#also the circus themed one was bonkers

[sunrise-of-wonder]

Fright Fest at Saunders Farm

Let it be known that I was very brave and scream-laughed my way through five haunted houses in a row 👻

[rubykgrant]

rvb for the hyperfix ask!

📃 what is the plot of your hyperfixation? and is it a movie, game, show, etc? 📌 how did you find your hyperfixation? ✨ what draws you towards your hyperfixation? what is interesting about it? 🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation? 💕tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

First of all, thank you for indulging me in this, I very much appreciate the chance to info-dump with my nonsense, you are a wonderful person~

So... RVB. More than 2 decades ago, some guys figured out how they could play Halo, sort of use one character as the "camera", make the other characters bop their helmets up and down, then dub their voices into it and make that a show. There is the vague background-plot of the actual Halo lore happening, but the ACTUAL plot of RVB? The first few seasons are just 2 groups of guys, standing around, talking, arguing, and trying to kill each other. Red Team has been told to kill the Blues, and Blue Team has been told to kill the Reds. Why? Because. One guy dies, but comes back as a "ghost". This will become a pattern. There is a theme through the series about how some people are unable to let go of grief, and it eventually destroys them, the message of learning how to see enemies as real people, learning to accept flaws in yourself and others so they can become strengths. Over and over again, there are multiple groups of soldiers who have been told "you are the good guys, they are the bad guys, you need to kill them", and sometimes the most difficult thing is to finally accept the truth and try to live with yourself. There are highly advanced and unique AI, once all part of one system together, forced into being singular Fragments, tortured into forgetting what they were, but unable to stop missing what they don't have. Despite being data and treated like tools, they develop their own "humanity"... for better, and for worse. Through it all, the same group of Red and Blue goobers keep talking and arguing. They win against highly trained special agents with incredibly advanced equipment, vicious mercenaries with back-up from a corrupt military group, and a reality-breaking "god". These clowns even got their own circus music (the Warthog Polka)

Waaaaay back in the day, when I was like... 15? A friend of mine had a brother, who had a friend, who let him borrow some DVDs of Red VS Blue, and I watched it at the friend's house. I had never played Halo (still haven't), but I got a chuckle out of it. I occasionally watched it when another friend would pull it up on their computer, and for a while, that was it... in 2021, I randomly thought to myself "Oh yeah... Red VS Blue was a thing". I hadn't thought about it for a decade. So I decided to watch it up to the point I remembered, somewhere in season 5. Some of the jokes... did not age well, but it was a nice little stroll down memory lane. Then I realized they made MORE after that. This show, at that time, had 18 seasons. So I kept watching, and now it has FILLED UP MY BRAIN

There is this fun aspect of very casual, conversational dialogue in the middle of absolutely bonkers situations. The characters will be doing the most extreme, dangerous sci-fi nonsense, and they still just bicker and chit-chat like regular dudes. It will also randomly sneak up, and hit you with EMOTIONS. There are incredibly sweet and sad moments, and others that have no business being so IMPACTFUL and MEANINGFUL, but they are. The characters are all so stupid, yet full of potential and depth, everybody is just perfect fuel for imagination

I have a few favorite scenes! In the episode "Long Time No See", the characters Epsilon and Carolina are shown working together, gathering information on a shady organization. In the middle of this, they are threatened by a group of security soldiers, and we get see how Epsilon, as an AI with the memories of the other Fragments, can assist Carolina; time slows down as the AI work at bullet-speed, with Epsilon running calculations, making a plan for how Carolina can fight back and escape. The memories of the Fragments can interact with Epsilon, and give suggestions or feedback based on their skills. It is just so AWESOME to see how far the characters have come, the teamwork they share... and it is also a little bitter-sweet, because seeing the Fragments like this is how it could have (should have) been with Alpha. It also shows Carolina, who was once determined not to get close to anybody again (after losing so many people she cared about), has really bonded with Epsilon, and it helps her realize she misses the rest of the clowns. Another favorite scene has some background context; the intro to the series, the very first scene of the very first episode, is Grif and Simmons having a conversation- "Do you ever wonder why we're here?" "It's one of life's great mysteries". As the show goes on, that becomes a reoccurring conversation, sometimes as a joke, sometimes as something more relevant. In season 15, the main characters meet another group of Blues and Reds, who all resemble them in some way, but are also kind of "mirror opposites". The characters have the same armor color, but different voice actors... except for Simmons. His look-alike is Gene, and they have the same VA (Simmons insists they don't sound similar at ALL, Gene is totally annoying). When it is revealed this group is EVIL, there is a moment when we see one soldier in maroon armor pull a knife and attempt to stab another soldier in maroon armor. This is Simmons and Gene, but which is which? Grif arrives, and has that same problem. Both Gene/Simmons insist "I'm the real Simmons, shoot him"... so Grif asks- "Why are we here?". One maroon soldier says they're here to stop the bad guys. The other one says "We don't know why we're here. It's still one of life's great mysteries". HECK YEAH, THAT'S YOUR SIMMONS. There are like a thousand other moments I like that are pure comedy, but those are the big emotional moments

I've rambled about Grif and Simmons a stupid amount, I've also gone on long tangents for Church and Tex, so I'll talk about one of my other favorites, Tucker! In the beginning, he doesn't take any of this seriously (but who does). He's there to be an annoying, shameless flirt, and does so with ease. The thing is, even when he's acting obnoxious and immature, there are moments when you can tell he's actually capable of a LOT. He's smart, when he lets himself think without getting distracted, he's a strong fighter when he's not showing off, and he's genuinely got a good heart (when he's not complaining). As the show goes on, he becomes more important... whether he likes it or not. What do you do when all your big-talk about being the coolest dude ever turns out to be TRUE, but that also means you're responsible for keeping people alive? Tucker also easily fits into any combination of characters, whoever he is with, they get a fun dynamic going (even Sarge, the Red who claims to hate the Blues with an endless burning passion, will do some back-up beat-boxing for Tucker when he sings a taunting song at mutual enemies). He'll tease the others and be a little jerk, but is also incredibly protective of the people he cares about. Tucker once got attacked by a space alien that left a parasite baby in him, and years later, he carries around pictures of Junior in his wallet so he can show off how much he loves his son. Tucker is incredibly clever, and has a lot of emotional depth... he just wishes he didn't have to worry so much, all he wants is to stand around and talk to his best friend. Through all the bravado, the insecurities, and the bow-chicka-wow-wow jokes, Tucker is just very interesting AND entertaining~ (also, thanks to one off-hand comment another character made about his "metro-sexual good looks", all the fans kind of just agreed that under the helmet, Tucker is the prettiest)

Thanks for asking! (and sorry for rambling so much haha)

[trenchcoatsbi]

THANK YOU PHIL!!!!!

So basically some set up that IS important:

this AU mainly follows Faded Spring/Spring Rabbit Cookie (Spring Bonnie) as he learns the truth behind his father and exactly what he did

Shortly after turning 18, Spring Rabbit and Blackberry Rabbit (Shadow Bonnie) escaped into the night after Purple Rabbit... reacted badly to Faded Spring's rejection of power

Along the way they meet Marionette Cookie (Puppet), and a bunch of children that he's watching over. apparently the children (all themed on animals) have no memory of their past besides a purple figure and waking up in a forest

Side note: in the crk canon, shapeshifting is something that exists. same as ghosts and magic. also the one canon ghost in crk doesn't remember much about her past. see where I'm going with this?

Basically at some point, the group (made up of the fnaf 2 crew + spring) wander across a circus. Faded Spring recognizes the characters on the posters outside, as something his father had planned to open, but ultmentally shut down. By this point in the story, Faded Spring has realized that his father is really bad. He hasn't figured out that his father killed the children, because the children don't know they're dead. But he's started to realize things are worse then assumed at first glance. He dealing with that well /s

Venturing inside reveals a small crew of preforming cookies who seem to have been inside this circus for a long time.

Stuff happens and it's revealed that the performers were children that Purple Rabbit kidnapped and turned into hybrids. Who have had no contact with the outside world. and hybrids have the tendency to turn to their more wild instincts. and also these guys know what happened to them. they are angry and are dealing with it like children. This leads to Cream Fox Cookie (Ft. Foxy) chasing down Pirate Fox and Faded Spring, until a mysterious voice leads the two being chased into a hidden set of rooms.

Meet Masked Wire! He knows he should have a 'proper' name, but sees no need for it in this hidden saferoom, away from the chaos outside. There are five others hidden in this area, known as Rose Bunny, Error, Tangle, Whiteout, and Red. Tangle, Whiteout, and Red are (unlike the others) robots made to resemble cookies. They were Purple Rabbit's early experiments, before he turned to magic.

Faded Spring deals with this in a decent way. That is a lie he has a complete breakdown and for the first time, reveals the identity of his father to Marionette and the hidden performers. They actually don't turn on him, seeing his current actions as proof he's better then his father.

I haven't figured out how this arc ends but like. tragedy and angst. Idk this probably makes zero sense but I needed to infodump and hey you guys like hearing my ideas :] - Voidling Anon

ooo fucking hell yooo that's so fucking cool soundin'! 'm not usually a fnaf enjoyer but that arc sounds dope. raghghghg i need to work on my aus again i miss goin bonkers about them

[captainkingsley]

would it be okay if you told about your modern au but put it under a cut to avoid accidental spoilers?👉👈

I’ll see what all I can think of to talk about that might not actually make it into the main fic, but that are still floating around in my head… Mainly because the main fic is almost done and all of that will be out in the world soon enough :3c still readmore'd for the length!

So specifically in this au, Molly, Lucien, and Kingsley are triplets and they’re musicians, and their manager is Gustav, because, well, of course he is. Their whole team that works on shows and marketing are also made up of the circus folk and the Tombtakers, and I might get into it with a side-fic, because the main fic is Caleb’s pov and he’s not entirely familiar with all of it.

A few of the most fun roles I have plotted out for them are Yasha and Zoran handling the security at shows, because who better to do that than them? Yasha is of course still Molly’s best friend and looks out for him, and stops by in the main fic to meet Caleb. Originally my plan was to have them meet at a show, but I couldn’t imagine Molly not letting Yasha meet the person in his first actual romantic relationship far before Caleb winds up at a concert. 

(Molly has had a lot of partners, just never long-term, serious relationships. Getting with Caleb is a whole new thing for him.)

Cree is their sound engineer and also has been Lucien’s partner for a significant portion of both their lives. Which is funny in-universe because most of Lucien’s solo work is music that’s about like, edgy lost love, demons, curses, and similar themes. He likes to keep up appearances of being more on the creepy side in terms of his aesthetic, but he and Cree are actually genuinely happy together. Lucien just knows how to work his audience. 

And I can’t talk about the partners without also talking about Marius and Kingsley. Marius was a drummer they hired to help them with some album recordings, and then Kingsley kept asking Gustav to re-hire him for later work, and then shows, and it wasn’t until Lucien stopped by Kingsley’s place one afternoon that anyone realized why — Marius was just in Kingsley’s apartment, and that’s how they all found out Kingsley and Marius had been sleeping together basically since Marius was first hired.

So that also means Molly was the only one out of the triplets who was single, and he was fine with that, and then Caleb absolutely intrigues Molly, so… it all works out. Lucien and Kingsley poke fun at him for dating a professor, but Molly thinks Caleb being so smart is attractive, so shut it, guys. 

There’s a lot more to all of the relationships within the crew, like Gustav having been one of the first people Elric trusted with helping his siblings after the debacle with the parents, and Ornna handling pyrotechnics and special effects. 

Once the fic is posted I hope the person I'm pairing Elric off is as funny as I think it will be. It's a character I desperately want to see interact with Molly because I feel like their energies would be bonkers next to each other.

But. Okay. Music stuff, too. I’m too embarrassed to share the entire playlists but I want to get a vibe across, here are a couple songs that are kind of my inspirations for Molly’s solo stuff, 

Basically super-colorful upbeat stuff that is not the kind of thing Caleb would purposely seek out, but reflects the stage persona Molly gives himself. He’s outwardly the hedonistic partier of the triplets and Caleb is actually pleasantly surprised to find out that sure, Molly enjoys this stuff, but it’s not all of who he is.

Just like Caleb covers his drama and angst and his sad past with his studying and projecting himself to be the serious professor™, Molly covers his own insecurities by leaning into being the pretty one, the dumb one, the one that drinks too much and parties a bit too loud. 

But Caleb can recognize that Molly’s smarter than he lets on. He knows people, he’s more emotionally adept than Caleb could ever hope to be! And they help bring those sides out in each other.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

JATP Circus AU!

Idk if anyone else has done this before but here's my take:

Julie - Tight rope walker, mostly, with a bunch of other balancing routines that drive audiences absolutely bonkers. She joins Flynn and Carrie in acrobalance and acrodance acts as well. Something about being so in control of her center of gravity just gives her drive.

Luke - Wheel of death. He likes the way it stresses Julie out because he loves getting those tight hugs after every performance, even though she never admits to being scared he'll hurt himself one of these days. To calm her nerves he picked up stilts and puppetry.

Alex - Cyr wheel dancer. Somewhere in the zone where people expect him to get dizzy he finds purity - peace, silence, stillness - in the grace of spinning and rolling along the ground. However, he is learning aerial tricks from Willie. They also are working on a German wheel routine together.

Reggie - Lasso, trick rider and equestrian master. He's so good with horses it's ridiculous. His efforts to maintain ethical treatment of animals in the circus are also highly recognized. Anyway he hates 42-foot rings. Also does fire performances and it's definitely not because I'm projecting David from Lilo and Stich onto him, nope not that at all.

Bobby/Trevor - Also the wheel of death, but only with Luke. Other wise he's a mime. Very good at popping, better at physical humor than he is at talking, and the way he paints his face is iconic. He'll ride a unicycle sometimes as well.

Flynn - Contortion and acrobatics. Her single performances are always done in leopard print costumes. Sure, she does her acrobalance and acrodance with Julie and Carrie, but she's easily one of the main characters no matter what theme the show has.

Willie - Aerial artist. Mostly hoops and silks, but sometimes just some straps are good. If he can add water into the routine he absolutely will (it makes Alex very flustered). He's included Alex in his routines, but so far only when on the ground as a dance partner.

Carrie - Acrobatics, including acrobalance, acrodance, and cradle. She is one of those can't-stop-won't-stop performers, and while she comes off as a diva she's actually a huge team player.

Nick - Juggling. Swords, pins, balls, cigar boxes, etc. He does a little bit of acrobatics, also rides different sizes of unicycle - all while juggling.

Caleb - Ringmaster, also does bubble magic to maintain a gentle appearance. Everyone secretly calls him Glinda behind his back.

Also, all of them can pole dance because I say so. Because it's an amazing art that isn't inherently sexual and requires a great deal of strength that all of them would need for their other performances anyway.

[roughentumble]

in all seriousness. mirror mask actually is a really cool movie with, iirc, really fascinating visual effects and a lot of creative ideas. it's similar to coraline, and a bunch of other kids movies from that genre of "a kid falls into alternate dimension that helps them work thru some weird irl trauma, but they have to work thru it alone and the world is often frightening and hostile to them"

a very specific but oddly prevelant genre that kicks ass and is good. i think also the MC literally is a circus child BEFORE she falls into the weird scary alternate world, which is very funny to me. like she goes from one topsy turvey world to another, and the alternate universe isnt even circus themed, thats just another weird bonkers aspect to her life

[lichen-soup-scribe]

the worst theme park concept

I saw this headline the other day and nearly screamed:

Tyra Banks, of America’s Next Top Model fame, is planning a theme park based on her book, Modelland. Now, at first blush, if you’ve seen ANTM but haven’t read Tyra’s book, this probably sounds like... kinda boring? how do you build a theme park around just... modelling?

No. No, you do not understand.

I have read the book.

And it is 600 pages (1,000 before Tyra’s MOTHER helped her edit it down) of sheer insanity. 

Allow me to make a few suggestions for Modelland attractions, based on the book. 

-That scene where a superpowered supermodel — pardon me, Intoxibella — carries a group of girls in her “sac” above counties named things like “Metopia,” “Big-Bou-Tique Nation,” “Canne Del Abra,” “Capuccina” and “NorDenSwee.”

-A quiz to determine your very own Modelland name. Canonical examples: Tookie De La Creme (the protagonist!) and her parents Cremalatta Defacake and Chris-Creme-Crobat; C~L (pronounced Ciel); Bravo the Bestostero, Theophilus Lovelaces and Zarpessa Zarionneaux.

-That building shaped like a plaid cube balanced on one tip where misbehaving models-in-training are turned into disease-riddled cats (because they were acting catty, you see) and imprisoned.

-The dining hall, where girls are lowered via harness into vats of their favorite foods to learn about healthy eating habits. Also, food stands that sell nothing but bottles of flavored whipped cream, because that’s all Tookie seems to eat.

-The Diabolical Divide, which separates training school Modelland from the rest of the world and contains monsters such as a giant beast built out of discarded musical instruments and a hunchbacked creature that lives to devour the organs of albinos.

-A circus that ends with the trapeze artist impaling his eye on one of the random swords POSITIONED POINT-UP AROUND THE RING.

-Thigh High Bootcamp, where the following things happen to teach you valuable modeling lessons: you get 1) Dressed in counterfeit clothes that try to kill you, because counterfeits = bad; 2) forced to share makeup, which then melts your skin off, because sharing makeup = bad; 3) Measured down to the length of your toes and told how perfect/imperfect you are; 4) pierced by a giant sewing needle and imprisoned in a bubble, because ??????

-And finally, for when your brain and body collapse under the weight of what you’ve seen that day, a clinic where all the doctors and nurses -- pardon me, PURSES -- have roller skates instead of feet. 

I could go on. Seriously. This isn’t even half the balls-out bonkers stuff that happens in this book.

Wizarding World, eat your heart out.

[reserved-kirby]

Kirby: Battle Royale - Datamine Findings [Spoilers]

I’m sorry that this is coming out so late! Once I finished collecting things I really had to take a rest, I stayed up all night for this so I was fairly tired by the end of it all. Either way, due to the length of this post and it’s spoiler content, click the “Read More” to continue.

To start off, the following abilities are in the final version of the game:

Sword Cutter Beetle Bomb Spear Fighter Ninja Whip Parasol Hammer Doctor Tornado Ice

King Dedede, Meta Knight and Bandana Waddle Dee are all present in the game as playable characters. It is unknown how they are unlocked normally, but it likely has to do with story mode. Their unlock messages are as follows:

"Meta Knight is now in the Collection Lists! You can use this in Battle Mode and Online Battles after it's unlocked."   

"Waddle Dee is now in the Collection Lists! You can use this in Battle Mode and Online Battles after it's unlocked."   

"King Dedede is now in the Collection Lists! You can use this in Battle Mode and Online Battles after it's unlocked."

These are all the playable character icons. As it has been pointed out, in the demo, there are 17 ability slots; the last one is the Random select, similar to Smash Bros. and other games. The poll ability isn’t present whatsoever in the retail game, so it’ll likely be added in as a free DLC update.

As previously revealed on the Kirby Twitter account, the game has alternate costumes. Aside from special circumstances, all abilities have their default gear along with three alternates. They are listed as such: Sword: Gigant Helmet Newspaper Hat Dyna Helmet Ultra Sword Hat* Cutter: Sir Kibble Helmet Mohawk Knight Helmet Beetle: Hornhead Helmet Woodpecker Helmet Hydra Helmet   Bomb: Foley Cap Bomb Cap Boom Cap Qbby Cap* Spear: Javelin Knight Helm Devil Horns Sectonia Mask

Fighter: Knuckle Joe Hair Wrestling Mask Goriath Hat Ninja: Bio Spark Helmet Topknot Samurai Helmet Whip: Whippy Hat Gymnastics Leotard Daroach Hat Parasol:  Bouncy Umbrella  Paper Parasol Fancy Umbrella 

Hammer: Dedede Hammer Toy Hammer Grand Hammer Replica 

Doctor: Chemitory Hat Nurse Cap Sacred Hat 

Tornado: Twister Helmet Pinwheel Kracko Hat 

Ice: Mr. Frosty Freeze Hood Snow Bowl

 ---

Bandana Waddle Dee: Sailor Hat Straw Hat Animal Hat Café Cap*

Meta Knight: Dark Meta Knight Mask Party Mask Mecha Knight Mask Galacta Knight Mask*

King Dedede: Knit Cap Gentleman's Hat King's Crown Masked Dedede Mask*

Ultra Sword Hat, Qbby Cap, Café Cap, Galacta Knight Mask and Masked Dedede Mask are all amiibo-locked, so you’ll need the Kirby Series amiibo and the Qbby amiibo to unlock everything.

Here are all of the ability moves. If the move is listed as an aerial move, it can only be used during a jump. If it’s listed as a charged move, you need to hold a charge before it can be used.

Beetle - Horn Upper, Horn Flurry, Back Slash, Spiral Horn (aerial), Rocket Horn (charged), Dive (after Rocket Horn), Forward Lunge, Slamming Drill (after Forward Lunge)

Bomb - Bomb Throw, Big Bomb Throw (charged), Bomb Dunk

Cutter - Cutter Boomerang, Jump Cutter (aerial), Hyper Cutter (charged), Final Cutter

Dedede - Hammer, Hammer Twirl (aerial), Dedede Hammer Throw (charged), Giant Dedede Swing

Doctor - Bouncing Capsule, Flash Spark (charged lv1), Sleeping Gas (charged lv2), Remedy (charged lv3), Clipboard Bash

Fighter - Quick Jab, Vulcan Jab, Rising Break, Sky Kick (aerial), Giga Force Blast (charged), Kick, Spin Kick, Final Spin Kick

Hammer - Hammer, Hammer Twirl (aerial), Hammer Flip (charged, 2 lvl.), Big Hammer Drop (aerial, charged, 2 lvl.), Hammer Swing

Ice - Ice Breath, Ice Sprinkle (aerial), Ice Wall (charged), Ice Ball

Meta Knight - Horizontal Slash, Meta Multithrust, Decisive Slash, Knight Spin (aerial), Dimensional Strike (charged), Piercing Slash

Ninja - Shock, Flurry Swipe, Stealth Slash, Ninja Kick (aerial), Pyrotechnics (charged), Knife Throw, Wind-Up Trick (charged), Ninja Jump (jump while holding button)

Parasol - Parasol Swing, Parasol Dive (aerial), Parasol Shield (hold), Parasol Drill (charged), Circus Throw (after Parasol Drill), Parasol Spin

Spear - Spear Thrust, Multispear Attack, Pinpoint Thrust, Windmill (aerial), Gale Thrust (charged), Spear Throw

Sword - Horizontal Slash, Successive Slash, Cleave, Sword Spin (aerial), Spin Slash (charged), Drill Stab

Tornado - Tornado Attack, Hyper Tornado, Big Tornado (charged), Tornado Dash

Bandana Waddle Dee - Parasol Swing, Parasol Dive (aerial), Aqua Shot (charged), Parasol Spin

Whip - Whip Strike, 100-Whip Slap, Whip Tornado (aerial), Crash Typhoon (charged), Whip Grab

To finish the ability section, there’s an oddity. Axe Knight is a character in the game, but it’s unknown if he’s playable. His data is all labeled as a normal, functioning player character, similar to Kirby’s abilities and the other confirmed unlockables. However, he’s also missing several things. He has no player select icon, lacks some coding for certain modes and has no unlockable text. Several things point to him being a character created solely for the Story Mode (possibly Meta Knight’s partner in the tourney), but there is a chance that he’s just not totally finished. Either way, his moveset is based around Cutter Kirby.

There are ten different game modes in the game overall. To list them out...

Apple Scramble - “Attack Mini Whispy Woods when it has apples to make them fall. After you pick up apples, throw them into your collection area, which is blue. After pulling the lever, you'll score for apples that go down the chute. High score wins!” Maps -  Starter Forest, Double-Cross Forest, Bramble Forest, Fenced Forest, Double-Cross Forest (again?)

Slam Hockey - “Try to hit rivals with the puck as many times as you can. High score wins! You can send the puck toward rivals in two ways: give it a smack or throw it! If a rival throws a puck at you, catch it by pressing R at just the right time.” Maps -  Normal Arena, Obstacle Arena, Stretch Arena

Battle Arena - “The last one standing when all rivals are KO'd wins! To knock out rivals, attack them until their health hits zero. Press A repeatedly to wake up if KO'd. The more you faint, the longer it takes to recover.” Maps -  Deluxe Coliseum, Battle Coliseum

Robo Bonkers - “Attack Robo Bonkers and do more damage than anyone else to win! Throw missiles into cannons to launch them. It's a great way to damage Robo Bonkers! When Robo Bonkers falls, go for multiple attacks. Try for greater amounts of damage per hit.” Maps -  Robo Bonkers, Robo Bonkers DX, Robo Bonkers SDX

Coin Clash - “Pick up coins while attacking your rivals for theirs. The one with the most coins wins! You can take even more coins from rivals by doing greater amounts of damage to them. You'll drop coins until you get the ghost off your back. Use B to dash and Y to jump.” Maps -  Central Room, Dual Room, Trap Room, Party Room

Flagball - “You'll score when the ball connects with your blue flag. First team to seven points wins! If a flag falls to a lower level, you can grab it and run it around the field! A double flag will appear later in the game. It's worth double points. Great for a comeback!” Maps -  Beginner's Beach, Flagger Beach, Footfall Beach, Lopsided Beach

Ore Express - “Toss as much ore as you can into train cars. Get more points than your rivals to win! Throw ore into a gold train car if you see one. You'll get double points for that ore!” Maps -  Wayward Plains, Twisty Tunnels, Logjam Pass

Crazy Theater - “You'll enter a series of quick challenges. Hit the max number of wins before your rivals! In a question challenge, knock rivals off the correct answer!” Maps - Dream Theater

Attack Riders - “Attack your rivals to take away their chips. Whoever holds the most chips at the end wins! The more chips a competitor has, the easier they are to take. Greater damage gets more too. When the vehicle's gauge is full, press Y to attack. Avoid taking damage or you'll fall out!“ Maps -  Attack Biker, Attack Tanker Rocket Rumble - “Grab as much fuel as you can and throw it into your rocket. The one with the most fuel wins! Attack your rivals' rockets to knock loose blocks of their fuel. Then steal it for your own! Get into your rocket before the 10-second countdown is over. Just jump in, or you won't score!” Maps - Space Center

The final boss in the game is named Dededestroyer Z. He shares some code with the Robo Bonkers battles, so it likely takes place in a similar scenario (circle arena, robot fight, etc.). In this fight, Dededestroyer Z seems to take control of the Kirby Printer and creates mass hordes of enemies for you to fight. The objective of this final fight is  "Defeat all rivals before they beat you!". While this all goes on, Dededestroyer Z will also attack you using lasers, fist slamming attacks and more. Bandana Waddle Dee joins in this fight to help you, too; he seems to give you something called the Golden Missile, likely to deal the final blow.

The following NPCs are present in the game:

Groggy Waddle Dee Buddy Waddle Dee Dedede Meta Knight Axe Knight Bat Meta Knight Kirby Printer Waddle Dee A/B/C/D/E/F/P Soldier Waddle Dee L/R/A/B/C/D Spear Waddle Dee A/B Reporter Waddle Dee Camera Waddle Dee AD Waddle Dee TV Waddle Dee Mic Waddle Dee Fake Kirby A/B/C/D/E Waddle Doo A/B/C Guide Board A/B/C Knuckle Joe Elevator Crank Handle 

The entirety of the Kirby Twitter news cast is here! Aside from the NPCs, there are characters called Waddle Dee Buddy, Waddle Dee Spear and Sandbag in the game. Compared to Axe Knight, it’s highly unlikely that these characters are anything more than story mode and/or tutorial characters. Sandbag is used in the online waiting room, too.

While we already have a fair bit of the OST in the game’s demo, there’s a lot of files that still aren’t present. This includes two Staff Credits themes, two Meta Knight themes, two Dedede themes, various boss themes, some more minigame themes and a couple things relating to the end of the game. I’ll be uploading the demo’s OST after this post goes live, too, so stay tuned for that!

To finish this off, I’d like to thank the elusive Popcorn for helping me, once again. He managed to snag the demo and send it over, so none of this would be possible without him!

[housebeleren]

War of the Spark Commander Cards

Now that I’ve taken a look at the Legendary Creatures for War of the Spark, it’s time to look deeper and see if there are any other cards in this set for Commander. (Spoiler alert: there are.)

Since there are a lot of them, I’m going to do this quick, first impression style, with what pops into my head. I’ll try to touch on cards that I think do have lots of potential, as well as cards that look like they should but probably don’t. So let’s take a look!

Superfriends? I mean, he’s got the Ajani Steadfast ability, so yay redundancy? If you want two of these effects and have the colors for it, go for it because the other abilities are so-so at best.

I love this. It’s like two hate cards in one! Shut down tutors & completely obliterate Graveyard strategies. Even if you only activate Ashiok once, the main job is done, but it’s clearly a better card if you can keep it around.

This is going to be a powerhouse in 60 card formats, but is a little iffier in Commander, just given the giant range of CMCs in the format. That said, it can be a nice silver bullet for when you need it, and gives some monocolor decks access to removal they wouldn’t have otherwise, so I can definitely see this showing up in mono Red, Blue, or Black decks, in particular.

Enough other people have talked about this card already, so you don’t need me to do it. It’s going to see play, I think it’ll just take some time to find the perfect home for it. One interaction I’m particularly fond of is with Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, because you can exile excess lands off the top of your own library to keep the card train flowing.

Most of this cycle are purely Limited fodder, but I think there’s some potential here. For one mana over Call to Mind, you get double the effect, with the downside that you don’t get to keep bringing this card back for extra shenanigans. If it weren’t for the exile clause, I’d call this a slam dunk, but as it is I think it will find some homes.

I mean, sure. It’s a lot of action for one card, but realistically most of the time you’d rather just have a full sweeper. Ten bucks says this gets reprinted in a Commander deck release within the next 3 years, because this is the kind of shit they love.

For the most part, I’d rather just play Torch of Defiance, which gives you a lot more option for your mana. But if you think you can protect her long enough to get to the ultimate, that’s pretty awesome card advantage for Red. Or if you think you’re going to want to run her in a Doubling Season build.

This is so fucking cool. I’ve seen decks run Ever After before, and this is along those lines, but with a lower floor and a higher ceiling. Obviously, the dream is to prevent the damage altogether, but even if you’re getting a few pieces back and losing 10-15 life, that can be worth it. I like the potential to assemble combos out of opponents’ graveyards, and I definitely think there will be decks that find a use for this.

Were you looking for another Blood Artist effect? Well, you got one, and it comes with a relevant creature type attached as well. Sure, it only works on your creatures, like Zulaport Cutthroat, but this will see play for sure. 

Interesting side note, I think this is the first time I’ve seen templating for Planeswalkers “dying.” Kinda a flavor miss, because losing all loyalty doesn’t really represent death, it just represents the planeswalker peacing out and leaving you to deal with your own bullshit. But whatever, it’s clean templating.

This seems destined to be a staple, and another one I’m guaranteeing will show up in a precon Commander deck within the next few years. Yes, it’s a little expensive for creature removal, but mana hungry decks will play it.

Three thoughts. One, even without having a Bolas out, getting your third and fourth best cards back from your Graveyard can still be totally awesome in a deck that can easily get stuff put in the grave. Two, in a Bolas-themed deck, this is a slam dunk. Three, mono Black decks might like this in any case, because normally they can only grab creatures, and this allows for all card types, which is pretty unique.

Okay, four thoughts. Seb McKinnon is a gem, and I can’t even express how happy I am that they’ve been letting him move into more conceptual, less literal pieces in the past few years. This plus Deathsprout in the same set? We don’t deserve it.

This just seems super efficient, even though it misses some problematic permanents. You won’t have trouble finding targets in EDH. I’m sold.

Bitterblossom occasionally sees play. You really want to have a use for the one token per turn to make this worth it, because the extra +1/+1 counter is much less relevant in the format. If you desperately need consistent sac fodder generators, this can be some good redundancy for you.

For the most part, this feels like a strictly Limited Uncommon, but I do think there’s one archetype that might have a home for it, and that’s go-wide Zombie decks. It’s not uncommon for Zombie decks to rack up huge numbers of Zombie tokens, and giving them all flying can be a game-winning proposition. I’d expect to see this in some builds of Varina, Gisa & Geralf, or maybe even Grimgrin.

These two cards belong in exactly the same decks. Superfriends decks & +1/+1 counters decks. They’re a touch flimsy, but they’ll each do solid work.

I’m just going to use this card to represent the entire cycle. All 5 of these cards have potential homes in EDH, it really just depends on the individual deck. None of them are the best at what they do for X<10, but they’re all insane if you can cross that 10 mana threshold. 

For a color combination that’s usually majorly struggling with replenishing their hand, this card has real potential. I like that it’s completely card-neutral, as it even replaces itself, so you’re never really down. Instant speed also goes a long way, and I can imagine tons of Boros decks wanting this.

How nice of these cards to come so close in the alphabet to each other! I’m putting them together because it’s obvious. These are both for the same deck, and that deck is Superfriends. Interplanar beacon may not be right for all builds, but I can’t imagine any Superfriends build not wanting Ignite.

Y’all know I’m always down for more Jace in my life, so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I am super down for this card. Having a second Laboratory Maniac is phenomenal, and the fact that he can trigger that last card draw himself to win is just icing on the cake. Any deck that wants Lab Man will probably be interested in this.

I am generally very down on Karn in Standard & Limited, but he actually has a lot of potential in Commander. First, he completely shuts off opposing mana rocks, which is huge, but he also turns off a number of extremely problematic Artifacts, like Isochron Scepter. And given how many decks have crucial Artifacts as part of their win-con packages, he can also come in and retrieve those cards from exile, which can often be devastating. All that action can definitely make him worth considering for Artifact builds like Daretti or Breya.

This may seem strange, but there are already G/U decks that run big monsters as their main thing, and many of them would happily draw a card off of each one they land. Kiora comes down cheap, and helps you ramp into these leviathans, then rewards you for doing so. I’m into it.

I mean, is there any doubt? Liliana has a massive effect on the board, and makes sure you’re always drawing cards as your things naturally die. I can see tons of black decks being into this, to say nothing of the Zombie builds where this is a perfect fit.

I figured this was worth mentioning, even though there’s really only one deck that I think would be interested, and that’s Lord Windgrace. Okay, and maybe Omnath, Locus of Rage, now that I think about it more.

I actually think this little guy has a lot of potential in the right builds. For one, he’s a twist on a Blood Artist effect, particularly if your deck is built around sacrifice loops. But he also has the side effect of punishing your opponents, even just as they try to use their fetch lands. You can snipe away opposing mana dorks, or just go to the face repeatedly. There’s a lot of potential in this seemingly innocuous Uncommon.

I suspect this pick will be one very few people share with me, but I remember when Leovold, Emissary of Trest was a thing, and Narset is basically the important half of that. This + a wheel is an enormous blow to all your opponents in one fell swoop, and I can definitely imagine big wheels decks wanting this.

First person to cast this on Expropriate is my personal hero. That’s all.

I think it’s pretty clear that this is the best version of a Bolas Planeswalker that’s ever been printed, and that alone makes this a contender for many casual EDH decks. In a Superfriends build that can run him, it’s just bonkers. The play line of Doubling Season into Samut the Tested into this is a very viable win condition for such a deck. (Despite the flavor fail.)

For Standard, all of these modes might be useful, but for EDH I’m really only looking at the middle two. Grabbing back up to four permanents from the Graveyard is huge, and decks that want to proliferate will be more than happy to do so 4 times.

Ral is always pretty clear what deck he belongs in, and it’s usually Spellslinger. Being able to copy spells on his -2 is pretty big game, especially if you pair him up with extra turn effects. And it’s definitely possible to assemble a game winning combo with him. All you need is two spells that can copy each other, and one initial spell to get the ball rolling. That’s totally doable.

If your favorite deck is mono-White and your meta is full of multicolored cards, this could be worth considering. But outside of those conditions, I’d skip it.

This card goes in Breya. And Jhoira. And other degenerate Artifact decks.

Honestly, my favorite place for this iteration of Sarkhan is in a Superfriends deck as a way to alpha strike out of nowhere. Seriously, that +1 threatens a ton of damage if you’re running lots of Walkers, and he makes phenomenal tokens to protect them with. Seems great.

I can’t imagine a Voltron deck anywhere that doesn’t want this. Yes, it restricts you from casting Creatures or Planeswalkers even on your next turn, but if you only care about your General getting through, this is phenomenal. I immediately put this in my Taigam, Ojutai Master deck, and I bet it has homes in plenty more.

God what is with all the boardwipes in this set? Well, Wave of Reckoning is a thing, and this is easier to cast in Boros, so why not?

Sorin does so many things that W/B decks want to do. I can imagine decks like Ayli or Karlov wanting to run this for sure, as easy ways to gain lots of life. Then the fact that he can recur cheap creatures ties in perfectly. He’s not a slam dunk for every deck, but he’s a value machine in the decks that want him.

I immediately slammed this into my Aminatou, the Fateshifter deck, because now I have a second way to do infinite flickering. Beyond that, I’m sure there are many decks that would be interested in a clone that can copy Planeswalkers as well, though I do wish it weren’t restricted to ones you control.

Tamiyo is interesting, since her +1 seems like it would generally be awful in a singleton format. But then, there are a lot of decks that actually want things in the graveyard, like Sidisi, Brood Tyrant. And then, the fact that she’s got the Eternal Witness effect makes me stay curious. Finally, incidentally shutting off things like Fleshbag loops & forced discard makes Tamiyo a pretty intriguing package of useful effects. I’m willing to give her a try.

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir sees play basically on his static ability alone, so having that already makes this a card worth considering. My hunch is he’s a little too flimsy to make waves in EDH, but there’s probably an interested deck somewhere.

Tezzeret is not as good as people think he is, but Breya will still be interested, because she’s interested in anything degenerate to do with artifacts.

In case you’ve got that one friend who only has one deck and it’s Superfriends, this is his wakeup call to make another fucking deck.

I seriously can’t with all the board wipes in this set. I suppose this one is fun if you have a creature you really don’t want to lose for good.

There are some Green creature decks that can do some crazy shenanigans operating entirely at Instant speed, and those decks will be more than happy for Miss Vivien to drop on by. The rest of her text is mostly ornamental.

Vivien’s Arkbow may be a mediocre in Limited, but it has potential to be the real deal in EDH. Discarding a card is a real cost, but if you can reliably activate this for at least 6, you’re likely to hit every single time. And that’s not bad.

So that’s it. Those are most of the cards I expect to have an impact on Commander decks. Sure, there are likely a few I missed, but they’ll make themselves known eventually. What decks are you going to slot these cards into?

[vileart]

A Room in the Dramaturgy: Matt Rudkin @ Edfringe 2017

The Room in the Elephant by Slash theatre.

On Aug 8th - 12th, 2.15pm, The Hive.

Seemingly set in a garden shed, this provocative, mind-boggling comedy begins with two young men struggling to come up with ideas for a show they are due to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe the following week.  

They excitedly decide the piece will be an exact re-enactment of their creative process and begin to video themselves. 

A third, older performer arrives and tells them this sounds like some “awful, self-referential bullshit”, to which they reply, “And you’ll say that in the actual show!” which indeed he does.  

Following the logic of this premise leads to conversations about art, ambition and evolution, and continually shifting realisations about where and when the show is actually set, and who these men really are.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

The other two performers, Merry and Joe, did a short piece at a cabaret event I ran in Brighton.  In the piece they came on to the stage saying things like "And we'll just walk onto the stage like this" "yeah, I'll go first and you'll come on 2nd, and then we'll stand on the stage" "Yeah... and maybe do a little dance..." "Yeah, and we'll say this as we do it".   I thought it was funny but doubted they could sustain it for their 8 minute slot.  But it actually just got funnier and I became fascinated with how far the idea could be taken, so I invited them to make an hour long show based on this premise.   It was actually quite an easy process as we kept finding ideas within ideas and layers upon layers, and making each other laugh a lot. 

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

I think it can be a good place to provoke debate, but theatre makers should have a clear sense of what their real motivation is and where their talents lie.  Too often people seem obliged to 'deliver content' when they don't actually have a deeply considered, informed or passionately held opinion on a subject, just a desire to be on stage and admired (...for a having a deeply considered, informed and passionately held opinion. Ouch!)  Really, we're a bunch of attention seeking shows-offs - the audience know that and they're fine with it... as long we get on with entertaining them with our skills and stories and avoid presenting ourselves as being morally or intellectually superior.   And even when we do really have 'something to say', some arguments may be best made in essays.  I remember Keith Johnstone writing in 'Impro' that when he was script reader for the Royal Court, if he could tell what the playwright was trying to say in the first few pages he got bored - not the conclusion he wanted to come to but one he had to admit to.  I prefer performance in the form of a 'thought experiment', exploring the possibilities, intricacies and contradictions of a theme.  Its much more interesting overhearing a person's dramatised struggles with their uncertainty than being assailed by their convictions, as this seems to be a more authentic representation of actual experience... or maybe that's just me. At the same time, I have seen some verbatim theatre pieces with a clear political point which were inspiring, and I think there are some stand-up comedians working today who are great at getting to the nub of things.  I'm not sure how much I'm speaking from the point of view of my character in the show.... our show kind of explores this theme; 'what motivates artistic creation?'

How did you become interested in making performance?

I wanted to make the world a better place!  Actually, my Mother signed me up to a children's theatre group when I was 4 and I really enjoyed the whole process of rehearsals and playing lets-pretend with other people watching.  Then I went to big school and it suddenly wasn't cool to be the theatre boy, so I did more art and writing. I started actually creating shows during my degree in Creative Arts where we were introduced to all kinds of devised theatre and live art practices.  I was a very introspective young man and would write at length in my diary about the difficulties of life and then try to turn these into shows.... which I suspect were really quite pretentious (all of the criticisms above describe what I've done myself and probably have not fully trained myself out of. Its a fine line and one small side step can transform a contrived, clunky, cheese-fest into an elegant, insightful... trifle).   

Since a young age I have habitually tried to make people laugh.  Not that my efforts have always been appreciated, but I have grown into quite a funny person.  I enjoy laughing and making people laugh, and perhaps I shouldn't admit this but perhaps more than anything else I really enjoy making myself laugh.   

Since I'm also quite introspective I figured that if I could give people the pleasure of laughter whilst sharing my thoughts, then it was a good deal, a win-win situation.  I get to say what's on my mind, they get to have a laugh.  I think humour can really be an incisive instrument for revealing assumptions.  And then there's just being funny for the sheer delight of foolishness.  I was in a Street Theatre show called ''Then Incredible Bull Circus' for several years, and we were just stupid idiots and people really enjoyed that. Some people say there is too much comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe,  but I think that's mainly because comedy gives people an experience they value. It's too easy to say its lowest-common-denominator / escapist, and people who complain should just try and be funnier.... 

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

This show is a complete and utter collaboration between myself my two significantly younger co-performers, Meredith Colchester and Joe Mulcrone.  I had written and directed our previous show 'Buddhism: Is it Just for Losers?' but for this one we recorded a lot improvisations and transcribed these to form the basis of the script. This gave the dialogue a more natural feel since we each say things we'd actually come up spontaneously.   None of the shows ever feel really finished in that we have a tendency to tinker between performances, but this one feels pretty done and consistent. 

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

Its quite similar to previous shows in the sense that its funny, with an odd storyline of sorts that is quite unpredictable and sort of 'conceptual'.   The difference is that its a pretty much a fourth-wall 'play' with characters who pretend the audience aren't there. These characters do, however, have the same names as the performers and there is quite a bit of confusion about which parts are 'real'.  

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope the audience are taken on a journey in which they become thoroughly absorbed.  I hope the complex twists and shifts and layers of the show really keep them fascinated and by the end they feel like their minds have had a proper workout.  .  I hope they don't completely mistake the characters for the actual performers (which happened once), because then they would think we are quite forlorn and misguided individuals... which is probably true to some degree.. .but not this much.  Part of the show features three men in a shed sharing the kind of stories from their lives they wouldn't want to share in public.  I hope it provides some food for thought. 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

The show begins with a fairly a simple premise and explores its weird logic through a multitude of strange possibilities, weaving several strands together as its travels towards its bonkers conclusion.  We test the shows in front of guest audiences and ask a lot of questions and then make adjustments.   We also video all performances and listen back to the audience's laughter because this is tells us how much they're 'getting' the new ideas as they emerge.  During the process if we come up with something that makes us all laugh our heads off, we always try to find a way to put that in the show. 

This is the 4th show by Inconvenient Spoof, a Brighton-based company whose work has appeared at such venues as the Soho Theatre (London), Tobacco Factory (Bristol), The Old Market (Brighton), Co-founder, Matt Rudkin, created and compered Edinburgh’s original Bongo Club Cabaret, and has toured internationally with Street theatre classic The Incredible Bull Circus. He has also worked as a senior lecturer in Theatre Arts at the University of Brighton for the last 15 years.

mattrudkin.co.uk

from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2ik49kY

[vileart]

The Dramaturgy in the Elephant: Matt Rudkin @ Edfringe 2017

'The Room in the Elephant' by Slash theatre.

On Aug 8th - 12th, 2.15pm, The Hive.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

The other two performers, Merry and Joe, did a short piece at a cabaret event I ran in Brighton.  In the piece they came on to the stage saying things like "And we'll just walk onto the stage like this" "yeah, I'll go first and you'll come on 2nd, and then we'll stand on the stage" "Yeah... and maybe do a little dance..." "Yeah, and we'll say this as we do it".   

I thought it was funny but doubted they could sustain it for their 8 minute slot.  But it actually just got funnier and I became fascinated with how far the idea could be taken, so I invited them to make an hour long show based on this premise.   It was actually quite an easy process as we kept finding ideas within ideas and layers upon layers, and making each other laugh a lot. 

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

I think it can be a good place to provoke debate, but theatre makers should have a clear sense of what their real motivation is and where their talents lie.  Too often people seem obliged to 'deliver content' when they don't actually have a deeply considered, informed or passionately held opinion on a subject, just a desire to be on stage and admired (...for a having a deeply considered, informed and passionately held opinion. Ouch!) 

Really, we're a bunch of attention seeking shows-offs - the audience know that and

they're fine with it... as long we get on with entertaining them with our skills and stories and avoid presenting ourselves as being morally or intellectually superior.   And even when we do really have 'something to say', some arguments may be best made in essays.  I remember Keith Johnstone writing in 'Impro' that when he was script reader for the Royal Court, if he could tell what the playwright was trying to say in the first few pages he got bored - not the conclusion he wanted to come to but one he had to admit to.  I prefer performance in the form of a 'thought experiment', exploring the possibilities, intricacies and contradictions of a theme.  Its much more interesting overhearing a person's dramatised struggles with their uncertainty than being assailed by their convictions, as this seems to be a more authentic representation of actual experience... or maybe that's just me. 

At the same time, I have seen some verbatim theatre pieces with a clear political point which were inspiring, and I think there are some stand-up comedians working today who are great at getting to the nub of things.  I'm not sure how much I'm speaking from the point of view of my character in the show.... our show kind of explores this theme; 'what motivates artistic creation?'

How did you become interested in making performance?

I wanted to make the world a better place!  

Actually, my Mother signed me up to a children's theatre group when I was 4 and I really enjoyed the whole process of rehearsals and playing lets-pretend with other people watching.  

Then I went to big school and it suddenly wasn't cool to be the theatre boy, so I did more art and writing. I started actually creating shows during my degree in Creative Arts where we were introduced to all kinds of devised theatre and live art practices.  I was a very introspective young man and would write at length in my diary about the difficulties of life and then try to turn these into shows.... which I suspect were really quite pretentious (all of the criticisms above describe what I've done myself and probably have not fully trained myself out of. Its a fine line and one small side step can transform a contrived, clunky, cheese-fest into an elegant, insightful... trifle).   

Since a young age I have habitually tried to make people laugh.  Not that my efforts have always been appreciated, but I have grown into quite a funny person.  I enjoy laughing and making people laugh, and perhaps I shouldn't admit this but perhaps more than anything else I really enjoy making myself laugh.   Since I'm also quite introspective I figured that if I could give people the pleasure of laughter whilst sharing my thoughts, then it was a good deal, a win-win situation.  I get to say what's on my mind, they get to have a laugh.  I think humour can really be an incisive instrument for revealing assumptions.  And then there's just being funny for the sheer delight of foolishness.  

I was in a Street Theatre show called ''Then Incredible Bull Circus' for several years, and we were just stupid idiots and people really enjoyed that. Some people say there is too much comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe,  but I think that's mainly because comedy gives people an experience they value. It's too easy to say its lowest-common-denominator / escapist, and people who complain should just try and be funnier.... 

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

This show is a complete and utter collaboration between myself my two significantly younger co-performers, Meredith Colchester and Joe Mulcrone.  I had written and directed our previous show 'Buddhism: Is it Just for Losers?' but for this one we recorded a lot improvisations and transcribed these to form the basis of the script. This gave the dialogue a more natural feel since we each say things we'd actually come up spontaneously.   None of the shows ever feel really finished in that we have a tendency to tinker between performances, but this one feels pretty done and consistent. 

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

Its quite similar to previous shows in the sense that its funny, with an odd storyline of sorts that is quite unpredictable and sort of 'conceptual'.   The difference is that its a pretty much a fourth-wall 'play' with characters who pretend the audience aren't there. These characters do, however, have the same names as the performers and there is quite a bit of confusion about which parts are 'real'.  

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope the audience are taken on a journey in which they become thoroughly absorbed.  I hope the complex twists and shifts and layers of the show really keep them fascinated and by the end they feel like their minds have had a proper workout.  .  I hope they don't completely mistake the characters for the actual performers (which happened once), because then they would think we are quite forlorn and misguided individuals... which is probably true to some degree.. .but not this much.  Part of the show features three men in a shed sharing the kind of stories from their lives they wouldn't want to share in public.  I hope it provides some food for thought. 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

The show begins with a fairly a simple premise and explores its weird logic through a multitude of strange possibilities, weaving several strands together as its travels towards its bonkers conclusion.  We test the shows in front of guest audiences and ask a lot of questions and then make adjustments. �� We also video all performances and listen back to the audience's laughter because this is tells us how much they're 'getting' the new ideas as they emerge.  During the process if we come up with something that makes us all laugh our heads off, we always try to find a way to put that in the show.  from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2tTksc6