#Amy plays a tales game

[viraexplode]

˓˓🍓˒˒╰≫ "imagine being in a rare fandom."

"Without filters and stuff" :

[hrrtshape]

THE ROLES IN MY FAME DR

before i start, a foreword; my fame dr's roles are very much "oh...she wants that cookie(acting excellence)." very much overpowered.

⋆  2002: PONETTE as ponette – a tender and heart-wrenching role as a four-year-old girl grappling with the devastating loss of her mother. she holds on to the fragile hope that her mother might miraculously return.

⋆  2006: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE as olive – a quirky, lovable underdog bursting with childlike optimism and dreams of winning a beauty pageant, despite her family's chaotic road trip.

⋆  2007: LÉON: THE PROFESSIONAL as mathilda – a street-smart and fiercely determined young girl navigating loss and revenge while forming an unlikely bond with a professional hitman.

⋆  2008: ATONEMENT as briony tallis – precocious and imaginative young writer whose misinterpretations and choices create tragic consequences that echo throughout her life.

⋆  2009: TRUE GRIT as mattie ross – fearless and headstrong teenager bent on avenging her father’s death, driven by her sharp wit and unyielding resolve.

⋆  2011: LOLITA as lolita/dolores haze – a beguiling and precocious girl cloaked in innocence but steeped in rebellion, a mix of youthful charm and intoxicating danger.

⋆  2012: MOONRISE KINGDOM as suzy – a whimsical and mysterious young girl embarking on an adventurous and heartfelt runaway journey with her first love.

⋆  2013: BLACK SWAN as nina sayers – a driven and fragile ballerina unraveling under the intense pressures of perfection, teetering on the edge of madness and obsession.

⋆  2014: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL as agatha – a kind-hearted and resourceful young baker, whose quiet courage plays a pivotal role in an eccentric heist and love story.

⋆  2015: CINDERELLA as cinderella – a girl strong-willed girl with enormous faith that she'll finally be able to live out her dreams.

⋆  2017: LADY BIRD as christine/lady bird – a fiercely independent and ambitious high school senior wrestling with her small-town upbringing, family tensions, and big-city dreams.

⋆  2019: ROMEO AND JULIET (directed by sofia coppola) as juliet – the luminous, romantic heroine in a tragic love story of passion, rebellion, and youthful defiance.

⋆  2019: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD as sharon tate – an enchanting actress and rising star, embodying the golden glow of hollywood’s bygone era with grace and optimism.

⋆  2019: LITTLE WOMEN as amy march – a spirited and ambitious young woman chasing her artistic dreams and navigating love with unapologetic confidence.

⋆  2019: STRANGE COLOURS as naste – a struggling musician in 1980s NYC, whose pursuit of success leads her to morally complex decisions in a crime and punishment-inspired tale.

⋆  2020: THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT as beth harmon – a brilliant yet troubled chess prodigy navigating personal demons, ambition, and addiction while conquering a male-dominated world.

⋆  2021: THE FRENCH DISPATCH as juliette – a lively and enigmatic character in a whimsical anthology capturing the spirit of journalism and artistic eccentricity.

⋆  2021: PROFIL PERDU as josée – a woman caught in a crumbling marriage, drawn into a web of intrigue and liberation when a wealthy magnate offers her a new life filled with possibilities.

⋆  2022: X as maxine – a daring and ambitious young woman pursuing fame in the adult film industry while navigating fear and survival in a horror setting.

⋆  2022: PEARL as pearl – a dreamer turned unhinged by isolation and frustration, whose violent tendencies emerge as her craving for stardom spirals into tragedy.

⋆  2023: POOR THINGS as bella baxter – a curious and eccentric woman reborn into a surreal world, exploring life with uninhibited wonder and self-discovery.

⋆  2023: HUNGER GAMES: BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES as livia cardew – a capitol elite and symbol of privilege, showcasing the decadence and oblivion of her class in a world on the brink of rebellion.

⋆  2024: MAXXXINE as maxine – a raw and determined character fighting to make her mark in a world that feeds on fame, continuing her saga in the x-pearl trilogy.

⋆  2025: FRANKENSTEIN as the bride – a haunting and tragic figure, torn due to her her husband's newest project

[itz-ps15]

TFRB/TFRBA Headcanons

These are my AU, so don’t take them seriously. And these are my Headcanons!

Blades loves Anime, specifically MHA(My Hero Academia)

Hotshot is good with dates, physics,geometry,and also BODMAS.

Hoist is an animal and nature lover.

Boulder is the tallest in human form.

Whirl loves doing gymnastics.

Blades is the shortest in human form.

The Bots and Recruits have special necklaces and earrings with Energon crystals so they can turn human.

Heatwave and Quickshadow are together(married)sparkmates.

Wedge loves to tease Hotshot.

Chase is the fastest, and loves writing poems and stories.

Bumblebee is Blades’ best friend, and sees him as a brother.

Medix and Ratchet are related. Medix is Ratchet’s nephew.

Heatwave and Hotshot see each other as father and son. In fact, Heatwave adopted Hotshot. 

Blurr is now a mentor at the academy, and his student is Snowflake(MY TFRBA oc)

Salvage makes new inventions with Frankie,Hoist and Doc Greene.

Medix is more mature and tries to go with the flow. But he does have autism and OCD. But he’s even funnier.

Hoist and Grimlock are buddies now.

Boulder is good with haircuts,he actually cut Blades’ hair for the first time.

Wedge tries to be tough,but he’s a big softie.

Chase is more funny, and he would sometimes let the recruits take breaks.

Blades adopts a human girl named Meg after he and the team had saved her from bad foster care. He also adopted a young female baby Autobot named Arix.

The Rescue Bots and Recruits love playing games like Roblox, Minecraft and Gartic Phone.

Hotshot and Whirl both have ADHD.

Medix may have developed love interest for Snowflake.

Blades is married to his soulmate and teammate,Windblade!

Blades has agrophobia and is timid most of the time.

Blurr goes through depression and sometimes isn’t sure if he was meant to be a Rescue Bot.

Whirl sees Chase as not only her idol, but as her dad and protector.

Cody would sometimes tell stories to the rescue bots.

Dani and Taylor started dating. 

Chase is autistic.

Salvage is the second tallest in human form.

Quickshadow is the second shortest in human form.

Quickshadow loves spy movies and mystery films.

Blurr sings and writes his own songs and Salvage has known for a long time.

Heatwave enjoys watching rom-coms with Quickshadow.

In the future, Cody and Frankie get married.

Whirl and Hoist have feelings for each other.

There are tales about the Griffin Rock mermaid, and it’s real.

Sirena is the mermaid of Griffin Rock.

Dr Morocco once mind controlled Blades with a micro-chip to kill all the Rescue Bots and Recruits at the academy.

Heatwave and Blades are the only Rescue Bots married so far.

Hoist can be clumsy at times with inventions.

Medix not only likes bats and dogs, but he’s a big softie for cats.

Heatwave can have a big soft spot for babies.

Boulder likes watching earth romance movies.

The Burns family have necklaces with a bit of Energon crystals to have connections with the bots.

Blades once got near some sort of flower, it was actually a bush daisy, and he had an allergic reaction to them.

Hoist is allergic to pollen and peanuts.

Whirl loves watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Chase.(has to do with cops)

Chief Burns was Doc Greene’s best man in his wedding with Professor Ana Baranova.

Hotshot isn’t good at trying to not to laugh challenges.

Cody wants to be like his dad(Chief Burns), a police officer like him.

Snowflake(my RBA OC) is the shortest of the group, yet tries to be agile. But she’s more on the gentle and sweet caring side of her.

Hotshot hugged Heatwave hard when there was an alligator or a crocodile near the academy. Hotshot is scared of big reptiles.

Wedge is still afraid of heights. He developed acrophobia(fear of heights), just like Blades.

Bumblebee knows sign language.

Hotshot is going through a bit of depression, and also tries to not feel sad when he thinks about his real parents and what happened to them.

Graham finally shared his feelings with Amy, and now they’re dating.

Hope you all like these. For @asmoteeth @komicantspellanything @cayennesugar @cynthiadasorceress @sabiraclouds

[anarchic-miscellany]

Reading "One Piece" for the first time: Part 10 Alright, sorry for the delay. I was at a concert and getting engaged. This week our "heroes" make some progress at this "Grand Line" place. The towering monsters rising from the ocean are actually pretty cool, but the goofy googly eyes make it look like a child has gotten into a bag of googly eyes and their sibling's toybox. It's a bold art style. One of the morons calls out "let's fight it" when a whale blocks their path, but we don't see who. Place your bets now! It's not going to be Meme in Progress, he's off the hook. Honestly, this whole gang reads like a bunch of 10 year olds playing a tabletop roleplaying game. Wait, they have a cannon? Who gave them a cannon, where did you find that, Idiot? Put that down! In a classic of the "pirate fairy tale genre": they get swallowed by a whale! Huzzah! I am actually hoping for stuff like this: whimsy and charm and weird little quirky bits, battling to flee the belly of a beast. They meet an old man, and The Himbo immediately wishes to kill him when he gives his star sign and blood type: honestly, same buddy. This is the first time that the Himbo has been relatable. I wish we spent more time in the whale, this was a fun side plot and tangent, and of all of the ways to deliver lunacy of the exposition (magnetic fields on every island essentially mean that they have to do side quests on every island: I honestly respect that. At least there are rules) this is among the least boring. The story of the whale is cute, and the Idiot punches it in the face to stop it from giving itself depression headaches. A cute, in character way to end it: making it promise to kick his ass next time he comes back this way. Netural thoughts on this Croup and Vandemar double act of "9 and Wednesday", but also not disliking them either, which is a good sign. There are far worse Mihawks, I mean characters.

So we sail off into the snow: my one complaint here is that it's genuinely a fucking dick move to smash Meme in Progress' snow lady here, Idiot. Like, why? Are you a psychotic 4 year old? I just answered my own question here. The Cartographer with a Brain Cell is leading them with her compass game, but I hope that they don't just make her the "token straight woman" to the wackiness of the gang. Even Jules got to be insane in "Psych" and Amy Santiago was hilarious in "Brooklyn Nine Nine". They pull up at cactus island (I find the art here appealing, and appreciate the contrast between winter weather and a desert island of cactii) and are welcomed by clearly evil Mayor and his drunken townsfolk. Naturally the Idiot, The Giga Chad and the Meme in Progress run off to enjoy them, and Cartographer with a Brain Cell (unsurprisingly) stays behind cautiously. The big surprise is that the Himbo stays back as well. Presumably because he cannot find a thing to murder yet, or cannot find a sword to fight.

[disneytva]

Big City Greens Plants Season 4 Premiere For September 23 on Disney Channel + Guest Cast List

Bingo Bango! Disney Branded Television has set primetime premieres for Big City Greens Season 4 slated to debut Saturday September 23 at 8:00PM EST only on Disney Channel and streaming October 25 only on Disney+.

The episodes airing on September 23 – 'Truck Stopped / Jingled' – have "Tilly and Cricket wrestle with indecision at a truck stop between Big City and the country" in the former, while the latter sees Tilly becoming a Big City jingle writer and rising through the ranks. In addition to premiering on Disney Channel, episodes will also be added to Disney Plus on October 25, 2023.

Guest Stars on Season 4 include musican Michael Bolton as Rick Razzle on Jingled where Tilly wants to become a Big City jingle writer and rising through the ranks. Other guest stars for Season Four include June Diane Raphael (Marvel "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur"), Tom Green ("The Tom Green Show"),NHL player Brad Marchand,Margo Martindale (Sony Pictures "Cocaine Bear"),podcaster Justin McElroy, Tim Meadows (ABC Network "The Goldbergs"), Dean Norris (AMC "Breaking Bad", "Better Call Saul"), Comedian Ms. Pat, Amy Seradis (Netflix "Bojack Horseman", Lucasfilm "The Mandalorian") and comedian Trevor Wallace.

Since it's debut on 2018, Big City Greens has been one of Disney Television Animation recent hits with multiple shorts, a NHL game -themed broadcast special in collaboration with ESPN and a animated feature film based on the series is on production slated for a 2024 release, the series spawned a new legacy of Disney TVA creators like Natasha Kline with chicano lead-driven animated comedy series "Primos" slated for 2024 and more animated shows on development for Disney Channel by Big City Greens Alumnis. (Cheyenne Curtis,Monica Ray, Amy Hudkins,Raj Bruggemann and Houghton Brothers mentor C.H Greenblatt) who will be getting series orders in the coming months.

The new season will include the show's 100th episode, which is a major landmark for any animated series, but especially for a Disney Channel series with few ever making it quite that far. "Season four is pure insanity," says Chris Houghton, Big City Greens co-creator and executive producer. "Tilly becomes a commercial jingle-writer, Cricket tries stand-up comedy, Bill loses his mind like six times, and Gramma dabbles in minimalism. The fact that we have such a fun arena to play in when it comes to these characters is not lost on us or our crew. Even though we’ve told so many stories with these characters, this season feels fresher than ever." "There are some very funny and silly episodes in this season," adds Shane, "like 'Handshaken' where country folks act like western gunslingers, but assert their power through firm handshakes. There are also a few emotional episodes that reach out and give your heart a good squeeze – 'Family Tree' is one that makes me tear up every time I watch a cut of it. And biggest of all, Chip Whistler is back! This season may have more action, adventure, and thrills than any previous season! And here's a couple rapid-fire teases you’ll see in season four: Gloria hires a new café employee, Vasquez goes to therapy, and the kids meet a long lost family member."

Additionaly Big City Greens will continue with new shorts trought the Disney TVA multi-platform division trought Chibi Tiny Tales, Broken Karaoke,Theme Song Takeover, How NOT To Draw & Random Rings.

Big City Greens characters will continue to host on the Disney Television Animation's crossover compilation series "Chibiverse" as it's second season is slated to debut Saturday September 23.

[familyabolisher]

Could you expand on your thoughts on Amy Parker's Kingdom by the Sea?

The cruelest part is its introduction. Did you realize [Nabokov] killed her off? I didn’t. Who reads an introduction? But it is true. Right away, without ceremony, he undoes her. He anticipates any attempts on the part of her readers to help her, to free her, to resist the text by imagining her beyond its borders, by allowing her, perhaps, an adulthood. He withholds this—the great gift of any fiction—the margin beyond which characters may persist. Before we ever meet her, he nails her down in her coffin. The book is her tomb—she’s walled up in it. He knew what he was doing; he was no fool. He bricks her up with offhanded casualness in the masonry of the book. The only life she is allowed is the life he gives her. Dolly Hayes tries and tries to break through, she is a scintilla in the book, a bright rebellious flicker in the margins. But he is so tightfisted, so malicious—that he will not allow her to draw a single breath in another person’s imagination, let alone her own. I could almost forgive him, I could almost believe those moments when his narrator’s conscience pricks—his beautiful ironies of perspective; in the mournful and sharp fragments of her truth which he allows to break through—if he had only let her to live.

[...]

But nothing can make Dolores die—if death means hold still, if death means that which settles you, that which chloroforms you and pins you like a butterfly to a bit of paper—my little Lo-lepidoptera has more metamorphoses for you. Go ahead. Keep writing Dolores into HHis bed, into her grave. Mock her, love her, murder her, knock her down or knock her up. Lie about her. Dolores will not die. You can’t fix our Dolores with death. You can’t prevent her escape. So play your games. Turn her rape into an origami shape a reader can fold and refold obsessively, or make of her tale a Mobius strip, where Dolores is on both sides and neither. Go on, wax acrobatic, let people peep through the cracks in your voice and play out your end game.

We, her daughters, her granddaughters, her sisters and aunts, we will send Dolores back into the alphabet. She will not die. Unpack her name. Put it through its paces like Proteus. Dolores will find a door, she will always find a door. It is hidden—did you not see it—it is hidden in her name.

^ i don't think this is fair on nabokov and i think this desire to rescue dolores from the narrative and imagine her outside of it or whatever is fundamentally at odds with a coherent engagement with the book -- the attempted totality of humbert's narrative vs the moments where dolores can 'break through,' so to speak, is stronger for that scarcity -- like sorry but i think dolores dying is one of the strongest choices made in the book lmao. i can see what it does for people but personally i find the reluctance to confront dolores' death and account for it as a narratological device rather than a real thing that happened to a real person kind of silly.

[malinaa]

JULY SHORT STORIES WRAP-UP

well i’ve been getting back into reading individual short stories, so here’s a list of all of the ones i’ve been reading this month! they can all be found here as pdfs <3 all the ones marked with an * are my fav reads

ANT COLONY by ALISSA NUTTING — a woman hosts an ant colony in her body

THE VELDT by RAY BRADBURY — a mother, a father, two children, and their eerie automated home

NO IS YES by PAUL JENNINGS — a man teaches his daughter that yes is no, up is down etc. and her idea of language is tested when she meets another boy

THE PEDESTRIAN by RAY BRADBURY — in the near future, a man takes a walk and finds himself in a situation

THE SPECIALIST’S HAT by KELLY LINK — twins where one is better at playing dead than the other

THE OCTOBER GAME by RAY BRADBURY — a husband who hates his wife gets back at her

YOU'RE UGLY, TOO by LORRIE MOORE — local funny woman hates the midwest and goes back to the east coast to realize it’s also boring

THE HOUSE OF ASTERION* by JORGE LUIS BORGES — so basically you’re the minotaur and you live in a labyrinth and everything is fine until it isn’t

L’ESPRIT DE L’ESCALIER* by CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE — a type of modern orpheus and eurydice retelling but this doesn't end in the tragedy...or does it?

WE ATE THE CHILDREN LAST by YANN MARTEL — medical procedure turns to social experiment gone wrong

AT THE CLINIC by SALLY ROONEY — marianne and connell remember the events leading up to her visit to the dentist differently; alternatively, a microcosm of two people's relationship

I HAVE NO MOUTH, AND I MUST SCREAM by HARLAN ELLISON — ai wins and keeps five individuals alive for its own sick enjoyment

DIVISION BY ZERO by TED CHIANG — a wandering realization that, despite being similar, two people can be so distant, but with lots of math

FRESH WATER FROM THE SEA* by RAMONA AUSUBEL — a magical realist depiction of a daughter and her mother who’s slowly vanishing away

SHE UNNAMES THEM by URSULA K. LEGUIN — eve, of adam and eve biblical fame, unnames all the animals and then some

THE THIEF OF MEMORY by SUNYI DEAN — a hero with one duty, a desert that keeps taking, a storm that never ceases, and a villain that steals memory

HORROR STORY by CARMEN MARIA MACHADO — what’s worse? a haunted house or the relationship that’s crumbling inside of it

THE MOTHS by HELEN MARÍA VIRAMONTES — a granddaughter’s reflection of her family, but specifically her grandmother who died

THE PATH OF WATER* by EMMA TÖRZS — you’re in a fairy tale and you realize this and you try to unlock lost memories

HIGH DESERT by RAMONA AUSUBEL — a woman who lost both her daughter and husband to the sea moves to the desert but is still losing parts of herself

WARM BEDS by MÓNICA BUSTOS (trans. ANALÍA VILLAGRA) — three people share the same bed but never meet until the phantom presence of each other drives them to want to meet

IN THE CEMETERY WHERE AL JOLSON IS BURIED by AMY HEMPEL — an unnamed narrator visits her friend who’s dying

BONESOUP by EUGENIA TRIANTAFYLLOU — as the first line says, “you must eat the body part you want to grow stronger”

THE VERY PULSE OF THE MACHINE* by MICHAEL SWANWICK — a corpse at her back, her home base miles and miles ahead of her, an astronaut does everything to survive

TO EXHALE SKY by SHINGAI NJERI KAGUNDA — a queer speculative story about anticipated grief where the narrator has the ability to inhale and transform sorrow

XY by LUCY ZHANG — a woman with controlling parents finds their first attempt at a perfect daughter in the basement

AND YET by A.T. GREENBLATT — the haunted house of your childhood is a door into parallel universes

[heart-forge]

do you have beef with any if devs?

H'm I started answering this but I can't tell if it's bait or just curiosity so in case it's bait then the answer is yes and here are all the wonderful IF developers who can go kick rocks:

@extempore-the-game Amy makes Extempore and how rude of her to make me? Choose? She tries to make it up to me by letting me being a journalist who has operated as an undercover wrestler which has given me incredible fighting skill, but the damage has already been done 😔😔

@ataleofcrowns, Cherry who makes a Tale of Crowns and just makes the hell out of it. I usually avoid the charming rogue romances because they all feel very samey to me and then X came and hit me with a goddamn train, which wasn't very period-accurate where did they even get a train to hit and kill me with.

@fiddles-ifs, Fiddles who makes Greenwarden, and who can describe the inside of a human body so vividly that it makes you go 🤔🤔 wondering what he's seen. In addition, wrote me a Big LI for me to fall in love with, and I did. Hook line and sinker.

@llamagirl28, who writes The Bastard of Camelot and what can I say except that she has cruelly manipulated how much I like Arthurian legend and with a sniper's precision hit upon my love for cold ROs who you have to win over and done a super dynamic integration of NB identity in what might have come off as an idiosyncratic setting (if I was the type of person who cared about that kind of thing).

@maneki-mushi who made The Hero's Journey and is making Saint Ceri, both of which I love and also those here who may be below eighteen, one day you'll be old enough to play them but today is not this day !! Both are incredible and I loved playing through Hero's Journey for the exploration of memory and how interesting it is to be a player who actively does good things (or tries to) and yet remembers evil !! It's interesting and fun and I love my "evil" boyfriend and the one that was less of an asshole than I ended up being sdjkhfds.

@anya-dev I haven't seen her around lately but I still love Scout even if it only ever exists in its current state. Even in it's current state, Oliver has bewitched me, body and soul.

@moiraimyths who makes The Good People, which again strangleholds my love for period settings and especially my love of Seelie/Unseelie beef. As when I was young, I saw a hot guy on the Unseelie side and that was that 😔

@argentgames who make the Red Embrace games that. Literally when it launched it was all I could talk about, and it got me to play the game that everyone said was comparable, Vampire: the Masquerade....and I liked this one much better 😅😅

I've almost definitely forgetting many people but I've been neglecting my reading about hotties duties in favour of being a bloke who does fuck all, but uh, abruptly remembering the bit, yes I am....soooo.....angry at these authors.......forrr........making me feel a lot of things 😳🥺

[miloscat]

[Review] Sonic R (PS2)

Peak Saturn vibes.

I’ve now got much more Sonic experience under my belt. I’m thrilled that I can now have informed opinions about the series! But now it’s time to play some spinoffs from over the years that I’ve always meant to try out. First up is the franchise’s first racing game… that people really like (the Game Gear had the two Drift games but it doesn’t seem like they made much of an impact).

British studio Traveller’s Tales had proved themselves with the isometric game Sonic 3D Blast so Sega commissioned them for an original title for the Saturn. As it turned out this would be Sonic’s only full new game on the system as the highly anticipated 3D debut Xtreme never came to be, and the only other titles were a 3D Blast conversion, the Mega Drive compilation Sonic Jam, and a cameo in Christmas Nights. I played the version included in the Sonic Gems Collection on PS2, which is based on the enhanced PC port.

Sonic R is an unconventional racing game in that, while it still plays not unlike a standard kart racer, many of the characters are on foot, and the game includes platforming and exploration elements. While I’ve played other games that include some of these ingredients like Rayman Arena, Beetle Adventure Racing, and arguably Sonic Rivals, the mix is intoxicating here, helped by excellent track design and immaculate vibes.

Rather than multi-track cups, you just play each track on its own. Well, there's only five tracks total and one is unlockable (a consequence of a quick development turnaround) so it makes sense. You can go for first place but the more satisfying goal is learning all the side paths and shortcuts. These dense little environments, designed by Sonic Team, have depth to make up for their paucity, and finding their secrets (in the form of tokens and Chaos Emeralds) unlocks new racers and the final Rainbow Road-esque track which is more a victory lap to speed around with your overpowered unlocks. Rings scattered around can be paid to open doors or enhance your boosts, and item tokens can help a bit but there's nothing as unbalanced as your typical Mario Kart game.

The racers have an interesting amount of variance to their stats. For instance, Tails is slippery and nimble while the Egg Robo has much more inertia. Sonic double jumps, Knuckles can glide, Robotnik in his hoverpod can shoot homing projectiles (they're not very debilitating), while Amy uniquely drives a car(!) which funnily enough is relatively slow but gets a boost on cooldown. Along with Metal Sonic, R introduces new counterparts in the form of Metal Knuckles and the fan-favourite Tails Doll. I would have liked to see them go all-out with even more characters but it's a decent selection and acts as a pretty good send-off to the Classic era before the characters got redesigned in Adventure. These low-poly renditions are just adorable!

Another way of remixing the racetracks is a weather system that changes the lighting and conditions. It makes the inevitable replays that much fresher, and of course the smooth tunes will draw you in as well. Veteran composer Richard Jacques nails it with a catchy Eurobeat mix, each track accompanied wonderfully by vocals from TJ Davis. It's a transportive soundtrack that gives the game a singular feel; this is truly what video games were made for. I was shocked to learn that this game's music is considered divisive! It's great!

Anyway, I had a breeze with this one. I did turn the difficulty to easy so I could focus on the exploratory aspects without worrying too much about winning (you do need to place well to keep the emeralds and unlocks), and I have no shame. Sonic R is a lovely little treat. This is Sega at its best: experimental, collaborating with international partners, and with vibes off the charts. Also, the framerate is rock solid which I've learned is never a guarantee with Sonic games. I know that later British-developed Sonic racing games are also excellent, but in between I still need to investigate the Riders series of hoverboard racers. Until then!

[barricadescon]

Schedule for Barricades 2024, Saturday, July 13th

Good morning! It's time for the second day of Barricades 2024!

Saturday, June 13th

All times are in UTC, and can be converted to your local time zone at this link.

Key to types of Panels:

Convention Administration panels: Panels run by the Con Committee, to open and end the convention.

Guest of Honor: Special panels from our guests of honor. This year, our guests of honor are Jean Baptiste Hugo, a descendant of Victor Hugo who will discuss his project photograph his ancestor’s house; Christina Soontornvat, the author of the award-winning Les Mis retelling “A Wish in the Dark;” and Luciano Muriel, playwright of the 2018 musical play “Grantaire.” 

Fan/Academic Panel Presentations: Panels on history, fandom, or analysis of Les Mis. Scholars will share historical research, fans will share hobby projects, and the audience may get an opportunity to ask questions. 

Social Meetups: Casual unstructured time to meet up over video call and chat!

Social Games: Games and activities.

Guest of Honor: The Photography of Jean Baptiste Hugo

Saturday, 15:00-16:00 UTC

Session Type: Guest of Honor

Presented by: Jean Baptiste  Hugo

Recorded: yes

Jean Baptiste Hugo is the great-great-grandson of Victor Hugo. He has extensively photographed Hugo’s home in exile on Guernsey, which Victor Hugo decorated following his own aesthetic philosophies–in particular, the journey from darkness into light, which we see reflected throughout Hugo’s literary career. M. Hugo will share his photographs and discuss Hauteville House as a physical realization of his ancestor’s ideas.

Reflecting on Directing Les Mis

Saturday, 16:00-17:00 UTC

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Cait

Recorded: yes

In Cait’s words: “I directed an amateur production of Les Mis at the end of last year, and would love to talk about how that went and share snippets from the show and behind the scenes. This will include talking about adapting Les Mis for the space and budget, approaches to certain scenes, dual casting lead roles, and probably raving about my lovely cast.”

The Fallibility of History in Les Misérables 

Saturday, 16:00-17:00 UTC

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Syrup 

Recorded: yes

Throughout Les Misérables, Hugo often reminds readers that what they are reading is derived from some form of documentation or hearsay. While this serves to provide credibility to the tales he is sharing, there are certain moments where Hugo opts out of describing exact details, despite his efforts at a historically-accurate record. In this panel, I will take a look at these instances where Hugo either addresses or obfuscates these events, and how by doing so, he reveals the fallibility of history, and highlights how history documentations are not always as reliable as they seem. Thesis: By crafting Les Misérables as a form of historical documentation, Hugo reveals the fallibility of history, and readers are able to understand how history and history documentation are not always as reliable as they seem.

Break  

Saturday, 17:00-18:00 UTC

What Horizon: Tragedies, Time Loops, and the Hopefulness of Les Amis

Saturday, 18:00-18:30  UTC

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Percy

Recorded: yes

In Percy’s words: “I have directed a staged reading of the play and will have video clips to show! My play is focused on the rebellion and Les Amis; it aims to give the barricades the attention they often lack in adaptation and develop the individual characters of the insurgents. I’m working to make this episode of the Hugo novel and its historical context accessible to audience members who may not be familiar with the source material, while hopefully also bringing something new to the story for longtime fans.

One aspect of the story I’m particularly interested in examining is the persistent sense of hope associated with the barricades, despite the insurgents’ eventual defeat and the previous failure of the July Revolution. Linking the seemingly cyclical process of revolution and restoration, the metatheatrical tradition of tragedies aware of their own repetition in performance before the audience, and the nature of Les Misérables itself as a story that has been told and retold countless times, I hope to show the audience the worth of the insurgents’ struggle and the importance of their continued efforts. Many adaptations construe the rebellion as futile or as solely a tragic story, so I would like my adaptation to counter that idea, as Les Amis grapple with the meaning of their sacrifice and the impacts of their actions.

In a presentation, I would discuss these ideas with reference to Hugo’s original text and the ways in which the rebellion has been changed in adaptation, as well as other works that inspired me (namely Hadestown and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead). I’d discuss the choices I made in my adaptation process and show clips from the staged reading, touching on the different characters and the historical setting as well as the overarching themes with which I engaged.”

Cosette: A Novel, The (Fanmade) Sequel to Les Misérables

Saturday, 18:30-19:00 UTC

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: IMiserabili

Recorded: yes

This presentation is  a deep-dive into the 1995 fanfiction “Cosette” by Laura Kalpakian. It will include a short background on the author and the publication, a summary of the plot, an analysis of represented historical events in the work, character analyses and comparisons to the source material and other Les Mis adaptations, and memorable quotes. 

Musical Eponine and Grantaire in song and lyric edits: Personal research on their development

Saturday, 18:00-19:00 UTC

Session Type: Panel Presentation

Presented by: Ruth Kenyon

Recorded: yes

In Ruth’s words: “I’m an older musical Les Misérables fan who has watched the show develop from its beginnings at the Palace Theatre. I have a special interest in how the lyrics and the characters have changed over time. As plenty of people know now, I am also writing a book on the musical using these experiences. I’m working on Eponine’s chapter at the moment, and while I know fans have a lot of love for as she is now, I feel quite upset to see what happened to her as she was developed from the original French version of the musical. She seems to have lost quite a lot of emotional agency along the way. Grantaire has also changed over time; he was cut before the previews and there was a big re-write of his character when the show went to Broadway, but I really like what they have done with his character. I’ll provide examples of all this detail with material from my book and (trying) to sing bits of lyrics to explain what has happened to the characters.”

Barricades as a Tactic: How Do They Work?

Saturday, 19:00-20:00 UTC

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Lem

Recorded: No

This session will explore the tactical and strategic uses of barricades, with an eye towards what to consider when writing both canon-era fanfiction and modern AUs. After all, the strategic goals towards which the barricades were used in canon-era urban warfare were often quite different from the strategic goals of similar-looking tactics in contemporary protest movements. Core components of the session will be a map-based analysis of July 1830, a comparison with June 1832 highlighting strategic goals and considerations canon-era characters would have, and an exploration of various parallels among contemporary protest tactics (which may or may not *look* like barricades).

Meetup: Musical Fans

Saturday, 19:00-20:00 UTC

Session Type: Social Meetup

Presented by: Erin

Recorded: No

A casual place to meet up with other fans and discuss the musical!

Break

Saturday, 20:00-21:00 UTC

Why is There a Roller Coaster in Les Mis? The Strange History of the Russian Mountains

Saturday, 21:00-22:00 UTC

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Peyton Parker/Mellow

Recorded: Yes

In Les Miserables there is an actual canon scene where Fantine rides a roller coaster. How did a roller coaster end up in Paris in 1817? And why did this ride, one of the world's first wheeled Roller Coasters, make a cameo in Victor Hugo’s novel?

It’s “Les Mis Meets Defunctland.”

We’re going talk about the earliest origins of the Russian Mountains, the fascinating history behind how they came to France, their many connections to the political turmoil of the time period, what they felt like to ride, why they were shut down, how they fell into obscurity, and why Victor Hugo included them in Les Miserables. It’s time for a roller coaster digression.

Fanfic Round Robin

Saturday, 22:00-23:00 UTC

Session Type: Social Game

Presented by: Featheraly

Recorded: No

Participate in a round robin to help write a fic together!

Obscure(-ish) Les Mis Adaptations To Watch

Saturday, 23:00-23:30 UTC

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Pureanon

Recorded: Yes

Les Mis has been adapted many times over the years, and this means there’s a lot of adaptations to enjoy. Because of this, a lot of adaptations are underviewed or underappreciated. I’d like to use this panel to discuss some of my favorites/the most unique — 1925, 1948, 1967, and 1995. These are all very different, and aside from all being ones I enjoy, they’re fascinating looks at how different countries and different time periods adapt this story. 

The adaptations I’ve chosen are both some of the best and some of the worst out there, but they’re all unique. 1925 is one of the most faithful adaptations out there, and it uses the medium of silent film to full effect. 1948 has Valean get shot at multiple times in the opening minutes, and the revolutionaries fight with BARRELS in the barricade. 1967 is half one of the best Anglophone Les Mis adaptations ever, and half the drunkest. 1995 is more of an adaptation of how people react to Les Mis as a story than a straightforward adaptation, and it’s one of the most beautiful and unique versions out there. I intend to show a clip from each adaptation, so people can get a little taste of what each adaptation is like.

Recovery: a Fanfic Live Read

Saturday, 22:30-23:00

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Eli, Barri

Recorded: Yes

A full cast will live read a Les Mis fanfic written specifically for the con.

Compared to Some People Grantaire is Doing Just Fine (No, Really)

Saturday: 22:00-23:00

Session Type: Fan/Academic Panel Presentation

Presented by: Ellen Fremedon, Pilferingapples

Recorded: Yes

Grantaire and Marius are the two characters on the fringes of the Friends of the ABC, connected to the group by social ties rather than sincere political belief. In this panel, Pilf and Ellen will discuss the two characters as narrative foils, touching along the way on the problem with Great Men, bourgeois inaction, what it means to have the republic as a mother, and dying for love–plus those two pistols in Marius’s pocket.

Preliminary Gaities

23:00-24:00 UTC

Session Type: Social Game

Presented by: Rare, Percy, and ShitpostingFromTheBarricade

Recorded: No

Preliminary Gayeties is the chapter where Grantaire gets drunk with Joly and Bossuet before the barricades.  It is perfect for a drinking game. 

In keeping with personal tradition, Rare, Percy, and ShitpostingFromTheBarricade will bring you a second year of our dramatic reading of the “Preliminary Gayeties” chapter of the brick. all while following specified drinking game rules (including classics such as “drink for brick quotes that appear commonly in fanfiction,” “pretentious classical references,” and “drink/eat when characters drink/eat”), and enjoying snacks mentioned in the chapter as they are mentioned. Everyone is invited to participate by reading, eating, and drinking along with this activity!

[bearfoottruck]

THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS: AMY AND MARINETTE

I have to be honest about something: until recent years, I was not too fond of Amy Rose due to her obsessive pursuit of Sonic. However, having played a few Sonic games and watched a few Sonic shows starring her, I've grown to see the positives in her, and my opinion of her has gotten even better after getting into Shadamy.

As a matter of fact, I see parallels between Amy and another female leading character: Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Both of them have traits that I admire, especially the fact that they're some tough little cookies with plenty of courage to boot. That, and the two are extremely cute. Granted, neither of them are perfect, but no one is. Like Amy, I think Marinette would be better off with another guy, namely Luka Couffaine.

I don't know if anyone else sees it this way, but that's my take.

[fairytale-poll]

MOD'S CHOICE POLL

Mod's own propaganda under the cut:

Sasha as Red Riding Hood:

During submissions, I became so absolutely excited when I saw this pop up. I don't know who decided to submit it, but they unlocked some childhood memories for me. Back when I was a child, my family visited Pakistan (my parent's country of origin) for the entire summer. One day I, bored, asked for some movies to watched and my parents and uncle brought back some clearly bootlegged DVDs dubbed in Hindi/Urdu, and Bratz Kids Fairy Tales was one of them. I watched it so many times, you have no idea- I think that I might have wrecked the whole DVD with how much I watched it. (A similar thing happened later on when I obtained a clearly bootlegged copy of Bratz Fashion Pixie too but that's another, non-Red Riding Hood related story.) I wasn't surprised that it was eliminated right off the bat, but my childhood nostalgia dictated I put it here, or else I would be betraying the 7-year-old in me.

Shang, Tao, and Paotze:

Another childhood favorite of mine. This picture book has such beautiful art and I remember being very surprised by the story as a child. I found a PDF of it online to reread when the contest started and honestly it still holds up. The three sisters that are the Red Riding Hood in the story I feel are genuinely very clever. And for nothing else, look this one up solely for it's beautiful art which is just breath-taking whether you're a child or an adult!

Lamb:

Not going to lie I never played this game. My good friend who I adore submitted this to the poll and it immediately got eliminated and I just felt bad lol. But it does look cool & I trust their taste so I do think that this game is great. I want to play it but I am really bad at getting myself to play games.

Aku:

Samurai Jack is a CLASSIC and I dare you to not watch this clip and crack up. Mako was a gift of voice acting and I miss him so much. Also this episode is just pretty amusing.

Amy Lee:

My sister was actually the one to submit this and I will use her own propaganda here: "Evanescence was a voice of a generation." Honestly this song is kind of just okay, there are better Evanescence songs, but got to respect the effort they put into the music video. Who can resist to choose Amy Lee anyway?

The Path sisters:

Like many people who know this game, I know it through Izzzyzzz's two video essays on it. I didn't play the game afterwards, but I did watch some play-throughs since I don't play many games + it seemed mostly like a walking simulator anyway so I felt like I got the same effect. It is AMAZING and has so much story and analysis and I love shit like that... In particular, Scarlet, Ruby, and Rose are my favorites whose stories really resonated with me, even if I haven't exactly gone through their life experiences. Ginger too. And there's some really horrific imagery in Robin's...I would recommend everyone find a way to experience this game-- whether that's playing it, watching Izzzyzzz's videos, or finding a walk-through/analysis of it, it's worth it!

Lisette:

So this manga is sort of obscure but it is also sort of nostalgic to me. Well, nostalgic by proxy. My sister read it when I was younger and told me some details about it and for some reason it stuck with me. Like??? For no reason. It's not even that good lmao. The first chapter right off the bat is pretty edgy & handles sensitive topics very badly. But goddamn if I do not think about random elements of the story for no reason. I don't really remember shit about Lisette but hey this picture of her looks really cool.

Red:

If you notice a theme among these being "nostalgia" you would be right, as this was another nostalgic offering from my childhood that I would watch semi-annually. I was also fond of the sequel, though I thought it felt like a different series than the first one. (Which isn't unusual with animated sequels to popular movies, but the fact that the sequel was set-up by the ending of the first one implies it was planned? Weird). But anyway Red is iconic and funny and voiced by Anne Hathaway and also her sad emo song "Red is Blue" sometimes still gets stuck in my head, so take that as you will.

Chacha:

I know absolutely nothing about this series. But it looks very cute so I like it. I love cute magical girls they deserve the world. Also I looked it up and apparently the Studio who did the Akazukin Chacha anime would later do the Yu-Gi-Oh animes from the 2000s and 2010s, so there's the obligatory mention of nostalgia.

[sotongueincheek]

It's What's Inside: Depiction is not endorsement

I saw a tweet that was claimed that It's What's Inside's message was that being a bad boyfriend is worse than being a pedophile. And I just didn't read it that way at all...

Okay, so people are going to have their own readings/understandings/interpretations of the movie, and none of those things are definitively right or wrong…but I have thoughts. In an interview with Gizmodo/iO9, director/writer/editor Greg Jardin was asked outright if Cyrus deserved to be framed for murder. He has decided to stay neutral on where he stands as he likes that this is a question that folks are asking/discussing.

Personally, I just don't think Jardin is condoning anything that transpired in the movie. He's telling a story that, along with exploring identity and desirability in a social media-laden world, it's also a story about consent and consequences - whether those consequences are just or unjust is not the point. We live in a world where we all face consequences, and unfortunately, we sometimes face consequences because of the action of others, even if we don't deserve to. This is a cautionary tale more than anything.

Every single person in that friend group made a choice, and in the thrill of the moment, agreed to play this game. None of them could've fathomed/had any forethought as to where that choice could lead them because they only focused on what they had to gain from it, never really grasping what they had to lose.

All of them at some point completely lose their bodily autonomy (or did they give consent when they agreed to continue playing the game?). The only winners here are Shelby and Beatrice (and Dennis in a way - he nor his corporeal self faces any consequences for statutory rape. And that' lack of accountability has its own consequences). Reuben and Brooke are dead due to selfishness and recklessness; and Dennis and Maya had to see their corporeal selves brutalized because of it. Cyrus is in jail for a murder he didn't commit due to Dennis's pettiness and then Shelby refusing his alibi for her own selfishness. Forbes has lost all control of the thing he was supposed to be in control of and that has caused a ripple effect. And Nikki - arguably the most innocent of the bunch - has her body completely hijacked with the implication that she might never get it back. Those are the consequences, fair or unfair. It's what happens when we make choices out of our own self-interest without thinking about how it'll impact every(one)(thing) else.

And a note on Shelby while I'm here... In the same interview I referenced above, Jardin said that Shelby is the main character, so I get why she has the ending that she has. Shelby and Cyrus's relationship bookends this movie. Are we supposed to root for Shelby? Eh, I don't care. Is she meant to be "likeable"? Eh, who cares? I don't think Shelby is meant to be some righteous hero (I'm sure Amy Dunne would LOVE her. teehee). Again, this is a cautionary tale. Shelby is what happens when social media gives us a complex about who we are, along with the fact that the girl was gaslit for nearly a decade by a man who made all of their problems her responsibility, and she was popping Xanax...she was already existing with warped neuroses. This is not me excusing/justifying her actions. This is my understanding of consequences. Shelby as a character represents a cultural consequence.

Anyway, my long-winded way of saying depiction is NOT an endorsement. And I don't think Greg or his movie are taking any moralizing stance here. I'd love to hear other thoughts/perspectives.  

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Saturn - Sonic R

Title: Sonic R / ソニックＲ

Developer: Sonic Team / Traveller's Tales

Publisher: Sega

Release date: 4 December 1997

Catalogue No.: GS-9170

Genre: Racing

Sega's most impressive Saturn title released as far as graphical capabilities are concerned and it was all down to Liverpool-based Travellers Tales. Makes you wonder why Sega themselves couldn't come up with something like this.

For those new to the Saturn you may not know what Sonic R is. Sonic R is a 3D racing game starring characters from the Sonic series. But this is a racing game with a difference. You actually have to collect Sonic rings to open up secret areas within the track to gain access to the emerald stones. The action is fast and furious in this racer/platformer. The only problem I have with Sonic R is the control system. At first, it all seems too loose making you fly off course quite easily. I seriously recommend that you persist though. You will be rewarded in the end. There are four worlds for you to race in plus a secret dare I say "Mario Kart" rip-off Radiant level which is a fully transparent rainbow-like track. Like all good games, Sonic R has many secrets that will have you coming back for more. There are only five characters to choose from at first, being Sonic, Miles/Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Dr. Eggman/Dr. Robotnik. You don't think Sega would be happy with only five characters, do you? Better get playing and find those secrets.

At the beginning of this article, I said that Sonic R was Sega's most impressive Saturn title released as far as graphical capabilities are concerned. But why is this? Well sit tight and read on. Sonic R pushes the Saturn to do EVERY special effect it's capable of plus many it's NOT capable of doing. Sonic R gives us real transparency, shading, light sourcing, reflections, and partial dust build-up. This basically means that the background doesn't pop up out of nowhere like many Saturn 3D games. The levels appear from nothing to sold through what's best described as a cleaver transparency effect fading in from the background. This looks much better than the "fog" effect that plagues the N64. Not only does Sonic R manage to give all of these amazing special effects but it does them running at a solid 30fps !! This is quite a feat when you consider stuff like Sega Rally which was the standard runs at 30fps with none of the above special effects in operation. Many people who saw Sonic R running for the first time just couldn't believe it was a Saturn powering the game. Travelers Tales has performed pure magic with Sonic R. Just a shame nobody else used the technology.

I've gone on quite a lot about Sonic R's incredible looks but we mustn't forget the incredible soundtrack that goes with it. Sega hired their European music master Richard Jacques for the music in Sonic R and he has done it again. Europeans and Japanese alike love the Sonic R soundtrack with its dancey upbeat tracks with vocals (karaoke versions are available). Best described as a more modern Sonic CD soundtrack (Japanese and European versions that is).

Oh, and this game supports the Saturn's analogue controller.

[opqrstuv04]

Get to know you game! Answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to know better.

Tagged by @theloopus AAND @aheathenconceivably HI GUYS! <33

Last song listened to: last song I sought out because I wanted to listen to it was “Good Morning” from the Singin’ in the Rain soundtrack LMAO because I was having a hard time getting my morning started!! Currently listening to Elle me Dit by MIKA writing this :)

Currently reading: Tales Before Tolkien, it’s an anthology of a bunch of short stories that either directly inspired Tolkien or were connected/related to his works. It’s really neat! My favorite story from it so far is Richard Garnett’s “The Demon Pope,” a funny 1880s story about a guy who makes a deal with the Devil to become Pope and then tricks the Devil.

Currently watching: Doctor Who it’s Doctor Who. Always. Currently nearing the end of 11’s time with the Ponds and you guys I am… kind of over it TBH!!!! Like what do you MEAN they stick around for another season?? 11’s grandiose “old god” complex stops being interesting after the 400th time a scene plays out with no consequences for him it was. Much more interesting when 9 was just telling Daleks to kill themselves and 11 was telling Amy he picked her up to have somebody to admire him. I’m ready for 12 :( I’ve also been doing a movie night w my roommate every week!

Currently obsessed with: I’m relistening to The Adventure Zone: Balance and I forgot how much I absolutely loved it. I’m almost done with Balance and it’s really kick started my character design ability back into gear (🙌🏻), umm and otherwise I am obsessed with going to the farmer’s market every Sunday and trying to get this penny plant to propagate. Because of this and other things my friends are obsessed with telling me I am in my “grandma phase.” Also playing a lot of TOTK 👍🏻👍🏻

Tagging people time >:) @dykebeckett @loneliestcactus @cipher-fresh @dovand @leo-undrgrnd @wellsbering @pigeonse @pyreorpyre @cupothi + anyone who wants to!!!! Have fun go wild have a good day

[riftdancer]

⸺ 𝗣𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗜'𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥 !

ALIAS / NAME : Amy

BIRTHDAY : September 24th

ZODIAC SIGN : Libra/Water Monkey

HEIGHT : 5'4 || 162.56 cm

HOBBIES : working out, writing, reading manwha/manga, watching anime, playing video games, drawing, watching streamers, streaming, learning foreign language

FAVORITE COLOR : shades of red, black, pink

FAVORITE BOOK : Dungeon Meshi (completed reading and collecting physical copies), The One Within The Villainess (ongoing, loving the premise!), Post-Possession Damage Control (ongoing, interest premise), Kill the Villainess

LAST SONG : Love the Subhuman Self - AISHA, Jamison Boaz & Arc System Works

LAST FILM / SHOW : Kill Bill / Bocchi The Rock

RECENT READS : Aria of the Withered Branch (manwha, ongoing, good premise)

STORY BEHIND URL : I play Final Fantasy XIV and wanted a url related to the game. The url is a title you obtain from the msq.

FUN FACT ABOUT ME : I major in Web Development; I'm SEAsian descent (1st Gen); Well traveled (overseas and in state); I really enjoy challenging myself in games; I was really into the 'Tales of' series for a long time and played Phantasia, Destiny, Eternia, Rebirth, Tempest, and completed Symphonia 1 & 2, Legendia, Graces, Berseria, Zestiria, Xillia 1 & 2, Abyss, Hearts, Vesperia, Innocence, Tales of the World 1, 2, & 3, and Arise.

tagged by @853e (thank you so much!)

tagging @eatend, @bonescribes, @trattcria, @ednaeflowers, @ervaurem, @unwaveringblade, @mathcs, @madamhatter