#Single Review: Island of Love Grow

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Audio: Two Rippers from Rising London Outfit Island of Love

New Audio: Two Rippers from Rising London Outfit Island of Love @grandstandhq @jaclynulman

Rising London-based outfit Island of Love — Karim Newble (guitar/vocals), Linus Munch (guitars/vocals) and Daniel Giraldo (bass) — can trace their origins to meeting through London’s hardcore punk scene, while playing in other hands, including Newbie’s Powerplant. They’ve all shared bills with bands like Chubby and the Gang and High Vis. And with their various previous projects, the London-based…

[freesia-writes]

Ch 37: Ceremony

Master List ~~ Previous Chapter ~~ WC: 2k

It’s totally not for this fic but I can’t stop thinking about this gorgeous post from @faya-feya and how it captures the same vibe I was going for here! 🥹 So go show it some love!!

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“I was going to surprise you all with it, but I just can’t wait to show you,” Omega said brightly, standing from her seat at the long table on the patio and disappearing inside the house for a moment. Curious glances were passed back and forth between the family, and Hunter relished the fleeting sense of normalcy. When she reappeared, holding something behind her back, all attention returned to her. With a flourish, she produced a smooth piece of wood upon which hung a beautiful dress. It shimmered as it reflected the glow of the string lights above, earning an authentic cacophony of “ooh”s and “ahh”s from the table. 

“That’s some nice work!” Phee exclaimed, watching Omega’s smile grow even wider. “Got some details in there, I see?”

“Yes!” Omega gushed, pointing at various parts of the dress. “There are little tributes to each of you in it!” As she explained, Hunter felt a strong sense of admiration as he watched her proudly review all her hard work and creative effort. The others were beaming just as much, delighted with the way she’d brought them all together in one representative piece. 

“It is truly a work of art, Omega.”

“Thanks Tech!”

“It’s… It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Wrecker said, his booming voice shaky with emotion as he wiped a single tear from his eye. 

“Wow, Omega, you’ve outdone the Kamino armory,” Crosshair said, but his face was undeniably soft as he radiated awe and gave her a meaningful nod, to which she responded with a wink. 

“You did good, kid,” Phee said warmly, as Echo echoed the sentiment from his seat beside her. 

“And I got seats in the front row for all of you!” she continued, holding the dress up to her front and giving a little spin for all to see. 

“We’ll be there,” said Hunter. 

* * * 

The Advancement Ceremony for the students was the culminating event of their school year, which they had spent in various job shadows and internships as they prepared for their adult lives. Since the years on Xylo were 400 days long, it had given Omega ample time to explore many options, and she had enjoyed every single one. The Ceremony was a formal affair at the school, where a large stage was erected for the students to parade across after a select few shared some heartfelt thoughts about their time. Almost everyone on the island was there, to support the young adults as they joined society in a new capacity, and the air sparkled with joviality and unity as the crowd found their seats. 

The school staff was seated in rows across the back of the stage, with the picturesque views of the expansive hills behind them leading down to the sea, and Hunter felt a twist in his chest as he spotted Lyra, tucked between some of the teachers and mentors of the program. He’d been surprised that she was able to return to her position after having disappeared for a few months on Keytoll, but she’d been resourceful in her communications with the right people and had salvaged her job through it all. She was dressed like the rest, in a somewhat pompous uniform that he would have laughed at if her presence weren’t such a burden to him. They hadn’t spoken for nearly a week, since he’d unceremoniously left her house after everything had fallen both apart and together. 

“Thank you all for coming!” the headmaster began, and the multitude of voices quieted as he held up his hands. “We are so proud of our students for all their efforts this year, and we would like to also extend our gratitude to all of you for encouraging and supporting them in their endeavors. We will begin with a few student reflections, followed by some awards from the teachers, and then we will bequeath each student with their traditional Xyloan lei.”

Students shared, the audience clapped, and Hunter watched Omega’s patient, joyful face beaming from her seat on the side of the stage. Where her future would take her from here, he didn’t know, but he was overwhelmed with pride and gratitude to have been a part of her life the way he had. As the proceedings continued to the awards, he felt his stomach churn as Lyra stood behind the podium. He could feel her anxiety from where he sat, and he noticed how carefully she kept her gaze moving in a general scan across the crowd, avoiding direct eye contact with any one person. 

“It is my honor to present the students with individual achievement awards,” she began, her voice constricted as she fought to keep the tremble at bay. “We take note of exemplary displays of the positive characteristics that we most desire our students to develop, in the hopes that future participants would also seek to model these traits. So, without further ado, I would like to start by bringing Larkin to the front.” She turned to face the group of students, beckoning to a burly, dark-haired boy at the end. 

Lyra described his zeal in pursuing some of the most challenging placements, then passed a small crystal trophy into his hands as she proclaimed him the recipient of the Diligence Award. The crowd clapped and cheered for him after he said a few words, then again after she honored another boy with the Critical Thinking Award. Finally, she looked down at the last trophy, a wistful smile on her lips as she raised her eyes again to the crowd. 

“Lastly, I would like to present the Gold Award, which is rather uniquely named as we couldn’t ever find a single word to most accurately summarize all that it represents. This recognition goes to a student who was creative and open-minded in the opportunities presented. She was incredibly kind to all that crossed her path and maintained a strong sense of integrity no matter what she was faced with. There is an optimism, brightness, and joy to her that spread to those around her, and she was encouraging and inspiring simply by being who she is. In virtually every way, she has a heart of gold.”

It had to be her. Hunter knew. No one could match those qualities like Omega, and he was surprised at the tears that sprang to his own eyes as she watched, wide-eyed, from her seat. 

“Please join me in congratulating Omega,” Lyra finished, smiling proudly as she was quickly joined by the young woman. Omega flung her arms around her in a tight hug, and after the initial surprise, Lyra softened around her, resting her cheek on her blonde hair for a moment. She radiated authentic love and deep care, and Hunter choked down the lump in his throat. 

“Yeah Omega!!” Wrecker hollered, his voice ringing out above the cheers of the crowd. Echo whistled and Crosshair clapped vigorously beside Tech, who had the biggest smile on his face that Hunter had ever seen. He was overwhelmed with sheer gratitude. The raucous applause died down as Omega stepped up to the microphone, clearing her throat with visible apprehension. 

“Thank you,” she said, wincing as the speakers squeaked. “Tech, you should have a look at those,” she continued, earning a laugh of delight from the crowd. “I don’t have much to say, because I have too much to say.” Her eyes slowly moved across the line of family members in the front row, and she pressed her lips together to withhold the emotion threatening to spill over. “Thank you to all of the teachers,” she said, more businesslike now in an attempt to hold it together. “Thank you to the mentors and supervisors,” she nodded at Lyra, “for giving us perspective, insight, and the little boosts we needed when we got discouraged or frustrated. And most of all, thank you to my family…” A pause, a glance to the sky to blink back tears. “Because I most certainly wouldn’t be here without them.” 

Her eyes lingered on Crosshair, silently sharing the bond that they alone had. She looked at Tech, brimming with fondness. She smiled at Echo, admiring and affectionate. Her grin widened at Wrecker as her eyes softened. And she finished with a long, significant gaze at Hunter, too many emotions for either of them to reconcile across her beautiful face. 

“I love you all,” she said quietly, then looked back to Lyra, who gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and a reassuring nod, then guided her back to her seat. 

“My allergies are killing me,” Wrecker joked, wiping his streaming eyes with his sleeves, and Crosshair brushed away his own tear behind hunched shoulders, turned away from the others. 

* * * 

Hunter’s ears were still ringing from the sheer volume of the event as he and Omega made their way back to the cabin. It was late afternoon by the time everything wrapped up and everyone had finished flocking around the students with their well-wishes. The relative silence of the forest cushioned his head, wrapping him in warmth as they strolled along the path. He was grateful for the one-on-one time, the others having retreated to Tech and Phee’s for snacks and camaraderie, and Omega had surprised him with her choice to follow him home for a few hours before rejoining the others. 

“I’m so proud of you,” he confessed quietly as she drew alongside him when the dirt path widened. 

“Thank you, Hunter,” she said earnestly, giving his hand a quick squeeze before letting it go. “I’m proud of all of you!”

He chuckled, “For what?”

“For making lives for yourselves. For going through so much. For being faithful to one another. For fighting for good. For letting me join your family.” 

“You’ve always been one of us,” he smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They walked in silence for a while, until he could tell she’d been regarding him with churning thoughts for a while. “What is it?” he invited, a wry grin on his lips.

“How are you?” she asked quietly. 

“Fine, why?”

“Really,” she pressed with a knowing look. 

“I’m happy for you. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy that everyone is safe and content.”

“Are you content?” 

He took a breath, then paused. Finally, he answered, “Content enough.”

“Hunter,” she sighed, stopping and turning to face him as he mimicked her movements. “It seems like you hold yourself back from happiness.”

He opened his mouth to protest, then took a different route, lifting one side of his shirt. “I mean… Does this look like holding back?” She laughed as his half-skeleton butterfly tattoo caught the sunlight, a souvenir from his wild times with Luci. 

“You know what I mean,” she continued, following as he began walking again. 

“What am I supposed to do?” he asked, a touch of exasperation masking the genuine question behind it. 

“Why won’t you talk to Lyra?”

A pang at her name. He remained silent.

“Hunter?”

“It’s just… too much,” he confessed, eyes downcast. “Secrets and deceit… jerked back and forth…”

“You can’t trust her anymore?” She pinpointed his fear effortlessly.

“I doubt she can trust me either,” he deflected. 

“You both kept things from each other to protect those you love. If anything, that should bring you closer together because you both know what it’s like. But ultimately… Do you want it to be what it was? Or better, even? Does she make your life more full? Joyful? Content?”

Hunter paused to reflect, eyes flitting to and fro on the path before them as it passed beneath his feet. He considered the heaviness on his shoulders and the ache in his chest as well as the deep, wistful longing he didn’t want to acknowledge. For a time, it had felt like peace. Contentment. Simple, uncomplicated enjoyment of life. But that felt like a door that had closed behind him. 

He looked at Omega, and she looked at him. She already knew his answer. 

And, he realized, he did too. 

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Song: What A Wonderful World /Somewhere Over The Rainbow

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[loverofwhump216]

Eight chapters and no reviews

Look at this story. This amazing story. 8 fucking chapter long and not a single review. It's full of whump, trauma, comfort, friendship and love. Yet not one review.

It's a How To Train Your Dragon fanfic where Hiccup is kidnapped by Dragon Hunters, demanding he lead them to the Hidden World . He refuses so they torture him until one of the hunters grows a set and helps him escape with some assistance from an old friend. The friend and now former Hunter take him to an island that's allied with Berk. There Hiccup is being taken care of and given a chance to recover from his captivity.

I suggest checking it out and leaving a review

[girlreviews]

Review #128: A Night At The Opera, Queen

Growing up in England, Queen and their songs are just part of life. I kind of love thinking about how a tiny little island has so much of its own art, music, and culture, and how when you step away from it you see how quirky and cool it is. Queen and their hits are still on heavy rotation on the radio, get people dancing at parties and big events, and every Millennial has probably seen the We Will Rock You musical 20 times.

So how is it that I had never actually listened to a single Queen album from start to finish? I since learned I am far from alone on this. Most of us haven’t! It makes sense. Everyone has the Greatest Hits album, and that’s what they know.

I was DELIGHTED by A Night At The Opera. Queen in their truest form, the most British sounding record ever. Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon is silly, whimsical, operatic, has a Kinks vibe, and lets you appreciate the harmonizing ooooohs and aaaahs that are signature.

Every song has its own persona and they’re all really different, but you can hear how they informed later Queen — the rhythm in ‘39 reminds me of Fat Bottom Girls. It’s different but it is just a glimpse into future paths of future songs. It’s the kick drum I think. It’s also completely beautiful, folky, gentle and whistful. But like they do, they overlay their melodic solos and the rich backing vocals so you end up with what sounds like Simon & Garfunkel if they got stuck at a pub lock in and forgot they were American.

Guitars and their solos sound like they are singing, answering the vocal melody. They really just weave between lighthearted and snarling serious. There is an entire song that is really big and brash that’s literally a love letter to a car. I really feel that, even though I drive a Prius hatchback. I AM in love with my car, and finally a song exists that acknowledges that love. Okay the song has existed since 1975, but I didn’t know that. I’m a late adopter I guess. In this track Freddie is singing about breaking up with his girlfriend so he can be in love with his car. I’m sort of inspired by the idea that one can be complete with nothing more than the freedom and autonomy of a car. It’s tongue in cheek for sure but that’s what’s beautiful about music — it can mean anything to anyone. I can listen to it sincerely if I want to.

You’re My Best Friend is still so sweet, and musically wonderful. What better way to express love and gratitude to someone than by a song in which you tell someone “you make me live”. I love it. It’s charming. It’s such a simple but deep sentiment.

I can’t help but hear The Kinks in these more whimsical songs, like Seaside Rendezvous, it’s the tinkery piano, the vocal effects, I swear this song actually DOES feature a kazoo or something similar. It’s got big Victorian seaside holiday energy. I can’t imagine that’s not what they were going for. It’s so British. It’s so unique. It’s so much more complicated than you initially hear. There’s so much to unpack in every song.

Okay, so Bohemian Rhapsody came to us via this record. Most of us heard it later when it was re-released and popularized by Wayne’s World in the 90s. Obviously it’s iconic and that’s why my mother and her girlfriends went out one night and on the way home Bohemian Rhapsody came on the radio. They got pulled over and questioned about their sobriety because they were witnessed recreating the scene in the car with Wayne and Garth. They were just rocking out.

I heard Bohemian Rhapsody REALLY young. I have vivid memories of sitting in the backseat hearing it and just being totally moved by it. I realize now it’s mostly because I heard it and understood it to be true and autobiographical. I sat and despaired that Freddie Mercury’s mother killed a man and now he’s gone and thrown it all away. I was so sad. I thought it was all true and happened. I got teary-eyed whenever it came on. I was a very sensitive child, if you couldn’t tell, and it wasn’t unusual for me to be moved to tears by music and words, even when I was tiny. That hasn’t changed much, either. I often wonder or wish that I could experience this song through someone else’s ears. What might they notice that I don’t? How might they feel?

I have a friend that shares my love of just going for a drive for no reason to look around and get lost. We often stick Bohemian Rhapsody on to lift our spirits and snap us out of a funk. It’s all the things and covers all emotions. It’s genuinely a journey, and honestly the entire record leading up to it is a journey too. Literally, like a night out at the opera.

[goose3gg]

Why can’t I commit [to a new Nintendo Switch Game]?

Recently, I’ve been on a mission: find a new Nintendo Switch game to distract myself from the games I’m avoiding playing [Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley,  both come to mind] and I’ll tell you exactly why I’m avoiding those games. In my opinion, it’s a huge challenge trying to find 

As a female gamer, sometimes it’s challenging digging through the buzzwords of the gaming community. I hear one end of the spectrum is “Cozy Games” and on the other side is... Rogue-Likes? First person Shooters? Street Fighters? Puzzle Games? Why is the only descriptor I can find of cutesy, organization, relaxing games default to this weird code word of “cozy?” Trying to find games that I’ll like based on this weird criteria, where unless the game is overtly cutesy on the outside, a single creator must deem this type of game “cozy” for it to be labeled as such. I’d love to get into a feminist, gendered debate but the subject at hand is still myself, attempting to find a Switch game I’d enjoy, digging through countless reviews of different types of games.

Why can’t I play Animal Crossing? Although I did purchase the Animal Crossing themed switch, I am not a historical Animal Crossing player. I actually grew up playing Pokemon, the card game and the DS/Gameboy games. I will admit, I am currently avoiding my current Pokemon Diamond Victory Road victory, I know I need to make my team stronger but alas I just don’t feel the commitment for it at the moment. Many game reviewers discuss how they believe that this current edition of Animal Crossing is the weakest, the least structured, and laziest, is the term most often used. I don’t hear many positive reviews of this game, due to its lack of consistent updates, and in my opinion, lore and add ons. Nintendo didn’t put much effort into the downloadable content of Happy Home Paradise, and in my own experience, I didn’t have fun in the game until I used the only two available cheats that Nintendo has somehow allowed to slip by, being; the ability to use other people’s designs for pathways, buildable objects, etc, and treasure islands. Both reminded me of the Sims cheats I used to use, bb.infinitemoney, etc, to allow for things that crutched the game, or allowed more of a freeplay version. I quickly acquired every item I could ever want, and after furnishing my house, I got bored pretty quickly. Because everyday is time synced in Animal Crossing, meaning that everyday you log on, whatever time of day it is, it’ll be the same in the game. I know a lot of people that time jump, meaning they change the time and date on their Switch to unlock things in Animal Crossing, I personally thought this was a little excessive, but to each their own. I just didn’t find the villagers interesting enough to keep me coming back, to be honest I never understood how turnips worked, and I just wasn’t convinced to keep playing the game. The last time I played Animal Crossing was about 3 hair colors ago, if that gives you an idea. 

Why can’t I play Stardew Valley? Stardew Valley has lower stakes than Animal Crossing, and is definitely easy to get back into. Again, I didn’t grow up on years of Stardew Valley, so I know very little about the lore and the long term actuality of the game. I enjoy going into cult classic games like these two cold, so I can be surprised and enjoy the game to its fullest. I also find it a big challenge, however I know if I look too hard into gameplay advice I’ll get stuck on how to perfectly play the game which is simply impossible. Stardew’s days are much shorter than Animal Crossing, and the game is also a fraction of the price. In my experience, playing Stardew can feel slightly rushed, and challenging to get everything done right. Right now I’m entering Spring of my 3rd year and I am not very proud of my farm or my organization in game. When I see how well organized streamers are I definitely feel as though I’m playing the game incorrectly. It’s an enjoyable game but because I haven’t researched the lore sometimes I feel like I’m missing the bigger direction or meaning in the game. Because Stardew takes itself a little less seriously than Animal Crossing, I find myself more easily coming back to a less intimidating game. 

Finally, what games am I considering to avoid these Cozy Gaming classics? To give you a more rounded idea of the games on my Switch, here’s some games I’ve bought/downloaded.

I just finished Coffee Talk and Cozy Grove, working on The Lego Harry Potter Collection, I couldn’t get stuck on Garden Story, Life is Strange: True Colors [I might’ve watched too many streams of this one.. I don’t wanna larp. I’m sorry], CatTails, AER, The Last Campfire, Danganronpa/Doki Doki Literature Club [I just haven’t gotten around to it], Scott Pilgrim is just a tad too challenging for me alone, I’m working on it as well. I’m so tired of reading these same titles over and over again, and I refuse to download the organization games just because they’re so short. I was interested in Inscryption, so I started watching some streams of it to see if I’d like it and I’m still unsure. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d love to hear some but I don’t know if the problem is just me. I enjoy these games, I just would love something fresh and not a super huge commitment. I’ve been watching some Breath of the Wild streams which inticed me, but I’m also not a Legend of Zelda person. Maybe I need to branch out, maybe I need a kind stranger on the internet to recommend the perfect game for me. 

[wishingforatypewriter]

Year in Review

Thanks @nyamadermont for tagging me!

1. Number of stories posted to Ao3: I posted and/or updated 20 stories in 2022.

2. Word count in 2022: 80,023

3. Fandoms I wrote for: Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender

4. Pairings: Linzolt, Linzin, Baavira, and Tyzula

5. Stories with the most:

Kudos: The Weight of Empire (Baavira)

Bookmarks: The Successor (Kuvira & Opal)

Comment threads:  The Successor

Word count: The Successor

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): I think I'm proudest—or at least fondest—of An Armada of Shoulds, It's probably my favorite Linzolt thing that I've written. I'm proud of it because it was my first attempt at writing from Zolt's point of view and I think I did a pretty good job with it, considering we only see him twice or so in the source material.

7.   Work I’m least proud of (and why): Agni Kais was supposed to be a grand, sweeping Tyzula reunion fic that touched upon the origins of the Republic City triads, but in the end I only wrote one chapter, and Azula wasn't even in it.

8.   Share or describe a favorite review you received: I adore every single comment that every single reader takes the time to write! It always makes my day when I see a notification for one in my email! But I guess my favorites lately have been the ones where readers tell me I've convinced them to ship something they either hadn't considered or were ambivalent towards before.

9.   A time when writing was really, really hard: Alwaysssss! But especially as I tried to work on Chapter 17 of The Successor (and still haven't succeeded in finishing it). I was trying to get inside Opal's head and write from her perspective, but it just wasn't working, so I decided to take a break from it for a while.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I enjoyed writing Tenzin in Tether more than I thought I would! Also, if someone told me back in 2020 that I'd become a Zolt stan, I probably wouldn't have believed them.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

"Lin and Tenzin were very different, but with work, they worked. He liked his curry puffs mild and with mung beans, and she liked hers filled with five-spice pigchicken, and it was fine—so long as she didn’t try to kiss him too soon after dinner. Sure, he wouldn’t come with her to Kwong’s Cuisine or the ostrich-horse racetracks, and she wouldn’t meditate on Air Temple Island or help brush the bison, but they met in the middle, with walks in the park and afternoon spars and simple meals at mom and pop restaurants. 

It was enough that most days Lin could forget the soulmark she’d been born with—a swirling flame on the fleshy pad at the base of her thumb—or the nonbender’s fingerprint that had appeared on his shoulder three years back. Most days the soul bond hummed faint as a song on the radio two rooms away, vaguely there, but not immediate enough to command her attention.

Today was not one of those days," from Marked, my Linzolt soulmate AU.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I tried to branch out a little by writing different tropes like a coffee shop au and a soulmate au.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: This year I'd like to work on my emotional range as a writer. I write a lot of fluff, and I'd like to branch out into some other fic categories like angst and hurt/comfort. In short, I'm trying to make y'all cry this year!

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

@orangepanic is such a prolific and talented writer (and also really nice and supportive of other writers)! Reading her work always inspires me to get back to my wips!

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: I think my lifelong love of city life has shown up in some of my Linzolt fics.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Write what honestly makes you happy, not what you think you should be writing, if that makes sense.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I have about three more chapters planned for The Successor and they will get written this year! I'm also really excited to keep working on House of the Flaming Boar, my au story in which married Linzolt end up as Mako and Bolin's foster parents.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read: Anyone who'd like to participate!

[thevisibilityarchives]

The Bone People (1984), Keri Hulme

LGBTQIA+

Summary: On New Zealand’s South Island, three isolated souls find solace in one another, bonded by their identities as mixed-race, their damaged familial relationships, and the journeys they must undertake to learn how to love. Keri Hulme unveils the deep heart of love, the complexities of abuse, and the poisonous fruits of intergenerational violence in her controversial and monumental work, The Bone People. 

Full review: High atop a tower, amidst the choppy seas, there once dwelled a large and menacing creature, unlike anything the locals had seen…

It is a fitting Brothers Grimm-esque description of the tone set by the opening of Keri Hulme’s The Bone People, which quickly shifts from tragedy on the Pacific to the self-imposed peace of Kerewin’s domicile: an eccentric and imposing structure befitting an equally eccentric and imposing woman. 

In Te Waipounamu, Kerewin has carved out a life for herself that is every introvert’s fantasy. Having won the lottery young and invested the money to win it back tenfold, she lives a labor-free life, spending her days spearfishing, playing the guitar, and drinking without a care in the world. 

The home she raises would plague a suburban Home Owners Association: a multi-story tower with dolphin-adorned banisters, toadstools peeking from corners, and an overgrown weed-strewn garden. It is a home created with a sole purpose: Kerewin. It is not a place for visitors or dinner parties, for hosting family or friends or visitors of any nature. 

By her own definition, Kerewin is very much the “spinster” single and childfree women of a certain age are branded when they are not involved in monogamous heterosexual relationships by a certain age. Written in 1985, off the bat it is refreshing to read a book wherein the dominant narrative does not revolve around Kerewin’s inherent need to “resolve” this status, and it is clear from the beginning that there is an intentional choice in it. 

Kerewin is childfree, not childess, a distinction that is growing but still merits broader discussion. Childfree individuals make an active choice, at some point in their lives, to forgo having children. In doing so they often bear society’s judgement, pressure, and even hostility for going against what many deem to be the “default choice” we should all fulfill with our bodies–to reproduce. Childfree people may choose this decision at a young age or may choose it during their 20s and 30s, after actively giving thought to having their own children and deciding against it. They may love children, dislike them, may fill their lives with the children of their friends, pets, or simply be happy without assuming any type of caregiver role.

Childless people, alternately, can be defined as those who may genuinely want biological children, but be unable to have them. They may experience significant emotional pain over their inability to have children, judgment and stigma directed towards their so-called failings, and may not find adoption, surrogacy, or IVF suitable or financially available options. 

Kerewin makes clear her feelings about children early on: she doesn’t like them. Frankly, she doesn’t like much of anyone: that’s why she lives alone, thrives alone, and chooses isolation, which makes it fitting that when a child appears in her window, injured and alone during a whirling storm Kerewin’s immediate reactions of both pity and irritation are so enthralling. She’s immediately drawn to the boy, a sopping wet thing projecting an aura of mystique and the maturity that precedes and child who knows more about the world than they should.

“Mature for their age” is a compliment granted to children and young women alike, who are today learning that it is often an unconscious recognition of the ways abuse leaves its mark. The effects can be mental, showing up as behaviors that appear to make one older than they are, or physical, such as early onset puberty, thinning in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and reduced cortical thickness according to the Americal Psychological Association (Colich, Williams, et. al 2020). 

As he is unable to speak, Kerewin discovers that she must take time to interpret what the boy, Simon is saying. He in turn discovers that she has patience he is unused to, and from there the two develop a bond that draws them together, transcending his rampant behavioral issues and naturally bringing forth the involvement of his adopted father Joe, who develops an attraction to Kerewin. 

The trio becomes close over their shared experiences having multiracial heritages of Pākehā (European) and Māori descent, and as Kerewin comes to care for Simon and Joe she also notes the symptoms of abuse Simon displays, both physical and emotional. As she tries to get to the root of who is responsible, Simon finds in her the first semblance of a mother he has had since Joe’s wife died, while Joe questions the nature of Kerewin’s asexuality. 

There are several times throughout the book when the direct question of Kerewin’s sexual orientation comes up. As she is directly based on the author, Keri Hulme herself, there could be no better source of writing on this front regarding representation in asexuality than the simple expression of “it’s who I am.”

Asexuality can be a confusing concept to wrap one's mind around, in part because it does not take a monolithic form, as well as because representation is so lacking for those of us who do not belong to the community. Asexual identities encompass nine labels people may gravitate towards, and the spectrum itself, like any, is prone to fluidity. 

Throughout the book, Kerewin is asked whether her asexuality is the result of sexual trauma, whether she is actually a lesbian or bisexual, and consistently whether she and Joe are sexually and romantically involved due to their gradual co-parenting of Simon.

In a brief but poignant speech, Kerewin details that she has never experienced any degree of sexual passion, interest, or feeling. She has attempted to learn about the reason for people’s interest in sex, reading books like the Kama Sutra, and picking apart whether there is something “wrong” with her, only to determine she simply is who she is, a fact Joe must accept. 

Despite being pegged as aromantic, Kerewin is a creature capable of love. While our society harps upon the importance of romantic love (to the deficit of all others), it is a testament to her own love for Simon and Joe the increasing feeling of protectiveness she begins to display over Simon, as well as her reaction upon the discovery that Joe is the responsible party for Simon’s physical abuse. 

The book has generated significant controversy for Hulme’s relentless depiction of this topic, as well as the portrayal of Kerewin, Joe, and Simon as ultimately three-dimensional characterization on this front. 

Simon is a boy who both hates and loves his father, Joe is a man who is both spiteful and pitiable, and Kerewin is both a perpetrator and a savior. It’s complex, and the reaction itself speaks volumes about the way different cultures speak about abuse, view the roles of abusers, and the idea of the psychology of victims, the cycle of abuse, punishments, and so on. 

All of this is draped within a mixture of Māori and Pākehā culture, with the book continuously streaming in and out of Māori dialogue, incorporating the atmosphere of Te Waipounamu in each and every meal, blade of grass, and breath the characters take, and bringing forth the mythology of one of the few cultures who have faced colonialism, yet are permitted the stamp of appreciation under the modern gaze due to New Zealand’s appeal to white culture. 

You can find The Bone People at your local library, on ThriftBooks, or at Barnes & Noble. 

Citations:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5151801806

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/18/childless-childfree-child

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/childless-women-discrimination_n_58b6f352e4b0780bac2f3413

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2021/11/29/trauma-forces-some-children-mature-here-their-stories/6358716001/

Natalie Colich, Eileen S. Williams, Maya Rosen and Katie McLaughlin. Biological Aging in Childhood and Adolescence Following Experiences of Threat and Deprivation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 2020 DOI: 10.1037/bul0000270

https://www.asexuals.net/asexual-spectrum/

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-bone-people_keri-hulme/265444/?resultid=3817f3f4-addc-4b5f-a780-c9685dac3d8d#edition=14605880&idiq=46581207

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bone-people-keri-hulme/1100258806

[moochilatv]

Julia Logan presents: Forever Changes Around

The new album it's out now !

Sweet song and new album out

Julia Logan's new single 'Forever Changing Around' is released on the same day as her new album 'Faraway Nearby'. Both released on November 1st.

Listen the single in Spotify:

The dreamy folk-pop of Julia Logan exudes a voice at once both comforting and piercing. Channeling the likes of Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, and Sharon Van Etten her voice talks her way through the inner life of her own life and the lives of others in the small community that she grew up in. Accompanied by observant lyrics, bronzed and mellow melodies excellently produced and cowritten by Daniel Bengtson (Studio Rymden, First Aid Kit) soar to hit home the deeper point in songs that honor and long for human connection and respect. It might be their quiet revolt against a world increasingly obsessed with transactional relationships, blow-hard aspirations, and digital ’likes’ rather than a simple ’hello’ on the street. Julia Logan’s debut album, Everly Foreverly, features a duet with Nina Persson (The Cardigans) as well as drummers Kyle Crane (Kurt Vile, Madison Cunningham) and Karl “Hovis” Hovmark (Tove Lo) on separate tracks. Guitarist Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn and John) supports on many of the songs. Keyboardist Sofia Kristensen/Majvi contributes on piano and backup vocals.

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A post shared by Julia Logan (@juliamlogan)

The album earned positive reviews by Swedish media, was nominated for Singer-Songwriter of the year at the Swedish Manifestgalan Awards, and allowed her to open for the likes of Madison Cunningham, Courtney Marie Andrews, Neko Case, Sarah Klang, and Amanda Bergman.

Her follow-up album ’Faraway Nearby,’ produced and co-written by Daniel Bengtson, explores themes of personal fears and changes, isolation, loss, getting older, hope, and finding your place in the world. The album will be released under Magnus Bohman’s label, Dumont Dumont, who helped launch José González career internationally. Released singles ’Mirrors,’ ’Moodswings,’ and ’Top of the World’ have already garnered attention in Stereogum and La Blogothèque, and on the renown LA and Seattle radio stations KCRW and KEXP.

Faraway Nearby it's out now in stores and on music platforms.

Written By: Julia Logan, Daniel Bengtson & Jonathan Milläng Produced By: Daniel Bengtson Recorded At: Studio Rymden Mixed By: Daniel Bengtson & @simonnord Mastered By: @hansolsson_ Photography By: @olofgrind Artwork By: @olofgrind A&R: @magnusbohmans

Musicians: Julia Logan, Daniel Bengtson, Karl Hovis Hovmark (@hovis ) Ola Gustafsson (@minkbandy ) Lois B Jakobson @lois.jakobson ) Kyle Crane (@kylejeffreycrane ) Lars Skoglund (@laaaaaaaaaars ) Klara Keller (@klarakeller ) Daniel Migdal (@daniel.migdal ) Erik Arvinder, Riikka Repo, Kristina Winiarski, Julia Nilsson

Sincere and warm, the dreamy folk-pop of Julia Logan finds her beauty in small moments of human longing — to connect, to love, to understand. With a voice at once both comforting and piercing she seems to be calling for simpler, slower, and more forgiving times in a world that seems to be careening out of order. Growing up on a small Swedish island outside of Stockholm, she got her start singing in a local church choir. After spending a few of her teenage years in southern California, where her mother’s from, she learned the guitar from a local hippie and started writing.  The music heard on Julia Logan’s debut album, Everly Foreverly, was made in close collaboration with First Aid Kit’s producer, Daniel Bengtson. Together with them in the studio, they brought in American drummer Kyle Crane, guitarist Peter Morén, Sofia Kristensen on piano and backup vocals, and a featured duet-cover with Nina Persson. Teaming up again with her producer and co-writer Daniel Bengtson, Julia’s sophomore album explores themes of personal fears and changes, isolation, loss, getting older, hope, and finding your place in the world. The album will be called “Faraway Nearby,” inspired by the painter Georgia O’keeffe. During the writing and recording process, Julia and Daniel took influences from Fleetwood Mac, Midlake, Bruce Springsteen, and Lucio Battisti. Many of the songs were written on piano and acoustic guitar — owing to a sonic mood that evokes feelings of yearning melancholy and hope.

[kingcanis]

I am making my third JP hot take and idk how it's going to be received but here we go.

JW1 is a better sequel to JP1 than JP2 or JP3. It is also a better movie than JP3 (barely).

So I love all of these movies and was rewatching the OG JP trilogy for fic reasons, and Had Some Thoughts.

to start, I'm going to outline why JW1 is a *good* sequel to JP1, even if it is only a B- action adventure movie with dinosaurs.

The premise of JP1 is that the main characters have been invited to the island to review the park so it can get the green light to be open to the public. It is not a functioning park and isn't meant to be taken as a fully open, functioning park. The idealistic and well-meaning millionaire who's brainchild the park was is betrayed by a greedy employee to outside corporate espionage, the dinosaurs wreak havoc, and the island is closed.

Following those events, it makes *perfect* sense that someone would try to correct the mistakes inherent to the park and reopen. The death toll in JP1 was 3 people. That is how many people need to die on a single ride for Disney World to shut down the ride. With only three deaths, there is no way the park (a multimillionaire dollar, decades in the making project) shuts down UNLESS the man spearheading it intentionally kills the project (which he does at the end of JP1).

We open JW1 and John Hammond is dead, a new company controls the island, has corrected the mistakes and has run the park successfully for years now. The movie goes on to show how the creation of a living thing (the Indominus Rex) without concern for its quality of life and how it will fit amongst the life surrounding it fits perfectly as a narrative comparison to the protagonist, Claire Dearing, in her beginning as an isolated person who grows and eventually learns her own place among the animals around her, respecting them and wanting to protect them.

This character development also mirrors that of John Hammond in the original JP movies.

Another key parallel is between the interference of Lewis Dogeson in JP1, the inciting corporate greed that prompts Dennis Nedry to betray Hammond and kick off the events of JP1, and the corporate greed of Simon Masrani (as well as arguably his betrayal of the ideals of Hammond which he inherited along with the park).

These themes of how these new living tbings will fit into the world and how we relate to them are played out in JP1 and JW1 as central themes. They are the primary questions asked, and what the audience is supposed to be thinking about at the end of both films. The protagonists (if JP1 has a single protagonist its Alan and while JW1 marketing may disagree Claire is the one going through the Hero's Journey, not Owen) both start as isolated characters who eventually connect with the dinosaurs and other humans to become more well-rounded characters. Corporate greed (not scientific neglect, see my post about how Ian Malcolm is an Asshole for more on that) are the driving negative forces in the narrative.

Thematically speaking, JP2 hits many of these same key themes, but is missing many of the direct parallels to the original film. Ian Malcolm largely does not grow as a character over the course of the film, and his focus is entirely on "dinosaurs = bad" as opposed to Nick and Sarah who both hold them as living things to be respected and protected. His motivations are largely selfish (he wants to protect the people he cares about specifically) until the very end of the movie where he tries to help the whole of San Francisco, but there isn't any build to this change. It's a great spin-off, but it is a wildly different movie thematically speaking.

JP3 is an extremely silly premise with excellent execution. The character dynamics of JP3 are where it really shines, but the ridiculousness of "parasailing millionaire gets stranded on dinosaur island with girlfriends son, estranged parents of boy lie to recruit random guys lying about being mercenaries and famous paleontologist with 1 survived dinosaur escapade to go and rescue son" is completely absurd. It is beautiful sound and fury, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to have thought about by the end of the film.

In short, JW1 is not perfectly executed, but thematically and narratively it succeeds in being a sequel to JP1 where JP2 and JP3 fall short.

[jesslovecreative]

Controlling what we can when things feel out of control (feat. new book recs)

Maintaining an environment and controlling what you can to make your surroundings and the place that you work and live less stressful for yourself can seem daunting and sometimes, impossible.

Here are some things that I have done (and used) to change my situation as much as possible while living in my parents’ basement as a single mom on minimal income. I’ve always felt the need to adjust my surroundings as much and as often as possible to reframe my mindset to feel more sense of control.

I'm someone who really enjoys thrifting furniture, décor, and clothes. I also try to create and DIY as much as possible but changing up the way that my room and work space are set up every few months really helps me reenergize and refocus. I try to minimize my belongings to reduce clutter and create as much of an aesthetic as possible without focusing on what I can’t change and instead enjoying the space that I do have at this time.

As far as home décor I use what I have, but I also try to thrift furniture when possible. Obviously a few things. I would rather buy new; like my bed spread that I got right before vacation so that when I came back from Puerto Rico I got to sleep in my own bed with brand new clean sheets, pillows and blankets. Allowing myself to kind of splurge on new things when I like the color, style, and the feel, helps me be more grounded in not spending as often or thrifting other items more.

Thrifting clothes, on the other hand, has taken me to a new level of self-love. My style changes just as often as my environment. I’ve been more graceful with myself and being open to new styles, allowing myself to change my mind and wear what feels good regardless of outside opinions.

Growing up, I always got hand-me-down clothes from older cousins and didn't go shopping unless it was for a special occasion. But now I am really enjoying thrifting different outfits and trying to find what style I like the look and the feel of. Something that's helped me with this is looking into my Venus sign and trying to embrace things that I enjoy and trying a lot of things out. Thrifting pants, skirts, dresses, baggy, tight, and different materials, always heavily leaning on some TikTok inspiration from 

TOP 3

3 of my favorite Amazon finds that I use daily

my water bottle

It's a 40 oz, but it also traps in temperature which is great for summer coming up and keeping my water cold.

my phone holder

...for my car helps keep it charged and available for jam sessions. When I am educating my 7-year-old. What fallout boy has done for this country? Just kidding kind of. 

these smart home lights

...are a lifesaver. For someone who does not live close or sleep close to their light switch. You can change the brightness. The color and I never have to worry about the big light. Cause the big light can be dimmed to help with sensory overload. Plus it pairs with Google, so it's even better than the clapper. And I can tell Google to turn my lights on and off. Schedule them for the mornings so that I know it's actually time to get up and not press snooze again.

Book Reccommendations

Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson

The Island of Missing Trees - Elif Shafak

Sometimes I Lie - Alice Feeney

Reviews coming in next week's blog!

So call me crazy when I constantly rearrange furniture, when I go wild over a good deal at the thrift store, and when I dress like I'm a 14-year-old walking into Hot Topic in 2008, but I enjoy it. These things all help me feel at peace, help me feel in control when things are chaotic, and help me express myself as I am constantly changing and gradually less willing to care what others think about that.

Each Amazon purchase from the links above gain me commission from affiliate. If you're not comfortable with that, you can find these products on amazon separately as well, thanks for tuning in.

buh bye.

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil. By Stephen Collins. Picador, 2013.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: graphic novel

Series: N/A

Summary: On the buttoned-down island of Here, all is well. By which we mean: orderly, neat, contained and, moreover, beardless.

Or at least it is until one famous day, when Dave, bald but for a single hair, finds himself assailed by a terrifying, unstoppable... monster!

Where did it come from? How should the islanders deal with it? And what, most importantly, are they going to do with Dave?

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: gore

OVERVIEW: I'm going to be honest: I picked up this book solely because the title made me laugh. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I at least thought it would be somewhat whimsical with such a silly title. Part of my expectations were met; this book is, in many ways, silly and whimsical, but it's also a reflection on order versus chaos, fear, and difference. I had a lovely time reading, so I'm rating it 4 stars.

WRITING/ART: Collins clearly is having a lot of fun with both the writing and the art in this book. The prose is metric and occasionally rhymes (or makes use of assonance), making the whole book feel like a poem. The art is also very clever with Collins playing with shapes and manipulating the panels to create forms that match the story's message and function. The total effect is that this feels like a very playful book, and I was happy to be taken along for the ride.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows Dave, a normal guy who lives in the "tidy" world of Here. In Here, everything is neat and ordered - totally predictable and nothing stands out, all as a buffer to keep chaos at bay. But when Dave suddenly sprouts a beard that just keeps growing, suddenly Here is thrown into chaos as they try desperately to cope with the tidal wave of Dave's facial hair.

I very much liked Collin's focus on order and chaos, using untamable facial hair as the subject for an exploration of the themes of this book. It was silly and whimsical enough to feel non-threatening, but sincere and heartfelt in its examination of how fear holds us back.

The main reason this book gets 4 stars from me instead of 5 is I think Collins could have pushed the message a little bit more. As much as I enjoyed myself, I was hoping for a bugger punch towards the end. But that's an entirely subjective criticism and shouldn't be taken as an indication that this book isn't worth your time.

TL;DR: The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil is a silly and sincere examination of order and chaos, fear, and the benefits of standing out. With clever artwork and a story that's not too threatening, this graphic novel is a charming read for just about anyone.

CHARACTERS: For good reason, there aren't a lot of stand-out characters in this book except for Dave. Most characters are nameless and more or less look the same, and that's by design so that Collins can create the de-individualized world of Here.

Dave himself is easy to like because he's just a normal guy who finds his comfort in routine upset by his beard. His attitude is somewhat detached and naive, but it serves the story well and I chuckled at his attempts to manage his facial hair.

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Blair Dunlop ‘I Wanna Be Running’

Returning to the music scene for the first time since his live album release in 2021, Blair Dunlop is back to bring his fans the folk americana they know and love. With even longer since his 2018 album release, ‘Notes from and Island’, it’s an exciting time for return as he brings a brand new album and UK tour announcement hand-in-hand.

As the album’s debut single ‘I Wanna Be Running’ releases, Blair sets the stage for what’s to come, alongside a striking music video to match. Delivering drawn-out country twangs with a gorgeous acoustic guitar riff, stunning strings and easy-going beats right from pressing play on ‘I Wanna Be Running’ , Blair embraces you with a comforting palette of sound like a cosy blanket by the fire, making every second worth your undivided attention. Whisking you up between the warmth and ease of every delicate instrument, the track continues to softly shift into the verse, losing the strings and carrying through it more of an intimate moment to hold near and dear. Blair’s words gently rise through it, mostly smooth but with a light rasp to his occasional words, bringing out emotion you can’t help but feel in the soul.

The chorus continues to grow back to the beginning’s more orchestrally blooming momentum, building on the returned strings that were slowly brought back in the latter half of the verse amidst the other layerings of sound. Blair’s vocals rising through it in a range bolder than ever before, soaring and weaving between some of the most gorgeous heights with a naturally stunning tone to his every word. His most poignant lines yet are thrust unavoidably your way too, achingly delivering a narrative that carries through themes of existential anxiety. With lines like ‘you’re holding, then it slips through your fingers’ , Blair carries that sense of everything feeling completely out of your control, one second in charge and the next life’s unpredictability reminds it’s all out of your hands. Continuing into the hook ‘I wanna be running, but we can’t shake these shackles’ , Blair lingers on his yearning for freedom and escapism, but no matter how much he tries to forget he’ll always be limited by the knowledge that there’s really no purpose to it at all.

Written as a cathartic exercise, while much of ‘I Wanna Be Running’ feels weighted in reality, Blair finds humour in the absurdity of it all. The video matches that sense of bizarreness with scenes like Blair sleeping on the floor, spinning round office chairs, singing as part of a mug of tea, standing in of crowds of his duplicates and floating across the ground, all while maintaining a serious sense that just makes it that much more confusingly hilarious. It perfectly toes the line between something that holds meaning, and something that wants to remind you to live in the present and let go of those fears, as no matter what happens all we really have is right now.

Give a proper listen to ‘I Wanna Be Running’ here to really understand the way Blair has mastered his craft, and check out the video below for even more of a whirlwind experience.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

[saintravioli]

I accidentally listened to 3 new albums this week so I’m gonna review all of them to even out my poor reviewing so far! I’m starting with the album I actually intended to review: …And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness by Ólafur Arnalds.

This is one of his earlier albums, and I think possibly the earliest I’ve listened to from his discography. I’m a big fan of the way he blends classical and electronic textures and builds mournful, contemplative melodies from often fairly simple motifs. This album, much like his other albums features primarily quartet/chamber ensembles as opposed to a full orchestra, which gives this intimate closeness - you can hear the expression of a single cello, violin or piano (Arnalds himself).

This album had that gorgeous intimacy - it feels like you’re in the room with the musicians and I really enjoyed that. It adds a lot to the poignancy of the music I think.

I did feel like the arrangements of some of these pieces did feel a little 2010, for want of a better expression, and a few of the songs that I didn’t like as much, I didn’t like because they felt like they could be featured in a car commercial. That being said, a lot of the tracks were lovely; my favourites were the first three tracks þÚ Ert Sólin, þÚ Ert Jörðin and Tunglið.

I also really loved the way all the tracks flow seamlessly into each other; the album flows beautifully and the dynamics are gorgeous.

I’ll definitely listen to this again and I think it’s gonna grow on me too, but I don’t find it as tearjerkingly gorgeous as some of Arnalds’ other work, like 2016’s Island Songs, so I’m going to put it at a 7/10.

[fridge-reviews]

The Talos Principle 2

Developer: CroTeam Publisher: Devolver Digital Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified Rrp: £24.99 (Humble, Steam and Epic) Released: 2nd November 2023 Available on: Humble, Steam and Epic Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard Approximate game length: 30+

Normally I would write a little story based on the game the review is about. However, this time I have a story that the first Talos Principle tangentially relates to. The first Talos Principle poses a question regarding souls and if machines can attain them. It also asks another question which is; Is a soul something you imprint upon through your life like a lump of clay or do you become moulded into the shape of your soul as you grow. I found this question interesting and posed it to my best friend (who I knew would love a debate on something like that) and she and I discussed it, or rather, we argued about it. During that argument we asked her partner what he thought. His response disappointed us both as he had no opinion at all about it, not even as a thought experiment. They broke up shortly after. So anyway, that's how the Talos Principle broke my friend's relationship…

This game is set in a world where all of humanity has long since gone extinct… Well, all organic humans are anyway. You may be wondering why would I state specifically ‘organic humans’? That’s because there are sentient robots that call themselves humanity and consider us (the organic ones) to be their ancestors. In this game, as it was with the last game, you play as one of those robots. In the first game you were the first of your kind to be born into the real world and in this one you are the last, specifically the one thousandth. You being the last one is apparently a big deal and so you walk out to a large celebration. A celebration that is short lived as it gets interrupted by Prometheus himself, or at least a representation of him. He just manages to command your race to investigate a distant island before being dragged off by Pandora. It seems something big is occurring and so you and a small team jet off to this mystery island.

As is to be expected a new game comes with new puzzles and mechanics, such as the RGB splitter that requires two coloured beams of light to create a third, such as red and blue to make green. There are also a lot of puzzles, within each of the nine biomes there are eight ‘main’ puzzles, two ‘lost’ puzzles, two statue puzzles and a golden gate puzzle that can only be accessed in the late game. There are actually more than that but telling more would be something of a spoiler.

The puzzles are scattered across each biome and are numbered from one to eight (except the two lost puzzles, the statues and the golden gate) and each biome introduces a new mechanic for you to utilise. While you don’t have to go through them in numerical order, I do strongly suggest that you at least start with puzzle number one before trying the others if only to get an understanding of the new mechanic being shown to you.

Hidden around the biomes are two ‘Sparks of Prometheus’, you can use these sparks to skip a puzzle. Though it takes three sparks to skip a single puzzle and there are only eighteen sparks to be found in the entire game, so if you do decide to use them be sparing with them.

As I mentioned in the story at the beginning of this review, the previous game posed a philosophical question ‘Can a machine have a soul? And if so is the soul developed over time or granted in full at creation?’ It seems the first half of that question was answered, so now this game poses many more questions such as if knowledge should be sought out for its own sake, the nature of self determinism and the direction that the new human society should take.

In the last game there was a journal that was accessed with the [Tab] key, in this game the journal has been replaced with something of a status screen. While in this screen you can read information on the things your companions have found, check the clues that the sphinx statues give, relisten to the voice logs you find (which will continue to play out of the status screen) and you can interact with the games social media. That’s right the new humans in this game have created some kind of twitter analog, thankfully this version is actually moderated and the discussions generally don’t get insulting or abrasive. You can, of course, ignore it however I would encourage you not to as the short conversations you have on there have an impact on certain events that happen in the story.

While in the first game you were all alone, struggling your way through the various puzzles. In this game you actually have companions that wander around the various biomes, they won’t help you with the puzzles at all, that’s your job, but they will want to speak to you about the various things you discover as you play. I really like the inclusion of these characters as they add moments of levity and sometimes an alternative perspective on the various subjects this game likes to throw at you. Plus some of the characters I genuinely grew to like and would seek them out for a conversation whenever something important happened just to hear what they had to say.

I have to say that Croteam certainly do create a beautiful looking game, the various vistas are absolutely stunning to look at. Bear in mind that the screenshots are from my rig which is running just a little over the minimum specifications. I will admit it does make me a little sad to see that Croteam are no longer using their own engine, they really have shown that they know what they're doing with the Unreal 5 engine.

On Steam Deck this game runs flawlessly. However, some of the puzzles (especially the ones that require you to do things outside of the various puzzle enclosures) can be very difficult to see simply due to the screen size.

If you like puzzles then this is a game I can highly recommend. I had an absolute blast playing through this, to the point that I found every secret, completed every puzzle and found the alternative ending. There aren't many games that get me to do that.

If this appeals to you perhaps try;

The Talos Principle Portal 2 Quantum Conundrum

----

If you’d like to support me I have a Ko-fi, the reviews will continue to be posted donation or not.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Emma Hospelhorn

Emma Hospelhorn is a jazz and improvisational flutist who works with Ensemble Dal Niente, The Machine is Neither…and her solo art-folk project Em Spel, whose The Carillion Towers Jennifer Kelly reviewed last year for Dusted, calling it “ folktale turned oddly, surreally modern, a magical realist scenario set in the right now.” Hospelhorn’s Em Spel project has a new single coming out on her own Carillionia Records in August, the ominously beautiful, “My Oldest Friend.” A new full-length is on deck for 2024.

Here is a list of music that inspires her.

Karima Walker — “Reconstellated”

The delicate grace of the electronics, the subtlety of the unassuming strummed guitar, the intimacy of the vocals, the best use in history of the reverse effect. I remember thinking the song couldn’t possibly be this good when I got tickets to see her live, and then it was.

Bilal Nasser — “Exiles and Orange Groves”

Bilal Nasser describes his evocative, kaleidoscopic solo guitar music as “post-classical.” I think it's just beautiful. Of his album Where The Orange Groves Grow, he says, “I couldn't put out an album called Where the Orange Groves Grow, really a reflection of the stories of refugees and exiles I’ve been surrounded by my whole life, without saying something about what is happening this second in the same place. Therefore, the proceeds from the digital release will be donated to Islamic Relief, to help rebuild Gaza. If this music means anything to you, fight for Palestine, fight for black lives, and fight for indigenous rights on Turtle Island.”

Pamela Z — “Breathing” (live)

Watching the legendary Pamela Z using a hand-based gestural controller to manipulate her own voice into loops as she sings — and slow it down, and speed it up, and layer it, and turn it on, and turn it off — is just… so… cool.

Paul Brady — “Arthur McBride” (live)

The story-song in its ultimate form. Putting aside Paul Brady’s unreal guitar playing, one of my favorite things about this performance is the way the intensifying fight in the story gets reflected in his tone and the increasing number of vocal flourishes. I still remember the first time my friend Jesse Langen played this for me in my car as we were driving home from a gig. After I dropped him off, I listened to it on repeat all the way home.

Brittany Howard — “Stay High,” “Georgia,” “Baby” and “Goat Head”

I know everyone has already seen this Tiny Desk Concert. But it’s a perfect performance of four perfect songs.

Eno-Hyde — “Lilac”

High Life came out 9 years ago, and I still can’t stop listening to it — especially Lilac, which is joyful, repetitive, and gives me a nine-minute-long body high. The textures unfold slowly and inexorably over one ecstatic major chord that lasts so long that when a three-note bass progression joins in at the end, followed by a final chorus, the effect is of revelation after revelation.

Oui Ennui — Live session, ESS Quarantine Concerts (live)

Oui Ennui takes us on a long, fascinating ride in this 30-minute-long live quarantine set, from peaceful soundscapes to full dance party mode. I like watching this set because watching him sample/mix/create in real-time is kind of astonishing. If you ever get the chance to see him live, do so.

Josquin Des Prez — “La Deploration sur la Mort de Jean Ockhegem”

This piece was written in 1497 and I love it so much. The soaring vocal lines! The spine-tingling harmonic shifts! Des Prez wrote this as a memorial for his (maybe) teacher, Jean Ockhegem, and it’s devastating.

En Attendant Ana — “Wonder”

This song feels like sunshine to me. Sparkling guitar and vocals over a driving bassline that sounds like it’s just so much fun to play, rising into an extended psych freakout. The ultimate soundtrack to walking down a city street on a clear blue day.

Amanda DeBoer Bartlett — “Measure My Life” (live)

This is just a simple, perfect folk song by Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, who is better known for her work in experimental and new music. The lyrics make me cry every time. “Save your judgement for the pearly gates; I’ll measure my life in what I give away.”

[vintagegeekculture]

The Chinese Cultural Inspirations for Dragon Ball Z and Super

Journey to the West was only the beginning. 

A lot of people are vaguely aware that Dragon Ball was inspired by Chinese culture and Hong Kong Kung Fu movies and novels, but are unaware of how deep and long lasting it goes. The Japanese spent the 1980s fascinated by China, which opened up from being a closed society for decades in 1978; the most famous human being in Japan in the 80s was either Michael Jackson or Jackie Chan. 

In fact, a lot of people commonly believe that the Chinese action movie and Kung Fu novel cultural and media influence on Dragon Ball ended very early on. This is untrue. Sure, we started to see qipaos and cheongsams less frequently when they headed to West City, but it absolutely did not finish, because there’s tons of influence to see even as impossibly late as Dragon Ball Super. Interestingly, I don’t think any of these point of inspirations have been pointed out before, mainly because a lot of Chinese adventure novels are simply not available in English. 

 The Piccolo/Gohan plot was inspired by the Chinese action novel “Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre.”

Okay, tell me if you’ve heard this story before: a truly demonic, weird looking monster villain is defeated by a martial arts hero, but by circumstance, is forced into training his greatest enemy’s young son. The villain trains the young boy, the son of his enemy, in martial arts and over time, becomes like a second father or uncle to him and his family, putting the boy in his “evil” sect, and thanks to his love of his rival’s son, this baddie turns over a new leaf and goes from evil to just…grumpy, and becomes a loyal, though gruff, ally of the boy.

Of course, the events of Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre are a bit different from Dragon Ball in details. The Lion King becomes Wuji’s teacher because they are both stranded together on an island after a shipwreck, for instance, and he is blinded and made vulnerable. Also, the Lion King wasn’t so much evil so much as he was misunderstood by the orthodox martial world. However, in broad outlines, this trajectory for a face turn (becomes friends with his greatest enemy’s son, and becomes like a second father to him as he trains him, causing the villain to become a gruff good guy and ally) is essentially from one of the most famous Chinese novels ever written in the 1960s. 

Oh, and while we’re at it, Gohan is likewise inspired by another character from a Louis Cha novel: the Prince of Dali Duan Yu in the Kung Fu novel Demigods and Semi-Devils. The Prince in that novel is a naïve, pacifistic scholar who prefers books to fighting, and who was raised to be timid and avoid combat, absolutely out of step with his family, all of whom are martial artists and warriors. In fact, the beginning of the story is the prince gets incredibly lost in the wilderness, where the hopelessly naïve prince is utterly out of his depth, with all the robbers and scary beasts, and needs to be saved by real martial artists that protect him like fairy godparents. He spends the first part of the story running away from everything, scared as hell. However, by circumstance, he has naturally high power he cannot fully initially control, and eventually realizes that even scholars and others who hate fighting have to sometimes become fighters to protect those they love.

The Duan Yu part of Demigods and Semi-Devils was made into a film, the Battle Wizard, which was reviewed by PewDiePie. The Dragonball similarities went over his head because, honestly, PewDiePie does not strike me as a perceptive person. 

 Hit was based on the screen persona of Chow Yun Fat.

Chow Yun Fat was a Hong Kong cinema superstar who was to director John Woo what Robert de Niro was to Martin Scorsese. There are three giveaways that Hit was based on Chow Yun Fat. One, he’s an assassin, same as Chow Yun Fat’s character in the Killer, and is even given a sequence that’s a John Woo homage with an assassination in an office building with guns pulled on an empty elevator in an act of misdirection. Second, he’s wearing the single piece of clothing Chow Yun Fat is associated with, a black trenchcoat (fun fact: in Hong Kong today, trenchcoats are called Brother Mark Coats, after Chow Yun Fat’s character in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow). Third, his power is essentially bullet time, a visual technique refined by John Woo in Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s in his gunplay triad movies starring Chow Yun Fat (what, you think the Wachowskis invented it?).

 The Goku/Vegeta relationship is from “Legend of the Condor Heroes.”

Here’s a story you might have heard before. It’s about two rivals, but by circumstance, one is raised in the wilderness beyond civilization, where he becomes an honest and goodhearted, though overly naive bumpkin, martial arts prodigy. The other is raised a wealthy prince by a conquering enemy, who grows up to also become an armor wearing martial arts expert, but also a cunning, arrogant, emotionally distant sociopath.

The similarities go into their love lives, too. The unsophisticated bumpkin hero is betrothed to a daughter of a powerful bearded barbarian king against his will, while the one hint of vulnerability and loss of emotional detachment in the otherwise sociopathic prince, the crack in his smirky arrogance, is that he loves a girl he otherwise pretends to hate, and even fathers a child with her who becomes a main character later.

This is Guo Jing and Yang Kang from Legend of the Condor Heroes. The most fascinating similarity, and proof that female psychology is the same all over the world, is that the fangirls love the emotionally distant, arrogant, and sexy/evil prince (remember when Rhonda Rousey said her first crush was Vegeta?). Girls everywhere love bad boys and sexy villains, and oh boy, do they love Prince Yang Kang. I think you can probably guess who all the fan art is about for Legend of the Condor Heroes, and what ship is the most popular.

I have to emphasize that Legend of the Condor Heroes, which came out in the 1950s-60s, is possibly the most widely read novel by the most widely read novelist on earth - the sales on that dwarf Twilight and Harry Potter. It’s probably not an exaggeration to say nearly every Chinese person, even if they never read it, knows who these characters are. In fact, Yang Kang and Guo Jing from Condor Heroes are basically repeated over and over in Asian, Chinese, and Japanese culture. Does the unsophisticated but gifted martial arts prodigy bumpkin hero, and the glib, arrogant wealthy prince rival remind you of….another duo of rivals?

Gohan/Videl comes from Little Dragon Maiden

One of the most important and influential Martial Arts novels of all time is “Return of the Condor Heroes.” A sequel to Condor Heroes, this time, the main character is the teenage son of one of the main characters from the first novel. It gets even more familiar from there.

“Return of the Condor Heroes” was about a martial arts couple who are also master and student, the same age but vastly different in experience and skill so one somehow seems “older,” and they fall in love because the circumstances of training together requires they spend lots of time together and become intimate. The training story and the love story are exactly the same in “Return of the Condor Heroes.” The dead giveaway one story inspired the other is that in both, the most significant training sequence is one where the master teaches the student how to fly (though Return used a chamber of sparrows for lightness Kung Fu).

There are some differences of course – obviously in Return of the Condor Heroes, the genders of teacher and student are flipped from Gohan and Videl (it’s the Little Dragon Maiden who is a powerful teacher, and the boy who is the student). It was the girl (Videl) who was a rebellious delinquent in Dragon Ball Z, when it was the opposite in the novel, true. But it was obvious this story was in the back of the creator’s mind as a way to combine Kung Fu with the love story, by making teacher and student lovers.

Addendum: hey, remember that awesome movie Kung Fu Hustle, the one Hong Kong movies normies have seen? Well, remember the landlord and landlady? The landlady was named Xiao Lung Nu, or Little Dragon Maiden, and her husband was named Yang Guo – the same as the main characters in Return of the Condor Heroes. It was a joke that went over the heads of Westerners, by giving these names of attractive and naïve young people in love with each other to a surly, bitter, arguing and chain smoking middle aged couple who don’t give a damn.

 Going Super Saiyan comes from “Reincarnated” aka “Bastard Swordsman.”

Stop me if this sounds familiar: a terrifying warlord tyrant prone to killing underlings who displease him has achieved a level of skill and cultivation so tremendous nobody can stop him. But there is one, and only one, thing he fears and that can defeat him: a long-lost legendary skill that nobody has achieved in recent memory, that includes a supernatural combat power transformation that turns the hair light to indicate it worked.

This is “Silkworm Skill” from Reincarnated aka Bastard Swordsman, a novel and TV series from Hong Kong in the early 1980s. Of course, there are differences. To get the power boost and new hair color, the hero has to jump in a cocoon he weaves himself. In fact, the scene is so well known that they actually have it on the poster.

(To those saying “Super Saiyan turns your hair blonde, not white” my response is that it turns hair white, or uncolored, in the comic book.)

The idea of your hair turning white to indicate a new supernatural combat transformation or martial state wasn’t created by Bastard Swordsman, though – though it is the best example and probably the one most familiar to a 1980s audience due to the hugely popular books and TV series. For an older example, a famous Chinese movie based on a folktale is “Bride With the White Hair,” about a bride who’s hair turns white when she is betrayed, in her anger, she becomes less a woman and more a supernatural creature of vengeance (interesting that anger should be the means to unlock it).