#and while those sound fun i don't think i'd particularly want those in an actual show

[naniskys]

If SkyNani were to have a romance series, what plot would you want them to have?

ooh tbh i'm not sure about any specific plots (i'm not very creative lol), but I'd love to see something realistic and angsty since they do it so well 🤌🤌 give me all the yearning and stolen looks and slow burn, their chemistry's so good, all they have to do is look at each other and i'll go insane 😭

(that being said, skynani have great comedic timing together so i'd eat up something more lighthearted as well)

what i really loved about high school frenemy was how it gave time and space for saintshin's relationship to grow in a way that we don't rlly see in a lot of bls, so i would love for a sknn romantic series to be similar in that regard 💖

and if it were gmmtv, i would pay money for it to be directed by p'aof 🙏🙏

(and i would also rather never get that skynani bl than have it be directed by p'new 🫣)

[daynascullys]

the tortured poets department

i have thoughts!! surprising, right?? this is for anyone who cares to read them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Before you read, note that this is going to be critical of things, so let me just start by saying I have loved and listened to Taylor since I was 8, so none of it is said lightly or without careful thought (in fact, this took me absurdly long to write). Most of the issues I have are very near to my heart, actually, so I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. If you don't want to read criticism, then just don't read more. DISCLAIMER that I did my best, but not even this fully captures the nuance I feel able my own opinions lol I recognize the other sides and points, I really do. I hold many conflicting opinions.

The short version is I will always love her music and her voice and she is capable of writing absolutely gorgeous lyrics (dare I say poetry?). I don't tend to think too much about the sound of it because if I like the sound, it's all I really care about—maybe it sounds the same as other stuff, but if I like that other stuff, I don't really care about whether she branches out or not. I think it's great and interesting when she (or anyone) does, but I also don't like change so it doesn't matter to me the way I know it matters to some people. That's just me!

What gets more complicated for me is the narrative, themes, and general trends that have been more prominent the last year or so, and that's what the rest of my thoughts are. It's me enjoying the music while also being acutely aware of all the grief tangled up in it because of how much less connected I feel in many ways.

Side note: this got soooo much longer than even I expected and it still just scratches the surface! so if you decide to read, 1. thank you, and 2. I'd love to keep talking to you. 🤍

———————————————————— 💭

I am an overthinker (shocking!) and will for sure be annoyed that I can't think of each and every thing I think about this album, but this is what comes to mind right now. Some things that have stood out to me more and more with each release:

a tendency to write self-aware lyrics that, in trying to be self-aware, betray somewhat of a lack of self-awareness

a frustration with never growing up that she expresses while also not realizing the way she is complicit in that and her own refusal to grow up

considering herself the victim, particularly after "overcoming" the accusations that she always plays the victim

venturing more boldly into the territory of serious mental illness/suicidal ideation/mental health treatment despite demonstrating a fair amount of ignorance regarding those things in the past

fame going to her head (in the sense of her becoming further and further out of touch) and the entitlement in a lot of the more immature attitudes that come across in these songs

self-awareness: for me, the first example that comes to mind is Anti-Hero: "it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me." It's a claim at self-awareness because she's poking fun at the fact that she knows people always say "maybe she's the problem." The reason why it feels to me like it exposes a lack of self-awareness is because she explores it mostly as a criticism to overcome and not a valid point of self-reflection. @jakeperalta's tags on her post explain it better than I do. Yes, there's an issue when you reduce every feeling to "well maybe she's the problem," but part of growth is admitting that maybe you are part of the problem and coming to terms with the fact that there is often some inevitable truth to that statement—and being willing to work on it. This example is from Midnights, but I think it ties into the next point.

immaturity/never growing up: I actually think these first two sections are just two parts of one section, but it's easier to read this way anyway. There are lots of references to not growing up on this album, the first that come to mind being "So High School" and "teenage petulance." Maybe it's just me, but as a 34-year-old woman, I wouldn't want to be feeling "so high school." I mean, as a 25-year-old, when I talk about feeling like my high school self, it's usually because I'm recognizing how limited my judgment and self-awareness was in high school (despite all the therapy and my efforts to be self-aware in high school). And I am aware of my own bias here—I absolutely hate the football game days because I didn't even like watching people act like that in high school, but at least they were high schoolers—but I do think part of what we've seen is Travis allowing her to be more immature and take less responsibility because that's also where he is at. Obviously I don’t speak to it with any authority since I don't know what happened in the relationship, but based on her behaviors and what I know about Joe (which is VERY little), I kind of get the feeling that part of what she didn't like about being with Joe is that he pushed her to grow. "Your integrity makes me seem small," etc. etc., but not in an “I want to grow” way, but not liking that feeling because she shouldn't have to feel small just because she wants to be able to only do what makes her happy. Just looking at the difference in her behavior and the fact that it seems like she's stopped trying to learn (Miss Americana-ish), it seems like she very much resents the responsibility that comes with being such a famous person and mainly considers herself a victim of her fame.

victimhood: to an extent, yes, she is a victim of her fame. No one should have that much fame and power, and of course she didn't sign up for it in this way. But wanting to have the kind of influence and reach that most artists desire is intertwined with fame. There isn't a way to separate it (in an ideal world, maybe, but that isn't what we're dealing with) and it's something that, to some degree, artists do sign up for. And I think she resents that she's expected to take any sort of responsibility for anything that she doesn't want to do, in a very, "but that's not fair!," teenage petulance kind of way. She even says in Sweet Nothing that "I'm just too soft for all of it." We're all too soft for all of it, but that doesn't mean we get to ignore it. It bothers me that she doesn't seem to feel any sort of responsibility to use this giant platform to do better. Everyone is aware of her influence, including her. I think that's part of the grief. No, it is not her job to use her platform for good, but I thought that it was something she valued and something she wanted. The other line that really stuck out to me was from Cassandra: "They say what doesn't kill you makes you aware, what happens if it becomes who you are?" You may be a victim of what doesn't kill you, but if it becomes who you are, that's not their fault. It reminds me a bit of the exhaustion of living with mental illness. For me in particular, it affects my relationships in a very fundamental way, and there are days that I sob because I am exhausted of things that are so normal being so, so difficult for me... but even though I didn't ask for it and it's not fair that this happened to me, it's still my responsibility to understand how my issues affect how I show up in relationships. It's still my problem, even though it isn't my fault that it's my problem. And if you're lucky, you find really beautiful people who are willing to help you and see that it's not their responsibility, but they want to make it easier for you—I recognize how lucky I am to have some people like that, but it never makes it anyone else's problem. If they decide one day it's not their problem, the truth is that it isn't (and then there's a more complex conversation about what you want to do to preserve a relationship). This is also very connected to something about Kate Beckett/why I identify with that character, and I can touch on that if anyone wants to know, but I don't really have cohesive thoughts about that prepared (it makes more sense if you already know the character). This also goes to other things, like her being upset that people always focus on who songs are about while ignoring the part she played in feeding that culture (like with secret messages).

mental health: this goes to a bigger discussion of how we turn to celebrities who are HIGHLY unqualified to have opinions on things for guidance (the nuance of the above discussion about using your platform), but the more she ventures into the discussion of mental illness, the more upset I get by some remarks she has made in the past. And yes, people grow, she may not feel this way anymore, but nothing in her behavior gives me any reason to believe that she doesn't still have this attitude. This is one that I know I have to be careful of because of how personal it is for me (I've been placed on a 5150 "danger to self" hold and I am a therapist), but one interview that has always made me so upset is that one where she talks about how she's never been to therapy, then ends it by saying "I feel like we just had a therapy session." She has said multiple times how she has never wanted to go to therapy when she has her mom, who already knows everything about her. And that is highly irritating to me because 1. that's why she's your MOM, not your THERAPIST, and 2. there's already so much stigma and apprehension around therapy and many people feel this way, so to have someone like Taylor Swift validate all the people who say "I'd rather talk to someone who already knows me" or "so and so is my therapist" is unbelievably frustrating. There's a reason it's unethical to treat people you know—that isn't therapy. And I think I wouldn't be so bothered by it if she didn't speak about it with such authority, like she knows what she's talking about when what she's saying shows that she doesn't (edit: this is specifically in regard to therapy, not mental illness. I am highly aware that anyone can be mentally ill). The other thing about this album is that it does seem to be an album about loving people with mental illness, and I've already seen a lot of interpretations that simply feed the narrative that people with mental illness are unlovable and mental illness is the reason people mistreat you (particularly the discussion about her lovers being blue all the time). And the issue with that is it's already a common misconception among people with mental illness, that their mental illness is an excuse or reason why they don't treat people right. It's disrespectful to the people who recognize that they have a mental illness that affects how they interact with others and choose to try to overcome it. I'm all for honest discussions about mental illness, but it's so disheartening when it happens on such a large scale and some of the loudest voices are people who don't know enough to know how to (at least try to) do no harm.

fame: I'm not really going to go into it because this has already turned out way longer than I meant for it to, but also because I feel like it's already been touched on. For me, it's the conversation about her feeling she should be able to just do what she wants. I think we all feel that way, but because of her fame and the fact that she's just about untouchable (as shown in how she came back from being cancelled), she can just tune everyone out. But one example was how uneasy I felt about this album being announced at the grammys. For one thing, it's not a fan-voted award, so even if it should, it doesn't feel the same. And regardless of your take on award shows, I do think it showed a level of insensitivity to the other artists who haven't won a bunch of grammys to decide that she would announce a new album at the grammys. Because even if she had a backup plan and said she didn't plan on it, the truth is that, to decide to have a backup plan, you did have to count on it happening, at least to an extent. You had to feel it was likely enough that you wanted to have a back up plan just in case, but it probably would go the way you wanted. To me, it just felt so... disrespectful. Because for many other artists, it doesn't happen more than once. (not to mention the many other things happening that got completely overshadowed, like Annie Lennox calling for a ceasefire)

So if you read all that... I don't even know what the point is at this point. These are just thoughts that, to me, don't feel right to simply ignore. I know there's an argument that you can enjoy music without enjoying where it came from, and it's true to an extent, but I also think part of the music is where it comes from. So... I don't know. Do with that what you will. And if you are reading this, I love you (I can't believe you're reading this).

[quirkwizard]

If you could drop full power All Might (or Izuku, whichever sounds more fun) into a setting, where would you pick? It could be just because you want the setting to get the hammers of justice, or because you want to see some unique interactions. I realize the question is a bit aimless, but I kinda like your crossover questions like the vs ones.

You know what? I'll cover them both. For the sake of this, I am disqualifying anything related to Marvel or DC. There have been so many fan works related to those two and are such obvious choices that I don't feel the need to include them.

-Any "realistic" hero setting: The Boys specifically. I just want to see Izuku or All Might beat the life out of every single character in that series, show or comic. Not only would it those insufferable mouth pieces to stop talking, but it would be refreshing to see some actual heroes in that setting.

-Any manga with a notable power system: This is a sort of catch all for other big shonen series like Dragonball or Naruto. I'd really only want this to see how they'd interact with the system. Like I'd be curious to see what Izuku's Stand would look like or how All Might would use ki, rather then anything deeper then that.

-One Punch Man: Probably the setting they'd have the easiest time fitting into with the hero system, though their may be some friction with how differently the heroes act. By that same metric, it's one of the least interesting to talk about. I'd be really curious to see how they'd interact with Saitama and Garou especially.

-Pokémon: I'm suggesting this one more because I'm curious what choices they'd make, like the kinds of teams they'd build or what their actual goals would be. If nothing, it'd be hilarious to All Might and Izuku could go head to head with other Pokemon. Their team gets knocked out by a Tyranitar and box it themselves.

-One Piece: I believe that it would be intriguing to see how Izuku and All Might would deal with such a radically different world, both in terms of geography and politics. Not only is this a world where everything is so spread out, but it's a world where there are plenty morally awful people for them to go against on both sides of the law.

-Jujutsu Kaisen: This is a mix of wanting to see them deal with the various injustices of that world and wanting to see them beat the life out of all of the villainous characters in that series. And for those of you who say they can't, I would like to remind you that Maki and Toji are a thing. Just give them a good ole magic stick and let them go to work.

-Worm: While I don't particularly care for Worm in execution, I do think that it'd be interesting to see people like All Might and Izuku act with it. Not just how they'd interact with the failing system of heroes or how they'd fight the various villains, but how they'd interact with the world. Genuinely good people with power who aren't bogged down in the mire of misery that is this setting.

-Hunter x Hunter: What may be the best mix of options. With this, would get a far more morally lax world, especially for those in power, that the two could play against. There's also a varied and personal power system for them to interact with. I'd be really curious to see the kind of abilities the two would have with Nen and how they'd try to deal with such a "might makes right" kind of world.

[wirewitchviolet]

Hell is terms like ASIC, FPGA, and PPU

I haven't been doing any public updates on this for a bit, but I am still working on this bizarre rabbit hole quest of designing my own (probably) 16-bit game console. The controller is maybe done now, on a design level. Like I have parts for everything sourced and a layout for the internal PCB. I don't have a fully tested working prototype yet because I am in the middle of a huge financial crisis and don't have the cash laying around to send out to have boards printed and start rapidly iterating design on the 3D printed bits (housing the scroll wheel is going to be a little tricky). I should really spend my creative energy focusing on software development for a nice little demo ROM (or like, short term projects to earn money I desperately need) but my brain's kinda stuck in circuitry gear so I'm thinking more about what's going into the actual console itself. This may get techie.

So... in the broadest sense, and I think I've mentioned this before, I want to make this a 16-bit system (which is a term with a pretty murky definition), maybe 32-bit? And since I'm going to all this trouble I want to give my project here a little something extra the consoles from that era didn't have. And at the same time, I'd like to be able to act as a bridge for the sort of weirdos who are currently actively making new games for those systems to start working on this, on a level of "if you would do this on this console with this code, here's how you would do it on mine." This makes for a hell of a lot of research on my end, but trust me, it gets worse!

So let's talk about the main strengths of the 2D game consoles everyone knows and loves. Oh and just now while looking for some visual aids maybe I stumbled across this site, which is actually great as a sort of mid-level overview of all this stuff. Short version though-

The SNES (or Super Famicom) does what it does by way of a combination of really going all in on direct memory access, and particularly having a dedicated setup for doing so between scanlines, coupled with a bunch of dedicated graphical modes specialized for different use cases, and you know, that you can switch between partway through drawing a screen. And of course the feature everyone knows and loves where you can have one polygon and do all sorts of fun things with it.

The Genesis (or Megadrive) has an actual proper 16-bit processor instead of this weird upgraded 6502 like the SNES had for a scrapped backwards compatibility plan. It also had this frankly wacky design where they just kinda took the guts out of a Sega Master System and had them off to the side as a segregated system whose only real job is managing the sound chip, one of those good good Yamaha synths with that real distinct sound... oh and they also actually did have a backwards compatibility deal that just kinda used the audio side to emulate an SMS, basically.

The TurboGrafix-16 (or PC Engine) really just kinda went all-in on making its own custom CPU from scratch which...we'll get to that, and otherwise uh... it had some interesting stuff going on sound wise? I feel like the main thing it had going was getting in on CDs early but I'm not messing with optical drives and they're no longer a really great storage option anyway.

Then there's the Neo Geo... where what's going on under the good is just kind of A LOT. I don't have the same handy analysis ready to go on this one, but my understanding is it didn't really go in for a lot of nice streamlining tricks and just kinda powered through. Like it has no separation of background layers and sprites. It's just all sprites. Shove those raw numbers.

So what's the best of all worlds option here? I'd like to go with one of them nice speedy Motorolla processors. The 68000 the Genesis used is no longer manufactured though. The closest still-in-production equivalent would be the 68SEC000 family. Seems like they go for about $15 a pop, have a full 32-bit bus, low voltage, some support clock speeds like... three times what the Genesis did. It's overkill, but should remove any concerns I have about having a way higher resolution than the systems I'm jumping off from. I can also easily throw in some beefy RAM chips where I need.

I was also planning to just directly replicate the Genesis sound setup, weird as it is, but hit the slight hiccup that the Z80 was JUST discontinued, like a month or two ago. Pretty sure someone already has a clone of it, might use that.

Here's where everything comes to a screeching halt though. While the makers of all these systems were making contracts for custom processors to add a couple extra features in that I should be able to work around by just using newer descendant chips that have that built in, there really just is no off the shelf PPU that I'm aware of. EVERYONE back in the day had some custom ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chip made to assemble every frame of video before throwing it at the TV. Especially the SNES, with all its modes changing the logic there and the HDMA getting all up in those mode 7 effects. Which are again, something I definitely want to replicate here.

So one option here is... I design and order my own ASIC chips. I can probably just fit the entire system in one even? This however comes with two big problems. It's pricy. Real pricy. Don't think it's really practical if I'm not ordering in bulk and this is a project I assume has a really niche audience. Also, I mean, if I'm custom ordering a chip, I can't really rationalize having stuff I could cram in there for free sitting outside as separate costly chips, and hell, if it's all gonna be in one package I'm no longer making this an educational electronics kit/console, so I may as well just emulate the whole thing on like a raspberry pi for a tenth of the cost or something.

The other option is... I commit to even more work, and find a way to reverse engineer all the functionality I want out with some big array of custom ROMs and placeholder RAM and just kinda have my own multi-chip homebrew co-processors? Still PROBABLY cheaper than the ASIC solution and I guess not really making more research work for myself. It's just going to make for a bigger/more crowded motherboard or something.

Oh and I'm now looking at a 5V processor and making controllers compatible with a 10V system so I need to double check that all the components in those don't really care that much and maybe adjust things.

And then there's also FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays). Even more expensive than an ASIC, but the advantage is it's sort of a chip emulator and you can reflash it with something else. So if you're specifically in the MiSTer scene, I just host a file somewhere and you make the one you already have pretend to be this system. So... good news for those people but I still need to actually build something here.

So... yeah that's where all this stands right now. I admit I'm in way way over my head, but I should get somewhere eventually?

[project-sekai-facts]

2nd year event?! I saw the announcement and am now very curious and excited, especially since this is happening before Mafuyu’s coming up. Have the 2nd years ever had an event about them? What are your thoughts about this group? I know you have some because I saw your tags 👀

Below cut

It's SO gonna be a WxS key story like no way out of it. Given that they're both lims that probably means that it's gonna have a lot of screentime for the boys (well, Rui is a given, it's his event), so there's no way they won't bring up the current WxS plot. Honestly making this a Rui event was an amazing idea because it connects so much with his arc with his fear of growing up and having to leave what he has now behind. And by the looks of the card he made new friends!! Which actually makes it all the more gut punching because he's never really had friends and he only gets a whopping one whole in-universe year with them now.

It's also really cool to see that the Miyajo girls are there. I reckon Shizuku (and Airi, but to a much lesser extent) will get like a mini version of STEP by STEP! with Mafuyu. Because think about it, if Shizuku and Airi leave formal education, that makes Mafuyu the only MC Miyajou 3rd year. I think it'll be really neat to see all the second years interact more because they've never been given much of a chance before outside of a few short scenes, and I think Rui and Mafuyu's dynamic in particular is really interesting. I don't know how much they'll interact in this event, if at all, but I'd like to see more there. Rui is very emotionally intelligent - so long as it doesn't apply to himself - and he's also very very observant, so although having him notice where Mafuyu's issues was unexpected, it wasn't necessarily surprising, and I'd like that to be followed up on even if it is arguably more effective as a passing encounter moment.

I'm guessing there'll be a sweet making and tea ceremony part, because those are the event teams and also Airi's favourite food/club so I think that would be a nice laid-back bonding moment from the 2nd years and who knows, if that does happen then maybe they'll ruin the 3 seconds of peace we get from by reminding us that Airi is moving to credit course and won't be doing clubs anymore.

I'm assuming they'll throw in the excuse for the two schools interacting is that they both happened to be on the same school trip at the exact same time.

Also, the event description. I have thoughts.

from @/pjsekai_eng on twitter

I'm guessing the reason Rui has little interest is because 1. aforementioned fear of getting growing up and moving on and doesn't want to face it, and 2. doesn't have many friends at school, let alone any in his class (it's outlined in KAMIKOU FESTIVAL! that he has never particularly been one for school events because everyone would push him away. We've had Cheerfes since then but you get my point). But it looks like maybe his classmates are actually more willing to be friends with him now?

And then the event name

same source as above

Hey look that sounds like a Wonderlands x Showtime inevitable disbandment reference. Atp I'm starting to think the reason I'm so invested in their current arc is because of how much it resembles a Love Live plot (mod makes shameless LL reference #3 billion what else is new?). Enjoying your youth while you can because there's so much fun stuff you can do and you're surrounded by people and it truly is an experience that you won't be able to quite match later on. It's simple but incredibly effective and emotionally driven. Especially since the age high school is in Japan really is like that bridging period between childhood and adulthood. And linking this to Rui and Tsukasa's event cards specifically...

They seem to have tied the folklore theme with a school uniform theme. And I'm going to pick this apart because I'm already 643 words in so why stop now? I feel bad for excluding Shizuku from this but we've never had too much on her school-related past. The most we got was Draw Your Bow In This White World which was only set 1 year pre-canon so not counting it.

Anyway. I've seen several people point out on Twitter that Rui's limited hair is the same hairstyle that he had as a child. That stuck out to me because we know from flashbacks that that was when people started to steer clear of him at school and he lost a lot of friends, and I wonder if that's going to be brought up in the event, especially since it seems that he's going to be making new friends.

In a similar vein, Tsukasa. I'm sure most people noticed that he's basically wearing his middle school uniform except with glasses. Like Rui's lim linking to when he was most lonely, Tsukasa's does as well. It's established in On the stage of dazzling light that he was pretty lonely during middle school because it was when Saki got moved to a hospital out of the prefecture.

I don't know if this was intentional because Shizuku's doesn't visibly follow that theme, but prsk does like some good symbolism and lim sets quite often have one that sticks out from the others for whatever reason. If it wasn't intentional then good on them for somehow doing this. But it does make a lot of sense, y'know? Cherishing the high school memories because the ones before now were a bit shit?

1 2 (heh)

Being frank I don't entirely know how Japanese school trips work but judging by the card it looks like Rui and Tsukasa got put in a group together? I hope their friendship gets some depth and development added to it with this event because they actually have an interesting dynamic underneath the Oddball 1-2 comic relief that has a lot of underutilised potential. Like what I said in those screenshots - Rui wants to know more about the SEKAI, but since it's entirely derived from Tsukasa's psyche, it means he has to get to know Tsukasa better, and they still aren't on much of a more personal level of friendship almost 3 years after that card story. The fact that both of their lims seem to reference the points when they were most lonely... I think that could be a good starting point for them to bond over. Obviously the circumstances were completely different and Rui was driven into depression by it, but what I'm saying is that it's a start.

Also like the very intentional parallels between Rui and Mizuki and their loneliness and their connection with the rooftop Wonderlands x Showtime main story chapter 5 My Footprints, Your Destination chapter 8 Tsukasa and Ena and the personal impact they had on those two respectively something or other and the fact that one side of that parallel has surprisingly little depth to their relationship idk

Oh and this part from the very end of A Canary Sings In A Quagmire. Though they might stall on it for a bit longer since it's a plot thread that was only just introduced. I reckon if it does get brought up it will just be in internal monologue or Rui just mentioning the concept in passing or being vague about it rather than actually addressing it (Emu and Nene aren't here and I think they will probably be around when it gets fully unpacked). If they do decide to face it directly then I wouldn't mind but it seems too soon to me.

Finally, I reckon we might get some more Shizuku and Tsukasa interactions. It's kind of guaranteed to be fair but you never know. Their dynamic isn't hugely deep or anything but it doesn't need to be, like they only know each other because their sisters were friends. Anyway I don't really mind if all they do in the event is talk about their sisters and what they've been up to themselves - it's pretty cute.

I'll be reading the event in my lunch break tomorrow so long as it is on sekai.best by then, so if anyone wants to ask me more about it then feel free. Watch literally none of what I just wrote happen in the event.

If I said that almost all of the 2nd years are in my top 10 would that justify the word vomit?

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 17/04/2024

Super Wonderful World

Season 2 Featured on: The Voice's Highest Quality Video Game Rips

Ripped by Marrow

(Curious about the abnormal audio embed? Read more here)

It's kind of ridiculous that I've taken this long to actually write something about Marrow that isn't so directly tied to his passing, isn't it? Like, yes, Telling Fish Tales is an absolutely beautiful rip, it is still likely my favorite of all of Marrow's output, don't get me wrong...but there was more to the guy than just his death, you know? The tributes have all been beautiful, to be sure, I love 8​-​bit Fish With Dreams in particular, but I want to discuss Marrow's own rips more as well as those. Because while I might not have known Marrow, and can't claim to know anything about him as a person, I know he was just a genuinely good, sincere, funny ripper, and Super Wonderful World is just a damn fun rip.

I've been wanting to cover something from Super Mario Sunshine on here for a very long time - it has almost as much of a notable presence on the channel as its older brother on the Nintendo 64, particularly in the early days. Super Mario 64's Slider theme is unbeatable, of course, WA-HOO DISCO and its brethren can't be toppled, but there's a case to be made that Super Mario Sunshine's iconic acapella-driven Secret Course theme is a more fun listen in terms of rips. There's just something inherently funny about remixing voice samples, even in an acapella context - there's tons of rips of Secret Course in particular because of this, that all play with those deews and doos to great effect.

Super Wonderful World is no exception to that, and the joke of it is made apparent just a few seconds into your listen, arranging Louis Armstrong's lovely What a Wonderful World with those aforementioned acapella sounds, yet...for some reason, it is still likely the one Secret Course rip that has stuck with me the longest. I'm not even sure if its due to any one reason I can pinpoint other than just "Marrow Magic": maybe its my attachment to What a Wonderful World from hearing it at a young age in the original Madagascar, or maybe its the sheer juxtaposition of such a silly sound being used to play such genuine beautiful jazz...OR maybe its the fucking hilarious visuals on the video that you need to be scrolling up to look at now that I've pointed it out. Spaghet. No matter what it is, it clicks - though I think that second point in particular is where the trick lies. Sort of like A Mambo Moment, a lot like My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil!, the contrast in tone between the two tunes is the kind of thing that you'd only get from SiIvaGunner, or at least the only place where you'd get it done in such a genuine, high-quality way. This isn't just some midiswap, this has every bit and piece from What a Wonderful World, every part of its backing and every additional instrument playing throughout, recreated with such finesse - all to push a bit that, as the rip visuals emphasize, is mostly just meant to be funny.

There's an effort made in Super Wonderful World to make the bit not just funny, but very pleasant and listenable as well, is what I'm getting at. The SiIvaGunner ethos, distilled so perfectly in just one simple rip, distilled into a rip that for me has stayed endlessly replayable since its release, striking that perfect balance of novel and pleasant. And sure, there's a part of me that still wishes to dig further, to know lots more about Marrow than I do, to investigate and snoop about and maybe even find out what the Spaghet image is even about...but its also, in some way, just as pleasant to listen to his tunes in bliss, enjoying his work for what it is, not hung up on wishing I'd known more.

I wasn't Marrow's friend, but what he left behind still means a lot to me. And so, continue to celebrate it I shall - more than a long-gone name to be mentioned in SiIvaGunner event recaps, Marrow was downright fantastic at what he did - and I hope we'll all continue to remember and cherish that about him.

[hrokkall]

Saw the little nightmares 3 trailer got released and wanted to hear your thoughts on it. Is there anything in particular that you're excited for or just generally hyped about?

Also sorry if this question comes across weird I have no clue about the series but remembered you enjoyed it and drew some stuff for it so I thought it'd be fun to talk about it if that makes sense?

- 🥊

Oh I have so many thoughts on it. So many that I'm going to put them below the cut so this post doesn't take up anyone's entire dash.

First of all, damn my copious amounts of coursework for the fact that I couldn't sit down and start drawing fanart immediately the moment I finished watching the trailer once… or twice… maybe three times. Mark my words though these kids WILL be getting some day 2 (actual) art, even if it's just a little sketch.

…Point being, I was pretty excited right out of the gate. Admittedly, I was a little nervous that the studio changeover would mean that any (potential) future Little Nightmares content would mean a massive tonal shift, but based on the trailer alone + the additional guides related to the game, it nails the atmosphere of the previous games pretty damn well. Hell, the giant baby enemy even resembles some of the concept art from the flesh walls!

Already, Nowhere is combining some of my favorite things (notably locations that seem/are "alive", steampunk motifs, and copious amounts of birds… also reminds me a little bit of Zone 3 from OFF, but that's probably just me), but most notably is the fact that it actually seems to resemble some of the locations seen in the (tragically cancelled) 2017 comics. This is particularly notable in the first issue, which features two children taking shelter in a barn from a monster known as the North Wind (who is made of/"sees through" the eyes of black birds, presumably crows), but the second issue is about a monster that lives within mirrors, which are shown a lot in the trailer as well. Either way, I'm cautiously hoping for some references to the comics, especially because we never got to learn what happened to the rest of the Maw kids there (the answer is probably "they died horribly" but I mean hey. You never know).

The designs of the two protagonists are, of course, adorable. I love the plague doctor/gas mask duo (especially because having face coverings makes sense in such a dusty place) and the bit where they both glide down using feather umbrellas is genuinely so fun—absolutely no complaints there.

…Actually, one complaint: I have no idea which one is Low and which one is Alone. None of the official sources have clarified that. Please LN3… I need to know the names of my new kids before they get put into the meat grinder like every other protagonist in these games. (Given the series' track record, I'm not too optimistic about their fates—sorry little guys! I'll be rooting for you anyway). EDIT: It seems like Low is the bird mask kid and Alone is the hazard suit kid

Mechanically… I don't think we've seen enough of the game for me to make any hasty judgements. I know everyone wanted LN2 to be multiplayer (and LN3 appears to have a singleplayer option), but I'm unsure of how that will work. Will it be Spiritfarer style multiplayer where only one player has to own LN3? Will it be online? Will it be splitscreen? Will me inevitably ditching the main campaign to screw around with my friend ruin the atmosphere? No idea. The way I see it, it's too soon to tell.

While we're on the topic though, I did also listen to the first episode of the audio drama! Without spoiling anything… yeah I can definitely recommend it. It's very reminiscent of The Magnus Archives and/or The Bright Sessions, so if you like either of those podcasts you'll probably like The Sounds of Nightmares. Even if you know absolutely nothing about Little Nightmares, I'd honestly recommend it. Voice mixing is a little off in places (though there's a decent chance it was just my headphones being fucky), but the podcast MORE than makes up for it in terms of imagery and phenomenal sound design. No word on the lore implications though; I'll listen to episode 2 when I get the time and THEN deliver the verdict there. I also hope they release an official transcript for it—there isn't one right now afaik, but that would be really helpful for a multitude of reasons.

But yeah, that's about it! TL;DR hell yeah I'm excited for this game, but I'm trying not to fill in the blanks with too much supposition while there's still so little info available

[invisiblegarters]

The Heart Killers Ep 1

Man. I knew FOMO would get me eventually but I didn't think it would be this soon. Full disclosure, I read and hated the novel and that is a big part of why I didn't want to watch - I can already feel it coloring my opinion of the characters and trust me when I say that's not a good thing - but you know what? Fuck it. I find that I want to participate in the discussions and maybe even in the excitement for this show and I can't do that if I don't actually, you know. Watch.

Add that to the fact that almost all my shows are ending or just ended and it's a no brainer, really.

I mean, if I hate it that's what the off switch is for. No one is making me do this A Clockwork Orange style so I think it'll be okay.

Plus I can't sleep so here goes. THK ep 1. Liveblogged. Because why not, right? *cracks knuckles*

I am going to pretend I've never read the novel while I do this, so no spoilers.

You know it just occurred to me that I haven't even watched the first MV for this.

Pfft I know Khao bulked up for this but he still looks like a twink. A twink with really nice arms.

Are they gonna have him honeypot people every episode? I could get behind that.

Okay I do really like the disgust on Bison's face when the target isn't paying attention. I also don't know Thai so I can't say for sure but the subtitles make it sound like he's being very polite before shooting this dude. I appreciate that.

Okay so. Fun fact no one cares about. I read once that if you're doing something you shouldn't, running away from someone, maybe even committing a crime, it's actually really smart to wear a really bright, eye catching thing somewhere on your person. Probably not a shirt, but like, a bright scarf or pair of shoes. Because that's where people's eyes will go. Not your face, but the bright fabric.

Oh my gosh I'm gonna love Style and Kant together I can already tell. Pffft @ Kant scoping out the room though. My dude.

I genuinely find it hilarious that Kant is sitting here going on about how he doesn't want to commit but he's basically gonna be forced into it this very ep.

This music is a lot.

Can Style and Kant have hooked up before please? It's a wish.

You know what? I absolutely do not blame Bison for shutting Kant down at first. Patronizing ass. You're pretty but that only gets you so far babes.

I'd seen (and reblogged) gifs of the whole foot slide get right on top of you thing but it's very very nice to watch. It woulda worked on me haha. Frankly I'm impressed that Bison has braincells left because I am not that strong.

Hahaha Fadel wanting to be mad but having to keep Style from actually looking at the damage to his car lest he spot the dead body (Fadel, honey, maybe a JEEP isn't the best transport vehicle for those you've assassinated) is very funny.

I really think I'm gonna like Style.

Bed's more comfy anyway Bison. I'm sure you can take over there. Lol.

OH I LOVE THIS SONG it was in OF too. Am i focusing on that so I don't start acting silly? Yep shut up don't look at me.

I will say I don't actually think that Kant cares about names. Seems more like he's used to getting one than not but he doesn't seem particularly bothered by the lack. Probably he's used to more clingy one night - oh, wow okay see again seen gifs but motion is different lol.

Playboy Kant probably can't stop thinking about Bison because he actually got up and left lol. Something tells me that that's not normal for him, the way everyone teases.

Aw I like him with Babe. I hope that there are a lot of scenes with them.

Taming of the Shrew is a bit on the nose, no?

One thing i will say about Jojo's shows. I always do find new music to listen to.

How old is Bison? Twelve? Or are we supposed to get that he's kind of a loose canon because it's one or the other and considering what he got up to the night before I'm betting it's the latter.

WHY does no one in these shows actually know how to stalk people properly my god.

Kant you yourself said you wanted someone to hit it and quit it, now you're acting like that's a problem (this is not stopping my player who doesn't enjoy being played theory lol but I bet he likes being played with if you know what I mean and I think you do). But woooow he is pretty in that suit and tie. My inability to take screenshots from gaga is very depressing right now. But then agian maybe not because it'd just be me thirsting for First and other people make better moving pictures for that.

Okay Captain Chris sir using bb bro against him is low. I approve.

"Here are some photos that I'm sure Bison didn't see being taken my dude hid so well out in plain sight."

Yes I am going to love Style who hasn't put on some music just to dance around when no one is watching? Also I need to stop talking about literally every scene or I'm gonna run into the word limit before I'm done.

DUN DUN DUUUUN. Aww Bison thought it was amazing that's sweet.

Sorry Bison your brother is busy being flustered by an obnoxious but inexplicably (to him anyway I get it) attractive mechanic.

Kant babe if I didn't know better I would definitely say this was love. No one sane would eat that burger.

Oh god the chewing noises no.

The way I cringed at them nearly kissing right there with the ghost of the disgusting burger still hanging around in Kant's mouth.

Bison, babe. Get you head out of your ass Fadel means kill you. I mean I do think you're closer to the mark than he is but not by as much as you think.

Fadel has a problem with life. I love him.

Okay part of me thinks that Kant is lying about the beach thing. Why? Becuase their interactions are very flirty and fun but...I'm not really getting too much of a smitten vibe from either of them like I thought (hoped? thought) there would be. I mean they're having fun for sure, and Kant at least is absolutely looking to score again, but...

Oh Fadel. Don't you know that the more you protest the more tempting Kant becomes for your brat of a brother?

Pretty sure you'd be making Bison more tempting for Kant too, he strikes me as the type to deliberately go after things he's warned off of.

Honestly maybe he and Bison really are perfect for each other.

Also if Fadel and Kant wanted to settle their differences by making out I would not say nay (they won't this isn't Only Friends but hey. You never know Jojo did give me a brief moment of SandTop).

SEE WHAT I MEAN FADEL. Would Bison have shown up with delicious burger if Fadel hadn't made such a fuss? Maybe, but I bet Fadel's fussing made it a certainty.

Ouch ouch I just rolled my eyes so hard at Kant's line I'm genuinely proud of Bison for not doing it. Blergh.

Oooh First looks so pretty in that yellow with his hair all fluffy in the breeze. Excuse me while I absolutely don't hear any of this no doubt important conversation.

I kind of love the music when Style comes in the restaurant lol. Fadel's worst nightmare has arrived.

LOL did Kant tell him to be this obnoxious or is this just how Style flirts?

Oh my god I think this is just how Style flirts.

Hahaha I wonder what kind of taking out Fadel thinks Style means.

Ah so we're definitely dong the Taming of the Shrew thing where Bianca has beer flavored nipples (yes I know that line was from 10 Things) . I'd wondered. I find the idea less annoying than I would have thought - the added element of Kant not being as head over heels as he claims helps. Might as well toss a little jealousy into the mix. I'm sure Bison will play it up as much as possible too - he definitely likes playing, and currently this is definitely more game than anything else for him. Curious what it'll look like if and when that stops.

So far Fadel and Style are my favorite though. I like their dynamic a lot. They're ridiculous in the best ways.

I thought I'd like Kant and Bison more but they're kind of leaving me cold right now. I know it's only one episode n but they're just kinda meh to me and I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's that despite all the flirting neither of them means it. Whereas Style and Fadel's interactions, though more hostile (seriously what the fuck kind of flirting is belligerently drinking beer after beer in someone's restaurant while they glower at you) feel more real. I'm not averse to game playing, but honestly this is why I like this kind of thing in movies. Because I'm impatient and after an hour I'm ready to see some feeling, lol.

But also (and probably more truthfully): let this be a lesson to you about reading a novel adaptation of a show before the show is released. Part of my ambivalence towards these characters is absolutely coming from doing the stupid thing, sigh.

It's just sometimes there is a fire. And it's pretty and flickery and I want to stick my hand in without thinking about the heat.

[kaycode1999]

tfa and kny matchups sound fun! if it's not too much trouble I'd like one

-5'2 cisgender bisexual female

-infp personality type! I don't like arguments or fights, and I have anxiety and ADHD. I'm an extroverted introvert, I have a social battery that if it runs out I don't want to talk to anyone. I will get mad at people if they disrespect or hurt my friends. I do have issues telling people my own problems and often am a therapist for my friends, to the point where I can accidentally drain myself trying to keep them happy.

-I like to draw and listen to music a lot. Usually music and art helps me focus better. I also like playing a bunch of different video games, and honestly if I could I'd sleep a lot.

-My type would honestly be someone who just likes me for me, and would gladly sit around and draw or just hang out with me. Oh and cuddle if I'm in a bad mood.

-please please no sentinel prime. I can't stand people like him irl.

Honestly so valid. I hate sentinel he’s so annoying 😂

Demon Slayer/ Kimetsu no Yaiba

I match you with

Kyojuro Rengoku

TFA

I match you with

Optimus Prime

Neither of them particularly like arguments of fights, and are understanding if you need more patience and softness from them if you happen to have a disagreement

Optimus keeps it under wraps but he deals with anxiety himself, being a leader is stressful after all so he understands

Kyojuro has his own problems so he definitely understands and wants to help ease your anxiety

Both will pamper and dote on you if you’ve burnt yourself out, although they try to help keep that from happening

Kyojuro definitely goes through enough dealing with his father and being the flame pillar, so I think he deserves someone who is willing to stand up for him as much as he stands up for others

Dealing with his father might be a problem 😬 but honestly he truly appreciates that you’re protective of him. And it’s possible your words will actually reach his father and make him realize he’s been mistreating his son

Optimus thinks it’s adorable and loves it if you go after sentinel when he’s an ass to him. And really anyone who hurts or is mean to those you care about. He just thinks it’s really sweet how protective you are of those you care about

Even the therapist friend needs help. They both just want to be there to help you and take care of you the way you help and take care of others

They are understanding if your social battery runs out. They can probably even tell before you even say anything, if you need to go just be by yourself for a while to recharge they’ll be right there waiting for you

Optimus enjoys learning about earth culture, so listening to music is one way he likes to do that

Kyojuro just loves listening to music it doesn’t really matter what kind

Both of them love your art and will get you supplies whenever the opportunity presents itself

Neither of them are good at playing video games with you but bless their hearts they try and really just enjoy spending time with you

[ringneckedpheasant]

Hi! I saw your Bible post and if you're interested in doing this, I have a few things you could look into/do which might make the process easier if you have trauma/want to approach it like a set of myths/historical document! I studied theology and religion at uni (particularly queer and eco theology) and came at it from a non-christian angle. Anyway feel free to delete this ask if it's not useful/too much etc. I just thought I'd give some ideas!

Yale has a series of online free lectures on the Old Testament which are super interesting and don't assume any faith! They go into the various myths which inspired the various stories in the bible (such as the flood), and the history of particular parts of the old testament library (they also have one for the new testament but I haven't watched it so don't know how good it is)

Look into apocrypha! The Nag Hammai scriptures, the gospel of Judas etc. Might actually be super interesting to you if you like the myth/history aspect! They're the books which were de-classified as canon (or never were canon), but all were written super early (2nd century) I specifically recommend the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the Gospel of Judas. "Lost scriptures" by Ehrman is a great laymans book explaining the histories/controversies around this and even goes into the controversies surrounding the secret gospel of Mark aka the gospel where Jesus seems to have gay sex. (Ehrman writes a lot of good layman books on the bible which might be worth looking at!)

If you're looking at the NT maybe look at books like Jesus the Jew by Geza Vermes or The Crucified God by moltmamn. They're a bit specialised but it is SUPER important to modern historical studies of jesus to situate him as a Jew because that is who he was! Also Moltmamns book is v leftist and not fundamentalist.

"And man created God" by Selina O'Grady goes into detail about all the OTHER religions around during the 1st century (emperor cults etc.) Which is great for context for the gospels and also learning about cool religious traditions around in the 1st century!

Queer theology? Maybe? Might be fun for ya? Queer readings of the Bible are abundant from Ruth, Judas, David and Jonathan and jesus and there's quite a few books on them (I'm not dropping any here because I've read some Intense Theological Ones which Im not sure would appeal but if you Google you will find)

Look into Song of Songs the Official Sex is Good and Holy Book in the bible! (It's also just beautifully written)

Looking at things like "the Muslim Jesus" might also be interesting? Little collections of how Islam has viewed/interpreted Judaism and Christianity and why is always interesting and often another angle on those myths/historical documents

I'm sure other people could give you more ideas/ways to approach! I approached from a non religious angle but my institution was firmly situated in the Christian tradition so is slightly biased that way. But anyway! I just thought I'd give some starting points you could look at on the myth/history angle?

Have a lovely day!

I AM LOOKING??!!?? gd this is EXACTLY what I didn’t know I needed, all of this sounds very up my alley & like it’ll be great for what I’d be trying to get out of it. like. I have gone from “this is a thing I’ve been idly thinking about” to “this is a thing I could reasonably do and where I could start”!

I’ve done a little bit of looking into queer readings of things in the past (particularly david & jonathan) but then I had a years-long period that I technically still haven’t gotten out of where I physically could not bring myself to open a bible so I haven’t tried to actually read those stories myself while keeping a queer perspective in mind. also have had more years of lit classes that I dropped out of halfway through the semester so I have slightly more knowledge of how to dissect and analyze Texts than I used to

[chocolatepot]

I was going thru all of the fics of yours that I have bookmarked, and I'd forgotten about this gem: Parched - so, director's commentary?

Oooh, okay!

The thing about this fic is that while the note at the end is true (that it was inspired by wondering about what Mary had told Doug about Stede), it was also something of an experiment for me. See, I'm just not that into Mary! In the flashbacks to their marriage, I tend to think neither of them comes off that well. There's a running joke that everyone in the fandom is on her side when she tries to kill Stede, no matter how much they like him, but I'm not, actually! So I wanted to try to get into her head by writing a fic from her perspective.

Dearest Mary,

I started by quoting Stede's letter to Mary because that felt like the right place to pick up. I was exploring how she grew and changed, so I wanted to start at their divergence.

The sun comes in at an angle on the letter like a knife, highlighting the words “fond regards.”

Something else experimental for me with this fic was that I was attempting to write in a slightly more literary(?) style. I do focus on my prose when I write, I'll sometimes try a sentence multiple ways or put one together so slowly that it's like chipping marble, but that's a refinement of what I instinctively want to express - I don't instinctively tend to write figuratively, or describe things that aren't either a) absolutely necessary or b) fun for me to describe. So: a sharp metaphor to start with.

“Did Dad go out to ride on Arthur? I want to take my new kite out with him today.”

I also don't subscribe to the idea that Stede was a fully absent father, so put in that line to show him as an active presence in the kids' lives.

This all makes me sound super petty but I did indeed set out to write A Good Fic first and foremost! As ever when I'm challenging myself. I just cannot help but write in my interpretation of controversial things.

Louis is young enough that he doesn’t realize how bizarre and fucked up it all is, accepting it as just one of those strange things adults do and going back to his toast; Alma, however, is thinking about it with a furrowed brow.

And part of the reason Alma responds as she does is that she's surprised and upset because it never occurred to her that her father might pick up sticks and disappear. (If I were writing the fic now, I think I'd have dwelt more on the kids' reactions, or lack thereof in Louis's case. At the time, my focus was on how their reactions affected Mary.)

But this time her eye is caught by a different line: You deserve happiness, as do I.

Here, the tone shifts. I am SO anxious about people thinking I'm too nice to Stede on the whole, and was/am particularly so at this point, lol. That being said, assuming Doug wasn't putting an incredibly positive spin on things (possible), Mary was able to say some neutral-to-positive things about Stede. So she must have come around on him, his leaving, and his part in their marriage, when she thought that it was all a closed book. (And then when he came back he just ripped open the scab!)

She can complain about Stede at length, if she feels like it, but to his credit, he’s never seemed to actively dislike her. What he accepts is that she dislikes him.

This whole bit was also me digging in and almost stream-of-consciousness-ing from Mary's perspective about what we saw of Stede in their marriage in the flashbacks. Analyzing. Working my fingers into the dough.

Nobody likes every person they’re thrust into society with, but that’s just how life is! You smile and make small talk and get them to tolerate you, and sometimes you end up making friends – but he just couldn’t seem to do that, like he wasn’t even trying.

I admit that I was also experimenting with the perspective of a neurotypical person not getting why an autistic person can't just be normal.

The next day, Mary puts on a black gown she rarely wears, plus a hat with a veil, and visits the local magistrate.

She successfully got him declared dead, after all!

The second it’s done, Mrs. Higgins pushes off the wall and comes to Mary’s side, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Okay, Melvin,” she says breezily in a husky tone that fits her perfectly. “I’m going to take the Widow Bonnet for a cup of tea.”

Well, I ship them.

“This story about your husband being lost at sea – it’s bullshit, right? Did you take him out?” She puts a hand on Mary’s forearm, and it feels alarmingly sympathetic. “What did he do – did he hit you? Do you need help getting rid of the body?”

I have absolutely no doubt that it went down like this. Evelyn's comfort level with the idea of murdering a husband implies that she's been ready and willing to aid and abet a woman who's had to kill before. (And I think she tends to see situations through this lens even when it doesn't fit as a result.)

“Relax,” Mrs. Higgins orders, and Mary can’t help but comply

👀👀👀

“Your … rifles?” asks Mary, stunned, and Jemima takes them all on a tour of her house to see the armory, which is packed so heavily with guns of all sizes and types that you can’t even make out what sort of wallpaper is behind them. There’s even a cannon, positioned so that it could theoretically fire out a window.

I don't entirely remember my thought process here - a melange of needing to make up more widows to be part of the circle and "what would be funny?" and the image of a 17th-18th century armory. Jemima's maiden name, Courten, came from the History of Barbados wiki page, and her last name came from my fierce third grade teacher. (Jemima? I have no idea.)

“I have a tenant who’s a painter!” says another, turning from a display of guns inlaid with mother-of-pearl. “He’s always looking for students – if you come to mine, I can introduce you.”

Fate!!!

Their first meeting is inauspicious, but not to such an extent that it loops back around into a meet-cute.

This was deliberate. Mary and Stede are such opposites that I wanted her romance with Doug not to be a sudden soulmate thing like Ed/Stede basically are - their meeting isn't the stuff of stories, they don't have an intense, immediate chemistry. It's still love.

His fingers are still hovering over the canvas, moving here and there to point out what he’s taken with, and for a moment Mary can hardly breathe.

This was intentionally a bit erotic on top of the sexiness of Doug caring so much about her art (and also - Doug is the biggest sweetie, he sees the good even in a piece with a lot of problems).

There is just so much emotion in her, and nowhere else for it to go. For a fleeting moment, she thinks of Stede and the times she found him weeping alone.

Tying this all back into one of the main things, which was Mary coming around on Stede to some extent.

Nobody has ever looked at her like that, like she is a delicate and beautiful person to be treasured.

This is picking up on a thread I established in More Nicer, that the flipside of Stede having been forced into a marriage with a woman when he's not attracted to women is that Mary was forced into a marriage where she was never, ever found attractive. Feeling that someone she likes is actually interested in her would be huge.

one night when he stays for dinner and then helps her wash the dishes after the kids have gone to bed.

I am COMMITTED! to interpreting OFMD as depicting their household as a modern marriage with a period veneer. They don't have servants and Stede isn't a powerful 18th century patriarch.

The moon is huge. If she were to paint it this big, nobody would ever believe it.

Mary gets her "you wear fine things well" moment under the impossibly large moon - maybe at the same time as Stede and Ed's! Only hers can be straightforwardly understood as a moment of love by all participants.

That she is, in fact, too harsh and practical to be loved is a possibility that has haunted her for years.

Again, that thread from More Nicer.

But when she looks into his eyes again, he’s still just confused. Then he flushes and looks down. “Sorry,” he says, “I just – it’s hard for me to believe that he could bring himself to leave you.”

He's a keeper.

A very sudden thought hits her like a thunderbolt: Stede was right. Their lives had been monotonous and had needed to be shaken up, changed beyond recognition.

And that's the point that the fic's been leading up to - Mary becoming okay with Stede. I don't think this makes him right about everything, but I do think he had a point there and that part of the reason she got so upset when he suggested that their lives were monotonous was that she knew it on some level.

She still wishes that he had told her he was leaving rather than simply doing it, but what if he had? Would she have raged at him, guilted him into staying so that they would both continue to be unhappy?

Surprising no one, I have A Take about the idea that Stede was objectively wrong on the way he left. Could it have gone well if he'd been more up-front about it? Maybe. Could it have also gone a lot worse? I think so.

Now that she has a tantalizing glimpse of the happiness that may lie in store for her, she can fully close that door – she can end that desperate, stunted life and begin a new one.

And there we are.

anyone who's interested, feel free to ask for another!

[the-radio-demon-blog]

Hmm. I'm glad my Krampus experience was better than yours then then.

Oh yes, I'm sure I'd get along well with Husk and Angel Dust. I'll have to share photos of my little Christmas village during the holidays. Hah...I remember I had a dream once that Angel and I were just watching dumb tik toks and giggling like mad...and he kept calling me Shortcake. Now I want someone to call me that irl. 😅

I'm not typically one for parties. I either stick like glue to one or two people I know...or if there's any kind of pet, I will disappear to hang out with it. I found goats and chickens at a cousin's outdoor wedding once. After dinner, no one saw me again. 😂 That being said, Charlie's costume party actually sounds fun! Maybe I could crash it for a bit this year. Idk if you're aware, but Florida absolutely contains portals to hell, which is why I'm able to pop in from time to time. I suppose because I'm super *not* dead, I just sort of get...popped back home after a bit. Lol. I love dressing up. My last Halloween costume, I was Beetlejuice. Wore a black and white striped dress, my friend did my makeup and we spray painted my hair green. 😁

A lottery! Intriguing. Maybe a bit alarming for us over worlders. Hah. Though, things are pretty bad up here. We'd probably barely notice any chaos a demon visitor would cause! Hah!

I'm very curious, what do you think you would do up here if you won this lottery? 🤔

Oh bad Stanley! We need to have a chat. No eating pets. I support Angel Dust's chasing him off with a bat if he tries to eat Fat Nuggets again. Are you not feeding him enough pedophiles, Alastor??

We're opposite ends on The Shining. I've only watched the movie and not read the book. I know King is brilliant, but I think I got halfway through one his books once. Surprisingly not a huge fan of most horror. But it's only bc...none of it scares me, so I usually feel kind of disappointed? I'll like those kinds of movies if they're well written/have some humor/have a good aesthetic. The art school bitch in me is sated by beautiful camera work and colors. Haha. Oh, recommendation, watch Crimson Peak.

Hahah. Don't worry. I won't be calling you Big Al. Was only teasing. I don't like it either. Hah.

No offense taken at the drunk comments. I suppose it hasn't been a bad experience for me since I've never been so drunk I wasn't unaware of what I was doing. I used to go to bars a lot (had a lot of musician friends then...I've been to a frankly obscene number of open mics) so I feel you on being subjected to obnoxious inebriated people. I generally drank a coke...or if I was feeling particularly feisty...a Shirley Temple. 🤣 You'd be amazed the side eye and teasing I'd get for that order. Never cared, those things are tasty!

I promise to not call you the c word again. Though, if you piss me off, I will definitely call you the *other* c-word. Heh. Will just settle on calling you dapper, eh? It's an excellent and underused word in modern times.

Appreciate your discretion and care in the imaginary unwanted drunk cuddle scenario. Lol. That is, dare I say it, rather sweet. You are surprising!

I also quite enjoy our conversations, so thank you! 😊

Work was alright on Friday (I left early for another baseball game so that helped, lol). I was training a new hire all day. He's great; laughs at my jokes (v important), is COMPETENT. He gave me candy! PLEASE DON'T QUIT I scream internally.

Let's see...I have a sort of a joke for you. Hopefully you appreciate a nerdy joke like I do.

oh shit - i was time travelling and accidentally killed an ancient italian. doesn’t matter tho everyone was killing each other, when in Reme do as the Remans

And for today's photo I present this chaos table covered in several dozen Halloween decorations. They're here until I get them all set up nicely, hopefully this weekend.

https://imgur.com/a/GEn1kDX

I really need to think of a song rec again. I haven't seen any on your tumblr for a while...*sad face*

I'm off to pick up a werewolf! I will not be elaborating.

After while, crocodile 🐊

I can imagine Angel Dust doing something of the like. At least he gave you a somehow respectful nickname: Shortcakes. Compared to Smiles.

Hah, well you and I are very different. I would rather spend time with people than pets. However I suppose to each their own. People entertain me far more, pets are simply loving. Oh well, I hope your cousin's did leave some tempting animals to play with. It was on them that you didn't return to dinner. Hah!

Yes, Charlie's costume parties are always fun. Oh well, I would love if you could pay the hotel a visit! Charlie would absolutely not mind if you showed up for a Halloween party! We've had an unfortunate amount of Floridians accidently end up in Hell and it usually ends badly for them. Hah, well, thank goodness you haven't run into our rather lively denizens! Beetlejuice? My, that's a rather fun outfit!

If I won the lottery? I'm sure I would wreck some havoc on New Orleans for the sake of it and take a canoe out on the Bayou. Terrify a few loitering teenagers. I'm not quite sure if I am being honest what I would do.

I am feeding Stanley plenty of pedophiles! It seems he has an insatiable appetite and he seems to crave beloved pets. KeeKee is far smarter than the pig to stay out of Stanley's way. I can arrange a chat between you and him if you so desire.

I am not a big fan of movies but sure, I'll give it a shot when I happen upon a chance. Hmm...none of it scares you? Interesting. I am personally not one to be scared of silly movies or books however I did find myself deeply invested in the fate of the characters. In the Shining book if I recall correctly, the father cared far more about his family in the book than in the movie where he was a raging horrible maniac. I could go on about it but I shall end it here.

Hmm...it wasn't a bad experience to be out of control of your own body? That is personally not something I would enjoy but to each their own, dear. I'm not one for Shirley Temples but I'm sure its tasty for you!

Yes, I would prefer to be called dapper. I've never been one to love cuss words but they surely have their place and time.

Why is it surprising? It's the only rightful thing to do. I know quite a quite a few people that would disgustingly take advantage of a situation like that, unfortunately. Common human decency is truly dead.

Yes, its always important to have a competent coworker. There's a surprising lack of that in the working world. He gave you candy? My, my. Yes, I do hope he doesn't quit either.

Hah! That's an absolutely delightful joke, dear!

Oh my, that is quite a lot of Halloween decorations! My mother would have a stroke if you saw it. Charlie I'm sure would be absolutely ecstatic! I wish you luck.

See you later, my dear, alligator!

PS: As much as I do enjoy our conversations, could you perhaps make your letters a bit shorter?

[rosevilleain]

For the most part, I'd like to keep all my spaces fun and generally light hearted, save for the occasional rant (because, well... This is DBD 😅), but I want to talk about something important right now. If you've been playing this game for long enough, you'll know that there are multiple heated debates amongst the community that will cool off for a while, only to make a resurgence again at some point. Right now, I'd like to address the one that I'm seeing a lot of at the moment.

Let's talk about filters... But, really, let's talk about accessibility in gaming. Primarily in Dead by Daylight.

Before getting into it all, a couple of quick things to note: a. This is a long post, and b. a lot of it is stuff I said elsewhere (namely Instagram). I also broke this up into a couple of sections to (hopefully) make it more easily digestible than a wall of text.

About Those Filters...

Now, I have some tweets of my own to post. For context, Hens went on from that first tweet to discuss his findings a bit, and asked if people wanted him to make a video addressing the subject. After most people said they wanted to see a video, he agreed.

Now, here is my quote tweet and short thread.

I want what I said in that first tweet to sink in. This game first launched in 2016. The colorblind filters available in the game weren't added until 2021.

It took Behavior five (5) years to implement a feature that would allow people with colorblindness to play as anyone else could. This was a feature that should have been available all along, yet there was a need to ask for this to be added. And it still took them half a decade to do it.

If that wasn't terrible enough, there are many colorblind people in the community for whom the available filters do not work. At least not as well as they should. Which means that there are many players using third party filters to simply be able to see the game.

The Usual, Disappointing Response...

But there are some players that use them to have an unfair advantage. So they should be banned... According to far too many people. And if you are one of them, I ask you to consider this:

If you are more concerned about the people who don't need it, you are ignoring the people who do. If you are more concerned about the people that don't need it, respectfully, please take a step back and think about why that is.

Because we see these things said constantly, about features we use just to be able to play like anyone else can do. When disabled people see and hear the comments about how these features should be banned, or how "unfair" they are, what we hear is, "Yeah, but I want to win, so…"

No matter how many times we explain why it wouldn't be good if these things got banned or changed, it doesn't seem to matter. No matter how many more people that use these things need it than don't, it never matters.

My Personal Struggles...

In the second tweet of my thread, I said, "BHVR shouldn't ban their use. They should do better by the disabled people that need better options. This is a general statement, not exclusive to colorblindness."

When I said that, I had a very specific thing in mind, although I'm sure there are other examples of which I'm not even aware.

I'm not colorblind, though I have other disabilities that affect how I experience video games. Though I'm neither deaf, nor hard of hearing, I do have an issue perceiving sounds. Particularly in video games.

For DBD, when I play killer, I can't always find survivors by listening for them because I often have trouble figuring out the right direction that it's coming from. I frequently run into situations where the sound seems to be coming from one direction, but then it sounds like it's actually the opposite, even when it isn't possible that they could have run that way because I would have seen them.

When I play survivor, I frequently can't tell how close the killer is when going by the terror radius because it often sounds a bit further away than it really is. Before I realized that it was a "me" issue, I used to get so pissed because I'd get grabbed off of generators even though it sounded to me like I had a little bit more time before I had to run.

In regards to that, I was once discussing how I wish they hadn't changed Spine Chill back to the way it was because watching the red dial fill and regress helped me far better than the new heartbeat does. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to properly gauge the distance. I should mention that I have several learning disabilities, as well, which definitely contributes to this. And I'm frustrated because it seems so straight forward, and I can understand it in DBD Mobile, but not core for some reason.

During that discussion, while I was explaining all of this, I had someone outright say to me, "They can't put in too many accessibility options because then people who don't need them will cheat with them."

And several people chimed in with, "Yeah, but it also tipped off survivors to stealth killers."

Um... I main Ghost Face. Yet, my point still stands. And now the heartbeat is the only option available, so I'm still struggling a bit.

People with disabilities shouldn't have to settle for "it's better than nothing," but we do. Time and time again.

In Closing...

That, "I know you need it, but what about the people who don't?" argument is a truly sad and messed up way of thinking. And half of the problem is the fact that there are many people who don't even realize that. The person who said that to me clearly didn't understand that, perhaps, that isn't something you should say to someone explaining why they need it. They weren't trying to be an asshole. They thought they were just having a conversation. Obviously there are those who just don't care, but I do believe that there are more people that just don't realize what it is they're really saying when we see this stuff. Nor why it's so fucked up.

I can personally tell you that it's exhausting to have to defend things, over and over, that make me able to enjoy this hobby that I've been doing for 30+ years. Making room for everyone to be able to play is more important than winning.

If you read this far, thank you.

[elizabethshaw]

thoughts on "echoes"!! under the cut bc of spoilers:

this boxset absolutely came out at one of the worst possible times for me (my busiest day of the week, at a time when i have 6 different exams, a presentation and also assessments for my home uni to prepare for), and i fear it may have regnited my 8das fixation somewhat which is. not something i have time for rn lmao. we'll see how it goes i guess! anyway personal stuff over now-

i definitely enjoyed it overall! i'm still not entirely sure where i'd rank it in comparison with the other post-stranded boxsets but it was a lot of fun, and it was (as expected) a joy to hear this tardis team together again :)

i will say however that i did have one major qualm with it, which is that i felt a bit let down with how little it followed through with the emotional plotlines set up in the preceding two sets. i got the feeling when listening to "what lies inside?" and "connections" that they were very much going somewhere with this team's (particularly helen's) emotional arc, and while i won't deny there were some nice scenes with them in this set, the fact that these threads were otherwise left to one side most of the time was a disappointment. there was potential to do some really interesting character work in continuation from the events of those previous episodes and it just. didn't happen. i don't want to sound too down about it because i did still really enjoy these stories, but i think this side of things was missing a little bit for me. hm.

anyway, episode-by-episode thoughts:

birdsong

i think this was my favourite of the set. i really love audio drama that leans into more horror-adjacent aspects (even though i'm not a massive horror fan otherwise tbh), and also love it when audio drama just gets kinda fucked up with it. this story hit on both counts for me :)

love that this continued the running trend from the previous boxsets of the episode starting with eight, liv and helen just getting to be silly for a bit before the Horrors inevitably happen :D

lowkey actually love the concept of barcodes as a written language! part of me wants to try and work out how that could work now

scots pine trees... it never rains... bracken... sand... they're literally in breckland lmao

saying that it does also have the Suffocating Quietness going on so i think i'm onto something here...

when the vortex previews for this set mentioned a family member of helen's first mentioned in doom coalition being relevant to this story, i wasn't expecting it to be the grandmother she mentioned in "ship in a bottle". however it was actually really nice to have helen's relationship with her developed further, and it was woven into the story well i thought

being Normal about the scene between liv and helen at the fireside. i am being so normal about it

"i'm not sure i could do this with anyone else, you know? everything from exploring strange new worlds... to talking about my family." i'm fine. i'm fine!!!

[putting on my clown shoes] this is how liv/helen can still be canon in some form before helen inevitably dies! :))

i love how vivid this story felt to me. i always end up getting visuals in my head as i listen with any audio drama but some stories end up, for storytelling or sound design reasons, or both, creating really clear and vivid pictures in my mind and this was definitely one of those

i hope to god that when i visit home over the summer and listen to these with my mum (who loves these audios but refuses to listen to them without me, which is kind of sweet of her), my dad is not in the same room. i love him but he absolutely would be asking me to pause it every few minutes so he could identify the bird calls and then also getting really frustrated when i inevitably end up being unable to guess any of them correctly myself lol. the pains of being related to an ornithologist

big fan of the way things got increasingly more disturbing towards the end. i do think the eight-liv-helen era has been lacking in terms of properly creepy stories (this is just my personal taste tbf), so it was cool having them properly lean into that for once. i have to say though the mental image of the scout's body with all the roots forcing their way into her eyes is not going to be leaving me for a long time

also thought the sound design was really well done on this one!! you could really feel the discomfort of the silence i think

got slightly choked up at helen and liv singing to bex as she died. i might have just been in a weird mood while i was listening to it but. yeah. it did something to me

anyway had a lot of fun with this episode! it had a lot of elements that appealed to me personally, and the character work it did was nice. i look forward to listening to it again one day :)

lost hearts

m.r. james episode!! i've only ever read two of his stories (both of which are products of me knowing this episode was coming haha), but was quite excited for this one regardless because a) ghost stories! and b) he's actually got connections to a village in the area i grew up in, and as i've never actually seen/heard any stories set where i come from in my life, it was neat to have a story in my favourite show, featuring some of my favourite characters, star someone more or less from where i'm from :')

have to say though i am disappointed to have lost the unofficial "will they namedrop great livermere" bet i had going on with my mum and brother. it's such a middle-of-nowhere village (it's not on the way to anywhere, has 3 streets (one of which is named "the street" and another of which is actually a dirt track), and you invariably see more chickens there than actual people), it would have been deeply amusing to me for it to have canonically existed in the dwu

loved all the direct (and indirect) callbacks to "the red lady" in this story! it felt fitting seeing as on some levels they do share certain elements in terms of plot/setting, and was also just fun for me as that is one of my favourite stories :)

was also a big fan of how active the story felt (not sure if that's quite the right word?) - each of the characters had a clear role to play and all the main cast got something to do, it never felt hugely like any of them were being sidelined, which does happen on occasion with 3+ person tardis teams

if helen had punched someone at some point in this story i honestly wouldn't have blamed her

"he's like the museum of cairo, stuffed inside a... well, a-" "a rude, ungracious little twerp?" oh my god askdfjdsfjkds

(let her swear!!!)

i like how the story was riffing off some of the plot/vibes of m.r. james' actual short story "lost hearts" (helpfully one of the two i've read)! it gave it that nice kind of connection, without feeling overly derivative and like it was straight-out copying it

my only main issue with this episode was that robert felt kinda underdeveloped. they started off well in his opening scene with liv, but i don't think we got enough of a chance to get to know him as a person after that point and i think the story suffered for it a little. i don't think it helped either that he's not a family member helen had ever mentioned prior to this episode, so they were essentially having to start from scratch and with everything else going on in the narrative, didn't quite find the time to give him sufficient detail

loved the emotional moments that were brought out when helen got erased... "helen, she's my- she's everything i have left" ough

and the salzburg parallels?? liv attempting to fly the tardis in a desperate attempt to rescue her friends, much like helen did? this is so... it's a lot

i won't lie, it did feel a bit odd to me that they would go to such lengths to avoid actually naming the uni in this episode as cambridge. i suppose it may have been to avoid spoiling the "it's m.r. james!!!" reveal at the end, but given that i think anyone who would have guessed it was him from the setting being cambridge probably would have guessed it anyway beforehand either from the episode blurb or the fact that the episode literally starts with him reciting one of his most famous short stories, it feels a little pointless. i mean i clocked it as an m.r. james episode when the set was announced and i had never read any of his work at that point lmao. not a glaring issue or anything, but felt like a weird choice

anyway loved helen getting to geek out a bit at the end... i love her :')

i think i'm going to have to relisten to this at some point so i can fully get my head around it but i did enjoy it!

slow beasts

this was a solid ep. not my favourite story this tardis team has ever had, but i did absolutely enjoy listening to it, and thought there were a lot of really good ideas in it!

the colonialism plotline especially worked really well for me, it felt pertinent in just the right sort of way. it's not necessarily something new for dr who, but i think it was definitely a good example of how to do it well.

i think "simple, but effective" is the way i'd sum this one up tbh. not exceptional, but it knew what it was setting out to do, did it, and did it well, and i think that worked. it did admittedly feel a bit strange after two more complex/experimental sort of stories, but i don't think that's any reflection on its actual quality

"here is the psychic paper. be confident. it only works if you're confident." "but... i- i'm not confident?" me if i got asked to use the psychic paper tbh

enjoyed the use of the translation circuit in this one :) i have a lot of thoughts on it as a general thing so i always like seeing the ways it gets utilized in different stories

so! had fun with these! a couple of things that maybe could have gone better, but overall a set of three stories i had good fun with and i suspect will enjoy listening to again. fingers crossed the december boxset is with these guys again and they do a bit more with helen's emotional plotlines next time :)

[literaticat]

I live in a deep red state, chose to be a stay at home mom, and generally look as though I believe like every white person around me. However, I don’t. I am just wondering how I write my bio in order for agents to not immediately label me a certain way. I write humor MG and YA with some progressive themes, but they aren’t the focus of the story.

I do appreciate your sensitivity and not wanting to be labeled in a certain way -- but I also think you're overthinking it a hair.

Lots of agents are white, and/or have lots of white clients. Lots of agents are from places other than NYC, and rep clients all over the US and the world. So I don't think most of us would automatically assume anything negative about an author just based on where they live or what they do or what they look like.

After all, why should we, when we can base negative feelings on things a person actually says and the books they've actually written! I promise you that people who have uh... extremely divisive views... can't help but say so in their queries or in the kinds of books they choose to write. It's QUITE CLEAR when a book is coming from somebody who, you know, hates books, or despises "woke ideology", or whatever other weirdo stance -- they say it right out loud and there are no assumptions or guessing games necessary!

If anything, unless you tell me differently, my automatic assumption would be the opposite. I'd be more likely to think, if you are querying me with a fun kids book with mildly progressive themes, and your query is well-written, and your bio doesn't mention "Guns, God and American Values!" or something like that, and you seem affable and not-bonkers, that you are probably liberal-leaning (or "fiscally/politically moderate-to-liberal but socially very liberal") regardless of where you live.

That's because a) most people who want to read and write great books for kids LOVE AND RESPECT KIDS BOOKS, and kids books is, frankly, a 'snowflake' kind of field to be in; and b) If you seem to have read the guidelines and targeted the book correctly, you must be smart; and thus c) you must know that I rep a lot of queer and other kinds of diverse and "woke" kinds of books, and I would think that most very conservative people wouldn't WANT to be repped by me!

BUT ANYWAY. If you want to make that even more clear in your bio, you can. It's short, but there's space for you to put a kind of "mission statement." There's no need to say you are a SAHM if you feel like that pigeonholes you. You don't even need to say exactly where you live if you feel like THAT pigeonholes you, just say something general about the region.

"I'm Mindy Smith, and I am passionate about writing fun, accessible stories for kids and teens that also touch on themes that are important to them and their future, such as climate change and environmental activism. I live near a swamp, and when I'm not writing children's books, I get my heart rate up by chasing alligators off the porch while wrangling two toddlers and an unruly dog."

"I'm Dorothy Gale-Belvedere. I grew up in Kansas and still live nearby with my family, and yes, I've heard all the Wizard of Oz jokes, and yes, I am skittish about tornados, and also yes, as the light and fun books I write can attest, I do love rainbows and glittery shoes and all things magical! But no, I don't have a dog named Toto, just a cat named Gretchen."

"I'm Deborah Candleflame, and I'm a former elementary school English Language Arts teacher who still loves sharing stories with kids -- particularly stories of grand adventure tinged with fantasy and folklore elements that can show them the limitless bounds of their own imagination! I live in a holler in the beautiful Appalachian mountains and, in addition to writing, I am raising three spoiled kids* as well as two fairly well-adjusted human children."

*(that was a goat joke!)

See how all those people sound pretty nice and not unhinged, and you'd never think "yikes, they sound like they might want to put gay people in jail"? Just do something like that!

[earlgreyentling]

Do you like Willa Cather? Ethel Cain? What do you find most gorgeously unique about prairies? Do you like forests better? If you were going to write a book about the Midwest, what would it be like and what would you definitely not miss putting in it?

Hello there!

I do like Willa Cather! Her writing feels like what Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books might've have been like if they'd been written for an adult audience. The honest emotion and simplistic elegance of Cather's writing easily immerses you in the world and helps you relate to and sympathize with her characters. I've only read My Ántonia so far, but I loved it. I own several of her other books, which I will get around to reading ... sometime. I've heard that Death Comes for the Archbishop is also excellent.

I'd actually never heard of Ethel Cain before, but from what I've learned after a quick Google search, Cain's music and style sound like something I'd enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation--I'm always looking for new music!

There are a lot of things I find gorgeous about the prairies, but if I had to choose one thing I admire, it's the wide-open skies above them. They're constantly changing and rearranging, and every day it's like waking up to a new painting stretched out above the world. When I was little, I felt like I would fall into it if I wasn't careful. Its storms and sunsets are particularly beautiful. There are lots of lovely places where the view of the sky was more restricted, but whenever I visit them, I can't help feeling claustrophobic. If I had to choose another thing more connected to the actual prairie, it would have to be the amazing deep root networks, especially how woven together and long they can get, if undisturbed for a long-enough time.

It's hard to say whether I like forests or prairies better because I haven't spent nearly as much time in forests as I have in prairies. The closest I usually get to a forest are the random patches of timber around where I live. But, I do always enjoy tromping through those and being surrounded by trees and birdsong. If I had to pick, though, I would have to say ... prairie? Mostly because, like I mentioned in my last answer, I feel kind of claustrophobic and uncomfortably hemmed in if I can't see the sky very well. I wouldn't mind visiting more actual forests in the future to come up with better answer.

If I were going to write a book about the Midwest ... oof, that's a tougher one. I love reading anything I can get my hands on, but when it comes to writing, I seem to do best with shorter pieces. So if I were to write a book about the Midwest, it would probably be a collection of poems and/or essays. Although I don't think it would be strict nonfiction, I'd want to do thorough research and include facts and education along with more impressionistic pieces--try to feed the head and the heart, in a manner of speaking. I enjoy accuracy and description when I read, so hopefully my readers would, too! Tying into that, I would definitely not miss putting in ways that people can help preserve the remaining prairie and planting their own native flowers and plants to help heal and sustain the native animal and insect populations. On a lighter note, I'd want to make sure people know how interesting and odd the Midwest can be, hah! I think we often get kind of a bad rap as boring flyover states, and while I can understand that, the Midwest has quite a bit to offer if you do a little digging into local communities and cultures. It's nice to get away sometimes, but I'm always happy to get home.

Thank you so much for your questions! I had a lot of fun pondering them, and I hope my answers are entertaining enough and don't ramble too much :)