft after a long day when I heard your laugh. My sweaty hands, that I rub on the texture of my jeans when I am near you. My shaky voice, when I feel a little bit too much love for you right at this moment you look at me. But I was never sad that you didn't see any of these hints. Being your friend made me happy enough to live on like that. Ignoring my own feelings to protect you from this trouble. Never having the heart to stand between you and your love for volleyball. But I still ruined it. It was only a moment between us two. A moment where I wasn't careful enough. Talking, yapping and rambling about my feelings after a long time, and then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like “I love you”. When I realized what I said, my smile faded like the colour in my face. My breath stuck in my throat and I started to tear up. I didn't even need to hear your answer to my sudden confession. Your troubled face made it clear enough. My love for you would only chain you to me and rob you from your freedom. The freedom you need to spread your wings to fly high in the sky. I started to run. Faster than I thought I ever could and never stopped. I never once stopped to run away from you, your answer, my feelings and the future that could have been. A future at your side, like I wished to be. I ignored your calls and never opened your text messages. I even went so far to buy a new phone with a new number to never let you catch up to me. I loved you so strongly, that I feared you needed to choose between me and volleyball that you loved with your whole body, mind and soul. I was scared to imagine this moment. So I just choose to run. I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself if you are hurt by me and my stupid feelings. And now I was only a ghost. A ghost standing between so many fans, that you were never able to spot me if you tried to look for me. A shadow that disappeared before you went to greet your fans, that supported you like I always will. This was enough for me and it needed to be. I just hope you still will remember my promise to always be your number one fan, that never stopped running, hurting and crumbling because of my stupid feelings I never lost for you.

°`🍨: I was very much invested in the olympics 2024 but i also felt great to see Yuki Ishikawa finally live ! (Online, i don't have the funds to see him in person-). I also started to watch Haikyuu again so have a lil text that could match both of my obsessions ! 🫡

°`🍨: REQUESTS ARE CLOSED!

[hidingoutbackstage]

Still in shock that they took all the songs down BECAUSE??? IT JUST LEAVES US WITH MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS???

I KNOW?? Like okay here’s everything weird about the situation because it’s only 7 am I feel like I need lay it all out to process this. So, timeline time I guess! (I combined several images into one a few times bc of Tumblr’s 10 image per post limit but I hope everything still makes sense)

Starting January 5, the Ever After High Spotify (and Apple Music I guess although I was only checking the Spotify) began posting songs as singles. The first was called “Can’t Get Me Down” which had a screenshot of Raven from the episode “Rebel’s Got Talent” as the album cover.

Following that, two weeks later, on January 19, we get a song called “Unbreakable” which also has a screenshot of Raven from the show, from the “The Tale of Legacy Day” episode. At this point the songs are gaining attraction because what the heck, Ever After High content in 2024? Is it coming back?

People are also pointing out that Mattel renewed their licenses for some Ever After High stuff, but also companies do that all the time and I think they did it specifically for their webisodes so that they couldn’t be reposted/reuploaded to YouTube or whatever by a party that wasn’t them. It makes sense (Also I can’t actually verify which if any things they did actually renew because all I heard was people claiming that I never saw any proof)

Also at this point, both songs have given Allison Bloom composing credit, which fans thought made sense since Allison Bloom was also a composer on Ever After High content before

ONE week after “Unbreakable”, instead of two like last time, on January 26, we get the third song, Destiny, with a screenshot of promo art for the Epic Winter storyline of Briar, Crystal, Ashlynn, and Rosabella. Once again, composing credit to Allison Bloom. People are so confused, lots of people are reaching out to Mattel’s social media trying to make sense of it all. Also this song in particular had the trademark misspelled as “Ever Aftert High” which could be the reason for something happening later

Actually, before Destiny was released, someone on Reddit apparently got in contact with Bloom and asked if she had any insight as to what was up with the songs, and Bloom said, “I honestly don't know because I am not currently working on the project. Your note was the first I had heard of it. Wish I had more to tell you!” which led people to suspect Mattel was making AI generated songs but using Bloom’s name to release them, possibly because they still had a contract with her (though that is purely speculation)

Same Redditor also emailed Mattel customer support, who gave a very corporate response, but in their email used the phrase “AI-generated songs uploaded to the EAH Spotify list” blatantly calling the music AI generated in this email

One week after “Destiny”, on February 2, we get “Brand New Day” which is another single with another screenshot from the show as the cover, this time of Crystal Winter from the Epic Winter episodes

Three days after “Brand New Day”, on February 5, people realize that “Destiny” has been taken down, but ONLY Destiny. Some speculate this is due to the typo in the trademark upon release. The rest stay up

One week after “Brand New Day”, on February 9, the song “Forever Friends” with art of Raven and Apple as the cover is uploaded

Later that same day on February 9, “Forever Friends” and all the other remaining songs, “Brand New Day”, “Unbreakable”, and “Can’t Get Me Down” have all been taken off the Spotify (and Apple Music) list

[lowpolynpixelated]

Nightmare Kart: Multi-Track Dreaming

LW Media have done it again. After making one of the best fanworks on the web with “Bloodborne PSX” star developer Lilith Walther has returned to the realm of nightmares to go a little faster this time. How much faster? Somewhere around 200cc or so. Nightmare Kart made its debut on itch.io on June 3rd 2024 and has already become yet another banger from the dev that keeps on giving. First imagined as “Bloodborne Kart” the game hit a minor legal snag and ended up having to scrub any overt references to the Fromsoftware game entirely, leading to its rebranding into the much more original “Nightmare Kart”. But what is Nightmare Kart? And why should you play it? In this article/review I’d like to go over my personal favourite elements as well as some not-so polished ones that all in all make Nightmare Kart an easy sell to anyone looking to have some new fun in an old school way.

Some Background:

If you’ve read my article on Bloodborne PSX you know that I’m a massive fan of LW Media’s previous work. BBPSX was a masterwork in bringing old fashioned clunk to a modern game and letting it thrive on the atmosphere and gameplay quirks that come with something like that. Nightmare Kart is no different. According to Lilith via our previous interview work on Nightmare Kart began not too long after BBPSX released, owing its existence largely to a popular meme used to tease a new Bloodborne game being announced at major gaming shows. Ever since the game’s inception Lilith was hard at work trying to make a kart racer that captured not only the feeling of Bloodborne’s visceral world and combat, but those old school racers we all know and love. I personally am a big fan of Mario Kart 64, and when I got to ask her questions about Nightmare Kart’s development I was delighted to hear that she was taking inspiration from the title. My previous article is linked here as well as Lilith’s tumblr blog and youtube channel where you can see more of the development process in action leading up to the debut of the game.

Nightmare Kart:

So, back to that question I asked before, what is Nightmare Kart? Inspired by kart racer classics like Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing, and Crash Team Racing, alongside some rather exciting action picks like Halo, Nightmare Kart is a combination kart racer/battler. In the game you take on the role of “The good hunter”, a mysterious person who awakens in a strange world known as the Pocket Dream before taking to the streets of Miralodia, a gothic styled city beset by all sorts of creatures of the night. The game takes you through a brief singleplayer campaign consisting of several races, battle mode matches, and even boss fights showing off an impressive array of gameplay and animated cutscenes. The base gameplay of the racer is closest to those kart racers I mentioned before, with drifting and boosting being a core part of the racing experience. It does however put some unique souls-like spins on a few things, as well as introducing a brake-slide mechanic which allows you to turn on a dime at the cost of your momentum. A true feast for the senses, consisting of graphics and music to rival Bloodborne PSX in their quality, and a truly impressive feat of development prowess. The game, much like its predecessor, feels so at home in its old school roots that I could almost hear the disc whirring in the drive of my non-existent PlayStation as I played through its campaign and tore through some multiplayer battles.

Gameplay:

Let’s talk more about that gameplay for a bit. As mentioned before Nightmare Kart does a superb job at nailing the feeling of an old school kart racer with a modern twist. A large part of that is its more battle-focused gameplay, as the powerups and controls are much more suited for aggression and duking it out at high speed than just simply racing. The first mechanic to show this off is the Blood Droplets system. As you race a number of enemies will spawn on the track and wander around, some will even try to attack racers as they speed past. Running over one of these enemies or destroying them with one of the several weapons on offer nets an amount of “blood droplets”. These function identically to both Blood Echoes in Bloodborne as well as coins in the Mario Kart series. The more droplets you collect, the higher your maximum speed will increase (as indicated by a red sword shaped arrow on your in-game speedometer). There is, however, a limited number of these enemies on a given track. Once they’re all killed you’ll have to turn to alternative means to collect those speed-granting droplets. Most notably, the destruction of your fellow racers. With a small array of weapons at your disposal granted via small powerup sparks scattered throughout the tracks you’ll be able to cut, smash, shoot, or even call down the stars themselves upon your competition to take their droplets as your own. This feature is most important during races, where speed is much more of a focus, but during the battle modes is where the fighting truly shines.

Deathmatch, elimination, capture the flag, and a score mode based around having the most droplets for your team all serve as the real way to show off Nightmare Kart’s strengths. The brake-slide mentioned before serves as your way to stop and aim ranged weapons like the hunter’s pistol and lever action shotgun, or to reposition yourself for a lunging strike with one of the several melee weapons you’re able to slot in to your melee powerup slot. My personal favourite of these were the gatling gun, which straps a four-barreled monster of a gun to the front of a vehicle of your choice allowing for 40 shots of continuous rapid fire destruction, and the spark-cage, a stand in for the Bloodborne Tonitrus which sends you leaping forward in your kart to smash an electrified mace into your opponents. All of this is headed by a health and stamina system much akin to the game’s former namesake. Health dictates damage done and sustained, while stamina is used by dashing. Also consumed by dashing are “Aether Viles”, viles of blue liquid used in groups of 5 to send you careening forward with a burst of speed. Performing tricks off of jumps by tapping the jump button or simple picking them up from a powerup grants you a number of these viles which you can use to bash into enemies or get ahead in the race standings. With everything I’ve talked about here I hope it’s apparent just how fun Nightmare Kart is to play. I had such an amazing time trashing enemies in deathmatch battles and roaring my way through city streets and forbidden forests.

Graphics/Design:

Nightmare Kart boasts a sense of style rivaled only by the game that came before it. Iterating on the already delightfully dated look that BBPSX had, Nightmare Kart takes it to the next level with original characters and environments that give it that trademark PSX feel. Coming with a built in (and customizeable) CRT filter along with a slew of graphical options ranging from texture warp to pixel distortion the game has quite literally never looked better. My entire time with the game was spent marveling at the track design and style that bleeds from every low-poly crease and jittering texture. Twelve vehicles and a variety of playable characters show off the gothic horror inspirations from Bloodborne and otherwise in perfect pixelated glory. Just as with BBPSX the game shows a mastery of the concept of a “demake”, but being built from the ground up as an original concept the game shows off iconic themes and locations leftover from its Bloodborne origins now with a lovingly crafted layer of originality. Fans of PSX horror and modern retro-makes in general will find nothing but some of the best graphical styling from this game’s blood soaked streets and haunted clock towers.

The real star at the center of well crafted textures and wonderfully low-detail models is the track design. Even if it isn’t legally allowed be Bloodborne Kart, its very apparent that the tracks on offer are nothing less than love letters to a wacky concept contained within a genuine respect for the inspirations. The game’s first few tracks do a top notch job at showing off the sort of homage you’d come to expect from a game inspired by Fromsoft’s gothic masterpiece, but soon descend into the depths of creative (and sometimes seemingly sadistic) level design that sets a kart racer apart from its peers. The Forbidden Forest, for example, features a split path laden with traps and lurking enemies that culminates in an upward clime via jump pads that sends you up the decaying innards of a windmill tower. Delving further into the madness sees you drifting your way through a library maze and making daring jumps to catch up with Nicholas, one of the game’s bosses to put him down for good. The inspiration for this game shines through even the mandatory layer of original art, enhancing into a viscerally wild ride from the first look at the endless void of the Pocket Dream to the cramped quarters of the Outsider’s Mansion.

Sound design/Soundtrack:

At last we arrive at what I consider to be the true highlight of Nightmare Kart. Continuing from BBPSX’s beautifully bitcrushed audio design Nightmare Kart wastes absolutely no time showing off just how much work was put into making the nightmare sound as good as it looks. One thing in particular that stuck with me was the animated cutscenes seen throughout the singleplayer campaign. Fully voice acted and entirely animated the voices in the scenes remind me of the best of the best PlayStation VA work. Extending a massive amount of congratulations to the entire voice cast, which the game’s developer Lilith Walther also provided a performance for. Those sweet filtered voices are only the beginning though, as Nightmare Kart’s soundtrack explodes into a symphony of haunted house jams and retro bangers right from the first screen. I find myself left without a whole lot to say other than just how good the soundtrack is. Composer Evalyn Lark destroyed any doubts I could have had about the game’s soundtrack not living up to the hype that the concept drummed up. The full soundtrack is available on youtube as well as other streaming services and will also be linked in this article for your listening pleasure. A short but sweet section for a set of tunes that I truly feel need to speak for themselves.

Full soundtrack

A sweet nightmare, and everything that comes with it

This section is a bit different from what I usually do in reviews like this. As I don’t have a second interview with Ms. Walther and I want this to be just as much a discussion about the game as well as a glowing review, I’d like to go over the less than stellar things I experienced while I sped my way through the horrors and bloodsoaked nightmare visions. I’d like to start off this section with this: This article/review is a work of opinion, not objective fact. Everything I put here is based on my own experience with the game. I also understand that in the modern video game landscape we exist in a time where games can receive updates and patches to repair and alter things that might be grinding or frustrating to players. I say all of this out of profuse respect for Ms. Walther and all of those who worked on Nightmare Kart, so that my words cannot be taken as damning evidence that this game is anything other than fun.

Nightmare Kart is above all else, an indie game in the purest meaning of the phrase. Developed by a small team on a small (by video game standards) budget and released entirely for free for anyone to enjoy. Because of this it does suffer from some standard if not frustrating bugs and glitches that made my experience with it nearly perfect, but not quite. Every game (especially today) has it’s rough edges. And with one trying to have so many on purpose (visually anyway) it was bound to have something in it that didn’t function one hundred percent of the time, or something out of place at random intervals.

Common glitches I encountered while playing:

- Hitting walls and ending up underneath the map (this has a minor fix already in the game in the form of a respawn option)

- Controls not being recognized after being hit by an enemy weapon, requiring me to either repress buttons or restart the match/race

- Powerups not actually firing off but being consumed anyway

Please keep in mind that these three things are glitches and do have the potential to be patched out. However, even if they weren’t, I think they added to the charm of the game either way. What was also a part of the charm and became somewhat grating as the game went on were some things I feel work against the games sense of flow and speed that the races would have you want to achieve. These notes are not comprehensive, and come from a place of constructive criticism only. The first frustrating element came in the form of the game’s strict adherence to a retro draw distance. Most of the tracks in the game are enveloped in a dark fog after a certain point, and the track becomes revealed to you as you ride or drive. This works wonders for the atmosphere, but tended to work against me when I was gaining speed and using my aether boosts, only to run face first into a wall because I couldn’t see the turn coming. Moving on from that but in the same vein, running into things can lead into some frustrating moments as well. Some objects and even enemies have hitboxes a fair bit larger than what it would appear. There were several times I tried to skirt past a crucified beast or stack of unbreakable boxes only for a seemingly small part of my cart to clip it, causing the entirety of my speed and momentum to be lost along with my placement. Getting stuck on one of these objects is a different beast entirely, as sometimes the objects invisible hitbox stops you from turning or accelerating altogether until you physically use the reverse button and reorient yourself. On top of all of this, and I’ve certainly seen people state this in far less kind ways, I do feel like the game’s campaign is a bit too easy. Now please keep in mind I did not go into Nightmare Kart expecting a high skill ceiling challenge that would test my mettle at every turn. I also didn’t expect to essentially go on a joyride through the nightmare’s scenic vistas and town squares while a host of NPC drivers waged war with each other far behind me, occasionally sending a volley of stars my way which did very little to actually slow me down. Combined with the fact that enemies didn’t seem to respawn once killed, I found myself with shockingly little to do other than just drive and go for style points on the jumps as I stayed well ahead of the pack. This issue, I will add, was exclusive to the campaign’s races. I found the AI was much more suited for battling it out in the boss battles and other versus modes, the elimination match at the end of the game being a particular highlight of an absolute brawl. None of these issues stand to ruin any part of Nightmare Kart’s fun. Video games are hard to make, and not a single one of them can ever claim to be perfect. These just stand as notes from a personal perspective, meant to offer a bit of a look at what someone jumping into the game and playing it start to finish might experience.

Closing Thoughts:

If you’re looking for something fun to play this summer I can’t recommend Nightmare Kart enough. It really does echo the days of playing head to head with friends in wacky kart racers and deathmatch games, going as far as to combine the two into easily one of the most fun kart games I’ve ever played. If you liked what you read here or would otherwise like to support LW Media’s endeavors, I’ve linked the official itch.io page and steam page for Nightmare Kart below, along with the LW Media patreon and (yet another) link to my previous article on Bloodborne PSX. Thank you so much for reading, now go shred those radical streets.

Links:

Nightmare Kart

Steam

itch.io

LWMedia Patreon

Bloodborne PSX Article

[comphy-and-cozy]

Did I spend this morning rereading A Dream Come True again?

Yep. Zero regrets.

I wouldn’t object to peek ins on them if the urge ever hit to write more on this just saying 👀🫶🏻

this is very sweet and I am so very glad that you enjoyed it! because, well...

mastermind - jt compher

Pairing: JT Compher x Reader (f) - A Dream Come True universe

Word Count: ~1.8K

Author’s Note: I’m sorry Ghost lol

Warnings: references to sex, implied smut, language, the usual banter; otherwise, just some ~relationship development~ and an update on my fav duo ♥️🐙

link to series masterlist

January 2024

The email lies buried beneath the myriad of holiday marketing newsletters you ignored and let build up in your inbox. Sales that have long since passed, codes like ‘HOLIDAY20’ and ‘HAPPYNYE’ expired from stores you shopped at once and never unsubscribed from the marketing. 

It’s a Wednesday evening, and you’re sitting on the couch doing your best to mass delete the influx of unread emails from the past three months after receiving the notification that your storage is running low. A knit blanket covers your legs, and the scent of tobacco and teakwood drifts to you from the candle on your coffee table.

“What’re you giggling about over here?”

JT’s low timbre echoes behind you, the sound followed by the soft padding of his feet as he approaches the couch with a bowl of popcorn. His favorite nighttime snack, you’ve grown to learn over the past three months, so you started stocking your pantry with a box. 

You aren’t sure exactly when things became so domestic and natural with him, only blissfully aware of the steady thump of your heart in your chest when his texts come through or the warmth that fills you whenever he kisses you. You’ve managed to get comfortable with his presence, craving it the same way you crave a sweet snack before bed, but you’re still adjusting to the idea that this is real. That he’s still here, returning to your bed, dutifully—eagerly—after every road trip. 

Every time, he’ll sigh, find solace in the warmth of your arms, press his lips against your skin. He’ll fuck you, God, he’ll fuck you; somehow never failing to reveal a new place inside of you that blooms pleasure. Your body has never sang the way it does for JT, expertly coaxing melodies out of you that you didn’t know you knew. 

But sometimes, he just lays, content to feel your warmth against his, head resting heavy on your chest until his breathing becomes steady and sleep takes him. His expression softens, hair falling out of its styled coif, wrinkles settling into the lines of his t-shirt—if he hasn’t already removed it. In those moments, you defy the heaviness of your eyelids to simply gaze at him, memorizing the shape of him in your bed, curled up against you underneath the blankets that will forever be embedded with his scent. 

You can’t decide which you like more.

“I just got an email inviting me to the Toast of Hockeytown event in February,” you reply, accepting the weight of him on the cushion beside you before you steal a kernel from his bowl—your bowl. “‘Fans can look forward to enjoying live entertainment, culinary delights, drinks, and desserts while mingling with the entire Red Wings team, coaches, select alumni, and other local celebrities.’”

JT hums. “Sounds like an event you can’t miss. A chance to meet them?”

“I better make sure I wear my nicest dress. One that really shows off the goods, don’t you think?”

“Definitely,” he agrees, eyes flicking to your chest—though it’s covered by a t-shirt, you can feel the heat from his gaze. “Think maybe you’ll get to fuck one of them?”

Laughter bubbles out of your mouth and you shove his arm at his crass joke. “It would be a good opportunity to try and snag someone’s number.”

“Oooh, maybe Larkin? He’s dreamy.”

“Nah, he’s too popular,” you shake your head. “Can’t aim so high as the captain. Gotta go for lower-hanging fruit. Maybe one of the new guys. Ghosty, you think?”

There’s the briefest flash in JT’s eyes that you would’ve missed had you not been watching for it. You catch it, though, smug with yourself that you’ve one-upped him at his own game. 

“Heard his dick is small.” He feigns indifference, but you see the glint in his eyes. Your favorite eyes. 

“You really want me thinking about Ghost’s dick?” 

JT shrugs. “I’m the one sitting on your couch eating your popcorn. And I’m gonna be the one in your bed later.”

Check mate. The nonchalance paired with his confidence makes you weak—he’s right, and he knows it. You could have every one of them fawning over you, and you’d still pick him, every time. Once the joke falls and the silence settles, the sound of the Brooklyn 99 intro plays softly on the television in front of you.

As your mouse hovers over the ‘delete’ button, you’re reminded of the similar event you attended over two years ago—the one that led you to the man sitting beside you. You reminisce on how you spent days deciding on what to wear, even going so far as to get your hair blown out beforehand. Looking back, you’re a bit embarrassed at the effort, but as you feel the warmth of JT’s leg pressed against yours, you think to yourself it was worth it.

“I came to Denver specifically to meet you,” you blurt out, then freeze when you realize what you’ve just admitted to. Your heart thuds in your chest, the sound almost deafening in your ears as he pauses, three kernels of popcorn in his fingers halfway to his mouth.

Testing a glance at him, you’re surprised to see him pop each puff between his lips, one by one, taking his time chewing. Then, “I know.”

“You know?”

“You kn—the entire time?”

“The entire time.”

A sigh accompanied by a tidal wave of relief washes over you. If he knew, and was still here, it couldn’t have bothered him that much. “Do I want to know how?”

“Jus’ know,” he says with another shrug. Then your favorite glimmer shines in the warm chocolate of his eyes, the kind when he’s really feeling the banter. You love him like this. “You’re a bit of a whore when you’re desperate.”

“Joseph!”

An auburn eyebrow raises and he smirks. “You really gonna argue with me on that?”

Your silence is an answer enough, accompanied by flits of how he’s had you begging him on more than one occasion; you resist the urge to smack him at the smug ‘I told you so’ expression on his stupid, handsome face. “You’re not… creeped out?”

“Told you already,” he says around another mouthful of popcorn. “M’flattered. I think it’s cute.”

Heat simmers in your cheeks as you tell yourself you have no reason not to believe him; he’s still there, still eating popcorn out of the faded, red bowl you got from Target when you moved into your dorm at U of M. 

It’s another few moments before he says something that catches you off guard. 

“I came for you.” 

There’s an air of hesitation about him, like maybe he’s been mulling it over as he finishes the last few bites of popcorn before offering you the remaining kernels in the bottom of the bowl. A peace offering, maybe, like he wants to even the playing field now that you’ve confessed something so private. Funny how this isn’t the first time this has happened to you with regards to him.

“What?”

“That night. At Tin Roof.” The second time we met.

“I know you did. You were inside me.”

JT smiles at your snark, a spark glinting in his eye as if he’s replaying the memory in his head. “No, I mean… I suggested that bar to the guys because I knew you were there.”

“What are you talking about?”

He clears his throat. “After we met—the first time—I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to find you. I kept waiting to get a tagged photo from you, but never did, so… I started combing through my followers.”

Your eyebrows raise, heart swelling at the idea of making such an impact on him that he’d go through such an effort to find you. 

“It took me awhile, but I finally found you,” he continues. “Imagine my disappointment when you were private.”

You hum, waiting with baited breath to hear the rest of his story. The memory of posting the photo of you and him comes to mind, his hand placement just visible on your side that gives you butterflies to this day, despite him having touched you far more intimately since then.

“I’d check back once in awhile whenever you crossed my mind. Still, private. I even made a habit of checking my DM’s in case you decided to message me after we won the Cup.”

“Hard to get,” you tease with a smile. “Gotta keep you on your toes.”

His eyes glint again, acknowledging your quip—because you sure fucking have kept him on his toes. “And then I got a call from Steve Yzerman.”

The breath in your lungs stands still.

“We talked—and I loved what he had to say, don’t get me wrong; Detroit really had been on my radar for awhile—but after I hung up the phone, I went to check your page. Figured it couldn’t hurt. And you weren’t private anymore. And, by all accounts, you appeared to be single.”

You’re doing your best to keep your jaw from resting on the floor, absorbing his candid confession with no shortage of disbelief. Part of you wonders if this is a long, elaborate play to tease you for how you lusted after him.

“Saw the picture of us,” he adds. “And the caption, too.”

A grin breaks out onto your face at his reference. It had been funny at the time, so far-fetched, unthinkable that the contrast between then and now hits you in the chest. Call me JT xoxo, it had said.

“Thought you said I wasn’t the reason you signed.”

“You were… encouraging,” he says with a smirk. You don’t miss the way his eyes dart down to your body. You don’t expect he meant for you to miss it.

As tempted as you are to take that concupiscent gaze and use it to quell the heat that’s simmering between your legs, you can’t resist probing just a little more to see what else you can glean out of him. “So… the bar?” 

“Oh, right,” he blinks, like he forgot he was telling a story; you can practically see the dirty images conjured in his eyes as they float away. “Pretty straightforward, really—before we went out that night, I checked your story, on a whim. You tagged the bar.”

“Joseph Taylor Compher, were you stalking me?”

For the first time, a tinge colors the pretty ivory of his cheeks and his expression turns… bashful? “Does it count as stalking if it’s on your public page?”

“I’m sure the police might have something different to say,” you shoot back with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s only if I harassed you,” JT says. “And I’m pretty confident I did quite the opposite of that.”

He nudges your knee playfully, and you roll your eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you blew my mind, whatever, whatever.”

“You blew mine too, baby,” he adds, the tinge of huskiness in his voice undeniable. “But you knew that.”

And later, after he’s thoroughly appreciated your travel efforts to Denver, when your cheek is pressed against the warm skin on his chest, you whisper, “I can’t believe you were playing 4D chess this entire time.”

“What can I say? I’m a mastermind.”

[mister-e-muss]

Time for another back log report. Here’s the games I beat in Spooky Month 2024!

Bayonetta-

Platinum games is known for making high-quality action games with both style and challenge. And if there’s anything Bayonetta has, it’s style. The combat is fun and smooth, and the soundtrack is amazing. I will say though that some of the plot could have been expanded a bit. While the Cereza/Bayonetta twist is easy enough to spot, the ramifications of it in the final act come almost out of nowhere: not because it doesn’t make a certain amount of sense, but because there really isn’t enough clear explanation of how it works. That said, I need the rest of this series injected into my veins posthaste.

Shin Megami Tensei V (Chaos Route)-

I wonder if you can spot a pattern yet. :P.

I hate for Vanilla SMT5 to become the Xenoblade X of its series, but a lot of the same sentiments do apply. Namely, that I give this game credit for everything except the story. It’s not that the story is bad, it’s that it’s absent almost entirely. For the first area, you’re given just enough to grasp the premise, which works because of how mysterious and isolated the game makes you feel. The second major arc even works well because it quickly establishes that you cannot return to normalcy. It wasn’t until I reached the end of the third area that I thought ‘Huh, I’m three quarters of the way through this game. I feel like maybe more should have happened by now.” And then the finale just kicks off with little to no fanfare or frills. A lot of people will say that side content provides a more full picture, and as a Xenoblade X fan, I’d be okay with that, but even that mostly just tells you about the demons’ personalities, which you already see plenty of. The Khonsu quest line is engaging, but why was it a side quest? Why was Miyazu’s entire character just to be motivation for Atsuta (that isn’t even mentioned past area 2 mind you) and then motivation for Khonsu in a side quest?

On a different criticism, I’m not wild about how strict the level-scaling is. I get that it incentivizes doing the side quests and exploring for more experience, but it also brings the pacing to a screeching halt, especially when you’ve already found the end-of-area bosses. The Ueno area in particular is guilty of this because while it’s cool to have three bosses you can tackle in any order, it’s less cool when you have to grind to take on even one of them, when previous games could let you just respec and still have a fighting chance.

The music, however, is something I can praise without reservation. Special mention goes to Ueno and the End Credits theme. It’s not as overall foreboding and atmospheric as IV’s, but I’d rate them pretty similarly. V’s soundtrack has a lot of fun dissonance and mismatch, which creates this feeling of chaos in its world and gameplay.

The exploration is also excellent, with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore, and rewards that more often than not, felt worthwhile. I’d like to highlight the Miman as an example of a checklist done right. Sure you could scour the map for each and every one, but your not required to. Even finding all 200 Miman wouldn’t give you enough points to max out your character. For that matter, you are only told the total amount overall. On a first run through, you would have no idea how many areas and MPSM (Miman Per Square Millimeter) there are. There’s an NPC you can pay to make their locations known on the map but, and this is crucial, you only run across them near the end of an area, after you’ve probably already collected a fair amount.

In summary, I enjoyed this game. I am glad, however, that Vengeance exists, and will probably be using that for any subsequent runs.

Final Fantasy VIII-

This is one of the more divisive entries in the series. The narrative that surrounded this game for a while was that they followed up the best game of all time with the worst game ever. Thankfully, as with X and XIII, people have long since reevaluated that stance. As for myself, I enjoyed my time with it, but I can’t say it ever stole my heart.

Final Fantasy VIII truly is its own worst enemy at times. I like a fair amount of the ideas in this game. It has good ideas. It has too many good ideas. It has too many good ideas that work against each other. For example: The enemies level up alongside of you, forcing you to look more seriously at the junction system. Fair enough, but why then is the character who gets the last hit in rewarded with more experience? It created this frustrating state for me where my party physically couldn’t be over-leveled, but every character not named Squall Leonheart was under-leveled.

The story, I won’t lie, is messy. Part of it is because not much is really explained at first. I appreciate the fact that the characters don’t talk about stuff they already know, but a place to read just what the Sorceress War was would have been appreciated. Hell, they have a library, and they already had a console to learn about the GF’s, why not expand one or the other? I will give credit for the use of amnesia: mainly that all of the characters who have amnesia don’t remember that they have amnesia. There’s also a particular brand of crazy stamped on this game; one where gun-swords can be standard issue, space ships are built to look like dragons, and the enemy army board ships by making Evel Knievel motorcycle jumps.

I’m not entirely sure where I would rank 8 among the final fantasy games I’ve finished. Maybe I should play it again, just to be sure. :)

Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney (As part of the trilogy)-

The more I play the Ace Attorney games, the more I understand how much people love them. As one post put it, being able to dramatically call out people on their BS in such a way that they break down appeals to people.

The only criticism I can truly level at this game is how they handle the new ‘Perceive’ mechanic. I don’t know if it was easier in the DS version, but the extreme close ups make it very difficult to see what your meant to spot unless you already know where to look.

[mooseyspooky]

Why do you think Morrissey has been acting like this lately? Is it because Marr turn down a reunion? I don't think he only wanted the reunion for the money. I also feel like Morrissey feels irrelevant and forgotten and thought that maybe a reunion might give a new life to his career

Darren asked me about this yesterday, and I wrote a whole essay about it. I think just copying it here will be a good answer to this.

Darren: How are we feeling about the moz and Johnny news

Me: Pretty indifferent. Same shit another day. I mean they survived the court case and banged all the way through the early to mid 2000s to 2009

Moz having a tantrum is nothing new

I was very sad to hear Johnny said no to a reunion

But it's not like I don't get it

Andy passed last year

Johnny wanted Moz back in 2008 and Moz ghosted him after promising he was totally on board

Moz didn't show up for the 2006 fundraiser concert for Andy's dad's cancer

Which is pretty ruthless

Moz clearly hasnt opened a single email Johnny sent him since 2018 when Johnny filed the trademark and tried to get him to cosign

Which is insane because Johnny did it specifically to stop Mike Joyce (the Classically Smiths venture that he tried roping Andy into, though Andy backed out at the last minute. Some say because of his cancer, but I'm sure Johnny being so pissed off about it he got lawyers involved was also a part of it)

Which is literally something Moz should be gagging to do at all times 24/7

And meanwhile nothing

And then Johnny continued to try, even sending the paperwork again this year in January and nothing

So i mean why would Johnny want a reunion

Moz wants it to happen a year after Andy is buried, it's too late

Does it hurt I don't get to see them together on stage ever, yes, but I'm not like

Demented

If I was Johnny I'd be so fucking tired

Like beyond exhausted

Sharing a stage with him?

Putting up with him on tour?

Moz canceled over 50% of shows last year

No explanation, sometimes on the _day of_

Just wouldn't do them

I mean Johnny won't cancel a show if his grandma dies

Moz just

Cancels cause it's a slightly breezy day out and that offends him

Yes I love Moz, I am his ride or die, I will go to my grave obsessed with him and everything about him

But I am aware and understanding he is extremely fickle and can be very stupid

This is all happened, literally all of it, cause Johnny made very light fun of him on Twitter

Like barely a joke

Johnny saw some popular girl on Twitter who is a super fan

Saw she mentioned a reunion

Didn't tag him

And Johnny posted a picture of a far right dude in England that Moz protested the treatment of in prison one time like- i don't know. 7 years ago

They put the guy in a prison where he was at high risk, and Moz made a slight offhanded comment saying it was cruel

So now here we are, with Johnny posting a picture of a guy

To a Smiths super fan

Who didn't tag him

Who mentioned a reunion

Because she saw Oasis get back together

And Moz got _so upset_

He decided to throw an absolute shit fit

And now Johnny has to be like literally can you calm down

And in some ways I understand both sides

Moz just

His sort of...recurring thing

Is that he really really hates when Johnny won't stick up for him

Or when Johnny is quiet when people are dog piling on him

Johnny did that a lot in the 90s

During the NME smear campaign, for instance, and the court case

And it really broke Moz up

Like, and I can imagine it did hurt

To be so close and so in love and meanwhile Johnny won't do anything. Just sit there and refuse to say anything

That's probably heartbreaking

Especially with Moz being so. Like. Blindly in belief that Johnny is forever innocent, forever perfect ("the always innocent young cabin boy")

There is no flaw

But Johnny is a human being, too, who has a lot going on

And to then see Johnny, here in 2024, once again. After 30 years not stand up for him

But instead making teasing posts on Twitter

Even if they're not cruel

I could see it causing Moz to have a meltdown

Should he be? At 65? No. He should be over it

But he's not

He still wants Johnny to love him, to defend him

And so yes he did have a total split from sanity for a bit but at the end of the day. I think the underlining thing is is that it stems from Moz being so deeply infatuated with his first love that he can't stand even the slightest notion Johnny isn't still as infatuated with him

Johnny was able to move on, to continue to keep his marriage, he was able to maintain friendships and have a lot of normal stuff that Moz couldn't because autism

Undiagnosed unrecognized autism but all the same

Moz is still, in his mind, deeply entrenched in the belief that Johnny is perfect and slight diversions from that cause major malfunctions

Moz clearly doesn't give a shit about the trademark thing. He's ignored it since 2018. Moz has talked about loathing albums being repackaged (Paint a Vulgar Picture), so clearly the greatest hits thing doesn't really bother him

Moz wanting a reunion, sure. Okay. Maybe that stung but my god he had to expect it

So what does Moz care about?

Johnny

That's it. Period.

He wants Johnny to love him and be obsessed with him forever, and that's the long and the short of it so.

[agentnico]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) review

Watched the first Beetlejuice only last week and wasn’t a fan. So why did I go see the second one? Good question.

Plot: Three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life soon gets turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter discovers a mysterious portal to the afterlife. When someone says Beetlejuice's name three times, the mischievous demon gleefully returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

It’s been a while since Tim Burton has been himself. Granted he did get some points for his Netflix Wednesday show, but on the movie front he hasn’t really truly exhibited his unique style since maybe Dark Shadows, and even then that wasn’t his high point. With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Burton is able to step back into his wacky weird self, and again even though I am not a major fan of the original, there was something truly special about sitting in the cinema watching an actual Tim Burton movie. A mix of nostalgia and sentimentality for sure, but the movie genuinely FEELS like a Burton production. From the practical effects to the unearthly and grotesque make-up and visuals, and add to that Danny Elfman returning for the music score, it felt like I was back in the early 2000s. Visually this movie was great to look at, with the costumes and the monsters and the ghosts, and also the soundtrack is truly killer, playing out like an 80s jukebox.

As for the narrative, the first film suffered from a lack of a cohesive plot. Things just sort of happened randomly. This sequel does the opposite - there are too many storylines. So much so that there are multiple characters that, if you simply pluck them out of the movie, would make no major impact or difference to the overall picture. Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe, though both class actors, did not need to be in this movie. They served zero purpose. There is also a romantic side-plot between Jenna Ortega and Arthur Conti, and 90% of that story was one of the dullest aspects of the whole movie. It felt like such a cliched teen romance knock off which I did not care for. Then the main plot line involving the three generations of the Deetz family reconnecting was the most interesting one, and in reality should have been the sole focus of the movie.

Michael Keaton is back as Beetlejuice and it’s actually incredible how even though it’s been 36 years since the original, his performance hasn’t changed at all. It’s as if he played the character yesterday - he drops right back into it and is enjoyably over-the-top and hilarious. Catherine O’Hara is also an MVP, as since the original she has evidently built up her confidence by being on Schitt’s Creek, and so here is such a loud and bombastic comedic presence. She was fantastic. Winona Ryder was fun to see back, though I do think her character lost the sassy spark she had when she was the gothic teen in the first film. As for Jenna Ortega, she was fine. She feels a bit overexposed to me in recent years, with the sense that her presence is unavoidable wherever you look. I would love to see her take on a more challenging role that presents a drastically different performance from what she usually does, to justify the hype.

I don’t see myself ever wanting to rewatch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice again, but as a one-time watch in the cinema it won me over with its nostalgia and style. There’s good laughs, plenty of detachable limbs, good performances, and an ace soundtrack. A great way to spend time at the movies! Also watch out for that Dune reference!

Overall score: 6/10

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2006 - Number 16 - Silvia Night - "Congratulations"

It is time.

Possibly the most booed act at Eurovision until 2024. Almost certainly the most chutzpah ever seen on a Eurovision stage - only Polina Gagarina comes close. Silvia Night/Silvía Nótt is here to save us all. Where to even begin with this?

Starting with who she is - Silvia is actress, singer and comedian Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir. Silvia was a comedy character she played on the show Sjáumst með Silvíu Nótt (The Silvia Night Show). She was a TV interviewer who outraged people by acting offensively when doing her job, insulting interviewees, using slang and acting in a way some have described as vulgar. Effectively she is the female, Icelandic, waspishly insulting Ali G.

Entering Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006 was a continuation of her act. It was also part of a broad trend towards countries not only parodying Eurovision itself (much to the annoyance of the fans), but also entering songs that appeal directly to their home country only, just like We Are the Winners. Acts you needed to be in on the joke for. The Icelandic version of the song is called Til hamingju Ísland - Congratulations Iceland and the lyrics are considerably different.

The chorus is

Til hamingju Ísland með að ég fæddist hér Ég er Silvía Nótt og þið haldið með mér Eurovision nation fær sko flog er ég kem Ég er fædd til að vinna þetta… tremma í hel

or

Congratulations Iceland for being born here I am Silvía Nótt and you are with me Eurovision nation will have a seizure when I come I was born to win this… damn it

She wasn't wrong.

Silvia was determined to be as offensive as possible at Eurovision. Not only did she insult other contestants, the event staff and fans, but the English translation originally had the line

The vote is in, I'll fucking win

which caused complaints and the EBU to insist that it was changed. Silvia's response was

I'll fucking say what I fucking like

She still changed it though. In 2024, her behaviour would have easily been enough to have got her disqualified.

The song was written by Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson who had previously written both of Selma's Eurovision entries. It's a simple Europop singalong thing that is being deliberate sung in a thick accent and relatively poorly. It's high camp (despite being 'not too gay') and without the offensiveness of the character is a contender for most Eurovision-y Eurovision song ever written.

The staging is incredible and almost always overlooked amidst the controversy. There are props Silvia has to interact with including a slide, and two 'showers' from one of which she has to catch a falling phone receiver. There's the paper screens her dancers burst through. There's the costume change. There's the choreography. It's the most complex staging in Eurovision history to this point by far and once again it's Iceland pushing the boundaries of what's possible on stage.

And of course it's all in character - not only the stage performance, but the entire Eurovision week was Ágústa acting her socks off and all to achieve thirteenth place in the semi-final having landslided the televote at Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006. At the time, most Eurovision fans were ecstatic that she hadn't made it and some of that still lingers today. Yet, Silvia Night and Congratulations were a massive dose of self-awareness that Eurovision needed to grow and to address the bad feelings that were lurking underneath the show in many of its constituent countries.

Earlier in 2006 Silvia Night had been voted Iceland's sexiest woman. Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir came fourth in the same poll. The character was semi-retired after Eurovision, but Ágústa continued with much success in TV and in music. Safe to say she's still a big name in Iceland. She's performed many times, and is also (of course) the voice of many Disney films in Iceland.

In fact she's Elsa from Frozen. Here is Ágústa singing Let it Go in Icelandic to a bunch of rat puppets which I think only Icelanders can possibly explain.