#You will likely find that my taste in music is generally ‘edgy’

[vio1315]

Tagged by @greater-than-the-sword to list 5 songs I ‘actually’ listen to

Thank you! Appetite for Destruction - Vo Williams

Bones - Imagine Dragons

Here Comes the Judgment - Walgrove

Smoke - Willyecho

Happy Face - Jagwar Twin

Tagging: @niwawings15 @jacepi-time @nebuladrip 

[corvuserpens]

Alright girlies, I just came back from watching The Crow (2024) and

I'm sorry babes, but it's better than Wicked Prayer. Not better than the 1994 original -- but better than Wicked Prayer. This is your obligatory 🚨🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨🚨 don't say I didn't warn you.

To everyone who recently followed me for Black Sails, we'll get back to that soon, just lemme dump my thoughts on this movie bc The Crow was a game changer for little nine-year-old me back in the good ol' 90's. It's the movie that turned me into a baby bat.

So first things first: the cinematography. Gorgeous. Nice sets, great lighting. Mood always on point. Aesthetics to die for.

Second of all: score. AWESOME. They had Joy Division's Disorder playing while Eric and Shelly were escaping the rehab center and when that first beat started playing, I almost screamed in the mostly empty theater and started tapping along to it. Immediate B- for the movie just for that. But the rest of the music was just as good imo, it slapped so hard that now I have to look it up and play it non-stop. Surprising amount of goth and darkly-inclined music in there, which I was not expecting given the overall appearance of the lead characters.

The story, as I already expressed in a previous post, was generic but at least it had some themes to it that I found interesting. I couldn't really relate to the lifestyle these characters were leading, and honestly, the whole "oh they had a fucked up childhood and it led them into a life of crime/bohemian lifestyle that will be their end", y'know, "live fast, die young," is kinda old for me. I've seen it too many times for it to be edgy anymore. I get this is a reality for many people and I feel or them, obviously. I just don't think it's original anymore. Or maybe it's just not my kind of tea, which is fine. If it is for someone else, more power to them!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Themes. I may not relate to the lifestyle, but I do relate to the whole "loving someone so much you can't imagine yourself living without them" which is what spurs on the whole conflict. From the very beginning, the movie doesn't hesitate to tell us "these two are doomed by the narrative so all the happy times they have won't last." And I will say, FKA Twigs and Bill Skarsgard have insane chemistry. Eric and Shelly's story is very brief and their relationship is only a speck in each of their lifetimes... but they sell the genuine love between them SO well, which lends an extra bit of flavor to the whole tragedy. They only knew each other for such a short amount of time, but the love was there. The connection was there. The threads of a future were just beginning to weave together, and then they were all cut away in the blink of an eye.

In the original movie, the tragedy of Eric Draven and Shelly Webster mirrored James O'Barr's own loss: they had their entire future set up in front of them, all these plans. They were on the eve of their wedding, and then they were brutally murdered. The tragic element in the new movie isn't lessened. It's just different. And I enjoyed that.

One thing I didn't really enjoy was the whole hell premise and the villain who made a bargain with the devil for eternal life in exchange for innocent souls. First of all, that's not how Satan works and this is slander of the highest order. No, I'm not a Satanist, but I respect the guy. Second of all, it's another tired old trope that needs to be put to rest. I find it much more interesting when human characters do evil shit because they act upon their evil impulses, which we all have, NOT because "the devil made them do it." Just... ugh. No, I loved Top Dollar in the 1994 movie because he was some fucked up little dude who lived for mayhem and death and had impeccable taste in Victorian fashion, who happened to dab in the occult along with his half-sister whom he liked to fuck. He was theatrical and extremely Edgy for the time and that's why he's so iconic and memorable. I don't need a villain who sold his soul for eternal life. Let him be evil for evil's sake, you don't need to sell your soul for that, damn. Not to mention Roeg felt flat and uninteresting. The connection to predatory men in high positions of power who prey on the dreams of young women artists was there, but they made it so on-the-nose that it sucked the interest out of it. Eh.

Now. The whole abandoned train station as a liminal space between life and death and the mysterious man who may or may not be an angel (or the skeletal cowboy from the comic book). There's an interesting concept. And the whole using puddles of dirty water, and rivers or other bodies full of liquid (a tub at some point) as a portal to and from that space? Simple, yet effective. Reminds me a little too much of the meme of the girl on the swing who jumps off into a puddle and disappears through it, but regardless. I think Eric jumps to and from there a bit too often and it breaks the mysticism a bit, but whatever.

I did enjoy the fact that Eric doesn't get his full powers immediately after dying, and I DID like the detail that, as long as his love for Shelly remains pure, his body will always heal because, as the Mysterious Man points out, the death/corruption/undoing of love (can't remember his exact words) isn't hate; it's doubt. As the story progresses and Eric finds out Shelly's Big Dark Secret™, his love for her falters, so his body begins to fail. It ties perfectly to the end of act one, when Shelly asks him to promise that when she becomes hard to love, to love her harder.

Which brings me to Shelly's backstory. It wasn't bad. I can understand the whole "your mom pushed you too hard when you showed signs of great artistic potential and it led her to manipulate you, abuse you and expose you to things a young girl shouldn't be exposed to" so she had to escape from her clutches, but the things she saw fucked her up and she turned to drugs and alcohol to cope.

But at this point, when she reveals she has this Big Dark Secret™ that she can't tell Eric about or else he wouldn't love her anymore, we already know that the villain made a bargain with the devil, so he has the ability to reach into the darkest parts of a person's soul and force them to act on it. And that kinda spoils the moment when it's revealed that Shelly killed someone. Because y'know, her soul is Pure and Good and she would never actually kill anyone because if she did, then she'd really deserve going to hell! Just... No. That's not how women work. That's not even how people work! People are imperfect, that's what makes us human. It would have been so much more interesting if Shelly had in fact killed that random girl, like, I dunno, over money, over drugs, over blackmail or something random and stupid that made her act out and then had it haunt her for the rest of her life, I don't fucking know! But no. She killed her because Roeg made her, exempting her from the blame and the consequences instantly. Boring. Let Eric learn all the fucked up things Shelly did and love her anyway. Let her get a little redemption for her bad choices by earning his full, unconditional love because that's all any of us wants, isn't it? To have someone see how rotten we are and say we are enough for them despite it all. Goddamn.

Okay, what else. The comedic timing. The stupid pun when they first meet, the opera music playing over Eric going ballistic in the hall, the fact he got stabbed with his katana in the back, but two minutes later, somehow the katana flipped around so Eric can pull it out of his front?? That was such a 2000's era movie mistake, lmao. Very charming.

No officer Albrecht or Sarah as a human stand-in for Eric's moral compass or to remind him of Shelly or all the other people they loved and who he will have to leave behind when all's said and done? Bad.

For a movie titled The Crow, there was a sad lack of crow influence in the movie. Eric isn't connected to his crow in any way. No more whole "you kill the crow, you kill the man" anymore, which is bullshit. Bill Skarsgard doesn't even get to have a crow perching on his shoulder??? What is this??????????? Big boo. The crow was the central focus of all the other movies bc it was the protagonist's link to the land of the living. It was a constant presence to remind us that, when all the wrong things have been set right, the crow would lead him back to the land of the dead to rest. As it were, in this installment, the crow was a prop and nothing more. If it hadn't been there, the story wouldn't be affected in the slightest. This is where this film fails to be a The Crow movie to me: one of them is still alive by the end when that's not what The Crow as a franchise is about.

The original comic book was an expression of tremendous grief and loss over a loved one, by how untimely and unfair it was. In the end, the protagonist, whomever they may be, dies so that they can be with that person they lost and they can be at peace in whatever comes after life. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty compelling to have Eric learn Shelly is going to hell and offers to trade his soul for hers, and it is okay that in the end, Shelly is brought back to life while Eric remains dead. I mean, the whole bit with the mysterious man being a first responder and telling Shelly that Eric fought hard over her? Heart-wrenching. In a different movie, I would be all about it, but this is supposedly a The Crow movie and it broke the precedent imposed by the previous installments, both in comic book and movie format. So... Yeah, that's a no from me. Themes of grief and loss? Never heard of her.

To wrap this post up 'cause it's getting too long: I liked that the Marion character seemed to have a thing going on with her body-guard or wtv he was? You know, the one who killed Shelly? That was a nice little side detail I noticed. The themes were nicely established, but didn't tie up too well, I think. Too many loose ends or things left unexplored. I was glad we didn't get the schmuck happy ending in which the Universe or Entity or what have you deemed Eric's love for Shelly pure enough that he wouldn't go to hell in her stead and they were both brought back to life and lived happily ever after. But we also didn't get to see Eric getting dragged to hell in the end either, that was a missed opportunity to really let the consequences of his choices sink into the audience and make us all leave the room completely horrified. Would make for a much more impactful credit roll. Or maybe I'm just fucked in the head, idk.

The defeat of the villain felt unsatisfying. Did like the whole "you corrupted her (into killing that girl)" "you can't corrupt what's not in there already" thing, but if at the end of the fight Eric had gotten a little monologue about how "it's not about whether the corruption is in there or not, it's your choices not to act on it that really matters" before shoving Roeg into the jaws of hell, that would have helped matters along, me thinks. Hate that the movie has to hand-hold the audience through making connections between what's said at the beginning of the story and when later the characters mirror it with actions. I get we went through covid and all our memory and attention span got royally scrambled for it, but come on. We're not little kids. Let the setup/payoff ratio stand on its own, I promise people will remember.

All in all, hour and half well spent, I wasn't bored and my eyes had a feast with the visuals. I'll give it a 6/10👍 Would have been better as a stand-alone action flick instead of being advertised as a new The Crow installment (and really, it's trying to be a more faithful adaptation of the comic book? Even Donald fucking Trump couldn't make up a lie this blatant), but I enjoyed myself and that's what matters.

[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.

[useramor]

fall out buck

talking to @soleadita​ about buck’s taste in music and i started to ramble about his top fob songs from his high school years in the replies, but it got too long so i’m making a proper post about it here! i’m a firm believer buck went through a mild edgy phase. he started high school in 2005, aka the year from under the cork tree by fall out boy was released, and i’m entirely convinced that album set the tone for the rest of buck’s high school years. so here, in my professional emo opinion, are buck’s favorite fall out boy songs. 

this is only including songs from albums that would’ve released during his high school years, if anyone wants a part 2 with the other fob albums or even other artists lmk

(i’m working with buck being born in 1991 btw because we don’t have a strict timeline for that)

also i’m putting this under the cut because it got so very long, but if you’re curious and don’t feel like reading everything i had to say, here are the songs i chose:

- our lawyer made us change the name of this song so we wouldn’t get sued - i’ve got a dark alley and a bad idea that says you should shut your mouth (summer song) - 7 minutes in heaven (atavan halen) - XO - i’m a lawyer with the way i’m always trying to get you off (me & you) - the (after) life of the party - bang the doldrums - G.I.N.A.S.F.S. - disloyal order of water buffaloes - (coffee’s for closers) - what a catch, donnie - 27 - pavlove

(in order of release)

from under the cork tree (2005)

this album would’ve come out right as he was finishing middle school, so he went into his first year of high school with these songs already released. it was the (private) soundtrack to his summer (he was not about to get called gay by the other guys he was trying out for the football team with, thanks), you cannot convince me otherwise.

our lawyer made us change the name of this song so we wouldn’t get sued

first track baby opening song to the album!! i feel like, at fourteen in his small town in pennsylvania, he felt really edgy for liking this band. for liking more alternative music in general. and he liked having that sort of control over feeling like an outsider, because he’s felt a little off his whole life, but now he was choosing to be different. 

lyric buck wrote on his arm in sharpie during math class: 

I’ve got a dark alley and a bad idea that says you should shut your mouth (summer song)

i feel like this was his favorite track off this album. he listened to the lyrics for the first time and felt a little bit like someone carved his chest out. 

lyrics that made him the most insane (all of them. this song is so buckcoded but i tried to narrow it down):

7 minutes in heaven (atavan halen)

this is definitely the song he most related to when he listened to this album again as he got a little older. 

lyrics he used to skip over but that now make his chest feel tight:

(like come on lmao this is so buck coded it’s painful)

XO

buck at fourteen just liked this song. his parents hated it, especially when margaret bothered to listen to the lyrics and realized exactly what the song was saying. 

lyrics marge hated the most (and that, in turn, buck liked the best):

infinity on high (2007) 

this album would’ve come out in the second semester of his sophomore year, for reference he’d be fifteen going on sixteen

i’m a lawyer with the way i’m always trying to get you off (me & you)

new album! i feel like this would be his first favorite song, and he’d have it on repeat for days until he got sick of it. the sexual innuendos meant more, too, now that he was a little older.

lyrics he sang to the point where he’d get kicked out of class for singing too much:

the (after) life of the party

he listened to the very first line of this song and related to it on a level he simply could not explain. also he belts the chorus in the shower to this day (eddie finds it endearing, even if buck’s terrible).

the first line in question:

bang the doldrums

i feel like this song, like 7 minutes in heaven, is one he liked more as he got older. at fifteen/sixteen he liked it, but at 18, 19, 20? i can just imagine buck went back to this song and listened to it so often even his roommates learned the words. 

also it’s objectively hilarious that this song was originally written for shrek

lyrics:

G.I.N.A.S.F.S.

y’all get it. this was one of his favorites in high school. buck goes back to this song after eddie leaves the 118 and he’s with taylor. 

these are the lyrics that would make him grip the steering wheel so tight his knuckles would turn white:

(like come on lol. especially considering this song is literally titled gay is not a synonym for shitty it’s so stupidly fitting lmao)

folie a deux (2008)

this album came out his senior year of high school (he would’ve been seventeen)

disloyal order of water buffaloes

okay there’s a lot here but i think not just lyrically but sonically buck really loves this song! the quiet, organ intro that immediately jumps into a guitar and then loud, booming drums? come on, it’s so fun :) and i do think that buck relates to a lot of it lyrically as well. it became an instant fave the second the album started (literally, because this is the first track)

the lyrics i feel like he related to most at angsty seventeen:

(coffee’s for closers)

i don’t have anything particularly intelligent to put here, i just feel like this is the song he listened to when he would work out, just listen to the beat, to patrick’s vocals, and let any meaning of the lyrics fall away as he ran around his neighborhood. idk i just imagine him bopping to it on his ipod.

his favorite lyric:

watch a catch, donnie

this one is one of buck’s favorite fall out boy songs because he simply loves it. i feel like they’re a very personal band to him, i feel like he relates to a lot of lyrics and we know buck feels so much so deeply, that being able to just belt out to this song and listen to it and enjoy it without it cutting all too deeply is nice.

that being said, this lyric definitely hits home for him:

27

this was his PEAK #edgelord song. this song nearly convinced him he should start wearing guyliner. he played this song for a girl once and she hated it, but instead of seeking her approval he just turned the volume up louder and never spoke to her again. peak angsty, edgy, high school buck every time this song came on. he thought the lyrics were inspired. and the fact that this song is about the 27 club? he found that so creative. loser (affectionate).

also he loved to sing the guitar solo as loudly and obnoxiously as possible in the shower

his favorite lyrics:

pavlove

yes, he owned the deluxe version. obviously.

rolling with the fact that buck is seventeen going on eighteen here, and knowing he just gets more and more reckless as he got older, i feel like this captured some of his self destructive tendencies in a way that made him feel uncomfortably seen. 

i could honestly put the whole song here, but especially this lyric:

(”i wanna make you as lonely as me” like that’s totally angsty teenage buck towards his parents)

anyway this is horrifically long. let me know if you want a part 2 :)

[barrenclan]

for your next music recs post i got a few:

1. “rabbit heart (raise it up)” by florence + the machine is a good one for rainhaze imo. it might work a little better if he was a girl just bc the singer refers to herself as such in the song but other than that it’s a pretty good fit

for the next two, i remember someone tried to recommend an ethel cain song for corm that ended up not being a good fit, BUT i feel like her music in general does match up with the vibes so here’s a couple songs off that same album (preacher’s daughter, def give it a listen if you get the chance) that i feel would fit:

2. “thoroughfare” would be a good one for hush puppy, wild rose, or even slugpelt depending on the context you take it in; lyrically it’s about a girl who falls in love with a smooth-talking guy and they plan to go on the run together. however, if you take it in the greater context of the album (bc it’s a concept album), the guy later turns out to be a serial killer/cult leader sooo you can imagine how that turns out

3. “ptolemaea,” which is a couple songs after the previous one, and sort of serves as the climax of the album; while i’m not sure if there’s a specific character it fits, it ABSOLUTELY fits the overall mood/themes of the story. i wish there was more i could say about it, but this is one of those songs where it’s best if you go in blind. trust me

Eh, I never care too much about the gender of lyrics unless it's actually relevant to the character's meaning. I like it with Redpelt, too, though! Since Rainhaze and Redpelt did have a relationship to each other, maybe they can both be singing the song.

"Here I am, a rabbit hearted girl Frozen in the headlights It seems I've made the final sacrifice" (Redpelt)

"This is a gift, it comes with a price Who is the lamb and who is the knife? Midas is king and he holds me so tight And turns me to gold in the sunlight" (Rainhaze)

2. I did listen to a bit of the Ethel Cain album, though it's not really my taste.

The specific song sounds really great to work with Wild Rose, in the context of the rest of the album. I have described her as a character with wanderlust before, so I imagine she'd want to leave Defiance with Deepdark.

"I met you there in Texas, somewhere on the thoroughfare On the side of the road in some torn up clothes with a pistol in my pocket I didn't trust no one but you said, "Baby, don't run, I'll take you anywhere"

"And then you turned to me and stared into me deep And said, "Well, maybe not, 'cause look at what I've got You might not be my love, but baby, I doubt it"

3. Oh, what an intersting song this is. If I had to assign a character to it I'd say Deepdark, with certain other lyrics in the song as victims of his throughout the years. Specifically the phrasing of "I am the white light" and "[the] wolf, crawling to thee" are very relevant to some imagery surrounding him.

Good old The Moss! I like this song.

"Well, we can all learn things, both many and a-few From that old hunched-up woman who lived inside a shoe Or the girl that sang by day and by night she ate tear soup Or the man who drank too much and he got the brewers' droop"

"Come listen, all ye fair maids, to how the moral goes Nobody knew and nobody knows"

If that song's not on Rainhaze Hell, it prolly should be. He's got a couple of NIN there already I believe. Any angry, edgy, upset song is very Rainhaze. I like the motif of the days feeling like a constant endless drag in this one.

"I think I used to have a purpose Then again, that might have been a dream"

"I can feel their eyes are watching In case I lose myself again Sometimes, I think I'm happy here Sometimes, yet I still pretend"

Never Love an Anchor is actually Slugpelt's theme song, which you can find on the official PATFW playlist! It fits her terribly well.

I could see I Bet on Losing Dogs as a representation of her and Cashew's relationship, where she's continually convincing herself that he'll stay despite knowing in her heart he won't.

"Will you let me, baby, lose On losing dogs I know they're losing and I'll pay for my place"

"My baby, my baby You're my baby, say it to me Baby, my baby Tell your baby that I'm your baby"

Aw, yeah, good call.

"If the rashes sprang to life, would you just let me down? Would you leave those kids again and kick 'em outta town? I guess we'll never know, I'll just be here wondering What made you choose to go? The day you went down to Mexico"

"Now there's time to mend, every broken heart that you left In your gust of wind, no more little ghost I keep around"

[nevertoomanyspiders]

oh yeah re:playlists

sure I share my longass playlists with friends but that is generally if i have a pretty good idea of what they like or if they're looking for something new to listen to.

one bubbly and cutesy character may have a mostly J-pop and eurobeat saturated playlist while another may be kinda gloomy and edgy and have darkwave and industrial tunes. a 70s themed character will have 70s pop and rock (but especially prog rock lol)

but yeah. i tend to be biased towards electronic music in most cases but i do like supplementing with appropriately themed music.

music tastes can be very particular and I'm pretty picky about what i might get into. acoustic guitars are definitely one thing i am aggressively not fond of due to their overuse, but depending on how it's played, how the vocalist sounds, what the song is about may change my mind. but on most part, naw thank you. (looks at lutes in medieval and renaissance music) you're on thin ice.

edit: grabbing my tag novel from the previous post:

#i make playlists to listen to while i draw#i don't make them for some rando to try to get a read on my OCs asfdsag#that and idk i listen to mostly instrumental music#or songs with nonsensical lyrics#music to me is about The Vibes and not so much the meaning#if I was to find a perfect song to describe a character of mine it'd be weird because that is not how i listen to music#music#so yeah it's unlikely i'll try to make mixtapes anytime soon#oh yeah there's also the fact of like. the genres i like may not mesh with someone else's tastes#i ramble

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

I think you should be able to feed algorithms data manually instead of the damn thing just guessing.

Like if I was a young person and so the edgy music that my peers were into was screamo and I wanted to start getting into more punk music I think I should be able to tell Spotify that I would like them to pepper some more standard punk bands into my algorithmically generated playlists instead of me having to go and find punk bands, play them and hope Spotify gets the message, (which Spotify never does btw when I logged into Spotify they randomly assigned me 30 songs and they've been playing me those same 30 songs regardless of how many times I search something else)

Like i don't want to be constantly fighting with an algorithm to try to get it to figure out that I don't like the used that much and I would like it to stop playing me the taste of ink I never asked for the taste of ink please play some fucking Bauhaus

[celestialcass]

I went to the John Waters one man show “devil’s advocate” last night with my partner. And it was… certainly something.

From the director of Hairspray and many more cult hits, I was expecting a funny night out, but the combo of the Rio theatre’s crowd buzzing and the pre-show music being extremely loud, I had a meltdown. I usually have earplugs for big crowded events but I lost them recently (thanks adhd and memory problems) so I plugged my ears and cried (my partner says I was silent but I couldn’t tell in the moment) from overstimulation while the show started. Luckily the volume for the regular mic was fine and I was able to calm down during the opening of the set.

Sometimes I underestimate just how overwhelming the world can be without my earplugs, but that experience made me order more that should be arriving today. So. Yay?

I’m trying to be more open about my disabilities on here for transparency’s sake. Lots of us on tumblr are neurodiverse and if I can warn someone about a show having both extremely loud pre-show AND multiple uses of the ‘r’ slur, I will.

This was followed by a diatribe that was anti-censoring which like. Sure. Personally the ‘r’ slur feels like a punch in the gut everytime, but he didn’t say the ‘n’ slur aloud, so there IS a line he won’t cross anymore, but that somehow isn’t censoring? I wonder if it’s because there are words that do nothing but hurt people and we shouldn’t say them for that reason, rather than it being a symbol of government overreach.

Additionally he spoke about the “nonbinary wave” as he called it, which left a bitter “it’s just a fad” taste in my mouth as he failed to use they/them pronouns correctly. I suppose the joke could be the grammatical errors, but I certainly didn’t find it funny.

There was a deeply uncomfortable section where he seemed to confuse the term “punk” with being suicidal, which is blatantly untrue and reductive of that community. I understand comedians do this for expediency’s sake but if he was semi-accurate with the generalizations it would land better.

He went on about his libertarian political stance, which like, bold move for a 77 year old. Not choosing a side makes you soooooo edgy and hip with the kids right? Nope. Libertarians just want a medal for not being “conformist” which was the tone of the whole show.

John Waters’ films are a notable part of queer history, but he didn’t seem particularly interested in accommodating for disabled fans, or in having well-researched talking points.

I wouldn’t say it’s unwatchable or not worth seeing if you’re a superfan, but this was the first and last of his live shows I’ll see.

[exileorexodus]

🇨🇦🇨🇳 • 2005 • cosmic ridicule

THE #2 dead dove eater and #1 cherry tomato fiend

infamous, dashing, and prolific online guy shen sheneraki (or exorex,)

they/any thing with eldritch roots and slightly anarchist mentality. biblically accurate martyr complex (crucification included)

block if you can't handle high amounts of swag, dislike cool people, and can’t stand spicy (occasionally questionable) takes

-- tags and more beneath the cut.

.𖥔 ݁ my tags. ˖⌗

#exorexart - my (new) art and sketches tag

#ishkabibble - thoughts and general textdumps.

#exorexpngs - photos I took. feature occasional selfies and little parts of my life

#exorexocs - original characters and any adjacent content, such as writing.

#exorexplays - you don't think i call myself a gamer for no reason, do you?

-- .𖥔 ݁ reblog tags. ˖⌗

#support - check these out if you want to do something nice

#💗 - art of friends + general cool stuff from other people

#🖇️ - posts that I archive to look at later

#🔦 - based posts I archive to keep

#🥚 - shit that made me giggle.

📢.ᐟ i have public accounts under @sheneraki, but tumblr and discord are really my only active socials. if you want to add me for whatever reason there, my user is shen326

📢.ᐟ my steam is also under exileorexodus (EXOREX 🎭) if you want to see what games I play.

📢.ᐟ i also have a very lengthy spotify. if you're curious about my music taste, or feel like checking out my oc playlists, take a look here.

🗂️.ᐟ I rarely block unless it’s a harassment or bot case. there’s not much content out there that makes me uncomfortable enough to go out of my way, so if I happen to do it, really consider trying some self-introspection.

🗂️.ᐟ you can follow and interact with me regardless of your age, but if you’re really young you shouldn’t be on here. online spaces are much more hazardous than you might think. if you really want to stay, be discreet about it and never give personal details about yourself to online strangers.

🗂️.ᐟ my art is EDGY and my ocs are EDGY, (just take my word for it.) i may produce content with themes and narratives that may make you uncomfortable.

🗂️.ᐟ i have no dni list; i find them pointless. just be reasonable and take care to curate your own experience.

⋆⭑ END

[yuelaos-codex]

1, 5, 13, 19, 20, 24 Ylva and Heimdall 🙈🙈

THANK YOU SM BIGGIE!! 🥹🥹🥹💕

13, 20, and 24 answered here!

1. What are things they both find funny?

Edgy, sarcastic, borderline offensive comments. They're mean girls 😭

If everything worked out for them (aka the whole arranged marriage situation didn't happen): Atreus 💀 Heimdall would bully him hard but Ylva's gonna be like "Don't pick on him, he's just a kid! He doesn't know anything!"

Atreus: Wait wha-

5. What activities do they enjoy together?

Swimming! Skinny dipping!

Generally they just love hanging out and being alone together while doing their own thing.

Gossiping! Thanks to Ylva. Heimdall says he's above it but he would correct the details she got from the girlies:

"No love, her best friend actually tried to steal her lover. Someone walked in on them-- that's why she confessed."

"That. Wench!"

True story 💀

Also bullying good cop bad cop style 💀

19. If they could each write a single line in their marriage vows, what would they be?

This was the hardest question I ever had to answer IN MY LIFE I deadass spent 2 hours writing this HELP. I wanted to go with the funny route SO BAD but I think answering this seriously let me know them better! I even teared up a little. My babies are all grown up now... 🥹😭 (also ik it says a single line but it didn't make sense to me 😭 and can i just say heimdall would have his vows around 10 pages long 💀)

Ylva:

You have taught me that true love is a choice-- and I would evermore choose the pain, the hardships, and the grief as long as it's with you. For you alone make me the happiest.

Heimdall:

Love, I owe you my life and I shall dedicate this second chance to look at your shade of turquoise, to feel the warmth of your skin, to hear your musical laughter, and to taste those apple-honey lips. To see your soul bare without judgement, to feel and carry your burdens as if they were mine, to hear the silent acts of your love, and to taste and share the joy of living life with you for evermore.

[shardofhope-fanfic]

Hi! i'm a big fan of you works in Ao3, im just wondering how do you write comedy that is so ridiculously funny but in context still kind of down to earth and logical?? You have like the best deadpan comedy i've seen in fiction yet. Also your dialouges, oh my god, i eat up your fic dialouges like its breakfast. They are so good. Like, how do you write the characters in a way that is out of character but still in character, you know what i mean?? I think its like an extention to their personality you are expanding. it sounds so real to the character but so ridiculous that it can really only work in that certain situation they are being scened in. okay, if you don't get what i mean (sorry explaining & describing isnt my strong suit) basically its, me love the way you write dialouges + comedy Okay fangirling aside, do you think you can share some tips on dialogues and comedy? i write as well, and i'd love to learn from the best.

Aw thank you a lot! It means the world to me that people appreciate my strange sense of humor! Believe it or not you're the second ask I have ever gotten on this little tumblr blog, so with that, I'm gonna give you all the little deets you desire, and perhaps more. Although I'm going to fight you and say I am not the best. I ain't no Terry prachet, but thank you for the compliment either way

As for the so far out of character it loops back around, that is something that's mildly intentional, in a strange sort of way. What I love about the Omori cast in general is that they have such strong, varied foundations to built upon, any situation you could throw at them would be plausible. It's something I've even taken into account with my own book (however thats still in progress, and will not see the light of day until its ready.). From that, you gain a lot of freedom to mess around! The key in my opinion, is to branch out juuuuust a bit father than you would think they could go, then yank it back. Its branching off from that foundation in a logical way, then exxagrateing it for a moment for comedic or serious effect. It allows you a lot more flexibility while not being too OCC.

As for tips on writing comedy, the first one I can give you is write what you find funny. I know thats lame duck as hell, but there is a kernal of truth in there. For you to write something hilarious, you have to be the person to find that hilarious first. Trust me, trying to write something someone else would find funny is just a awful time. Over time, you'll begin to get a grasp of your own comedic styleing, and those that find it funny will be attracted to you! But just focus on situations, plots, and jokes that make you giggle like a little goblin when you write them.

Accept that some people won't find you funny. It is a fact that just like music, comedy is very subjective. It's all a matter of taste, and some people will not vibe with it. Thats okay! Some people may not like the edge I sometimes have, and that's valid AF. Were all funky little organisms looking for a decent time. However that goes both ways too! I've had plenty of comments calling my stuff dumb, but such is life.

Let a story breathe sometimes! This is the one thing that I see people fuck up on the most, and I can understand why. When you're trying to be funny, the natural impulse is to stuff as much funny as you can into a story. This is a pitfall that can just cheapen the entire thing. Sometimes, a nice little bit of a breather between punchlines is all you need to make them hit all the harder. But to explane why, I need to make my next point.

CONTEXT IS KING. Let me repeat that, CONTEXT, IS, KING. If anything, above all else, consider the context of the funny thing you are trying to make. A lot of my humor works a well as it does because I build a context where it would be funny as hell. It's also how I get away with my more edgy work. For example, I thought homophobic Mari could be funny, but without the context of her being a lovable, gullible idiot who is prone to being influences (in this case by a redhead she found attractive) than it wouldn't be funny, it would just be punching down, or worse, blatantly homophobic. Context can allow you to make something horrifically grim hilarious, and the other way around. Mastering the art of context is the real skill you need to master! It also helps every other kind of writeing, but in comedy it is the make or break.

Don't punch down. This one is p self explanatory, but it needs to be said.

To round out this mostly theory of comedy, let me give you some of my FAV tools I use in writing my comedies, as well as some literary quirks that make for amazing reading.

fortunately, (bad thing), Unfortunately(good thing that will lead to bad thing. fortunately (awful thing that will make everything end out better.0 The quick contradictions of these make for a fantastic tone, and one of my fav writeing tropes.

Treating something mundane as life or death, or treating something absurdly dangerous with no seriousness whatsoever (seen best in Mari's overly busy afterlife.)

Pointing out people's lies in the narration, or in the body and not the dialog.

There are probably more examples, but I can't think of them at the moment! Now, dialog is something that is a paradox. Its absurdly easy and flows like wine, Until it don't. So let me give you some general things that helped me up my game.

Separate your characters into paragraphs. No teo people should talk in the same paragraph. Not only dose it flow better, it allows people to always know whos talking when while keeping the he said she said stuff to a minimum.

Conclude with things other then a adverb for talking. Sure said, replied, mummered and the like are all good ways to conclude a sentence in a paragraph, or continue, but their not always needed. You can fill that pause with damn near anything! Actions, thoughts, the narrator talking mad shit, anything really. it helps vary up how Converstations feel!

Rapid fire sentences. I'm suprised people don't use them more! When only wto people are converseing, sometimes you can advance the conversations without putting any description between the sentences. Just alternate and let the sentences fly, like this.

"Person one" descriptive writeing. "Person one"

"Person two"

"Person one"

"Person two"

Its the best way to get to that one bit you really want too, and it can feel really snappy and good when done spareingly.

Lastly, most importently, and all that jazz, one simple fact. People do not speak in perfect grammer. The one thing that stories can get wrong about people, in general, is they speak out in these perfect little sentence. Having been a english speaker my entire life, this is horse shit. People talk with slang, blatantly wrong grammar, and weird phrasing all the time. To strip this all away can really strip the veneer off of them. It ain't a excuse to be too sloppy, but it is something to remember. Speaking in these perfect little sentences all the time can feel almost alien.

Well, thats all I can think of RN, off the top of my head. I'm not the best at giving advice, but hopefully this helps you along your journey! Don't hesitate to drop more asks if you have questions, it's what this tumblr is made for!

-Shard.

[indigochromatic]

7, 8, and 11 for the system ask game!

7- Which headmates have the most unique music taste?

Hm. That one gets a bit hard with only two of us, haha, but (said with zero bias whatsoever, of course /s) I think I probably have a more 'unique' music taste than S. Our tastes overlap a lot (in that if one of us likes a song, the other one almost always at least thinks it's fine), but he's over there with all his angsty alt rock teen music and edgy pop, whereas I tend to gravitate more towards various kinds of EDM, electroswing, game/movie soundtracks, and some folk genres.

8- Which headmate has the most specific role?

Expanding this to "most specific pulls-you-towards-front triggers": S tends to get pulled forward by driving, social situations where he can interact openly as himself, and source mentions; he gets pushed away from front by depression episodes--not because he's less prone to depression, but because he's actually a lot more prone to it, whereas my mood setpoint tends to be higher even when we're Going Through It(TM). I tend to get pulled forward by silly things, depictions of flight, books/movies in general, and situations where we want to or feel compelled to fit into a more fem social role; I get pushed away from front by overstimulation/overwhelm and "emotional lockdown".

11- Pet peeves about other headmates? This is a hard one, honestly. I gave it a shot over here on this answer already, so I'll try to pick some new ones; to be super cards-on-the-table about it, I (L) personally tend to deal with a lot of subconscious internalized self-negativity, so I tend to be annoyed/frustrated with myself even more frequently and intensely, I think, than S usually is--I'm working on it as best I can, ofc, but it's A Process like all this stuff is (/sigh). Anyways--this is less of a "pet peeve" and more of a "darn, this is unfortunate", but I wish (we both wish) it was easier to find stuff to make S more comfortable/be identity-validating for him. So far, it seems like most of the typical things that it seems like other nonhuman folks and other introjects tend to enjoy--therian/otherkin gear like ears or tails, fanart and source interactions, etc--are just as likely to make him more uncomfortable/dysphoric as opposed to less. He gets, as he puts it, "uncanny valley-ed" by a lot of fanart; gear-wise, the key thing he misses about his ears is that they're part of his expressions, so having immovable ones would, in his mind, feel even worse; direct engagement in source can sometimes be really fun for him, but also has a 10-20% chance of going very wrong and giving him exotrauma flashbacks, if he's not purposefully mentally disengaging from it preemptively. Thanks for the questions! :D -L

[killeriknik]

Killer Fish #1:

2000s Christian Metal

cleaning out some drawers, i rediscovered this album today. unfortunately, the cd and front cover have been lost somewhere in my house (hopefully). but it reminded me of a subgenre, or really a movement, that i hadnt considered fully before.

i found this cd in the basement of an odd store, half of which is a Moon Pie General Store, where you could find anything moonpie related as well as typical tourist junk. however, the other part of this business is a christian book store. on the main floor they sold new books. past the selections of bibles and christian novels/self help/anything, past the surprisingly funny secular selections of diary of a wimpy kid and Five Nights at Freddys novels, and past the section of childrens entertainment, there is a GIGANTIC basement.

scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net

scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net

im not sure where the basement items they sold at a discounted price came from. it was like flea market levels of unsold stock. im talkin odd sh*t. at points they had 18+ erotica from the 90s, some Star Wars Episode 1 merch i regret not buying, 14 billion copies of a political hate book about president Obama, and of course a shit ton of cds. ive found suprisingly obscure and amazing books there, but thats not what this is about.

sometime maybe 2020-2021 i found this cd for 3 bucks. being an edgy teen with a hatred of Christianity, i was enthralled to find such a cd with the album name "buried alive." at a time in my life where i had limited to no internet access but blossoming music taste (and an impressive cd collection), I listened to this shit SO MUCH. heres one of my favs.

(sorry, wish i could find a better site to link their music, but the only site they seemed to upload to was myspace, and for some reason the site is broken, idk im not familiar with myspace)

The band Inhale Exhale was a semi popular american metal(core) group, hailing from Ohio. and like so many independent rock bands with the best music youve ever heard, they promptly disbanded with only a few albums under their belt.

R.I.P inhale exhale, 2005 - 2013.

its that yummy yummy mix of metal, emo, melodic hardcore, and probably countless other labels (can you tell i have a distaste for genres?) that rocked the scene in the 2000s to early 2010s, around a time when the Jesus Freak Movement had revived and infused its 70s hippie values into the grungey, edgy and dark undertones of the late 90s-00s, delivering the gospel with a unabashed punch. truly of another era, an era i wish i had experienced. i think this was the first "metal" music i ever listened to on my own, but i found out just today that they were in fact a christian metal band.

this year ive been really into metal related music. but ive also been really into the concept of christianity. my family, really my entire community ive been raised in is "christian". going to "christian" schools, having only christian "friends", adult role models who were "christian", its always been about salvation and damnation. as i became a teenager, i evolved into a creature who despised this religion, for many good reasons im sure ill talk on another time, but also pure teenage rebellion. studying the bible this year (as a part of my last year in.. you guessed it... a christian school) has been oddly eye-opening. maybe ive matured since i last cracked open the holy bibbel. but ive found myself debating the idea of it. at its core, it seems to my mind to be the best sounding religion out there. what i love most is the rich story and the themes of love, redemption, brokenness, true evil and true good; they resonate with me.

christian metal really hits the spot. the themes i have deep history with, pared with the aggression and beauty of the screams and rage filled melodic guitar riffs, as well as my personally over powering, nostalgic/anmoiac obsession for the 00s and early 10s creates a great mix. its a movement of music i wish i could be present in.

and why did christian metalcore decline in popularity into the 10s and 20s? im sure theres not an easy answer. i mean, look at popular christian music and culture today. its

so.

BLAND.

so void of life and culture, void of our beautiful human qualities. they speak the same, often hateful, script; they water down the thought provoking concepts and stories of their religion, and they try to remove what they think isnt acceptable. a lot of these christian metalcore groups have abandoned their roots, stating their disagreements with Christianity, which of course is valid.

hey, im still not sold on christianity, im still learning. everyone has their own free will to find what idealogies or lack thereof to believe in. so i mean no hate

i do feel though, in certain circumstances perhaps, this says something disturbing abt modern christianity. its mindnumbing. its boring. its really sad and honestly, with how perfected it appears to be, its f*cking ugly.

it also seems to connect with the way life today just dosent hit like it used to, and i know im not alone in my age group thinking this. there seems to be a blandness encroaching on our art and lives today. in the music, films, internet; a corporatization and general simplification of our art has been slowly killing us.

i long for a time when christians could death growl about god. but honestly, this can be done today if we really try. fuck modern christianity, fuck modernism in general; this isnt just for the christians. go nuts. scream, riot, portray your truths how you want to, dont follow some guideline.

i might have gotten out of hand with this post, i dont want to get to philosophical here. i guess thats what this blog is for though. christian metalcore is really cool tho, check it out. you might be surprised how many popular metal bands from that era had ties to christianity. ill include some recommendations, or you can search it out yourself.

have a punk ass day,

-nikki

(yeah i decided to use my current name, fuck it)

some bands:

 A Plea For Purging.

Shiver.

Heart of a Child.

The Fall.

Malevolence.

Underoath.

Norma Jean.

For Today.

Impending Doom.

Wolves At The Gate.

Phinehas.

Midst of Lions.

Demon Hunter.

killer fish.

[neighbourhoodtwo]

i think people forget that its ok to like some bad music. everyone likes bad music. and not all shallow music is bad. yeah sure maybe this song about partying is just about partying but so what. people at parties probably want good party songs. like if your top song on spotify is one of the latest pop hits theres literally nothing wrong with that. its messed up that people get all high and mighty about listening to weevil and the heebiejeebies or whatever while shitting on some other person for liking mainstream artists.

[pokemoncreepypasta]

Blue Tears

[STORY SOURCE]

“Pardon me, Sir. How much do you want for this?”

“S’free, take it.”

“What? Are you sure? I can pay you f—-”

“I said you can take it! Now get out of here!”

The above was a brief exchange of words between a very edgy young man, possibly in his late twenties, and myself at a yard sale I happened by. I always find the most interesting things at yard sales and flea markets. I’m normally there for books, but I’ll occasionally happen across something else that I find worth my time.

I didn’t find any books this time around; the entire sale seemed to be comprised of children’s toys, clothes for both little boys and little girls, as well as some items I’d expect a young married woman to use. Silken night clothes, stacks of cheesy romance novels that I had no interest in (I can’t read pure romance, I need something like murder or mystery to make it interesting), jewelry, as well as several cases of makeup, most of which appeared to be half used.

I found the used makeup to be in bad taste. If you no longer had a use for it, throw it away. Don’t try to peddle what’s touched your face to other people… it’s disgusting. I kept these thoughts to myself, however, as the man running the small junk sale seemed far from stable.

As I was about to leave, something blue peeking out from underneath a small, grey plush caught my eye. Colors always catch my attention, especially blue, so I lifted the plush to examine it. To my surprise, it was a Pokémon Blue game. Not that I had been looking for one, but I felt like experiencing a little nostalgia… even though the first generation of games wasn’t my favorite, it reflects back to a much simpler time in my life.

The cartridge had the word "Tears" written neatly in black across the image of the Blastoise. I assumed it was a nickname of some sort, perhaps the previous owner of the game cried a lot. It was within a bunch of child things, perhaps they were young enough to be labeled a "crybaby" by others and "Tears" was just a nicer name… I’m not sure. Anyway, I got the game for free, but I left a dollar on the table just so I’d feel better for taking it.

When I got home, I inserted the game in my SP and turned it on. The sound at the start up screen was greatly distorted… it sort of fluctuated from being several tones lower than normal to being nothing more than a low rumble. It was… unsettling to say the least. Naturally, I assumed the game was faulty, but I thought I’d play through until something froze up on me.

The previous owner, this "Tears" person, still had a game on file (as would be expected with a used game) but no information about playtime, character name, or anything else of that sort was displayed when that option was highlighted. Curious, I chose the previously started game, just to see where they were with everything. A child was bound to have an interesting game with creative names… Insight into the innocent mindset that was slowly becoming rarer with each passing year…

Upon choosing the previously saved game, I was met with a black screen and silence. I felt disappointed; the game seemed to already have messed up on me. I was just about to turn it off when a dialogue box popped up.

I began to read, but the text was moving painstakingly slow.

".........."

"I’ve been robbed of everything…"

"My title as champion…"

"My grandfather’s respect…"

"… Even my Pokémon are dead because of you…"

"… I won’t stand for this…"

"I will come to find you."

I was confused… who was speaking? Who were they speaking to? My heart rate had picked up out of what I assumed was fear… it had been a while, but I knew this wasn’t normal… but curiosity continued to keep me locked onto the game.

As the black screen faded away, the music belonging to the inside of the Pokémon Tower began playing perfectly… the sound obviously wasn’t as broken as it appeared to be at the beginning.

The scene revealed when the black faded was that of the appropriate area, the Pokémon Tower. The not-so-familiar-to-me sprite of your in-game rival, Blue, was standing in front of one of the many graves inside the tower. He stayed there for several minutes, the disturbing music continuing to play throughout his silence, before he finally said something.

“This ends today… for the both of us.”

With that, he left the tower, my screen followed him. As he stood outside the tower, the music did not change to Lavender Town’s normal depressing music… rather, the haunting tune from inside the graveyard continued to play through on a loop… as much as I wanted to turn down the music, I couldn’t bring myself to do so.

I couldn’t move the character after that. I couldn’t tell if it was another assumed glitch of the clearly hacked game, or if it was hesitation on the character's part.

After another minute, he finally spoke again.

“… Fly…” Even though there was no voice connected to the character in the game, with the speed in which the text moved, there was an almost obvious feel of depression about him.

I opened the start menu and checked Blue’s party. All he had was a Pidgeot which had no level…

I checked its stats, the only move it knew was the requested action of "Fly," and all its stats (except for health) were at zero. Odd as I found this, I didn’t question it and chose to fly.

When the map opened up, it was black save for one small square that was marked "Mt. Silver"… I knew this was impossible. Mt. Silver was in Johto which had yet to be introduced in the original Pokémon games…

Regardless, it was my only destination, so I chose it.

The typical animation of the trainer sprite turning into the bird sprite and flying off took place and, sure enough, I landed in front of the cave entrance to Mt. Silver.

Rather than having the sprite shift back to Blue’s sprite, his image moved to the left of Pidgeot’s sprite.

They faced each other for a minute before a sound much like that of entering or exiting a room played but in a much higher tone. It sounded as if something had broken.

When Blue spoke yet again,

“Fly away, you’re free…”

I began to assume the noise was the sound of a PokéBall breaking.

The Pidgeot cried out once before doing as its former master commanded and flying away. After his final Pokémon flew away, the haunting music continuing to play, he faced the entrance.

“… I’m coming for you…”

I now had the impression that this was a mission of revenge… and with the way he was speaking, it was a revenge of the darkest sort.

It dawned on me to check the items he had on him. I don’t know why this thought crossed my mind… but given the ongoing circumstances, I felt there would be something there. And there was.

There was only one item in the list, KNIFE, an item that certainly wasn’t programmed into the game under normal circumstances.

When I picked the option to use it just to see what it did, Blue said, “Not yet…”

After that, I was unable to control the character anymore. It was as if he wanted me to get him there and see his single item just to get the gist of what he may be planning, but that was it… the rest was all his own.

Blue stepped into the cave, and as he trekked through the stone maze of the cave, he never encountered any Pokémon, but I could faintly hear distorted cries mixed in with the music… I’m not sure, but I believe they could feel the negative emotions coming off Blue… and they cried out in concern.

Finally, he reached the chamber that harbored Red in the Gold and Silver games.

Blue’s pace slowed a little as he approached his rival, and the music, dark as it was already, lowered considerably making it infinitely darker…

As the two rivals faced each other, Red simply greeted Blue with the silence I had become accustomed to in Pokémon Gold.

However, Blue didn’t take to this very well as he shouted in apparent anger,

“Don’t ignore me like you have everything and everyone else!”

A battle ensued but the normal music didn’t play, the darkened music of the Pokémon Tower continued. By this time, other people were home and were becoming quite annoyed with the volume of my music, so I was forced to put in headphones as I still couldn’t bring myself to actually lower the volume… disturbing as it was, the music had some sort of hold on me.

I stared at the game screen as the battle opened up. Obviously, since Blue had no Pokémon, he never called anything out. Neither did Red.

In the battle option box, the four options of "Fight, PKMN, Item, and Run" weren’t all there; all there was to choose at the moment was "Item" so, obviously, he chose it.

The only item there to use was the one I had mentioned before, the KNIFE. It was quickly selected on its own and went back to the battle scene.

Now, the only battle option available was "Fight."

In the fight menu, Blue only had one attack at his disposal…

MURDER... I couldn’t regain control of the game, there was no option to run, I couldn’t bring myself to turn the game off and end what had quickly become a disturbing experience… the only choice there was to sit there and allow Blue to murder Red.

After selecting the attack, Blue shouted, “This is for everything!” and a typical attack animation much like Tackle played out only, instead of a single strike, Blue attacked repeatedly. The dark music in the background began to pick up its pace and become more high-pitched… it was painful to listen to as it reverberated through my headphones, but I never removed them.

Red’s sprite flickered in and out as he took the damage and, as his health dwindled to zero; a gurgled screeching sound broke through the noise of the music, replacing it only briefly as Red’s sprite faded into something that looked more like a decaying body before fading away completely with the screech.

My heart was pounding, I was beginning to get a throbbing headache, and yet my eyes remained glued to the screen as the remainder of the scene played out. As the music replaced the screen once again, another dialogue box popped up as Blue spoke yet again.

"............................"

"................."

"........."

"See you in hell..."

The battle options box popped up again, "Fight" the only remaining option.

Blue selected it yet again, but instead of "MURDER" the attack option available was "SUICIDE."

There was a moment of hesitation, but Blue finally attacked himself with less fury than he had Red. As his own health fell to zero, a lower gurgled screech replaced the high-pitched Pokémon Tower music, his sprite faded away.

Only when the "decayed" sprite faded in, he wasn’t facing the battlefield…

He faced me.

His screech continued on, growing in volume to the point where the pain it caused equaled that of a migraine... and yet I still kept the headphones in. My eyes locked onto the dead, hollow eyes of Blue as he continued to scream before the screen began to flicker. It was slow at first, but it quickly picked up to a rapid strobe effect. The "scream" grew in volume and pitch one more time before the screen simply cut to black.

I held my breath, my heart pounded so hard against my chest that it hurt. I deeply hoped that it was over but considering the fact that I couldn’t move, or even hear any noise outside of my headphones, I fearfully assumed that it wasn’t… and I was right.

White lettering began slowly typing out across the black screen and, as each word formed, I read,

"I finally got my revenge."

"The life YOU ruined has now faded away."

"But don’t think it’s over yet."

"My suffering has ended, but yours has only begun."

"I’ll be watching your strife with a grin on my face."

"And when it all ends…"

"…"

"I’ll see you in hell…"

Though I had a full battery just a moment ago, the light turned red and the system turned off. My nose began to spill blood for several minutes… and... I… I’ll never be able to describe the terror I felt afterwards… I’ll never be able to describe the terror I still feel…

You see, the very next day on the news, they announced that the very same man I purchased the game from, I won’t release his name, had called the police saying that he had killed his wife three days prior and buried her in the backyard… When they reached his house, they had found him by the phone, dead… he had slit his throat and committed suicide. It was also mentioned that, several weeks ago, his eight-year-old son had murdered their six-year-old son and then killed himself…

I assume that the game had done all this, and I’m next. I don’t know how much longer I have, nor do I know who will die at my hand... but you deserve to know this…

Never play Blue Tears.

[pirouettefrappelatte]

Hélène Pambrun: HS Tour Photos📸

In light of the announcement that Hélène won’t be touring with Harry and the fact that a bunch of people despise her photos, I, as a photographer, am going to do an analysis...

(And when I say ‘I'm a photographer’ I mean I went to college for this, not that I take pictures with my iPhone haha)

1. This is a pretty basic portrait. He's leaning on a rock staring pensively into the camera. The monochrome coloring works okay if she was going for a melancholy feeling for the photo. It's a nice pic.

2. I for the life of me do not understand why he's cropped all the way in the corner when the photo is supposed to be showcasing him. I mean there's rule-of-thirds and then there's taking photos of just smoke and lights. I'm not wowed.

3. I like the coloring of this one. The orange in the sky looks nice with his turquoise pants. Casual candid photo correctly utilizing rule-of-thirds. Not too bad.

4. I can't even find Harry in this photo. She's photobombing taking a basic mirror pic, meanwhile there's so much going on I can't even find who is supposed to be the main subject.

5. I like this one and think it fits well with the aesthetic of the TPWK music video. It's pretty nice.

6. If she's supposed to be his photographer I don't understand why she's photobombing the pic. Photographers are supposed to stay behind the camera. It's in the job description😂

7. This...this is unfortunate timing. If I took this photo I would not have it up as one of the first on my website, but to each their own.

8. This however, is better timing. Classic whale-rry. Coloring is nice. The pic is solely focussed on him (as it should be). Much better than others.

9. I like the colors of the background with his shirt. But he’s just standing in front of a wall. He’s not even smiling. For the second time: not wowed.

10. This is a better one. He's smiling and dimply. I think it could've been edited better tho. Seems a bit dark for my taste (and also H's sunny smile).

This is going to get long so...

11. Again photobomb. Not really sure what pose this is that Harry’s doing either.

12. Just...why? He’s half covered up, so what’s the point? 

13. Again bad timing and unflattering face for Harry. Don’t understand why you would post it under those circumstances. 

14. Backside of Harry surrounded by smoke. Like come on. Where’s the emotion? People’s backs do not show expression.

15. Ok, all her other pics did not have me prepared for this one. This is a really cool effect and looks awesome. This is definitely one of her most elite photos. 

16. Bless you, Harry! He looks like he’s mid-sneeze. Why would you post this?

17. This is a cute photo. I just wish it wasn’t in black and white as I feel color would better compliment his facial expression.

18. The blurry thing in the left bottom foreground of this image bothers me. It’s distracting me from Harry.

19. You can’t even tell what’s going on in this photo. It honestly makes me feel like I’m having a nightmare.

20. I’m sorry…is he DYING?? What even is this? 

21. This is a very cute and creative photo. It also has good colors. Very much a retro feel. 

22. This is more of what I expected her stage photography to be like. This is a nice photo and again, good colors.

23. This is one of her best. It’s a cool angle and good use of reflection. (Although, is that her finger over the lens in the top right?)

24. Her group pics generally aren’t bad. They’re just all the same. Five people standing in a row in front of some wall. Not exciting but not necessarily “bad”.

25. I am forever amazed by the pics that get chosen to post. Just..why? It makes it seem like this was the best picture she took of the whole concert and if that’s true, that’s just sad. 

26. He’s just a cute precious baby. Good capture on her part.

27. He looks like he just smelled cauliflower cooking. Again, I don’t understand why it was posted.

28. This one is a bit more interesting and a bit more edgy. It’s a completely different style than the other pics though. When you’re documenting something the photos should have cohesion.

29. Is this even Harry Styles? The world shall never know.

30. Did anyone notice how blurry and out of focus this was before they posted it? No? Just me?

Well I think that thirty example photographs more than covers Hélène’s work.

To sum this all up:

Is she a good photographer? This depends on the perspective of the person viewing her work. I personally think she might’ve only been hired because she’s worked with other artists. Ultimately, some will like her work and some will hate it. Personally, it is not to my taste. She has a few gems in there, but if I were Harry, those wouldn’t warrant me keeping her on as my tour photographer.

If Harry had continued using her on his tours, I would have inferred that he was happy with her work and liked it. However, now that she has announced she’s not touring with him anymore maybe this is Harry’s silent agreement with us fans that her work was not up to snuff. 

(PS: I am not here to tell y'all how to view her pictures. I am simply giving my honest photographer’s point of view on her work. And if you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you sticking with me for all this!)